A halogen-free blowing agent is used to produce isocyanate-based polymeric foams. The blowing agent is an organic liquid which is free from halogens and contains a positive binary azeotrope having a minimum boiling temperature in the range of about 15.degree. C. to about 80.degree. C. at normal atmospheric pressure. Particularly preferred is a binary azeotrope of an alicyclic hydrocarbon such as cyclopentane or cyclohexane and methyl formate.. The halogen-free blowing agents contemplated herein provide the following advantages: no ozone depletion potential, no global warming potential, direct replacement in foam formulations for trichloromonofluoromethane (CFC-11), relatively higher blowing action, relatively lower foam density, relatively lower thermal conductivity, better compatibility, and relatively lower materials cost.

Polymeric foams are made using a blowing agent that generates a cellular structure as polymerization of reactants takes place. Trichloromonofluoromethane (CFC-11) has been the most often used physical blowing agent for various isocyanate-based polymeric foams, such as polyurethane foams, polyisocyanurate foams, polyurea foams, and polyamide foams, the hybrid foams, as well as for thermoplastic foams, e.g., polystyrene foams, polyethylene foams, polypropylene foams and phenolic foams.
However, due to the well-recognized ozone depletion problem in the stratosphere, all kinds of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) must be phased out by the end of 1995 according to a worldwide regulation. To achieve that end, some CFC-free, alternative physical blowing agents have been developed in recent years, albeit with limited success.
Chemical (or reactive) blowing agents such as water, which generates carbon dioxide gas by the reaction with isocyanate groups, constitute one class of such CFC-free blowing agents. However, water has the following disadvantages as the blowing agent for rigid foams: a relatively high exotherm which may cause scorching, high system viscosity, higher K-factor, poor adhesion to metal substrates due to thinner skin formation, lower dimensional stability (shrinkage), etc. In the case of flexible foams, disadvantages of water as a blowing agent include: relatively high exotherm which may cause discoloration and possible fire risk, and higher system viscosity. Furthermore, integral skin foam preparation is very difficult with such blowing agents, and therefore specific, costly polyols are required.
Other chemical blowing agents include enolizable compounds (K. Ashida, International Progress in Urethanes, Eds., Ashida, K. Frisch, K.C., Technomic Publishing Co., Inc. [1980], p. 153), polycarboxylic acids (U.S. Pat. No. 5,057,547 to Doerge), specific aldehydes or ketones (U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,271 to Gillis).
Physical (or non-reactive) blowing agents constitute another class of alternative blowing agents. Such physical blowing agents exhibit ozone depletion potential (ODP) and include the HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons, e.g., HCFC 141b, CCl.sub.2 FCH.sub.3) , the HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons, e.g., HFC-35b, C.sub.4 H.sub.4 F.sub.6) , the PFCs (pefluorohydrocarbons, e.g., PF-5050, C.sub.5 F.sub.12) and the HFCEs (hydrofluorocarbon ethers, e.g., E-245, CF.sub.3 CH.sub.2 OCH.sub.3). A physical blowing agent performs a blowing action by the exothermic reaction of polymer formation. Therefore, the lower the boiling point of the blowing agent, the lower the resulting foam density for the same mole amount of blowing agent. In order to obtain low density foams, a low boiling point liquid is desired. In addition, their raw materials costs are higher than those of other alternative blowing agents, and therefore, their potential for commercial applications is questionable.
Recently, n-pentane and cyclopentane have been used in European countries as physical blowing agents for rigid urethane foams (see, for example, E.E. Ball, Proceedings of the Polyurethanes World Congress 1993, Vancouver, Canada, Oct. 10-13, 1993, p. 10). However, due to their non-polarity or relatively low compatibility with other ingredients, special foaming formulations are required for this application.
Methylene chloride is another widely used blowing agent for flexible urethane foams, usually as a co-blowing agent with water. However, it is not suitable for use with rigid urethane foams due to a variety of processing problems, e.g., foam collapse or coarse cell foams. Therefore, no commercial applications have been reported to date.
A blend of methylene chloride and pentane also has been used for polyisocyanurate foam preparation (U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,893 to Ashida). However, this blowing agent encounters problems in preparation of rigid polyurethane foams, such as foam collapse, coarse cells, or open cell structure. Another type of physical blowing agent that has been used is liquid carbon dioxide (U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,770 to Doyle et al.). This blowing agent has a disadvantage in that a high pressure foaming equipment is required.
The use of acetone/cyclopentane combinations having a cyclopentane:acetone volume ratios between 85:15 and 60:40 as a blowing agent for rigid urethane foams is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,558,531 to Solyer. However, the obtained foam densities are undesirably higher than those of CFC-11 blown foams. Also known as blowing agents are halogen-containing azeotropes such as 2-methylbutane and HCFC141b (1,1-dichloro-1-fluoroethane), mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 5,057,547 to Doerge, and such as trichlorofluoromethane and methyl formate disclosed in Proceedings of SPI 33rd annual Polyurethane Technical/Marketing Conference, Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 1990, p. 82. However, these latter two kinds of azeotrope contain halogens and thus have the drawback of presenting an ODP problem as well.

Halogen-free blowing agents that include cycloaliphatic hydrocarbons and are suitable for isocyanate-based polymeric foams


A piston assembly includes a piston head for reciprocating back and forth within a cylinder of an engine, an upper rod coupled to the piston head at one longitudinal end of the upper rod and fixed relative to the piston head, and a lower rod rotatably coupled to an opposite longitudinal end of the upper rod, the lower rod configured to pivot about the opposite longitudinal end of the upper rod. The lower rod is configured to couple to a crankshaft at a longitudinal end of the lower rod opposite the upper rod. Methods of forming a piston assembly and engines incorporating such piston assemblies are also disclosed.

A conventional internal combustion engine of the type found in most vehicles today includes a plurality of pistons that are, respectively, movably mounted in a plurality of cylinders formed in an engine block. Each of the pistons is connected to a piston rod at a first end of the piston rod, and the piston rod is coupled to a crankshaft at a second end of the piston rod. Furthermore, when spark plugs within the engine block fire to ignite a fuel mixture, the pistons are driven downward to turn the crankshaft, which ultimately drives the entire vehicle. In a typical engine, a single connecting rod is used and connected with a respective first end to the corresponding piston and a respective second end to a corresponding portion of the crankshaft. The connecting points between the two ends of each connecting rod and the corresponding piston and corresponding crankshaft are disposed at the ends of the longitudinal center axis of the respective connecting rod.

Reciprocating-piston assembly, internal combustion engine, and related methods


The invention relates to a plug device for a battery having a battery housing, in particular of an electrically driven vehicle, with a main connection body with at least two plug contours formed thereon which are each provided to receive a plug counter-contour of a plug element, with a number of power rails that are received into the main connection body and that each have at least two connection contacts, of which one connection contact is provided for the electrical connection within the housing to a battery connection and the other connection contact is seated in one of the plug contours for plug contacting on the outside of the housing with the assigned plug element, and with a sealing element for sealing the main connection body on the battery housing in a liquid- and gas-tight manner. Furthermore, the invention relates to a battery with such a plug device as well as a vehicle with such a battery.

This background section is provided for the purpose of generally describing the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventor(s), to the extent the work is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
An electrically driven vehicle typically has a battery (traction battery) which supplies an electric motor with energy to drive the vehicle. In this case, an electrically driven vehicle is in particular an electric vehicle which stores the energy necessary for the drive only in the battery (BEV, battery electric vehicle), an electric vehicle with a range extender (REEV, ranged extended electric vehicle), a hybrid vehicle (HEV, hydric electric vehicle) and/or a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV, plug-in hybrid electric vehicle).
Such a battery typically has a number of battery modules which are, for example, connected in series or parallel to each other. A voltage or current is provided to battery connections of battery modules connected in this manner to operate loads. Such loads are in particular a traction network for driving the vehicle or a secondary load such as, for example, an air-conditioning compressor.
The battery modules are introduced into a battery housing for their protection, in particular from weather and/or damage. Separate plug connections are provided on the battery housing, to which, for example, the respective loads arranged on the outside of the housing, a charging device for feeding a charging voltage or a charging current for charging the battery, are attached to establish an electrical connection to the battery connections. Furthermore, a plug connection for a pressure equalization device, for example, is arranged on the battery housing.

Plug device for a battery, battery and vehicle


Methods for treating or preventing osteoporosis, including regimens for intermittent dosing of bone resorption inhibiting polyphosphonate compound or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or ester of any such compound.

