A method of aligning a new goal of an entity ensures that the new goal is a child goal of a parent goal. The method also ensures that a group is linked to the parent goal, and ensures that the entity is subordinate to the group. In one embodiment, selection lists constrain the available values for the group and/or the parent goal. In another aspect, a method of facilitating contextual alignment of a new goal recognizes an organizational role for an entity and customizes content of a user interface, based on the organizational role of the entity. The user interface with the customized content provides goal creation guidance according to the organizational role. In one embodiment, the customized content includes specialized instructions and sample content for characteristics of the new goal, such as a goal-objective characteristic, a goal-measure characteristic, and a goal-activity characteristic.

A typical large business organization includes numerous teams of people, with one or more specific tasks assigned to each of the teams. A traditional business tends to define its teams in terms of the business' chain of command (i.e. the reporting chain). For example, a typical business sales division has a number of sales teams, each led by a manager who reports to a vice president of sales. In this type of chain-of-command structure, members of a sales team are "direct reports" of their manager. Other members of the organization typically must coordinate activities with a sales team member through that member's reporting structure. An entity such as a business organization thus typically includes numerous subsidiary entities such as teams and individuals, and some of those entities are subordinate to others, according to the command chain or according to other relationship rules.
Companies generally identify certain strategic and tactical goals, which they believe will lead the company to success. Specifically, managers typically establish goals for their reporting units, and employees are also often encouraged to set personal goals.
Recently, business leaders have come to recognize a number of advantages associated with adopting more flexible strategies for organizing teams and setting goals to supplement the rigid, hierarchical reporting structures traditionally found in large organizations. For example, rather than requiring all team members to have the same supervisor, a more flexible strategy allows at least some teams to include members from different levels of a reporting chain and/or from different reporting chains. Teams with members from different reporting chains are considered cross-functional teams. For instance, a sales manager may be assigned to a product development team charged with creating a salable product. Such a cross-functional team increases the likelihood that a developed product will be commercially viable.
Similarly, another flexible strategy for organizing teams and setting goals allows team leaders to set team goals but does not require strict adherence to a conventional reporting chain when choosing team leaders. By adopting flexible and dynamic strategies for managing teams and goals, organizations facilitate more rapid and effective adaptation to changes in the business environment, provided that those strategies are well implemented.
A disadvantage associated with flexible and dynamic strategies for organizing teams and goals, however, is that such strategies typically result in team and goal structures with increased complexity, compared to traditional chain-of-command strategies for managing teams and goals. For example, effective personal goals align with team goals and organization-wide goals. In a flexible and dynamic environment, however, organization-wide, team, and personal goals are rarely static, as company objectives, products, personnel responsibilities, and personnel team memberships may frequently change in response to changing conditions in a realistic business environment.
Flexible and dynamic strategies for managing teams and goals are therefore typically much more difficult to implement. Although conventional management information systems (MISs) may provide basic functionality for storing static goals, conventional MISs generally lack facilities for overcoming the difficulties associated with flexible and dynamic strategies for managing teams and goals.

Automated system and method for creating aligned goals


The first source and drain regions are formed in an upper surface of a SiGe substrate. The first source and drain regions containing an N type impurity. Vacancy concentration in the first source and drain regions are reduced in order to reduce diffusion of the N type impurity contained in the first source and drain regions. The vacancy concentration is reduced by an interstitial element or a vacancy-trapping element in the first source and drain regions. The interstitial element or the vacancy-trapping element is provided by ion-implantation.

The invention relates to methods for manufacturing a semiconductor device with improved device performance and a device structure exhibiting the improved device performance, and more particularly to a method for manufacturing a SiGe-based device exhibiting reduced diffusion of an N type impurity.
The escalating requirements for ultra large scale integration semiconductor devices require ever increasing high performance and density of transistors. With scaling-down of a device dimension reaching limits, the trend has been to seek new materials and methods that enhance device performance. One of the most preferred methods is through mobility enhancement.
It is known that biaxial tensile strain applied to a channel region increases electron mobility in NFET devices. This can be achieved by building an NFET device, which is composed of a set of stacked films (e.g., silicon-SiGe-silicon) on a substrate. Starting from a silicon substrate, SiGe is grown on the silicon substrate. Buffered layers have typically been used to reduce threading dislocation defect density that can affect device leakage but still achieve enough relaxation through misfit dislocation formation. The SiGe film is relaxed so that it has a lattice constant larger than that of silicon. When the silicon is then deposited on the SiGe, it conforms to the larger lattice of the relaxed SiGe and undergoes biaxial tension.
The channel is fully contained within this strained silicon and the electron mobility is enhanced.
The SiGe-based substrate, however, exhibits certain drawbacks, especially when NFET devices are formed thereon. To form an NFET device, an N type impurity (e.g., As or P) is ion-implanted onto the SiGe-based substrate to form active regions (e.g., source and drain regions).
Here, the excessive amount of vacancies contained in the SiGe layer undesirably increases diffusion of the implanted N type impurity. This makes it more difficult to achieve consistent roll-off device characteristics. Therefore, there is a need for effective methodology for manufacturing a SiGe-based semiconductor device.

Method for reduced N+ diffusion in strained Si on SiGe substrate

International Business Machines Corporation


A high strength, high toughness Cr-W-V ferritic steel composition suitable for fast induced-radioactivity (FIRD) decay after irradiation in a fusion reactor comprises 2.5-3.5 wt % Cr, 2.. This invention was made with Government support under contract DE-AC05-840R21400 awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy to Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. and the Government has certain rights in this invention.

Ferritic steels are attractive because of low cost, ease of fabrication, low thermal expansion and good thermal conductivity, but are limited by high-temperature strength and low-temperature toughness. For many modern applications, heat-resisting, structural steel alloys are required that have both high strength and high toughness. While it is desirable to produce a steel having both characteristics, in practice, the improvement in one characteristic usually comes at the expense of the other. Toughness is an intrinsic characteristic mechanical property typically determined by the upper-shelf energy (USE) and the ductile-brittle-transition temperature (DBTT) as measured by the Charpy impact test. The most desirable steels have a high USE and a low DBTT.
Ferritic steels, and in particular, Cr-Mo steels, have been proposed for use for the first wall and blanket structure of nuclear fusion reactors since these steels have been found to have excellent resistance to radiation-induced void swelling when irradiated in a fast fission reactor. See, for example, "Chromium-Molybdenum Steels for Fusion Reactor First Walls-A Review", by R. L. Klueh, Nuclear Engineering and Design 72 (1982 North-Holland Pub. Co.); "On The Saturation Of The DBTT Shift Of Irradiated 12Cr-1MoVW With Increasing Fluence", by J. M. Vitek, et al., Journal of Nuclear Materials 141-143 (1986); and "The Development of Ferritic Steels For Fast Induced-Radioactivity Decay For Fusion Reactor Applications", by R. L. Klueh and E. E. Bloom, Nuclear Engineering and Design/Fusion 2 (1985). A critical problem for nuclear fusion applications for such steels is that various alloying elements, including molybdenum, nickel, nitrogen, copper, and niobium, undergo transmutation reactions caused by irradiation from high-energy neutrons created by nuclear reactions in a fusion plasma. These elements, when used in alloys to make fusion reactor components, produce highly radioactive isotopes that decay over a long period of time. Thus, after the service lifetime of the reactor, deep geological disposal of the radioactive components becomes necessary.
To simplify waste disposal, new structural materials known as "low activation" or "reduced-activation" or "fast induced-radioactivity decay" (FIRD) alloys have been proposed. Such new alloys should at least meet guidelines issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (10 CFR Part 61) for shallow land burial, instead of the much more expensive deep geologic disposal. Decay to low radioactivity levels for such FIRD alloys would occur in tens of years instead of the hundreds or thousands of years required for conventional steels. Thus, FIRD alloys must not contain molybdenum or other alloying elements which produce long-lived radioactive isotopes when used in nuclear fusion applications.
The need for both strength and toughness is also important for nuclear fission and non-nuclear, elevated-temperature structural heat-resisting steel applications. A low DBTT is required because steels can become embrittled by an increase in the DBTT after prolonged exposure to elevated temperatures. Therefore, low-chromium steels having high strength and toughness will have many non-nuclear applications, such as in power generation systems or chemical reaction vessels, where the 2.25Cr-1Mo ferritic steel is used extensively.
Three commercial Cr-Mo steels presently available for non-nuclear applications are 2.25Cr-1Mo (Fe-2.25%Cr-1%Mo-0.1%C), 9Cr-1MoVNb (Fe-9%Cr-1%Mo-0.25%V-0.07%Nb-0.1%C), and 12 Cr-1MoVW (Fe- 12%Cr-1%Mo-0.25%V-0.5%W-0.5%Ni-0.2%C) wherein all concentrations are in weight percent. The molybdenum, niobium, and nickel content keep these commercial steels from being FIRD steels for nuclear fusion applications. The 9Cr-1MoVNb and 12Cr-1MoVW steels have better elevated temperature strength and oxidation resistance than 2.25Cr-1Mo steel. However, the relatively high concentration of chromium in these steels is not desirable, particularly for fusion reactor applications, due to their relatively poor weldability. Also, since chromium is expensive and a strategic element of uncertain supply, steels requiring less chromium would naturally be desirable.
Cr-W steels have been considered for making structural components of fusion reactors, including the following alloys: 2.25Cr-2W; 2.25Cr-2WV; 2.25Cr-1WV; 2.25CrV; 9Cr-2WVTa; and 12Cr-2WV. Properties of these steel alloys are discussed in "Impact Behavior of Cr-W Steels", by R. L. Klueh and W. R. Corwin, J. Materials Engineering, Vol. 11, No. 2 (1989); and "Heat Treatment Behavior and Tensile Properties of Cr-W Steels", by R. L. Kleuh, Metallurigcal Transactions A, Vol. 20A, March 1989. The 9Cr-2WVTa described therein had the best combination of strength and toughness. The 2.25Cr-2WV steel had the best strength, but toughness was poor, thus making it unsuitable for fusion applications. It was concluded that the reason for the high DBTT for the 2.25Cr-2WV involved the low hardenability of the steel, which leads to the steel having a duplex structure of bainite and polygonal ferrite after normalization as 15.9 mm thick plate, compared to the 2.25Cr-2W, which was 100% bainite and has a lower DBTT. However, even when the 2.25Cr-2WV was heat treated to produce 100% bainite by cooling thin sections, it still did not exhibit the good toughness of the 2.25Cr-2W and 9Cr-2WVTa steels. The 2.25Cr-2W steel was determined to be less attractive because of its low strength.

