A system, method, and computer program product provide computerized services to multiple enterprises. A developer creates each service according to a template, which includes both core functionality common to all services, and individualized functionality specific to the service. The developer either deactivates, or activates and configures, each function in the core based on a service level agreement with the particular enterprise for which the service was created. The template provides a wide variety of core functions, including dynamic data transformation, auditing, logging, exception handling, performance monitoring, service availability, reporting, security, and dynamic reconfiguring. After the service is deployed, it begins to report performance and usage data to a monitoring system. Based on these data, the system calculates an amount to charge the enterprise for use of the given service.

Businesses are often large and complex, needing software that provides many different functions that change over time. Usually, a business will create or purchase application software on the basis of a functional need that exists at the moment. As needs change, and as technology also changes, businesses often grow a patchwork of different applications having different internal technology; for example, a billing application may be written in one programming language, the inventory program written in another, and the customer tracking application in a third. Various legacy applications may have different hardware requirements as well, or may be implemented using older technology for which transitioning to modern equivalents would be costly and time consuming. Also, these applications often were not designed to communicate with each other, requiring software developers to create custom "glue" software. There is therefore a need to perform "enterprise application integration."
To address these concerns, a relatively recent trend has been to build complex applications from software services that are small, easily extensible, modular components—this kind of software environment is called a "service oriented architecture", or SOA. For example, a call center application might be built from a billing history service, an order history service, and a telephone switchboard service, with a small central software routine that ties them together. If well designed, services can be used by multiple applications within an enterprise environment. Because services are small, they can be easily modified or upgraded to the latest technology, and because they are modular, service changes immediately propagate to all applications that use them.
To enable this functionality, services must be able to communicate with each other. In a service oriented architecture, an "enterprise service bus", or ESB, is a message formatting and delivery mechanism that performs this communication function. In the enterprise service bus, each service receives an input message requesting a particular function (e.g., retrieving a billing history according to certain parameters). The service then performs its function in a manner that is typically not visible to the other services, and generates one or more output messages with the results. An output message is sent to the requesting service or application, although any number of output messages may be generated (as an example, a second message may be sent to a security logging service). The enterprise service bus ensures that the meaning of each message generated by one service is compatible with the format required by other services. Older, legacy applications may be easily integrated with newer services by configuring the enterprise service bus to use their input and output channel data formats, without otherwise modifying the code of these applications that might have required expertise that is not readily available or inexpensive.
However, service development is largely a manual task. A normal build of a service has to go through a series of manual steps. Moreover, programmers may need to start from scratch. Even if a few reusable independent frameworks are available, they need to be integrated after manual creation of the baseline application flow. They need to do things like setting up the input and output message channels, configuring the application or environment properties files, and so on. The manual nature of this process, and the redundant work involved, introduces much inefficiency into the software development process and introduces many opportunities to make mistakes.
Automatic code generation software is known that can create application software automatically, but while this code generation process eliminates some of the repetitive nature of software development, it still requires programmers to manually create the "glue" that integrates various enterprise components together. In particular, existing solutions for integrating multiple applications lack automatic coupling of service input and output channels, the ability to record and replay past data in order to do regression testing, mock service availability when full back end applications are not available, plug and play features like service virtualization and service monitoring data collection, and controlled exception management, among others.

Efficient framework for deploying middleware services

CAPGEMINI TECHNOLOGY SERVICES INDIA LIMITED


Management of configurable applications programs on a network is provided by using two program files for each configurable application program. The two program files are provided to a network server station which operates as the on-demand server for software deployment and may also act as the application server. The on-demand server makes the first (configuration manager) program available to an administrator to obtain preferences for the configurable preferences of the application program which have been designated as administrator preferences. The on-demand server also provides a second (application launcher) program to its client stations. The application launcher program not only provides for a user interface to execute the application program itself but also allows a user to specify one or more of the configurable parameters of the application program. An icon is displayed on the screen of the client station through which a user may initiate execution of the application program. The application launcher program provides the identity of the user to the server along with the request to initiate execution of the application program. The on-demand server then initiates execution of the application program using stored values for the user and administrator set preferences or, if no preferences have yet been obtained for the particular user, obtains user preferences before initiating execution of the application program.

