In a method for manufacturing cellulose membranes in the form of flat films, tubular films, or hollow filaments with improved biocompatibility, cotton fibers, in particular linters, are treated in alkaline liquor in a single-stage process with gaseous molecular oxygen. In addition, the invention relates to cotton fibers prepared in this manner, especially linters, membranes made therefrom, and their use for hemodialysis.

Cellulose membranes are well known in the art and are used, e.g., in dialysis, reverse osmosis, and ultrafiltration. One important application for membranes of this type is dialyzers, particularly for hemodialysis.
Extremely demanding biocompatibility requirements are placed on dialysis membranes for hemodialysis so that the blood flowing past the membranes is affected as little as possible and the side effects for the dialysis patient are minimized. The membrane material used is crucial with respect to biocompatibility among other factors.
To prepare dialysis membranes, the cellulose is either regenerated by saponification of cellulose acetate or by precipitation with acids, lyes, saline solutions, or water from cuoxam (i.e., copper-ammonium complex, Schweitzer's reagent) solutions or viscose solutions or precipitated from solutions in aprotic solvents with salts and from solutions in tertiary amine oxide.
The starting materials for making cellulose membranes are cotton fibers, in particular, cotton linters. In addition to cellulose, cotton as a natural product, contains a number of additional substances such as pectins, waxes, proteins, mineral components and other, especially organic, components as natural products. Depending on their freedom from contamination, seed hull residues are also present.
Cotton for textile applications consists of relatively long fibers, and the first step in its production is to separate the cotton fibers from the cotton seeds (i.e., ginning). After ginning, short hairs still remain on the hulls of the mature cotton seed capsules, which short hairs are called cotton linters or linters. The cotton linters are separated mechanically from the bolls in further process steps and, by comparison to textile raw cotton, usually contain a higher proportion of contaminants such as seed hull residues.
Linters have the following approximate composition:
______________________________________ Linters-cellulose: approx. 75 to 90 wt. % Water: approx. 6 to 8 wt. % Oils, fats, waxes: approx. 1 to 3 wt. % Seed hull residues: approx. 1 to 5 wt. % Other contaminants: approx. 1 to 5 wt. % ______________________________________
The variations depend, in particular, on the original quality and the way in which the linters were obtained. By contrast with other natural fibers, e.g., jute, flax, sisal and wood, linters contain practically no lignin. Only the seed hulls themselves contain xyloses and lignin. Depending on the type and origin of the cotton plants, linters-cellulose has an average degree of polymerization (DP) of 3,000 to 8,000.
Before further processing into membranes, the cotton and, to a greater degree, the cotton linters, must undergo treatment to clean and digest the fibers. The treated cotton fibers or linters when dry should have a cellulose content of at least 98 wt. %. Moreover, the smallest possible content of extractable mono sugars and, in particular, oligo glucanes, is necessary with a view to good biocompatibility properties. As a rule, a treatment that suffices for these requirements is kier boiling followed by bleaching.
The purpose of kier boiling is to remove or break down the above-listed additional substances and contaminants, particularly the seed hull residues, namely the non-cellulose components. This is usually done in an alkali medium (i.e., an alkaline liquor) in which the cotton or linters are digested, hydrophilized, swollen, and become receptive to bleaches and dyes, for example. Often with kier boiling, the desired degree of polymerization of the cellulose is deliberately set at the same time in order, for example, to reduce the viscosity of the cellulose solutions made therefrom for further processing.
According to the prior art, careful attention must be paid to see that no oxygen, e.g., atmospheric oxygen, is added during kier boiling. Before the start of kier boiling, all the atmospheric oxygen must be removed from the boiling vessels. Failing to preliminarily remove oxygen in prior art processes results in oxidatively damaged fibers, such as cellulose that is damaged in an uncontrolled fashion, in addition to which the degree of polymerization and the yield of pretreated linters are undesirably reduced.
Following kier boiling, the cotton fibers or cotton linters are subjected to additional kier boiling in a neutral or slightly alkaline medium and rinsed thoroughly with water, and possibly, the last alkali residues are acidified. After kier boiling, the color of the cotton fibers or linters is slightly yellowish to gray.
To break down the dyes that remain in the cellulose and for complete removal of the contaminants that have already been largely removed or loosened by kier boiling, the cotton or linters are then subjected to bleaching. In this step, the chemical and physical properties of the cellulose should be retained.
Both kier boiling and bleaching can be single-step or multi-step processes. Since according to the prior art they are carried out with different chemicals and reagents and under different reaction conditions, as a rule, kier boiling and bleaching are two separate process steps, carried out sequentially and separately, each of which is connected with one or more washing steps.
According to previous methods, large quantities of water, energy, and chemicals per kilogram of cotton fiber or linters are sometimes necessary. For example, in the typical kier boiling and bleaching process in industrial use, a total of 130 to 170 liters of water per kilogram of cotton linters is consumed, taking approximately 20 hours. In this classical method, the total organic waste is typically approximately 200 g/kg cotton linters and the inorganic waste from the lye used in excess for neutralization is approximately 200 to 300 g/kg cotton linters (calculated as Na.sub.2 SO.sub.4).
The literature also teaches intermediate steps for cotton fibers and textile cotton goods. For example, P. Heermann (Enzyklop adie der textil-chemischen Technologie, Verlag Julius Springer, Berlin 1930) describes how the addition of oxidants such as sodium peroxide, perborate, or Aktivin to the kier boiling liquor results not only in kier boiling itself but also in a certain pre-bleaching of the cotton. Also, by means of the oxidation bleaching method, purification of the cotton is achieved in addition to bleaching. Here, the purification is characterized as being different from the one linked to kier boiling; in particular, reduced absorptivity or hydrophilicity of the cotton goods so treated is observed. Recently, a peroxide bleaching method has been reported (D. Bassing, Textilveredelung (22) 6, 1987, pp. 226-230) in which, in a one-step process without prior bleaching or boiling-off steps and with complexing agents being added, good absorptivity is achieved as well. These references do not state, however, whether the reported method can also be used with satisfactory results to treat cotton linters. The use of the cotton fibers treated by this method as a raw material for membrane manufacture is also not mentioned.
DE-OS 19 54 267 describes treatment of cellulose-containing materials with alkali, introducing air or gaseous oxygen, in which the process is carried out in the presence of a magnesium salt and a complexing agent. This method is used, in particular, to prepare wood cellulose containing lignin as it has particular advantages in removing the lignin. With lignin-free celluloses, the complexing agents added serve to prevent uncontrolled breakdown of the cellulose molecules. The oxygen treatment method described in the cited reference is, however, only one of several treatment stages and always relates to the manufacture of pulps, preferably lignocellulose, namely starting materials for the paper industry, and thus not to manufacture of starting materials for membranes.
The same applies to German Patent 21 41 757 in which the use of oxygen-containing gas is also described and reference is made exclusively to the bleaching of cellulose pulp previously digested by chemical means and bleaching lye and digesting lye from the previous treatment step must be simultaneously present in the liquor to achieve the desired bleaching effect and an improved delignification effect. In this case too, the oxygen bleaching step represents only one process step out of several treatment and bleaching steps for preparation of cellulose pulp.
Each of the prior art processes referred to also generate considerable quantities of wastewater, and large quantities of water, energy, and chemicals are needed to run the process.
For manufacturing cellulose membranes, cotton fibers or cotton linters are brought into the dissolved form after the kier boiling/bleaching treatment, namely after two different, independent process steps, usually followed by drying. The solutions are formed into hollow filaments, tubes, or films, with the cellulose being either regenerated or precipitated.
When kier-boiled, bleached linters of the prior art are used, the dialysis membranes made from regenerated cellulose exhibit distinct complement activation in hemodialysis. To improve biocompatibility by, for instance, reducing complement activation while retaining other favorable properties of the cellulose membranes, there are various methods such as cellulose modified by substitution, admixture of cellulose modified by substitution or admixture of other suitable polymers. Such methods are described in documents DE-OS 35 24 596, EP 0 416 377, and DE-OS 40 17 745. However, such methods always increase expenditures by adding necessary process steps.

Cellulose membranes comprising cotton fibers and method of manufacturing them


An apparatus coupled to a low speed tester and a device is disclosed. The device may have a first speed faster than a second speed of the low speed tester. The apparatus may be configured to allow the low speed tester to perform high speed tests of the device at the first speed.

The Universal Serial Bus (USB) Specification, Version 2.0, (published April 2000 and hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety) defines a high speed mode that operates at 480 MHz. Testing of such high speed devices can be difficult. Conventional solutions for implementing high speed testing include: (i) running tests on an expensive tester capable of 480 MHz operation; (ii) not performing at speed production testing (i.e., assuming the part is correct by design and operates at the high speed) and/or (iii) using a golden parts tester implementation for comparison purposes. A golden parts tester is a test-mode capable slave device, identical to the device which is being tested, that is capable of performing tests. There are disadvantages to each of the conventional approaches.
The first approach of simply implementing a high speed tester capable of 480 MHz testing is not a cost effective solution. Conventional high speed testers capable of 480 MHz operation and able to process a USB 2.0 design (which is largely digital) are at the state of the art in testers and, therefore, expensive. Furthermore, even a fast tester (i.e., a 480 MHz tester) can be problematic. Conventional at speed testers implement an internal phase lock loop (PLL) at 480 MHz. Synchronization of the 480 MHz tester to an incoming data rate is difficult. Verification of the incoming data rate is also difficult. Conventional high speed testers require a complex scheme to synchronize to a device under test (DUT). Additionally, the PLL will vary in phase from device to device and from test to test.
The second approach of not performing at speed production testing implies that the device is correct by design and well within the specification limits with a sufficient margin, as proven by full characterization. Specifically, not performing 480 MHz testing does not require expensive testing devices. Not performing at speed testing assumes that there are no plausible defects that can inhibit at speed operation (i.e., 480 MHz operation).
The approach of implementing a golden parts tester implementation (i.e., a replica of a target-only device implemented as a tester) for comparison purposes is not a possible tester solution for non peer-to-peer devices. The golden parts tester implementation cannot allow a replica of a target-only device to test another target-only device. A non peer-to-peer device (i.e., a USB device) cannot communicate to another non peer-to-peer device since they are non peer-to-peer devices.
USB implementations require a master and a slave device. However, slave devices cannot initiate communication. The golden part device expects to be a target (i.e., a slave) device and not a control (i.e., master) device. The golden parts tester cannot be implemented for a non peer-to-peer device, since peer-to-peer devices are not target-only devices. For example, a USB bus is not a peer-to-peer bus and the golden parts tester implementation is unable to communicate with another target-only device.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a method and/or architecture to (i) enable slave devices to test other slave devices and/or (ii) add test mode enhanced slave device capabilities to a tester in order to test other non test mode slave devices.

