A system and method for detecting fraud is presented. A self-calibrating outlier model is hosted by a computing system. The self-calibrating outlier model receives transaction data representing transactions, and is configured to calculate transaction-based variables, profiles and calibration parameters, and to produce a score based on the transaction data according to the transaction-based variables, profiles and calibration parameters. An adaptive cascade model is also hosted by the computing system, and is configured to generate a secondary score for the transaction data based on profile information from the variables and/or profiles calculated by the self-calibrating outlier model, and based on a comparison with labeled transactions from a human analyst of historical transaction data.

Traditional fraud modeling relies on collecting large amounts of labeled historical data to build and test, with human supervision, statistical models. The fundamental assumption is that the fraudulent and normal patterns of the past will be largely consistent in the future. This supervised modeling approach has been extremely successful in building fraud detection models for which the historical data was of good quality and generalized well to future customer behavior.
However, there are many scenarios in which this traditional modeling approach is not feasible or poorly suited. Often a situation arises in which historical data from clients is not available, or the contributed historical data is of low quality: In these cases, a more appropriate choice than a traditional model is an unsupervised model which utilizes self-calibrating analytics to track the production environment.
Another situation is a changing fraud environment which causes model performance to degrade faster than expected between model retrains. A fraud feedback loop providing fraud detection information from the client directly into the model allows the model to update weights and adapt to a changing fraud environment.

Self-calibrating outlier model and adaptive cascade model for fraud detection


A retaining collar is disclosed for a bayonet mount comprising a rotor disc having a male mounting member defining a pair of apertures and an auxiliary annular wheel defining a plurality of mounting slots. The retaining collar comprises a ring-shaped body and a pair of retention pins. The ring-shaped body has a pair of circumferential end portions separated by a circumferential gap, and an arcuate radial outer surface extending circumferentially between the end portions. The body is dimensioned so that the radial outer surface frictionally engages a radial inner surface of a cylindrical male mounting member in the bayonet mount. The pair of retention pins each extend radially outward from one of the circumferential end portions. Each of the retention pins are dimensioned to extend radially outward from the body through one of said apertures and one of said mounting slots.

Gas turbine engines are known in the art and typically include at least one upstream compressor rotor coupled to a downstream turbine rotor via a driveshaft. A combustor may be disposed between the compressor rotor and the turbine rotor. A fuel valve supplies fuel to the combustor. The combustor ignites the fuel, which consumes air drawn into the engine by the compressor rotor. Combustion products flow downstream to drive or spin the turbine rotor. The turbine rotor torques the compressor rotor via the driveshaft and the cycle continues.
A driveshaft may fracture, thus decoupling the turbine rotor from the compressor rotor and enabling the turbine rotor to accelerate to an uncontainable speed. Eventually, the turbine rotor may breach the engine housing. Turbine overspeed protection is thus desirable for safe operation of a gas turbine engine.

Turbine rotor assembly having a retaining collar for a bayonet mount


Movements of objects are restricted by a device having a housing unit having a first face wall portion and a second face wall portion and having side wall portions which extend between and are integral with the face wall portions so that the wall portions define an exterior housing wall surface and an interior housing wall surface which defines a housing unit cavity and having an opening which extends from the exterior wall surface through the interior wall surface and into the cavity. A reciprocable member having a first face wall portion and a second face wall portion and having side wall portions which extend between and are integral with the reciprocable member face wall portions and which is configured and positioned for reciprocable movement from and between a position where substantially all of the reciprocable member is contained by the housing unit within the cavity, to a position where the reciprocable member is extended from the housing unit so that less than substantially all of the reciprocable member is contained by the housing unit within the cavity. The device may be affixed to the seat portion of a vehicle seat, or contained in the seat portion, or it may be positioned below the seat portion for extending above and transversely with respect to the seat portion and substantially parallel to the back portion of a vehicle seat.

When people intend to travel to a destination, whether it be for short or long periods of time, it is common for them to bring articles or objects which they will need during the course of the day or which they will have acquired during the course of their travel. When people are commuting by vehicle to an appointment, meeting or place of employment, they generally have a tendency to place articles, such as documents, files or other personal objects, which they will need onto a seat next to which they are seated.
A problem which often arises during travel in a vehicle, due to the nature of the mode of transportation, is that objects which have been placed by an individual onto a seat, next to the seat in which the individual is seated, are subject to sudden or abrupt starts and stops as well as the force of turns made by the vehicle. As a result, since the objects situated on the seat next to the individual are not restricted in their movements, they move off of the seat and are dispersed onto the floor area of the vehicle. The dispersed objects or articles must then be collected by the individual and reorganized. This is time consuming, and often the items are so dispersed that they are not entirely recovered, or if they are all recovered they may be damaged. The individual is therefore left without items which are necessary for the course of the events in which the individual is to engage.
Although this problem is encountered by most people on a daily basis, no satisfactory solution has been developed to address this problem. For example, Bacon, U.S. Pat. No. 3,295,887 discloses a carrier device for elongated articles wherein a flexible cover extends over a seat portion of a vehicle seat and is secured to the vehicle seat, and an envelope-like compartment is attached to the cover and positioned at a position below a level of the covered seat portion.
Other documents evidence a lack of appreciation for this need and, instead, are directed to safety devices which are applied to vehicle seats. For example, Kacar, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,105 discloses a device for supporting and protecting a pet or cargo in a back seat of a vehicle. Beaudet, U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,814 discloses an apparatus for constraining an animal behind a driver's seat of a vehicle wherein a net is stretched across the interior of a vehicle at a position behind the driver's seat. Abruzzino, U.S. Pat. No. 3,169,781 discloses a safety device for an automobile wherein a safety net is positioned and secured at a position behind a driver's seat in an automobile.

