A device, system and method for monitoring conditions within an environment in which an item is disposed includes a reusable environment monitoring tag operably connected to a return postcard that can be disposed adjacent an item to be monitored, the tag equipped to sense and store surrounding environmental conditions thereof and an electronic reader electronic reader which upon receipt of the a return postcard having the tag therein in a predetermined range receives environmental data sensed and stored by the tag and analyze the data. The method includes mailing the return postcard to a receiving site for reading.

Prior devices for monitoring conditions within an environment in which an article is contained exist. For example, such devices typically monitor, record and download the temperature history of package content in transit. Recorded data is currently downloaded with the aid of the party receiving the device shipped with the article. This creates a burden on the recipient and shipper to follow up on these tracking devices which in the case of pharmaceuticals, for example, have strict government regulations requiring temperature monitoring. Currently, computer based devices are required to be deployed at the recipient's location where the tags can be inserted into a reader and data transmitted to the shipper.
The current method and system for monitoring such conditions is lacking. There is a need to improve the system, device and method for monitoring conditions of an article contained in an environment.

Temperature tracking device and method using same


An incrementally-scalable file system and method. The system architecture enables file systems to be scaled by adding resources, such as additional filers and/or file servers, without requiring that the system be taken offline or being known to client applications. The system also provides for load balancing file accesses by distributing files across the various file storage resources in the system, as dictated by the relative capacities of said storage resources. The system provides one or more “virtual” file system volumes in a manner that makes it appear to client applications that all of the file system's storage space resides on the virtual volume(s), while in reality the files may be stored on many more physical volumes on the filers and/or file servers in the system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to network file systems and schemes, and more particularly, to a network file system that appears as a "virtual" file system to client applications that access the file system.
2. Background Information
Many of the biggest data storage problems being faced by companies today center around the need for data availability and scalability. Oftentimes, companies cannot predict with any degree of certainty how much data they are going to capture and how much storage they will need for that data. For instance, adding features such as click stream capture to an e-commerce web site may require a huge increase in storage capacity, requiring network administrators, developers, and other support personnel to implement significant changes in the system. In addition, new features are not the only drivers of increased storage requirements. Storage requirements are also exacerbated by the growth of existing features. For example, as a web site grows its user base, additional storage will be required to accommodate these new users.
One architectural approach being used to help address the issue of storage scalability is by designing modular storage systems. This facilitates the process of the addition or removal of a pre-determined amount of storage capacity without affecting existing applications. Some sites are referring to these pre-determined modules as "cells" of storage. Due to their inherent storage structure, these cells impose a minimum level of granularity that may lead to an inefficient use of resources.
Modular storage systems are used because of inherently unpredictable storage requirements. A successful web site can exceed forecast storage requirements literally overnight. Some companies even resort to building out surplus capacity, and only "turning on" those resources as they are needed. For example, some online stock trading companies are now sizing their infrastructure to handle peak loads that are 400 percent greater than normal. Storage problems such as these have spawned a new industry comprising companies that provide software, hardware, and services directed toward helping these companies handle the peak loads that result from their rapid growth and successful marketing programs.
Today, the most sophisticated sites must be architected with storage cells in order to support scalability. This requires an extensive amount of foresight, engineering and implementation to achieve. Other, less sophisticated sites are faced with the challenges of storage scalability without such architectural assistance. These sites generally must learn to scale their systems through trial and error, a risky and painful approach to configuring mission-critical resources.
The foregoing problems make it clear that better storage solutions are needed by the marketplace. Preferably, these data storage solutions need to be extremely flexible by supporting "true" storage on demand. Many vendors, both hardware and software, claim that their products support storage on demand, but all such solutions require administration and re-configuration of various components of the system. For example, storage may have to be re-partitioned across a set of storage devices when new resources are added to a system.
"True" storage on demand means that granular components of storage may be added to the system in real-time, without affecting the operation of applications or other components. In addition to allowing the seamless addition of increments of storage, it is just as important that the solution has the capability of effectively managing the storage. The solution should provide a simple, easy-to-deploy system that does not increase in management complexity as the storage capacity increases. There are no integrated solutions of this type that provide "true" storage on demand capabilities in today's marketplace.


A valve timing adjusting system includes a displacement mechanism unit that displaces a camshaft rotational phase relative to a crankshaft, a locking mechanism unit that locks the rotational phase, and a control unit that controls operations of a hydraulic control valve. The control unit includes a property obtainment unit that obtains property information regarding hydraulic properties, and a lock release process completes locking release by supplying oil pressure to the locking mechanism unit for moving the rotational phase from an intermediate locked phase toward one of a retard/advance position, and then supplying oil pressure to the locking mechanism unit for moving the rotational phase toward the other of the retard/advance position; the rotational phase stands by at a predetermined position of the one of the retard/advance position past the intermediate locked phase during the lock release process, until a standby time has elapsed.

A valve timing control device is known that includes a hydraulic lock mechanism configured of a locking recess formed in a driven-side rotating member and a locking member capable of extending into/retracting from the locking recess, in order to hold a relative rotational phase (called simply a "rotational phase" hereinafter) of the driven-side rotating member relative to a driving-side rotating member in a predetermined intermediate rotational phase (a locked rotational phase or locked position). Note that here, the locking member being inserted into the locking recess will be referred to as locking or a locking operation, whereas the locking member retracting from the locking recess will be referred to as releasing the lock or a lock release operation. In this valve timing control device, when a locking request or a lock release request has occurred, it is necessary to control a hydraulic control valve so that an operation for displacing the relative rotational phase of the driven-side rotating member relative to the driving-side rotating member as well as the locking operation and the lock release operation can be carried out smoothly.
Patent Document 1 discloses a valve timing control device that controls both a displacement of a rotational phase and an operation of a locking pin using a single hydraulic control valve. In this device, a control means that controls a driving signal (driving current) to the hydraulic control valve divides a control region for the control of the hydraulic control valve into a plurality of control regions, and causes a driving current control property in at least one of the control regions to be different from the driving current control properties in the other control regions. Specifically, in control regions where it is necessary to ensure precise and stable phase displacement control, a driving current control response speed (time constant) is set to a range capable of preventing overshoot/hunting, whereas in control regions where a high level of responsiveness is required, the driving current control response speed (time constant) is set to increase responsiveness. For example, the responsiveness is increased in a locking pin control region where the locking pin is driven in a locking direction/lock release direction, whereas in a control region where the rotational phase is displaced to a target rotational phase set in accordance with driving conditions, the responsiveness is decreased to ensure precision and stability.
By setting different response speeds for locking operation/lock release operation control and rotational phase displacement control, this apparatus aims to optimize the performance of the respective operations. However, because the response speed in the locking operation/lock release operation control is changed after it has been determined that locking or a lock release has been requested, there is a problem in that proper valve timing control cannot be carried out if the timing of the determination is too early or too late, and in particular that the locking pin cannot exit the locking recess.
Patent Document 2 discloses a control device for an internal combustion engine provided with a phase variation mechanism that enables a rotational phase of a camshaft relative to a crankshaft to be changed and a variable valve lift mechanism capable of continually changing the lift amount of an induction valve. This device provides separate modes for a low-load driving region and a high-load driving region, and the modes separate closing operations into a fast-closing operation and a slow-closing operation; settings for the timing at which the induction valve is closed and a target cylinder air amount are then changed. When the mode transits, the cylinder air amount is adjusted as appropriate, which not only makes it possible to prevent abnormal combustion with certainty, but also makes it possible to reduce pumping loss and increase the engine driving efficiency. However, although this device separates low-load and high-load driving regions, there is no mention of providing separate modes during operations for variable valve control, and no considerations are made for adjusting control modes in valve timing control.
Patent Document 3 discloses a valve timing control device including a phase conversion mechanism that displaces a relative phase (rotational phase) between a driving-side rotating member that rotates in synchronization with a crankshaft and a driven-side rotating member that rotates integrally with a camshaft by supplying/discharging a working fluid to/from two types of pressure chambers whose volumes vary in a complementary manner via a mobile partition, and a lock mechanism that uses the working fluid to both enable the relative phase to be fixed during an intermediate locked phase suited to internal combustion engine startup and enable the fixed phase to be released. A first control valve that controls the supply of working oil for rotational phase displacement and a second control valve that controls the supply of working oil for locking operations are provided. Optimal relative phases for engine driving states are held and stored in a control unit, and the configuration is such that the optimal relative phase can be obtained for driving states (engine RPM, coolant temperature, and the like) detected separately. Information such as whether an ignition key is on or off, information from an oil temperature sensor that detects an engine oil temperature, and so on are also inputted into the control unit. Although the valve timing control device is configured to calculate the optimal target relative phase (target rotational phase) based on the driving state, no specific mention is made regarding the computation of an operation amount for driving a hydraulic control valve for achieving the calculated target rotational phase. In particular, no consideration is given to controlling the hydraulic control valve so that operations for displacing the rotational phase, locking operations, and lock release operations can be carried out smoothly.