Apparatus and method to test high speed devices with a low speed tester


The subject invention provides materials and methods for the control of pests. Specifically exemplified is the use of recombinant hosts to control mosquito larvae. These hosts, which may be, for example yeast or algae, can be transformed so that they express a pesticidal polypeptide which controls mosquito larvae. These transformed microbes can then be applied to surface waters where mosquito larvae are likely to be found.

Many blood-ingesting pests are known to feed on humans and animals, and many pests are vectors for pathogenic microorganisms which threaten human and animal health, including commercially important livestock, pets and other animals. Various species of mosquitoes, for example, transmit diseases caused by viruses, and many are vectors for disease-causing nematodes and protozoa. Mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles transmit Plasmodium, the protozoan which causes malaria, a devastating disease which results in approximately 1 million deaths annually. The mosquito species Aedes aegypti transmits an arbovirus that causes yellow fever in humans. Other arboviruses transmitted by Aedes species include the causative agents of dengue fever, eastern and western encephalitis, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, chikungunya, oroponehe and bunyarnidera. The genus Culex, which includes the common house mosquito C. pipiens, is implicated in the transmission of various forms of encephalitis and filarial worms. The common house mosquito also transmits Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia malayi, which cause various forms of lymphatic filariasis, including elephantiasis. Trypanasoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas"" disease, is transmitted by various species of blood-ingesting Triatominae bugs. The tsetse fly (Glossina spp.) transmits African trypanosomal diseases of humans and cattle. Many other diseases are transmitted by various blood-ingesting pest species. The order Diptera contains a large number of blood-ingesting and disease-bearing pests, including, for example, mosquitoes, black flies, no-see-ums (punkies), horse flies, deer flies and tsetse flies.
Various pesticides have been employed in efforts to control or eradicate populations of disease-bearing pests, such as disease-bearing blood-ingesting pests. For example, DDT, a chlorinated hydrocarbon, has been used in attempts to eradicate malaria-bearing mosquitoes throughout the world. Other examples of chlorinated hydrocarbons are BHC, lindane, chlorobenzilate, methoxychlor, and the cyclodienes (e.g., aldrin, dieldrin, chlordane, heptachlor, and endrin). The long-term stability of many of these pesticides and their tendency to bioaccumulate render them particularly dangerous to many non-pest organisms.
Another common class of pesticides is the organophosphates, which is perhaps the largest and most versatile class of pesticides. Organophosphates include, for example, parathion, Malathion(trademark), diazinon, naled, methyl parathion, and dichlorvos. Organophosphates are generally much more toxic than the chlorinated hydrocarbons. Their pesticidal effect results from their ability to inhibit the enzyme cholinesterase, an essential enzyme in the functioning of the insect nervous system. However, they also have toxic effects on many animals, including humans.
The carbamates, a relatively new group of pesticides, include such compounds as carbamyl, methomyl, and carbofuran. These compounds are rapidly detoxified and eliminated from animal tissues. Their toxicity is thought to involve a mechanism similar to the mechanism of the organophosphates; consequently, they exhibit similar shortcomings, including animal toxicity.
A major problem in pest control results from the capability of many species to develop pesticide resistance. Resistance results from the selection of naturally-occurring mutants possessing biochemical, physiological or behavioristic factors that enable the pests to tolerate the pesticide. Species of Anopheles mosquitoes, for example, have been known to develop resistance to DDT and dieldrin. DDT substitutes, such as Malathion(trademark), propoxur and fenitrothion are available; however, the cost of these substitutes is much greater than the cost of DDT.
There is clearly a longstanding need in the art for pesticidal compounds that are pest- specific, that reduce or eliminate direct and/or indirect threats to human health posed by presently available pesticides, that are environmentally compatible in the sense that they are biodegradable, and are not toxic to non-pest organisms, and have reduced or no tendency to bioaccummulate.
Many pests, including for example blood-inbibing pests, must consume and digest a proteinaceous meal to acquire sufficient essential amino acids for growth, development and the production of mature eggs. Adult pests, such as adult mosquitoes, need these essential amino acids for the production of vitellogenins by the fat body. These vitellogenins are precursors to yolk proteins which are critical components of oogenesis. Many pests, such as house flies and mosquitoes, produce oostatic hormones that inhibit egg development by inhibiting digestion of the protein meal, and thereby limiting the availability of the essential amino acids necessary for egg development.
Serine esterases such as trypsin and trypsin-like enzymes (collectively referred to herein as xe2x80x9cTTLExe2x80x9d) are important components of the digestion of proteins by insects. In the mosquito, Aedes aegypti, an early trypsin that is found in the midgut of newly emerged females is replaced, following the blood meal, by a late trypsin. A female mosquito typically weighs about 2 mg and produces 4 to 6 xcexcg of trypsin within several hours after a ingesting blood meal. Continuous boisynthesis at this rate would exhaust the available metabolic energy of a female mosquito; as a result, the mosquito would be unable to produce mature eggs, or even to find an oviposition site. To conserve metabolic energy, the mosquito regulates TTLE biosynthesis with a peptide hormone named Trypsin Modulating Oostatic Factor (TMOF). Mosquitoes produce TMOF in the follicular epithelium of the ovary 12-35 hours after a blood meal; TMOF is then released into the hemolymph where it binds to a specific receptor on the midgut epithelial cells, signaling the termination of TTLE biosynthesis.
This regulatory mechanism is not unique for mosquitoes; flesh flies, fleas, sand flies, house flies, dog flies and other pests which ingest protein as part of their diet have similar regulatory mechanisms.
In 1985, Borovsky purified an oostatic hormone 7,000-fold and disclosed that injection of a hormone preparation into the body cavity of blood imbibed mosquitoes caused inhibition of egg development and sterility (Borovsky, D. [1985] Arch. Insect Biochem. Physiol. 2:333-349). Following these observations, Borovsky (Borovsky, D. [1988] Arch. Ins. Biochem. Physiol. 7:187-210) reported that injection or passage of a peptide hormone preparation into mosquitoes inhibited the TTLE biosynthesis in the epithelial cells of the gut. This inhibition caused inefficient digestion of the blood meal and a reduction in the availability of essential amino acids translocated by the hemolymph, resulting in arrested egg development in the treated insect. Borovsky observed that this inhibition of egg development does not occur when the oostatic hormone peptides are inside the lumen of the gut or other parts of the digestive system (Borovsky, D. [1988], supra).
Following the 1985 report, the isolated hormone, (a ten amino acid peptide) and two TMOF analogues were disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,011,909 and 5,130,253, and in a 1990 publication (Borovsky, et al. [1990] FASEBJ 4:3015-3020). Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,934 discloses truncated forms of the full length TMOF which have prolines removed from the carboxy terminus, including the peptides YDPAP (SEQ ID NO. 14), YDPAPP (SEQ ID NO. 15), YDPAPPP (SEQ ID NO. 16), and YDPAPPPP (SEQ ID NO. 17).
Neuropeptides Y (NPY) are an abundant family of peptides that are widely distributed in the central nervous system of vertebrates. NPY peptides have also recently been isolated and identified in a cestode, a turbellarian, and in terrestrial and marine molluscs (Maule et al., 1991 xe2x80x9cNeuropeptide F: A Novel Parasitic Flatworm Regulatory Peptide from Moniezia expansa (Cestoda: Cyclophylidea)xe2x80x9d Parasitology 102:309-316; Curry et al., 1992 xe2x80x9cNeuropeptide F: Primary Structure from the Turbellarian, Arthioposthia triangulataxe2x80x9d Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 101C:269-274; Leung et al., 1992 xe2x80x9cThe Primary Structure of Neuropeptide F (NPF) from the Garden Snail, Helix aspersaxe2x80x9d Regul. Pep. 41:71-81; Rajpara et al., 1992 xe2x80x9cIdentification and Molecular Cloning of Neuropeptide Y Homolog that Produces Prolonged Inhibition in Aplysia Neuronsxe2x80x9d Neuron. 9:505-513).
Invertebrate NPYs are highly homologous to vertebrate NPYs. The major difference between vertebrate and invertebrate NPYs occurs at the C-terminus where the vertebrate NPY has an amidated tyrosine (Y) whereas invertebrates have an amidated phenylalanine (F). Because of this difference, the invertebrate peptides are referred to as NPF peptides.
Cytoimmunochemical analyses of NPY peptides suggest that they are concentrated in the brain of various insects, including the Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Verhaert et al., 1985 xe2x80x9cDistinct Localization of FMRFamide- and Bovine Pancreatic Polypeptide-Like Material in the Brain, Retrocerebal Complex and Subesophageal Ganglion of the Cockroach Periplaneta americanaxe2x80x9d L. Brain Res. 348:331-338; Veenstra et al., 1985 xe2x80x9cImmunocytochemical Localization of Peptidergic Neurons and Neurosecretory Cells in the Neuro-Endocrine System of the Colorado Potato Beetle with Antisera to Vertebrate Regulatory Peptidesxe2x80x9d Histochemistry 82:9-18). Partial purification of NPY peptides in insects suggests that both NPY and NPF are synthesized in insects (Duve et al., 1981 xe2x80x9cIsolation and Partial Characterization of Pancreatic Polypeptide-like Material in the Brain of the Blowfly alliphora vomitoriaxe2x80x9d Biochem. J. 197, 767-770).
Researchers have recently isolated two neuropeptides with NPF-like immunoreactivity from brain extracts of the Colorado potato beetle. The researchers purified the peptides using C18 reversed phase high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), and determined their structure using mass spectrometry. The deduced structures of these peptides are: Ala-Arg-Gly-Pro-Gln-Leu-Arg-Leu-Arg-Phe-amide (SEQ ID NO. 1) and Ala-Pro-Ser-Leu-Arg-Leu-Arg-Phe-amide (SEQ ID NO. 2) designated NPF I and NPF II, respectively (Spittaels, Kurt et al. [1996] xe2x80x9cInsect Neuropeptide F (NPF)-Related Peptides: Isolation from Colorado Potato Beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) Brain,xe2x80x9d Insect Biochem. Molec. Biol. 26(4):375-382).
The subject invention provides materials and methods useful for the control of pests. In a specific embodiment the methods of the subject invention can be used for treating mosquito larvae to control mosquito populations. Specifically exemplified are recombinant hosts transformed to comprise and/or produce biological control agents capable of increasing the mortality of pests, including mosquitoes and mosquito larvae.
One aspect of the subject invention pertains to a composition comprising a host edible by mosquito larvae, wherein the cells of the host comprise a biological control agent that increases the mortality of the mosquito larvae. In a specific embodiment, the biological control agent inhibits biosynthesis of digestive enzymes, such as TTLE, thereby inhibiting food digestion. This inhibition of food digestion ultimately results in starvation and death of the mosquito larvae.
In a preferred aspect of the subject invention, an appropriate host is transformed with a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide which acts to inhibit TTLE biosynthesis. Appropriate hosts include, but are not limited to, prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, edible by pests including mosquito larvae. The biological control agents useful according to the subject invention include, but are not limited to, TMOF or functional equivalents thereof, NPF or functional equivalents thereof, and other agents identifiable by, for example, assays employing a TMOF receptor.