Devices for restricting the movements of objects


An optical coupling structure includes a light source that emits light; and an optical waveguide that has on a given end, a mirror surface that reflects the light emitted from the light source, the optical waveguide guiding the light reflected by the mirror surface to another end. In the optical coupling structure, a traveling direction of the light emitted from the light source is inclined toward the given end of the optical waveguide and is, with respect to a normal line of the mirror surface, at an angle that is greater than 45 degrees and that satisfies a condition for complete reflection of light on the mirror surface and a condition for complete reflection of light in the optical waveguide.

Conventionally, in an optical circuit; light output from an optical waveguide falls onto a mirror tilted at 45 degrees and is reflected by the mirror (see, e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-201508). Further, a conventional optical signal input device has a structure such that the optical axis of a condensing lens that condenses parallel light output from a collimator lens onto the entrance of an optical waveguide is shifted relative to the optical axis of the collimator lens (see, e.g., Japanese Laid-Open. Patent Publication No. 2006-235115).
To suppress loss in an optical coupling structure that causes light reflected by a mirror tilted at 45 degrees to fail, onto an optical waveguide, it is necessary to cause the light to be reflected by the mirror surface and to cause the light entering the optical waveguide to be completely reflected by an interface between the core and the cladding of the optical waveguide. However, even if the incident position or angle of light is not shifted relative to the mirror surface, transmission loss consequent to light passing through the mirror inevitably results.
According to a trial calculation by a photoelectromagnetic field analysis based on the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method, such optical transmission loss is calculated at approximately 0.3 dB. This analysis value is given on the condition that a core-cladding specific refractive index difference Δ is set to about 1.9% and the numerical aperture (NA) of a light source is set to 0.2. Elements other than the mirror also cause loss, and the loss caused by the mirror must be reduced to almost zero in an ultra-high-frequency band in which, for example, the optical transmission speed is 40 Gbps or higher. With consideration these factors, the suppression of transmission loss caused by the mirror arises as a problem to foe addressed.

Optical coupling structure and optical transmission apparatus


A power supply apparatus for a vehicle. An electronic controller outputs information for controlling braking of a vehicle. A battery supplies electric power to a brake via the electronic controller. A power supply backup unit as an auxiliary power supply includes a capacitor unit formed of a plurality of capacitors and a detection unit for detecting an abnormality in the capacitor unit, and supplies electric power to the brake when the battery is in an abnormal state. In charging or discharging the capacitor unit, the detection unit measures an internal resistance value of the capacitor unit, and measures an internal capacitance value from the rate of change of voltage per unit time. The detection unit judges whether or not the capacitor unit is in a normal state based on the internal resistance value and the internal capacitance value.

Recently, hybrid cars and electric vehicles have been rapidly developed. Accordingly, braking of a vehicle has been rapidly developed from conventional mechanical braking toward electrical braking, and various proposals have been made.
In general, in order to electrically control a vehicle, a battery is used as its power supply. In this case, if electric power cannot be supplied from this battery due to some causes, the vehicle cannot be controlled with only this battery. Therefore, some configurations are equipped with an auxiliary battery as an auxiliary power supply in addition to the battery for the case of emergency.
As a prior art document with regard to this application, for example, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. H05-116571 is known.
In this type of power supply apparatus for a vehicle, since an auxiliary power supply is responsible for braking of a vehicle in an emergency, it is extremely important to supply electric power from the auxiliary power supply reliably in an emergency. Therefore, it is important to surely predict the lifetime of the auxiliary power supply and to detect a state of the auxiliary power supply at any time.
However, herein, if a battery is used also as the auxiliary power supply, it is very difficult to predict the lifetime of the battery for the auxiliary power supply. Furthermore, as to the state of the battery, although a voltage can be checked, it is difficult to detect an abnormal state only from the voltage. Therefore, conventionally, the battery has been replaced by a new one earlier than usual so as to secure higher safety. However, even if the battery is replaced by a new one earlier than usual, it is difficult to check the state of the battery every day or every time the vehicle is started to move. Thus, further improvement in safety has been required.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A Lactobacillus paracasei-containing product used for inhibiting dental diseases caused by bacteria is provided, which comprises a plurality of Lactobacillus paracasei for inhibiting the growth of bacteria of dental diseases. Particularly, foods, oral hygiene products or oral treatment medicine containing the Lactobacillus paracasei when being administered or applied to a user can inhibit or reduce the number of pathogens of dental caries and periodontal diseases in oral cavity of the user, thereby achieving the efficacy of preventing dental diseases, such as dental caries and periodontal diseases.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a product used in oral cavity, and more particularly, to a Lactobacillus paracasei-containing product used for inhibiting dental diseases caused by bacteria.
2. Related Art
A dental caries is one of multi-factorial diseases caused by the following factors, including constituted element of teeth, configuration, position, component of saliva, pH value, secretion, viscosity, anti-bacterial factors, carbohydrate level in diet, fluoride, and microorganisms and their physical properties. Therefore, reducing the number of bacteria in oral cavity may reduce the occurrence of periodontal diseases caused by dental caries and bacteria. Generally, the bacteria affecting the health care of teeth are all in the form of a dental plaque, which is a film-shaped substance adhered on a surface of teeth in the oral cavity, with the appearance being gradually changed from a transparent appearance into a white deposit. The bacteria in the dental plaque include a variety of cocci, bacilli, and leptothrix, wherein the main bacteria of dental plaques that most easily causes dental caries or a periodontal inflammation include Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sanguis, Actinomyces viscosus, Streptococcus sobrinus, and Porphyromonas gingivalis.
Currently, many researching results show that, special probiotics can reduce the occurrence of dental caries, and also decrease the number of the Streptococcus mutans of dental caries in oral cavity, which further reduces the formation of dental plaques so as to decrease a seedbed for pathogens of periodontal disease, and thereby preventing gingivitis and bone loss of an inferior alveolar bone caused by the toxin of bacteria, and reducing the occurrence of periodontal diseases. For example, a study in Japan has found that a Lactobacillus salivarius (LS1) may be used to effectively prevent dental caries. Additionally, in Helsinki University of Holland, children at the age of 1-6 who have administered milk added with lactobacilli in a long term for preventing dental caries are studied; and, young people who have administered cheeses added with a special probiotic in a short term for preventing dental caries are also studied. The result shows that the number of Streptococcus mutans in saliva is reduced by approximately 20% after 3 weeks. Furthermore, a study in Mexico also shows that continually chewing a chewing gum containing lactobacilli treated by heat sterilization once a week for 16 weeks may improve dental caries and reduce the occurrence of dental caries by approximately 42%.
Additionally, several kinds of lactobacillus cultures for inhibiting the formation of the dental plaque are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,952, which include Enterococcus spp. 1357, Lactobacillus acidophilus V20, and Lactococcus lactis 1370. In addition, a product containing lactobacillus cultures of ATTC PTA-4965 and PTA-4964 is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,872,565, which is used for inhibiting dental caries caused by bacteria. The inhibition effect achieved by combining the ATTC PTA-4965 or PTA-4964 and an oral mucin or the dental plaque is used for effectively reducing the number of Streptococcus mutans. Alternatively, a method of treating and preventing dental caries, dental plaques, and periodontal diseases with lactobacillus cultures CNCM I-1984, CNCM I-1985, CNCM I-1986, CNCM I-1987, or LMG P-18997 is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,942,849, wherein the lactobacilluscultures are genetically modified to enhance the viscosity for a tooth surface film.
Currently, it is found that, Lactobacillus paracasei may be used to promote an immunocyte to release a number of interferon, which is helpful for improving allergic diseases. Human immunocyte T lymphocytes are divided into two types according to the secreted different cytokines, wherein there is a dynamic balance between Type I and Type II T lymphocytes, and both of them are influenced by each other, thereby affecting the result of a reaction of the whole immune system to an antigen. If the reaction of Type II T lymphocyte is excessively strong, an allergic symptom occurs to a patient. The allergy may be prevented by increasing the activity of Type I T lymphocyte or inhibiting the activity of Type II T lymphocyte. When the Lactobacillus paracasei is used in human bowel, due to the difference of cell walls and cell contents, the Lactobacillus paracasei significantly promotes the activity of Type I T lymphocyte and further inhibits the effect of Type II T lymphocyte, and thus preventing allergy.
To sum up, a variety of lactobacilli are now found to have the function of inhibiting dental caries, dental plaques, and periodontal diseases. The Lactobacillus paracasei has been used in human bowel in the past to relieve the body allergic symptom after being absorbed by the bowel. However, the efficacy that the Lactobacillus paracasei is used in oral cavity to prevent dental diseases has not been found yet.


