All The Claims

1-25. (canceled)
26. A method of adoptive immunotherapy for cancer, comprising administering to a subject in need thereof an effective amount of a composition comprising a population of long-lived memory CD8+CD161hi IL-18R\u03b1hi T cells, wherein:
the long-lived memory CD8+CD161hi IL-18R\u03b1hi T cells make up at least 30% of the total CD8+ T cells in the composition; and
the long-lived memory CD8+CD161hi IL-18R\u03b1hi T cells comprise CD95hi memory cells, wherein the CD95hi memory cells are capable of proliferating in response to IL-7 or IL-15 and comprise a population of cells comprising an engineered immunoreceptor.
27. The method of claim 26, wherein the population of long-lived memory CD8+CD161hi IL-18R\u03b1hi T cells comprises high CD28 surface expression and high MDR-1 mRNA levels, as compared to a CD8+ T cell population with low surface expression of IL-18R\u03b1.
28. The method of claim 26, wherein the long-lived memory CD8+CD161hi IL-18R\u03b1hi T cells are CD127+, CD25neg, bcl 2hi, perforinneglow, granzyme Aint, granzyme Bintneg and NKG2Dint.
29. The method of claim 26, wherein the long-lived memory CD8+ CD161hi IL-18R\u03b1hi T cell population has increased expression of CD43, CD44, CD46, CD148, and CD162 as compared to a CD8+ T cell population with low surface expression of IL-18R\u03b1.
30. The method of claim 26, wherein the long-lived memory CD8+CD161hi IL-18R\u03b1hi T cell population lacks expression of CD57, CD103, and CD69 as compared to a CD8+ T cell population with low surface expression of IL-18R\u03b1.
31. The method of claim 26, wherein the long-lived memory CD8+CD161hi IL-18R\u03b1hi T cell population has increased expression of CD122 as compared to a CD8+ T cell population with low surface expression of IL-18R\u03b1.
32. The method of claim 26, wherein the CD95hi memory cells comprise CD62L+, CD45RAintneg, CD45ROinthi central memory cells.
33. The method of claim 32, wherein the CD95hi memory cells further comprise CD62L\u2212, CD45RAintneg, CD45ROinthi effector memory cells.
34. The method of claim 26, wherein the CD95hi memory cells comprise CD62L\u2212, CD45RAintneg, CD45ROinthi effector memory cells.
35. The method of claim 26, wherein the engineered immunoreceptor is specific for a tumor-associated antigen.
36. The method of claim 26, wherein the engineered immunoreceptor is an antigen-specific T cell receptor.
37. The method of claim 26, wherein the long-lived memory CD8+CD161hi IL-18R\u03b1hi T cells are at least 40% of the total CD8+ T cells in the composition.
38. The method of claim 26, wherein the long-lived memory CD8+CD161hi IL-18R\u03b1hi T cells are at least 50% of the total CD8+ T cells in the composition.
39. The method of claim 26, wherein the long-lived memory CD8+CD161hi IL-18R\u03b1hi T cells are at least 80% of the total CD8+ T cells in the composition.
40. The method of claim 26, wherein the long-lived memory CD8+CD161hi IL-18R\u03b1hi T cells have enhanced proliferation in response to a cytokine selected from the group consisting of IL-12, IL-18, IL-23, or combinations thereof, as compared to a CD8+ T cell population with low surface expression of IL-18R\u03b1.
41. The method of claim 26, wherein the cancer is (a) a prostate, breast, bladder, stomach, oropharynx, nasopharynx, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver, kidney, colon, rectal, anal, lung, thyroid, brain, hematopoietic, or skin cancer; (b) a hematopoietic cancer selected from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, acute lymphoid leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, chronic lymphoid leukemia, or chronic myeloid leukemia; or (c) a skin cancer selected from basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, or melanoma.
42. A method of adoptive immunotherapy for infectious disease, comprising administering to a subject in need thereof an effective amount of a composition comprising a population of long-lived memory CD8+CD161hi IL-18R\u03b1hi T cells, wherein:
the long-lived memory CD8+CD161hi IL-18R\u03b1hi T cells make up at least 30% of the total CD8+ T cells in the composition; and
the long-lived memory CD8+CD161hi IL-18R\u03b1hi T cells comprise CD95hi memory cells, wherein the CD95hi memory cells are capable of proliferating in response to IL-7 or IL-15 and comprise a population of cells comprising an engineered immunoreceptor.
43. The method of claim 42, wherein the population of long-lived memory CD8+CD161hi IL-18R\u03b1hi T cells comprises high CD28 surface expression and high MDR-1 mRNA levels, as compared to a CD8+ T cell population with low surface expression of IL-18R\u03b1.
