Various implementations include a Human Thermoregulation Simulator (HTRS) that simulates the natural and primary thermoregulatory functions of a patient that are relevant during therapeutic hypothermia procedures. For example, in various implementations, a HTRS includes a core container configured to be at least partially filled with water, and the core container includes a heat generator configured to heat the water inside the core container. A middle container is disposed concentrically around the core container, and the middle container includes a foam layer configured to be saturated by water. An outer container is disposed concentrically around the middle container, and the outer container includes a network of tubing disposed on at least a portion of an inner surface of the outer container. The HTRS also includes a pump configured to circulate water from the core container through the network of tubing.

Therapeutic hypothermia is induced by the intentional lowering of the core body temperature to the range of 32° C. to 34° C. Therapeutic hypothermia is applied to decrease ischemic tissue damage as may be precipitated by cardiac arrest, stroke, neurotrauma, or traumatic brain injury. Ischemia leads to cell and neuronal destruction via temperature dependent processes. By inducing hypothermia, these detrimental processes may be slowed and their effects minimized. Similarly, induced hypothermia can be used to combat the deleterious processes resulting from elevated intracranial pressure, reduced cerebral blood flow, overall ischemia, and cerebral herniation. Specifically, therapeutically cooling the core often has the following beneficial outcomes: reduction of cerebral metabolism, restoration of gene expression, inhibition of cytoskeletal breakdown, reduction of excitatory amino acids, and prevention of deleterious signals leading to unnecessary apoptosis and inflammation. Because of these benefits, various methods have been developed to induce therapeutic hypothermia.
Both invasive and non-invasive techniques have been used to lower the body core temperature in the clinical setting. Endovascular cooling uses a closed-loop catheter filled with a circulating chilled liquid inserted into the vena cava to cool the blood as it flows around the catheter. This invasive method allows for rapid induction of a hypothermic state and active control over the reduced temperatures, making it preferred among the invasive methods in practice. Alternatively, intensive care units may apply cold packs for cooling with or without intravenous saline infusions. Another non-invasive method to induce hypothermia is the use of external water-perfused cooling pads applied to the patient's skin, as shown in FIG. 1. Water of a conditioned temperature is pumped through the pads at a specific flow rate to induce heat transfer over large areas of the body surface. These surface pads are used in conjunction with a feedback control system that regulates the temperature of the circulating water. One of the most challenging periods of induced hypothermia is the rewarming process.
During the rewarming period, the nerves and the connective tissue are susceptible to the rapid temperature change, and the cells can get edematous if the rewarming is rapid. Practically, the rewarming should be done around 0.2° C. per hour to avoid this tissue injury. Clinicians face the problem that, sometimes during the rewarming, the cooling machine temperature starts to fluctuate and cannot keep a constant rewarming of 0.2° C. per hour. Often, it is not clear to the clinicians whether this fluctuation is due to a cooling machine malfunction or is a response to the normal physiological response of the body to rewarming. Currently, there is no device to calibrate or test these cooling devices in a dynamic fashion, especially to check the devices during the rewarming period.
In order to ensure the safe and effective use of external cooling pad devices in the clinical setting, the control system is calibrated to be able to adjust the patient core temperature according to a prescribed protocol. Currently, the control unit and pad system is often calibrated based on its capability to regulate the temperature of a passive thermal mass.
The sole mechanism of heat flow between the center and periphery of a passive system is via conduction. In contrast, the core temperature of patients is modulated by a complex and sophisticated thermoregulatory system that uses multiple parallel and often nonlinear mechanisms to control the flow of heat into and/or out of the body, plus its rate of internal generation. For a living person, in general, the convective flow of blood between the core and the surface is the primary means by which heat is transported, occurring in parallel with, and often dominating, conduction of heat through the tissue mass. A passive thermal mass has no capacity for mimicking an internal convective heat flow and therefore lacks the capability to ascertain whether a specific therapeutic hypothermia device can safely and accurately manage a patient's core temperature under conditions for which the internal thermal state may be dominated by blood flowing between the core and the skin. The rate at which the core temperature changes during transient procedures may be critical in determining patient outcome, particularly during rewarming from a therapeutic hypothermia state for which too great a heating rate may have dire consequences. If the device control system is unable to accommodate for the effects of varying blood flow rates during this procedure, the process may become thermally unstable.
Therefore, there is a need for a calibration system that can account for the influence of core to surface blood flow when evaluating the function of a therapeutic hypothermia device. Thus, a significant need exists for a human thermoregulatory simulation device that will generate more accurate representation of how heat moves between the body core and surface for use in therapeutic hypothermia device calibration.

Board of Regents, The University of Texas System


A printed circuit board card comprising: a printed circuit board having a first thickness and having first and second edges for inserting into respective channels of card guides, the channels of the card guides for receiving printed circuit boards having a second thickness, the second thickness being greater than the first thickness; and, first and second thickness adaptors each having a third thickness applied at the first and second edges, respectively, a sum of the first and third thicknesses approximating the second thickness, to thereby align the printed circuit board in the channels of the card guides.

Complex telecommunications systems are often of a modular design. Such systems may have an enclosure housing a printed circuit board ("PCB") card cage or shelf having card slots with card guides into which a number of differently configured PCBs or PCB cards may be inserted. The card cage typically has a backplane (or midplane) with one or more multi-contact receptacle connectors into which one or more corresponding multi-contact plug connectors on the PCB may be inserted in a pluggable manner. The PCB may have a faceplate attached to an outer facing edge, the faceplate having tabs or handles for grasping to insert and remove the PCB from the card guides, slot, and cage. The faceplate is the part of the PCB assembly that can be seen when the PCB is inserted into a card cage. The faceplate may also function to secure the PCB or PCB card in the card guides or cage.
New generation PCBs for installation in existing (or new) systems are often thinner in design to reduce the aspect ratio of through-board vias, thereby increasing the reliability of the vias. The aspect ratio of a via is the ratio of the length of the via (for a through-board via, this length is the same as the board thickness) to its diameter. Reducing the diameter of vias increases the routability of a PCB. Routability refers to the ease with which traces can be routed through the PCB. Vias can create congestion in routing and larger diameter vias create more congestion which degrades routability. These problems can be offset by reducing the thickness of the PCB, for example, by reducing the number of layers comprising the board.
However, thin PCBs create several problems for existing (or new) systems that are configured for thick PCBs. One problem is that the thin PCBs may not fit securely (i.e., without play) into the card guides of such a system. This play in the fit of the PCB can cause bent connector pins on connectors of the backplane/midplane of the system due to misalignment when the PCB is being inserted into the system's card cage. Another problem is that sensors within the system may fail to detect the presence of a thin PCB plugged into the system if the thin PCB is not properly seated in card guides due to play in the fit of the thin PCB within the guides.
Adapting the card guides of such a system to accommodate thin PCBs is often not practical because any given card slot must be able to accept both the thin and thick PCBs. That is, there needs to be flexibility as to which slots are populated by which PCB types. Furthermore, modifying systems in the field in such a way as to accommodate thin PCBs is time-consuming and expensive.
The above problems are not unique to telecommunications systems. Redesigning PCBs and PCB cards for existing systems to reduce costs, add functionality, etc., is common in a variety of technical fields (e.g., data processing, manufacturing/industrial controls, etc.). Accordingly, several attempts have been made to address these problems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,122,176 to Clements provides a mounting system for easier on-line replacement of odd-sized circuit cards in a card cage. This patent is directed to adapting odd-sized cards to be received in an electronic system. The patent describes a planar frame on which the subject circuit card is mounted. However, the patent does not address the problem of accommodating PCBs of various thicknesses. As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,191,950 to Cox, et al., provides a snap-together printed circuit card cover with an integral card support for use with Personal Computer Memory Card International Association ("PCMCIA") cards of various thicknesses. However, this patent would appear to be restricted to PCMCIA card applications. As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,967,850 to Barr, et al., provides a short card support for supporting a short printed circuit card insertable into an electronic system. The short card support has a card guide end adapted to couple to the card guide of the electronic system and a card receptor end adapted to couple with a first edge of the short printed circuit card. A support span between the card guide end and the card receptor end permits the short card support to accommodate varying lengths of short printed circuit cards. The card support is also adjustable for accommodating cards of varying thickness. And, as a final example, United States Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0124180 by Simonovich, et al., provides a removable card guidance block. The guidance block includes a base and a pair of opposing sides. A first set of opposing sides are attached to a top side of the base and provide a first separation configured to accept a first circuit card. A second set of opposing sides are attached to a bottom side of the base and provide a second separation configured to accept a second circuit card. However, these last two patents would appear to require modification to existing card guides or card cage components.
A need therefore exists for adaptors for adjusting the thickness of PCBs for installation in card guides. Accordingly, a solution that addresses, at least in part, the above and other shortcomings is desired.

Printed circuit board thickness adaptors


The present invention is directed to the use of an improved hydrocarbon adsorption system for the treatment of evaporative emissions from a motor vehicle. More specifically, the system includes one or more hydrocarbon adsorption elements being housed within a frame, the frame being permanently affixed within the air intake housing of engine.