The present invention provides an epoch-making fluid reforming device which requires a small installation site, avoids clogging of pipes, allows uniform on-site adjustment, does not use chemicals or minimizes chemicals ii any, enables germ treatment, and purifies and reforms every fluid including water. The fluid reforming device has (a) a container for fluid reforming having an inlet for introducing an unpurified fluid and an outlet for discharging a purified fluid; (b) a pair or a plurality of pairs of AC application electrodes stored in the container; (c) a cylindrical ground electrode surrounding the AC application electrodes; (d) a polarity switching circuit connected to the AC application electrodes for switching the polarities of the pair of electrodes; and (e) a constant current supply having a current detector for detecting current flowing between the AC application electrodes in fluid reforming, the constant current supply keeping a current value detected by the current detector constant.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fluid reforming device for reforming, as well as tap water, various kinds of fluids (e.g., gray water, sewage water and the like) including heavily contaminated water containing electrolyte substances and organic substances as impurities (e.g., seawater containing water creatures which is used as ballast water for ships; washing water containing bacteria which has been used for washing seafood such as clams; and discharged water containing fats and organic substances included in milk given to calves in farms). More specifically, the invention relates to a fluid reforming device for reforming: tap water such as air-conditioner cooling water (including warm water) circulated in factories; water supplied to boilers, industrial water supplied to factories; drinking water; water used for humidifying room, and the like; gray water (water for flush toilets; renovated industrial waste water; rainwater, and the like); and sewage water such as industrial waste water, river water, and the like; and moreover, bath water of hot springs or 24-hour baths; well water; hard water; soft water; seawater containing sewage which is circulated to be used for aquaculture; and oils to be used repeatedly.
2. Description of Related Art
Cooling water for air conditioners in factories, which is an example of fluids to be reformed, is used in circulation, and dust, dirt, and the like enter the cooling water while it is circulated. Although insoluble dust and dirt are filtered and removed by a filter or the like during circulation, water-soluble substances in the dust or dirt are dissolved into the circulating water. Particularly, substances such as Ca and Mg are oxidized over time, and deposited and accumulated as scales in pipes, which causes clogging of equipment such as pipes and pumps. Further, various kinds of germs (e.g., Escherichia coli, Legionella, and respiratory bacteria that cause pneumonia or bronchitis) also grow in the circulating water. These germs are blown out from an air outlet into room, and cause diseases (diarrhea, stomach ache, and pneumonia). On the other hand, there are problems such as marine pollution caused by ballast water, pollution caused by washing water for seafood, and pollution caused by washing water containing fats and organic substances. The ballast water is seawater used as ballast far ships. Before a ship leaves a port empty; ballast tanks of the ship are filled with seawater at the port. When the ship is loaded with goods at a port of call, an equivalent amount of ballast water is discharged from the ship. The discharged seawater contains sea creatures from the port at which the ship left. Thus, the sea creatures are scattered as invasive species into the sea at the port of call, and adversely affect the ecosystem at the port of call.
Likewise, 24-hour baths or urban hot springs use circulated tap water or hot spring water, respectively, and the water quality is rapidly degraded due to propagation of: minerals that are originally contained in the water (particularly in the hot spring water); electrolytic substances (metal ion such as Na) or organic substances contained in sweat of bathing persons; falling bacteria; and germs discharged from the bathing persons. Likewise, the quality of seawater, which is circulated and used for aquaculture, is also gradually degraded due to wastes of fish kept in a tank, propagating germs, and mixed impurities, which causes a reduction in survival rate of cultured fish.
Reforming of industrial waste water or bath water of a large communal bath has conventionally been performed by adding chemicals (strong disinfectants (oxidizer) such as hypochlorous acid and potassium permanganate) or by using a large-scale aerator. However, these reforming ways have problems such as high cost and need for a large space, and therefore, are not convenient. In particular, it is impossible to add a strong disinfectant (oxidizer) or the like into water circulating in a large bath of an urban hot spring, or water in a home-use 24-hour bath, and it is difficult to introduce a large-scale treatment facility.
A fluid reforming device used for the above-described purposes instead of the large-scale treatment facility has been disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Nos. 2623204, 2611080, and 2615308. This device is applicable to the urban hot spring and the home-use 24-hour bath. In the treatment performed by this device, some of the organic compounds in the water are evaporated while the other are deposited, and the supernatant water becomes sterilized clean water, which is verified to be reusable.

Electrode block and fluid reformer using the electrode block


An apparatus is provided for detecting one of multiple possible abnormal conditions associated with a flexible, pouch-type energy storage device of an electronic device. The apparatus includes a stiffener, a pressure sensor and a control component. The stiffener overlies a main surface of the storage device. The pressure sensor is disposed between the stiffener and an inner surface of the electronic device to monitor for pressure between the stiffener and the inner surface indicative of an abnormal condition associated with the storage device. The control component is coupled to the pressure sensor and detects the abnormal condition based, at least in part, on the monitored pressure exceeding a specified threshold, and performs and action based thereon. The abnormal condition may include excessive external force being applied to the energy storage device, or excessive internal swelling of the energy storage device during charging, or during use.

Today, many electronic devices, including mobile devices (for instance, smartphones, tablets, etc.) often use flexible pouch-type energy storage devices, which may include one or more electrochemical pouch cells, such as prismatic or pouch batteries. These energy storage devices are light weight, compact and provide high energy density. The pouch cell makes efficient use of space, for instance, achieving 90 to 95% packing efficiency. This is achieved by, in part, eliminating the metal enclosure of a traditional battery, which reduces weight, but means the cell requires support and space to expand. Pouch cell devices are used in many different applications, including consumer devices, military devices, automotive applications, etc. Currently, no standardized pouch cell exists, with each manufacturer designing the pouch cell to a desired configuration, as required for a particular application.
Pouch cells are commonly used in lithium-polymer batteries, or lithium-ion polymer batteries. These batteries are rechargeable batteries of the lithium-ion technology and use a polymer electrolyte instead of a liquid electrolyte. For instance, high conductivity semisolid (gel) polymers form the electrolyte. Advantageously, such batteries provide higher specific energy then other lithium-battery types, and are often used in applications where weight may be a critical consideration, such as tablet computers, smartphones, handsets, radio controlled aircraft, etc.

Detecting abnormal condition(s) associated with flexible, pouch-type energy storage device

