The invention mainly relates to the mass spectrometric identification of pathogens in blood cultures from blood-stream infections (septicemia). The invention provides a method with which microbial pathogens can be separated in purified form from blood after a relatively brief cultivation in a blood culture flask, without any interfering human proteins or any residual fractions of blood particles such as erythrocytes and leukocytes, and can be directly identified by mass spectrometric measurement of their protein profiles. The method is based on the use of relatively strong tensides to destroy the blood particles by dissolving the weak cell membranes and most of the internal structures of the blood particles; in spite of the fact that tensides are regarded as strong ionization inhibitors in MALDI and other ionization processes required for mass spectrometric measurements. This method allows unknown pathogens to be obtained in their pure form by centrifuging or filtration and to be identified on the taxonomic level of species or subspecies. Problems with DNA from high levels of leukocytes can be resolved by special measures. After sufficient cultivation, the identification in a mass spectrometric laboratory takes only half an hour.

Many species of microorganism (termed microbes below), particularly including bacteria and single-cell fungi (as yeast or mold), but also algae and protozoa, can be identified mass spectrometrically with a high degree of certainty by breeding a colony in the usual way on a nutrient medium, then transferring small quantities of microbes from the colony to a mass spectrometric sample support plate, and measuring a protein profile directly with a mass—spectrometer. The mass spectrum particularly represents the masses and abundances of the different soluble proteins which are present in sufficiently high concentration in the microbes. This protein profile of the microbes is used to determine their identity by a similarity analysis with reference spectra from a spectrum library.
Specialized mass spectrometers for this purpose and corresponding evaluation and similarity analysis programs are commercially available. At present, this identification procedure proves to be highly successful and rapidly conquers the microbiological laboratories all over the world.
"Identification" of the microbes means categorizing them into the taxonomic hierarchical classification scheme: Domain (eukaryotes and prokaryotes), kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species and subspecies. The identification of a microbe sample involves determining at least the genus, usually the species, and if possible the subspecies or even the strain as well, which is important, for example, if different subspecies or strains have different pathogenicity. In a more general sense, an identification can also mean a characterization in terms of other, more individual characteristics of the microbes, for example the resistance of a microorganism against antibiotics.
The nutrient medium for the cultivation of a colony is usually contained as an agar in a Petri dish, which normally results in the growth of pure strains in the form of separated microbe colonies in around six hours to some days, depending on the reproductive power of the microbes. If the colonies superimpose or strongly mix, pure colonies can be obtained in a second cultivation, again carried out in the usual way. In a most simple method, some microbes transferred from a selected colony to the mass spectrometric sample support with a small swab are then sprinkled with a strongly acidified solution of a conventional matrix substance (usually α-cyano-4-hydroxy cinnamic acid, HCCA, or 2,5-di-hydroxy-benzoic acid, DHB) for an ionization by matrix-assisted laser desorption (MALDI). The acid (usually formic acid or trifluoroethanoic acid) attacks the cell walls, and the organic solvent (usually acetonitrile) of the matrix solution can penetrate into the microbial cells and cause their weakened cell walls to burst. The sample is then dried by evaporating the solvent, which causes the dissolved matrix material to crystallize. Soluble proteins and, to a much lesser extent, other substances of the cells are embedded into the matrix crystals.
The matrix substance crystals with embedded analyte molecules are then bombarded with focused flashes of UV laser light in a mass spectrometer, creating ions of the analyte molecules in the hot plasma of the vapor cloud; these ions can then be separated according to their mass and measured in the mass spectrometer. Specialized MALDI time-of-flight mass spectrometers (MALDI-TOF-MS) are normally used for this purpose. The mass spectrum is the profile of the mass values of these analyte ions. These are quite predominantly protein ions, the ions with most useful information having masses of between 3,000 daltons and 15,000 daltons approximately. The protein ions in this method are predominantly only singly charged (charge number z=1), which allows for simply referring to the mass m of the ions instead of always using the term "mass-to-charge ratio" m/z, as is actually necessary and conventional with other types of mass spectrometry.
The profile of the proteins is very characteristic of the microbe species in question because each microbe species produces its own set of genetically predetermined proteins each having its own characteristic molecular mass. The abundances of proteins with higher concentrations which can be detected by mass spectrometry, are also widely genetically controlled and depend only slightly on the nutrient conditions or maturity of the colony. The protein profiles are similarly characteristic of the types of microbes as fingerprints are characteristic of individual humans Nowadays, reliable and validated libraries with well documented reference mass spectra of microbes are being thoroughly extended by many laboratories in public and private research institutions and in microbiological institutes of universities. The reference libraries must fulfill strong requirements to be medically and legally admissible.
This method of identification has proven to be extraordinarily successful. The certainty of a correct identification is far greater than that of the microbiological identification methods used until now. It has been possible to prove that the certainty of the identification was way above 95 percent for hundreds of different types of microbe. In most cases of doubt, where there were some deviations from results of microbiological identification methods used until now, genetic sequencing has confirmed the correctness of the mass spectrometric identification.
If the library does not contain a reference mass spectrum for a species of microbe under investigation (which occasionally happens due to the millions of microbe species and the limited size of the current spectral libraries), library searches can usually produce valuable classifications into the higher taxonomic levels of the genus or family of the microbes, because related microbes frequently contain a number of identical types of protein. These cases are increasingly rare, however; pathogenic microbes have now practically all been recorded in the form of reference spectra and can therefore usually be accurately identified down to the level of microbe species.
The method briefly described above of using a small swab to spread some microbes from a colony onto a sample spot of a mass spectrometric sample support which is then sprinkled with a matrix solution, is the simplest and, as yet, fastest type of sample preparation. If a colony is just visible after cultivation, it takes only one to two hours in maximum until the identification is complete even if hundreds of samples have to be analyzed at the same time. Mass spectrometric sample supports with 48, 96 or 384 sample spots each are commercially available; acquisition of mass spectra from these numbers of samples takes around half an hour to two hours. If the identification is urgent, individual microbe samples can be identified in a few minutes (albeit after cultivation, which is always time-consuming)
Other methods of sample preparation have also been investigated, such as extracting the proteins after the microbes have been destroyed by sonication or mechanical treatment, or methods for extracting the proteins from microbes after the cell walls, which are sometimes hard, have been weakened by aggressive acids. These disintegration methods are used when the normal method of swabbing fails because the cell walls of the microbes are not destroyed by sprinkling with the matrix solution. If the swab methods produce mass spectra which are good enough for a comparison, all the disintegration methods provide spectra which are very similar to those of the swab methods, they often even show a lower interfering background in the mass spectra.
Today, mass spectra of the microbe proteins are usually acquired in the linear mode of MALDI time-of-flight mass spectrometers (MALDI-TOF) because these have a particularly high detection sensitivity, even though the mass resolution and the mass accuracy of the spectra from time-of-flight mass spectrometers in reflector mode are much better. In reflector mode, only around one twentieth of the ion signals appear, however, and the detection sensitivity is one or two orders of magnitude worse. The high sensitivity is based on the fact that not only the stable ions but also the much more abundant fragment ions and even the neutral particles from a so-called "metastable" decay which occurs during the flight of the ions, are detected in the linear mode of a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Secondary electron multipliers (SEM) are used as ion detectors, measuring molecular ions, fragment ions and neutral particles because they all generate secondary electrons on impact. All fragment ions and neutral particles generated after acceleration in the ion source from one species of parent ion have the same speed as the parent ions and thus arrive at the ion detector at the same time. The arrival time is a measure of the mass of the ions which were originally undecomposed.
The increased detection sensitivity is so crucial for many applications that one accepts many of the disadvantages of operating the time-of-flight mass spectrometers in linear mode, such as a significantly lower mass resolution, for example. The energy of the desorbing and ionizing laser is increased for these applications, something which increases the ion yield but also increases their instability, although this is of no consequence here.
Acquiring mass spectra with time-of-flight mass spectrometers generally requires that a very high number of individual spectra are measured and digitized in rapid succession, the individual spectra usually being added together by adding measurement points with the same time-of-flight to form a sum spectrum. The ions for each individual spectrum are generated by one laser flash from a UV pulse laser for each spectrum. The sum spectra have to be generated in this way because of the low dynamic range of measurement and high noise on the signal in the individual spectrum. A minimum of approximately 50, in some cases even 1,000 and more individual spectra are acquired here; a sum spectrum generally consists of several hundred individual spectra which modern mass spectrometers acquire and add together in a few seconds.
For the identification of microbes, usually mass spectra from around 2,000 daltons to high mass ranges of 20,000 daltons are measured. However, mass signals in the lower mass range up to around 3,000 daltons do not have a high degree of reliability because they originate to a large part from coating peptides externally attached to the microbes, from fatty acids depending on kind and availability of nourishment, and a variety of other substances which are present only by chance. The best identification results are obtained if only the mass signals in the mass range between 3,000 and 15,000 daltons are evaluated. The low mass resolution, which occurs for the reasons given, means that the isotope groups whose mass signals each differ by one dalton can no longer be resolved in this mass range. The mass signals, therefore, reflect the shape of the envelopes of the isotope groups.
This method of identifying microbes requires a pure culture of identical microbes, a so-called "isolate", in order to obtain a mass spectrum which is not superimposed with signals of other types of microbes. It turned out, however, that mass spectra of mixtures of two microbe species can also be evaluated by special methods and that both microbe species can be identified. The identification certainty suffers only slightly. If more than two microbe species contribute to the mass spectrum, the identification probability and identification accuracy decrease very strongly.
The identification of microbes is particularly important for infectious microbes within the blood stream, called septicemia. The microbes usually are released into the blood continuously or in batches from unknown focuses of infections. It is important here that pathogen species are identified very early to commence a targeted medical treatment with correct antibiotics as soon as possible.
The mass spectrometric identification method competes with PCR analysis, where certain genetic sequences of the microbe's DNA, which are characterized by selectively operating pairs of primers, are replicated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). These methods are fast and can lead to results within a few hours. These PCR analytical methods, however, need some prior knowledge of species, genera, families or classes of the microbes in order to select correct primer pairs. In general, only a "coarse" classification is performed according to the characteristics gram-positive or gram-negative, for example. The determination on the level of a microbe species is only possible in individual cases and requires a very targeted approach based on assumptions. The method is usually limited to individual, frequently occurring and particularly dangerous pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, for example. Positive identifications of individual microbe species remain valuable lucky strikes. In cases of negative identification, the knowledge of the exclusion of such dangerous microbes is certainly also valuable, but does not provide a basis for a therapy. The accurate determination of the microbe species must then be left to the conventional microbiological methods, which can quite easily take three to five days, however.
German Patent Application DE 10 2007 058 516 A1 (WPO 2009/065580 A1) discloses a method that directly separates pathogens from body fluids by centrifugation or filtration so that microbes can be transferred from the deposits (centrifugation or filtration pellets) onto the sample support plate. A still better method, also described in the document, is to disintegrate the microbes of the deposits after removal of the supernatant still within the centrifugation tube, for example by adding a few microliters of a strongly acidified matrix solution, with subsequent transfer of the solution with the released proteins onto the mass spectrometric sample support plate. With centrifugation, this disintegration is even possible when no visible pellet is produced. The limit of visibility for a centrifugation pellet is around 106 microbes; the detection limit, in contrast, is currently about 104 microbes, but may be still improved in the future. 104 microbes usually contain more than 100 picograms of soluble proteins, the mass spectrometric detection limit is far below this, however. Since a cultivation stage is not required for infections in clear body fluids, identification in the mass spectrometric laboratory with this method of direct centrifuging of the body fluids can performed within a few minutes.
This method of direct centrifugation or filtration of the microbes is successful because, in the vast majority of cases (far more than 70 percent), acute microbial infections in body fluids are caused by only one single microbe species. At a low percentage of around 15 percent two microbe species are involved, in these cases usually both can be recognized in the mass spectra. This species purity of the pathogens of acute infections is in sharp contrast to other occurrences of microbes in or on the human body—the approximately 1014 bacteria of the intestinal flora in a human intestine comprise at least 400 species of bacteria which live in equilibrium with each other, for example. But the method of direct centrifugation is only successful if these microbes are present in very high concentrations of more than 104 microbes per milliliter which is very rare for internal body fluids. Body fluids are generally sterile, i.e., they usually do not contain any microbes.
As described in the cited document, this method of sedimenting the microbes in a centrifuge or micro-filter can be applied directly and with a high degree of success to all clear body fluids such as lymph, synovial fluid or cerebrospinal fluid (liquor) and even to excreted body fluids such as urine or lachrymal fluid. For body fluids containing endogenous particles, such as whole blood, for example, intermediate steps must be introduced of first growing the microbes by cultivating the blood, because the concentration of microbes are usually only in the range of 0.5 to 10 microbes per milliliter, and second to completely and thoroughly destroy the blood particles such as erythrocytes or leukocytes to thoroughly get rid of all human proteins. In the documents cited, this destruction is exemplarily done by addition of distilled water. The very delicate cell membranes of the human particles are easily destroyed by the osmotic pressure of the water entering, in contrast to the much harder cell walls of bacteria. By repeated addition of distilled water and centrifugation a sufficiently clean pellet should be obtained which should no longer contain any residues of the human particles.
However, experiments carried out in the applicant's laboratory with this method of adding distilled water did not succeed in providing sufficiently clean centrifuge deposits, even when the washing and centrifuging processes were repeated a few times. Even if the deposits did not retain a slightly reddish color, superimpositions with human protein signals always interfered with the microbial protein signals from these deposits to such an extent that an identification becomes uncertain.
There is a need for a fast method for the clean separation of the pathogens of a septicemia in blood, without any traces of remaining human proteins, so that mass spectrometric identification down to the level of species or subspecies and, in addition, other investigations of the pathogens become possible.