Post menopausal osteoporosis is by far the most common form of osteoporosis. Various therapies have been approved in the United States, including the administration of oral estrogen, sodium fluoride, and, on an experimental basis, intranasal calcitonin. However, the widespread use of these agents has been limited by various factors, including expense, safety and lack of proved efficacy. A search continues in the art for an inexpensive, safe and effective treatment for osteoporosis.
Organic bisphosphonate compounds have been found to inhibit bone resorption which is mediated by osteoclasts. The earliest publication describing the administration of diphosphonates for treatment of osteoporosis was in 1979 when Frost described the "Treatment of osteoporosis by manipulation of coherent bone cell populations." Frost continued a series of publications (Frost, "The ADFR Concept and Monitoring It:" in Bone Histomorphometry 1980, 317-321; Frost, "The Evolution of Osteoporosis Therapy" in Orthopedic Clinics of North America, 12, 603-610, 1981; Frost, "Coherence Treatment of Osteoporosis," Orthopedic Clinics of North America, Vol. 12, 649-669, 1981; and others). This coherence concept has been modified by several other authors. In principle, it consists of a stimulation of bone turnover with phosphorus or parathyroid hormone, followed by blocking the resorption with intermittent therapy of blocking agents such as calcitonin or diphosphonates. This therapy, although theoretically very attractive, did not find widespread application because of the difficulty in determining a correct dose for an individual patient and the correct period of time required for stimulation and suppression of individual bone remodelling sites (without exerting an effect on formation). It appears that somewhere between three days and three weeks, most resorption sites should be suppressed. However, no exact information is available anywhere to unequivocally prove this hypothesis.
Since the work by Frost in 1979, many have conceived of different treatment regimens using different compounds and modes of administration. U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,406 to Flora et. al. represents one such example, and is an example of the well-known coherence therapy (except that the stimulation step is apparently omitted, with no apparent advantage to omitting that step). Flora '406 discloses and claims a treatment regimen which employs compounds (polyphosphonates) known in the prior art for treatment of osteoporosis. According to the regimen disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,406, at least two cycles are performed, each cycle comprising a daily administration period, during which the polyphosphonate is administered every day, and a rest period.
The bisphosphonate etidronate has been used in animal and clinical trials in the treatment of osteoporosis in various regimes, including continuous therapy, in intermittent cyclic therapy or DFR (Depress, Free, Repeat), or in combination with other agents in an intermittent cyclic therapy known as ADFR (Activate, Depress, Free, Repeat) (see the Frost references mentioned above).
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,812,304, 4,812,311 and 4,822,609 disclose the use of ethene-1-hydroxy-1, 1-diphosphonic acid or salts or esters thereof in the ADFR treatment. The treatment comprises one or more cycles, wherein each cycle includes a bone activating period of 1 to 5 days during which a bone activating amount of a bone cell activating compound is administered daily. That step is followed by a bone resorption inhibition period of about 10 to 20 days, during which ethane-1-hydroxy-1,1-diphosphonic acid or salt or ester thereof is administered daily in a relatively low amount, followed by a rest period of 30 to 180 days, during which the patient receives neither a bone cell activating compound nor a bone resorption inhibiting polyphosphonate. Other bone resorption inhibiting polyphosphonates are disclosed but not claimed in these patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,406 discloses basically the same process as described in the patents mentioned in the above paragraph, except that the bone cell activating compound administration step is eliminated. Thus, a treatment regime is suggested involving administering a bone resorption inhibiting polyphosphonate on a daily basis and in a limited amount, followed by a rest period of about 50 to 120 days, with such a treatment regime being repeated at least twice. The patent claims an increase in bone mass results, which is also a result disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,812,304, 4,812,311 and 4,822,609.
Treatment for osteoporosis typically requires extended, sometimes chronic, treatment, and patient compliance is a major problem. Those who suffer from osteoporosis would benefit significantly from a new treatment regime which is effective, is easy to administer and/or requires fewer administrations, and avoids or minimizes side effects such as gastrointestinal problems (e.g., as caused by bisphosphonates such as clodronate and pamidronate, when administered orally). Such persons would also benefit from a new treatment regime which can be administered by a wider variety of modes.

Regimen for treatment or prophylaxis of osteoporosis


The present invention discloses a docbase management system and a method for extending docbase management system functions. The method includes: determining an extended function module which matches extended data, wherein, the extended function module is compatible with a system extension interface in a docbase management system; invoking, through the system extension interface of the docbase management system, the determined extended function module to process the extended data. The method provided by the present invention enables the docbase management system functions to be extended without recompiling the docbase management system.

A docbase management system is a complicated software system adapted to organize, manage, secure, store and display massive electronic documents. A prior patent application with the application number of CN200510131072.0, filed by the same applicant of the present invention, provides a document processing system which includes a docbase management system, a storage device and an application. In the document processing system, data of the docbase management system are stored in the storage device and the docbase management system is connected with the application through a standard invocation interface. The standard invocation interface is defined by using predefined actions and objects. Operations performed by the application on a document are unified to operations applied to a predefined universal document model and the application sends instructions through the standard invocation interface to the docbase management system, and then the docbase management system performs operations corresponding to the instructions on the docbase stored in the storage device.
Having had powerful functions, the docbase management system still needs more sufficient or suitable functions to cope with various application environments. A flexible method for extending docbase management system functions may influence the serviceability of the docbase management system a lot in diversified application environment.
Normally, system function extension after the docbase management system is compiled and published requires modification to source code of the docbase management system, recompilation and republication. Therefore the function extension of the docbase management system is very limited.

Docbase management system and method for extending docbase management system and functions


A stackable electronic device with latching bumper includes a housing, an electrical connector, a latching mechanism having a linking module, a latching module and a button. The housing has a bottom board, a side board formed with a button hole, and a bumper disposed on the bottom board formed with a latching hole. The linking module is disposed on an inner side of the side board, and has a first end extended into the button hole and a second end extended into the bumper. The latching module is movably disposed in the bumper between a locking position and an unlocking position. The second end is connected to the latching module. The button can be pressed for driving the first end to move the second end corresponding to the locking position and the unlocking position. The present disclosure also provides a stackable electronic device system.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to an electronic device with latching bumper, latching bumper thereof, and a stackable electronic device system; in particular, to an electronic device which can be stacked and latch onto another electronic device by using latching bumpers.
2. Description of Related Art
Regarding methods of expanding electronic devices, prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 7,602,603 "STACKABLE MODULAR COMPUTER HOUSING, AND COMPUTER DEVICE INCLUDING THE SAME," which corresponds to TW 1306550. The disclosure provides a method of expanding electronic devices by stacking.
Taking for example TV boxes and game consoles, they also use docking connectors for connecting by stacking. However, most docking connectors do not have latching mechanisms. Additionally, if the TV box or the game console does not have hot swap, the system can be damaged or shut down when the electronic device is accidentally picked up or bumped against.
Moreover, the aesthetics of electronic devices are becoming ever more important, and preferable latching mechanisms do not affect the appearance of electronic devices.
Hence, the present inventor believes the above mentioned disadvantages can be overcome, and through devoted research combined with application of theory, finally proposes the present disclosure which has a reasonable design and effectively improves upon the above mentioned disadvantages.

Electronic device with latching bumper, latching bumper thereof, and stackable electronic device system


A variable dashpot for motor vehicles. It comprises a vibration-suppressing piston-and-cylinder mechanism. The cylinder contains displacement fluid. The piston divides the cylinder into two displacement compartments. The piston has a piston rod attached to it. The piston is provided with pressure-dependent valves that vary the level of vibration suppression. The vibration-suppression valve system has two vibration-suppressing valves (2) accommodated in alignment in a cylindrical valve housing (1). Each vibration-suppressing valve consists of an axially displaced electromagnetic plunger (5 or 6) that operates in conjunction with at least one outlet (3 or 4) and of at least one pressure-sensitive valve (7 or 8) on stream parallel or in alignment with the plunger.