The present invention relates to network management in general and in particular to application program management on a computer network.
Traditional mainframe computer configurations provided for user interface to the computer through computer terminals which were directly connected by wires to ports of the mainframe computer. As computing technology has evolved, processing power has typically evolved from a central processing center with a number of relatively low-processing power terminals to a distributed environment of networked processors. Examples of this shift in processing include local or wide area computer networks which interconnect individual work stations where each workstation has substantial independent processing capabilities. This shift may be further seen in the popularity of the Internet which interconnects many processors and networks of processors through devices such as, for example, routers. This type of network environment is often referred to as a client-server environment with client stations coupled to and supported by a server station.
In the modern distributed processing computer environment, control over software, such as application programs, is more difficult than where a mainframe operated by an administrator is used, particularly for large organizations with numerous client stations and servers distributed widely geographically and utilized by a large number of users. Furthermore, individual users may move from location to location and need to access the network from different client stations at different times. The networked environment increases the challenges for a network administrator in maintaining proper licenses for existing software and deploying new or updated applications programs across the network.
One approach to reducing software distribution and control problems is to use an application server in which the application programs are installed and maintained on a centralized server which supports a plurality of client stations. In addition, the Systems Management Server (SMS) program from Microsoft Corporation provides an ability to transmit an application program from a server to a number of clients. The SMS system typically allows installation of programs and associated icons at client stations for SMS-enabled applications. A customized install generally must be created by a system administrator for each different version to be installed. Furthermore, once installed at a client, a user must typically use that specific client station. The application generally cannot be automatically deleted from the client station""s desktop or automatically upgraded the next time the user starts the application. Similarly, the Tivoli Management Environment (TME) 10(trademark) system from Tivoli Systems, Inc. provides a software distribution feature which may be used to transmit a file package to client and server stations on a network from a central Tivoli(trademark) server.
A further complication in network systems is that, typically, these systems include combinations of network applications and native applications as well as combinations of different connection types and hardware devices. As used herein xe2x80x9cnative applicationsxe2x80x9d refers to applications which are installed locally on a workstation such that characteristics associated with the native application are stored on the workstation. The combinations of network connections, differing hardware, native applications and network applications makes portability of preferences or operating environment characteristics which provide consistency from workstation to workstation difficult. Furthermore, differences in hardware or connections may create inefficiencies as users move from workstation to workstation. For example, a user may, in a first session, access the network utilizing a high speed connection and a workstation with a high resolution color monitor to execute an application and then, in a later session, access the network to execute the same application from a mobile computer with a monochrome display and a low speed modem connection to the network. Thus, session content, such as color display data or preferences associated with the application, which may have been appropriate for the first session, may be inappropriate or inefficient in a later session.
Efforts to address mobility of uses in a network have included efforts to provide preference mobility such as, for example, Novell""s Z.E.N.works(trademark), Microsoft""s xe2x80x9cZero Administrationxe2x80x9d initiative for Windows(copyright) and International Business Machines Corporation""s (IBM""s) Workspace On Demand(trademark). However, these solutions each typically require pre-installation of software at the workstation to support their services. For example, Novell""s Z.E.N. and IBM""s Workspace On Demand utilize a designer-supplied support layer in the operating system to enable their services. In addition to modifying the workstations operating system at startup to setup tasks to customize the user""s environment, the Microsoft Zero Administration solution may be limited to a homogeneous environment where the workstation and the server are utilizing the same operating system.
Another approach to centralized management is the traditional mainframe model, such as with the IBM 3270 system, or an X Windows environment. However, in each of these approaches, the client device is treated as a dumb terminal with execution of the applications occurring at the server rather than the client. Accordingly, the communication between the server and the client is typically presenting characters for a display screen of the client and/or receiving key strokes from the client. Windows Zero Administration, as described above, is client rather than user oriented and installs applications on client stations which do not fully support roaming by users. The JAVA(trademark) environment utilized on the Internet for web applications provides an ability for hardware independent application development but fails to provide an integrated framework for presenting multiple independent applications to a user. While various web applications do allow personalizing of a specific application display by user, this capability is generally not managed across applications for a user. Furthermore, it typically associates personalized screen information with an Internet address which is client device rather than user associated, therefore limiting its ability to support roaming by users.
Each of these xe2x80x9cmobilityxe2x80x9d systems typically do not address the full range of complications which may arise in a heterogeneous network utilizing differing devices and connections. The systems typically will not present application choices associated with the user and for which the user is authorized but instead present information associated with the particular client workstation. Users would typically have to manually define session characteristics at each differing workstation they used in the network or maintain local characteristic definitions which may be inappropriate for particular applications a user is executing and may substantially reduced the administrative convenience of a centrally controlled network. Thus, these various approaches fail to provide a seamless integration of application access and session characteristics across heterogeneous networks. Such solutions may, at most, reduce network administration only after initial installation on each workstation. In addition, control over access to applications by users is difficult to accomplish in a mobile environment.
An additional user based application management capability not fully supported by these various approaches is license use management. License use management typically involves controlling how many users can use an application. A distributed network environment with a plurality of client stations and a plurality of different users accessing the applications from different clients increases the challenge associated with managing license use to insure compliance with limitations established by software designers. These environments also typically require various steps in the installation process to occur at different locations rather than allowing the entire process to be controlled from a single point for an entire managed network environment.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide methods, systems and computer program products for management of configurable application programs on a computer network which allow a mix of user and system administrator defined configurable preferences to be associated with specific application programs.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such methods, systems and computer program products that can accommodate various types of hardware operating under different operating systems across client stations.
These and other objects are provided, according to the present invention, by providing two program files for each configurable application program which are provided to a network server station which operates as an on-demand server for software deployment and may also act as the application server. The on-demand server makes the first, or configuration manager, program available to an administrator classified user (either remotely at a client station or at a direct interface to the server station) to provide an interface to establish preferences for the configurable preferences of the application program which have been designated as administrator only settable. The on-demand server also provides a second, or application launcher, program to client stations on the network and served by the on-demand server. The application launcher program not only provides for a user interface to execute the application program itself but also allows a user to specify one or more of the configurable parameters of the application program. An icon is displayed on the screen of the client station through which a user may initiate execution of the application program. The on-demand application launcher may also obtain a license for the requesting user before initiating execution thereby providing centralized license management support.
The application launcher program first determines the user identity (ID) and provides the user information to the server along with the request to initiate execution of the application program. The application program is then executed using stored values for the user and administrator set preferences or, if no preferences have yet been obtained for the particular user (or new preferences are desired), user preferences are obtained before initiating execution of the application program itself. A profile manager program on the on-demand server provides a user interface and maintains profile information for each client (hardware related) and user (preferences) for all managed configurable application programs available on the on-demand server. The profile manager program may also control access to various applications based on user authorization information.
In one embodiment of the present invention methods, systems and computer program products are provided for management of configurable application programs on a network. An application program having a plurality of configurable preferences and a plurality of authorized users is installed on a server coupled to the network. An application launcher program associated with the application program is distributed to a client coupled to the network. A user set of the plurality of configurable preferences associated with one of the plurality of authorized users executing the application launcher program is obtained and an administrator set of the plurality of configurable preferences is obtained from an administrator. The application program is then executed using the obtained user set and the obtained administrator set of the plurality of configurable preferences responsive to a request from the one of the plurality of authorized users. The request may be received from the one of the plurality of authorized users through the application launcher program.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a configuration manager program associated with the application program is distributed to a second client coupled to the network and the administrator set of the plurality of configurable preferences is obtained from an administrator executing the configuration manager program. The administrator may be one of the plurality of authorized users who is authorized to execute the configuration manager program. In one embodiment of the present invention, an icon associated with the application program is displayed on a screen-of the client and an authorized user may execute the application launcher program by selecting the displayed icon.
In one embodiment of the present invention, obtained user sets and obtained administrator sets are stored on a storage device coupled to the server and retrieved from the storage device when initiating execution of the application program. Default preference values may be provided and used for any of the plurality of configurable preferences which are not specified by the user set or the administrator set. Furthermore, the default preference values may be also be stored on the storage device coupled to the server.
In a further aspect of the present invention, security may be provided by determining if a user requesting execution of the application program is one of the plurality of authorized users. This aspect may also be combined with the license use management aspects of the present invention to further control access to managed application programs.
In another embodiment of the present invention, additional application programs are managed according to the teachings of the present invention along with user preferences obtained from a plurality of users. Furthermore, for each application program, associated application launcher programs may be distributed to a plurality of client stations and obtain user preferences from a plurality of users.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, methods, systems and computer program products are provided for management of configurable application programs on a network. An application program having a plurality of configurable preferences and a plurality of authorized users is installed on a server and an application launcher program associated with the application program is distributed to a client. A user set of the plurality of configurable preferences is obtained from one of the plurality of authorized users executing the application launcher program and an administrator set of the plurality of configurable preferences is obtained from an administrator The application program is then executed using a stored user set and the administrator set of the plurality of configurable preferences responsive to a request from the one of the plurality of authorized users.
In another embodiment of the present invention, methods, systems and computer program products are provided for management of configurable application programs on a network including receiving an application launcher program associated with an application program having a plurality of configurable preferences from a server. A user set of the plurality of configurable preferences from one of the plurality of authorized users executing the application launcher program is provided to the server. The server is also requested to provide an instance of the application program and a stored user set and an administrator set of the plurality of configurable preferences for use in executing the application program responsive to a request from the one of the plurality of authorized users.
In a further aspect of the present invention, methods, systems and computer program products are provided for management of license use for a network. License management policy information for a plurality of application programs is maintained at a license management server. Requests are received at the license management server for a license availability of a selected one of the plurality of application programs from a user at a client. The license management server determines the license availability for the selected one of the plurality of application programs for the user based on the maintained license management policy information and provides an unavailability indication to the client responsive to the selection if the license availability indicates that a license is not available for the user or an availability indication if the licensed availability indicates that a license is available for the user. The request may be received from an application launcher program associated with the selected one of the plurality of application programs and the availability or unavailability indication may be provided to the application launcher program. In one embodiment, the license management server is an on demand server associated with the client which provides an instance of the selected one of the application programs to the client for execution.
While the invention has been described above primarily with respect to the method aspects of the invention, both systems and computer program products are also provided.
Accordingly, the present invention provides for management of configurable application programs in a network environment from a central on-demand server location while allowing for user preferences to be tracked independent of hardware location of the user. This provides for reduced costs and increased uniformity in managing software in a network environment by delivering configured applications when demanded by a user. It further provides an essentially hardware transparent ability for an individual user to interface to an on-demand server supported client station while maintaining the user""s personal preferences for each application program.

Methods, systems and computer program products for license use management on a network


The present invention relates to a method for performing high speed electron beam lithography (EBL). An electron beam source (EBS), capable of emitting an electron beam towards the energy sensitive resist, forms a first pattern (P1) on the substrate, the first pattern defining a first direction (D1) on the substrate. The electron beam source then forms a second pattern (P2) on the substrate. The energy and/or dose delivered to the energy sensitive resist during the exposure of the first and the second pattern is dimensioned so that the threshold dose/energy of the energy sensitive resist is reached on the overlapping portions of the first and the second patterns (P1, P2). The invention provides a high speed technique for the production of substrates with high quality developed patterns, e.g. hole or dot arrays, by electron beam lithography. Each hole or dot may be defined by the mutually overlapping portions of the first and second pattern, e.g. exposed lines forming a grid, instead of addressing each dot or hole separately.

Electron-beam lithography has developed after the limit was reached in optical lithography as regards the smallest spot that could reasonably be formed by optical means. Electron-beam lithography makes it possible to record significantly smaller pits/grooves on an energy sensitive resist on a wafer for optical or electronic applications.
US2003155532 discloses a device for electron-beam lithography wherein very small pits can be written, using a small beam intensity, by exposing each pit several times during writing thereby avoiding the mutual repulsion between the electrons setting an upper limit for electron density in the beams. A row of electron beams is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the track. Each beam from the row of beams can be controlled, either to be projected onto the track via electron optics, or to be scattered to an electron absorbing position. The control of the row of beams ensures that each time a track position to be exposed passes the projection position of a beam from said row of beams, the beam in question is projected onto the position in question. Furthermore, means are provided for shifting the beams from the row of beams in transverse direction on the track for the purpose of writing a second track simultaneously with the main track. Finally, several rows of beams arranged one beside another for simultaneously writing onto two tracks arranged one beside another are described. By this device one and the same spot on the master disk can be "exposed" to an electron beam from the row of beams a number of times, wherein successive electron beams from said row of beams are used for successive exposures. The controllable means make it possible either to direct a beam from said row of beams through the aperture, similarly to the process of "exposing" the resist on the master disk, or not to direct said beam through the aperture, similarly to the process of "not exposing" the resist on the master disk. In this manner it is ensured that a very short "exposure time" is used for each exposure of the resist to a beam of electrons, whilst a sufficiently long overall "exposure time", in particular sufficiently long for minimizing the amount of noise in the signal, can be achieved by selecting a sufficiently large number of beams in the row of beams. However, the electron beam lithography method of US2003155532 is used for manufacturing tracks for optical master disks.
WO 2006076740 discloses a related multi-beam synchronous raster scanning lithography system that includes a processor which generates electrical signals representing a desired exposure pattern at an output. A multi-beam source of exposing radiation generates a plurality of exposure beams. A beam modulator receives the electrical signals generated by the processor and modulates the plurality of exposing beams according to the desired exposure pattern. A beam deflector deflects the plurality of exposure beams by a predetermined distance along a first axis, thereby exposing a plurality of pixels along the first axis with the desired exposure pattern. A translation stage moves the substrate a predetermined distance along a second axis to position the substrate for a subsequent exposure of pixels along the first axis that results in a desired overlapping exposure dose profile. In order to accurately control the exposure pattern formed, this lithography system requires that the beam (optical or electron) is energised and de-energised in time, i.e. the beam is turned on and off. This necessitates quite precise knowledge or feedback about the actual position of the beam, which, in turn, sets a limit to the scanning speed of the lithography system. Thus, a faster lithography system is desired.
When producing wafers or substrates with hole or dot arrays today by electron beam lithography, each individual hole and/or dot (element) is addressed separately. Each dot is down to sub-10 nm in diameter, and the registration accuracy of each hole or dot has to be less than 1 nm. This makes it very critical to move the beam accurately and a finite time is spent on each movement making it impossible to decrease the necessary exposure time below a certain limit for any given electron beam lithography system.
Hence, an improved method for performing electron beam lithography (EBL) would be advantageous, and in particular a more efficient and/or reliable method would be advantageous.

