Blood processing systems and methods convey blood drawn from a donor through a blood processing circuit to separate the blood into at least one targeted blood component for collection. The systems and methods derive an estimated effect of the procedure upon the donor. The estimated effect can be expressed in terms of a net blood fluid volume loss, or as a hematocrit of the donor after completion of the desired blood collection procedure. The systems and methods present the estimated effect to an operator for viewing, reading, or offloading.

The invention relates to centrifugal blood processing systems and apparatus.
Certain therapies transfuse large volumes of blood components. For example, some patients undergoing chemotherapy require the transfusion of large numbers of platelets on a routine basis. Manual blood bag systems simply are not an efficient way to collect these large numbers of platelets from individual donors.
On line blood separation systems are today used to collect large numbers of platelets to meet this demand. On line systems perform the separation steps necessary to separate concentration of platelets from whole blood in a sequential process with the donor present. On line systems establish a flow of whole blood from the donor, separate out the desired platelets from the flow, and return the remaining red blood cells and plasma to the donor, all in a sequential flow loop.
Large volumes of whole blood (for example, 2.0 liters) can be processed using an on line system. Due to the large processing volumes, large yields of concentrated platelets (for example, 4xc3x971011 platelets suspended in 200 ml of fluid) can be collected.
Nevertheless, a need still exists to further improve systems and methods for collecting cellular-rich concentrates, like red blood cells, from blood components, in a way that lends itself to use in high volume, on line blood collection environments, where higher yields of critically needed cellular blood components like platelets and red blood cells can be realized.
The invention provides blood processing systems and methods that separate blood drawn from a donor through a blood processing circuit to perform a desired blood collection procedure. During the procedure, a volume of the targeted blood component is collected. The systems and methods derive an estimated effect of the procedure upon the donor. The systems and methods present the estimated effect to an operator.
According to one aspect of the invention, the estimated effect is expressed in terms of a net blood fluid volume loss. In one embodiment, the estimated effect takes into account blood loss due to the volume of targeted blood component collected and a residual fluid volume of the blood processing circuit. In one embodiment, a volume of replacement fluid is conveyed to the donor during the desired blood collection procedure, and the estimated effect takes into account the volume of replacement fluid conveyed to the donor. In one embodiment, the estimated effect expresses the net blood fluid volume loss as a percentage of a blood volume of the donor that existed prior to the desired blood processing procedure. In one embodiment, the estimated effect expresses the net blood fluid volume loss as a percentage of weight of the donor.
According to another aspect of the invention, the estimated effect is expressed in terms of a hematocrit of the donor after completion of the desired blood collection procedure.
According to either aspect of the invention, blood can be conveyed through the blood processing circuit to collect a volume of red blood cells, or a volume of platelets, a volume of plasma, or combinations thereof. In one embodiment, in a first mode, platelets are collected while returning red blood cells to the donor and, in a second mode, platelets and red blood cells are collected without returning platelets or red blood cells to the donor.
According to either aspect of the invention, the estimated effect can be presented in a visual display, or in printed form, or in a data form suitable for offloading, or combinations thereof.
The invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The scope of the invention is defined in the appended claims, rather than in the specific description preceding them. All embodiments that fall within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced by the claims. The invention is not limited to the details of the construction and the arrangements of parts set forth in the following description or shown in the drawings. The invention can be practiced in other embodiments and in various other ways. The terminology and phrases are used for description and should not be regarded as limiting.

Blood collection systems and methods that derive estimated effects upon the donor""s blood volume and hematocrit


An x-ray examination installation includes an imaging system having components disposed on opposite sides of a patient on a patient support table. Positioning of the imaging system is coordinated with positioning of the patient support system in that the components of the imaging system are automatically moved, upon positioning of the patient support system, in a direction opposite to the movement of the patient support table. The range of adjustment of the patient support table can be sub-divided into ranges to which separate switching stages are allocated, so that the movement of the imaging system in a direction opposite to movement of the patient support table occurs only within predetermined ranges, so that such movement is not effected when the patient support table is adjusted within a central range.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an x-ray examination installation having an imaging system and a patient support system, both of which are adjustable in position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
X-ray installations are known wherein a patient being examined is supported on a table which is adjustable in two dimensions, and wherein the patient and the patient support table are surrounded by a C-arm, with opposite ends at which an x-ray source and an x-ray image intensifier are respectively mounted. Adjustment of the patient relative to the imaging system can be undertaken both by adjusting the position of the patient support table and by adjusting the position of the imaging system carried on the C-arm. The respective adjustments of these two systems are not coordinated with each other. This means that the alignment of the patient with respect to the imaging system must be accomplished by separate and individual adjustment of the position of the patient support table and of the imaging system.

X-ray examination installation with coordinated positioning of the imaging system and the patient support mechanism


A model learning unit of an anomaly detection device learns a relational expression between vibration strengths at frequencies based on a time series of frequency characteristics of a vibration strength detected during a learning period by a vibration sensor placed on a monitoring target. The anomaly detection unit learns a relational expression between vibration strengths at frequencies based on a time series of frequency characteristics of a vibration strength detected during a new period by the vibration sensor. Then, the anomaly detection unit determines whether or not there is an anomaly in the monitoring target based on a relational expression related to a new frequency, which is different from the relational expression learned during the learning period.

A soil anomaly detection system for detecting a place where a landslide disaster is likely to be caused is described, for example, in PTL1. The soil anomaly detection system described in PTL1, by use of an optical fiber sensor which is placed in the soil, measures a temperature and a quantity of strain at a position where the optical fiber sensor is placed, and detects an anomaly of the soil on the basis of the measured temperature and the measured quantity of the strain.
As a related art, a method for calculating a degree of collapse risk is disclosed in PTL 2, in which vibration is generated by a vibration generation source, and water content per volume of soil is estimated on the basis of a ratio of a longitudinal wave and a transversal wave of the vibration measured by a vibration sensor.

Anomaly detection based on relational expression between vibration strengths at various frequencies


Methods and systems for flow migration between virtual network appliances in a cloud computing network are described. A network appliances managing architecture for migrating flow between VNAs including a controller to receive performance data for a VNA and analyze the performance data to determine whether the VNA has a weak performance status, where the weak performance status corresponds to any one of an overloaded, an under-loaded, and a failed status. The network appliances managing architecture further includes a classifier to receive a flow migration request from the controller for migrating one or more flows of data packets from the VNA based on the analyzing. The classifier further identifies an active VNA for flow migration based on a mapping policy and migrates the one or more flows from the VNA to the at least one active VNA.

Cloud computing networks have reshaped the field of Internet-provided services due to its beneficial nature for individual users as well as large enterprises. The cloud computing networks utilize virtual machines (VMs) for providing various services, such as firewalls, data storage, and intrusion detection to users. The VM may be understood as a portion of software that, when executed, allows virtualization of an actual physical computing system. Each VM may function as a self-contained platform, running its own operating system and software applications. Cloud computing customers are thus able to access various services and applications without actually purchasing physical resources utilized for the services.

Flow migration between virtual network appliances in a cloud computing network


A sheet feeding apparatus is provided including a sheet stacking portion constructed and arranged to receive a plurality of sheets of different sheet widths stacked in a sheet feeding direction in order of width so that the widest sheets are disposed at a lowermost position of the sheet stacking portion; a first pair of guides provided in the sheet stacking portion and being constructed and arranged to restrict a lateral position of the widest sheets along a predetermined path; at least one other pair of guides provided in the sheet stacking portion and being constructed and arranged to restrict a lateral position of sheets having a width narrower than a width of the widest sheets along a predetermined path and to contact an upper surface of a sheet of the widest sheets disposed immediately beneath the narrower sheets; and at least one feeder constructed and arranged to move successive sheets of the plurality of sheets from the stacking portion such that the widest sheets are first moved from the stacking portion until all sheets of the widest sheets are moved and thereafter the feeder moving the narrower sheets.

The present invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus and, in particular, to a sheet feeding apparatus comprising a sheet stacking portion on which a plurality of sheets of different sheet width in the sheet feeding direction are set by stacking the sheets in order from the widest sheets so that the widest sheets are set at the lowermost position, more particularly to such a sheet feeding apparatus adapted for feeding the sheets with the lateral position of the widest sheets restricted along a desired path by a pair of guide means provided in the sheet stacking portion and capable of feeding all of the sheets of different width along desired paths.


The space above a suspended ceiling grid that extends along a corridor is kept open and free of hang wires by creating a truss at each end of a beam in the grid. The truss includes the beam itself, an opposing wall along one side of the space, and a gusset stay that extends from the wall to the beam.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention involves a suspended ceiling having beams formed into a grid that supports either panels laid on, or drywall sheets attached to, the grid. Hang wires support the grid from a structural ceiling.
2. Description of Related Art
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,240,460, and 7,278,243, both of which are incorporated herein by reference, there is disclosed a suspended ceiling that can extend for up to about eight feet between walls, in building corridors for instance, without the need for hang wires. Such a ceiling keeps the space between the suspended ceiling and the structural ceiling open for air conditioning ducts, electrical conduits, sprinkler pipes, and other building components, that may extend along the corridor. A beam in such a ceiling extends between opposing walls, and is supported at its ends on the ledges of wall moldings.
The suspended ceiling described above sometimes extends beyond eight feet between walls for on up to generally a maximum of twelve feet.
In such extended suspended ceilings, hang wires are needed to keep the extended suspended ceiling from sagging in the middle of the span between walls. The hang wires, as used in the prior art, are embedded at their upper ends in the structural ceiling and are connected at their lower ends to the beams. Such hang wires obstruct the space between the suspended ceiling and the structural ceiling.


