The present invention relates to a compound based on cyanine scaffold for diagnosing sepsis by selectively detecting glutathione. The compound based on cyanine scaffold according to the present invention has the advantages of maintaining its structure in intracellular environment and of reacting selectively to glutathione only among many amino acids containing thiol group (R—SH) such as cysteine, homocysteine, and glutathione, to produce changes in absorption or fluorescence spectrum, making the compound useful for the detection of in vivo glutathione in biosamples and also for the diagnosis of sepsis characteristically displaying the changes of glutathione concentration.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a compound based on cyanine scaffold for diagnosing sepsis by selectively detecting glutathione.
2. Description of the Related Art
The amino acids containing thiol group (R—SH) are the components forming numbers of peptides playing an important role in maintaining oxidation-reduction homeostasis with keeping balance between the reduced free thiol and oxidized disulfide (non-patent reference 1).
Non-patent reference 2 describes that the abnormal levels of the amino acids containing thiol group (R—SH) are closely related to the development of liver injury, cancer, AIDS, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and cardiovascular disease, etc. That is, if we measure and judge the level of biothiol, the amino acid that contains thiol group (R—SH), we can make early diagnosis for the related diseases.
Thus, a variety of fluorescent probes have been developed to detect selectively the amino acid containing thiol group (R—SH) among various amino acids in vivo. Particularly, according to non-patent reference 3, a probe is described in relation to the unique nucleophilic addition and substitution of thiol group. However, this probe does not select a specific amino acid containing thiol group (R—SH) each and selectively but select all the biothiols that contain R—SH such as cysteine, homocysteine, and glutathione, which draws a limitation in selective detection of each target amino acid.
Among these biothiols, glutathione is involved in cell functions, for example, intracellular redox activity, xenobiotic metabolism, intracellular signaling, and gene regulation, and also plays an important role in protecting cell damage caused by free radicals and reactive oxygen species. More precisely, glutathione is reacted to oxides in vivo, resulting in reversible glutathione disulfide (GSSG) that is the oxidized form of glutathione wherein two glutathione molecules are connected each other by disulfide bond (—S—S). By this reaction, in vivo oxidation-reduction potential is regulated.
To detect the said glutathione selectively, a few fluorescent probes based on organic dyes have been developed. For example, non-patent reference 4 describes the promising probe based on bis-spiropyran structure. Non-patent reference 5 describes the probe based on resorufin structure to detect selectively glutathione in blood plasma. Non-patent reference 6 describes the fluorescent sensor based on BODIPY structure to detect selectively glutathione in living cells.
Considering glutathione is a major intracellular antioxidant that exists in cell at the concentration of approximately 0.5˜10 mM, the detection of in vivo glutathione by using a near infrared ray (700˜900 nm) fluorescent probe is advantageous because it causes less biological damage and makes deeper penetration in tissue in the said wave-length range. However, those probes developed to detect glutathione using near infrared ray demonstrated not as excellent selectivity.
In the course of study to develop a probe usable for the selective detection of in vivo glutathione, the present inventors confirmed that the compound based on cyanine scaffold identified by the inventors could keep its structure even in intracellular environment and selectively react to glutathione among many amino acids containing thiol group (R—SH), exemplified by cysteine, homocysteine, and glutathione, etc, and displayed glutathione specific absorption spectrum or fluorescence spectrum, so that it could be efficiently used not only for the detection of glutathione in biosamples but also for the diagnosis of sepsis that can change the level of in vivo glutathione, leading to the completion of this invention.

Compound based on cyanine scaffold for diagnosis sepsis by selectively detect glutathione

EWHA UNIVERSITY—INDUSTRY COLLABORATION FOUNDATION


The invention relates to a imaging element comprising a laminated base structure wherein said base structure comprises a paper having laminated to the upper side and upper biaxially oriented polyolefin sheet and laminated to the lower side of said paper a lower side biaxially oriented polymer sheet wherein said lower side biaxially oriented polymer sheet has an energy to break of less than 3.5.times.10.sup.7 J/m.sup.3 in at least one direction.