The invention concerns a variable dashpot for motor vehicles. It comprises a vibration-suppressing piston-and-cylinder mechanism. The vibration-suppression cylinder contains displacement fluid. The piston divides the cylinder into two displacement compartments. The piston has a piston rod attached to it. The piston is provided with pressure-dependent valves that vary the level of vibration suppression.
Such a variable dashpot is known from German OS 3 434 877. It has a bypass valve that parallels the cylinder. The bypass valve has two components. The first is an axially moving variable valve body that operates in conjunction with an outlet. The second component is at least one pressure-sensitive, spring-loaded valve downstream of the valve body. This dashpot has a serious drawback however. The bypass valve can provide only two vibration-suppression characteristic curves in either the vacuum stage or the compression stage.
A two-tube dashpot with a four-stage level of vibration suppression is disclosed in German Patent 3 631 714 C2.
One variable bypass valve between the two displacement compartments generates two vibration-suppression curves in either the vacuum or the compression stage. Another bypass valve between the lower displacement compartment and an equalization compartment allows four different ways of setting the level of vibration suppression. This dashpot also has drawbacks. First, it has a very long inactive stroke section, especially when both valves are positioned inside it. Second, it is complicated and has many components.

Controllable vibration damper for motor vehicles


A method is presented for reducing dielectric gouging during etching processes of a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) structure including an MRAM region and a non-MRAM region. The method includes forming protective layers in the MRAM region to preserve integrity of underlying dielectric layers, forming a bottom electrode in direct contact with the protective layers, and constructing an MRAM pillar over the bottom electrode, wherein the MRAM pillar includes a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) stack and a top electrode.

The present invention relates generally to semiconductor devices, and more specifically, to selective dielectric deposition to prevent gouging in magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) applications.
Unlike conventional random access memory (RAM) chip technologies, magnetic or magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) does not store data as electric charge, but instead stores data by magnetic polarization of storage elements. Usually, storage elements are formed from two ferromagnetic layers separated by a tunneling layer. One of the ferromagnetic layers has at least one pinned magnetic polarization (or fixed layer) set to a particular polarity. The magnetic polarity of the other ferromagnetic layer (or free layer) is altered to represent either a "1" (e.g., anti-parallel polarity to the fixed layer) or "0" (e.g., parallel polarity to the fixed layer). One device having a fixed layer, a tunneling layer, and a free layer is a magnetic tunnel junction.

Selective dielectric deposition to prevent gouging in MRAM

International Business Machines Corporation


There are provided a light source system which can suppress the deterioration of a luminescent material and a projector which can project a clear image. The light source system comprises a luminescent wheel, a driving unit for rotating the luminescent wheel, a light source for shining excitation light on to a luminescent material layer of the luminescent wheel, a light shining control unit for controlling an illumination timing of the light source, a light shining time integrating unit for integrating individual excitation light shining times to a plurality of predetermined divided areas of the luminescent wheel, an integrated light shining time storage unit for storing the individual light shining times to the predetermined divided areas, and a light shining range control unit for equalizing times over which excitation light is shone on to the plurality of predetermined divided areas of the luminescent wheel based on the individual excitation light shining times to the predetermined divided areas.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light source system and a projector.
2. Description of the Related Art
In these days, data projectors are used on many occasions as image projection apparatuses which project images including images on screens of personal computers and video images, as well as images based on image data which is stored in memory cards on to a screen.
These projectors are such that light emitted from a light source is collected on to a micromirror device called a DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) or a liquid crystal plate for display of color images onto the screen.
In association with the propagation of video equipment such as personal computers and DVD players, the application of such data projectors is widened from use for presentations on business occasions to home use.
In these projectors, conventionally, the mainstream has been projectors using a high-intensity discharge lamp as a light source. However, in recent years, there have been made many developments on projectors which use, as a light source, a semiconductor light emitting element such as a laser diode.
For example, there have been proposed light source systems which include an excitation light source which emits light of blue wavelength band by a laser diode and a luminescent wheel (a rotary plate) which has a luminescent layer which absorbs light emitted from the excitation light source to convert it into visible light and which is driven to rotate by a motor, and projectors including such light source systems.
However, in the event that the luminescent wheel is used for a long period of time, there may occur a case where unevenness is caused in an area of the luminescent wheel on to which excitation light is shone due to large optical energy of excitation light. Then, in the event that unevenness is so caused, the deterioration speed of the luminescent material is increased at the portion where such unevenness is caused, resulting in a risk that color spots are generated in the luminescent material.
To cope with a problem like this, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 2006-98979 discloses a projector in which the illuminating operation of a lamp is controlled in accordance with the rotational state of a luminescent wheel.
However, the projector disclosed is such that the lamp is not illuminated when the luminescent wheel is not rotated and does not take into consideration the suppression of deterioration of a luminescent material on the luminescent wheel due to a change with time based on unevenness generated in a working area of the luminescent wheel and generation of color spots in the luminescent material.


Systems and methods for managing mobile device users' data, mobile devices, and communications are disclosed. According to various embodiments, mobile devices are used in conjunction with one or more servers and memory devices in order to manage mobile devices, data, and communications associated with mobile device users. Various embodiments of the disclosed systems and methods are directed to: the management of preference information incorporated into profiles associated with mobile device users, plug-in applications communicatively coupling servers involved in the management of mobile data, devices and/or communications to applications providing calendar and e-mail management facilities, the cross-platform synchronization and migration of data associated with mobile device users, the management of unwanted communications, monitoring mobile devices and data for theft detection and related protections, and the management of scheduled communications.

Recent developments in wireless communications technologies, and particularly broadband wireless communications, have made the wireless exchange of content-rich data, such as video data, a reality. Wireless broadband communications technologies, when used in combination with mobile communication devices such as cellular phones or personal digital assistants (PDAs), provide individuals today with the ability to almost instantaneously create, update, and share information. As a result, both the diversity and sheer volume of data produced and associated with individual mobile communication device users has grown tremendously, creating the need for better mobile data management systems.
Additionally, improvements in the quality of wireless data and voice communications, as well as improvements in the coverage offered by wireless communication networks has resulted in making mobile communication devices extremely important communication tools. In fact, people often have multiple communication devices and means of being contacted. Therefore, users frequently route calls between various communication devices, for example, by initially receiving a call with one device and having it diverted to another device.
This increase in mobile device usage has, however, resulted in requiring the users of such devices to expend significant amounts of time managing incoming communications. For example, mobile device users receiving several calls per hour on their mobile devices are likely to have to devote a significant amount of attention to their devices so that they are able to receive important calls, while avoiding unimportant or vexatious calls. As mobile device users are also likely to be engaged in other tasks, such as driving or attending a meeting when calls are received, manual call screening or management may be even more burdensome for this group. Moreover, as mobile device users create, receive and share data frequently, they are often additionally burdened with tasks associated with organizing and appropriately utilizing such data.
In order to relieve some of this burden on mobile device users, systems for managing mobile communications have been developed. Many such systems address synchronization problems associated with managing the data (e.g., lists of user contacts) created and used by mobile device users, while others attempt to solve specific issues associated with managing communications (e.g., incoming calls) directed to mobile devices. What is needed is a more effective way to manage the data as well as devices associated with mobile communications, in order to more effectively manage mobile communications.

