Author: claimsbot

1. A quasi-interpenetrating network of polymer chains, the chains comprising:
(a) linear polyacrylamide (LPA) chains in the form of a main frame having a weight average molecular weight of approximately 0.05 million to approximately 25 million gmole, and a radius of gyration of approximately 10 nm to 350 nm; and
(b) polydimethylacrylamide (PDMA) chains prepared by polymerizing PDMA in the presence of the LPA main frame,
wherein the LPA and PDMA chains are entangled within one another and interpenetrate one another, and wherein the quasi-interpenetrating network has substantially no chemical cross-linking.
2. The network of claim 1 wherein the LPA main frame is formed by inverse microemulsion polymerization.
3. The network of claim 1 wherein the PDMA is polymerized by radical polymerization in the LPA main frame.
4. The network of claim 1 wherein the LPA main frame comprises LPA in a buffer solution, wherein the LPA has an overlap concentration of approximately 5\xd710\u22124 to 4.0\xd710\u22122 gml.
5. The network of claim 1 wherein the LPA main frame has an overlap concentration of approximately 1.2\xd710\u22123 gml in a buffer solution.
6. The network of claim 1 wherein the lower boundary of the weight-average molecular weight of the LPA is approximately 0.05 million, 0.1 million, 0.3 million, 1 million, 4 million, 6 million or 7 million gmole.
7. The network of claim 1 wherein the upper boundary of the range of the weight-average molecular weight of the LPA is approximately 8 million, 10 million, 15 million or 25 million gmole.
8. The network of claim 1 wherein the lower boundary of the range of the radius of gyration of the LPA is approximately 10 nm, 15 nm, 28 nm, 55 nm, 125 nm, 150 nm or 165 nm
9. The network of claim 1 wherein the upper boundary of the range of the radius of gyration of the LPA is approximately 180 nm, 210 nm, 250 nm or 350 nm.
10. The network of claim 1 wherein the LPA has a polydispersity index of from about 1.01 to 1.8.
11. The network of claim 10 wherein the lower boundary of the range of the polydispersity index of the LPA is approximately 1.01, 1.02, 1.05 or 1.1.
12. The network of claim 10 wherein the upper boundary of the range of the polydispersity index of the LPA is approximately 1.3, 1.5, 1.6 or 1.8.
13. A quasi-interpenetrating network of entangled polymer chains, the chains comprising:
(a) linear polyacrylamide (LPA) chains; and
(b) polydimethylacrylamide (PDMA) chains entangled in the LPA chains and interpenetrating the LPA chains,
wherein the LPA and the PDMA have weight-average molecular weight of approximately 0.1 million to approximately 20 million gmole, and radii of gyration of approximately 15 m to 320 nm, wherein the quasi-interpenetrating network has substantially no chemical cross-linking.
14. The network of claim 13 wherein the lower boundary of the range of the weight-average molecular weight is approximately 0.1 million, 0.5 million, 2 million or 6 million gmole.
15. The network of claim 13 wherein the upper boundary of the range of the weight-average molecular weight is approximately 7 million, 10 million, 16 million or 20 million gmole.
16. The network of claim 13 wherein the lower boundary of the range of the radii of gyration is approximately 10 nm, 15 nm, 40 nm, 80 mm or 150 mm.
17. The network of claim 13 wherein the upper boundary of the range of the radii of gyration is approximately 165 nm, 210 nm, 280 nm or 320 mm.
18. The network of claim 13 wherein the LPA and the PDMA each has a polydispersity index of from about 1.0 to 1.8.
19. The network of claim 13 wherein the LPA and the PDMA each have a polydispersity index of about 1.6.
20. The network of claim 13 wherein the network has an overlap concentration of approximately 5.0\xd710 \u22124 to 3.0\xd710\u22122 gml in a buffer solution.
21. The network of claim 13 wherein the ratio of the amount of LPA to the amount of PDMA is in the range of approximately 10:1 to 15:1 wherein the weight molecular weight range of the LPA is approximately from 6 million to 7 million gmole.
22. A quasi-interpenetrating network of entangled polymer chains produced by a method comprising:
(a) providing a solution comprising linear polyacrylamide (LPA) and a buffer, wherein the LPA has a weight average molecular weight of 0.05 million to 25 million gmole;
(b) providing a solution comprising polydimethylacrylamide (PDMA) and a buffer, wherein the PDMA has a weight average molecular weight of 100,000 to 25 million;
(c) mixing the LPAbuffer solution and PDMAbuffer solution in a stepwise fashion, wherein the LPAbuffer solution is one to fifteen times as concentrated as the PDMAbuffer solution, and the volume of the LPAbuffer solution is about one to fifty times the volume of the PDMA solution;
wherein a quasi-interpenetrating network of entangled, interpenetrating LPA and PDMA polymer chains is produced, where the quasi-interpenetrating network has substantially no chemical cross-linking.
