1461154119-a426ef4f-daba-4e2e-a5e4-c46f7fad2ade

1. A method of treating glaucoma or ocular hypertension which comprises applying to the eye of a person in an amount sufficient to treat ocular hypertension or glaucoma of a compound of formula III
R is selected from the group consisting of H, halogen and C1-5 alkyl;
R1 is selected from the group consisting of H and halogen;
R2 is selected from the group consisting of H, C1-5 alkyl, halogen, XC1-5 alkyl, C1-5 alkylOR13, C1-5 alkylN(R13)2,
N(R13)2, XC1-5 alkylN(R13)2 and XC1-5 alkylOR3, wherein
X is O or S(O)n and
n is 0 or an integer of from 1 to 2;
R4 is selected from the group consisting of H, C2-5 alkenyl, C1-5 alkyl, C1-5 alkylOR13 and C1-5 alkylN(R13)2;
R5, R7, R9 and R11 are independently selected from the group consisting of H, C1-5 alkyl, C1-5 alkylOR13, and OR13; or R5 may represent O and
R13 is selected from the group consisting of H, C1-5 alkyl and C3-8 cyclic alkyl, or two R13 groups, together with N or O, may form a cyclic ring such as a piperidine or morpholine ring; and provided that any of said alkyl groups may be substituted with a hetero atom containing radical, wherein said heteroatom is selected from the group consisting of halogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur, R8 and R12 may, together, form a cyclic ring, and when Q is menthadiene, R1 and R2 are H and Y is hydroxyl, R may not be H or alkyl.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein R is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, methyl, bromo and chloro; R1 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, methyl and chloro, R2 is hydrogen, R5, R7, R9, and R11 are hydrogen and R4 is isopropenyl.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein said compound is
4-(1-isopropyl-4-methyl-1,2,5,6-tetra-hydropyridin-2-yl)-5-methylbenzene-1,3-diol.
4. A pharmaceutical composition which is an ophthalmic solution comprising a therapeutically effective amount of a compound according to claim 1.
5. The ophthalmic solution of claim 4 comprising at least one ingredient selected from the group of an ophthalmically acceptable preservative, buffer system, antioxidant and chelating agent.
6. A pharmaceutical product, comprising a container adapted to dispense its contents in metered form; and an ophthalmic solution therein, as defined in claim 4.
7. A method for treating glaucoma or intraocular pressure which comprises applying to the eye an amount sufficient to treat ocular hypertension of a combination of drugs which include a first drug which is a compound according to claim 1 and a second drug selected from the group consisting of \u03b1-blockers, adrenergic agonists, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, cholinergic agonists, chlolinesterase inhibitors, glutamate antagonists, prostamides and prostaglandins.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein said second drug is a P-blocker selected from the group consisting of carteolol, levobunolol, metiparanolol, timolol hemihydrate, timolol maleate, and betaxolol, or pharmaceutically acceptable salts or prodrugs thereof.
9. The method of claim 7 wherein said second drug is an adrenergic agonist selected from the group consisting of epinephrine borate, epinephrine hydrochloride, dipivefrin, apraclonidine and brimonidine or pharmaceutically acceptable salts or prodrugs thereof.
10. The method of claim 7 wherein said second drug is a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor selected from the group consisting of acetazolamide, dichlorphenamide, methazolamide, brinzolamide, dorzolamide or pharmaceutically acceptable salts or prodrugs thereof.
11. The method of claim 7 wherein said second drug is a cholinergic agonist selected from the group consisting of charbachol, pilocarpine hydrochloride, pilocarpine nitrate, pilocarpine or pharmaceutically acceptable salts or prodrugs thereof
12. The method of claim 7 wherein said second drug is a cholinesterase inhibitor selected from the group consisting of demecarium, echothiophate, physostigmine, and the like, or pharmaceutically acceptable salts or prodrugs thereof.
13. The method of claim 7 wherein said second drug a glutamate antagonist selected from the group consisting of memantine, amantadine, rimantadine, nitroglycerin, dextrophan, detromethorphan, CGS-19755, dihydropyridines, verapamil, emopamil, benzothiazepines, bepridil, diphenylbutylpiperidines, diphenylpiperazines, HOE 166 and related drugs, fluspirilene, eliprodil, ifenprodil, CP-101,606, tibalosine, 2309BT, and 840S, flunarizine, nicardipine, nifedimpine, nimodipine, barnidipine, verapamil, lidoflazine, prenylamine lactate, amiloride or pharmaceutically acceptable salts or prodrugs thereof
14. The method of claim 7 wherein said second drug is bimatoprost or a pharmaceutically acceptable sale or prodrug thereof.
15. The method of claim 7 wherein said second drug is a prostaglandin selected from the group consisting of travoprost, UFO-21, chloprostenol, fluprostenol, 13,14-dihydro-chloprostenol, isopropyl unoprostone, latanoprost or pharmaceutically acceptable salts or prodrugs thereof.
16. A novel compound useful for treating glaucoma or ocular hypertension which comprises a compound of formula III
R is selected from the group consisting of H, halogen and C1-5 alkyl;
R1 is selected from the group consisting of H and halogen;
R2 is independently selected from the group consisting of H, C1-5 alkyl, halogen, XC1-5 alkyl, C1-5 alkylOR13, C1-5 alkylN(R13)2,