Mass spectrometric diagnosis of septicemia


A flux-pinning system comprised of a high temperataure superconductor film on a carrier wherein the film is provided with a multiplicity of holes of a radius of 50 to 2000 nm serves as the basis for an electronic component which can be utilized in high frequency and radial frequency circuits and in conjuction with SQUIDs. The holes can be arranged with variable density over the film or in the form of a uniform hexagonal or square grid and the high temperature superconductor is preferably a YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 P.sub.7 composition.

In Solid State Commun. 91, 331 (1994), Metlushko, V. V. et al describes a thin film which is comprised of a conventional type II superconductor and which is penetrated with a periodic hole grid pattern. The flux tubes which develop in the superconductive film at a sufficiently large magnetic field organize themselves in the form of a grid (Abrikosov Grid). Based upon a measurement of the direct current conductivity as a function of the strength of an external magnetic field, that article provides information as to an interchange between the Abrikosov Grid and the superimposed artificial hole grid.
In addition, for many years high temperature superconductors (HTSC) have been known. As distinct from conventional superconductors, HTSCs can operate even at the temperature of liquid nitrogen (77 K) so that the cost of cooling can be drastically reduced. HTSCS, however, have the drawback that in the superconductive state, they have a high dissipation by comparison with conventional type II superconductors.
In the high frequency field, especially in the microwave range (300 MHz to 300 GHz), it is desirable to operate with walls of components such as, for example, resonators or hollow wave guides, as much as possible without losses of electrical conductivity of surface currents. For that purpose, significant HF characteristics of the corresponding components, for example, Q-factor, damping and the like, should be improved.
To reduce the ohmic losses of metal surfaces of HF components, it is already known to polish the surfaces, to plate them or to provide them with surface coatings comprised of a metal of high electrical conductivity (silver, gold).
It is also known, in addition, to improve the electrical conductivity of HF components by the use of superconductive surface layers. It is a drawback here that to maintain the conductive state of these layers, they must be cooled below their critical temperature T.sub.c and that requires significant expenditure.
In the electrically conductive field, strip conductors are known which are comprised of a strip carrier of an electrically conductive material and an HTSC film deposited thereon.
In the measurement field, SQUIDs (SQUID: superconductive quantum interference device) are known for high sensitivity measurements of magnetic fields. With HTSC SQUIDS, it is a drawback that the measurement sensitivity is limited by a relative high low frequency noise.