Cr-W-V bainitic/ferritic steel with improved strength and toughness and method of making


Microparticle-based analytical methods, systems and applications are provided. Specifically, the use of resonant resonant light scattering as an analytical method for determining either or both a particle's identity and the presence and optionally, the concentration of one or more particular target analytes is described. Applications of these microparticle-based methods in biological and chemical assays are also disclosed.

Advances in bioanalysis are increasingly driven by miniaturization and multiplexing, i.e. the ability to measure many samples simultaneously. The ability to measure more analytes from smaller sample volumes, dictated in many cases by limited sample size, has led to development of miniaturized microfluidics-based sample manipulation systems and novel methods for analysis in micro-scale systems. Examples include a wide variety of existing biological and chemical measurements, for example DNA sequencing, protein analysis, single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis, high-speed and high-resolution separations and chromatography using lab-on-chip devices, and many others. Special emphasis has been given in the past decade on development of highly parallel, miniaturized assay systems for the large-scale study of genomics and proteomics and for high-throughput screening in discovery research. Examples include 2-dimensional fixed "biochip" microarrays and, more recently, identifiable micrometer-sized particles. Both approaches depend on specific binding or capture of analytes to complementary probes on the surface of the array or particle, for example by base-pair hybridization between nucleic acids, or hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interactions, and other binding mechanisms between polypeptides.
Microarrays and associated support technologies emerged in the 1990's and now comprise an established industry. For example, Affymetrix's GeneChip® technology is a manufacturing process that uses photolithography, solid phase chemistry, and semiconductor fabrication techniques to build hundreds of thousands of DNA sequence probes on a two-dimensional array. This technology is described in, for example, Schena, M. et al., "Quantitative monitoring of gene expression patterns with a complementary DNA microarray", Science 270, 467–470 (1995); Shalon, D. et al., "A DNA microarray system for analyzing complex DNA samples using two-color fluorescent probe hybridization", Genome Res. 6, 639–645 (1996); Goldberg, M. J. and Rava, R. P., "Method of manufacturing biological chips", U.S. Pat. No. 6,309,831 (2001) and Chee, M. et al., "Arrays of nucleic acid probes on biological chips", U.S. Pat. No. 5,837,832 (1998). Other DNA microarray technologies have been developed, for example by Hyseq, Inc., Molecular Dynamics, Inc., Nanogen, Incyte Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and others known in the art.
Fixed arrays are also being developed for proteomics, defined herein as the systematic study of the proteins in a biological system. For example, Ciphergen Biosystems' ProteinChip® array technology is a process that includes chromatography and protein characterization based upon the surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI). These techniques combine laser-based molecular weight determination with the use of a chemically active protein chip array. This technology is described in, for example, Hutchens, T. W., "Use of retentate chromatography to generate difference maps", U.S. Pat. No. 6,225,047 (2001); Hutchens, T. W., "Methods and apparatus for desorption and ionization of analytes", U.S. Pat. No. 5,719,060 (1998); and Weinberger, S. R., et al., "Current achievements using ProteinChip® Array technology", Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol., 6(1), 86–91 (2002). A number of other protein array technologies have also been developed for example by Agilent Technologies, Inc., Zyomyx, Inc., Cambridge Antibody Technology, and others known in the art.
Independent of the type of analyte being measured, microarrays base the ability to determine the identity of each probe by its fixed position within the array. Typically, each probe is synthesized or spotted at known coordinates within a grid on the surface of a substrate or chip. These "biochip" systems can carry out large numbers of analyses simultaneously, but they suffer from known disadvantages. For example, microarrays have inherently inefficient binding kinetics. Because of poor mixing at the surface and the dimensions of a typical biochip, an analyte must cover relatively large diffusion distances to bind to its complementary probe. This results in slow diffusion of analytes to and on the surface, incomplete binding reactions, and substantial lengthening of the protocol. Additionally, the application and measurement of samples on microarrays is inherently a batch process, not particularly well suited for automation. Some types of microarrays can be expensive and difficult to customize quickly as the needs of an experiment or assay might require. Variability across a microarray can lead to degraded reproducibility and precision, requiring in some cases substantial redundancy in the measurements. Sensitivity and dynamic range are frequently reported to be problematic in the analysis of microarray data. Also, with fixed microarrays it is not typically possible to recover, sort, post-process, or perform subsequent measurements on the analyte. Finally, in most microarray systems, a reporter group such as a fluorophore is required to detect binding of an analyte. Although some advances have been reported (see for example Kayyem, J. F., "Cycling probe technology using electron transfer detection", U.S. Pat. No. 6,063,573 (2000); Nelson, B. P., et al., "Surface plasmon resonance imaging measurements of DNA and RNA hybridization adsorption onto DNA microarrays", Anal. Chem. 73, 1–7 (2001)), the use of external reporter groups requires washing the array after exposure to the sample in order to remove interfering signals from unbound reporters. The resulting measurement in most microarray systems is thus an end-point measurement; i.e. the microarray is not capable of real-time, continuous measurement of binding between analyte and probe.
The use of microparticles circumvent many of the deficiencies of 2-dimensional microarrays, primarily because the assays can be done in a small, well-mixed volume in which binding kinetics are more favorable. When the sample is well mixed, there is no location-dependent variability as is the case with fixed arrays. Further, small particle size and small sample volumes increase the local concentration of probes and reduce the diffusion length an analyte must travel in order to bind to a probe, thus increasing the speed and degree of completion of binding reactions. Microparticles can be manipulated more readily by automated sample handling systems, thus the potential for customization and automation is favorable compared to two-dimensional biochip formats.
Flexibility is a further key advantage in particle-based assays. Since individual particles can be tracked and manipulated, it is in principle possible to isolate the analyte or carry out additional measurements on a subset of the particles. Creation of custom assays is made simpler by the ability to quickly select a subset of particles for a specific purpose out of a larger master library.
There remains, however, a need for innovation in the detection of binding. As mentioned previously, although non-labeled binding detection has been reported for fixed array systems, the continuing use of external reporter groups in particle-based assays remains a key disadvantage since the associated drawbacks are the same as for fixed arrays. As will be disclosed in detail below, a key object of the present invention is to eliminate the requirement for reporter groups in particle-based assays, thus simplifying the protocol, reducing time and cost, and enabling the measurement of binding in real time.
In a typical particle-based assay system, each microparticle carries many copies of a unique probe on its surface. Because the microparticles can be in free suspension in some applications, it is not possible in those cases to link the identity of the probe to a fixed position, as done in fixed arrays. Rather, identity of the probe must be uniquely linked to the identity of the particle, thus requiring each particle to have a unique identifying label or marker. In the literature, particle identification is typically accomplished by incorporation of colored or fluorescent molecules, barcodes, or nanoparticles with distinctive fluorescent signatures. Thus, the number of particle-based assays that can be performed in parallel is limited by the number of distinguishable combinations provided by the specific labels employed, e.g. the number of fluorophores, and possibly their relative abundance.
An example of fluorescence-based particle identification is Luminex Corporation's FlowMetrix® system and Laboratory Multi-Analyte Profiling (LabMAP®) technology. This system allows up to about 100 to 1000 analytes to be measured sequentially by flow cytometry. This technology incorporates microspheres that are internally labeled with two or more distinct fluorescent dyes. The microspheres are further coded with varying combinations of intensities of the fluorophores. The process also includes a third different fluorophore integrated to a reporter molecule for quantification of reactions on the surface of the encoded microspheres. The fabrication of the encoded microspheres and the system is described in, for example, Chandler, V. S., et al., "Multiplexed analysis of clinical specimens apparatus and methods", U.S. Pat. No. 5,981,180 (1999). Due to the relatively wide emission spectra of many fluorophores, a moderate number of patterns can be uniquely distinguished with this class of labels, typically less than 1000.
The use of nanoparticles with relatively narrow fluorescent emission spectra (described for example by Chandler, M. B., et al., "Microparticles attached to nanoparticles labeled with fluorescent dye", U.S. Pat. No. 6,268,222 (2001); Xu, H. et. al., "Multiplexed SNP genotyping using the Qbead™ system"; a quantum dot-encoded microsphere-based assay, Nucleic Acids Research 31(8), e43 (2003)). Encoding particles with other optical markers, e.g. electrochemically deposited codes (described for example by Nicewarner-Pena, S. R. et al., "Submicrometer metallic barcodes", Science 294, 137–141 (2001); and Walton, I. D. et al., "Particles for multiplexed analysis in solution: detection and identification of striped metallic particles using optical microscopy", Anal. Chem. 74, 2240–2247 (2002)) can improve the multiplicity of the assay while retaining the operational advantages of particle-based assays.