New evaporative emission regulations for vehicles, particularly in the United States and China, require the control of polluting substances, primarily hydrocarbons, from the vehicle as the vehicle sits in an idle state. Evaporative emissions can leak out of a vehicle from many sources including the air intake system, fuel tank, and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system. In the past, only the evaporative emissions from the fuel tank and fuel delivery system were captured, such as with carbon-filled canisters. However, with increasing emission regulations it has become necessary to expand evaporative emission capture technology to other vehicle components such as the air intake system.
It has been found that a significant amount of volatile hydrocarbons from several sources collect in the air intake system of the automobile engine after the engine has been shut off. These hydrocarbons can then leak into the atmosphere after the engine has been shut off as the engine is no longer drawing air through the air intake system and these gasses can then escape backwards through the air intake system. Due to regulations, the mitigation systems regulating the escape of these hydrocarbons is required to be provided in a permanently affixed manner within the air intake to prevent removal of the mitigation system and thus ensure continued future regulation or reduced emissions by such systems. Prior art systems have relied on overmolding of adsorbent material within the housing or onto various components which overmolding methods result in excessively high fabrication costs.
In particular, prior art application CN207454135U teaches an adsorption assembly with a removable adsorption media for adsorbing hydrocarbon gasses and U.S. Pat. No. 9,624,877B also teaches a similar adsorption assembly with a removable adsorption media for adsorbing hydrocarbon gasses. However, both of these recited references teach structures which allow for the removal of the adsorbent material which is becoming impermissible through government regulation.

Hydrocarbon adsorber apparatus and fixation method thereof


A recording medium production control device, recording medium production control method, and program instructions stored on a tangible computer-readable medium acquire the operating status of the existing data recording device, printer, and other devices in the recording medium production device, plans an operating command sequence for each of the devices to process a request from an application based on the acquired operating status information for the devices, and controls the operation of the devices according to this operating command sequence to produce optical recording media with maximum production efficiency without the devices interfering with each other. The recording medium production control device 10 has a system control unit 40, a data recording unit driver 51, an auto loader driver 53, and a printer driver 60. The system control unit 40 manages the operating sequence of the devices in the recording medium production device 90 to control the devices of the recording medium production device 90 to not interfere with each other.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a recording medium production control device, to a recording medium production control method, and to a program. More particularly, the invention relates to a recording medium production control device, to a recording medium production control method, and to program instructions stored on a tangible computer-readable medium for controlling a plurality of data recording devices and recording information on optical recording media such as DVDs and CDs.
2. Description of the Related Art
Demand has risen for centrally managing recording data on optical recording media such as CDs and DVDs in order to ensure the confidentiality of personal information and corporate secrets, for example. Demand for producing or dubbing relatively small quantities, such as approximately 10 to 100, optical recording media for distribution at trade shows or on the street is also growing. To meet these needs, disc-publishing devices that record digital data, image data, or music data, for example, at high speed on optical recording media and then print the disc content on the label surface have been introduced. An example of a recording medium production device for business applications is the recording medium production device taught in Japanese Unexamined Patent Appl. Pub. JP-A-2002-58649 that has a disc holder for stocking blank CDs, a CD recording unit, a label printer unit, and a recorded CD holder, and is used for recording medical images on optical recording media and printing an identification label on the label side.
However, manufacturing data recording devices for recording on DVDs, CDs, and other optical recording media at high speed and printers for printing the recording content on the label surface specifically for such recording medium production devices is costly and time-consuming. The development of recording medium production devices that use existing data recording devices and printers to reduce the production cost and production time is thus desired.
However, even if existing devices such as data recording devices and printers are used, these devices are designed to operate separately and independently. A resulting problem is that interference occurs between the transportation unit that carries the optical recording media between the devices and the data recording and printing devices, and the optical recording media production process cannot execute normally. For example, the tray of the data recording device and the transportation unit may collide or the optical recording medium may not be delivered to the printer, and optical recording media production cannot proceed normally.
The printer driver is also set to output to a file in order to send the print commands and print data to the printer after waiting for an optical recording medium to be carried to the printer. A problem with this arrangement is that the printer driver cannot communicate continuously with the printer. The printer driver also cannot get the operating status of the printer.

Recording medium production control device, recording medium production control method


A register file architecture in a general purpose digital signal processor (DSP) supports alignment independent SIMD (Single Instruction/Multiple Data) operations. The register file architecture includes a register pair and an alignment multiplexer. Two 32 bit grouped words may be loaded into the register pair. Each grouped word includes four 8 bit operands. The alignment state of the 32 bit words may be determined by the two least significant bits (LSBs) of the pointer addresses of the grouped words. These LSBs are used to control the alignment MUX to select n operands from the two 32 bit grouped words and output an aligned 32 bit grouped word to execution units for parallel processing.

Digital signal processors (DSPs) may be used for a variety of multimedia applications such as digital video, imaging, and audio. DSPs can manipulate the digital signals to create and open such multimedia files.
DSPs may operate as SIMD (Single Instruction/Multiple Data), or data parallel, processors. In SIMD operations, a single instruction is sent to a number of processing elements, which perform the same operation on different data. A central controller may be used to broadcast the instruction stream to the different processing elements. SIMD instructions provide for several types of standard operations including addition, subtraction, multiplication, multiply-accumulate (MAC), and a number of special instructions for L1-Norm-accumulate (SAA), clipping, and bilinear interpolation.
Many video and image processing devices operate on 8 bit words arranged in a two dimensional (2D) data array. Four 8 bit operands may be packed into a 32 bit grouped word to be sent to the execution units for parallel processing. These 8 bit operands from the 2D array must be properly aligned in the 32 bit grouped word for proper operation.
When working with 8 bit data on a 32 bit word aligned machine, four different alignment possibilities may exist: aligned; shifted 8 bits; shifted 16 bits; and shifted 24 bits. If the DSP detects a misaligned word, it may generate an exception. In response to the exception, an alignment operation may be performed at the memory interface or in data registers to shift the 8 bit operands to produced an aligned 32 bit word. However, this alignment operation may introduces additional processing overhead into the operation of the machine.
Alignment overhead for 8 bit SIMD operations may result in inefficient utilization of resources within a general purpose DSP. Often this inefficiency will manifest itself as unnecessary cycle consumption due to alignment operations applied to prepare the data for processing.