44. The method of claim 42, wherein the infectious disease is a viral infection, bacterial infection, or a protozoal infection.
45. The method of claim 42, wherein the subject is immunosuppressed.

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 method of weighing each of a series of flat mail pieces, each of which has a length which falls within a range bounded by a maximum length and a minimum length, that are being conveyed through a weighing module including a scale, comprising:
conveying the mail pieces through the weighing module at a substantially constant speed;
maintaining a minimum gap between successive mail pieces as the mail pieces pass through the weighing module; and
measuring the weight of each mail piece during a measurement time during which that mail piece is the only mail piece moving on the scale, wherein the scale is sized so that measurement times for mail pieces between the maximum and minimum lengths will vary.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the minimum gap between successive mail pieces remains substantially constant as a series of mail pieces are weighed.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the mail pieces are conveyed and fed to the scale in a substantially upright position on their bottom edges using belt conveyors.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the mail pieces are conveyed and fed to the scale in a substantially upright position on their bottom edges using belt conveyors.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the weighing module includes a feeder for feeding a series of mail pieces to the scale in a position for weighing, an entry sensor positioned to detect entry of a mail piece onto the scale, and an exit sensor to detect exit of a mail piece from the scale, and
the measurement period starts when the entry sensor detects that a trailing edge of an incoming mail piece has passed the entry sensor and the exit sensor does not detect a mail piece at the scale exit, and ends when the exit sensor detects the leading edge of the mail piece moving on the scale or the entry sensor detects a leading edge of a new mail piece entering the scale.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein the weighing module includes a feeder for feeding a series of mail pieces to the scale in a position for weighing, an entry sensor positioned to detect entry of a mail piece onto the scale, and an exit sensor to detect exit of a mail piece from the scale, and
the measurement period starts when the entry sensor detects that a trailing edge of an incoming mail piece has passed the entry sensor and the exit sensor does not detect a mail piece at the scale exit, and ends when the exit sensor detects the leading edge of the mail piece moving on the scale or the entry sensor detects a leading edge of a new mail piece entering the scale.
7. The method of claim 4, wherein:
weighing length equals a predetermined minimum weighing time for the scale times transport speed;
scale length equals the maximum mail piece length plus the weighing length; and
minimum mail piece length equals scale length plus weighing length minus two times the gap between successive mail pieces.
8. The method of claim 6, wherein:
weighing length equals a predetermined minimum weighing time for the scale times transport speed;
scale length equals the maximum mail piece length plus the weighing length; and
minimum mail piece length equals scale length plus weighing length minus two times the gap between successive mail pieces.
9. A method of weighing each of a series of flat mail pieces, each of which has a length which falls within a range bounded by a maximum length and a minimum length, that are being conveyed through a weighing module, the weighing module including a feeder for feeding a series of mail pieces to a scale, an entry sensor positioned to detect entry of a mail piece onto the scale, and an exit sensor to detect exit of a mail piece from the scale, comprising:
feeding the selected mail pieces through the weighing module in a manner effective to maintain a minimum gap between successive mail pieces that pass through the weighing module; and
weighing each mail piece with the scale during a measurement period which starts when the entry sensor detects that a trailing edge of an incoming mail piece has passed the entry sensor and the exit sensor does not detect a mail piece at the scale exit, and which ends when the exit sensor detects the leading edge of the mail piece moving on the scale or the entry sensor detects a leading edge of a new mail piece entering the scale.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein:
successive mail pieces are fed through the weighing module at a substantially constant transport speed with a predetermined minimum gap between mail pieces:
weighing length equals a predetermined minimum weighing time for the scale times transport speed;
scale length equals the maximum mail piece length plus the weighing length; and
minimum mail piece length is equal to scale length plus weighing length minus two times the gap between successive mail pieces.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the mail pieces are fed to the scale by the feeder using in a substantially upright position on their bottom edges using belt conveyors.
12. A mail sorting machine, comprising:
a feeder that receives a stack of incoming mail pieces and outputs the mail pieces one at a time in a vertical position;
a scanner that receives mail pieces from the feeder and scans each mail piece in a vertical position to read sorting information thereon;
a weighing module that receives a series of mail pieces from the scanner and weighs each mail piece as it passes therethrough;
a printer station that includes a printer positioned to print a postal meter mark or permit mark on each mail piece based on the weight determined by the weighing module;
a reorientation conveyor that receives the scanned mail pieces and re-orients each mail piece from a vertical to a horizontal position; and
a bin module that receives mail pieces from the reorientation conveyor and has means for sorting the mail pieces based on sorting information read by the scanner.