It has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,861 to utilize biaxially oriented polypropylene laminated to cellulose photographic grade paper for use as a reflective receiver for thermal dye transfer imaging processes. In this invention low density polyethylene is melt extrusion coated onto the backside of the reflective receiver to balance the reflective receiver for curl, provide waterproofing to the paper, and provide the proper backside roughness for printer transport.
In the formation of photographic papers, where a light sensitive emulsion layer containing gelatin is coated onto the base paper that has been extrusion coated with low density polyethylene resin, there is a need to provide a base paper with improved resistance to curl. When the relative humidity is greater than 50% or less than 20%, as is common in the storage of photographic images, the curl of photographic paper interferes with the viewing of images. A solution to the photographic curl problem has been proposed in U.S. application 08/864,228 filed May 23, 1997. In that invention, a mechanism to reduce curl in relative humidity greater than 50% or less than 20% is accomplished by applying a biaxially oriented polymer sheet to the backside of the paper base to balance the forces caused by the expansion and contraction of the emulsion layer in a relative humidity environment greater than 50% or less than 20%.
During photofinishing of traditional photographic papers, traditional polyethylene coated silver halide photographic paper is chopped in the cross direction as slit rolls of photographic paper are printed with consumer images. Since there is no worldwide photofinishing standard for chopping mechanisms, there exists many different types of chopping mechanisms that are used in photofinishing equipment around the world to chop rolls of slit photographic paper into consumer images. The chopping mechanisms differ in chopping rate, knife geometry, and force applied to the chopping knife. While the invention proposed in U.S. application 08/864,228 filed May 23, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,902,720, does significantly reduce image curl, it has been found that the biaxially oriented polymer sheet on the bottom side can interact with some chopping mechanisms, such as the slow speed rotary knife in the Gretag 750 Masterlab printer, and as a result leave undesirable fibrous projections along the chopped edge which significantly reduce the commercial value of the image. It would be desirable if a bottom side biaxially oriented sheet could be formed with the desired strength properties to control image curl and improved to provide efficient chopping in the cross direction.
During photofinishing, traditional polyethylene coated silver halide photographic paper is punched with an index hole which is used as a chopping locator during the finishing operation as slit rolls of photographic paper are printed with consumer images. Since there is no worldwide photofinishing standard for punching mechanisms, there exists many different types of punching mechanisms that are used in photofinishing equipment around the world. The punching mechanisms differ in punch geometry, punch force, and punching rate. While it has been found that the lamination of a biaxially oriented sheet to the bottom side does significantly improve image curl, the additional strength added to the imaging support with the biaxially oriented polymer sheet does increase the force to complete a successful punch. An inaccurate or incomplete punched hole will lead to undesirable results in the photofinishing operation as the photofinishing equipment will not image in the proper location and jams can occur which significantly reduce the efficiency of the photofinishing operation. It would be desirable if a bottom side film could be improved to aid in efficient photofinishing punching.
In the formation of reflective receivers for digital imaging systems such as Ink Jet and Thermal Dye Transfer, there is also need to reduce the curl of the image. Lamination of a high strength biaxially oriented polyolefin sheet to the backside of the image does improve the curl over the common practice of melt extrusion coating a layer of polyolefin. Reflective receivers for digital imaging systems that have biaxially oriented sheets to control curl can be difficult to convert from wide roll format into imaging sheet formats. Converting difficulties resulting from a high strength bottom biaxially oriented polymer sheet could result in fibrous projections on the cut sheet that can reduce the commercial value of the reflective receiver. For Ink Jet and Thermal Dye Transfer receivers it would be desirable if a bottom biaxially oriented polymer sheet could be formed with the strength properties to control curl and provide improved cross direction cutting for efficient slitting of the receiver in manufacturing.

Biaxially oriented sheet photographic film for better photofinishing


A plant-soil battery includes a plant body, a soil layer in which the plant body is planted, an anode electrode disposed in the soil layer and including microorganisms that degrade glucose discharged from the plant body to generate electrons, and a cathode electrode disposed in the soil layer to receive the electrons. The plant-soil battery is capable of supplying energy for 24 hours a day, is harmless to the environment, can be easily moved and installed, and has an adjustable generating capacity.

A microbial fuel battery is a device for converting reduction power generated during energy metabolism of microorganisms into electric energy, and is currently in the spotlight as an energy generation medium friendly to the environment. In general, the microbial fuel battery includes a negative electrode portion and a positive electrode portion.
In recent years, in order to enhance an energy amount of battery output from the microbial fuel battery, studies into an alteration of materials for electrodes disposed in each of the cathode electrode portion and anode electrode portion, increase in an surface area of the electrodes, control of an interval between the electrodes, improvement of catalytic efficiency, increase in conductivity of an electrolyte, and modification of a structure, material and/or thickness of a cation-exchange membrane have been actively conducted.
However, such a microbial fuel battery is usually disposable and has a difficulty in practical use thereof due to a problem in treatment of the electrolyte.
Further, since a conventional microbial fuel battery has used waste water as a medium for generating electrical energy, problems of foul smell and chemical abrasion of the electrodes should be solved when applying odorous waste water such as livestock manure.
Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2013-0050577 discloses a microbial fuel battery device including a separation film for water treatment and a water treatment method using the same.

DONGGUK UNIVERSITY INDUSTRY-ACADEMIC COOPERATION FOUNDATION


Techniques for resolving conflicts between web service policies that are attached (via LPA and/or GPA metadata) to a policy subject (e.g., a WS client/service endpoint). In one set of embodiments, a priority value can be assigned to each policy attached to a policy subject via the policy's corresponding policy attachment metadata file. These priority values can be taken into account when determining whether one policy should be given precedence over another, conflicting policy attached to the same policy subject. In certain embodiments, as part of this determination, the priority value of a policy can be given greater weight than the scope at which the policy is attached.