Assembly of carrier and superconductive film


Owing to complexity of the algorithms and tools very few attempts have been seen for usage of simulation methods in the development of new electrolytes. Moreover, the existing simulation methods focus on only one aspect of the electrolyte at a time and this limits accuracy of simulation results, and affects performance of electrolyte in real world, where multiple factors come into play simultaneously. The method disclosed provides method and system for in-silico optimization and design of electrolytes, enabling prediction of various properties of an electrolytic mixture of salts, solvents and various additives and its suitability for a given battery technology. The in-silico method shapes itself into an overall battery electrolyte property or component composition analyzer based on the user input.

The emergence of electric vehicles and grid storage systems demand for faster development cycles of advanced batteries offering superior properties such as quicker charging rate, large capacity, long life and extreme safety. Electrolytes used in the batteries play a critical part in safety, cycle life and battery performance. Research and development is being focused on designing efficient and high performance electrolytes. Lithium—ion battery is one such example of batteries used for above applications such as electric vehicles. Thus, designing the electrolyte that provides the best performance for a particular battery type (e.g., based on lithium, sodium, nickel, cadmium, magnesium and so on) is required to achieve desired battery performance.
Electrolytes used in the batteries are typically mixtures of salts and solvents, along with a set of performance enhancing additives. Electrolytes provide a passive contact between the two electrodes in a cell to facilitate the movement of ions from one electrode to the other during the charge-discharge cycles. In addition to playing the role in circuit completion, electrolytes also determine the operating conditions of a battery, including safe voltage window, temperature range, charging protocol, etc. Battery electrolyte needs to be designed to offer optimum values for several key properties. The electrolyte needs to be cost-effective, non-toxic and should not lead to unwanted side-reactions. Hence, the design and development of electrolytes for various advanced battery technologies is more challenging than before. It deals with various expensive and time-consuming spectroscopic, microscopic imaging techniques and electrochemical methods.
Conventional methods used for electrolyte design include selection of components and optimization. These methods heavily rely on experimentation involving trial and error procedure and are sequential and time-consuming. Since, the progress of in-situ analysis is slow, the verification of different properties involves various sophisticated instruments that require various ways of sample preparation. Hence, the conventional methods are not flexible. Further, existing approach for electrolyte screening is based on a very narrow set of objectives. Most of the existing studies to evaluate the capability of an electrolyte are conductivity-centric that talk about its charge transferring capabilities alone.
Advent of high-performance computing (HPC) systems and various simulation algorithms enable one to conduct virtual experiments to evaluate various properties by simulating the system of interest at various length and time scales. However, owing to the involved complexity of the algorithms and tools and required analysis, use of simulation methods in the development of new electrolytes is limited. Identification of the right components to be used in the electrolyte mixture for a given battery itself is a complex task. Determining the optimal proportion of the identified components makes the task even more complicated. Experimental approach to address this problem is very expensive and time consuming.

Method and system for in-silico optimization and design of electrolytes


An integrating optical collector with a diffusely reflective interior surface and with at least one wavelength selective absorptive filter located therein in a position that nearly bisects the interior of the collector. The filters are highly transmissive in a first wavelength band corresponding to an emission band of a storage phosphor, but highly absorptive in a second wavelength band corresponding to a stimulation band of the phosphor. The filter's wavelength selective properties and nearly bisecting position in the collector minimizes re-illumination of a phosphor at the stimulation wavelength, while permitting efficient radiation collection and detection at the emission wavelengths. A cylindrical collector with two parallel lengthwise slits permitting passage of the scan beam to the phosphor surface is preferred. Two filter plates on opposite sides of the slit may be used, which can either be parallel to each other and to the slits or oriented at an angle with respect to each other.

A storage phosphor sheet retains a stored image when exposed to an image-wise pattern of ultra short wavelength radiation, such as X-rays. The stored latent image may then be read by illuminating the phosphor sheet with radiation of a relatively long stimulation wavelength, typically red or infrared light. Upon stimulation, the phosphor emits radiation in a shorter emission wavelength band separated from the stimulating wavelength band, typically green, blue, or ultraviolet light, with an emitted intensity proportional to the quantity of ultra short wavelength radiation to which the phosphor had been originally exposed when the latent image was recorded. In a typical phosphor imaging system, the phosphor sheet storing a latent image is stimulated with a scanning beam, such as a laser beam, at the stimulation wavelength illuminating successive spots on the phosphor sheet. The emitted radiation from an illuminated spot of the phosphor sheet is collected by an optical collector and sensed by a photodetector, such as a photomultiplier tube, to produce electronic image signals corresponding to the intensity of the emitted radiation.
One relatively simple imaging system is described by Matsuda et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,473. Radiation emitted from the phosphor sheet enters a light guide member through an input face positioned close to the scan line on the phosphor and is directed by the light guiding member to a photomultiplier. In order to improve collection efficiency, a mirror is positioned to specularly reflect more of the emitted radiation to the guide member's input face. In one embodiment, the mirror has a specular reflection surface that selectively reflects radiation at the phosphor's emission wavelength, but either transmits through the mirror or absorbs (and in any case, does not reflect) radiation at the stimulating wavelength. In another embodiment, a filter plate, which transmits the emission wavelength but absorbs the stimulating wavelength, is placed between the scan line and the mirror. Radiation emitted from the phosphor is directed toward the mirror and passes once through the filter plate on its way to the mirror and once more on its way from the mirror to the guide member. In either embodiment, the input face of the light guiding member may have an antireflection surface coating that minimizes or eliminates reflection of both the emission and stimulating wavelengths, while a filter at the back of the light guiding member blocks the stimulating wavelength from being received by the photomultiplier. By reducing the reflection of the stimulating wavelength from the mirror or the light guiding member's input face, the stimulating radiation can be prevented from re-illuminating the phosphor in areas outside of the scan spot.
It is desirable to collect as much of the emitted radiation as possible and to direct it to the photodetector with little, if any, positional variation in the amount of radiation collected, in order to obtain a strong signal. With that objective in mind, other more efficient collectors have been developed. One such collector is described by Hideo Noda in the Japanese Patent Application Laying-Open No. 6-160311, published Jun. 7, 1994. The collector includes a set of fluorescence-reflecting flat mirror plates essentially forming the sides of an open box, with the open side adjacent to the recorded surface of a phosphor imaging plate and the opposite side containing a photomultiplier tube receiving emitted fluorescence through a noise removing filter that transmits only the fluorescence wavelength (about 390 nm). One of the fluorescence reflecting sides is a dichroic mirror that transmits excitation radiation (a 633 nm wavelength laser beam) from an optical source. Diagonally disposed inside the collector is another dichroic mirror that reflects the excitation beam from the laser source and directs it to the recorded surface of the phosphor plate, but transmits fluorescence emitted from phosphor to the photomultiplier tube.
While such a configuration is adapted to collect the phosphor's fluorescence emission for detection by a photomultiplier tube, it inherently allows re-illumination by stimulating radiation in regions of the phosphor outside of the spot illuminated by the excitation laser beam. This is because some of that excitation light is not absorbed by the phosphor plate but reflects or scatters therefrom and is collected along with the fluorescence. Although the excitation is blocked by the diagonal dichroic mirror and the noise rejecting filter from reaching the photomultiplier tube, the mirror sides of the collector together with the diagonal dichroic mirror reflect radiation of the stimulating wavelength so that some of it can re-illuminate the phosphor.
One solution to this problem is provided in the collector described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,008 to Livoni. That patent teaches a hollow cylindrical, ellipsoidal, or spherical collector with a wavelength selective diffusely reflective interior surface coating. The diffusely reflecting interior coating helps to smooth out the signal variations that are a result of the position of the stimulating radiation beam along the scan path. The coating is a barium sulfate based material that is doped so as to absorb radiation of the stimulating wavelength, while still highly reflecting radiation in a phosphor's emission wavelength band. Unfortunately, diffuse reflection coatings with the required high reflectance (near 98%) at the emission wavelengths that need to be collected, lack sufficiently low reflectance at the stimulating wavelength to sufficiently minimize re-illumination. Coating materials simply do not provide the desired reflectance range. At best, a reduction to about 80% reflectivity at the stimulation wavelength is possible. Lower reflectances require reducing the reflectance at the emission wavelengths as well, reducing the amount of light collected.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to minimize re-illumination at the stimulating wavelength in diffusely reflective integrating collectors, by providing an optical radiation collector arrangement with much lower reflectance at the stimulating wavelength than can be provided by known wavelength selective surface coatings.