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A notebook includes a support structure in the form of a plastic pad case having a support surface in the form of a pad case back wall; a number of pages each having a page binder edge and a page free edge and a page length from the page binder edge to the page free edge, and having at least two page binder holes adjacent to the page binder edge, the pages being stacked sequentially face to face to form a pad so that corresponding page binder holes register with each other; a binder passing through registering the page binder holes and binder axial passageway; a mounting shaft extending through the binder axial passageway; and at least one shaft mounting and spacing structure connected to the mounting shaft and connected to the support surface and spacing the mounting shaft outwardly from the support surface a distance less than the page length and positioning the mounting shaft to be substantially parallel with the support surface, and thereby defining between the mounting shaft and the support surface a page passing slot.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of stationery, books, office and school products generally. More specifically the present invention relates to a notebook having a plurality of pages forming a pad and bound together at a page binder edge by a ring or spiral binder, and with a binder mounting shaft secured substantially parallel with and spaced outwardly from the support surface by shaft mounting structures. The shaft mounting structures preferably are legs of U-shaped wire and the mounting shaft is the wire segment interconnecting the legs. The notebook is constructed to permit the sequential passage of the forward-most, or first page through the space between the shaft and support surface to become the last page in the pad. The rotated page becomes the last page in the pad, rather than merely a folded back first page. First page rotation exposes and causes the second page to become the first page, which then may be rotated to the back of the pad to expose and cause the next page to become the first page. This page rotation may be performed indefinitely.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have long been notebooks including note pads for containing a series of bound pages and arranged so that each page can be folded behind the pad after use. A problem with these prior pads has been that the cover must be folded behind the pad, and then pages folded behind the cover, so that pages rotated behind the pad are obstructed by the cover or other notebook parts from rejoining the pad. Then, to close the notebook so that the cover is exposed outside the pad, the used pages must be folded back on top of unused pages. Where the pad is mounted on a support surface, the support surface itself obstructs and prevents rotation of the pad first page to become the pad last page. As a result, when the user wishes to begin writing on the next available page, he or she must flip past all the used pages to reach it.
Holton, U.S. Pat. No. 703,260, issued on Jun. 24, 1902, discloses a tablet including a stack of writing sheets and a one piece binder in the form of two spaced apart binder rings interconnected by a connecting rod. The rings have flat back portions to rest on a table and curved front portions around which the sheets are rotated after use. The sheets cannot rotate all the way around the rings to reach the back of the stack, however, because the ring connecting rod would stop them.
Hackmann, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 808,652, issued on Jan. 2, 1906, teaches a note book having a binder similar to that of Holton. Two circular binder rings are interconnected by a straight rod portion, which would prevent full sheet rotation just as in Holton. Thaw, U.S. Pat. No. 3,108,823, issued on Oct. 29, 1963 for a paper securement device, includes binder rings mounted onto a backboard which can be opened to load and reload paper. Pianta, U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,410, issued on Dec. 16, 1980 reveals a stationary booklet having cardboard covers and a refillable binder made up of tubular rings passing through slots in the cover and sheets, which can be split longitudinally and reconnected. Zane, U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,486, issued on Apr. 2, 1996, discloses a notebook and notebook cover assembly. None of these devices appear to permit the full rotation of sheets from the front to the back of a pad.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a surface mounted notebook including a pad of writing pages which permits sequential rotation of the forward most page past the mounting surface to the back of the pad, to become the last page in the pad, so that the next page to be used is always the first page in the notebook.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a surface mounted notebook in which the support surface may be a backboard, a protective notebook retaining box, a building wall, a counter top, an appliance housing, or virtually any other convenient surface.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a surface mounted notebook which may include an existing conventional spiral or ring bound notebook.
It is finally an object of the present invention to provide such a surface mounted notebook which is simple in design and inexpensive to manufacture.
The present invention accomplishes the above-stated objectives, as well as others, as may be determined by a fair reading and interpretation of the entire specification.
A notebook is provided including a support structure having a support surface; a number of pages each having a page binder edge and a page free edge and a page length from the page binder edge to the page free edge, and having at least two page binder holes adjacent to the page binder edge, the pages being stacked sequentially face to face to form a pad so that corresponding page binder holes register with each other; a binder passing through registering the page binder holes and binder axial passageway; a mounting shaft extending through the binder axial passageway; and at least one shaft mounting and spacing structure connected to the mounting shaft and connected to the support surface and spacing the mounting shaft outwardly from the support surface a distance less than the page length and positioning the mounting shaft to be substantially parallel with the support surface, and thereby defining between the mounting shaft and the support surface a page passing slot; so that the page free edge of each forward most page in the pad can be arched over the remainder of the forward most page, fitted into and rotated about the binder entirely through the page passing slot and placed against the back most page of the pad.
The support surface may be a forward surface of a substantially rigid backboard. The support surface alternatively is a box back wall of a containment box including at least two box side walls connected to and extending forwardly from the box back wall and including a box front wall which is detachable from at least one of the box side walls to open the containment box and provide access to the pages. The support surface may be a box back wall of a containment box including at least two box side walls connected to and extending forwardly from the box back wall and including a box front wall which is detachable from at least one of the box side walls to open the containment box and provide access to the pages, where the shaft mounting and spacing structure includes at least one box side wall to which the mounting shaft is secured and from which the mounting shaft extends forwardly of the box back wall a certain distance.
The box front wall preferably includes a front wall peripheral flange which fits around the box side wall. The box front wall optionally pivots from a box hinge structure connecting the box front wall to the box side wall. The shaft mounting structure preferably includes two wire legs of a U-shaped wire and the mounting shaft is a segment of the U-shaped wire interconnecting the wire legs. The binder is optionally a spiral wire threaded through the registering page holes to hold the pages and the cover together while permitting page rotation. The binder alternatively includes a series of ring-shaped wires each fitted through one registering series of the page holes to hold the pages together and permit page rotation.

Support surface mounted sequential first page notebook


A heat molded, transparent baffle for instrumental sound deflection is disclosed. The Baffle is a single, molded shield that reflects the sound in any direction the audio engineer decides. It is quickly mounted in one minute, transparent, and ready for sound check.

The present invention relates to sound deflection baffles. With current baffles, the problem in the industry is that unrestrained sound waves created from drum cymbals and guitar amplifiers are more than likely picked up by the singer's microphones. The traditional enclosures are large, bulky, and ugly; creating a sense of isolationism from the other members of the band. As such it is desired to create a single, molded baffle shield that reflects the sound in any direction the audio engineer decides. The baffle should also be capable of quickly mounting to allow for a quick sound check. The baffle should also be transparent.

Heat molded, transparent baffle for instrumental sound deflection


Exemplary embodiments of method and apparatus for processing the images of fingerprints can be provided. For example, aligned images can be subjected to a tessellation process, whereas each image can be partitioned into a number of regions. Within each region at least one parameter associated with the ridges can be measured and stored. Such exemplary parameter can include, e.g., the prevailing ridge orientation, the average ridge separation and the phase of the ridges. The data can be projected and stored in a multidimensional coordinate system, whereas the representations of any two data can be separated by an amount corresponding to the dissimilarity of these data.