Method for performing electron beam lithography


A reference comparison image obtained from a printed material is input. The grayscale feature amount of the reference comparison image is extracted. Using the extracted grayscale feature amount, a target comparison image corresponding to the reference comparison image is retrieved from a plurality of electronic data stored as target comparison images in a storage medium. The retrieved image is extracted from the storage medium and processed.

Recently, the development of word processing software and the spread of digital cameras facilitate importing an image in a document, and documents containing color images become popular. Digital copying machines and network copying machines have also advanced.
In this situation, electronic data of paper documents distributed at a meeting and the like can be managed in, e.g., a document management server. If necessary, electronic data managed in the document management server can be retrieved and subjected to various processes.
These processes include, for example, printing of retrieved electronic data, distribution to a terminal such as a desired personal computer (PC) within a network, save in a desired storage medium within a network, and editing.
One of retrieval methods of retrieving electronic data is to retrieve desired electronic data from the document management server by using text data contained in electronic data as a retrieval condition.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-257862, when a paper document is to be converted into electronic data, an identification code is added to the electronic data to generate a printed material containing the identification code. To retrieve or print electronic data corresponding to the printed material, the printed material is loaded to recognize the identification code printed on the material, thereby retrieving or printing desired electronic data.
When a paper document to be distributed is created from original document data of color images, the purpose is reference/confirmation, and many copies must be formed. Thus, a paper document for such purpose is generally a paper document of grayscale images prepared by copying an original paper document by a copying machine or a paper document of monochrome images prepared by printing original document data by a monochrome printer.
In retrieving original document data from electronic data of a paper document containing a grayscale or monochrome image, when the original document data is formed by only text data, it can be accurately retrieved using the text data as a retrieval condition.
If, however, original document data contains a color image and is retrieved using text data as a retrieval condition, desired original document data cannot be retrieved or satisfactory precision cannot be obtained when the text data are identical but images are different.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-257862, original document data needs to be printed once together with an identification code, and thus a change is inevitable for the original document data. A change not intended by the user is added to the original document data.
For example, to manage electronic data created by word processing software or the like as original document data, the electronic data is printed once, the printed material is loaded as electronic data, and then the electronic data is printed together with an identification code. Further, the printed material with the identification code is loaded as electronic data, resulting in cumbersome procedures.

Image processing apparatus and method therefor


A method of reducing muscle pain in a person by removably attaching an electrode to each ear on a person's head and connecting the electrodes to receive a modified pulse signal from a computer or a digital port. The signal from the computer or the digital port are rectangular voltage pulses of “1s” and “0s” at varying frequencies. The rectangular pulse signal from the computer or digital port is modified to have at least the leading square corner of each of the rectangular voltage pulses rounded before it is sent to the electrodes. A method of randomizing the stimulus at about 100 Hz for improved sleep and an alternate method of randomizing stimuli for the neurological reduction of perceived pain and a similar method for reducing pain output from a muscle and its associated tissues directly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method and system of electro-biological stimulation and more particularly to method and system, which supports current therapeutic techniques of electro-stimulation.
2. Background of the Invention
Nontraditional procedures that are used to manage pain include the electrical stimulation of tissue. One method of accomplishing this is by attaching electrodes to a person's skin. This procedure, which is generally referred to as trans-cutaneous electro-stimulation (TENS), typically uses a square wave signal with a current that is in the microampere to milliampere range and a frequency that normally varies from under a hertz to about 100 Hertz, which is applied to a select region of a person's anatomy such as, for example, the ear lobes or across a muscle.


A vise having a base piece and an invertible V-block supported both laterally and downwardly on the base piece in either inverted position. A movable jaw operates toward and away from the V-block in distances in accord with the inverted position of the V-block, all to accommodate workpieces of different sizes and with only one invertible V-block which is snugly supported in lateral positions on the base piece and which is supported upwardly by shouldering on the base piece.

The prior art is already aware of various configurations of vises which are used in industrial environments for purposes of holding workpieces which can be machined while being held. The type of vise under consideration is generally that which includes a V-block mounted on a support base and having a movable jaw which moves toward and away from the V-block for purposes of clamping a workpiece between the V-block and the movable jaw. The V-block of course has a V-groove for the nesting of the workpiece which is generally cylindrical in shape.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,472,040 and 2,492,558 and 2,515,877 and 5,172,896 and 4,005,945 all show vises which have V-blocks with a movable jaw for pressing a workpiece into the V-groove of the V-block. However, these vises do not have a reversible type of V-block which is the subject of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,071,289 and 3,281,059 both show vises with reversible V-blocks which have V-grooves of different sizes therein. Those two prior art showings do not disclose a vise with an invertible V-block which is flanked on opposite sides by the base piece, for alignment and security, and which shoulders on the base piece for supporting the block and its workpiece against the force of working. Still further, those prior art showings differ from the present invention in that they do not inter-relate the base piece and an invertible V-block such that the two different V-grooves shoulder different manners on the one base piece of the vise for presenting the two different grooves at different locations relative to the movable jaw. That is, in the present invention, the movable jaw can have its linear displacement for moving toward and away from the workpiece, and that displacement accommodates the respective size of the V-groove which is at that time presented to the movable jaw. In that manner, the present invention provides for accommodation of workpieces from one-half inch up to two inches, but simply by utilization of only one V-block which is invertible and there is still clearance between the V-block and the movable jaw for purposes of receiving the two inch diameter workpiece, for example.
That is, the present invention provides a vise which has the base piece for mounting onto a machine or work support or the like and which has the movable jaw with actuator means inter-related between the base piece and the movable jaw and then which also has the invertible V-block supportable on the base piece in two different positions to present two different V-grooves faced toward the movable jaw for accommodating workpieces of different sizes.


Bioactive priming polypeptides are provided that are useful when applied to plants in agricultural formulations. Methods of using the formulations containing the bioactive priming polypeptides are also provided which are applied exogenously to the surface of a plant or a plant cell membrane or endogenously to the interior of a plant or to a plant cell. The bioactive priming polypeptides when applied to a plant, a plant part, or a plant growth medium or a rhizosphere in an area surrounding the plant or the plant part increase growth, yield, health, longevity, productivity, and/or vigor of a plant or a plant part and/or decrease abiotic stress in the plant or the plant part and/or protect the plant or the plant part from disease, insects and/or nematodes, and/or increase the innate immune response of the plant or the plant part and/or change plant architecture.