The invention describes methods, systems and an apparatus for determining a priority value for a thread for execution on a multithreading processor system. The priority value is determined subject to a priority base rating and an application priority rating. The priority base rating represents a priority rating of the thread with regard to other threads. The application priority rating represents a priority rating of the thread from the thread's application point of view.

In a processor or processor core with hardware multithreading support (MTP=Multithreading Processor), several threads can be executed concurrently. In the following, the term thread is used as synonym for what is also called a routine, a set of instructions, a task or a process according to technical language. Due to cache misses, coprocessor use or synchronization mechanisms some of the threads may have to wait for a limited amount of time. In this time instructions from these threads can not be executed. Typically the remaining threads compete for the processing resources/execution pipelines such as arithmetic-logic-units or memory interfaces. Threads can be executed in parallel in different execution pipes and competition is for one or more of these execution pipes. This competition has to be resolved by selecting one or more threads whose instructions will be executed next.
If no control of the way instructions are issued exists in such processors, a single thread can be executed slower than it would be executed on a single thread processor system. Recently, MTP have been used for systems with real-time constraints as well, e.g. network and media processors. In these fields the execution time requirements of threads may vary depending on several issues. Therefore it is important to guarantee thread execution differentiation. To that end, a mechanism that controls the way instructions are issued from threads is of high value.
The current methodologies investigated and discussed in the literature mainly concentrate on improving the overall throughput of a multithreaded processor.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,127 discloses a multithreaded processor for executing multithreaded instructions stream. A control unit is provided for deciding which instruction should be issued to a functional unit designated by two or more instruction issues requests at the same time, in accordance with priority levels held by a holding unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,212,544 B1 discloses a method for controlling the switching between at least two threads. Priorities are incorporated by a thread state register comprising a thread priority field for one of three priority values—low, medium, high.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,477,562 B2 introduces instruction scheduling for multi-streaming processors. A priority controller generates priorities for instruction selection and access rights to certain resources.
In many systems, tasks of varying importance are assigned to the threads of a processor. In such a situation, the instruction selection process has to be controlled to guarantee that the most important tasks are executed first and thus, fast. At the same time, the effort of the control of instruction selection should be very low, because it impacts—and in particular reduces—the total amount of processing capacities for applications.
Thus, it is desired to provide a method and an apparatus for determining a priority value for a thread for execution on a multithreading processor system, that defines the priority value of a thread in a way that takes the true need of execution at the time into account.

Determining a priority value for a thread for execution on a multithreading processor system

International Business Machines Corporation


A process for the production of coated carbonaceous particles including: providing a carbon-residue-forming material; providing particles of a carbonaceous material; mixing the carbon-residue-forming material and the particles of a carbonaceous material at an elevated temperature; depositing a coating of the carbon-residue-forming material onto the surface of the particles; and stabilizing the coated particles by subjecting the particles to an oxidation reaction. These coated carbonaceous particles are particularly useful in the manufacture of electrodes in electrical storage cells, particularly in rechargeable electrical storage cells.

Carbonaceous materials are widely used in electrical storage cells, also referred to as "batteries" due to their efficiency and reasonable cost. Various forms of carbonaceous materials are used. One such carbonaceous material is graphite, which is known to be useful in rechargeable storage cells, also referred to as "rechargeable batteries". In a salient example, graphitic materials are known to be useful as anode materials in rechargeable lithium ion, "Li-ion" storage cells. Li-ion cells are mainly used as the power sources in portable electronic devices.
As opposed to other classes of rechargeable batteries, i.e., e.g., nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride storage cells, Li-ion cells are increasingly popular due to their relatively higher storage capacity, and their easily rechargeable nature. Due to such higher storage capacity per unit mass or unit volume, Li-ion cells may be produced which meet specific storage and current delivery requirements as they are smaller than similarly rated, nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride storage cells. Consequently, Li-ion cells are popularly used in a growing number of devices, i.e., digital cameras, digital video recorders, computers, etc., where small sized devices are particularly desirable from a utility or consumer standpoint. Nonetheless, rechargeable Li-ion storage cells are not without their shortcomings, certain of which are dependent upon their materials of construction.
Popular types of Li-ion storage cells include electrodes formed of mesophase carbon micro beads (MCMB) or micronized mesophase carbon fiber (MMCF). However, both MCMB and MMCF are relatively expensive due to relatively complex manufacturing processes required for these materials. Further types of Li-ion storage cells include electrodes formed of comminuted or milled graphitic materials which are derived from purified natural graphite or synthetic graphite. While these materials exhibit satisfactory storage capacity, they unfortunately exhibit a low initial charging efficiency on their first cycle. Typically, the charging efficiency of these materials ranges widely, usually from as little as about 40% to as high as about 90%. It is known that the efficiency of these comminuted or milled graphitic materials is strongly dependent upon the morphology of the comminuted or milled graphitic particles. Due to their irregular nature, these pulvurent comminuted or milled graphitic materials frequently suffer from a low packing density which also limits the density from any electrode formed therefrom, which also limits the operating characteristics of a rechargeable storage cell. Also, due to their irregular nature, processing these pulvurent comminuted or milled graphitic materials into electrodes is difficult. In such electrodes formed from pulvurent comminuted or milled graphitic materials, it has been suggested that poor operating characteristics is in part attributable to the formation of a passive film on the surfaces of these pulvurent materials. Such a film is frequently described in the art as being a solid electrolyte interface ("SEI"). The formation of this SEI irreversibly consumes a quantifiable amount, frequently a significant amount of lithium ions (typically 15 to 50%) present in the cathode upon cell assembly or use.
Accordingly there exists a real and continuing need in the art for improved materials useful in the manufacture of storage cells, particularly rechargeable storage cells which exhibit improved operating characteristics. There also exist needs in the art for improved methods for the manufacture of improved materials useful in the manufacture of such storage cells, as well as for improved storage cells containing said improved materials.

Coated carbonaceous particles particularly useful as electrode materials in electrical storage cells, and method of making the same


A faceplate or console unit for electrical or fiber optic cable connectors. The unit has a base wall with at least one connector opening for mounting a first connector in the opening so that, when mounted, the first connector is accessible to an outside mating connector. A protective hood surrounds a portion of the base wall. The hood extends a determined height above the base wall, and the first connector can be accessed by a mating connector from a direction that is clear of the hood. The hood is arranged to prevent objects near the unit from striking the outside connector and thus causing its connection with the first connector to be interrupted.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to faceplate panels for mounting electrical or optical connectors.
2. Description of the Known Art
Connector panels in the form of faceplates for mounting wire or fiber optic cable connectors, are generally known. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,439 (Mar. 17, 1992) which discloses a wall plate having jack-release slots in side walls of an opening in the plate, so that a jack connector mounted in the opening can be released by inserting a tool in the slots.
Faceplates are also known in which connectors can be mounted to face at an angle of, e.g., 45 degrees with respect to the normal direction of the faceplate. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,395 issued Apr. 27, 1999, entitled "Multi-Position Jack Frame", and assigned to the assignee of the present application and invention. See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,362,254 (Nov. 8, 1994), and 3,813,640 (May 28, 1974); and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/534,218 filed Sep. 26, 1995, entitled "Flush Mounted Outlet", which is also assigned to the assignee of the present application and invention.
When the known face plates panels are mounted flush with a surrounding surface, and outside connectors are mated to corresponding connectors mounted in the panels, the outside connectors are typically in a position where they can be struck by objects which pass near the mounted faceplates. Such objects may cause the outside connectors to interrupt their connection with the associated mounted connectors, or, worse, to break apart irreparably. Environments where this condition is exacerbated include, but are not limited to, college computer laboratories where data jack panels are typically mounted at desktop height. Outside plug connectors engaging jacks mounted in the panels are known to be struck frequently by student books and book bags.
Accordingly, there is a need for a unit capable of mounting electrical or fiber optic connectors so that the connectors are readily accessible to outside mating connectors, and the mated outside connectors are physically protected from nearby objects. Such a connector mounting unit should also be compatible with existing cable raceways, with minimal work needed for installation of the mounting unit in situ.

