A module for slurrifying drill cuttings that includes a skid, a programmable logic controller disposed on the skid, and a blender. The blender including a feeder for injecting drill cuttings, a gate disposed in fluid communication with the feeder for controlling a flow of the drill cuttings, and an impeller for energizing a fluid, wherein the module is configured to be removably connected to a cuttings storage vessel located at a work site. Also, a method of drill cuttings re-injection that includes creating a slurry including greater than 20 percent by volume drill cuttings in a blender system, and pumping the slurry from the blending system to a cuttings injection system. The method further includes injecting the slurry from the cuttings injection system into a wellbore.

1. Field of the Disclosure
Embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to systems and methods for producing slurries for re-injection at a work site. More specifically, embodiments disclosed herein relate to systems and methods for producing high-density slurries for re-injection at a work site. More specifically still, embodiments disclosed herein relate to systems and methods for producing high-density slurries for re-injection at a work site using a module to convert cutting storage and transfer vessels at the work site.
2. Background
In the drilling of wells, a drill bit is used to dig many thousands of feet into the earth's crust. Oil rigs typically employ a derrick that extends above the well drilling platform. The derrick supports joint after joint of drill pipe connected end-to-end during the drilling operation. As the drill bit is pushed further into the earth, additional pipe joints are added to the ever lengthening "string" or "drill string". Therefore, the drill string includes a plurality of joints of pipe.
Fluid "drilling mud" is pumped from the well drilling platform, through the drill string, and to a drill bit supported at the lower or distal end of the drill string. The drilling mud lubricates the drill bit and carries away well cuttings generated by the drill bit as it digs deeper. The cuttings are carried in a return flow stream of drilling mud through the well annulus and back to the well drilling platform at the earth's surface. When the drilling mud reaches the platform, it is contaminated with small pieces of shale and rock that are known in the industry as well cuttings or drill cuttings. Once the drill cuttings, drilling mud, and other waste reach the platform, a "shale shaker" is typically used to remove the drilling mud from the drill cuttings so that the drilling mud may be reused. The remaining drill cuttings, waste, and residual drilling mud are then transferred to a holding trough for disposal. In some situations, for example with specific types of drilling mud, the drilling mud may not be reused and it must be disposed. Typically, the non-recycled drilling mud is disposed of separate from the drill cuttings and other waste by transporting the drilling mud via a vessel to a disposal site.
The disposal of the drill cuttings and drilling mud is a complex environmental problem. Drill cuttings contain not only the residual drilling mud product that would contaminate the surrounding environment, but may also contain oil and other waste that is particularly hazardous to the environment, especially when drilling in a marine environment.
In the Gulf of Mexico, for example, there are hundreds of drilling platforms that drill for oil and gas by drilling into the subsea floor. These drilling platforms may be used in places where the depth of the water is many hundreds of feet. In such a marine environment, the water is typically filled with marine life that cannot tolerate the disposal of drill cuttings waste. Therefore, there is a need for a simple, yet workable solution to the problem of disposing of well cuttings, drilling mud, and/or other waste in marine and other fragile environments.
Traditional methods of disposal include dumping, bucket transport, cumbersome conveyor belts, screw conveyors, and washing techniques that require large amounts of water. Adding water creates additional problems of added volume and bulk, pollution, and transport problems. Installing conveyors requires major modification to the rig area and involves extensive installation hours and expense.
Another method of disposal includes returning the drill cuttings, drilling mud, and/or other waste via injection under high pressure into an earth formation. Generally, the injection process involves the preparation of a slurry within surface-based equipment and pumping the slurry into a well that extends relatively deep underground into a receiving stratum or adequate formation. The basic steps in the process include the identification of an appropriate stratum or formation for the injection; preparing an appropriate injection well; formulation of the slurry, which includes considering such factors as weight, solids content, pH, gels, etc.; performing the injection operations, which includes determining and monitoring pump rates such as volume per unit time and pressure; and capping the well.
In some instances, the cuttings, which are still contaminated with some oil, are transported from a drilling rig to an offshore rig or ashore in the form of a thick heavy paste or slurry for injection into an earth formation. Typically the material is put into special skips of about 10 ton capacity that are loaded by crane from the rig onto supply boats. This is a difficult and dangerous operation that may be laborious and expensive.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,709,216 and related patent family members disclose that cuttings may also be conveyed to and stored in an enclosed, transportable vessel, where the vessel may then be transported to a destination, and the drill cuttings may be withdrawn. The transportable storage vessel has a lower conical section structured to achieve mass flow of the mixture in the vessel, and withdrawal of the cuttings includes applying a compressed gas to the cuttings in the vessel. The transportable vessels are designed to fit within a 20 foot ISO container frame. These conical vessels will be referred to herein as ISO vessels.
As described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,709,216 and family, the ISO vessels may be lifted onto a drilling rig by a rig crane and used to store cuttings. The vessels may then be used to transfer the cuttings onto a supply boat, and may also serve as buffer storage while a supply boat is not present. Alternatively, the storage vessels may be lifted off the rig by cranes and transported by a supply boat.
Space on offshore platforms is limited. In addition to the storage and transfer of cuttings, many additional operations take place on a drilling rig, including tank cleaning, slurrification operations, drilling, chemical treatment operations, raw material storage, mud preparation, mud recycle, mud separations, and others.
Due to the limited space, it is common to modularize these operations and to swap out modules when not needed or when space is needed for the equipment. For example, cuttings containers may be offloaded from the rig to make room for modularized equipment used for slurrification. These lifting operations, as mentioned above, are difficult, dangerous, and expensive. Additionally, many of these modularized operations include redundant equipment, such as pumps, valves, and tanks or storage vessels.
Slurrification systems that may be moved onto a rig are typically large modules that are fully self-contained, receiving cuttings from a drilling rig's fluid mud recovery system. For example, PCT Publication No. WO 99/04134 discloses a process module containing a first slurry tank, grinding pumps, a system shale shaker, a second slurry tank, and optionally a holding tank. The module may be lifted by a crane on to an offshore drilling platform.
Slurrification systems may also be disposed in portable units that may be transported from one work site to another. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,786, a slurrification system may be mounted on a semi-trailer that may be towed between work sites. The system includes, inter alia, multiple tanks, pumps, mills, grinders, agitators, hoppers, and conveyors. As discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,786, the slurrification system may be moved to a site where a large quantity of material to be treated is available, such as existing or abandoned reserve pits that hold large quantities of cuttings.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,745,856 discloses another transportable slurrification system that is disposed on a transport vehicle. The transport vehicle (i.e., a vessel or boat) is stationed proximate the work site (i.e., offshore platform) and connected to equipment located at the work site while in operation. Deleterious material is transferred from the work site to the transport vehicle, wherein the deleterious material is slurrified. The slurry may be transferred back to the work site for, in one example, re-injection into the formation. Alternatively, the slurry may be transported via the transport vehicle to a disposal site. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,745,856, storage vessels are disposed on the transport vehicle for containing the slurry during transportation. While in-transit to the disposal site, agitators disposed in the storage vessels may agitate the slurry to keep the solids suspended in the fluid.
While these systems and methods provide improved processes in slurrification and re-injection systems, they require difficult, dangerous, and expensive lifting and installation operations, as described above. Additionally, these processes may require lengthy installation and processing times that may reduce the overall efficiency of the work site.
During cuttings re-injection operations, a slurry is prepared including a fluid and cleaned drill cuttings. Typically, the slurry is prepared by mixing together drill cuttings previously classified by size at a desired ratio with a fluid, such that a slurry is created that contains a desirable percentage of drill cuttings to total volume. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that generally, the solids content of slurries used in cuttings re-injection operations is about 20 percent solids content by volume. Thus, in a given cuttings re-injection operation, a slurry is prepared for re-injection by mixing drill cuttings with a fluid until the solids content of the slurry is 20 percent. After preparation of the slurry, the slurry is pumped to a vessel for storage, until a high-pressure injection pump is actuated, and the slurry is pumped from the storage vessel into the wellbore.
In operations attempting to increase the solids content of the slurry to greater than 20 percent, thereby allowing for the re-injection of more cuttings into a formation, such operations have resulted in inconsistent, and thus, ineffective slurries. Typically, when a drilling operator has attempted to increase the solids content of the slurry, the slurry with a solids content of greater than 20 percent is created by mixing drill cuttings with a fluid, and then storing the mixture as described above. Because slurries are typically made in batches, stored, and then injected into the wellbore, during the storage of the slurry, prior to re-injection, the solids in the slurry would fall out of the suspension. As the solids fall out of the suspension, they may block or otherwise clog injection equipment, including flow lines and pumps, thereby preventing the slurry from being re-injection.
Furthermore, even if the slurry of greater than 20 percent solids content was injected into the wellbore, because the slurry is typically injected in batches, significant time may exist between injection operations. Thus, a slurry with a greater than 20 percent solids content may be injected downhole and the solids may begin to fall out of the suspension downhole during re-injection downtime. If the solids fall out of the suspension in the wellbore, prior to reaching the targeted formation, the solids may solidify in the wellbore, thereby blocking the wellbore for subsequent re-injection. Wellbores blocked in this way must then either be re-drilled, the cuttings removed using costly operations, or abandoned. Because of the high costs associated with removing cuttings from a blocked wellbore, wells blocked during re-injection are often abandoned, thereby causing a drilling operator to process residual slurry and cuttings using alternate methods.
Examples of alternate methods may include disposal of the cuttings in on-land cuttings pits or transferring the cuttings to alternate re-injection sites. In either situation, the drilling operation may incur additional expenses associated with the transport of the cuttings and slurry to alternate disposal sites, thereby increasing the overall cost of the drilling operation.
Thus, there exists a continuing need for slurrification systems that may increase the solids content of a re-injection slurry and provide a modular solution for cuttings re-injection operations.


