Method and apparatus for ensuring that, in a portable, battery-powered communication package incorporating at least two communication devices, such as a combination cellular telephone and a pager, sufficient power is provided for extended operation of the communication device having the lowest continuous power consumption requirements when the device having a higher continuous power consumption rate has consumed a selected portion of the total power initially available to the combined devices. In the case of the aforestated exemplary device, cellular telephone function is disabled when a selected portion of the total power initially available is consumed. A first embodiment of the invention is implemented with a single electrochemical battery. The first embodiment of the invention may include a headroom-limited flyback power supply which powers the high-power consumption device. When headroom drops below a minimum set by a series-coupled diode string, power is cut off to the high-power-consumption device. The first embodiment of the invention may alternatively include a battery charge sense circuit which produces a digital signal, the digital signal corresponding to either a battery charge state that is above the predetermined voltage level or a battery charge state that is below the predetermined voltage level. For this alternate first embodiment, operation of the high-power-consumption device is disabled when the predetermined battery charge state is reached, thus permitting operation of the low-power consumption communication device for an extended period which, ideally, should be at least 24 hours. A second embodiment of the invention is implemented using a separate electrochemical power source (e.g., a single electrochemical cell or battery) to power the low-power consumption device.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to portable, battery-powered communication devices such as cellular telephones and pagers. More particularly, it relates to a portable communication device incorporating both a cellular telephone and a pager. It also relates to methods and devices for extending battery life during operation of such devices.
2. Description of Related Art
During the past two decades, rapid proliferation of portable communication devices has been nothing short of amazing. During the past 15 years, cellular telephones have progressed from being a novelty to a ubiquitous appliance. The use of pager devices has also become widespread.
The following equipment examples are illustrative of the current state of this burgeoning industry. In the latter half of 1996, Nokia, a manufacturer of communications equipment, announced the introduction of the Nokia 9000 Communicator, a portable communication system that combines digital, voice and data services, as well as personal organizer functions in a single, compact unit. The Nokia device incorporates processing capability provided by an Intel 24 MHz 386 microprocessor, flash memory, and a powerful, memory-efficient graphical user interface (GUI) operating system named GEOS developed by Geoworks, Inc. The Nokia communication system is designed to work in combination with a hand-held computer screen produced by Reflection Technology, Inc., a manufacturer of virtual display technology and wireless messaging equipment. The computer screen, which displays a full 12-inch page of graphics and text, connects with cellular or land line phones to allow a mobile user to receive, read, store and send faxes without the use of a laptop computer. The device features a virtual keyboard with which the user may create memos and respond to faxes, and a full-screen menu that allows users to choose certain functions, such as view, send, enlarge and reduce. The device can store approximately 25 pages and has a built-in directory that stores more than 100 names and fax numbers for use with the unit's auto-dial feature.
In the case of a portable combination electronic device, one of the constituent devices typically consumes more power than the other during operation. A combination portable communication device incorporating both a cellular telephone and a pager is one such combination device. Power consumption of the cellular phone, particularly in the transceive mode, is typically several orders of magnitude greater than that of a pager device. For example, a typical cellular telephone with a 400 mAh nickel-cadmium battery will operate in the transmit-receive mode for only about 70 minutes before the battery must be charged or replaced. Standby time for the same battery is about 17 hours. Most of the power consumed during standby mode is required to operate the periodic query function which maintains cellular phone orientation with respect to the cellular grid. Pagers, on the other hand, require far less power to operate because they are, in the most basic mode of operation, merely radio receivers. Thus, they are generally endowed with much greater battery life. A standard beeper powered by a single AA-size alkaline power cell will operate continuously for four to six weeks if only the beeper notification mode is employed. Operating the same pager in the vibrator notification mode can halve battery life.
When a pager device and a cellular phone are combined into a single unit having a single battery power supply, maximum useful operating life of the pager between battery charges is largely dictated by battery life of the cellular telephone operating in standby mode. When the transmit-receive mode is employed, operating life of the pager on a single charge can be cut dramatically. This is particularly true where the user has little control over the number of incoming calls. Thus, even though the pager function may be more critical to the user, the pager function may be rendered useless by incoming telephone calls which drain the battery to the point where both the pager function and the telephone function are inoperative due to battery discharge below the critical operating voltage.
FIG. 1 depicts a circuit which has heretofore been utilized to control one of two or more electronic devices powered by a single depletable power supply where the device to be controlled requires a clock signal input for operation. A precision reference voltage VR is supplied to the inverting terminal (i.e., the "-" terminal) of comparator 102, and a sample voltage VS (taken from a voltage divider 101 constructed from resistors R1 and R2) is supplied to the non-inverting terminal (i.e., the "+" terminal) of comparator 102. The values of resistors R1 and R2 are selected so that the sample voltage VS is greater than VR, with the difference between VS and VR corresponding to the voltage range selected for continuous operation of an electronic device. The intermediate output VO1 from comparator 102 is fed to one of a pair of inputs to NAND gate 103. A clock signal CLK is fed to the other input. As long as VS is greater than VR, the current path through resistor R3 will maintain VO1 high, and an inverted clock signal CLK* will be passed through NAND gate 103. When VS drops below VR, comparator 102 will pull VO1 low. The signal CLK* is utilized to operate a second device. In order to prevent oscillations about the set turnoff point, hysteresis is provided at the output via a feedback path 104 through resistor R4.

Power-saving mode for portable communication devices


The present invention provides engineered phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) polypeptides and compositions thereof, as well as polynucleotides encoding the engineered phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) polypeptides.

Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) along with histidine ammonia-lyase (HAL) and tyrosine ammonia-lyase (TAL) are members of the aromatic amino acid lyase family (EC 18.104.22.168-1.25 and 22.214.171.124). More specifically the enzymes having PAL activity (EC 18.104.22.168-1.25 and previously classified as EC184.108.40.206) catalyze the nonoxidative deamination of L-phenylalanine into (E)-cinnamic acid. PAL is a non-mammalian enzyme that is widely distributed in plants and has also been identified in fungi and a limited number of bacteria. PAL enzymes may be used as a therapeutic protein for the treatment of the metabolic disorder, phenylketonuria (PKU). PKU is an autosomal metabolic genetic disorder in which the hepatic enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) or one or more of the enzymes involved in the synthesis or recycling of the co-factor tetrahydrobiopterin, is nonfunctional due to a mutation in one of the corresponding genes. This lack of functionality results in high levels of phenylalanine in the bloodstream. The phenylalanine is converted into phenylpyruvate (phenylketone) and other derivatives. In humans, if PKU is not treated early, high levels of phenylalanine and some of its breakdown products can cause significant medical problems including intellectual disability, microcephaly and seizures. Numerous studies have focused on the use of PAL in the treatment of PKU by enzyme substitution (Ambrus et al., Science 201:837-839 [1978]; Bourget et al., Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol., 10:57-59 [1984]; and Sarkissian et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96:2339-2344 [1999]).
One method of detoxifying phenylalanine in the blood stream is the use of injectable recombinant PAL and PAL variants modified by pegylation (PEG-PAL). Pegylation has been shown to improve enzyme half-life and reduce subject antigenic response (See e.g., WO 2008/153776, WO 2011/097335, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,531,341). PAL variants useful in PEG-PAL compositions have been described as variants of wild-type Nostoc punctiforme (NpPAL); Anabaena variabilis (AvPAL) and Rhodosporidium toruloides (RtPAL). In particular, variants of wild-type AvPAL have been described wherein the cysteine residues at positions 64, 318, 503 and 565 have been substituted with serine (See e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,790,433; 7,560,263; and 7,537,923).
An alternative route of PAL administration as a means of reducing plasma concentration of L-phenylalanine in PKU subjects is a non-invasive formulation such as an oral formulation (Sarkissian et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96:2339-2344 [1999]). A key advantage of oral delivery of PAL is the reduced exposure of the enzyme to the immune system thereby minimizing the immune response which is observed with injectable PEG-PAL. However, a major limitation for the oral formulation of PAL is loss of enzyme activity in the stomach and intestinal lumen. In order to be effective and functional PAL must resist degradation by acidic pHs and proteases such as trypsin, chymotrypsin, carboxypeptidases and pepsin that normally degrade proteinaceous foods to oligopeptides and amino acids. In some previous studies (Sarkissian, supra) in order to achieve a significant effect for the oral administration of PAL, a large amount of the enzyme was required partly due to enzymatic degradation by proteases and partly due to relatively low specific activity at pH 7.0. Various means have been explored to suppress PAL degradation upon digestion (Kim et al., Molec. Therap., 10:220-224 [2004]; and Shah et al., Int. J. Pharmaceut., 356:61-68 [2008]).
One approach to increase the effectiveness of PAL under the harsh conditions of the digestive tract is to provide engineered PAL polypeptides that are tolerant to the inherent harsh conditions. Kang et al. used site directed mutagenesis of a chymotrypsin cleavage site and pegylation of surface lysines of an AvPAL to reduce proteolytic inactivation (See, Kang et al., Mol. Gen. Metabol., 99:4-9 [2010]). In these studies ten cleavage sites were specifically mutated and all but two of these resulting mutants (F18A and R94G) lost more than 50% of the original enzyme activity. None of the mutants showed increased activity and the F18A mutant showed a slight increase in trypsin resistance (Kang et al., supra). Further studies with PAL, while effective, generally have not resulted in a longer lived enzyme. Therefore, oral administration of previously described PAL mutants and derivatives thereof does not result in effective treatment of PKU.
Despite the progress made with various formulations of PAL there remains a need for PAL polypeptides having improved properties for oral administration. These improved properties include without limitation a greater half-life, increased catalytic activity, improved stability to the conditions in the digestive track and reduced aggregation.
In addition to therapeutic applications PAL enzymes may also be used in the industrial synthesis of L-phenylalanine and other substituted L-phenylalanine derivatives. These derivatives may then be used as pharmaceutical precursors (Gloge et al., Chem., 6: 3386-3390 [2000]; Bartsch et al., Prot. Eng. Des. Sel., 23:929-933 [2010]; and Turner, Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol., 234-240 [2011]).
PAL enzymes may also be used in agricultural applications. PAL plays a significant role in biosynthesis of phenylpropanoids (such as flavonoids and lignin) in plants, fungi and bacteria and can act as a defense related enzyme (Bate et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91:7608-7612 [1994]). Modulation of PAL activity by using recombinant polypeptides having PAL activity could potentially lead to effective herbicides.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Engineered phenylalanine ammonia lyase polypeptides