Examples disclosed herein relate to viewing device adjustment based on eye accommodation in relation to a display. In one implementation, a computing device determines accommodation information related to a viewer's focus on an image rendered on a display. The computing device may cause an optical component associated with a viewing device to adjust based on the determined accommodation.

An image may be rendered on a display to provide a depth effect to an object in the image in relation to a display. The 3D effect may be created, for example, by rendering an image with a left eye and right eye image with different chromatic filters or shuttering between a left eye and right eye image. A depth effect may be provided for a single eye by adjusting focus of the eye. In one implementation, viewer eyewear may be used to create the depth effect.

Viewing device adjustment based on eye accommodation in relation to a display

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A reproduction apparatus is provided including a development apparatus having a capability for precharging replenishment toner particles being added to a triboelectric charging sump containing partially depleted two-component developer material. The precharging capability of the development apparatus is provided by an AC bias and a first DC bias connected to a first toner particle metering member. A second DC bias is connected to a second metering member. The precharging capability of the present invention is particularly useful during development of images requiring large amounts of toner particles.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to the development of latent images using charged toner particles, and more particularly to a development method and apparatus involving a toner pre-charging capability.
2. Background Art
In electrostatographic copiers and printers that produce or reproduce copies of images, it is well known to use charged toner particles, from a quantity of such particles held at a development station, to develop latent electrostatic images on an image-bearing member. As is also well known, the quantity of such toner particles being held at each development station can be contained at a desired concentration in a multiple-component developer material. As images are developed by using up such toner particles, their quantity so held at the development station is gradually depleted through such use, and therefore must be replenished periodically in order to maintain their desired concentration.
Typically, as disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,590, issued Jan. 7, 1992 to DeCecca; U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,606, issued Oct. 7, 1986 to Nishikawa; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,270, issued May 8, 1990 to Sako et al, replenishment of toner particles as such is carried out from a supply of fresh uncharged toner particles held in a supply hopper. The particles are fed from the supply hopper to the development station where they are then charged before being used for image development. Typically, the charging of the toner particles in the development station is accomplished by rubbing them with oppositely-charging carrier particles either directly on the surface of a transport roller which transports them to an image development area, or alternatively in a sump portion of the development station. In the sump portion, they can be moved, mixed and triboelectrically charged along with oppositely-charging carrier particles for a necessary interval of time in order to achieve a desired charge level on the toner particles before they are transported to an image development area.
Unfortunately, however, the quantity of charged toner particles required from one time to another for image development can vary significantly depending on the density and extent of toner particle laydown of images being developed. As such, the rate at which fresh uncharged toner particles, as above, are replenished or added to the development station therefore also varies. Therefore, when images which require large amounts of charged toner particles are being developed, large amounts of fresh uncharged toner particles must be added to the development station.
In modern high speed reproduction apparatus which include such a development station, there is an increased risk that poorly charged toner particles will be transported to the image development area of the station due to a lack of sufficient time at the high reproduction speed to necessarily move, mix and triboelectrically charge the freshly added uncharged toner particles, along with the depleted developer material in the development station, to the desired level. Such a risk can result in development defects such as wide lines and background contamination. Additionally, such a risk can result in undesirable toner particle dusting out of the development station, and hence contamination elsewhere within a host reproduction apparatus.