General purpose register file architecture for aligned simd


The invention provides a method for improving the functionality of the jump button associated with television, cable/satellite receiver, or any other multi-channel device controlling remote control. The apparatus provides a jump button with the ability to access a wide variety of channels in an intelligent manner. At present, the jump button has the functionality such that the jump to location associated with selecting the jump button is the previously viewed channel, regardless of how the current channel being viewed is selected. The invention disclosed herein is a method of performing jumps on a device like a remote control in a more useful manner.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention pertains to controlling electronic devices. With greater particularity, the invention pertains to remote control of audio/visual devices. With still greater particularity, the invention pertains to methods and apparatus for controlling the use of the jump button in remote controls for devices which select channels.
2. Description of the Background Art
A remote control is a piece of equipment used to issue commands from a distance, commonly to an electronic device like a television or stereo from herein referenced as audio/visual (AV) equipment. This device is not connected with a wire; instead it communicates "wirelessly" via infrared (IR) frequency, radio frequency, Bluetooth communications, or any other type of wireless communication method that is available. For simplicity, although the terms "remote" and "remote control" can potentially have different meanings, from this point on unless otherwise indicated their meaning shall be exactly the same. Prior to the invention of the remote control, the only way in which to control an electronic device was by utilizing the buttons physically attached to the electronic device. Some time later a "wired" remote control was invented that allowed communication with the electronic device from a distance while the remote control was still connected to the device via a lengthy wire. The present standard is a remote control which controls the electronic device from a distance without wires. It is without question that remote controls have revolutionized the popularity of almost every electronic device, including televisions, cell phones, and video game systems, as well as many others. Remote controls also make it possible to control very small electronic devices that would otherwise be impossible to control via physical buttons without the assistance of very tiny fingers or finger like computerized controls.
Nearly all new AV devices purchased today come as standard with a remote control. It is common in the typical home in the Unites States, from herein referenced as user, to find in the primary room for AV multiple AV devices. This means that there are at least three or four remote controls needed to control all the AV devices in the room. A universal remote, like the name implies, is a single remote that can control a plethora of AV devices. The way in which the remote control works is not as important as the fact that it reduces the number of remotes needed by the user to control all of their AV devices. Recently there have been two trends in the nature of universal remotes. The first and more popular trend, which is utilized by third party vendors, has been toward the use of liquid crystal display (LCD) touch/viewable screens to aide in the functionality of the remote by reducing the number of physical buttons. The second trend is for the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to provide as standard equipment, especially with new televisions, a remote control that can be used to control multiple AV devices. However, the OEM's universal remote controls are often only programmed to control devices from the same manufacturer as the television, although other manufacturer's AV devices can be controlled in certain cases. This trend has been utilized by the OEM manufactures to counter the purchase of third party vendor remote controls. The importance of a universal remote in its approach to minimize the number of remote controls the user must account for has been the primary focus of the device with each new generation's development.
Almost all manufacturers of handheld electronic devices are trying to design as much technology into the smallest space possible. With each new generation each new gadget becomes smaller, yet it is packed with more features than ever before. The recent trend in remote control design has been no different than any other handheld electronic gadget. The trend in remote controls has been in an effort to reduce the clutter that is associated with utilizing multiple remotes to control multiple AV equipment. However, this minimization of the number of remotes to be utilized has in no way improved the functionality of the remote. Often these universal remotes are cluttered with more buttons than any single remote controlling an AV device, as would be expected for a multi-device controlling remote control. Still most will agree that having one remote control for multiple AV devices, even if the remote contains more buttons, is better than having multiple remotes for the same multiple AV devices. The reason most will agree is that they would prefer to have all the buttons in one place rather than having to search multiple mediums for the correct button.
The three most common ways to change the channel being viewed on a television and/or cable/satellite box are by using the following remote control buttons; channel up or channel down (scrolling), the numeric keypad, and jump. It is important to note that these buttons may also be located on the device in which the remote control is controlling and therefore this description should not be limited to the functionality of the buttons available on the remote control. Additionally, it is possible, with certain equipment, to utilize an on-screen channel guide to change the channel being viewed. The on-screen channel guide has been developed with the intention of giving the user the ability to view the large selection of programming available at a single glance while it is the opinion of the author that this menu does not give any functionality differences than scrolling or using the numeric keypad to change the channel being viewed. Typically, the on-screen menu only offers blocks of channels, and more specifically only one channel can be viewed at a time. The blocks consist of a number of channels, an index on one channel apart. In this situation, a user can only view a few channels at a time with the on-screen menu, and due to the nature of programming placement by the cable and satellite providers, these blocks offer very little improvement over simply scrolling through the channels to find the desired content. However, it is important to realize that channel selection via an on-screen channel guide is less common and more sophisticated than the primitive methods which will be discussed in further detail below. Additionally, utilizing some type of on-screen channel guide to switch channels can be viewed as an equivalent approach to channel switching via the numeric keypad and/or the scrolling buttons and therefore will not be discussed in any great detail regarding a channel changing option.
Consider a remote control with only two buttons for switching channels, the channel up button and the channel down button. These two distinct buttons will make up the totality of the scrolling buttons for channel changing. The description of functionality of the channel up button is best illustrated by a picture as shown in FIG. 1 (prior art). First, in FIG. 1 a remote control 1 is depicted with two buttons, the first being the 1/0 power button 2 and the second button being the channel up button 3. Remote 1 is controlling a TV or cable/satellite receiver with ten channels; we'll call them 0-9. The most common on-screen menus only allow one channel to be viewed, while the description of content being played on other nearby channels is also possible to be viewed. There are other on-screen menu types that allow multiple channels to be viewed at one time simultaneously, but they are not the standard.
Upon depressing power button 2 on remote 1, the remote itself is not powered on/off, instead the power for the TV or cable/satellite receiver (not shown) being controlled is powered on/off. Assume that by depressing power button 2 on the remote control this will now power on the device being controlled by remote control 1 and the channel being viewed is by default set to channel 0. If the user would like to view channel 1, the user would simply press channel up button 3 once. To view channel 2 when the current channel being viewed is channel 1, the user would press channel up button 3 once more. Similarly, to view the rest of the channels, 3-9, the channel up button would be depressed a certain number of times. Thus, it can be said that channel up button 3 has the functionality of always increasing the channel being viewed by an index of one. Once channel 9 is being viewed and channel up button 3 is selected, the next channel to be viewed is channel 0 not channel 10, as there is no channel 10.
Thus, it can be said that channel up button 3 will always increase the channel being viewed by an index of one, except in the case when the largest integer channel is being viewed, then channel up will change to the lowest integer channel available. Therefore, a remote control that only contains the channel changing button channel up allows the user to view all channels that are available, while it limits the mobility of channel selection to directional in the increasing positive whole number sense. The whole numbers are a super set of the natural numbers, as they include all natural numbers plus zero. The description of channel down is best illustrated by a picture as shown in FIG. 1. First, in FIG. 1 remote control 1 is depicted with two buttons, the first being the 1/0 power button 2 and the second button being the channel down button 4. The remote is controlling a TV or cable/satellite receiver with ten channels; we'll call them 0-9.
Upon depressing power button 2 on remote control 1 the remote itself is not powered on/off, instead the power for the TV or cable/satellite receiver being controlled is powered on/off. Assume that depressing power button 2 on remote 1 will now power on the device being controlled by the remote control and the channel being viewed is by default set to channel 0. If the user would like to view channel 1, the user must press down button 4 nine times and in this way the user will pass through channels 9-2. Likewise if a use wants to move from channel 1 to channel 2, the user will have to depress channel down button 4 nine times.
Channel down button 4 has a functionality of always decreasing the channel being viewed by an index of one, except in the case when the lowest integer value channel available is being viewed, then the channel down button has the affect of changing to the highest integer channel available. Just like a remote containing only a channel up button, a remote only containing a channel down button allows the user to view all channels that are available while it limits the mobility of channel selection to directional in the decreasing positive whole number sense. Most modern television and cable/satellite receiver remotes do not contain only one scrolling button; instead they contain both channel up button 3 and channel down button 4. This allows the user to view all channels that are available, but allows channel viewing in a bi-directional sense of either increasing or decreasing whole number valued channels.
Many modern remote controls also include a keypad 6 with ten numeric buttons. Such a remote control includes the ten numeric keypad buttons 0-9, the enter button 7, and 1/0 power button 2. Power button 2 does not power the remote; instead it powers the television or cable/satellite receiver that is being controlled. In the simplest example, the device that is being controlled has only ten channels available. For example, 0-9 and this implies a channel field width of one digit. Upon selecting power button 2 on the remote control, the channel being viewed is by default channel 0. To change to a different channel, for example channel 1, the user would select the button 1 on numeric keypad 6 followed by enter button 7. Changing to any of the ten channels is accomplished by selecting the desired channel to be viewed followed by enter button 7. This type of remote will allow the user one button access to all ten available channels. This is a very convenient feature of this type of remote.
The final feature of remotes to be discussed is one which contains a jump button 8 and also a 1/0 power button 2. The device that is being controlled by this remote, for simplicity, has only two channels; we'll call them channel 0 and channel 5. Like all other described remotes, power button 2 controls the 1/0 power for the device being controlled, not the power for remote control 1. Now, assuming power button 2 has been depressed and the device being controlled is powered on, by default the current channel being viewed is channel 0. Changing to the other viewable channel is only possible by selecting jump button 8. The way jump button 8 works is that upon powering on the device being controlled, channel 5 is stored as the jump to location when jump button 8 is selected. Selecting jump button 8 will change the channel being viewed from channel 0 to channel 5. At this point, when the current channel being viewed is channel 5, jump button 8 will store as its jump to location channel 0. Said another way, jump will always store as its jump to location the previously viewed channel. The only caveat to this definition, and which is only the case in this example shown in FIG. 1, is that upon powering on the device being controlled, by default jump button 8 stores as its jump to location channel 5. While not an option for the TV or cable/satellite receiver that is being controlled by the remote in FIG. 1, a remote control's jump button can actually jump the user to the exact same channel that is presently being viewed. This is possible if the current channel being viewed is still the same channel being viewed after some other single channel changing operation. A more general and correct definition of jump button 8 is that it always jumps to the location of the previously viewed channel. The only exception to this definition would be when the device has just been powered for the first time after production or a "hard reset" has occurred, as there may be no value set for jump or a default value has been set for this single occurrence. As a rule, jump always has a jump to location of the previously viewed channel. The foregoing are the three most common ways of performing channel changing; either by scrolling, numeric keypad selection, or jump. Almost every modern remote today contains the following buttons for channel changing: the numeric keypad 6 values 0-9, enter button 7, channel up 3, channel down 4, jump 8, and 1/0 power button 2 as shown in FIG. 1.
Additionally, shown in FIG. 1 is the channel that will be viewed when power button 2 is depressed on remote control 1, assuming this powers on the device being controlled, and this is the channel that was being viewed when the device being controlled by the remote was powered off. The three channel changing options described above give the user the ability to watch any channel available by depressing certain combinations of channel changing buttons. However the combination of buttons which will be selected greatly depends on the current channel being viewed and the channel which the user would like to view.
Remote control manufactures have heeded this criticism and have attempted to hide all these buttons by utilizing liquid crystal displays (LCD) and touch pad screens within the design of the remote. Regardless of whether the buttons are cluttered on one remote, are hidden by an LCD screen, or are spaced out on multiple remotes, one simple fact is true. An improvement in the functionality of one button on either the single device controlling remote or the universal remote will have a vast improvement on the usability of all remote controls that contain the button. This type of innovation, such as improving the functionality of a button on a remote control, has not been the focus of handheld; electronic device manufacturers, but would yield significant gains in the eyes of consumers.