A method and a system for arranging a user multi-session from a plurality of user sessions, where the sessions are received from a plurality of computerized client devices communicatively coupled via a communication network to at least one content server. At least some of the client devices may be operated by a same user, and the data content may include at least part of data communicated between any client device and any content server. The method including dividing the received data content into a plurality of sessions, where at least two sessions are associated with the same user, selecting at least two sessions received from at least two respective client devices associated with the same user, and associating the selected at least two sessions to form a multi-session.

Much research is done to analyze the experience a user may have when surfing the world wide web. The raw data for the research may be known as clickstream data or clickpath data. Various software programs such as browsers, as well as websites, may collect clickstream data. In this respect, clickstream data may include all the data that is provided to a user of a computerized device via any of the outputs of the device, as well as all the data that is provided by the user of a computerized device via any of the inputs of the device. Such data may be alphabetic, numeric, alphanumeric, graphical, image, etc.
All such clickstream data may be divided into public information and private user information (also known as personally identifying information). Such private user information may be initiated and entered by the user, or initiated and presented to the user by the website. In this respect, private user information may be associated with the user whose web activity is monitored, or can be associated with other users. All such private user information should be removed from the collected (clickstream) data. Therefore, it is difficult to follow the clickpath data, and particularly the public information contained in the clickpath data, for a user using two client devices or more.
On the other hand, a user may have a particular interest that may involve a plurality of websites. The user may access these websites in different times, and may use different client devices to access any of these websites and each such access may generate an independent clickstream session. There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a method and a system overcoming the problem of disparate sessions and clickstream data.

System and a method for multisession analysis


According to one embodiment, a display device includes a display panel configured to emit display light of linearly polarized light, a first semi-transparent element transmitting first circularly polarized light and reflecting second circularly polarized light, a first retardation film, a second semi-transparent element reflecting the first circularly polarized light and transmitting the second circularly polarized light, a second retardation film having a refractive anisotropy in which refractive indexes of directions orthogonal to each other in a plane are substantially equivalent to each other and a refractive index in a normal is different from a refractive index in a plane, and a first element having a lens action of condensing the second circularly polarized light.

In recent years, a technique of providing, for example, virtual reality (VR) using a head-mounted display mounted on a user's head has been focused. The head-mounted display is configured such that an image is displayed on a display provided in front of user's eyes. The user wearing the head-mounted display can experience virtual reality space with a sense of reality.


A body tissue to be detected is automatically detected certainly with high precision. An ultrasonic body tissue detecting device may include a transmission/reception unit, a two-dimensional data acquisition unit, a spatial frequency distribution calculation unit and a determination unit. The transmission/reception unit may transmit an ultrasonic signal into a body of a sample and receive an echo signal of the ultrasonic signal. The two-dimensional data acquisition unit may form two-dimensional echo image in a transmitting direction of the ultrasonic signal and in a scanning direction. The spatial frequency distribution calculation unit may perform a spatial frequency conversion of the two-dimensional echo image and calculate a spatial frequency distribution for a determining position. The determination unit may determine whether the determining position is the body tissue to be detected based on a distribution of amplitude in the transmitting direction of the ultrasonic signal and a distribution of amplitude in the scanning direction of the spatial frequency distribution.

Conventionally, various ultrasonic diagnosing devices are devised, as disclosed in Patent Document 1. Such ultrasonic diagnosing devices transmit ultrasonic signals into a body from outside and generate image data to determine a state inside the body based on echo signals of the ultrasonic signals.
Specifically, the ultrasonic diagnosing device transmits the ultrasonic signal in a direction perpendicular to the surface of skin using a probe for transmitting and receiving the ultrasonic wave. The ultrasonic diagnosing device then receives the echo signal which is acquired by the ultrasonic signal reflecting on body tissue. The ultrasonic diagnosing device moves the position of the ultrasonic probe along the skin surface and receives the echo signal at a plurality of positions. Thus, the ultrasonic diagnosing device forms two-dimensional echo image in a depth direction parallel to the transmitting direction of the ultrasonic signals and in a scanning direction parallel to the skin surface. For example, the ultrasonic diagnosing device sets a higher luminosity at a position where amplitude of the echo signal is larger and sets a lower luminosity at a position where the amplitude of the echo signal is smaller to form the two-dimensional echo image which expresses the amplitudes of the echo signals by the luminosities.
Such a two-dimensional echo image is utilizable for processing which detects given body tissue. For example, it is utilizable for processing to detect muscular tissue at a part of the surface of a femur where muscular tissue, subcutaneous tissue, and skin exist in layers.
Conventionally, in order to distinguish the muscular tissue from the subcutaneous tissue, an operator observes the pattern of a luminosity distribution of the two-dimensional echo image displayed on a display unit, etc. The operator grasps beforehand the differences between a luminosity distribution pattern of the subcutaneous tissue and a luminosity distribution pattern of the muscular tissue. The operator then distinguishes the muscular tissue from the subcutaneous tissue based on the luminosity distribution patterns. Further, the operator determines that a position where the luminosity distribution pattern changes is a boundary (fascia) between the subcutaneous tissue and the muscular tissue.

Ultrasound body tissue detecting device, ultrasound body tissue detecting method, and ultrasound body tissue detecting program


The present method for predictive caching operation determines a time-based pattern of a high-access period for a web page, and pre-fetches the web page into a cache before the high access period begins. A table is generated where the table comprises a URL, a time of last access and a time stamp of the pre-fetched web page. When a request for a web page is made, the requested web page""s URL and time stamp are checked with the URL and time stamp listed in the table to determine whether any modification has been made. The web page which has been modified is downloaded into the cache.

