text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Apr 7, 1987
|Filing date
|Sep 23, 1985
|Priority date
|Oct 24, 1984
|Fee status
|Publication number
|Mutsuki Yamazaki
|Original Assignee
|Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (5), Non-Patent Citations (2), Referenced by (24), Classifications (9), Legal Events (4)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This invention relates to an electrophotographic photosensitive member used for forming an image by utilizing electromagnetic waves such as ultraviolet rays, visible ray, infrared rays, X-rays, and the like. More specifically, the present invention relates to a photoreceptor used for electrophotography and having a photoconductive layer which comprises an amorphous material with, silicon as a constituent atom.
As a constituent for a photoreceptor, a solid-state image pickup device and so on, a photoconductive layer is required to have various characteristics such as a high and panchromatic sensitivity, a high S/N ratio and so forth, and to be harmless to humans. To cite one example, electrostatic charges are applied onto a photoconductive layer by corona discharge in electrophotography. Next, pairs of electrons and holes, i.e., photocarriers are generated so that the charges on the photoconductive layer are neutralized when the photoconductive layer is exposed to light. For example, positive charges on the photoconductive layer are neutralized by electrons generated in the photoconductive layer according to light exposure. Thus, an electrostatic latent image of a positive type is formed on the photoconductive layer. This latent image is visualized by depositing colored particles called toner on the photoconductive layer. The toner is oppositely charged to the charges on the photoconductive layer so as to be attracted by coulomb forces. Generally, a measure for heightening a potential of a toner depositing unit is introduced so that an electric field in reverse direction to that due to the latent image is established between the photoconductive layer and the toner depositing unit to avoid fog resulting from the inadequate triboelectric charges of toner. This measure is called developing bias. In this imaging method of electrophotography, the requirements for the photoreceptor are as follows:
(1) Charges produced by corona discharge may be retained until light exposure is performed; and
(2) photocarriers generated by light exposure may reach instantly to the surface of the photoreceptor so as to neutralize the charges on the photoreceptor without recombination. To meet these requirements, non-crystalline chalcogenide has been conventionally used for photoconductive materials to constitute a photoreceptor. This material has an excellent photoconductivity; however, the limit of light absorption lies in the ultraviolet wavelength region. As a result, its sensitivity to visible rays is not sufficient to form clear images. Moreover, the hardness of the material is too low to provide a long life for the photoreceptor.
From such a standpoint, amorphous silicon (hereinafter abbreviated as "a-Si") has attracted attention for use as photoconductive material. This a-Si represents a high and panchromatic sensitivity and a high hardness and is harmless to humans. On the other hand, its dark resistivity lies in the range from about 108 ohm-cm to 1010 ohm-cm. (See: "Electronic properties of substitutionally doped amorphous Si and Ge", in PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE 1976, Vol. 33, No. 6, pp. 935-949, by W. E. Spear et al). Therefore, it may not retain electrostatic charges thereon for a long time. In view of the above-mentioned problems, attempts have been made to use a multi-layered photoreceptor comprising a substrate, a barrier layer and an a-Si photoconductive layer in electrophotography. For the barrier layer of this multi-layered photoreceptor, an insulator layer such as silicon nitride and silicon oxide or an a-Si semiconductor layer of p-type and n-type may be introduced. The conductive type of the semiconductor layer depends on the charging polarity of the photoreceptor. Thus, a high charge acceptability and retentivity may be achieved according to this multi-layered structure. When the insulator layer is used for the barrier layer, however, a residual potential will be increased in proportion to the thickness thereof, because the insulator layer operates to block not only carriers injected from the substrate but also photocarriers generated in the photoconductive layer. On the other hand, breakdown due to the developing bias mentioned above may occur when the thickness of the insulator is established too thin in order to prevent it from blocking the generated photocarriers. In the case of the semiconductor layer, impurities may be contained to govern the conductive type thereof. Responding to the contents of the doped impurity, however, strain in the layer is increased. As a result, separation of layers may occur due to the difference in the strain in the respective layers.
Furthermore, all problems will not be completely solved by providing the barrier layer. For example, the photoconductive layer must have a high resistivity (i.e., a high dark resistivity) to retain charges thereon for a long time. To obtain a high charge acceptability, a covering layer needs to provide on the surface of the photoconductive layer. In many cases, this covering layer is made of an insulator having a high resistivity. The mobility of electrons in such a layer is very small. Therefore, the use of the covering insulator layer results in a low photosensitivity and a high residual potential.
Even with the a-Si photoreceptor having excellent photoconductive characteristics in the various points as described above, there still remains room to improve the characteristics or the structure of the a-Si photoreceptor.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved electrophotographic photosensitive member which may be used for electrophotography.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an electrophotographic photosensitive member which has a high sensitivity, a high dark resistivity and a high durability.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an electrophotographic photosensitive member which may achieve a high charge acceptability and retentivity.
These and other objects are achieved by providing a novel electrophotographic photosensitive member including a substrate, a photoconductive layer and a barrier layer provided between the substrate and the photoconductive layer for substantially inhibiting injection of carriers from the substrate to the photoconductive layer, wherein the photoconductive layer and the barrier layer are formed of an amorphous material including silicon and carbon as constituents.
A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional diagram showing a preferred embodiment of the electrophotographic photosensitive member according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the apparatus for preparing the electrophotographic photosensitive member according to the present invention; and
FIG. 3 is a graph showing a method for preparing the electrophotographic photosensitive member according to the present invention.
FIG. 1 shows a structure of an electrophotographic photosensitive member for forming positively charged images thereon by utilizing electrophotography (hereinafter described as "photoreceptor") according to the present invention.
Referring now to FIG. 2, photoreceptor 10 is composed of a substrate 12, a barrier layer 14, a photoconductive layer 16 and a covering layer 18 in tandem.
Substrate 12 may be electroconductive or electrically insulating. For an electroconductive substrate, there may be used stainless steel, Al, Cr and the like. For an electrically insulating substrate, there may be used glass, ceramics, resins and the like. In this case, at least one side of the substrate must have an electrically conductive surface for electrophotographic imaging process. Substrate 12 may be ordinarily formed in many desired shapes, but is preferably formed as a drum for intended use in xerographic copying machines.
These layers 14, 16 and 18 are formed of amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbide doped with boron (hereinafter abbreviated as "a-SiC:H,B"), and are prepared by glow discharge, sputtering, ion plating, ion implementation, and the like. Preferably, glow discharge is utilized for preparing these layers so that it may be easily performed to incorporate impurities such as boron in order to govern its conductive types and control the contents of constituent elements such as carbon, silicon, and hydrogen. In order to incorporate hydrogen atoms in the layers, silanes, for example, SiH4, Si2 H6 and the like are used as raw materials. Also, at the same time, hydrocarbons, for example, CH4, C2 H6 and the like are introduced in order to incorporate carbon atoms in the layers. To render these layers to be n-type, p-type or intrinsic semiconductor, an impurity to govern conductivity type is also introduced during the fabrication of these layers, while controlling their impurity density. Depending upon the content and description of impurities, each amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbide assumes n-type, p-type or intrinsic. Generally, amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbide is slightly inclined to assume n-type semiconductor. By lightly doping with boron, however, it becomes intrinsic so that high resistivity is obtained. In the present invention, the impurity is selected from those atoms in Group III-A of the Periodic Table such as boron, aluminum and gallium or in Group V-A of the Periodic Table such as phosphorus, nitrogen and arsenic in accordance with the intended purpose. Namely, in the case of a photoreceptor of a positively charged type, p-type semiconductor may be used for these layers; also n-type semiconductor may be used for these layers in the case of a photoreceptor of a negatively charged type.
Barrier layer 14 is made of a-SiC:H,B and includes boron atoms as an impurity in the range from about 10-3 to 2 atomic %, or more preferably, from about 5�10-3 to 1 atomic %. The content of carbon is in the range from about 1 to 15 atomic %, more preferably, about 8 to 12 atomic %. This particular doping quantity permits barrier layer 14 to have a desired optical band gap of about 1.75-1.85 eV and to be formed as a strainless layer. The deposition of barrier layer 14 with silanes by glow discharge results in an incorporation of hydrogen in the range from about 10 to 20 atomic %. According to the present invention, the content of hydrogen is a very important factor affecting characteristics of the layer; these requirements are satisfied when it lies in the above range. The thickness of barrier layer 14 is usually established in the range from about 0.1 to 5 μm, or more preferably, about 0.5 to 2 μm, so that it operates as a barrier layer for injection of carriers from the substrate to the photoconductive layer without causing a high residual potential and breakdown. The resistivity of barrier layer 14 is ordinarily about 106 ohm-cm. As mentioned above, barrier layer 14 is formed of a-SiC:H,B. For an amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbide, an excellent film property may be obtained even if it is heavily doped with boron. Barrier layer 14, as is well-knoen, operates such that injection of carriers from substrate 12 into photoconductive layer 16 may be effectively inhibited, and transport of photocarriers generated in photoconductive layer 16 by irradiation with electromagnetic waves may be smoothly permited.