This invention comprises a new and distinct variegated dogwood. It is a selected sport that occurred naturally from a group planting of Cornus alba `Argenteo-marginata` (C.a. `Elegantissima`) at my nursery five years ago. I have successfully propagated this sport asexually by cuttings. The small compact growth habit is what characterizes and makes this new selection distinctive.

Cornus alba is a red stemmed shrub used widely for landscaping purposes. It is an introduction from Europe/Asia, thought to have occurred in 1741. (Rehder) A particularly popular variety has variegated leaves. The white margins of the leaves make it distinctive. Variations do occur in the size of the leaves and in the width of the white (or ivory) margin. This may account for the differences in nomenclature. It is known by an assortment of botanical names, as follows:
Cornus alba `Elegantissima`: Hillier Dictionary of Plants. PA0 Cornus alba `Argenteo-marginata`: Rehder & Dirr & Hortus III. PA0 Cornus alba elegantissima variegata: Rehder & Hortus III. PA0 Cornus alba variegata: Rehder. PA0 Cornus alba `Sibirica Variegata`: Hortus III.
The current usage seems to favor Cornus alba `Argenteo-marginata`. Out of a block of Cornus alba `Argenteo-marginata` (C.A. `Elegantissima`), I discovered a plant that was growing a fraction of the height of the balance of the Cornus alba `Argenteo-marginata` plants. I propagated this unique plant to see if it would retain the dwarf characteristics as well as the variegated foliage of the parent plant.
The first sport was propagated as softwood cuttings in Madison, Ohio, in June of 1992, with 90% rooting. These original cuttings become the plants which would serve as the parent stock for early cutting material. Subsequent softwood cuttings have exhibited high rooting success (90-98%) using common practices, under a misting type system. Hardwood cuttings have been used as propagation material with equal success. Ocassionally, a propagated plant will convert to the more aggressive growth of the parent plant. This has occurred less than 1% of the time. These reverted plants are easy to distinguish and cull out because of the greater stem length (internodal dimensions, see Table 1 that follows). Rooting has been successful without any application of rooting hormones. It is believed that any standard practice that is successful with any Cornus alba would be successful with this new selection. Plants of this new selection that have rooted and are grown on for five years continue to exhibit the dwarfing characteristics of the original mother plant.
Having grown this new cultivar along side Cornus alba `Argenteo-marginata` for five years, it exhibits the same hardiness, which is Zones 3-7 according to the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. All other horticultural characteristics with the exception of those described below are the same as Cornus alba `Argenteo-marginata`.
The uniqueness of this new cultivar is that of a small compact growth habit as compared to its parent plant, Cornus alba `Argenteo-marginata`. It retains the ornamental characteristics of the parent plant, namely the white-edged, variegated foliage that makes Cornus alba `Argenteo-marginata` popular. The characteristics of `Staltouch` make it particularly suitable for planting against darker plantings, e.g., Taxus, in rock gardens, as surround plants around specimen trees, etc. The plant's distinguishing characteristics are described in detail below.

Cornus alba Elegantissima named `Staltouch`


A method for producing a non-linearly varying therapeutic signal for therapy wherein a string of randomly or nonlinearly varying data increments the input to a mathematical function such as incrementing the phase angle of a sine function to produce a non linearly varying signal for application as therapy. This method also includes inserting upward chirps and sequencing different therapeutic signals to create a composite signal.

Objects and Advantages
Creating a therapy signal by incrementing a sine function allows for a signal which fits precisely within a frequency band simply by keeping all phase angle increments within that band. By changing from one phase angle increment to another, the frequency of the signal is instantaneously changed without discontinuities in amplitude or phase angle. Further, while the digital filtration method creates transients when starting, stopping, or shifting from one signal to another, simply changing the phase angle increment stream immediately changes the nature of the signal without transients, allowing for sequencing of signals, inserting rising chirps or any other signal changes on-the-fly. The value of rising chirp insertion is a recent and unexpected discovery made possible by the Non-Linear Therapy Signal Synthesizer. This method also produces a signal of uniform amplitude without voltage transients, which means higher RMS power and reduced transients, allowing for reduced amplifier voltage and transducer displacement for the same power output for greater efficiency, longer battery life, and less wear on moving components.
This method allows for specific duration of frequencies or frequency bands. By maintaining a frequency or signal for a period of time, then shifting to another, a new and unexpected therapeutic effect is realized. My theory as to why this works is as follows: The vibrational nature of the body comes into equilibrium with one signal, and with an abrupt shift, must reorganize to accommodate a second signal. This allows for more rapid and more comfortable softening of vibrational patterns within the body. This is just my theory of why sequencing increases effectiveness and comfort, and should not be used to limit the claims in any way.
Finally, this method allows for very compact implementation on memory-limited portable microprocessor systems. The phase angle increments can be as small as 4 bit, and by selecting randomly between different banks of phase angle increments, small amounts of data can be used repeatedly to create a continuous, unpredictable signal, especially considering that the same phase angle increments, started at each different phase angle, will provide a unique signal.


Nucleic sequences from the genome of Salmonella Typhi include all or part of the genetic information required for the in vitro infection of cultured HeLa cells by Salmonella bacteria. Polypeptides encoded by these nucleic sequences are also described, as is the use of said polypeptides and nucleic sequences for implementing methods of in vitro Salmonella detection in biological samples which are thought to contain it.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject of the present invention is nucleic acid sequences derived from the genome of Salmonella Typhi, and their use, in particular, for the in vitro diagnosis of the presence of bacteria of the Salmonella genus in a biological sample likely to contain them, and more particularly in foodstuffs.
2. Description of the Related Art
At present, foodstuffs are of growing importance. For social reasons, transformed foodstuffs, ready for consumption, continue to create an increasing demand on the part of the buyers. The result of this is that the sources of production and display of these products have been modified considerably during the last fifteen years (mass manufacture in specialised factories; marketing in packaged units, usually in a plastic wrapping).
For reasons of public health, the manufacturing technologies and the products themselves are subjected to stricter and stricter measures of health supervision. In the framework of bacteriological controls, the bacteria responsible for toxic infections of foodstuffs are investigated systematically, and among them priority is given to the Salmonella. Moreover, the health standards are very clear for this bacterial genus: absence of Salmonella in 25 grams of product.
From the point of view of taxonomy, the Salmonella genus belongs to the family of the Enterobacteriaceae. This genus includes a single and unique species, S.enterica, which may be subdivided into seven sub-species. Within each of these sub-species, it is possible to identify a large number of serotypes with the aid of sera directed against the polysaccharide O antigens and the flagellar H antigens. In 1989, 2267 serotypes of Salmonella were known.
The Salmonella are entero-invasive bacteria, which are pathogenic for man and animals. Their pathogenic potency is linked to their capacity to invade the intestinal epithelium. This stage can be limited to the mucosal membranes in the case of a toxic infection for example, or be followed by systemic dissemination (the case of typhoid fever). The contamination of the host by Salmonella occurs by the mouth in the very great majority of cases. This explains why the Salmonella are systematically investigated in the context of bacteriological controls of biological samples.
The standard method of systematic investigation of Salmonella, recommended by the Association Francaise de Normalisation (AFNOR) comprises: the placing in culture of the product to be analysed in two different enrichment media, incubated at two different temperatures and isolated on two different selective media (this step is often preceded by a "revivification" step in a nutrient broth); subculturing of at least 6 colonies on media for rapid identification; finally, serological typing of the strain. Even though the AFNOR protocol must be scrupulously followed during an official expert investigation, it can be imagined that it is difficult to apply during systematic controls on account of the time needed to carry out the investigation (at least one week) and its cost.
Novel methods of investigation of Salmonella are based either on enzymatic assays or on the use of nucleic acid probes. It must be emphasized that in the two cases a culture step on a rich medium and a subculture in an enrichment medium are recommended, and even essential.
The immuno-enzymatic assays which use monoclonal antibodies are easy to implement, give results in four to six hours and are available at a reasonable price. Their great disadvantage lies in the fact that they often give false positive reactions and sometimes false negative reactions. The consequences of such false reactions are considerable in both cases: if a false positive reaction is produced, there will be seizure of the product and the initiation by the analytical laboratory of a process to isolate a Salmonella which does not exist; if a false negative reaction is produced, the product will be marketed with the risks which that entails for public health.
A recent study involving 250 strains of Salmonella and 75 bacterial strains not belonging to the Salmonella genus produced 17 false positive reactions and 2 false negative reactions (D'AOUST, J. Y. (1987): "Efficacy of the immunoenzymatic kit BIOENZABEAD for the screening of Salmonella spp. in foodstuffs", Microorganisms and Food-stuffs: Rapid Procedure, industrial control. Colloquium of the French Society of Microbiology, Paris). Since this study was performed on pure cultures, it can be imagined that the number of false reactions would have been much larger with poly-microbial products (microbial competition; risk of antigenic cross-reactions).
The nucleic acid probes are constituted by a genomic DNA fragment (FITTS, R. et al. (1983), "DNA-DNA Hybridization Assay For Detection of Salmonella spp". In Foods, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 46, 1146-1151). They are reputed to be specific. Several kits exist on the market. In fact, it appears that these probes present two major disadvantages: their lack of specificity according to the results communicated by users (cross-reaction with the Citrobacter, for example) and their lack of sensitivity (threshold limit of detection: 10.sup.5 Salmonella: or according to some authors, 2.5 .mu.g of DNA, i.e. about 10.sup.7 bacteria).

