Author: claimsbot

What is claimed is:

1. A method for modifying body electrical potentials, comprising the steps of:
providing an electrical lead having first and second electrodes;
attaching the first electrode to a skin surface area of a human head; and
attaching the second electrode to another skin surface area of the human head, whereby electrical potentials of the head are modified to remediate psychiatric disorders and enhance optimal brain functioning.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first or second electrode comprises a conductive clip.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first or second electrode comprises a conductive flat or cup-shaped electrode.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the electrical lead includes a resistive component for increasing the resistance of the electrical lead.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the electrical lead includes a diode for restricting the flow of electricity through the lead to a single direction.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the electrical lead extends between ears of the human head.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first electrode is attached to an ear and the second electrode is attached to an area of the scalp or forehead of the human head.
8. The method of claim 7, including a second electrical lead having a first electrode attached to an opposite ear and a second electrode attached to another area of the scalp or forehead of the human head.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first electrical lead extends from a left ear to a portion of the scalp or forehead right of a midline of the head, and the second electrical lead extends from the right ear to a portion of the scalp or forehead left of the midline.
10. The method of claim 8, including a retentive member for securely holding the second electrodes in place on the scalp or forehead.
11. A method for modifying body electrical potentials, comprising the steps of:
providing an electrical lead having first and second electrodes and either a resistive component for increasing the resistance of the lead, or a diode for restricting the flow of electricity in one direction;
attaching the first electrode to an ear of a human head; and
attaching the second electrode to another skin surface area of the human head, whereby electrical potentials of the head are modified to remediate psychiatric disorders and enhance optimal brain functioning.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first electrode comprises a conductive clip.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein the first or second electrode comprises a conductive flat or cup-shaped electrode.
14. The method of claim 11, wherein the second electrode is attached to an opposite ear of the human head such that the electrical lead extends between the ears of the human head.
15. The method of claim 11, wherein the second electrode is attached to an area of the scalp or forehead of the human head.
16. The method of claim 15, including a second electrical lead having a first electrode attached to an opposite ear and a second electrode attached to another area of the scalp or forehead of the human head.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first electrical lead extends from a left ear to a portion of the scalp or forehead right of a midline of the head, and the second electrical lead extends from the right ear to a portion of the scalp or forehead left of the midline.
18. The method of claim 16, including a retentive member for securely holding the second electrodes in place on the scalp or forehead.
19. A method for modifying body electrical potentials, comprising the steps of:
attaching a first electrode of a first electrical lead to a left ear of a human head, and attaching a second electrode of the first electrical lead to a skin surface area of the scalp or forehead right of a midline of the human head; and
attaching a first electrode of a second electrical lead to a right ear of a human head, and attaching a second electrode of the second electrical lead to a skin surface area of the scalp or forehead left of the midline of the human head;
whereby electrical potentials of the head are modified to remediate psychiatric disorders and enhance optimal brain functioning.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the first electrode of the first and second leads comprises a conductive clip.
21. The method of claim 19, wherein the first or second electrode comprises a conductive flat or cup-shaped electrode.
22. The method of claim 19, including a retentive member for securely holding the second electrodes in place on the scalp or forehead.

