A system and method for IP-based telephone communication utilizing speech-generated text is disclosed. An embodiment of the present invention includes an interface to the Internet for sending and receiving voice and video signals. In addition, the embodiment generates text signals corresponding to voice signals generated by the user. A transmission signal is generated from the text signals and the voice signals for transmission over the Internet. Further, the embodiment of the present invention includes an application which is capable of receiving video and/or speech-generated data transmitted by another device, and concurrently displaying the speech-generated data and video to a user. The speech-generated data may be converted to an audio signal and applied to a speaker concurrently with the video and speech-generated data. In this way, a user is capable of easily communicating speech-generated information to another user during periods of voice signal loss.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to improved IP-based communication and, particularly, to a system and method for providing speech-generated text to IP-based telephone communication.
2. Background and Objects of the Invention
There is currently a movement towards enhancing the capabilities of computer networks, such as the Internet, to support traditional telephony operations. The goal is to provide quality voice communications over the packetized Internet. This capability is often referred to a voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). With the current Internet, for example, VoIP can provide acceptable voice communications at a greatly reduced cost to the user, when compared to traditional telephone tolls.
Recently, IP-based telephone systems have become capable of providing video along with voice communication. Standard personal computer (PC) plug-in hardware, such as Picturephone by 3com, and various software applications provided for Internet telephony, such as CU-SeeMe software by White Pine and software by Vocaltech and Microsoft, allow transport of both voice and image data across the Internet. In particular, such systems typically include a microphone, a speaker and a PC plug-in sound card for providing audio data to a user""s PC, and a video camera and a PC plug-in video capture card for providing video data thereto. Upon the establishment of a connection between two or more PCS over the Internet, the audio and video data generated in one PC is packetized and transported over the Internet for display on the other PC, such as within a browser framework. In this way, PC users may view each other while simultaneously speaking to each other.
Existing IP-based telephone systems having video communication capability typically allow a PC user to communicate text to the other PC user in communication therewith. Text entered via the keyboard of a first PC may be transported with the audio and video data over the Internet and displayed as text in a browser window on another PC in communication with the first PC.
These IP-based telephone systems are not without shortcomings. For instance, VoIP usually provides a markedly reduced quality of service relative to conventional long distance telephone services. Poorer voice quality, intermittent fading, and other interruptions are commonly encountered, especially during international calls.
In response to periods of reduced quality of service, callers utilizing IP-based telephone systems frustratingly resort to communicating with typed text instead of attempting to communicate with voice. To further compound the problem, typed text data is transported at a slower rate than voice data. As a result, it is oftentimes quite difficult to engage in communication when one caller is providing voice data and the other caller is providing typed text data, due to the data transmission of voice and typed text being out of synch.
In the context of IP-based telephone systems having video communication capabilities, having to communicate with typed text during periods of reduced quality of voice communication may result in a relatively inexperienced typist being forced to look away from the video display when entering text, thereby reducing the value in being provided a real-time video display of the other caller. As a result, there is a need for an IP-based telephone system which addresses the inherent problems associated with VoIP telephone communication.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an IP-based telephone system which selectively automatically provides text during periods of substandard voice communication.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an IP-based telephone system which allows a caller to view received video data while concurrently transmitting video and speech-generated data.
The present invention overcomes the shortcomings in the above-identified systems and satisfies a significant need for an IP-based telephone system having enhanced and easily utilized communication features.
According to a first embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an improved IP-based telephone system. The telephone system includes a combination of hardware, software and/or firmware employed in association with a conventional PC in order to perform VoIP communication. A video capture card communicatively connected to a PC preferably receives video input data from a video source as well as from a VoIP transmission. A sound card communicatively connected to the PC preferably receives audio input from a microphone as well as from a VoIP transmission. A speech recognition device operatively associated with the PC preferably receives the microphone audio data, recognizes speech patterns therein and generates text data representing the recognized speech patterns. The generated text data is included with the microphone-provided audio data and the video camera-generated video data for transport over the Internet to another PC. In this way, a PC user may communicate video, voice and voice-generated text data to another PC user.
The present system preferably further includes an application which receives VoIP video data and speech-generated text data which were transmitted by another PC. In the event the other PC transmits a signal or set of signals having video data, audio/voice data and speech-generated text data, the application preferably displays the video data and produces audible signals from the audio/voice data using a speaker. In addition, the IP application preferably presents the speech-generated text concurrently with the displayed video data. In this way, the PC user is able to read the speech-generated text while viewing the video data during periods when the VoIP audio signal transmission falters.

System and method for IP-based communication transmitting speech and speech-generated text


A closing unit of an injection molding machine includes a moveable mold mounting plate and a fixed mold mounting plate, a hydraulic pressure mechanism for building up a closing pressure, at least one column provided with an external profile, and at least one two-part nut which is provided with an internal profile and the half members of which are coupled in motionally opposite relationship. The at least one column in the closed condition of the two-part nut is lockable by a positively locking relationship between the internal profile and the external profile relative to the moveable mold mounting plate or relative to the pressure mechanism. There is also provided an electric drive for opening and closing the two-part nut.

The invention concerns a closing unit of an injection molding machine. An injection molding process generally begins with closure of the closing unit, by the moveable mold mounting plate being moved towards the fixed mold mounting plate by a fast-action stroke device. The moveable mold mounting plate is then locked with the pressure-applying piston member of a pressure mechanism, and the pressure mechanism builds up the closing pressure necessary for the injection process.
Frequently, one or more columns are used for guiding the moveable mold mounting plate. In the case of an injection molding machine having one column, the pressure mechanism is often a hydraulic cylinder whose piston exerts a pressure on the moveable mold mounting plate via the column. An injection molding machine having four columns, then also referred to as bars, is also a familiar structure. Here, the pressure mechanism is often in the form of a pressure cushion between the mold mounting plates or at the ends of the bars. Those pressure cushions are also often hydraulic as high pressures have to be built up in a relatively short time.
The subject-matter of the invention is closing units of injection molding machines. In these machines, after the working operation of the fast-action stroke, the columns are locked and the pressure mechanism is supported by way of the columns. In the foregoing examples, on the one hand the columns are locked to the piston member of the pressure mechanism, and on the other hand the bars are locked to the moveable mold mounting plate.
Locking actions of that kind are often implemented by two-part nuts which embrace the columns of the closing unit. That applies both in regard to closing units having one column and also closing units having four columns. To be able to easily open and close the two-part nut, it is advantageous for the halves of the nuts to be mechanically coupled in motionally opposite relationship to each other. Since, as in the above-described examples, the devices necessary for the hydraulic arrangement are often already present there, it is standard procedure in the state of the art to actuate both the fast-action stroke and also the two-part nuts hydraulically.
Disadvantages with hydraulic opening and closing of the nuts are a relatively long reaction time on the part of the hydraulic system and a lack of precise positional detection of the two-part nuts. This means that time is lost in each injection molding process, The hydraulic activation can lead to disturbances in operation or even to damage to the closing unit if the nut is not properly closed and consequently locking of the column is incomplete.
The aim of the invention is to provide a closing unit having a locking mechanism which does not suffer from the above-described disadvantages.

Closing unit for an injection moulding machine


Described herein are methods for diagnosing ovarian cancer. In particular, certain microRNAs are useful to the response to chemotherapy of ovarian cancer patients.

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of gynecological cancer related-death in the developed world. Although progress has been made in its treatment by improved debulking surgery and the introduction of platinum-taxane regimens, the overall 5-year survival is only 29% in advanced stage disease, mostly due to diagnosis at an advance stage and to intrinsic and acquired resistance to platinum based chemotherapy. Identifying molecular markers of ovarian cancer chemoresistance is therefore of crucial importance. Successful translation of findings at the molecular level will lead to individualized treatment regimens, improved chemotherapeutic response rates and avoidance of unnecessary treatments.
In particular, epithelial ovarian cancer is the most common gynecologic malignancy; is highly aggressive and causes almost 125,000 deaths yearly. Despite advances in detection and cytotoxic therapies a very low percentage of patients with advance stage disease survive five years after the initial diagnosis. The high mortality of this disease is mainly due to resistance to the available therapies.
MicroRNAs (miRs) are a class of small non-coding RNAs, which modulate gene expression causing translational repression, mRNA cleavage, or destabilization. They are involved in numerous physiological cellular processes. Most importantly, accumulating evidence indicates that many miRs are aberrantly expressed in human cancers and their expression profiles can classify stage, subtype and prognosis of some cancers.