N(R13)2, XC1-5 alkylN(R13)2 and XC1-5 alkylOR13;
X is O or S(O);
n is 0 or an integer of from 1 to 2;
R4 is selected from the group consisting of H, C2-5 alkenyl, C1-5 alkyl, C1-5 alkylOR13 and C1-5 alkylN(R13)2;
R5, R7, R9 and R11 are independently selected from the group consisting of H, C1-5 alkyl, C1-5 alkylOR13 and OR13, or R5 may represent O; and
R13 is selected from the group consisting of H, C1-5 alkyl and C3-8 cyclic alkyl, or two R13 groups, together with N or O, may form a cyclic ring such as a piperidine or morpholine ring; and provided that any of said alkyl groups may be substituted with a hetero atom containing radical, wherein said heteroatom is selected from the group consisting of halogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur, R8 and R12 may, together, form a cyclic ring, and when Q is menthadiene, R1 and R2 are H and Y is hydroxyl, R may not be H or alkyl.
17. The compound of claim 16 wherein R is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, methyl, bromo and chloro; R1 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, methyl and chloro, R2 is hydrogen, R3 is methyl, R5R6, R7, R8, R9, R10, R11 and R12 are hydrogen and R4 is isopropenyl.
18. The compound of claim 17 wherein said compound is
4-(1-isopropyl-4-methyl-1,2,5,6-tetra-hydropyridin-2-yl)-5-methylbenzene-1,3-diol.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A driving circuit for use in a non-volatile dynamic random access memory (NVDRAM) having a trapping layer which traps electronsholes, comprising:
an internal supply voltage generator for generating the plurality of internal supply voltages, each having at least two different voltage levels;
a mode controller for determining an operation mode of the NVDRAM;
a voltage level selector for selecting one voltage level of each internal supply voltage in response to the operation mode to thereby output the selected voltage level of each internal supply voltage to the row decoding block and the core area;
a row decoding block for receiving the internal supply voltages and outputting the internal supply voltages in response to an inputted address; and
a core area having a plurality of unit cells, each storing a data, for accessing the data in response to inputted voltage levels of the plurality of internal supply voltages.
2. The driving circuit as recited in claim 1, wherein the internal supply voltage generator includes:
a precharge voltage generator for generating a precharge voltage used for a precharge operation in each bit line;
a cell plate voltage generator for generating a cell plate voltage supplied to a cell plate of each unit cell;
a positive voltage generator for supplying a positive voltage to a word line in response to the operation mode, wherein voltage levels of the positive voltage are over 0 V; and
a negative voltage generator for supplying a negative voltage to a word line in response to the operation mode, wherein voltage levels of the second voltage are under 0 V.
3. The driving circuit as recited in claim 2, wherein the core area includes a plurality of banks, each having a plurality of cell blocks, each having a plurality of unit cells.
4. The driving circuit as recited in claim 2, wherein the voltage level selector includes a plurality of level selectors, each corresponded to each cell block.
5. The driving circuit as recited in claim 4, wherein the level selector includes:
a positive voltage switch for determining a voltage level of the positive voltage in response to the operation mode;
a negative voltage switch for determining a voltage level of the negative voltage in response to the operation mode;
a cell plate voltage switch for determining a voltage level of the cell plate voltage in response to the operation mode; and
a precharge voltage switch for determining a voltage level of the precharge voltage in response to the operation mode.
6. The driving circuit as recited in claim 1, wherein the unit cell includes:
the trapping layer for serving as a temporary data storage;
a control gate coupled to a word line;
a first insulating layer between the control gate and the trapping layer;
a source doped by a first conductive type;
a drain doped by the first conductive type;
a substrate doped by a second conductive type;
a second insulating layer between the trapping layer and the substrate;
a capacitor having one side coupled to the source for storing data; and
a bit line coupled to the drain for delivering data,
wherein a voltage level supplied to the other side of the capacitor is controllable.
7. The driving circuit as recited in claim 6, wherein the trapping layer is a nitride layer and the first and second insulating layers are an oxide layer.
8. The driving circuit as recited in claim 6, wherein the trapping layer is a group of an aluminum oxide Al2O3, a tantalum oxide Ta2O5 and a hafnium oxide HfO2.
9. The driving circuit as recited in claim 8, wherein the control gate is one of a metal layer and a poly-silicon layer.
10. The driving circuit as recited in claim 9, wherein the first conductive type is N type and the second conductive type is P type.
11. The driving circuit as recited in claim 10, wherein the first conductive type is P type and the second conductive type is N type.
12. The driving circuit as recited in claim 6, wherein the operation mode is a recall mode for delivering data stored in the trapping layer to the capacitor when an external voltage starts to be supplied.