Companies worldwide are actively deploying service-oriented architecture (SOA) infrastructures using web services, both in intranet and extranet environments. While web services offer many advantages over traditional alternatives (e.g., distributed objects or custom software), deploying large networks of interconnected web services can still present several challenges, particularly with respect to security and management.
Some existing SOA middleware solutions have addressed these challenges via the implementation of a policy-based security/management model. For example, Oracle Corporation's Oracle Web Services Manager (OWSM) enables companies to centrally define and store declarative policy documents (referred to herein as web service policies or policies) that describe security and/or management-related behaviors for web service clients and services in an SOA infrastructure. Each policy can be attached to one or more web service entities referred to herein as policy subjects (e.g., web service (WS) client/service endpoints hosted by one or more SOA applications). The attached policies can then be enforced at the policy subjects through configurable agents. With this model, security/management logic does not need to be hardcoded into an SOA application. Rather, such logic can be externalized in the form of a declarative web service policy, which can then be attached to a policy subject as needed by modifying metadata (referred to herein as policy attachment metadata) associated with the policy subject.
In certain implementations, policies can be attached to a policy subject via global policy attachment (GPA) metadata and/or via local policy attachment (LPA) metadata. As used herein, GPA metadata refers to one or more files that are stored in a centralized metadata store and that indirectly attach a policy with a set of policy subjects (e.g., WS client/service endpoints) by specifying a scope (e.g., domain, server, application, application port, etc.) to which the policy should apply. The scope levels can be organized in a hierarchy, with "domain" representing the highest scope level and "application port" representing the lowest scope level. The "application port" level can correspond to a specific WS client/service endpoint. This GPA mechanism is typically used by system administrators of an SOA deployment, as it allows them to attach a policy to a multitude of policy subjects in an efficient and consistent manner. Additional information regarding global policy attachments can be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/118,947, filed May 31, 2011 and entitled "ATTACHING WEB SERVICE POLICIES TO A GROUP OF POLICY SUBJECTS," which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
As used herein, LPA metadata refers to one or more files that are stored with an SOA application and that directly attach a policy with a particular WS client/service endpoint of the application. This is logically equivalent to defining a GPA metadata file that attaches a policy to an application port. This LPA mechanism is typically used by SOA application developers, as it allows them to define security/management behaviors for the client/service endpoints of their application at design-time, and to subsequently package those behaviors (in the form of LPA metadata files) with the application.
One shortcoming with existing policy-based SOA solutions that support global and local policy attachment is that they generally apply an inflexible rule set when resolving conflicts between policies that are attached to the same policy subject via different LPA and/or GPA metadata files. This inflexibility can be problematic in several scenarios. For example, existing SOA solutions generally impose a strict rule indicating that two policies of the same type (e.g., two authentication policies) cannot be attached to a single WS client/service endpoint at the same time. Thus, when two identical policies (which necessarily are of the same type) are attached to the same policy subject (via, e.g., duplicate LPA and/or GPA metadata files), an error will always be thrown, thereby causing neither policy attachment to be recognized. This outcome may not be desirable since, in certain cases, the original intent of the individuals that created the policy attachments may have been to ensure that the policy is attached and enforced at the endpoint. The fact that the same policy was attached more than once via duplicate policy attachments may have been, e.g., an oversight or due to a lack of communication between the individuals.
As another example, existing SOA solutions generally impose a strict rule indicating that a policy attachment defined at a lower scope level always takes precedence over a conflicting policy attachment defined at a higher scope level. However, consider a scenario where (1) application developers have attached, via LPA metadata, various authentication policies to specific WS client/service endpoints (i.e., ports) of SOA applications that are deployed in an SOA environment; and (2) a system administrator of the environment wishes to define a global policy attachment that attaches a more secure authentication policy at a higher scope level (e.g., domain), thereby overriding all of the local policy attachments. With the rule described above this is not possible, since a global policy attachment defined at the scope level of "domain" can never override, or be given precedence over, conflicting local policy attachments (which are considered to be at the lowest scope level of "application port").

Priority assignments for policy attachments


Embodiment of the present invention includes a magnetic structure and a magnetic structure used in a direct current (DC) to DC energy converter. The magnetic structure has an E-core and a plate, with the plate positioned in contact or in near contact with the post surfaces of the E-core. The E-core has a base, a no-winding leg, a transformer leg, and an inductor leg. The no-winding leg, the transformer leg, and the inductor leg are perpendicular and magnetically in contact with the base. The plate is a flat slab with lateral dimensions generally larger than its thickness. The plate has a plate nose that overlaps a top no-winding leg surface of the no-winding leg with a no-winding gap area to form a no-winding gap with a no-winding gap reluctance. The plate also has a plate end that overlaps a top inductor leg surface of the inductor leg with an inductor gap area to form an inductor gap with an inductor gap reluctance. In some embodiments, e.g., where the duty cycle is less than 50 percent, the inductor gap reluctance will be designed to be less than the no-winding gap reluctance. In these cases, the majority of the magnetic flux that passes through the transformer leg will return through the inductor leg, instead of through the no-winding leg. The inductor and no-winding gap reluctances can he adjusted, so that the electromotive force applied to a charge passing through the inductor will partially cancel the electromotive force applied by the transformer secondary. The gap reluctance ratio can be defined, so that the difference in secondary and inductor electromotive forces is equal to the output voltage defined by an optimal no-ripple duty cycle. In this way no changing current is required through the inductor to create a dI/dt inductive voltage drop across the output inductor. Zero output current ripple is achieved.

