text:
Inflation-indexed bonds to be launched soon, says RBI
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank on Thursday said it would soon launch inflation-indexed bonds (IIBs) that would seek to wean away people from buying gold and provide them with an effective hedge against inflation, following Finance Minister P Chidambaram in Budget announcing the launch of such bonds.
"This will be done next fiscal...We will have our cash and debt management meeting towards the end of this financial year and hopefully, from the first or second month of the next fiscal, we will launch inflation-indexed bonds," Deputy Governor HR Khan told reporters at a customary post-Budget press conference here.
The central bank, for some time, has been planning to introduce IIBs to wean away investors from gold, who were investing in the yellow metal as a hedge against inflation.
The Finance Minister in the Budget speech today said, "in consultation with RBI, I propose to introduce inflation-indexed bonds or certificates."
Another Deputy Governor Urjit Patel said "the IIBs would increase choice for savers and the instrument will be particularly attractive for risk-averse savers, who will get assured real returns. IIBs are good hedging instruments against inflation.
"It should encourage household savings to shy away from gold that is largely unproductive for the economy. This will also help in addressing Current Account Deficit (CAD) risk in the economy as high gold import in recent years had contributed significantly to the widening of CAD," Patel said.
IIBs signal a credible commitment of the government for lowering inflation, he added.
Meanwhile, referring to the conducting of open market operations (OMOs) with regard to the government borrowing programme, Khan said, "as far as OMOs are concerned, we do keep deficit condition in the market (in mind) not so much the borrowing requirement of the government (to conduct OMOs).
GST Council to finalise draft model GST law today
Bullet train: Drilling 7-km undersea route of Mumbai-Ahmedabad rail corridor underway
Buying jewellery over Rs 2 lakh cash to attract 1% TCS from April 1
Online EPF withdrawal, pension fixation to be a reality by May
Ahead of merger with SBI,associate State Bank of Travancore to raise up to Rs 600 crore


text:
2016 National Walk @ Lunch Day Toolkit
The 2016 National Walk @ Lunch Day toolkit contains various materials and templates to help you plan and promote a successful National Walk @ Lunch Day event on Wednesday, April 27, 2016. The information below provides an overview of the materials and suggested ways to use each item.
Message kit for employers, which includes the following documents:
- Event overview: A comprehensive overview of National Walk @ Lunch Day. Share this information with employees, state legislators, and schools to help them learn about the many benefits of walking.
- Employer guide to planning a walk: Month-by-month tasks to help you plan your own successful National Walk @ Lunch Day event.
- Evite to employees: Email invitation template to invite participants to National Walk @ Lunch Day. This copy is easily customized and tailored to provide specific walk information for employees and other invitees.
- Copy for employer website: Language to post on your website to help you promote your event leading up to National Walk @ Lunch Day.
Planning a safe and enjoyable walk
Several steps that you may want to consider to arrange a safe and enjoyable walk.
Inclement weather contingency plan
Event planning tips and suggestions to make your event a success in rain or shine.
Promoting Your Event
Customize this 11" x 17" poster and hang it in your workplace to attract participants to your event.
Table tents
Customizable table tents for your cafeteria, break areas, or conference rooms.
Use this flyer to promote National Walk @ Lunch Day at your workplace and attract participants to your event.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
For Manuscript Submission, Check or Review Login please go to Submission Websites List.
For the academic login, please select your country in the dropdown list. You will be redirected to verify your credentials.
|Table of Contents
|Vol. 83, No. 6, 2012
Issue release date: June 2012
|Section title: Clinical Investigations
Sputum YKL-40 Levels and Pathophysiology of Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary DiseaseOtsuka K. · Matsumoto H. · Niimi A. · Muro S. · Ito I. · Takeda T. · Terada K. · Yamaguchi M. · Matsuoka H. · Jinnai M. · Oguma T. · Nakaji H. · Inoue H. · Tajiri T. · Iwata T. · Chin K. · Mishima M.
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan Corresponding Author
Hisako Matsumoto
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kyoto University
54, Kawahara-cho
Shogoin, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507 (Japan)
Tel. +81 75 751 3830, E-Mail email@example.com
Background: Recent evidence suggests that YKL-40, also called chitinase-3-like-1 protein, is involved in the pathogenesis of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Details of sputum YKL-40 in asthma and COPD, however, remain unknown. Objectives: To clarify associations of sputum YKL-40 levels with clinical indices in asthma and COPD. Methods: Thirty-nine patients with asthma, 14 age-matched never-smokers as controls, 45 patients with COPD, and 7 age-matched smokers as controls were recuited for this study. Sputum YKL-40 levels were measured and YKL-40 expression in sputum cells was evaluated by immunocytochemistry. Results: Sputum YKL-40 levels were higher in patients with COPD (346 ± 325 ng/ml) than in their smoker controls (125 ± 122 ng/ml; p < 0.05), but were not significantly different between patients with asthma (117 ± 170 ng/ml) and their controls (94 ± 44 ng/ml; p = 0.15). In patients with asthma only, sputum YKL-40 levels were positively correlated with disease severity (r = 0.34, p = 0.034) and negatively correlated with pre- and postbronchodilator %FEV1 (r = –0.47 and –0.42, respectively; p < 0.01) and forced mid-expiratory flow (r = –0.48 and –0.46, respectively, p < 0.01). Sputum YKL-40 levels were positively correlated with sputum neutrophil counts in asthma (r = 0.55, p < 0.001) and with neutrophil and macrophage counts in COPD (r = 0.45 and 0.65, respectively, p < 0.01). YKL-40 was expressed in the cytoplasm of sputum neutrophils and macrophages in all groups. Conclusions: Elevated sputum YKL-40 reflects airflow obstruction in asthma whereas the roles of YKL-40 in the proximal airways in COPD remain to be elucidated.
© 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel
YKL-40 Chitinase-like protein Induced sputum Asthma Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Neutrophilic inflammation
YKL-40, also known as chitinase-3-like-1 protein (CHI3L1) or human cartilage glycoprotein-39, is classified as a 'mammalian chitinase-like protein' although it does not exhibit chitinase activity. YKL-40 is produced in response to inflammatory stimuli and is secreted by several types of cells, including neutrophils [1], macrophages [2], chondrocytes, synovial cells [3] and vascular smooth muscle cells [4]. YKL-40 exhibits potent proliferative activity in skin and fetal lung fibroblasts [5], and stimulates the migration of vascular smooth muscle cells and vascular endothelial cells [4,6]. Serum YKL-40 levels are elevated in patients with various diseases, such as hepatic fibrosis, systemic sclerosis, osteoarthritis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis [7], suggesting the involvement of YKL-40 in inflammatory processes and tissue remodeling [8].
Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are characterized by airway inflammation and remodeling that lead to reversible or irreversible airflow obstruction. Recent studies have shown that YKL-40 is involved in the pathophysiology of asthma [9,10,11,12] and COPD [13]. Serum YKL-40 levels were higher in patients with asthma [9] and COPD [13] than in healthy controls, and were correlated with airflow obstruction and disease severity. Serum YKL-40 levels were higher in patients with asthma with exacerbations than in those in a stable condition [11]. In patients with COPD, elevated YKL-40 levels in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) have been reported to be associated with airflow obstruction. In the case of asthma, Kuepper et al. [12] showed that YKL-40 levels in the BALF of patients with allergic asthma were increased after administration of segmental allergen challenges. However, associations of YKL-40 levels in the airways with clinical indices in asthma remain largely unknown.
Sputum YKL-40 levels may provide more relevant and specific information on asthma than the levels found in blood samples. Therefore, we investigated the relationships of sputum YKL-40 levels with clinical indices in asthma, and assessed the similarities and differences in sputum YKL-40 associations with disease pathophysiology between asthma and COPD.
For this cross-sectional study, 39 patients with stable asthma, who regularly visited our outpatient Asthma and Cough Clinic, were enrolled. Asthma was diagnosed according to the American Thoracic Society criteria [14] based on a history of recurrent episodes of wheezing and chest tightness, with or without cough, and documented airway reversibility with a bronchodilator or hyperresponsiveness to inhaled methacholine. Severity was defined according to the step classification of the Global Initiative for Asthma guidelines, as revised in 2002 [15], and classified as follows: mild intermittent (step 1), mild persistent (2), moderate persistent (3), and severe persistent (4). All patients with asthma were lifelong never-smokers.
Patients with COPD (n = 45) as defined by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease guidelines (GOLD) 2003 [16], who had a history of chronic respiratory symptoms, such as cough and sputum with or without breathlessness, had a postbronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio of less than 0.7 and regularly visited our outpatient COPD clinic were recruited. Patients were either current (n = 10, 62.9 ± 26.3 pack-years) or former smokers (n = 35; 62.7 ± 28.8 pack-years). Typical emphysematous changes were observed in all patients with COPD on chest computed tomography scans. Among these, 6 were considered to have chronic bronchitis that was defined by the presence of sputum production for 3 consecutive months within the last 2 years. The conditions of both asthma and COPD patients were stable, and they had been free of exacerbations for 4 weeks or more. Patients who had any active malignant diseases within 5 years, connective tissue diseases, infectious diseases, or active respiratory disorders other than asthma or COPD were excluded.
We recruited 14 age-matched healthy never-smokers as controls for patients with asthma and 7 age-matched former or current smokers without COPD as controls for patients with COPD from our hospital. The research protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Kyoto University, and written informed consent was obtained from all subjects.
Sputum induction and processing were performed as described by Pin et al.[17], with slight modifications [18]. In brief, the subjects were premedicated with inhaled salbutamol (200 µg). They then inhaled hypertonic (3%) saline solution, administered with an ultrasonic nebulizer (MU-32; Azwell Inc., Osaka, Japan) for 15 min. Adequate sputum plugs were separated from saliva and first treated with 0.1% dithiothreitol (Sputasol; Oxoid Ltd., UK), followed by the same volume of Dulbecco's phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). After centrifugation, sputum supernatants were stored at –80°C. Cell differentials were determined by counting at least 400 nonsquamous cells stained by the May-Grünwald-Giemsa method.
YKL-40 levels in sputum supernatants were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit (Quidel, San Diego, Calif., USA) following the manufacturer's instructions. The detection limit of this assay was 10 ng/ml. Values below this threshold were assigned values of 10 ng/ml before adjusting for the dilution with dithiothreitol and PBS. A spike-back analysis that used exogenous YKL-40 resulted in greater than 80% recovery.