Conventional methods to achieve desired agronomic phenotypes such as increased yield, disease prevention, disease resistance, and improved abiotic stress tolerance have utilized mostly selective breeding, grafting, transgenic and agrochemical approaches.
Bioactive Priming Polypeptides Involved in Plant Defense Responses
Plants possess an immune system that detects and protects against microbes that can cause disease. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in plants are often the first line of defense against invading pathogens and are involved in the initiation of defense responses that can impart innate immunity to a plant. Many AMPs are generically active against various kinds of infectious agents. They are generally classified as antibacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral and/or anti-parasitic.
The resistance of given plant species against certain pathogenic organisms that can contact a plant surface and colonize it, is based on highly specialized recognition systems for molecules produced only by certain microbes (for example, specific bacterial or fungal strains). Plants sense potential microbial invaders by using pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) to recognize the pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) associated with them.
Flagellin/Flagellin-Associated Polypeptides
Flagellins and flagellin-associated polypeptides derived from those flagellins have been reported primarily to have functional roles in innate immune responses in plants. These polypeptides are derived from highly conserved domains of eubacterial flagellin. Flagellin is the main building block of the bacterial flagellum. The flagellin protein subunit building up the filament of bacterial flagellum can act as a potent elicitor in cells to mount defense-related responses in various plant species.
"Flagellin" is a globular protein that arranges itself in a hollow cylinder to form the filament in a bacterial flagellum. Flagellin is the principal substituent of bacterial flagellum, and is present in flagellated bacteria. Plants can perceive, combat infection and mount defense signaling against bacterial microbes through the recognition of conserved epitopes, such as the stretch of 22 amino acids (Flg22) located in the N-terminus of a full length flagellin coding sequence. The elicitor activity of Flg22 polypeptide is attributed to this conserved domain within the N-terminus of the flagellin protein (Felix et al., 1999). Plants can perceive bacterial flagellin through a pattern recognition receptor (PRR) at the plant's cell surface known as flagellin sensitive receptor, which is a leucine-rich repeat receptor kinase located in the plasma membrane and available at the plant cell surface. In plants, the best-characterized PRR is FLAGELLIN SENSING 2 (FLS2), which is highly conserved in both monocot and dicot plants.
In Arabidopsis, the innate immune response to Flg22 involves a host recognition protein complex that contains the FLS2 leucine rich repeat (LRR) receptor kinase (Gómez-Gómez L. and Boller T., "FLS2: An LRR receptor-like kinase involved in the perception of the bacterial elicitor flagellin in Arabidopsis," Molecular Cell 5: 1003-1011, 2000). In Arabidopsis thaliana, FLS2 is a PRR that determines flagellin perception and is specific for the binding of the flagellin-associated polypeptide(s). For example, the binding of Flg22 to the outer plant FLS2 membrane-bound receptor triggers a signaling cascade that is involved in the innate immune response that induces the plant to mount a highly specific signaling-associated cascade that is involved in the activation of pattern-triggered immunity (Chinchilla et al., "The Arabidopsis receptor kinase FLS2 binds Flg22 and determines the specificity of flagellin perception," Plant Cell 18: 465-476, 2006). Thus, the binding of Flg22 to the Arabidopsis FLS2 membrane-bound receptor promotes the first step of activation in which the binding elicits an activation cascade for defense responses in the plant. The Flg22-FLS2 interaction can also lead to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that contribute to the induction of an oxidative burst, cellular medium alkalinization, downstream induction of pathogen-responsive genes and defense-related responses which then can impart disease resistance to a plant (Felix G. et al., "Plants have a sensitive perception system for the most conserved domain of bacterial flagellin," The Plant Journal 18: 265-276, 1999, Gómez-Gómez L. and Boller T., "FLS2: An LRR receptor-like kinase involved in the perception of the bacterial elicitor flagellin in Arabidopsis," Molecular Cell 5: 1003-1011, 2000, Meindi et al., "The bacterial elicitor flagellin activates its receptor in tomato cells according to the address-message concept," The Plant Cell 12: 1783-1794, 2000). In tomato, high affinity binding of Flg22 to a FLS receptor was observed using both intact cells as well as to microsomal membrane preparations. In this study, the binding of Flg22 to the FLS2 receptor(s) at the plasma membrane surface was nonreversible under physiological conditions, which reflects an uptake process of the Flg22 elicitor with import into the tomato cells (Meindi et al., "The bacterial elicitor flagellin activates its receptor in tomato cells according to the address-message concept," The Plant Cell 12: 1783-1794, 2000). Recognition of Flg22 by FLS2 triggers both local and systemic plant immune responses. The Flg22-bound, activated FLS2 receptor complex is internalized into plant cells by endocytosis and moves systemically throughout the plant (Jelenska et al., "Flagellin peptide flg22 gains access to long-distance trafficking in Arabidopsis via its receptor, FLS2," Journal of Experimental Botany 68: 1769-1783, 2017), which may contribute towards systemic Flg22 immune responses.
Flagellin receptor perception mediation involving Flg22 is highly conserved across divergent plant taxa (Taki et al., "Analysis of flagellin perception mediated by flg22 receptor OsFLS2 in rice," Molecular Plant Microbe Interactions 21: 1635-1642, 2008). Submicromolar concentrations of synthetic polypeptides comprising between 15-22 or 28 amino acids from conserved domains of a flagellin protein, act as elicitors to initiate defense responses in a variety of plant species.
Generation of transgenic plants has been used to confirm the flagellin-specific PAMPs that bind to the flagellin-specific PRRs. Ectopic expression of FLS2 in Arabidopsis plants showed a direct correlation between the flagellin responses and FLS2 expression levels, which indicate that FLS2 is involved in the recognition of flagellin (a signal of bacterial presence) and leads to the activation of defense responses in plants (Gómez-Gómez L. and Boller T., "FLS2: An LRR receptor-like kinase involved in the perception of the bacterial elicitor flagellin in Arabidopsis," Molecular Cell 5: 1003-1011, 2000). Transgenic plants expressing the flagellin binding receptor have shown efficacy against certain pathogens. Flagellin binding to FLS2 was involved in the initiation of expression of specific MAP kinase transcription factors that function downstream of the flagellin receptor FLS2. Mutant plants (fls2) lacking in the FLS2 receptor are insensitive to Flg22 (Gómez-Gómez L. and Boller T., "FLS2: An LRR receptor-like kinase involved in the perception of the bacterial elicitor flagellin in Arabidopsis," Molecular Cell 5: 1003-1011, 2000), and impaired in Flg22 binding to the FLS2 receptor. Mutant plants (fls2) also exhibited enhanced susceptibility to infection and disease when treated with pathogenic bacteria (Zipfel et al., "Bacterial disease resistance in Arabidopsis through flagellin perception," Nature 428: 764-767, 2004).
Traditionally, methods to improve disease resistance have capitalized on these and other such findings and have taken a transgenic approach. Transgenic plants and seeds transformed with a Flagellin-Sensing (FLS) receptor protein (WO2016007606A2 incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) or with transcription factors involved in downstream signaling of FLS (WO2002072782A2 incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) have produced plants that confer disease resistance to certain pathogenic microorganisms. In another example, transgenic plants expressing Flagellin-Sensing (FLS3) receptor also have exhibited enhanced resistance to disease compared to non-transgenic plants not expressing the FLS3 receptor (WO2016007606A2 incorporated herein by reference in its entirety).
Plant Defensins/Thionins
Plant defensins are also characterized as anti-microbial peptides (AMPs). Plant defensins contain several conserved cysteinyl residues that form disulphide bridges and contribute to their structural stability. Defensins are among the best characterized cysteine-rich AMPs in plants. Members of the defensin family have four disulfide bridges that fold into a globular structure. This highly conserved structure bestows highly specialized roles in protecting plants against microbial pathogenic organisms (Nawrot et al., "Plant antimicrobial peptides," Folia Microbiology 59: 181-196, 2014).
Thionins are cystine-rich plant AMPs classified in the defensin family and typically comprise 45-48 amino acid residues, in which 6-8 of these amino acids are cysteine that form 3-4 disulfide bonds in higher plants. Thionins have been found to be present in both monocot and dicot plants and their expression can be induced by infection with various microbes (Tam et. al., "Antimicrobial peptides from plants," Pharmaceuticals 8: 711-757, 2015). Particular amino acids of thionins such as Lys1 and Tyr13, which are highly conserved, have been found to be vital to the functional toxicity of these AMPs.
Harpin and Harpin-Like (HpaG-Like)
Similar to the flagellins or the flagellin-associated polypeptides, harpins comprise a group of bacterial-derived elicitors that are derived from larger precursor proteins. Harpins are critical for the elicitation of a hypersensitive response (HR) when infiltrated into the intercellular space or apoplast of plant cells (Kim et al., "Mutational analysis of Xanthomonas harpin HpaG identifies a key functional region that elicits the hypersensitive response in nonhost plants," Journal of Bacteriology 186: 6239-6247, 2004). Application of the distant harpin-like (HpaG-like) bioactive priming polypeptide(s) to a plant provides an alternative conduit to protect a plant from disease and insect pressure. Harpins utilize a type III secretion system that enable the transport of proteins across the lipid bilayers that makeup the plant plasma cell membrane. The binding of harpins to the surface of the plasma cell membrane can trigger an innate immune response that resembles those triggered by pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and are known to activate PAMP-triggered immunity (Engelhardt et al., "Separable roles of the Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola accessory protein HrpZ1 in ion-conducting pore formation and activation of plant immunity," The Plant Journal 57: 706-717, 2009). Mutational analysis of a harpin-like HpaG derived polypeptide showed that the 12 amino acid residues between Leu-39 and Leu50 of the original 133 amino acid harpin elicitor precursor protein was critical to the elicitation of a hypersensitive (HR) and subsequent innate immune responses in tobacco (Kim et al., "Mutational analysis of Xanthomonas harpin HpaG identifies a key functional region that elicits the hypersensitive response in nonhost plants," Journal of Bacteriology 186: 6239-6247, 2004). This indicates that a specific amino acid region of harpins (similar to the other AMPs) is responsible for the elicitation responses. Harpins, such as HpaG-like can be used to enhance resistance to not only plant pathogens but also to insects (Choi et al., "Harpins, multifunctional proteins secreted by gram-negative plant pathogenic bacteria," Molecular Plant Microbe Interactions 26: 1115-1122, 2013). Harpin has been used to induce disease resistance in plants and protect plants from colonization and feeding by insect phloem-feeding insects, such as aphids (Zhang et al., "Harpin-induced expression and transgenic overexpression of phloem protein gene At.PP2A1 in Arabidopsis repress phloem feeding of the green peach aphid Myzus persicae," BMC Plant Biology 11: 1-11, 2011).
Elongation Factor Tu (EF-Tu)
Elongation factor Tu is an abundant protein found in bacteria and acts as a pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) to initiate signaling cascades that are involved in plant disease resistance and plant innate immunity to microbial pathogenic organisms. Interestingly, some EF-Tu polypeptides are also found to exist in plants. The first 18 amino acid residues of the N-terminus of EF-Tu from Escherichia coli, termed elf18, is known to be a potent inducer of PAMP-triggered immune responses in plants (Zipfel et al., "Perception of the bacterial PAMP EF-Tu by the Receptor EFR restricts Agrobacterium-mediated transformation," Cell 125: 749-760, 2006). Polypeptides derived from E. coli EF-Tu are perceived by the plant cell-surface localized receptor EF-Tu receptor (EFR) (Zipfel et al., 2006). EF-Tu binding and activation of EFR follow a similar mode of action compared to that of the Flg peptide-FLS2 receptor complex (Mbengue et al., "Clathrin-dependent endocytosis is required for immunity mediated by pattern recognition receptor kinases," Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A. 113: 11034-9, 2016).
Growth Altering Bioactive Priming Polypeptides
Phytosulfokines (PSKα)
Phytosulfokines (PSK) belong to a group of sulfated plant polypeptides that are encoded by precursor genes that are ubiquitously present and highly conserved in higher plants (Sauter M., "Phytosulfokine peptide signaling," Journal of Experimental Biology 66: 1-9, 2015). PSK genes are encoded by small gene families that are present in both monocots and dicots and encode a PSK polypeptide(s) that can be active as either a pentapeptide or a C-terminally truncated tetrapeptide (Lorbiecke R, Sauter M, "Comparative analysis of PSK peptide growth factor precursor homologs," Plant Science 163: 348-357, 2002).
The phytosulfokine protein is targeted to the secretory pathway in plants by a conserved signal polypeptide (Lorbiecke R, Sauter M, "Comparative analysis of PSK peptide growth factor precursor homologs," Plant Science 163: 348-357, 2002). Processing of the phytosulfokine precursor protein involves sulfonylation by a tyrosylprotein sulfotransferase within the plant secretory pathway, specifically the trans-Golgi followed by secretion and proteolytic cleavage in the apoplast in order to produce PSK (Sauter M., "Phytosulfokine peptide signaling," Journal of Experimental Biology 66: 1-9, 2015). After PSK is processed from the larger precursor polypeptide, the polypeptide undergoes tyrosine sulphation (Ryan et al., "Polypeptide hormones," The Plant Cell Supplement, S251-S264, 2002). The secreted polypeptide is then perceived at the cell surface by a membrane-bound receptor kinase of the leucine-rich repeat family (Sauter M., "Phytosulfokine peptide signaling," Journal of Experimental Biology 66: 1-9, 2015 where PSK can then bind to the specialized PSK receptor (for example, PSK1 from Arabidopsis) which has a leucine-rich repeat region located on the plant plasma membrane surface. Specific binding of PSK was detected in plasma membrane fractions from cell suspension cultures derived from rice and maize and the binding to the receptor was shown to initiate and stimulate cell proliferation (Matsubayashi et al., "Phytosulfokine-α, a sulfated pentapeptide, stimulates the proliferation of rice cells by means of specific high- and low-affinity binding sites," Proceedings National Academy of Science USA 94:13357-13362, 1997).
Phytosulfokines (PSK) serve as sulfated growth factors with biostimulant activities and are involved in the control of the development of root and shoot apical meristems, growth regulation and reproductive processes. PSKs have also been reported to initiate cell proliferation, differentiation of quiescent tissues and are involved in the formation and stimulation and differentiation of tracheary elements (Matsubayashi et al., "The endogenous sulfated pentapeptide phytosulfokine-α stimulates tracheary element differentiation of isolated mesophyll cells of zinnia, Plant Physiology 120: 1043-1048, 1999). PSK signaling has also been reported to be involved in the regulation of root and hypocotyl elongation that occurs in Arabidopsis seedlings (Kutschmar et al., "PSK-α promotes root growth in Arabidopsis," New Phytologist 181: 820-831, 2009).
Root Hair Promoting Polypeptide (RHPP)
Root hair promoting polypeptide (RHPP) is a 12 amino acid fragment derived from soybean Kunitz trypsin inhibitor (KTI) protein, which was detected from soybean meal that was subjected to degradation using an alkaline protease from Bacillus circulans HA12 (Matsumiya Y. and Kubo M. "Soybean and Nutrition, Chapter 11: Soybean Peptide: Novel plant growth promoting peptide from soybean," Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Sheny H. E. (editor), pgs. 215-230, 2011). When applied to soybean roots, RHPP was shown to accumulate in the roots and promote root growth through the stimulation of cell division and root hair differentiation in Brassica.