In a specific embodiment of the subject invention, salt water Chlorella, such as Chlorella desiccata are stably transformed with a plasmid carrying DNA encoding TMOF.
One embodiment of the present invention concerns a pesticide composition comprising a peptide having the formula:
A1A2A3A4A5Fl (Formula I) (SEQ ID NO. 8)
wherein:
A1 is selected from the group consisting of A, D, F, G, M, P, S and Y;
A2 is selected from the group consisting of A, D, E, F, G, N, P, S and Y;
A3 is selected from the group consisting of A, D, F, G, L, P, S and Y;
A4 is optionally present when A3 is present and is selected from the group consisting of A, F, G, L and Y;
A5 is optionally present when A4 is present and is selected from the group consisting of A, F, L and P;
Fl is a flanking region which is optionally present and is selected from the group consisting of: P, PP, PPP, PPPP (SEQ ID NO. 9), and PPPPP (SEQ ID NO. 10).
Preferably, the peptide does not comprise YDPAP6 (SEQ ID NO. 11), DYPAP6 (SEQ ID NO. 12), PAP6 (SEQ ID NO. 13), YDPAP (SEQ ID NO. 14), YDPAP2 (SEQ ID NO. 15), YDPAP3 (SEQ ID NO. 16), YDPAP4 (SEQ ID NO. 17), NPTNLH (SEQ ID NO. 18) or DF-OMe.
In a more specific aspect the peptide or protein comprises an amino acid sequence which consists essentially of the amino acid sequence of Formula 1. In a preferred aspect, the amino acid sequence is a TMOF or NPF fragment and lacks TMOF or NPF amino acids adjacent to the amino acid sequence of Formula I. Preferably the fragment has from 2-5 amino acids of TMOF. In still another aspect, the peptide consists of the amino acid sequence of Formula I.
In various embodiments, either A3A4A5, A3A4A5Fl, A4A5,Fl, A5 or A5Fl are not present. Where A5 is not present, Fl may be attached directly to A4. Where A4A5 is not present, Fl may be attached directly to A3. Finally, where A3A4A5 is not present, Fl may be attached directly to A2.
Preferred peptides are selected from the group consisting of: AAP (SEQ ID NO. 19), ADP (SEQ ID NO. 20), ADPAP (SEQ ID NO. 21), APA (SEQ ID NO. 22), DAA (SEQ ID NO. 23), DF (SEQ ID NO. 24), DPA (SEQ ID NO. 25), DY (SEQ ID NO. 26), DYP (SEQ ID NO. 27), FAP (SEQ ID NO. 28), FDP (SEQ ID NO. 29), FDPAP (SEQ ID NO. 30), FSP (SEQ ID NO. 31), MPDYP5 (SEQ ID NO. 32), PAA (SEQ ID NO. 33), PAP (SEQ ID NO. 34), Y(D)DP (SEQ ID NO. 35), Y(D)DPAP (SEQ ID NO. 36), YAP (SEQ ID NO. 37), YD (SEQ ID NO. 38), YDA (SEQ ID NO. 39), YDAAP (SEQ ID NO. 40), YDF (SEQ ID NO. 41), YDFAP (SEQ ID NO. 42), YDG (SEQ ID NO. 43), YDLAP (SEQ ID NO. 44), YDP (SEQ ID NO. 45), (D)YDP (SEQ ID NO. 46), YDPAF (SEQ ID NO. 47), YDPAL (SEQ ID NO. 48), (D)YDPAP (SEQ ID NO. 49), YDPFP (SEQ ID NO. 50), YDPGP (SEQ ID NO. 51), YDPLP (SEQ ID NO. 52), YEPAP (SEQ ID NO. 53), YFPAP (SEQ ID NO. 54), YNPAP (SEQ ID NO. 55) and YSF (SEQ ID NO. 56).
A further embodiment of the present invention comprises a peptide having the formula
A1A2 (Formula II) (SEQ ID NO. 62)
wherein
A1 is an amino acid selected from the group consisting of A, D, F, M, and Y, and
A2 is an amino acid selected from the group consisting of A, D, E, P, and Y.
In a preferred embodiment, the subject invention is directed to peptides of Formula II wherein A1 and A2 are independently selected from the group consisting of A, D, and Y.
Specifically exemplified as another embodiment are methods using an NPF peptide having the sequence Ala-Arg-Gly-Pro-Gln-Leu-Arg-Leu-Arg-Phe-amide (SEQ ID NO. 1) or Ala-Pro-Ser-Leu-Arg-Leu-Arg-Phe-amide (SEQ ID NO. 2).
The term xe2x80x9cpesticidal polypeptidexe2x80x9d is used herein to indicate NPF and TMOF peptides, as well as fragments, derivatives and analogues and functional equivalents of NPF and TMOF. The present invention also provides analogues of the pesticidal polypeptides which have one or more amino acid substitutions forming a branched peptide (e.g., by substitution with an amino acid or amino acid analogue having a free amino- or carboxy-side chain that forms a peptide bond with a sequence of one or more amino acids, including but not limited to prolines) or allowing circularization of the peptide (e.g., substitution with a cysteine, or insertion of a cysteine at the amino- or carboxy-terminus or internally, to provide a sulfhydryl group for disulfide bond formation).
The pesticidal polypeptides of the present invention are particularly advantageous because their smaller size permits more rapid and efficient penetration into the midgut. In addition, they are less expensive to produce by conventional chemical methods.
In one embodiment, the subject invention provides pesticidal polypeptides having a C-terminus arginine. In a preferred embodiment, these short polypeptides can be joined to form polymers of repeating units. Specifically exemplified herein is the (DPAR)4 (SEQ ID NO. 61) polymer which can be broken into four DPAR (SEQ ID NO. 60) units in the gut of the pest. Advantageously, the short pesticidal polypeptides connected by arginine (or other readily cleavable residue) can penetrate the midgut of the pest efficiently.
Also included in this invention are addition salts, complexes, or prodrugs such as esters of the pesticidal polypeptide, especially the nontoxic pharmaceutically or agriculturally acceptable acid addition salts. The acid addition salts can be prepared in standard manner in a suitable solvent from the parent compound and an excess of an acid, such as hydrochloric, hydrobromic, sulfuric, phosphoric, acetic, maleic, succinic, ethanedisulfonic or methanesulfonic acids. Also, the N-terminus and C-terminus of the pesticidal polypeptides can be chemically modified to further inhibit proteolysis by metabolic enzymes.
The analogues of the pesticidal polypeptides of the present invention also include polypeptides having NPF and/or TMOF amino acid sequences in which one or more of the amino acid residues has been substituted by an amino acid in the D- conformation. The presence of D-conformation amino acids can inhibit the ability of proteases to degrade the peptides of the subject invention. Polypeptides having the above sequences in which only conservative substitutions have been made are also provided by the present invention.
Also, derivation of the pesticidal polypeptides with long chain hydrocarbons will facilitate passage through the cuticle into the pest body cavity. Accordingly, a further embodiment of the subject invention pertains to compositions comprising the pesticidal polypeptides bound to lipids or other carriers.
Yet another aspect of the subject invention pertains to polynucleotides encoding the pesticidal polypeptides of the subject invention. These polynucleotides can readily be synthesized by a person skilled in the art. The sequences may be used to transform an appropriate host to confer upon that host the ability to express the novel peptides. Hosts of particular interest include bacteria, algae, yeasts, and plants. Viruses may also be modified to comprise polynucleotide sequences encoding the pesticidal polypeptides of the present invention. For each of these hosts, the polynucleotides may be specifically designed by a person skilled in the art to utilize codons known to be optimally expressed in the particular hosts. Advantageous promoters are also readily incorporated into the polynucleotides. Bacteria, yeasts, plants, algae, viruses, and other hosts each may be used to produce peptides for further use, or these hosts can be used as vehicles for direct application of the peptide to the target pest. Plants can be transformed to make the plant toxic to a target pest species which feeds on that plant. Methods for transforming plant cells utilizing, for example, Agrobacteria are well known to those skilled in the art.
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cpesticidally effectivexe2x80x9d is used to indicate an amount or concentration of a pesticide which is sufficient to reduce the number of pests in a geographical area, as compared to a corresponding geographical area in the absence of the amount or concentration of the pesticide.
The term xe2x80x9cpesticidalxe2x80x9d is not intended to refer only to the ability to kill pests, but also includes the ability to interfere with a pest""s life cycle in any way that results in an overall reduction in the pest population. For example, the term xe2x80x9cpesticidalxe2x80x9d included inhibition or elimination of reproductive ability of a pest, as well as inhibition of a pest from progressing from one form to a more mature form, e.g., transition between various larval instars or transition from larvae to pupa or pupa to adult. Further, the term xe2x80x9cpesticidalxe2x80x9d is intended to include all phases of a pest life cycle; thus, for example, the term includes larvicidal, ovicidal, and adulticidal action.
The word xe2x80x9ctransformxe2x80x9d is broadly used herein to refer to introduction of an exogenous polynucleotide sequence into a prokaryotic or eukaryotic cell by any means known in the art (including, for example, direct transmission of a polynucleotide sequence from a cell or virus particle as well as transmission by infective virus particles and transmission by any other known means for introducing a polynucleotide into a cell), resulting in a permanent or temporary alteration of genotype and in an immortal or non-immortal cell line.
The terms xe2x80x9cpeptide,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cpolypeptide,xe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cproteinxe2x80x9d as used herein are intended to refer to amino acid sequences of any length.
Another aspect of the subject invention pertains to a method of controlling pests comprising administering to said pest an effective amount of a peptide of the subject invention.
The subject invention provides pesticidal compositions wherein the pesticidal polypeptides are formulated for application to the target pests, or their situs. In a specific embodiment, the present invention provides recombinant hosts which express a polynucleotide encoding a pesticidal polypeptide to produce the pesticidal polypeptide. The recombinant host may be, for example, prokaryotic or eukaryotic. In a specific example, yeast or algae are transformed to express a pesticidal polypeptide of the subject invention. The transformed hosts are then applied to water areas where mosquito larvae will ingest the transformed host resulting in control of the mosquitoes by the pest control agent.
Preferably, the subject peptides have an LD50 against mosquito larvae of less than 3.0 xcexcmoles/ml. More preferably, the peptides have an LD50 of less than 2.0 xcexcmoles/ml, and, most preferably, the peptides have an LD50 of less than 1.0 xcexcmoles/ml. As used herein, xe2x80x9cLD50xe2x80x9d refers to a lethal dose of a peptide able to cause 50% mortality of larvae maintained on ad iet of 1 mg/ml autoclaved yeast (Borovsky and Mahmood [1995] xe2x80x9cFeeding the mosquito Aedes aegypti with TMOF and its analogs; effect on trypsin biosynthesis and egg development,xe2x80x9d Regulatory Peptides 57:273-281).
Another aspect of the subject invention pertains to methods of controlling pests comprising preparing a host to produce a pesticidal polypeptide wherein the host is edible by the target pest and administering the host to the target pest.
Another aspect of the subject invention pertains to pesticidal polypeptides and other pesticidal compounds used in conjunction with a marker to aid in the administration and/or monitoring of the biological control agent. Such markers include, for example, Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP). This protein fluoresces and provides a means to determine whether target pests, such as mosquitoes, are eating or have been treated by the biological control agent. Target pests which have eaten the biological control agent fused with the GFP will fluoresce. This fluorescence can be employed as an analytical measurement which indicates whether target pests such as mosquito larvae are indeed consuming the pesticidal polypeptide or other pesticidal compound Such measurements are useful for determining the amount of pesticidal polypeptide which must be applied to maintain a pesticidally effective amount of the pesticidal polypeptide.