Photoconductive layer 16 operates such that sufficient photocarriers are generated in the layer in response to irradiation of electromagnetic waves. Therefore, it should be sensitive to electromagnetic waves extending over a wide range of wavelength. Especially, photoconductive layer 16 must have a high sensitivity to a long wavelength light, for example, about 700-800 nm, in order to apply to laser beam printers. The irradiated light must be almost absorbed in photoconductive layer 16 in order to generate photocarriers therein effectively. To meet these requirements, the thickness of photoconductive layer 16 must be more than 5 μm. However, it should be limited by carrier transport characteristics, i.e., it must be less than 70 μm. Preferably, the thickness of photoconductive layer 16 lies in the range from about 5 to 25 μm. Also, photoconductive layer 16 must have a sufficient photoconductivity, for example, more than 10-7 cm2 /V, and a high dark resistivity, for example, more than 1011 ohm-cm. These requirements are satisfied by incorporating carbon atoms and doping with boron by taking appropriate measures. The content of carbon should be in the range from about 1 to 15 atomic %, more preferably, about 5 to 10 atomic %. Also, the content of boron should be in the range from about 1�10-7 to 1�10-3 atomic %, more preferably, about 1�10-7 to 1�10-4 atomic %. The impurity density, i.e., boron content must be controlled to be less than about 10% of the boron content of barrier layer 14. By this light doping, the mobility of holes is increased and the dark resistivity becomes high, for example, about 1011 ohm-cm to 1014 ohm-cm. As a result, charge acceptability and charge retentivity are greatly improved. Generally, this photoconductive layer 16 changes its resistivity under 107 ohm-cm according to irradiation of electromagnetic waves, for example, light exposure having a wavelength of about 633 nm and an intensity of about 1015 photons/cm2 -sec. Photoconductive layer 16 formed of a-SiC:H,B is prevented from falling into a state called "fatigue". Generally, photoreceptors result in a high trapping state concentration after image forming cycles including corona charging and light exposure, so that the lowering of charge retentivity and the increase of residual charge potential are observed. This phenomenon is called fatigue. Photoconductive layer 16 is hardly ever fallen into fatigue because of its wide optical band gap of about 1.75 eV.
Covering layer 18 is formed of a-SiC:H,B and operates so as to achieve a stable charge acceptance and to prevent the surface of photoreceptor 10 from oxidizing by corona charging. For these functions, a high resistivity, a high chemical stability and a high light transmittance are required. This is satisfied by using a-SiC:H,B with a wide optical band gap of about 2.2 eV. Also, the optical band gap should be more than that of photoconductive layer 16. When compared with silicon nitride and silicon oxide, the optical band gap of a-SiC:H,B is rather narrower; however, the mobility of electrons may be increased by lightly doping with elements in Group IV-A or V-A of the Periodic Table. Therefore, the thickness of the layer does not affect photosensitivity and residual potential of the photoreceptor. The generated photocarriers in covering layer 18 may pass through within a short time even if it absorbs light, which is limited to a short wavelength light because of its wide optical band gap. Therefore, the film thickness may be thickened up to about 0.1-5 μm or so by using a-SiC:H,B. Accordingly, according to the present invention, this layer is chemically more stable, has a longer life and is higher in charge acceptance than insulators such as silicon nitride and silicon oxide. To meet the requirements of a wide optical band gap and a high resistivity, covering layer 18 contains carbon and is lightly doped with boron. The content of carbon lies in the range from about 15 to 25 atomic %, more preferably, about 20 to 25 atomic %. The impurity density should be in the range from about 1�10-7 to 1�10-4 atomic %. The preferable thickness of covering layer 18 lies in the range from about 0.5 to 1 μm. The thusly prepared covering layer has a high resistivity of 1013 ohm-cm or more, and a wide optical band gap of about 2.2 eV. The resistivity of covering layer 18 may not be decreased below about 1011 ohm-cm by light exposure.
Also, hydrogen atoms are incorporated into photoconductive layer 16 and covering layer 18 by decomposing silanes with glow discharge. The content of hydrogen in these layers will be in the range from about 10 to 20 atomic %.
Methods based on glow discharge, sputtering, ion plating, ion implantation, and the like can be used to prepare these layers of the present invention. For example, a multi-layered structure as described above is achieved using the glow discharge apparatus shown in FIG. 2.
Referring now to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a schematic diagram of a capacitively coupled glow discharge apparatus used for the fabrication of photoreceptor 10.
A glow discharge deposition chamber 20 contains substrate 12 fixed to a fixing member 22. In this example, substrate 12 is formed in the shape of a cylindrical drum made of aluminum. Chamber 20 is fixed to a base member 24. Fixing member 22 is fixed to a driving shaft 26 which is coupled to a motor 28 through base member 24. Also, inside substrate 12 is disposed a heater 30 for heating substrate 12. Substrate 12 is grounded through fixing member 22, driving shaft 26, base member 24 and chamber 20. Inside chamber 20, an electrode 32 having gas outlets 34 is disposed so as to surround substrate 12. This electrode 32 is insulated to chamber 20 and is formed as a pipe to introduce gas into chamber 20 through outlets 34. A gas conduit 36 is connected to electrode 32. Gas conduit 36 is connected to respective bombs 38, 40, 42 and 44 for containing reaction gases, for example, SiH4, B2 H6 diluted with He (2,000 ppm), B2 H6 diluted with He (20 ppm) and CH4 through respective mass flow controllers (MFC) 46, 48, 50 and 52. A power supply (RF) 54 is connected to cylindrical electrode 32 through a matching box (MB) 56 so as to apply a radio frequency power of 13.56 MHz between electrode 32 and a grounded terminal. When power supply 54 is operated, a radio frequency power is applied to cause glow discharge in chamber 20. Chamber 20 is also connected to an exhausting device including a mechanical booster pump (MBP) 58 and a rotary pump (RP) 60 through a valve 62. This valve 62 is controlled by an automatic pressure controller (APC) 64 in order to maintain a predetermined pressure for deposition.
Now, valve 62 is fully opened by APC 64, and MBP 58 and RP 60 are operated to produce a vacuum of about 10-3 -10-4 Torr. Substrate 12 is heated to about 100�-400� C. by heater 30 and rotated by motor 28 in order to unify the thickness and physical properties of deposited layers. Then, reactant gases containing silicon atoms such as SiH4, Si2 H6 and SiF4, dopant gases including elements in Group III-A or V-A of the Periodic Table, for example, B2 H6, BF3, PH3 and PF3, and gases containing carbon atoms such as CH4, C2 H6 and C2 H2 are mixed by MFC 46-52 and introduced into chamber 20 through cylindrical electrode 32 and conduit 36. In FIG. 2, SiH4 comprises the reactant gas, B2 H6 diluted with He (2,000 ppm) and B2 H6 diluted with He (20 ppm) comprise dopant gases, and CH4 is used as the gas containing carbon atoms, in bombs 38-44, respectively. The exhaust speed is controlled by APC 64 so that the reaction pressure reaches to about 0.1-10 Torr in chamber 20 and the pressure reaches a steady state. Then, RF 54 is operated to cause glow discharge in chamber 20, and SiH4 and CH4 are decomposed to deposit layers on substrate 12. Also, impurities are introduced into chamber 20 by controlling MFC 48 and 50. The deposition rate of layers depends on the applied radio frequency power, for example, a deposition rate of 12 μm/hour responding to a high power of about 200-400 W.
The present invention will be described further with reference to the following examples which should not be considered as limitations on the present invention.
In accordance with the procedure described below, a photoreceptor of the present invention was prepared by using the apparatus shown in FIG. 2.
An aluminum substrate 12 was provided in the form of a cylindrical drum, whereby it may be applied to xerographic copying machines. Substrate 12 was cleaned and fixed to fixing member 22. Then, substrate 12 was rotated by motor 28 and heated to about 250� C. by heater 30 while a high vacuum (about 10-3 -10-4 Torr) was achieved inside chamber 20 by MBP 58 and RP 60. Next, gases were introduced into chamber 20 so that the flow rate of SiH4 was about 400 SCCM, the flow rate of B2 H6 was about 1�10-2 -5% of that of SiH4 and the flow rate of CH4 was about 10-100% of that of SiH4. These flow rates were controlled by MFC 46-52. Thus, the gaseous mixture of SiH4, B2 H6 (diluted with He) and CH4 was introduced into chamber 20 and was blown against an outer periphery of substrate 12 rotated by motor 28. The reaction pressure was established at about 10 Torr by APC 64 and was maintained. Then, a radio frequency power of about 200 W was applied to electrode 32 by RF 54. Before the operation of RF 54, a matching operation for effectively transmitting the radio frequency power was provided. Thus, depositing was performed for 5 minutes. After that, barrier layer 14 having a thickness of about 1 μm was deposited on the surface of substrate 12. This layer was made of a-SiC:H,B. This layer prevents electrons in substrate 12 from being injected into the photoconductive layer.
Next, valve 62 was fully opened and the introduction of gaseous mixture was discontinued, whereby a high vacuum was established again. After purge of the gaseous mixture, gases were introduced into chamber 20 such that the flow rate of SiH4 was about 400 SCCM, the flow rate of B2 H6 was about 1�10-6 -1�10-3 % of that of SiH4, and the flow rate of CH4 was about 10-100% of that of SiH4. These flow rates were also controlled by MFC 46-52. The reaction pressure was maintained at 10 Torr by APC 64. Then, a radio frequency power of about 500 W was applied to electrode 32 by RF 54 for 2 hours. Thus, photoconductive layer 16 having a thickness of about 24 μm was deposited on the surface of barrier layer 14. This layer was formed of a-SiC:H,B.