13. The driving circuit as recited in claim 12, wherein the operation mode is an erase mode for equalizing each threshold voltage of all memory cells by charging the trapping layer with the same amount of charges.
14. The driving circuit as recited in claim 13, wherein the operation mode is a DRAM mode for operating as a volatile DRAM device.
15. The driving circuit as recited in claim 14, wherein the operation mode is a program mode for delivering data stored in the capacitor to the trapping layer when the external voltage starts to be isolated.
16. The driving circuit as recited in claim 1, further comprising:
a column decoding block for decoding the inputted address; and
a sense amplifying block for amplifying the accessed data.
17. The driving circuit as recited in claim 16, further comprising an temporary block memory for backing up the data amplified by the sense amplifying block.
18. A method for operating a non-volatile dynamic random access memory (NVDRAM) device having a trapping layer which can trap an electron, comprising the steps of:
(A) storing captured data of the trapping layer into a capacitor by using a voltage difference between a source and a drain;
(B) adjusting a threshold voltage of a transistor in each cell to an operational threshold voltage by using a tunneling effect;
(C) operating the memory cell in response to a readwrite instruction; and
(D) capturing the data stored in the capacitor by the trapping layer by using one of a localized hot hole injection and the tunneling effect.
19. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein each memory cell includes:
the capacitor for storing data;
the transistor for transmitting the data between the capacitor and a bit line; and
the trapping layer for capturing the data when an external power is isolated.
20. The method as recited in claim 19, wherein each memory cell further includes:
a first insulting layer on the trapping layer; and
a second insulating layer beneath the trapping layer.
21. The method as recited in claim 19, wherein each memory cell further includes a first insulating layer beneath the trapping layer made of trapping.
22. The method as recited in claim 18, further comprising the steps of:
(E) backing up the captured data in the capacitor before the step (B); and
(F) restoring the backup data in the capacitor after the step (B).
23. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein the step (A) includes the steps of:
(A-1) discharging a node between the capacitor and the source of all memory cells;
(A-2) increasing a voltage level of the drain to be set as higher than that of the source according to a logic state of stored data in the trapping layer; and
(A-3) refreshing the plurality of capacitors.
24. The method as recited in claim 23, wherein the step (A) is carried out in a row basis.
25. The method as recited in claim 23, wherein the step (A-1) includes the steps of:
(A-1-a) supplying one or more than one word line connected to the plurality of memory cells with a high voltage in order to keep a voltage difference of about 2 V between the word line and a corresponding bit line; and
(A-1-b) writing a logical high datum in the memory cells corresponding to the one or more than one word line.
26. The method as recited in claim 25, wherein the step (A-2) includes the steps of:
(A-2-a) supplying one or more than one bit line connected to the plurality of memory cells with a high voltage in order to keep a voltage difference of about 1 V between the word line and a corresponding bit line; and
(A-2-b) supplying the memory cells with about 0 V as a bit line precharge voltage in order to storing data into the capacitors of the memory cells.
27. The method as recited in claim 26, wherein a reference voltage supplied to a bit line is an average of voltages, each determined according to logical high and low states data stored in the trapping layer.
28. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein the step (B) includes the steps of:
(B-1) backing up data stored in the trapping layer into the capacitor;
(B-2) increasing the threshold voltage by using the tunneling effect; and
(B-3) saturating the threshold voltage.
29. The method as recited in claim 28, wherein the step (B-2) includes the steps of:
(B-2-a) supplying each word line with a higher voltage of about 5 V in order to turning on the transistors; and
(B-2-b) charging the capacitor by supplying each bit line with a lower voltage of about \u22123 V.
30. The method as recited in claim 29, wherein in the step (B-3), the threshold voltage is set to be 1\xb10.2V.
31. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein the step (D) further includes the steps of:
(D-1) refreshing the trapping layer; and
(D-2) supplying a predetermined voltage to the cell plate in order to charge a part of the trapping layer by using a localized hot hole injection if a stored data is a logic high state.
32. The method as recited in claim 31, wherein the step (D-2) further includes the steps of supplying a voltage difference of about 8 V between the word line and a storage node by boosting up a voltage level of the storage level in response to the predetermined voltage of the cell plate.
33. The method as recited in claim 32, wherein the steps (D-1) and (D-2) are repeatedly preformed when a logic state of data is unstable.