Method and apparatus for remote control of audio visual systems


The invention provides compounds of formula I:

Monocarboxylate Transporters (MCTs) are members of the solute carrier 16 (SLC16) gene family. In mammalian species there are 14 known MCT isoforms and only four (MCT-1, -2, -3, -4) have been demonstrated to perform proton-linked transport of monocarboxylates such as lactate, pyruvate, butyrate, and ketone bodies.
Malignant tumors contain aerobic and hypoxic regions and intratumoral hypoxia increases the risk of cancer advancement, and metastasis. Tumor hypoxia leads to treatment failure, relapse and patient mortality as these cells are generally resistant to standard chemo- and radiation therapy. In regions of hypoxia, cancer cells metabolize glucose into lactate, whereas nearby aerobic cancer cells take up this lactate via the mono-carboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1) for oxidative phosphorylation. MCT1 expression is elevated in an array of human tumors including brain, breast, head, neck, lung and colon.
Under hypoxic conditions, cancer cells upregulate glucose transporters and consume large quantities of glucose. Cancer cells also upregulate glycolytic enzymes and convert glucose into lactate, which is then effluxed out of the cell via MCT4. The nearby aerobic cancer cells take up this lactate via the MCT1 for energy generation through oxidative phosphorylation. Thus, the limited glucose available to the tumor is used most efficiently via a synergistic metabolic symbiosis. This utilization of lactate as an energy substitute for survival prevents the aerobic cells from consuming large quantities of glucose. Targeted inhibition of MCT4 will lead to lactic acidosis and consequent death of hypoxic cells, while MCT1 inhibition will cause aerobic cancer cells to consume glucose instead of lactate, thus resulting in further stress and death of hypoxic cancer cells.
The inhibition of MCT1 may also be useful for treating autoimmune diseases and preventing organ transplant rejection. The rate of short term graft survival has been improved by current immunosuppressants, however in the past two decades there has been no improvement in the abilities of agents to promote long term graft survival. Recently it has been demonstrated that agents which inhibit MCT1 have been shown to aid prolonged allograft survival, prevent chronic rejection, and induce tolerance in rat allograft models. In an immune response, a rapid division of T cells occurs, and these activated T cells use glycolysis as their means for energy production. Interestingly, the activated T cells use glycolysis even though the cells exist in an aerobic environment. As MCT1 plays a critical role in the aerobic glycolysis of the activated T cells by exporting lactate, inhibition of MCT1 leads to a buildup of lactate in the cell. This in turn decreases glycolytic flux effectively limiting the proliferation of new lymphocytes.
There is a current need for agents that are useful for treating or preventing cancer or that are useful for treating or preventing autoimmune diseases or that are useful for preventing transplant rejection. There is also a need for agents that are useful for diagnosing cancer or autoimmune diseases or for imaging cancerous cells or cells involved in an autoimmune response.

Abstract: or a salt thereof as described herein. The invention also provides pharmaceutical compositions comprising a compound of formula I, processes for preparing compounds of formula I, intermediates useful for preparing compounds of formula I and therapeutic methods for treating cancer or treating autoimmune diseases or preventing transplant rejection using compounds of formula I.


In a method and magnetic resonance apparatus for acquisition of image data for a magnetic resonance image, the image data are acquired with an acquisition sequence, in which a k-space matrix corresponding to the image data is scanned in segments with at least two partial acquisitions and in which each of the partial acquisition includes a navigator signal in addition to the measurement signal with which a specific k-space segment is scanned, with which navigator signal a same navigator segment of the k-space matrix is scanned. In one of the partial acquisitions a measure is determined that characterizes the breadth of the distribution of signal values of the navigator signal with regard to the k-space matrix and the partial acquisition is repeated if and when the measure lies outside of a tolerance range.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a method for acquisition of magnetic resonance image data, as well as a magnetic resonance apparatus operable according to such a method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is a known, firmly established modality that is particularly used in medical imaging. A body to be examined is introduced into a strong, homogeneous static magnetic field (known as the basic magnetic field) that causes an alignment of the nuclear spins of atomic nuclei in the body, in particular of hydrogen atomic nuclei (protons) bound to water. These nuclei are excited to a precessional movement around direction of the basic magnetic field by means of radio-frequency excitation pulses. After the end of a radio-frequency (RF) excitation pulse, the nuclear spins precess at a frequency that is known as the Larmor frequency, which depends on the strength of the basic magnetic field. Due to various interaction types, the nuclear spins align (with a characteristic time curve) again along the preferred direction provided by the basic magnetic field. The time curve is, among other things, tissue-dependent and can be described using a characteristic known as the relaxation time. By computational and/or measurement analysis of the integral, radio-frequency magnetic resonance signals, an image can be generated from the spatial distribution of the spin density in connection with the respective relaxation times. The association of the nuclear magnetic resonance signals (that can be detected as a consequence of the precessional movement) with the location or their origin ensues by the application of magnetic field gradients. For this purpose, gradient fields are superimposed on the basic magnetic field and controlled such that an excitation of the nuclei ensues only in a slice to be imaged. An RF coil device is required both for RF excitation of the nuclear spins and for detection of the nuclear response signals. Imaging systems based on these physical effects are known as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems.
In MR, the acquired measurement signals and the image data to be reconstructed therefrom are linked via a Fourier transformation. For example, in order to acquire tomographic image data of a slice of a subject to be examined, a two-dimensional space (known as k-space) is sampled by a series of measurement signals and the image is subsequently reconstructed by a Fourier transformation of a two-dimensional k-space matrix determined from the measurement signals Since a measurement signal typically arises from the radiation of an excitation pulse, the activation of diverse gradient fields, and the acquisition of the decaying transverse magnetization of the nuclear spins, it can sometimes take a relatively long time until the two-dimensional k-space matrix has been sampled at a resolution necessary for the image quality.
In order to address the problem of long acquisition time, various methods that are known as "single shot" methods have been developed. In these methods, k-space is scanned with the measurement signal after a single excitation pulse ("single shot") by skillful switching of the gradient fields, RF pulses or a combination of these, such that the image data can be acquired in a shorter time.
These methods are known, among other things, as gradient echo sequences or EPI (echoplanar imaging) sequences, spin echo sequences and GRASE (gradient and spin echo) sequences. A disadvantage of the cited methods is the often insufficient resolution with which k-space is covered, such that the image data do not always exhibit the necessary degree of detail. The "single shot" methods, in particular EPI sequences, are additionally prone to susceptibility and eddy current artifacts that in part significantly reduce the quality of the reconstructed images.
Methods known as "multi-shot" methods represent a compromise between fast acquisition and good image quality. In such methods, k-space is scanned not with a single excitation pulse (with successive acquisition of the measurement signal) but rather successively in segments using a number of excitation pulses. By such segmented scanning, the entirety of k-space is canned by specific segments of the k-space matrix being respectively scanned upon each excitation pulse. The individual segments can be scanned in this manner with a greater precision than given the "single shot" methods. The image can then be reconstructed, for example, from the measurement signals by Fourier transforming the individual k-space segments into partial images, and the partial images are subsequently added.
A problem that occurs in "multi-shot" methods is an increased sensitivity to movement artifacts. In particular, the phase of the transverse magnetization of the excited spins changes when excited spins move along magnetic field gradients. Given a simple movement, such as a translation, during the measurement signal acquisition after an excitation pulse, a global phase shift that is reflected as a global phase shift in image space is impressed on the transverse magnetization. In the case of more complex movements during the measurement signal acquisition (for example pulsing expansions caused by the blood flow), a locally-varying phase distribution that is reflected in the reconstruction image as a locally-varying phase distribution is impressed on the transverse magnetization.
In "single shot" methods, a locally varying phase distribution in the reconstructed image typically does not represent a problem, since primarily the magnitude of the transverse magnetization of the spins is decisive for the reconstructed image. However, when "multi-shot" methods are used, the entire image is calculated from the individual partial images corresponding to the k-space segments. If the various partial images respectively exhibit different phase distributions since the subject to be examined had different movement patterns at the respective acquisition points in time of the associated k-space segments, the different phase distributions lead to significant disruptive interferences in the image reconstruction.
Strong field gradients (primarily given high diffusion values) are activated in diffusion-weighted imaging, in which "multi-shot" methods are typically applied. A particularly distinct phase distribution is thereby impressed on the transverse magnetization of a moving subject, such that the artifacts just described occur particularly prominently due to the movement-induced different phase distribution in the individual partial images.
One possibility to compensate for this type of movement-induced artifacts is the use of what are known as navigator signals or navigator echoes. A navigator signal means a measurement signal that is acquired after each excitation pulse in addition to the measurement signal of the k-space segment, and with which the same (advantageously central) segment of k-space is always scanned.
The measurement signals of the different k-space segments cannot be directly compared with one another since the k-space segments typically do not overlap. The navigator signals that always acquire the same k-space segment, however, can be compared with one another due to this. The phase distribution that has occurred upon the respective acquisition of the associated k-space segments therefore can be determined by the evaluation of the navigator signals and through their comparison. The partial images belonging to the k-space segments thus can be phase-corrected and can be added largely without interference in the reconstruction of the image.
Although this correction method delivers considerably better images than a reconstruction without consideration of the phase distribution, this method has its limitations. The navigator signal typically covers only a relatively small central region of the k-space matrix. The phase distribution calculated from this region therefore reflects only the low-frequency components. If the movement of the subject during the acquisition of a measurement signal and navigator signal was complex, such that the partial image exhibits a strongly-varying phase distribution (thus a phase distribution with impressed radio-frequency components), it can occur that this phase distribution is determined only insufficiently by the navigator signal.
In "The use of intelligent re-acquisition to reduce scan time in MRI degraded by motion" in Proceedings, ISMRM, 6th Annual Meeting, Sydney, Australia 1998, p. 134, Nguyen Q, Clemence M, Ordidge R J disclose a method with which the diffusion-weighted images can be improved using navigator echoes with regard to distortions due to ghost images. The navigator echo disclosed in this article is a one-dimensional navigator echo in the frequency coding direction. According to this article, the integrated navigator echo supplies a measure that indicates the image-to-ghost image ratio, and thus characterizes the quality of the image. The method furthermore implements diverse acquisition algorithms with which those echo signals whose navigator signals suggest a particularly disadvantageous image-to-ghost image ratio are repeatedly acquired.
A method based on this technique is disclosed by Nguyen Q, Thornton J, Ordidge R J in "sotropic diffusion-weighted multishot imaging using automatic reacquisition" in Proceedings, ISMRM, 7th Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, USA 1998, p. 559. A diffusion-weighted image is thereby acquired with a "multi-shot" spin echo sequence with navigator echoes. After acquisition of the measurement signals that navigator echo that characterizes a particularly low ghost image ratio is identified from the various navigator echoes. Using this navigator echo those echoes are now identified that cause the largest ghost image artifacts in the image. These echoes are thereupon reacquired.
The two articles do in fact disclose a method with which specifically those echoes can be identified that lead to ghost artifacts, such that these echoes can be reacquired. Other types of artifacts that, for example, are caused by a radio-frequency phase distribution in the individual partial images are still not accounted for by this method, such that improving the image quality is still desirable.