The present invention relates to energy converters. More specifically, the invention relates to DC-DC power converters and the magnetic/structures/cores used to reduce converter size; convert higher voltage, low current inputs to low voltage, high current outputs; reduce output ripple voltage/current; and reduce output impedance.
DC-DC power converters (converters) take a direct current (DC) voltage/current as an input and output a DC voltage/current at a different level. DC-DC power converters have the ability to provide circuitry with multiple levels of DC voltage from a single DC source. Converters also enable higher distribution voltages (at lower current, and thus lower I2R power losses) for distributing power to high current/low voltage components in large electronic systems, e.g., supercomputers. Other uses include power sources and power distribution in battery powered electronics like cell phones and laptop computers.
For example, modern high-performance computer processors and (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits) ASICs require high current at low voltage. A high-performance processor today may require anywhere from a 0.55 V to 1.1 V processor core operating voltage with peak currents exceeding 500 Amperes (A). A DC-DC converter placed close to the processor/load minimizes the distance that the high current must travel through the circuit board (or computer frame) from the converter power source to the load, e.g., processor. Several DC-DC converters may be used in parallel to deliver a higher total load current. Typical prior art current outputs per converter are from 40 A to 60 A. Large computer systems commonly use from one to eight converters in parallel.
In many applications, a 12 Volt (V) power distribution intermediate bus system delivers DC power to one or more DC-DC converters within the computer system, drawers and/or racks at an input voltage of 12 VDC. Using a higher distribution voltage (here 12 VDC) in the distribution system bus reduces the current flowing in the bus and reduces the I2R losses dissipated by the bus distribution system. The bus(es) is(are) connected to inputs of the converters which step down the voltage and provide high current to nearby system components connected as converter output loads. These designs enable smaller power distribution connections with smaller wiring cross-sections, less copper, fewer connections, etc.
These benefits can be increased by raising the operating voltage of the distribution/intermediate bus system. For example, the industry has established, through agency regulation, that voltages less than 60 V are considered safe and do not require that special provisions be made to shield people from having access to circuits with distribution voltages lower than 60 V. In the industry, a 48 VDC intermediate bus is a widely adopted solution for rack-level distribution of the intermediate bus, e.g., in telecom hardware systems. In some systems, a converter transforms the 48 VDC intermediate bus voltage to 12 VDC, so that the traditional 12 V to processor voltage DC-DC converters can still be used. Thus, the system's overall DC-DC power conversion from 48 V to processor voltage consists of multiple power conversion stages in series. Each power conversion stage takes up physical space and consumes power.
To reduce the number of power conversion stages, it is desirable to directly convert from a higher input voltage, e.g., a 48 V DC or higher intermediate voltage, to sub 1 VDC processor voltages in a single conversion step stage. Such designs would both eliminate the power loss, volume, and material cost of the separate 48 VDC to 12 VDC conversion stage and reduce the intermediate bus distribution losses, due to the 4× reduction in intermediate bus current.
When converting from a common 12 VDC input to sub 1 VDC output, some prior converters rely on switching and/or diode circuitry without the use of cores/transformers. Some of these switching technologies adjust the duty cycle of the input voltage (e.g., the percentage portion of the total cycle the switching circuits are in the "on state", e.g., energizing the primary coil 175P) to control the amount of power transferred to the load of the converter. However, when converting from higher voltage intermediate busses, e.g., in the range above 12 VDC input voltage (e.g., 48 VDC or above) to sub 1 V DC output voltages (at very high currents), switching controls in these converters have difficulty operating accurately. For example, without using transformers/cores, the switching "on time" in the 48 VDC to sub 1 VDC conversion needs to be short, i.e., the duty cycle is small. This short switch timing is difficult to control.
Some power converters use switching techniques in combination with magnetic field storage components, like inductors or transformers/cores. When the input to output voltage ratio is substantially higher than 12 (12 V/1 V), versions of these converters are more efficient, have reduced losses/heat generation, and enable better control of output voltages than converters without cores.
Further, integrating magnetics/magnetic cores in feed forward DC-DC power converters can result in devices that have low or zero output current ripple. The design and dimensions of the magnetic core(s) affect properties (e.g., internal core reluctances) of these cores that affect converter performance, e.g., low/zero output current ripple for given applications.
Therefore, to address these problems, many vendors design 48 V to sub 1 V DC-DC converters that include transformers and have the switching secondary-side Field Effect Transistors (FETs) connected between the secondary side of the transformer and the output inductor. In some embodiments, these secondary-side FETs control the duty cycle (percentage on vs. total cycle) of the power applied to the output inductor.
However, many of these core/transformer-based industry DC-DC converter designs in the prior art have separate transformers and output inductors. The magnetic cores for these transformers and inductors take up significant physical volume and make transformer-based DC-DC converters less space- and cost-efficient. The separate output inductors tend to be large.
Growing demand for DC-DC converters with higher input voltages, lower output voltages, and higher secondary currents to loads increases constraints on core/transformer design, sizing, and dimensions. As a result, the magnetic cores needed for next generation converters are becoming more and more difficult to manufacture. Also, these design constraints limit the ability of DC-DC converters to convert higher voltage inputs to lower output voltages and higher output currents at a high quality, e.g., with reduced ripple.
There is a need to improve DC-DC electrical power converters, and in particular, DC-DC power converters using magnetic cores. There is a need to provide DC-DC power converters that convert high voltage inputs to low voltage, high current outputs with low or no output current and output voltage ripple.

Magnetic cores with high reluctance differences in flux paths

Abstract: Various embodiments of the plate, plate shape, and no-winding leg are disclosed. These embodiments allow achieving a high ratio of no-winding gap reluctance to inductor gap reluctance, for practical, affordable magnetic material structures and aspect ratios. A high gap reluctance ratio enables zero output current ripple for the high transformer turns ratios that are needed to achieve high input to output voltage ratios. The embodiments therefore allow achieving low output current ripple for 48 V or higher input voltages, 1 V or lower output voltages, and high output currents.

International Business Machines Corporation


Disclosed is a disk array apparatus which includes disk apparatuses and which reads and writes data of the disk apparatus based on an I/O instruction issued by a host computer, includes: a CPU which carries out a first firmware; a memory which stores the first firmware in a first storage area of physical address space; and a TLB which belongs to the CPU and makes the first storage area of the physical address space of the memory associated with a first logical area of logical address space, wherein in case that the CPU receives a second firmware and an instruction to exchange firmware, the CPU stores the second firmware in a second storage area of the physical address space of the memory, and updates the TLB to make the second storage area associated with the first logical area. A method and program for exchanging firmware are also disclosed.

In recent years, a disk array apparatus which combines a plurality of disk apparatuses such as a magnetic disk apparatus or an optical disk apparatus has been used widely as demand for storing data has been more increasing. The disk array apparatus processes I/O (Input/Output) instructions issued from a plurality of upper level apparatuses simultaneously. Moreover, the disk array apparatus processes a plurality of instructions to a plurality of disk apparatuses simultaneously.
It is desirable that the disk array apparatus is always working since it is necessary for the disk array apparatus to memorize and store a large amount of data. However, it is necessary in some cases to exchange firmware, which is working practically on the disk array apparatus, in order to debug the firmware or to get rid of a security hole.
As a related art on firmware of the disk array apparatus, and in particular on exchange of firmware, following documents, for example, are disclosed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-215042 (patent document 1) discloses technology that firmware for update is stored in a standby plane of a memory in advance and an address conversion apparatus converts an apparent address. According to the technology disclosed in the patent document 1, the firmware is exchanged without stopping a computer system. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-031312 (U.S. counterpart application thereof is US 2006/0015861A1) (patent document 2) discloses a computer system which includes a plurality of blades. According to the patent document 2, one blade, which includes firmware to be exchanged, transfers service to other blade. Afterward, the blade is shut down and then, the firmware is exchanged.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-260395 (patent document 3) discloses a program loading method with which a program is assigned to virtual space and loaded into a physical memory. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-338217 (patent document 4) discloses a storage apparatus each of whose modules has a plurality of CPUs (Central Processing Units) and firmware. Specifically, the patent document 4 discloses technology that a process of each module is concentrated at one CPU of the module and other CPU exchanges firmware during the concentration time. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1999-237957 (U.S. counterpart application thereof is U.S. Pat. No. 6,240,470B1) (patent document 5) exemplifies technology that necessary data are evacuated and then, firmware is exchanged, as technology of hot standby exchange of firmware.