By repeating the same procedure, covering layer 18 was deposited on the surface of photoconductive layer 16. In this fabrication stage, the flow rate of SiH4 was established at 100 SCCM, the flow rate of CH4 was increased to about 100-300% of that of SiH4 and the depositing operation was performed for 20 minutes. Other conditions were the same as those for photoconductive layer 16. Thus, a thickness of about 1 μm was obtained. The resulting photoreceptor displayed excellent properties. The surface potential was improved up to 800 V when corona discharge was applied under the condition of a flow-in current of 0.4 microcoulomb/cm2 from the corona charger to substrate 12. Further, charge acceptability was improved 20% or more when compared with a photoreceptor made of a-Si. Also, charge retentivity was greatly improved, for example, the charge retaining rate was about 80% at 15 seconds after corona discharge. Moreover, it had a high sensitivity, for example, the magnitude of exposure for the decay half life was 0.3 lux. second at an initial surface potential of 600 V. Further, breakdown voltage was improved up to 1500 V or more when compared with a conventional layer comprising a-Si in which breakdown occurred at 200 V. Also, it was confirmed that a clear image was formed even in the case of repetitive use for 2,000,000 copies without increasing of residual potential. Further, covering layer 18 had a sufficient thickness to refresh the surface by polishing.
The contents of constituent atoms were as shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1______________________________________ Density Boron density Carbon densityLayers B/(B + Si) atomic % C/(C + Si) atomic %______________________________________Covering Layer 1 � 10-7 1 � 10-4 15-25Photocon- 1 � 10-7 1 � 10-4 1-15ductive LayerBarrier Layer 1 � 10-3 2 1-15______________________________________
As shown in Table 1, boron density was highest in barrier layer 14 and carbon density was highest in covering layer 18.
A photoreceptor was prepared in accordance with the procedure as described in the foregoing Example 1, except that gases were continuously introduced without purge. Namely, the flow rates of gases introduced into chamber 20 was controlled by MFC 46-52 as shown in FIG. 3 and Table 2. SiH4 reactant gas contained in bomb 38 was introduced into chamber 20 with a constant flow rate of 400 SCCM for a deposition time period of 150 minutes. Dopant gas of B2 H6 diluted with He (2,000 ppm) contained in bomb 40 was introduced into chamber 20 with a constant flow rate of 100 SCM for 5 minutes, and a decreasing flow rate of 100 e-0.4(t-5).spsp.2 SCCM (where t represents time) for the following 5 minutes. Dopant gas of B2 H6 diluted with He (20 ppm) and contained in bomb 42 was introduced into chamber 20 with a constant flow rate of 25 SCCM for 140 minutes and a decreasing flow rate of 25 e-0.1(t-140).spsp.2 SCCM (where t represents time) for the following 10 minutes. Further, CH4 gas contained in bomb 44 was introduced into chamber 20 with a constant flow rate of 100 SCCM for 5 minutes, a decreasing flow rate of 100 e-0.03(t-5).spsp.2 SCCM (where t represents time) for the following 5 minutes, a constant flow rate of 50 SCCM for the following 130 minutes and then an increasing flow rate of 400 e0.12(150-t).spsp.2 SCCM (where t represents time) for the following the 10 minutes. For all the deposition time period of 150 minutes, a radio frequency power was applied to electrode 32 with a constant power, for example, in the range of about 200-400 W. Further, the pressure inside chamber 20 was maintained at 10 Torr. Thus, the resulting photoreceptor comprised barrier layer 14, photoconductive layer 16 and covering layer 18. As shown in FIG. 3, the boron density and carbon density was continuously changed at the boundaries between barrier layer 14 and photoconductive layer 16, and between photoconductive layer 16 and the covering layer. The boundaries of each the layers were not definitely formed because the density of constituent elements was changed gradually. As a result, separation of layers due to difference of strain in the layers was not observed. Further, an excellent electrophotographic properties were obtained.
TABLE 2______________________________________References Deposition Time Flow Ratesin FIG. 3 Gases (minutes) (SCCM)______________________________________A SiH4 0-150 400B B2 H6 0-5 100 diluted with He 5-10 100 e-0.4(t-5).spsp.2 (2000 ppm) 10-150 0C B2 H6 0-140 25 diluted with He 140-150 25 e-0.1(t-140).spsp.2 (20 ppm)D CH4 0-5 100 5-10 100 e-0.03(t-5).spsp.2 10-140 50 140-150 400 e0.12(150-t).spsp.2______________________________________
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|Rca Corporation
|Semiconductor device having a body of amorphous silicon
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|Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
|Photoconductive member with α-Si and C, U or D and dopant
|May 3, 1983
|Apr 9, 1985
|Konishiroku Photo Industry Co., Ltd.
|Electrophotographic photoreceptors having amorphous silicon photoconductors
|Dec 29, 1981
|Sep 3, 1985
|Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
|Amorphous silicon photoconductive member
|Nov 2, 1983
|Oct 1, 1985
|Xerox Corporation
|Electrophotographic devices containing overcoated amorphous silicon compositions
|N. F. Mott and E. A. Davis "Electronic Processes in Non-Crystalline Materials"-1979.
|N. F. Mott and E. A. Davis Electronic Processes in Non Crystalline Materials 1979.
|Citing Patent
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|Publication date
|Jul 18, 1991
|Nov 16, 1993
|Kyocera Corporation
|Layer electrophotographic sensitive member comprising morphous silicon
|Oct 8, 1991
|Dec 28, 1993
|International Business Machines Corporation
|Epitaxial silicon membranes
|Sep 10, 1997
|Apr 30, 2002
|Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
|Electrophotographic light-receiving member
|Sep 23, 2005
|Jan 16, 2007
|Novellus Systems, Inc.
|Film for copper diffusion barrier
|Aug 9, 2004
|Jul 3, 2007
|Novellus Systems, Inc.
|Low-k B-doped SiC copper diffusion barrier films
|Jun 15, 2004
|Oct 16, 2007
|Novellus Systems, Inc.
|Low-k SiC copper diffusion barrier films
|Mar 8, 2006
|Sep 2, 2008
|Novellus Systems, Inc.
|Boron-doped SIC copper diffusion barrier films
|Aug 15, 2007
|Aug 11, 2009
|Novellus Systems, Inc.
|Low-k SiC copper diffusion barrier films
|May 22, 2007
|Nov 30, 2010
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|Low-k b-doped SiC copper diffusion barrier films
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|Mar 29, 2011
|Novellus Systems, Inc.
|Diffusion barrier and etch stop films
|Jun 28, 2011
|Novellus Systems, Inc.
|Low-K SiC copper diffusion barrier films
|Apr 11, 2008
|Feb 28, 2012
|Novellus Systems, Inc.
|Reducing UV and dielectric diffusion barrier interaction through the modulation of optical properties
|Mar 29, 2007
|May 8, 2012
|Novellus Systems, Inc.
|Methods for reducing UV and dielectric diffusion barrier interaction
|Dec 4, 2009
|Aug 21, 2012
|Novellus Systems, Inc.
|Hardmask materials
|Feb 22, 2011
|Mar 11, 2014
|Novellus Systems, Inc.
|Diffusion barrier and etch stop films
|Aug 15, 2013
|Sep 30, 2014
|Novellus Systems, Inc.
|Hardmask materials
|May 31, 2013
|Jan 12, 2016
|Novellus Systems, Inc.
|Method to obtain SiC class of films of desired composition and film properties
|Dec 12, 2013
|May 10, 2016
|Lam Research Corporation
|Oxygen-containing ceramic hard masks and associated wet-cleans
|Sep 23, 2005
|Jan 26, 2006
|Novellus Systems, Inc.
|Novel film for copper diffusion barrier
|Dec 4, 2009
|Jun 9, 2011
|Vishwanathan Rangarajan
|Hardmask materials
|Sep 24, 2012
|Aug 21, 2014
|The Secretary Of State For Deffence
|Imaging sensor
|Aug 18, 1989
|May 17, 1990
|Canon Kk
|Image forming member for electrophotography
|Sep 10, 1997
|Mar 18, 1998
|Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
|Electrophotographic light-receiving member
|Sep 10, 1997
|Mar 31, 2004
|Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
|Electrophotographic light-receiving member
|U.S. Classification
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|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Sep 23, 1985
Owner name: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA, 72, HORIKAWA-CHO, SAIWAI
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNOR:YAMAZAKI, MUTSUKI;REEL/FRAME:004462/0047
Effective date: 19850909
|Oct 5, 1990
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|Sep 19, 1994
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 8
|Sep 29, 1998
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 12


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subset: commoncrawl


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FOXBOROUGH -- Preparing to face his former Boston College teammate Matt Ryan on Sunday, Patriots rookie defensive lineman Ron Brace would have sent him a text message by now.
But the last one never went through.
"He changed his number," Brace said. "Had to."
Brace fully understands why based on Ryan's impressive entry into the NFL, his star rising dramatically in such short time.
Now Ryan returns to where his pro career launched, playing his first NFL game in his old backyard when the Falcons visit the Patriots.
"It will be great to get back there," Ryan said Wednesday on a conference call with New England reporters. "It's a part of the country that I love. I have a special spot in my heart up there from my days at BC, so I'll be excited to get back and I know there will be people at the games who will be good to see.