Systems and methods for managing mobile communications


A convertible fishing lure assembly includes a lure body having at least one body section and a channel extending longitudinally therethrough and terminating in oppositely disposed open ends. A securing member, and in at least some embodiments a sleeve, is removably disposable within the channel. The securing member is dimensioned and disposed to include opposite ends being simultaneously disposed through the open ends of the channel for connection to fishing tackle components disposed exteriorly of the body section. Both the channel and the securing member have corresponding cross sectional configurations to restrict rotation of the securing member within the channel. The lure body may include a plurality of body sections each having a channel extending therethrough with a securing member removably disposed therein, wherein the body sections are movably interconnected to one another through interconnection of corresponding ends of the different securing members.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a convertible fishing lure assembly including at least one body section having an elongated channel dimensioned and configured to removably receive a securing member therein and, in at least one embodiment, at least one body section comprises an elongated channel dimensioned and configured to further removably receive a sleeve therein. At least a portion of the elongated securing member extends outwardly from opposite ends of the channel of the body section, and a preselected tackle component is selectively and replaceably attached to at least each of said outwardly extending ends, thereby facilitating the quick and efficient conversion of the structure, performance characteristics and/or appearance of the fishing lure assembly to accommodate the conditions and/or environment in which the fishing lure assembly is used.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fishing lures are commercially available in an extremely large variety of sizes, shapes, structures and appearances and are typically manufactured to display certain performance characteristics when used. By way of example, many lures, such as, but not limited to, those lures used by commercial and recreational fishermen for in-line trolling, are structured to be slidably mounted on a leader which is connected to the fishing line. One or more hook assemblies are connected to the fishing line at the trailing end of the fishing lure utilizing any of plurality of fishing tackle components, such as snaps, swivels, etc., which may be disposed and structured to connect the hook assembly to the leader rather than directly to the body of the lure. The size and position of such connecting tackle components allow them to be used as stops to prevent the lures from sliding off the leaders and to prevent the leaders from being twisted. Therefore, when used, drag forces applied to the hook by a hooked fish is transferred directly from the hook to the leader/fishing line, and the lure does not absorb the force of the fish. In addition, in-line trolling lures of the type generally set forth herein frequently exhibit a free spinning or rotating feature about the supporting leader, wherein such spinning or rotation may add to the attraction of the targeted fish.
When using this type of in-line trolling lure, as well as a variety of other lure structures intended for different fishing environments, it is often desirable to change various structural features of the lure in order to vary the operational or performance characteristics as well as the appearance thereof. By way of example, it is often desirable to change the color of a lure and/or its trailing skirt to compensate for lighting changes caused by depth or weather, or simply when the lure or skirt becomes worn. In making such changes with conventional or known lure assemblies it is common place to cut or detach the leader just above the hook area so that the lure can be removed and replaced with another lure and/or different components of the existing lure such as the aforementioned skirt. After such replacement or conversion, the hook is then resecured to the leader. Such a procedure, while common place, takes a considerable amount of time, and as set forth above, may require cutting and therefore shortening of the leader, which in turn requires the leader itself to eventually be replaced.
Lure assemblies not primarily intended for in-line trolling, such as crank baits which are primarily designed for casting and retrieval, exhibit similar problems. Further, by way of example, such lure assemblies including a plurality of body portions of different shapes and sizes are known, wherein the body portions are replaceable in order to change the appearance and/or "action" of the lure when in use. However, changing, replacing or otherwise altering any of the various components of such a fishing lure body encompasses a number of same type of problems and disadvantages related to the time consuming difficulties in accomplishing the conversion of in-line trolling lures, as well as presenting additional problems. Such replacement or conversion is particularly troublesome during the harsh conditions frequently encountered by fishermen due to the weather and/or water conditions.
In addition to the above, different fishing tackle components such as attachment eyelets, hooks, diving bills, skirts, etc., are frequently supplied with and are often securely attached to such crank bait type lures for each of a number of specific intended uses. However, it is also a frequent occurrence that fishing tackle components provided with such lures are not the most desirable for all fishing conditions. As a result, hooks or other tackle components which are fixedly secured to the lure cannot be readily altered, thereby requiring the fishermen to either select a different lure, engage in a time consuming custom retrofit on location which may often require specialized tools, such as snap ring pliers, or simply settle for a lure which may not be as effective under the existing fishing conditions. Further, lures having a diving bill integrally attached thereto are rendered useless when the diving bill is damaged or broken, such as frequently happens through normal use, as well as through improper storage, i.e., when such a lure is stored together loose with other lures or tackle components.
Moreover, such lure assemblies typically have the hook assemblies permanently secured thereto which often results in the inadvertent "hooking" of a fishermen or other individual handling the lure, especially during transport of the lure to and from a fishing site. Further, fisherman must now often entrust a collection of expensive lures to the "checked baggage" handlers in an airport, seaport, etc., as constraints on travel continue to be implemented around the world.
In addition, a separate enclosure or container for each lure is desirable in order to prevent the hooks of one lure from becoming entangled with the hooks of other lures during storage and/or transport. As a result, the space requirement to store even a modest number of individual lures can be quite large, which is burdensome when a fisherman desires to bring a number of lures to a fishing site and/or otherwise transport or store the same. The requirement for such a large storage space is evidenced by the commercial availability of extremely large, compartmentalized tackle boxes structured to provide sufficient storage area for a variety of different lures and containers of the type set forth above.
Accordingly there is a significant and recognized need in the area of fishing lures for a convertible fishing lure assembly which is structured to permit quick and easy replacement of a plurality of different tackle components. Further, the need exists for lure assembly which permit a plurality of hooks and other tackle components to be quickly and easily removed from and attached to a lure body, such that the tackle components may be stored and/or transported separately from the lure bodies, thereby greatly reducing the space requirement to store and/or transport a plurality of lures. Such a proposed convertible lure assembly, while being structured to facilitate the conversion of the structure, performance characteristics, appearance, etc., should also be structured to operate in a stable manner. As such, the lure body should be maintained in a specific, operative orientation and be prevented from spinning, twisting or rotating during fishing. Further, such a convertible lure assembly should not be allowed to freely slide along the leader or fishing line.
In order to accomplish the foregoing structural and operational characteristics, such a convertible fishing lure assembly should also facilitate the interconnection of the leader or fishing line to a hook assembly thereby allowing the force of a fish strike and/or the force of a hooked and fighting fish to be absorbed primarily by the leader and/or fishing line rather than the body of the convertible lure assembly itself. In addition, the unique structural and operative characteristics of such a convertible lure assembly should demonstrate sufficient versatility such that a lure assembly incorporating the aforementioned structural and operational characteristics may be used in trolling or non-trolling configurations, as may be required.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


System, method and device to provide apparent audio source position of a performer on a stage using a monophonic wireless microphone and volume modulation of left and right audio channels based on the actual position of the performer. Two audio channels are produced using a single audio input channel plus position information. Performances are enhanced by the perception of the audience that the source of the sound, such as singing, is the location of the performer on the stage. Other embodiments use additional audio channels. One embodiment uses the carrier amplitude of the wireless microphone to determine position. In another embodiment two or more wireless microphone receivers are used to improve position accuracy. The stage may be real, virtual or remote. The performance and/or audio may be live or recorded. Calibration and adjustment features are included in alternate embodiments. Constant power panning is included in one embodiment.

This invention relates to the use of wireless microphones for stage performances where the position of the performer is used to create stereo audio outputs whose audio signals provide audio information to listeners as to the position of the performer.
Wireless microphones are commonly used by stage performers, including singers, musicians, actors, hosts, moderators, and speakers. A key advantage of wireless microphones is the lack of a microphone cord, thus enabling the performer to easily move around the stage, or even into the audience or other areas, including off-stage or even outside of the performance area.
Most wireless microphones are monophonic, or mono, meaning they pickup and transmit a single audio channel.
There are stereo microphones, designed primarily for used in fixed positions to pickup sounds from two more or less independent directions, usually from more than one sound source, such as a group of performers. Such stereo microphones may be used, with audio signals routed through amplifiers to stereo speakers, such that the apparent position of the performers to the audience approximately matches the actual physical position of the performers on the stage.
This apparent audio position, as perceived by the listening audience, when it matches the visual or actual position of the performers, provides a more consistent and more enjoyable listening experience. This apparent audio position of the sound source to a listener is sometimes called stereo imaging.
The use of mono wireless microphones generally prevents the presentation to a listener of an apparent matching audio position of the performer. The volume of the performer's audio signal is either set to be equal on the left and right speakers, thus creating an apparent audio position of the performer at the center of the stage, or the relative amplitudes of the signals going to the left and right speakers is unequal, as set by the sound designer or sound person for the production, creating an apparent but fixed audio position of the performer left or right of stage center. In these cases, there is no automatic means to adjust the apparent audio position of the performer as the performer moves around the stage, or moves off the stage during a performance.

System and method for wireless microphone apparent positioning

Zetta Research and Development LLC-ForC Series


An adjustment foot unit of a domestic appliance, in particular an adjustment foot unit of a refrigerator unit and/or freezer unit, has a vertical adjustment device having a rotatable rod and a spindle rotatably supported in a housing and having a thread at least sectionally, with the rod and the spindle being connected to one another such that a rotation of the rod results in a rotation of the spindle, having an adjustment unit, in particular a nut, which is arranged rotationally fixedly and has a thread which is in engagement with the thread of the spindle as well as having a foot part displaceable relative to the housing, with the foot part and/or the adjustment unit having a sloped plane in which the adjustment unit is in contact with the foot part.