Methods and materials related to ovarian cancer


A silicon substrate has a protective film formed on each side. A semiconductor surface opening not smaller than a given region is formed by removing the protective film. A through-hole having an inner size smaller than the given region is formed in the opening by laser machining. Thereafter, the inner size of the through-hole is increased by anisotropic etching, and the etching is ended when the inner size of the through-hole reaches the given size. In this way, a through-hole of a given size can be formed without allowing reversely tapered crystal planes to appear from a surface of the substrate toward the inside of the through-hole.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device with a semiconductor substrate. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device in which a through-hole is formed in a semiconductor substrate to thereby establish electrical conduction between a front surface and rear surface of the semiconductor substrate.
2. Related Background Art
Plural active elements are formed on a surface of a semiconductor substrate in conventional electrophotographic apparatuses, optical recording apparatuses, ink jet printer heads, and other semiconductor apparatuses that are made by a semiconductor process. These active elements are electrically connected to each other to thereby give the semiconductor apparatus various functions in compact forms. The recent downsizing of electronic equipment is accompanied by a demand for further reduction in size and increase in density of semiconductor apparatuses. A possible solution under consideration is to electrically connect the front surface and rear surface of a semiconductor substrate via a through-hole formed in the semiconductor substrate, so that the rear surface of the semiconductor substrate, in addition to the front surface, is put into use as a wiring region.
One of the methods to form a through-hole in a semiconductor substrate is laser machining. U.S. Pat. No. 6,563,079 B describes how through-hole formed by laser machining is utilized to electrically connect the front surface and rear surface of a semiconductor substrate. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,563,079 B, the first step is to form, with a laser, a through-hole in a silicon substrate that has a {100} crystal plane orientation on the front and rear surfaces. The inner size of the through-hole is then increased by wet anisotropic etching. Next, an insulating film is formed on the inner surface of the through-hole by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), or the like. On the surface of the insulating film, a conductive film is formed by sputtering, plating, patterning, etching, or the like. A semiconductor substrate whose front surface and rear surface are electrically connected via a conductive film in the through-hole is thus manufactured.
However, the method of forming a through-hole by laser machining and then increasing its inner size by etching, as the one shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,563,079 B, has several problems. The problems originate from the fact that the etching rate in wet anisotropic etching of a semiconductor substrate greatly varies from one crystal orientation to another.
Table 1 shows the etching rate of a silicon substrate when the substrate has {100}, {110} and {111} crystal plane orientations.
TABLE 1Silicon substrate etching rate{100}0.60{110}1.11{111}0.02Etching conditions 20% aqueous solution of TMAHTemperature: 80° C.
First, a description is given on a case in which a laser is used to form a through-hole in a silicon substrate that has a {110} crystal plane orientation on the front and rear surfaces and the hole size of the through-hole is enlarged by wet anisotropic etching. In the case of a silicon substrate that has a {110} crystal plane orientation on the front and rear surfaces, the inner size of a through-hole formed by laser machining is increased in a direction where the crystal orientation is {111}. From Table 1, it is understood that a {111} plane silicon substrate is etched at a rate far slower than a {100} silicon substrate and a {110} plane silicon substrate. In the case of a silicon substrate that has a {110} crystal plane orientation on the front and rear surfaces, the inner size of a through-hole formed by laser machining is increased in a direction where the crystal orientation is a {110} crystal plane, and the etching rate of the through-hole is very slow. Accordingly, industrially speaking, it is not preferable to use a silicon substrate that has a {110} crystal plane orientation on the front and rear surfaces in the method of forming a through-hole and then increasing its inner size by etching.
A case of using a silicon substrate that has a {100} crystal plane orientation on the front and rear surfaces is described next. FIGS. 8A and 8B show the positional relation between a {111} crystal plane, a {100} crystal plane and a {110} crystal plane in a {100} silicon substrate. FIG. 8A is a perspective view showing the positional relation between the three crystal planes in the {100} silicon substrate, and FIG. 8B is a sectional view cut along the {110} crystal plane. As can be seen in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the {100} crystal plane and the {110} crystal plane are at right angles with each other whereas the {111} crystal plane is at about 754.7° with respect to the {100} crystal plane.
FIGS. 9A and 9B are schematic diagrams showing the state of a through-hole which is formed by a laser in a silicon substrate having a {100} crystal plane orientation on the front and rear surfaces and which is enlarged in size by wet anisotropic etching. FIG. 9A is a sectional view of the semiconductor substrate and FIG. 9B is a top view of the semiconductor substrate. FIG. 9A only shows the vicinity of the through-hole on the front surface of the semiconductor substrate, but the rear surface of the semiconductor substrate is in a similar state. The dotted lines in FIG. 9A represent the through-hole after it is formed by laser machining and before its inner size is increased by etching.
In FIGS. 9A and 9B, a reference symbol 1 denotes a semiconductor substrate made of silicon, 3 denotes a protective film formed from a thermally oxidized film and having an insulating ability, and 5 denotes a through-hole. Laser machining is performed after the protective film 3 is formed on each side of the semiconductor substrate 1, and therefore the inner circle (indicated by the dotted lines) of the through-hole formed by laser machining matches the opening in the protective film 3 in shape. When the silicon substrate has a {100} crystal plane orientation on the front and rear surfaces, the inner size of the through-hole formed by laser machining is increased in a direction where the crystal orientation is {110}. This means that the through-hole is etched easily at a fast etching rate.
On the other hand, the substrate is hardly etched in a direction where the crystal orientation is {111}. The {111} crystal plane forms, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, an angle of about 54.7° with the {100} crystal plane on the front and rear surfaces of the silicon substrate. An increase in inner size of the through-hole 5 by anisotropic etching therefore gives the through-hole in the vicinity of the opening an edged shape (reversely tapered shape) at an angle of about 54.7° as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B. The reversely tapered shape is enlarged as the anisotropic etching progresses.
In the case of the through-hole 5 shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the hole size is larger inside the hole than at its openings on the front surface and rear surface of the semiconductor substrate 1. This makes it difficult to form on the inner surface of the through-hole a uniform insulating film or conductive film by CVD, PVD or the like. Specifically, in CVD or the like, the reversely tapered shape of the through-hole in which the inner size is small at the openings and becomes larger toward the middle of the hole hinders vapor circulation in the through-hole and thus lowers the deposition efficiency. In PVD such as sputtering, the reversely tapered shape could prevent metal atoms, which linearly travel from the entrances of the through-hole to the inside of the through-hole, from reaching the inner surface of the through-hole geometrically. The resultant insulating film or conductive film does not have a necessary thickness, and causes defective insulation or defective conduction.
Forming the conductive film by plating is also unsuccessful in giving the conductive film a necessary thickness and avoiding defective conduction since the reversely tapered shape detains a plating solution inside the through-hole 5 and prevents the plating liquid from circulating back to the outside of the through-hole, thus lowering the speed of plating the inner surface of the through-hole.
The semiconductor substrate 1 forms a semiconductor pattern after the through-hole 5 is formed. The formation of the semiconductor pattern includes application of a resist material by spin coating or the like, and therefore it is desirable to seal the interior of the through-hole 5 completely with a sealing material. A conceivable sealing measure is injection utilizing printing, a dispenser, a difference in air pressure, or the like. Here the reversely tapered openings of the through-hole 5 pose another problem. With the reversely tapered openings, filling the through-hole 5 completely with a sealing material by injection is difficult and there is a strong possibility that air bubbles are left in the interior of the through-hole 5.
As shown in FIG. 9A, the thermally oxidized film 3 formed to a thickness of about 1 μm on the semiconductor substrate 1 also has a function of an etching stopper layer. As the inner size of the through-hole 5 in the semiconductor substrate 1 is increased by etching, a hood portion 3a is formed in the thermally oxidized layer 3 as an etching stopper layer. The hood portion 3a is easily broken at a small pressure, presenting a serious problem for the reliability of the step.

Method of manufacturing semiconductor device and semiconductor device


A switchable pressure limiting valve with an electromagnet (1) and with a device (2) for opening and closing a passage for the fluid stream. The opening of the valve is determined by the balance of forces at the tappet (3) upon which the pressure force of the fluid at the P-connection (4), the pressure force of the fluid at the T-connection (13) and the forces of two springs (5) and (6) act. The force of the spring (6) is varied by means of the position of the armature of the electromagnet. When the pressure force at the P-connection (4) outweighs the sum of the other forces, the valve opens. The above-mentioned device for opening and closing is composed of a diaphragm (7) and of a sealing seat (12), and this diaphragm is tension-mounted sealingly between the magnetic pole (10) and the housing (21).

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Pressure limiting valves are presupposed to be known, a switchable pressure limiting valve having been described in EP 1 916 460 B1. The publications JP 2001 107 909 A and FR 2 906 594 A1 show electrically continuously adjustable pressure limiting valves.


Curcuminoid formulations having enhanced bioavailability are provided and comprise a curcuminoid, antioxidant, glucuronidation inhibitor, and water-soluble, pharmaceutically acceptable inhibitor. A method of treating Alzheimer's and other age-related diseases by administering such a composition is also provided.