In patients with asthma and COPD, serum allergen-specific IgE antibodies for mixed moulds, house-dust mite, cat dander, dog dander, Japanese cedar pollen, mixed grass pollens and mixed weed pollens were detected with a capsulated hydrophilic carrier polymer radioallergosorbent test fluoroenzyme immunoassay (Phadia, Uppsala, Sweden) in an external laboratory (Mitsubishi Kagaku Bio-Clinical Laboratories, Kyoto, Japan). Atopy was determined based on the detection of at least one allergen-specific IgE antibody.
We measured FVC, FEV1 and forced mid-expiratory flow (FEF25–75%) using a Chestac-65V (Chest MI Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Spirograms were obtained in triplicate; the best of 3 reproducible measurements was recorded as recommended by the American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society [19].
Sputum cells from at least 3 samples obtained from patients with asthma, patients with COPD and their age-matched controls were used for immunostaining. After adjusting for cell number, sputum cells were mounted on slides by cytocentrifugation, air-dried, fixed in acetone/methanol (60:40) and stored at –20°C until immunostaining. For double immunostaining, samples were first blocked with 5% BSA in PBS for nonspecific binding. The slides were then incubated either with a rabbit polyclonal antibody against human YKL-40 (33 µg/ml) (Quidel) or a rabbit IgG (Dako, Glostrup, Denmark) at the same concentration as the control and either a monoclonal mouse antibody against human neutrophil elastase (NE; Dako), CD68 (Dako), or major basic protein (MBP; Chemicon, Temecula, Calif., USA) or mouse IgG (Sigma-Aldrich, Tokyo, Japan) in PBS containing 1% BSA. Concentrations of mouse IgG used for negative controls are shown in table 1. After rinsing in PBS, samples were incubated with Alexa Fluor 488 donkey anti-rabbit IgG (Invitrogen Corp., Carlsbad, Calif., USA) and Alexa Fluor 546 goat anti-mouse IgG (Invitrogen). A fluorescence microscope was used for immunocytochemical evaluations.
Positive staining was detected as green for the YKL-40 antigen and red for the NE, CD68 and MBP antigens.
A Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare 2 groups. For comparisons of nominal data, a χ2 test or Fisher's exact test was used. Correlations were analyzed using Spearman's rank correlation test. p values <0.05 were considered significant. Differences among 3 groups were first examined using a Kruskal-Wallis test. Results are given as means ± SDs, unless otherwise stated. Statistical analysis was performed using JMP 6.0 (SAS Campus Drive, Cary, N.C., USA).
Characteristics, results of pulmonary function tests and sputum cell differentials of 39 patients with asthma and their age-matched controls are shown in table 2. In the asthma group, differences in patient characteristics other than serum IgE levels between atopic (median serum IgE = 120 IU/ml) and nonatopic patients (median serum IgE = 39 IU/ml; p = 0.037) were not statistically significant. The findings for 45 patients with COPD and their age-matched smoker controls are shown in table 3. Differences in patient characteristics between COPD patients with and without chronic bronchitis were not statistically significant. When patients with asthma and COPD were compared, patients with COPD were predominantly males and older than those with asthma, and more patients with asthma (n = 38) received inhaled corticosteroids than did COPD patients (n = 12; p < 0.001), and more patients with asthma used theophylline (9 patients with asthma vs. 1 patient with COPD; p = 0.005). Patients with COPD showed more severe airflow limitation (for FEV1/FVC and %FEF25–75%, p < 0.001; for %FEV1, p = 0.042) and showed a greater number of macrophages and neutrophils in induced sputum (p = 0.020 and p < 0.001, respectively) than those with asthma.
Sputum YKL-40 levels were significantly higher in patients with COPD (346 ± 325 ng/ml) than in their smoker controls (125 ± 122 ng/ml; p = 0.011) (fig. 1a) whereas there was no significant difference between patients with asthma (n = 39, 117 ± 170 ng/ml) and their controls (94 ± 44 ng/ml; p = 0.15). In 14 patients with asthma and 2 smoker controls, sputum YKL-40 levels were below the detection limit. An atopic status in patients with asthma did not affect sputum YKL-40 levels (atopic asthma 105 ± 125 ng/ml, nonatopic asthma 155 ± 271 ng/ml; p = 0.88) (fig. 1b). For patients with COPD, differences in sputum YKL-40 levels between those who had chronic bronchitis (n = 6; 471 ± 384 ng/ml) and those who did not (327 ± 316 ng/ml; p = 0.19) were not statistically significant. When patients with asthma and COPD were compared, patients with COPD showed higher sputum YKL-40 levels than those with asthma (p < 0.001).
In patients with asthma, YKL-40 sputum levels were positively correlated with disease severity (r = 0.34, p = 0.034) (fig. 2) and maintenance doses of inhaled corticosteroids (r = 0.33, p = 0.045) whereas in patients with COPD, there was no significant correlation between YKL-40 sputum levels and the GOLD stages (r = –0.24, p = 0.11) or maintenance doses of ICS (r = 0.23, p = 0.13). In patients with asthma, sputum YKL-40 levels were not associated with gender (males 148 ± 238 ng/ml, females 93 ± 74 ng/ml; p = 0.88). In either patient group, sputum YKL-40 did not associate with age (asthma, r = –0.09, p = 0.50; COPD, r = 0.22, p = 0.15). Moreover, body mass index, serum IgE levels, concurrent chronic sinusitis and use of theophylline did not affect sputum YKL-40 levels (data not shown). In patients with asthma, sputum YKL-40 levels were negatively correlated with both pre- and postbronchodilator FEV1 (fig. 3a, b) and FEF25–75% values (fig. 4a, b). In contrast, in COPD patients and the controls of both patient groups, no correlations were observed between YKL-40 sputum levels and measures of pulmonary function (fig. 3c, d, 4c, d for COPD; data not shown for controls).
In patients with asthma, sputum YKL-40 levels were correlated only with the numbers of sputum neutrophils, while in COPD patients, sputum YKL-40 levels were correlated with the numbers of sputum macrophages and neutrophils (fig. 5). When the 14 patients with asthma who showed sputum YKL-40 levels under the detection limit were compared to the remaining 25 patients with asthma, the former showed fewer sputum neutrophils (10.6 ± 29.9·105·g–1), in addition to higher prebronchodilator FEV1 (97.0 ± 20.1%) and FEF25–75% (61.9 ± 26.5%) values than the remaining 25 patients with asthma (12.8 ± 17.7·105·g–1; 82.3 ± 22.6%; 46.6 ± 30.8%, respectively; p < 0.05 for all comparisons). No significant correlations were observed between sputum YKL-40 levels and sputum eosinophil counts in patients with asthma or in patients with COPD (r = 0.12, p = 0.47; r = 0.25, p = 0.10, respectively). There were no significant correlations between sputum YKL-40 levels and neutrophil, macrophage or eosinophil counts in the controls of both patient groups (data not shown).
The presence or absence of YKL-40 in CD68- or NE-positive cells in at least 3 samples obtained from patients with asthma and patients with COPD, and their controls was examined immunocytochemically. The presence or absence of YKL-40 in MBP-positive cells was examined in patients with asthma. In all examined subjects, YKL-40 was positive for cells that were positive for NE or CD68 antigens but was negative for cells that were positive for MBP (fig. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12). There were no apparent qualitative differences in the expression of YKL-40 in neutrophils or macrophages between patients with asthma and COPD and their controls. There were no apparent effects of age, gender and medications on YKL-40 expression.
To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine sputum YKL-40 levels in patients with asthma and COPD. Sputum YKL-40 levels were elevated in patients with COPD compared with their age-matched smoker controls but did not differ between patients with asthma and their age-matched controls. In patients with asthma, sputum YKL-40 levels were positively correlated with disease severity and sputum neutrophil counts and were negatively correlated with measures of pulmonary function. In patients with COPD, no significant associations were found, except for sputum YKL-40 levels with macrophage and neutrophil counts.
Recent evidence suggests that chitinases [20] and chitinase-like proteins including YKL-40 [21] are involved in the pathophysiology of asthma. Chupp et al. [9 ]reported that serum YKL-40 levels were increased in patients with asthma and that these levels were positively correlated with disease severity (p value for trend = 0.02) and sub-basement membrane thickness in bronchial biopsy (r = 0.51, p = 0.003) and were negatively, although weakly, correlated with the levels of FEV1 (r = –0.22, p = 0.01). The same researchers showed that the CHI3L1 gene encoding YKL-40 had a single-nucleotide polymorphism in its promoter region that was associated with elevated YKL-40 protein levels, asthma susceptibility, airway hyperresponsiveness and impaired lung function [10]. Our results confirmed and expanded upon previous findings.
In agreement with the results of the serum sample analysis performed by Chupp et al. [9], sputum YKL-40 levels in patients with asthma correlated with disease severity and degree of airflow obstruction. To evaluate irreversible functional changes, we recruited patients who were in a stable condition and also evaluated postbronchodilator indices of pulmonary function. Moreover, in contrast to previous studies, we examined sputum samples; these samples provide more direct information on airway conditions than serum samples. Consequently, correlations of YKL-40 levels with both pre- and post-FEV1 values as well as FEF25–75% values were stronger than those reported in a previous study on asthma [9], showing that YKL-40 in the airways was associated with airway remodeling in asthma.
Although the biologic functions of YKL-40 have not been completely elucidated, YKL-40 may be involved in persistent airway inflammation as well as tissue repair in asthma as described below. Within 10 min after administration of segmental allergen challenges, the YKL-40 levels in BALF samples obtained from patients with allergic asthma increased and remained elevated for up to 24 h [12]. YKL-40 is induced by the proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1 [22] as well as by interleukin-13 [23], a potential key regulator of asthma [24], and COPD [25]. Lee et al. [23 ]showed that mice with null mutations of BRP-39 (BRP-39–/–), a mouse homologue of YKL-40, showed markedly diminished antigen-induced Th2 responses and a decrease in the ability of IL-13 to induce tissue inflammation and fibrosis. YKL-40 also binds to collagen I and regulates collagen fibril formation [26]. These findings suggest that YKL-40 may play a biological role in airway inflammation and tissue remodeling in asthma.