Polypeptides and nucleic acids derived from Salmonella typhi and detection of Salmonella using thereof

Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale


A setting device (10) drives fastening elements into a receiving material and includes a housing (11) with a piston guide (13) arranged in the housing (11) and with a hollow space (14) in which a setting piston (15) is displaceably mounted. A bolt guide (16) is connected to the piston guide (13) by an interface (17). The setting device further has a piston restoring device (20) with an adjusting member (21) which engages in the piston guide (13) in a work position and is moved out of the piston guide (13) into a release position (24). Further, there is a securing element (30), with the adjusting member (21) being held in the work position (23) in a first position (33) of the securing element (30) and the adjusting member (21) being released to move into the release position (24) in the second position (34) of the securing element (30).

The present invention is directed to a setting device for driving fastening elements into a receiving material. Setting devices of this type can be operated with solid, gaseous or liquid fuels or also with compressed air. In combustion-operated setting tools, a setting piston is driven by means of the combustion gases. Fastening elements can then be driven into a receiving material by means of the setting piston.
After a setting operation, the piston in setting devices which is supported so as to be displaceable in a piston guide is generally pushed back into its starting position by a handle arranged on the device, e.g., a repeater handle. For this purpose, a resetting or restoring pin which projects into the piston guide acts in front of the piston head. The pin pushes the piston back when the handle is moved manually by the user. Frequently during the life of the device, this piston must be removed from the device for cleaning or when wear occurs at the piston.
A setting device of the kind mentioned above is known from the HILTI DX 750 combustion-operated setting device. In this device, a bolt guide is located with reference to the setting direction, in front of the piston guide, and must first be unscrewed from the piston guide before the piston can be removed from the device. For disassembly, it is further necessary to remove the pin or piston restoring element from the setting device because otherwise the piston would be blocked by the pin.
It is a disadvantage that the user is often not aware of the requirement to remove the pin or restoring element or finds it difficult.
It is known from the HILTI DX 351 setting device of the type mentioned above to arrange an adjusting sleeve for two piston restoring elements externally on the setting device, this adjusting sleeve being rotatable between two adjusting positions. In the first adjusting position, the piston restoring elements are held by the adjusting sleeve in their position in which they are moved into the piston guide, whereas, in the second adjusting position of the adjusting sleeve the piston restoring elements are moved by a spring element into a position in which they are moved out of the piston guide. In this moved out position, it is possible to pull the piston out of the piston guide after unscrewing the bolt guide.
In this case also, the user can easily overlook the step of moving the adjusting sleeve into the disassembly position, which results in complications when removing the piston.


A pouring spout of a container includes a spout main body and a closing member. The spout main body includes a tubular pouring part, and an attached part attachable to the container on one end side of the tubular pouring part in an axial direction of the tubular pouring part. The closing member closes the one end side of the tubular pouring part, and is fitted onto an inner circumferential surface of the tubular pouring part on the one end side thereof in such a manner that the closing member is capable of being removed from the inner circumferential surface of the tubular pouring part by an external force applied from other end side opposite to the one end side in the axial direction.

Liquid seasoning such as soy sauce and toiletry products such as liquid detergents are, for example, stored in a packaging container made of a resin and consumed. Once a residual amount of the contents is decreased or depleted, the packaging container is refilled with the contents and the product is further used. With such products, a refilling container storing the contents for refilling is prepared separately from the packaging container. As the refilling container, various types have been proposed.
For example, the refilling container proposed in Patent Document 1 is designed to prevent the contents from coming into contact with outside air, in a spout portion. The refilling container described in Patent Document 1 is refilled with contents, allowing repeated use. The repeatedly used packaging container comprises a pouring unit for pouring the contents. The pouring unit is configured by including a pouring nozzle and a peripheral wall provided to a periphery of the pouring nozzle. The refilling container is configured to refill the packaging container with contents by coupling a pouring spout of the refilling container to the pouring unit of the packaging container thus configured.
Specifically, the refilling container described in Patent Document 1 comprises a sealing plate. This sealing plate prevents the contents from being exposed to outside air by closing a position of a pouring opening with a spout of the refilling container. The sealing plate has substantially the same shape as an outer periphery of the pouring nozzle of the packaging container, and is configured by forming a weak line for separating a planned opening part positioned on an inner side of the sealing plate from the sealing plate. According to this refilling container, when the pouring nozzle constituting the pouring unit of the packaging container is inserted into an interior of the pouring spout of the refilling container, the pouring nozzle breaks the sealing plate at the position of the weak line described above, separating the planned opening part, which is a region on the inner side, from the sealing plate. With the sealing plate separated, the refill container is configured to allow transfer of the contents filled in the interior of the refill container to the packaging container to refill the packaging container with the contents.
Patent Documents [0005]
Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2013-203464


Engineered DNA encoding 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PGD) has reduced sensitivity to inhibition by serine in comparison to wild-type PGD. The DNA encodes PGD which has at least some level of enzymatic activity useful for biosynthesis, and which retains that activity at higher serine levels than does the (unmodified) wild-type PGD. The PGD has the amino acid sequence of this above-described engineered DNA. Expression vectors contain this engineered DNA and regulatory DNA positioned and oriented for expression of the engineered DNA in a host expression system. Cells contain these expression vectors, and a method for producing serine or a serine-derived product includes culturing such cells.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the general field of biosynthesis of serine and products related to serine, particularly tryptophan, and to methods and materials used in that biosynthesis.
2. The Prior Art
Serine is a primary intermediate in the biosynthesis of a wide variety of cellular metabolites including such economically important compounds as choline, glycine, cysteine and tryptophan. In addition, serine acts as a single carbon donor and is responsible for 60% to 75% of the total need of the cell for C.sub.1 units through the production of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate from tetrahydrofolate. These C.sub.1 units are used in a wide variety of biosynthetic pathways including the synthesis of methionine, inosine monophosphate, other purines and some pyrimidines (e.g., thymidine and hydroxymethyl cytidine).
The serine biosynthetic pathway shown in FIG. 1 is generally available to a wide variety of tissues and mirroorganisms. The first committed step in that pathway is the conversion of 3-phospho-D-glyceric acid (PGA) to 3-phosphohydroxypyruvic acid (PHA) by means of the enzyme 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PGD). The gene encoding PGD has been cloned and sequenced, and the amino acid sequence of the PGD subunit has been deduced. Tobey and Grant, J. Biol. Chem., 261:12179-12183 (1980).
In procaryotes (particularly bacteria) and microorganisms such as yeast, but not in higher eukaryotes, activity of wild-type PG is inhibited by cellular serine levels. This inhibition has been studied kinetically and reportedly proceeds in an allosteric manner. Tobey and Grant, J. Biol. Chem., 261:12179-12183 (1986); Dubrow and Pizer, J. Biol. Chem., 252:1527-1551 (1977); McKitrick and Pizer, J. Bacteriol., 141:235-245 (1980).
Tosa and Pizer, J. Bacteriol., 106:972-982 (1971), studied the effect of a normally toxic serine analog, L-serine hydroxamate, on an E. coli strain. Selection on a growth medium containing that analog yielded analog-resistant mutants. Some mutants were shown to have a modification in an enzyme unrelated to PGD, seryl-tRNA synthetase. Crude extract of one mutant showed PGD activity with reduced serine sensitivity (See, J. Bacteriol., 106:972-982 1971!; FIG. 5; Table 6; and see p. 973 bottom left col., p. 977 bottom left col.).

Materials and methods for biosynthesis of serine and serine-related products


An exit device has an overall height when a panic bar of the exit device is in its extended position. The exit device is configured to be received, at least in part, within a recess defined within a body of the door so that the height at which the extended panic bar protrudes beyond an outer surface of the door is reduced.