23. The quasi-interpenetrating network of claim 22 wherein the lower boundary of the range of the weight average molecular weight of the LPA is 0.05, 0.1, 0.3 or 1 million gmole.
24. The quasi-interpenetrating network of claim 22 wherein the upper boundary of the range of the weight average molecular weight of the LPA is 4 million, 6 million, 7 million, 8 million, 10 million, 15 million or 20 million gmole.
25. The quasi-interpenetrating network of claim 22 wherein the lower boundary of the range of the weight average molecular weight of the PDMA is 100,000; 300,000; or 500,000 gmole.
26. The quasi-interpenetrating network of claim 22 wherein the upper boundary of the range of the weight average molecular weight of the PDMA is 1 million, 3 million, 10 million or 25 million gmole.
27. The quasi-interpenetrating network of claim 22 wherein the LPAbuffer solution has a concentration of approximately 1.0 to 12.0% gml.
28. The quasi-interpenetrating network of claim 22 wherein the PDMAbuffer solution has a concentration of approximately 0.1 to 3.0% gml.
29. In a method of separating charged molecular species, the method comprising causing a charged molecular species to migrate in a separation medium by the influence of an applied electric field, the improvement wherein the separation medium comprises an LPA polymer system and a PMDA polymer system wherein the polymer systems form a quasi-interpenetrating network.
30. The method according to claim 29 wherein the interpenetrating network is prepared by synthesizing an LPA main frame, and polymerizing a PDMA within the main frame.
31. The method according to claim 29 wherein the interpenetrating network is prepared by:
(a) providing a solution comprising LPA and a buffer, wherein the LPA has a weight average molecular weight of 0.05 million to 25 million gmole;
(b) providing a solution comprising PDMA and a buffer, wherein the PDMA has a weight average molecular weight of 100,000 to 25 million gmole; and
(c) mixing the LPAbuffer solution and PDMAbuffer solution in a stepwise fashion, wherein the LPAbuffer solution is one to fifteen times as concentrated as the PDMAbuffer solution, and the volume of the LPAbuffer solution is about one to fifty times the volume of the PDMA solution.
32. A quasi-interpenetrating network of polymer chains, the chains comprising:
(a) acrylamide (AM)dimethylacrylamide (DMA) random copolymer chains in the form of a main frame having a weight average molecular weight of approximately 0.05 million to approximately 2 million gmole, and a radius of gyration of approximately 10 nm to 80 nm; and
(b) polydimethylacrylamide (PDMA) chains prepared by polymerizing PDMA in the presence of the random copolymer main frame;
wherein the AMDMA and PDMA chains are entangled within one another, and interpenetrate one another, and wherein the quasi-interpenetrating network has substantially no chemical cross-linking.
33. The network of claim 32 wherein the random copolymer main frame is formed by radical polymerization.
34. The network of claim 32 wherein the PDMA is polymerized by radical polymerization in the random copolymer main frame.
35. The network of claim 32 wherein the random copolymer main frame comprises copolymers in a buffer solution, wherein the random copolymer has an overlap concentration of approximately 3\xd710\u22123 to 4.0\xd710\u22122 gml.
36. The network of claim 32 wherein the copolymer main frame has an overlap concentration of approximately 1\xd710\u22122 gml in a buffer solution.
37. The network of claim 32 wherein the lower boundary of the weight-average molecular weight range of the random copolymer is approximately 0.05 million, 0.1 million, or 0.3 million gmole.
38. The network of claim 32 wherein the upper boundary of the weight-average molecular weight range of the random copolymer is approximately 0.5 million, 1 million, or 2 million gmole.
39. The network of claim 32 wherein the lower boundary of the range of the radius of gyration of the copolymer is approximately 10 nm, 15 nm, or 30 nm.
40. The network of claim 32 wherein the upper boundary of the range of the radius of gyration of the copolymer is approximately 40 nm, 55 nm or 80 mm.
41. The network of claim 32 wherein the random copolymer has a polydispersity index of from about 1.1 to 2.0.
42. The network of claim 32 wherein the ratio of the amount of AM to the amount of DMA is in the range of approximately 5:1 to 50:1 wherein the weight molecular weight range of the random copolymer is approximately from 0.05 million to 2 million gmole.