Protective console unit for electrical or optical connectors


The present invention pertains to solid state quantum mechanical electron and hole wave devices and method for fabricating them and, in particular, to solid state quantum mechanical electron and hole wave devices such as, without limitation, low pass filters, high pass filters, narrow band and wide band notch filters, narrow band and wide band bandpass filters, impedance transformers, resonant electron and hole emitters, and so forth and method for fabricating them.
Recent progress in semiconductor growth technologies, particularly in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), enable those of ordinary skill in the art to grow multilayered superlattice structures with precise monolayer compositional control. For example, successively grown layers of narrow and wide band gap semiconductor materials such as GaAs and Ga.sub.1-x Al.sub.x As have been produced and widely used to provide multiple quantum well structures. In fact, there are many references in the prior art which are concerned with the use of these superlattice structures in resonant tunneling superlattice/multiple quantum well devices. Specifically, in such devices, a superlattice is formed by growing successive layers of narrow and wide band gap semiconductor material epitaxially and the materials and the widths of the layers in these devices are chosen so that quantum states which arise from spatial quantization effects in adjacent wells become coupled. Further, in such devices, the interaction of these coupled states leads to the formation of minibands of allowed energies through which carriers can tunnel.
Most of the above-described resonant tunneling superlattice devices disclosed in the prior art comprise a single quantum well, two barrier structure and such devices are of great interest as high frequency microwave oscillators. Recently, however, resonant tunneling through a multiple layer structure consisting of three wells and four barriers has been demonstrated in the GaAs/AlGaAs material system. Further, these structures have potential use as high energy injectors for electroluminescent devices, photodetectors, and fast ballistic transistors.
In addition to the above, there are prior art references which disclose the use of superlattices to provide miniband and forbidden energy bands at carrier energies above the barrier heights in order to produce negative differential resistance effects or to act as low-transmissivity blocking contacts.
In further addition to the above, there is presently great interest in the art in providing devices which exhibit high speed operation. Specifically, a major factor affecting the speed of semiconductor devices is the transit times of electrons from the input to the output terminals. If one can provide electrons which pass through the semiconductor without any scattering events, namely by "ballistic" or "collisionless" motion, then the transit time will be minimized and the potential speed of the devices will be maximized. The possibility of ballistic motion in semiconductor materials has recently been provided by experimental results in GaAs. As such, it is expected that when the length of the region to be traversed is on the same order as the electron mean free path (mfp), a sizable fraction of the electrons will traverse it ballistically. For example, although the mfp in silicon is on the order of 100 Angstroms (A), the mfp for electrons in GaAs is approximately 10 times greater.
In the interest of investigating the efficacy of fabricating such ballistic electron devices, experiments have been described in the prior art in which a GaAs layer is sandwiched between two layers of an alloy of AlGaAs. They report that AlGaAs is a suitable material for use therein because it has the same lattice constant as GaAs and, as a result, it can be grown epitaxially thereon. In addition, further reported experiments have shown that ballistic hole motion also occurs in GaAs, albeit at a lower fraction than that which occurs for electron motion due to the peculiar band structure of the valence band of GaAs.
As a consequence of the recent references available in the prior art, there exists a need for electron and/or hole filter devices, such as low pass, high pass, notch and bandpass filters which can be used to fabricate solid state devices requiring energy selectivity such as electroluminescent devices, photodetectors, ballistic transistors and so forth.

Solid state quantum mechanical electron and hole wave devices


An annular piston is vertically movable and rotatable. A guide groove is provided in an outer peripheral portion of the annular piston, and an engaging ball to be fitted into the guide groove is provided on an inner peripheral wall of a cylinder hole. A transmission mechanism prevents the clamp rod and the annular piston from rotating relatively to each other and permits them to move relatively to each other in a vertical direction. When the clamp rod is moved from a released raised position to a locked lowered position, the annular piston descends while rotating via a rotational groove and the engaging ball, and the annular piston causes the clamp rod to rotate, causing the clamp rod to descend straight down.

As such a horizontal swing clamping apparatus, conventionally, there is an apparatus described in patent literature 1 (Japanese Examined Utility Model Publication No. 18267/1985 (Jitsukoushou 60-18267)). This conventional art is structured as follows.
An annular free piston is inserted between a cylinder hole of a cylinder tube and a piston rod. An inner end portion of a free piston rotation prevention pin is fitted into a straight advance guiding groove provided in a peripheral wall of the free piston, and an outer end portion of the rotation prevention pin is fixed to the cylinder tube. Further, a rotation guiding groove is formed in the peripheral wall of the free piston so as to be opposed to the straight advance guiding groove across the piston rod. An outer end portion of a rotation pin is fitted into the rotation guiding groove, and an inner end portion of the rotation pin is fixed to the piston rod. Furthermore, a piston descent restriction pin is fixed to a lower end of the piston rod. The piston descent restriction pin is configured so as to be able to face a clamping stroke guiding groove of a head cover fixed to a lower portion of the cylinder tube.
In the above-described conventional art, the piston rod (and a clamper) is (are) switched from a released raised position to a locked lowered position according to the following procedure.
First, in a state where both ends of the piston descent restriction pin fixed to a lower portion of the piston rod are received by an upper portion of the head cover, the free piston descends straight down along the straight advance guiding groove. With this, the rotation guiding groove provided in the free piston causes, via the rotation pin, the piston rod (and the clamper) to horizontally rotate in the released raised position. Then, when the both ends of the piston descent restriction pin face the clamping stroke guiding groove and thereby their phases match each other, the piston rod (and the clamper) is (are) driven straight down to the locked lowered position along the clamping stroke guiding groove.


In a weft insertion system of an air jet loom, a weft passage in the form of a U-shaped groove opening forwardly toward a cloth fell is formed by recesses of profiled reed dents, and sub-nozzles are arranged to direct auxiliary air jets into the weft passage. In order to obtain a desirable air stream in the weft passage, and to prevent a weft yarn from flying out of the passage, an upper edge of each recess, bordering the recess on the upper side, is inclined so that a distance from an axis of swing motion of the reed becomes gradually smaller toward the open end of the recess. Furthermore, an innermost edge of each recess is inclined so as to intersect at an angle with a straight line passing through the axis of swing motion.

The present invention relates to a weft insertion system for an air jet loom, and more specifically to a weft insertion system having sub-nozzles for ejecting auxiliary air jets toward a weft passage formed in the reed.
FIG. 8 shows a conventional example. In this example, a reed 4 is swingable back and forth about an axis C of a sley word shaft 1. The reed 4 has profiled reed cents 5. Each of the profiled reed dents 5 is formed with a U-shaped recess 6 opening forwardly toward a cloth fell, and the U-shaped recesses are aligned to form a weft passage 7 extending in a weft inserting direction. Sub-nozzles 9 are arranged along the weft passage 7. In each dent, an upper edge 5A bordering the recess 6 on the upper side is sloping so that a distance R1 of an outer end X of the upper edge from the axis C of the sley sword shaft 1 is smaller than a distance R2 of an inner end of the upper edge 5A. This configuration helps a weft yarn in flying properly in the weft passage. A similar weft passage is shown in a Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 57-143544.
However, this configuration of the weft passage is still unsatisfactory. The auxiliary air jet of each sub-nozzle bumps against the innermost edges 5B of the recesses 6, and forms an air stream carrying the weft yarn along the weft passage. In general, the weft insertion starts when the reed 4 is in a backward motion, and terminates when the reed is in a forward motion. When the reed 4 :s moving backwards away from the cloth fell, an air stream in the weft passage tends to be left behind and to separate from the weft passage. The configuration of upper edges 5A of the weft passage 7, and the auxiliary air jets of the sub-nozzles 9 both contribute to decrease of this undesired tendency, and prevention of the weft yarn from flying out of the weft passage. Therefore, the auxiliary air jets must be made stronger than the level required for carrying the weft yarn, in order to press the weft yarn in the weft passage.
FIG. 9 shows a pressure distribution in the U-shaped recess 6. Curved lines in the recess 6 are isobaric lines connecting equal air pressure points in a weft passage section which is a predetermined distance apart from one of the sub-nozzle 9. A highest pressure point HP at which the pressure is highest in the recess 6 is located at a relatively shallow position whose distance 1.sub.1 from the open end of the recess 6 is relatively short. Generally, the weft yarn flies near the highest pressure point HP. Therefore, in the weft passage of this configuration, the flight course of the weft yarn is so shallow that the weft yarn tends to deviate from the weft passage. The conventional configuration of the weft passage is, therefore, still unsatisfactory in that the tendency to derailment of a weft yarn is relatively high, and a large air consumption is entailed to prevent such derailment.

Profiled reed dent with weft passage recess


A high thermal efficiency reciprocating hydrogen-fueled engine for ultra-high altitude long endurance flight and its method of operation are described. The engine is based on an opposed piston barrel design where long cylinders are employed to accommodate extraordinarily large compression and expansion strokes where the corresponding ratios are over 50:1, taking advantage of the very low ambient air pressures and temperatures at 60,000 ft and higher to reduce the overall weight and strength requirements of the inventive engine that would be a factor for operation at lower altitudes. The engine is designed to obtain more than 70% indicated thermal efficiency when operated at ultra-high altitudes of 60,000 ft and greater. A combination of large compression ratios combustion temperature optimization and management, instantaneous and complete combustion at TDC, followed by a rapid and long expansion stroke using tailored control of piston movement provide the means to achieve such high efficiencies.