Transformed cells useful for the control of pests

University of Florida Research Foundation, Inc.


A transmission line resonator is disclosed which has a resonance frequency that is electrically controllable by control voltage. A reactive circuit is coupled in parallel between two coupling points on the transmission line resonator. The reactive value of the reactive circuit is changed by the control voltage. The reactive circuit can be inductive or capacitive. The control voltage can switch the reactive circuit in parallel with a part of the transmission line resonator between the coupling points, or can control the capacitance value of a capacitance diode disposed in parallel with a part of the transmission line resonator between the coupling points.

Using coils and capacitors as components in constructing filters is highly common In the art. As the frequency increases, the effect of the losses in the coils and capacitors starts to significantly influence the properties thereof. In particular the loss due to the internal resistance of the capacitors and the series inductance becomes significant, as well as stray capacitances and the loss resistance of the coils. In order to maintain high performance of the filters at higher frequencies than usually used with lumped elements, it is necessary to use transmission line resonators.
The use of transmission line resonators, in the present context meaning helical, coaxial or strip line resonators, in filters in the frequency range from 50 to 2,000 MHz is well known In the art. With coaxial resonators, these being typically e.g. ceramic and helical resonators, good high-frequency properties are achieved in a small volume. By coupling several resonators in succession, filters generally used in high-frequency technology can be implemented, such filters being needed in widely varying types of radio apparatus. Strip line resonators and microstrip resonators are widely used from about 1 GHz upwards. Typically in the frequency range from 50 MHz to 1.5 GHz helical resonators are used. A helical resonator is typically fabricated from a winding of silver coated copper wire insulated by air from a metal coated housing into which the coil is placed.
The manufacturers of radio apparatus insist on filters being smaller in height, or at least in volume than before, and in spite of that, still having as good a performance as before. A smaller filter volume can be obtained by reducing the number of the resonators in the filter or by implementing the filter using resonators of smaller size. Reducing the number of resonators is often near impossible in practice, and reducing their size means in practice that the resonators are replaced by resonators with electrically poorer properties.
In vehicular and mobile hand phones used in cellular telephone systems, various different filters are used. In the NMT phones used in Scandinavia, a bandwidth of 25 MHz is in use whereas in the E-TACS system used in Great Britain the bandwidth is 33 MHz. Due to the bandwidth and certain technical reasons required by the system, the size of the filters manufactured for E-TACS system is greater than e.g. in filters for NMT and AMPS (the US system). Typically, an Rx filter of an NMT handphone comprises four resonators whereas an equivalent Rx filter of an E-TACS hand phone can be implemented with five resonators. The number of poles required for the other filters of a phone are also much higher in the E-TACS system than in the other systems.
It is also known in the art that with a reduction in size of a resonator there is a corresponding drop in quality factor. This in turn leads to increased bandpass attenuation in the filters, which is undesirable. Since the features of a filter deteriorate along with the reduced quality factor of the resonators when their size is reduced, other methods to substitute them have to be adopted. Therefore, a number of different procedures have been introduced for tuning the frequency of a resonator.
In Finnish patent application No. 913088 a method is disclosed to transfer the specific curve of a ceramic resonator in the frequency plane. Therein, in the electromagnetic field of a resonator, called the main resonator, a second resonator called side resonator is positioned. One end of the side resonator is coupled with a controllable switch to the earth of the circuit or off the earth. When the switch is open, the side resonator serves as a resonator the resonance frequency whereof being at a distance from the resonance frequency of the main resonator, and when the end has been earthed, the resonance of the side resonator approaches the resonance frequency to the main resonator, causing therein a frequency transfer.
Tuning a resonator frequency by positioning a series connection of an inductance and a capacitance diode within the resonator field is described in patent application GB 2,141,880. Therein on the end surface of a dielectric resonator operating in the Giga Hertz range there is placed a closed loop, comprising two inductances and capacitance diodes connecting the inductances. By changing the capacitance of the diodes with an external control voltage, the inductance of the loop changes and this change thereof leads to a change in the resonance frequency of the resonator. The change can be up to 50 MHz.
Another procedure in which a resonance circuit is positioned in the field of the resonator, the resonance frequency whereof being changed by changing the capacitance of the capacitance diode, is disclosed in patent application GB-2 153 598.
In the prior art apparatus, the coupling of a main resonator to a side or secondary resonator is typically by means of electromagnetic coupling. It is difficult to size in advance by means of calculation a frequency tuning circuit, and even minor divergences in the physical location thereof relative to the main resonator affect the properties of the coupling. Such coupling and accurate repeatable tuning thereby requires that the positions of the respective resonators can be accurately repeated. However, this is difficult in practice and leads to variations in the tunability of the resonators and their resonance frequencies, thereby complicating the manufacture of filters made from such resonators since the variations have to be compensated for at some point during manufacture, or even later.


A main valve (5) has a first valve seat (11) to which a compression spring (21) urges a first closure member (14). A restricting passage (16) and an actuation chamber (17) for valve closing are arranged within the first closure member (14) in order. A valve-opening holding chamber (25) is formed from an inner space defined by a fitting wall (23) with which the first closure member (14) fits at a final time of its closing movement. The actuation chamber (17) communicates with a second valve seat (31) of a pilot valve (6). A pushing spring (37) brings a second closure member (34) into closing contact with the second valve seat (31). The second valve seat (31), the first valve seat (11), the actuation chamber (17) and the valve-opening holding chamber (25) have respective sectional areas (S), (T), (U) and (V) set to values enlarging one after the other in the mentioned order.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a pilot-operated safety valve assembly and more particularly to a safety valve assembly suitable for a hydraulic overload protector of a mechanical press.
2. Description of Prior Art
There is a conventional safety valve assembly which is recited in Japanese Patent Publication No. 54-23474 the present inventors previously proposed, as an example of the safety valve assembly of this type.
The conventional safety valve assembly comprises a cylindrical main valve member brought into butting contact with a pilot valve member urged by a pushing spring for setting a safety operation pressure. The butting portion of the main valve member constitutes a relief valve seat.
In order to immediately reduce an abnormally increased pressure of fluid, it is necessary to enlarge a maximum relief amount at the time of a safety operation.
However, the safety valve assembly of the conventional structure has only one relief valve seat. Therefore, a trial to enlarge the maximum relief amount increases a sectional area of a hole of the relief valve seat to result in enlarging a pressure receiving area which starts the pilot valve member opening. And fluid pressure acting on the pressure receiving area determines a pushing force of the pushing spring. Accordingly, it is required to adopt a strong and large one for the pushing spring, which results in enlarging the safety valve assembly.