Magnetic resonance data acquisition method and apparatus


The invention relates to a method and a receiver for obtaining a soft decision in detection of a TFM signal. In the method, the phase of a signal sample is reversed rotated twice in the way that the real part of the sample indicates the phase of the sample and that the rotation is opposite to the phase belonging to the old state of a trellis diagram. Transition metrics are completed with the aid of the real part of the signal sample. Then path metrics are computed, the path with larger metrics is selected as a survivor and the survivor with the largest metric is selected as the best survivor. The sign of the demodulated bit is determined and the weight of the demodulated bit is calculated.

Nowadays there are many different modulation methods for telecommunication systems. In most cases the resultant modulated signals have a variable amplitude. However, in radio communication systems, constant envelope modulated signals are preferable in most cases due to the existing system constraints in power economy and the consequent use of nonlinear power amplifiers. Thus, it can be said that usually frequency modulation is more suitable for telecommunication systems. Unfortunately, the spectrum of a frequency modulated signal is typically relatively wide. A narrow spectrum is needed particularly in microwave radio systems. In order to narrow the spectrum, a channel filter with a precisely prescribed attenuation and phase characteristic may be used, but this is not preferable in radio systems.
Tamed Frequency Modulation (TFM) has a narrow spectrum and good spectral efficiency and therefore it is suitable for systems where a narrow spectrum is needed, like microwave radio systems.
In radio telecommunication systems a signal propagates on a radio channel as an electromagnetic wave-motion from a transmitter to a receiver. In the channel, the signal alters due to other radio signals, noise and other reasons. Therefore, the received signal differs from the transmitted signal. In the receiver, the received signal has to be detected despite the distortion. Different detection methods have been developed for detecting distorted signals. In the case where a transmitted symbol depends on more than one data symbol, the encoder is said to have memory and decoding is in many cases accomplished by applying trellis. One algorithm which utilizes a trellis-diagram is called Viterbi-algorithm. The Viterbi algorithm leads to the optimum decoding in the maximum likelihood sense.
There is a need to find an effective transmission method when a narrow spectrum, good spectral efficiency and a method for detecting distorted signals are needed.
Short Description
The object of the invention is to provide an improved method and receiver. According to an aspect of the present invention, a method for obtaining a soft decision in detection of a TFM signal is specified. The method comprises: sampling a received signal, reverse rotating the phase of a signal sample in the way that the real part of a complex signal indicates the phase of the sample, reverse rotating the phase changes of possible transitions determined by the modulation method used so that the rotation is opposite to the phase belonging to the old state of a trellis diagram, computing transition metrics for the state transitions in a trellis diagram with the aid of the real part of the signal sample and computing path metrics for each survivor path, selecting the path with larger metrics as a survivor from paths entering a state node, and the phase of that survivor is set as the phase state of the new correlative state in question, selecting the survivor with the largest metric as the best survivor, determining the sign of the demodulated bit with the aid of the last bit of the previous state of the best survivor and calculating the weight of the demodulated bit as the difference of the path metrics of the best survivor and a selected path joining it.
The invention also relates to a second method for obtaining a soft decision in detection of a TFM signal. The second method comprises: sampling a received signal, reverse rotating the phase of a signal sample in the way that the real part of a complex signal indicates the phase of the sample, reverse rotating the phase changes of possible transitions determined by the modulation method used so that the rotation is opposite to the phase belonging to the old state of a trellis diagram, rotating a carrier phase, computing transition metrics for the state transitions in a trellis diagram with the aid of the real part of the signal sample and computing path metrics for each survivor path, selecting the path with larger metrics as a survivor from paths entering to a state node, and the phase of that survivor is set as the phase state of the new correlative state in question, selecting the survivor with the largest metric as the best survivor, determining the sign of the demodulated bit with the aid of the last bit of the previous state of the best survivor and calculating the weight of the demodulated bit as the difference of the path metrics of the best survivor and a selected path joining it.
The invention also relates to a third method for obtaining a soft decision in detection of a TFM signal. The third method comprises: sampling a received signal, reverse rotating the phase of a signal sample in the way that the real part of a complex signal indicates the phase of the sample, reverse rotating the phase changes of possible transitions determined by the modulation method used so that the rotation is opposite to the phase belonging to the old state of a trellis diagram, computing transition metrics for the state transitions in a trellis diagram with the aid of the real part of the signal sample using two earlier symbols as an original state of the trellis and computing path metrics for each survivor path, selecting the path with larger metrics as a survivor from paths entering a state node, and the phase of that survivor is set as the phase state of the new correlative state in question, selecting the survivor with the largest metric as the best survivor, determining the sign of the demodulated bit with the aid of the last bit of the previous state of the best survivor and calculating the weight of the demodulated bit as the difference of the path metrics of the best survivor and a selected path joining it.
The invention also relates to a fourth method for obtaining a soft decision in detection of a TFM signal. The fourth method comprises: sampling a received signal, reverse rotating the phase of a signal sample in the way that the real part of a complex signal indicates the phase of the sample, reverse rotating the phase changes of possible transitions determined by the modulation method used so that the rotation is opposite to the phase belonging to the old state of a trellis diagram, rotating a carrier phase, computing transition metrics for the state transitions in a trellis diagram with the aid of the real part of the signal sample using two earlier symbols as the original state of the trellis and computing path metrics for each survivor path, selecting the path with larger metrics as a survivor from paths entering a state node, and the phase of that survivor is set as the phase state of the new correlative state in question, selecting the survivor with the largest metric as the best survivor, determining the sign of the demodulated bit with the aid of the last bit of the previous state of the best survivor and calculating the weight of the demodulated bit as the difference of the path metrics of the best survivor and a selected path joining it.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a receiver for obtaining a soft decision in detection of a TFM signal is provided. The receiver comprises means for sampling a received signal, means for reverse rotating the phase of a signal sample in the way that the real part of a complex signal indicates the phase of the sample, means for reverse rotating the phase changes of possible transitions determined by the modulation method used so that the rotation is opposite to the phase belonging to the old state of a trellis diagram, means for computing transition metrics for the state transitions in a trellis diagram with the aid of the real part of the signal sample and computing path metrics for each survivor path, means for selecting the path with larger metrics as a survivor from paths entering a state node, and the phase of that survivor is set as the phase state of the new correlative state in question, means for selecting the survivor with the largest metric as the best survivor, means for determining the sign of the demodulated bit with the aid of the last bit of the previous state of the best survivor and calculating the weight of the demodulated bit as the difference of the path metrics of the best survivor and a selected path joining it.
The invention also relates to a second receiver for obtaining a soft decision in detection of a TFM signal. The second receiver comprises means for sampling a received signal, means for reverse rotating the phase of a signal sample in the way that the real part of a complex signal indicates the phase of the sample, means for reverse rotating the phase changes of possible transitions determined by the modulation method used so that the rotation is opposite to the phase belonging to the old state of a trellis diagram, means for rotating a carrier phase, means for computing transition metrics for the state transitions in a trellis diagram with the aid of the real part of the signal sample and computing path metrics for each survivor path, means for selecting the path with larger metrics as a survivor from paths entering a state node, and the phase of that survivor is set as the phase state of the new correlative state in question, means for selecting the survivor with the largest metric as the best survivor, means for determining the sign of the demodulated bit with the aid of the last bit of the previous state of the best survivor and calculating the weight of the demodulated bit as the difference of the path metrics of the best survivor and a selected path joining it.
The invention also relates to a third receiver for obtaining a soft decision in detection of a TFM signal. The third receiver comprises sampling a received signal, means for reverse rotating the phase of a signal sample in the way that the real part of a complex signal indicates the phase of the sample, means for reverse rotating the phase changes of possible transitions determined by the modulation method used so that the rotation is opposite to the phase belonging to the old state of a trellis diagram, means for computing transition metrics for the state transitions in a trellis diagram with the aid of the real part of the signal sample using two earlier symbols as an original state of the trellis and computing path metrics for each survivor path, means for selecting the path with larger metrics as a survivor from paths entering a state node, and the phase of that survivor is set as the phase state of the new correlative state in question, means for selecting the survivor with the largest metric as the best survivor, means for determining the sign of the demodulated bit with the aid of the last bit of the previous state of the best survivor and calculating the weight of the demodulated bit as the difference of the path metrics of the best survivor and a selected path joining it.
The invention also relates to a fourth receiver for obtaining a soft decision in detection of a TFM signal. The fourth receiver comprises means for sampling a received signal, means for reverse rotating the phase of a signal sample in the way that the real part of a complex signal indicates the phase of the sample, means for reverse rotating the phase changes of possible transitions determined by the modulation method used so that the rotation is opposite to the phase belonging to the old state of a trellis diagram, means for rotating a carrier phase, means for computing transition metrics for the state transitions in a trellis diagram with the aid of the real part of the signal sample using two earlier symbols as the original state of the trellis and computing path metrics for each survivor path, means for selecting the path with larger metrics as a survivor from paths entering a state node, and the phase of that survivor is set as the phase state of the new correlative state in question, means for selecting the survivor with the largest metric as the best survivor, means for determining the sign of the demodulated bit with the aid of the last bit of the previous state of the best survivor and calculating the weight of the demodulated bit as the difference of the path metrics of the best survivor and a selected path joining it.
Other preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims.
By means of the method of the invention, a weighting coefficient which indicates the reliability of a bit decision can be obtained in addition to hard bit decisions from a TFM demodulator based on the Viterbi algorithm without substantially increasing the complexity of the demodulator or the delay. Weighting coefficients can be utilized particularly when a channel code concatenated serially with TFM modulation is used. A channel decoder, which receives soft decisions from the demodulator, can at best improve coding gain by 2 dB compared to a corresponding decoder which utilizes only hard decisions.
The invention is largely based on a TFM/Viterbi demodulator which outputs hard decisions and utilizes RSSD technique (reduced state sequence detection). In the TFM the phase angle of a signal is determined by adding the rotation of the state defined by three successive data bits to the preceding state. In the RSSD algorithm the phase statuses are not added to the trellis but the preceding state is always calculated according to the survivor to be included in each old state. This yields a four-state trellis where the old state related to a symbol instant consists of two first bits that determine the state rotation and the new state consists of the two last bits. The transition from the old state to the new state is thus defined unambiguously when all the three bits that determine the state rotation are known.
A complex sample read in the channel is divided into eight different branches in a filter bank and phase angle rotation is performed in each branch, the rotation being opposite to the phase angle rotation determined by the transition attached to the branch in question. After this, a second phase angle rotation is performed in each branch, the rotation being opposite to the phase to be provided for the old state. The phase angle of the trellis branch to be attached to the symbol transmitted after these rotations should be zero, and thus simply the real part of a complex sample can be used as the transition metrics. After this, the transition metrics are added to old path metrics and the survivors of the new states are selected according to the new path metrics. The final bit decisions are made at an instant following the survivor length on the basis of the path according to the current best survivor.
Soft decisions are obtained using the path metrics calculated above. The weighting coefficient of a bit is calculated by simply subtracting the metrics of a competing path from the metrics of the best survivor. Since the decision on the best survivor is not made until at an instant following the survivor length, the system requires memory for storing the metrics. The path that will enter the new state together with the best survivor is selected as the competing path, i.e. the path that would have given a bit decision with a different sign and which is rejected at the instant the bit decision is made. Furthermore, since in the TFM errors occur as bursts of two bits, the weighting coefficient is checked at the instant following the bit decision. If the competing path that is to enter the same state with the best survivor gives a smaller weighting coefficient and a bit decision with a different sign, the weighting coefficient of the bit decoded at the preceding instant is replaced with a smaller weighting coefficient. However, bit decisions, i.e. the sign of the bit to be decoded, are always determined according to the best survivor.
By means of the invention soft decisions can be obtained from the TFM demodulator, which can be implemented by a relatively simple solution.