Improvements in jet engine technology over the last half-century have steadily led to a 55% increase in engine fuel efficiency per seat-kilometer since the introduction in the late 1950s of the Boeing 707 aircraft. With the advent of the high bypass turbofan engine, now ubiquitous in civil jet aviation, the fuel consumption per seat-kilometer is about equal to that of early commercial piston-prop airliner engines (data from National Aerospace Laboratory (The Netherlands) report NLR-CR-2005-669). Nevertheless, the low thermal efficiency of these engines (30%-40%) is not sufficient to compensate the rising cost of jet fuel. Low fuel efficiencies require commercial airliners to carry large amounts of fuel on board. A metric that can be used for comparison of overall fuel efficiency is the fuel to payload weight ratio. For example, a Boeing 747-400F requires 266,000 lbs of fuel to carry a payload of 250,000 lbs over a distance of 4,445 nautical miles.
The innovations in jet engine technology that have lead to improvements in fuel efficiency have been historically spurred by spurts in fuel prices, which have negative effects on demand and growth of the industry as airfares are forced to sharply increase. As oil prices had remained steady during the 1980s and 1990s while demand for air travel rose, there was little incentive to make improvements in engine efficiency. Since then, only incremental improvements in engine efficiency have been realized, only coming along after years of pain already experienced by the industry. During the past decade, fuel prices have risen sharply and the trend continues steadily upward. Fuel prices currently account for over half the operating expenses of any airline. The Boeing 787 dreamliner and the Airbus A350 are the industry's most recent answers to rising fuel prices only to be introduced recently, claiming respectively 15% and 25% incremental improvements in fuel efficiency, mostly due to the use of light weight carbon fiber composite structural materials to build the airframe as opposed to fundamental improvements in engine fuel efficiency. Despite these efforts, continually rising oil prices in a volatile and disappearing market will soon outrun any economic gains realized today, demanding again new technologies that will lag the pain in the airline industry as permanent solutions to the petroleum-based fuel crisis are not being proactively sought out.
As a viable alternative to hydrocarbon fuels, hydrogen as a fuel for aviation and ground transport fundamentally has several advantages. It is not subject to the volatility of petroleum pricing, can be produced from green sources and is clean burning, having water vapor as the primary product of combustion. It also has a higher specific heating value than hydrocarbon fuels. For instance, its heating value is 2.75 times higher than that of JP-4 jet fuel. The combustion characteristics of hydrogen are superior to those of hydrocarbon fuels, and therefore internal combustion engines can run significantly more efficiently on hydrogen fuel. Current estimates show that despite complexities in producing and transporting liquid hydrogen, the cost per equivalent gallon of gasoline as low as 1-3 USD, competitive with current jet fuel costs. However, to be carried on board an aircraft, hydrogen must be in the liquid state.
One major impediment to widespread adaptation of liquid hydrogen as fuel for aircraft is its high specific volume, which is approximately 10 times greater than that of hydrocarbon fuels. Therefore a great deal of tankage is required to carry sufficient liquid hydrogen fuel on board for long endurance flight, which would necessitate substantially larger airframes than are used in contemporary airliners. Moving commercial flight airspace to high altitudes (>60,000 ft, or lower limits of the stratosphere) would require airframe designs that provide large wing surface and fuselage size in order to provide sufficient lift and aircraft efficiency to fly at these altitudes. Therefore, the wing and fuselage volume of high-altitude airframes can be significantly larger than those of lower-altitude aircraft, providing potentially adequate fuel storage capacity in the wings and fuselage to carry liquid hydrogen as fuel.
Flying a subsonic aircraft at very high-altitudes nominally requires less energy due to lower drag generated in the thin atmosphere. This can lead to potential gains in fuel efficiency. At altitudes in the stratosphere above 60,000 feet (over 18 km), the atmosphere is very thin (pressures <0.08 bar, or <1 psi, air density <0.1 kg/m3) compared to typical cruising altitudes for conventional airliners at 11 km, where the pressure is ˜0.2 bar (˜3 psi) and air density about 0.35 kg/m3. Aerodynamic craft designed for stratospheric flight encounter little air resistance and dynamic loads, allowing for very large lift-to-drag ratio as well as light-weight fuselage and wing designs to be implemented, leading to increased fuel efficiency.
With the exception of earlier turbojet military aircraft (i.e., Lockheed U2 and Ryan Compass Arrow) designed for subsonic stratospheric flight above 60,000 ft, flight at very high altitudes has been dominated by supersonic turbojet military aircraft. Tubojet engines, while capable of large power densities relative to reciprocating piston engines at low altitudes, have lower subsonic performance at high altitudes in comparison to piston engines driving propellers primarily due to the lower thrust produced as a result of the lack of sufficiently pressurized air. The delivered thrust of these engines at high altitude is on par with that of piston engines operating at the same altitudes. However the thrust-specific fuel consumption is significantly lower for piston engines compared to turbojets. Research and development of highly efficient turbojet engines for high altitude subsonic flight is prohibitively costly, and at the present time the market demand for such aircraft is low. Therefore, to pursue high altitude commercial flight, it is more cost effective to develop reciprocating piston engines for this purpose.
However, conventional spark-ignition reciprocating engines designed for propeller aircraft can function at such high altitudes only with significant modifications, such as the use of turbochargers. Historical examples of this type of engine modification for stratospheric flight are the ALTUS II unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), developed by General Atomics for NASA, the Boeing-Teledyne Condor and the Grob Aircraft Strato 2C, all having made sustained flights at and above 60,000 ft during the 1990's. These aircraft were equipped with multi-cylinder gasoline (Otto cycle) reciprocating engines (i.e., Drake, Teledyne Continental and ROTAX) and two- or three-stage turbochargers. These modifications generally add significant weight (estimation of almost 3× increase of weight of engine equipped to fly at 85,000 ft vs. at 12,000 ft for same power output) and complexity and size to the engine (number of turbochargers, ducting, cooling heat exchanger stages), and cut operation efficiencies. Summarizing, while both subsonic and supersonic military jet aircraft are more commonly known to fly at very high altitudes, subsonic propeller driven aircraft equipped with conventional piston engine power plants offer greater fuel efficiencies than turbojet engines but with similar power densities at high altitude (Bents et al., "Propulsion System for Very High Altitude Subsonic Unmanned Aircraft" NASA/TM-1998-20636).
Exemplary endeavors have been made to develop high-efficiency propeller driven hydrogen-fueled aircraft for long duration flights at high altitudes (high altitude long endurance, or "HALE" unmanned aerial vehicles, or "UAV"). Examples of these are Aerovironment's Global Observer and Boeing's Phantom Eye and Phantom Ray UAV drones. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,550,717, 7,281,681, 8,011,616 and 8,028,951 to MacCready et al. (Aerovironment Inc.) all describe a liquid hydrogen-fueled long endurance stratospheric aircraft equipped with high efficiency fuel cells for direct electricity generation to power electric engines driving propellers. Fuel efficiencies are gained from the direct conversion of hydrogen to electricity and many improvements in wing design and fuel storage and delivery. The aircraft is designed to carry a maximum payload of only a little over 100 kilograms. A variation of such an aircraft is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,806,365 to Miller et al. (Boeing) wherein a liquid hydrogen powered aircraft designed for long endurance stratospheric flight at altitudes over 60,000 ft and carrying up to 700 kilogram payload is equipped with a turbocharged automobile or aircraft piston engine adapted to burn hydrogen. Much of the described invention is concerned with compressor cooling and configuration, as well as fuel handling. While capable of staying aloft for several days at a time, these aircraft are very light-weight and have been designed to carry only small payloads at low airspeeds, mainly to provide high altitude surveillance, communications links and other military or civilian satellite functions at a fraction of the cost of designing, launching and maintaining earth-orbiting satellites.
The above cited examples demonstrate the feasibility and advantages of using liquid hydrogen as a fuel source, despite its low energy density compared to hydrocarbon fuels such as gasoline (9.3 MJ/I compared to 33.5 MJ/I), for HALE flight. While the applications are more strategic and aimed at replacing more costly satellite-based surveillance and communication systems, the economics of carrying such low payloads with such a fuel capacity is not attractive for more common air transport. If the size of the HALE airframes can be modified and scaled up to dimensions more amenable to carry commercial payloads where the aircraft incorporates a highly efficient high power density reciprocating piston engine, the economics for HALE transport planes can become attractive.
The key to opening this doorway lies in the development of such a high efficiency engine. The standard design paradigms for Otto and Miller cycle reciprocating piston engines limit the maximum efficiency that can potentially be obtained. Therefore, the current engine design paradigms must be examined so that new ones can be introduced. To make such engines possible, a new application of engine dynamics and thermodynamics is needed.

High efficiency engine for ultra-high altitude flight


A method for fabricating shallow trench isolation structure is disclosed. The method includes the steps of: (a) providing a substrate; (b) forming a trench in the substrate; (c) forming a silicon layer in the trench; and (d) performing an oxidation process to partially transform a surface of the silicon layer into an oxide layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for fabricating shallow trench isolation (STI) structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, shallow trench isolations (STIs) are used to separate and isolate active areas on a semiconductor wafer from each other. These STIs have historically been formed by etching trenches, overfilling the trenches with a dielectric such as an oxide, and then removing any excess dielectric with a process such as chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) or etching in order to remove the dielectric outside the trenches. This dielectric helps to electrically isolate the active areas from each other.
However, conventional means for fabricating STIs typically utilizes a flowable chemical vapor deposition (FCVD) or spin-on-dielectric (SOD) process to refill the trench with an oxide layer. As these processes have serious silicon consumption issues, an alternative approach of forming a stress buffer film (SBF) or amorphous silicon layer in the trench before filling of oxide layer has been derived. Nevertheless, the utilization of the SBF or amorphous layer also raises additional issues as the remaining of these layers while not being fully consumed, often results in bending of fin-shaped structures.

Method for fabricating shallow trench isolation structure


Systems and methods for detecting behavior-based anomalies are described herein. In various embodiments, the system includes a context engine for creating behavioral vectors that are transmitted to a long term data store, to behavioral engines configured to create baselines based on historical data, and to sensors configured to observe system resources. According to particular embodiments, the system is configured to collect data regarding the system resources (e.g., via the sensors) and compare the collected data to baselines to determine whether anomalies have occurred.