Disk array apparatus, method for exchanging firmware, program for exchanging firmware and storage medium for storing program thereof


A method for managing information on a web site for a business entity using a server system is provided. The server system is coupled to a centralized database and at least one client system. The method includes storing information in the centralized database, and changing the centralized database such that duplicative information displayed on more than one web page within the business entity web site is changed on each respective web page configured to display the information.

This invention relates generally to managing business information and, more particularly, to network-based methods and systems for managing business information on a web site.
At least some known web sites include multiple web pages that can be accessed via the Internet. Information displayed on at least one web page within a web site may also be displayed on other web pages within the same web site, and is oftentimes referred to as "re-purposed" information. For example, a business entity may have a web site that includes a description of its various business groups. When a user accesses the business entity's web site, the user may select a business group within the business entity to view a description of the selected business group. A description of the selected business group, however, may appear on more than one web page within the business entity's web site. Since the description of the selected business group appears on multiple web pages within the web site, the business description may be considered re-purposed (i.e., appearing on various web pages for different purposes) information.
Business entities routinely have to manage the information that appears on their web sites, including adding new information, updating existing information, and deleting old information. Information that requires updating sometimes is referred to as "dynamic" information. Typically, when a business entity manages re-purposed, dynamic information on its web site, the business entity must add, update, and delete information on each of the multiple web pages where the dynamic information appears. Accordingly, managing re-purposed, dynamic information may be very costly and time consuming. Moreover, because managing re-purposed, dynamic information requires multiple data entry, the likelihood of incorrect or inconsistent information appearing on different web pages within a business entity's web site is increased.

Methods and systems for managing business information on a web site


Moving data tag readers in a portal responsive to a moving article to improve reading of a data tag on the article. Position sensors determine position information for the moving article. A controller module translates a positioning device having a data tag reader mounted thereon responsive to the determined position information. Moving the data tag reader provides improved reading of the data tag on the moving article.

Data tag technology such as radio frequency identification (RFID) technology refers to passive smart tags (miniature antenna-containing tags requiring no internal power supply) that may be embedded in or attached to a product or material to convey information that may be read by a scanner. Generally, conductive or passive smart tags include a data circuit and an antenna. In particular, smart tags include a semiconductor, a coiled, etched, or stamped antenna, a capacitor, and a substrate on which the components are mounted or embedded. A protective covering is typically used to encapsulate and seal the substrate.
In general, RFID systems and other data tag systems include readers and tags in which the tags generate an electromagnetic response to an electronic signal from a reader. The response signal is read by the reader, typically with a readable range on the order of a few feet, though broader or narrower ranges are possible. The signal generated by the tag includes information (e.g., an electronic product code) that identifies the tag or the article comprising the tag.
RFID technology for use in the supply chain typically involves the use of portals through which goods must pass. The portals are equipped with RFID readers that can read the RFID tags on the pallets, cases, or individual items that pass through the portal. In prior configurations, the readers in the portal have been fixed at predetermined locations. However, different materials may not be read properly or the tag location is not optimized for reading. Further, for different types of materials to be read, improved reading or improved hardware efficiency may be achieved through adjustment in the location of the readers.
Accordingly, a system for self-adjusting RFID portals having movable RFID readers to improve RFID tag reading is desired to address one or more of these and other disadvantages.

Self-adjusting portals with movable data tag readers for improved reading of data tags


A portable grilling apparatus includes a power adapter having first and second receiving areas each configured to respectively receive a battery, the power adapter having circuitry for receiving electricity at the first and second receiving areas and producing a single electrical output. The apparatus includes a grill portion having a lower grill housing, a support element having a cooking surface for receiving food thereon, and an electrical heating element in the lower grill housing. The electrical heating element is positioned below the cooking surface and the electrical heating element is in electrical communication with the single electrical output circuitry. The apparatus includes a positioning portion operatively coupling the power adapter to the grill portion, the positioning portion having an attachment member for securement to an object.

This invention relates generally to grill devices and, more particularly, to a portable grilling apparatus for powering an electrical heating element with a rechargeable battery removably received in a power adapter.
Grilling meat products on an outdoor grill has become a favored activity for many people—some on a year round basis. In fact, the activity of "tail-gating" in the parking lot prior to sporting events such as baseball or football games has become almost a ritual for many sports enthusiasts. This activity, however, requires significant preparation and planning and, unfortunately, is not possible during all sporting or leisure activities. Activities that include mobility and frequent movement away from electricity may not be suitable for grilling. For instance, grilling has not been feasible while moving about a golf course. Nor has it been possible to grill while boating. Other examples where grilling has not historically been possible are numerous and may include long distance highway travel, hiking, off-road riding of motorcycles and 4-wheelers, or the like.
Various devices have been proposed in the art for powering ovens or grills with power sources other than traditional AC electrical current. Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing devices have not presented a truly portable solution to grilling that enables users who are "on the move" in a vehicle to enjoy the grilling experience. In addition, the existing devices and proposals have not presented a portable grill that is safe, secure, and efficient when used in a moving vehicle.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a portable grilling apparatus that may be held securely and safely in a moving vehicle. Further, it would be desirable to have a portable grilling apparatus having a power adapter configured for using rechargeable batteries from various rechargeable cordless tools. In addition, it would be desirable to have a portable grilling apparatus that is energy efficient for keeping meat products warm and to grill enough food for multiple persons before battery energy is expended.