Existing exit devices include some type of locking element such as a latch mechanism, which may be, for example, a Pullman style latch mechanism, a latch mechanism having a latch in the shape of a starwheel, a surface vertical rod latch mechanism, a concealed vertical rod latch mechanism or a mortise style latch mechanism. The locking element within the latch mechanism (referred to generically herein as a "latch") is required to rotate or retract out of the way of the mating locking element to reach a state of being unlocked. The latch may be mounted in a door and the mating locking element (referred to herein generically as a "strike") may be mounted on a door frame, or vice versa, to equal effect. The locking element may be disposed adjacent a side edge of the door and/or a top or bottom edge of the door.
Exit devices may typically employ what is commonly referred to as a panic bar to enable actuation of the exit device so as to enable door opening. Panic bars allow users to open the door without necessarily requiring the use of their hands. Rather, the user's body or other object can be used to push against the panic bar until the latch is retracted from the strike. Alternatively or additionally, exits devices may also include provision of an electrically actuatable latch such that, upon initiation, an electric current is supplied to an actuator to withdraw the latch from the strike.
To preserve the structural integrity of a fire door, panic bars are typically mounted onto the interior and/or exterior face of the fire. As a result, a high profile of the panic bar extends outwardly from the door and into the space immediately before the door. In certain instances, such as when used in a hospital or other medical setting, the outwardly extending panic bar may present hazards to medical personnel or patients. For instance, the panic bar may present an object which may by struck by medical patients, such as those confined to a wheel chair or hospital bed, or may otherwise interfere with clearances of these and other hospital conveyances, such as gurneys, equipment carts and portable laboratory equipment.
Therefore, in a fire door application, what is needed in the art is a panic bar and associated latch mechanism, wherein the panic bar, without compromising the integrity of the fire door, presents a smaller profile beyond the surface of the door while also providing sufficient travel of the panic bar to effect actuation of the latch mechanism and withdrawal of the latch from the strike.
It is a principal object of the present invention to address these, as well as other, needs.

Door latching system having a reduced profile exit device


In a process for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a support and a photosensitive layer provided thereon, the process comprises a coating step of coating the surface of the support with a coating fluid to form a wet coating; a drying step of drying the wet coating formed by the coating step, to form a dried coating film; a cutting step of making a cut in the dried coating film formed by the drying step, in its peripheral direction at a preset position; and a removal step of removing, by jetting a gas, the dried coating film on its end side extending from the cut made by the cutting step. Also disclosed are an electrophotographic photosensitive member produced by this production process, and a electrophotographic photosensitive member and an electrophotographic apparatus which have the electrophotographic photosensitive member.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member, and also relates to an electrophotographic photosensitive member and a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus which have the electrophotographic photosensitive member.
2. Related Background Art
As electrophotographic photosensitive members set in electrophotographic apparatus, inorganic electrophotographic photosensitive members making use of an inorganic photoconductive material such as selenium, cadmium sulfide or zinc oxide have conventionally been used. In recent years, however, organic electrophotographic photosensitive members making use of an organic photoconductive material have come to be widely used from the viewpoints of freeness from environmental pollution, high productivity, readiness for material designing, and so forth.
In general, the organic electrophotographic photosensitive member is so made up that a single layer or a plurality of layers (inclusive of a photosensitive layer) is/are formed on a support. These layers are formed by coating the support with coating fluids (solutions or dispersions) for the respective layers, followed by drying. Also, as the support, a cylindrical support is mostly used.
Members (such as spacers or rollers) for, e.g., keeping constant the distance between the electrophotographic photosensitive member (such as a photosensitive drum) and a developing member (such as a developing sleeve) (hereinafter "SD gap") are brought into contact with end portions of the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and hence it is necessary to remove the end portions of the layers (dried coating films) formed on the support.
As methods for removing the end portions of dried coating films, known are a method in which a metallic brush or resin brush impregnated with a solvent capable of dissolving the dried coating films is brought into contact with the end portions of dried coating films to remove them (Japanese Patent Publication No. H02-051501); a method in which the end portions of dried coating films are immersed in a solvent capable of dissolving the dried coating films and ultrasonic waves are applied thereto to remove them (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. S59-142555); a method in which a solvent capable of dissolving the dried coating films is sprayed from nozzles to the end portions of dried coating films to remove them (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. S61-168154); a method in which the end portions of dried coating films are abraded with a cutting tool, an abrasive wheel or the like to remove them (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H02-157847); a method in which water jet is spouted to the end portions of dried coating films to remove them (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H05-066586); and so forth.
However, in the case when the solvent is used, it may cause a swell of the layers, and also, after the solvent has been evaporated to dryness, it can not sufficiently be wiped off in some cases. Also, after it has been wiped off, the liquid may come to drip on the part from which the layers (dried coating films) have been removed. In the case when the brush is used, the support may come scratched at its part from which the layers (dried coating films) have been removed. In the case when the end portions are removed by a cutting tool, an abrasive wheel or the like, abrasive powder may adhere to the electrophotographic photosensitive member, or even necessary layers (dried coating films) may unwantedly be removed. In the case when water jet is spouted to remove the end portions, there are problems that a device for the removal is complicate and drops of water remain after the removal.
If, on the other hand, the end portions of dried coating films are not removed, the layers may come off because of the friction between the electrophotographic photosensitive member and the spacers, so that the SD gap may come non-uniform to cause non-uniformity in density of images reproduced. Also, the layers having come off may cause defects in images reproduced.

Process for producing electrophotographic photosensitive member, electrophotographic photosensitive member, process cartridge, and electrophotographic apparatus


A wiring lay-out is provided, for electrically connecting a decoupling cap on a front surface of a multilayer printed circuit board (e.g., a motherboard), with a surface-mounted electrical component (e.g., a micro-ball grid array packaged semiconductor device, such as a PC core logic chip set) on the front surface of the printed circuit board. The wiring lay-out includes a wiring portion formed from a copper plane on the front surface of the printed circuit board; this wiring portion, providing electrical connection from one of the balls of the ball grid array to the decoupling cap, is provided only on the front surface of the printed circuit board. In order to provide a route for the wiring between the electrical component and decoupling cap, vias through the printed circuit board are positioned in a row with bonding pads. All decoupling caps on the printed circuit board are provided on the front surface of the printed circuit board.

The present invention is directed to printed circuit board lay-outs for decoupling electrical components mounted on the printed circuit boards, and methods of fabricating populated printed circuit boards having such lay-outs. The present invention is especially directed to such lay-outs, and such methods, for decoupling micro-ball grid array packaged electrical components (such as micro-ball grid array packaged chip sets) mounted on printed circuit boards, especially on motherboards. In particular, the present invention is directed to such lay-outs, and methods, whereby all decoupling caps (decoupling capacitors) can be provided on the front surface of the printed circuit board, while minimizing loop area of the decoupling circuit. The front surface of the printed circuit board is the surface on which the electrical components are mounted.
Previous lay-outs for decoupling circuits on printed circuit boards, such as motherboards, included designs wherein the decoupling caps populated both the front and rear surfaces of the motherboards. For example, previous lay-outs for decoupling MTH (82805AA), a chip set with a wire-bonded ball grid array package, made by Intel(copyright) Corp., required five decoupling caps placed on the backside (rear surface) of the motherboard, in addition to placing eight or nine decoupling caps on the top side (front surface) of the motherboard. Costs associated with placing decoupling caps on the rear surface of the motherboard are higher than those associated with placing decoupling caps on the front surface of the motherboard.
It has been proposed to provide lay-outs for, e.g., a motherboard, wherein all decoupling caps are on the front surface. In one such proposed technique, the circuit wiring between the micro-ball grid array packaged electrical component to be decoupled and the decoupling cap extends along the interior of the motherboard, and the effective current loop area, which directly translates to loop inductance, between the, e.g., micro-ball grid array packaged electrical component and decoupling cap, is disadvantageously large.

Decoupling structure and method for printed circuit board component


A climate control device for conditioning the climate of a plurality of components and an interior of an electric vehicle, the climate control device having a plurality of fluid circuit units, which are configured to heat and/or cool the electric vehicle, a first fluid circuit unit being configured to control the climate of a first component of the electric vehicle, a second fluid circuit unit being configured to control the climate of the interior of the electric vehicle, a coolant circuit being configured to control the climate and dehumidify the interior of the electric vehicle, and a third fluid circuit unit being configured to utilize the waste heat of the second heat source.

The German patent DE 19609048 C2 discusses a heating and air conditioning device for motor vehicles. The heating and air-conditioning device includes a first fluid circuit, which encompasses a heat conductor, a pump and a heat source for heating the fluid, and air is applied to the heat conductor on the secondary side and a blower is provided to generate an air flow. In addition, the heating and air conditioning device includes cooling circuits provided with an evaporator, a condenser and a compressor, as well as a control unit for regulating the cooling circuit as a function of at least one signal from a temperature sensor and an adjustable setpoint value.
The heating and air-conditioning device discussed there also includes a second fluid circuit, which is able to be connected via a valve by the first fluid circuit, the second fluid circuit having a thermo-accumulator as well as a pump, and a heat source in the first fluid circuit is a heating device which is independent of a vehicle operation and used to heat the air flowing through the heat conductor and/or to charge the thermo-accumulator with thermal energy. In the system, the evaporator of the cooling circuit is thermally coupled to the heat conductor by the second fluid circuit and used for charging the thermo-accumulator with cooling energy.

Climate-control device and method for its operation


A wearable animal waste collection device comprising a wearable structure configured to be worn by a user, the wearable structure including an attachment portion for removably engaging a direct collection device wherein the direct collection device is configured to directly collect an animal waste before the animal waste reaches a ground surface is provided. An associated method is also provided.