Computer networks are essential modern business and enterprise tools. Networked computers facilitate global commerce and allow people all over the world to collaborate on work, be entertained, and control important aspects of society's technical infrastructure. It is extremely important that computer networks be secure so as to prevent unauthorized use of computers and communications pathways (such as the public Internet and private communication links), which can result in malicious, harmful, or disruptive actions.
Some network security approaches are known in the art. For example, firewalls provide basic protection from unwanted outside access to a computer network. As other examples, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,185,368, 7,290,283, 7,457,426, 7,512,980, 7,644,151, 7,886,358, and 7,895,326, all of which are owned by the assignee of the present invention(s), provide for various network security, monitoring, and control functions, including flow-based network intrusion detection and monitoring, network port profiling, packet-sampling flow-based detection of network intrusions, and network service zone locking Other examples of network security technologies include malware/malicious software detection, prevention, and removal; internal access control; routing limitations; bot detection and tracking; packet tracing; denial of service (DOS) detection and prevention; and others.
In addition to network security functions such as those described above, there is a need to monitor behaviors of computers, networks, and individuals using computers and networks (all of which are "resources") for activity that might signify unauthorized attempts to access controlled resources, hijacking of a resource such as occurs with certain malware, or simply, bad behavior of a disgruntled employee who acts out of normal character. In order to detect so-called "bad" behavior, the person's (or resource's) normal behavior must be observed and cataloged so that unusual behavior, or "anomalies" in behavior, can he detected.
Given the mobility and geographic dispersal of the modem workforce as well as the proliferation of cloud services and on-demand computing, it is difficult to accurately detect anomalies based on the data from a single observation point. Therefore, there is a need for improved computer resource anomaly detection, reporting, and handling, to which aspects and embodiments of the present invention(s) are directed.

Distributed behavior based anomaly detection


Measurements of mobile signal strength received at the base station are used to determine the portion of power that should be transmitted by the base station to a particular mobile. Each of a plurality of mobiles measure the relative strength of the base station signal specifically intended for that mobile. The relative strength is compared to either the total base station signal power or to a cumulative ranking of the power of signals intended for other mobiles. That comparison is used to determine whether the mobile should increase or decrease its power.

A cellular radio telephone system divides a geographical area up into cells where neighboring cells are generally allocated different operating frequencies so as to avoid interference. Because of the relatively low power communication transmissions with a particular cell, another cell spaced two or more cells away may typically re-use the same frequencies. The further apart cells re-using similar frequencies are located, the lower the interference level between them. The frequency re-use/cell pattern is important in determining the desired signal-to-interference ratio (C/I) in a cell.
As the total number of different frequencies required to construct a cell pattern to achieve a desired C/I ratio increases, the number of frequencies available for use within a cell decreases. For example, if a total of 420 frequencies are available and a 21-cell pattern is required before frequency re-use is permitted, the number of frequencies that can be used in each cell is 420/21=20. Consequently, one way of increasing capacity is to use a transmission technique that operates at a reduced C/I.
Current cellular telephone systems prefer digitized voice transmission, as compared to the transmission of analog voice waveforms, because digitized transmission tolerates more interference. Thus, digitized voice transmission allows for a smaller frequency re-use pattern with a consequent increase in system capacity. When digital transmission techniques are used, error correction coding is often employed to increase interference tolerance. Unfortunately, error correction coding effectively widens the transmitted signal frequency bandwidth, reducing the number of available frequency channels. Extra interference tolerance permitting increased re-use of frequencies must be balanced with a reduction in the number of frequencies available.
The relationship between system capacity versus the amount of error coding is not monotonic and includes several maxima and minima as the amount of error coding increases. At one extreme, the amount of error coding is so great that interference levels equal to or in excess of the power level of the desired signal can be tolerated. In that situation, overlap between signals is permissible, and the system is known as a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system.
In CDMA systems with many overlapping, interfering signals, a factor of two increase in system capacity may be achieved by temporarily turning off subscriber transmitters during the moments of silence during a two-party conversation. It has been well documented that 50% or more of the time during a call connection between two subscribers is actually silence. Consequently, the number of conversations may be doubled before interference becomes problematic. A Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) takes advantage of this feature and is employed in conventional cellular access systems, such as the Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Pan-European Digital Cellular System known as GSM. DTX effectively reduces the prevailing interference of all the signals with respect to each signal.
Another technique for reducing interference between signals in neighboring cells on the same frequency is to configure the transmission power distribution of a cell over all of the mobiles within a cell according to each mobile's distance from its respective cell edge. The power transmitted downlink from a base station in the center of the cell to a mobile on the cell edge should be the greatest. In other mobile locations further from the cell edge and closer to the base station, the power level should follow a fourth power radius law based on the distance or radius of the mobile from the cell center where typically the base station is located. In the uplink direction from mobile to base station, the mobile's transmission power should also be set according to a fourth power radius law, in order to equalize the signal strengths received at the base station and to prevent those mobiles closest to the base station from using unnecessary power levels that would cause substantial interference.
Unfortunately, there is no direct technique for either the base station or the mobile to determine the distance between themselves. Consequently, the radius necessary to construct a fourth power law is unknown. This problem is overcome in conventional systems using a technique known as Dynamic Power Control in which a command is transmitted from the base station to the mobile to reduce its power if the signal strength received by the base station from that mobile is unnecessarily high. Similarly, the mobile sends a message to the base station including a measurement of the signal strength received from the base station. The base station uses that measurement to regulate its transmitted power to that mobile. The Dynamic Power Control technique has the disadvantage that it is slow to react because of the cumbersome, bi-directional messages needed between the base station and the mobile. The bi-directional signalling also reduces the capacity or quality of the traffic channel.
It would be desirable to have a cellular power control system that has increased system capacity in terms of frequency reuse but that minimizes the effects of any increased interference. Moreover, it would be desirable to achieve these goals by regulating efficiently and accurately the power transmitted from the base station to a mobile and the power transmitted from each mobile to its base station without the need for bidirectional power control messages between the base station and the mobiles.

Duplex power control system in a communication network

Ericsson-GE Mobile Communications Holding, Inc.


The described technology is directed towards data-driven navigation, in which a next navigation location depends on variable data associated with an interactive user interface element (rather than a fixed link). The data may be in a hierarchy of data models. A menu contains interactive navigation elements, each bound to a data model. A selected interactive navigation element results in locating a data model associated with the selected element. The data model is used to determine the next navigation location. Also described is hierarchical navigation to one item of a level as well as lateral and peer navigation.

A typical way to present interactive content to a user is by a set of pages. In general, a user starts at a home page, which contains links to other pages, and each other page may or may not contain its own links. A user thus navigates among the pages by actuating links (e.g., clicking on them or touching them) as placed by the developer. Home, back and forward buttons are also typically provided to assist the user navigation.
While this works for structured page content, it has drawbacks for other types of content, such as if the structure needs to change. For example, consider that an existing page needs to be divided into two (or more) pages, or that some new type of content is added that benefits from having its own page, rather than being placed on an existing page. In such situations, the developer has to recode each impacted page, including to update the links on possibly many pages to provide for navigation to the new page (or pages).

Data-driven navigation and navigation routing


An apparatus for a randomized answer generator toy having a spherical and alternately a substantially prolate spheroid shaped housing. The housing has an outer perimeter and an inner chamber. A transparent display window and a push button is disposed upon the housing. A stitching and alternately a groove is disposed upon the outer perimeter and is configured to increase a user's grip about the toy. A randomizer mechanism is disposed within the inner chamber. An answer display having a plurality of predefined answer images is disposed on the randomizer mechanism. Each of the push button, the randomizer mechanism, and the answer display are in operational communication. The answer display is activated upon depression of the push button. Wherein, one of the answer images is positioned in the inner chamber proximal the display window upon activation of the answer display and is visible through the transparent display window.

Various types of apparatus for a randomized answer generator toy are known in the prior art. However, many of these toys lack a push button allowing for the quick generation of a randomized answer display. Also, a common problem with the prior art is that user's hands become sweaty and can no longer grip the toy sufficiently to continue play. These prior art toys lack stitching or a groove to increase the users grip about the toy, allowing the user to play with the toy even when their hands are sweaty.
Thus, what is needed is a randomized answer generator toy. The present apparatus for a randomized answer generator toy has a substantially spherical and alternately a substantially prolate spheroid shaped housing. The housing has an outer perimeter and an inner chamber. A transparent display window and a push button is disposed upon the housing. A stitching and alternately a groove is disposed upon the outer perimeter and is configured to increase a user's grip about the toy. A randomizer mechanism is disposed within the inner chamber. An answer display having a plurality of predefined answer images is disposed on the randomizer mechanism. Each of the push button, the randomizer mechanism, and the answer display are in operational communication. The answer display is activated upon depression of the push button. Wherein, one of the answer images is positioned in the inner chamber proximal the display window upon activation of the answer display and is visible through the transparent display window.


An automation tool for resource managers to effectively schedule on-site visits and manage information obtained thereby. An embodiment of the present invention, the Automated Tool for Monitoring Archaeological Sites (ATMAS™), automates the process by which cultural resource (CR) managers on various installations prioritize and schedule CR sites for monitoring. Other applications for use by resource management include: environmental, safety, security, military, educational, emergency management, land use, fish and wildlife management, construction and maintenance of highways and waterways, mining, exploration, manufacturing, recreational management, urban restoration and the like. Embodiments of the present invention increase efficiency and reduce cost, while accurately and timely preserving and integrating information. Embodiments of the present invention are useful for post-processing as well as scheduling, analysis, and pro-active direction of ongoing monitoring.