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

1-12. (canceled)
13. A semiconductor device manufactured by using irradiation with laser light to partition a substrate having semiconductor layers formed thereon, with gallium contained in at least one of the substrate and the semiconductor layers, the semiconductor device being obtained by
forming grooves to be used as boundaries between individual substrates by irradiating the substrate along partitioning locations with laser light,
partitioning the substrate into the individual substrates along the boundaries where the grooves are formed,
immersing the substrate into an acid solution before or after the foregoing partitioning so that deposits of gallium compounds adhering to the substrate are removed, and
sealing the individual substrates with a resin.
14. The semiconductor device according to claim 13, wherein locations irradiated with laser light have grooves formed by irradiation on the side opposite the side on which the semiconductor layers are formed.
15. The semiconductor device according to claim 13, wherein the grooves are formed by performing irradiation with laser light in an oblique direction so as to form quasi V-shaped cross-sections.
16. The semiconductor device according to claim 13, wherein locations irradiated with laser light have grooves formed by irradiation on the side on which the semiconductor layers are formed.
17. The semiconductor device according to claim 13, wherein the acid solution is a solution whose main ingredient is hydrochloric acid or nitric acid.
18. The semiconductor device according to claim 13, wherein the semiconductor device is a light-emitting element.
19. The semiconductor device according to claim 13, wherein the grooves extend to not less than 30% of the thickness of the substrate.
20. The semiconductor device according to claim 18, wherein the light-emitting element has an n-type semiconductor layer and a p-type semiconductor layer formed on top of the substrate.
21. The semiconductor device according to claim 20, wherein a Pt layer and, on top of it, a rhodium layer, are formed in the p-type semiconductor layer region in order to establish an ohmic contact with the p-type semiconductor layer, thereby producing a dual layer structure acting as a reflective film, with a p-type electrode composed of gold formed thereon.
22. The semiconductor device according to claim 20, wherein a Ti layer and, on top of it, a Au layer, are formed in the n-type semiconductor layer region in order to establish an ohmic contact with the n-type semiconductor layer, thereby producing a dual layer structure acting as an n-type electrode.
23. A semiconductor device manufactured by using irradiation with laser light to partition a substrate having semiconductor layers formed thereon, with gallium contained in at least one of the substrate and the semiconductor layers, the semiconductor device being obtained by
forming grooves to be used as boundaries between individual substrates by irradiating the substrate along partitioning locations with laser light,
partitioning the substrate into individual substrates along the boundaries where the grooves are formed,
immersing the substrate into an acid solution before or after the foregoing partitioning so that deposits of gallium compounds adhering to the substrate are removed, and
electrically connecting an electrode of at least one selected from the substrate and the semiconductor layers with an another electrode.
24. The semiconductor device according to claim 23, wherein locations irradiated with laser light have grooves formed by irradiation on the side opposite the side on which the semiconductor layers are formed
25. The semiconductor device according to claim 23, wherein the grooves are formed by performing irradiation with laser light in an oblique direction so as to form quasi V-shaped cross-sections.
26. The semiconductor device according to claim 23, wherein locations irradiated with laser light have grooves formed by irradiation on the side on which the semiconductor layers are formed
27. The semiconductor device according to claim 23, wherein the acid solution is a solution whose main ingredient is hydrochloric acid or nitric acid.
28. The semiconductor device according to claim 23, wherein the semiconductor device is a light-emitting element.
29. The semiconductor device according to claim 23, wherein the grooves extend to not less than 30% of the thickness of the substrate.
30. The semiconductor device according to claim 28, wherein the light-emitting element has an n-type semiconductor layer and a p-type semiconductor layer formed on top of the substrate.
31. The semiconductor device according to claim 30, wherein a Pt layer and, on top of it, a rhodium layer, are formed in the p-type semiconductor layer region in order to establish an ohmic contact with the p-type semiconductor layer, thereby producing a dual layer structure acting as a reflective film, with a p-type electrode composed of gold formed thereon.
32. The semiconductor device according to claim 30, wherein a Ti layer and, on top of it, a Au layer, are formed in the n-type semiconductor layer region in order to establish an ohmic contact with the n-type semiconductor layer, thereby producing a dual layer structure acting as an n-type electrode.

1. A digital communications receiver for receiving a vestigial sideband (VSB) signal representing a sequence of encoded symbols each representative of a plurality of data bits, the receiver comprising:
an input configured to receive a VSB signal from a communications channel;
an amplification and filtration device coupled to the input and configured to adjust a magnitude of, and to filter, the VSB signal to produce a scaled and filtered VSB signal; and
a virtual sub-carrier estimator coupled to the amplification and filtration device and configured to process the scaled and filtered VSB signal to estimate virtual sub-carriers such that the virtual sub-carriers are conjugate symmetric.
2. The receiver of claim 1 wherein the virtual sub-carrier estimator is configured to alter the scaled and filtered VSB signal such that a time-domain matrix indicative of characteristics of the channel is in circulant form, to convert the circulant matrix to frequency domain, and to determine a first set of symbol values using the converted matrix of channel characteristics and a second set of data points indicated by the scaled and filtered VSB signal, where the first set includes fewer symbol values than data points included in the second set.
3. The receiver of claim 2 wherein the virtual sub-carrier estimator is configured to produce a third quantity of symbol values by using the first quantity of symbol values for a first portion of the third quantity of symbol values, and using conjugates of some of the first quantity of symbol values to determine a second portion of the third quantity of symbol values.
4. The receiver of claim 3 wherein the first and second portions of the third quantity of symbol values are disposed on opposite sides of half of a symbol rate for the received signal.
5. The receiver of claim 2 wherein the second quantity of data points includes in-band data and out-of-band data.
6. The receiver of claim 2 wherein the second quantity of data points includes in-band data, and the virtual sub-carrier estimator is configured to set values for out of band data points to zero.
7. The receiver of claim 1 wherein the virtual sub-carrier estimator is a frequency domain turbo equalizer.
8. An integrated circuit chip for receiving and processing a vestigial sideband (VSB) signal representing a sequence of encoded symbols each representative of a plurality of data bits, the chip comprising:
an input configured to receive a VSB signal from a communications channel;
front-end processing circuitry coupled to the input and configured to alter characteristics of the VSB signal to produce a modified signal having a desired format; and
virtual sub-carrier estimator circuitry coupled to the front-end processing circuitry and configured to process the modified signal to estimate virtual sub-carriers such that the virtual sub-carriers are conjugate symmetric.
9. The chip of claim 8 wherein the virtual sub-carrier estimator circuitry is configured to alter the modified signal such that a time-domain matrix indicative of characteristics of the channel is in circulant form, to convert the circulant matrix to frequency domain, and to determine a first set of symbol values using the converted matrix of channel characteristics and a second set of data points indicated by the modified signal, where the first set includes fewer symbol values than data points included in the second set.