Pathogenesis of diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's show mounting evidence of oxidative damage and inflammatory factors. Unfortunately, despite strong epidemiology and rationale, antioxidant and NSAID approaches to these age-related diseases have generally not been successful in the clinic. For example, vitamin E has failed in trials for Alzheimer's and heart disease prevention, while COX inhibitors have failed for Alzheimer treatment and been dropped for prevention efforts with traditional antioxidants (selenium, vitamin E, β carotene), estrogens, and COX-2 inhibitors. The demographics of our aging population drive an urgent need for suitable alternatives for prevention and possible treatment of one or more of the chronic diseases of aging.
As a tumeric extract, curcumin is the yellow in yellow curries and is used as a food additive, for example, in yellow mustard. Like the "wonder drug" aspirin, which remains one of our few successful preventive agents, the long-term health potential of curcumin has a substantial history and a relatively well-established scientific basis. It has been identified as a major bioactive agent in an empirically developed system of traditional Indian and Chinese medicine.
Curcumin (diferulomethane) is not only a potent natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, acting on NFkB and AP-1 regulated pro-inflammatory mediators including COX-2, iNOS, il-1 and TNFα, but has multiple useful activities and has shown therapeutic potential in many pre-clinical culture and animal models for diseases, often related to aging. These include cancers (colon, prostate, breast, skin, leukemia, etc.) (Agarwal et al., 2003), prion disease (Caughey et al., 2003), atherosclerosis (Miquel et al., 2002; Ramaswami et al., 2004), stroke (G. Sun, personal comm.), CNS alcohol toxicity (Rajakrishnan et al., 1999), traumatic brain injury (F. Gomez-Pinilla, UCLA personal comm.), Huntington's disease (M F Chesselet, personal comm.), Marie-Charcot Tooth (J. Lupski, personal comm.), multiple sclerosis (EAE), and Alzheimer's disease.
Curcumin can block aggregation of Aβ and other amyloid-forming peptides to toxic fibrils and oligomers; chelate metals that cause lipid and protein and DNA oxidative damage to the brain; inhibit aberrant inflammation through AP-1 and NFkB transcription; stimulate beneficial microglial phagocytosis like the amylid vaccine to clear amyloid out of brain; and inhibit production of BACE under conditions of oxidative damage and inflammation, thus limiting Aβ production. Broad Spectrum efficacy for age-related disease is accentuated by positive life extension data (Kitani et al., 2004). Based on its outstanding safety profile and efficacy in multiple disease models with oxidative damage and inflammatory factors, curcumin has shown excellent potential for disease pathogenesis in Alzheimer models. Curcumin is on the short list of useful agents for cancer chemoprevention under development by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which put curcumin through the National Toxicology Program and pre-clinical safety and efficacy trials (Kelloff et al., 1996; Chainani-Wu, 2003). Curcumin has passed several phase I trials for cancer and is currently in further clinical trials for cancers at multiple sites in the US and abroad.
Curcumin's structure resembles that of amyloid binding compounds. (FIG. 1) Amyloid dyes like Congo Red (CR) are known to bind via planar hydrophobic groups with appropriately spaced charge, and to suppress β-amyloid and other β-sheet-dependent peptide aggregation and toxicity. The Congo Red analogue, Chrysamine G, is more brain permeant and retains CR's amyloid binding properties. Curcumin shares the 19 angstrom CR spacing between its polar phenol groups; is readily brain permeant; and binds amyloid peptides, inhibiting their aggregation and toxicity in vitro. We have discovered that curcumin effectively reduces amyloid accumulation in vivo in APP Tg mice. Because CR's anti-amyloid binding is generic and potentially relevant to other β-sheet intraneuronal aggregates including Huntington, a-synuclein, prions and tau, curcumin's anti-amyloid activity may be relevant beyond extracellular amyloid to intraneuronal aggregates. In fact, curcumin is one of the most effective anti-prion compounds ever tested in vitro, although it did not work in vivo with oral dosing of unstated formulation (Caughey et al., 2003). This raises the limitations of curcumin oral bioavailability, the subject of the present invention.
The benefits of curcumin as a treatment for multiple diseases with aggregating amyloid proteins and other CAG repeat disorders are being established, and its efficacy in treating stroke, head trauma, metabolic syndrome, and many other conditions, including some forms of cancer and arthritis, as well as in promoting wound healing, is also beginning to be understood. All of these therapeutic applications are limited, however, because of poor intestinal absorption.
Although curcumin is an effective medication in multiple animal models for human diseases when given in chow at high doses (typically 2,000-5,000 ppm in diet in cancer trials), the current dogma is that it is so poorly bioavailable that it cannot be used for treatment outside the colon in humans. Curcumin is very hydrophobic and typically is not dissolved when delivered as a powder extract in common nutraceuticals. Most curcumin activities require 100-2,000 nanomolar (0.1-2 micromolar) levels in vitro, but current supplements result in negligible, low nanomolar blood levels (see Sharma et al., 2004). R. Sharma's group at Leicester has tried repeatedly and been unable to achieve significant blood levels beyond the low nanomolar range (Garcea G., Jones J D, Singh R., Dennison A R, Farmer P B, Sharma R A, Steward W P, Gescher A J, Berry D P. Detection of curcumin and its metabolites in hepatic tissue and portal blood of patients following oral administration. Br J Cancer. 2004 Mar. 8; 90 (5); 1011-5. PMID: 14997198.) They and others conclude that delivery of effective concentrations of oral curcumin to systemic tissues (outside the GI tract) is "probably not feasible." Most of the literature supports this view, leading the NCI to focus on colon cancer.
Three factors limit curcumin absorption and need to be addressed: 1) rapid glucuronidation/sulfation of curcumin's phenolic hydroxyl groups and high "first pass" clearance; 2) curcumin is unstable in aqueous solution at pH 7 and above; and 3) curcumin is very hydrophobic and typically is not water soluble at acidic pH and when delivered as a dry powder in existing supplements. (Most of the curcumin is never absorbed and simply passes through the GI tract and is excreted.)
Solubilization is critical to prevent this, but curcumin requires pH 8.5 to dissolve completely. For this reason, cancer patients are taking huge doses, typically up to 8 gms a day. Diarrhea is a common side-effect. Garcea, G. et al. (2004) report that with patients taking 3.6 gms of curcumin a day (as a standard powder extract capsule supplied by Sabinsa Corporation), blood and liver levels achieved are negligible. They conclude that "[t]he results suggest that doses of curcumin required to furnish hepatic levels sufficient to exert pharmacological activity are probably not feasible in humans."
Curcumin is not soluble at acidic pH and breaks down when solubilized and diluted into water at neutral or alkaline pH (e.g., in the GI tract, after the small intestine), due to keto-enol transformations in the β-diketone bridge. In addition, curcumin is susceptible to rapid glucuronidation/sulfation The major U.S. supplier, Sabinsa, has tried to make a more bioavailable form by adding Bioperine (piperine) to inhibit glucuronidation. Such an approach is flawed, however, because most glucuronidation takes place in the upper GI tract, where the pH is acidic, and curcumin is not completely dissolved until pH 8.5 and higher. Even worse, inhibiting glucuronidation can cause serious health risks. Glucuronidation is protective against many toxins and involved in the metabolism of commonly used drugs. Most elderly patients are on multiple drugs, at levels likely to be unsafely altered by inhibition of glucuronidation.
Although many groups have come up with theoretical ideas for improving absorption of curcumin, most have involved entirely in vitro studies, probably because of the difficulty in measuring curcumin and its metabolites in tissue. Our facilities, knowledge, and experience in measuring curcumin and tetrahydrocurcumin have yielded a better approach.

Bioavailable curcuminoid formulations for treating Alzheimer's disease and other age-related disorders

The Regents of the University of California


In one embodiment, in accordance with the present invention, a method, computer program product, and system for an in-vehicle content display using augmented reality. The method includes detecting a traffic signal. The method further includes, in response to detecting the traffic signal, calculating a safety degree of a vehicle. The method further includes calculating based on a position of the traffic signal, a display area for projecting content, in accordance with the safety degree onto a front glass of the vehicle. The method further includes determining whether to project content in the display area in accordance with the safety degree.

The present invention relates generally to the field of augmented reality, and more particularly to an in-vehicle content display using augmented reality.
Augmented reality, also referred to as mixed reality and computer-mediated reality, presents a user with an on-going interactive experience of a real-world environment whereby one or more objects that reside in the real-world can be "augmented" with the use of computer-generated perceptual information. In some cases, the computer-generated perceptual information can include multiple sensory modalities, such as visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory (i.e., a sensation such as pressure, pain, or warmth), and olfactory information that is overlaid on the real-world environment. The overlaid sensory information is seamlessly interwoven with the physical world such that it is perceived as an immersive aspect of the real environment.
An automotive heads-up display, also referred to as an auto-HUD, is a transparent display that presents data in the automobile, generally without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints.

International Business Machines Corporation


An apparatus for applying covers to books of signatures transported along a binding line includes cover feeders for feeding at least two covers upon a conveyor line and a fastening arrangement for joining the covers in substantially superimposed registration on the signatures at a covering station on the binding line. A spacer bar is supported on the conveyor line for temporarily separating the covers before they are joined to the signatures. A registration arrangement maintains the alignment of the covers upon the conveyor line.