A circuit arrangement for automatic gain control of NRZ data signals. In this arrangement there is detected with the aid of two comparators whether a logic level in the NRZ data signal produced by a controllable amplifier is exceeded or fallen short of. The signals produced by the comparators are time-averaged with the aid of RC combinations and subjected to a logic AND combination. The signal available at the output of the AND combination is integrated in an integrator stage and transported as a control signal to a set input of the controllable amplifier.

The invention relates to a transmission system comprising a transmitter and a receiver coupled together by way of a channel, the receiver including a circuit arrangement for automatic gain control. The circuit arrangement includes a differential amplifier having an input for receiving a signal to be controlled, an output for presenting a controlled output signal and a control input for adjusting the gain as a function of a control signal; and a generator for producing the control signal by rectifying the output signal produced by the differential amplifier. The invention likewise relates to a receiver and a circuit arrangement for automatic gain control.
When serial data is optically transmitted, a photodiode arranged on the receiving side of a light waveguide converts light pulses obtained from a transmitter into an electric data signal. An AC-coupled preamplifier amplifies the low voltage level of the (converted, i.e., electrical) data signal to produce a logic voltage level necessary for driving integrated logic circuits. As a result of the AC coupling of the preamplifier, however, the DC component in the data signal is lost. The lost DC component may be recovered in a circuit having quantized feedback. Prior-art amplifier circuits having quantized feedback (IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, Vol. MAG. 14, No. 4, July 1978, pp. 218 to 222; NTZ, Vol. 30 (1977), No. 9, pp. 712 to 717), however, need to have at their input a data signal with a constant voltage level. Therefore, the quantized feedback circuit is to be preceded by a circuit arrangement for automatic gain control.
DE 25 00 654 B1 has already disclosed a circuit arrangement for level control of a data signal. This data signal forms part of a compound signal which is transmitted together with a pilot signal over a transmission link. Signals signalling the actual level and the nominal level of the pilot signal are then compared in a comparator, and, as a result, a control voltage is derived which is applied to a control stage controlling the level of the data signal. This prior-art circuit arrangement is unsuitable for maintaining the voltage level of data signals that do not have such a pilot signal at a constant level.

Circuit arrangement for automatic gain control


An electric power steering apparatus is provided which can obtain steering auxiliary power when a steering auxiliary power starting condition is not satisfied and there exists no abnormality in a power source and the like. The electric power steering apparatus controls output of a motor in such a way that through operation of a driver, limited steering auxiliary power that is limited to be smaller than normal steering auxiliary power is exerted on a steering system, and exerts limited steering auxiliary power on the steering system when the vehicle is to be saved, even when due to a vehicle failure or a fuel shortage, the engine stops, so that the load on a driver, which is imposed when the vehicle is moved to a safe place, can be reduced.

As is well known, an electric power steering apparatus mounted in a vehicle such as an automobile produces steering auxiliary power by use of a motor that is supplied with electric power from a vehicle battery, which is a main power source, so as to be driven, and supports a driver's steering power by exerting the steering auxiliary power on the steering axle. In general, the electric power steering apparatus is configured in such a way as to support the foregoing steering power when the vehicle is in an operation mode.
However, in the case where the vehicle battery, which is a main power source, fails in such a way that for some causes, the voltage thereof extremely decreases, the motor of the electric power steering apparatus is not sufficiently supplied with an electric current, whereby stable steering auxiliary power cannot be continuously obtained. Thus, to date, it has been proposed to provide an auxiliary power source having a back-up function for the main power source (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).


Embodiments of systems and methods for air recovery are disclosed. The diverted pressurized air may be used to supply a hydrostatic purge to the unutilized portion of a turbine engine fuel manifold circuit to ensure that exhaust gases from the utilized side of the fuel manifold circuit do not enter the portion of the alternative fuel manifold circuit rack. The assembly used to remove compressor section pressurized air may include a flow control orifice, line pressure measuring instrumentation, non-return valves, isolation valves and hard stainless-steel tubing assemblies. In some embodiments, a turbine compressor section diverter system may include a small air receiver used to increase the volume of air supplying the manifold to aid in potential pressure and flow disruptions from a turbine engine compressor section.

Traditionally turbine engines operate from a single fuel source; that fuel source being what is known as #2 diesel or gaseous fuels such as natural gas. The turbine industry recently has developed turbines that may accept dual fuels to combat redundancy and dependency of a single fuel source to be able to operate and allow for all relating operations to be carried out uninterrupted. In most dual fuel turbine engines, the ability to perform fuel switching is carried out by the need to shut down the engine and replace the fuel manifold with one designed for the desired fuel source. An example of this is the time consuming removal of a gaseous fuel manifold pipework and components and the re-installation of a liquid fuel manifold; this is an occurrence in some turbine engines supplied by manufacturers such as General Electric (GE) or Siemens. The issues involved with a turbine fuel manifold replacement include time consumption, the need for highly skilled personnel, specialized tooling, and the potential of disruption to other components in the turbine when performing the switch.
The detrimental factors involved with these fuel switching procedures has caused many turbine engine manufactures to develop turbine engines that may house a single distribution manifold and be supplied from two fuel sources; one being liquid fuel and the other being gaseous fuel respectively. This removed many of the problems associated with fuel switching on turbine engines and even allowed for fuel switching to be performed "on the fly". One condition that is still required to operate and perform such functions is the supply of a hydrostatic purge to the unused side of the turbine fuel manifold, thereby stopping exhaust gases from the "fuel in use" to enter the dormant fuel manifold and preventing damage and dirt ingress to components and pipework. The conventional way in which this hydrostatic purge is being performed is from an externally mounted air compressor that directs the generated air flow through a pneumatic intensifier system to increase the air pressure to that of the pressure of the exhaust gases and is then injected though a diverter valve that directs the flow to the fuel manifold that is in need of the purge.