An outer event stream can be modeled to represent duration for an event with an inner event stream. The inner event stream can be generated to represent duration of at least one event from the outer event stream. By modeling the outer event stream to include duration, coincidence between two or more events can be determined. More specifically, the modeling of the outer event stream enables use of operators to identify coincidence between events from event streams.

Data sources can provide event streams to clients for further exploitation. For example, an event stream can include events corresponding to stock prices that are communicated via the event stream at arbitrary times, such as upon a change in price of a stock. Event streams and associated events are typically harnessed as data over which queries can be executed. Querying enables resources (e.g., software, servers, applications, hardware . . . ) to utilize the event streams and events. For instance, a particular stock price can be monitored and a user notified when the price reaches a certain value.
Conventional event streams comprise reactive streams of point events that occur at a specific point in time. It can be useful to include duration for each of the events to facilitate exploiting event streams and respective data. Typically, two techniques are employed to handle representing duration for events from event streams—utilizing an end-of-duration event or implementing a time stamp.
An end of duration event can be generated for each event on an event stream. Yet, such end of duration events are not directly correlated to corresponding events. In particular, the event stream of events can include a corresponding stream that includes end of duration events for each event on the event stream. However, complications can develop as mapping is required between the event stream and the end-of-event corresponding stream in order to associate an event with a respective end of duration event. Mapping and encoding this relationship between the event stream and the end of duration events can be complex and inefficient.
A time stamp typically includes a variable in the time domain that is associated with the event in which the variable represents duration. Duration represented by a variable in the time domain requires the entire duration to be defined with a start and an end for accurate representation of the duration for each event. This can lead to delay in aggregation of events since an event end must be identified while using a time stamp. For instance, suppose an event is issued whenever a person was born that has a duration until the person dies. It is beneficial to issue the event as soon as possible but the date of death is not known until much later. This forces a delay since the birth event will not issue until death occurs so that the duration is certain.
Moreover, difficulty arises in representing infinite events. The time stamp technique, as mentioned, requires the duration (e.g., a start and an end) in order to represent an event. In order to overcome the challenges with infinite duration events, time stamp techniques can provide an estimated duration (e.g., start and end for events) and, at a later time, updating the estimates. Yet, this leads to excess processing, increased delays, and inaccurate duration representation for events between updates.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Embodiments of the invention include methods and compositions useful in a vaccination strategy capable of neutralizing HIa to provide immunoprotection against S. aureus pneumonia. In certain aspects the invention includes a HIa with reduced toxicity, represented by a recombinant mutant form of HIa (HlaH35L) in which histidine 35 is convened to leucine, which can be used to abrogate the productive assembly of the toxin and protect a subject from staphylococcal pneumonia.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the fields of immunology, microbiology, infectious diseases and medicine. In a more particular embodiment, it concerns methods and compositions including an exotoxin protein, such as α-hemolysin, for producing an immune response to a bacterium.
II. Background
The current methods for treating S. aureus pneumonia rely on antimicrobial drugs against which the organism has a remarkable propensity to acquire resistance. The pathogenesis of staphylococcal infections relies on many different virulence factors such as secreted exotoxins. Previous studies have shown that deletion of single genes encoding such factors causes either no defect or results in only modest reduction of virulence. However, studies of S. aureus pneumonia in a murine model system conducted by the inventors unexpectedly defined α-hemolysin, also known as alpha toxin, as a critical virulence factor in the pathogenesis of the disease, as a mutant strain lacking this exotoxin was avirulent. Alpha-hemolysin is a member of a family of bacterial cytotoxins that is secreted by S. aureus and is capable of inserting into the cell membrane of a multitude of eukaryotic cells. The protein is secreted as a monomer, however it assembles into a heptameric ring structure on the surface of eukaryotic cells. The assembled toxin inserts into the host cell membrane, forming a pore that contributes to cellular injury and death by disrupting the integrity of the membrane. Several biochemical studies have defined the amino acid residues within the α-hemolysin monomer that facilitate binding to the host cell, heptamer formation and host cell lysis.
The development of staphylococcal vaccines is hindered by the multifaceted nature of staphylococcal invasion strategies. It is well established that live attenuated microorganisms are highly effective vaccines, presenting a number of antigens to the subject's immune system. Immune responses elicited by such vaccines are often of greater magnitude and of longer duration than those produced by non-replicating or multi-component immunogens. One explanation for this may be that live attenuated strains establish limited infections in the host and mimic the early stages of natural infection as well as presenting a number of antigens to the immune system.
A number of references describe the inclusion of a α-hemolysin (Hla) component in a vaccine, some of which describe a chemically or heat attenuated Hla toxoid. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,327,082 for example. Other references have described immunizing a human with a multi-component toxoid vaccine and isolating Hla neutralizing antibodies for use in passive immunization. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,010. Adlam et al., (1977) have tested the effectiveness of purified Hla to protect against mammary infections. Adlam et al. observed a reduction in the "blue breast form" of mastitis, but did not see protection against the local chronic abscess form of staphylococcal disease. Adlam et al., attribute this observation to the insufficiency of Hla alone to protect against a multi-factorial disease state such as the local chronic abscess form of staphylococcal infection.
Bhakdi et al. (1994) have described the reduced toxicity of Hla having a mutation at residue 35 and describe administration of such a mutant to a rabbit without killing the rabbit. Menzies and Kernodle (1996) describe a similar H35L mutant of Hla and its use to produce antibodies in rabbits that can later be purified and used in passive immunity experiments. Menzies and Kernodle also describe the difficulty and expected failure of producing protection using a single component vaccine; they state "The great diversity of S. aureus as a pathogen and the multitude of virulence factors which it produces make it unlikely that a single immunologic target such as alpha toxin would be effective as a vaccine candidate." The inventors note that none of these references address the effectiveness of any composition to protect against or treat staphylococcal pneumonia.
The state of the art is such that one of skill in the art would not consider a recombinant Hla alone or substantially alone as an effective antigen for protecting against staphylococcus infection, particularly respiratory infections of staphylococcus or the indirect effects of staphylococcal respiratory infection. Thus, those of skill in the art would have no expectation of Hla, administered as a primary vaccine component in the absence or substantial absence of other Staphylococcal antigen(s), evoking an immune response sufficient for protecting a subject from or treating a subject with respiratory infection or staphylococcal associated pneumonia.
There remains a need in the art for additional compositions and methods for preventing and/or treating staphylococcal infection of the lungs, as well as the attenuation or amelioration of the secondary effects of such an infection.