1461154108-d5d3427d-f418-4006-a245-cac51d2eab65

1. A computer-implemented method for determining stresses at a location on a layered structure comprising at least one film formed on a substrate, comprising:
applying a spatially varying structural condition in the layered structure to computation of stresses at a selected location in the layered structure from curvatures at all locations of the layered structure, wherein the spatially varying structural condition in the layered structure comprises at least one of (1) the film covers only a portion of the substrate, (2) the film has a film thickness that varies from one location to another across the film, and (3) the substrate has a substrate thickness that varies from one location to another;
determining in the computation under the spatially varying structural condition a local contribution to stresses at the selected location on the layered structure from curvature changes at the selected location;
determining a non-local contribution to the stresses at the selected location from curvature changes at all locations of the layered structure; and
combining the local contribution and the non-local contribution to estimate the total stresses at the selected location.
2. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:
when the film covers only a portion of the substrate, applying a formula in the computation for an equivalent structure, which is identical to the layered structure except for that the film in the equivalent structure fully covers the substrate, to compute the total stresses at the selected location.
3. The method as in claim 2, further comprising:
using a radial gradient of a sum of curvature changes along a radial direction and an orthogonal circumferential direction to represent an interface shear stress between the film and the substrate.
4. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:
applying a formula to compute a difference in stresses along a radial direction and an orthogonal circumferential direction that is independent of a thickness of the film when the film thickness varies from one location to another across the film.
5. The method as in claim 4, further comprising:
using a radial gradient of a sum of curvature changes along the radial direction and the orthogonal circumferential direction to represent an interface shear stress between the film and the substrate.
6. The method as in claim 4, further comprising:
using a sum of (1) a radial gradient of a sum of local curvature changes along the radial direction and the orthogonal circumferential direction and (2) a non-local contribution to represent an interface shear stress between the film and the substrate.
7. The method as in claim 4, further comprising:
using a formula to compute a sum of local curvature changes at a given location along the radial direction and the orthogonal circumferential direction wherein the formula is inversely proportional to a local film thickness at the given location.
8. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:
obtaining a full field spatial curvature measurement of the layered structure; and
using spatial curvature changes from the full field spatial curvature measurement to compute the local contribution and the non-local contribution from distribution.
9. The method as in claim 8, further comprising:
obtaining diagonal curvature tensor components at the selected location from the spatial curvature change distribution;
computing a sum of the diagonal curvature change tensor components and a difference of the diagonal curvature change tensor components, at the selected location;
computing the local contribution to a sum of diagonal stress tensors at the selected location from the sum of the diagonal curvature change tensor components at the selected location;
computing the non-local contribution to the sum of diagonal stress tensors at the selected location and a sum of diagonal stress tensors averaged over all locations across the layered structure; and
computing the local contribution to a difference of diagonal stress tensor components of the layered structure at the selected location from the difference of the diagonal curvature change tensor components at the selected location.
10. A method for monitoring a substrate fabrication process using the computer-implemented method in claim 1, comprising:
while the layered structure is being processed, directing an optical probe to the layered structure to optically obtain a full-field curvature map of the layered structure;
processing the full-field curvature map to obtain curvature information at all locations of the layered structure;