1. A method of making a free-standing ductile composite comprising:
providing a substrate;
releasably bonding one or more piezoelectric elements to the substrate;
kerfing, while the one or more piezoelectric elements are releasably bonded to the substrate, the piezoelectric elements in a predetermined pattern to form a kerfed pattern;
filling the kerfed pattern with a polymer selected from the group consisting of polyimide and silicone and having a Young’s modulus less than about 20,000 psi at about 120\xb0 C. to form a polymer-piezoelectric composite;
lapping the polymer-piezoelectric composite;
releasing the polymer-piezoelectric composite from the substrate; and
forming a plurality of ink port holes through the polymer.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the substrate comprises one or more of ceramics, semiconductors, and metals.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of releasably bonding one or more piezoelectric elements to the substrate comprises using one or more of double sided tape, heat releasable polymers, hot melt adhesives, UV releasable tape, chemical soluble polymers, and water soluble polymers to bond one or more piezoelectric elements to the substrate.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the polymer comprises one or more additives and fillers.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising curing the polymer before the step of releasing the polymer-piezoelectric composite from the substrate.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising lapping one or more sides of the polymer-piezoelectric composite to a desired thickness in the range of approximately 10 \u03bcm to approximately 100 \u03bcm.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising coating a metal to form one or more metal electrodes on at least one side of the polymer-piezoelectric composite.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
filling the kerfed pattern with the polymer while the one or more piezoelectric elements are releasably bonded to the substrate;
curing the polymer while the one or more piezoelectric elements are releasably bonded to the substrate; and
forming an ink port hole between each of the plurality of piezoelectric elements during the formation of the plurality of ink port holes.
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 semiconductor process, comprising:
forming a stacked structure on a substrate;
covering a contact etch stop layer on the stacked structure and the substrate;
forming a material layer on the substrate and exposing a top part of the contact etch stop layer covering the stacked structure, wherein the top part protrudes from the material layer; and
redressing the top part after the material layer is formed.
2. The semiconductor process according to claim 1, wherein the stacked structure comprises a gate and a cap layer from bottom to top.
3. The semiconductor process according to claim 2, wherein the top part is redressed until a part of the cap layer is exposed.
4. The semiconductor process according to claim 2, wherein the cap layer comprises a dual layer.
5. The semiconductor process according to claim 4, wherein the cap layer comprises a nitride layer and an oxide layer from bottom to top.
6. The semiconductor process according to claim 5, wherein the top part is redressed until part of the oxide layer is exposed without exposing the nitride layer.
7. The semiconductor process according to claim 1, wherein the step of forming the material layer on the substrate and exposing the top part of the contact etch stop layer covering the stacked structure comprises:
entirely covering a material on the contact etch stop layer; and
etching back the material to form the material layer.
8. The semiconductor process according to claim 1, wherein the material layer comprises a photoresist layer or an oxide layer.
9. The semiconductor process according to claim 8, further comprising:
removing the photoresist layer after the top part is redressed.
10. The semiconductor process according to claim 2, further comprising:
forming a planarized interdielectric layer on the substrate but exposing the stacked structure after the top part is redressed.
11. The semiconductor process according to claim 10, wherein the step of forming the planarized interdielectric layer comprises:
forming an interdielectric layer to cover the substrate and the stacked structure; and
planarizing the interdielectric layer until the stacked structure is exposed.
12. The semiconductor process according to claim 11, wherein the interdielectric layer is planarized until the cap layer is removed and the gate is exposed.
13. The semiconductor process according to claim 11, wherein the cap layer comprises a nitride layer and an oxide layer from bottom to top, and the interdielectric layer is planarized until the oxide layer is removed and the nitride layer is exposed.
14. The semiconductor process according to claim 13, further comprising:
performing an etching process to remove the nitride layer after the oxide layer is removed.
15. The semiconductor process according to claim 10, further comprising:
removing the gate after the planarized interdielectric layer is formed.
16. The semiconductor process according to claim 2, further comprising:
replacing the gate by a metal gate after the top part is redressed.
17. The semiconductor process according to claim 1, further comprising:
forming a first spacer on the substrate beside the stacked structure after the stacked structure is formed.
18. The semiconductor process according to claim 1, further comprising:
forming a metal silicide on the substrate beside the stacked structure before the contact etch stop layer is covered.
19. The semiconductor process according to claim 1, further comprising:
forming a second spacer on the substrate beside the stacked structure before the contact etch stop layer is covered;
forming a sourcedrain in the substrate beside the second spacer; and
removing at least a part of the second spacer.