Federal law requires that federal installations manage historic properties, including archaeological sites. The Guidelines for Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended (36 CFR § 800) require federal agencies to ensure that properties eligible for the National Register are not ". . . inadvertently . . . demolished, substantially altered, or allowed to deteriorate significantly." The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) of 1990 requires consultation prior to intentional excavations and subsequent to inadvertent discoveries of human remains. Executive Order 13007 requires federal agencies to avoid adverse impacts to Native American sacred sites. The Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) of 1979 imposes criminal and civil penalties for un-permitted excavation or damage to archaeological sites. Compliance with each of these laws and a proactive approach to resource management creates the need for systematic monitoring of archaeological sites. Further, complex investigations are mandated from related legislation, such as Environmental Site Assessments (ESA) and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), as well as from various state, local, and tribal requirements. Compliance with these laws often requires one to inventory, manage, and conserve both natural and cultural resources.
One example of an installation requiring systematic management of archaeological sites, both known and unknown, is the Fort Irwin (California) installation managed by the U.S. Army. Archaeological sites are scattered across the Fort Irwin landscape and are not recognizable by non-specialists. Cultural resource (CR) managers at Fort Irwin have documented more than a thousand archaeological sites. These sites must be protected until their National Register eligibility is determined. Eligible sites must be preserved (managed) as the installation performs its military training mission. As a result of the Army's mission, the sites may be vulnerable to damage from a number of sources, including vehicle traffic, erosion, excavation, and infrastructure development. Additionally, some of these sites may be susceptible to vandalism and looting.
Monitoring the condition of such a large number of archaeological sites is difficult. Further, ongoing inventories continuously increase the number of archaeological sites. Changes in military training alter the risk of adverse impacts to sites. The competing needs of environmental sustainability and efficient land use often require implementation of complex, integrated programs to reconcile the two. Without a systematic program, it is likely that monitoring will focus on a few high-profile sites, such as those known to include relatively dense surface scatters of artifacts. Such sites are, of course, very important, but it is also necessary to monitor the condition of more typical sites.
Thus, there exists a need for a method and system to prioritize, schedule, manage inventory, and maintain accurate and consistent records. Conventional methods for doing this are expensive and inefficient, in large part due to the manual handling involved. An embodiment of the present invention provides a solution to the problem posed by labor intensive maintenance, evaluation, and updating of information about archaeological site condition. The Automated Tool for Monitoring Archaeological Sites (ATMAS™) is an automated tool designed to help CR managers monitor sites in a responsible, effective manner by integrating information to facilitate prioritizing, scheduling, and managing a CR program at an installation.

Automated tool for monitoring archaeological sites (ATMAS™)

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


In a network service provider environment, a number of interconnection routing configuration templates provide a consistent approach for configuring associated interconnect network segments between enterprise network customer sites and cloud service providers. At least two types of configuration template are used to create at least two types of routing arrangement: a first template for creating an “unconstrained” routing arrangement having “any to any” connections; and a second template for creating a “partitioned” routing arrangement in which traffic between partitions must be operated on by a virtual network function. Additionally, the “partitioned” routing arrangement may use either a shared VPN or a segregated VPN facing the cloud service providers. The use of the interconnection routing configuration templates may be automated. The interconnection routing configuration templates can be applied in a recursive fashion to different parts of the end-to-end connectivity.

In addition to providing bandwidth, modern network service providers may offer services to enterprise customers including enterprise networking, virtual private networking, virtual network functions and Internet and cloud services connectivity. A network service provider must therefore "service chain" together several functions that a customer needs in the path of their network connectivity between their enterprise sites and network-based cloud service providers. To do that, the network service provider must define and consistently implement the characteristics of the network segments that make up that end-to-end connectivity. Presently disclosed is a series of interconnection routing configuration templates that may be used to consistently deploy the right network connectivity needed as part of an overall service context.
To implement connectivity in accordance with the specifications of enterprise customers and cloud service providers, network service providers must frequently string together multiple network functions, such as a network address translator, a firewall, a WAN Accelerator, a rate limiter/traffic shaper, etc., in various combinations across a series of network segments. The complexity of the network configurations can become untenable. Until now, the number of functions has been relatively small and network service providers have approached this problem via a brute force approach, using hand-crafted individual configurations for network segments. With the advent of numerous virtualized functions that can be inserted in arbitrary combinations, that approach is no longer viable.

Interconnection between enterprise network customers and network-based cloud service providers


The image sensor makes use of a distributed amplifier having its non-inverting input provided by a pixel amplifier transistor, and its inverting input and output provided in the pixel's column circuitry. The distributed amplifier is directly integrated with the image sensor's ADC circuit, and sampling and autozero are performed in a single step, thus reducing the number of noise contributions made by the components of the image sensor's readout chain.

A typical solid-state image sensor comprises a light gathering stage and a readout chain. An example of such a sensor is described in S. K. Mendis, S. E. Kemeny, R. C. Gee, B. Pain, C. O. Staller, Q. Kim, E. R. Fossum, "CMOS active pixel sensors for highly integrated imaging systems", IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits, vol. 32, pp. 187-197, Feb. 1997. The light gathering stage comprises a photodiode or other type of light sensitive element and a charge to voltage conversion means, while the readout chain typically comprises a source follower (present for all active pixels), a sampling circuit, a preamplifier, and an analog to digital conversion circuit.
Each of these components introduces noise to the detected image. The light contains photon shot noise, the photodiode introduces dark current shot noise, and fixed pattern noise, and the charge to voltage conversion means introduces transfer gate noise (pinned-photodiode pixels) or reset noise (3T active pixels).
The readout chain attempts to convert the detected voltage to digital form with the minimum amount of additional noise. However, each component of the readout chain introduces noise to the process. The pixel source follower introduces both thermal and 1/f noise. The-pixel transistors must be small to achieve a small pixel size and high fill factor and this compromises the noise level achievable. This noise source is often dominant over the remaining circuit noise.
The sampling circuit is used to perform a double sampling step, using capacitors contained in the base of each pixel column. Two samples are taken and differenced to eliminate pixel source follower threshold (Vt) mismatch, which gives two contributions of kT/C noise. To achieve small chip sizes and fast readout times the size of the sampling capacitors is limited which therefore limits the minimum achievable noise level.
Next, the preamplifier introduces thermal and 1/f noise. Often some means of removing amplifier column offsets is applied (auto-zero or feedback) which tends to increase this noise. Finally, the analog to digital conversion circuit comprises a quantization element, or quantizer, that introduces additional thermal noise, and a ramp generator that contributes quantization noise and thermal noise. The quantization element is required to convert from analog to digital output levels and compare the input voltage levels with a ramp voltage.
When designing an image sensor circuit, it is also desirable to minimize the surface area on the image sensor substrate that the circuit occupies. There is therefore often a trade-off between noise reduction and size considerations, for example, when considering the size (or capacitance) of capacitors to be used. Excessive noise degrades the performance of an image sensor, while an excessively large circuit will limit the applications to which the image sensor can be put or be commercially unattractive. It is therefore desirable to have an image sensor that contributes less noise and that also makes efficient use of space.

Image sensors with distributed amplifiers and related methods


The present disclosure relates to thiazole- or diathiazole-substituted aryl and heteroaryl compounds (I), pharmaceutical compositions containing them, and methods of using them, including treatment of disorders or disease related to regulation of the Vps34/PI3K III signaling pathway.