Systems and methods utilizing turbine compressor discharge for hydrostatic manifold purge


A hydrogel precursor composition includes 10 wt % to 40 wt % N-isopropylacrylamide, 0.5 wt % to 2 wt % N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide, a solvent, and a photoinitiator. The hydrogel precursor composition is photocurable and thermally responsive. A thermally responsive hydrogel is formed by photopolymerizing the hydrogel precursor composition. The thermally responsive hydrogel may be used to mimic the activity of muscle fibers.

Adaptive tissue that can tune properties such as shape, color, and stiffness are widely seen in living organisms. These "living materials" are well-tuned from millions of years of evolution to serve niche roles. It is therefore not surprising that living materials and organisms outperform artificial materials (and the resulting engineered devices) in many respects. Muscle tissue can be considered one of the most sophisticated adaptive mechanical materials in nature. Not only can it change its shape and stiffness while producing force and motion, but it can also tune these parameters in a precise manner in conjunction with the brain and nervous system.
With the increasing demand on soft robots, developing artificial soft actuators with the same level of complexity as muscle tissue in living organisms is highly favorable. A variety of actuators have been proposed. However, these actuators are typically not adaptive, which means the motion of these actuators are programmed in their structure and cannot be changed after manufacturing. Moreover, these actuators have not demonstrated viability for use as building blocks for hierarchical, adaptive, soft systems, mainly because they are not designed with a hierarchical design strategy in mind: they either bypass the hierarchy and miss important details or start at a very low level such that integration is not viable with current technology. Practical soft robotic applications having localized and time-varying deformations of responsive hydrogels have been difficult to realize.

Shape morphing soft materials and assemblies including the same

Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of Arizona State University

The Regents of the University of California


A method of manufacturing of an astigmatic contact lens having a toric portion and a ballast portion such that said ballast portion causes the toric portion of the contact lens to properly orient in the eye of the wearer. The toric lenses are manufactured by an effective process control method for cylinder axis angle in toric lens production by modifying the target cylinder angle for mold rotation by eliminating the accumulative cylinder axis error from all previous steps including tool making, tool assembly, and molding. The amount modifying the target angle is determined by accurately determine the true cylinder axis on the corresponding mold by using a high-resolution interferometer, such as FISBA FS10M or equivalent models from Trioptics μShape® vertical series.

Astigmatism is a defect in the eye that is corrected by a lens with a non-spherical prescription. The prescription, which is usually expressed as cylinder on the patient's prescription order, causes at least a portion of the surface of the lens to have the shape of a toric segment. Hence, such lenses are called toric lenses. Toric contact lenses, which include an optical zone providing a cylindrical correction for patients having certain astigmatic abnormalities. Unlike contact lenses having only a spherical correction, which may generally be placed on the eye in any rotational position, toric lenses are positioned on the patient's eye such that the optical zone's toric axis is aligned with the eye's astigmatic axis.
To maintain a toric contact lens in position, it is well known to provide structure on the contact lens to orient the lens through eyelid blinking movement. For example, the lens may be thinned and/or thickened, for example to provide ballast or slab-off, at various areas so that the eyelid's movement during blinking moves the lens to the correct position. The particular design of this structure is not in and of itself critical to the present invention and is therefore not discussed in greater detail herein. For ease of discussion, all such structure, including slab-off, is generally referred to herein as "ballast." Because the ballast maintains the toric contact lens at a predetermined orientation on the eye, the toric optical zone is formed so that the toric axis is offset from the ballast orientation to align the toric axis with the patient's astigmatic axis. This offset is often defined in increments, for example of 5 degree or 10 degree.
Ballast is typically defined by the outer contact lens curve to prevent discomfort to the eye and to take advantage of eyelid movement. The toric optical zone may be defined on either the front or back lens curve. Depending on the method used to manufacture the lens, however, it may be desirable to define the toric surface on the back curve.
The lens is formed by a cast molding process, a monomer is typically deposited in a cavity between two mold halves that are themselves formed by injection molding. Each mold half defines an optical surface that forms either the front lens curve or the back lens curve. These optical surfaces are, in turn, formed by optical tools disposed in the mold cavity of an injection molding machine. Optical tools used to make toric lens molds therefore define the toric optical zone and ballast that are imparted to the mold halves. If the ballast and the toric optical zones are formed on the same lens surface, the optical tool forming that surface would define both characteristics. Thus, for given ballast and toric zone designs, a separate optical tool is required for every offset angle.
To reduce the number of required optical tools, the ballast and the toric zone may therefore be defined on opposite contact lens surfaces, and therefore on opposite lens mold halves. For instance, the ballast may be defined by the front curve mold half while the toric optical zone is defined by the back curve mold half. Accordingly, the resulting mold halves may be rotated with respect to each other to achieve a desired offset angle. Toric lenses have to meet a tight tolerance range for cylinder axis (±5°). Poor process capability for cylinder axis control produces toric lenses having high process variation in cylinder axis and can cause significant yield loss in production. This significant yield loss makes toric lenses manufacturing more expensive.
Hence, for reasons of efficiency and cost-effectiveness, there is a continuing need for improving process capability for cylinder axis control.