The present invention relies on the interaction between light and particles possessing defined physical and optical properties. More specifically, resonant light scattering from spherical particles (interchangeably referred to herein as resonant Mie scattering because the interaction of light with the particles used in the present invention is described by Mie theory) is used to determine either or both the particle identity and the degree of binding of target species the particle surface. Theories of interactions between light and particles are provided in many references, for example Bohren, C. F., and Huffman, D. R., Absorption and Scattering of Light By Small Particles, John Wiley and Sons (1983); Kerker, M., The Scattering of Light and Other Electromagnetic Radiation, Academic Press (1969). More specifically pertaining to the present invention are treatments of resonance structures in the resonant light scattering spectrum, see for example Chylek, P. et al., "Narrow resonance structure in the Mie scattering characteristics", Appl. Optics 17, 3019–3021 (1978); Conwell, P. R. et al., "Resonant spectra of dielectric spheres", J. Opt. Soc. America A 1, 62–67 (1984); Probert-Jones, J. R., "Resonance component of backscattering by large dielectric spheres", J. Opt. Soc. America A 1, 822–830 (1984); Hill, S. C. and Benner, R. E., "Morphology-dependent resonances associated with stimulated processes in microspheres", J. Opt. Soc. America B 3, 1509–1514; Lettieri, T. R., and Marx, E., "Resonance light scattering from a liquid suspension of microspheres", Appl. Optics 25(23), 4325–4331 (1986); Chylek, P. and Zhan, J., "Interference structure of the Mie extinction cross section", J. Opt. Soc. America A 6, 1846–1851 (1989); and Hill, S. C. et al., "Structural resonances observed in the fluorescence emission from small spheres on substrates", Appl. Optics 23, 1680 (1984). The development of computational methods and computer algorithms for deriving structure and property information from scattered light is described in, for example, Conwell, P. R. et al., "Efficient automated algorithm for the sizing of dielectric microspheres using the resonance spectrum", J. Opt. Soc. America A 1, 1181–1186 (1984); Lam, C. C. et al., "Explicit asymptotic formulas for the positions, widths, and strengths of resonances in Mie scattering", J. Opt Soc. America B 9, 1585–1592 (1992); Chylek, P., "Resonance structure of Mie scattering: distance between resonances", J. Opt. Soc. America A 7, 1609–1613 (1990); and Guimaraes, L. G., and Nussenzveig, H. M., "Uniform approximation to Mie resonances", J. Modern Optics 41, 625–647 (1994). Of further specific relevance to the microparticles of this invention are treatments of layered spheres, for example Kaiser, T. and Schweiger, G., "Stable algorithm for the computation of Mie coefficients for scattered and transmitted fields of a coated sphere", Computers in Physics 7, 682–686 (1993); and Hightower, R. L. and Richardson, C. B., "Resonant Mie scattering from a layered sphere", Appl. Optics 27, 4850–4855 (1988).
In practical applications, resonant light scattering has been used for particle size and refractive index measurements, studies of atmospheric aerosols, interstellar particles, and other measurements; for example see the two articles cited above for Conwell (1984) and Lettieri (1986); also see Ray, A. K. and Nandakumar, R., "Simultaneous determination of size and wavelength-dependent refractive indices of thin-layered droplets from optical resonances", Appl. Optics 34, 7759–7770 (1995); Huckaby, J. L., et al., "Determination of size, refractive index, and dispersion of single droplets from wavelength-dependent scattering spectra", Appl. Optics 33, 7112–7125 (1994); Hill, S. C., et al., "Sizing dielectric spheres and cylinders by aligning measured and computed resonance locations: algorithm for multiple orders", Appl. Optics 24, 2380–2390 (1985); Chylek, P. V. et al., "Simultaneous determination of refractive index and size of spherical dielectric particles from light scattering data", Appl. Optics 22, 2303–2307 (1983), and the references therein. In these references it is shown that accurate detection of fine resonance features in the scattered light spectrum requires detection methods with high spectral resolution. Typical experimental relative error in measuring the wavelength position of peaks in the earlier reports, e.g. Chylek et al., (1983) is about 1 part in 105. More recently, for example in Huckaby (1994), the relative precision of peak determination is between about 1 part in 2×106 and 1 part in 2×107.
Whitten et al., in "Morphological resonances for multicomponent immunoassays", Appl. Optics 34, 3203–3207 (1995), describe a technique for distinguishing among antibody-coated microspheres based on their sizes as measured by resonance features in their fluorescence spectrum. The technique reported in that article was capable of distinguishing among a low number of subpopulations of particles (two in the example reported), each subpopulation having a nominal mean diameter, with relatively large differences between the two subpopulations in mean diameter (6.5 and 10 micrometers). In essence, particle diameter was used as an identifying label, the diameter being measured by fitting the observed resonance pattern with theoretical calculations. As disclosed in that article, the diameter "label" could only distinguish between two subpopulations differing substantially in mean diameter. No extension of this approach to identifying large, diverse populations of very similar microparticles is taught in that disclosure. Moreover, the methods and system of the present invention also differ substantially from the method and system taught in the Whitten et. al. disclosure. That disclosure teaches a fluorescence detection method in which the incident light is fixed in wavelength and the optical resonances occur in the scanned fluorescence spectrum. In contrast, a preferred embodiment of the present invention does not rely on fluorescence, uses a scanned incident wavelength, and detects a scattered light spectrum through means differing substantially from what is disclosed by Whitten et al.
Vollmer et al. in "Protein detection by optical shift of a resonant microcavity". Appl. Phys. Lett. 80, 4057–4059 (2002) describe the detection of protein binding to a dielectric microparticle based upon a shift in optical resonances in the particle. The resonances were excited by evanescent coupling to an eroded optical fiber and were detected as dips in the light intensity transmitted through the fiber. The detection method described in that disclosure is not based on light scattering measurements. Moreover, the possibility of using the optical resonances for particle identification is not taught by Vollmer et al.
Hightower, R. L. and Richardson, C. B, supra, used theoretical modeling to compute the resonant response of large, layered spheres to an incident linearly polarized plane wave. Based on the results of these computations, they suggest that the sharp and unique features of the scattered light spectrum may be used in studies of immiscible fluids, adsorbed layers, coatings, and vesicles. However, use of resonant light scattering spectra for identification of microparticles or for detection in biological and chemical assays is not taught in that disclosure.
Serpenguzel et al. in "Excitation of resonances of microspheres on an optical fiber", Optics Lett 20, 654–656 (1995) describe the measurement of resonant light scattering of solid microspheres that are excited using evanescent coupling to an optical fiber. The authors of that disclosure postulate that the measurement of these light scattering resonances may be used for performing extremely sensitive adsorption and reaction measurements between species bonded to the microsphere surface and reagents in the surrounding solution. However, how such measurements could be made is not taught in that disclosure. Moreover, the possibility of using the optical resonances for particle identification is not taught by Serpenguzel et al.
Arnold et al. in U.S. patent application Publication No. 2003/0174923 describe a method and system for detecting a substance based on a resonance shift of photons orbiting within a microshere of a sensor. The microsphere is coupled with at least one optical fiber such that the microsphere is excited by evanescent coupling to the fiber. The resonances are detected as dips in the light intensity transmitted through the optical fiber. The detection method described in that disclosure is not based on light scattering measurements. That disclosure also teaches that a plurality of microspheres may be used for multianalyte detection. However, in that disclosed method, the microspheres are kept in a fixed position attached to the optical fiber. The possibility of using optical resonances as signatures for particle identification for use in tracking the particles, and therefore the attached probes, is neither taught nor suggested by Arnold et al.
In contrast to the reports in the literature, the basis for identification of microparticles in the present invention is to effectively use the very rich information content inherent in the resonant light scattering pattern. As will be disclosed in more detail later in this application, a resonant light scattering pattern may be characterized by a diverse set of variables including but not limited to peak location, peak width, peak order, periods between peaks of different orders, and polarization-dependent spectral properties. Distinguishable resonant light scattering patterns may be realized among members of a large set of similar microparticles by varying, from particle to particle, one or more of the main parameters affecting the scattering pattern, namely the structure, composition, and dimensions of the particle. Thus, according to the present invention a very rich and diverse set of scattering patterns among members of a large population of similar microparticles is created, providing a means to distinguish and identify individual microparticles.
The principal drawbacks to existing labeling techniques include limited multiplicity, i.e., limited combinations of unique identifying features, difficulties in preparing the encoded particles, speed and accuracy of decoding, and, in some cases, cost. There is a need therefore, for a method for parallel, simultaneous, particle-based measurement of binding kinetics for moderate to large numbers of analytes. Specifically, a method is needed that exhibits one or more of the following attributes: (1) the ability to measure binding without need of external reporter moieties; (2) the ability to determine quantitatively the binding of a target analyte in real time; (3) the ability to optionally amplify the binding signal; and (4) the ability to identify and optionally track individual microparticles. Each of these represents a distinct improvement over the current practice, and taken together, provide not only improved speed, accuracy, and cost reduction for existing assays, but also enable new applications not previously possible.
The present invention solves the stated problem by providing reliable, easily manufacturable, and cost-effective methods of particle identification and binding detection, capable of high multiplicity and superior in performance to current practice. In the present invention, the microparticles are identified by a novel application of high-resolution light scattering, employing specific features in the scattering spectrum as unique identifying patterns or optical signatures. Specifically, the present invention employs resonant light scattering, also known as resonant Mie scattering, as the analytical method for both determining a particle's identity and also for determining the presence of, and optionally the degree of binding to the surface of the particle. These methods may be used together, or separately, to afford assays that are substantially improved over the state of the art.