Integrating optical collector with reduced re-illumination of phosphor sheet


Systems and methods are provided for: receiving, from a terminal, identification information associated with a user, wherein the receipt of the identification information is caused by an identification operation performed at at least one of the terminal or a remote processing system located away from the terminal; determining gaming rules associated with a physical jurisdiction for the terminal, wherein a first portion of the gaming rules is provisioned at the terminal, and wherein a second portion of the gaming rules is provisioned by a remote processing system located away from the terminal; and determining, based on at least one of the first portion of the gaming rules or the second portion of the gaming rules, whether the user associated with the identification information is eligible to participate in a game associated with the physical jurisdiction.

Various governments around the world allow lottery games to be legalized within their borders. Legalization of lottery games and other game plays is typically driven by the public support for this style of entertainment. Currently, these games are presented through specific manned terminals that connect to lottery operators, or corporations responsible for running the games. The player is provided a paper ticket of the game play or lottery play. The paper ticket is a bearer instrument, in that the holder of the paper ticket—whether the original purchaser or not—is entitled to the winnings associated with that paper ticket.
While these games have proven to be popular, a large segment of the population does not participate. This is due to many factors, including the inconvenience of the manned terminals, the concern over losing a ticket, and, more recently, the lack of cash to play the games as many people prefer using payment cards for their various purchases. In addition, due to regulatory restrictions, the sale of lottery products is restricted to various government-approved entities. These restrictions have created some obstacles in bringing game play sales to a broader spectrum of sale outlets. For example, existing sales solutions used in various sale outlets are not appropriate for the sale of the lottery games (or other game plays) because they lack assurances that the sale outlet is located within the "borders" or restrictions of the government regulating the lottery game.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for location-based game play on computing devices


A computer program product is tangibly embodied on a computer-readable medium and includes executable code that, when executed, is configured to cause a data processing apparatus to display multiple objects in a single pane, where the multiple objects are visual representations of real objects and the multiple objects are dynamically sized and spaced relative to one another to fit all of the objects in the single pane. The computer program product includes executable code that, when executed, causes the data processing apparatus to display a subset of the objects and associated metadata in an examination frame. The examination frame is sized to fit within the single pane, where the subset of the objects displayed within the examination frame are sized larger than the objects outside of the examination frame.

Graphs of models of data can be very large and difficult to navigate and to view. For example, graphs of complex data models (e.g., cloud computing models) that show thousands of nodes may be difficult to navigate and to view. Expansion and contraction of branches in the data models may create graphs that show even more nodes.
In certain scenarios, for example, the graphs of data models may represent objects in a cloud computing environment, where a status of the objects is monitored. With such a large number of objects, it may be difficult to monitor the status of each object and may be difficult for a user monitoring the graph to view the entire graph, even when using a large screen such as at a large screen operations center display. Also, on such a large screen, smaller objects may be difficult to see. It may be desirable to provide systems and methods to improve the display and the navigation of objects in a graph.

Systems and methods for displaying and viewing data models


A sewing apparatus that includes a sewing device that performs sewing on a sewn object, a first operating device that is operative to input a command to execute an operation of the sewing device, a first detecting device that detects a preliminary operation state that is an operation state with respect to the first operating device that precedes an executing operation state, the executing operation state being an operation state for inputting the command to execute the operation of the sewing device, a notifying device that represents any one of at least two states that include a first state that corresponds to the preliminary operation state, and a control device that puts the notifying device into the first state in a case where the preliminary operation state is detected by the first detecting device.

The present disclosure relates to a sewing apparatus and a computer-readable medium that stores a program for a sewing apparatus.
During sewing, a user of a sewing apparatus performs an operation of placing a hand on a work cloth that serves as a sewn object, as well as other operations. Therefore, an operating member of the sewing apparatus is provided in an appropriate position. For example, a foot controller for starting the sewing apparatus is provided separately from the main body of the sewing apparatus, such that the user can operate the sewing apparatus by foot.

Sewing apparatus and computer-readable medium storing program for sewing apparatus


According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rotary striking tool, including: a motor; an impact unit having a driving part being driven by the motor and an output part; a tip-tool side output shaft that is coupled to the output part; an impact detection unit that detects an impact generated at the impact unit; and a control unit programmed to: control the impact unit to perform a confirmation striking when the impact detected by the impact detection unit reaches a prescribed value, detect a rotation angle of the output shaft at the confirmation striking, determine whether a fastening operation is completed when the detected rotation angle is equal to or smaller than a predetermined angle, and continue the fastening operation when the detected rotation angle is larger than the predetermined angle.

1. Field of the Invention
An aspect of the present invention relates to a rotary striking tool which is driven and rotated by a motor to thereby fasten a fastening member such as a screw or a bolt by using an intermittent striking force.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a rotary striking tool (driving tool), an impact tool which fastens a screw or a bolt etc. by applying a rotation force or a rotational-direction striking force is known. JP-2005-305578-A discloses an impact driver as the kinds of the rotary striking tool. Further, there is known an oil pulse tool using an oil pulse unit as a striking mechanism. In the impact driver disclosed in JP-2005-305578-A, a hummer part rotates while being axially-movable by using a spring or a cam mechanism, and a hammer strikes an anvil once or twice with respect to a single rotation of the anvil.
The oil pulse tool has a feature that the level of the operation sound is low since metal parts never contact to each other. In the oil pulse tool, a motor is used as a power source for driving an oil pulse unit, and the rotation shaft of the motor is directly coupled to the oil pulse unit. When a trigger switch for operating the oil pulse tool is pulled, a driving electric power is supplied to the motor. The rotation speed of the motor is controlled by changing the driving force of the motor in response to the pulling amount of the trigger switch. When the oil pulse unit generates a pulse torque, a strong striking torque is transmitted to a tip tool, whereby a torque sensor detects the peak torque of the output shaft at every striking operation. An angular sensor is provided at the output shaft to detect the rotation angle of the output shaft, whereby the peak torque value is controlled to approach a target torque value in accordance with a difference between the previously-set target curve of the peak torque values from the fastening start timing to the fastening completion timing and the measured peak torque value.
In the sold oil pulse tool, an increasing amount of the rotation angle at each striking is calculated based on an angle value obtained from an angular sensor. When the increasing amount of the rotation angle is larger than a reference value (seating state determination value), it is determined that the fastening operation is not completed yet to thereby continue the striking operation even if a peak torque exceeds a reference value (fastening operation completion determination value). The motor is stopped when two conditions are satisfied that the peak value exceeds the fastening operation completion determination value and the increasing amount of the rotation angle is smaller than the seating state determination value. In order to surely control the fastening operation completion state based on the two conditions of the peak torque and the increasing amount of the rotation angle, it is necessary to provide a torque sensor and an angular sensor at the output shaft of the oil pulse tool, so that a rotary transformer is required in order to transmit and receive signals to and from these sensors. As a result, the impact tool is enlarged to provide the angular sensor and the rotary transformer etc., whereby electric wiring becomes complicated and the tool becomes expensive.


A multiple input, dual output, electric motor transmission device includes a ring gear and a ring gear motor for driving the ring gear. A first planetary gear set is engaged to the ring gear for geared rotation with respect to the ring gear and a first sun gear is engaged to the first planetary gear set for geared rotation with respect to the first planetary gear set. A first output shaft and a first electric motor are provided, wherein the first output shaft is coupled to a first one of the first planetary gear set and the first sun gear and a rotor of the first electric motor is coupled to a second one of the first planetary gear set and the first sun gear. A second planetary gear set, similar to the first planetary gear set, is also engaged to the ring gear for geared rotation with respect to the ring gear.