Collating and binding systems are well known in the printing industry for mass producing booklets, magazines, catalogues, advertising brochures and the like. Typically, one or more sharply folded and generally pre-printed blanks or signatures are sequentially fed by a number of spaced signature feeders. The signatures are delivered such that the signatures come to rest upon a collating conveyor line which travels past the signature feeders. The conveyor gathers the signatures, one on top of the other, and moves them to a binding station. The assembled signatures then are usually diverted to a trimming station and further led to a labeling station where mailing labels are affixed.
Prior art systems of this type contemplate the computer controlled production of various demographic editions of books or catalogues of internal and external (cover) signatures containing individually tailored information or customized printing on selected signatures. This flexibility is important in satisfying the demands of a particular market or geographical destination. For instance, it may be desirable to offer certain customers or subscribers various features or selected advertising depending upon their special interest, income or occupation. Likewise, it may be relevant to customize products or services contingent upon a customer's previous buying history. As an example, a publication may issue one demographic edition for parents of newborn children who have purchased baby products, another edition for farmers interested in the latest milking machines and still another edition for fitness buffs who have ordered exercise equipment. a mechanism for applying a particular external signature or cover to the gathered signatures. One example of this type of system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,816,866 issued Jun. 18, 1974 to Miaskoff et al. In this arrangement, a first cover feed assembly is provided to feed single covers to a cover conveyor. In the event of malfunctioning of the first cover feed assembly, a second cover feed assembly is activated to feed single covers to the cover conveyor. A detector is employed to prevent either a failure to feed a cover or a feeding of double covers. The single cover fed to the cover conveyor is provided with an adhesive and is then applied to a collection of signatures to form a bound book. The book is transported to a trimmer where the book is trimmed as desired and is finally delivered to a labeler to be addressed to a subscriber who is to receive the particular edition of the book.
The recipient of a book produced by the aforedescribed system may experience the partial obliteration of the cover information, artwork or photography caused by the size and position of the mailing label. In addition, the unprotected cover may arrive torn, watermarked, folded or otherwise violated. Some attempts have been made to alleviate these problems by variously encasing or wrapping the bound book in plastic or the like and then applying the mailing label to the wrapper off-line. However, this scheme has not only been expensive but poses an environmental problem because of the slowly degradable nature of the wrapping material.
Accordingly, it is desirable that a demographic bindery system preserve a greater degree of integrity of the finished book, provide a cost efficient design offering different types of covers, and allow for a protective, disposable wrapper which is environmentally acceptable.

Apparatus for applying covers to signatures


A beating apparatus for fibre suspensions, including a housing having at least one inlet for suspension and one outlet for beaten suspension, a rotor rotatably arranged in the housing and having a beating surface, in which open perforations extend through the rotor, and at least one stator arranged in the housing and having a stator shoe located close to the beating surface of the rotor is provided. In order to prevent unbeaten suspension from reaching the outlet, shields and guides are provided between the inlet and the outlet. The shield and guides lead all flow between the inlet and the outlet through the stator shield.

Such a beating apparatus is known from SE-B-307 504, wherein the rotor is a drum, the inlet for suspension opens into the drum, a plurality of stator shoes is arranged at the outer periphery of the drum and a space outside the drum communicates with the outlet. The drum is open towards the inlet and a stationary distributor drum is inserted in the drum to direct incoming flow of suspension towards predetermined locations of the internal periphery of the drum, viz., those locations located in the beginning, as counted in the rotational direction of the drum, of the stator shoes arranged at the outer periphery of the drum. From strength reasons, however, a drum for a beating apparatus of this kind must be provided with a relatively thick envelope wall. This, in turn, results in that the perforations of the envelope wall become so extended in the radial direction that the passage time for a fibre from entering a perforation until leaving it may be so long that the fibre leaves a perforation only after it has passed a stator shoe, i.e., between two stator shoes, which results in that the unbeaten fibres mixes outside the rotor with beaten fibres having passed through the stator shoes. This, of course, results in an insufficient beating of the suspension.


A detection apparatus includes a transistor disposed on a substrate, a conversion element disposed above the transistor and connected to the transistor, a capacitor connected in parallel with conversion element to the transistor, the capacitor including, between the substrate and the conversion element, an ohmic contact part connected to the conversion element, a semiconductor part connected to the ohmic contact part, and an electrically conductive part disposed at a location opposite to the semiconductor part and the ohmic contact part via an insulating layer, and a potential supplying unit configured to selectively supply a first electric potential to the electrically conductive part to accumulate charge carriers in the semiconductor part and a second electric potential to the electrically conductive part to deplete the semiconductor part. The detection apparatus configured in the above-described manner is capable of controlling pixel capacitance thereby achieving a high signal-to-noise ratio.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a medical diagnostic imaging apparatus, a non-destructive testing apparatus, and a detection apparatus and a detection system for use in an analysis apparatus using radiation or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Thin-film semiconductor technology has been used to produce sensing and imaging devices, such as a photosensor apparatus or a radiation detection apparatus using an array of pixels. In this type of apparatuses, each pixel includes a combination of a switch element such as a TFT (thin film transistor) and a conversion element such as a photoelectric conversion element. Particularly, in recent years, to meet a requirement for higher sensitivity and higher operating speed, an effort has been made to achieve the requirement by producing a pixel array of a detection apparatus by using polycrystalline semiconductor TFTs as switching elements. In general, the pixel structure used in a detection apparatus can be classified into two types, i.e., a single-plane type in which a conversion element and a switch element are disposed in the same plane and a stacked type in which a conversion element is disposed above (stacked upon) a switch element. In the production of single-plane type pixels, the conversion element and the switch element can be produced using the same semiconductor production process, which allows simplification of the production process. On the other hand, in the production of stacked-type pixels, the provision of the conversion element above the switch element makes it possible to increase the size of the conversion element in each pixel compared with the single-plane type, and thus an increased aperture ratio can be obtained. The aperture ratio is generally understood as the ratio between the transparent area of a pixel (excluding the pixel's wiring area) and the whole pixel area. In the single-plane type, the area occupied by the switch element and wiring reduces the aperture ratio. In contrast, in the stacked type, because the switch element is stacked with the conversion element and because microfabrication enables reduction in the size of the wiring, the aspect ratio is increased. Therefore, in a stacked-type detection apparatus, it is possible to increase optical efficiency (the amount of radiation or light incident on the active area of the pixel) compared with the single-plane type detection apparatus. This makes it possible to provide a detection apparatus with a high signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio and high optical sensitivity.
Regarding such a detection apparatus, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-085029 discloses a photoelectric conversion apparatus, using a pixel including a photoelectric conversion element disposed above a switch element on a substrate, configured such that capacitance of the pixel is increased to increase the light intensity (the amount of radiation) acceptable by the pixel. More specifically, in the photoelectric conversion apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-085029, a capacitor is directly connected to a photoelectric conversion element and the capacitor is disposed in a region where the capacitor overlaps the photoelectric conversion element when seen in plan view. In the above-described apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-085029, because the capacitor is directly connected to the photoelectric conversion element, the pixel has a fixed capacitance value which cannot be adjusted.
In a detection apparatus used to take a radiographic image for medical diagnosis, there is a need for a detection apparatus capable of capturing both still images and moving images. In capturing radiographic images, the amount of radiation used in taking one moving image is about 1/100 of that used in capturing one still image. Therefore, there is a large difference in the maximum amount of radiation acceptable by the pixel between moving and still images. For example, if a moving image is captured using a pixel with large capacitance set to be optimum for detecting high radiation density in capturing still images, the capacitance of the pixel may be too large in capturing moving images, and thus there is a possibility that a resultant signal is not sufficiently high. On the other hand, in a case where a still image is captured using a pixel with small capacitance set to be optimum for detecting low radiation density in capturing moving images, the capacitance of the pixel may be too small for capturing still images, and thus there is a possibility that saturation occurs in the pixel, and a resultant signal does not include necessary image information.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0190215 discloses a detection apparatus configured such that a capacitor is connected to a conversion element via a switch to achieve a capability of controlling the capacitance of the conversion element by controlling the switch.