In all groups, YKL-40 was expressed in the cytoplasm of sputum neutrophils and macrophages. This finding is consistent with previous findings showing the presence of YKL-40 in neutrophils and macrophages in BALF samples obtained from patients with COPD [13] and severe asthma [9]. We found new associations of sputum YKL-40 levels with sputum cell types. Sputum YKL-40 levels were correlated with sputum neutrophil counts in patients with asthma and with both macrophage and neutrophil counts in patients with COPD. In addition, patients with asthma who showed sputum YKL-40 levels below the detection limit had lower sputum neutrophil counts than the remaining asthmatic patients. This association of sputum YKL-40 levels with neutrophil counts and expression of YKL-40 in sputum neutrophils suggests that neutrophils are the major cell source of sputum YKL-40 in asthma; this may partly explain the lack of a difference in sputum YKL-40 levels between asthmatic patients and their age-matched controls, and the fact that a significant number of patients with asthma showed sputum YKL-40 levels below the detection limit. Neutrophilic airway inflammation plays an important role in a subgroup of patients with asthma [27] and is correlated with fixed airflow obstruction [28,29] but is not a predominant feature in this patient population as a whole. In fact, sputum neutrophil counts were similar between patients with asthma and their age-matched controls in our study. Although correlations do not imply causation, in the case of asthma, YKL-40 in the airways may contribute to airflow obstruction in association with neutrophilic inflammation.
Recently, Tang et al. [11 ]reported a moderate negative correlation of serum YKL-40 levels with %FEV1 (r = –0.44, p = 0.001) and a mild correlation with peripheral blood eosinophil percentages (r = 0.27, p = 0.032) in patients with asthma. In addition, Kuepper et al. [12 ]reported that YKL-40 levels in BALF of patients with allergic asthma after administration of segmental allergen challenges were positively correlated with eosinophil counts in the BALF. In our study, sputum YKL-40 levels were not correlated with sputum eosinophil counts. Our results, however, do not contradict previous findings because the asthmatic patients in our study were in a stable condition whereras 74% of the patients in the study by Tang et al. [11] had exacerbations. Moreover, neutrophilic and eosinophilic airway inflammations are not reciprocally exclusive in asthma, particularly in patients with poor asthma control [30].
In our study, the atopic status of patients with asthma did not affect sputum YKL-40 levels. Studies on the association of the CHI3L1 gene with atopy have shown inconsistent findings: some single-nucleotide polymorphisms were associated with risks of atopy [31] whereas others showed protective effects [32]. Possible associations of YKL-40 with atopy should be further clarified.
Unexpectedly, we found no correlations between sputum YKL-40 levels and clinical indices, including the presence of chronic bronchitis, in patients with COPD. This finding was in contrast to the findings of Létuve et al. [13], who reported negative correlations between BALF YKL-40 levels and FEV1 values and carbon monoxide diffusion capacity in patients with COPD. They showed that YKL-40 contributed to the synthesis of proinflammatory and fibrogenic chemokines by alveolar macrophages in COPD. The discrepancies between our findings and the findings of Létuve et al. cannot be fully explained but may be attributed to better %FEV1 values in our study than in the study of Létuve et al. (the median %FEV1 was 78.8% in our study and 61.5% in theirs) [13] and different sample sources, i.e. sputum versus BALF. Sputum is derived from more proximal airways and contains fewer macrophages than those present in BALF. In addition to the lack of differences in sputum YKL-40 levels between COPD patients with and without chronic bronchitis, the discrepancy between our findings in COPD and asthma may suggest that YKL-40 in the airways is differently involved in the pathogenesis of COPD and asthma, in particular in terms of the locations that are predominantly involved, although the findings in asthma and COPD in this study cannot be compared directly because there were significant differences in patients' characteristics, such as age and gender, between the two patient groups.
Our study has several limitations. First, the number of age-matched smoker controls was small because older smokers without airflow limitation were difficult to find and recruit. However, the difference in sputum YKL-40 levels between patients with COPD and smoker controls was significant. Second, we did not assess possible relationships between clinical indices and the degrees of YKL-40 expression in sputum cells because cells obtained from sputum samples were inadequate for quantifying the extent of YKL-40 expression. The number of epithelial cells, which also express YKL-40 in severe asthma [9], was not assessed because the epithelial cells in the sputum were too few to be analyzed. Last, assigning values of 10 ng/ml when sputum YKL-40 levels were below this threshold may have overestimated actual sputum YKL-40 levels. Our findings, however, did not change even when values of 0.1 ng/ml were assigned (data not shown). The associations of sputum YKL-40 levels with clinical indices in asthma were robust.
In conclusion, elevated sputum YKL-40 levels reflect airflow obstruction only in asthma. Further analysis may be required to determine the roles of YKL-40 in the proximal airways in COPD.
The authors are indebted to Dr. Greg King, Dr. Chantal Diba and Dr. Melissa Baraket at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, Australia, for providing an opportunity to perform a preliminary study. The authors also thank Aya Inazumi and Yuko Maeda for their assistance.
This study was supported, in part, by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (22590839) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
Hisako Matsumoto
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kyoto University
54, Kawahara-cho
Shogoin, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507 (Japan)
Tel. +81 75 751 3830, E-Mail email@example.com
Received: August 17, 2010
Accepted: July 13, 2011
Published online: September 27, 2011
Issue release date: June 2012
Number of Print Pages: 13
Number of Figures: 12
Number of Tables: 3
ISSN: 0025-7931 (Print)
eISSN: 1423-0356 (Online)
For additional information: http://www.karger.com/RES
Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated into other languages, reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, microcopying, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher or, in the case of photocopying, direct payment of a specified fee to the Copyright Clearance Center.
Drug Dosage: The authors and the publisher have exerted every effort to ensure that drug selection and dosage set forth in this text are in accord with current recommendations and practice at the time of publication. However, in view of ongoing research, changes in government regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to drug therapy and drug reactions, the reader is urged to check the package insert for each drug for any changes in indications and dosage and for added warnings and precautions. This is particularly important when the recommended agent is a new and/or infrequently employed drug.
Disclaimer: The statements, opinions and data contained in this publication are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publishers and the editor(s). The appearance of advertisements or/and product references in the publication is not a warranty, endorsement, or approval of the products or services advertised or of their effectiveness, quality or safety. The publisher and the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content or advertisements.


text:
Wayne, Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Lawyers and Law Firms
|» Step 1: Tell Us About Your Case
|» Step 2: Provide Contact Information & Submit
Start a Lawyer Search
Tell us about your case so that we can connect you with the right lawyers.
Jeanne Marie Cella, Esq.
Over 35 years of experience helping clients to become debt free, get a new financial start, avoid foreclosure, and importantly, keep all assets. Ms. Cella is a former Deputy District Attorney with significant courtroom and bankruptcy experience.
Address: 215 North Olive Street - Media, PA 19063
Phone: (610) 505-0500
Black and Associates, P.C.
Over 35 years experience in giving our clients a fresh start!
Address: 320 W Front Street - Media, PA 19063-0168
Phone: (610) 566-8500
Law Office of Michael T. Malarick, Esq., PC
The Law Office of Michael T. Malarick is committed to providing vigorous legal representation in a compassionate manner to individuals in need of legal counsel.
Address: 2211 Chichester Avenue Suite 201-B - Boothwyn, PA 19061
Phone: (610) 715-9960
Kwartler Manus, LLC.
At Kwartler Manus, LLC you get more than just legal representation. You get a dedicated attorney who cares about the result of your case. Our approach has resulted in millions of dollars recovered over the years for our clients.
Address: 1429 Walnut Street, Suite 701 - Philadelphia, PA 19102
Phone: 267-457-5570


text:
This report contains a product-by-product market size and forecast for spend on telecommunications, including fixed line, networking equipment, and wireless/mobile within UK defense.
The scope of telecommunications markets covered is as follows:
- Fixed line
- Networking equipment
- It also includes commercial off-the-shelf software associated with communications network management, with VoIP and with converged communications platforms, although software that is primarily email client or server is covered under the appropriate software category.
- Wireless/mobile
Reasons To Buy
We've assessed the impact of austerity and the coalition government's diminished appetite for reform, and mapped out the implications of structural and political change. We've assessed the impact of a weak recovery and a double-dip recession to reforecast ICT spend to 2017. A team of eleven analysts have calculated the ICT spend for every organization in this report's scope and aggregated this to provide an invaluable guide to the market.
Key Highlights
CAGR for telecommunications market in defense sector is -4.87%


text:
Geesh guys, thinking you need to look at 'who' are the customers. Not
everyone is as knowledgeable as others. As Theresa pointed out, not everyone
knows the latin names...
Plant lists are great if you know what you are looking for and comparing
pricing. But if you are a new gardener, clicking on all those names to find
something you like- something that will work in your yard conditions, well..
categories are nice. (not sure I like how they have them laid out, but do
like the concept of sorting by zone, light, water)
As far as pot size, I think we have all been 'had' somewhere along those
lines. It is easy to stick a plug into a larger pot and until you get home
and dump it, do you really know just how long it has been in that size pot.
Of course, I do look at the bottom to see if there are any roots hanging
out, but am too much of a lady to dump the plant out and see how much soil
it holds. (but I have been tempted!) If someone is not telling you a size, I
always figure it is a plug.
I don't shop via the internet or catalogs much, so my opinions really don't
count. But as with any other advertising, something different always makes
you stop and look.
One of my pet peeves is the pictures... I feel they are a good selling
point, but when they have a close-up of a flower only and it looks awesome.
They you grow the darn plant and it is a itsy bitsy flower with a gazillion
amount of foliage that hides most of them.... well, I say you should either
show a true scale of the flower to plant... or at least say how small or
large the flower actually is in the description. (yeah, I know, got to
research the plants before buying anyways)
> -----Original Message-----
> From: firstname.lastname@example.com [mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com] On
> Behalf Of Kitty
> Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 7:45 PM
> To: email@example.com
> Subject: Re: [CHAT] Thoughts about new Heronswood Web site
> I agree about the plantfinder, I've seen the same kind elsewhere - I think
> High Country - and suppose it would be helpful in finding plants for
> specific uses or situations. However, I had expected a plant listing.
> They
> do have the listing of genera in alphabetical sections in Perennials. In
> other sections like shrubs, they include a pic with the genus. I don't
> mind
> that too much.