Bioactive polypeptides for improvements in plant protection, growth and productivity


Techniques for processing multiplexed immunofluorescence (MxIF) images. The techniques include obtaining at least one MxIF image of a same tissue sample, obtaining information indicative of locations of cells in the at least one MxIF image, identifying multiple groups of cells in the at least one MxIF image at least in part by determining feature values for at least some of the cells using the at least one MxIF image and the information indicative of locations of the at least some cells in the at least one MxIF image and grouping the at least some of the cells into the multiple groups using the determined feature values, and determining at least one characteristic of the tissue sample using the multiple cell groups.

Multiplexed immunofluorescence (MxIF) imaging is a technique for imaging multiple fluorescent cellular and/or histological markers in a single biological sample (e.g., a tissue sample). MxIF imaging involves repeated rounds of staining, imaging, dye chemical inactivation (e.g., bleaching), and re-imaging to layer multiple fluorescent markers onto the same regions of interest in the biological sample. The markers' fluorescence is then used to form images. MxIF imaging allows for imaging of multiple different markers (e.g., between 30 and 100 markers) for a single tissue sample, allowing for more information to be gleaned from a single cut of tissue.
Different types of markers may be used as part of MxIF imaging including membrane, cytoplasm, and nuclear markers that bind in membrane, cytoplasm and nuclear regions of cells, respectively. The resulting images therefore allow for tissue analysis at a sub-cellular level.

Techniques for determining tissue characteristics using multiplexed immunofluorescence imaging


An apparatus for simulating interdental papilla having a support for interdental gingival tissue and an attachment for securing the support to an interimplant bone.

1. Field of Invention
The invention disclosed herein relates generally to an apparatus for simulating interdental papilla between dental implants. More specifically, preferred embodiments of the disclosed invention relate to a papilla tack for supporting gingival tissues between osseointegrated dental implants.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known in the art to use dental implants to replace human teeth. Under circumstances known in the art, there are cases when multiple dental implants are used to replace multiple human teeth. The dental implants are anchored into the bone of the jaw and are referenced as osseointegrated dental implants. A problem occurs when multiple dental implants are adjacent one another, replacing adjacent teeth. Healthy teeth are usually surrounded by healthy gingival tissues appearing papilla-like to an onlooker. However, in the case of adjacent dental implants, the interdental gingival tissue is flat, leaving a visible embrasure between the teeth. This embrasure is not aesthetically pleasing for onlookers, and the open embrasure is a give away that dental implants are being utilized in place of real teeth. This is quite embarrassing for individuals having dental implants and presents additional problems as well (e.g. food can get stuck in the embrasure). What is needed is an apparatus for simulating interdental papilla to increase the aesthetic appeal of the interdental region and to minimize any embarrassment and/or discomfort that might be felt by the individual having the dental implants.

Apparatus for simulating interdental papilla


A method is provided for identifying and locating curves within a digitized image. Digitized images are comprised of points which may represent curves stored as an array of binary coded elements in an memory device. Each addressable memory location in the array represents a single point or pixel. Particular curves within a scanned image are identified by randomly selecting a minimal subset of points which are necessary to generate a general equation for that curve; the equation along with a point on the curve is then used as in input parameter to an incremental curve generation routine which incrementally generates all points which are in a path along that curve. A comparison is made with scanned data to determine how many points exist along the path. This is repeatedly done until the curve with the greatest number of points is located.