Development method and apparatus including toner pre-charging capability


The examples describe a self-protection feature in components of an authorized shared access system (ASAS). In the ASAS, radio frequency spectrum is shared by different users having different levels of priority when accessing the shared radio frequencies. Higher-tiered user equipment, such as radar systems, generate signals having significantly higher levels of power than the lowest tier user equipment. Exposure to the high power signals may damage the lower-tiered user equipment. The examples describe a lower-tiered access point device and a lower-tiered end user device that participate in the shared access system to communicate over the shared radio frequency spectrum under control of a shared access system manager. In response to a threat of high power signals, the access points and the end user devices are instructed to enter a self-protection mode. The self-protection is enabled by a local switch system within the access point and the end user devices.

The Federal Government has proposed making available radio frequency spectrum (e.g. 100 MHz within the 3.5 GHz range) that is currently reserved for government and military uses to commercial vendors. For example, the radio frequency spectrum that is to be shared by the Government users is in the frequency ranges typically used for military or air-traffic control radars (airborne and ship-borne), air-ground/ground-air communications, and other uses, which are often intermittent uses.
An initial proposal establishes a tiered priority access system. The first tier (Tier 1) is reserved Government and military incumbent operations who are the highest priority and the highest power-emitting users. The next tier (Tier 2) would be Priority Access/Commercial Wireless Network Providers (e.g. Verizon®, AT&T® and the like), who are proposed to have a mid-level priority, and the third tier (Tier 3) with the lowest priority would be General Authorized Access (GAA) users. The proposed spectrum sharing paradigms allow the GAA users to use low power access point (APs) devices and low-power end user devices (EUDs) to operate at one or multiple channels of the shared radio frequency spectrum, which may also include channels that are shared with these other systems.
As a result, in some cases, the shared band includes operation of dissimilar systems, including Tier 1 high power, pulsed radars. In close proximity to the military radars and other high power radiating systems, there may be a zone around these radar/other radiating systems where the radiated power level is so high as to be a 'burn-out' threat to the electronics in the GAA user's devices and systems that share the frequency spectrum with the high power system.
Hence a need exists for a self-protection mechanism to allow these GAA systems to exist in close proximity to the high powered users by not operating in the shared band during the high powered operations of the high powered users.


A method and machine for packing a group of cartons of cigarettes in a flat tubular package, whereby a first portion and a second portion of a suction gripping head respectively engage a first lateral wall of the flat tubular package, and a second lateral wall of the flat tubular package separated from the first lateral wall by a respective preformed fold line; a rotational movement is then generated between the first and second portion of the suction gripping head to rotate the first and second lateral wall engaged by the suction gripping head with respect to each other, and so convert the flat tubular package from the flat configuration to an open configuration; the group of cartons of cigarettes is then pushed inside the open tubular package, and the suction gripping head is moved to feed the open tubular package to a sealing station where the open tubular package is sealed.

Machines for boxing cartons of cigarettes currently comprise a unit for supplying and opening flat tubular packages, and which receives a stack of flat tubular packages on a pallet, and feeds each flat tubular package to a respective seat on a conveyor, which feeds the tubular package along a straight packing path. Along the packing path, each tubular package remains connected to the respective seat, and is fed through an opening station, where the tubular package is opened into a configuration suitable for receiving a respective group of cartons of cigarettes; through an insertion station, where a respective group of cartons of cigarettes is pushed inside the open tubular package; and, finally, through a sealing station, where the tubular package is sealed by gumming and folding the relative flaps.
Known boxing machines of the above type are fairly bulky, and, for use on the machine, require accurate positioning of the stack of flat tubular packages, and therefore periodic assistance on the part of the operator.
WO8900132 discloses a carton loading and closing machine comprising a carton opening mechanism adapted to remove a flat carton from a magazine to a park position, means for folding the side flaps at the bottom of the carton outwardly, means for loading product into carton through its open bottom, means for indexing the loaded carton forwardly over cam means for folding the leading end flap under the product, trailing end flap closing means having a slot adapted to receive the trailing end flap and means for causing said trailing end flap to be folded to the closed position as said folding means is moved transversely with respect to the stationary carton, and means for closing the side flaps and the top flaps of the carton.

Method and machine for packing a product in a flat tubular package


A bongos holder includes a U-shaped holder base having a mounting rod fastened to a tripod, a packing plate coupled to one vertical side wall of the holder base, a holding down device driven to force the packing plate in holding down the block between the two drums of a bongos in the holder base, a clamping plate fixed to the holder base at the desired elevation by a wing nut to top the block of the bongos from upward movement, and a supporting member fixed to the mounting rod at the desired elevation by a tightening up wing screw to support the drums of the bongos.

The present invention relates to a bongos holder for holding a bongos for beating.
When playing a bongos, the two drums of the bongos are retained between the legs and beaten with the hands. Because the two drums of the bongos are retained between the legs when playing, the player will soon have a pain in the legs and the knees. In order to eliminate this problem, a bongos holder was invented for installing in a tripod to hold a bongos. This bongos holder, as shown in FIG. 1, has a fastening belt with hook means for securing the block between the two drums of the bongos in place. However, this structure of bongos holder is still not satisfactory in function. When beating the drums, the bongos tends to be forced to oscillate (be biased to the side where the drum is beaten).


The invention concerns a device for connecting first and second air ducts using a connecting element for transferring an air stream between the air ducts, wherein the connecting element can assume various snap-in positions relative to the first air duct.