Semiconductor detection apparatus capable of switching capacitance among different levels, and detection system including the apparatus


An object is to provide a burnishing method in which it is possible to reduce the flying height of a magnetic head by improving the smoothness of the surface of a magnetic disk while suppressing contamination of the magnetic disk due to falling-off or crushing of abrasive grains from a polishing tape.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a burnishing method and a burnishing apparatus and to a burnishing method which is suitably used when performing surface polishing for finish of a magnetic disk which is used in, for example, a hard disk drive.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-138576 filed on Jun. 20, 2012, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
The distance between a magnetic disk and a magnetic head which floats and runs on the magnetic recording surface of the magnetic disk becomes increasingly narrow with an increase in the recording density of the magnetic disk which is used in a hard disk drive. For this reason, it is necessary to reduce the flying height of the magnetic head.
Further, in the past, in a manufacturing process of the magnetic disk, burnishing (polishing treatment) to remove minute dust or projections formed on or stuck to the surface of the magnetic disk has been performed. Since the smoothness of the surface of the magnetic disk is improved by performing the burnishing, the flying height of the magnetic head in the hard disk drive can be further reduced.
As a burnishing method of the related art, for example, a method to press a polishing tape against the surface of the magnetic disk which rotates, by a contact roller, and run the polishing tape with respect to the surface of the magnetic disk can be given (refer to, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H11-277339).
Usually, the polishing tape which is used in the burnishing spans between a supply reel and a take-up reel, sequentially supplied from the supply reel, and then taken up by the take-up reel. Then, on the way where the polishing tape runs from the supply reel side to the take-up reel side, the surface (the back surface) on the opposite side to an abrasive grain surface of the polishing tape is pressed by the contact roller, and thus the polishing surface is pressed against the surface of the magnetic disk.
As the polishing tape (a burnishing tape) which is used in the burnishing, usually, a tape made by forming an abrasive layer on a base film made of polyester is used. As an abrasive, chromium oxide, α-alumina, silicon carbide, nonmagnetic iron oxide, diamond, γ-alumina, α,γ-alumina, molten alumina, corundum, artificial diamond, or the like, which has an average particle diameter in a range of 0.05 μm to 50 μm, is used (refer to, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H09-054943).
Further, also in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2010-267313, a burnishing process for the surface of the magnetic disk is described. In the burnishing process described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2010-267313, after a burnishing tape is loaded on a ramp road provided further outside the outermost periphery of the magnetic disk, processing is performed by moving the tape on the surface of the magnetic disk, and thereafter, the tape is unloaded from the ramp road.

Burnishing method and burnishing apparatus

Abstract: In the burnishing method, an alignment process of adjusting the position in a thickness direction of a magnetic disk 10 of an outer peripheral plate 75 installed outside an outer peripheral end 10c of at least one of the magnetic disk 10 and the magnetic disk 10 so as to make the surface of the outer peripheral plate 75 and the surface of the magnetic disk 10 become flush with each other is performed between a substrate installation process and a burnishing process.


A recording apparatus is provided. The recording component includes a plurality of recording portions arranged in a first direction and moves relatively to a recording medium at a speed V in a second direction intersecting with the first direction. The reading component reads an image recorded on the recording medium in a reading cycle T by a plurality of reading sections arranged at a predetermined pitch in the first direction. The control component controls, on the recording medium by the recording component, recordation of a detection mark having a size W in the first direction of twice or more than twice the predetermined pitch and a size L in the second direction in which L≧(n+1)·V·T (where n is an integer of 1 or more) and calculate a barycenter position of the detection mark in the first direction based on a reading result of the detection mark.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus, a position detecting method for a recording portion and storage medium storing a position detecting program for a recording portion.
2. Related Art
Techniques regarding reading an image by the use of a line sensor have been disclosed.
However, it has been generally difficult to accurately detect positions of a plurality of recording portions based on a result that an image recorded by the recording portions arranged in a predetermined direction is read by a reading component including a plurality of reading sections arranged in the predetermined direction.

Recording apparatus and method, and storage medium storing program for detecting position of recording portion


The invention provides liquid controlled-release drug delivery compositions which gel upon injection into the body to form, in situ, controlled-release drug implants. The compositions of the invention feature a gel-forming polymer that is insoluble in water, a polyethylene glycol solvent in which the polymer is dissolved, and the drug substance to be delivered.

There are many useful drugs on the market today for which traditional means of administration are far from ideal. Bolus injections and oral unit doses typically result in a high initial systemic concentration of the active agent, in excess of the therapeutic concentration, which falls off over time and which will fall below the therapeutic concentration if another bolus is not timely administered. The result is that the ideal therapeutic concentration is not consistently maintained, there is a risk of toxicity associated with high systemic exposure to the drug, and the maintenance of a minimally effective concentration is dependent upon repeated administration at prescribed intervals. Patient compliance with a dosing regimen is difficult to ensure, especially where the course of therapy is long or of indeterminate or lifetime duration. There is a need for methods to deliver these drugs more effectively, so that therapeutic concentrations are maintained constantly in the tissues intended to be treated over an extended period of time, with minimal vulnerability to the vagaries of patient compliance, and ideally with minimal systemic exposure or exposure of uninvolved tissues and organs.
Modern drug discovery methods have led to the development of many drugs which are far more potent, yet have poorer solubility, than drugs developed through traditional medicinal chemistry methods. The development of these often-complex drugs has resulted in a need for methods to deliver such drugs more effectively and efficiently as well.
Extended-release and controlled-release drug delivery systems have been developed to address these needs. Implanted pumps and reservoirs, with various mechanisms for regulating release of drugs, were among the first solutions to be developed. A wide variety of polymeric matrices, permeated with drug substance, have also been developed which serve as implantable drug reservoirs. These polymeric implants gradually release drug over the course of days, weeks, or months as the contained drug diffuses through and out of the matrix and into the surrounding tissue. Three principal advantages provided by polymeric drug delivery compositions are:
(1) Localized delivery of drug. The product can be implanted directly at the site where drug action is needed and hence systemic exposure of the drug can be reduced. This becomes especially important for toxic drugs which are related to various systemic side effects (such as the chemotherapeutic drugs).
(2) Sustained delivery of drug. The drug is released over extended periods, eliminating the need for multiple injections or oral doses. This improves patient compliance, especially for drugs for chronic indications requiring frequent administration, such as replacement therapy for enzyme or hormone deficiencies, or for extended antibiotic treatments for such tenacious diseases as tuberculosis.
(3) Stabilization of the drug. The polymer matrix protects the drug from the physiological environment, particularly circulating enzymes, thereby improving stability in vivo. This makes the technology particularly attractive for the delivery of labile proteins and peptides.
For the reasons above, the use of drug-infused polymer implants as sustained-release drug delivery devices is now well established. One class of existing implants consists of preformed devices, ranging in size from matchstick-sized cylindrical rods such as the Norplant™ (levonorgestrel) and Zoladex™ (goserelin acetate) implants, to microspheres such as are sold under the trade name Lupron Depot™ (leuprolide acetate).
A major disadvantage of the macroscopic devices is their physical size. Implantation of Zoladex™ rods, for instance, requires the use of 14- or 16-gauge needles, and implantation of Norplant™ rods requires a surgical incision under local anesthesia, with similar subsequent procedures to replace and/or remove them. (The Zoladex™ rods are bioerodable, whereas Norplant™ implants are based on a non-bioerodable silicone.) Self-administration of such implants is not feasible, and the required intervention of trained medical personnel greatly raises the cost and inconvenience of such treatments.
Drug-containing polymer implants have been reduced in size by the expedient of grinding or milling a mixture of a drug substance and a gel-forming polymer at low temperature, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,738. The resulting powder is then suspended in a non-aqueous viscous solvent, such polyethylene glycol or a biocompatible oil, to obtain an injectable composition.
The size problem has similarly been overcome with microsphere implants, which can be administered (and self-administered where appropriate) by injection of an aqueous suspension of the microspheres. Lupron Depot™, for example, can be comfortably injected with a 22- or 23-gauge needle. Because microspheres are not retrievable from the body, they are necessarily based on bioerodable polymers. However, if an aqueous suspension of microspheres is stored for any length of time, the drug will diffuse from the particles into the aqueous phase, furthermore the bioerodable matrix itself is prone to hydrolysis in an aqueous environment. For these reasons, the injectable aqueous suspension must be prepared at the time of injection. A second disadvantage is the need for intramuscular injection. Finally, preparation of the microspheres is a complex process that is not easily carried out reproducibly and reliably, and regulatory validation of the manufacturing process can be a significant obstacle to commercialization of such products.
Another class of implants differing from pre-formed solid devices is injectable liquids. Upon injection, these are transformed in situ into solid implants. This class of implants is typified by compositions that transform from a drug-containing liquid phase to a drug-infused gel phase upon exposure to a physiological environment. Such in situ gelling compositions have several advantages: they can be readily and reliably manufactured by standard methods, they can be stored in the form of easily-injected liquids, they can be placed locally to achieve local delivery, and they can flow prior to gelling so as to fill voids and create a less-visible subcutaneous implant. In addition, a gelling, implant can serve as a scaffold for cellular colonization and tissue growth.
There are various changes in conditions that can trigger the gelling of an in situ gelling composition. Among these are changes in pH, osmolality, temperature, water concentration, and alterations in specific ion concentrations.
Temperature-sensitive in situ gelling compositions generally change from a sol to a gel when the temperature exceeds a critical solution temperature, which in the case of drug delivery systems must be reasonably close to body temperature. An example is the polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide block copolymer, sold under the trade name Pluronic™ F 127. A 25-40% aqueous solution of this material will gel at about body temperature, and drug release from such a gel occurs over a period of up to one week. Such compositions have the disadvantage that they must be carefully protected from premature gelling, through refrigerated storage, and no bioerodable polymer has yet been developed that undergoes a sol-gel transition at about body temperature.
A hydrogel whose drug release profile is both temperature- and pH-modulated has also been reported (T. G. Park, in Biomaterials 20:517-521 (1999)).
Another class of compositions form gels upon contact with water. For example, glycerol monooleate (GMO) containing a drug can be injected as a liquid lamellar phase, which upon injection and exposure to water forms a highly viscous cubic-phase hydrate. The drug is released from the cubic phase over the course of several days. An example of an injectable drug depot product based on GMO is the metronidazole dental gel formulation marketed under the trade name Elyzol™. Due to the high water content of the cubic phase, GMO formulations are prone to rapid drug release and are limited in duration of effect to no more than about five days.
There are very few biocompatible liquid crystal compositions that meet the requirement for phase transition to a sufficiently viscous state at physiological conditions. Polymers that precipitate upon contact with water, on the other hand, are numerous, and present a more versatile approach to the formulation of compositions that gel upon contact with water. Approaches based on in situ gelling compositions are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,938,763, 5,077,049, 5,278,202, 5,324,519 and 5,780,044, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
For example, the Atrigel™ drug delivery system consists of a bioerodable poly(DL-lactide-glycolide) (PLGA) copolymer (75:25 molar ratio) dissolved in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). Pharmaceuticals may be blended into this PLGA solution at the point of manufacture, or they may be added by the physician at the time of use. The liquid product is injected subcutaneously or intramuscularly through a small gauge needle, whereupon displacement of the NMP carrier with water in the tissue fluids causes the PLGA to precipitate, forming a solid film or implant. The drug incorporated within the implant is then released in a controlled manner as the polymer matrix erodes with time in the body. PLGA-based implants of this type can release drug over a period of several months. An example of a product employing this technology is the leuprolide acetate formulation marketed under the trade name Eligard™.
The Atrigel™ system uses N-methylpyrrolidinone (NMP) as a solvent for the PLGA copolymer. NMP is a water-miscible, low-molecular-weight and low-viscosity solvent that rapidly diffuses from the implant. Rapid solvent escape from the injected composition can lead to rapid and uneven precipitation of the polymer, shrinking of the implant, and local irritation or even necrosis due to exposure of tissues to a high local concentration of solvent.
The use of liquid polymers as solvents for in situ gel-forming compositions has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,686 and in U.S. application Ser. No. 10/169,012 (US 2003/0082234), corresponding to international patent application PCT/KR00/01508 (WO 01/45742). However, according to these patents, polyethylene glycol is not suitable as a solvent for PLGA.
In situ polymer-precipitation systems solve many of the problems associated with implants, but some difficulties remain. There is a need for in situ gelling drug delivery systems with improved properties, a simple preparation procedure and low toxicity of excipient.
PEGs have the advantage of solubilizing different drugs than NMP; in particular pegylated proteins can be expected to be more soluble and/or miscible in PEGs than in NMP. An additional advantage is that PEGs are available in different molecular weights and have different viscosities. In many instances it important to be able to control the viscosity of the injected gelling agent, which is not possible with NMP.