Resonant light scattering microparticle methods


The invention relates to a method for determining at least one influencing variable acting on the eccentricity in a goniometer, using a detector arrangement consisting of four optical detector elements, and a rotational body comprising a plurality of pattern elements arranged around a pattern center, the rotational body being rotatably arranged about an axis. According to said method, at least some of the pattern elements are reproduced on the detector arrangement, the positions of the pattern elements reproduced on the detector arrangement are resolved, and the eccentricity of the pattern center in relation to a detector center of the detector arrangement is determined. A plurality of such eccentricity measurements for different rotational positions enables different influencing variables acting on the current eccentricity to be separated, especially by forming units.

The invention relates to a method for determining at least one influencing variable acting on the measured eccentricity in a goniometer and a computer program product.
Methods and apparatuses for the accurate determination of an angle of rotation have been used for many years, inter alia as shaft encoders in measuring apparatuses, in particular in geodetic and industrial surveying. By means of such methods and apparatuses, it is even possible, with appropriate precautions, to resolve a full circle into over one million units with an accuracy of measurement of the order of magnitude of a few arc seconds.
In order to be able to achieve such high accuracies, firstly the detector must be arranged in a stable position relative to a bearing by means of which the rotational body is mounted so as to be rotatable about an axis relative to the detector. Secondly, high dimensional stability and shape stability of the rotational body, in particular the arrangement and formation of pattern elements arranged around a pattern centre in succession in the direction of rotation on the rotational body, is an essential precondition. In addition to partial inaccuracies of pitch which are due to deviations of the specified distances between individual pattern elements arranged in succession and/or to deviations of the dimensions of the pattern elements themselves, in practice the location of the pattern centre a distance from the axis, a so-called eccentricity of the pattern centre relative to the axis, often makes it impossible to achieve required accuracies. Owing to manufacturing tolerances, which are always present, every rotational body has an eccentricity which as a rule has a constant value. Moreover, in addition to the eccentricity of the total pattern, i.e. of the totality of all pattern elements relative to the rotational body or of the centring of the pitch relative to the shaft, actual pitch errors of the circle also occur, i.e. a deviation of the individual pattern elements relative to one another and hence within the arrangement of the pattern elements.
The rotational body is rotatably guided in a bearing, further influencing parameters acting on the measurable eccentricity resulting through the mechanical arrangement. The concentricity deviations of the bearing which result therefrom can therefore also make a contribution to the eccentricity. If significant loads due to forces act on parts of the apparatus during determination of angles of rotation, in particular in the case of heavy objects to be measured, eccentricities dependent on the angle of rotation or changing as a function of time can occur. These are brought about or increased, for example, by a bearing play in any case present and change due to the lubrication of the bearing and the bearing load. Moreover, tumbling errors occur as a result of an inclination of the axis of rotation of the rotational body.
In order to reduce or completely to avoid such mechanical bearing errors, comparatively high-value, complicated bearings which make it possible to stabilize the eccentricity within a permissible tolerance have been used to date, so that at least no changes of a calibratable mechanical eccentricity occur.
In many goniometers, the pattern elements are mapped optically onto an arrangement of one or more detector elements, e.g. CCD or CMOS sensors, as disclosed, for example, in CH 658514. The angle of the rotational body relative to the detector arrangement can be inferred from the position of the pattern elements on the detector arrangement or components thereof. Here, a detector centre, e.g. the midpoint of the detector element in the case of a single detector element or, in the case of a plurality of detector elements, the area centroid of the area covered by these serves as a reference variable, the detector centre, the pivot point and the centre of the pattern elements coinciding in the ideal case without mechanical eccentricity errors.
In addition to the mechanical influencing variables already described and acting on the measured eccentricity, however, there are also influences due to the electronic components used. These result, for example, from quantization errors or the noise of analogue electronics. Both mechanical and electronic influencing variables are generally dependent on changes as a function of time or due to temperature variations.
For measurement of the current eccentricity, EP 1 632 754 discloses a method in which at least a part of a multiplicity of pattern elements arranged around a pattern centre, a multiplicity of which are arranged in succession in the direction of rotation, is at least partly mapped via optical beams on a multiplicity of detector elements of an optical detector which are arranged in rows.
The pattern elements are arranged on a rotational body which is connected to the detector so as to be rotatable about the axis. Positions of the mapped pattern elements are resolved via the detector elements of one and the same detector. In a first step, effects of an eccentricity of the pattern centre relative to the axis on the determination of an angle of rotation are determined computationally via resolved positions of at least one pattern element. In a second step, the angle of rotation is accurately determined via the resolved positions of pattern elements arranged one behind the other, taking into account the effects determined.
In a variant of the method disclosed there, pattern elements arranged one behind the other are combined into at least two groups in the first step by means of an intermediate step and at least two group positions are computationally determined via the resolved individual positions of the pattern elements combined in each case. Effects of the eccentricity and the determination of the angle of rotation are then computationally determined via the at least two group positions determined. This is can be effected with higher accuracy via the group positions determined.
A corresponding apparatus has an optical detector, which comprises a multiplicity of detector elements arranged in rows, and a rotational body which comprises a multiplicity of pattern elements arranged around a pattern centre, a multiplicity of which pattern elements is arranged one behind the other in the direction of rotation. The rotational body is connected to the detector so as to be rotatable about an axis. At least a part of the pattern elements can be at least partly mapped on detector elements via optical beams. Positions of the mapped pattern elements can be resolved via the detector elements of one and the same detector. The pattern elements and the detector elements are formed and arranged in this apparatus in such a way that effects of an eccentricity of the pattern centre relative to the axis on the determination of an angle of rotation can be automatically determined computationally via resolved positions of at least one of the pattern elements and the angle of rotation can be accurately determined via resolved positions of pattern elements arranged one behind the other, taking into account the effects of the eccentricity.
Since both the effects of an eccentricity on the determination of the angle of rotation can be computationally determined and the angle of rotation about an axis can be accurately determined via one and the same detector, apparatuses for accurate determination of an angle of rotation with high resolution can be realized. Since the determination of the effects of an eccentricity and the determination of the angle of rotation are effected taking into account the effects via one and the same detector with one and the same position-resolving region, high accuracy and robustness of such an apparatus can moreover be achieved. It is also possible to carry out both functions with the same positions of pattern elements resolved at the same time.
US 2001/0013765 discloses an optical goniometer in which a multiplicity of sensors are arranged on the border of a disc-shaped code carrier. With this system, without measurement of eccentricities or the influencing variables thereof, the effects resulting therefrom are said to be reduced or eliminated by averaging.