A fingerprint is characterised by smoothly flowing ridges and valleys, characterised by their orientation, separation, shape and minutiae. Minutiae are ridge endings and ridge bifurcations.
Traditionally, fingerprints have been the most widely accepted biometric. The formation and distinctiveness of the fingerprint has been understood since the early twentieth century (see for example Handbook of Fingerprint Recognition, D. Maltoni, et al, Springer 2003).
The science of fingerprints is based on three fundamental principles:                1. Individual epidermal ridges and furrows have different characteristics for different fingerprints.        2. The configuration types are individually variable, but they vary within limits that allows for a systematic classification.        3. The configurations and minutiae details of individual ridges and furrows are permanent and unchanging.With this in mind, many techniques have been developed so that personal identification can be made using fingerprints and an individual can be identified by searching a database that contain a large number of fingerprint images (templates) that represent those fingerprint images.
Most automatic fingerprint matching algorithms use minutiae information to determine whether two fingerprints are from the same finger. Some techniques use other ridge features (e.g. ridge direction, ridge spacing, ridge shape etc).
Broadly speaking, the process of fingerprint verification/identification involves two phases: (1) enrolment and; and (2) matching.
In the enrolment phase, people's fingerprint image(s) are processed by computer programs and converted into a template. The template is then associated with meta-data of a person's identity (e.g. name, age, sex, address, etc) and stored in a database. During enrolment, acquired fingerprints are stored in a template database, where only those features of the print which are distinguishing, are extracted and represented in some form.
In the matching phase, in verification mode (1:1 matching), a person's fingerprint images will be matched against the template, which belong to the claimed identity, whereas during identification mode (1:N matching), a person's fingerprint images will be matched against all or a subset of templates stored in the database. A matching score may be calculated for each comparison of the test fingerprint to a stored template.
Thus, a newly presented test fingerprint is compared against the set of stored templates and a matching score is returned. Because the test print has to be compared with each stored template, it is necessary to convert it also into the same representation as the template. Then the system can return a score based on how close is the presented (test) print with each template. If this score value is sufficiently high, determined by a user-defined threshold, then a match is declared.
When analyzed at different levels, a fingerprint pattern exhibits different types of features:                1. At a first level, the ridge-flow forms a particular pattern configuration which can be broadly classified as left loop, right loop, whorl, arch and tented arch. These distinctions are insufficient to facilitate accurate fingerprint matching, but are nevertheless useful in categorising and indexing fingerprint images.        2. At a second level, the geometric location of each minutiae on the print is extracted and the relationship of second level details enables individualisation.        3. At a third level, intra-ridge details can be detected, which are essentially sweat pores whose position, shape and distribution are considered highly distinctive.
The third level of analysis is often used manually by fingerprint experts in forensic science when only a partial print can be reliably obtained and the second level data (minutiae) are insufficient to make a conclusive match.
Fingerprint recognition systems can be broadly classified as being minutiae based or correlation based.
Minutiae-based approaches first find minutiae points and then map their relative placement on the finger. A global transformation including rotation, shift and scaling can also be identified during the establishment of correspondence between minutiae pairs.
The correlation-based method uses the global pattern of ridges and furrows and calculates a score based on the correlation result. A transformation matrix can be also identified when the correlation result is at a maximum.
FIG. 2 shows a flow chart showing the steps generally performed by a typical prior art system.
At step one, depending on the application, a fingerprint image is acquired through either scanning an inked print or a live finger. Once the image is acquired into the computer memory or on a hard disk, it is often put through an enhancement process to improve the quality of the ridge pattern. This normally includes contrast enhancement, noise removal, filtering and smoothing. Some of the prior art systems also extract the foreground, i.e. ridge pattern from the background, at this step. At step three, either an image correlation method or a feature extraction process will be employed.
FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a commonly adopted feature extraction technique proposed in "Adaptive flow orientation based feature extraction in fingerprint images", Journal of Pattern recognition, Vol. 28, no 11, pp 1657-1672 November 1995 and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,049,621.
Firstly, the image is divided into set of blocks and the principal ridge direction of each block is then estimated. A foreground/background segmentation technique is then used to separate the finger part of the image from the background part of the image. At the next step, some binarisation technique is often used to extract the ridge features (labelled as 1) from non-ridge features (labelled as 0). The ridge feature is often more than 1 pixel wide and may contain noisy artefacts. Those artefacts will be removed at the smoothing step and the longer structures are smoothed. At the next step, the smoothed ridge structured is thinned to 1 pixel wide. The location and orientation of the minutiae features are then extracted from the thinned ridge structures. In some systems, a cleanup post-processing step is employed to remove spurious minutiae features.
The fourth step of the matching flow is normally an alignment step. Most of the prior art systems use the minutiae locations or cross-correlation information to identify a global affine transformation to eliminate the geometric variation including shift, and rotation between the query fingerprint and the template fingerprint.
Some prior art systems, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 6,049,621, describes a method that is able to establish the correspondence between set points in two respective images. The process begins with identifying at least one point in each of the query and template images that correspond, and using this as a reference point. With the information of the location of the reference points and a curved line (thinned ridges) where the points are located, the translation and rotation parameters between the corresponding ridges are then calculated. Further, using the reference points, an index of all possible minutiae pairs between the query and template fingerprint is formed. An iterative process is then employed to identify the transformation (shift and rotation) for each minutiae pair. An alignment score is also calculated for each possible pair, and the pair with the score higher than a pre-defined value is declared as corresponding pairs (pair mate). The advantage of above approach is it can deal with not only a global transformation (shift, rotation and scaling), but also handle the local elastic deformation by calculating the transformation parameter locally. However, the success of this approach is heavily dependent on the quality of feature extraction and ridge detection.
International Publication WO2005/022446 suggested that the location, shape and distribution of sweat pores are highly distinctive and can be used for identification or verification purpose on their own or as supplementary information from minutiae features.
The matching of a password or pin number to another password or pin number involves the comparison of two absolutely defined parameters, facilitating potentially exact matches. The matching of fingerprints or any biometric system, on the other hand, involves the comparison of highly complex functions and is inherently more difficult.
Measurements and matching within biometric systems are subject to two types of errors: a False Match or a False Non Match. The imperfect accuracy of performance is mainly due to the large variability in different impressions of the same finger (intra-class variation), caused by displacement, rotation, partial overlap, elastic deformation, variable pressure, varying skin condition, lighting effects, noise and feature extraction errors. Reliably matching fingerprint images becomes a hard problem when fingerprints from the same finger may look very different, or when fingerprints from different fingers may appear quite similar.
The inconsistency of the extracted minutiae points and ridge structures between the query fingerprint and template fingerprint is caused by several phenomena including:                1. A different area of the fingerprint being scanned between the query and template fingerprint.        2. Irreproducible contact of finger with scanner caused by the result of manual labour, accidents which changes the ridge structure temporarily.        3. Various skin and environmental factors including dry skin, sweat, dirt, humidity, residues left on the glass of scanning devices contribute to the production of low contrast and/or noisy images.        4. The errors/artefacts exists in the feature extraction, ridge detection and thinning process.
The errors and inconsistency of feature extraction and ridge detection is then propagated to the alignment process, which in turn affects the establishment of a correct correspondence.
In the case of minutiae-based methods, for example, it is difficult to consistently extract the minutiae points when the fingerprint is of low quality or the overlapping area between the data and the template is relatively small. The inconsistency of minutiae extraction will impact on both correspondence and identification of the transformation matrix itself.
Correlation-based techniques are particularly prone to noise, scratches, smudges and are computationally expensive.
Thus, the result of fingerprint matching processes is usually imperfect because of noise in acquisition, variation in the contrast, position and orientation of the print and the elastic deformation of the impression of the finger due to varying degrees of pressure that can be imparted by the subject.
Therefore, prior art fingerprint matching systems can frequently comprise a number of steps to accomplish the match: (1) the acquired images are pre-processed to increase the contrast of the ridge structures; (2) features which are discriminating are extracted from the enhanced ridges, i.e. the minutiae; and (3) the minutiae are compared like for like, after an alignment procedure, with the minutiae of the template. Indeed, in prior-art systems, the template representation may simply be the locations, types (bifurcation or ending), and directions of the minutiae. All three steps have to be repeated for each match before a score can be calculated.
As mentioned above fingerprint systems typically include an alignment process, which occurs prior to any matching, ensuring that images are aligned or justified in order to facilitate an accurate comparison of any two images. This alignment process is usually a combination of translations and rotations, which together form transformation parameters which defines the overall alignment. Prior art alignment methods that depend on minutiae features will inevitably fall into a combinatorial problem of two unknowns, i.e. the correspondence between minutiae points and the transformation between the minutiae set. The transformation parameter calculation depends on the correspondence and the establishment of correspondence rely on an accurate estimation of the transformation parameters. Any errors in either estimate will propagate and degrade the accuracy of the subsequent matching.
Furthermore, because the transformation parameter calculation from the prior art systems rely on the comparison between query and template fingerprints, the process has to be carried out in a pair wise fashion. i.e. the alignment process needs to repeated for each comparison between the query prints and all the templates. In identification applications, when the system is trying to find out who the query fingerprints belongs to from a large database, the alignment procedure has to be repeated multiple times until the identity of the query prints is established.
Another draw back of prior art systems is they only use partial information present in fingerprint images, mainly the ridge pattern and minutiae information. Due to the difficulty of consistent detection and establishing correspondence of sweat pores, those permanent, immutable and individual characteristics are ignored by prior art automatic fingerprint recognition systems. Third level features (sweat pores) are manually identified by fingerprint experts in forensic science because it is sometimes only possible to acquire partial prints, and there may be insufficient second level features present. For certainty skin types or manual labourers, the number of minutiae that can be reliably detected is small and often result a failure at the enrolment stage.
Incorporation of sweat pores can thus enrich the features space by a multiple, and when complimented with minutiae, can reduce the fail-to-enroll rate and increase the matching accuracy. However, although third level analyses are thus considerably more accurate, they also require high resolution scanning. In view of the high density of sweat pores, a consistent feature extraction and correspondence between prints can be difficult to achieve. The high scanning requirements (e.g. 1000 dpi above) has prevented widespread application of third level analyses. However, due to the reducing cost and improving technology of high resolution fingerprint imaging devices, such as WO 2005/022446, there is renewed interest in combining sweat pore representations in order to supplement information from the minutiae features and improve accuracy and usability of fingerprints in non forensic applications.
Therefore, in the light of the above, there is a need for a method which overcomes the deficiencies of prior art systems, by eliminating or reducing intra-class variation in a normalized framework, and has the ability to compliment sweat pore information from the minutiae, which then enables a more reliable and accurate fingerprint match.

Fingerprint matching method and apparatus


Disclosed is a method for filling barrels (4), specially kegs, with liquids, wherein at least one gas is dissolved. The barrel (4) is pre-stressed using a gas before the liquid is filled. Liquid is then fed into the barrel (4) by means of a filling valve (2) pertaining to a filling station (1) and connected to a feed line (3, 8). During filling, the pre-stress gas contained in the barrel (4) is evacuated. In order to guarantee economical and ecological product processing, the pre-stress gas in the barrel (4) is pre-stressed at only a partial pressure which corresponds approximately to the saturation pressure of the CO.sub.2 or N.sub.2 which is dissolved in the filled liquid. The flow rate speed is measured in the product feed line and is directly adjusted by adapting the volumetric flow rate of said product.