Vps34 (vascular protein sorting 34) is a class III member of the PI3K (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase) family of lipid kinases and is involved in the regulation of numerous cellular function. Vps34 is the only PI3-kinase expressed in all eukaryotic cells. It was initially identified in yeast and found evolutionarily conserved though mammals. In humans, hVPS34 is encoded by the PIK3C3 gene. Vps34 phosphorylates phosphatidylinositol (PI) to form phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI3P) at the pre-autophagosome or endosome leading to the recruitment of FYVE and PX domain containing proteins (Hawkins P. T., Stephens L. R. PI3K signaling in inflammation. Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 2015; 1851:882-897; Okkenhaug K. Signaling by the phosphoinositide 3-kinase family in immune cells. Annu. Rev. Immunol. 2013; 31:675-704; Backer J. M. Biochem. J. 2008; 410:1-17). Vps34 associates with the protein kinase Vps15 in different protein complexes, and plays an important role in membrane trafficking and protein sorting pathways. Unlike other PI3Ks, the substrate specificity of Vps34 is limited to phosphatidylinositol. This property distinguishes it from class I and II enzymes, which can phosphorylate more extensively depending on the isoform. PI3P produced by Vps34 is critical for autophagosome and phagosome maturation as well as NOX2 mediated ROS production, thereby playing a key role in autophagy, as well as pathogen uptake and killing by innate immune cells.
The initial function of Vps34 is the regulation of vesicular trafficking in the endosome/lysosome, where it is involved in the recruitment of proteins, containing binding motifs to intracellular membranes. Inhibiting Vps34 can result in lysosomal function impairment, affecting vesicle trafficking between late endosome and the lysosome (Pasquier B. Autophagy. 2015; 11:725-726). Vps34 activity is required for autophagy in yeast and has been strongly implicated in this process in mammals. Autophagy is a process in which cellular components are engulfed and degraded within double-membrane vesicles (autophagosomes) and has an important role in the response to oxidative damage. The interaction of Vps34 with the autophagy gene beclin1 is critical for autophagosome biogenesis, maturation and apoptosis. Inhibition of this step with Vps34 inhibitors can prevent the formation of autophagy vesicles (Chude, C. I. et al. (2017). Targeting Autophagy in Cancer: Update on Clinical Trials and Novel Inhibitors. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 18(6): pages 1279-1289). Vps34 has also been implicated in amino acid sensing and has been suggested to regulate mTOR in mammalian cell culture (Goberdhan, D. C. I.; et al. (2009). Biochem. Soc. Trans.; 37(Pt 1): pages 248-252).
Irregular activities of PI3-kinases are observed in numerous human pathological conditions including diabetes, diabetes-associated cardiovascular disease, polycystic ovarian syndrome, cancer, neuro-inflammation and ischemic stroke. As a potential diabetes therapy, inhibition of Vps34 can enhance glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity by reducing glucose production in the liver and stimulating glucose uptake in muscle. In vitro, treatment of mytotubes, hepatocytes and myoblast cells with a Vps34 inhibitor activated the AMPK pathway (increased levels of pAMPKT172 and pACCS79) thereby effecting cellular energy homeostasis. In vivo, treatment of HFD-fed mice with a selective Vps34 antagonist showed improvement in both glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity (as assessed by GTT and ITT). (Bilanges, B. et al., (2017). Vps34 PI 3-Kinase Inactivation Enhances Insulin Sensitivity Through Reprogramming of Mitochondrial Metabolism. Nature Comm. 8 (1): Article no.: 1804). In cancer, Vps34 inhibitors may prove useful because, unlike PI3K class I and II enzyme inhibitors that lead to the induction of autophagy, Vps34 inhibition leads to the abrogation of autophagy. Autophagy may prolong the survival of cancer cells defective in apoptosis by protecting them from metabolic stress. Inhibiting autophagy and sensitizing apoptosis-resistant cells to metabolic stress has potential as a tumor therapy regimen (Mathew et al., (2007). Role of autophagy in cancer. Nat Rev Cancer, (12), pages 961-967; Stein et al., (2001). Prospects for phosphoinositide 3-kinase inhibition as a cancer treatment. Endocrine-Related Cancer (8), pages 237-248). Vps34 inhibition may also be cyto-protective in stressful conditions such as ischemia-reperfusion. Inactivation of the Vps34/phosphatydil-inositol-3-phosphate kinase (PI3K) III signaling pathway, either by pharmacologic inhibition with 3-methyladenine (3MA) or by transgenic expression of a dominant-negative Vps34, prevented onset of autophagy and protected dopaminergic neuroblastoma cells (SH-Sy5y) from H2O2 toxicity (Castino et al., 2010. Inhibition of PI3k Class III-Dependent Autophagy Prevents Apoptosis and Necrosis by Oxidative Stress in Dopaminergic Neuroblastoma Cells. Toxicological Sciences, (117), 1, pages 152-162).

Morpholine derivates as inhibitors of Vps34


An operator in accordance with the invention changes, over time, the amount of memory that is allocated and used by the operator, to process data input to the operator. For example, a sort operator that is used to implement a query in a relational database may allocate a certain amount of memory initially based on an estimate of input data, and thereafter increase the allocated memory if the size of the input data was underestimated. In one embodiment, the operator checks, from time to time while processing a given set of input data, its current memory usage against an operator-level target or limit (either of which is called “memory bound”), and makes appropriate changes to conform to the memory bound. For example, if the memory bound is decreased, a currently-executing hash join operator may change its mode from an optimal mode (in which mode there is no access to disk), to a one pass mode (in which mode data is read from or written to disk only once), or alternatively from a one pass mode to a minimal mode (in which mode, the smallest possible amount of memory is allocated, e.g. of slot size). Similarly, the sort operator may also be set up to operate in one of these three modes, depending on the available memory.

A database available from Oracle Corporation is a relational database that may be installed on a computer (commonly called "server") available from Sun Corporation, running the operating system Solaris. Relational means that the database is composed of various tables (with columns and rows) that can be connected to one another in many ways to view various relationships of the data. A server is a mid-sized computer where all the data are actually kept (it is also sometimes called the host). A server is coupled to various clients. Clients are typically Personal Computers (or "PCs") that pull data off the server in ways that are useful to the user (i.e., for display and interpretation).
A server typically executes a query supplied by a client, and in executing the query applies certain operators (as required by the query) to data in the database. Examples of operators include sort, hash-join and bitmap merge. Each operator requires some space in memory. Portions of memory which Oracle uses to hold data to which an operator is being applied are called work areas. For example, a sort operator uses a work area (a.k.a. the sort area) to perform an in-memory sort of a set of rows. Similarly, a hash-join operator uses a work area (a.k.a. the hash area) to build a hash table from its left (a.k.a. build) input.
Generally, larger work areas can significantly improve the performance of a particular operator at the cost of higher memory consumption. Ideally, the size of a work area is big enough such that it can accommodate the entire input data and auxiliary memory structures allocated by the operator. This is referred to as the "optimal" size of a work area. When the size of the work area is smaller than optimal, the response time increases since an extra pass is performed over all or part of the input data. This is referred to as the "one-pass" size of the work area. When the work area is less than the one-pass threshold, multiple passes over the input data are needed, causing dramatic increase of the operator response time. This is referred to as the "multi-pass" size of the work area. For example, a serial sort operation which needs to sort 10 GB of data needs a little bit more than 10 GB to run optimal and at least 40 MB to run one-pass. If this sort gets less than 40 MB, it will have to perform several passes over the input data.
The goal for a Database Administrator (DBA) is generally to have most work areas running with an optimal size, e.g. more than 90% or even 100% for On-Line Transaction Processing (OLTP) systems, while a smaller fraction of them are running with a one-pass size (e.g. less than 10%). Multi-pass execution should be avoided by the DBA. Even for a Decision Support Systems (DSS) running large sorts and hash-joins, the memory requirement for one-pass executions is relatively small.
In Oracle8i, the maximum size of work areas is externally and statically controlled by the DBA, by setting the following parameters: SORT_AREA_SIZE, HASH_AREA_SIZE, BITMAP_MERGE_AREA_SIZE and CREATE_BITMAP_AREA_SIZE. There is one such parameter per operator that needs a work area.
Setting these parameters can be difficult for a DBA since the maximum work area size is ideally selected based on the data input size and the total number of work areas active in the system. These two factors vary a lot from one work area to the other and from one point in time to another. Thus, the various "*_area_size" parameters are hard to tune under the best of circumstances. For more information on database parameters and their effect on behavior of various operators, see the book entitled "Oracle8i Concepts" available from Oracle Corporation, and on the Internet at http://oradoc.photo.net/ora81/DOC/server.815/a67781/toc.htm (which book is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety).
An MS Thesis by K. L. Beck, entitled "Memory Allocation in Adaptive External Sorting", Oregon Graduate Institute, October 1993 proposes a combination of "adaptive algorithms" that are capable of modifying their behavior to compensate for varying amounts of memory available to them during their lifetime, and a "central agent" to partition memory among concurrent queries. Beck calls this central agent a "memory broker," and proposes a Brokered Adaptive Sorting (BAS) algorithm. In a simple example of the increased performance that BAS can provide, Beck describes two sorts running concurrently, one sorting much more data than the other. If the large sort uses the same amount of memory for its entire duration, it must choose between leaving memory unused for the smaller sort, or crowding the smaller sort out of memory. Beck's solution is to have the large sort use all, or nearly all, of memory when it is available, and to temporarily give up memory during the time that the smaller sort is executing. Beck states that such sorts adjust their memory allocation by checking-in with the memory broker at points when they could change their memory allocation without too much cost. According to Beck, the interactions between queries and the memory broker occurs at "check points" which are points where a query can conveniently change its memory usage. Beck's thesis is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
An article entitled "An Adaptive Hash Join Algorithm for Multi-user Environments" by Hansjörg Zeller and Jim Gray, VLDB 1990: 186-197, introduces "a modified, adaptive hash join method that is designed to work with dynamic changes in the amount of available memory. The general idea of the algorithm is to regulate resource usage of a hash join in a way that allows it to run concurrently with other applications. The algorithm provides good performance for a broad range of problem sizes, allows to join large tables in a small main memory, and uses advanced I/O controllers with track-size I/O transfers."
Another article entitled "Dynamic Memory Allocation for Multiple-Query Workloads" by Manish Mehta and David J. DeWitt, VLDB 1993: 354-367, "studies the problem of memory allocation and scheduling in a multiple query workload with widely varying resource requirements. Several memory allocation and scheduling schemes are presented and their performance is compared using a detailed simulation study. The results demonstrate the inadequacies of static schemes with fixed scheduling and memory allocation policies. A dynamic adaptive scheme which integrates scheduling and memory allocation is developed and is shown to perform effectively under widely varying workloads."
The article by Mehta and DeWitt also describes three schemes for allocating memory: "Minimum (allocating the minimum memory required to process the join, namely the square root of the size of the inner relation), Maximum (allocating enough memory so that the join's temporary relation resulting from the selection fits in memory), and Available (allocating whatever memory is available subject to the constraint that the amount of memory allocated is at least the minimum required by the query (i.e. the square root of the size of the inner relation) and no more than the maximum."
See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,210 that is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. This patent discusses in detail a process of "allocating buffer memory for database sort operations" (abstract).