Methods and compositions related to immunizing against Staphylococcal lung diseases and conditions


A system and method for linking external storage systems that includes creating a virtual volume mapping at one or more storage systems. Each virtual volume mapping at each storage system associating a virtual storage volume with a physical storage volume and/or one second virtual storage volume at one or more second storage systems. An access request is received at a first storage system specifying a virtual volume. It is determined on which storage system a physical storage volume associated with the specified virtual volume in the access request is located using the virtual volume mapping at the first storage system and/or the virtual volume mapping at one or more second storage systems. Access is provided to the physical storage volume based on which storage system the physical storage volume is located. Useful in Storage Area Networks and many configurations including 1 to 1, dual path, mirrored, and concatenated, etc.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to storage systems, and more specifically to routing of I/O requests to an appropriate storage system via virtual storage volume mapping in Storage Area Network (SAN) systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Storage area networks (SANs) provide a solution for storing and retrieving mass amounts of data. A typical SAN network architecture may consist of one or more host devices interconnected to one or more network devices or switches through an interface. The network devices or switches may then be interconnected to one or more data storage devices through a second network or interface. Many SAN architectures use Fibre Channel (FC) as the interface or network, however, Ethernet, Infiniband, Internet, and other networks/interfaces may also be used in a SAN architecture.
In an SAN system, there may be one or more physically separated and independent SANs. Physically separated and independent SANs may be desired because a user may want security for data access. For example, if a system consists of two physically separated and independent SANs, SAN_A and SAN_B, if a server in SAN_A has been hacked, the hacker cannot access the storage system in SAN_B because it is physically independent and separated from that of SAN_A. Moreover, a user may not want I/O loads from a server in SAN_A to affect the I/O performance of another server in SAN_B, therefore, desiring SAN_A and SAN_B to be physically separated and independent. If these servers shared one SAN architecture, performance degradation may occur.
However, in systems where security or Input/Output (I/O) performance is not as high a priority, physically separated and independent SANs may be problematic. Servers connected to one SAN (e.g., SAN_A) are not connected to another SAN (e.g., SAN_B) and therefore the servers from SAN_A cannot access any storage systems associated and connected to SAN_B. This is problematic in that sometimes there may be a requirement that the servers in SAN_A have access to storage systems in SAN_B, and vice versa.
Some current SAN systems replicate data from a first storage system to a second storage system via a network, however, a server from one storage system cannot access data including the replicated data in the second storage system. In some other current systems, a virtual SAN (VSAN) is created that separates a physical SAN into multiple logical SANs. Data access from a server that is connected to one VSAN to a storage system that is connected to another VSAN is restricted. I/O loads in one VSAN can be isolated from other VSANs so there is no performance degradation among different VSANs. Thus, because of these capabilities, a user has a choice to create one large physical SAN and connect all of servers and storage systems to the physical SAN, and then separate the physical SAN into multiple VSANs. However, this is problematic in that even if a user has physical SANs in different locations, VSAN requires a user to connect these physical SANs to one big physical SAN. Thus, switches that have the VSAN function need to communicate with each other to keep consistent information of the VSAN configuration. Further, such communications over long distance introduces performance degradation of the system because such communications are slow. Another problem exists in that the VSAN is aware of a Fibre Channel protocol but is not aware of higher layers like Small Computer System Interface (SCSI). VSAN controls which server can access which storage system, but it does not control which server can access which volume in a storage system. Further, a user may want to restrict data access from a server at a SCSI layer, meaning volume level, because it provides more flexibility and granularity, but this is not possible.
Moreover, in other current systems, storage virtualization appliance sits between hosts and storage systems and provides virtualized volumes for the host. Similar to the VSAN, if a host needs to access data in a different SAN, the virtualization appliance must be able to access a SAN in which the host exists and the other SAN. As a result, this requires a large physically connected network. However, a storage virtualization appliance cannot be used by cascading two or more appliances because there is no way to selecting which data can be cached at which appliances or to diagnose in which appliances failures have occurred in the cascaded environment. Also, such appliances are not storage systems that have disk controllers, cache memory, physical storage in which data is stored, etc.
Therefore, there is a need for providing access to servers in one SAN to the storage devices in other physically separated and independent SANs.

Method and apparatus for disk array based I/O routing and multi-layered external storage linkage


The present invention is drawn to a composition of matter comprising high viscosity sodium alginate, cellulose sulfate and a multi-component polycation. Additionally, the present invention provides methods for making capsules, measuring capsule permeability to immunologically-relevant proteins and treating disease in an animal using encapsulated cells.. Over one thousand combinations of polyanions and polycations were examined as polymer candidates suitable for encapsulation of living cells and thirty-three pairs were effective. The combination of sodium alginate, cellulose sulfate, poly(methylene-co-guanidine) hydrochloride, calcium chloride, and sodium chloride produced the most desirable results. Pancreatic islets encapsulated in this multicomponent capsule demonstrated glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in vitro and reversed diabetes without stimulating immune reaction in mice. The capsule formulation and system of the present invention allows independent adjustments of capsule size, wall thickness, mechanical strength and permeability, and offers distinct advantages for immunoisolating cells.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the fields of endocrinology, protein chemistry and biomedical engineering. More specifically, the present invention relates to a novel encapsulation system for the immunoisolation of living cells.
2. Description of the Related Art
Transplantation of cells to treat a variety of human diseases, such as diseases caused by hormone or protein deficiencies, is limited because transplanted cells are destroyed quickly by the recipient's immune system. To overcome this limitation, it is desirable that hormone- or protein-secreting cells be enclosed in a semi-permeable membrane that would protect cells from immune attack, while allowing the influx of molecules important for cell function/survival and efflux of the desired cellular products (see refs. 1-7).
The principle of immunoisolation or immunoprotection of cells for transplantation overcomes two main obstacles: 1) cell transplantation without the need for immunosuppression and its accompanying side effects, and 2) transplantation of cells from non-human species (xenograft) to overcome the limited supply of donor cells for such diseases as diabetes (refs. 8-12). Many diseases may be treated best by the regulated release of a cellular product (hormone, protein, neurotransmitter, etc.). Thus, a variety of cell types are candidates for transplantation of immunoisolated cells, including pancreatic islets, hepatocytes, neurons, parathyroid cells, and cells secreting various clotting factors.
One immunoisolation approach, encapsulation of pancreatic islets, is under investigation by a large number of groups and has been successful in reversing chemically-induced diabetes in rodents and in a small scale human clinical trial (refs. 1-3, 6, 13-17). Most cell encapsulation currently utilizes modifications of the procedure originated by Lim and Sun in which the encapsulant is suspended in a polyanionic aqueous solution and extruded by an air jet/syringe pump droplet generator into calcium ions (refs. 18 and 19). Poly(L-lysine), which is a cationic macromolecule, is then mixed with the hardened polyanionic gel, and a membrane is formed at the interface as a result of the ionic interaction. Because this is a binary system, however, all membrane parameters are tied to a single chemical complex. Attempts to optimize one parameter will affect all other parameters. The inability to adjust capsule parameters independently (for example, mechanical strength or permeability) has limited the success of this system (refs. 13 and 20). Capsules made with other binary polymer systems, such as Hydroxyethyl methacrylate/Methyl methacrylate (HEMA/MMA) suffer similar limitations (refs. 19, 21 and 22).
The prior art is deficient in the lack of effective means of encapsulating and immunoisolating living cells. The present invention fulfills this long-standing need and desire in the art.