43. A quasi-interpenetrating network of entangled polymer chains produced by a method comprising:
(a) providing a solution comprising AMDMA random copolymer and a buffer, wherein the AMDMA random copolymer has a weight average molecular weight of 0.05 million to 2 million gmole;
(b) providing a solution comprising polydimethylacrylamide (PDMA) and a buffer, wherein the PDMA has a weight average molecular weight of 0.05 million to 25 million gmole;
(c) mixing the copolymerbuffer solution and PDMAbuffer solution in a stepwise fashion, wherein the copolymerbuffer solution is one to fifty times as concentrated as the PDMAbuffer solution, and the volume of the copolymerbuffer solution is about one to twenty times the volume of the PDMA solution;
wherein a quasi-interpenetrating network of entangled copolymer and PDMA polymer chains is produced, wherein the quasi-IPN has substantially no chemical cross-linking.
44. The quasi-interpenetrating network of claim 43 wherein the lower boundary of the range of the weight average molecular weight of the copolymer is 0.05 million, 0.1 million, or 0.3 million gmole.
45. The quasi-interpenetrating network of claim 43 wherein the upper boundary of the range of the weight average molecular weight of the copolymer is 0.5 million, 1 million, 1.5 million, or 2 million gmole.
46. The quasi-interpenetrating network of claim 43 wherein the lower boundary of the range of the weight average molecular weight of the PDMA is 50,000; 100,000; or 200,000 gmole.
47. The quasi-interpenetrating network of claim 43 wherein the upper boundary of the range of the weight average molecular weight of the PDMA is 500,000, 1 million, 3 million, 5 million, 10 million, or 25 million.
48. The quasi-interpenetrating network of claim 43 wherein the copolymerbuffer solution has a concentration of approximately 5.0 to 20.0% gml.
49. The quasi-interpenetrating network of claim 43 wherein the PDMAbuffer solution has a concentration of approximately 0.1 to 1.0% gml.
50. In a method of separating charged molecular species, the method comprising causing a charged molecular species to migrate in a separation medium by the influence of an applied electric field, the improvement wherein the separation medium comprises an AMDMA random copolymer and a PMDA polymer wherein the polymer systems form a quasi-interpenetrating network.
51. The method according to claim 50 wherein the interpenetrating network is prepared by synthesizing an AMDMA random copolymer main frame, and polymerizing a PDMA within the main frame.
52. The method according to claim 50 wherein the interpenetrating network is prepared by:
(a) providing a solution comprising AMDMA random copolymer and a buffer, wherein the AMDMA random copolymer has a weight average molecular weight of 0.05 million to 2 million gmole;
(b) providing a solution comprising PDMA and a buffer, wherein the PDMA has a weight average molecular weight of 50,000 to 25 million gmole; and
(c) mixing the copolymerbuffer solution and PDMAbuffer solution in a stepwise fashion, wherein the copolymerbuffer solution is one to fifty times as concentrated as the PDMAbuffer solution, and the volume of the copolymerbuffer solution is about one to twenty times the volume of the PDMA solution;
wherein a quasi-interpenetrating network of entangled copolymer and PDMA polymer chains is produced, wherein the quasi-interpenetrating network has substantially no chemical cross-linking.

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 network communications device, comprising:
a modem; and
a computing platform, said computing platform coupled to the modem via a bus, said network communications device being operative to transfer data from the platform to the modem via the bus at an initial data rate and being operative to adjust the data rate of the bus based at least in part upon a network communications data transfer rate between the modem and a network.
2. The network communications device of claim 1, wherein the data rate of the bus comprises an isochronous data rate.
3. The network communications device of claim 1, wherein the connection between the modem and the network comprises a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection.
4. The network communications device of claim 1, wherein the bus comprises a universal serial bus (USB).
5. The network communications device of claim 1, wherein the network communications device being operative to set the initial data rate of the bus at a rate greater than the network communications data transfer rate.
6. The network communications device of claim 1, wherein the network communications device being operative to set the initial data rate of the bus at a rate less than the network communications data transfer rate.
7. The network communications device of claim 1, wherein the network communications device is operative to set the data rate of the bus to an initial value and is operative to reduce the data rate of the bus if the network communications data transfer rate is less than the initial value of the data rate of the bus.
8. The network communications device of claim 1, wherein the network communications device is operative to set the data rate of the bus to an initial data rate and is operative to raise the data rate of the bus if the network communications data transfer rate is greater than the initial value of the data rate of the bus.
9. A method comprising:
transferring data to a modem via the bus at a data transfer rate;
measuring a network communications transfer data rate between the modem and a network; and
adjusting the data transfer rate of the bus based at least in part on the measured network communications data transfer rate.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein transferring data to the modem via the bus comprises transferring data at an initial data transfer rate.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein the data rate of the bus comprises an isochronous data rate.