> I like the idea of a Wishlist so I can save some and come back later. but
> that also requires registering. I hate always having to register for
> stuff,
> but I can see why it would be necessary if you want to take advantage of
> this feature.
> I really think they should get rid of the suitcase.
> Kitty
> neIN, Zone 5
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Theresa" <email@example.com>
> To: <firstname.lastname@example.com>
> Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 8:03 PM
> Subject: Re: [CHAT] Thoughts about new Heronswood Web site
> > Well- I got a chance to check out the site and here are my thoughts:
> >
> > First thing that hits me is the main page- the graphic is poor quality
> and
> > fuzzy. Does not provide any kind of confidence that this is a reliable
> > company (which I know they are- but if I wasn't already aware- I would
> be
> > leary about going much further and certainly not sending them money)
> >
> > The "plant finder" link isn't what I thought it would be- I wanted to
> > type in the name of a plant to see if they had it- not give list of
> > options and see what comes up. It is an intersting concept they have,
> but
> > just needs a different name. I suspect that more people using
> Heronswoods
> > sites have some clue of what they are looking for, but I could be wrong.
> > Their options for soil conditions are lousy (moist vs. dry) and have
> > programming errors. Just for kicks I tried this out and did a little
> > search and there were zero plants apparently that I can grow at my
> house.
> > Which of course, is not true- so in reality this "plant finder" option
> is
> > useless to me. Where is the regular old search by common or botanical
> > name option??
> >
> > Back to the main page- it is confusing and redundant to have links all
> > along the side as well as buttons at the top. Why?? Do we need more
> > clutter in our lives?
> >
> > I don't like clicking on the side links only to get another page that
> > doesn't have actual content on it. Do they really think everyone is
> > exceptionally stupid? If I clicked on a link that says "information",
> > then I obviously know that link provides information about heronswood
> and
> > ordering. Why have another page with a secondary menu (which by the way
> > also appears on the side with the rest of the links then). Similarly,
> if
> > I click on shop- don't make me choose a category! Let me do a normal
> > search or alphabetical if I want. Not everyone searches by category.
> The
> > ironly is that once you click on a category, they only give latin names-
> > so the site is set up for people with limited plant finding skills, but
> > then they are expected to know only latin names. Not a great plan.
> >
> > I think the others have touched upon the other complaints that I have.
> > can't stand the "suitcase" thing- give me a break- that isn't cute- it's
> > confusing. Everyone knows that online shopping goes in a cart! And,
> I'm
> > with Kitty- I want to know exactly what size pot I'm buying!
> > I miss their old site- and that has nothing to do with the who designed
> > the old one. It was simply far better done - much more user friendly
> and
> > more visually appealing too.
> >
> > Theresa
> >
> > Andrea Hodges wrote:
> >
> >> Where have I been? I had no idea you designed and managed their site
> >> before Burpee. I've already given you my opinion on the whole having to
> >> click repeatedly to get to the plant I want. I'm with Chris P. I want
> to
> >> see a whole list in front of me that I can scroll down, and there MUST
> be
> >> pictures of course. There were a lot of "no image available" pics,
> which
> >> I understand happens sometimes, but I don't have to like it.
> >>
> >> I didn't care for their little icons at the top. I had to click several
> >> things to get to where I could find the plant. Don't care for that.
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Christopher P. Lindsey"
> >> <firstname.lastname@example.com>
> >> To: <email@example.com>
> >> Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2006 4:37 PM
> >> Subject: [CHAT] Thoughts about new Heronswood Web site
> >>
> >>
> >>> As I start designing my Web site and online catalog I'm thinking about
> >>> different approaches that I can take.
> >>>
> >>> As you know, I designed/managed Heronswood's Web site for a number of
> >>> years, but this year Burpee took over the site.
> >>>
> >>> For those of you familiar with the old site I'm curious what you think
> >>> is good and bad about the new one that I can apply to my site and
> >>> others.
> >>>
> >>> I obviously already have my own opinions that I'll share later -- I'm
> >>> curious what some of you guys think.
> >>>
> >>> Their site is at
> >>>
> >>> http://www.heronswood.com/
> >>>
> >>> Chris
> >>>
> >>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>> To sign-off this list, send email to email@example.com with the
> >>> message text UNSUBSCRIBE GARDENCHAT
> >>
> >>
> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >> To sign-off this list, send email to firstname.lastname@example.com with the
> >> message text UNSUBSCRIBE GARDENCHAT
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > To sign-off this list, send email to firstname.lastname@example.com with the
> > message text UNSUBSCRIBE GARDENCHAT
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To sign-off this list, send email to firstname.lastname@example.com with the
> message text UNSUBSCRIBE GARDENCHAT
To sign-off this list, send email to email@example.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE GARDENCHAT


text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Mar 22, 1988
|Filing date
|Aug 6, 1986
|Priority date
|Aug 6, 1985
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Charles R. Jarvis
|Original Assignee
|The General Electric Company P.L.C.
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (7), Referenced by (34), Classifications (29), Legal Events (4)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This invention concerns the preparation of fragile devices by the removal of part of a suitable body of material (by an etching or similar removal process), and relates particularly, though not exclusively, to the formation of lead-frames useful inconnection with the packaging of micro-electronic devices such as integrated circuits.
The main concept of the invention is conveniently described with reference to lead-frames.
As is now well known it is possible to manufacture very complex electronic circuits in the form of "chips", in which the circuit--containing both passive components, such as conductors, resistors and capacitors, and active components, such as diodes, transistors and other semi-conductor devices--is formed on and in the surface of a fingernail-sized chip of silicon. In a Large Scale Integrated device the number of connections in and out of the chip may well be at around the hundred mark, but frequently chip designers are pressing for lead counts of a much greater value--possible as high as 400. To fit these in within the available space, the actual conductors forming these connections have to be only about 1 thou (about 25 microns) wide; this is finer--and much more delicate--than the finest human hair.
Naturally, the chip, and its connectors, has to be protected, and it is common to encase, or package, the chip, usually in a plastics or ceramic material, to make a larger, stronger article which may relatively safely be handled during the construction of the device of which the chip forms a part. One possible end result is the familiar Dual Inline Package (DIP), and oblong object the size of a LEGO brick with conductor "legs" extending downwardly therefrom along either side by which the DIP may be connected onto a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) via holes therein. Another--frequently used where the number of connectors to the chip is large--is the Flat Pack (FP), a square object that has its legs on two or all four sides and extending below and then outwardly so that it can sit on the PCB with its legs flush with, and soldered to, the tracks on the board's surface. Such a result (the DIP or FP) is preferably achieved by packaging the chip together with what is called a "lead-frame" (a framework of "radially" extending conductive leads that are very fine and fragile on the inside, where the 25 micron connectons are made from them to special pads on the chip itself, but are much coarser, and more robust, on the outside, where the connections are made to the PCB). The invention is concerned with the preparation of fragile bodies like this lead-frame.
It is common practice to construct a lead-frame by starting with a foil or sheet blank of relatively thick, robust material (robust enough to make the legs of a DIP or FP, say), and to remove this material, often by etching, where it is not required at all (the empty spaces between legs). Unfortunately, the sheer quantity of material to be removed, coupled with the very significant problems of controlling the removal process so as to remove only what is required to be removed, means that it is very difficult to start with a thick and robust foil and end with a lead-frame the inner parts of which are sufficiently narrow and delicate. In one conventional method. quite suitable for making a Flat Pack lead-frame with only a few--say, four or five--connectors per side (making 16 or 20 in all four sides), the lead-frame blank is masked on either major face so as to define those areas wanted (the connectors, together with a few temporary sections holding the whole together) and unwanted (the spaces between connectors together with the central area where the chip will be), and placed in a bath of chemical etchant material until all the unwanted material has been etched away. The result is a "skeleton" of conductors uniformly as thick as the original sheet (typically 0.1 mm--100 microns--or so) but wider on the outside (perhaps 1 mm--1000 microns) than on the inside (possibly 0.3 mm--300 microns). With a low lead count it is acceptable to form these inner leads with their inner ends free, for their thickness and width make them reasonably rigid. However, with a higher lead count--say 20 to 25 connections per side (making 80 to 100 in all) this is unacceptable, and it is necessary to leave unetched a central, lead-retaining, portion to which each fine lead end is attached by a very narrow neck, then to "fix" the leads by a packaging operation, and finally to chop away the lead-retaining portion (through the narrow necks) so as to leave the tips of the leads free and ready to be connected to the relevant chip pads. Unfortunately, with a lead count that is higher still--say, 50 connections per side (making 200 in all)--it becomes necessary to reduce the width of the individual leads at their "fine" end to as little as 0.05 mm (50 microns), and the sheer mechanics of fixing such fine leads, and then chopping away the lead-retaining portion, becomes almost impossible to manage. The invention of the copending British Application for Letters Patent No. 8519709 which has been assigned to the assignee of the invention and whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference. seeks to mitigate the problems by providing the "fixing" support for these very fine leads not after they have been formed but before. More specifically, this other invention suggests a technique whereby most of the thickness of the material over the whole of the lead-frame foil blank's inner area (where the inner connections to the chip will eventually be) is removed from one face to make a generally robust foil with a centrally-located recess defining a much thinner inner section, the recess is filled with some "fixing" material that will both provide support for and hold in position the thin inner section, and further material is then removed from the other face of the blank so as to form the fine inner parts of the lead-frame, these being firmly supported, and held in place, by the "fixing" material filling what was the recess in the foil. Such a technique is, of course, applicable to the preparation of many devices in which a fragile area is formed by the removal of a part of a more robust area.
The invention the subject of this other Application is defined as a method of fabricating a generally planar, sheet-like, device having a first, robust, area and, contiguous therewith, a second, fragile, area to be constructed by removal of some of the material of which the device consists, in which method:
(a) starting with a corresponding generally planar, sheet-like blank, in which both first and second areas are robust, some of the material to be removed from the blank to make the second, fragile, area is so removed from one major face of the blank, to form a recess in the blank;
(b) the thus-formed recess is filled with a fixing material, so as to support and fix in place the thin area of blank material constituting the base of the recess; and thereafter
(c) the remainder of the material to be removed from the blank to make the second, fragile, area is so removed from the other major face of the blank, so forming the required second, fragile, area supported and fixed by the fixing material and contiguous with the first, robust, area.