It has long been a goal in the art to find a combination power source (i.e., drive) and transmission device that can deliver the peak output of the power source over a large range of the rotational speed (rpm) output of the transmission device. Further, it is preferable that this peak power be output from the transmission device, or from the drive device incorporating the transmission device, at continuously variable speeds of rotation over a large range of the speed of rotation of the output. A transmission device making possible such properties is known in the art as an infinite speed transmission device. The term "drive and transmission device" or "combination motor and drive device" is employed in the present disclosure to describe the case of the device including the drive means (i.e., power source means) as well as the transmission means. The term "motor and transmission device" or "combination motor and transmission device" is employed for the case of the drive means including an electric motor means, as the drive means (i.e., power source).
Known transmission devices typically involve a single rotational mechanical input and a single rotational mechanical output. Such known transmission devices, whether manual or automatic, may typically employ a set of gears. In these transmissions, the ratio of the speed of rotation of the input to the speed of rotation of the output is one of a set of fixed values corresponding to the set of gears. These typically involve a large number of parts, undesirable weight for many applications particularly in vehicle propulsion, and high losses due to multiple transfers of the power between the many components within the transmission device, or within the drive device incorporating the transmission device.
Differential units and planetary gear units are known in the art as transmission devices. Known planetary gear types of transmission devices involve an inner sun gear, an outer ring gear and a set of planetary gears held by a hub to rotate between the sun gear and the ring gear. When the sun gear rotates with respect to the ring gear, the planetary gears rotate between them, and the hub rotates accordingly, coaxially with the sun and ring gears. In a typical prior art use of the planetary gear unit, the hub is fixed, and either the sun gear or the ring gear is driven as the rotational mechanical input, the other providing the rotational mechanical output. Alternatively, either the sun gear or the ring gear can be fixed, the other is either the rotational mechanical input or output, and the hub provides the other of the rotational mechanical input or output.
One advance in infinite speed drive and transmission devices is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,932 to Edwards, entitled Dual-Input Infinite Speed Integral Motor and Transmission Device. This patent, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, provides an infinite speed combination motor and transmission device having two inputs, with at least one of the inputs being an integral combination of an electric motor element and a transmission unit element. In one embodiment, two integral electric motors provide input to two of the three gear units in a planetary gear system (the ring gear and planetary gear hub, in particular) with the third gear providing an infinitely variable mechanical output (the sun gear in this case).
An important advantage of the Edwards patent is that the braking of a vehicle can be performed by using the electric motors as generators, namely by regenerative braking. In the case of a battery powered car, the kinetic energy of the vehicle can be converted back into useable electricity charged back into the battery, and hence available for subsequently propelling the car. Thus, a small lightweight hydraulic brake, such as on each wheel, suffices as backup and emergency brakes for the vehicle. The infinite-speed characteristic of the combination motor and transmission device is particularly useful for this purpose, namely in being able to adjust the device for maximum regeneration. In generic terms this involves converting the mechanical output into an input, and the two electric motor inputs into two outputs, or one output and one input.
A still further advance is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,851,162 to Tether. This patent, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference, relates generally to a system for propelling various types of vehicles that incorporate or require multiple output propulsion devices. In particular, the Tether patent relates to a motor transmission system for an electric vehicle that uses a plurality of combined electric motor and transmission devices with a continuously variable speed output and a stored energy supply for powering the device. This device sets out to reduce the cost and complexity of electric motor transmission devices while at the same time reducing the complexity of its control.
In one specific example, the Tether patent provides a multiple input, dual output differential motor transmission device that incorporates a sun gear device having first and second sun gears fixedly connected to each other whereby the first and second sun gears rotate together along a common axis of rotation; first and second ring gear devices having first and second ring gears, respectively; and first and second sets of planetary gears. The first set is inter-engaged between the first sun and ring gears, while the second set is inter-engaged between the second sun and ring gears. The first sun and ring gears are concentrically and independently rotatable relative to each other with the first set of planetary gears inter-engaged therebetween. The second sun and ring gears are concentrically and independently rotatable relative to each other with the second set of planetary gears inter-engaged therebetween. Rotation of at least one of the first and second sun gears together, the first ring gear and the second ring gear generates at least one of rotational and revolving movement of a corresponding one of the first and second sets of planetary gears.
While the Tether patent adds significantly to the art, motor-transmission device configurations that continue to reduce the number of moving parts and allow the device to be used in ever smaller spaces will allow the adoption of such devices into more and more applications.

Multiple input, dual output electric differential motor transmission system


Provided are a method and an apparatus for correcting a color convergence error. The method includes: in a dark room environment, collecting a projection light point on a projection screen projected by a projection system, to obtain a projection image; adjusting the test pattern, so that a first projection light point corresponding to the white point of a first coordinate on the test pattern after being projected by a first color light source is located in a center of the projection image; obtaining a second and/or a third projection light points corresponding to the white point of the first coordinate after being projected by a second and/or a third color light sources from the projection image; and adjusting an assembly parameter of the projection system according to a position of the second and/or the third projection light points and a position of the first projection light point.

In order to solve the defect of insufficient color gamut space in traditional display technologies, display technologies based on red (R), green (G), and blue (B) light sources have emerged, such as three-chip reflective/projection display technology, laser scanning display technology and laser projection display technology, etc. These display technologies based on RGB three-color light source can truly reproduce the rich and gorgeous colors of the objective world and provide more shocking color expression.
The display technologies based on RGB three-color light sources usually include three light sources, and each light source corresponds to one of the three primary colors. A variety of colored lights can be obtained after the lights emitted by the three light sources are mixed in different proportions.
However, due to the mechanical error of the system assembly and the chromatic aberration of the optical component, in the image displayed by the display technology based on the RGB three-color light source, there may be overlapping error in the red, green, and blue pixels, which will affect the clarity of the image. In view of this, a method for correcting the color convergence error needs to be proposed urgently.

Method and apparatus for correcting color convergence error


An extendable auto printing and drying machine is constructed to include two end tables, and adjustable number of rectangular machine tables alternatively reversely arranged between the end tables, each rectangular machine table having a printer and dryer unit formed of a printing module and a drying module at two sides, a transmission chain loop provided in the rectangular machine tables and the end tables rotatable by an external motor drive, and a plurality of carriages respectively installed in transmission chain loop, the carriage each having a workpiece carrier adapted to carry a respective workpiece for printing and drying by the printing modules and drying modules of the printer and dryer units of the rectangular machine tables when the transmission chain loop rotated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing and drying machine and, more particularly, to an extendable auto printing and drying machine that can be conveniently adjusted subject to the desired capacity.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 6 shows a conventional auto-rotary printer for printing T-shirts and various cut-pieces. This auto-rotary printer comprises a driving mechanism A at the center, and a plurality of printing nodules B respectively located on the radial rod members of the driving mechanism A. A circular conveyer system is provided below the printing modules B, carrying a plurality of workpiece carriers. The circular conveyer system is rotated intermittently. Upon each stroke of the motion of the circular conveyer system, the driving mechanism A is operated to lower the printing modules B, thereby causing the printing modules B to print the desired printing on the T-shirt or cut-piece on each workpiece carrier. The printed T-shirts or cut-pieces are further delivered through a drying unit and then well dried. This design of auto-rotary printer is not extendable, i.e., the number of the printing modules cannot be reduced or increased subject to the desired capacity. Further, this design of auto-rotary printer requires much installation space.
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is main object of the present invention to provide an auto machine that automatically print and dry the loaded workpieces. It is another object of the present invention to provide an auto printing and drying machine, which can be conveniently adjusted subject to the desired capacity. It is still another object of the present invention to provide an extendable auto printing and drying machine, which is suitable for printing foaming and elastic paste on the workpieces. To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, the extendable auto printing and drying machine comprises two end tables, and adjustable number of rectangular machine tables alternatively reversely arranged between the end tables, each rectangular machine table having a printer and dryer unit formed of a printing module and a drying module at two sides, a transmission chain loop provided in the rectangular machine tables and the end tables rotatable by an external motor drive, and a plurality of carriages respectively installed in transmission chain loop, the carriage each having a workpiece carrier adapted to carry a respective workpiece for printing and drying by the printing modules and drying modules of the printer and dryer units of the rectangular machine tables when the transmission chain loop rotated. Further, the drying module of each printer and dryer unit uses infrared light source as heating source for drying the workpiece.

Extendable auto printing and drying machine


Described herein are novel thermally reactive near-infrared absorbing acetal copolymers that undergo chemical and physical changes upon exposure to near-infrared radiation. Also described are the methods of preparation of the novel acetal copolymers starting either with vinyl-alcohol polymers or with acetal copolymers. Also described are the methods of use of the new near-infrared absorbing acetal copolymers in coatings used in lithographic offset printing plates that can be directly imaged with near-infrared laser imaging devices in computer-to-plate and digital offset printing technologies. The novel acetal copolymers are also useful in photoresist applications, rapid prototyping of printed circuit boards and chemical sensor development.