"But with that said, we're going up there to play this football game and win this football game. There will be chances during the offseason to get back and enjoy the Boston area. Right now, we're trying to go up there and take care of our business."
Only 18 months ago, Ryan's primary business was to impress NFL scouts and coaches at BC's pro day.
It's easy to forget now, but he wasn't considered a slam-dunk top draft choice at the time, some pointing to his 19 interceptions as a senior as one reason he wasn't worthy of being a top selection. The Falcons pounced on him third overall (think the Dolphins and Rams want a do-over?) and Ryan has decisively validated their faith in him.
Second-year coach Mike Smith said it was around the second preseason game in 2008 that the even-keeled Ryan began to emerge. At times over the course of Ryan's rookie season, Smith remembered looking toward assistant coaches Mike Mularkey and Bill Musgrave and asking, "Man, did he really just make that throw?"
Now in his second season, Ryan has operated with a higher comfort level and teammates view him differently. He is a team captain.
"It's a little different," Ryan said of his elevated status in the locker room. "Any time you've been around a situation for longer, you become more comfortable with your role on the team. That comes with playing the position; you have to take on some leadership qualities [but] I definitely feel more comfortable with it this year."
Part of what makes Ryan easy to follow is his work ethic.
After winning offensive rookie of the year honors, he targeted accuracy and decision-making as areas to improve upon, so he spent the offseason studying the footwork of quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
The early results have been impressive as he's completing 68.3 percent of his passes through two games, home wins over Miami and Carolina. Ryan completed 61.1 percent over the 2008 season.
Smith points to a second-quarter throw Sunday against the Panthers as one example of Ryan's progress in those areas. On third-and-7 from the Carolina 19, Ryan fired a pass to tight end Tony Gonzalez for a 9-yard completion.
"Thrown low and outside, there was really good coverage, and he threw away from the defender where either [Gonzalez] was going to get it or no one was," Smith said.
As part of devising a game plan for Sunday's game, Patriots coach Bill Belichick has been impressed with Ryan's accuracy and decision-making.
"He knows where to go with the ball and can put it on the money," Belichick said. "He has a lot of downfield throws, too. It's not like he's throwing a lot of screen passes and checkdowns. He can get it down the field. He knows when to fire it, knows when to put a touch on it. He's really impressive."
Sunday will mark Ryan's third trip to the area since joining the Falcons. During the Falcons' bye week last year, he returned for a Boston College game, and later came back for a weekend over the winter.
This trip will be different. While he looks forward to catching up with old friends, he's treating it as strictly business.
That doesn't surprise Brace, his former teammate.
"Seems like he's the same old Matt," Brace said. "He's out there making plays."


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Pierre & Vacances Résidence Les Jardins de la Côte d'Opale, Pas-de-Calais (department)
- Free parking
Main amenities
- 87 guestrooms
- Near the beach
- Indoor pool
- Garden
- Self-serve laundry
- Multilingual staff
- Playground
What's around
- Aqualud (1 mi / 1.6 km)
- Le Touquet Beach (1.1 mi / 1.8 km)
- Le Touquet Golf Club (2.2 mi / 3.5 km)
- Parc Bagatelle (8.5 mi / 13.7 km)
- Montreuil-sur-Mer Citadel (11.5 mi / 18.6 km)
Feel at home
- Cribs/infant beds (surcharge)
- Playground on site
- Kitchen
- Cookware, dishware, and utensils
- Microwave
- Refrigerator
Pierre & Vacances Résidence Les Jardins de la Côte d'Opale, Pas-de-Calais (department)
Hotel Info: 866-539-8117from $196
- 1 bedroom apartment for 3/4
- Standard 1 Bedroom Apartment for 2 people
- Standard 1 Bedroom Apartment for 4/5 people
- Standard 1/2 Bedroom Apartment for 6/7 people
- Superior 1 Bedroom Apartment for 4/5 people
Also popular with travelers from the USA
At a glance
Key facts
Hotel size
- This hotel has 87 rooms
- This hotel is arranged over 2 floors
- Check-in time 5 PM-7 PM
- Check-out time is 10 AM
- Sunday - Thursday: 9 AM - noon
- Sunday - Thursday: 2 PM - 7 PM
Reception hours are 9 AM to noon and 2 PM to 8 PM on Friday and Saturday. For more details, please contact the office using the information on the reservation confirmation received after booking.
Required at check in
- Credit card or cash deposit required
- Government-issued photo ID required
Travelling with others
- Pets allowed *
- WiFi in rooms *
- Free self parking (limited)
- Free nearby parking
Nearby Three Star Pas-de-Calais (department) hotels
In the hotel
- Indoor pool
- Pool sun loungers
- Tennis on site
- Laundry facilities
- Multilingual staff
- Number of buildings/towers - 1
- Garden
In the room
- Iron/ironing board (on request)
- Blackout drapes/curtains
- Separate dining area
- Furnished balcony or patio
- Private bathroom
- Bathtub only
- Free toiletries
- Hair dryer (on request)
- Flat-screen TV
- Premium TV channels
- WiFi (surcharge)
- Phone
- Refrigerator
- Microwave
- Kitchen
- Cookware, dishware, and utensils
- Dishwasher
- Housekeeping - once per stay
- In-room safe
Top Pas-de-Calais (department) hotels
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Special features
On Site
- Tennis on site
- Playground on site
- Bicycle rentals nearby
- Golf lessons available nearby
- Golfing nearby
- Hiking/biking trails nearby
- Sailing nearby
- Surfing/boogie boarding nearby
- Water skiing nearby
- Windsurfing nearby
Pierre & Vacances Résidence Les Jardins de la Côte d'Opale, Pas-de-Calais (department)'s small print
Also known as
- Pierre & Vacances Résidence Jardins Côte d'Opale Apartment
- Pierre & Vacances Résidence Jardins Côte d'Opale House
- Pierre & Vacances Résidence Jardins Côte d'Opale
Mandatory fees
You'll be asked to pay the following charges at check in or check out:
- A tax is imposed by the city: EUR 1.50 per person, per night. This tax does not apply to children under 14 years of age.
Deposit: EUR 200.00 per stay
Optional extras
Late check-out can be arranged for an extra charge
Safes in guestrooms can be used for EUR 3.50 per day
Cribs/Infant beds are available for EUR 40 per week
Pets are allowed for an extra charge of EUR 9 per pet, per day
WiFi is available in guestrooms for EUR 5 per day (rates may vary)
We have included all charges provided to us by this hotel. However, charges can vary, for example, based on length of stay or the room you book.
Recent reviews
Good 3.0 /5 from 27 reviews
Excellent value and large apartment in an ideal location for exploring Le Touquet. The facilities in the room were good and it was well equipped but some of the decor was a little dated and the carpets in the corridor outside stained. I would be happy to stay here again but some updating would be helpful.
Our apartment was perfectly adequate, but by no means luxurious. The condition of our private rooms was fairly good, but some of the public areas need attention (e.g. carpets in corridors, decking around pool). The benefits are a good location (although quite a long walk to the beach - bicycles are ideal), plenty of parking, lots of room for the money, fairly well equipped kitchen. The staff were helpful and spoke some English, but this is quite a 'French' resort. Le Touquet is an expensive destination so don't expect too much at the prices charged for these appartments.
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Wife's Natualization Interview is in two weeks at the Memphis TN field office. Biometrics all done.
Got a yellow letter today saying as a result of the review of her file she needed to bring her state issued driver's license or state issued identification.
Is this sort of request something we need to worry about or is it pretty common? Or is the by product of her legal name and her green card name being different?
Immigration Attorney
There is nothing to worry about. This is a routine request. May be you forgot to add that to your original documents. Congrats to your wife!
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Relax. This is very common. Good luck!
This answer is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice.
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Males have strikingly increased risk of advanced liver disease. However, the association between testosterone and risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related advanced liver disease is unknown.
We performed a cross-sectional study in male veterans with chronic HCV. Blood samples were obtained to measure total serum testosterone and perform the FibroSURE-ActiTest. Other risk factor data were obtained through systematic questionnaires (e.g., alcohol), physical measurements (e.g., BMI) and serological tests (e.g., viral load). The association between total testosterone and risk of advanced hepatic fibrosis (F3 and F3/F4) and inflammatory activity (A3 and A2/3) measured by FibroSURE-ActiTest was evaluated with logistic regression.
A total of 308 eligible study participants were prospectively recruited (mean age 57, 52% African-American). There were 105 cases with advanced fibrosis and 203 mild fibrosis controls; and 88 cases with advanced inflammatory activity and 220 mild activity controls. Mean total serum testosterone was significantly higher in advanced fibrosis cases as well as advanced inflammatory activity cases compared to mild disease controls (6.0 ng/ml vs. 5.3 ng/ml and 5.9 ng/ml vs. 5.4 ng/ml, respectively). We observed a significant 27% increase in advanced fibrosis risk and 16% increase in advanced inflammatory activity risk for each 1 ng/ml increase in total serum testosterone. Total testosterone in the upper tertile was associated with an even greater excess risk of advanced fibrosis than advanced inflammatory activity (ORadjusted advanced fibrosis=3.78, 95% CI 1.88–7.61 vs. ORadjusted advanced inflammatory activity=2.64, 95% CI 1.29–5.45, respectively).