The present invention relates generally to Internet/Intranet network systems, and in particular, to web caching where Web objects are predictively pre-cached based on time-based pattern of usage.
Web caching is generally well known to those skilled in the art. Generally, a web cache sits between web servers (or remote servers) and a client and watches requests for HTML pages, images and files (known as objects) as they come by, saving a copy for itself. Typically, the web cache resides in a proxy server that sits in a local server. Then if there is another request for the same object, it will use the copy that it has, instead of asking the remote server for it again.
There are two main reasons for using web caches. One is to reduce latency. Because the request is satisfied from the cache (which is closer to the client) instead of the remote server, it takes less time for the client to get the object and display it. This makes web sites seem more responsive. The second reason is to reduce traffic. Because each object is only gotten from the server once, it reduces the amount of bandwidth used by a client. This saves money if the client is paying based on traffic, and keeps their bandwidth requirements lower and more manageable.
Generally, there are two types of web caches: browser caches and proxy caches. The browser cache works by setting a section of a computer""s hard disk to store objects. The browser cache works according to fairly simple rules. It will check to make sure that the objects are fresh, usually once a session. Proxy cache, while it works on a similar principle, is usually located in a local server, a gateway, or a router and can be shared by a number of clients.
All caches have a set of rules that they use to determine when to serve an object from the cache if it""s available. Some of these rules are set by the HTTP protocols and, some are set by the administrator of the cache. (For a full discussion of above, see Caching Tutorial for web Authors and webmasters by Mark Nottingham).
A number of cache replacement strategies are currently suggested as an attempt to optimally reduce latency and/or traffic. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,272,598 describes a cache system that includes a storage that is partitioned into a plurality of storage areas. Each storage area stores one kind of object received from remote sites. The cache system further includes a cache manager which causes objects to be stored in the corresponding storage areas of the storage. The cache manager causes cached objects in each of the storage areas to be replaced in accordance with one of a plurality of replacement policies, each being optimized for one kind of objects.
In another example, the U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,701 describes a system for automatically refreshing documents in a cache, so that each particular document is refreshed no more often and no less often than needed. For each document, the cache estimates a probability distribution of times for client requests for that document and a probability distribution of times for server changes to that document. Times for refresh are selected for each particular document in response to both the estimated probability distribution of times for client requests and the estimated probability distribution of times for server changes.
Yet in another example, the U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,292 describes a method for predictive pre-fetching of objects over a computer network which includes the steps of providing a client computer system, providing a server computer system, a network link to the client computer system, requesting from the server computer system by the client computer system a retrieval of a plurality of objects, retrieving the plurality of objects by the server system, storing the retrieval and an identity of the client computer system in the memory of the server computer system, sending the plurality of objects from the server computer system to the client computer system over the network link, predicting in the server computer system a subsequent retrieval request from the client computer system according to a predetermined criteria, sending the prediction to the client computer system, and pre-fetching by the client computer system an object based on the prediction and other information.
In general, however, a conventional caching method being employed is one where a table keeps track of the requested web page URL (Universal Resource Locator), the time it was last used, and the time stamp of the page. If the table can hold one hundred entries, for instance, then the last hundred web pages visited by the server client using this cache will still be cached locally. If a page is not found in the local cache, the hundredth page is removed from the table, and the URL of the new page is added to the top of the table. If a page is found in the local cache, the cache requests a new page from the remote server, checks the time stamp, and if it is the same as the time stamp of the web page found in the table, stops the transfer and delivers the web page already cached. If the time stamp is different, however, the page is reloaded into the cache and is delivered to the client.
In this prior art method the local server only keeps track of the time stamp of the web page. A web page, however, is typically composed of many elements or objects, such as text files, graphic files, audio files, and video files. Each of these elements or objects has a unique URL and a time stamp, and can be downloaded independently of each other. However, the conventional caching method does not keep track of these individual elements. Consequently, a decision to use a cached web page is an xe2x80x9call or nothingxe2x80x9d deal. Even if only a component, e.g. a graphic file, has changed on a web page, the entire web page is requested from a remote server. Consequently, all of the elements that make up the web page need to be sent again. A significant reduction in latency and/or traffic may be achieved by keeping track of the time stamp of the individual elements of a web page as well as the time stamp of the web page itself, and only requesting those elements which have undergone a change. However, this type of replacement strategy is not available in the current cache systems.
Moreover, in the current caching system, the web pages are cached at the time they are requested. While this type of caching method does help to reduce the overall traffic and latency, it does not take into account the fact that certain web pages are downloaded more heavily during certain times of the day. The latency may further be reduced if the web pages which are popular during a certain period is pre-loaded some time before the xe2x80x9chigh-access periodxe2x80x9d begins. By pre-loading the web pages, the clients will experience fewer delays in accessing the web pages. If the high access period for a particular site happens to be during a heavy congestion period, the web pages may be pre-loaded or pre-fetched into the cache during a less congested period. This will reduce both latency as well as traffic. However, this type of time-based method of predictive pre-fetching of web pages is currently not available.
The present method for predictive caching operation determines a time-based pattern of a high-access period for a web page, and pre-fetches the web page into a cache before the high access period begins. A table is generated where the table comprises a URL, a time of last access and a time stamp of the pre-fetched web page. When a request for a web page is made, the requested web page""s URL and time stamp are checked with the URL and time stamp listed in the table to determine whether any modification has been made. The web page which has been modified is downloaded into the cache.
In another embodiment, the method for predictive caching operation comprises determining a time-based pattern of high-access period for a web page; pre-fetching the web page into a cache before the high access period begins; generating a table, said table comprising a URL, a time of last access and a time stamp of the pre-fetched web page, said table further comprising a URL, time of last access and time stamp of elements found on the pre-fetched web page; when a request for a web page is made, checking the requested web page""s URL and time stamp and URL and time stamp of the requested web page""s corresponding elements with the URL and time stamp listed in the table to determine whether any modification has been made; and selectively downloading in a cache only those elements which are deemed to have been modified.

Method and system for web caching based on predictive usage

Siemens Information and Communication Networks, Inc.


Disclosed is a cabin system configured to acquire first information about a first user and second information about a second user through a communication device, to specify each of the first user and the second user based on image data received from an internal camera or an external camera, to provide a control signal to a display or a speaker such that content is provided to a user based on an electrical signal generated by an input device, to determine a first boarding seat of the first user among seats according to the first information and to determine a second boarding seat of the second user among the seats according to the second information, and to determine the posture of the first boarding seat according to the first information and to determine the posture of the second boarding seat according to the second information.

An autonomous vehicle is a vehicle capable of autonomously traveling without the manipulation of a driver. A great number of companies have already entered the autonomous vehicle business and have been immersed in research and development. In recent years, a concept of a shared autonomous vehicle configured for many people to use together in addition to an autonomous vehicle configured for a specific individual to use alone has been introduced into the industrial world.
A conventional autonomous vehicle has been developed as a concept in which a user owns the autonomous vehicle. Since a shared autonomous vehicle is used by a plurality of unspecified users, however, the shared autonomous vehicle must provide functions suitable for each of the users.


There is provided a droplet ejection device comprising: a droplet ejecting head comprising a droplet ejecting surface on which an ejecting aperture from which droplets are ejected and a collecting hole for collecting adherent liquid adhered to the droplet ejecting face are formed; and a collecting unit that causes the liquid to overflow to the droplet ejecting face through the collecting hole and collects the overflowed liquid through the collecting hole together with the adherent liquid.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a droplet ejection device and a method for collecting adherent liquid, and more particularly to a droplet ejection device and method for collecting adherent liquid for collecting adherent liquid adhered to a droplet ejecting face.
2. Description of the Related Art
A droplet ejection device includes, for example, an inkjet recording device that ejects droplets of ink or the like from nozzles of a recording head to record an image on a recording medium such as paper or the like. In the inkjet recording device, during ink droplet ejections, ink mist or ink leaking from the nozzles or the like may adhere on an ink droplet ejecting face near the nozzles, and the ejection directions of ink droplets may be diverted or ink droplet ejection itself may be hindered.
Therefore, as a method for removing ink adhering to the ejection face, it has been considered to wipe the ejection face. However, in order to perform wiping operation, recording operation recording an image with ink droplets must be temporarily stopped, and printing speed is reduced. As a method for collecting adherent ink adhered to the ejection face without interrupting recording operation, it has been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2008-254279 to form a collecting hole in the ejection face and collect adherent liquid adhered to the ejection face through this collecting hole.
In the liquid ejection head of JP-A No. 2008-254279, the collecting hole is in communication with an ink chamber, and adherent ink collected through the recovery hole is collected into the chamber. In addition, to guide the adherent ink into the collecting hole, on a nozzle plate face (the ejection face), a non-water-repellent region is formed around the collecting hole, and a water-repellent region is formed around the non-water-repellent region.
However, adherent ink adhered to the face of the nozzle plate becomes viscous due to drying, or solidified particles, dust in the atmosphere or the like may be mingled with the adherent ink. Therefore, as in the liquid head ejection head of JP-A No. 2008-254279, if liquid that is collected is re-used, clogging of nozzles or the like may occur.
On the other hand, JP-A No. 2003-127436 discloses an inkjet recording device in which an ink collection aperture is provided in the vicinity of nozzles in an orifice plate face and an ink intake unit is provided at the ink recovery aperture via a collection path. In the above inkjet recording device, the orifice plate face is wiped and adherent ink is scraped off, and when the scraped off ink reaches the ink collection aperture, the ink is taken into the ink intake unit. In addition, a vicinity of the ink recovery aperture is given better wetting characteristics than the vicinity of the nozzles.
However, in spite of forming a non-water-repellent region around the collecting hole or improving wettability of the ink collection aperture vicinity as disclosed in JP-A Nos. 2008-254279 and 2003-127436, adherent liquid at the non-water-repellent region or region with good wetting may not be thoroughly collected. Ink not being collected hardens and, for example, solid matter scraped off by a wiping member (wiper) in a wiping operation may clog up the nozzles.

Droplet ejection device and method for collecting adherent liquid


The present invention relates to a system for mapping external inputs and internal goals toward actions that solve problems or elicit external rewards. The present invention allows an instructor to test and train an agent to perform dynamic task selection (executive control) by using a schema that computes the agent's emotional and motivational states from reward/punishment inputs and sensory inputs (visual, auditory, kinematic, tactile, olfactory, somatosensory, and motor inputs). Specifically, the invention transforms the sensory inputs into unimodal and bimodal spatio-temporal schemas that are combined with the reward/punishment inputs and with the emotional and motivation states to create an external/internal schema (EXIN schema), that provides a compressed representation assessing the agent's emotions, motivations, and rewards. The invention uses the EXIN schema to create a motor schema to be executed by the agent to dynamically perform the task selected by the instructor.