A vertical adjustment device for feet of a refrigerator unit is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,805 which has a rotatably arranged adjustable rod whose end region is rotationally fixedly connected to a gear wheel. The gear wheel in turn meshes with a nut whose internal thread is in engagement with the external thread of a threaded rod connected to the foot part. A rotation of the nut results in a positional change of the foot and thus in a vertical adjustment of the unit.
A vertical adjustment device in which the rotation of an actuation rod is transmitted by means of a worm gear and results in an axial adjustment movement of the foot part is known from DE 196 06 460.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,121 relates to a vertical adjustment device of a refrigeration unit having a threaded rod accessible from the operating side of the unit. The vertical adjustment device furthermore has a foot which is pivotably supported on the housing of the refrigeration unit and in which a nut meshing with the threaded rod is rotationally fixedly located. A rotation of the threaded rod results in an axial displacement of the nut relative to the thread rod and thus to the pivoting of the foot around a pivot axis arranged in a stationary manner. A vertical adjustment device having a pivotably supported foot is furthermore known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,550. In this arrangement, the pivotably supported foot cooperates with a tie rod whose position is adjustable via a threaded rod. If the threaded rod is actuated, it results in a change in the position of the tie rod and thus to a pivoting of the foot. The pivot movement of the foot results in a vertical adjustment of the unit.
Vertical adjustment devices are known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,569; U.S. Pat. No. 3,186,670 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,071,887 in which the rotation of an actuation rod accessible from the operating side of the unit has the result that an adjustment element cooperating with a sloped plane is moved such that the position of the adjustment element relative to the sloped plane is changed, with the vertical position of the unit changing accordingly.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,750,989 discloses a vertical adjustment device of a domestic appliance which has a rotatable adjustment rod accessible from the operating side. Its thread is in engagement with the internal thread of a nut which is arranged rotationally fixedly in a pivotably arranged foot of the unit. A rotation of the rod results in an axial movement between the nut and the rod and thus to a pivot movement of the foot. U.S. Pat. No. 3,927,853 likewise relates to a vertical adjustment device of a unit having a pivotably arranged foot. Its pivot angle, and thus the vertical position of the unit, is determined by the position of a wedge-shaped element which can be retracted between the pivotable foot and the housing. Its movement is controlled from the operating side of the unit by means of a rod or a wire.
DE 36 04 838 and DE 43 43 709 relate to vertical adjustment devices for feet of domestic appliances which are actuated by means of a flexible shaft accessible from the operating side or from a side wall of the unit.
Vertical adjustment devices are known from the aforesaid prior art in which the actuation rods serve as pull rods and push rods which conduct the forces acting on the feet due to the weight of the appliance into the front region of the domestic appliance. The reaction forces have to be taken over by the total appliance frame.

Positioning foot unit of a domestic appliance


Systems and methods for generating and displaying customer commitment framework data. Exemplary methods for determining the shareability of online content may include obtaining, via a digital intelligence system, customer experience data regarding any of a product, a brand, and customer responses for a first entity, as well as periodically calculating, via the digital intelligence system, customer commitment framework data from the customer experience data, and generating a customer commitment dashboard that comprises a graphical representation of the customer commitment framework data.

Social media communications provide a wealth of information regarding the purchasing behaviors and interests of consumers. While this information is voluminous, it is often difficult to categorize and translate this information into meaningful and actionable information that may be utilized by a company to improve their products, advertising, customer service, and the like.

Generating and displaying customer commitment framework data


The present invention relates to a phenoxy resin for an optical material obtained by subjecting at least one selected from specific difunctional epoxy resins and at least one selected from specific difunctional phenols to polyaddition reaction, wherein a film comprising the above phenoxy resin has a refractive index of 1.580 or less at 25° C. and a wavelength of 830 nm, a resin composition for an optical material containing the above phenoxy resin, a resin film for an optical material comprising the above resin composition and an optical waveguide produced by using the above resin composition and/or the above resin film. The present invention can provide a phenoxy resin for an optical material which is excellent in a heat resistance and a transparency and which has a low refractive index, a resin composition for an optical material containing the above phenoxy resin, a resin film for an optical material comprising the above resin composition and an optical waveguide produced by using the above resin composition and/or the above resin film.

In recent years, in high speed and high density signal transmission between electronic devices and between printed wiring boards, transmission through conventional electric wirings is restricted in a rise in a speed and a density due to barriers brought about by mutual interference and attenuation of signals. In order to break through such restrictions, investigated is a technology of connecting electronic devices and printed wiring boards with each other by means of light, so-called optical interconnection. Polymer optical waveguides attract attentions as a transmission path of light from the viewpoints of easy processing, a low cost, a high freedom in wiring and a possible rise in a density.
A type in which the polymer optical waveguide is prepared on a glass epoxy resin substrate assuming that it is applied to optical and electrical mixed boards and a flexible type which does not have a hard support substrate assuming connection between boards are considered to be suitable as the form of the polymer optical waveguide.
A high heat resistance in addition to a high transparency (low optical transmission loss) is required to a polymer optical waveguide from the viewpoints of use environment of appliances to which it is applied and mounting of parts. (Meth)acryl polymers are known as a material for the above optical waveguide material, and optical waveguides prepared by using the above polymer are proposed (refer to, for example, patent documents 1 and 2).
However, a transparency and a heat resistance of the optical waveguides described in the patent document 1 are not specifically described and therefore are not clearly specified. Further, the optical waveguide described in the patent document 2 has a high transparency of an optical transmission loss of 0.3 dB/cm in a wavelength of 850 nm, but specific test results of an optical transmission loss, for example, after a solder reflow test are not described, and the heat resistance is not clearly specified.
On the other hand, a phenoxy resin is known as an optical waveguide material having a high heat resistance (refer to, for example, a patent document 3).
In general, a phenoxy resin is produced by one-stage method in which bisphenol A and epichlorohydrin are subjected to polycondensation reaction and by two-stage method in which an epoxy resin having a low molecular weight and bisphenol A are subjected to polyaddition reaction. It contains a lot of aromatic rings in the resin and therefore has a high heat resistance, and on the other hand, it has a high refractive index. It is indispensable to control a refractive index in designing optical parts, and when conventional phenoxy resins are used, involved therein is the problem that they have a high refractive index and therefore can not generally be used for low refractive index optical parts.
Further, a resin composition containing a carboxylic acid-modified phenoxy resin is known as a light-sensitive resin composition which is excellent in a heat resistance and which can be developed by an alkali aqueous solution (refer to, for example, patent documents 4 and 5).
However, the above resin compositions have been invented for plating resists in a production process for printed wiring boards, and they are excellent in a heat resistance but low in a transparency and are not suitable as a resin composition for an optical material.    Patent document 1: JP 6-258537 A    Patent document 2: JP 2003-195079 A    Patent document 3: JP 4-122714 A    Patent document 4: JP 2000-47383 A    Patent document 5: JP 2000-147765 A

Phenoxy resin for optical material, resin composition for optical material, resin film for optical material and optical waveguide using those


A vapor barrier cover for installation to an electrical box in the rough-in phase of construction. The vapor barrier cover includes a flange with an opening having an inner periphery and a body extending from the inner periphery of the flange. The body includes walls extending to a front edge. A front wall extending from the front edge includes a front opening and a rearward extending wing. Installation of the vapor barrier cover enables inspection and testing for air-tightness around the periphery of the electrical box prior to the final phase of construction and without the need for a gasket.

In the home building and remodeling trades, the term "rough-in" refers to the stage of construction after the basic framing and the initial wiring and plumbing installations are completed, but before the installation of drywall. This is the point at which much of this work is first reviewed by the building inspector. The absence of wall and floor coverings allows for easier modification if the rough-in does not pass inspection or if the homeowner makes a change order to alter the project.
With regards to the installation of electrical service, a rough-in means that all electrical cables have been pulled through framing members and other framing members and the cables have been inserted into the wall and ceiling boxes. But at the rough-in phase the light switches, outlets, lights, and other electrical devices are not attached. The inspection of that aspect of the work occurs during the final inspection.
Unfortunately, since drywall has not yet been installed, air infiltration cannot be measured during the rough-in phase. Furthermore, the openings cut in the drywall by the installers during the final phase of construction are typically cut larger than the front periphery of the electrical boxes to allow the front of the box to protrude through the drywall in order to be approximately flush with the eventual wall or ceiling surface.
Although various covers have been proposed for reducing air flow around the electrical box, they are typically installed in the final phase of construction, over the electrical box and the surrounding drywall. Unfortunately, this method of reducing air infiltration creates another phase of work after the final phase as the installers must cover each electrical box with an intermediate air infiltration device over each installed electrical box.
Accordingly, what is needed is a means for sealing around each electrical box during the rough-in phase of construction. Such a device would be installed by the electricians while they are on the job during the rough-in phase, thereby eliminating the need to reschedule the electricians in order to install an air prevention device during the final phase of construction.