Total serum testosterone is associated with an increased risk of both advanced hepatic fibrosis and advanced hepatic inflammatory activity in HCV-infected men. Testosterone may be important in the pathogenesis of HCV-related advanced liver disease in males.
It is estimated that 1.6% of the U.S population (>4.1 million persons) is hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected.1 From 75–85% develop chronic infection,2 with an estimated 16%3–33%4 of the chronically HCV-infected subsequently developing cirrhosis within 20–25 years, and likely more with longer follow-up. Chronic HCV is now the leading cause of cirrhosis-related liver transplant5 and HCC6 in the U.S.
Males have strikingly increased risk of advanced liver disease (cirrhosis and HCC) across varied disease etiologies including HCV; thus supporting the potential roles for gender-associated differences in risk factor exposures as well as sex-based biological differences in disease progression. Several studies performed in large population-based cohorts have examined the association between testosterone and risk of hepatitis B virus associated HCC in males,7–10 with three performed in a Taiwanese cohort finding increased serum testosterone was associated with increased risk of HBV-associated HCC.7–9
However, only a few very small studies have examined the association between testosterone and advanced liver disease or HCC specifically in the background of HCV.11–13 A small prospective cohort in Japanese 46 males with HCV-related cirrhosis found that increased serum total testosterone was associated with increased HCV-related HCC risk.13 In contrast, a case-control study in 35 HCV-infected Australians found no difference in mean serum total testosterone level between an advanced fibrosis case group compared to mild fibrosis control group,11 though the study had inadequate power to adjust for factors known to be associated with both liver disease risk and testosterone levels including age and current alcohol use.
Examining the role of testosterone in HCV-related liver disease has the potential of explaining the male predominance in liver disease, expanding markers of advanced liver disease, and providing important clues to the pathogenesis of HCV-related liver disease. One population disproportionately affected by the HCV epidemic includes the over 8 million veterans of the U.S. armed services enrolled in the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) healthcare system.14 A blinded national seroprevalence study found the HCV prevalence rate in these veterans was over 3-times higher than that reported for the overall U.S. population.15
We performed a cross-sectional study in a large multiethnic population of U.S. male veterans with chronic HCV to examine the association between total serum testosterone and risk of advanced hepatic fibrosis and inflammatory activity based on the validated serological FibroSURE-ActiTest.16
We performed a cross-sectional study at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (MEDVAMC). We prospectively recruited all consecutive veterans eligible for study participation at their scheduled clinic appointments at the dedicated Hepatitis C primary care clinic between May 1, 2009 and November 1, 2010. VA healthcare policy mandates all veterans who receive either a diagnostic code for HCV or have a positive laboratory test are automatically scheduled for an appointment in this clinic for clinical evaluation and patient education.
The electronic medical records of all veterans with scheduled HCV clinic visits were screened by trained research assistants to determine study eligibility based on: 1) presence of at least one diagnostic code or laboratory value suggestive of HCV, 2) aged 18 to 70 years, 4) no history of co-infection with either HIV or HBV, liver transplant, decompensated liver disease, hepatocelluar carcinoma (HCC), psychosis or dementia. We restricted our current analysis to veterans who met the following additional eligibility criteria: 1) male; 2) serologically confirmed presence of chronic infection (HCV viremia) without HIV or HBV co-infection; 3) not currently receiving HCV treatment; 4) no self-reported medical diagnoses, procedures, or medication usage that might substantially alter sex hormones, including a diagnosis of testicular cancer or treated prostate cancer, use of estrogen or androgen therapy (e.g., testosterone transdermal patch), or use of other gonadal hormone agonist/antagonists (e.g., flutamide), 5) had valid FibroSURE-ActiTest results; and 6) completed all primary study measures as of November 30, 2010.
This research was approved by the Institutional Review Boards for the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine.
RAs administered a computer-assisted patient risk factor and medical history survey. We collected data on: potential mode and time intervals of likely exposures to HCV employing questions validated from a previous national survey of HCV in veterans using the VA;17,18 lifetime history and current use of alcohol use and smoking using questions created for a population-based GI cohort research;19 and lifetime medical history, including occurrence, timing, and medical management, of liver disease as well as cancers including prostate and testicular cancer. Survey responses were used to further estimate: 1) maximum duration of infection as the difference between self-reported age at first exposure to a known risk factor, with IDU and blood transfusion prior to 1992 given precedence, and date of study enrollment, and 2) chronic alcohol abuse defined as current or previous self-reported history of history of consuming at least 3 drinks a day for at least 10 consecutive years, with 1 drink defined as 12 ounces of beer, 4 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of liquor.
RAs measured participant body weight in bare feet using the InBody520 Direct Segmental 8-point Multi-frequency Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis scale, which has 98% correlation with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and 99% reproducibility.20,21 Height in inches was also obtained using a study designated stadiometer, and was entered directly into the scale for calculation of BMI using the Quetlet index formula weight in pounds × 703/squared height in inches.
The CLIA-certified MEDVAMC Central Laboratory Service tested for HCV antibodies using immunometric immunoassay (Ortho Clinical Diagnostics), HCV genotype using the InnoLiPA HCV II (Siemens) and quantitative viral load using the COBAS TaqMan HCV Test (Roche). Total serum testosterone was measured using a competitive binding immunoenzymatic assay (Beckman Coulter). Diabetes mellitus was defined as present if fasting glucose was above 126 mg/dl or if non-fasting glucose was above 200 mg/dl, or if a glucose test was not performed because of previous medical record documented presence of diabetes. Laboratory personnel were blinded to survey and FibroSURE-ActiTest results.
Hepatic disease severity was assessed in a CLIA-certified commercial laboratory using the FibrosSURE-ActiTest referred to in Europe as the FibroTEST-ActiTest (BioPredictive, France). The FibroSURE uses a proprietary algorithm utilizing α2-macroglobulin, apolioprotein A1, haptoglobin, total bilirubin, and γ-glutamyl-transpeptidase to determine fibrosis level and further adds alanine transaminase to determine necroinflammatory activity level. In addition to providing a total quantitative scale score, it further classifies those scores into METAVIR biopsy-based equivalent degree of hepatic fibrosis (F0, no fibrosis present – F4, cirrhosis) and inflammatory activity (A0, no inflammatory activity – A3, severe inflammatory activity). It has been demonstrated to have high concordance with biopsy-assessed level of METAVIR pathology and demonstrates strong test performance characteristics in diverse HCV-infected populations.16,22–27
In addition to database encoded internal validity datachecks, we also performed quality control analyses for primary study measures via a random 1% double-entry verification sub-study. Overall error rate was less than 0.5% with all discrepancies resolved.
We classified all study participants by applying a priori study-established criteria to FibroSURE results as either advanced fibrosis cases (F4, F3/F4 and F3) or mild/absent fibrosis controls (F0-F2/F3), and as advanced inflammation cases (A3, A2/A3, A2) or mild/no inflammation controls (A0-A1/A2). Baseline sociodemographic, risk factor history, and clinical variables were compared in advanced disease cases of hepatic fibrosis and hepatic inflammation compared to their respective mild disease controls using a χ2 and Fisher's exact test for large and small sample categorical variables, respectively, and independent sample T-test and the Brown-Mood median test for means of normally distributed variables and medians of non-normally distributed variables, respectively.
We calculated an estimated Fibrosis Progression Rate (FPR) by adapting the method of Poynard et al (1997)4 to be the ratio between FibroSURE-determined METAVIR numeric fibrosis stage (0–4) divided by the estimated maximum duration of infection. It assumes a constant rate of fibrosis progression, that fibrosis was absent prior to HCV infection, and that the aggregate use of estimated first exposure as actual infection date is not systematically biased. We evaluated if the median FPR increased across increasing tertiles of total serum testosterone using the non-parametric Jonckheere-Terpstra test for ordered alternatives.
We employed unconditional binary logistic regression analysis to create two sets of multivariate models to evaluate the association between total serum testosterone and risk of advanced hepatic fibrosis and advanced hepatic inflammation, respectively. All models adjusted for potential confounding by factors known to be independently related to both risk of advanced liver disease and to serum testosterone levels/testosterone signaling including: age, chronic alcohol abuse, viral load, race/ethnicity, adiposity (BMI≥25), and diabetes mellitus (DM). All models were assessed for goodness of fit with the Hosmer-Lemeshow test, with all effect estimates reported as odds ratios with associated 95% confidence intervals. All multivariate analyses were performed with SPSS 18 (Somers, NY). We calculated the non-parametric Spearman rank order correlation coefficient (ρ) as another method to assess strength of association and potential multicollinearity between our main risk factor of interest, total serum testosterone, and confounders measured on a continuous scale including age and viral load. We also performed an exploratory evaluation for potential interaction between all first-level main effects, with interaction terms reported in the final models if statistically significant.
We prospectively recruited 325 male veterans (80% consent rate) who met our initial screening eligibility criteria. We subsequently excluded 17 patients because of a non-detectable viral load (n=3), positive HIV or HBV surface antigen (n=4), or a history of testicular cancer, medically or surgically managed prostate cancer, or use of a sex hormone-altering pharmacotherapy (n=10).