Unfortunately, though this defined method does enable there to be prepared devices of the type specified, and specifically to allow there to be formed by a through-mask ethcing process lead frames having extremely fine inner leads occupying the second (fragile) area, nevertheless it does suffer from one minor disadvantage for this particular use, which disadvantage arises because of the occurrence of mask undercutting during the stage of etching from the other major face. The problem can be explained as follows:
The preferred technique (using this other invention) involves removing material from the blank by an etching process, specifically a chemical etching process. In this process the blank is first coated with a masking layer, that covers the areas not to be etched away, and is then contacted with the etch solution. Naturally, the etching occurs only where the blank material is exposed--and at first this is indeed the surface. However, as the etching progresses, cutting a deeper and deeper "groove" (into the blank material) bounded by "walls" of blank material underlying, and thus protected by, the mask, so the etchant attacks not merely the "floor" of the groove but also these very walls. Thus, the etch process eats "sideways" into the blank material into the areas beneath the mask, so undercutting the mask. Of course, the degree of undercut depends on a number of factors, including the detailed crystolographic structure of the blank material and the physical way in which the enchant is allowed to contact the surface; it is common, however, for the unwanted undercut to be about half the depth of the desired etching. The net result, though, is that when the mask is removed the fine leads produced by the etching process have quite substantial, wide, bases (where little sideways etching occurred), but have extremely narrow tops (where the maximum undercutting took place). And most unfortunately it is to these tips that there must be bonded the wires connecting the leads to the chip to be mounted in the lead frame; as can be imagined, bonding these wires to leads each of which have half--or less--than the thickness they should have is quite difficult.
The present invention seeks to solve this problem by the extremely simple, but nevertheless very effective, expedient of, as it were, performing the method of this other invention in reverse--that is to say, not of first removing material from one face of the blank to form a recess, and then removing the remainder of the material from the other major face, but instead of first removing material to define the components of the proposed fragile area of the blank, supporting these with fixing material, and then removing the remaining material (to make a recess) from the other face. In this way, when using the method to make by etching the fine inner leads of a lead frame, it is the wide bases of the leads that are revealed and to which the wire connections may be bonded, rather than the "undercut" upper surfaces.
In one aspect, therefore, the present invention provides a method of fabricating a generally planar, sheet-like, device having a first, robust, area (portion) and, contiguous therewith, a second, fragile, area (portion) to be constructed by removal of some of the material of which the device consists, in which method:
(a) starting with a corresponding generally planar, sheet-like blank which can be thought of as consisting of two layers--a surface layer and a base--so that of the two major surfaces of the blank, one is formed on the base, the other on the surface layer, and in which both first and second areas are robust, some of the material to be removed from the surface layer of the blank to make the second, fragile, area is so removed from one major face of the blank over a proportion of its thickness, to form fragile components in the second areas upstanding from, and supported by, a remaining base of the blank material,
(b) the thus-formed components (those portions of the) are intimately surrounded by a fixing material so as to be firmly embedded therein, so that the fixing material supports and fixes the component in place, and thereafter;
(c) the remaining base from which the fragile components are upstanding is removed from the other major face of the blank to leave the components separated from each other, to form the required, second, fragile area having fragile portions supported and fixed by the fixing material and contiguous with portions in the first, robust, area such that each component which is formed by the removal of the base has a wide exposed surface.
The method of the invention can, as stated hereinbefore, be applied in the fabrication of numerous types of device, and examples of these are contact sets for electrical switches, and positional sensors. Nevertheless, it is especially suited to the manufacture of lead-frames, as described above, and is for the most part discussed further hereinafter with reference to such a use.
The inventive method is used in the formation of a generally planar (that is to say, flat), sheet-like, device, and starts with a corresponding generally planar, sheet-like, blank. This blank is a sheet, or foil, of material--thus, an article having an area (and length and breadth dimensions) large relative to its thickness, and so has two major faces (the two "sides" of the sheet).
The material of which the blank is constituted naturally depends upon the nature of the device to be made. For a lead-frame the material must be an electrical conductor, especially one that is sufficiently malleable to allow itself to be shaped by a bending operation (subsequent to the method of the invention the robust area of the blank will be made into the "legs" of the package, and will need to be bent--and perhaps re-bent--out of the sheet plane and into the correct shape). Typical lead-frame materials are made of a suitable metal; nickel-iron alloys of the KOVAR or INVAR type are very suitable, as are copper and copper-based alloys such as beryllium-copper, phosphor bronze (an alloy of tin and copper with up to 0.5 wt % phosphorus) and copper-iron-phosphorus alloys like OLIN 194.
The device to be fabricated is one having a first area that is robust and--contiguous therewith (and probably wholely surrounded thereby)--a second area that is fragile. The two terms "robust" and "fragile" are used in a fairly relative sense--the "fragile" area is one that is significantly less robust than the robust area, and vice versa--though where a lead-frame is concerned the "robust" area ends up as the "legs" of the final package, tough enough to withstand handling, while the "fragile" area ends up as extremely fine conductors rather more delicate than human hair.
The method of the invention involves removing material from the second area of the blank (and so making that area fragile). Naturally, the distribution of this removal--where, and how much, material is removed--depends the type of device. For a lead-frame, however, there are two distinct classes of material to be removed. One is material removed simply to "thin" the sheet over the whole of the defined, second, area, so that it becomes more suitable for forming into the inner leads of the lead-frame. The other is material removed from between those portions that are to be the leads, so separating each lead from its neighbours. In the first stage the between-lea blank material is removed from one of the blank's major faces, so leaving the formed leads flush with this major face, and standing proud from the remaining "thickness" of the blank (which therefore constitutes a base carrying the formed leads), while in the second stage that base is removed from the other major face, so ending with the leads in this area having a depth equal to roughly half the blank's original thickness.
Removal of material from the blank is accomplished by any technique suited to the intended device. Thus, the methods of removal include particle ablation and laser trimming, but--especially for lead-frames--chemical etching is the preferred technique. Of course, in this latter case the nature of the etchant will be chosen to fit the blank material; the methods are well known in the Art, and need no detailed comment here--though it may be useful simply to note that nickel iron alloys can best be etched by ferric chloride/hydrochloric acid mixtures, or nitric acid-based materials, while copper and its alloys are preferably dealt with using either ferric chloride or ammoniacal cupric chloride (REGENEX, for instance). It is also worth pointing out that etching (and, indeed, other techniques of material removal) has to be done selectively--some areas are to be removed, some not--and a convenient way to arrange this is to "mask" the areas not to be etched with a protective coating that is unaffected by the etchant to be employed. Within reason--as explained hereinbefore a degree of "undercutting" of the mask is, unfortunately, inevitable, and is the greater as the depth of the etching increases--this masking ensures that only the unmasked, exposed, areas are etched away.
In the first stage of the method of the invention material is removed from the second area of the blank (that area destined to become the fragile area of the device), to leave the intended fragile components upstanding from, and supported by, a base constituted by second area blank material that has not been removed. Thus, where in the final device, there is to be no blank material, then in those areas the material is removed--but only to a depth that is a fraction of the thickness of the blank, so that those parts of the blank that will eventually form the fragile components are left upstanding/projecting from a "base" of the remaining thickness of the blank. The actual disposition of the material to be removed will, naturally, be appropriate to the device being fabricated; for a lead-frame it is that material lying between the portions defining the inner leads, the intended fragile components being these inner leads themselves.
At the same time as material is removed from the second area of the blank it is, of course, possible to remove material from the first area (the area destined to become the robust area of the device). For example, when the device is a lead-frame it is naturally a requirement that the robust area end up as leads the outer part of which make the legs of the final package, so that somewhere along the way there must be removed from the blank's robust area all the material between those portions destined to be these leads. At least some of this surplus material can, then, be removed at the same time as the second area is thinned (when using a through-mask etching technique this is arranged quite simply by so designing the mask that the "between-leg" portions remain exposed). Over the whole of the first area the between-leg portions are consequently subjected to the same thinning as that effected to the second area, and this is in fact particularly advantageous because (as described further below) it greatly reduces the degree of undercutting of these leg portions as compared with a process wherein all of the depth of the between-leg portions is removed at one go.
Having removed material from the second area of the blank the method of the invention results in the intended fragile components being upstanding from a base. The material forming this base will, in the second stage, be removed to leave the fragile components free, so forming the final, fragile area--which, in a lead-frame, is the assembly of inner leads. However, because this final form is so fragile it is desirable to support the whole area before the second stage removal is effected, and this is done, in the method of the invention, by filling the gaps between the upstanding fragile components with a fixing material that will, as required, support and fix them in place. This fixing material can, naturally, be any appropriate to the circumstances--and, where it is not to be removed after the second stage material removal has occurred, but is to stay as a part of the final device (as is preferred where the device is a lead-frame), this fixing material will also be appropriate to the type of device. A lead-frame device is to be packaged with an electrically-insulating packaging material; conventional packaging materials are plastics (such as silica-filled epoxies like POLYSET 410B and NITTO HC10 type 2) and ceramics (such as alumina and beryllia), and clearly the fixing material should be compatible with the packaging material. Fixing materials compatible with one or other plastics packaging material are generally the thermosetting resins, specifically the epoxies (such as those named above) while those compatible with one or other ceramics packaging material are generally glasses and glass-ceramics.
The actual mode of emplacement of the fixing material may be whatever is appropriate. For example, a fixing material that is a polymerised plastics might be "injected" or "squeezed" into place in the form of a pasty but flowable pre-polymer mixture (the final polymerisation then taking place in situ); a thermoplastics fixing material might even be "melted" into place. Similarly, a glassy fixing material might likewise be applied, in an un-fired form, and then fired in situ. In one preferred case the fixing material is a glass-like lithium alumina silicate, and is deposited in a glassy state and fired in situ to convert it to a glass-ceramic state.
As intimated above, the fixing material either may be removed at some later stage or may be left in place serving some useful function.
Once the inter-fragile-component spaces have been filled with the fixing material, the material constituting the supporting base of the fragile components is removed from the other major face. As in the case of the removal of blank material in the first stage, the removal technique may be any appropriate, as described above. Moreover, as in the first stage, blank material can be removed not only from the second area but also from the first area. For example, to make a lead-frame half the thickness of first area material in the between-leg portions is removed (from one major face) in the first stage, and the rest--so separating the "legs" one from another--is removed (from the other major face) in the second stage.