An image recording system includes a mobile terminal and an image recording apparatus. The mobile terminal successively stores signals representative of its position at least from establishment of first wireless communication between the mobile terminal and the image recording apparatus. When information produced based on the signals coincides with at least one of sets of reference information which respectively correspond to image recording conditions, the mobile terminal determines at least one command for commanding at least one image recording condition respectively corresponding to the at least one set of reference information. The mobile terminal transmits the at least one command to the image recording apparatus over the first wireless communication or second wireless communication and transmits image data to the image recording apparatus over the second wireless communication. The image recording apparatus uses at least one image recording condition to record an image based on the image data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recording system, an image recording method, a mobile terminal, a non-transitory storage medium storing a plurality of instructions executable by a computer of the mobile terminal, and an image recording apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is known a printing system in which image data stored in a mobile terminal is transmitted to an image recording apparatus, and the image recording apparatus prints an image based on the received image data. For example, there is known a printing system including a mobile terminal and an image recording apparatus which can perform data communication therebetween according to two wireless communication standards. In this printing system, when communication according to a first wireless communication standard is established, communication setting information and print setting information are transmitted from the mobile terminal to the image recording apparatus. The image recording apparatus then uses the received communication setting information to establish communication according to a second wireless communication standard is faster, and after receiving image data from the mobile terminal over the communication according to the second wireless communication standard, the image recording apparatus prints an image based on the print setting information received over the communication according to the first wireless communication standard.

Image recording system, image recording method, mobile terminal, non-transitory storage medium storing instructions executable by mobile terminal, and image recording apparatus


A method and system delivers data to a batch consumer and a streaming consumer. The method and system include retrieving data from a plurality of data centers, storing the data in a first directory, bundling the data into plurality of batches in the first directory, transferring each batch of the plurality of batches to the second directory, delivering the each batch of the plurality of batches in the second directory to the batch consumer and the streaming consumer and delivering the data in the first directory to the streaming consumer.

In recent years, computing systems have seen a major change as growing volumes of data and stalling processor speeds required more and more applications to scale out to distributed systems. Today, various data sources from Internet to business operations produce large volumes of data. The management and distribution of large volumes of data, from storing to long-term archiving has become a tedious task.
The growing number of organizations led to a huge production of data, which in turn resulted in the need of speed and sophisticated data processing systems. Batch processing and streaming analysis of new real-time data sources is required to let organizations to take timely action.
In traditional distributed systems, there are multiple threads pulling data from multiple remote data centers for a given time period. For example, the data provider has a predefined Service Level Agreement (SLA) to deliver data to a consumer for every 1 minute. In such a case, for the first minute the thread T1 is pulls the data from a remote data center DC1. The thread T1 waits for the thread T2 and other such threads pulling data before proceeding to the second minute. If this flow doesn't work properly than it violates the predefined SLA, as thread T1 will move to the second minute. However, T2 is still working on the first minute. A consumer on looking at the data in the second minute might be deceived into believing that the data collected in the first minute is immutable and might not get complete snapshot of the data there. Hence, it does not provide the consumer a mechanism to have a clean abstraction and a clean implementation.
In light of the above discussion, there is a need for a method and system, which overcomes all the above stated problems.

Method and system for delivering data to a batch consumer and a streaming consumer


A process for forming phosphate coatings on metal surfaces is provided which comprises the steps of contacting said metal surface with an Fe(II)-containing phosphating solution comprising. 0.4 to 30 g/l Zn PA1 4 to 30 g/l P.sub.2 O.sub.5 PA1 5 to 50 g/l NO.sub.3 PA1 up to 10 g/l Fe(II) ; and PA1 up to 0.3 g/l (Fe(III) PA1 Zn:NO.sub. 3 P.sub.2 O.sub.5 =(0.60 to 0.30):(0.2 to 0.4):1.. wherein the weight ratio of free P.sub.2 O.sub.5 to total P.sub.2 O.sub.5 is (0.04 to 0.50):1 and, replenishing said phosphating solution with Zn, NO.sub.3 and P.sub.2 O.sub.5 in a weight ratio of. wherein the Fe(II) content is adjusted by oxidation with nitrate or nitrite derived from nitrate optionally employed with an oxygen-containing gas, H.sub.2 O.sub.2 and/or nitrous gases; and rinsing said metal surface with a cascade of at least two aqueous rinsing baths in the opposite direction of travel of said metal surface wherein water having a low salt content or no salt content derived from the phosphating bath is fed to the last rinsing bath and the overflowing water from said rinsing bath is fed to the next preceding rinsing bath and ultimately to the phosphating bath, and wherein the low salt content rinse water derived from the phosphating bath is withdrawn therefrom as a rate effective to permit the addition of phosphate-enriched rinsing water from the cascade of rinsing water to the phosphating bath while maintaining the desired species concentration in said phosphating bath.

In the metal-working industry, processes of forming phosphate coatings by a treatment with aqueous zinc phosphate solutions are used on a large scale. Phosphate coatings formed on metal surfaces which have been treated by such processes serve particularly to reduce sliding friction; to facilitate cold-working; to protect against corrosion; and as a base for paints.
Such phosphate baths usually have a pH value of about 1.8 to about 3.8 and contain mainly zinc and phosphate ions as operative ingredients. In addition to zinc cations, other cations, such as ammonium, calcium, cobalt, iron, potassium, copper, sodium, magnesium, manganese, may be present in such processes. To accelerate the formation of the phosphate layer, oxidizers, such as bromate, chlorate, nitrate, nitrite, organic nitro compounds, perborate, persulfate, hydrogen peroxide, are generally added to the phosphating baths. It is also possible to use an oxygen-containing gas to oxidize iron(II) to iron(III). In order to optimize the formation of the phosphate layer on certain materials, additives consisting, e.g., of fluoride, silicon fluoride, boron fluoride, citrate and tartrate, may be used. The large number of individual ingredients and of their possible combinations permits a large number of different compositions to be used in a phosphating bath.
Such phosphating baths are usually contacted with the workpiece surface to be treated by dipping, flooding or spraying. During the contacting time, which may amount to between a few seconds and half an hour or more, the chemical reaction with the metal surface results in the formation of crystalline phosphate layers which are firmly intergrown with the metal. Because any residual phosphating solution on the surface would disturb further processing, the phosphating treatment is succeeded by a thorough rinsing with water. In order to avoid a detrimental enrichment of the ingredients of the phosphating baths in the rinsing baths, the latter are replenished with fresh water and contaminated rinsing water is withdrawn as an overflow. The contaminated rinsing water contains pollutants and for this reason must be specially treated before it can be delivered to sewer or to a receiving body of water.
As the need for treatment and disposal of spent rinsing water constitutes a disadvantage in the use of phosphating processes, it has been proposed, e.g., in DE-C-23 27 304, to use a zinc phosphating process in which solutions are employed which are so composed that virtually all components can be precipitated by a treatment with Ca(OH).sub.2. This will greatly facilitate the processing of the rinsing water and will afford the advantage that the processed rinsing water is of high quality and can be re-used in the process. A disadvantage resides, however, in that the required precipitability involves a strong restriction as regards the adaptation of the composition of the phosphating bath to the requirements encountered in practice.
It has been suggested in F. Wilhelm (Metalloberflache, 33 (1979), pages 301 to 307) to effect a cascade rinsing after zinc phosphating and to save so much water that the rinsing water can be used to compensate losses from the zinc phosphating zone. However, it is also stated in this reference that such a concept cannot be reduced to practice for reasons of process technology and economy.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a process for the formation of phosphate coatings on metals, particularly on steel, galvanized steel, zinc alloy-plated steel, aluminized steel and aluminum by a treatment with zinc phosphate solutions which contain iron(II) and nitrate ions which is waste water-free and which avoids known disadvantages, particularly those mentioned hereinabove. Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following discussion.

Process of forming phosphate coatings on metal surfaces


The invention discloses the existence of cannabinoid receptors in the airways, which are functionally linked to inhibition of cough. Locally acting cannabinoid agents can be administered to the airways of a subject to ameliorate cough, without causing the psychoactive effects characteristic of systemically administered cannabinoids. In addition, locally or systemically administered cannabinoid inactivation inhibitors can also be used to ameliorate cough. The present invention also defines conditions under which cannabinoid agents can be administered to produce anti-tussive effects devoid of bronchial constriction.

Administration of the main active constituent of the cannabis plant, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), produces in animals and humans alleviation of cough and bronchospasm, which suggest a possible application of cannabis-like (cannabinoid) compounds for the treatment of cough. The potential therapeutic value of this observation is hindered, however, by two factors. First, the systemic administration of cannabinoid compounds produces significant psychoactive effects (for example, memory impairment, dysphoria, alteration in the perception of time, and habit formation). Second, some asthmatic patients who receive Δ9-THC respond to this compound with a paradoxical bronchial constriction. Therefore, there exists a need for compounds, or pharmaceutical preparations thereof, which can prevent or alleviate cough in animals and humans without producing significant psychoactive effects.

The Regents of the University of California


An extrusion head for producing synthetic and the like textile yarns comprises a channel for feeding the plastics material stock to be extruded, which channel opens into an extrusion chamber having an annular shaped die provided thereon with a plurality of calibrated holes evenly distributed with respect to the feeding channel, so that the distance of each hole from the feeding channel and the extrusion conditions are the same.