This invention concerns a device for connecting air ducts, in particular in a motor vehicle, as well as a motor vehicle door, a motor vehicle pillar and a motor vehicle interior paneling, in particular an instrument panel.
It is well-known that for enhanced air conditioning of the vestibule in a motor vehicle, air must not only be guided via a duct in the middle of the vehicle on the tunnel into the rear area of the vehicle, but also laterally, by means of an air duct over the respective front door and the so-called B-pillar. From the B-pillar, for example, the air then travels at chest height into the rear interior. Such ventilation systems are used for various motor vehicle types.
We know from DE 199 26 380 A1 of a duct transition for bridging the gap between the front door and the B-pillar by means of a duct component that is moldable and/or maneuverable in its longitudinal expansion, in particular a maneuverable bellows. The maneuverable duct component creates a maneuverable sealing surface, which bridges the existing gap when the door is closed and is pulled back into a retracted position that does not hinder climbing in and out of the automobile when the door is open. The operating component used to mold or maneuver the duct component is designed as a lever. In this connection, a lever component acts as a frame, in which an opening of the moldable duct component is stretched. A similar arrangement is known from DE 199 26 380 A1.
The disadvantage of this previously known air duct is its expensive design and the wear and tear resulting from the movement and/or deformation of the duct component with each opening and closing of the door. A further disadvantage is the fact that the door becomes relatively sluggish. In addition, a considerable amount of leak air can enter the joint area with this design.
Additional snap-in connection structures are also known from DE 103 22 878 A1 and DE 101 37 998 A1.

Device for connecting air ducts, motor vehicle door, motor vehicle pillar and motor vehicle interior paneling


An electrical connector includes a terminal having a generally cylindrical mating portion with an open seam extending longitudinally therealong. A flexible latch flange projects transversely from the mating portion on each side of the seam. A dielectric housing has an elongated terminal-receiving passageway for receiving the mating portion of the terminal. An elongated groove communicates with the passageway for receiving the latch flanges projecting from the mating portion. The groove has side walls converging from a wide mouth end of the groove to a narrow latch end thereof. The side walls of the groove are adapted to engage the latch flanges and resiliently compress the mating portion of the terminal. The latch end of the groove has an abruptly enlarged latch section behind which the latch flanges snappingly interengage to lock the terminal in the passageway. The latch flanges project from an outside face of the housing to provide access to the latch flanges, as by an appropriate tool, for unlatching the terminal.

A wide variety of mating electrical connectors employ pairs of interengaging pin and socket terminals for interconnecting a plurality of circuits or wires through the mated connectors. The pin and socket terminals often are called male and female terminals, respectively.
The terminals are mounted in a plurality of terminal-receiving passageways in a dielectric housing of the electrical connector. The terminals generally are elongated and are inserted into the passageways along the longitudinal axes of the terminals. Some form of "interengaging" latches normally are provided to hold the terminals in the passageways against withdrawal therefrom.
Various types of terminal latching systems have consistently presented various problems. For instance, the terminals often are provided with outwardly projecting, cantilevered flexible latch arms which snap behind shoulders within the terminal-receiving passageways of the connector housing. The cantilevered latch arms have a tendency to bend, break and/or snag on other parts. For instance, the latch arms may be bent or collapsed on a reel of interconnected terminals during shipping, prior to assembling the terminals within the connector. In addition, in order to have any significant latching capabilities, the latch arms must be of a sufficient width which often limits current-carrying capacity of the terminals and, in turn, may cause over-heating.
In order to avoid those problems associated with such flexible latch arms on the terminals, latch arms have been provided on the connector housing itself. In such an arrangement, the housing normally is molded of plastic material, and the latch arms are molded integrally therewith and extend inwardly into the terminal-receiving passageways from interior housing walls. These latch arms on the housing have limited strength and durability. They also present problems during manufacture, because the molded plastic material must flow down the entire length of the arms. The arms also take up space within the connector housing and the terminal-receiving cavities thereof and therefore may make it difficult to provide adequate insulation between adjacent terminals.
This invention is directed to solving the above problems by providing a simple and reliable latching system for terminals in an electrical connector of the character described.

Electrical connector with improved terminal latching system


Apparatus for marking a blood vessel for use as a bypass graft in a patient includes a preparation plate for supporting an isolated blood vessel that is in a state for anastomosing to the patient. A stencil plate is configured for overlying the blood vessel and preparation plate, wherein the stencil plate has an opening adapted to expose a portion of the blood vessel to a dye applied through the opening. The stencil plate around the opening is adapted to shield the blood vessel from the dye. A dye applicator is configured to direct a metered amount of the dye through the opening and onto the exposed portion of the blood vessel, preferably as a mist. Preferably, the opening is a lineal slot for creating a guide line extending longitudinally along an outer wall of the blood vessel.

The present invention relates in general to marking a blood vessel harvested from a patient for use in cardiac bypass graft surgery, and, more specifically, to a system for applying predetermined reference marking on the blood vessel to assist in surgical placement.
In coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), a blood vessel or vessel section, such as an artery or vein, is "harvested" (i.e., removed) from its natural location in a patient's body for use elsewhere in the body. In CABG surgery, the blood vessel is used to form a bypass between an arterial blood source and the coronary artery that is to be bypassed. Among the preferred sources for the vessel to be used as the bypass graft are the saphenous veins in the legs and the radial artery in the arms.
Endoscopic surgical procedures for harvesting a section of a vein (e.g., the saphenous vein) subcutaneously have been developed in order to avoid disadvantages and potential complications of harvesting through a continuous incision (e.g., along the leg) for the full length of the desired vein section in order to provide adequate exposure for visualizing the vein and for introducing surgical instruments to sever, cauterize and ligate the tissue and side branches of the vein. One such minimally-invasive technique employs a small incision for locating the desired vein and for introducing one or more endoscopic harvesting devices. Primary dissection occurs by introduction of a dissecting instrument through the incision to create a working space and separate the vein from the surrounding tissue. Then a cutting instrument is introduced into the working space to sever the blood vessel from the connective tissue surrounding the section to be harvested and any side branches of the blood vessel. The branches may be clipped and/or cauterized.
In one typical procedure, the endoscopic entry site is located near the midpoint of the vessel being harvested, with dissection and cutting of branches proceeding in both directions along the vessel from the entry site. In order to remove the desired section of the blood vessel, a second small incision, or stab wound, is made at one end thereof and the blood vessel section is ligated. A third small incision is made at the other end of the blood vessel section which is then ligated, thereby allowing the desired section to be completely removed through the first incision. Alternatively, only the first two incisions may be necessary if the length of the endoscopic device is sufficient to obtain the desired length of the blood vessel while working in only one direction along the vessel from the entry point.
An example of a commercially available product for performing the endoscopic vein harvesting described above is the VirtuoSaph™ Endoscopic Vein Harvesting System from Terumo Cardiovascular Systems Corporation of Ann Arbor, Mich. Endoscopic vein harvesting systems are also shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,660,016 to Lindsay and U.S. Pat. No. 7,331,971 to Kasahara et al, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
After a vein is removed from the patient's body, it must be prepared for use as a bypass graft. Preparation includes ligating (i.e., closing off) each branch stub, injecting a solution into the vein under pressure to test for leaks, and otherwise inspecting the condition of the blood vessel. A device for assisting with this initial vessel preparation is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 8,123,672, which is hereby incorporated by reference. After preparation, the vessel can be surgically anastomosed to create the bypass.
It has become common for vessel preparation to include application of a longitudinal guide line along the outer wall of the graft comprised of a methylene blue dye. The line is intended to help in laying out the graft by showing if the graft becomes twisted, which could cause kinking and poor blood flow through the bypass. To apply the guide line, a surgeon or physician's assistant has manually marked the vessel using a pen filled with the methylene blue dye. However, the direct manipulation of the vessel can lead to harsh rubbing of the pen against the vessel, which may result in damage to the endothelium. Furthermore, the line may often be smudged and can be applied inaccurately.