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 process of forming a stent comprising the steps of:
providing a sacrificial template which defines a stent pattern;
applying at least one layer of material over at least a portion of the stent pattern of the sacrificial template; and
eliminating said sacrificial template.
2. The process of claim 1 wherein the stent pattern is defined by a plurality of interconnected indentations defined by the sacrificial template.
3. The process of claim 2 further comprising the step of:
positioning at least one fiber into at least one of the indentations.
4. The process of claim 3 wherein the at least one fiber is positioned into the at least one of the indentations after application of the at least one material.
5. The process of claim 3 wherein the at least one fiber is positioned into the at least one of the indentations before application of the at least one material.
6. The process of claim 1 wherein the at least one layer of material comprises a polymeric composition and said material fills the plurality of indentations.
7. The process of claim 2 wherein the at least one fiber is braided, woven, knitted, roving, or wound.
8. The process of claim 2 wherein the at least one fiber comprises a plurality of fibers, the plurality of fibers being arranged randomly, in the form of a braided, inter-woven, or wound.
9. The process of claim 1 wherein the at least one layer of material comprises a plurality of distinct layers of material, each layer being applied over the sacrificial template separately from one another.
10. The process of claim 11 wherein said sacrificial template comprises a water dispersible or water soluble polymer.
11. The process of claim 10 wherein said polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate or mixtures thereof.
12. The process of claim 11 wherein the sacrificial template is eliminated by the step of flushing said sacrificial structure with water at a temperature of about 25\xb0 C. to about 110\xb0 C.
13. The process of claim 1 wherein the at least one layer of material comprises at least one thermoplastic polymer.
14. The process of claim 13 wherein said thermoplastic polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyesters, polyamides, polyolefins, polyurethanes, polyethers, polyimides, any copolymers thereof, styrenic block copolymers and mixtures thereof.
15. The process of claim 13 wherein said thermoplastic polymer is selected from the group consisting of poly(ester block ester), poly(ester block ether), poly(ether block amide), polyalkylene terephthalate or mixture thereof.
16. The process of claim 2 further comprising the step of:
positioning at least enhancement device into at least one of the indentations, the at least one enhancement device being at least one device selected from the group consisting of: sensors, detectable markers, marker bands, conductive coils, and any combination thereof.
17. The process of claim 2 wherein following the elimination of the sacrificial template an expandable stent is provided from the at least one layer of material, the stent comprising a stent body constructed of a plurality of interconnected stent members which correspond to the shape and arrangement of the plurality of interconnected indentations.
18. The process of claim 17 further comprising the step of removing at least one of the a plurality of interconnected stent members from the stent body.
19. The process of claim 17 wherein at least a portion of the stent body has a tapering diameter when the stent is placed in an expanded state.
20. The process of claim 17 wherein the body defines a flow path therethrough, adjacent interconnected stent members define a side branch opening through the stent body, the side branch opening being in fluid communication with the flow path.
21. The process of claim 1 wherein the stent pattern is defined by a plurality of channels defined by the sacrificial template.
22. A template for forming a stent, the template comprising a sacrificial material.
23. The template of claim 22 defining a negative stent pattern, the negative stent patter comprising a plurality of interconnected indentations.