Vapor barrier cover for sealing an electrical box against air infiltration


Provided are a method, system, and program for querying a plurality of adaptors in a system. A request is received to determine connection information for the adaptors in the system. A master task spawns a plurality of tasks to query the adaptors. Each spawned task updates adaptor information with information gathered from querying the adaptor. If no tasks are available to query at least one adaptor that has not been queried, then the master task queries one adaptor and updates the adaptor information with information gathered by querying the adaptor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, system, and program for querying adaptors in a system to determine information on the adaptor connections
2. Description of the Related Art
A storage subsystem, or enterprise storage server, such as the International Business Machines Corporation's ("IBM) (IBM is a registered trademark of IBM) Enterprise Storage Server, includes multiple adaptor cards to enable communication with different devices. The storage subsystem typically manages access to a storage system for multiple attached hosts. Certain of the ports on the adaptor cards in the storage subsystem may be connected to another device over a network, where such connection may comprise a point-to-point connection, arbitrated loop, fabric (e.g., Storage Area Network (SAN)), a broadcast bus (e.g., Ethernet) and other network topologies known in the art. The devices attached to the adaptors may comprise storage devices or other systems. Other adaptor ports may connect to a switch that provides connections to multiple devices or further cascading switches. The adaptors may support protocols such as Fibre Channel and additional network protocols.
A storage controller may also include a management interface to allow administrators to determine information on the storage controller and its connections. A management interface may be used to invoke a process to query each of the adaptor cards in the storage subsystem to determine the devices to which the storage subsystem is connected. This query process may involve querying a device directly connected to the adaptor or querying a switch to determine all possible devices in the network to which that port may connect through the one or more switches and determine the state of the connection and devices on the connection. The devices terminating on the connections may comprise another storage subsystem, storage devices or a switch providing a connection to additional switches, storage devices, and storage subsystems. The queried information allows the network administrator to obtain information on the nodes in the network available through the storage subsystem. Host systems may access the storage subsystem to access storage volumes on storage devices accessible to the storage subsystem.
In current storage subsystems, a single task may be dispatched to serially query each adaptor in a synchronous manner to determine status information on the connections supported by the queried adaptor and devices terminating on such connections.

Method, system, and program for querying adaptors in a system to determine information on the adaptor connections


A lane departure avoidance system disables start of steering control or terminate running steering control upon determination that a value of a at least one selected variation, which is selected from a first variation, a second variation, a third variation, and a fourth variation, is equal to or more than a corresponding threshold. The first variation is a variation of a lateral position of an own vehicle relative to lane marking lines recognized by a recognition unit, and the second variation is a variation of a yaw angle of the own vehicle relative to the recognized lane marking lines. The third variation is a variation of a curvature of the recognized lane marking lines, and the fourth variation is a variation of a pitch angle of the own vehicle.

A known lane departure avoidance system performs the following steering control. Specifically, such a lane departure avoidance system captures a region in front of an own vehicle using an in-vehicle camera to thereby obtain an image ahead of the own vehicle. Next, the lane departure avoidance system recognizes lane marking lines in the captured image. Then, the lane departure avoidance system steers, based on the location of the own vehicle relative to the recognized lane marking lines, the own vehicle toward a direction in which the lane departure is avoided (see patent literature 1).


Provided are methods and systems for determining functional relationships between a cosmetic agent and a hair biology condition of interest. Also provided are methods and systems for identifying cosmetic agents that affect a hair biology condition, as well as the use of agents identified by such methods and systems for the preparation of cosmetic compositions, personal care products, or both.