A dual-hardness outsole includes a front section, a middle section, and a rear section, at least the middle section of the outsole including a wedge having a bottom surface which extends below another bottom surface of at least one of the front and rear sections such that the wedge carries more weight than the other bottom surface. The outsole comprises a hard portion and a soft portion that are secured to each other and together form the wedge, a cross-sectional profile of the hard and soft density portions being such that a center portion of the wedge is softer than opposite lateral portions thereof.

This disclosure relates generally to a medical shoe to aid in the offloading or reducing the weight bearing pressure on an area of a foot, and more particularly, a medical shoe with a dual-hardness outsole for increasing the shoe's stability during movement and promoting faster healing of a foot condition or ailment.
To promote healing of a foot condition or ailment, a patient may be fitted with footwear that reduces the weight bearing pressure on a specific area of the foot. This foot condition or ailment may arise following surgery, trauma, or when ulcerations or wounds are present. Typically, the provided footwear may have an overly rigid sole, either in the front or rear of the shoe, requiring the patient to walk in a certain manner to properly use the shoe. For instance, a medical shoe configured to remove the weight bearing pressure on the forefoot may have a sole in which the rear area of the sole, extending from the heel to midfoot, is larger than the front area of the sole, extending to the midfoot to forefoot. In other words, the rear area of the sole is disposed in a manner so that the front area of the sole is elevated from the ground level when the medical shoe is in a midstance phase of the patient's gait. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,491,909 and 7,231,728, which are incorporated herein by reference.
Due to the unusual shape of the overly rigid sole from that of a typical street shoe or sneaker, the healthcare provider may require the patient to walk in a certain manner so as to take full benefit of the medical shoe and not further delay the healing of the condition or ailment in the forefoot area. For example, in order to avoid weight on the forefoot, the health care provider may instruct the patient to shift his or her weight to the heel by having the patient first make contact with the heel (i.e., the heel strike which is the initial contact phase during normal gait) then to the midfoot (i.e., the midstance phase during which the opposite raised leg passes the ground leg), followed by lifting the foot without pushing off with the toes (i.e., toe-off phase which is the final gait phase in which the forefoot propels the body forward). However, most patients do not walk as instructed and push off with their toes, creating pressure on the forefoot and delaying the healing process or further injuring the forefoot.

Medical shoe having a dual-hardness outsole


When temperature variation occurs to the LED dice of an LED lighting system, a feedback control mechanism is applied to compensate temperature-related wavelength shift for precisely controlling the light generated by the LED dice based on the voltage drop variation or current variation of the LED dice. The color control method for the LED lighting system includes a preliminary detection phase and a feedback control phase. In the preliminary detection phase, voltage drop signals or current signals together with corresponding color and hue signals of each LED module of the LED lighting system are detected. In the feedback control phase, signal compensating processes are performed to precisely control the light generated by the LED lighting system based on the voltage drop variation or the current variation in conjunction with the corresponding color and hue signals generated in the preliminary detection phase.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a color control method, and more particularly, to a color control method for LED lighting systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Due to lightweight, small size, low power consumption and high-bright lighting capability, light emitting diodes (LEDs) are now in widespread use, including a variety of indication applications, indoor or outdoor lighting applications, vehicle auxiliary lighting applications, camera flashlights, and so forth. In particular, the designs of backlights for different display panels are switched from traditional cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs) or external electrode fluorescent lamps (EEFLs) to LED lighting modules gradually. While the LED lighting modules are applied to devise the backlights for different display panels, corresponding control methods for the LED lighting modules are required to control the luminance and chromaticity of light outputs for achieving high-quality visual appearances.
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram schematically showing a prior-art LED lighting system 100. The LED lighting system 100 comprises an LED module 101, an LED driving circuit 111, a color sensor 180, and a controller 150. The LED driving circuit 111 is utilized to provide a driving signal to the LED module 101. The color sensor 180 detects the light emitted from the LED module 101 for generating a feedback signal. The controller 150 generates a control signal based on the feedback signal. Then, the LED driving circuit 111 is capable of regulating the driving signal based on the control signal so that the LED module 101 is able to generate the light having desired luminance and chromaticity.
However, when the operating temperature of the LED dice of the LED module 101 is rising, wavelength shifts will occur to the light emitted from the LED module 101 accordingly. The prior-art LED lighting system 100 is not able to compensate the wavelength shifts in response to temperature variations. That is, the control accuracy concerning the luminance and chromaticity of the light generate by the LED module 101 is getting worse as the operating temperature of the LED dice of the LED module 101 rises.