The use of acetal copolymers for the production of lithographic offset printing plates is well known in the prior art because of their excellent film forming properties, good mechanical strength and superior chemical resistance on press. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,698,360 and 5,849,842 taught to prepare and utilize acetal copolymers containing sulfonamido functional groups as binder resins in UV photosensitive compositions used for conventional negative lithographic offset printing plates. Similarly, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,925,491 and 5,985,996 taught that the use of acetal copolymers containing amido functional groups terminated with either hydrogen, C1-C8 saturated hydrocarbon, C1-C8 unsaturated hydrocarbon, or carboxylic acid functional groups as binder resins in UV photosensitive compositions leads to improved exposure and developing speeds. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,087,066 and 6,270,938 taught that acetal copolymers containing meleinimido, funylvinylidene, thienylvinylidene and pyrrolyvinylidene functional groups used as binder resins in UV photosensitive compositions also lead to improved exposure and developing speeds. Also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,596,460 and 6,808,858 taught to prepare and use acetal copolymers containing azido, carboxylic acid or sulfonic acid functional groups as binder resins in UV photosensitive compositions to improve exposure and developing speeds.
Positive working lithographic offset printing plates containing near-infrared (NIR) laser radiation sensitive polymeric coatings are also known in the prior art. For example, Parsons, WO 9739894A1; Nagasaka, EP 0823327B1; Miyake, EP 0909657A2; West, WO 9842507A1; and Nguyen, WO 9911458A1 taught to prepare heat sensitive coating comprising a polymeric substance, a near-infrared absorbing compound and a dissolution inhibiting compound. In these coating compositions, the near-infrared absorbing and dissolution inhibiting compounds inhibit the polymeric substance from dissolving in the liquid developer by forming a network structure via hydrogen bonding or ionic interactions. Upon imaging with near-infrared laser light, this network structure is disrupted and thus, the exposed area becomes more soluble in the liquid developer, while the network structure of non-exposed areas is conserved and prevents the dissolution of this area (image area). However, the difference in solubility between the exposed and non-exposed areas varies during storage and usage, which makes these lithographic printing plates very difficult to process. For the printing plates that are just manufactured, the network structure in the coating composition is relatively weak and the non-exposed area is likely to be attacked by the liquid developer during processing, which leads to poor image quality. If the printing plates have been stored for some time, the network structure in the coating composition is very strong and makes it difficult to remove the laser-exposed area with the liquid developer. This phenomenon also leads to poor image quality of the printing products because of the background toning that occurs in such cases.
Different approaches have been taught in prior art to overcome the above-mentioned problems. For examples, U.S. Pat. No. 6,461,795 taught that, in order to accelerate the formation of a stable network structure within the coating composition, the lithographic printing plates must be heated at a preferable temperature between 50 and 60° C. in a low relative humidity atmosphere for several hours before shipment to the customers. Alternatively, U.S. Pat. No. 6,613,494 taught to apply a thin over-layer to protect the non-exposed area of the polymeric coating from the attack of the liquid developer.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,420,087 taught to prepare coating compositions for positive working lithographic printing plates containing siloxane compounds acting as image protecting agents that reduce the dissolution of the non-exposed areas during developing. However, the presence of these siloxane compounds made difficult the coating of the plates with roller coating techniques, caused phase separation in the coating solution and provoked the apparition of pinholes. In addition, these siloxane compounds are not soluble in alkaline developers, which causes sludge build-up in the processor, redeposit on the printing plates and a shortened lifetime of the developer.
WO patent application WO04020484A1 taught to prepare coating compositions consisting of acetal copolymers containing carboxylic acid, sulfonic acid and phosphoric acid terminated pendant groups, Novolak resin, near-infrared absorbing dyes, visible dyes, and image protecting agents for use in the production of thermally sensitive positive working lithographic offset printing plates having a high chemical resistance. Such coating compositions require a one-day post-production heat treatment at 50° C. in order to keep the image area from being attacked by the developer.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,255,033 and 6,541,181 taught to prepare acetal copolymers containing carboxylic acid, hydroxy, halide, methoxy and acetylene functional groups for use as binder resins in the production of positive working lithographic offset printing plates that can be imaged with near-infrared laser radiation. It is important to note that these coating compositions require an adhesion promoting agent, a near-infrared absorbing dye that converts light into heat and a large amount of visible acts as a dissolution inhibitor. In practice, high loading level of near-infrared dye and visible dye are required to differentiate exposed and non-exposed areas during development. However, the presence of such a large quantity of small organic molecules in the coating compositions reduces the mechanical strength of the coating, causes blooming during storage and severe staining of the processor during developing process after imaging.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,124,425 and 6,177,182 taught to prepare heat sensitive polymeric coating compositions for positive working lithographic printing plates comprising near-infrared absorbing chromophores grafted on the backbone of Novolak, acrylate or methacrylate based polymers. Optionally, these coating compositions may contain other binder resins and film-forming additives. Unfortunately, these coating compositions are difficult to functionalize, have only a limited mechanical strength, produce relatively short-lived plates and cannot be used with UV inks without baking.
Thus, there remains a need for new polymeric coating compositions for lithographic printing plates. The present invention seeks to meet these needs and other needs.

Thermally reactive near-infrared absorbing acetal copolymers, methods of preparation and methods of use


Provided is an electronic device. The electronic device includes a screen provided with a first polarizer, a second polarizer arranged below the screen, and an optical fingerprint identification module arranged below the second polarizer. The polarization direction of the first polarizer is the same with the polarization direction of the second polarizer. The first polarizer and the second polarizer are configured to filter a first optical noise. The second polarizer is configured to filter a second optical noise. The first optical noise is light from screen light of the screen and directing to the optical fingerprint recognition module. The second optical noise is light from the screen light, directing away from the optical fingerprint recognition module and reflected by a glass cover on an outer side of the screen.

With the widespread application of electronic devices (such as mobile phones, tablet computers, etc.), the electronic devices can support more and more applications, with more and more powerful functions. The electronic devices are developing in a diversified and personalized direction and become indispensable to users' lives.
Fingerprint recognition technology has become a standard technology of electronic devices. With the development of fingerprint recognition technology, optical fingerprint identification module is popular currently.

Electronic device, fingerprint image processing method and related products

GUANGDONG OPPO MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP., LTD.


In order to locate electromagnetic or acoustic signal sources of a sensor configuration (1a through 1c) fitted with at least two electric outputs; where the incidence-dependent transfer functions between the acoustic signals incident on the input(s) of the sensor configuration (1a through 1c) and the electric output signals are different, the ratio (7X through 7XX) of the output signal is formed and the result then is correlated with the previously determined ratio function (11).

The present invention relates to a method of directionally locating an electromagnetic or acoustic signal source.
The insights leading to the present invention were acquired from the needs relating to directionally locating acoustic signal sources. Accordingly the present description of the invention mostly concerns directionally locating acoustic sources. Nonetheless the expert easily understands that this invention is immediately applicable also to locating electromagnetic signal sources. The problem of ascertaining which kind the sources are being located only affects the kinds of sensors used in this invention. In the special case of locating acoustic signals, the sensor configuration is a set of microphones whereas when locating electromagnetic sources the system consists of a set of antennas followed by antenna amplifiers.
Presently procedures are known, which are mathematically complex or demand substantial equipment in order to locate such sources, especially in a field of several sources. If now less equipment is used by reducing the number of sensors, the mathematical complexity relating to source-location discrimination will increase. When locating acoustic signal sources, illustratively the determination of phase differences between acoustic signals simultaneously incident on the microphones of the microphone configuration will be selected.