Most (93%) of our 308 chronically HCV infected male veteran study participants were between ages 45 and 64 years old and were of either African-American or White race/ethnicity (52% and 43%, respectively). (Table 1) Comorbid risk factors were highly prevalent in this population, with 34% reporting a positive lifetime history of chronic alcohol abuse, 51% a positive history of injection drug use (IDU), and 71% study-classified as overweight or obese (BMI≥25). (Table 1) A maximum estimated duration of HCV infection of 34 years (or estimated earliest median age at infection of 22 years old) was calculated based upon data provided by the 90% of respondents who reported both a positive history of, as well as correspondent ages for, at least one established risk factor for HCV transmission (e.g., blood transfusion pre-1992 or injection drug use). Less than 5% of study participants had ever received anti-HCV therapy.
FibroSURE-determined METAVIR equivalent hepatic pathology was used to stratify our study sample into 105 cases with advanced fibrosis (nF4=92 and nF3/F4=13) and 203 mild fibrosis controls(nF0=15, nF0/F1=15, nF1=7, nF1/F2=48, nF2=42, nF3=76); and into 88 cases with advanced inflammatory activity (nA3=82 and nA2/A3=6) and 220 mild inflammatory activity controls (nA0=51, nA0/A1=49, nA1=25, nA1/A2=66, and nA2=29). Total serum testosterone generally increased with increased fibrosis and inflammatory activity (F0-F1=4.8, F1-F2=4.5, F2=5.6, F3=5.4, F3/F4-F4= 5.9 ng/ml, and A0-A1=5.2, A1-A1/A2= 5.1, A2=5.6, A2/3-A3=5.7 ng/ml, respectively). These trends were even more apparent when median testosterone was calculated in samples with a restricted age range (e.g., 50–54 yrs) in whom baseline total testosterone levels would be expected to be more similar. (data not shown)
Both advanced fibrosis cases as well as advanced inflammatory activity cases had higher testosterone levels compared to their mild disease controls (6.0 ng/ml vs.5.3 ng/ml and 5.9 ng/ml vs. 5.4 ng/ml, respectively), with this mean difference highly significant for advanced fibrosis (p=0.009). (Table 2) There was modest significant negative correlation between median age and total serum testosterone and between BMI and testosterone (ρSpearman=−0.12, p=0.04, and ρSpearman=−0.23, p<0.001, respectively), but no significant correlation between testosterone and HCV viral load (ρSpearman=0.03, p=0.56).
Diabetes mellitus was also significantly more prevalent in both advanced hepatic fibrosis cases and advanced hepatic inflammatory activity cases (p<0.001 and p=0.003, respectively). Although mean age was also significantly higher in those with advanced fibrosis compared to mild fibrosis controls (p=0.02), mean age was not similarly higher in advanced inflammation cases. Baseline distribution of all other potential confounders evaluated, including a history of chronic alcohol abuse, viral load, overweight/obesity and ethnicity, were not significantly different among advanced hepatic disease cases and their respective mild disease controls. (Table 2)
Higher serum testosterone levels were associated with increased relative risk of advanced FibroSURE-determined hepatic fibrosis (F3/F4 and F4) in both univariate and multivariate analyses. (Table 2) Further, the adjusted 3.78-fold and 2.18-fold excess fibrosis risk in HCV+ male veterans with medium and upper testosterone levels, respectively, in comparison to those with lower testosterone levels suggests a monotonic positive dose-response relationship. There was no evidence of significant interaction between any main effects. The inclusion of all other known or biologically-plausible confounders like diabetes and adiposity evaluated in the multivariate model further enhanced both the magnitude and apparent dose-response relationship of the observed association between higher total testosterone levels and increased advanced hepatic fibrosis risk. Overall, we observed a significant 27% increase in advanced hepatic fibrosis risk for each 1 ng/ml increase in total serum testosterone (ORadjusted=1.27, 95% CI 1.13–1.44, p<0.001). (data not shown) Median fibrosis progression rates (FPR) also significantly increased across tertiles of total serum testosterone (FPRs=0.067, 0.079, and 0.095 for the lower, middle, and upper tertiles, respectively, p<0.001).
Higher serum testosterone levels were significantly associated with risk of advanced FibroSURE-determined hepatic inflammatory activity (A2/A3 and A3) in both univariate and multivariate analyses (range 1.9–2.7- fold significant excess relative risk). (Table 3) Also similar were our findings that the magnitude of the association between increased testosterone levels and increased inflammatory disease risk was further modestly strengthened in multivariate in comparison to univariate analysis (e.g., ORunivariate highest testosterone level=1.92, 95% CI vs. ORmultivariate highest testosterone level=2.64, 95% CI, respectively), and that there was no evidence of significant interaction among any main effects. However, in contrast to our findings for advanced fibrosis, there was no apparent dose-response relationship between total serum testosterone level and advanced inflammatory activity risk. (Table 3) Overall, we found that a 1 ng/ml increase in total serum testosterone was associated with a significant 16% increase in advanced inflammatory activity risk (ORadjusted=1.16, 95% CI 1.02–1.31, p=0.02). (data not shown)
The Hosmer-Lemeshow test results were supportive of fit for all reported models. We also performed several sensitivity analyses to evaluate the robustness of our observed associations of excess advanced hepatic disease risk with increased total serum testosterone. In our first set of sensitivity analyses, we restricted our analysis to the 84% of our HCV+ male veteran sample with total testosterone within a normal range for adult males (2.41–8.47 ng/ml). We continued to observe a significant dose-response between higher total serum testosterone levels and advanced hepatic fibrosis (ORadjusted=3.90, 95% CI 1.82–8.38 and ORadjusted =2.25, 95% CI 1.05–4.80 for advanced fibrosis risk for those in the upper and middle testosterone level as compared to those in the lower testosterone level, respectively). (Table 4) We similarly found that increased testosterone level also continued to be associated with advanced inflammatory activity risk (ORadjusted=2.66, 95% CI 1.19–5.99 and ORadjusted=3.12, 95% CI 1.41–6.92 for advanced inflammatory activity risk for those in the upper and middle testosterone level as compared to those in the lower testosterone level, respectively). In a second set of sensitivity analyses where we changed the advanced disease case definitions to be more and less restrictive respectively, we continued to demonstrate substantial excess risk of both advanced hepatic fibrosis and advanced hepatic inflammatory activity with increased total serum testosterone levels. (Table 4)
Our study demonstrated that higher total serum testosterone levels are associated with an increased risk of advanced FibroSURE-ActiTest (FibroSURE)-determined hepatic fibrosis and inflammatory activity in chronically hepatitis C virus infected (HCV+) male veterans. The magnitude of the observed excess risk of both advanced fibrosis and advanced inflammatory activity was independent of other known or biologically-plausible strong potential confounders including diabetes mellitus, age, viral load, race/ethnicity, adiposity, and chronic alcohol abuse. Our findings of excess testosterone-associated risk persisted in multiple sensitivity analyses.
Few studies have specifically examined the association between testosterone and degree of HCV-related liver disease. Two smaller case-control studies performed in Australian (N=35)11 and Iranian (N=82)12 HCV-infected males reported discordant results for total testosterone; one study found no difference in mean total testosterone levels in cases with advanced fibrosis compared to mild fibrosis controls,11 while the other found substantially reduced mean total testosterone levels in advanced fibrosis cases.12 Both reported that free testosterone was significantly lower among the advanced fibrosis case group compared to their mild fibrosis control group. However, likely due to sample size restriction, neither performed multivariate analyses to evaluate how these group mean differences may be related to confounding due to differential distribution of other risk factors like diabetes mellitus. Other potential explanations for the discordant findings of our study and those studies include differences in underlying target populations, including the Iranian study's restriction to males without a history of alcohol abuse (drink >20 g/day),12 and our use of FibroSURE-determined hepatic pathology. Similar to our overall findings, a third prospective cohort study performed in Japanese males with HCV-related cirrhosis (N=46) found a significant adjusted 9.1-fold excess relative risk of hepatocellular carcinoma among men with total testosterone in the upper tertile.13 Overall, our consistent findings of substantial excess total testosterone-associated risk in a large, multiethnic sample suggests the importance of additional studies to further assess its possible role in pathogenesis and as a risk marker for advanced fibrosis and inflammation in chronically HCV-infected males.
Our findings of excess testosterone-associated risk in HCV+ males are consistent with findings of increased liver cancer risk in males who abuse anabolic steroids,28 in women with hyperandrogenemia secondary to polycystic ovarian disease,29 in androgen-treated Fancomia anemia patients,28 and in HBV+ Taiwanese males with higher serum testosterone levels.7–9 Several experimental studies have demonstrated that the HBV virus augments androgen receptor (AR) signaling,30–32 with ligand-dependent AR activation associated with increased HBV RNA transcription in both animal and HepG2 cell-line models.33,34 A recent experimental study demonstrated the HCV virus also augments AR signaling.35 The AR, whose predominant ligand is testosterone, is a nuclear hormone receptor expressed in liver. In addition to regulating genes involved in sexual dimorphism, the AR regulates/co-regulates numerous other genes involved in diverse cellular processes of relevance to liver disease including cellular proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and inflammatory response (e.g., EGFR, PTEN, TP53, and IL6ST).