(1) Technical Field
The present invention relates to the fields of cognitive psychology, biology, neural science, signal processing, neural networks, executive control, and computer science and, more specifically, to a system, method, and computer program product for dynamic task selection (executive control) suitable for mapping external inputs and internal goals toward actions that solve problems or elicit external rewards.
(2) Description of Related Art
Executive control is generally defined as the ability (of a person or an agent) to map external inputs and internal goals toward actions that solve problems or elicit rewards. That is, if a reward is gained by finding a goal object (such as an improvised explosive device (IED) or requested tool), then executive control must move a platform's sensors across its surroundings, potentially change those surroundings by locomotion, recognizing the goal object among potential distractions and clutter, and finally retrieve the object, all in a goal-direction fashion. Henceforth, the terms "executive control." "dynamic task selection," "decision making," and "developing and refining reward-eliciting behaviors," are generally used interchangeably.
Some examples of algorithms that use executive control include goal programming or adaptive search algorithms. Examples of applications for decision making vary from academic (e.g., Stroop Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, or Towers of Hanoi) to applied (e.g. modeling of consumer decision making, medical diagnosis, command and control, modeling of human problem solving under stressful situations, and autonomous assembly robots).
In recent years, several bio-inspired methods for executive control have been reviewed, such as those discussed in "An Integrative Theory of Prefrontal Cortex Function", Animal Review of Neuroscience, vol. 24, 2001, pp. 167-202 by E. K. Miller and J. D. Cohen. Recently there have also been several executive control architectures inspired by cognitive psychology (e.g. SOAR, ACT-R, etc.). In addition, it has been proven biologically that executive control is partly served by the Pre-Frontal Cortex (PFC). However, these previous bio-inspired methods for executive control typically only use simple inputs or limit themselves to a small subset of PFC functions. Another disadvantage of previous executive control architectures (inspired by cognitive psychology) is that they do not consider any detailed anatomical or physiological constraints.
Therefore, a system for executive control is needed that is inspired by both, cognitive psychology and biology, that uses and takes advantage of complex inputs, of a large subset of PFC functions, of detailed anatomical constrains, and of detailed physiological constraints, and which is time efficient and is versatile in its implementation and integration into larger scale systems and level applications.
The present invention provides a solution for "executive control" or "dynamic task selection" that uses components of previous models, particularly those of ARTSTORE, DIRECT, N-STREAMS, TELOS previously discussed in "Fast Learning VIEWNET Architectures for Recognizing 3-D Objects from Multiple 2-D Views", Neural Networks, vol. 8, 1995, pp. 1053-1080 by G. Bradski, and S. Grossberg, discussed in "How Laminar Frontal Cortex and Basal Ganglia Circuits Interact to Control Planned and Reactive Saccades", Neural Network, vol. 17, 2004, pp. 471-510 by in J. Brown, D. Bullock, and S. Grossberg, discussed in "A Self-Organizing Neural Model of Motor Equivalent Reaching and Tool Use by a Multijoint Arm", Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, vol. 5, 1993, pp. 408-435 by D. Bullock, and S. Grossberg, discussed in "Neural Dynamics of Attentionally-Modulated Pavlovian Conditioning: Conditioned Reinforcement, Inhibition and Opponent Processing", Psychobiology, vol. 15, 1987, pp. 195-240 by S. Grossberg and N. A. Schmajuk, and discussed in "Neural Dynamics of Learning and Performance of Fixed Sequences: Latency Pattern Reorganizations and the N-STREAMS Model", Boston University Technical Report CAS/CNS-02-005, Boston, Mass., United States, 2002 by B. Rhodes and D. Bullock.
However, the currently presented solution for executive control organizes those components in novel ways, while also addressing many more anatomical and physiological constraints than the previous bio-inspired or cognitive psychology-based executive control models. The method and system for executive control are based on a review of the structure and function of the mammalian prefrontal cortex (PFC). As a result, the executive control system and model provide a biologically plausible architecture that learns from and uses multimodal spatio-temporal working memories to develop and refine reward-eliciting behaviors. This model is defined by differential equations with timing constraints, and the implementation of the executive control model can be carried out on a serial digital computer (e.g. Von Neumann) or on a parallel analog computer (e.g. Analog Pulse Processing computer). Therefore, the model and consequently the system are time efficient and versatile in their implementation and integration into larger scale systems and level applications.
An additional advantage of the present method and system for "executive control" or "dynamic task selection" is that the model can be used with any algorithm requiring dynamic task selection or as part of a larger systems-level application. Therefore, the solution for executive control can also find applications in other executive control systems at large scales including multi-agent simulation.
Furthermore, since the present invention is as an all-software solution, the present solution for executive control can be easily and efficiently integrated into any system requiring decision making systems, such as systems for: modeling of consumer decision making; medical diagnosis: command and control; modeling of human problem solving, especially under stressful situations; and autonomous assembly robots.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a great need for a system for dynamic task selection (executive control) suitable for mapping external inputs and internal goals toward actions that solve problems or elicit external rewards, wherein the system is inspired by cognitive psychology and biology, which allows the system to use and take advantage of complex inputs, of a large subset of PFC functions, of detailed anatomical constrains, and of detailed physiological constraints, and allows the system to be time efficient and versatile in its implementation and integration into larger scale systems and level applications.

Method and system for dynamic task selection suitable for mapping external inputs and internal goals toward actions that solve problems or elicit rewards


A method of making an LED array capable of enhancing an internally generated light density with heterojunction by supporting the LED array with a current injection region by growing heterogeneous film and diffusing a zinc impurity. The improved LED array is capable of producing a high optical power by radiating efficiently a generated light beam without disturbance. To achieve the objects of the present invention, the method comprises: a first process for sequentially growing an n-type junction layer, a p-type radiative layer, a current blocking layer and n-type transparent layer over a semiconductor substrate; a second process for photo-etching the current blocking layer and n-type transparent layer in order to inject current; a third process for diffusing zinc impurity to form current injection region by electrically connecting p-type electrode with p-type radiative layer over the surface of current blocking layer as n-type transparent layer; a fourth process for performing a photo-etching so as to separate each element; and a fifth process for forming respective electrodes over the surface and inside of element.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a light emitting diode (LED) array, and more particularly to a method of making a semiconductor LED in which an internally emitted light can be efficiently radiated to the outside by forming current injection region and current blocking layer by using the diffusion of zinc.
2. Description of the Prior Art
At a high information-oriented age, as data processing capability of office-automation devices such as computer increases continuously, a printer as its data outputing device also requires high-speed, high-resolution and multi-functions. As a result, for such a requirement, an LED array which is a light source of an optical printer employing an electro-photographic technique is asked for a high optical power and resolution. However, when a radiative area is narrowed to achieve high-resolution, it is difficult to obtain high optical power, therefore, a photoemission efficiency must be enhanced.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show a portion of a known LED array, wherein a reference numeral 1 is a GaAs substrate, 2 is an n-type GaAsP film, 3 is a zinc diffusion region, 4 is an insulating film, 5 is a p-type electrode, and 6 is an n-type electrode, respectively. In case of making a p-n junction by using the zinc diffusion, P-type and n-type semiconductor are of the same material, resulting in a homojunction, therefore a high-speed printing can't be accomplished due to a low optical output power. Recently in order to perform a high-speed printing, the heterojunction structure is studied, as shown in FIG. 2.
Referring now to FIG. 2(A), a known LED array includes a GaAs substrate 11, a p-type GaAlAs radiative layer 12, a GaAlAs transparent layer 13, an n-type cap layer 14, an n-type electrode 15, a p-type electrode 16, and a internal radiative region 17, respectively.
However, in case of comprising the elements in said manner, when a voltage is applied to an element, the internal light-density is high as shown in FIG. 2(B), but the radiative region 17 is formed under the electrode 15, therefore, when the light is radiated to the outside, a great loss is brought due to the disturbance of the electrode 15 as shown in FIG. 2(C).


Programmatically reversing numerical line identity presented at a communications services gateway into named IP Telephony users with “prior association”, delivers dynamic “reverse address resolution” switching connections from ground to cloud, permitting any conventional telephone to dial and connect to any associated IP Telephony endpoint in the world, without changes to the conventional telephone. Reversing line identity into associated named users bridges both the addressability and economic divide between mass conventional “paying” (mobile and fixed) and “free”. IP Telephony networks. A system for supporting communications between a user on an IP-addressed-communications-device and a telephony subscriber device, the telephony subscriber device having a corresponding telephone number, includes: one or more service nodes configured to: receive from the user the telephone number of the telephony subscriber device and create an association from the telephone number to the user, wherein the association allows the telephony subscriber device to connect to the user.