Curve extraction is a process of identifying geometric curves in sensor data. Sensor data is understood to mean herein an amount of information which is derived from an object and which is regularly arranged according to two coordinates. The information may have been derived by means of optical means or other means, such as a scanning electron microscope or radio-telescope. A geometric curve is a curve which has an associated equation, such as a line, circle, or an ellipse. Extracting or identifying geometric curves is a particularly useful task in the field of model-based vision. Practical applications of the process of finding curves in data are numerous. For example, a robot can be guided by identifying curves representing objects within an associated camera's field of view. An image scanned by the camera may be processed by a computer to locate curves such as the outline of a fluorescent light on the ceiling along a desired path of the robot's travel. The robot may then re-orient itself according to the reference co-ordinates of the edge data representing the fluorescent light or other located curve.
A scanned image may include two dimensional (2D) curves, such as lines, circles, parabolas and ellipses in the form of sensor data. Sensor data generally consists of points on a 2D array. These points are most often stored in the form of binary data however other coding schemes yielding decodable indicia may be used to represent the points. The binary data sometimes referred to as edge data is produced by processing an intensity image using edge detection, followed by thresholding to produce a binary edge map of edge points or edge data. Thresholding is a well known concept and is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,644,583 in the name of Watanabe et al.
Many methods currently exist for finding curves within edge data. In general the primary factors affecting performance are: the duration of time required to match a curve with the relevant data, and, the space required to store data. In the past, the most widely used approach to extract or locate curves has been the Hough transform (HT) disclosed by D. Ballard and C. Brown, in a book entitled Computer Vision, published by Prentice Hall, 1992. Ballard discloses the basic principle of operation. Each edge point votes for all parameter combinations that could have produced it. This voting process requires that the parameter space be partitioned into cells (usually rectangular) by quantizing each of the dimensions of this space; then each edge point adds a single vote to all the cells whose combination of parameters could have produced a geometric curve through that point. An individual cell in a parameter space thus describes the edge points covered by all the geometric curves whose parameter vectors are contained in the cell. These points taken together define a template of the same approximate shape as the curve, whose size is determined by the cell size. When this template is applied to the data it returns the same set of points that voted for the cell in the standard HT algorithm. Thus, the HT is a space inefficient method of performing template matching. If there are N edge points, then for each of these points the voting process must mark the appropriate cell in the parameter space. Thus, the execution time for the HT s clearly proportional to N, the number of edge points in the array.
G. Roth and M. D. Levine disclose another method for finding curves in a paper entitled "A Genetic Algorithm for Primitive Extraction", published in the Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Genetic Algorithms, (San Diego), pp. 487-494, July 1991. However, as with many other methods, the most inefficient and computationally expensive method step is the step of matching a potential geometric curve against the sensor data. This matching process yields the number of points within a small template centered on the curve. This process is repeated a number of times, and the curve with the greatest number of points is located.
In a paper entitled, "A Ransac-Based Approach to Model Fitting And Its Application To Finding Cylinders In Range Data", published in Proceedings of the Seventh International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Volume II IJCAI 1981 24th-28th August, University of British Columbia Robert C. Bolles and Martin A. Fischler disclose another example of a method for finding curves. In particular, a method for finding ellipses in sensor data is disclosed. The method includes the steps of iteratively selecting sets of five points; computing the general second-order equation of the curve that passes through the points; and then determining whether or not the result is an ellipse that has approximately the right minor diameter and comes close to a sufficiently large number of the points. If these conditions are satisfied, the parameter values are used, and if not, another set of five points are used. The step of determining whether or not the result is an ellipse having a sufficiently large number of points is performed by evaluating residuals. Residuals are defined to be the errors of fit. In order to evaluate the residuals, the data in all the non-zero memory locations in the array are read. As a result, this time-consuming process of reading all the data in the array greatly increases the time required to locate a particular curve.
In the field of computer graphics, and more specifically, for the purpose of drawing curves on a computer display terminal, methods are known to perform the step of determining where all the points on a curve will be drawn on the screen or placed on an addressable array, given the equation of the curve and a points on the curve as a general input parameter. One such method commonly used for this drawing function is the "incremental method of curve generation". The general steps are as follows: a curve is generated from a point of origin up to a final point by the calculating of the elementary movement at each step which will determine the following point from the current point. At each step, the elementary movement can be calculated either using implicit methods, arithmetic methods, or structural properties. Incremental methods make use above all of integral arithmetic and generally avoid the use of multiplication and division operations.
Paul S. Heckbert in an article entitled Digital Line Drawing in a book entitled Graphics Gems, 1990, Academic Press, presents a practical implementation for Bresenham's algorithm (1965) for incremental curve generation of straight lines. Gerard Hegron in a book entitled Image Synthesis published by the MIT Press of Cambridge Massachusetts discloses several incremental curve generation algorithms, and more specifically Hegron discloses methods which generalizes Bresenham's algorithm to generate curves such as circles, parabolas and ellipses by incremental methods.
It has been found however, on such devices as display terminals and laser printers, that standard thin lines generated by incremental curve generation algorithms, have in some cases, been found to be too thin and not desirable. One solution to this problem in the graphics and computer arts is disclosed by Bob Wallis in an article entitled "Rendering Fat Lines on a Raster Grid" in a book entitled Graphics Gems, edited by Andrew S. Glassner and published by Academic Press 1990. Wallis discloses a method for rendering multi-pixel wide lines on a raster grid which overcomes the limitation of Bresenham's method and other incremental methods. In combination, the incremental curve generation method and the method disclosed by Wallis for rendering fat lines provide the steps required to draw a curve of width w given an equation for the curve and points on the curve. Although these methods appear to work satisfactorily for their intended purpose, to date, they have been generally limited in the application to providing expedient ways of drawings curves and not for the purpose of locating curves in sensor data.

Identifying curves within a scanned image


When small blocks are cleared by an object clearance controller (113) in any one of game fields, a field movement controller (114) causes the game fields to move in accordance with the number of the cleared small blocks. The game field in which the small blocks are cleared is caused to move away from a game end determination line while the other game field(s) is caused to move closer to the game end determination line. Thus, a puzzle game is realized, which implements a new display configuration and thereby improves a player's interest. Further, the player is able to intuitively grasp his/her lead over the opponent in the course of a battle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video game apparatus, video game program and video game processing method for executing a puzzle game.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a puzzle video game is well known, in which a player operates multiple types of blocks that sequentially appear in a game field displayed on a screen. In such a puzzle game, the blocks moved based upon the player's operation and arranged in such a way to satisfy a certain clearance condition are cleared (i.e., removed) from the game field. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-334451 describes such a puzzle video game in which the game ends when the blocks that do not satisfy the clearance condition pile up to a certain point of height in the game field. Further, in such a video puzzle game, two or more players may fight against each other, while each player operates and deletes the blocks in respective ones of multiple game fields displayed on a screen. In such a VS mode, when the certain clearance condition is satisfied in one of the game fields, new blocks appear in other game fields. The players may win the game by causing more number of blocks to appear and stack earlier in the opponent's game field.
However, in a conventional game like the above, players just move the blocks so as to pile them up in the game field, and therefore they are likely to get bored.
In addition, it is hard for the player to tell whether he/she has an edge over the opponent in the course of playing the game because the player usually pay his/her attention mainly to blocks appearing in his/her own game field and hardly grasp the status of blocks in the opponent's game field.

Puzzle game apparatus, program and method


A light-sensitive material comprising a support and a light-sensitive layer provided thereon is disclosed. The light-sensitive layer contains silver halide, a reducing agent, an ethylenically unsaturated polymerizable compound and a base precursor composed of a salt of a carboxylic acid with an organic base. The silver halide, reducing agent, polymerizable compound and base precursor are contained in microcapsules which are dispersed in the light-sensitive layer. The microcapsules are obtained by (1) dispersing the base precursor in water, (2) emulsifying the resulting dispersion in the polymerizable compound, (3) further emulsifying the resulting emulsion in an aqueous medium containing a nonionic water-soluble polymer and (4) forming the shell of the microcapsules. It is preferred that the base precursor is dispersed in water in the presence of a nonionic water-soluble polymer or an emphoteric water-soluble polymer, and the resulting dispersion is emulsified in the polymerizable compound.