Method for directional location and locating system


An acoustic reproduction range expanding apparatus includes a closed or bass-reflex speaker system which has a low-frequency drive speaker and can reproduce a sound to a predetermined lowest frequeny. A port portion adapter consists of a mounting portion attached to an openng formed in a closed cabinet or a bass-reflex port of a bass-reflex cabinet, and a port portion. The port portion constitutes a Helmholtz's resonator together with the cabinet when the port portion is attached to the cabinet, and has a port shape so that a resonance frequency becomes lower than the lowest frequency. A drive portion adapter consists of an amplifier for driving the low-frequency drive speaker, and eliminates or invalidates an internal impedance inherent to the low-frequency drive speaker. The amplifier generates a negative impedance component in an output impedance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus which are applied to a conventional closed or bass-reflex speaker system to expand its reproduction range, particularly, to the low frequency side.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional closed or bass-reflex speaker system has an inherent lowest reproduction frequency. This frequency is uniquely determined depending on the volume of a cabinet and characteristics (f.sub.O, Q.sub.O, and the like) of a speaker unit used, and cannot be changed, in particular, expanded.
For example, even if a speaker unit itself is replaced with one which can reproduce a sound to an extremely low frequency, a closed speaker system has a limitation determined by the volume of a cabinet. As to a bass-reflex speaker system, a cabinet and a unit are normally matching-designed to optimize a so-called phase inversion effect of a port. For this reason, if only a unit is replaced, the optimal matching state is disturbed, and a good result cannot be expected.
A resonance frequency f.sub.OP of a Helmholtz's resonator constituted by a cabinet and a bass-reflex port may be extremely decreased regardless of the basic concept of a bass-reflex speaker system. In this case, in a drive method using a conventional power amplifier, the Q value of the speaker unit is increased and the Q value of the resonator is decreased due to mutual dependency of the speaker unit and the resonator. Thus, a sufficient bass sound resonance radiation power of the resonator cannot be assured.

Method and apparatus of expanding acoustic reproduction range


A wireless communication device includes a transceiver coupled to a controller configured to cause the device to receive a downlink transmission including a reference signal from a base station while camped on the base station in idle mode, to estimate a quality metric of a hypothetical paging channel reception based on the reference signal, and to determine perform reselection evaluation of a neighboring base stations based on the estimated quality metric.

Some heterogeneous wireless communication networks, for example, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, comprise a macro cell-eNB (MeNB) and a home-eNB (HeNB) cell having overlapping bandwidth (BW) deployments that may subject user equipment (UE) to interference. Some HeNBs are closed subscriber groups (CSG) that serve only UE belonging to the Group.
Idle mode reselection behavior for LTE Release 8 (Rel-8) is specified in TS 36.304 v8.5.0. The existing reselection criterion for LTE Rel-8 uses reference signal received power (RSRP) from the serving cell as a mechanism to trigger reselection evaluation of neighboring base stations. This method is effective in recognizing when the UE moves out of a base station coverage area, but the RSRP will not trigger reselection evaluation when the UE is subject to interference from a neighboring base station, for example, when an idle mode UE camped on a MeNB is subject to interference from a neighboring HeNB.
FIG. 1 illustrates a first scenario wherein a UE camped on a MeNB is subject to interference from the HeNB when the UE is located near a HeNB. FIG. 2 illustrates another scenario wherein a UE camped on a HeNB is subject to interference from a MeNB that is located near the HeNB. Such interference may result in a missed page and the associated consequences (e.g., missed network-originated calls, etc.) by an idle mode UE.
R2-092416 entitled "Usage of IFRI with Cell Reselection to CSG cells" describes a mechanism wherein a UE camped on a MeNB attempts to reselect to a different carrier, i.e., performs inter-frequency reselection, upon detecting that an intra-frequency reselection indicator (IFRI) bit is set by a neighboring HeNB, wherein the set IFRI bit indicates that the HeNB and MeNB share a common carrier frequency. It has also been suggested that an idle mode UE camped on the MeNB "bar" the shared carrier frequency for a fixed duration (e.g., 300 sec) from reselection when the IFRI bit is set by the HeNB. In some systems, for example, LTE Release 9 (Rel-9), the SIB transmission must be decoded before the UE can determine whether the IFRI bit is set.
An alternate solution to interference in the scenario of FIG. 1 is to trigger inter-frequency reselection evaluation when the reference signal received quality (RSRQ) of the serving cell or base station falls below a threshold. This proposal however suffers from various drawbacks including, among others, lack of agreement on how to measure interference and the fact that the reliability of paging channel reception is dependent on various factors such as the transmit antenna configuration of the serving base station, the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) code rate or aggregation level, frequency-dependent interference from the HeNB (eg., due to fractional frequency reuse), etc. resulting in a scenario that the RSRQ is not a good indicator of paging channel performance.
The RSRQ-based proposal although in principle can trigger macro cell UEs (MUEs) with potentially poor paging performance to start inter-frequency reselection evaluations, the RSRQ metric as it is defined in LTE Rel-8 will likely lead to a failure in fulfillment of this objective. The interference measurement used for estimating RSSI in the specification is not well defined (e.g., no specification on which RBs or subframes are used, whether RSRP should be narrowband or wideband, etc.) and as a result, different UE implementations might end up behaving differently. Further, even if all the UEs were to achieve consistency in interference measurement by a specification mandate, the fact that the reliability of paging channel reception is dependent on various factors such as the eNB transmit antenna configuration, PDCCH code rate or aggregation level, frequency-dependent interference from the HeNB (eg. due to fractional frequency reuse), etc. resulting in a scenario that RSRQ is not a good indicator of paging channel performance.
The various aspects, features and advantages of the disclosure will become more fully apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon careful consideration of the following Detailed Description thereof with the accompanying drawings described below. The drawings may have been simplified for clarity and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

Reselection in a wireless communication system


Systems and methods are described for receiving a user request from a user computing system located in a first geographic region, generating a user request context for the user request, selecting a cloud computing system assigned to a second geographic region having more computing resources currently available to process the user request than a cloud computing system assigned to the first geographic region based at least in part on the user request context and a machine learning model including current utilizations of computing resources of cloud computing systems assigned to the first and second geographic regions, and sending the user request to the selected cloud computing system in the second geographic region. The systems and methods further include getting current utilizations of computing resources from cloud computing systems assigned to a plurality of regions, aggregating user request contexts and the current utilizations of computing resources; and updating the machine learning model with the aggregated user resource contexts and the aggregated current utilizations of computing resources of cloud computing systems.

"Cloud computing" services provide shared resources, software, and information to computers and other devices upon request or on demand. Cloud computing typically involves the over-the-Internet provision of dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources. Technological details can be abstracted from end-users, who no longer have need for expertise in, or control over, the technology infrastructure "in the cloud" that supports them. In cloud computing environments, software applications can be accessible over the Internet rather than installed locally on personal or in-house computer systems. Some of the applications or on-demand services provided to end-users can include the ability for a user to create, view, modify, store and share documents and other files.
Cloud computing services are accessed by users from locations all over the world. Data centers providing cloud computing environments supporting such services are often located in disparate geographic locations grouped into regions. A cloud service provider (CSP) operating the data centers seeks to provide a level of service to its users meeting requirements typically defined by service level agreements (SLAs). When demand for cloud computing services fluctuates for certain geographic locations, regions and/or time periods, and changing user activities, it may be difficult to balance available capacity in the overall network of data centers to meet SLA obligations.

Distributing user requests to cloud computing systems across regions using a machine learning model


In accordance with the present invention, compositions comprising fluorine-containing magnetic resonance imaging agent(s) contained within polymeric shells are provided. Invention compositions are useful, for example, as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Fluorinated compounds in general are hydrophobic and as such have limited water solubility; thus the invention method permits preparation of such compounds in a biocompatible form suitable for ready delivery. The shell diameter is typically approximately 2 microns in diameter. Consequently, these materials have organ specificity due to rapid scavenging by the reticuloendothial system (RES) or the mononuclear phagocyte (MNP) system upon intravenous injection. Furthermore, fluorocarbon filled polymeric shells of the invention can be used to measure and monitor local oxygen and temperature.