applying the computer-implemented method in claim 1 to determine the total stresses at each location of the layered structure; and
determining whether the layered structure is defective based on an acceptable threshold stress.
11. The method as in claim 10, further comprising using the total stresses of the layered structure to determine whether a film is likely to delaminate from the substrate.
12. The method as in claim 10, further comprising using an optical shearing interferometer to optically obtain the full-field curvature map of the layered structure.
13. The method as in claim 12, wherein the optical shearing interferometer comprises a coherent gradient sensing system with two optical diffraction elements.
14. A device for charactering stresses in a layered structure, comprising:
an optical module to project an optical probe beam to a layered structure and to obtain a full-field curvature map of a surface on the layered structure;
a processor in communication with the optical module to receive data of the full-field curvature map, the processor comprising:
means for applying a spatially varying structural condition in the layered structure to computation of stresses at a selected location in the layered structure from curvatures at all locations of the layered structure, wherein the spatially varying structural condition in the layered structure comprises at least one of (1) the film covers only a portion of the substrate, (2) the film has a film thickness that varies from one location to another across the film, and (3) the substrate has a substrate thickness that varies from one location to another;
means for determining in the computation under the spatially varying structural condition a local contribution to stresses at the selected location on the layered structure from curvature changes at the selected location;
means for determining a non-local contribution to the stresses at the selected location from curvature changes at all locations of the layered structure; and
means for combining the local contribution and the non-local contribution to estimate the total stresses at the selected location.
15. The device as in claim 14, wherein the optical module comprises:
a collimated radiation source to produce the probe beam onto the surface of the layered structure;
an optical shearing interferometer device positioned to receive the optical probe beam reflected from the surface and to cause an optical interference between a reflected wavefront of the optical probe beam and another replica of the reflected wavefront that is spatially shifted by a shearing distance, wherein the optical shearing interferometer is operable to adjust a phase shift between the reflected wavefront and the replica of the reflected wavefront to obtain a plurality of phase-shifted interference patterns of different phase shifts;
an imaging device which captures the interference patterns to produce the full-field curvature map.
16. The device as in claim 15, wherein the optical shearing interferometer comprises a coherent gradient sensing (CGS) system with two diffraction gratings.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. An earplug comprising:
an open inserting end;
an open inlet end opposite to the open inserting end;
a hollow body having
a first annular sidewall close to the open inlet end and having a first cavity encircled by the first annular sidewall; and
a second annular sidewall close to the open inserting end and having a second cavity tapered toward the open inserting end;

a sound-processing unit inserted through the first cavity and engaging the second cavity; and
a soft sheath mounted around the hollow body close to the open inserting end and having
a bottom close to the open inserting end;
a third annular sidewall formed on the bottom and mounted around the second annular sidewall of the hollow body;
an open end opposite to the bottom; and
a through hole defined through the bottom.
2. The earplug as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hollow body has an annular flange formed around an outer surface of the hollow body and abutting the open end of the soft sheath; and
a fourth annular sidewall formed on an outer edge of the annular flange and extending toward the open inserting end to cover the open end of the soft sheath.
3. The earplug as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a cover closing the open inlet end of the hollow body and having
at least one passage defined through the cover and allowing the first cavity to communicate with ambient air.
4. The earplug as claimed in claim 3, wherein:
an annular groove is defined in an inner surface of the first annular sidewall;
the cover has
a cap having at least one passage defined through the cap;