A pet is like a member of the family, and can bring many joys in their owners' everyday lives. However, owning a pet carries many responsibilities, including cleaning up after the pet after a bowel movement, and taking the pet outside for occasional or frequent walks or laps in the backyard. Most often pets relieve themselves outdoors, especially when the owner or dog-walker is walking the dog around the block. In the event the pet does have a bowel movement while out on a walk, or somewhere outdoors, the dog-walker is responsible for picking up and removing the waste. Picking up and removing the animal waste typically requires the dog-walker to bend down and grab the feces with their hand covered in a plastic bag, which is a distasteful task for many people. Sometimes, a portion of the feces (especially with a loose bowel movement) remains on the ground/sidewalk after it is picked up, which may make contact with pedestrians' shoes, and is also unsanitary. The plastic bag sometimes tears causing a spill of the animal waste. Moreover, pets sometimes defecate more than once at different locations, which forces the dog-walker to reuse the plastic bag that has already been folded inside out to avoid touching the feces. In other words, it is distasteful to pick up animal waste and it is very difficult to pick up the animal waste more than once using a plastic without exposure to unsanitary conditions.
Thus, a need exists for an apparatus, system, and method for direct animal waste collection and disposal, capable of multiple uses without exposure to unsanitary conditions.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Portable wearable animal waste collection and disposal device, system and method of use thereof


An organic extract of a Chinese herbal medicine Geum Japonicum thunb var. has been identified that displayed potent stimulatory effects on rapid agiogenesis (<24 h), myogenesis and blocking fibrosis in traumatized skeletal muscles. The extract has displayed potent dual effects on angiogenesis and myogenesis in damaged skeletal muscles leading to complete skeletal muscle healing in rabbit and rat animal models. The extract of the present invention can be developed into an effective therapeutic drug for the treatment of skeletal muscle trauma, soft tissue healing including burn, skin wound and operation cut, and bone fracture and defect healings.

Geum is a genus of 65 species of rhizomatous herbs and subshrubs with simple or pinnately lobed leaves and regular flowers, such as G. borisii, G. chiloense, G. coccineum, G. macrophyllum, G. montanum, G. reptans, G. rivale, G. triflorum, G. Urbanum, and G. Japonicum, etc. Geum japonicum Thunb is a perennial herb and the flowering plant of the Rosaceae family. Water extract of the whole plant of Geum japonicum Thunb variant has been used as a diuretic in traditional Chinese medicine (Perry, L. M., In Medicinal Plants of East and Southeast Asia, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., pp. 242, 1980).
Skeletal-muscle healing following severe injury is slow and incomplete. The limited ability of damaged skeletal muscle to regenerate and the rapid formation of fibrous scar tissues at the wound site are major clinical problems. The common fate of severely traumatized skeletal muscle is fibrosis. To date, there is no effective therapeutic treatment that can promote complete skeletal muscle healing following severe injury.
As stated above, muscle healing following severe injury is slow and incomplete, resulting in fibrous tissue replacement (Grounds, M. D. Muscle regeneration: molecular aspects and therapeutic implications. Curr. Opin. Neurol. 12, 535-543 (1999); Nikolaou, P. K., et al., Biomechanical and histological evaluation of muscle after controlled strain injury. American J Sports Med. 15, 9-14(1987)). At present, there is no effective therapeutic measure that can be taken to promote significant skeletal muscle regeneration after severe muscle injury. In our previous studies (Li, M. et al., Two novel myogenic factors identified and isolated by sequential isoelectric focusing and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Electrophoresis 21, 289-292 (2000); Li, M., et al., Identification and purification of an intrinsic human muscle myogenic factor that enhances muscle repair and regeneration. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 384, 263-268 (2000)), muscle myogenic factors that could enhance the proliferation and differentiation of cultured satellite cells as well as muscle fiber regeneration in animal models were identified. However, complete healing following severe muscle injury did not occur although these myogenic factors could improve muscle healing.
Fibrous tissue can grow in relative ischemic environment but normal tissue cells are difficult to grow. When the skeletal muscles are damaged, the vasculatures are often damaged and therefore blood supply around the damaged site is insufficient. Normally, fibrous tissue grows faster and occupies the space previously occupied by the damaged muscle fibers, then blocks the space for new muscle fiber replacement. According to previous studies, some growth factors, such as VEGF, aFGF, bFGF, or PDGF, could enhance angiogenesis, but this angiogenesis mediated by those growth factors may require approximately two to nine weeks. There is no product available in the world market that is capable of inducing complete healing of severely damaged skeletal muscles, especially inducing neovascularization rapidly in a mater of hours. Up to now there is no recorded any drug or any factors in market or even in research available that could lead complete healing of severely damaged skeletal muscles.


A receptacle connector part comprises a connector housing and a plurality of rows of receptacle contact terminals disposed within the housing. Each receptacle contact terminal includes two single beam contacts having contact portions with a preloading head. The connector housing comprises a front wall with a plurality of rows of apertures providing access to the contact portions of the contact terminals. The connector housing is provided with a plurality of rows of preload ridges, the preload ridges being located at the inner side of the front wall at opposed sides of the apertures. The preload ridges cooperate with the preloading heads to support the contact portions of the single beam contacts of each contact terminal in a predetermined preload position.

As the speed of electronics increases, electrical connectors are desired that are capable of high speed communications. Electrical connectors provide signal connections between electronic devices using signal contacts. With electronic device miniaturisation and high speed electronic communications becoming more prevalent, the signal contacts will be very closely spaced. Often, the signal contacts are so closely spaced that signal integrity becomes a problem.
One method for improving signal integrity is removing the plastic material in the contact area of the contacts. In this manner air will be the main dielectric in the contact area of the contacts. However reducing plastic material in the contact area of a connector part poses problems regarding positioning and supporting of the contact portions of the signal contacts. Therefore, a need exists for a high speed electrical connector design that reduces the plastic material while maintaining a guaranteed support of the contact portions of the signal contacts.


There is provided a ball joint provided with a ball stud having a spherical head portion in an end portion, a ball seat to which the spherical head portion is slidably fitted, thereby pivoting the ball stud universally, and a housing receiving the ball seat, the housing being structured such that a closed-end cylindrical main body portion and a flange portion extending outward in a radial direction from an edge portion of the main body portion are formed in accordance with sheet metal processing. The flange portion is formed thinner than a thickness of the main body portion.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a ball joint which is, for example, used in a connection portion of a stabilizer for a vehicle, and to a method of manufacturing a housing therefor.
2. Related Art
FIG. 4 shows a conventional embodiment of this kind of ball joint. The ball joint is constructed such that a spherical head portion 2a formed in an end portion of a ball stud 2 is slidably fitted to a resin ball seat 3 received within a cylindrical housing 4. The ball stud 2 is pivoted relating to the ball seat 3 in a universal manner around the spherical head portion 2a, that is, in such a manner as to freely tilt and rotate around an axis. A rivet-like engagement portion 3b formed in a bottom portion of the ball seat 3 extends through a bottom portion of the housing 4 so as to be engaged therewith, whereby the ball seat 3 is restricted to the housing 4, thereby preventing it from rotating around the axis and coming off from the housing 4. In this case, reference numeral 6 denotes a bevel-like dust cover, and reference numeral 7 denotes a support bar integrally adhered to the housing 4.
In this case, as shown in enlarged FIG. 5, the housing 4 is constituted by a main body portion 4a formed in a closed-end cylindrical shape, and a ring-like flange portion 4b formed in an edge portion of the main body portion 4a, and is integrally formed in accordance with a sheet metal process from a steel plate. Further, the support bar 7 is electric resistance welded at a position a distance c apart from a lower surface of the flange portion 4b. This is because the welding is applied so as to avoid a circular arc surface formed in a cross portion between the lower surface of the flange portion 4b and the outer peripheral surface of the main body portion 4a, and a space for burrs generated in welding is secured. Further, the spherical head portion 2a of the ball stud 2 is pressure inserted by elastically deforming the ball seat 3. In order to prevent a crack from being generated in the bottom portion of the ball seat 3 in pressure insertion thereof, it is necessary to provide a certain degree of thickness in the bottom portion. Accordingly, it is impossible to move the ball stud 2 very close to the bottom portion side of the ball seat 3. For the reason mentioned above, a center O of the spherical head portion 2a of the ball stud 2 is arranged at a position a distance e shifted from a center line 7a of the support bar 7.
Since the difference of distance e exists between the center of the spherical head portion 2a of the ball stud 2 and the center line 7a of the support bar 7, a bending moment of P×e with respect to a test load P generated by a tensile test or a buckling test in an axial direction of the support bar 7 is applied to the support bar 7. Accordingly, since a strength of the support bar 7 cannot be obtained while a strength obtained by multiplying a cross sectional area of the support bar 7 by a material strength is generally secured, there have been cases in which it is necessary to make the support bar 7 thick for the purpose of satisfying a required specification.
Further, a drawing load F of the ball stud is generally expressed by a smaller value among values calculated by the following formula (1) or (2).F=4×N×d3×π/4+μ×F′×η×(l1×π×D)  (1)F=N×π×D×l2  (2)
In this case, parameters in the respective formulas mentioned above are as follows.                d: diameter of the shaft in engagement portion 3b         N: shear resistance of the ball seat 3        μ: coefficient of friction between the housing 4 and the ball seat 3        η: component force conversion efficiency in the outer peripheral direction due to contact angle between the ball stud 2 and the ball seat 3 when a drawing load is applied to the ball stud 2        l1: distance of the linear portion extending from the crossing point between a normal line and the inner peripheral surface toward the flange portion 4b (distance of the flange portion 4b to the end point of the circular arc surface) when the normal line is formed passing through the center O of the spherical head portion 2a of the ball stud 2 on the inner peripheral surface of the housing 4        F′: component serving to provide friction force between an inner peripheral surface of the housing 4 and the ball seat 3 when a drawing load is applied to the ball stud 2        D: diameter of spherical head portion        l2: length of thick portion extending from crossing point between normal line and inner peripheral surface toward axial direction of ball stud 2 when a normal line is formed passing through center O of spherical head portion 2a of the ball stud 2 on inner peripheral surface of ball seat 3.
In general, the value calculated by the formula (1) is smaller in the drawing load F. In accordance with the formula (1), in order to increase the drawing load F, the spherical head portion may be made large, or the housing may be made longer so as to set the distance l1 of the linear portion of the inner peripheral surface to be large. However, in such a countermeasure, weight and size are increased, and material costs are unnecessarily increased.