Color control method for LED lighting systems


A light guide includes: an incident surface, an exit surface and two reflective surfaces. The incident surface allows light emitted from a light source to be incident thereon. The exit surface extends in a main scanning direction and allows the incident light to exit the light guide therethrough. Two reflective surfaces are located opposite to the exit surface to extend in the main scanning direction and are configured to reflect the incident light toward the exit surface. One of the reflective surfaces includes a plurality of light reflecting patterns formed integrally therewith and having an oval hemispherical prism shape. The other reflective surface is a separate surface from the one reflective surface and is formed in a planar shape that enables attachment of a reflective member allowing the incident light to be reflected thereon toward the exit surface.

The present disclosure relates to light guides and illumination devices and particularly relates to a technique for reflecting light, which has entered a light guide, toward the exit surface of the light guide.
Some image forming apparatuses, such as multifunction peripherals, employ as a light source section for an image reading device, such as a scanner, a line light source includes a resin-made light guide in which a rod-shaped, and an LED capable of emitting light to the interior of the light guide through a longitudinal end surface of the light guide. The light source section is required to linearly illuminate an original document to be read in synchronism with reading of a line sensor. For this purpose, a surface of the light guide opposite to an exit surface thereof through which light exits the light guide is provided with light reflecting or scattering patterns, so that the patterns can deflect light, which has entered the light guide, toward the exit surface to allow linear illuminating light to exit the light guide in the direction toward the original document.
Such light source sections include those of double-sided illumination type which are configured to illuminate an original document to be read from both sides in a sub-scanning direction (a direction perpendicular to a main scanning direction of the light source section). The light source sections further include those of one-sided illumination type configured to illuminate an original document to be read only from either side in the sub-scanning direction. The light source sections of double-sided illumination type offer superior reading performance because of illumination onto an object of reading from both sides. The light source sections of one-sided illumination type are more favorable in cost terms than those of double-sided illumination type, although if the object of reading is an uneven original document (an original document having a piece of paper attached thereto or an original document having a non-flat shape), they are likely to provide shadows corresponding to recesses in the document having not been illuminated
An example of the light reflecting or scattering pattern is a prism provided in the interior of a cylindrical light guide made of a light transmissive material. The prism is provided on a reflective surface of the light guide opposite to an exit surface (texture surface) thereof and allows incident light from a light source (such as a white LED), which has entered the light guide through an incident surface thereof located at one longitudinal end, to be reflected toward the exit surface. An example of the prism used is an oval hemispherical prism having excellent diffusion of exit light in the sub-scanning direction.


An encapsulated device and method for fabricating a radio frequency identification (RFID) device is disclosed herein. The method includes providing a first substrate layer, the first substrate layer including at least one cavity; placing a RFID tag into the cavity; placing a second substrate layer over the first substrate layer, the at least one cavity of the first substrate layer being covered by the second substrate layer; and attaching the second substrate layer to the first substrate layer, the second substrate layer forming a pocket with the first substrate layer.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and labels (collectively referred to herein as "devices") are widely used to associate an object with an identification code or other information. RFID devices generally have a combination of antennas and analog and/or digital electronics, which may include for example communications electronics, data memory, and control logic. For example, RFID tags are used in conjunction with security locks in cars, for access control to buildings, and for tracking inventory and parcels.
As noted above, RFID devices are generally categorized as labels or tags. RFID labels are RFID devices that are adhesively or otherwise attached directly to objects. RFID tags, in contrast, are secured to objects by other means, for example by use of mechanical fastener (screw, rivet, etc.) or other fastening means.
RFID devices include active tags and labels, which contain a power source for broadcasting signals, and passive tags and labels, which do not. In the case of passive devices, in order to retrieve the information from the chip, a "base station" or "reader" sends an excitation signal to the RFID tag or label. The excitation signal energizes the tag or label, and the RFID circuitry transmits the stored information back to the reader. The RFID reader receives and decodes the information from the RFID tag. In general, RFID tags can retain and communicate enough information to uniquely identify individuals, packages, inventory and the like. RFID tags and labels also can be characterized as to those to which information is written only once (although the information may be read repeatedly), and those to which information may be written to repeatedly during use. For example, RFID tags may store environmental data (that may be detected by an associated sensor), logistical histories, state data, etc.
RFID devices further can be characterized as passive, semi-passive, and active RFID devices. Passive RFID devices have no internal power supply. Power for operation of passive RFID devices is provided by the energy in an incoming radio frequency signal received by the device. Most passive RFID devices signal by backscattering the carrier wave from an RF reader. Passive RFID devices have the advantage of simplicity and long life, although performance of them may be limited.
An exemplary process for manufacturing RFID tags and label is known as "strap attach." In this process, an intermediate connection lead, a strap, instead of bonding bare dies directly onto the substrates. This is because as the chips become smaller, the process of interconnecting IC chips with antennas becomes more difficult. Thus, to interconnect the relatively small IC chips to the antennas in RFID inlays, intermediate structures variously referred to as "strap leads," "interposers," and "carriers" are sometimes used to facilitate inlay manufacture. The intermediate structures include conductive leads or pads that are electrically coupled to the contact pads of the chips for coupling the chips to the antennas. These leads provide a larger effective electrical contact area between the chips and the antenna than do the contact pads of the chip alone. With the use of the intermediate structures, the alignment between an antenna and a chip does not have to be as precise during the direct placement of the chip on the antenna as without the use of such strap leads. Further information on the use of manufacturing RFID tags using straps may be found in co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,951,596, the description and drawings of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Regardless of how the chip is attached to the antenna, either directly or through a strap, one issue that is encountered during the use of the RFID tag is when the label or tag is attached to a non-planar or curvilinear article or wall of a package or a flexible article such as a garment, and the label or tag does not remain on a completely flat surface or alternatively, the label or tag is attached to the package at other than a 180 degree angle, such as around a curved surface or a corner or an edge. As the labels are bent, the die/antenna juncture is subject to stress and may fracture or break causing the RFID device to fail. In addition, the antenna may also be subject to bending or flexing and having its functionality compromised thereby. For example, the antenna may become detached from the substrate as the label bends. The same issues occur when the RFID tag is attached to a flexible article that is subject to bending, such as an article of clothing or fabric material. Other bendable materials include sheets of plastic or metal.
Accordingly, there is a long-felt, but as yet unsatisfied need in the RFID device manufacturing field to be able to produce RFID devices that address the deficiencies noted above.