Encapsulation system for the immunoisolation of living cells


Methods and systems operating in accordance with the present invention provide an interactive directed data analysis tool. The tool provides a user interface that receives a model from a data mining system. The tool computes specified business metrics representing business measures of quality reflected by the model. The model parameters may be manipulated by a user. Each time parameters of a model change, the business metrics are re-computed, thereby promoting directed data understanding by allowing a user to immediately see the impact of any changes made.

From a business perspective, the term "knowledge discovery" refers to an iterative process approach to modeling and exploring data, and gaining knowledge therefrom for integration into a business process. FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary representation of the knowledge discovery process. First, a general business problem is identified (step 105). The problem is typically framed within a particular business context to formulate a clear and well-understood problem definition (item 110). Once the problem has been explicitly defined, data relevant to the problem, or reflective of the problem, is collected, assembled, and preprocessed (step 120), usually from one or more existing databases (item 115). This data is then preprocessed to a suitable form to produce a dataset (item 125). The dataset is processed by a data mining technique (step 130) and translated into a model (item 135) that abstracts systematic patterns in the underlying data. Model interpretation and evaluation (step 140) is aimed at extracting nuggets of knowledge (item 145) for exploitation and use in a business, and ultimate integration into a business process (step 150).
Building a model from raw data (step 130 above) may be done through a variety of data mining techniques. The term "data mining" refers to an automated process of discovering systematic patterns in large amounts of data. A data mining algorithm is thus used to model data by detecting and generalizing patterns in historical data, so that the model can be applied to new scenarios (or combinations) not directly covered, or observed in, the data. Continuing with the exemplary representation of knowledge discovery in FIG. 1, the results of model evaluation and interpretation (step 140) and business process integration (step 150) may provide additional feedback into other steps in subsequent iterations of the knowledge discovery process, including problem identification (step 105), data assembly and preprocessing (step 120) and data mining (step 130). Further information on a prior art knowledge discovery process is included in "Advances in Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining," by Usama M. Fayyad et al., AAAI Press/MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass. (1996), incorporated herein by reference.
"Predictive data mining" refers to the use of data mining techniques for building predictive models. Predictive models are learned from historical (ore pre-classified) data using data mining algorithms. These models can then predict the quality or attribute of interest for new and unseen cases. For example, a predictive model, learned from prior known cases of credit (un)worthiness, can be used to predict the credit worthiness (or otherwise) of a new customer. Predictive data mining models are quantitative and compute objective results: "yes" or "no", a probability, a value, a classification, etc. Examples of predictive data mining techniques include neural networks, statistical regression, decision trees, decision rules, etc. Qualitative data mining techniques, on the other hand, generally provide insight into relationships among data and provide more subjective results.
The knowledge discovery process depicted in FIG. 1 fails to explicitly include one crucial component, required for a successful knowledge discovery process in a business context-domain knowledge. "Domain knowledge" includes knowledge about a business, business processes, and "common sense" knowledge pertaining to a problem being investigated. Domain knowledge comes into play in various tasks of an iterative knowledge discovery process, including circumscribing the business problem, selecting and using appropriate data, and evaluating models (or patterns) generated by data mining algorithms.
In the prior art, techniques for qualitative data mining include exploratory data analysis, data visualization, data base reports and on-line analytical processing (OLAP). Exploratory data analysis uses a variety of statistical techniques to explore raw data. "Exploratory Data Analysis," by J. W. Tukey, Addition Wesley (1977), incorporated herein by reference, describes several of these techniques. Data visualization techniques display data in graphs, charts, and other visual constructs. Database reports and OLAP usually provide canned views of data for specific applications and to highlight particular pieces of information. "OLAP and Data Warehousing," Workshop Notes from the Third International Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining, by S. Chaudhuri and U. Dayal (1997), incorporated herein by reference, provides an overview of techniques and references to OLAP literature. "Visual Techniques for Exploring Databases," from the Third International Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining, by D. Keim (1997), incorporated herein by reference, provides an overview of techniques and references to visualization literature. All of these techniques, because they operate only on raw data, can be time consuming and cumbersome, are usually tailored to specific tasks, and place the entire burden of interpretation and understanding on the user. Further, they fail to provide a systematic way of representing, and taking into account, a particular business problem and context. Nor do they explicitly incorporate domain knowledge into the knowledge discovery process.
Thus, given the need for incorporating domain knowledge in a knowledge discovery endeavor, there exists a need for an interactive tool that supports qualitative data mining, and that will guide a user towards understanding and gaining insight and subsequent knowledge from data and promote an understanding of market dynamics from a specific business perspective, in a quick and efficient manner.

Computer-executable method for improving understanding of business data by interactive rule manipulation


A characteristic recovery apparatus is provided with a DMFC having anode and cathode electrodes; anode-side and cathode-side separators for feeding the anode and cathode electrodes with pure water or a solution and an oxygen-containing gas, respectively; a voltage-applying means for forcing current to flow between the electrodes in the same direction as a direction of current flow during power generation of the fuel cell; and a control means for controlling the voltage-applying means.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel cell characteristic recovery method and apparatus, and particularly, a characteristic recovery method and apparatus for direct methanol fuel cells used in mobile and portable power supplies, electric automobile power supplies, home cogeneration systems, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
From the point of view of global environmental protection, and the like, expectations for fuel cells have recently been rapidly raised. Fuel cells are generally classified according to kinds of electrolytes used into five kinds of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs), alkaline fuel cells (AFCs), phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFCs), polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs), etc.
Among others, polymer electrolyte fuel cells (hereinafter, "PEFCs") with a polymer electrolyte membrane sandwiched between two electrodes, in which these members are further sandwiched between separators, are remarkable because of their compact structure, excellent power generation efficiency and relatively low-temperature operation, thereby having a wide range of applications.
Also, among PEFCs, particularly, direct methanol fuel cells (hereinafter, "DMFCs") are recently remarkable, which, instead of a hydrogen gas, uses a methanol solution directly as fuel. DMFCs generate power by causing an electrochemical reaction of a fuel containing methanol and water, and an oxygen-containing oxidizer gas such as air. DMFCs have various application fields. For instance, because they operate at room temperature and can be made small and sealed, they can be used in pollution-free automobiles, home power generation systems, mobile communication equipment, medical equipment, etc.
A DMFC comprises, basically, as a unit cell (hereinafter, "cell"), a stacked body having conductive separators stacked on both sides of a membrane electrode assembly (hereinafter, "MEA"). The MEA consists of three layers in which an electrolyte membrane comprising an ion exchange resin or like is sandwiched between a pair of electrodes constituting anode and cathode electrodes. The pair of electrodes each consists of an electrode catalyst layer in contact with the electrolyte membrane, and an outer fuel or oxidizer gas diffusion layer (dispersion layer) of the electrode catalyst layer. The conductive separators are stacked so as to come into contact with the diffusion layer (dispersion layer) of the MEA, and are formed with manifold apertures which serve as passages for a fuel or oxidizer gas to flow into the diffusion layer (dispersion layer), separator temperature adjustment, waste removal, etc. Such fuel cells generate power by causing an electrochemical reaction, for example, when a mixture of methanol and water is caused to flow through the manifold apertures in contact with the diffusion layer (dispersion layer) of the anode electrode, while an oxidizing gas such as oxygen, air, or the like is caused to flow through the manifold apertures in contact with the diffusion layer (dispersion layer) of the cathode electrode.
In fuel cells including DMFCs, it is well known that continuing power generation would cause its power generation characteristic degradation, i.e., performance degradation such as a current density fall under a constant voltage.
Because such power generation characteristic degradation causes an obstacle in practical use of fuel cells, such as an increase in maintenance cost due to a short lifetime, there is a need for a method for rapidly and conveniently recovering the degraded power generation characteristic.
As a method for recovering the degraded power generation characteristic, there is known a method described in PCT Japanese Publication No. 2003-536232. PCT Japanese Publication No. 2003-536232 discloses a method for recovering the degraded performance of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell by periodically reducing a cathode potential below approximately 0.6 V.
However, PCT Japanese Publication No. 2003-536232 only shows one method for recovering the degraded performance of a PEM fuel cell, so that there is a desire for a still more convenient and more widely applicable method.

Fuel cell characteristic recovery method and apparatus