A system and method for auctioning items establishes a form of reverse auction. In standard reverse auctions, buyers post offers to buy and sellers respond with bids. The present system includes the additional capability of bundling multiple buyer s' requests to buy common items. The present system also includes the capability of enablin g both the buyers and sellers to modify the offers and bids,...

Methods of forming integrated circuit capacitors include the steps of forming a lower electrode of a capacitor by forming a conductive layer pattern (e.g., silicon layer) on a semiconductor substrate and then forming a hemispherical grain (HSG) silicon surface layer of first conductivity type on the conductive layer pattern. The inclusion of a HSG silicon surface layer on an outer surface of the c...

A conductive structure, including an adhesion layer and a conductor in contact with the adhesion layer and having a thickness of less than six hundred Angstroms. The present invention may be used to form a capacitor, including an adhesion layer, a first conductor in contact with the adhesion layer and having a thickness of less than six hundred Angstroms, a second conductor, and a dielectric betwe...

A method for forming HSG polysilicon with reduced dielectric bridging and increased capacitance. A first polysilicon layer is deposited and doped with impurities to increase conductivity. A second polysilicon layer is deposited at a reduced temperature to cause a nucleation of the second polysilicon layer. Grains are formed on the surface of the second polysilicon layer as a result of the nucleati...

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a fiber reinforced composite comprising the steps of (i) preparing a mould; (ii) filling the cavity of the mould with a fiber-reinforced polymerizable material comprising an organic matrix and a fiber component embedded within the matrix; (iii) applying pressure to the fiber-reinforced polymerizable material; and (iv) curing the fiber-reinforced ...

A separator circuit receives a stream of data including both audio and video components. The separator circuit separates the audio and video components for transmission to appropriate devices. In the preferred embodiment, the separator circuit is part of a decompression engine which decompresses the received stream of data and also separates the audio and video components. Preferably, the decompre...

In a display unit for a motor vehicle, a display (2) designed as an LCD is arranged in the same plane as a dial plate (1) of a pointer-type instrument. For this purpose, the dial plate (1) has a cutout into which the display (2) is bonded. This makes the display (2) and the dial plate (1) particularly easy to read.

A screen apparatus includes a holographic optical element and a diffuser. The holographic optical element may be constructed using standard techniques known in the field of holography. The holographic optical element may be used to replace a typical Fresnel lens used in projection screen apparatuses. In operation, the holographic optical element receives image light from an image engine or project...

A device for minimizing displacements of the heart when performing a beating heart surgical procedure including two heart engaging members. The heart engaging members are slidably coupled to a retractor. The heart engaging members may be rotated and extended as necessary to reach the target site on the patient's heart. The heart engaging members have curved distal ends which are configured to enga...

A method and apparatus determines continuously mean cardiac output by measuring the arterial pressure e.g. at a finger and calculating therefrom the mean arterial pressure and the time constant of the arterial system (in diastole). Compliance values are provided from a table. Mean cardiac output is then the product of mean arterial pressure and compliance divided by the time constant. Changes in c...

A method and a device for the output of operating information for a driver information device having an output unit, an operating unit and a processing unit. Using the method and device, operating information for the functions of the driver information device can be output in a help state in a simple way.

A circuit board with protrusions at desired locations on a wiring pattern that on the surface of the board. The protrusions are made of the same conductive material used in the wiring pattern, and formed unitarily and simultaneously with the wiring pattern. Conductive material is filled into grooves having different depths and formed on a film. The filled conductive material is transferred onto th...

The invention relates generally to a process and apparatus for treating biosolids resulting from the treatment of biological wastewater streams. The invention relates to autothermal aerobic treatment of biosolids where temperature is controlled by adjusting the amount of shear generated through jet aeration devices. The invention provides for a truly aerobic environment under which thermophilic mi...

In the substrate for a semiconductor device of the present invention, a second substrate having an opening portion is adhered on a first flat substrate. The opening portion makes the surface of the first substrate exposed and contains a semiconductor chip. Chip connection terminals to be connected to the semiconductor chip are provided on the second substrate. External connection terminals are pro...

The invention relates to a method of performing handover in a mobile radio system. The mobile radio system performs quality measurements on signals transmitted (300) between a mobile terminal and predetermined radio base stations. Handover is performed (301, 302, 303) when some of the measured signal strengths exceeds the signal strength for the radio base station to which the mobile terminal for ...

A vascular implant formed of a compressible foam material has a compressed configuration from which it is expansible into a configuration substantially conforming to the shape and size of a vascular site to be embolized. Preferably, the implant is formed of a hydrophilic, macroporous foam material, having an initial configuration of a scaled-down model of the vascular site, from which it is compre...

A method of producing a polyphosphate, orthophosphate, phosphonate or the like chemical treatment cake is disclosed. Conventional commercially available treatment material is obtained in powder form and mixed with water to initiate an exothermic reaction. The material is then poured into a mold and placed inside an insulated hermetic cabinet and allowed to quiescently cool in the passive environme...

A film is made of an elastic material. The film is stretched in at least one direction in parallel to a surface of the film. Then, through-holes are punched in the film be means of needles, in a state the film is stretched. After the punching is completed, the stretching is terminated, so that the film recovers its original shape.

Proper data is selected from a plurality of data which are multiplexed and transmitted to download the proper data. The maker and model of a receiver and the version of a control program are stored in a load section as a maker ID, a model ID, and a version ID. The section number and the total number of sections are also stored. It is checked whether the maker ID and the model ID coincide with thos...

Method, system and computer program product are provided for adaptively encoding in hardware, software or a combination thereof a series of still or partially still pictures using motion video encoding. A pre-encode statistics measurement unit is employed to derive statistics on each frame of the sequence of video frames to be encoded. The statistics are determinative of whether the frame comprise...