A light-sensitive material containing silver halide, a reducing agent and a polymerizable compound is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publications No. 45(1970)-11149 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 3,697,275), No. 47(1972)-20741 and No. 49(1974)-10697 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 3,746,542). The light-sensitive material is used in an image-forming method comprising polymerizing a polymerizable compound by action of a reducing agent within the area where a latent image of silver halide has been formed. The method disclosed in the publications employs a wet development process.
An improved image-forming method employing a dry process has also been proposed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publications No. 61(1986)-69062 and No. 61(1986)-73145 (the contents of both publications are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,676 and European Patent Provisional Publication No. 0174634A). In the method, a recording material (light-sensitive material) comprising a support and a light-sensitive layer provided thereon which contains a light-sensitive silver salt (silver halide), a reducing agent, a cross-linkable compound (a polymerizable compound), a binder and a color image forming substance is imagewise exposed to light to form a latent image, and then heated to polymerize the polymerizable compound within the area where a latent image of the silver halide has been formed.
There is further proposed another image-forming method in which the polymerizable compound is polymerized within the area where a latent image of the silver halide has not been formed. This method is described in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 61(1986)-243449 (corresponding to European Patent Provisional Publication No. 0202490A). In the method, the polymerization of the polymerizable compound is inhibited within the area where a latent image of the silver halide has been formed, and the polymerization of the polymerizable compound is accelerated within the other area (i.e., the area where the latent image has not been formed).
The image-forming method using the above-mentioned light-sensitive material generally comprises the steps of imagewise forming a polymer image on the light-sensitive material, pressing the light-sensitive material on an image-receiving material having an image-receiving layer to transfer the unpolymerized polymerizable compound to the image-receiving material so as to obtain a transferred image on the image-receiving material. In this method, the silver halide and the polymerizable compound in the light-sensitive material are preferably contained in microcapsules (i.e., light-sensitive microcapsules). The light-sensitive microcapsules are described in Japanese Patent Provisional Publications No. 61(1986)-275742 and No. 61(1986)-278849 (contents of both publications are described in European Patent Provisional Publication No. 0203613A). Employing the light-sensitive microcapsules, an image of high quality can be obtained.
As the shell material of the microcapsules, a variety of resins have been proposed, for example, in Japanese Patent Provisional Publications No. 62(1987)-209438 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,265), 62(1987)-209439 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,833,062) and No. 63(1988)-269146 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,880,721). Further, in the preparation of microcapsules, a specific protective colloid (a mixture of pectin and a styrenesulfonic acid polymer) can be used, as is described in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 63(1988)-121837 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,978).
On the other hand, the development and the polymerization reactions in the above-mentioned image-forming methods smoothly proceed under alkaline conditions. Accordingly, the light-sensitive layer of the light-sensitive material preferably contains a base or a base precursor as an image forming accelerator. A light-sensitive material containing a base or a base precursor in the light-sensitive layer is described in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 62(1987)-264041 (corresponding to European Patent Provisional Publication No. 0219087A).
Furthermore, a light-sensitive material in which a base precursor is contained in the light-sensitive microcapsules is described in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 64(1989)-32251 (corresponding to European Patent Provisional Publication No. 0301539A and copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/225,456, filed 07/28/88 now, U.S. Pat. No. 4,939,064. In the case that the base or base precursor is contained in the light-sensitive microcapsules, the image forming reaction is directly and effectively accelerated by the base or base precursor. According to the invention of Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 64(1989)-32251, the solid particles of the base precursor are directly dispersed in the polymerizable compound.
The light-sensitive material proposed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 64(1989)-32251 is highly advantageous, but further improvement is desired. For example, the base precursor is not completely kept within a core material (i.e., oily liquid containing the polymerizable compound) of the microcapsules in preparation of the microcapsules. Further, the base precursor partially moves from the core material to an aqueous medium outside of the microcapsules. The base precursor in the aqueous medium inhibits the encapsulation reaction. Therefore, the resulting microcapsules have a reduced denseness of the microcapsule shell, and the core material is not kept within the microcapsules. As a result, the core material oozes out of the microcapsule at the development process, and the maximum density in the image portion is thus decreased (namely, the amount of the unpolymerized polymerizable compound transferred from the microcapsules to an image-receiving material is decreased). Further, the minimum density in the background portion is increased (namely, the white background is slightly colored). The oozed polymerizable compound is not sufficiently polymerized because the compound is exposed to air, which functions as a polymerization inhibitor.

Light-sensitive material containing silver halide, reducing agent, polymerizable compound and base precursor dispersed in the polymerizable compound


In an undazzled-area map product stored in a computer-readable storage unit, information indicative of a relationship between a boundary distance and each of a plurality of divided sections of a rectangular area to be picked up by a pickup unit is included. The pickup unit is provided in a reference vehicle with a headlight and working to pick up an image of the rectangular area ahead of the reference vehicle. The boundary distance is defined as a maximum distance between the reference vehicle and a target person such that, when a distance between the reference vehicle and the target person is within the maximum distance, the target person is estimated to be undazzled by the headlight of the reference vehicle.

Light distribution control systems, which are disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-161082, are conventionally used to be installed in vehicles.
A light distribution control system disclosed in the Patent Application Publication installed in a vehicle to be controlled is designed to detect values of various parameters associated with physical relationships between the controlled vehicle and either a preceding vehicle or an oncoming vehicle. The "preceding vehicle or oncoming vehicle" will also be referred to as "target vehicle" hereinafter.
The various parameters include the width of the target vehicle, a relative angle between the displayed target vehicle and a reference direction of the controlled vehicle, and a relative distance therebetween. The various parameters also include the speed and a steering position of the controlled vehicle.
According to the detected values of the various parameters, the light distribution control system is designed to individually control the intensity of a beam generated by the headlights of the controlled vehicle and to limit the change of the orientation of the optical axis of each headlight in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction. This aims at preventing the driver of the target vehicle from being dazzled, in other words, from suffering discomfort due to glare.
Such a light distribution control system carries out light-distribution control without quantitatively determining which level of glare the driver of the target vehicle perceives. For this reason, it may unnecessarily limit the change of the orientation of the optical axis of each headlight, and otherwise poorly limit it.
The unnecessary limitation of the change of the orientation of the optical axis of each headlight may cause the visibility of the driver of the controlled vehicle to be more restricted than required.
In addition, the poor limitation of the change of the orientation of the optical axis of each headlight may cause the driver of the target vehicle to become uncomfortable. Note that the controlled vehicle in which such a light distribution control system is installed will be also referred to as "reference vehicle" hereinafter.
From this viewpoint, using, for the light-distribution control, an evaluation value W indicative of the level of glare to be perceived by the driver of the target vehicle has been studied; this evaluation value W is calculated with the use of the following Schmidt-Clausen and Bindels equation [1]:
                    W        =                  5.0          -                      2                                                                          log                                      ∑                                                E                  Bi                                                                                C                                              p                                                                                00                                                                                [                                              1                        +                                                                                L                              u                                                                                C                              pL                                                                                ]                                                                                (                                                                        θ                          i                                                ·                        60                                            )                                        0.46                                                                                [        1        ]
where:
EBi represents illumination directed toward the target-vehicle driver's eye from i-th headlamp of the reference vehicle;
θi represents an angle formed by the target-vehicle driver's line of sight and the optical axis of i-th headlamp of the reference vehicle;
Lu represents adaptation luminance of the driver of the target vehicle;
Cp00 represents a constant;
CpL represents a constant; and
i represents an identifier of any one of the headlamps of the headlights
On this Schmidt-Clausen and Bindels equation [1], see J. Mashiko, K. Morita, T. Okada, and M. Sekine, "Analysis of adaptive front-lighting system on glare perceived by oncoming drivers", in proceedings of 2002 research meetings by National Traffic Safety and Environment Laboratory, pp. 79 to 199.
Specifically, comparison of the evaluation value W with deBoer discomfort rating illustrated in the following table 1 obtains that the driver of the target vehicle would feel discomfort due to glare when the evaluation value W is equal to or lower than the rating of 4.
TABLE 1deBoer Discomfort Rating1Unbearable23Disturbing45Just admissible67Acceptable89Noticeable
For this reason, execution of the light-distribution control to provide the evaluation value W greater than the rating of 4 has been studied.
However, calculation of the evaluation value W requires the values of the various parameters, such as the illumination EBi and the angle θi every time the physical relationships between the reference vehicle and the target vehicle vary.
Particularly, the headlights of the reference vehicle are located on each side of the front end thereof. The headlights are commonly equipped with the first pair of high-beam headlamps and the second pair of low-beam headlamps. The high-beam headlamps are used when the reference vehicle runs on a road where there is no traffic, and the second pair of low-beam headlamps are used when there are target vehicles.
For this reason, calculation of the value of each of the various parameters, such as the illumination EBi and the angle θi, for each of the headlamps is needed. This may take a lot of time and processing load, making it difficult to carry out, in real time, the light-distribution control based on the evaluation value W.