The invention concerns a method for filling barrels, especially kegs, with liquids, in which at least one gas is dissolved, whereby the barrel is pre-stressed with a pre-stress gas before being filled with liquid, after which liquid is fed to the barrel by means of a filling valve of a filling station, connected to a feed line, and the pre-stress gas contained in the barrel is removed during the filling process, as well as a device to carry out this method.
Carbon dioxide-containing beverages such as beer only keep their CO.sub.2 in solution, if the partial pressure of the CO.sub.2 gas above the liquid is at least as high as the saturation pressure in the liquid. If the gas pressure above the liquid is below the saturation pressure, the liquid loses CO.sub.2 ; but if the gas pressure is substantially above this, there is a danger that additional CO.sub.2 will go into solution. The uptake of gas will depend on the differential pressure between the saturation pressure in the liquid and the partial pressure above the liquid, the time available for the gas exchange, which is generally the same as the filling time of the barrel, and the size of the gas exchange area, i.e., the liquid surface. The danger of a gas uptake during the filling is significantly increased because of turbulence in the liquid occurring during the filling process. However, the gas exchange between liquid and the overlying gas atmosphere concerns not only the CO.sub.2, but also other gases present in the gas atmosphere, especially oxygen, which is taken up by the liquid according to the same laws. Yet oxygen is a major factor of product quality in the case of liquids, which can be damaged by microorganisms or whose shelf life is endangered by oxidation of the liquid's components.
In order to get the product through a valve into the barrel, whether a bottle or a keg, a differential pressure between feed line and interior of the barrel is necessary. The magnitude of the differential pressure determines the inflow rate of the product. Usually, in order to avoid increases of surface due to turbulence, the product is filled with initially low speed, which is then slowly increased. For this, the barrel is pre-stressed with a gas pressure that is substantially higher than the saturation pressure of the gas dissolved in the liquid. The actual liquid being filled is also maintained at this pressure level by tanks or pumps and supplied to the filling machine. After the pre-stressing of the barrel to the pressure of the supplied liquid, a connection is established between barrel and product feed line. The filling of the barrel with product is made possible by controlled venting of the pre-stress gas present in the barrel In this process, the differential pressure which is built up determines the flow rate of the liquid. Moreover, it is known that the gas escape is throttled toward the end of the filling, which reduces the differential pressure between the interior of the barrel and the feed line. This has the effect of reducing the quantity of product filled per unit of time toward the end of the filling process, which enables a precise shutoff when reaching a set quantity. This known method is termed "back gas control". The advantage of this control method is that the gas pressure above the liquid is at all times above the saturation pressure of the product.
The pre-stress pressure to be established is found by trial and error. At the start of the filling, the product should lose CO.sub.2 through turbulence, which results in local underpressures. This produces a desirable artificial foam on the liquid surface, whose bubbles contain only the released CO.sub.2 and, thus, protect the product against contact with the oxygen-containing gas atmosphere above it. During the further filling, the turbulence vanishes and so do the local underpressures. During the remaining fill time, the product again takes up CO.sub.2. Thus, the trick is to achieve an equilibrium between loss and further uptake of CO.sub.2 as a function Of CO.sub.2 content, temperature, barrel size, and estimated filling time.
Apart from the fact that the barrel has to be pre-stressed far above the saturation pressure in the case of back gas control and venting has to be conducted in a controlled manner in order to achieve a controlled filling rate, the reduction in the filling rate during the last filling segment is a problem. At constant inlet pressure of the liquid, the flow velocity can only be reduced if the differential pressure is decreased. For this, in the known techniques, the gas escape is throttled (or shut off, in extreme cases) and one waits until the increasing liquid level has achieved a raising of the counterpressure to the desired value by compressing the remaining gas volume present in the barrel. This period of time can be considerable, especially in the case of beer barrels. Thus, a 50-liter keg usually has an inlet cross section DN21, a maximum filling rate of 2.5 l/sec. and a differential pressure of 0.8 bar. If the keg is filled with 35 liters, then 15 liters of gas space must be compressed by 0.7 bar to reduce the rate. This requires 15.times.0.7=10.5 liters of liquid and (given the reducing rate of filling) around 8 seconds of filling time. Thus, a fast, accurate control is not possible, especially with possible fluctuation in feed pressures. Even more critical is the situation when not just one gas (for example, CO.sub.2), but two gases (for example, CO.sub.2 and N.sub.2) are deliberately dissolved in the product. N.sub.2 is added to beer nowadays for its foam stabilizing action. The best example of this is stout beer, whose creamy, long-lasting foam is produced by the dissolved N.sub.2 released during tapping. But N.sub.2 and CO.sub.2 have completely different solubilities and saturation pressure curves. While CO.sub.2 goes easily into solution and can only be brought out of solution with difficulty, it is extremely hard to place N.sub.2 in solution at all, and very easy to take it out of solution with the smallest amount of turbulence. A balance between outgassing at the start of filling and recapture of lost gas during the filling is almost impossible to find in the case of 2-gas systems. The quality of the product being filled therefore fluctuates. One tries to compensate for this by maintaining the ratio of the gas atmosphere CO.sub.2 to N.sub.2 different than the proportion of the dissolved gases. But this compromise only holds for one temperature or one barrel size and only for one product feed pressure. Mastery of these many factors and their tolerances with a control technique is not possible.
Another drawback of back gas control is that the barrel needs to be pre-stressed far above the saturation pressure with gas, generally CO.sub.2, in order to accomplish a pressure drop, which still lies above the saturation pressure of the gas even during maximum lowering of the interior pressure during the filling process. Since the gas is then vented into the atmosphere, this results in increased consumption of the greenhouse gas CO.sub.2, in addition to energy consumption, Furthermore, the operating personnel are exposed to the high emission of CO.sub.2.
A process of this type is known from GB-A-2,116,530 in which the kegs are filled by means of a connecting fitting that faces downward, whereby the liquid flows in through the carbon dioxide valve of the connecting fitting and the expelled gas is led off through the pressure release valves. Once the beer finally flows over the upper edge of the ascending tube, the barrel is completely full. In order to permit filling of the beer into kegs such that this is accompanied by low turbulence and low foaming and, in particular, a feature is provided that filling is carried out in 3 phases, whereby a first predetermined volume of liquid is measured out in an Initial stage and then this is introduced slowly into the keg and then a second predetermined volume of liquid is measured out in the subsequent rapid filling phase and this is introduced rapidly into the keg, and a third predetermined volume of liquid is measured out in the concluding phase of filling the vessel completely and this is then slowly introduced into the keg. The volumes of liquid, which are introduced into the keg on each occasion, are ascertained by means of an inductive gauge in the liquid line and are forwarded to an electronic evaluation and switching system, within which the measured voltage is digitized and forwarded to a gauge which Is calibrated in "liters" and which indicates the total volume of the keg. The volumes, which are desired for the individual filling phases, can be prescribed by a target value adjusting unit. In order to achieve the different filling volumes in the individual filling phases, an additional filling line is hooked up in the rapid filling phase. Thus the basis of the known process is the provision of two limiting values for the volume, which are capable of parameterization, whereby one can switch between a large and a small filling line on reaching these limiting values, The throughflow rate in the product supply line is not regulated.
Thus, the object of the Invention is to make smooth filling possible and to reduce the consumption of the pre-stressing gas.
In accordance with the invention, this object is solved, In essence, by the feature that the pre-stressing gas In the barrel is pre-stressed merely to a partial pressure which corresponds approximately to the saturation pressure of one of the gases which is dissolved in the liquid, which is being introduced, and that the flow-flow rate In the product supply line is measured and is regulated directly by altering the flow volume of the product.
In contrast to the prior art, the initially slow flowing in of the product and the increase in the flow velocity at the end of filling is no longer regulated indirectly by modulating the internal pressure of the keg but, rather, direct regulation of the flow volume of the product takes place.
An essential advantage of this new process resides in the feature that one can dispense completely with the previously necessary Installation of sensors for the product pressure since these pressures are no longer determinant for producing the flow velocity. As a result, the use of these highly precise and sensitive sensors and their technical-measurement calibration adjustment are no longer required.
A container, which is filled with a counter-pressure gas, is capable of reacting only very sluggishly to product fluctuations by increasing or decreasing the pressure of the relatively large volume of gas by blocking or opening the gas outlet. The change In pressure depends on the slowly rising level of product in the barrel. In the case of the present invention, on the other hand, the flow rate of the product into the keg can be kept stable at the desired predetermined value, despite changing product or countergas pressures due to change in the flow cross section.
The first cold product entering the hot keg causes residual quantities of atmospheric sterile steam in the barrel to suddenly condense. The pressure-modulating methods used thus far were not able to control this pressure collapse fast enough. The new method solves this task without difficulties and guarantees a controlled slow inflow of product, which is the prerequisite for a careful filling.
In a further modification of the invention, various filling curves can be entered into a data-processing unit to account for certain barrel sizes, types of fittings, different product temperatures and/or certain propellant gas ratios. These curves are produced by algorithms which are calculated or empirically obtained and which automatically correlate the appropriate flow velocities with the mentioned barrel components or product conditions. Thus, new product/barrel combinations can organize and process optimized self-learning fill profiles in this system. The filling curves are the setpoint values used to regulate the product volume flow.
In a preferred embodiment of this concept of the invention, the filling curves can be graphically modified and adjusted during production, e.g., with graphic interaction systems.
The gas inside the barrel can then be forced out by the incoming product through a simple overflow valve. The costly control apparatus formerly customary is no longer required for this. In the case of liquids containing several dissolved gases, the optimal gas composition can be established inside the barrel, since the same pressure prevails inside the barrel throughout the entire time of the filling process. In the conventional back gas control, the fluctuating pressures inside the barrel during the filling process resulted in different gas exchange behavior and, thus, an influencing of product quality during the various filling phases. This is completely eliminated by the invention.
According to a preferred modification of the invention, the pre-stress pressure inside the barrel is adjusted according to the saturation pressure after the filling. The basis for this concept of the invention is the fact that beer kegs are steamed for sterilization prior to filling and the cold product is poured into the still hot barrel. Fifty liters of beer with a temperature of around 3.degree. C. are poured into an approximately 12 kg metal barrel with a temperature of 100.degree. C. A mixing and equalization temperature is produced, which increases the temperature of the product in the barrel by around 4.degree. C. relative to the feed temperature. This, of course, alters the saturation pressures of the dissolved gases, so that the value to be adjusted according to the invention must correspond to that of the product in the filled barrel. This issue never came up in the past, because the counterpressure was always considerably above the saturation pressure.
A device to carry out the above-described method with a filling station, which supplies product liquid to be filled into the barrel across a feed line and from which pre-stress gas escaping from the barrel is taken away through a return gas line, has, according to the invention, a flow meter at the filling station to determine the flow-through velocity in the feed line of the filling station and a controllable diaphragm to adjust the product volume flow. In this way, the volume flow at each filling station can be individually adjusted as a function of the filling quantity or filling level, absolutely independent of the feed pressure of the product being filled and independent of the other filling stations, which might be present at the filling machine. In many cases, furthermore, there is a simplification of the customary pressure tanks upstream from the filling machines and their controls, since these likewise can be adjusted to the optimal gas mixture corresponding to the relations at saturation pressure, without influencing the product.
The product volume flow is regulated by a controller on the basis of the flow velocity determined by the flow meter as the actual value and a filling curve as the setpoint value, preferably adjusted to the barrel size, type of fitting, product temperature and/or proportions of propellant gas in the product and stored in a data-processing unit. According to the invention, the diaphragm cross section is continuously adjustable for this.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, an overflow valve is provided in the return gas line, through which the return gas is taken away. Further modifications, advantages, and application possibilities of the invention will follow from the description of an example of embodiment and the drawing below.