Conventional Telephone Systems identify and address users with decimal numbers geographically mapped on the E164 dial plan. As such the archetypal telephone equipment and interface presents a numeric dial pad. Next Generation Networks, exemplified by Voice Over Internet Protocols (VOIP) register and identify its end users "by name rather than number".
Conventional Telephones typically cannot dial the user address of an Internet Client using known methods. While Internet users can easily enter phone numbers and thus readily address conventional telephones, the caveat in calling "off net" to Fixed and Mobile telephones, is that calling "off net" often incurs a terminating penalty. That is, carriers on the ground charge to terminate voice and data traffic onto their networks.
This carrier interoperating business rule forces VOIP service providers to charge its users for calling "off net", and the reason the overwhelming majority of VOIP calls remain on net. However while "free speech" is the mass VOIP consumer proposition and draw card, calling "on net" keeps communication "up in the cloud" and consequently fails to generate the revenue required to commercialize service.

System and method for verifying telephone numbers


A compact structure for controlling movement of the pawl of a ratchet tool includes a selection member movably connected to the tool and a through hole is defined through the selection member. A spring and a bead are received in the through hole and the bead is engaged with one of two positioning recesses in the slot, and the spring is engaged with a notch defined in the pawl. The pawl is shifted to allow one of two ends thereof contact against an inside of the recess of the tool by moving the selection member.

The present invention relates to a ratchet tool that has a spring with one end thereof engaged with the pawl and the other end extends through the selection member and biasing a bead which is engaged with one of two positioning recesses in the slot in which the selection member is received.
A conventional pawl control device for shifting the pawl to engage with the teeth of the engaging member in the ratchet tool is located in the tool and cannot be accessed. When the pawl is shifted to one direction, the ratchet tool may output a torque in one direction, vice versa. Generally, the pawl has a protrusion at a rear end thereof and the selection member has a shifting portion which pushes the protrusion and shifts the pawl. The user has to exert a large force to shift the pawl.
The present invention intends to provide a ratchet tool that includes a compact structure of ratchet mechanism and requires only few parts.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a compact structure for controlling movement of a pawl for a ratchet tool. The structure includes a head with a hole defined therethrough so as to receive an engaging member therein, and a recess is defined in an inner periphery of the hole so as to receive a pawl therein. A slot is defined in a side of the head and communicates with the recess. Two positioning recesses are defined in an inner periphery of the slot.
A selection member is movably inserted in the slot and has a through hole for receiving a bead and a spring which biases the bead with one of the two positioning recesses and the other end of the spring is engaged with the notch defined in the pawl.
The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

Compact structure for controlling movement of pawl for ratchet tools


A lens driving device according to the present invention is a lens driving device that includes an auto-focus coil and an auto-focus magnet and that moves a movable auto-focus unit including the auto-focus coil in the direction of an optical axis relative to a fixed auto-focus unit including the auto-focus magnet by using a driving force of a voice coil motor constituted of the auto-focus coil and the auto-focus magnet. The fixed auto-focus unit includes a case formed of a non-magnetic material and having a rectangular shape in plan view and a base on which the case is fixed. The auto-focus magnet has the shape of a flat plate disposed on a side face of the case, and at least one of the four side faces of the case is a non-magnet-disposed face, on which the auto-focus magnet is not disposed.

In general, a small-sized camera module is mounted in mobile terminals, such as smartphones. A lens driving apparatus having an autofocus function of automatically performing focusing during capturing a subject (hereinafter referred to as "AF function". AF: Auto Focus) is applied in such a camera module (see, for example, Patent Literatures (hereinafter, abbreviated as PTLS) 1 and 2).
The auto-focusing lens driving apparatus includes, for example, an auto-focusing coil (hereinafter referred to as "AF coil") disposed at the periphery of the lens part, an auto-focusing magnet (hereinafter referred to as "AF magnet") disposed to be radially spaced apart from the AF coil, and an elastic supporting part (e.g., plate spring) for elastically supporting an autofocus movable part (hereinafter referred to as "AF movable part") including the lens part and the AF coil, for example, with respect to an autofocus fixing part (hereinafter referred to as "AF fixing part") including the AF magnet. Focusing is automatically carried out by moving the AF movable part with respect to the AF fixing part in the optical-axis direction by utilizing a driving force of a voice coil motor composed of the AF coil and the AF magnet. Note that, the AF fixing part may include the AF coil and the AF movable part may include the AF magnet.
In lens driving apparatuses disclosed in PTLS 1 and 2, a case which serves as a casing of the lens driving apparatus is formed of a magnetic material, and an AF magnet is disposed on the inner surface of the case. Since the case functions as a yoke which forms a magnetic circuit with the AF magnet, leakage flux from the AF magnet is reduced. This increases magnetic lines of force which cross the AF coil, so that the driving efficiency of the voice coil motor improves.

Lens driving device, camera module, and camera-equipped device


A lifting mechanism for invalid patients, confined to wheel chairs is disclosed. The device is integrally connected to the wheelchair rather than being fixed in one place. This permits the patient to be moved within a home, doctor's office or hospital without having to bring the patient to such a fixed-in-place lifting device. The invention uses an outrigger support to ensure stability of the wheel chair while the device is in operation. The device is typically powered by the battery commonly found on self propelled wheelchairs. Of course, for manual wheelchairs, a battery can be installed if needed. The device uses a sling to cradle the patient. The sling is attached to a lifting bar, which is placed at the end of the lift cable. A motor is used to retract or extend the cable as needed and to lift and hold the patient. The patient is lifted to a safe height above the chair, and the motor is slid along a track to the end of a cantilever beam. The patient can then be lowered to a bed, jacuzzi, or other treatment facility as needed. To return the patient to the wheelchair, the reverse procedure is employed. The device is designed to disassemble for travel in vans or airplanes.

Invalids confined to wheel chairs often have difficulty in moving from the wheelchair to other locations such as a bed, or toilet. People are needed to assist patients from the chairs. Often, the people responsible for the patients, especially in the home environment, have difficulty in assisting the patient from the wheelchair to the other locations. To assist in moving patients, several devices have been developed to lift and transport invalids from place to place, inlcuding wheelchairs. Examples of these devices are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,222,029 to Hildemann, 3,351,959 to Turpin, 4,125,908 to Vail et al. and 4,571,758 to Samuelsson. French Patent No. 2,414,909 to Jouk. These devices fall into two distinct categories. The French Patent and Hildemann are examples of frame type devices that are mounted on wheels. These devices can be moved and positioned next to the wheelchair or bed as needed and the patient can be lifted using a harness and the hoist mounted on the frame. Both of these devices are compact and will not lift the patient sufficiently off the ground. Also, once the patient is in the harness, the entire frame must be moved to wherever the patient is to be relocated. This compact device is uncomfortable and embarrassing for patients to use.
The Turpin, and Vail designs teach a movable hoist mounted on a ceiling, for example. The patient would be lifted in a harness and moved to the new location by following the track in the ceiling. These devices appear to operate better because they can position the patient in a more comfortable and less embarrassing position. The Samuelsson device takes the concept one step farther. The Samuelsson device has a cantilever arm that is mounted to a central pedestal. The arm has a track mounted hoist attached to it to pick up patients. The pedestal has a telescoping column that can raise and lower the arm as needed. Finally, unlike the fixed tracks of Turpin and Vail, the pedestal column is designed to rotate over a 360 degree radius. This device offers several advantages. However, its biggest drawback is that it is fixed in place. Thus, it can be installed in a physical therapy room for example, where it will be used often. It cannot be relocated for temporary service elsewhere, however.
All of these devices provide service in hospitals or other medical type locations. They are, however, cumbersome to use in the home environment. Also, when traveling, the devices must be packed and carried with the patient, which is inconvenient at best.


The present invention is a method and apparatus to provide for the safe and effective removal and neutralization of ammonia from a stream of waste oil or other liquid. The apparatus consists of a receiving tank, a treatment tank, circulation piping, associated controls, pumping and monitoring mechanisms. The primary utility for the invention is with commercial and industrial refrigeration units. The neutralizing solution in the treatment tank is circulated through the piping which includes a venturi that is used to induce a negative gauge pressure in the receiving tank by creating a suction that draws gases from the receiving tank. The negative pressure allows the receiving tank to pull the mixture of waste oil and entrained ammonia from the drain port of the refrigeration system even when the system is below atmospheric pressure. The venturi also removes ammonia gas from the receiving tank. The system provides for the introduction of a neutralizing agent such as carbon dioxide to be mixed with liberated ammonia as it is drawn into the circulation piping and returned to the treatment tank. Other paths in the circulation piping pass the neutralizing solution through a heat exchanger in the receiving tank or just return it to the treatment tank for mixing. Heat transfer cools the treatment tank and heats the receiving tank which facilitates evaporation of liquid ammonia.