This invention relates to an extrusion head for producing synthetic and the like textile yarns.
Currently known are apparata for spinning conventional polypropylene fibers, of either circular or non-circular cross-section, which can produce directly from the granule a polypropylene staple which is crimped and cut and has good technical properties.
Such apparata include in general an extrusion head, internally whereto one or more feeding chambers are arranged which are provided with dies having calibrated holes distributed across them.
Said currently known dies have a substantially rectangular configuration, thereby serious problems are encountered in obtaining a uniform distribution of the plastics material stock, which is introduced at a central position, all over the die surface.
The difficulty of providing an even distribution of the plastics material across the die surfaces leads to several shortcomings, the first of which results from a degree of uneveness in the quality of the extruded material, which is in the form of a yarn and is then subjected to further processing steps, not discussed herein because beyond the scope of this invention.
Several techniques have been utilized thus far in an attempt to achieve a more even distribution of the plastics across the dies during the feeding process, but these have failed to solve the problem in any radical manner, thereby rectangular shape dies unavoidably develop preferential areas for the passage of the plastics, thus resulting in the production of uneven yarns.
Another problem presented by rectangular shaped dies is that the blowers which direct air at a preset temperature onto the yarns as these emerge from the extruder are of complex construction, since they are required to impinge in a substantially even manner on the group of yarns emerging from the extruder.

Extrusion head for producing synthetic and the like textile yarns


Alignment marks and a method of forming the alignment marks are provided. The method includes the steps of forming a first alignment mark in an alignment mark forming area on the substrate, forming an opaque layer that is opaque to the alignment light above the alignment mark forming area where the first alignment mark is formed, substantially flattening a surface of the opaque layer, and forming a second alignment mark on a side where the alignment light is incident with respect to the flattened opaque layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to alignment marks used for alignment in manufacturing a semiconductor device or the like, and relates to a method of forming the alignment marks.
2. Description of Related Art
Alignment of a photomask is carried out by the use of alignment marks formed on a substrate where circuit components or elements are formed, when a device such as a semiconductor device or a liquid crystal display is manufactured. The elements are formed on the substrate by carrying out the mask alignment in a predetermined processing step among various processes such as layer formation and impurity doping. A manufacturing process of a semiconductor integrated circuit will be described as an example hereinbelow.
Conventionally, alignment marks are formed in an area, for example, a scribe area where the circuit elements are not formed in patterning process of a circuit pattern on a wafer of a silicon (Si) substrate 1 or the like. The process will be described with reference to the sectional view of FIG. 1. An alignment mark 2 which has differences in surface level or a step-like form is formed at a first alignment mark forming area. The alignment mark 2 is formed by using, for example, a conventional photolithography technique. More specifically, a photoresist layer is applied on the silicon substrate 1. The photoresist layer is exposed using a photomask and is subject to patterning process. An etching process is, then, performed on the substrate 1 to form a predetermined mark-form.
A first upper layer 3 is, then, formed on the alignment mark 2. A second alignment mark 4 is then formed at a position different from the position of the alignment mark 2 by etching the first upper layer 3 through the similar processing steps as mentioned above. An alignment mark is sequentially formed on each deposited layer by performing the above-mentioned steps repeatedly.
A new alignment mark, however, needs to be formed at a place where no alignment mark is formed in the conventional alignment mark forming method. Therefore, an area for arranging alignment marks becomes insufficient as the number of steps of the wafer processing increases. Additionally, a problem occurs where the superposition accuracy decreases as separation increases between the position of an alignment mark used for exposure processing and the position of an alignment mark used for measurement of the superposition accuracy. The alignment marks used for the wafer processing, therefore, need to be formed with high accuracy even in a case in which many process steps are performed.
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing, and an object of the present invention is to provide alignment marks and a method of forming the alignment marks in which the area for the alignment marks can be reduced and alignment can be performed with high accuracy.
According to the present invention, there is provided a method of forming alignment marks that can be detected by alignment light to form elements on a substrate, which comprises the steps of forming a first alignment mark in an alignment mark forming area on the substrate, forming an opaque layer that is opaque to the alignment light above the alignment mark forming area where the first alignment mark is formed, substantially flattening a surface of the opaque layer, and forming a second alignment mark on a side where the alignment light is incident with respect to the flattened opaque layer.
According to the present invention, there is provided a method of forming alignment marks that can be detected by alignment light to form elements on a substrate, which comprises the steps of forming a first alignment mark in an alignment mark forming area on the substrate, forming at least one layer on the alignment mark forming area where the first alignment mark is formed, substantially flattening a surface of the at least one layer, and forming a second alignment mark on the flattened surface of the at least one layer, wherein the second alignment mark has a shape to intercept reflected alignment light from the first alignment mark.
According to the present invention, there is provided alignment marks that can be detected by alignment light to form elements on a substrate, which comprises a first alignment mark formed in an alignment mark forming area on the substrate, an opaque layer, which is opaque to the alignment light, formed above the first alignment mark, a surface of the opaque layer being substantially flattened, and a second alignment mark formed on a side where the alignment light is incident with respect to the flattened opaque layer.
According to the present invention, there is provided alignment marks that can be detected by alignment light to form elements on a substrate, which comprises a first alignment mark formed in an alignment mark forming area on the substrate, at least one layer formed above the first alignment mark, a surface of the at least one layer being substantially flattened, and a second alignment mark formed on the flattened surface of the at least one layer, wherein the second alignment mark has a shape to intercept reflected alignment light from the first alignment mark.

Alignment marks and method of forming the same


The present invention has its object to provide a friction reducing coating for engineering works, and, a soil adhesion-preventing sheet pile or steel tubular pipe wherein the above-mentioned friction reducing coating for engineering works applied thereto in advance, and, a soil adhesion-preventing construction method which comprises using the above-mentioned friction reducing coating for engineering works and/or the above-mentioned soil adhesion-preventing sheet pile or steel tubular pipe and further provide a negative friction cut construction method for foundation structures which comprises using the above friction reducing coating for engineering works and thus can cut the friction between a foundation structure after laying underground and the surrounding ground and reduce the influences of changes in the surrounding ground on the foundation structure as well as a caisson or pipe jacking construction method which comprises using the above friction reducing coating for engineering works and can reduce the friction between the substrate and soil while minimizing the influences on the surrounding ground and thus can markedly improve the speed and efficiency of construction work. A friction reducing coating for engineering works comprising a water-absorbing resin (a), a hydrophilic binder resin (b) and a solvent (c) as essential components, wherein said hydrophilic binder resin (b) has an acid value of 40 mg KOH/g to 500 mg KOH/g.