A method for detecting and selecting watermarking in video coding is provided that comprises accessing a list of possible watermarks; generating propagation maps of modifications to the video that would be caused by applying the respective watermarks; generating a detection region responsive to each respective propagation map that includes blocks within the propagation map that collectively rank highest with respect to a selected detection criteria compared to each other region within the propagation map; selecting a threshold metric for evaluating detection regions; and removing watermarks from the list responsive to a comparison of their detection regions with the threshold metric.

Watermarks that change pixel values can cause secondary changes to adjacent parts of the imagery that use the changed pixels as a reference. Watermarks that change motion vector values can cause secondary changes to adjacent parts of the imagery that use the changed motion vectors as a reference.
Propagation maps have been used in a fidelity criterion (PCT/US09/004702 and PCT/US09/004752) to ensure that a proposed change will not introduce fidelity artifacts anywhere in the propagation path.
In H.264/AVC, a two-step watermarking modifies one block at a time. The watermark detector then analyzes that one block in the process of recovering the watermark payload. This method suffers when the watermarked content undergoes a geometric distortion prior to watermark recovery. Slight misalignments result in a large percentage of the target block being missed by the detector and can yield unreliable detection.
As such, a need exists for an improved watermark detection method that can capture geometric distortions that current detection schemes miss.

Watermark detection using a propagation map


This invention relates to N-arylcarbamoyl proline analogues which are useful as cholecystokinin and gastrin antagonists, to pharmaceutical compositions including such proline analogues, and to their use in preventing or treating cholecystokinin or gastrin related disorders.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to certain compounds which antagonize the actions of the neuropeptides cholecystokinin (hereinafter CCK) and gastrin.
CCK and gastrin are peptides, endogenous in human and other species, which regulate biological functions in tissues in the GI tract and central nervous system (CNS). Gastrin and CCK regulate biological activity by acting as autocrine, parocrine, endocrine or neurocrine agents.
The first and principal form of gastrin isolated was the 17 amino acid residue peptide, G-17 or little gastrin. The second major molecular form of gastrin is the 34 amino acid residue peptide, G-34 or big gastrin. G-34 is considered the proform of G-17, but both forms of gastrin are biologically active and nearly equipotent. The smallest residue possessing full biological activity is G-4 which is the final 4 amino acids at the carboxy terminal. Sulfation of the tyrosine residue (6-amino acids from the C-terminal) is not necessary for expression of the bioactivity of gastrin and its congeners.
The major physiologic action of gastrin is the stimulation of acid secretion from the stomach. Gastrin stimulates acid secretion by at least three separate actions: direct stimulation of parietal cell activity; potentiating the actions of histamine, a paracrine stimulus; and by direct release of histamine.
Gastrin is a trophic hormone for gastric, fundic and intestinal mucosa and for the pancreas. Gastrin directly stimulates those biochemical processes, DNA and RNA synthesis, that are involved in tissue growth.
Gastrin also stimulates pepsin secretion and increases gastric mucosal blood flow. It causes electrolyte and water secretion by the stomach, pancreas, liver, and Brunner's glands.
Other possible actions of gastrin may involve the regulation of lower esophageal sphincter contraction and other smooth muscle contractions (motility) in the GI tract.
CCK is a linear amino acid polypeptide that occurs in several bioactive molecular forms: CCK-8, CCK-22, CCK-33, CCK-39 and CCK-58 are the major forms which have been reported. All of the CCK variants require the sulfation of the tyrosine residue at position 7, counting from the C-terminal, for the full expression of their biologic activity.
The principal physiclogic actions of CCK are stimulation of gallbladder contraction and of pancreatic enzyme secretion. There is evidence which supports a physiclogic role of CCK in the inhibition of gastric emptying, stimulation of pancreatic growth and release of pancreatic polypeptide.
Other possible actions of CCK include stimulation of insulin, glucagon, somatostatin and peptide YY release, stimulation of hepatic bile flow, intestinal motility, blood flow in the superior mesenteric artery, secretion of pepsinogen from gastric glands, and secretion of bicarbonate from the stomach and duodenum. In contrast to gastrin, CCK relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter.
In the nervous system CCK may act as a neurotransmitter or as a neuromodulator. As such, exogenous CCK has been shown to affect memory. Also levels of acetylcholine and dopamine have been affected by exogenous CCK. CCK has been implicated as well for producing the satiety effect, however, it is not clear if this is regulated by peripheral or central mechanisms.
There is considerable overlap in the biological activities elicited by gastrin and CCK. Therefore, gastrin receptor antagonists may also possess activity at the CCK receptors or vice versa.
2. Reported Developments
Four distinct chemical classes of CCK-A (peripheral CCK) receptor antagonists have been reported (see R. M. Freidinger, Medicinal Research Reviews, 9(3), 271-290 (1989)).
(1) Cyclic nucleotides, e.g. dibutyryl cyclic GMP (see N. Boilos et al., Am. J. Physiol. 242, G 161 (1982) and P. Robberecht et al., Mol. Pharmacol., 17, 268 (1982)).
(2) Amino acid derivatives, characterized by proglumide, a derivative of glutamic acid and N-acylated tryptophans, i.e. para-chlorobenzoyl-L-tryptophan (benzotript) (see W. F. Hahne et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 78: 6304 (1981) and R. T. Jensen et al., Biochem. Biophys. Acta. 76, 269 (1983)); also second generation proglumide analogues typified by Lorglumide and Loxiglumide (F. Makovec et al., Arzneim-Forsch., 37(II), 1265 (1987)). The latter two analogues have considerably better receptor affinity and selectivity.
(3) Peptide and pseudopeptide analogs based on the C-terminal end of CCK, especially analogues of CCK-8, cholecystokinin tyrosine-sulfated octapeptide Some examples are cholecystokinin-27-32-amide (M. Spanarkel et al., J. Biol. Chem. 258, 6746 (1983)) and a synthetic peptide derivative of cholecystokinin containing D-tryptophan and norleucine (M. F. Lignon et al. J. Biol. Chem. 262, 7226 (1987)).
(4) Non-peptide structures, e.g. the fermentation product asperlicin (R. S. L. Chang et al., Science 230, 177 (1985)). Subsequent medicinal chemistry done on this compound culminated in the 1,4-benzodiazepine (MK329) series having very high CCK-A affinity (B. E. Evans et al., J. Med. Chem. 31, 2235-2246 (1988)).
Structurally related compounds which retain nanomolar level potency for the CCK-A receptor have recently been reported, e.g. 3-aminobenzolactam (R. S. L. Chang and W. H. Parsons, Eur. Pat. Appl. EP 166,345 (1986), and W. H. Parsons et al., J. Med. Chem., 32, 1681-1685 (1989) and .beta.-carbolines (B. E. Evans, Eur. Pat. Appl. EP 304,233 (1988) and M. Itonaga et al., Japan. J. Pharmacol., 46, 319-324 (1988)).
Compounds selective for the peripheral gastrin receptor also possess strong affinity for the CCK-B receptor (a CCK receptor located in the CNS). Presently there are no known agents which differentiate substantially between the CCK-B receptor and the peripheral gastrin receptor. Compounds selective for gastrin generally fall into two major classes.
(1) Peptide and pseudopeptide analogs based on C-terminal amino acids of CCK or gastrin, especially CCK-4 (the C-terminal tetrapeptide of gastrin). Some examples are the pseudopeptide in which the peptide bond between leucine and aspartic acid of Boc-CCK-4 has been replaced by CH.sub.2 NH bond and has the same binding affinity as Boc-CCK-4 but has no agonist activity (J. Martinez et al., J. Med. Chem., 28, 1874, (1985)).
Other analogues of CCK-4 containing partial retro-inverso modifications have been demonstrated to bind strongly to the gastrin receptor and block the effects of gastrin in the rat (in vivo) (M. Rodriguez et al., J. Med. Chem., 30, 758-763, (1987)).
Recently some cyclic cholecystokinin analogues of CCK-8 have demonstrated selectivity for the CCK-B (CNS) receptor relative to CCK-A (peripheral ), B. Charpentier, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 85, 1968-1972, (1988).
(2) Benzodiazepines. The 3-substituted 1,4-benzodiazepines effective as selective antagonists of CCK-A have been modified synthetically resulting in agents selective for the peripheral gastrin and CCK-B (brain) receptors, such as the Merck compound L-365,260 (V. J. Lotti and R. S. L. Chang, Eur. J. of Pharm., 162, 273-280 (1989), also M. G. Bock et al., J. Med. Chem., 32, 16-23, (1989)).
Other non-peptide, non-benzodiazepine compounds (e.g. analogs of Virginiamycin M1) have been reported to display strong binding affinity and selectively for gastrin (relative to CCK-A) (Y.-K. T. Lam et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,923 (1988)).
Tetrahydropyridoindoles are reported to be active as gastrin and cholecystokinin antagonists in pending U.S. application Ser. No. 07/542,495, attorney docket no. A0135, filed on Jun. 21, 1990, now abandoned, and U.S. application Ser. No.: 07/573,514, attorney Docket No.: A0135A, filed Aug. 24, 1990, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,162,336, assigned to the same assignee as the present invention.
The present invention relates to novel N-arylcarbamoyl proline analogues which are useful as cholecystokinin and gastrin antagonists.