A similar approach is adopted in DE 199 07 326, an incremental system being disclosed which eliminates possible eccentricities by addition of counter readings of sensors distributed in a defined manner. This means that the signals to be evaluated with a respect to the angle to be determined should no longer have any eccentricity effect. Thus, an eccentricity error is compensated by the system.
The methods of the prior art thus determine or compensate only the current eccentricity as an overall variable and do not differentiate between the different influencing variables and the associated characteristics, such as, for example, different variability as a function of time.
In addition to a fundamental reduction or avoidance of some influencing variables, for example, the translational shift of the axis of rotation can also be measured and this shift can be taken into account for the end result of the measurement or for direct corrections. This can be effected, for example, by measurement of the shift of the bearing journal by known contact or non-contact methods of measurement, e.g. measuring probes, directly on the shaft. In order to detect this movement in the plane, at least 3 or more such displacement transducers are necessary. Cylindrical, capacitive sensors surrounding the shaft can also be realized. It should be taken into account that, in the case of a small difference between translational bearing shift and these various error influences, an exact determination of the bearing shift is also difficult.
However, goniometers become expensive, complicated and susceptible to errors as a result of such systems directly measuring the mechanical state of the system.

Method for determining an influencing variable acting on the eccentricity in a goniometer


In an example, an indicator may comprise an arm pivotally disposed within a media tray, an indicator plate movably coupled to the media tray, and a latch engaged with the arm and the indicator plate. The media tray may receive print media. The latch may support the indicator plate in a raised position, and the latch may release the indicator plate to a lowered position upon the arm pivoting the latch from a latched position to a released position.

Printing systems may deposit printing fluid, such as ink, or another printing substance, such as three-dimensional printing powder, on print media. The print media may be stored in a media tray, from which the printing system may draw a sheet or portion of the print media for printing. The supply of print media within the media tray may be periodically filled or replaced when the supply reaches a certain level, or is depleted. The media tray may include an indicator to inform a user of the level of the print media remaining within the media tray.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A device may receive, from a source system, data in a first format, data in a second format, or a combination of data in the first format and data in the second format. The device may identify a data format type, a hierarchy depth, levels, and objects at each of the levels for the data and may generate a template based on the data format type, the hierarchy depth, the levels, and the objects at each of the levels. The device may generate a query, for the data in the first format, based on the template and may execute the query, on the data in the first format, to generate query results associated with a target system. The device may process the query results, with the template, to generate output data in a third format associated with the target system and may perform actions based on the output data.

Currently, with initiatives involving assessment and relocation of a system to a cloud computing environment, data transformation plays a very important role. The process of arriving at a complex hierarchical data format (e.g., a JavaScript object notation (JSON) format) compatible in the cloud computing environment is usually very cumbersome and technically challenging, even more so as a majority of current systems support non-hierarchical data structures.

Automated transformation of hierarchical data from a source data format to a target data format


An animal trap is provided with an enclosure, inside of which a pivoting member, referred to herein as a “Confinement Activating Teeter-totter” (CAT), is pivotally disposed so that its front end pivots downward when an animal enters the trap and steps on it. A blocking member on the front of the CAT then blocks the entrance, forcing the animal to go toward a bait near the exit at the back of the trap. The CAT then pivots under the weight of the mouse, thereby resetting. If, instead of exiting, the animal goes back toward the front, the CAT will again pivot and block the entrance. The animal will also step on a shelf projecting from the front of the pivoting member, ensuring that the CAT will not pivot again until the animal again proceeds toward the exist. The trap is composed of only one moving part (excluding a door flap, and one access part), namely the CAT on its pivot. It is easily molded from plastic such that only two parts are needed: a base and a CAT. After molding a door flap may be attached.

From ancient times, humans have hatched clever schemes to catch small animals. Mankind must deal with many pests. To rid our living space of pests, simply and easily, it is our goal to provide a better mousetrap with few moving parts to catch the mouse humanely and keep him whole.


Cartoner machine and a method of operating same. The abstract of the disclosure is submitted herewith as required by 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b). As stated in 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b): A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification must commence on a separate sheet, preferably following the claims, under the heading “Abstract of the Disclosure.” The purpose of the abstract is to enable the Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. The abstract shall not be used for interpreting the scope of the claims. Therefore, any statements made relating to the abstract are not intended to limit the claims in any manner and should not be interpreted as limiting the claims in any manner.

One of the main components of a cartoning machine is a cartoner assembly which contains several components that transport a supply of flat, folded cartons and then open them for product insertion. The folded cartons in a cartoner assembly are located on a guide conveyor that moves the cartons forward by means of a motorized belt. The motorized belt transports the folded cartons forward into a face plate. The face plate guides the folded cartons into a desired position for future transportation. In addition, the face plate will hold the folded cartons in this position until a grabbing device to transport the folded cartons reaches the face plate. Once the folded cartons are removed from the face plate with a grabbing device, the folded cartons are moved to a separate conveyor where they are opened for product insertion.
Many current face plate assemblies incorporate static face plates that are designed and constructed around a single specific box size. Each face plate has to be designed, built, assembled, and delivered before starting production. This is a problem because production for a company can be put on hold until the face plate for a specific box size is completed, thus last minute changes to a box size can cause lengthy delays.
Existing face plate assemblies are also extremely limited in the range of box sizes that can be fed into them. In addition, these types of face plates often only allow slight adjustments to obtain optimum feeding of the carton size that the face plates are designed around. This leads to the purchase of numerous face plates because most companies utilize more than one type of box for packaging their goods. The greater the variety of boxes a company uses, the more face plates are needed. For example, a company may have up to 200 face plates because of the variety of boxes that the company uses. In addition to the expense of purchasing many face plates, the face plates take up a significant amount of storage space, which can also be a problem. For example, an entire room of a factory could be dedicated solely to the storage of face plates. In addition, the stored face plates could suffer damage over time or even become outdated if the box size a particular face plate holds is modified or never used again. Further, if the cartoner machine is upgraded, it may be unable to utilize older face plates. Such situations would lead to a loss of the investment in a particular face plate or an entire series of face plates.
Current face plate designs can also lead to a loss of efficiency in that the retrieval and changing of face plates takes time to perform. Once a new box size is required on the cartoner system, a worker must remove the installed face plate from the carton delivery system. The worker then will have to relocate the removed face plate to a supply room, retrieve the necessary face plate for the new box size, and return to the cartoner assembly to install the new face plate. Only after the new face plate is installed can the cartoner assembly feed a new carton size into the carton delivery system.