1. Field of the Invention
Ammonia (NH3) is a commonly used chemical prevalent in many industrial processes throughout the world. Ammonia may also be naturally occurring and is familiar to most of us as a mild irritant in small doses. In large concentrations, ammonia can be quite hazardous and, accordingly, ventilation and other safety precautions must be undertaken when working near ammonia. At normal temperatures and pressures, ammonia is a colorless gas made up of one part nitrogen to three parts hydrogen. Ammonia is lighter than air and has a sharp, pungent odor that serves as a warning of its presence. Although ammonia is a toxic gas, it is not a cumulative poison. Accordingly, removal from the source serves as the best protection. Ammonia is highly soluble in water and forms a solution known as ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) or aqua ammonia which is commonly used as a household cleanser.
One industrial application that has historically made liberal use of ammonia is commercial and industrial refrigeration systems. For such a refrigeration system, anhydrous ammonia is typically used. Anhydrous ammonia is the liquid form of pure ammonia gas, and is technically water-free. Most refrigeration experts consider industrial grade anhydrous ammonia to be the most economical and efficient heat transfer medium for industrial refrigeration processes.
In an industrial refrigeration system, compressors, piping, and vessels containing anhydrous ammonia are generally prevalent throughout the plant. Such a refrigeration system will generally also feature lubricating oils which are inserted into the compressor to keep the compressor lubricated. Invariably, some of the oil or other lubricant will migrate throughout the system, mixing with the anhydrous ammonia to coat the piping system. Since the oil will serve as an insulator or retardant to heat transfer, a high prevalence of waste oil in a refrigeration system will compromise efficiency of the refrigeration process. In order to prevent deterioration of the refrigeration function, accumulations of waste lubricating oil will need to be purged from the system. Most commercial and industrial refrigeration units will include one or more ports located at a lower level in the piping system and arranged such that lubricating oil will accumulate there to be drained from the pipes for collection and/or discarding.
In the United States, the International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration (IIAR) is generally recognized as the leading authority on issues related to the operation and maintenance of industrial refrigeration systems utilizing ammonia. The IIAR has set forth various publications detailing proper practices for the operation of ammonia refrigeration systems as well as safety guidelines. Among the most pertinent guides set forth, Bulletin No. R1 (1983) provides a comprehensive analysis of the use of anhydrous ammonia in a refrigeration system. The IIAR has also set forth specific oil draining guidelines which are to be used in removing waste oil from an ammonia refrigeration system. (See the August 1996 IIAR Oil Draining Guidelines.) The guidelines note that draining oil from an ammonia refrigeration system is a potentially dangerous process and should only be performed by properly trained personnel.
In order to remove used lubricating oil from an industrial refrigeration unit, the typical procedure employed is for an employee to use the refrigeration system pressure if it is positive, or otherwise raise the pressure to a positive value above atmospheric pressure. An OSHA-approved ammonia hose should be screwed into the oil drain valve port. The present inventor has found that this current method is greatly improved, if the drain line also includes a sight flow indicator such as, for example, Model 700 manufactured by Anderson Midwest. Such an indicator enables the employee performing the oil removal to see when all the oil is removed and liquid ammonia is passing the sight glass. At that point, the employee quickly closes the valve when it is discovered that all the oil has been drained.
A bucket is placed under the oil drain valve port before the valved is opened, and the oil will flow into the bucket for disposal. In the alternative, hand pumps or mechanical pumps may also be used. Even when a pump is used, the waste oil is still typically removed into a bucket or other open container for removal by an employee. Since the waste oil has been in contact with ammonia, invariably the waste material removed will be a mixture of oil with entrained ammonia.
Under the IIAR guidelines, recognition of the inherent safety risks of removal of the oil-ammonia mix requires that an employee proceed with goggles, gloves and face shield before opening the valve port. In addition, the personnel in charge should check the ventilation fan in the area where the oil is being drained and only perform oil removal when appropriate ventilation is available. As the mixture is released, ammonia will be noticed in the ambient air along with the undesirable environmental effects. The maintenance personnel should always be in a position on the up-draft side of the oil drain bucket for this reason. The IIAR guidelines also state that the personnel should remain in position at the oil pot and keep a vigilant watch during the draining process until such time as the valve has been properly repositioned. Of course, for the personnel involved, the foul smell of ammonia will be prevalent. Since many waste removal ports are located within proximity to other industrial systems or personnel stations, oil draining is sometimes not performed as regularly as it should be. Of course, this leads to the inevitable compromising of the refrigeration system efficiency.
What is needed in the art is a means by which the waste oil can be effectively separated from the ammonia and the ammonia neutralized such as to prevent the undesirable side effects associated with draining waste oil from a commercial refrigeration unit that utilizes ammonia.
2. Description of the Related Art
Since ammonia-based refrigeration systems are old in the art, patents related to the composition of such a system are long expired. Many old patents also disclose systems or mechanisms for removing lubricating oil from a refrigeration system. One of the older patents which is also typical of standard commercial refrigeration oil separation can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,836,318 by N. H. Gay. In that refrigeration system, the oil separator noted by numeral 26 in FIG. 1 is typical. Other patents of note include U.S. Pat. No. 3,304,697 by Ramsey wherein a centrifugal separator is disclosed for separating the gaseous and non-gaseous components of a fluid stream including a collection pump and dividing means. U.S. Pat. No. 3,304,741 by Weller also discloses an oil separation system for a refrigeration system wherein an oil separator is positioned at a lower level with respect to a refrigeration system, and comprises an oil sump for gravity flow of oil into the compartment. U.S. Pat. No. 3,438,218 by O'Neil features a standard oil separation system wherein separated oil may be returned to the system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,355 by Sarritzu claims a process of recovery of ammonia from a liquid waste stream. The process consists of reacting the stream with pure carbon dioxide or a gaseous mixture rich in carbon dioxide and then reacting the resulting mix with calcium chloride such as to cause calcium carbonate to undergo thermal decomposition. The thermal decomposition step is carried out preferably not lower than 850° C. Accordingly, the system has little utility for use in connection with a commercial refrigeration system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,001,908 by Mayer discloses an oil separator for a refrigeration system wherein oil is separated from vaporized refrigerant leaving the high pressure discharge side of the compressor. Mayer states that in the preferred embodiment, oil is removed from the incoming refrigerant vapor in two successive stages, a centrifugal stage and a coalescing filter stage. While novel in many respects, this system does not address how to deal with entrained ammonia prevalent in a waste lubricating oil in a refrigeration system.
The prior art also features an assortment of patents directed to oil recovery systems for centrifugal refrigeration equipment or chillers including U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,248 by Sishtla and U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,919 by Fujiwara.
Perhaps the closest prior art system found is U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,337 by Kemp. Kemp discloses a means for separating oil from an ammonia-based refrigerant for potential reuse. The Kemp system includes an improved oil separation tank having upper and lower zones connected to the bottom of a surge means. A first conduit is included for draining settled out oil from the bottom of the surge means into the oil separation tank while a second conduit conducts oil from the lower zone of the oil separation tank to the suction intake of the compressor. This is best illustrated in FIG. 1 of the patent. However, Kemp is directed essentially to oil recovery and does not address the problem of neutralizing ammonia for improved safety in the oil separation process.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,210 by Diemer et al. is a multi-stage washing operation for the removal of ammonia from a gas stream. The method includes the steps of washing out ammonia from gas with a liquid enriched with ammonia in an ammonia washer followed with a washing with ammonia-free water at a second wash stage. A partial stream of waste water is then divided from the remainder and the partial stream is treated by the addition of sulphuric acid before being reintroduced into the final wash stage.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,156 to Zibrida involves removing ammonia from waste water by treating the waste water with an alkaline reagent consisting of lime and caustics sufficient to raise the pH to a value of at least 12.4. At that point, the waste water is subjected to a gas stripping exercise, said stripping being controlled to maintain the free ammonia equivalents of the waste water to at least 12.4 and acidifying the stripped waste water to lower the unionized ammonia content to less than 0.05 ppm NH3(N).
The prior art also includes a number of patents directed to processes for removing ammonia from a waste stream that are tangentially relevant to the present invention. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,540,189 by Siewers et al. is directed to a process for removing ammonia which has been formed during the de-gasification of coal in a coke oven in order to prevent the gas pipes from becoming corroded and in order to avoid formation of oxides in the smoke. U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,503 by van Nassau et al. involves a process for removing urea, ammonia and carbon dioxide from an aqueous solution. The method involves feeding a urea containing process condensate, relatively poor in ammonia, into an upper portion of a reaction chamber where it is heated by means of steam fed into the bottom of the column. The temperature and pressure in the column is maintained such that urea is decomposed therein into ammonia and carbon dioxide. The steam serves not only as a heating agent, but also as a stripping agent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,535 by Zuidam et al. is a process for removing urea, ammonia and carbon dioxide from an aqueous solution by hydrolysis of urea and desorption of the ammonia and carbon dioxide. The solution is passed into the top portion of a column at a pressure of between 10 and 30 bar and is caused to flow downward countercurrent to an upward gas stream. The patent states that the top of the reaction column should be maintained at a temperature of between 170° and 220° C. and the bottom of the column should be maintained at a temperature of between 180° and 230° C.
In general, a review of pre-existing methods and technology finds considerable prior art directed to both the creation and elimination of ammonia in specific circumstances. The prior art also shows numerous uses and arrangements of ammonia-based refrigeration systems. However, none of the prior art is directed to the issue of neutralizing entrained ammonia in a stream of waste lubricating oil leaving a commercial refrigeration system such as to eliminate the attendant safety risks associated with the task.