An improved fuel tank is disclosed. In the fuel tank, a shock-absorbing member comprising a plurality of foam members is mounted to an in-tank functional component provided inside a resin fuel tank body. When the fuel inside the tank sloshes up and down, the fuel strikes the shock-absorbing member, causing the force of the waves to be dispersed, and reducing the fuel sloshing sound created by the sloshing of the fuel.

A fuel tank having an internally mounted wave-damping member made of a fibrous resin material is known, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI-05-139169 (JP 05-139169 A).
With the aforementioned wave-damping member, however, the tank body is bisected into an upper and a lower portion, and the member cannot be used in a single-piece fuel tank. Specifically, a wave-damping member made of a resin material is sandwiched and held in place between the edge of an upper shell above and the edge of a lower shell below in the fuel tank, but the problem is that because a resin tank is usually manufactured by hollow molding (blow molding), the wave-damping member cannot be installed inside the resin-tank body.
Using a wave-damping member in a resin-tank body brings about a problem in that limitations in terms of the shape of the wave-damping member, the size of the wave-damping member, the mounting location, and the like become more stringent with the insertion of the wave-damping member into the tank body. Another problem is that the structure for fixing the wave-damping member in the fuel tank becomes more complicated.
Also known is a fuel tank in which a blowhole is used during molding of the resin-tank body and in which a tilting shutoff valve or other functional component is mounted in the opening, as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3,893,337.
The fuel tank disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3,893,337 presents a problem in that since a functional component is welded in a hole formed in the tank wall, the barrier layer in that area is adversely affected, and there is a danger that penetration through the weld may occur. Another problem is that the structure for mounting the functional component is complicated.
A resin fuel tank in which a wave-damping plate extends halfway into the tank from the upper wall of the tank, and the remainder of the wave-damping plate extends into the tank from the bottom wall of the tank in order for the wave-damping plate to be placed in the tank in an upright manner is also known, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open Publication No. SHO-57-032909 (JP-U 57-032909 A).
The fuel tank disclosed in JP-U 57-032909 A presents a problem in that because the wave-damping plate extends into the tank, there is a danger that the capacity of the tank will decrease. Another problem is that the degree of freedom in selecting the shape of the wave-damping plate is low, as is the degree of freedom in selecting the mounting location, making it difficult to obtain a significant effect.


There is provided a method for selecting a tolerogenic peptide by selecting a peptide which is capable of binding to an MHC class I or II molecule without further processing. There is also provided a peptide selected by such a method and its use in a pharmaceutical composition and a method to treat and/or prevent a disease. The present invention also relates to a composition which comprises the following myelin basic protein (MBP) peptides: MBP 30-44; MBP 83-99; MBP 131-145; and MBP 140-154. The composition may be used to treat a disease, in particular multiple sclerosis and/or optical neuritis and the invention also relates to such uses and methods.

In an adaptive immune response, T lymphocytes are capable of recognising internal epitopes of a protein antigen. Antigen presenting cells (APC) take up protein antigens and degrade them into short peptide fragments. A peptide may bind to a major histocompatability complex (MHC) class I or II molecule inside the cell and be carried to the cell surface. When presented at the cell surface in conjunction with an MHC molecule, the peptide may be recognised by a T cell (via the T cell receptor (TCR)), in which case the peptide is a T cell epitope.
T cell epitopes play a central role in the adaptive immune response to any antigen, whether self or foreign. The central role played by T cell epitopes in hypersensitivity diseases (which include allergy, autoimmune diseases and transplant rejection) has been demonstrated through the use of experimental models. It is possible to induce inflammatory or allergic diseases by injection of synthetic peptides (based on the structure of T cell epitopes) in combination with adjuvant.
By contrast, it has been shown to be possible to induce immunological tolerance towards particular peptide epitopes by administration of peptide epitopes in soluble form. Administration of soluble peptide antigens has been demonstrated as an effective means of inhibiting disease in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE—a model for multiple sclerosis (MS)) (Metzler and Wraith (1993) Int. Immunol. 5:1159-1165; Liu and Wraith (1995) Int. Immunol. 7:1255-1263; Anderton and Wraith (1998) Eur. J. Immunol. 28:1251-1261); and experimental models of arthritis, diabetes, and uveoretinitis (reviewed in Anderton and Wraith (1998) as above). This has also been demonstrated as a means of treating an ongoing disease in EAE (Anderton and Wraith (1998) as above).
The use of tolerogenic peptides to treat or prevent disease has attracted considerable attention. One reason for this is that it has been shown that certain tolerogenic epitopes can down-regulate responses of T cells for distinct antigens within the same tissue. This phenomenon, known as "bystander suppression" means that it should be possible to induce tolerance to more than one epitope (preferably all epitopes) within a given antigen, and to more than one antigen for a given disease, using a particular tolerogenic peptide (Anderton and Wraith (1998) as above). This would obviate the need to identify all of the pathogenic antigens within a particular disease.
Peptides are also a favourable option for therapy because of their relatively low cost and the fact that peptide analogues can be produced with altered immunological properties. Peptides may thus be modified to alter their interactions with either MHC or TCR.
One possible problem with this approach is that it has been shown that not all peptides which act as T cell epitopes are capable of inducing tolerance. The myelin basic protein (MBP) peptide 89-101 is an immunodominant antigen after immunisation and is also a very effective immunogen both in terms of priming for T cell reactivity and induction of EAE. However, this peptide has been shown to be ineffective at inducing tolerance when administered in solution (Anderton and Wraith (1998), as above).
A number of explanations for the observed hierarchy in the ability of T cell epitopes to induce tolerance have been proposed (reviewed in Anderton and Wraith (1998) as above). In particular, it has been proposed that there is a correlation between the affinity of the peptide for the MHC and tolerogenicity (Liu and Wraith (1995) as above), but this does not tally with some of the observations. For example, MBP[89-101], which is not tolerogenic, binds to I-AS with relatively high affinity. It is thus not straightforward to predict which peptides will induce tolerance.
If there were a rational explanation why only a proportion of peptide epitopes are capable of inducing tolerance, this would facilitate the selection of tolerogenic peptides useful in treating and preventing hypersensitivity disorders.
Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most common disabling neurological condition affecting young adults. Around 85,000 people in the UK have MS.
In multiple sclerosis (MS), inflammation of nervous tissue causes loss of myelin, a fatty material that acts as a protective insulation for nerve fibres in the brain and the spinal cord. This loss of myelin, or demyelination, leaves multiple areas of scar tissue, or sclerosis, along nerve cells. Consequently, the sclerosis results in multiple and varied neurological signs and symptoms, usually with repeated relapse and remission.
Common symptoms of MS include reduced or loss of vision, stumbling and uneven gait, slurred speech, as well as urinary frequency and incontinence. In addition, MS can cause mood changes and depression, muscle spasms and severe paralysis.
It is now generally accepted that MS is an autoimmune disease mediated by autoreactive T-cells.
Current treatments for MS generally suppress the immune system. For example, one treatment includes transplantation of bone marrow along with administration of cytostatics and immunosuppressive drugs. This treatment is effective for some patients, but it is expensive and relatively high-risk. Additionally, the administration of cytostatics is considered controversial in treating MS because its effects are unclear and potential side-effects are severe.
Treatment with interferon-beta (IFNβ) reduces the symptoms of MS in some patients and is therefore widely used. However, the mechanism of action of interferon-beta is unclear and IFNβ treatment is ineffective for many patients.
Currently, an effective treatment for MS does not exist. Treatment is focused on merely reducing its symptoms, usually by general suppression of the immune system.
Synthetic Peptides
Metzler and Wraith (Int. Immunol. 5:1159-1165 (1993)) were the first researchers to describe the use of synthetic peptides to induce suppression of an autoimmune response in the mouse experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model, a commonly used in vivo model of MS. In this study, peptides derived from MBP were administered by the intranasal route, and it was found that the level of disease suppression correlated with the antigenic strength of the peptide used.
Later, in 1995, Liu and Wraith (Int. Immunol. 7:1255-1263) showed that it was also possible to induce suppression of EAE in mice by the intraperitoneal administration of soluble MBP-derived peptides. In this study, suppression of both Th1 and Th2 responses was achieved, and it was shown that administration of peptides after the start of an immune response could lead to suppression of the on-going immune reaction.
However, it was found that not all peptides capable of acting as T-cell epitopes are capable of inducing tolerance. The myelin basic protein (MBP) peptide 89-101 is an immunodominant antigen after immunisation and is also a very effective immunogen both in terms of priming for T cell reactivity and induction of EAE. However, this peptide has been shown to be ineffective at inducing tolerance when administered in solution (Anderton and Wraith (1998) Eur. J. Immunol. 28:1251-1261).
The present inventors have previously shown that there is a link between the capacity of a peptide to bind to an MHC class I or II molecule and be presented to a T cell without further antigen processing and its capacity to induce tolerance in vivo. Peptides which are antigen processing independent (i.e. do not require further antigen processing to bind MHC) can be predicted to be tolerogenic in vivo. These peptides have been termed "APITOPEs", for Antigen Processing Independent epiTOPES. APITOPE is a trademark of Apitope Technology (Bristol) Ltd.
WO 03/064464 identifies the following additional MBP peptides as being APITOPEs: 134-148; 135-149; 136-150; 137-151; 138-152 and 140-154.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.