Method for manufacturing toric contact lenses


A method for controlling a charging process of a battery-operated device includes connecting the battery-operated device to a charger device to start the charging process, sending a first signal from the battery-operated device to the charger device in response to a charge level of a battery in the battery-operated device being below a first threshold, continuing the charging process until the charge level of the battery is above a second threshold, and sending a second signal from the battery-operated device to the charger device to stop the charging process in response to the charge level of the battery being above the second threshold.

The present invention generally relates to battery-operated devices, and more particularly, to a power delivery unit capable of turning on/off a charging process of a mobile device based on a signal sent from the mobile device to the power delivery unit.
Battery life is a significant design constraint in current battery-operated devices, particularly in mobile devices. Generally, performance of a mobile device may rely on a rate of power consumption, which may translate into available battery life. Managing power usage by hardware components and/or software applications in a system to keep overall power consumption within limits presents a challenging task. Typically, in order to charge the battery, mobile devices are connected to a power delivery unit. The power delivery unit may include a combination of a charger and a power adapter so that alternating current with an input voltage is received and converted to direct current, and the voltage is stepped-down to an output voltage for which the battery is designed.


A software application and method enables a personal narrative agent (PNA) to create and manage multiple dynamic customized story experiences for a subject user in a user-observable environment having one or more objects with which the subject user may interact. The PNA selectively interacts with one or more of those objects to manipulate the environment in furtherance of the story experiences. The PNA further maintains data relating to the subject user, the environment and the multiple story experiences of the subject user. The PNA also simultaneously manages each of the story experiences which each reach its own narrative conclusion consistent with input and characteristics of the subject user and any objects selected to influence the story experiences. A unique PNA may be assigned to each of multiple users which independently manage different story opportunities for their respective users, such as to enable each of the multiple users to pursue individual stories independent from the stories of the other user. A PNA of one user may interact with a PNA of another user to negotiate a story opportunity involving the second user for the first user, and vice-versa.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to customized story experience creation and evolution, and particularly to interactive narrative utilizing a narrative agent for automatic management of personalized stories in a single or multi-player virtual environment.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
At least three general approaches to providing interactive narrative are prevalent in the art. According to a first approach espoused by the Oz group under the direction of Joseph Bates at Carnegie Mellon University, a user is allowed to make choices within the confines of a narrative presence directed by a centralized drama manager. That is, the drama manager of the Bates system directs the story from a centralized position assuming comprehensive knowledge and narrative control of all interactions in the system. According to a second approach, stories are generated from simulations of narratively causal interactions, such as is described by Chris Crawford, citation below. According to a third approach, plot graphs or nodal architectures are utilized. These systems have a limited number of predetermined story possibilities depending on how the user chooses to traverse the nodal architecture.
FIG. 1 is illustrative of the Bates system, and the first approach, and is excerpted from "Dramatic Presence", Margaret Thomas Kelso, Peter Weyhrauch and Joseph Bates, submitted to PRESENCE, and published online. The "physical world" shown in FIG. 1 is an observable environment within which a story takes place. The interactor is a user who makes choices while interacting with other characters in the physical world. The "characters" are completely computer generated and controlled objects. A centralized "drama manager" directs the actions of the characters and other objects within the physical world and communicates with the interactor through an interface using a "theory of presentation". By doing so, the drama manager attempts to guide the interactor through a predetermined narrative, while allowing the interactor to interact freely with the characters and the physical world.
FIG. 2 is illustrative of the simulation approach, or second approach, and is taken from U.S. Pat. No. 5,805,784 to Crawford. Each oval shown in FIG. 2 represents a sub-story ("SS"). A user may experience a story consisting of several sub-stories. The story is experienced as each sub-story links narratively to possible subsequent sub-stories. The interactions form a simulation of narrative possibilities, allowing the user to direct the story interactively by making selections. The overall story depends on which sub-stories are presented based on the user's actions. In this way, the story is constructed piecewise from locally connected sub-stories, as the simulation progresses.
The system described in the '784 patent does not have the concept of a larger story arc (or arcs) with which to shape a specific narrative experience. As a result, the user's overall experience may or may not include traditional narrative stages such as climax or denoument. The system described by Crawford in the '784 patent simulates a local narrative causality, but is unable to shape entire stories with traditional narrative effect.
FIG. 3 is illustrative of a nodal architecture approach, or the third approach, and is taken from Kelso, supra, at p. 5, although the approach is widely known in the art. The overall story depends on which nodes along the architecture are traversed according to selection by the user. The system is interactive since the user typically influences the story by making choices or taking actions at each node in the graph. The system is narrative in the sense that the sum and ordering of the nodes traversed is predetermined in defining story possibilities. The system is restrictive in the sense that the user follows one path of a limited predetermined set of possible paths and interaction is limited to the specific actions allowed at each node as the narrative progresses.
Each of the above conventional approaches is limited in that the user may only contemporaneously experience a single story to its narrative conclusion. In addition, none of those approaches scales well to a system involving a large number of simultaneous users interacting in a shared space.

Interactive personal narrative agent system and method


A method and a pre-shaped workpiece for making at least a portion of a gas turbine fuel nozzle are disclosed having opposed gripping tabs which can be secured to machine tool holders during manufacturing by a machine tool.

Conventional fuel nozzles are manufactured in multiple pieces produced from castings that have an overall diameter at least equal to the largest diameter of the parts. Consequently, a large quantity of material is removed, especially if the section with the largest diameter is only a small fraction of the parts. The time and cost for manufacturing parts are thereby increased. Moreover, nozzle parts need to be re-positioned in the machine tool for various operations, which increases the difficulties of manufacturing the fuel nozzles since each repositioning requires that the part be precisely realigned with reference to the machine tool in order to keep tolerances within the desired level.
There is a need to provide improved manufacturing methods which can greatly simplify the manufacturing of gas turbine fuel nozzles, thereby reducing the manufacturing time and cost.