Unfortunately, we do not have analogous direct measures of hepatic AR signaling, of additional sex hormones including other androgens or estrogens, or of metabolic by-products of hepatic clearance of circulating androgens. Therefore, we are unable to determine if the observed excess risk of advanced liver disease with higher testosterone levels is an effect of increased hepatic androgen levels, increased expression of androgen-responsive genes, or decreased hepatic clearance of circulating androgens with advanced HCV-related disease. Although the liver is the primary site of metabolic clearance of circulating androgens, the vast majority of androgens are not metabolically cleared from circulation by the liver, but are rather metabolized locally in target tissues. This in conjunction with our finding that circulating total testosterone levels are higher with increased fibrosis prior to development of cirrhosis suggests that our observed associations are unlikely to be solely attributable to decreased hepatic clearance of circulating androgens. Additional research that includes direct measurement of androgen receptor gene expression and of other sex hormones will be useful in further clarifying the role testosterone plays in the etiopathogenesis of HCV-related disease.
Our study has multiple strengths including it is the largest study to examine the association between testosterone and HCV-related hepatic fibrosis risk to date as well as the first study to evaluate the association between testosterone and risk of advanced inflammatory activity. It was conducted in an ethnically diverse North American population. We employed a rigorous study design that included direct prospective recruitment of all study eligible male veterans with clinically scheduled visits at a VA Hepatitis C clinic. Together with our high participation rates, this helps mitigate concerns about potential selection bias. We also employed direct laboratory-based measures for our main outcome, FibroSURE-determined hepatic pathology, our main exposure, serologically-determined total serum testosterone, and for several other key confounders including glucose used for diabetes determination and viral load. Notably >90% of participants completed the blood draw used to measure total testosterone in the morning helping to minimize potential impact of diurnal pulsatile fluctuation in testosterone levels. All laboratory tests were performed in a blinded and uniform manner by single CLIA-certified laboratories in order to decrease potential for both testing variability and tester/information bias. Additionally, both our study participants and research assistants were unaware of the participant's FibroSURE or testosterone test results at the time the survey was administered helping to minimize potential for recall or interviewer bias. Further, we obtained a detailed history of lifetime alcohol use necessary to adjust for chronic alcohol abuse, and also obtained and adjusted for direct clinical measures of adiposity, viral load and glucose-determined diabetes as, in addition to their well-known association with liver disease risk, all have been associated with significant alterations in androgen levels or androgen signaling.35–38 Finally, we performed multiple sensitivity analyses that suggested our findings of excess testosterone-associated liver disease risk in HCV+ male veterans are robust.
However, our study also has limitations. The cross-sectional design prevents the temporal inference necessary to establish a casual role for testosterone in HCV-related liver disease. Additionally, although the validated FibroSURE has been shown in multiple studies in HCV-infected populations to have good test performance characteristics,16,22–25 hepatic biopsy is still considered the gold-standard to diagnose individual patients. However, biopsies are known to be associated with variability in both sampling and pathologist evaluation, and they are invasive and costly, thus limiting their use in large epidemiological studies such as ours. Future research will be needed to determine if this total testosterone associated risk of advanced FibroSURE-determined hepatic pathology in our HCV+ male veterans is replicated among those with hepatic biopsy. We also have only a single measure of the primary male androgen, total testosterone. It would have been desirable to have multiple measurements of total testosterone to mitigate intra-individual sampling and laboratory testing variability. However, we expect that any variability in sampling or testing would be non-differential between advanced disease cases and mild disease controls, and therefore any associated bias would be toward the null. It would also have been desirable to have directly measured or calculated free and weakly bound testosterone. However, total testosterone correlates well with free testosterone in aging males,39 has been shown to be reliably associated with increased risk of diabetes,38 and has been shown to be a more valid predictor of androgen deficiency function than either directly measured free testosterone or calculated bioavailable testosterone.39 Total testosterone is also much more widely-accessible, and more reliably measured than is directly measured free testosterone.40 Finally, due to sample size constraints, we were able to perform only an exploratory evaluation of interaction between total testosterone and other risk factors of interest including age and adiposity. Although we found no significant interactions, additional larger studies will be needed to determine if there are subgroups at particularly increased risk of HCV-related liver disease progression in the background of higher total testosterone levels.
In conclusion, we demonstrated that total serum testosterone is associated with substantially increased risk of both advanced hepatic fibrosis and advanced hepatic inflammatory activity in chronically HCV-infected male veterans accessing the VA healthcare system. The strength and consistency of this excess testosterone-associated liver disease risk suggests total serum testosterone may play a role in disease progression in HCV+ males. Future research will be important in assessing if increased total testosterone levels similarly increase relative risk of advanced HCV-related liver disease in HCV+ women, and in determining if androgens including testosterone have potential therapeutic implications in HCV+ men.
This material is based upon work supported in part by a VA Clinical Research and Development Merit Review Award (H-22934, PI: H. El-Serag, MD, MPH), and the National Institute of Diabetes Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) [DK081736-01 and DK078154-03, PIs, D. White and H. El-Serag respectively] and the Houston VA HSR&D Center of Excellence [HFP90-020]. We thank Dallese Jones, MA, and Jodi Francis, RN for their assistance with data collection, and Susanne Denk, BA and Adrian Rideau, BA for their research administrative assistance.
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare no conflict of interest. The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Institute of Diabetes Digestive and Kidney Disease played no role in design, implementation, analysis, interpretation or decision to report these results.
PubMed Central Canada is a service of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) working in partnership with the National Research Council's national science library in cooperation with the National Center for Biotechnology Information at the U.S. National Library of Medicine(NCBI/NLM). It includes content provided to the PubMed Central International archive by participating publishers.


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MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts 11/29/13
From the Thanksgiving Table
MSNBC's Lindsay Weiss shared why her family is thankful. ... more Duration: {{video.duration.momentjs}}
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Chiu defeat ends HK's hopes in Open, but signs good for next year
Rebecca Chiu Wing-yin failed to break her jinx against England's Vicky Botwright, losing again to the sixth seed in the women's second round at the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open yesterday.
The 3-0 defeat at Hong Kong Squash Centre was a similar result to last year when Botwright knocked Hong Kong's top player out at the same stage.
'I knew it was going to be tough against her when the draw was made,' said Chiu after her 9-5, 9-4, 9-3 loss in slightly over half an hour. 'She did not make too many mistakes today, taking most of the chances she got and defending well when I was in attack.
'But it was also because I did not put her under enough pressure as I found it difficult to play against such a physical player.'
'Chiu has performed satisfactorily but she needs to raise her game a bit more if she wants to beat a top player like Botwright,' said Hong Kong coach Tony Choi Yuk-kwan.
Chiu's exit ended Hong Kong's hopes in the HK$1.6 million tournament, but the coach is confident of better performances next year.
'We have seen some excellent matches from our up-and-coming players like Max Lee and Dick Lau and I would expect some breakthroughs next year,' said Choi.
World number one Nicol David, of Malaysia, continued her good form with a straight-games disposal of Annelize Naude, of the Netherlands, while newly crowned world champion Rachael Grinham, of Australia, prevailed over England's Laura Lengthorn-Massaro 9-5, 9-4, 10-8.
In the men's event, top seed Amr Shabana of Egypt had little difficulty completing another straight-games win when he defeated Malaysian Ong Beng Hee, the Asian Games champion, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8.
Lee Beachill, the seventh seed from England, used only 21 minutes to oust Hisham M. Ashour of Egypt 3-0 while it took 96 minutes for another Egyptian player, Wael El Hindi, to defeat Joey Barrington, of England, 11-8, 11-7, 14-16, 11-9.
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Jan. 10, 2014
MINNEAPOLIS - A Hannah Brandt hat trick and two goals by Dani Cameranesi propelled the University of Minnesota women's hockey team (20-1-0, 13-1-0 WCHA) to a 6-0 win against Ohio State on Friday at Ridder Arena. Brandt's 11th, 12th and 13th goals of the season gave the sophomore her third career hat trick.
Kelly Terry added three assists, and goalie Amanda Leveille stopped 28 shots to earn her sixth shutout of the season. The Gophers outshot the Buckeyes (7-12-2, 2-11-2 WCHA) 43-28.
Kate Schipper and Maryanne Menefee set up Brandt's first goal at the 2:03 mark of the first period. Brandt scored on the open right side of the net to put the Golden Gophers ahead 1-0.
Brandt lit the lamp again on the power play at 14:05 with a backhand from the right post assisted by Menefee and Milica McMillen. She completed the hat trick at 3:01 in the second in a scramble in front of the net.
Cameranesi notched Minnesota's second and fifth goals of the game, her 11th and 12th of the season. At 7:09 in the first, she scored over the goalie's left shoulder, with assists from Kelly Terry and Megan Wolfe. Cameranesi scored again in the second, and also added an assist on one of Brandt's goals.
Meghan Lorence set up Rachael Bona for the Gophers' final score of the night in the last two minutes.
Minnesota and Ohio State will conclude the series on Saturday with puck drop set for 6:07 p.m. The game will be televised on BTN.
Scouting Report: Bemidji State
GopherSports.com takes a look at each of the Gopher women's hockey team's 2016-17 opponents.
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The back-to-back defending national champion Gophers return to the ice at Ridder Arena on Friday, Sept. 30.
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Katie Million has been named the next WCHA vice president and women's league commissioner, the WCHA announced today.