Method and apparatus for separating and neutralizing ammonia


Techniques for optimizing resource allocation are provided. The techniques include identifying one or more communication needs for each of one or more communications needed for execution of a project, identifying one or more members of each of the one or more communications and member information for each of the one or more members, using the one or more communication needs and member information to estimate one or more communication costs for each of the one or more communications needed for execution of the project, and comparing the one or more communication costs for each of the one or more communications to optimize resource allocation for executing the project.

Many software development and IT service projects are accomplished through global collaboration by IT companies to achieve cost reduction. But such techniques create challenges to the project management and project cost planning. Different from the traditional development at the same lab with open cubic allowing almost instant communication, such global operations create different development environments and cultures. Such change makes communication itself an issue. In addition, the different working hours of such global team members can also make communication a challenge.

Distributed software project staffing and scheduling utilizing communication overhead costs

International Business Machines Corporation


A Packet Data Network Gateway, a PDN-GW (105), arranged to receive and forward packet data of at least a first and a second service flow in both an uplink and a downlink direction, with a first access network (125) of a first kind being used for the first service flow and a second access network (130) of a second kind being used for the second service flow. The PDN-GW (105) is arranged to transmit to a PCRF (110), a Policy and Charging Rules Function, information regarding which kinds of access networks that the PDN-GW (105) can handle, and to receive, in reply from the PCRF, rules for which of said access networks (125, 130) that should be used for said service flows. The PDN-GW (105) is also arranged to use said rules to bind a service flow to an access network (125, 130) in the downlink direction and to perform access network binding verification in the uplink direction.

Within 3GPP, work has recently started on a new Work Item called Multi Access PDN connectivity and IP flow mobility, MAPIM. The intention is to introduce support for simultaneous access from a terminal to multiple heterogeneous access networks (technologies) such as UMTS/GPRS, LTE, WLAN, WiMax, DOCSYS and fixed broadband access. In a possible scenario, a terminal would use both e.g. WCDMA access and WLAN access to access the same destination Packet Data Network, PDN, using one and the same IP-session. The system would then support operator defined policies for service-based routing of the UE IP-flows via different access systems.


The embodiments disclosed herein provide methods for inhibiting, reducing and/or treating pain in a subject by administering to a subject in need thereof a pharmaceutical formulation that includes a pharmacologically active compound that is adapted to disrupt PRL signaling in pain neurons. In certain embodiments, the compound is a PRL-R antagonist. In certain embodiments, the compound is adapted to alter the expression of one or more components involved in PRL signaling. Also provided for herein are methods to diagnose a pain disorder in a subject, comprising obtaining a measure of the amount of PRL or PRL mRNA in a biological sample.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of therapeutics. Specifically, the present invention relates to therapeutic compositions comprising inhibitors of prolactin or prolactin receptor function, said therapeutic compositions being suitable for use in treating pain. The present invention further relates to methods for the manufacture and use of said therapeutic compositions. The present invention relates yet further to methods for assessing the severity of pain and/or diagnosing pain disorders in subjects by determining the amount of prolactin present in a biological sample.
2. Description of the Related Art
Trigeminal pain represents a major category of pain disorders and is reported frequently in pain patients, particularly given its comparatively low representation of the total body surface area. (Martin 1986; Khouzam 2000; Welch 2001). From a public health perspective, diagnosis and treatment of trigeminal pain disorders represent a major clinical challenge. Some disorders are relatively rare but are characterized as extremely intense devastating episodes of pain (e.g., trigeminal neuralgia (TN) (Zakrzewska 1996; Devor, Amir et al. 2002; Zakrzewska 2002; Zakrzewska 2002; Kapur, Kamel et al. 2003), others disorders are more common and can be acute-to-chronic periods of persistent aching pain (e.g., temporomandibular disorders, TMD, (Lipton, Ship et al. 1993; Carlsson and LeResche 1995; LeResche, Saunders et al. 1997), Yet other conditions are relatively common occurrences of moderate-to-severe pain due to orofacial infection and inflammation (e.g., odontogenic pain). Many other pain disorders also occur in other body regions and include pain from fibromyalgia, cancer, arthritis, surgery, and other disorders or conditions.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that women are at increased risk for many pain disorders. Moreover, several of these conditions are exacerbated during the menstrual cycle or during episodes of altered circulating levels of estrogens or other steroids (Somerville, 1975; LeResche, 1997; Isselee et al., 2001; Isselee et al., 2002). Although gender bias is clearly evident for TMD (LeResche, Saunders et al. 1997; Warren and Fried 2001; Huang, LeResche et al. 2002; Johansson, Unell et al. 2003) and trigeminal neuralgia (Katusic, Beard et al. 1990; Kitt, Gruber et al. 2000), other studies have indicated that women are at increased risk for pain after oral surgery, (Gear, Miaskowski et al. 1996; Gordon, Brahim et al. 1999) periodontal treatment (Karadottir, Lenoir et al. 2002), knee surgery (Asano, Muneta et al. 2002), other surgical procedures, (Kalkam, Visser et al. 2003) musculoskeletal pain in the neck (Chiu, Ku et al. 2002), hips (Tuchsen, Hannerz et al. 2003), hands (Gerr, Marcus et al. 2002), and elsewhere (Barsky, Peekna et al. 2001; Kostova and Koleva 2001), and disorders including fibromyalgia (Yunus 2002; Staud, Robinson et al. 2003), post-herpetic neuralgia (Bowsher 1999), migraine (Martin, Wernke et al. 2003), irritable bowel syndrome (Borum 2002),. and cancer pain (Bernabei, Gambassi et al. 1998). Thus, studies from multiple pain disorders indicate that patient gender may, at least in part, be a risk factor for numerous acute and chronic pain conditions. While the mechanisms for these gender differences in pain responsiveness are numerous, complex and are far from being understood, many studies have identified the important role played by sex hormones, and in particular estrogen, on pain responses.
Relationship Between Estrogen and Prolactin
PRL was originally discovered as a protein hormone, derived from pituitary lactotrophs, that acted to regulate lactation. However, considerable research has now identified several post-translationally modified forms of PRL that vary based on size, phosphorylation or glycosylation (Freeman, Kanyicska et al. 2000; Walker 2001). In the rat, ˜90-95% of pituitary PRL is either the unmodified or phosphorylated PRL, and the unmodified form constitutes about 60-75% of total PRL (Oetting and Walker 1986; Ho, Kawaminami et al. 1993; Walker 2001). In general, the unmodified PRL acts as an agonist, while the form PRL that is phosphorylated on S179 acts as a partial agonist or full antagonist (Walker 2001; Goffin, Bernichtein et al. 2003; Wu, Coss et al. 2003; Xu, Wu et al. 2003) in many situations, depending on the experimental systems being tested (Bernichtein, Kinet et al. 2001). This difference appears to be due to agonist-directed signaling of the same PRL receptor (Coss, Kuo et al. 1999). Equally important, many non-pituitary cells express PRL including the CNS, immune cells, endothelium, kidney and uterus. In many of these tissues, PRL is thought to play a major autocrine/paracrine function since both PRL and the prolactin receptor (PRL-R) are expressed in the same cell/tissue. Evidence supporting the hypothesis that PRL exerts a local autocrine/paracrine function has been gathered for the mammary gland, endothelium, lymphocytes, knee joints and several types of cancers (Nagafuchi, Suzuki et al. 1999; Nowak, Mora et al. 1999; Bhatavdekar, Patel et al. 2000; Urtishak, McKenna et al. 2001; Ben-Jonathan, Liby et al. 2002; Corbacho, Martinez De La Escalera et al. 2002; Ogueta, Munoz et al. 2002; Goffin, Bernichtein et al. 2003; Naylor, Lockefeer et al. 2003).
Both in vivo and in vitro studies indicate that application of estrogen or cyclic increases in endogenous estradiol leads to a rapid, non-genomic release of PRL via activation of calcium channels (Christian and Morris 2002; Brown, Janik et al. 2004; Szawka and Anselmo-Franci 2004; Bulayeva, Wozniak et al. 2005). Indeed, an estradiol-induced PRL surge accompanies the proestrous LH surge in several species (Skinner and Caraty 2003). The rapid effect of estradiol on PRL release is believed to be mediated by estrogen receptors (ER) located on the plasma membrane since the estradiol effect is blocked by application of an antibody (presumably restricted to the extracellular space) that is directed against a hinge element of the ER (Watson, Norfleet et al. 1999; Norfleet, Clarke et al. 2000).
While acute estradiol exposure rapidly evokes PRL release, a more prolonged exposure increases PRL expression (i.e. transcription). This effect of estradiol on PRL expression has been demonstrated in several cell types (Watters, Chun et al. 2000; Oomizu, Boyadjieva et al. 2003; Fujimoto, Igarashi et al. 2004). In rat pituitary cultures, the estradiol-induced upregulation of PRL mRNA is mediated by the MAP kinase signaling pathway since PRL upregulation is blocked by pretreatment with the MAPK kinase inhibitors PD98059 and UO126 (Watters, Chun et al. 2000).
Prolactin Receptors and Associated Signaling Pathways
The PRL receptor (PRL-R) belongs to the class I cytokine receptor super-family. The PRL-R is transcribed from a single gene of the genome. Alternative splicing of the PRL-R gene generates a long form (L-PRL-R) and at least three short forms (S1-, S2- and S3-PRL-R) (Hovey, Trott et al. 2001). The expression of these forms of the PRL-R is tissue specific (Hovey, Trott et al. 2001; Kinoshita, Yasui et al. 2001; Yamamoto, Wakita et al. 2003) and differential expression is observed in different brain regions (Pi and Grattan 1998; Bakowska and Morrell 2003). The 5′-untranslated region of PRL-R mRNA also contains at least four alternative first exons (1A, B, C; aka E1(1), E1(2), E1(3) and E1(4)) that are expressed in a tissue-specific fashion (Tanaka, Hayashida et al. 2002). In addition, estradiol upregulates PRL-R transcripts (Leondires, Hu et al. 2002) and studies evaluating estradiol upregulation of PRL-R in rat brain report an increase in transcripts containing exons 1A and 1C (Pi, Zhang et al. 2003). Further, the relative expression of the long and short forms of PRL-R is altered over the estrous cycle in sheep ovaries (Picazo, Garcia Ruiz et al. 2004) and female rat brain (Pi and Voogt 2002). One study has reported the expression of PRL-R in fetal trigeminal and dorsal root ganglia (Royster, Driscoll et al. 1995).
PRL receptors regulate a variety of intracellular signaling cascades that differ depending upon the cell type examined. The best-studied signaling systems are mediated through tyrosine kinase pathways. In a prostate carcinoma cell line, application of PRL leads to rapid tyrosine kinase signaling that is blocked by the tyrosine kinase inhibitors genistein, herbimycin A and lavandustine A (Van Coppenolle, Skryma et al. 2004). In the MCF-7 breast tumor cell line, activation of PRL-R leads to signaling primarily via Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (JAK/STAT5) and ERK1/2, although signaling via c-Src, phosphatidylinositol 3′-kinase, (phospholipase C-gamma PLCγ), protein kinase C, and other MAPKs were shown to contribute to maximal signaling (Dogusan, Hooghe et al. 2001; Fresno Vara, Caceres et al. 2001; Ahonen, Harkonen et al. 2002; Gutzman, Rugowski et al. 2004). Some studies on cell lines have shown that application of PRL stimulates Ca2+ entry and intracellular Ca2+ mobilization via a tyrosine kinase-dependent mechanism (Sorin, Vacher et al. 2000; Ducret, Boudina et al. 2002). Studies in other cell lines have confirmed activation of many of these kinases although the relative importance of various signaling pathways activated by PRL-R are dependent upon the cell type examined or the measure employed (Cheng, Zhizhin et al. 2000; Goupille, Barnier et al. 2000; Gubbay, Critchley et al. 2002; Amaral, Ueno et al. 2003; Amaral, Cunha et al. 2004; D'Isanto, Vitiello et al. 2004; Dominguez-Caceres, Garcia-Martinez et al. 2004). Fewer studies have evaluated whether the different forms of PRL-R activate different signaling pathways (Binart, Imbert-Bollore et al. 2003). It was demonstrated that the long form of the PRL-R can signal via all known PRL evoked pathways, whereas the short forms of PRL-R, which have a truncated cytoplasmic domain, have a much more restricted signaling repertoire that includes PKC and PLCγ (Schuler, Lu et al. 2001; Wallaschofski, Kobsar et al. 2003).
Transient Receptor Potential Vanniloid Type-1 (TRPV1) in Pain
The subclass of nociceptors expressing the capsaicin receptor (i.e., TRPV1 aka VR1) plays a key role in the development of pain. Animals with genetic deletion of the VR1 gene display reduced responses to thermal inflammatory hyperalgesia or to certain chemical stimuli (Caterina, Schumacher et al. 1997; Davis, Gray et al. 2000). In addition, capsaicin desensitization procedures significantly reduced behavioral responses to inflammatory injury in rats or neuropathic pain in humans (McCleane 1999; Ikeda, Ueno et al. 2001). Other studies have also lent support to the hypothesis that the TRPV1-positive subclass of nociceptors contributes to the development of inflammatory pain (Carlton and Coggeshall 2001; Chuang, Prescott et al. 2001; Kamei, Zushida et al. 2001). Further, the TRPV1-positive subclass of nociceptors mediates thermal hyperalgesia and dynamic (i.e., stroking with cotton wisp) but not static (i.e., von Frey filaments) mechanical allodynia in neuropathic pain (Ossipov, Bian et al. 1999; Chuang, Prescott et al. 2001). Collectively, these studies indicate that the TRPV1-expressing class of nociceptors is a major sensory system for transduction of noxious peripheral stimuli.