12. The method of claim 9, wherein the bus comprises a universal serial bus.
13. The method of claim 9, wherein the connection between the modem and the network comprises a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection.
14. The method of claim 9, wherein adjusting the data transfer rate of the bus based at least in part on the measured network communications data transfer rate comprises reducing the data rate of the bus if the measured network communications data transfer rate is less than the data transfer rate of the bus.
15. The method of claim 9, wherein adjusting the data transfer rate of the bus based at least in part on the measured network communications data transfer rate comprises increasing the data rate of the bus if the measured network communications data transfer rate is more than the data transfer rate of the bus.
16. An article comprising:
a storage medium, having stored thereon instructions that, when executed, result in improved utilization of a bus for transferring data to a modem by:
transferring data to the modem via the bus at a data transfer rate;
measuring a network communications transfer data rate between the modem and a network; and
adjusting the data transfer rate of the bus based at least in part on the measured network communications data transfer rate.
17. The article of claim 16, wherein said instructions, when executed, result in transferring data to the modern via the bus at an initial data transfer rate.
18. The article of claim 16, wherein said instructions, when executed, result in the data rate of the bus comprising an isochronous data rate.
19. The article of claim 16, wherein said instructions, when executed, result in the bus comprising a universal serial bus.
20. The article of claim 16, wherein said instructions, when executed, result in adjusting the data transfer rate of the bus based at least in part on the measured network communications data transfer rate by reducing the data rate of the bus if the measured network communications data transfer rate is less than the data transfer rate of the bus.
21. The article of claim 16, wherein said instructions, when executed, result in adjusting the data transfer rate of the bus based at least in part on the measured network communications data transfer rate by increasing the data rate of the bus if the measured network communications data transfer rate is more than the data transfer rate of the bus.

1. A polishing composition for a Ni\u2014P plated aluminum alloy hard disk substrate, comprising aluminum oxide particles and water, wherein secondary particles of the aluminum oxide particles have a volume-median particle size of from 0.15 to 0.7 \u03bcm, the aluminum oxide particles comprise 40% to 90% or by weight of \u03b1-alumina particles, and particles of the \u03b1-alumina particles having particle sizes of 1 \u03bcm or more are contained in an amount of 0.04% to 0.2% by weight of the polishing composition;
wherein the polishing composition results in reduced embedding, an improved polishing rate andor an improved short-wavelength waviness.
2. The polishing composition according to claim 1, wherein the aluminum oxide particles comprise 40 to 45% by weight of \u03b1-alumina particles.
3. The polishing composition according to claim 2, wherein primary particles of the \u03b1-alumina particles have an average particle size of from 0.05 to 0.5 \u03bcm.
4. The polishing composition according to claim 1, wherein the polishing composition has a pH of from 0.1 to 6.
5. The polishing composition according to claim 2, wherein the polishing composition has a pH of from 0.1 to 6.
6. The polishing composition according to claim 3, wherein the polishing composition has a pH of from 0.1 to 6.
7. The polishing composition according to claim 1, wherein particles of the aluminum oxide particles having particle sizes of 3 \u03bcm or more are contained in an amount of 0.004% to 0.032% by weight of the polishing composition.
8. A polishing composition for a Ni\u2014P plated aluminum alloy hard disk substrate, comprising aluminum oxide particles and water, wherein secondary particles of the aluminum oxide particles have a volume-median particle size of from 0.15 to 0.7 \u03bcm, the aluminum oxide particles comprise 40% to 90% by weight of \u03b1-alumina particles, and particles of the \u03b1-alumina particles having a particle size of 1 \u03bcm or more are contained in an amount of 0.04% to 0.2% by weight of the composition, and particles of the \u03b1-alumina particles having a particle size of 3 \u03bcm or more are contained in an amount of 0.004 to 0.05% by weight of the composition;
wherein the polishing composition results in reduced embedding, an improved polishing rate andor an improved short-wavelength waviness.
9. The polishing composition according to claim 8, wherein the aluminum oxide particles comprise 40 to 45% by weight of \u03b1-alumina particles.
10. The polishing composition according to claim 9, wherein primary particles of the \u03b1-alumina particles have an average particle size of from 0.05 to 0.5 \u03bcm.