A method of designing an alternating phase shifting mask for projecting an image of an integrated circuit design having a plurality of essentially parallel segments of critical width comprises creating essentially parallel alternating phase shifting regions aligned with the critical width segments and extending beyond ends of at least some of the critical width segments, enclosing the integrated circuit layout and the alternating phase shifting regions within a boundary, extending the alternating phase shifting regions to an edge of the boundary, and thereafter creating an alternating phase shifting mask based on the alternating phase shifting regions.

The present invention is directed to the manufacture of masks used in the lithographic production of integrated circuits and, in particular, to the manufacture of phase shifting masks (PSMs).
As an alternative to chrome on glass (COG) masks used in the lithographic production of integrated circuits, alternating phase shifting masks (altPSMs) have been employed in order to increase the resolution of the critical active area patterns projected. Such increased resolution enables smaller line widths to be exposed on the resist and consequently etched into or deposited on the wafer substrate. This is done by manipulating the electric field vector or phase of the energy beam, e.g., visible or ultra-violet light, used in the lithographic process. This phase variation is achieved in PSMs by modifying the length that a light beam travels through the mask material. By recessing the mask to an appropriate depth, light traversing the thinner portion of the mask and light traversing the thicker portion of the masks will be 180° out of phase, that is, their electric field vector will be of equal magnitude, but point in exactly the opposite direction, so that any interaction between these light beams results in perfect cancellation. However, since the recessed regions on the mask have to form closed polygons and not all edges of these polygons can be made to coincide with desired layout images, the light intensity decrease caused by these residual 180° phase steps leads to unwanted patterns on the wafer. These unwanted residual phase images are erased using a second exposure, commonly using a non-phase shifted mask.
An electronic design automation (EDA) tool converts circuit designs to altPSM layouts with minimal impact to layout design density or design complexity. One method of optimizing design of altPSMs is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,922, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Other altPSM design solutions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,636,131, 5,537,648, 5,858,580 and 6,057,063. However, these approaches do not take full advantage of the introduction of gridded layouts for integrated circuit designs to optimize altPSM design sign efficiency and accuracy, and to improve lithographic performance of the resulting mask.

Alternating phase shift mask design for high performance circuitry


The present invention relates to a subsea pipeline and method utilizing the pipeline wherein the loss of pipeline contents resulting from a break in the pipeline is reduced. The loss of pipeline contents is reduced by providing a plurality of traps in the pipeline. The traps each comprise at least two elevation changes in alternating directions. Any water entering the pipeline through a breach will only displace pipeline contents from the breach to the adjacent lower trap.

Considerable volumes of crude oil are produced from off-shore facilities, whether from platforms or from subsea wellheads. Production of crude oil from these facilities typically requires that the crude oil be transported to on-shore facilities through pipelines. Additionally, crude oil and refined hydrocarbon products are often transported across bodies of water through subsea pipelines. These subsea pipelines are designed and installed to operate with a low probability of failure because of the high cost of repairing such failure and because of the desire to minimize any environmental impact resulting from such a failure. In spite of this low probability of failure, it is still desirable to further minimize the consequences of a failure of a subsea pipeline.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a subsea pipeline wherein the amount of oil leaked from the pipeline is reduced. It is a further object to provide such a pipeline that can be installed, pigged, and otherwise operated in a conventional manner.


A portable electrical control and display device is described, having an indicator panel, a keyboard with at least one key pad, and a single housing designed as a single piece and made of a temperature-resistant material, which seals the control and display device in a water-tight manner.

1. Technical Field
This application relates to a control and display device and, in particular, to a protective covering for the device.
2. Description of Related Art
Devices, such as portable control and display devices, are generally known in a plurality of embodiments, for example, as measuring instruments. These instruments may be used in the food industry and in food processing plants such as, for example, slaughterhouses, refrigeration plants, restaurants, and the like. Instruments that may be used, for example, in the food industry and in areas related to food processing, may be required to comply with certain hygienic requirements and other regulatory requirements such as those set forth in national and international regulations. These requirements may relate to the cleanliness of the instruments, such as measuring instruments. The requirements may relate to, for example, prevention of contamination, such as, bacterial contamination, of the measuring instruments.
In order to avoid such contamination, the instruments may include protective devices. These protective devices are used for hermetically sealing the measuring instruments against water, dust, and similar contamination in a way so that the functionality and operability of the instrument are not affected by the protective device. One type of protective device includes flexible, mostly transparent, bag-type protective sheathings. These sheathings may, more or less, protect the instrument from water, dust, and the like. The functionality and operability of the instrument protected by the protective sheathing remain preserved thanks to the flexible sheathing. However, these flexible protective sheathings may be made of a relatively thin plastic material. The functionality of such protective sheathings may be reduced over time due to the rough operating conditions to which the measuring instruments may be exposed. Under extreme operating conditions, there is also the danger that the instrument may become damaged due to the effect of external forces, since the thin protective sheathing may be extremely sensitive to impact and forces. In other words, the protective sheathings may not be able to absorb such forces thereby possibly resulting in damage to the instrument.
Another disadvantage of these known protective sheathings is the fact that even the slightest damage to the protective sheathing surface may result in impairing the required water-tightness. This may subsequently irreversibly damage or destroy an electronic component that may be included in the instrument, and may be sensitive to moisture. Furthermore, once the instrument is in the protective sheathing, it cannot be attached to a bracket provided, and external components cannot be attached to the instrument.
German Patent Application 39 05 130 A1 describes an improved protective device for a measuring instrument. In contrast to the foregoing bag-type protective sheathing, German Patent Application 39 05 130 A1 describes a cover-like shield made of a non-deformable material used as a protective device. The shield covers the control and display elements arranged in the housing, thus protecting them. In order to attach the cover to the housing, fastening elements are provided. To ensure tightness, an integrated sealing lip is provided around the housing part of the measuring instrument. The shield that covers and seals the control and display elements is transparent at least in the areas of the above-named display and control elements.
As an alternative, it is also conceivable to design the protective device as a two-part protective housing (holster). An internal contour of the protective housing may be designed so that the measuring instrument can be placed inside with essentially no play, and the two protective housing parts held together by fastening elements.
Although the protective device designed as a non-deformable shield and the protective housing designed as a holster have a high degree of water-tightness when used with a control and display device, providing protection against the effect of outside forces, there may still remain problems and drawbacks.
Manufacturing costs may be substantially increased since the measuring instruments to be used in the aforementioned areas requires an additional protective housing. Even in this case, it is not possible to use a shield made of a very soft material, for example, a plastic, since such material does not have the rigidity required to obtain an effective seal or, alternatively may have this property only under certain conditions. Therefore, a two-component part having high rigidity may be used in order to obtain the required impact-absorbing soft surface. This may be, however, unacceptable due to the high cost involved.
Due to the sealing lip around and integrated in the housing part, a large surface is sealed. This may be very expensive especially when a tight seal is required. Therefore, often a plurality of support points, for example, screws or clamps, may be required and may result in an inability to obtain the required high degree of tightness. For example, screws must be perfectly tightened to obtain a tight seal in an effort to prevent gaps, and thus untightness, from occurring. In particular, when the screws are frequently removed from the measuring instruments, this gap-free seal becomes more and more difficult to guarantee.
Additionally, sealing forces and joining forces act in the same direction when the shield is mounted on the housing. Accordingly, higher sealing forces may be required to be applied for a good seal than in an alternative instance when the forces do not act in parallel. Undesirable tolerances and slack may be poorly compensated for, or not at all, when the shield is mounted on the measuring instruments due to the close geometric relationship between the shield and the measuring instrument.
Failure to use such a protective housing in the aforementioned cases for reasons of time or convenience or due to lack of tools for fastening the fastening means may occur, and the measuring instrument used may not be able to be cleaned in a convenient and, mainly, reliable manner in a cleaning machine.
An additional condition in handling the aforementioned measuring instruments is the high hygienic requirements. In the aforementioned fields of application of the instruments provided with such protective housings, different cleaning procedures are used. It has been found that cleaning procedures, for example, such as one using a wet but not previously used cleaning cloth, a disposable cloth, a cleaning agent (RIX), or a cleaning agent with subsequent alcohol disinfection, clean the instruments, more or less well. However, complete, one-hundred-percent cleaning cannot be assured with these cleaning procedures. Only when instruments are cleaned in a cleaning machine for 45 minutes at a temperature of 75 degrees Celcius is one hundred-percent cleaning effect achieved with both non-fatty and fatty contamination.
In order to reliably meet the required hygienic requirements, it is therefore desirable to subject the instruments to cleaning in a cleaning machine.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method and apparatus are disclosed for detecting and handling clashes that may occur when transactions performed on disconnected replicas of a database are merged after the computers carrying the replicas are reconnected. A variety of clashes are addressed, including those which arise from inconsistent add, remove, move, and modify operations. Transient clashes that would resolve themselves without significant intervention are distinguished from persistent clashes. Log patching, regression, key modification, duplication, and a variety of other tools for handling the clashes are described.