Connectivity mapping is a well-known hypothesis generating and testing tool having successful application in the fields of operations research, computer networking and telecommunications. The undertaking and completion of the Human Genome Project, and the parallel development of very high throughput high-density DNA microarray technologies enabling rapid and simultaneous quantization of cellular mRNA expression levels, resulted in the generation of an enormous genetic database. At the same time, the search for new pharmaceutical actives via in silico methods such as molecular modeling and docking studies stimulated the generation of vast libraries of potential small molecule actives. The amount of information linking disease to genetic profile, genetic profile to drugs, and disease to drugs grew exponentially, and application of connectivity mapping as a hypothesis testing tool in the medicinal sciences ripened.
The general notion that functionality could be accurately determined for previously uncharacterized genes, and that potential targets of drug agents could be identified by mapping connections in a data base of gene expression profiles for drug-treated cells, was spearheaded in 2000 with publication of a seminal paper by T. R. Hughes et al. ["Functional discovery via a compendium of expression profiles" Cell 102, 109-126 (2000)], followed shortly thereafter with the launch of The Connectivity Map (C-map Project by Justin Lamb and researchers at MIT ("Connectivity Map: Gene Expression Signatures to Connect Small Molecules, Genes, and Disease", Science, Vol. 313, 2006.) In 2006, Lamb's group began publishing a detailed synopsis of the mechanics of C-map construction and installments of the reference collection of gene expression profiles used to create the first generation C-map and the initiation of an ongoing large scale community C-map project.
The basic paradigm of predicting novel relationships between disease, disease phenotype, and drugs employed to modify the disease phenotype, by comparison to known relationships has been practiced for centuries as an intuitive science by medical clinicians. Modern connectivity mapping, with its rigorous mathematical underpinnings and aided by modern computational power, has resulted in confirmed medical successes with identification of new agents for the treatment of various diseases including cancer. Nonetheless, certain limiting presumptions challenge application of C-map with respect to diseases of polygenic origin or syndromic conditions characterized by diverse and often apparently unrelated cellular phenotypic manifestations. According to Lamb, the challenge to constructing a useful C-map is in the selection of input reference data which permit generation of clinically salient and useful output upon query. For the drug-related C-map of Lamb, strong associations comprise the reference associations, and strong associations are the desired output identified as hits.
Noting the benefit of high-throughput, high density profiling platforms which permit automated amplification, labeling hybridization and scanning of 96 samples in parallel a day, Lamb nonetheless cautioned: "[e]ven this much firepower is insufficient to enable the analysis of every one of the estimated 200 different cell types exposed to every known perturbagen at every possible concentration for every possible duration . . . compromises are therefore required" (page 54, column 3, last paragraph). Hence, Lamb confined his C-map to data from a very small number of established cell lines. This leads to heightened potential for in vitro to in vivo mismatch, and limits information to the context of a particular cell line. Selection of cell line, therefore, may be critical to the utility of a resulting C-map.
Lamb stresses that particular difficulty is encountered if reference connections are extremely sensitive and at the same time difficult to detect (weak), and Lamb adopted compromises aimed at minimizing numerous, diffuse associations. Since the regulatory scheme for drug products requires high degrees of specificity between a purported drug agent and disease state, and modulation of disease by impacting a single protein with a minimum of tangential associations is desired in development of pharmaceutical actives, the Lamb C-map is well-suited for screening for potential pharmaceutical agents despite the Lamb compromises.
The connectivity mapping protocols of Lamb would not be predicted, therefore, to have utility for hypothesis testing/generating in the field of cosmetics. Cosmetic formulators seek agents or compositions of agents capable of modulating multiple targets and having effects across complex phenotypes and conditions. Further, the phenotypic impact of a cosmetic agent must be relatively low by definition, so that the agent avoids being subject to the regulatory scheme for pharmaceutical actives. Nonetheless, the impact must be perceptible to the consumer and preferably empirically confirmable by scientific methods. Gene transcription/expression profiles for cosmetic conditions are generally diffuse, comprising many genes with low to moderate fold differentials. Cosmetic agents, therefore, provide more diverse and less acute effects on cellular phenotype and generate the sort of associations expressly taught by Lamb as unsuitable for generating connectivity maps useful for confident hypothesis testing.
The present inventors surprisingly discovered that useful connectivity maps could be developed from cosmetic active—cellular phenotype—gene expression data associations in particular with respect to hair care cosmetics. Specifically, certain aspects of the present invention are based on the surprising discovery that selection of human cells such as fibroblasts, keratinocytes, melanocytes or dermal papilla cells are relevant cell lines and that data from such cells has resulted in construction of connectivity maps useful for hypothesis generating and testing relating to cosmetic agents in treatment of specific hair biology conditions such the appearance of gray hair, chronogenetic alopecia, senile alopecia, androgenetic alopecia, loss of hair diameter or hair breakage/fragile hair; for example, BJ fibroblasts are a better cell line than tert-keratinocytes for the identification of Monoamine Oxidase B (MAOB) inhibitors to improve hair growth. Melanocytes are cells of a better cell line for evaluating material to delay the appearance of gray hair, while a combination of cells appeared most suitable for other specific hair biology conditions. For example, a set of biological signatures were generated and combined from different cell lines and clinical data was generated from samples with multiple cell types to capture different aspect for hair growth and healthy fiber quality. Therefore, it could not be accurately predicted that data from one cell type (such as a fibroblast cell or a keratinocyte cell), or any combination thereof, could be used to construct a connectivity map effective for generating and testing hypotheses relating to cosmetic actives and genes associated with a specific hair biology condition.
Hair is a complex, multi-layered and dynamic system that provides a protective covering from elements and acts to disperse products from glands in acting as an interactive boundary between an organism and the environment. It is also vitally important to both individual health and self image. For example, a significant industry has developed to assist individuals with conditions of hair loss (alopecia) as well as to deal with excessive hair growth. In fact, a large array of hair conditions and disorders have been characterized and include alopecia, androgenic alopecia, alopecia greata, permanent alopecia, anagen growth state disorders, anagen effluvium, bulb disorders, bulge disorders, catagen and regression disorders, club hair, hirsutism, hypertrichosis, lanugo hair, miniaturization, telogen disorders, telogen effluvium, terminal hair, and vellus hair as non-limiting examples. FIG. 1 illustrates basic hair anatomy.
Due to the complexity of hair and its interaction with skin, a basic discussion of each is herein included. This discussion is necessary as various treatments of hair biology conditions include application of products or methods related to the hair itself or to the skin surrounding the hair or parts of the hair. For example, various hair treatments include methods and uses of products such as Rogaine®, Propecia®, hair transplants, hair electrolysis, and laser hair removal.
Though the intricacies of hair growth disorders is complex and requires additional research and breakthroughs, basic hair anatomy is well known, and has been previously described. For example a review of hair biology has been written by Ralf Paus and George Cotsarelis (see among other places, Paus R and Cotsarelis G. The Biology of Hair Follicles (Review Article). Mechanisms of Disease, Vol. 341 (7), 1999, pp. 491-497).
A hair contains a hair shaft that extends primarily out from the human skin surface, and having a distal portion recessing into the epidermis of the skin. Outlining the anatomy simplistically, within the skin is the hair follicle, bulb, and papilla. The hair shaft contains keratin. Within the skin, blood vessels nourish cells in the hair bulb and cellular materials including hormones can be transferred via such networks of the vasculature. Hair color is also controlled largely by pigment cells producing melanin in the hair follicle.
More generally, hair follicles cover the vast majority of the body surface. There are approximately 5 million hair follicles on the body with 100,000 on the scalp, with a density of up to roughly 300 to 500 hairs per square centimeter on the scalp. The great significance of the hair follicle requires an outlining of additional follicle details. The hair follicle can be divided anatomically into multiple parts, including the bulb consisting of the dermal papilla and matrix, the suprabulbar area from the matrix to the insertion of the arrector pili muscle, the isthmus that extends from the insertion of the arrector pili muscle to the sebaceous gland, and the infundibulum that extends from the sebaceous gland to the follicular orifice. The lower portion of the hair follicle consists of multiple portions: the dermal papilla, matrix, hair shaft (consisting from inward to outward the medulla, cortex, and cuticle), inner root sheath (IRS) consisting of the inner root sheath cuticle, Huxley's layer, Henle's layer, and the outer root sheath. The base of the follicle is invaginated by the dermal papilla, which has a capillary loop that passes through the papilla. Signal transduction and communication between the dermal papilla and the matrix cells influence how long and how thick the hair shaft will grow. The melanocytes within the matrix also produce the pigment in the hair shaft.
As indicated earlier, the hair shaft contains keratin. As for the hair medulla, this is only partially keratinized and therefore appears amorphous and may not always be present. The hair cortex cells lose their nuclei during their upward growth and do not contain any keratohyaline or trichohyaline granules. The keratin of the cortex is hard in contrast to the IRS and epidermis, which are soft. The cuticle is firmly anchored to the IRS cuticle. The cuticle of the IRS consists of a single layer of flattened overlapping cells that point downward and interlock tightly with the upward angled cells of the hair shaft cuticle. Huxley's layer is composed of two cell layers, whereas the outer Henle's layer is only one cell thick. Just before the isthmus, the IRS becomes fully keratinized but disintegrates at the level of the isthmus. Although the IRS is not present in the emerging hair shaft, the IRS serves as a strong scaffold in the lower portion of the hair follicle.
Returning once again to the hair follicle, the hair follicle is significant in hair development and cycling of hair follicles involves three main stages, including anagen, catagen, and telogen. The anagen phase is known as the growth phase, and a hair can spend several years in this phase. The catagen phase is a transitional phase occurring over a few weeks, with hair growth slowing and the follicle shrinking. The telogen phase is a resting phase where, over months, hair growth stops and the old hair detaches from the follicle; a new hair begins the growth phase and pushes the old hair out.
As indicated, an intricate relationship exists between hair and skin. Regarding the skin, the skin comprises three principal layers, the epidermis, the dermis, and a layer of subcutaneous fat. The majority of cells in the epidermis are keratinocytes that produce a family of proteins called keratins. Keratins contribute to the strength of the epidermis. The epidermis itself may be divided into multiple layers with the outermost layer referred to as the stratum corneum, and the innermost layer referred to as the basal layer. All epidermal cells originate from the basal layer and undergo a process known as differentiation as they gradually displace outward to the stratum corneum, where they fuse into squamous sheets and are eventually shed. In healthy, normal skin, the rate of production equals the rate of shedding (desquamation).
The differentiating epidermal cells form distinct though naturally blended layers. As the cells displace outward, they flatten and become joined by spiny processes forming the stratum spinosum, or spinous layer. The cells manufacture specialized fats called sphingolipids, and begin to express keratins associated with terminal differentiation. As keratin is produced, it is incorporated into the cellular matrix, strengthening the skin and providing structural support to the outer layers. As the cells migrate further outward and develop characteristic granules that contain proteins which contribute to the aggregation of keratins; they now form part of the granular layer. Cells lose their nuclei in the outer part of this layer, and the granules release their contents contributing to cornification. Vesicles containing lipids discharge into the spaces between the cells, creating a barrier structure that has been suggested to function like bricks (cells) and mortar (lipids). As the cells rise into the outermost layer of the epidermis—the stratum corneum, sometimes called the horny layer or the cornified layer—they take the form of flattened discs, tightly packed together. These flattened cells, called corneocytes, are effectively dead. The lipids of the epidermis play an important role in maintaining skin health, as they help the stratum corneum to regulate water loss while providing a virtually impermeable hydrophobic barrier to the environment. Fully mature keratinocytes function to protect the skin from UV light damage, and help effectuate immune responses to environmental stimuli.
The dermis, which lies just beneath the epidermis, is composed largely of the protein collagen. Most of the collagen is organized in bundles which run horizontally through the dermis and which are buried in a jelly-like material called the ground substance. Collagen accounts for up to 75% of the weight of the dermis, and is responsible for the resilience and elasticity of skin. The collagen bundles are held together by elastic fibers running through the dermis. The fibers are comprised of a protein called elastin, and make up less than 5% of the weight of the dermis. Fibroblasts function to synthesize collagen and the dermis ground substance, including components glycoproteins and glycosaminoglycans such as hyaluronic acid (which is able to bind water). The junction between the epidermis and the dermis is not straight but undulates—more markedly so in some areas of the body than others. A series of finger-like structures called rete pegs project up from the dermis, and similar structures project down from the epidermis. These projections increase the area of contact between the layers of skin, and help to prevent the epidermis from being sheared off. As skin ages, the projections get smaller and flatter. Networks of tiny blood vessels run through the rete pegs, bringing nutrients, vitamins and oxygen to the epidermis, although the epidermis itself is avascular and nourished by diffusion from the rete pegs. The dermis also contains the pilobaceous units comprising hair follicles and sebaceous glands, apocrine and eccrine sweat glands, lymphatic vessels, nerves, and various sensory structures, including the mechano-sensing Pacinian and Meissner's corpuscles.
Beneath the dermis lies the hypodermis, which comprises subcutaneous fat that cushions the dermis from underlying tissues such as muscle and bones. The fat is contained in adipose cells embedded in a connective tissue matrix. This layer may also house the hair follicles when they are in the growing phase.
Thus, skin is a multilayered complex organ comprising a wide variety of cellular types and structures, including epidermal and dermal connective tissue with blood and lymphatic vessels, the pilosebaceous units, glands, nerves, various sensory structures, the hypodermal adipose tissue, and the elastic fascia beneath the hypodermis. In turn, these structures are composed of a number of different cell types including keratinocytes, melanocytes, neuroendocrine Merkel cells, sebocytes, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, pericytes, neurons, adipocytes, myocytes and resident immunocytes including Langerhans cells, other dendritic cells, T cells and mast cells. Two of the main cell lineages in the skin are epithelial cells, which in general form the linings of the body and the parenchyma of many organs and glands, and mesenchymal cells, which form connective tissue, blood vessels and muscle. Dermal fibroblasts are mesenchymal cells, and keratinocytes are epithelial cells, which comprise most of the structure of the epidermis.
Thus hair and skin are intricate components that work in a complex manner to regulate hair health. As stated, there are a significant number of hair disorders, and there are many hair care products available to consumers which are directed to improving the health and/or physical appearance of hair. Despite current treatments, an ongoing need exists to identify cosmetic agents that can provide new or improved benefits to hair. There is also a need to identify additional cosmetic agents that provide similar or improved benefits as compared to existing products but which are easier to formulate, produce, and/or market.
Successful identification of hair-related cosmetic agents has proven to be difficult due to the multi-cellular, multi-factorial processes that occur in and around hair. In addition, many desirable cosmetic agents may comprise a mixture of compounds with effects and interactions that may not be fully understood. This is often the case with a botanical or other natural extract that may affect many cellular/pathways. An additional challenge for cosmetic formulators is that cosmetics must be very safe and adverse effects generally are not acceptable. Further, while much is known about hair biology, there is much that is still poorly understood or unknown. Conventional in vitro studies of biological responses to potential cosmetic agents involve testing hundreds or thousands of potential agents in various cell types before an agent that gives the desired result can be identified and moved into a next stage of testing. However, such studies can be hindered by the complex or weakly detectable responses typically induced and/or caused by cosmetic agents. Such weak responses arise, in part, due to the great number of genes and gene products involved, and cosmetic agents may affect multiple genes in multiple ways. Moreover, the degree of bioactivity of cosmetic agents may differ for each gene and be difficult to quantify.
The value of a connectivity map approach to discover functional connections among cosmetic phenotypes of hair biology, gene expression perturbation, and cosmetic agent action is counter-indicated by the progenitors of the drug-based C-map. The relevant phenotypes are very complex, the gene expression perturbations are numerous and weak, and cosmetic agent action is likewise diffuse and by definition, relatively weak. It has thus far been unclear whether statistically valid data could be generated from cosmetic C-maps and whether a cell line existed to provide salient or detectable cosmetic data.
Surprisingly, the present inventors have provided a C-map approach that is generalizable and biologically relevant for identification of potential cosmetic actives, and demonstrate that the C-map concept is viable by (as a non-limiting example) use of benchmark cosmetic actives to query the reference data and by identification of new cosmetic actives.