Ball joint and method of manufacturing housing therefor


Transistors and methods of fabricating transistors are disclosed. A disclosed method comprises forming an inversion epitaxial layer on a silicon substrate; forming a hard mask on the inversion epitaxial layer; depositing a silicon epitaxial layer over the inversion epitaxial layer; forming a trench through the silicon epitaxial layer by removing the hard mask; forming reverse spacers on the sidewalls of the trench by filling the trench with an insulating layer and etching the insulating layer; forming a gate electrode over the reverse spacers; forming pocket-well regions and LDD regions in the silicon substrate by performing ion implantations; forming spacers on the sidewalls of the gate electrode; forming source and drain regions in the silicon substrate by performing an ion implantation; and forming a silicide layer on the gate electrode and the source and drain regions.

In a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor such as a MOS field-effect-transistor (MOSFET), electric current flows through a surface region under a gate electrode and a gate oxide when an electric field is applied to the source and drain junction regions while a gate charge is applied. The surface region through which the electric current flows is known as a channel. The characteristics of a MOSFET are determined by a dopant concentration in the channel. More specifically, it is very important to precisely dope impurities into the channel region because device characteristics such as the threshold voltage of the transistor and the drain current are subject to the dopant concentration.
Conventional channel doping is achieved by performing well ion implantation, channel ion implantation, or threshold ion implantation. Channel structures formed by such ion implantation include a flat channel in which a dopant concentration is uniform through the whole region of the channel, a buried channel which is formed at a predetermined distance from the top surface of a semiconductor substrate, and a retrograde channel which has a vertically increasing doping profile from the top surface of the channel. Retrograde channels are widely used for high performance microprocessors requiring a channel length less than 0.2 μm. In such a context, the retrograde channel is generally formed by heavy ion implantation using indium (In), arsenic (As), or antimony (Sb). The retrograde channel is suitable for high performance MOSFET devices with high driving current characteristics because a low dopant concentration in its surface increases the surface mobility of an electric current.
As the degree of integration of a semiconductor device increase, the channel length is shortened, and a very thin channel is required. However, conventional ion implantation technology cannot achieve a retrograde channel less than 50 nm in depth. To solve such a problem, an epitaxial channel has been suggested. However, the epitaxial channel has not achieved an improvement in the current on-off characteristics because it is difficult to control the loss and diffusion of the channel dopants due to an epitaxial layer formation process and a later thermal treatment process.
The most ideal channel doping method may embody a δ-doped epitaxial channel. However, according to the reported findings, both doped and undoped epitaxial layers cannot be made into a δ-doped epitaxial channel less than 30 nm in depth because of later dopant diffusion.
To solve such a problem, a method for preventing diffusion of dopants in a δ-doped layer has been suggested in Lee and Lee, Laser Thermal Annealed SSR Well Prior to Epi-Channel Growth (LASPE) for 70 nm nFET, IEDM 2000. The suggested method performs channel doping by using an ultra-low energy ion implantation and an instant laser annealing. According to the suggested method, the instant laser annealing controls the diffusion and loss of dopants during a selective epitaxial growth.
However, the laser power for the laser annealing may cause partial melting of the silicon substrate surface, thereby deteriorating the surface roughness and causing crystal defects. Therefore, the laser annealing method is not applicable to practical semiconductor device manufacturing processes.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional transistor having a super steep retrograde (SSR) epitaxial channel. Although conventional transistor fabrication technology has reduced the depth of the channel by forming a retrograde channel 7 as shown in FIG. 1, it has failed to substantially reduce the length of the channel.

Transistors of semiconductor devices and methods of fabricating the same


A method of forming a gate structure. First, a substrate is provided, and a gate oxide layer, a polysilicon layer, a silicide layer, and a cap layer are consecutively formed onto the substrate. Then, an etching process is performed to etch a portion of the cap layer, the silicide layer, and the polysilicon layer and stop on the polysilicon layer for forming a stacked gate. Thereafter, a portion of the silicide layer exposed on sidewalls of the stacked gate is removed to form a recess. A passivation layer is deposited to fill the recess. The remaining polysilicon layer and the gate oxide layer outside the sidewalls of the stacked gate structure are removed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of forming a gate structure, and more specifically, to a method capable of avoiding word line/bit line short-circuiting.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) is composed of many memory cells, and each memory cell has a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor and a capacitor. The gate of the MOS transistor (also known as word line) serves as a switch of the MOS transistor, while the drain or the source is connected to a bit line for writing and erasing data.
Please refer and FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are schematic diagrams illustrating a conventional method of forming a gate structure. As shown in FIG. 1, primarily, a substrate 10 having at least a stacked gate structure 12 is provided. The stacked gate structure 12 from bottom to top comprises a gate oxide layer 14, a polysilicon layer 16, a silicide layer 18, and a cap layer 20.
Then as shown in FIG. 2, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process is performed to deposit a silicon nitride layer (not shown) onto the substrate 10. Following that, an anisotropic etching process is performed to remove a portion of the silicon nitride layer (not shown) to form a spacer 22 on the sidewalls of the stacked gate structure 12. Finally, an implantation process is performed to form a drain (not shown) and a source (not shown) in the substrate 10.
The conventional method further comprises the steps of forming a bit line after forming the stacked gate structure 12. Please refer to FIG. 3 to FIG. 5. FIG. 3 to FIG. 5 are schematic diagrams showing the steps of forming the bit line. As shown in FIG. 3, first a barrier layer 24 is deposited onto the substrate 10 and the stacked gate structure 12. Then a borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) layer 26 is deposited on the barrier layer 24, and a flow process is performed for planarizing the BPSG layer 26. Finally a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process is performed to remove the BPSG layer 26 higher than the cap layer 20.
The material of the barrier layer 24 is silicon nitride, which is capable of preventing the ions of BPSG layer 26 from diffusing into the substrate 10 in the flow process.
As shown in FIG. 4, a dielectric layer 28, such as an oxide layer using TEOS as precursor, is deposited onto the stacked gate structure 12. Then a photo-etching process is performed to remove a portion of the dielectric layer 28, the BPSG layer 26, and the barrier layer 24 for forming a contact hole 30.
Finally as shown in FIG. 5, a bit line 32 is formed for electrically connecting to the drain or source (not shown) of the substrate 10 via the contact hole 30.
It can be seen from the above description that the conventional method utilizes the spacer 22 to avoid the word line (the polysilicon layer 16 and the silicide layer 18)/bit line short-circuit problem. However, as semiconductor device integrity increases and critical dimension decreases, the spacer 22 is apt to be destroyed in the step of forming the contact hole 30. As shown in FIG. 4, the bit line 32 and the silicide layer 18 will be short-circuited easily under this condition. Particularly, when critical dimension is under 0.11 μm, the short-circuit problem is not ignorable.


Provided is a slitter device capable of quickly supplying metal bands to a cutter stand and cutting same into strips with high speed and accuracy. The metal band slitter device comprises an unwinder that unwinds a metal band wound into a coil, a cutter stand that cuts the unwound metal band into narrow width strips, and a winder that winds the cut metal band into coils. The metal band slitter device is configured to comprise a tension adjustment unit on the winder side between the unwinder and the cutter stand that provides a constant tension to the metal band and a tension separating unit on the cutter stand side that separates the constant tension on the input side and tension on the output side.

A slitter device usually has an unwinder for unwinding a metal band wound in a coil form, a cutter stand for cutting (slitting) the unwound metal band into narrow width strips, and a winder for winding the cut metal bands into a coil form.
As a technique related to the slitter device, known is a technique of unwinding a thin steel sheet strip from an unwinder, loosening the unwound strip once, and then supplying the strip to a cutter stand. This technique makes it possible to make the tension of the strip small when the strip is cut; thus, counterforce which acts onto a rotating blade from the strip can be made small, so that the lifespan of the rotating blade can be made long (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Metal band slitter device and slitting method


A cover for a liquid container having a body for holding a liquid and defining a body aperture has a mobile member connectable to a fixed structure relative to the aperture via a resilient outer membrane connected thereto, and an inner closing structure mountable in the body proximal the aperture and connected to the mobile member. The inner closing structure is movable, by application of an inwardly directed force to the mobile member, from a first configuration for the cover, in which the inner closing structure impedes passage of the liquid through the aperture, into a second configuration in which at least a portion of the aperture is unblocked and the liquid may flow therearound and out of the aperture for removal from the container. The membrane biases the inner closing structure and the mobile member into the first configuration for the cover.