Method for treating pain with prolactin antagonists

Board of Regents, The University of Texas System


A gaseous fuel mixer assembly for an engine includes a mixer housing forming gas delivery openings, and positioned to extend across a flow path formed by an intake conduit for the engine. A spool valve is within a central bore in the mixer housing and includes gas distribution openings selectively connectable to the gas delivery openings by moving the spool valve within the mixer housing using a piezoelectric actuator coupled with the spool valve by way of a pivot arm. Sealing lands of the spool valve are in an alternating arrangement with the gas distribution openings, such that at the closed position the sealing lands block the gas distribution openings from the gas delivery openings, and at the open position the respective openings are fluidly connected.

In recent years gaseous fuel engines have become widespread in many different applications. Electrical power generation, gas compression, pumping applications, locomotives, and all manner of on-highway and off-highway machines are known which utilize engines operating on natural gas or other gaseous fuels. Natural gas tends to be abundant and can sometimes be available from natural sources onsite. Moreover, gaseous fuel engines in general tend to produce smaller amounts of certain emissions.
In a typical example, a gaseous fuel is introduced into an intake runner or an intake port of an engine where it begins to mix with incoming intake air to form a combustion charge that is fed into a cylinder in the engine. In other examples, gaseous fuel is fumigated into the intake system by delivery upstream a compressor in a turbocharger, which then supplies a compressed mixture of gaseous fuel and air downstream to the cylinders. In still other applications, gaseous fuel can be directly injected into a cylinder in the engine.
It has been common to utilize solenoid-operated admission valves for the gaseous fuel in these various applications. Solenoid-operated admission valves have been demonstrated to perform acceptably over the course of engine service intervals. Although effective, solenoid-operated admission valves can in some instances not have the speed and/or force required to open fast enough or against high turbocharger boost pressures to provide a desired level of control. Moreover, solenoid-operated admission valves can sometimes be associated with leakage due to boost pressure fluctuations and can be pushed open by the boost pressure in some instances. Additional challenges with solenoid-operated admission valves relate to complexity, cost, and valve-life issues. U.S. Pat. No. 9,562,497 to Coldren proposes an engine system having a piezo actuated gas injector. In the design set forth by Coldren the fuel injector has a body, a first piston slidingly disposed in the body and having a first pressure area, and a second slidable piston having a second pressure area. A piezoelectric actuator is provided for moving the first piston. While Coldren may perform well in many applications, there is always room for improvement and alternative strategies.

Gaseous fuel mixer assembly for engine and engine system operating method


An asymmetric multi-mode fibre optic coupler is assembled from two or more multi-mode optical fibres of different core and cladding diameters but substantially equal cladding refractive indices. The fibres are selected so as to have substantially equal effective refractive indices for their respective highest-order cladding modes, at least in the fabricated coupler.

This invention relates generally to fiber optic couplers, and is concerned in particular with the fabrication of asymmetric fiber optic couplers
The simple symmetric fiber optic coupler, in which input light at any branch is split substantially equally between output branches, has little practical application to linear fiber optic buses and networks since only a trivial number of taps are possible before optical signal strengths become impracticably small. Larger linear fiber optic networks require asymmetric couplers in which tap-off coupling is substantially less than half, but tap-on coupling is much greater than the tap-off coupling. In the context of this specification, the terms "asymmetric coupler" and "asymmetric coupling" refer to coupling asymmetry of this kind. Such a requirement arises, for example, in networks where each component tied to a bus includes both an optical transmitter and an optical receiver, the receiver tapping the bus in front of the tap for the transmitter.
It has been proposed that asymmetric couplers having, e.g. a throughput power coupling factor, e.g. on a bus, of 95 and a tap-off coupling factor of 1.5%, might be fabricated by employing conventional techniques to merge two optical fibers of substantially different diameters or by simply reducing the nominal coupling factor of two similar fibers. The resultant couplers are satisfactory for single-mode applications, e.g. in basic telecommunication systems, but unacceptable for multi-mode operation because of significant power losses and the restricted proportion of modes which successfully couple to and from the tap fibers

Asymmetric fibre optic couplers and their fabrication