11. The polishing composition according to claim 8, wherein the polishing composition has a pH of from 0.1 to 6.
12. The polishing composition according to claim 9, wherein the polishing composition has a pH of from 0.1 to 6.
13. The polishing composition according to claim 10, wherein the polishing composition has a pH of from 0.1 to 6.
14. The polishing composition according to claim 8, wherein particles of the \u03b1-alumina particles having particle sizes of 3 \u03bcm or more are contained in an amount of 0.004% to 0.032% by weight of the polishing composition.
15. The polishing composition according to claim 8, wherein said polishing composition further comprises sulfuric acid, citric acid, hydrogen peroxide and ammonium sulfate.

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 mobile communication device comprising:
a display;
a keyboard having a plurality of input keys of which at least one is a multi-character key having at least a default character and at least one alternate character associated therewith, and a backspace key;
a processing subsystem configurable to execute instructions from software applications stored on a memory subsystem, that when executed, the processing subsystem causes:
displaying on the display the default character associated with a selected one of the multi-character keys;
deleting the default character on the display in response to receiving a selection of the backspace key; and
based on a probability, displaying an alternate character associated with the multi-character key.
2. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein the default character and the at least one alternate character associated with the multi-character key comprise a first letter and a second letter.
3. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 2, wherein the multi-character key further comprises at least one numeric character.
4. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein the default character and the at least one alternate character associated with the multi-character key comprise at least one letter.
5. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 4, wherein the default character and the at least one alternate character associated with the multi-character key further comprises at least one numeric character.
6. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, further comprising an enter key.
7. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein the backspace key corresponds to one of a clear key, a \u2018C\u2019 key, a \u2018CLR\u2019 key, a soft key, a touch screen key, a navigation tool, a mouse, and a joystick selector.
8. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein the software applications further comprise instructions for positioning a cursor over the alternate character on the display when a request to move the cursor to a previously entered character is received and to display a different alternate character associated with the multi-character key in response to receiving an additional selection of the multi-character key.
9. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said display is a touch screen.
10. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 9, wherein the keyboard is displayed by the touch screen.
11. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein the keyboard is a reduced-key keyboard having keys with a QWERTY alphabetic letter arrangement.
12. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 11, wherein the QWERTY alphabetic letter arrangement comprises fourteen letter keys, the fourteen letter keys including twenty-six letter indicia.
13. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 12, wherein the fourteen letter keys are organized into three rows of letter keys, a first row comprising five letter keys, a second row comprising five letter keys and a third row comprising four letter keys.
14. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 13, further comprising a backspace key positioned in the third row of letter keys.
15. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 14, wherein the reduced-key keyboard further comprises a numeric phone pad overlaid on the QWERTY alphabetic letter arrangement and centered on the three rows of letter keys.
16. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 11, wherein the reduced-key keyboard is a touch-tone phone pad.
17. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein displaying on the display the default character associated with one of the multi-character keys is in response to receiving a selection of the multi-character key.
18. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein displaying one of the alternate characters associated with the multi-character key is in response to receiving a subsequent selection of the multi-character key.
19. A method of selecting a character for display on a display of a communication device, said communication device having a keyboard having a plurality of input keys of which at least one is a multi-character key having at least a default character and at least one alternate character associated therewith, and a backspace key, the method comprising:
displaying on the display the default character associated with a selected one of the multi-character keys;
deleting the default character on the display in response to receiving a selection of the backspace key; and
based on a probability, displaying an alternate character associated with the multi-character key.
20. The method as recited in claim 19, further comprising positioning a cursor over the alternate character on the display when a request to move the cursor to a previously entered character is received and to display a different alternate character associated with the multi-character key in response to receiving an additional selection of the multi-character key.
21. A method of selecting a character for display in a communication device having a display screen and plurality of user inputs including a reduced-key keyboard comprising a plurality of input keys of which at least one is a multi-character key associated with a plurality of characters, the method comprising the steps of:
selecting one of a plurality of input keys on the reduced-key keyboard and displaying a default character associated with the selected key;
selecting at least one time a user input for inputting a request to move a cursor to a previously entered character and displaying the cursor in a position of the default character on the display screen;
selecting the selected key; and
based on a probability, displaying an alternate character associated with the selected key.
22. A processing subsystem configured to be installed in a mobile communication device comprising a user interface including a display screen and a plurality of user inputs including a reduced-key keyboard comprising a plurality of input keys of which at least one is a multi-character key associated with a plurality of alphanumeric characters, said processing subsystem comprising:
control software programmed to display a default character associated with a selected multi-character key upon a first actuation thereof and to display a cursor in the position of the default character on the display screen when a user input for inputting a request to move the cursor to a previously entered character is subsequently actuated at least one time and to then display, based on a probability, an alternate character associated with the selected multi-character key upon a second actuation of the multi-character key.