The present invention relates to a friction reducing coating for engineering works, and, a soil adhesion-preventing sheet pile or steel tubular pipe with the same applied thereto and a soil adhesion-preventing construction method, a negative friction cut construction method, caisson construction method or pipe jacking construction method using the same.
More particularly, it relates to a friction reducing coating for engineering works which, when applied in advance to steel materials for temporary works to be extracted and recovered after completion of the works, such as sheet piles frequently utilized in underground excavation, underground foundation structure laying and the like utilizing shoring walls, prevents soil from adhering to the steel materials for temporary work after extraction, to a soil adhesion-preventing sheet pile and a soil adhesion-preventing steel tubular pipe, each coated in advance with the friction reducing coating for engineering works, and to a soil adhesion-preventing construction method which comprises using the friction reducing coating for engineering works and/or the soil adhesion-preventing sheet pile or steel tubular pipe.
It also relates to a friction reducing coating for engineering works which, when applied in advance to substrates, such as various tanks, water storage tanks and so forth, in applying a caisson construction method for laying such substrates underground in laying various foundation structures underground or, when applied in advance to such substrates as various Hume pipes, steel pipes or steel pipe piles in applying a pipe jacking construction method for laying such substrates underground (horizontally or vertically), reduces the friction between the various foundation structures and the ground, prevents the foundation structures from being damaged due to ground subsidence or changes in surrounding ground conditions and reduces the friction between the substrate surface and the soil to thereby make it easy to lay the substrates underground (speedup of laying, reduction in pushing force, etc.), and to a negative friction cut construction method, caisson construction method or pipe jacking construction method for laying foundation structures which uses the above-mentioned friction reducing coating for engineering works.
In the present invention, the term of xe2x80x9cengineering worksxe2x80x9d especially relates to xe2x80x9cconstructional engineering worksxe2x80x9d which means all types of constructional (erecting of buildings, parts of buildings and the like) work beneath the soil surface, such as placing and fastening substrates in the underground (soil). The term of xe2x80x9ca negative frictionxe2x80x9d means the friction between the structure laid underground and the surrounding ground (soil) and by which the structure are damaged in case of the ground subsidence in the surrounding, for instance. The term of xe2x80x9ca negative friction cut construction methodxe2x80x9d means that a building method wherein at least one substrate or part of a substrate is placed and fastened in the underground in a manner wherein the friction between the substrate surface and the soil material of the underground is reduced.
In foundation and like works in the field of construction and engineering works (civil engineering), it has been earnestly desired that the equipment, expenses and days required for the works be curtailed to thereby improve the work efficiency and that such troubles as damages to the foundation structures laid in the ground, which require much labor for repair or restoration, be prevented from occurring. If improvements are achieved in these aspects, it will become possible to curtail the foundation work cost and finish the works speedily.
In such and like foundation works, the art has so far encountered the problem that soil in the ground adheres to and is carried by temporary work steel materials such as sheet piles frequently used in underground excavation, underground foundation structure laying and the like utilizing shoring walls when those steel materials are extracted and recovered.
Such recovered temporary work steel materials (e.g. sheet piles) with soil adhering thereto produce problems, for example {circle around (1)} they create voids in the ground, hence the ground may be distorted and ground subsidence or the like may occur, possibly resulting in damages to the neighboring structures, {circle around (2)} much labor and cost are required to backfill for preventing the troubles mentioned above under {circle around (1)}, {circle around (3)} the steel materials after recovery can hardly be piled up in parallel, so that temporary storage thereof after recovery becomes difficult and {circle around (4)} since it is a precondition that such temporary work steel materials are reused after recovery, it is necessary for a constructor to pay the cost of washing if soil remains sticking to the temporary work steel materials when these are returned to a leasing company. Under the existing circumstances, it is therefore a general practice for a constructor to remove the adhering soil manually or pay high washing expenses to a leasing company.
To solve these problems, such technologies as mentioned below have so far been proposed.
First, JP Kokai Publication Hei-06-71241 proposes a mud-removing line (equipment) for sheet piles which comprises {circle around (1)} a mud removing apparatus, {circle around (2)} an earth discharging apparatus and {circle around (3)} a water washing apparatus and JP Kokai Publication Hei-06-330521 proposes {circle around (1)} an apparatus for removing earth and sand from sheet pile sections which comprises a rotary section for a wound wire and an air spraying section. However, both fail to essentially solve the soil adhesion problem since {circle around (1)} both require the installation of novel apparatus and {circle around (2)} the soil removing work itself is still necessary although the efficiency of the sticking soil removing work may be improved.
In JP Kokoku Publication Sho-61-47253, JP Kokai Publication Sho-60-175628 and JP Kokai Publication Hei-03-279516, it is proposed that a sticking soil scraper matched to the shape of sheet piles be buried adjacently thereto after excavation but before pile extraction so that the buried pipes and the like may be prevented from being deformed by the soil adhering to the sheet piles when these are extracted.
However, this method has problems, for example {circle around (1)} the soil remaining in the gap between the scraper and sheet pile cannot be prevented from sticking to the piles, {circle around (2)} the soil adhesion above the scraper cannot be prevented from sticking to the piles since the scraper is buried relatively lower and {circle around (3)} time and labor are required for making and placing the scraper matched to the shape of sheet piles.
JP Kokai Publication Hei-03-244711 discloses a method of preventing ground subsidence by extraction of shoring members which comprises filling a solidifying pourable material into voids formed upon extraction of the shoring members. However, this method according to which a roughly U-shaped thin sheet is attached to each shoring member at its lower end and left in the ground when that member is extracted and a solidifying pourable material is poured into the voids after extraction to thereby prevent ground subsidence still has room for contrivance for producing such effects more simply, for example by applying a coating to the surface of temporary work steel materials or the like in advance.
JP Kokai Publication Hei-06-71241 discloses a method of removing mud from sheet piles which comprises piling up and supporting a large number of sheet piles with a U-shaped section with the opening side above at a level higher than a treatment line, allowing the lowest stage sheet pile to fall and feeding the same in the lengthwise direction, cutting off and removing the adhering mud from the internal circumference surface and external circumference surface during feeding, then washing the internal and external surfaces by spraying with a washing liquid and, thereafter, discharging the sheet pile from the treatment line. However, even such method has room for contrivance for removing mud from sheet piles or the like more efficiently, for example by applying a coating to the surface thereof in advance.
As explained hereinabove, there is no method available in the art for the prevention of soil adhesion by a simple procedure independent of the shape of buried temporary work steel materials and with almost no soil sticking (adhesion) to the temporary work steel materials after extraction so that the washing thereof after extraction can be omitted.
In foundation works or the like in the field of construction and engineering work, there are also various problems in the art due to the friction between foundation works or various substrates and the ground (soil) in the caisson construction method or pipe jacking construction method for laying foundation structures and various substrates (tanks, water storage tanks, Hume pipes, steel pipes, steel pipe piles, etc.) underground.
For example, there is the problem that foundation structures laid underground are damaged by the friction (negative friction) between the foundation structure surface and the surrounding ground in case of ground subsidence in the surroundings, for instance.
In the case of a caisson construction method wherein a tanks is sunk underground by digging out the earth and sand from below the tank, the problem is encountered that since no shoring walls are used, the earth pressure is exerted from the ground on a side of the tank on the tank side during the tank sinking procedure, whereby the tank becomes extremely difficult to sink down.
On the other hand, in the case of a pipe jacking construction method, for instance, construction work is generally carried out while pouring a lubricant (e.g. bentonite/water mixture) around the substrate since when the friction between the substrate (e.g. steel pile) and the soil is great, it is difficult to push the substrate ahead. However, such lubricant has problems; for example, it is necessary to make a line for conveying the lubricant, hence a site and labor therefor is required; the lubricant may reduce the strength of the surrounding ground, and the lubricant should be subjected to post-treatment.
For solving these problems, various means of solution have so far been investigated.
Thus, for example, JP Kokai Publication Hei-04-23514 proposes the so-called negative friction cut construction method which comprises inserting a specific film constitution comprising a film (for adhesion to a foundation structure)/lubricant (e.g. oil)/film (on the soil side) between the foundation structure and soil to thereby make it possible to reduce the friction between the foundation structure and soil even in soil poor in water. In this form of working, however, it is a fatal defect that when the foundation structure is first laid underground by a caisson construction method or pipe jacking construction method, for instance, the above film constitution peels off during laying (driving), hence any sufficient or lasting friction reducing effect can no longer be produced. Another problem is that, in view of the structure thereof, the film may readily be peeled off by a slight friction before construction work even in the period from application to laying (burying), hence is difficult to handle.
JP Kokoku Publication Hei-06-39784 proposes that a water-in-oil type water-swellable polymer particle emulsion or an aqueous dispersion thereof be applied in advance to a foundation structure such as a pile to thereby make it possible to reduce the friction between the foundation structure and soil. In this mode of working, too, it is a fatal defect that when the foundation structure is first laid by a caisson construction method or pipe jacking construction method, for instance, the film formed may readily be peeled off during laying. Furthermore, after application to the foundation structure, the film formed by the above emulsion or aqueous dispersion may readily peel off from that foundation structure upon contact with the surroundings, hence any sufficient or lasting friction reducing effect can no longer be produced, like in the above case, and thus is difficult to handle.
On the other hand, JP Kokai publication Sho-63-27619 describes a technique comprising laying underground a foundation structure coated with a mixture composed of a water-swellable powder (e.g. gelatin, agar)/a film-forming, water-absorbing resin (polyvinyl butyral)/an organic solvent; after laying, the coat film swells by absorbing water in the soil and reduces the friction between the foundation structure and soil.
This method, however, is disadvantageous in {circle around (1)} that the balance between the swelling rate and strength of the water-absorbing resin is poor and {circle around (2)} that the balance between the adhesiveness of the binder resin to the steel material and the film strength is also poor (weak adhesivenss and high film strength), hence {circle around (1)} coat film is readily peeled off from the foundation structure during laying (no coat film remains after laying underground, hence no sufficient friction reducing effect can be produced), and {circle around (2)} the film strength after swelling is not sufficient and the friction reducing layer (swollen layer) shows no sustained release property, more concretely there is no sustained friction reducing effect produced, when it is used in a caisson construction method or pipe jacking construction method or the like.
In JP Kokai Publication Sho-58-191816, there is disclosed a method of preventing the bearing pile negative friction in positioning of a bearing pile which method comprises disposing a resin layer of a resin capable of swelling upon absorbing water between the bearing pile and the surrounding ground to thereby form a layer resulting from water absorption and swelling of the above resin layer and, in the example section, the use of an ethanol solution of polyvinyl alcohol or a paste-like polypropylene glycol together with a water-absorbing swelling resin is disclosed. However, it has a problem, namely the water-absorbing resin may not swell adequately or the water-absorbing resin may be peeled off from the substrate surface in the step of driving the substrate into the ground. In the case of foundation work, substrates are driven into the ground in many instances and, therefore, there is room for investigation in search of one capable of producing sufficient effects in these fields of application.