Undazzled-area map product, and system for determining whether to dazzle person using the same


A method for producing a transparent light deflecting panel comprising making a series of parallel cuts in a sheet of transparent solid material with a laser cutting tool. Said panel when positioned in an opening in the facade of a building deflects incident daylight towards the ceiling of said building thereby improving the natural lighting within the building.

The present invention relates to methods for producing a thin transparent panel which deflects light. While there are many uses for a panel which deflects light the embodiments of the invention described here are directed particularly to using a light deflecting panel as a window in the facade of a building for the purpose of deflecting incoming daylight upwards so that the ceiling of the building is illuminated thereby improving the natural lighting deep within the interior of the building.
The conventional means of deflecting light is by refraction in a prism of transparent material or by reflection from a metallic surface. Methods for producing transparent panels which deflect light usually utilise one or both of these means of deflecting light. In particular a light deflecting panel may be produced by moulding the surface of a sheet of glass or plastic into the form of prisms. Prismatic panels so formed have been used as focusing elements in optical systems, and as panels for diffusing light and as panels for deflecting daylight towards the interior of buildings. Reference to prismatic panels for daylighting is U.S. Pat. No 4,557,565 to Ruck et al. Prismatic sheets are deficient in that, with prismatic sheets, it is difficult to deflect light by more than about 45 degrees. For the deflection of sunlight towards the ceiling of a building deflection through angles greater than 45 degrees is frequently required. Two further deficiences of prismatic panels as windows for improving daylighting within buildings are, firstly, that the view through prismatic panels is severely distorted and secondly, that the surface of prismatic panels is difficult to clean.
Metallic reflectors have been used to form light deflecting window panels for improved daylighting in buildings by incorporating a plurality of plane or curved metal reflectors in the form of venetian blinds inside a window or between the panes of a double glazed window. Venetian blind reflectors are deficient in that the amount of light reflected depends strongly on the angle of incidence of the light and the reflecting surfaces are difficult to clean. References to metallic reflectors as light deflecting window panels are U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,467 to Bartenbach et al and U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,825 to Otto et al.
The object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a thin transparent light deflecting panel able to deflect light through angles greater than 90 degrees and suitable for adaptation as a window panel which deflects incoming daylight upwards so that the ceiling of a building is illuminated thereby improving the natural lighting within the building.
Another objective of the present invention is to produce a light deflecting panel which is suitable for viewing through.
Another objective is to produce a light deflecting panel which is as thin as a conventional window panel and is as easy to clean.

Transparent light deflecting panel for daylighting rooms


A bioinformation acquisition apparatus to input a signal having uniform sensitivity and a high SN ratio at a high speed is provided. It includes a moving device moving an element group into the arrangement direction of the elements, and moves the element group situated at a first position at first time point to be situated at a second position at second time point. The element group receives an elastic wave emitted from a test object at the first time point at the first position, and the elastic wave from the test object at the second time point at the second position. The electric signal of a specified position of a test body from a first element of the elastic waves received at the first time point and the electric signal of the specified position from a second element received at the second time point are added to each other.

A photoacoustic imaging method, which is a bioinformation acquisition method, is a method of detecting an acoustical wave induced in the internal portion of a living body by radiating a pulsed laser light to the living body, thereby imaging the three-dimensional structure of the internal portion of the living body. The acoustical wave is generated by the radiation of the pulsed laser light to a test object in a living body to cause the thermal expansion of the test object in the internal portion of the living body. Moreover, by changing the wavelength of the wavelength of the pulsed laser light, it is possible to visualize the distributions of specific substances, such as hemoglobin and glucose in blood, having an absorption band of the wavelength. Consequently, because a potential tumor, such as the abnormal growth of new blood vessels, can be non-invasively determined, the photoacoustic imaging method has been seen as a potential device for screening for breast cancer or the early detection thereof in recent years.
A conventional concrete procedure of the photoacoustic imaging method is disclosed in, for example, Published Japanese Translation of a PCT Application No. 2001-507952 as follows.
(1) Two-dimensionally arranged electromechanical conversion elements (transducers) are located on the surface of a test body, and single pulse electromagnetic energy is radiated to the test body.
(2) Just after the radiation of the electromagnetic energy, the signal received by each electromechanical conversion element is sampled to be stored.
(3) As to a point r′ in the test body to be visualized, the delay time necessary for an acoustical wave to reach the position r of each electromechanical conversion element i from the point r′ is calculated, and the signal of each electromechanical conversion element i corresponding to the calculated delay time is added to one another to be set as the image value at the point r′.
(4) The step (3) is repeated to each point r′ to be imaged.
Moreover, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-021380 discloses the method of reconstructing both of a photoacoustic image and an ordinary ultrasound echo image by using common one-dimensionally arranged electromechanical conversion elements, and the configuration of arranging an illumination system using glass fibers between the one-dimensionally arranged electromechanical conversion elements. Since the method disclosed in this Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-021380 uses the one-dimensionally arranged electromechanical conversion elements, the method is required to repeat the reconstruction by mechanically moving the one-dimensionally arranged electromechanical conversion elements into the direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the transducers in order to reconstruct a three-dimensional image.
In order to reconstruct the three-dimensional image by using the photoacoustic imaging method, it is desirable to use two-dimensionally arranged electromechanical conversion elements in order to reduce the direction dependency of an image resolution. As the methods for obtaining a photoacoustic image in a wide area on the premise of the use of the two-dimensionally arranged electromechanical conversion elements, the following methods can be considered: (1) the method of arranging electromechanical conversion elements on the whole wide area, and (2) the method of locating a comparatively small-scale electromechanical conversion element group (a group composed of arranged electromechanical conversion elements) in a step and repeat system to perform mechanical scanning. However, the method (1) has the problem of the difficulty of commercial viability in cost owing to the scale enlargement of the receiving system of the method. Moreover, the method (2) has the problem of the occurrence of the unevenness of sensitivity between the central part and the end parts of the two-dimensionally arranged electromechanical conversion elements. Moreover, the method (2) has the problem of the waste of time to locate the electromechanical conversion element group to the next positions one by one in the step and repeat system.


Provided are: a motor for which high strength can be obtained in a motor casing; and a compressor that uses the motor. This motor 10 has: a rotating shaft 12 provided in a rotatable manner; a rotor 32 that rotates integrally with the rotating shaft 12; a stator 31 that rotationally drives the rotor 32; and a motor casing 14 that is a cylindrical body for accommodating the rotor 32 and the stator 31, and has, on the outer circumferential surface thereof, ribs 22 extending in a circumferential direction.

A motor that drives a compressor has a configuration in which a rotor and a stator that drives the rotor are integrally accommodated in a motor casing. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a compressor in which a rotor and a stator are accommodated in a motor casing and which includes a drive shaft that penetrates the rotor so as to drive a turning scroll.

Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems Co., Ltd.


An apparatus of processing a signal is provided, which includes: a frame memory storing data for two frames; and a signal processing unit writing data for two rows into the frame memory or reading data for two rows from the frame memory during input of data for one row.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus and method of processing signals.
(b) Description of Related Art
Generally, a liquid crystal display (LCD) includes a pair of panels including a plurality of pixel electrodes and a common electrode and a liquid crystal (LC) layer interposed between the panels and having dielectric anisotropy. The pixel electrodes are arranged in a matrix and connected to switching elements such as thin film transistors (TFTs). The pixel electrodes are supplied with data voltages through the TFTs row by row. The common electrode ranges over an entire surface of a panel and is supplied with a common electrode. The pixel electrode and the common electrode along with the LC layer disposed therebetween form LC capacitors in circuital view, and a LC capacitor as well as a switching element is a basic element forming a pixel.
The LCD generates electric field in the LC layer by applying voltages to the electrodes, and obtains desired images by controlling the strength of the electric field to varying the transmittance of light incident on the LC layer. At this time, the polarity of the data voltages with reference to the common voltage is periodically reversed in a unit of frame, row, or dot for preventing the deterioration of liquid crystal due to long-time application of unidirectional electric field, etc.
The LCD is increasingly used for displaying motion images and the slow response time of the liquid crystal is focused on. In particular, the increase of the size and the resolution of the display devices severely require the improvement of the response time.
In detail, the slow response time of the liquid crystal makes it take a time for a pixel to reach a desired luminance. The time for obtaining the desired luminance depends on the difference between a target voltage for giving the desired luminance and a previously charged voltage across the LC capacitor of the pixel. The pixel may not reach the desired luminance for a given time if the voltage difference is large.
In order to solve the problem, dynamic capacitance compensation (DCC) for improving the response time without changing the characteristics of the liquid crystal itself is suggested. The DCC applies a voltage higher than the target voltage to the LC capacitor to reduce the time for reaching the desired luminance.
The DCC generates modified image data after comparing image data between successive two or three frames and thus it requires at least one frame memory for storing image data of a frame.
However, the frame memory increases the production cost and the area of a control board.

Apparatus and method of processing signals