Systems and methods for identifying cosmetic agents for hair/scalp care compositions


One ferrule embodiment includes a number of optical fibers, an alignment fixture, and an encapsulating material. The alignment fixture has a number of apertures for placement of the ends of the number of optical fibers. The encapsulating material is formed around at least a portion of the number of optical fibers and at least a portion of the alignment fixture.

In optical fiber communications, optical fibers are often constructed from a number of sections each having an optical pathway formed therein. The sections are aligned end to end such that light passing through a first optical pathway section can continue traveling through the optical pathway of a second optical fiber section.
In theory, the ends are placed adjacent to each other and the light passes from one end to the next. However, in the field, the environment of the optical network can provide forces that move one optical fiber section with respect to another and, thereby, the transmission of light signals between the optical fiber sections can be attenuated or disrupted.
As such, typically, at least the ends of two adjacent optical fiber sections are attached to each other to help maintain the alignment of the optical pathway with respect to the two optical fiber sections. Ferrules have been proposed that act to connect an end of one optical fiber section to an end of another optical fiber section.
Ferrules typically aid in strengthening and maintaining the alignment of the connection between the first and second optical fiber sections through use of a rigid or semi-rigid body structure. The added rigidity can be provided by shape or size of the body, or by the materials used to manufacture the ferrule. Further, ferrules are often designed to permanently or releasably attach to each other to stabilize the interface between the two optical pathway sections.
However, when the ferrules are constructed, they are oftentimes constructed individually and without reference to the optical fibers to be positioned within the ferrule or with respect to each other. Accordingly, when positioning the optical fibers within the ferrules, the apertures for the fibers may be sized too big or too small, and may be inaccurately positioned with respect to each other.
Further, the placement of the optical fibers may be inaccurate, with fibers terminating at different positions with respect to each other and/or with their end faces angled in different directions. The placement of the individual fibers within the ferrule can also be a time consuming task because it may be difficult to see the optical fiber as it is passed through the body of the ferrule.
Additionally, since the ferrules are made without the optical fibers, the optical fibers are typically adhered into place with an adhesive. In some instances, it may be difficult to apply adhesive to the interior of the apertures to ensure proper adhesion of the optical fibers to the ferrule.
In some instances, it may be advantageous to use one or more lenses or mirrors to change the characteristics of the light signal to be transmitted through an optical pathway, among other components. Since the ends of a section already provide a break in the optical pathway, oftentimes, lenses and other structures and apparatuses are positioned at the ends of the optical sections.
These items are typically also fabricated independently from the ferrules and the optical fibers and are attached to the ferrule and/or to one or both of the optical fibers when placed in the field. Accordingly, these items similarly suffer from alignment issues and add additional physical components to the optical network.


A personal skin cleansing wipe comprising a flexible substantially dry matrix formed from synthetic, woven, non-woven or knitted fibers impregnated with a substantially anhydrous antimicrobial, antiseptic, antifungal solution in an amount wherein the matrix retains its substantially dry characteristics and the treatment solution includes an amount of PVP-iodine as active in solution in glycol and or glycerin. The treatment solution, in addition to an effective amount of PVP-iodine as active, contains surfactants, preferably Tego® Betaine CK D, and optionally a compatible fragrance and/or moisturizer. The wipe is activated with water just prior to use.

It is well known that topical skin surfaces of humans, from time to time, need to be cleaned and desirably, sanitized.
Currently, there are only two over-the-counter antimicrobial active ingredients enjoying unqualified approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in antiseptic skin cleansing, for first aid and wound cleansing, and in antifungal cleansing wipes.
The first, ethyl alcohol, has a long history of safe and effective use. However, there is a long list of negative attributes associated with the use of the ethyl alcohol. It dries and irritates healthy skin and stings injured or abraded skin. Moreover, as ethyl alcohol is highly volatile, it dissipates rapidly if not packaged in a proper barrier container.
Other disadvantages of ethyl alcohol include its stringent regulation by governmental agencies, its ability to erode some metals, its tendency to remove paint and varnish and to delaminate some plastics.
The other approved antimicrobial ingredient is PVP-iodine (also called Povidone-iodine), which is a stable complex of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and elemental iodine. While elemental iodine has been used in antiseptic applications (U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,364), elemental iodine is known to possess a number of undesirable properties. Free elemental iodine is highly toxic, irritative, sensitizing, odorous and it also causes stains and readily vaporizes due to sublimation. U.S. Pat. No. 2,739,922 teaches the complex of PVP and iodine, which possesses reduced objectionable properties and increased bactericidal activity as compared to free elemental iodine. PVP-iodine has a variety of uses in health care on both skin and hard surfaces as an effective germicide, bactericide, fungicide, virucide, and amebicide.
The use of pre-moistened wipes to deliver aqueous solutions containing alcohol or PVP-iodine to sanitize skin or to disinfect hard surfaces is longstanding. But such wet wipes are expensive because they require barrier packaging to prevent evaporation or "dryout". Also contributing to the expense of such wipes is the need for special binder-free substrates for hydro-alcoholic formulations and starch-free substrates for aqueous iodophor formulations. Thus, the use of these ingredients has been limited and reserved for higher risk healthcare and medical environments where other considerations justify the higher costs.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,599,140 discloses an iodine-containing detergent using iodine dissolved in a mixture of polyalkylene glycol and glycerin to prevent fast evaporation of elemental iodine. U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,021 discloses a substantially dry virucidal wipe using a flexible paper substrate, having iodine stabilized in polyoxyethylene (40) sorbitol septaoleate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,364 discloses dry disposable paper tissues impregnated with elemental iodine or PVP-iodine, which can be packaged and stored for long term without undue deterioration. U.S. Pat. No. 5,919,471 discloses a substantially flexible, dry and antiseptic wipe impregnated with PVP-iodine present in at least one glycol compound.

Dry antiseptic wipes comprising an amphoteric surfactant