A tea tray assembly includes a disc having a positioning groove in a top face thereof. A positioning hole extends from a bottom wall of the positioning groove through a bottom face of the disc. A water discharge box is mounted to the bottom face of the disc and includes a body having a water discharge chamber. The body further includes an abutment portion extending transversely from an upper edge thereof and abutting the bottom face of the disc. A tightening member includes a connecting portion extending through the positioning hole of the disc. A pressing and holding portion of the connecting portion is located in the positioning groove of the disc. An outer thread of the connecting portion securely engages with an inner thread of the water discharge box, retaining the pressing and holding portion to the bottom wall of the positioning groove.

The present invention relates to a tea tray assembly and, more particularly, to a tea tray assembly permitting easy manufacture and assembly, discharging water and fragments of tea leaves, permitting ease of use, and avoiding accumulation of water and untidiness.
A tea tray can support a teapot, tea cups, and other tea making tools and can be made of various materials, such as metal, wood, bamboo, and a ceramic material. Tea trays generally include a single layer or a dual layer structure. In a single layer structure, a water outlet coupler having a water outlet is disposed on a side of a tea tray, and a drainage tube is coupled to an outer periphery of the water outlet coupler, such that waste tea/water and fragments of tea leaves on the tea tray can be discharged via the water outlet and the drainage tube.
However, in the single layer structure, the diameter of the water outlet is smaller than an inner diameter of the drainage tube, such that a resistance could occur due to existence of air in the drainage tube while draining water. The water drainage is not smooth, the flow of water is slow, and water is apt to accumulate on the tea tray. Furthermore, the fragments of tea leaves in the water flow are pat to get stuck in the water outlet and must be cleaned and removed manually.
In a tea tray having a double layer structure, a drainage hole is defined in an upper supporting disc, and a lower supporting disc is used to receive waste tea/water. When it is desired to clean the lower supporting disc, the upper supporting disc must be removed, which is relatively inconvenient. Furthermore, the lower supporting disc has a relatively large area, which is troublesome to the user cleaning the tea tray.
Thus, a need exists for a novel tea tray that mitigates and/or obviates the above disadvantages.


A solid-state laser having a laser resonator which includes an etalon to allow a single longitudinal mode of oscillation to occur in the width of the wavelength which permits the oscillation of the medium of the solid-state laser. The etalon is interposed in the resonator which is constituted of a surface of a resonant mirror and one end surface of a solid-state laser medium, and wherein the interval of the longitudinal modes of the etalon is set to be in the range from approximately one half to one width of the oscillation wavelength of the medium of a solid-state laser. At the same time, the ratio, with respect to the optical length, of the etalon to the resonator is selected to be about a half integer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a solid-state laser, and particularly to a solid-state laser including an etalon, incorporated in a resonator, to make a single longitudinal mode of oscillation in the width of the oscillation wavelength of the medium of the laser.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A laser diode pumping solid-state laser has already been known from, for instance, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,656,635 and 4,701,929 in which a solid-state laser rod, which is doped with rare earth material such as neodymium, is pumped by a semiconductor laser (laser diode). In this type of solid-state laser, in order to suppress noise due to the mode competition, an etalon is disposed inside the resonator to achieve a single longitudinal mode of oscillation.
However, it has been hitherto admitted that the use of the etalon inside the cavity resonator, in such a manner as mentioned above, involves a considerable amount of increase in the threshold value of a pump power for the oscillation of a solid-state laser, thereby resulting in a drop in the output of the solid-state laser. The increase in the threshold value is attributed to the fact that the interval of longitudinal modes of an etalon is set to be large enough to make only one longitudinal mode of oscillation in the width of the oscillation wavelength of a solid-state laser medium.


A gun attachment holder includes a device holder, which has a coupling groove detachably coupled to a coupling flange of a gun and a sliding groove transversely extending across the coupling groove, two locking members reversely arranged in parallel and slidably mounted in the sliding groove and movable between a locking position to lock the device holder to the coupling flange of the gun and an unlocking position to unlock the device holder from the coupling flange of the gun, and a torsional spring set in between the locking members to hold the locking members in the unlocking position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates a gun attachment and more particularly, to a quickly detachable gun attachment holder that can easily and quickly detachably attached to a gun to hold an illuminator, infrared pointer, or laser pointer.
2. Description of the Related Art
A gun is a weapon used in martial arts. Nowadays, various kinds of guns are used for exercises and competitions. Further, a gun may be attached with an attachment, for example, an illuminator, infrared pointer, or laser pointer. Various gun attachment holders have been disclosed for fastening to a gun to hold a gun attachment. A conventional gun attachment holder is known having a coupling structure for coupling to a gun, and a locking lever turnable between the locking position to lock the gun attachment holder to the gun after the coupling structure has been coupled to the gun and the unlocking for allowing removal of the gun attachment holder from the gun. However, this design of gun attachment holder is not a human-factors engineering design. It is complicated to install the gun attachment holder.