Compounds having cholecystokinin and gastrin antagonistic properties

Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Pharmaceuticals Inc.


According to a method for setting the laser beam power applied to reproduce information recorded on an optical disc, information recorded in a region on the optical disc is reproduced using three or more test reproduction powers (S22B), the number of reproductions until the degradation of the quality of the reproduced signal reaches a prescribed value is determined as the degradation number of reproductions (S22F), the relation between the test reproduction power and the degradation number of reproductions is approximated by a curve, and a reproduction power restricting the degradation of the reproduced signal quality to a predetermined amount or less over a certain guaranteed number of reproductions is determined (S25F). In optical reproduction from an optical disc on which information is recorded, the optimum power of irradiation for reproduction can be set, and degradation of the information due to the reproducing light can be prevented.

There are two conflicting requirements on the reproduction power used in reproduction of information from an optical disc. From the viewpoint of reproduced signal quality, reproduction with the highest possible power is advantageous because noise is reduced. From the viewpoint of the ability of the optical disc to withstand the reproduction power, however, and the viewpoint of the life span of the semiconductor laser, reproduction with the lowest possible power is advantageous. To meet these conflicting requirements, it is desirable to reproduce at a reproduction power setting that can guarantee a minimum reproduced signal quality while avoiding degradation of the characteristics of the recorded marks on the optical disc and enabling the optical disc to be used as long as possible.
In a conventional optical disc device, when still reproduction is carried out, that is, when the same track is repetitively reproduced, the track suffers much thermal damage and the recorded marks constituting the recorded information in the track degrade, resulting in degradation of reproduced signal quality. An existing remedy to this problem is to detect the amplitude of the reproduced signal during still reproduction and control the reproduction power so as to correct for fluctuations in the amplitude of the reproduced signal (See Patent Document 1, for example).

Optical disc reproduction power setting method, optical disc reproduction method, and optical disc device


A process for insulating high voltage conducting media by insulating such media with a silicone rubber composition capable of being converted to a rubbery elastomer superior in high voltage electrical insulating characteristics is provided. The composition comprises the following components (a) to (e) and not containing a platinum catalayst:. (a) 100 parts by weight of an organopolysiloxane gum; PA1 (b) 10-100 parts by weight of a finely divided silica filler; PA1 (c) 15-300 parts by weight of aluminum hydroxide; PA1 (d) 1-20 parts by weight of a OH terminated organosilane or organosiloxane oligomer; and PA1 (e) 0.05-6 parts by weight of an organic peroxide.

The present invention relates to a silicone rubber composition which on heat-curing can afford a rubbery elastomer superior in high voltage electrical insulating characteristics.
High voltage electrical insulators such as those (e.g. suspension insulator and LP insulator) for transmission lines, etc. and those used in insulating devices (e.g. a bird guard device and a lightning arrester device) for transmission lines, etc. are generally made of porcelain or glass. Under ordinary working conditions, these high voltage electrical insulators stand long use. However, when they are used under a severe contaminative environment, for example, when they are used in a district extending along the seaside or in an industrial district, a leakage current of a high level may be generated by a high electrical stress, or there may occur a dry band discharge which leads to flashover.
In view of such problems there have been proposed various methods for remedying the drawbacks of high voltage electrical insulators made of glass or porcelain.
For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,511,698 there is proposed a weather-resistant high voltage electrical insulator comprising a thermosetting resin and a cured, platinum catalyst-containing organopolysiloxane elastomer having a thickness of 0.2 mm or more.
In Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 198604/1984 it is taught that by applying one-part type room temperature-curable organopolysiloxane composition to an outer surface of an electrical insulator made of glass or porcelain there can be retained a high electrical performance even in the presence of outdoor stress such as humidity, contamination, or ultraviolet rays.
Further, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 35982/1978 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,965,065 it is taught that a silicone rubber composition improved in ordinary electrical insulating properties is obtained by heating an organopolysiloxane-aluminum hydrate mixture which is converted to rubber on heat-curing, to a temperature higher than 100.degree. C. for 30 minutes or more.
However, the high voltage electrical insulator disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,511,698 involves the problem that there occurs a localized erosion phenomenon because the organopolysiloxane elastomer contains a platinum catalyst.
The high voltage electrical insulator disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 198604/1984 involves the problem that a long time is required because of a one-part type room temperature-curable silicone composition is cured at room temperature.
In all of the prior art refrences, the high voltage electrical insulating performance of the silicone rubber material itself cannot be said fully satisfactory. Under severe contaminative or weather conditions, the silicone rubber material undergoes a high electrical stress, thus causing such a deterioration phenomenon as tracking phenomenon or erosion phenomenon, resulting in that the high voltage electrical insulating performance thereof is deteriorated markedly.
Having made extensive studies for overcoming the above-mentioned problems, the present inventors accomplished this invention.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a silicone rubber composition for high voltage electrical insulators capable of being converted to a rubbery elastomer superior in high voltage electrical insulating characteristics such as resistance to weather, to erosion, to tracking and to arc under severe contaminative or weather conditions after heat-curing.

Process for insulating high voltage electrical conducting media


A method of setting filtering characteristic of a signal processing apparatus includes following steps: configuring a first signal processing path, included in the signal processing apparatus and electrically connected to a signal input port of the signal processing apparatus, to have a first filtering characteristic; and configuring a second signal processing path, included in the signal processing apparatus and electrically connected between the signal input port and the first signal processing path, to have a second filtering characteristic different from the first filtering characteristic. When an input signal received at the signal input port includes a first signal component with a first frequency and a second signal component with a second frequency, most of the first signal component is processed by the first signal processing path, and most of the second signal component is processed by the second signal processing path.

The disclosed embodiments of the present invention relate to filtering out blocker signals, and more particularly, to a signal processing apparatus having a frequency-selective circuit with a mixer module implemented for controlling a frequency response of the frequency-selective circuit and related method thereof.
In general, a wireless communication receiver is required to have the capability of detecting weak signals in the desired frequency band. Specifically, the wireless communication receiver is required to detect in-band signals in the presence of very strong out-of-band (OOB) signals (i.e., blocker signals). The most common solution to solving problems caused by very strong blocker signals is to use very high quality factor (Q) bandpass filters at the input of the wireless communication receiver. For example, surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters may be employed to offer the desired attenuation of OOB blocker signals. However, using SAW filters leads to significantly increased cost and circuit board area.
Thus, there is a need for an innovative design which can effectively attenuate or eliminate the unwanted signal components (e.g., the blocker signals) by using a simple circuit architecture.

Signal processing apparatus having frequency-selective circuit with mixer module implemented for controlling frequency response and related method thereof


A process is disclosed for preparing polynuclear microcapsules by polymerizing an alkoxysilane at the oil/water interface of a multiple phase emulsion to form a suspension of polynuclear microcapsules. Also disclosed are polynuclear microcapsules optionally comprising a hydrophilic active and uses thereof.