Any "masking" techniques required, particularly to ensure registration of wanted and unwanted portions on one face with the corresponding wanted and unwanted portions on the other face, are well known, and need no comment here.
Having removed blank material in the second area both from one major face, and then, after supporting the formed fragile components, from the other major face, the device is complete. lf it is a lead-frame, for example, it can then be used--a chip can be mounted in the centre of the second, fragile, area surrounded by the free ends of the fine inner leads (this central portion will normally have been removed, either during the etching process or by some appropriate alternative method, perhaps as a preliminary measure), these leads can be connected (by wire-bonding, perhaps) to the relevant chip pads, the whole may then be encased in some suitable protector material (often by placing it in a small "box" sealed with a separate lid), but with the remains of the robust blank area--the "leg" portions--projecting therefrom and ready to be bent or otherwise mechanically shaped into the desired "leg" form. Alternatively, the lead-frame may be incorporated within an empty, chip-less open-top package (so that at some subsequent time the chip may be inserted into place and its pads connected up to the inner leads, and a lid attached and sealed shut). The process of making such a device is described hereinafter in more detail with reference to the accompanying Drawings and the Examples. It is here useful to note that the lead-frame as first constructed commonly has integrated therewith a whole series of strengthening and retaining members (some of which may be of a plastics, or other non-conducting substance, that is laid in place after the first face treatment but before the second face treatment), together with a series of test points conductively connected to the "leg" portions; some of these extra features of the lead-frame are removed once the completed chip-containing package has been made, while others are removed after the package and its contents have been tested.
The invention extends, of course, to a device, particularly a lead-frame, whenever fabricated by the method of the invention.
Various embodiments of the invention are now described, though by way of illustration only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIGS. 1A, B, C and D form a sequence of perspective, diagrammatic, views showing symbolically the application of the method of the invention;
FIGS. 2A, B and C form another sequence of perspective, diagrammatic, views showing the various stages in the application of the inventive method to the fabrication of a leadframe.
FIGS. 3A, B and C show three "plan" views of three leadframe layouts before actual use;
FIGS. 4A, B and C show respectively end elevation see-through, perspective and top-plan see-through views of a DIP employing a leadframe fabricated according to the invention; and
FIGS. 5A to G form a sequence of sectional, diagrammatic, views showing symbolically the application of the method of the invention.
It is convenient first to consider the sequence of operations illustrated by the FIG. 5A to G series. It is generally as follows:
(A) The starting point is a blank (10)--a sheet of the appropriate material (in a leadframe this would be a conductive metal such as NILO K).
(B) The blank is protected on one surface--the upper surface as viewed--with a mask (14) defining the form of the required fragile area. In a leadframe this area would be that containing the fine inner leads.
(C) Blank material is removed, through the mask, to roughly half the blank's depth. Undercutting (as 19) takes place.
(D) After removal of the mask (not shown separately) the thus-formed fragile area is encapsulated with fixing material (13). When making a lead frame this material is conveniently a non-conductive glass.
(E) The lower surface (as viewed) of the blank is now protected with a second mask (11) defining the area that is about to be transformed into the desired fragile area.
(F) Blank material is removed, through this second mask, right "down" to the fixing-material-supported parts of the fragile area (the leadframe's fine inner leads), so forming the desired fragile area (generally 15) supported by the fixing material 13.
(G) The mask is then removed.
The sequence of operations illustrated by the FIGS. 1A, B, C and D series is generally as follows:
(A) a planar, sheet-like blank 10 of leadframe material that is overall of a robust construction is protected on one surface (the upper surface, as viewed) with a mask (11) defining the form of the required fragile area.
(B) Blank material is then removed, through the mask, to a depth of roughly half the blank's thickness, so forming a recess (12) in the upper surface, and this recess is then filled with sufficient fixing material 13 to support both the fragile area formed in the final stage, and the immediate surrounds thereof.
(C) The lower surface (as viewed) of the leadframe blank is now protected with a second mask 14 defining the whole of the area which is to be transformed into the required fragile area.
(D) Blank material is then removed, through this second mask, right through to the fixing-material-filled recess 12, so forming the desired fragile area 15 supported by the fixing material 13.
FIGS. 2A, B and C are a series of perspective views from above (A and B) and from below (C) showing various stages in the formation of a leadframe. FIG. 2A depicts the stage after removal of blank material from one major surface so as to define the fragile inner leads (as 25). At the same time, there is removed half the thickness of the blank material elsewhere--the between-leg portion--so as to form in part the outer leads/legs (as 22) of the desired leadframe. In FIG. 2B there can be seen in place the fixing material (23), which takes the form of a square "ring" of material moulded snugly over the inner leads and leaving a chip-sized central area (24) unfilled. Finally, FIG. 2C shows from below (as viewed) the leadframe after the remaining unwanted blank material has been removed. From this Figure it will be clear how the fragile inner leads 25 are safely supported by the ring of fixing material 23 while the outer leads 22 now stand free, and support themselves.
The views of FIGS. 3A, B and C are top plan views of three different lead frames. That of FIG. 3A corresponds to the leadframe of FIG. 2C, that of FIG. 3B relates to a yet more realistic leadframe, while that of FIG. 3C is a slightly enlarged view of a real leadframe.
The leadframe of FIG. 3B is a four-sided device with 13 leads (as 31) a side (making 52 leads in all). Each lead has a fine, fragile, inner portion (as 31i) and a relatively robust outer portion (as 31o). Within the general area of the inner leads 31i there is a square ring-like lead support (of lead fixing material) whose inner edge is defined by the inner tips of the leads and whose outer edge is shown by the perimeter line (32). Further out from this perimeter is a line (33) indicating where the boundary of the package, forming the desired flat pack, will lie, and just beyond this is a first lead support ring (34) of a nonconductive plastics. Much beyond that, in the robust outer lead area, is a second non-conductive lead support ring (35), and beyond that still is a peripheral band of leadframe blank material (36) temporarily holding the outer ends of the leads together in registration. Finally, just within the second support ring 35 each lead widens into a test contact portion (as 37).
The preparation of the leadframe of FIG. 3B is as follows. First, from one major side of a blank, there is removed, to half the depth of the blank, all the material between both the inner leads and the outer leads/legs, save for the outer ring 36. Next, the fixing-material inner ring (like 23 in FIG. 3A) is placed in position. Then, all the rest of the blank material between the outer leads/legs, and all the remaining material within the recess periphery (as defined by line 32) is removed from the other side. The finished lead-frame may then be attached to the material which serves as the base of the flat pack. Finally, after possibly bending the leads into the shape required for use, the two support rings 34, 35 are placed in position.
At this stage, a chip may be mounted and connected up to the leadframe, the outer blank material ring 36 may be cut off, and the correct working of the chip tested by signals and power sent in and out via the test pads 37; a protective covering may be added; and finally the leads may be cut just outside the first support ring 34 and bent (if not already done) into the required shape for use.
FIG. 3C shows, slightly enlarged, the lead layout of a real leadframe. It is comparable to FIG. 3B without the latter's two non-conductive support rings, but has 50 leads a side (making 200 leads in all).
Finally, the sequence of FIGS. 4A, B and C shows various views of a simple Dual Inline Package using a leadframe fabricated in accordance with the invention. FIG. 4B gives a general, perspective view from above, while FIGS. 4A and B are respectively a see-through end elevation and a see-through top plan. From these two see-through views it will be apparent that the leadframe has 12 leads (41, 6 on each of the two opposed long sides) that each have a fragile inner portion (41i) and a robust outer portion (41o). The inner portions 41i are supported by a "slab" (42) of fixing material, and mounted on that, and connected by wires (as 43) to the inner portions 41i, is the chip (44). The whole is encased in a protective package (45), with the ends of the lead outer portions 41o projecting therefrom to form legs.
The following Example is given, though again by way of illustration only, to show details of one preferred method of the invention.
In the normal way a 0.1 mm sheet of NILO K (an alloy of 54 wt % iron, 29 wt % nickel and 17 wt % cobalt) was cut to size, pierced with the requisite tooling/locating apertures, and then vapour degreased to remove its oily protective coating. The surface was then de-oxidised and slightly roughened (abraded) by passing it through a conventional pumice jet scrubber.
Using a standard dry film resist laminator, a 0.025 mm layer of a UV-sensitive photo-resist (Dupont's RISTON, a polyvinyl-glycidyl acrylate) was applied to each side of the blank. The coated blank was then located in an imager (a Dupont PC Printer Lightbox), and exposed for a suitable intensity/time to UV light through an appropriate artwork master mask, causing partial polymeration of the unshielded resist layer areas. After removal of the unexposed (unpolymerised) resist, by passing the blank through a resist developer containing CHLOROTHENE (a trichloroethane-based solvent), the remaining resist was baked at 80� C. (to complete the polymerisation). The thus-masked blank was then spray etched, using a conventional ferric chloride etchant at 30� C. for sufficient time (a few minutes) to allow the etchant to penetrate about 0.05 mm--half the blank thickness--into the blank material. After washing, the remaining resist was then removed by passing the blank through a bath of SYNSTRYP solvent (based on dichloromethane). At this stage the blank had the complete lead pattern--both the larger outer leads and the very much finer inner leads--etched on one side to a depth halfway through the material.
In order to enhance the adhesion of the subsequent glass material to the leadframe, a "furnace oxide" coating was then formed on the blank surface by heating the blank in nitrogen with some oxygen in a furnace to around 900� C. over a period of half an hour. Then, using a graphite frame to locate and contain it, a finely powdered lithium aluminosilicate glass was applied to the half-etched fine inner lead area of the blank and fixed into place by fusing in a furnace to about 900� C. In this way the glass flowed around, and "encapsulated", the fine leads.