text: Sexy Halloween Costumes By Tony Wright October 9, 2013 3:55 PM | 1140 KSOO-AM Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Sexy Sergeant Pictures Provided by Party AmericaNext: Sexy Butterfly Source: Sexy Halloween Costumes Filed Under: Halloween Category: Articles Share on Facebook Share on Twitter More Leave a comment Send to a friend! Print this page Pin it! Reddit This! Share on Tumblr! Best of Mix 97-3 NBC Enlists Serious Puppy Power to Promote Olympics Corbin Bleu Marries Sasha Clements, Chad Danforth Is Now Taken Britney Spears, Sia, Ariana Grande + More to Perform at 2016 iHeartRadio Music Festival Son Who Thinks Dad Forgot His Birthday Gets Best Surprise Recommended for You ZergNet Best of the Web ZergNet


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Were you depressed?
I never went in and saw a professional to get diagnosed. Probably because I was afraid of what the diagnosis would be. So I don't know. I can tell you this. I was really looking forward to my vacations and getting out of Seattle and seeing the sun.
Living in Seattle is really hard. When those winter months hit, man, the days are super short. You get weeks at a time where you never see the sun. It's always rainy and cool. And that affects me. I'm a hardcore introvert, too, so that probably doesn't help. My family energizes me, but other people drain me.
What helped you turn the corner?
I had to change the way we were structured. When we first started the church, it was basically a small team of elders, and we all had to agree on every decision. Well, when you go multisite, and you've got dozens of elders, your structure has to change. Different guys need to make different decisions. We need to share the authority and the load. But in the absence of a good system, I was basically everyone's direct report. A couple of years ago, I got two new guys to join the executive eldership. They're godly, seasoned men. One runs a very large company, a Harvard business guy, and the other is a veteran pastor. They've been an absolute lifesaver. Before they came on, I had 18 direct reports, and that was just a couple years ago.
You're a strong personality. Was it hard for you to delegate and release some of the authority?
Not really. I come off as a wild-eyed, crazy prophet, but the truth is when I get up on the stage I'm trying to move tens of thousands of people. It takes a lot of energy to try and move that many people. But most of the time, I'm a father. I feel about the church like I do about my kids, and that's why, even though things have gotten hard, I stick it out. I genuinely love the people of the church and I feel very committed to them. In 1 Corinthians 4 Paul says that when he preached the gospel and people got saved, he became their spiritual father.
I feel like Mars Hill is a family. A lot of these people got saved here. They look to me as a spiritual father, and Dad's got to love, he's got to serve, and he's got to hang in there. But it can't be about Dad. It has to be about the kids and it has to be about the family. And if Dad doesn't have the help he needs, Dad's going to probably kill himself trying to take care of everything. If dad doesn't know how to organize it, because that's not Dad's strength, then Dad really needs some other Dads to come alongside and help him. And by God's grace, over the years, I think we've gotten better at doing that.
What would people be surprised to learn about you?
Like I say, being an introvert, I work from home most of the time so I can be around my five kids. I spend a lot of time at baseball games and track meets. I was at another baseball game last night, and I've got five or six more on Saturday alone. I'm a husband and father first. I've written most of my books, and done a lot of my research, while sitting in a chair at a little league game. And I love that. I love to take my kids. I love to support them. I love to sit on a bucket and play catcher and let my boys work on their curveball. All I've got is work and family. I have zero hobbies. I don't hunt. I don't fish. I don't have a motorcycle. I don't golf. It's just family and ministry. They take 100 percent of my time.
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This transmission electron micrograph (TEM) revealed the ultrastructural appearance of a number of virus particles, or "virions", of a hantavirus known as the Sin Nombre virus (SNV).
In November 1993, the specific hantavirus that caused the Four Corners outbreak was isolated. Using tissue fro... Read More
This image depicts a number of what were "suspected" smallpox scab fragments, from the archives of the Virginia Historical Society (VHS).
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Science cartoonist Jay Hosler drafted this comic for the cover of the program for The Allegheny Branch of The American Society for Microbiology (ABASM) meeting at Juniata College this weekend (November 20th and 21st). Amusing. To see more of Hosler's work visit Read More
Electron micrograph of Herpes simplex virus. Giemsa stain Read More
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To help scientists understand how the Penicillium stoloniferum virus interacts with its hosts, and how it replicates and matures over its lifecycle, the virus structure was solved at the very high-resolution of 7.3 angstroms. Running the automated AUTO3DEM software on a San Diego Supercomputer C... Read More
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Sliced, Spiced and Iced Refrigerator Sweet Dill Pickles
Total Time
Prep 15 mins
Cook 168 hrs
Feeling a little lazy and not wanting to can, I was looking for a good recipe for chilled dill pickles, but couldn't quite find the exact recipe I wanted so I have adapted a recipe from Group Recipes and Epicurious to fit my needs. It's slightly sweet with the lovely taste of dill. I hope this fits your needs too! :) Cooking time is marinating time. Thank you for the inspiration coconutlime and Amelia Saltsman!
Ingredients Nutrition
- 1 1⁄2 lbs small pickling cucumbers, sliced 1/4-1/2-inch thick (or regular cucumbers-may cut into spears also)
- 4 garlic cloves, sliced
- 4 sprigs fresh dill (optional)
- 2 cups cold water
- 1⁄2 teaspoon celery seed
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon dill seed
- 2 cups white distilled vinegar
- 1 cup sugar (or 1 1/2 cups depending on sweetness you desire)
- 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more or less depending on heat level you desire)
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorn (optional)
- Evenly divide the garlic, fresh dill and sliced cucumbers among four wide mouthed pint jars.
- Before adding the mustard seed, red pepper flakes, peppercorns(if using) and dill seed, crush them slightly. You can use your hands, a mortar and pestle, or give then one quick whiz in the food processor(optional).
- In a saucepan, mix together vinegar, water, sugar, red pepper flakes, celery seed, salt, mustard seed and dill seed. Heat to just dissolve sugar, then remove and let cool. Use a funnel to fill each jar with the cooled brining liquid. The spices may float to the bottom, so use a spoon to evenly divide anything that is leftover into the jars. Cap tightly and refrigerate at least one week before eating. Enjoy!
- It was suggested you do this over a large bowl. The cucumbers start to float and displace liquid. Add the overflow back into the brining mixture before you fill up the next jar. No mess! :).
Most Helpful
Easy to make - When I eat them in a few days I'll let you know how they taste!! Edit: After over a month, they taste delicious, tangy and sweet. I prefer slightly less sweet so next time I might reduce the sugar. Not super crispy but not too soggy either.
My husband and I made 12 pints of these refrigerator pickles in about an hour. The brine is delicious, so I'm hoping the pickles will be really tasty -- just have to wait a week to find out. We quadrupled the recipe and have some leftover brine to use for another small batch. I didn't change much on the recipe: 1. Substituted 1 tsp. of refrigerated minced garlic for each of the garlic cloves. 2. Omitted the fresh dill sprigs. 3. Used 1 1/2 cups of sugar to achieve a sweeter taste. 4. Ran out of Dill Seeds, so I substituted Dill Weed. Used my electric food chopper to grind up the seeds, peppercorns, and pepper flakes. On the next batch, I'm going to slice the cucumbers thinner -- maybe 1/8" -- to try to achieve a hamburger sweet-dill slice. I'll report back to you in a week or so.


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Echinopsis subdenudata flowering every second week since December.
Echinopsis subdenudata
what a fabulous little plant. what zones does it do well in? Xuling
Talking about 25F, briefly in my ref. book. Had it in Bloem when it got to around that, but this was always covered with others in frost cloth, anyway, Z9 + would be a guess.
Thanks LT and N for the zone info. I cover everything up for frost, but the extended freeze we had has really hit lots of plants. I have so many spaces in the cactus beds along with the newly built cactus bed that I don't think that my budget will allow me to buy enough plants to fill all the spaces. Oh, what to do????? :) Xuling
I tend to look toward multipliers and ground covers - Aeoniums multiply quickly, love A. 'kiwi' for instance, started with six plants, my whole garden has grouping now. Then something like budget mini-sculpture or similar to fill. I do not know, but I am opening up an huge area right now, which will be filled by aloes, crassulaceae, mesembs, rocks...all seed grown and collected from the local surrounds.
Aeoniums are the ultimate multiplier. Last summer one of the Aeoniums in the park was whacked by somebody and all the heads were strewn on the ground. So I carefully picked up the remains and rooted every last piece. Last month I installed five new plants where the original used to be. There are four more about the same size ready to go in. And the biggest head (which I'm keeping as a container plant) has already started making a couple of branches. It's awesome. Where there was one plant, there are now ten (all in full sun, btw). A gift of opportunity, as it were. A few observations from that little experiment: shorter stems root and grow faster, multiheaded cuts branch sooner, fall is the time to do it.
Be sure to keep us posted on your huge new area, LT.
Yeah will do.
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Write a function named sleepCheck that takes the parameter numHours
Inside the function, write an if statement where if the number of hours of sleep is greater than or equal to 8, the computer will return "You're getting plenty of sleep! Maybe even too much!";.
Otherwise (else) if the number of hours of sleep is less than 8, have the computer return "Get some more shut eye!";
Then call the function with different hours of sleep
Call the function with 10 hours of sleep, like this: sleepCheck(10);
Call the function with 5 hours of sleep.
Call the function with 8 hours of sleep.