"Disconnectable" computers are connected to one another only sporadically or at intervals. Familiar examples include "mobile-link" portable computers which are connectable to a computer network by a wireless links and separate server computers in a wide-area network (WAN) or other network. Disconnectable computers can be operated either while connected to one another or while disconnected. During disconnected operation, each computer has its own copy of selected files (or other structures) that may be needed by a user. Use of the selected items may be either direct, as with a document to be edited, or indirect, as with icon files to be displayed in a user interface.
Unfortunately, certain operations performed on the selected item copies may not be compatible or consistent with one another. For instance, one user may modify a file on one computer and another user may delete the "same" file from the other computer. A "synchronization" process may be performed after the computers are reconnected. At a minimum, synchronization attempts to propagate operations performed on one computer to the other computer so that copies of items are consistent with one another.
During synchronization, some disconnectable computers also attempt to detect inconsistencies and to automatically resolve them. These attempts have met with limited success.
For instance, the Coda File System ("Coda") is a client-server system that provides limited support for disconnectable operation. To prepare for disconnection, a user may hoard data in a client cache by providing a prioritized list of files. On disconnection, two copies of each cached file exist: the original stored on the server, and a duplicate stored in the disconnected client's cache. The user may alter the duplicate file, making it inconsistent with the server copy. Upon reconnection, this inconsistency may be detected by comparing timestamps.
However, the inconsistency is detected only if an attempt is made to access one of the copies of the file. The Coda system also assumes that the version stored in the client's cache is the correct version, so situations in which both the original and the duplicate were altered are not properly handled. Moreover, Coda is specifically tailored, not merely to file systems, but to a particular file system (a descendant of the Andrew File System). Coda provides no solution to the more general problem of detecting and resolving inconsistencies in a distributed database that can include objects other than file and directory descriptors.
Various approaches to distributed database replication attempt to ensure consistency between widely separated replicas that collectively form the database. Examples include, without limitation, the replication subsystem in Lotus Notes and the partition synchronization subsystem in Novell NetWare.RTM. 4.1 (LOTUS NOTES is a trademark of International Business Machines, Inc. and NETWARE is a registered trademark of Novell, Inc.).
However, some of these approaches to replication are not transactional. Non-transactional approaches may allow partially completed update operations to create inconsistent internal states in network nodes. Non-transactional approaches may also require a synchronization time period that depends directly on the total number of files, directories, or other objects in the replica. This seriously degrades the performance of such approaches when the network connection used for synchronization is relatively slow, as many modem or WAN links are.
Moreover, in some conventional approaches potentially conflicting changes to a given set of data are handled by simply applying the most recent change and discarding the others. In other conventional systems, users must resolve conflicts with little or no assistance from the system. This can be both tedious and error-prone.
Thus, it would be an advancement in the art to provide a system and method for detecting and handling inconsistent changes to copied items when two disconnectable computers are reconnected.
It would also be an advancement to provide such a system and method which are not limited to file system operations but can instead be extended to support a variety of database objects.
Such a system and method are disclosed and claimed herein.

Transaction clash management in a disconnectable computer and network


A high performance protecting surface coating suitable for repairing damaged surfaces, and methods, is disclosed. The coating comprises a resin such as epoxy loaded with inert particles, preferably ceramic, and a curing agent for hardening. The coating of the present invention does not run or sag when applied to a substantially vertical surface.

Protective coatings are often used on many mechanical or protective surfaces to prevent corrosion, abrasion, and other wear on the surface. High performance coatings have been developed which exhibit high resistance to abrasion, corrosion, impact, and other characteristics of high performance. These coatings include powder comprising finally divided inert particles dispersed in a resin which is then mixed with a hardening catalyst and applied. The coating of the present invention is also useful for repairing damaged surfaces similar to a grout or putty material.
The resin of the present coating should be selected for its wear resistant properties and by the strength of its adhesion to the surface being protected. Some commonly used resins include epoxy (e.g., Bisphenol A and Bisphenol F based epoxies), polyester, vinyl-ester, phenolic, novolac (phenol/novolac), and polyglycol resin. Epoxy resins are known to those skilled in the art to have the highest adhesion values of all resins. The preferred resin of the present invention is Bisphenol F epoxy because it does not require any solvent to liquify the resin prior to loading with ceramic particles.
The adhesion strength of coatings is measured according to an international industry standard referred to as American Standard Testing Materials (ASTM). ASTM adhesion testing involves applying and curing a coating on to a surface substrate prepared according to National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) specifications. For example, a steel test panel prepared to an anchor profile of 1 mil to 21/2 mils (white to near white metal) and cleaned of substantially all contaminates. The coating is applied and cured at room temperature (72.degree. F.). Adhesion is tested according to ASTM protocol by pulling on the cured coating and measuring the force required to pull the coating of the surface. Adhesion is measured under ASTM protocol in metric units known as Megapascals (Mpa). For convenience, Mpa's are often converted herein to approximate English units of pounds per square inch (psi).
In addition, or alternatively to ASTM testing, adhesion may also be measured by resistance to hydroblasting, i.e., measuring the force (in psi) of a pressurized stream of water to dislodge a coating from a standard prepared surface. Typically, adhesion strengths are the same whether measured by ASTM pulling or hydroblasting. One drawback of ASTM testing is that the surface substrate may fail by mechanical breakage or some other means before the coating being tested fails.
Epoxy resins are known to those skilled in the art to have the highest adhesion strength of commonly available resins, epoxy having adhesion strength measured in the range of approximately 800 psi to 1,200 psi.
Phenol/novolac resins are thermoset plastic materials offering alternatives to Bisphenol A-based epoxies and Phenolic resins, particularly when formulators and fabricators seek good strength and good chemical resistance at high temperatures. Phenol/novolac epoxy combines in one molecule the stability of a phenolic backbone with the reactivity and versatility of an epoxy resin. The resulting resins have multi-epoxy functionality. The additional reactive sites, as compared to a Bisphenol A-type resin, produce tightly cross-linked cured systems with improved resistance to acids, bases, and solvents; retention of good mechanical properties at high temperatures; minimal shrinkage for accurate reproduction; acceptance of a wide range of modifiers, fillers, and pigments; and improved high temperature adhesive properties. The phenol/novolac resin is usually received from the manufacturer dissolved in 15% acetone by weight of phenol/novolac.
The resin carrying the inert particles must be mixed with an appropriate hardening catalyst to form a base composition before application. Generally both the resin and catalyst are supplied from the coating manufacturer with instructions as to mixing. A coating commercially available is manufactured by Owens-Corning and marketed under the name Owens-Corning Abrasion Resistant Coating (ARC). The Owens-Corning coating contains finally divided ceramic particles dispersed in an epoxy resin, and a compound that adds flexibility to the coating.
Another coating commercially available is manufactured by Freecom, Inc. under the name "Ceram-Kote 54". The Freecom product is sold with instructions that allow the user to dilute or thin the resin and catalyst mixture with an appropriate solvent to provide for ease of application and for various desired surface finishing and coating qualities.
To the base composition mixture various additives may be combined to greatly enhance the qualities of the final product. Such additives may include pigments for color and thixatropes to inhibit running and sagging, a variety of inert ceramic powers added to enhance the abrasion resistant capabilities of the coating. The coating of the present invention does not comprise any solvent or diluent. The present coating is all solids (resin is acknowledged in the art as a solid even though it is flowable prior to adding catalyst).
U.S. Pat. 4,789,567, issued Dec. 6, 1988, to Freeman, hereinafter referred to as the '567 patent, and which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a protective coating of finely divided abrasions resistant inerts carried in a corrosion resistant epoxy resin that is diluted with a solvent and applied to a surface. The coatings of the '567 patent may be cured to achieve either a glossy or a mat finish. The '567 patent, however, does not disclose nor teach the performance characteristics of the coating of the present invention. Nor does the '567 patent teach the use of additives in the manufacture of the coating to achieve desired performance characteristics.
U.S. Pat. 4,968,538, issued Nov. 6, 1990, to Freemen, a continuation-in-part of the '567 patent, hereinafter referred to as the '538 patent, and which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a protective coating of finely divided abrasion resistant inerts in a corrosion resistant epoxy resin diluted with a solvent, and further disclosed the addition of novolac resin dissolved in methyl-ethyl-ketone (MEK) and polyglycol di-epoxide resin to the epoxy resin carrying inert particles. The '538 patent and the '567 patent do not disclose nor teach the performance characteristics of the coating of the present invention. Nor does the '567 patent teach the use of additives in the manufacturer of the coating to achieve desired performance characteristics.