After deoxidising the blank (by a 5 minute dip in 50% hydrochloric acid at 65� C.), the techniques described in Stage 2 above were used to form a photoresist coating on the non-glassed surface, convert this into an appropriate etch-resistant mask (the glassed surface was additionally given an etch-resistant coating of Robertsons Chemicals' Resist 1993, an air-drying liquid resist), etch away the unwanted blank material (so defining the "bottom" half of the large outer leads, and removing all the material in the area "underneath" the fine inner leads), and remove the residue of the photoresist coating. The result was the desired leadframe, having large, self-supporting outer leads having a depth equal to that of the original blank and being integral with the glass-supported fine inner leads having half that depth.
|Cited Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Nov 26, 1968
|Oct 6, 1970
|Avco Corp
|Printed circuit module and process for making the module
|Jul 7, 1967
|Nov 10, 1970
|Mitronics Inc
|Method of making lead array for connection to miniature electrical device such as a chip
|Apr 5, 1971
|Jan 16, 1973
|Microsystems Int Ltd
|Plastic support means for lead frame ends
|Jul 22, 1971
|Mar 5, 1974
|Siemens Ag
|Method of contacting a semiconductor body having a plurality of electrodes utilizing sheet metal electric leads
|May 26, 1982
|Sep 13, 1983
|Livshits Vladimir I
|Process for manufacturing panels to be used in microelectronic systems
|Feb 9, 1984
|Apr 9, 1985
|Mesa Technology
|Testable tape for bonding leads to semiconductor die and process for manufacturing same
|Title not available
|Citing Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Aug 25, 1988
|Apr 24, 1990
|Tetsuya Hojyo
|Method of molding a pin holder on a lead frame
|Dec 5, 1989
|Jan 22, 1991
|Digital Equipment Corporation
|Alignment of leads for ceramic integrated circuit packages
|Apr 20, 1989
|Mar 12, 1991
|Honeywell Inc.
|Package to board variable pitch tab
|Feb 15, 1989
|Apr 23, 1991
|Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
|Method of manufacturing laminated ceramic electronic component
|Jun 16, 1989
|Jun 11, 1991
|Ngk Insulators, Ltd.
|Minutely patterned structure
|Dec 21, 1989
|Jul 23, 1991
|Amdahl Corporation
|Tape automated bonding leads having a stiffener and a method of bonding with same
|Aug 20, 1990
|Dec 3, 1991
|Western Digital Corporation
|Plated plastic castellated interconnect for electrical components
|Mar 1, 1991
|Mar 31, 1992
|Ngk Insulators, Ltd.
|Method of producing a minutely patterned structure
|Sep 11, 1990
|Mar 16, 1993
|Hughes Aircraft Company
|Apparatus and method using a permanent mandrel for manufacture of electrical circuitry
|Feb 24, 1992
|Aug 3, 1993
|Texas Instruments Incorporated
|Balanced capacitance lead frame for integrated circuits and integrated circuit device with separate conductive layer
|Sep 14, 1992
|Oct 19, 1993
|Die Tech, Inc.
|Method of making an integrated circuit substrate lead assembly
|Sep 28, 1992
|Dec 14, 1993
|Lsi Logic Products Gmbh
|Lead frame for a multiplicity of terminals
|Jul 9, 1992
|Feb 15, 1994
|Semiconductor die packages having lead support frame
|Mar 28, 1994
|Mar 21, 1995
|Eastman Kodak Company
|Tape automated bonding for electrically connecting semiconductor chips to substrates
|Aug 9, 1994
|Oct 3, 1995
|National Semiconductor Corporation
|Method for manufacturing fine pitch lead frame
|Jan 19, 1995
|Nov 14, 1995
|Lsi Logic Products Gmbh
|Lead frame for a multiplicity of terminals
|Sep 9, 1994
|Apr 30, 1996
|Sun Microsystems, Inc.
|Inorganic chip-to-package interconnection circuit
|Sep 19, 1994
|Apr 8, 1997
|Gold Star Electron Co., Ltd.
|Semiconductor package and method for assembling the same
|Aug 11, 1995
|May 27, 1997
|Shinko Electric Industries Co., Ltd.
|Lead frame and process of producing such a frame
|Nov 13, 1995
|Aug 12, 1997
|Lsi Logic Products Gmbh
|Lead frame for a multiplicity of terminals
|Jun 12, 1995
|Nov 4, 1997
|Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.
|Process for etching a semiconductor lead frame
|Jan 16, 1996
|Oct 6, 1998
|Olin Corporation
|Enhanced wire-bondable leadframe
|Oct 27, 1994
|Nov 24, 1998
|Texas Instruments Incorporated
|Process of packaging an integrated circuit with a conductive material between a lead frame and the face of the circuit
|Jun 17, 1997
|Aug 17, 1999
|Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.
|Semiconductor lead frame
|Mar 12, 1997
|Aug 31, 1999
|Staktek Corporation
|Apparatus and method of manufacturing a warp resistant thermally conductive integrated circuit package
|Oct 8, 1997
|Dec 28, 1999
|Texas Instruments Incorporated
|Carrier tape and manufacturing method of said carrier tape
|Jun 17, 1997
|Dec 28, 1999
|Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.
|Process for etching a semiconductor lead frame
|Jan 28, 2000
|Feb 6, 2001
|Tessera, Inc.
|Methods of making microelectronic packages utilizing coining
|Feb 28, 2012
|Mar 25, 2014
|Infineon Technologies Ag
|Device including a semiconductor chip and metal foils
|Nov 18, 2008
|Oct 21, 2010
|Cambridge Display Technology Ltd.
|Organic Thin Film Transistors, Active Matrix Organic Optical Devices and Methods of Making the Same
|Feb 28, 2012
|Mar 21, 2013
|Infineon Technologies Ag
|Device including a semiconductor chip and metal foils
|Jul 8, 1997
|Aug 12, 1998
|Motorola, Inc.
|A glass/metal package and method for producing the same
|Jul 8, 1997
|Jun 9, 1999
|Motorola Inc
|A glass/metal package and method for producing the same
|Jun 28, 1988
|Jan 12, 1989
|Western Digital Corporation
|Plated plastic castellated interconnect for electrical components
|U.S. Classification
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Oct 9, 1986
Owner name: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, P.C.L., THE, 1 STANHOPE
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNOR:JARVIS, CHARLES R.;REEL/FRAME:004616/0219
Effective date: 19861006
|Oct 22, 1991
|Maintenance fee reminder mailed
|Mar 22, 1992
|Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees
|May 26, 1992
|Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee
Effective date: 19920322


text:
Maggie Gyllenhaal cements her reputation as a gifted, if somewhat aloof, actress in Laurie Collyer's sad character piece. show more
Buoyed by Gyllenhaal's hauntingly complex portrait of the vivacious but addictive Sherry, the film is no mere by-the-numbers chronology of addiction. Gyllenhaal's sympathetic and charismatic performance binds us to the horror of Sherry's personal demons. show more
Sherrybaby is the kind of pretend-arty Sundance thing that gives indie cinema a bad name. show more


text:
James Swinehart
- Contact Information
- My Story
- Publications & Presentations
- Background
- Expertise & Interests
- Grants
- Advising
- Courses Taught
- Outreach
|Emeritus Research Geologist
818 Atlanta Avenue
Webster Groves MO
|Download file
When Jim Swinehart moved to Nebraska, the California native didn't plan on staying for long. Forty years later, in 2010, Swinehart achieved professor emeritus status, having concluded a successful career as a research geologist and professor in the geology and soils faculty, in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Swinehart was also a faculty member of the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences from 1995 to 2008.
Swinehart's career has focused on stratigraphy, the study of how rock and sediment layers (strata) are arranged in time and space; and sedimentology, which examines the origin, structure and history of sediments and sedimentary rocks. His research focused on the evolution of the landscape and Cenozoic stratigraphy of Nebraska and the Great Plains, and the geologic history of the dunes, lakes and wetlands of the Nebraska Sand Hills and north-central China.
In the early 90s, Swinehart began focusing on the dune fields of western Nebraska. He worked with a team of researchers to examine the biocomplexity of the Nebraska Sand Hills. He also worked with colleagues in UNL's Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences to look at the history of dune reactivation during the past 20,000 years, and on mechanisms that control lake-aquifer salinization at both the local and regional or watershed scales in the Sand Hills. Both projects funded by the National Science Foundation.
Swinehart was also involved in geologic mapping and test drilling in western Nebraska. At the end of a long career, he says he feels fortunate to have collaborated with colleagues like Jim Goeke, Bob Diffendal, Joe Mason, Vern Souders, Hal DeGraw, David Loope, Ron Goble, Mike Voorhies and a host of students.
"It was one of those things where you learn on the job and the next thing you know you're an expert," he said.
Swinehart recalls fondly what he called "the drudgery of field and lab work" - using tweezers to pick out tiny seeds for radiocarbon dating, long days drilling test holes in "the boonies of Nebraska," and working outdoors in all weather conditions. Sharing his work with students in the field was a career highlight, he said.
"Field work always had unexpected turns, whether it was being chased out of a pasture by angry bulls or those few, unpredictable 'aha!' moments - leaps of understanding - when your brain makes connections that allow you to see the solution to a big puzzle you've been agonizing over for a long time."
Somewhere in the midst of all the traveling and field work, the state really started to grow on him. "I realized that if you just drove the interstate across Nebraska there'd be a reason you'd keep going, but between the Niobrara River, the Sand Hills, the Pine Ridge, there turned out to be some really nifty geologic phenomena," he said.
The success of the Sand Hills research led to four years of fieldwork in the dune fields of Inner Mongolia of northern China. Working with Ron Goble, UNL Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences; Joe Mason, University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Lu Huayu, Nanjing University; the research looked at dune activity and associated hydrologic change and dust production over the last 20,000 years.
One of the issues examined in both the Sand Hills and China was how the landscapes might change with extended drought brought on by climate change, a topic he started to devote considerable attention to in his environmental geology classes.
"Climate change went from one lecture to two, to two weeks - at which point it was clouding all the other things we had to talk about," he recalled. So when Don Wilhite, then director of the School of Natural Resources, proposed a class on it for undergraduates, Swinehart jumped at the opportunity. With Ken Dewey, he created "Climate in Crisis," which he and Ken co-taught for two years with help from Martha Shulski of the High Plains Regional Climate Center.
Swinehart said he plans to keep talking to the public about climate change as a guest lecturer at schools and universities. He also plans on doing a fair amount of traveling, exploring the geology of the Southwest, visiting children and a grandchild in Colorado, and kicking off retirement with a kayak tour along the coast of British Columbia.