A sensor for sensing conditions on an object. The sensor comprises a first at least partially reflective surface layer disposed adjacent the object in close conforming relationship with a surface of the object, an intermediate layer, and a second at least partially reflective surface layer. The intermediate layer is disposed between the first at least partially reflective surface layer and the second at least partially reflective surface layer. The intermediate layer can be formed as a solid element, a combination of solid areas and spaces, and as an aerogel.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a method and apparatus for sensing conditions on an object. In particular, the invention is directed to a method and apparatus for determining at least one of pressure and temperature conditions on an object.
2. Description of the Art
It is desirable and useful to measure various characteristics, such as temperature and pressure on objects under operating conditions, to provide data for optimizing design details. The objects include operating rotating machinery comprising elements such as turbine parts including fans, compressor blades, turbine blades, vanes, etc. in jet engines,
It is relatively difficult to measure either pressure and temperature conditions on complex and intricately shaped objects, such as in rotating turbine parts under operating conditions. Most sensors have a bulk and disturb the aerodynamic flow that, of course, causes the pressure, and adversely impacts temperature on the object. Measuring stationary conditions on an object does not provide acceptable data to optimize designs when the machinery is operating.
It has been suggested that a sensor, such as a pressure sensor, be attached to or near the rotating parts. However, a pressure sensor has a definite volume and bulk, and the positioning of such a sensor will disturb flow during operating conditions and not reflect exact pressure data on the object. If the pressure and flow are disturbed, and an exact pressure data is not obtainable, a resultant design of the rotating parts will not take into account the true pressure on the rotating parts.
One method, which has been proposed to measure pressure conditions on complex-shaped parts without disturbing aerodynamic flow, uses a "pressure-sensitive paint". The pressure-sensitive paint is essentially a luminescent material, whose luminescent properties are affected by pressure. A known organic material that is used for the pressure-sensitive paint is pyrene, which is an organic compound whose luminescent lifetime is sensitive to the presence of oxygen in its local environment.
The pressure-sensitive paint is coated onto an object and optically interrogated with a light beam, typically by directing a short-pulsed laser beam at the pyrene containing organic material. A time-dependence of luminescence from the pyrene containing organic material is monitored, for example using a photodetector. As atmospheric pressure on the object increases, partial pressure of any present oxygen increases. Thus, more oxygen diffuses into the local environment of the pyrene containing organic material.
An increased concentration of oxygen in the pyrene containing organic material leads to a decrease in the luminescent lifetime of the pyrene. As pressure increases, the luminescent lifetime of the pyrene decreases. This relationship allows a determination of pressure by monitoring the luminescent lifetime of the pyrene containing organic coating material.
However, the use of the pyrene containing organic coating material is limited to low temperature environments, since degradation of the organic "paint" containing pyrene occurs at temperatures above about 300.degree. C. Additionally, a response time for this method is limited, both by the luminescent lifetime and a speed at which oxygen diffuses into the coating. Therefore, the use of the pyrene containing organic coating material is not effective for determining pressures conditions on rotating parts for turbines, where temperatures are routinely above about 300.degree. C., and further where a relatively rapid response time is needed because of changes in pressure over time.
Another attempt to determine pressure conditions on an object attempts to use a micromachined sensor array, which measures by optical analysis surface pressures. However, the array discussed in A Micromachnined Sensor Array for Optical Measurements of Surface Pressure, Miller et al., American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Jan. 1997) is separately constructed and then attached to the object. Thus, there will be irregularities in the surface due to the numerous arrays that are attached, for example by gluing, to the object. These irregularities do not reflect the true pressure on the object. Further, the arrays are sealed by its upper surface in a drum-like fashion, and thus in reality, depend on deflection of its upper surface to determine pressure acting on the array. The performance of this array is limited by the physical characteristics of the upper surface.
Accordingly, it is relatively difficult to accurately measure pressure on complex and intricately shaped objects, such in rotating turbine parts, including blades and disks. Presently, there are no acceptable and satisfactory methods for measuring pressure data under operating conditions, which does not disturb the aerodynamic flow.


Diagnostic Instrumentation system can use diagnostic monitors. The diagnostic monitors can be indicated using instrumentation at class loading time. The diagnostic monitors can have associated diagnostic functions which can be enabled or disenabled while the server software is running.

Server software, such as application servers, can provide application infrastructure for modern business systems. Application servers can support applications that share data and resources with other systems, and can generate dynamic information for Web pages and other user interfaces. The application servers can provide a layer of functions and services between Web servers and underlying applications and databases. As companies deploy large applications to support secure transactions and use Web and XML protocols, the growing complexity of the applications can require a managed environment for the applications. Globally deployed applications with complex business logic potentially servicing tens of thousands of concurrent users in real-time, require a scalability and reliability that makes quality application servers a necessity.
Application Servers can provide functions and services, such as load balancing, fault tolerance, web services, network transparency, legacy integration, transaction management, security, messaging, multi-threading, persistence, database connectivity, resource pooling, and development, testing, and packaging facilities. Built-in functionality from the application server can speed application development and can relieve developers of the effort and expense of creating important services on their own. Applications can then provide more functionality, be developed faster, be less costly to maintain, and provide a greater return on investment.


A folding tool with inlay release preferably includes a blade, a lock side plate, a release side plate, a cantilever spring and a release inlay. One end of the blade is pivotally retained between the lock side plate and the release side plate. One end of the cantilever spring is attached to the lock side plate and the other end is biased to contact the one end of the blade. A rocker bar is pivotally retained in the release side plate. One end of the rocker bar captures a biased end of the cantilever spring. The release inlay is used to pivot the other end of the rocker bar to release the one end of the rocker bar to allow the blade to be released from a closed position. A slide lock prevents the rocker bar from being released by the release inlay.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to folding tools and more specifically to a folding tool with inlay release.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,553,671 to Blanchard discloses a folding knife with a button release locking liner. The Blanchard patent includes an improved folding knife having a handle with opposing first and second sides and a rotatable blade coupled with the handle and moveable between a locked position at which the blade extends from the handle and an unlocked position.
Accordingly, there is a clearly felt need in the art for a folding tool with inlay release, which allows the blade to be rotated manually or non-manually.


An encapsulated semiconductor device has a chip, a chip pad having through holes and also conducting patterns corresponding to an electrode pad of the chip, and leads. An arbitrary external terminal arrangement is obtained by combining a wire bonding operation between the conducting pattern and lead. Wire bonding is advantageously performed between the leads and electrode pads of the semiconductor chip arranged at arbitrary positions. The degree of freedom in designing areas of the chips and also a printed circuit board is improved so that a high packaging density is achieved and furthermore the printed circuit board is made compact.

The present invention generally relates to a packaged semiconductor device, and more specifically to a packaged semiconductor device in which a terminal arrangement of external leads can be freely changed and in which electrode pads of a chip are readily electrically connected to the external leads.
In a conventional packaged semiconductor device (referred to as a "device" hereinafter), generally only one terminal arrangement has been determined at a designing process and, an electrode pad of a chip is directly and electrically connected to a preselected lead by employing a conducting or conductive wire in accordance with this terminal arrangement. These components are then encapsulated by, for example, a resin, ceramics or a can. To modify the terminal arrangement, there is no means other than changing the design of the electrode pad arrangement of the chip. Thus, in principle, such a terminal arrangement modification is not a practical solution. Furthermore, in general, the electrode pads employed in the chip are regularly arranged at the outer peripheral portion of the chip, taking account of the terminal arrangement and position for the leads.
In the publication of JP-A-57-141933 (laid-open on Sep. 2, 1982), there is disclosed that both the electrode pads and external leads which have been regularly arranged at the outer peripheral portion of the chip are connected to the external leads by way of a conductive layer having a predetermined shape and formed on the insulating film.
According to the conventional prior art, there is little degree of freedom in arranging terminals of devices to users. Thus, in manufacturing printed boards after selections have been made of devices and other circuit parts employed in respective portions of a package, circuit patterns will have to be designed in accordance with the terminal arrangements of them.
However, there are some cases that the circuit patterns must be formed along ineffective paths. As a result, the resultant circuit patterns become complex and, at the same time, the dimension of the circuit board becomes bulky, which may impede optimum designing of circuit boards.
Also, in accordance with the conventional techniques, there is no way other than a design modification of a chip per se to modify a terminal arrangement of a device. If this principle designing policy is neglected, and if attempts are made to modify connection combinations between the electrode pads of the device and the leads thereof, there are some risks that connecting wires may cross with each other or become very long, thereby causing short circuits, or other problems.
Furthermore, in accordance with the conventional prior art, the electrode pads employed in the chip must be arranged in a regular form, taking account of the terminal arrangement and positions of the leads at the peripheral portions of the chip. As a consequence, wiring pattern is necessarily provided within the circuit of the chip.
Meanwhile, packages are described in NIKKEI ELECTRONICS, Mar. 1, 1982, pp. 120-124, the packages having a structure in which TAB and flip chip technologies are utilized in combination.


An electrical impedance tomography system for determining electric properties of an internal body part of a patient comprises an electrode array in electrical contact with the patient, a device for applying current or voltage between electrodes of the array and for measuring voltages or currents between other combinations of the array A computing unit comprises a processor and a storage unit. The storage unit comprises a reconstruction algorithm used by the data processor for reconstructing the measured voltages of the body part into electrical properties or changes thereof. The data processor outputs a representation of the reconstructed electrical properties and generates or processes anatomical models descriptive of the body part The data processor uses biometric data of the patient and, according to the biometric data of the patient, selects an anatomical model for reconstructing the measured electrical voltages of the body part into electrical properties or changes thereof.

Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a non-invasive imaging technique based on the injection of current and measurement of voltage through electrodes attached to the body and providing information on the internal body structures. Although this technique provides images which represent the distribution of electrical properties within the body, sometimes referred to as heat-maps, in general these images or heat maps have low spatial resolution and the correlation with the actual anatomic structure is unclear. Therefore, EIT-images are usually difficult to interpret.
Correctly speaking, Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) does not provide an image of impedance distribution. It provides an image of the distribution of conductivity, admitivity, impedivity, or resistivity, or changes thereof. In the following said distribution also called collectively "electrical properties". The image also called the EIT image.
Other standard imaging methods, such as CT (computer tomography) and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)—due to the very nature and design of the devices—use their gantries as reference frame for generating their pictures. Furthermore, the patient can lie in such gantries in any position relative to such gantry with the gantry being in a constant relationship with the gravity vector. Thus, the orientation of the resulting image with regard to gravity is always the same. The actual CT or MRI image will always be shown the same way (up and down/right and left) since the gantry does not change in such orientation within the gravitational field (while the patient may take on any position). Usually the patient is in supine position.
In contrast to e.g. CT or MRI imaging, in EIT however, the electrode belt is attached to the external surface of an individual patient and—due to its fixed physical relationship with the human body—moves together with the patient.
Consequences and difficulties for diagnosis and therapy are the following:
The exact (thoracic) contour of the body part, which the belt is attached to, is unknown.
The exact circumference of the body wearing the belt is not known.
The position of the EIT electrodes on the body and thus the electrode plane relative to the gravitational vector is unknown and—as opposed to CT and MRI—mobile.
Consequently, objective and standardized EIT images are hard to come by. Pathological conditions of different patients detected by means of EIT may be hard to detect and cannot be compared readily.
In an attempt to better interpret EIT images and/or render the visual interpretation of EIT images easier, in recent studies different approaches were taken:
Moving away from a round shape typically used in back projection algorithms.
Use of generic and fixed contour in the shape of a human thorax.
Using CT, MRI or other radiographic data from an individual patient and use of these to reconstruct an individualized EIT image.
Compensation for changing patient positions relative to the gravity vector are taken into account.
In particular, publication EP 1 000 580 A1 by Ström of 2000 mentions an electrical impedance tomography system for measuring electrical impedances of an internal body section and for representing the measured data by superposing the measured impedance data onto a physical image of the same body section. By combining a conventionally obtained EIT image with a physical image, thus e.g. superposing the two, a visual correlation between the physical structure and the EIT image is perceived by the human observer. The physical image may be obtained, for example, by computer generation or by using a conventional physical imaging system, such as an x-ray system, a computer aided tomography system, a magnetic resonance imaging system, or an ultrasonic imaging system. When imaging an internal body structure whose physical properties, such as shape, size or position, may vary cyclically with time, such as will occur for instance with a heart during a cardiac cycle and lungs during a breathing cycle, it is useful to provide a number of different physical images reflecting these variations. An EIT image may then be superposed with one of the physical images selected to be closest in position in the relevant physiological cycle to the EIT image. Alternatively, the EIT image may be generated cyclically at the frequency of the relevant physiological cycle and the physical image taken at the same point in that cycle. In these ways a more accurate interpretation and correlation of a particular EIT image may be made since both the physical image and the EIT image will reflect substantially the same cyclically induced physical variations in the structure or body region of interest.
Publication EP 1 000 580 A1 discloses further that the physical images may be stored in a data store prior to the use of the EIT system and may be obtained either from the patient or from another subject, in which case the images represent generic template images of the lungs. Alternatively, a microprocessor unit could originate computer generated template images which illustrate the lungs from an algorithm which may have been constructed based on human anatomy and of the location of the belt on the patient.
However, in 2003 in order to examine the lung, it was still common to prepare a set of EIT images during a ventilation cycle and compare the multitude of EIT images at different breath cycle times with each other. This way the progressive increase or decrease in lung resistivity with ventilation can be seen. Images were presented within a circular area. A physical reference point is missing entirely, see e.g. B. Brown, "Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT)—A Review", Journal of Medical Engineering & Technology, Vol. 27, No. 3, p. 97-108, 2003.
Victorino et al. in "Imbalance in Regional Lung Ventilation—A validation Study on Electrical Impedance Tomography", American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Vol. 169, p. 791-800, 2004, compares the CT image which is accurate to body shape, and the EIT image, which is within a circular area, in juxtaposition with each other and by using a grid for sub-dividing each image into 8 schematic regions of interest. Uppermost and lowermost pixels of the contour of each of the images were taken as references, and four evenly spaced layers, each one corresponding to one fourth of the anteroposterior thoracic diameter were drawn. The mid thoracic line was determined in a similar way by division in a left and right thoracic part. Despite the grid aid, comparison of the CT and EIT images is difficult due to the differences in the shape of the seemingly corresponding regions of interest in the CT and the EIT images. Moreover, visual comparison aided by this grid reveals obvious discrepancies in the grid position between CT and EIT images. Despite the grid aid, accuracy of the contrasting juxtaposition is not satisfactory.
In 2010 the system of Dräger PulmoVista 500 uses one oval-type fixed frame (for all patients) within which the EIT image is projected for presentation of the EIT measurement data.
In 2012 a study of Radke et al., titled "Spontaneous Breathing during General Anesthesia Prevents the Ventral Redistribution of Ventilation as detected by Electrical Impedance Tomography—A Randomized Trial", in Anesthesiology 2012, 116:1227-34, the electrical impedance tomography image at expiration is subtracted from the electrical impedance tomography image at inspiration, resulting in a tidal EIT image that visualizes the two dimensional distribution of the ventilation in the thorax. Then four regions of interest are defined arbitrarily without any reference to the thoracic anatomy and the percentage of total tidal variation per region of interest is calculated.
A circular or even oval frame into which most commonly the EIT images are projected by an EIT reconstruction algorithm does not produce images which correspond accurately to the anatomy, and is therefore difficult to compare with anatomically accurate images such as from CT or MRI.
A drawback of any one of above mentioned systems and methods is the lack of a system-intrinsic positioning tool, which allows to align the EIT image with a true reference point or patient anatomy. Above mentioned image comparison is a simple display functionality based on superposition or juxtaposition of an EIT image and another physical image originating of a second but different measurement techniques. Relatively good results are achieved only when the patient is positioned accurately during the EIT measurement, i.e. in the exact same position in which the comparative measurement was taken. Moreover, as soon as a test person moves before or during the EIT measurement, the superposed or juxtaposed image will not show the correct reference in any case.
In an example EP 1 000 580 A1 shows the superposition of the individual X-ray picture of a patient with his EIT images.
Publication EP 2 624 750 discloses recording of the position of a patient with regard to the gravity vector for further consideration during analysis of the EIT data.
Furthermore, in 2012 a study of Ferrario et al., titled "Towards morphological thoracic EIT: Major signal sources correspond to respective organ locations in CT", IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, vol. 59, no. 11, 2012, compares functional EIT images with the anatomy as seen on a CT slice in the plane of the electrodes. EIT and CT measurements were taken simultaneously. A qualitative comparison was enabled by reconstructing EIT data using finite element models created by extruding in the vertical direction the outer shape of a transverse thoracic cross section (Grychtol et al., "Impact of Model Shape Mismatch on Reconstruction Quality in Electrical Impedance Tomography," Medical Imaging, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 31, no. 9, pp. 1754-1760, September 2012), as opposed to cylindrical ones as in the standard practice. Inner thoracic structures, such as heart and lungs, were not specifically modeled. Based on a-priori information about the exact position of the electrodes and the thoracic shape of each individual animal, electrodes were modeled at their real anatomical positions. The presented approach assured morphological correspondence between the EIT and CT images. The sources of ventilation- and cardiac-related activity in the EIT images were localized by an unsupervised method combining statistical and spectral analysis with an image processing algorithm to determine both heart and respiration rate and to define the corresponding heart and lung regions of interest (ROIs). This study shows that (a) reconstruction of EIT data on models with correct anatomic boundary shape and (b) detection of heart and lung activity using both spatial and temporal information contained within the EIT data sequence are prerequisites for correct interpretation of EIT data with regard to the functional and anatomical information contained therein.
However, in practice, the first and foremost problem of this method is that a 3D model needs to be created from a particular patient's anatomical imaging. Therefore, this is an expensive, time consuming, laborious method which may even involve specific risks such as radiation or the intrahospital transport of mechanically ventilated ICU patients.
Moreover, the models being extruded shapes are not realistic approximations to the true three-dimensional shape of the thorax.
Patent application publication US 2004/0006279 A1 discloses a method for generating impedance images of the chest, comprising: acquiring electrical data of the chest; obtaining electrocardiograph data of a patient; analysing the electrocardiograph data to obtain information about breathing parameters at the time the electrical data was acquired; and reconstructing at least one impedance image of the chest from the electrical data and the information about breathing parameters. This method is used to observe the breathing activity. The impedance images achieved with this method are similar to or even identical with those created by traditional electrical impedance images with their known limitations such as a lack of anatomical accuracy.
Patent application publication WO2011/021948 A1 discloses a gastro-electrical activity mapping system and comprising a catheter insertable through a natural orifice into the gastro-intestinal (GI) tract and comprising an array of electrodes for contacting an interior surface of a section of the GI tract to detect electrical potentials at multiple electrodes, and a signal analysis and mapping system arranged to receive and process electrical signals from multiple electrodes of the array and spatially map GI smooth muscle electrical activity as an activation time map, a velocity map, or an amplitude map, which may be in the form of contour plots and may be mapped on an anatomical computer model of at least the section of the GI tract and may be animated. The gastro-electrical activity mapping system serves to spatially map and visually display to a user GI electrical activity on an anatomical computer model of at least the section of the GI tract. This way of visualizing gastric activity does not create tomographic images as in EIT but merely projects (maps) the measured physiological signals onto their assumed anatomical structure of origin thereby providing users with visual clues intended to facilitate the interpretation of gastric activity.