Compositions and methods for a protective surface coating useful to repair damaged surfaces


The present invention relates to methods and compositions for increasing production of methyl ketones in a genetically modified host cell that overproduces β-ketoacyl-CoAs through a re-engineered β-oxidation pathway and overexpresses FadM.

Aliphatic methyl ketones are naturally occurring compounds that were first discovered in rue (Ruta graveolens) more than a century ago (30) and have since been commonly found in microorganisms, plants, insects, and mammalian cells (10). These compounds have a variety of important natural and commercial roles, including acting as pheromones and natural insecticides in plants (1), or providing scents in essential oils and flavoring in cheese and other diary products (10). Biosynthesis of methyl ketones has been hypothesized to derive from a variety of different biological pathways such as fatty acid β-oxidation or aerobic alkene/alkane degradation (10, 21). However, studies to elucidate the genes and biochemical pathways involved in the synthesis of these compounds have been quite rare until recently. One research group in particular has carried out extensive biochemical and genetic studies in a wild tomato species (Solanum habrochaites) and identified two key genes, methyl ketone synthase I (ShMKS1) and methyl ketone synthase II (ShMKS2), that are essential for methyl ketone synthesis from fatty acid intermediates in this plant (6, 11, 31). ShMKS2, which belongs to the 4-hydroxybenzoyl-CoA thioesterase (4-HBT) family, is hypothesized to hydrolyze a β-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) thioester intermediate to generate a β-keto acid; ShMKS1, an enzyme that belongs to the α/β-hydrolase superfamily, apparently decarboxylates the β-keto acid released by ShMKS2 to yield a methyl ketone (31).
Despite the commercial relevance of methyl ketones and their prevalence in nature, no genes other than ShMKS1, ShMKS2, and At1g68260 (a ShMKS2 homolog from Arabidopsis thaliana), have been recombinantly expressed and shown to be associated with methyl ketone biosynthesis (31). Metabolic engineering of microbes to overproduce methyl ketones merits additional attention, as these compounds could be relevant to the biofuel industry as well as the flavor and fragrance industry by virtue of their highly reduced, aliphatic character. Indeed, a range of other fatty-acid derived compounds have already been successfully synthesized from metabolically engineered microbes for use as biofuels, such as fatty acid ethyl esters (26), alkanes (24), alkenes (5, 18, 22, 28), and n-alcohols (9).

The Regents of the University of California


A method and apparatus for exciting an electrodeless light bulb containing material including an inert gas and one or more chemical elements which generate a light emitting torus of plasma when excited by an RF signal and which includes two separate excitation coils oriented about the bulb so that the planes of each of the coils are mutually oriented 90.degree. with respect to each other, and wherein each of the coils are driven by respective RF excitation voltages having mutually different frequencies, for example, a difference of 4%, so as to excite the material enclosed within the bulb and cause a stirring action of the fill and effect a pulsating emission of light and rotation of the torus similar to that produced by physical rotation of the bulb itself.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for exciting a light source, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for exciting a high intensity electrodeless light bulb.
2. Description of Related Art
An electrodeless lamp technology is evolving which is based on generating light that confines light emitting plasma generated and sustained by RF excitation. RF energy is coupled into an electrodeless lamp through a coupling coil or other means external to a bulb in order to form and sustain a plasma in the materials filling the bulb. The bulb normally contains an inert gas, such as argon, and an element from Group VI-A of the periodic table of elements, such as sulfur.
When such a bulb is excited, for example, by a single coil, energy is coupled into the bulb by transformer action as illustrated in FIG. 1. The primary winding of the transformer comprises an exciting coil 10 surrounding the bulb 12. The secondary winding comprises a single turn secondary contained within the exciting coil 10 and consists of a closed circular path or torus 14 of plasma formed in the bulb 12 when the contents are excited by an RF source 16.
The equivalent circuit of such a configuration is shown in FIG. 2. There reference numeral 18 denotes the transformer formed by the exciting coil 10 and torus 14. The electrical resistance of the torus is designated by reference numeral 20. An excitation signal V.sub.coil is generated by the RF source 16 and is coupled across the exciting coil 10. A load voltage V.sub.torus is depicted by the dashed closed circular line in FIG. 1 and comprises a voltage which appears across the secondary winding 14, i.e. the torus. When the exciting voltage V.sub.coil is applied to the coil 10, an H-field, which is normal to the plane of the exciting coil 10, is created within the area enclosed by the coil. Since the H-field is time varying due to the fact that the RF signal from the source 16 is an AC signal, it is accompanied by a toroidal E-field distribution in which the planes of the E-fields within the exciting coil parallel to the plane of the coil. The induced voltage around any enclosed E-field path is equal to the voltage per turn in the exciting coil times the ratio of the area enclosed by the toroidal path to the area enclosed by the exciting coil, that is, the voltage ratio is proportional to magnetic flux linkage.
Accordingly, as ionization occurs due to electromagnetic field heating of the material within the bulb, current flows in a closed toroidal path within the bulb, producing light by the heating of the material within the bulb. In any conducting toroidal path, the magnitude of current flow will equal the voltage induced around the closed path divided by the effective impedance of the path. The effective diameter of the resulting current path is such as to enclose the maximum cross section area of magnetic field, but is limited by cooling caused by the bulb's surface, which limits ionization near the inner surface of the bulb.
As the torus heats further, the Group VI-A element(s) are brought into the plasma, producing very bright light emission from a diffused region of the bulb. The spectrum of this light, which is dependent upon the fill, can be made to be very nearly that of sunlight.
Current flow in the torus counters much of the induced magnetic field within the torus. This causes the toroidal diameter to shrink. Stability is reached within the bulb when the voltage drop V.sub.torus across the torus due to coupling area falls to a sufficiently low level to minimize further build-up of toroidal current and further collapse of the torus due to cancelled magnetic field. This is the operating equilibrium condition of the lamp. If the equilibrium is not reached because of low resistance around the torus and current continues to rise, then the plasma will pinch off and the light will be extinguished.
Physically rotating the bulb creates a centrifugal force on the fill molecules which counteracts the constricting magnetic forces by pushing the molecules outward, tending to keep the torus as large as possible. The result is that the conducting toroid plasma emits more light and is less prone to extinguish due to ionic pinch off. Since this centrifugal force involves mechanical rotation of the bulb at speeds up to 10,000 Hz, it is inherently less than desirable for a commercial lamp system.

Precession of the plasma torus in electrodeless lamps by non-mechanical means