It is well known in the art to use containers, for example glasses or cups, for storing liquid for drinking. Such containers allow transport of the liquid for concurrent or subsequent use or consumption, such as drinking, thereof. Typically, consumption or use of the liquid occurs by removing liquid from the container through an aperture thereof, typically situated at a first top end of the container. In order to reduce risk of spillage of the liquid, such containers often have covers disposed thereon and which cover the aperture. However, such covers must often, inconveniently, be removed to allow use or consumption of the liquid. Alternatively, other covers may remain engaged in the aperture and provide a cover aperture through which the liquid may be removed from the container while the cover continues to seal the aperture. Unfortunately, such covers often limit removal of the liquid to the cover aperture, which, for drinking or removal of the liquid into another container, requires, inconveniently, that the container be precisely positioned with the cover aperture situated proximal the lips of the user or near the other container to reduce risk of spillage. Further, there may be a risk of spillage through the cover aperture, if no sealing mechanism therefore is provided, if the container is upset.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved liquid container with a simple configuration and the cover therefor.


For the determination of the occupancy of a milking stall by an animal, in particular a cow, in a rotary milking parlor with a plurality of milking stalls which are disposed on a rotatable milking platform, a process is proposed in which the identification of the animal only takes place after it has entered the milking stall in which it is supposed to be milked.

The object of the invention relates to a process and a rotary milking parlor for the identification of a milking stall and an animal, in particular a cow, in a rotary milking parlor with a plurality of milking stalls which are disposed on a rotatable platform.
Rotary milking parlors for the milking of animals, in particular for the milking of cows, are known in the art. Rotary milking parlors of this type can be of different designs. For example, DE 26 50 741 A1 discloses a rotary milking parlor which has several milking stalls. The milking stalls are disposed side by side. Those skilled in the art speak of a side-by-side rotary milking parlor. In the case of this type of milking parlor, the animals are led radially inwards to the milking stalls. To this end, a gate, which makes possible entry into the milking stall, is drawn upwards. After the cow has entered the milking stall the gate is run down again.
The advantage of such a rotary milking parlor is that a large number of milking stalls can be disposed in a small space.
EP 0 763 970 B1 discloses another type of rotary milking parlor. This rotary milking parlor is a parlor with a plurality of milking stalls disposed in a fishbone pattern, and the milking stalls are disposed on a rotatable milking platform.
In the course of the automation of the milking as well as the monitoring of the animals with respect to their milk production and health, it is a known practice for the animals to be provided with an animal recognition unit. The animal recognition unit can, for example, be a neck/foot rescounter or a neck responder which contains the identification code for the animal. Other animal recognition units are also possible.
In order to be able to carry out the assignment of an animal to a milking stall of a rotary milking parlor, an entrance door is provided in the entrance path of the rotary milking parlor. The recognition of the animal occurs in front of the entrance door. After the recognition of the animal and the identification of the milking stall provided for this animal, the door opens when the milking stall is located in front of the entrance path so that the animal can enter this milking stall. The door closes the entrance so that the following animal is held back.
It is problematic in a process management of this type that each individual animal must be stopped in front of the door so that a reliable matching of the milking stall and the animal to be milked at this milking stall is possible. This leads to a reduced throughput per unit of time and thus to longer milking times. The opening and closing of the door is associated with the development of noise and wear and tear.
This constellation of problems has already been recognized. Thus, rotary milking parlors are also known which have no door in their entrance path or whose door is taken out of operation in certain phases of milking. In rotary milking parlors of this type, the recognition of the animal occurs in the entrance path. In so doing it cannot be determined unambiguously whether an animal actually enters the milking stall provided. There is thus the danger that an animal's non-marketable milk, which in fact should be thrown away, is nevertheless conducted into the marketable milk, since the animal did not enter the milking stall provided for that animal but rather another milking stall. This situation can lead to all the usable milk having to be thrown away.
Proceeding from this, the goal set for the present invention is to specify a process and a rotary milking parlor by which higher reliability with respect to the identification of a milking stall and an animal, in particular a cow, and the assignment of the animal to the milking stall is achieved.

Process and rotary milking parlor for the identification of a milking stall and an animal, in particular a cow, in a rotary milking parlor


A mobile device includes a plurality of sensors, each with one or more costs associated with it. In order to reduce the cost associated with using the sensors to infer information about the device's current context, a sensor manager first collects readings from relatively low-cost sensors, and attempts to infer the device's context based on these readings. If the context cannot be unambiguously determined (within an acceptable degree of tolerance) using the low-cost sensor readings, the sensor manager activates one or more higher-cost sensors to identify the current context. In some instances, if the higher-cost sensor is still not adequate to determine the context, one or more even higher-cost sensors are activated. The weighting of the various costs associated with the sensors can be adjusted based on previous and/or predicted contexts.

1. Technical Field
The described embodiments pertain to managing sensor usage by a mobile device, and in particular to selecting when to use particular sensors to reduce associated costs.
2. Description of Related Art
A variety of applications and systems currently exist that use location data collected from a mobile device to provide location-aware functionality. Location-awareness is useful for a wide range of systems. Location-aware systems typically identify the user's current geo-spatial location using a location-determination sensor and compare this location to a database to predict a venue or area that the user is currently at or near. For example, a weather application can provide pertinent information about the city the user is currently in, a navigation system can offer to provide directions to near-by venues that the user has previously visited, a marketing system can provide advertisements for venues similar to those the user frequents, and the like.
Many modern mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets include a large number of sensors capable of collecting a wide array of data of varying types. A typical smartphone includes a GPS positioning sensor, a microphone, a camera, and an accelerometer. Each of these sensors has various costs associated with using it, such as battery usage, processing time, data storage, bandwidth, and user annoyance/disruption. These costs can reduce the usefulness of applications that make use of such sensors. In existing systems, such costs can be alleviated by turning off sensors, but this reduces the amount of data available to applications, which reduces their value and can even render them inoperative.

Accurate mobile context detection at low sensor cost


A smart FAIMS sensor system and method includes a 2/2-electrode filter that pumps the ions through the system and separates the ionic species, a detector for collecting the separated ions and generating a detector signal in response to the collected ions, and a controller configured to change the operating parameters of the system in response to changes in the sensor's environment detected by the sensor. The ability to dynamically change the operating parameters of the sensor enables the sensor to maintain high sensitivity to environmental threats while decreasing the incidences of false positive events.

The present invention relates to chemical/biological environmental sensors. More specifically, the invention relates to systems and methods for smart FAIMS sensors that dynamically change their operating point in response to their environment.
Field Asymmetric Ion Mobility Spectroscopy (FAIMS) may be used to separate molecular or atomic ions based, in part, on the ions nonlinear ionic mobility in an electric field. In a typical FAIMS configuration, ions are directed between two plates that generate an electric field perpendicular to the flow direction of the ions. The electric field may be generated by applying a time varying voltage to the two plates. The time varying voltage is usually a superposition of two time varying signals or a superposition of a time varying signal and an adjustable constant signal.
A first component of the time varying signal is an asymmetric oscillation wherein the peak magnitude of, for example, the positive portion of the oscillation is different from the peak magnitude of the negative portion of the oscillation. The absolute value of the magnitude of the asymmetric signal is such that the electric field generated is usually greater than about 5,000 V/cm during the positive portion of the oscillation and less than about 1,000 V/cm during the negative portion of the oscillation cycle. In the example above, the durations of the positive and negative portions of the cycle may be adjusted such that the products of the electric field and the duration are approximately the same for both the positive and negative portions of the oscillation. In the example above, the duration of the negative portion of the oscillation cycle is preferably five times longer than the duration of the positive portion of the oscillation cycle.
If the ionic mobility of the ion is independent of the applied electric field, the ion will oscillate transversely to its direction of travel but will not drift transversely to its direction of travel. The ionic mobility, however, is usually not independent of the applied electric field and the ion will drift toward one of the electrodes and transversely to its direction of travel, the direction of the drift depending on whether the ionic mobility is an increasing or decreasing function of the applied electric field. If uncompensated, the ion will continue to drift toward one of the electrodes until it collides with the electrode.
A second voltage signal, VC, may be superposed onto the oscillating signal to compensate the transverse drift of the ion. The transverse drift depends, inter alia, on the ion mass and the ion mobility, which are usually unique to each ionic species. By adjusting the second voltage signal to cancel the transverse drift of the ion, herein referred to as a compensation voltage, an operator of the device may select a particular ionic species. Alternatively, by sweeping the second voltage signal, the operator may obtain a spectrum of ionic species ordered by the combination of the species' mass and mobility.
Ions may be directed between the electrodes by a pump or by a second set of electrodes that generate an electric field in the direction of the ion's flow path. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,495,823 and 6,512,224 issued to Miller teach the use of a mechanical pump or a pair of electrodes to direct ions between the electrodes generating the transverse electric field. The use of a mechanical pump, however, has several disadvantages when FAIMS is used as a sensor. The mechanical pump usually adds significant bulk to the sensor and requires large power relative to the sensor. Furthermore, the time response of the mechanical pump significantly increases the time response of the FAIMS sensor. The electrical pump disclosed by Miller also adds to the bulk of the sensor system by the addition of the second pair of electrodes and its associated electronics.