Only few encapsulation techniques have been described in the art as a manner for protecting and delivering cosmetic/pharmaceutical actives or for protecting the bioactivity of biologics, i.e. stabilization such as enzymes and cells.
One technique in the art is to entrap hydrophilic cosmetic, chemical, biological or pharmaceutical active material compositions in liposomes or vesicular structures. Their structure integrities are known to be sensitive to the presence of surfactants. Another entrapment technique is to encapsulate hydrophilic cosmetic, chemical, biological or pharmaceutical active material compositions in water in oil in water (W/O/W) multiple emulsions. For example, EP 0120967 B1 describes a process of making W/O/W oil and fat composition for food. The oil phase is not an alkoxysilane composition. EP 0174377 B2 describes a method of making W/O/W complex emulsion for medicinal and cosmetic use.
WO-A-98/31333 describes sunscreen-doped sol-gel materials and a method for their preparation comprising condensation polymerization of a metal or semi-metal alkoxide or ester in the presence of at least one sunscreen ingredient, resulting in the entrapment of the sunscreen ingredients within the formed sol-gel matrix.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,303,149 describes a process for preparing sol-gel microcapsules loaded with functional molecules by emulsifying sol-gel precursors and the functional molecules in an aqueous solution, and mixing the emulsion with an acidic, neutral or basic aqueous solution to obtain a suspension of microcapsules.
EP-A-281034 describes a perfume encapsulated and/or clathrated in a matrix of an organic polymer prepared from a metal alkoxide such as tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS). An aqueous dispersion or solution of perfume and TEOS is treated with an acid catalyst to cause hydrolysis, then with a base catalyst to cause polymerization to a gel.
EP-A-934773 describes microcapsules whose capsule wall comprises organopolysiloxane synthesized by condensing a compound of the formula RnSi(OH)mY(4-m-n) where m=1-4; n=0-3; R represents an organic group with a C atom directly bonded to a Si atom; and Y is an alkoxy group, H or a siloxy group.
WO-A-01/80823 describes a therapeutic or cosmetic composition comprising microcapsules of diameter 0.1-100 μM having a core-shell structure. The core includes at least one active. The shell comprises an inorganic polymer obtained by a sol-gel process, and releases the active after topical application.
WO-A-03/066209 describes a process of making lipophilic cosmetic, chemical, or pharmaceutical active material compositions encapsulated within a shell obtained from the emulsion polymerization products of tetraalkoxysilane. The process of making these microcapsules is a one kettle process without removal of the continuous phase.
WO-A-03/066209 describes an encapsulation process by ex-situ emulsion polymerization from tetraalkoxysilanes and the surfactant concentration in the starting cationic emulsion.
FR 2876028A1 describes the encapsulation of plant extracts in precipitated silica. This process is not suitable for the encapsulation of hydrophilic cosmetic, chemical, biological or pharmaceutical active material compositions.
JP 2004331617 A2 and JP 2003238342 A2 describe W/O emulsion compositions containing silylated peptide-silane compound copolymers for cosmetics.
The bioactivity of biologics is very sensitive to the conditions in which they are used. Many attempts to improve their robustness have been made. One consists of immobilization of the biologics by covalent bonding onto surfaces. However the immobilization can lead to significant biologic loss and only delays the loss of bioactivity.
A recent approach consists of the encapsulation of biologics into a sol-gel matrix coated onto a surface. Some drawbacks to the use of this approach is that the shrinking of the matrix during the sol-gel process can affect the enzymatic molecular conformation and therefore its activity. In addition, a coating limits the surface for exchange between the encapsulated biologic and the substrate present in the reaction vessel.
Many of these aforementioned processes are not suitable for the encapsulation of hydrophilic materials because of the conditions or techniques used. In addition, the capsules formed by the aforementioned processes do not provide capsules suitable for long-term entrapment of hydrophobic materials or improving the stability of hydrophilic materials such as biologics. Thus, there is a need for a process for encapsulating hydrophilic materials such as cosmetics, chemicals, biologics or pharmaceutical active material compositions wherein the encapsulated materials have improved stability or the ability to entrap the hydrophobic material.


A method for automatically producing a defined face opening in a longwall mining operation, in underground coal mining, having a face conveyor, at least one extraction machine and hydraulic shield support frames. Inclination sensors are disposed on at least three of the four main components of each shield support frame, such as floor skid, gob shield, support connection rods and gob-side area of the top canopy. From ascertained inclination data, by comparison with base data defining a geometrical orientation of the components and a movement thereof during stepping, a respective shield height of the shield support frames perpendicular to a bed thereof is calculated. From further sensors on the extraction machine, a cutting height thereof is acquired as a face opening. In terms of a location-synchronous analysis, for possible adjustment purposes the cutting height is compared with the shield height when the shield support frame, which trails the extraction machine with a time delay, has reached the position to which relates that cutting height which was used in the comparison.

The instant application should be granted the priority date of Feb. 19, 2008, the filing date of the corresponding International patent application PCT/EP2008/001266.
The invention relates to a method for automatically creating a defined face opening in longwall mining operations, having a face conveyor, at least one extraction machine, and a hydraulic shield support, in underground coal mining.
One problem in the automatic control of longwall operations, both in the mining direction and also in the extraction direction of the extraction machine, is, inter alia, to produce a sufficiently large face opening, in order to ensure the passage of the longwall equipment without collisions between extraction machine and shield support frames, for example as the extraction machine travels past, on the one hand, and to keep the rock collapse during the extraction work as limited as possible, and accordingly to restrict the extraction work to the seam horizontal as much as possible, without also cutting excessive country rock, on the other hand. The mineral deposit data about seam thickness, level of footwall or of the overlying strata, and the presence of saddles and/or troughs both in the mining direction and also in the longitudinal direction of the longwall equipment, i.e., in the extraction direction of the extraction machine, which are essentially available before the extraction, are too imprecise to be able to support automated control of the extraction and support work thereon.
The invention is therefore based on the object of disclosing a method of the type cited at the beginning, using which automation of the extraction and support work is possible with respect to creating a defined face opening on the basis of the data to be acquired at the longwall equipment.

Method for automatically creating a defined face opening in longwall mining operations


A hair clipper or cutter is provided with an adjustment slider that adjusts the gap between an inner and outer blade. A yoke is attached to the inner blade. The adjustment slider may be configured with preset gap lengths and may be adjustable before, after, or during a hair cutting operation. A T-guide couples the adjustment slider to the inner blade to slidably move the inner blade relative to the outer blade. The yoke, inner blade, outer blade and/or T-guide may be magnetized to create an attractive or repulsive force between the inner blade and the outer blade.

The present invention relates generally to the field of hair clippers or a hair cutting apparatus. The present invention relates specifically to an adjustable tensioning assembly configured to adjust a blade gap between a reciprocating blade and a stationary blade of a blade assembly. The present invention also relates to a magnetic tensioning assembly configured to provide tension between a reciprocating blade and a stationary blade of the blade assembly.

Adjustable blade assembly having magnetic tensioning


The present invention is directed to a process for forming a high-cis polydiene. The process includes catalyzing a diene polymerization, and terminating the polymerization with a termination mixture comprising an inorganic base and at least one of an amine and a carboxylic acid. The catalyst system is a mixture of (a) organoaluminum compounds; (b) organonickel compounds; and (c) fluorine-containing compounds. The use of an inorganic base reduces the amount of more expensive amine necessary to effectively terminate the polymerization as well as reducing the corrosion in the reaction container. The use of an inorganic base with a carboxylic acid results in a very low gel content as well as reducing the corrosion in the process systems.

This invention relates to diene polymerization, particularly to high-cis diene polymerization. More particularly, the present invention relates to a high-cis, low gel polydiene and a process for producing the same.
High cis polydienes have been prepared using an organonickel based catalyst system. The use of the organonickel based catalyst system can result in a rapid rate of polymerization, and the ability to control various polymer properties by varying the catalyst ratios. Moreover, organonickel based catalyst systems are generally hardy catalysts that may be able to maintain catalytic activity at a wide range of polymerization conditions. The use of organonickel catalysts to form high cis polydienes relies on the need for a fluorine-containing co-catalyst, such as HF or BF3. These co-catalysts, however, may be cumbersome to work with as they tend to generate strong acids when contacting water, leading to possible equipment corrosion and possible gel-formation of the polymer. Moreover, the reaction products of the co-catalysts include trialkylboranes when BF3 is used, which can react with molecular oxygen to form peroxyboranes, compounds that may spontaneously homolytically break to form radicals, increasing the gel content upon aging of the finished products.
A variety of terminators, including water, alcohols, polyols, amines, and carboxylic acids have been used to terminate nickel-catalyzed diene polymerizations. Although such terminators may be effective in the termination of the diene polymerization, the protic solvents are capable of reacting with fluoride containing compounds in the polymerization mixture, generating strong acids, which may lead to corrosion problems in the finishing equipment and can also lead to cationic coupling (gelation) of the finished polymer.
Amine termination is another method that has been used in previous syntheses of high-cis polydienes, with the amine acting as a base to neutralize. any acidic compounds in the polymerization mixture, reducing corrosion and cationic gellation. The bases thus formed also react with trialkylboranes to form Lewis acid-Lewis base complexes. These complexes reduce the reactivity of trialkylboranes toward oxygen, thus reducing the generation of radicals, which leads to gel formation. Unfortunately, such amine terminators are often quite, expensive, thus increasing the cost of the overall process.
It would thus be desirable to develop a system for terminating the synthesis of high-cis polydienes that would be capable of overcoming the increased gel content and/or equipment corrosion experienced with the above, mentioned termination systems while maintaining or reducing costs.
The present invention is directed to a process for forming a high-cis polydiene. The process includes catalyzing a diene polymerization, and terminating the polymerization with a termination mixture comprising an inorganic base and at least one of an amine and a carboxylic acid.
In another embodiment, the present invention is directed to a polymer composition including a high-cis polydiene terminated with an inorganic base and at least one of an amine and a carboxylic acid. The polydiene preferably has a cis content greater than about 85-90% and a static gel content less than about 5%.
In a third embodiment, the present invention is directed to a process for producing high-cis polydienes. The process includes a continuous polymerization of a nickel catalyzed polydiene terminated by a termination mixture comprising sodium hydroxide and at least one of an amine and a carboxylic acid.

Termination and reduced gel in high cis polybutadiene