Selected Publications
|Fielding, C.R., LaGarry, H. E., LaGarry, L. A., Bailey, B. E., and Swinehart, J. B., 2007. Sedimentology of the Whiteclay Gravel Beds (Ogallala Group) in northwestern Nebraska, USA: Structurally controlled drainage promoted by Early Miocene uplift of the Balch Hills Dome. Sedimentary Geology 200, 58-71.
|Harvey, F.E., J.B. Swinehart and T.M. Kurtz, 2007, Ground Water Sustenance of Unique Ecosystems: Nebraska�s Sand Hills Peatland Fens, Ground Water
|Miao, X., Mason, J.A., Swinehart, J.B., Loope, D.B., Hanson, P.R., Goble, R.J., Liu, X., 2007, A 10,000-year record of dune activity, dust storms, and drought in the central Great Plains, Geology
|Zlotnik, V.A., Burbach, M.E., Swinehart, J.B., Bennett, D., Fritz, S.C., Loope, D.B., and F. Olaguera, 2007. Direct push methods for aquifer characterization in dune-lake environments: The Nebraska Sand Hills, Environmental and Engineering Geosciences.
|Sridhar, V., D.B. Loope, J.B. Swinehart, J.A. Mason, R.J. Oglesby, and C.M. Rowe (2006) Large wind shift on the Great Plains during the Medival Warm Period, Science, 313, 345-347.
|Lu, H.,X. Miao, Y.Zhou, J. Mason, J. Swinehart, J. Zhang, L. Zhou, S. Yi , 2005, Late Quaternary aeolian activity in the Mu Us and Otindag dune fields (north China) and lagged response to isolation forcing. American Geophysical Union, v 32, p. 716-720.
|Nicholson, B.J. and Swinehart, J.B., 2005, Evidence of Holocene climate change in a Nebraska Sandhills wetland. Great Plains Research, v. 15, pp. 45-67.
|Goble, R. J., J. A. Mason, D. B. Loope, and J. B. Swinehart. 2004. Optically stimulated luminescence and radiocarbon ages of stacked paleosols and dune sands in the Nebraska Sand Hills, USA. Quaternary Science Reviews 23:1173-1182.
|Mason, J. A., J. B. Swinehart, R. J. Goble, and D. B. Loope. 2004. Late Holocene dune activity linked to hydrological drought, Nebraska Sand Hills, USA. The Holocene 14: 209-217.
|Mason, J.,Swinehart, J.,Hyhua, L., Miao, X., in press. Limited change in dune mobility in response to a large decrease in wind power in semi-arid northern China since the 1970s. Geomorphology.
Educational Background
- BS - University of California-Riverside, Geology (1964)
- MS - University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Geology (1979)
SNR Mission Area(s)
- Environmental Science
Areas of Interest
- Stratigraphy
- Sedimentology of eolian and fluvial sediments
- Origin, Structure and history (petrology) of rocks/sediments
- Environmental geology
- Geological mapping
- Geology
- Landscape evolution/structure
- Mineral resources/identification
- Petrology
- Quaternary geology
- Sand Hills
- Sedimentology
- Arikaree Group (fossils, sediments, stratigraphy, water-bearing properties, etc)
- Hydrology
- Surficial (near-surface) geology
Currently this page only displays grants that were awarded on 1/1/2009 to the present. If a grant was awarded prior to 1/1/2009 and is still active, it will not be displayed on this page.There no Grants found for this selection.
|Graduate Program(s)


text:
Itâs tough to run a convention and visitorâs bureau when you have no convention center. Just ask Wayne Austin, president and CEO of the San Bernardino agency.
When convention space is needed, âwe have to put people at the Orange Show,â Austin said. On occasion, he said, they use the Million Air Terminal at the San Bernardino âInternationalâ Airport.
San Bernardino actually has a convention center. Itâs just that itâs closed. And it has been that way for nearly four years. Also closed is the former Clarion Hotel, of which the convention center is a part. It stands like a 12-story vacant house.
Signs out front say the hotel is under renovation. And there are occasional signs of minimal activity in the place. But Emil Marzullo, interim executive director of the San Bernardino Economic Development Agency, said the Bahrain-based company that owns the structure is in breach of its lease.
Marzullo said he doesnât believe the company is serious about doing anything with the property and his agency is taking action, although he said he could not go into detail.
âWe have some other actions to call them on the fact that the hotel has been closed now going on four years,â Marzullo said.
People who have been around for awhile can remember when, at different points in time, the Clarion, the Radisson, the Maruko and the Ramada (in preceding order) thrived in the building, if only for a short time.
Whatâs hard to imagine is that 80 years ago, there wasnât just one, but three prominent hotels on E Street between Third and Fourth streets. The Stewart and Antlers hotels were near Third Street, while the California Hotel sat at the southwest corner of Fourth and E.
None of them were small operations. The Antlers had 150 rooms. The Stewart offered 100. Both had amenities such as restaurants, barber shops and lounges.
But the crown jewel of the city in the late 1920s was the California, with 106 hotel rooms, 24 apartments, 20 offices and 13 stores and shops. The place had a dining room, a ballroom and a rooftop garden. Celebrities from Los Angeles were frequent visitors, and the hotel hosted most of the galas in the city.
As early as 1854, San Bernardino had a hotel. It was part of a tavern owned by Bishop Crosby. It sat at what is now Third Street and Arrowhead Avenue. One early visitor, Judge Hayes, wrote about the fledgling city, noting that local crops included grapes, peaches and other fruit trees.
âThis year, the wheat was raised in a common field amounting to near 4,000 acres,â Hayes wrote. âThey have a fine flouring mill in operation, six sawmills on the neighboring mountains, and streams that might turn the machinery of the largest manufacturing town in the whole world.â
Things were bustling then. The same was true nearly 80 years later when the city of just 40,000 people was able to support the three major downtown hotels, as well as some smaller ones.
Which begs the question: Why, with a population five times that size, canât anyone seem to make a downtown hotel last?
Austin blames part of it on the shift in business to the Hospitality Lane area, where several hotels have more than a decade under their belts and two more have been added in the past few years. The other factor, he said, is poor management.
But he admitted that part of it is just âa mystery.â
âI think we can keep a good-sized hotel going down there,â he said. âI think that a 230-room hotel renovated with a nice franchise in it ⦠will do just fine.â
If not, maybe someone can do some digging and find some answers in the past.
Reach Mark Muckenfuss at 951-368-9595 or firstname.lastname@example.com
Mark Muckenfuss


text:
Dana DeArmond's Pornstar Vacation
See how nasty things get when we give Dana DeArmond a camera. Read More
Studio: Shane's World
Sign In or Create Account to rate.
Keywords: Spooning, Anal, Small Tits, Black Hair, Natural Breasts, Blowjob, Masturbation, Big Ass, Reverse Cowgirl, Fingering Pop Shot: Anal Creampie
Keywords: Big Tits, Lesbian, Natural Breasts, Rimming, Masturbation, Big Ass, Fingering
Keywords: Blonde, Missionary, Anal, Small Tits, Doggie Style, Natural Breasts, Blowjob, Rimming, Big Ass Pop Shot: Anal Creampie
Keywords: Missionary, Anal, Small Tits, Doggie Style, Natural Breasts, Blowjob, Big Ass, Brunette Pop Shot: Anal Creampie
See how nasty things get when we give Dana DeArmond a camera and send her off on a vacation to London with Bobbi Starr and some of their other sex crazed friends. Watch as the girls go in search of "Big Ben" and attend a kinky voyeur party where Dana shows a Euro stud and his friends what makes her "fucking" famous, plus Bobbi Starr showing a Brit guy how tight her ass can grip his huge cock. They do all the nasty things you would expect and more when we hand the camera over to a pornstar.
Runtime (Stream, Download): 150 minutes
Studio: Shane's World
Browse Similar
Reviews & RatingsRate and Review It
Sign In or Create Account to save favorites.
You have reached the favorite limit. You will need to delete some to save favorites.


text:
Is A.L.S. Packing Services incorrect or missing key business information? Update your Hotfrog listing today.
Contact details
Are these details correct?
Hotfrog Singapore provides information regarding A.L.S. Packing Services in Singapore. A.L.S. Packing Services is located at 5 Sungei Kadut St 5 Sungei Kadut Industrial Estate, Singapore 728952 and provides Packaging services. Contact them on 6365 2118 or by visiting them on their website http://www.alspack.com.
Is A.L.S. Packing Services in 5 Sungei Kadut St 5 Sungei Kadut Industrial Estate, Singapore 728952 your business? Claim your listing and attract more leads by adding more content, photos and other business details.
We have more Packaging services in Singapore available on Hotfrog Singapore. You can update your search for Singapore Packaging by location, keyword or service options.
Small Business Hub
Sharing tips, ideas and advice to help grow your small business.
Create your free Hotfrog business profile
Follow Hotfrog on:
Share on:
Hotfrog Small Business Hub


text:
At first sight Eddie Redmayne, Benedict Cumberbatch and Damian Lewis may have little in common with leading judges, doctors, civil servants and military chiefs.
Yet acting has joined those elite professions whose prominent members are drawn disproportionately from people educated at fee-charging schools. Of awarding-winning British actors, only 23 per cent went to non- selective state schools, compared with 35 per cent who attended grammar schools and 42 per cent who went to independent schools, according to an analysis by the Sutton Trust. Colin Firth, who attended a comprehensive school in Winchester, is in a minority.
That is a sharp


text:
China's Sovereign Wealth Fund to Purchase Stake in IKangMiles Weiss
China's sovereign wealth fund agreed to pay $40 million for a stake of about 4.6 percent in iKang Healthcare Group Inc., the Beijing-based provider of preventive care that filed earlier this month for an initial public offering in the U.S.
China Investment Corp., which had about $575 billion in assets as of January, will buy iKang shares at the IPO price, according to documents filed yesterday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
IKang describes itself as the largest provider in China's private preventive health-care services market, with a nationwide network of 42 medical centers. The company generated 79 percent of its revenue during the first nine months of last year by contracting to provide examination services to the employees and clients of corporate customers.
In April, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and the Government of Singapore Investment Corp., another sovereign wealth fund, agreed to invest about $100 million in iKang.
Best Investment Corp., a unit of China Investment, would receive 1.54 million iKang Class A shares, assuming the health-care company's American depositary shares sell for $13 each in the IPO. The Class A shares, which aren't publicly traded, each equal two iKang American depositary shares, which will be listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market after the offering.