The invention pertains to a method and apparatus for testing a component of a vectoring system, such as a DSLAM performing crosstalk cancellation. The method is based on the insight that line termination equipment, such as a DSLAM, and in particular the crosstalk canceller, can be used to simulate a multiline network. A signal is exchanged between the line termination equipment and attached network termination equipment, passing through the crosstalk canceller which acts as a multiline simulator. Information indicative of an error component in a received version of the signal is used to assess the operation the vectoring system.

Electronic wireline simulators have been developed to allow testing of wireline transmission equipment without having to resort to a "cable farm", i.e. a large collection of different types and lengths of cable over which the transmission capabilities can be tested. The known wireline simulators synthesize a circuit presenting a certain attenuation and phase distortion to the signals applied to it. In this way, a known wireline simulator adequately simulates a single piece of cable, the simulated length and type of which may be varied within a predetermined range. The known wireline simulators do not allow the simulation of crosstalk between multiple lines.
Modern digital subscriber line equipment, in particular ADSL and VDSL equipment, has the capability to perform "vectoring", i.e. to coordinate the signals transmitted on different lines using a crosstalk canceller, in such a way that the crosstalk between the different lines is substantially cancelled out by the signal components added to each original signal by the crosstalk canceller. To adequately and efficiently test a system comprising a digital subscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM) with vectoring capabilities, it is desired to have the equivalent of a wireline simulator, with the ability to simulate multiple mutually coupled lines.

Method for testing a component of a vectoring system and line termination equipment configured to carry out said method


A display device for displaying an image represented by an incoming raster scan video signal comprises a PALC display panel having a rectangular array of addressable panel elements. A frame buffer stores a frame of video and a comparator compares the incoming video signal with the frame stored in the frame buffer on a line-by-line basis. In the event that a line of the incoming video signal is different from the corresponding line of the stored frame, the line of the incoming video signal is supplied to the display panel and is used to update the corresponding line of the frame buffer. Otherwise, the line of the incoming video signal is not supplied to the display panel.

This invention relates to a method of operating a plasma addressed liquid crystal display panel.
Several different types of raster scan liquid crystal (LC) display panels have been developed. One type is known as the active matrix addressed LC display panel and another type is known as the plasma addressed LC display panel. Each type of panel comprises a rectangular array of cells. The various types of LC display panels differ with respect to the manner in which the individual cells are addressed in order to display an image.
FIG. 3 illustrates schematically a single cell 40 of an active matrix addressed raster scan LC display panel. As shown in FIG. 3, this cell comprises upper and lower electrodes 44 and 48 having a layer 52 of twisted nematic (TN) liquid crystal material therebetween. The LC material is almost a perfect insulator, and accordingly the electrical behavior of the cell is similar to that of a capacitor. The upper, or column, electrode 44 is connected to the output terminal of an amplifier 54 which provides a positive voltage that depends upon the desired state of the cell 40. The lower, or row, electrode 48 is connected to ground through a transistor 56. In order to address the cell, the transistor 56 is turned on, forcing the electrode 48 to a potential near ground. The capacitor is charged to a voltage that depends on the output voltage of the amplifier 54 and a field exists in the layer of liquid crystal material. If the voltage between the row and column electrodes is zero, the cell is off, whereas if the voltage is, for example, +3 volts, the cell is on. The voltage may have an intermediate value in order to establish an intermediate state.
The cell 40 is addressed once per frame of an incoming raster scan video signal. Thus, the output voltage of the amplifier 54 is set at a level that depends on the voltage of the video signal during a sampling interval, the transistor 56 is turned on in order to charge the capacitor, and the transistor 56 is then turned off. One frame interval later, the same procedure is repeated.
If the transistor 56 had no off current, the voltage between the row and column electrodes would remain constant until the transistor was turned on again one frame later. However, the transistor 56 has a finite off current, and accordingly the voltage declines during the interval after the transistor turns off. (The liquid crystal material is not a perfect insulator, and accordingly conduction by the LC material contributes to the discharging of the capacitor. Nevertheless, the time constant for the discharge of the capacitor due to conduction by the LC material is much longer than the frame period of the video signal whereas the time constant for discharge due to the off current of the transistor can be shorter than the frame period, and so the off current of the transistor 56 can be the dominant mechanism for discharge of the capacitor.)
The plasma addressed liquid crystal (PALC) display panel shown in FIG. 4 comprises, in sequence from below, a polarizer 2, a channel substrate 4, a cover sheet 6 (commonly known as a microsheet), a dyer 10 of TN liquid crystal material, an array of parallel transparent data drive electrodes (only one of which, designated 12, can be seen in the view shown in FIG. 2), an upper substrate 14 carrying the data drive electrodes, and an upper polarizer 16. The channel substrate 2 is typically made of glass and is formed with multiple parallel channels 20 in its upper main face. The channels 20 are filled with an ionizable gas, such as helium. A cathode 24 and an anode 26 are provided in each of the channels 20. The channels 20 are orthogonal to the data drive electrodes and the region where a data drive electrode crosses a channel (when viewed perpendicularly to the panel) forms a discrete panel element 26. Each panel element can be considered to include elements of the layer 10 and the upper and lower polarizers 2 and 16. In the case of a color display panel, the panel elements include color filters (not shown) between the layer 10 and the upper substrate 14. The region of the upper surface of the display panel that bounds the panel element constitutes a single pixel 28 of the display panel.
As explained in U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,553, when a suitable potential difference is established between the cathode and anode in one of the channels, the gas in that channel forms a plasma that provides a conductive path at the lower surface of the cover sheet 6. If the data drive electrode is at ground potential, there is no significant electric field in the volume element of TN liquid crystal material and the panel element is considered to be off, whereas if the data drive electrode is at a substantially different potential from ground, there is a substantial electric field in that volume element of liquid crystal material and the panel element is considered to be on. An extended light source (not shown) is provided beneath the panel. In the event that a panel element is off the upper polarizer passes light received from the volume element of liquid crystal material and the panel element is illuminated, whereas if a panel element is on, the upper polarizer blocks light received from the volume element of liquid crystal material and the pixel is not illuminated. Black surround material (not shown) is provided between adjacent panel elements in order to absorb stray light and preserve maximum contrast between a panel element that is on and a panel element that is off.
In the case of a plasma addressed liquid crystal display panel, the off current (the rate at which charge is supplied to a panel element via circuitry outside the capacitor) is approximately zero, and consequently, the time constant for decay of the electric field in a panel element is considerably longer than the frame period of the video signal.
The conditions that may exist in a channel of a PALC display panel when a plasma is present may limit the useful life of a PALC display panel. The time for which the plasma exists in a channel depends on the operating conditions of the panel. If the time could be reduced, the useful life of the panel may be extended.
The useful life of a PALC display panel depends at least in part on the amount of time for which a plasma exists in a given channel. Thus, although it is widely accepted that a display panel must have a useful life of about 10,000 hours in order to be commercially acceptable, in the case of a display panel driven by a video signal at a frame rate of 60 Hz and having 480 active lines per frame, over 10,000 hours of operation a plasma exists in a given channel only for about approximately 3-4 hours.

Method of operating a plasma addressed liquid crystal display panel to extend useful life of the panel


Disclosed are a novel hedgehog protein, i.e., a Desert hedgehog protein of human origin including mature and precursor forms, a DNA encoding the protein, a monoclonal antibody recognizing the protein, a process for producing the protein, and a method for detecting the protein. The hedgehog protein is useful in establishment of hybridomas which produce antibodies recognizing the protein, and the monoclonal antibody is useful in detection and purification of the protein. The hedgehog protein, DNA, and monoclonal antibody of this invention have efficacy in elucidation of hereditary morphological abnormalities in humans to establish their treatments and diagnoses.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a novel hedgehog protein, more particularly, a Desert hedgehog protein of human origin.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The hedgehog gene was originally identified by genetic techniques as a gene that plays an important role in normal morphogenesis during embryonic and larval development in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, as described by C. Nusslein-Volhard et al., in Nature, Vol.287, pp.795-801 (1980). J. J. Lee et al. sequenced the gene and deduced the amino acid sequence of the hedgehog protein as the expression product in Cell, Vol.71, pp.33-50 (1992). Some homologues of the gene were later isolated from vertebrates including mammals (hereinafter, the homologues of species other than the fruit fly may also be called "hedgehog"). At present, it is known that vertebrate hedgehog genes, unlike that of the fruit fly, form a multigene family and would play different roles in normal morphogenesis.
For example, as described by Y. Echelard et al., in Cell, Vol.75, pp.1417-1430 (1993), there have been identified three types of the genes of mouse origin, designated "Sonic hedgehog", "Indian hedgehog", and "Desert hedgehog", which have different nucleotide sequences and express in different manners in living bodies. While in human, there have been found only two types of the genes designated "Sonic hedgehog" and "Indian hedgehog", as described by V. Marigo et al., in GENOMICS, Vol.28, pp.44-51 (1995), and their expression manners and functions of their expression products remain to be elucidated. Therefore from scientific and pharmaceutical viewpoints, in order to elucidate the process of exhibiting hereditary morphological abnormalities in humans and direct research their treatments and diagnoses, the establishment of a novel hedgehog gene and its expression product, i.e. a novel hedgehog protein, is now in great expectation demand.

Kabushiki Kaisha Hayashibara Seibutsu Kagaku Kenkyujo