Contrast agents are desirable in radiological imaging because they enhance the visualization of organs (i.e., their location, size and conformation) and other cellular structures from the surrounding medium. The soft tissues, for example, have similar cell composition (i.e., they are primarily composed of water) even though they may have remarkably different biological functions (e.g., liver and pancreas).
The technique of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging relies on the detection of certain atomic nuclei at an applied magnetic field strength using radio,frequency radiation. In some respects it is similar to X-ray computer tomography (CT), in that it can provide (in some cases) cross-sectional images of organs with potentially excellent soft tissue resolution. In its current use, the images constitute a distribution map of protons in organs and tissues. However, unlike X-ray computer tomography, MRI does not use ionizing radiation. MRI is, therefore, a safe non-invasive technique for medical imaging.
While the phenomenon of NMR was discovered in 1954, it is only recently that it has found use in medical diagnostics as a means of mapping internal structure. The technique was first developed by Lauterbur [Nature 242:190-191 (1973)].
It is well known that nuclei with the appropriate nuclear spin align in the direction of the applied magnetic field. The nuclear spin may be aligned in either of two ways: with or against the external magnetic field. Alignment with the field is more stable; while energy must be absorbed to align in the less stable state (i.e. against the applied field). In the case of protons, these nuclei precess or resonate at a frequency of 42.6 MHz in the presence of a 1 tesla (1 tesla=104 gauss) magnetic field. At this frequency, a radio-frequency (RF) pulse of radiation will excite the nuclei and change their spin orientation to be aligned against the applied magnetic field. After the RF pulse, the excited nuclei "relax" or return to equilibrium or alignment with the magnetic field. The decay of the relaxation signal can be described using two relaxation terms. T.sub.1, the spin-lattice relaxation time or longitudinal relaxation time, is the time required by the nuclei to return to equilibrium along the direction of the externally applied magnetic field. The second, T.sub.2, or spin-spin relaxation time, is associated with the dephasing of the initially coherent precession of individual proton spins. The relaxation times for various fluids, organs and tissues in different species of mammals is well documented.
One advantage of MRI is that different scanning planes and slice thicknesses can be selected without loss of resolution. This permits high quality transverse, coronal and sagittal images to be obtained directly. The absence of any mechanical moving parts in the MRI equipment promotes a high degree of reliability. It is generally believed that MRI has greater potential than X-ray computer tomography (CT) for the selective examination of tissues. In CT, the X-ray attenuation coefficients alone determine the image contrast, whereas at least three separate variables (T.sub.1, T.sub.2, and nuclear spin density) contribute to the magnetic resonance image.
Due to subtle physio-chemical differences among organs and tissue, MRI may be capable of differentiating tissue types and in detecting diseases that may not be detected by X-ray or CT. In comparison, CT and X-ray are only sensitive to differences in electron densities in tissues and organs. The images obtainable by MRI techniques can also enable a physician to detect structures smaller than those detectable by CT, due to its better spatial resolution. Additionally, any imaging scan plane can be readily obtained using MRI techniques, including transverse, coronal and sagittal.
Currently, MRI is widely used to aid in the diagnosis of many medical disorders. Examples include joint injuries, bone marrow disorders, soft tissue tumors, mediastinal invasion, lymphadenopathy, cavernous hemangioma, hemochromatosis, cirrhosis, renal cell carcinoma, uterine leiomyoma, adenomyosis, endometriosis, breast carcinomas, stenosis, coronary artery disease, aortic dissection, lipomatous hypertrophy, atrial septum, constrictive pericarditis, and the like [see, for example, Edelman & Warach, Medical Progress 328:708-716 (1993); Edelman & Warach, New England J. of Medicine 328:785-791 (1993)].
Routinely employed magnetic resonance images are presently based on proton signals arising from the water molecules within cells. Consequently, it is often difficult to decipher the images and distinguish individual organs and cellular structures. There are two potential means to better differentiate proton signals. The first involves using a contrast agent that alters the T.sub.1 or T.sub.2 of the water molecules in one region compared to another. For example, gadolinium diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA) shortens the proton T.sub.1 relaxation time of water molecules in near proximity thereto, thereby enhancing the obtained images.
Paramagnetic cations such as, for example, Gd, Mn, and Fe are excellent MRI contrast agents, as suggested above. Their ability to shorten the proton T.sub.1 relaxation time of the surrounding water enables enhanced MRI images to be obtained which otherwise would be unreadable.
The second route to differentiate individual organs and cellular structures is to introduce another nucleus for imaging (i.e., an imaging agent). Using this second approach, imaging can only occur where the contrast agent has been delivered. An advantage of this method is the fact that imaging is achieved free from interference from the surrounding water. Suitable contrast agents must be bio-compatible (i.e. non-toxic, chemically stable, not reactive with tissues) and of limited lifetime before elimination from the body.
Although, hydrogen has typically been selected as the basis for MRI scanning (because of its abundance in the body), this can result in poorly imaged areas due to lack of contrast. Thus the use of other active MRI nuclei (such as fluorine) can, therefore, be advantageous. The use of certain perfluorocarbons in various diagnostic imaging technologies such as ultrasound, magnetic resonance, radiography and computer tomography has been described in an article by Mattery [see SPIE, 626, XIV/PACS IV, 18-23 (1986)]. The use of fluorine is advantageous since fluorine is not naturally found within the body.
Prior art suggestions of fluorine-containing compounds useful for magnetic resonance imaging for medical diagnostic purposes are limited to a select group of fluorine-containing molecules that are water soluble or can form emulsions. Accordingly, prior art use of fluorocarbon emulsions of aqueous soluble fluorocarbons suffers from numerous drawbacks, for example, 1) the use of unstable emulsions, 2) the lack of organ specificity and targeting, 3) the potential for inducing allergic reactions due to the use of emulsifiers and surfactants (e.g., egg phophatides and egg yolk lecithin), 4) limited delivery capabilities, and 5) water soluble fluorocarbons are quickly diluted in blood after intravenous injection.

Magnetic resonance imaging with fluorocarbons encapsulated in a cross-linked polymeric shell


The invention comprises a steerable propeller unit for use in place of a steerable rudder and fixed propeller on watercraft employing inboard straight line propulsion systems. A coupler is fitted to the rear of the drive shaft projecting from the craft in place of a propeller. The coupler is affixed to a splined shaft which, in turn, is connected to a universal drive joint. A pivotable rudder shaft interconnects with the steering mechanism for the craft, and carries at its lower end a strut bearing. A short shaft connected to the universal joint extends through the strut bearing, and the propeller is affixed to the shaft behind the strut bearing. The propeller may thus be swung through an arc to either side of the center line of the craft by the steering mechanism. Top, bottom and side rudder plates may optionally be affixed to the strut bearing assembly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains generally to the propulsion and steering of watercraft, and more particularly to a steerable propeller assembly applicable to such craft powered by conventional inboard mounted engines driving a straight line drive propeller shaft.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
Conventional inboard straight line drive powered boats are driven by means of a propeller affixed to the end of a rigidly mounted propeller shaft extending toward the stern of the vessel. Steering of the vessel is accomplished by a rudder disposed in the water at the rear thereof which is pivoted to an appropriate angular position so that water moving therepast provides a lateral thrust component causing the rear of the vessel to be displaced laterally In order to provide this steering thrust the rudder must, of course, be moving relative to the water, that is, the water must be moving along and past the rudder surfaces, due either to movement of the boat through the water or movement of water past the rudder by the propeller. Thus, while steering is readily accomplished at relatively high speeds, the rudder has very limited effectiveness at low speeds such as those necessary in maneuvering in and out of docking spaces and in harbor and marina areas. Due to the great increase in the number of boats in use in recent years, harbors and marinas have become increasingly congested, and maneuvering within such areas has become more difficult.
Watercraft powered by outboard engines and stern power out-drive units, the so-called "L" and "Z" drive units, respectively, are much more maneuverable than conventional inboard straight line drive powered vessels. The propellers of such craft can be swung in an arc to either side of the center line of the vessel to provide a component of direct lateral thrust to the stern of the craft. The thrust will thus swing the stern around without the necessity for linear movement of the craft through the water.
The merits of steerable propellers in guiding conventional inboard straight line drive powered watercraft are well recognized, and efforts have long been directed toward providing such devices which will function satisfactorily. U.S. Pat. No. 10,790, issued Apr. 18, 1854, discloses one early effort wherein a propeller and rudder are so mounted as to be pivotable. Steerable propeller arrangements are likewise disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 135,404, issued Feb. 4. 1873; 189,603, issued Apr. 12, 1877; 571,127, issued Nov. 10, 1896; 2,398,033, issued Apr. 9, 1946; and 4,310,319, issued Jan. 12. 1982 While the advantages of having the ability to pivot or swing the axis of rotation of propellers have long been recognized, none of the mechanisms proposed thus far for use with inboard straight line drive systems has proven entirely satisfactory for that purpose. Thus, there remains a need for a mechanism which is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, can be readily installed on both new and existing vessels, and is durable and relatively maintenance free.