a short annular sidewall is formed on the cap and extends toward the first cavity and has
an outer surface hermetically contacting an inner surface of first annular sidewall; and
an annular rib formed on the outer surface of the short annular sidewall and engaging the annular groove of the first annular sidewall to strengthen the combination of the cover and the hollow body.
5. The earplug as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a tube mounted securely through the through hole in the soft sheath and allowing the second cavity to communicate with the open inserting end.
6. The earplug as claimed in claim 5 further comprising:
an inner flange formed on a bottom edge of the hollow body inside the second cavity and extending inward;
a hollow cylinder, mounted inside the second cavity, abutting the inner flange, located close to the through hole in the soft sheath and opposite to the open inserting end and allowing an extension section of the tube to engage a through hole in the hollow cylinder; and
an annular blocking rib formed on the outer surface of the extension section of the tube and hermetically abutting a top outer edge of the through hole in the soft sheath.
7. The earplug as claimed in claim 1, wherein the soft sheath is made of medical resilient material.
8. The earplug as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sound-processing unit is a noise-reducing valve.
9. The earplug as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sound-processing unit is an electronic signal receiver for receiving radio signals.
10. A hearing protection apparatus with earplugs comprising:
two earplugs and each earplug having
an open inserting end;
an open inlet end opposite to the open inserting end;
a hollow body having
a first annular sidewall close to the open inlet end and having a first cavity encircled by the first annular sidewall; and
a second annular sidewall close to the open inserting end and having a second cavity tapered toward the open inserting end;

a sound-processing unit inserted through the first cavity and engaging the second cavity, wherein the sound-processing unit is a noise-reducing valve;
a cover closing the open inlet end of the hollow body and having
at least one passage defined through the cover and allowing the first cavity to communicate with ambient air;

a soft sheath mounted around the hollow body close to the open inserting end and having
a bottom close to the open inserting end;
a third annular sidewall formed on the bottom and mounted around the second sidewall of the hollow body;
an open end opposite to the bottom; and
a through hole defined through the bottom;

a hollow cylinder mounted inside the second cavity close to a bottom edge of the hollow body and having a through hole; and
a tube mounted securely through the through hole in the soft sheath into the through hole in the hollow cylinder and allowing the second cavity to communicate with the open inserting end; and

an attachment connected between the earplugs.
11. The hearing protection apparatus with earplugs as claimed in claim 10, wherein
the number of the passages is two, and the passages are defined through the cover, communicate with and are opposite to each other; and
the attachment has
a cord having two ends extending through the passages respectively in the covers; and
two clamps respectively binding the ends to the cord itself.
12. The hearing protection apparatus with earplugs as claimed in claim 10, wherein the attachment is a U-shaped headband having two ends integrally formed respectively on the covers.
13. An audio earphone apparatus with earplugs electrically connected to an audio device and comprising:
two earplugs, and each earplug having
an open inserting end;
an open inlet end opposite to the open inserting end;
a hollow body having
a first annular sidewall close to the open inlet end and having a first cavity encircled by the first annular sidewall; and
a second annular sidewall close to the open inserting end and having a second cavity tapered toward the open inserting end;

a sound-processing unit inserted through the first cavity and engaging the second cavity, wherein the sound-processing unit is an electronic signal receiver;
a cover closing the open inlet end of the hollow body and having
at least one passage defined through the cover and allowing the first cavity to communicate with ambient air;

a soft sheath mounted around the hollow body close to the open inserting end and having
a bottom close to the open inserting end;
a third annular sidewall formed on the bottom and mounted around the second sidewall of the hollow body;
an open end opposite to the bottom; and
a through hole defined through the bottom;

a hollow cylinder mounted inside the second cavity, abutting the inner flange and having a through hole; and
a tube mounted securely through the through hole in the soft sheath into the through hole in the hollow cylinder and allowing the second cavity to communicate with the open inserting end; and

an attachment connected between the earplugs.