The JP Kokai Publication Hei-11-241339 discloses a surface treatment agent to be caused to adhere to the surface of a member to be buried for the purpose of preventing the adhesion between the member after burying and the hydrate of a hydraulic composition in a structure constituted of at least the buried member and the hydrate of the hydraulic composition which agent comprises a water-swellable resin and an alkaline water-soluble resin having an acid value of not less than 15 mg KOH/g. The use of this surface treatment agent makes it possible to prevent the adhesion between the substrate surface and hydraulic composition and thereby improve the efficiency of foundation work and so on. However, there is no disclosure at all about the application of such agent to the substrate surface results in prevention of the adhesion between substrate surface and ground (soil) and/or reduction in friction therebetween. In addition, there is room for contrivance for allowing the water-absorbing resin to swell more adequately and making the coat film formed from the surface treatment agent to be less peelable from the substrate surface in the step of driving the same into the ground, for instance, in preventing soil adhesion and reducing the friction. In other words, there is room for contrivance for coping with various work methods and work conditions and thereby enlarging the range of application. JP Kokai Publication 2000-44973 discloses a covering material for covering a temporary work which comprises a sheet-like material and a resin layer containing an alkaline water-soluble resin formed thereon. Such covering material, too, has room for contrivance for coping with various work methods and work conditions and thereby still further enlarging the range of application.
JP Kokai Publication Hei-04-122781 discloses a water-swellable coating composition comprising a water-swellable substance, a thermoplastic elastomer, a filler, a surfactant, an antifungal agent and a solvent. JP Kokai Publication Hei-03-157455 discloses a salt-resistant, water-swellable material which comprises a dispersion of a water-absorbing resin obtained by polymerization of a monomer composition comprising a specific sulfonic acid group-containing unsaturated monomer as an essential component in the presence of a crosslinking agent in a base material comprising a thermoplastic resin and/or a rubber. In JP Kokai Publication Sho-60-168653 discloses a method of reducing the negative friction of a pile which comprises providing a layer mainly composed of a macromolecular material soluble or decomposable in water or alkaline water or a layer comprising the same material as a binder around the pile. Further, JP Kokai Publication Sho-49-71712 discloses a method of sinking a caisson which comprises filling the gap between a structure constructed on the ground and the surrounding ground as formed in the step of digging the ground portion below the structure to sink down the same with a lubricating liquid such as a bentonite slurry or heavy water and allowing the structure to sink with a sheet inserted between the lubricating liquid and surrounding ground. And, JP Kokai Publication Hei-05-118190 discloses a lubricant for the pipe jacking construction method which comprises a highly water-absorbing resin prepared by causing clay and a water-soluble macromolecular substance to be included therein. These technologies, however, have room for contrivance for coping with various work methods and work conditions in a simple and adequate manner to thereby produce the desired effects satisfactorily and efficiently.
In JP Publication Kokai Hei-04-231514, there is disclosed a method of laying a foundation structure underground which comprises carrying out, at least once, the step comprising disposing a lubricant material first on one sheet and then placing another sheet on the lubricant material-carrying surface of the first sheet, adhering the thus-formed lubricating sheet to the foundation structure and laying this foundation structure in the ground. However, such a method has room for contrivance for simplifying the same, for example by applying a coating in advance to the surface of a foundation structure or the like. There is also room for contrivance for coping with various work methods and work conditions to thereby enlarge the field of application.
In JP Kokai Publication Sho-63-165615, there is disclosed a method of reducing the frictional resistance by means of a water-swellable film formed by forming a film on the surface of an object to be laid underground by applying thereto a volatile film-forming resin and a highly water-absorbing resin and allowing the highly water-absorbing resin to absorb water and swell. However, such a method is intended for the recovery of steel materials and the like by extracting them from the earth and sand after back filling but is not intended for preventing the adhesion between the substrate surface and ground (soil) or reducing the friction; another problem is that since the volatile film-forming resin forming the water-swellable film is not dissolved in or swelled with water but permeates water to thereby allowing the water-swellable resin to swell, the swelling capacity of the water-absorbing resin is restricted due to the low hydrophilicity of the water-swellable film.
JP Kokai Publication Hei-04-16618 discloses a method of extracting a temporary work steel material inserted into a cement-based self-curing liquid composition after curing of the composition which comprises the step of applying an acrylic resin to the surface of at least that portion of the temporary work steel material which is inserted into the cement-based self-curing liquid composition prior to insertion thereof into the cement-based self-curing liquid composition, wherein the acrylic resin has an acid value sufficient to make the same soluble in an alkali and comprises a mixture of an acrylic emulsion and an aqueous styrene-acrylic resin solution differing in acid value in specified proportions. This method, however, is intended to reduce the friction between the substrate, which is a temporary work steel material, and the product of curing of a cement mortar or the like but is not intended to prevent the adhesion of the substrate surface and ground (soil) or reduce the friction therebetween. The method has another problem that since the peelable layer formed on the temporary work steel material by the acrylic resin contains no water-absorbing resin, the water-absorbing resin-due effects cannot be produced, hence the soil adhesion-preventing and friction reducing effects will not be sufficient.
JP Kokai Publication Hei-11-21473 discloses a water-repellent coating comprising, as main constituents, a solvent-insoluble powder, a solvent-soluble binder resin and a solvent, wherein the powder has a particle size of not less than 0.03 xcexcm. JP Kokai Publication Hei-09-221630 discloses a coating composition comprising a coating containing a reaction-curable organic resin and a hydroxyl-containing polysilsesquioxane the side chain organic groups of which are each composed of a specific substituent and a specific hydroxyl-containing group and the main chain terminal groups of which are trialkylsilylated as incorporated therein. JP Kokai Publication Hei-08-26177 discloses a method of reducing the frictional resistance in water which comprises admixing resin with a powder the surface of which is covered with functional groups capable of reducing the surface energy as a result of binding of a silane coupling agent, typically a fluorine compound, to hydroxyl groups on the powder particle surface at least via siloxane bonding and applying the resulting mixture to the substrate surface. JP Kokai Publication Hei-09-39147 discloses a water-absorbing composite comprising a water-absorbing sheet whose constituent water-absorbing polymer is to be directly fixed onto a substrate and which is at least partly sutured. Further, JP Kokai Publication Hei-02-49079 discloses a coating composition comprising a silyl group- and polysiloxane group-containing vinyl polymer having at least one specific polysiloxane group in each molecule. And JP Kokai Publication Hei-05-271572 discloses a coating composition for forming nonstaining coating films which comprises 10 to 40 parts by weight of a synthetic resin emulsion to constitute a coating resin fraction, 1 to 10 parts by weight of a water-soluble resin and 20 to 90 parts by weight of water. However, these technologies have room for contrivance for enabling them to produce satisfactory effects in using them to prevent the adhesion between the substrate surface and ground (soil) and/or reduce the friction therebetween.
As discussed hereinabove, any good friction reducing agent is not available in the art that can be used in the negative friction cut construction method, caisson construction method and pipe jacking construction method for foundation structures, will seldom peel off in the step of laying the structures underground irrespective of method of laying, can perform the friction reducing function after (during) structure laying and further can provide a friction reducing agent in a sustained manner (sustained release), more concretely can producing a lasting friction reducing effect.
In view of above-mentioned state of the art as mentioned above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a friction reducing coating for engineering works which {circle around (1)} can be applied to substrates to be buried underground in a simple and easy manner, {circle around (2)} gives a friction reducing coating film for engineering work that will not wholly peel off from the substrates in laying the substrates underground by the soil adhesion-preventing construction method or negative friction cut construction method, caisson construction method or pipe jacking construction method without being affected by the method of laying (although the swollen layer occurring partly on the surface may be peeled off in the step of laying while performing the function of the friction reducing coating for engineering works), {circle around (3)} when used for preventing the adhesion between the substrate surface and ground (soil), reduces the adhesiveness between temporary work steel materials and the surrounding ground in the step of extracting the steel materials and thus allows almost no soil adhesion to the temporary work steel materials during and after extraction without markedly producing such adverse effects as pulling up the surrounding ground, with the result that the space after extraction of the temporary work steel materials can be minimized (the volume of the space being almost the same as the volume of the temporary work steel materials themselves), hence the amounts of the necessary agent(s), earth and sand required for post-treatment (back-filling) can be minimized and {circle around (4)} when used for reducing the friction between the substrate surface and ground (soil), allows the coating film surface to swell by absorbing the water given in advance or absorbed from the ground after driving into the ground or during the caisson construction method or pipe jacking construction method and thus can provide the swollen (friction reducing agent) layer to the interface between the substrate and soil in a sustained manner and can cope with soils of differing nature when the sustained release and other properties are modified according to the hydrophilicity of the binder resin, the coating film thickness and so on.
Another object of the invention is to provide a soil adhesion-preventing sheet pile or steel tubular pipe wherein the above-mentioned friction reducing coating for engineering works applied thereto in advance, and, a soil adhesion-preventing construction method which comprises using the above-mentioned friction reducing coating for engineering works and/or the above-mentioned soil adhesion-preventing sheet pile or steel tubular pipe and further provide a negative friction cut construction method for foundation structures which comprises using the above friction reducing coating for engineering works and thus can cut the friction between a foundation structure after laying underground and the surrounding ground and reduce the influences of changes in the surrounding ground on the foundation structure as well as a caisson or pipe jacking construction method which comprises using the above friction reducing coating for engineering works and can reduce the friction between the substrate and soil while minimizing the influences on the surrounding ground and thus can markedly improve the speed and efficiency of construction work.
To solve the above-mentioned prior art problems, the present inventors studied intensively in search of a soil adhesion-preventing construction method which prevents adhesion between substrate surface and ground (soil) and a friction reducing coating for engineering works which will well adhere to substrates and can provide a friction reducing layer in a sustained manner over a necessary period (in the case of caisson or pipe jacking construction method, during working, namely during laying or burying or, in the case of negative friction cut construction method, over a long period after laying) or, in other words, can maintain the friction reducing effect continuously, without being wholly peeled off in a short period of time.
As a result, they found that the above problems can be solved by applying a friction reducing coating for engineering works comprising a water-absorbing resin (a), a hydrophilic binder resin (b) which has an acid value of 40 mg KOH/g to 500 mg KOH/g and a solvent (c) as essential components in advance on the substrate in accordance with a specific formulation. Such and other findings have now led to completion of the present invention.
By employing the above constitution, it is now possible to provide a friction reducing coating for engineering works which can be used by applying to various substrates and the like in various methods of construction work, for example by applying in advance to temporary work steel materials to be buried in the ground to thereby produce the soil adhesion preventing effect, by which the adhesion between the substrate surface and ground (soil) is prevented, and/or produce a sustained friction reducing effect in the step of laying as well as after laying or, in other words, produce a lasting friction reducing effect. Further, a soil adhesion-preventing sheet pile or steel tubular pipe wherein the friction reducing coating for engineering works has been applied thereto in advance as well as a construction method for various substrates in which the above friction reducing coating for engineering works is used can be provided. The above-mentioned construction method is concretely a method of laying or burying and concrete examples thereof are the soil adhesion-preventing construction method for temporary work steel materials and the like and the negative friction cut construction method for underground structures. The above friction reducing coating for engineering works can also be adapted to the caisson construction method or pipe jacking construction method.
Thus, the present invention provides a friction reducing coating for engineering works comprising a water-absorbing resin (a), a hydrophilic binder resin (b) and a solvent (c) as essential components,
wherein said hydrophilic binder resin (b) has an acid value of 40 mg KOH/g to 500 mg KOH/g.
The invention also provides a soil adhesion-preventing sheet pile or steel tubular pipe
wherein the above friction reducing coating for engineering works has been applied thereto.
The invention further provides a soil adhesion-preventing construction method for the prevention of ground (soil) adhesion to a substrate surface
which comprises utilizing the above friction reducing coating for engineering works and/or the above soil adhesion-preventing sheet pile and/or steel tubular pipe.
The invention finally provides a negative friction cut construction method, caisson construction method or pipe jacking construction method
which comprises utilizing the above friction reducing coating for engineering works.

Friction reducing coating for engineering works, and sheet pile, steel tubular pipe and construction method