Encapsulated RFID device for flexible, non-planar or curvilinear surfaces


A combination lock includes a lock body having a plurality of dials and sleeves rotatably mounted therein and secured on a container cover movably secured to a container such as a hand bag, a brief case, a luggage, or any containers for storing materials or objects in the container having a slide controller slidably held in the lock body to be engageable with a locking member secured on the container, whereby upon an actuation of the controller for disengaging the lock body secured on the cover from the locking member secured on the container, the cover can be directly lifted from the operating situation when unlocking the lock body on the cover for conveniently opening the cover of the container.

A conventional combination lock as provided on a brief case or hand bag B as shown in FIG. 1 includes a lock body having combination dials D rotatably mounted on the lock body secured on the case or bag B, and a shackle H secured to a cover R movably secured to the bag B for closing (C) the bag when the shackle H is engaged into a socket S recessed in the lock body which is provided with push button P thereon for depressibly unlocking the lock for opening (0) the cover R from the bag B.
However, when opening the cover R from the bag B, the dials D should be first rotated to an openable combination and the push button P is then depressed (as shown in an arrow direction of FIG. 1) for disengaging the shackle H from the lock body mounted on the bag B. Finally, the cover R can be lifted for uncovering the bag or case B, thereby causing an inconvenient unlocking and uncovering operation for the user.

Combination lock for simultaneously unlocking and uncovering a container


The invention relates to 5-amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione or related compounds, compositions or combinations thereof, for use in the treatment of chronic progressive multiple sclerosis, in particular primary and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. The invention in particular relates to the use of 5-amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione sodium salt for said purposes.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a generic term for the most frequent demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) in humans. The disease pattern is highly variable among patients. There are, however, two main variants that differ widely in their pathophysiology and their clinical manifestation. The first variant is relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) which accounts for roughly 80% of all incidences, and the second variant are the chronic progressive forms of multiple sclerosis which are subdivided into primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). In the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10-GM, German Modification, Version 2017, DIMDI 23 Sep. 2016) RRMS, PPMS and SPMS are classified as G35.1, G35.2 and G35.3, respectively. PPMS accounts for approximately 10 to 20% of all MS cases. There is an ongoing controversy whether RRMS and PPMS/SPMS are actually two different diseases that only coincidentally may become manifest together sharing a number of common pathophysiological features but are clearly differing in others.
RRMS is characterized by the incidence of unpredictable acute exacerbations (relapses) in the disease course, followed by phases of recovery to the previous base disease level, often of full recovery (remission). The intervals between relapses usually become shorter the longer a person is suffering from this disease. In most cases RRMS starts with a clinically isolated syndrome (CIS). A CIS represents an attack in one organ system probably due to demyelination. 30 to 70% of persons experiencing a CIS attack later develop MS.
PPMS is characterized clinically by the accumulation of neurological disability without unequivocal recovery (as reviewed by Pérez Cerdá et al., 2016, Multiple Sclerosis and Demyelinating Disorders 1:9). The disease progress in PPMS is more insidious and subtle than in RRMS with clearly defined relapses. There is a characteristic neuronal atrophy due to Wallerian-like degeneration, caused by demyelination and neurodegenerative oxidative damage of the axon. The characteristic onset of clinical symptoms in PPMS patients is around 40 years of age. PPMS is disproportionally more frequent in relatively MS-resistant populations (Africans, Orientals) and disproportionally more frequent in men. Whilst in general the relation of women and men suffering from MS is about 3 to 1 the relation in PPMS is approximately 1 to 1. SPMS is diagnosed after a previous RRMS stops developing relapse periods over a minimum of 3 months and a continuous deterioration of the clinical symptoms occurs. The symptoms of SPMS are substantially the same as of PPMS, although they may differ quantitatively. Therefore, most clinicians regard SPMS and PPMS as the same disease, mainly differing whether there was a previous phase of RRMS or not. The age difference concerning the onset of RRMS and PPMS is typically about 10 years, however the switch from RRMS to SPMS occurs at approximately the same age as PPMS usually becomes manifest (as reviewed by Antel et al., 2012, Acta Neuropathol 123:627-638).
Clinically, the time to disability is not driven by the relapse rate, their frequency or severity in PPMS/SPMS. In PPMS/SPMS immunological studies conducted on blood or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from patients showed that the levels of adhesion molecules, cytokine expression and chemokine receptors in PPMS patients were comparable to those in healthy controls, in contrast to RRMS patients with pathophysiologically altered levels. Using antigen microarrays significantly different serum antibody signatures could be identified in RRMS and PPMS. In PPMS 46% of the significantly differently expressed antibodies were downregulated compared to healthy controls, whereas in RRMS 96% of the differentially expressed antibodies were upregulated. In RRMS, a marked immune response against HSP 60 or HSP 70 could be observed that is lacking in PPMS or SPMS. Also the production of nitric oxide (the most important reactive nitrogen species leading to oxidative stress in cells) is elevated in PPMS patients. N-acetyl-aspartate (NA), an established marker of neuronal integrity, is markedly reduced in PPMS patients, compared to controls (cf. Antel et al., 2012). However, Matsushita et al. (PLOS ONE, April 2013, Vol 8(4):e61835) found distinct cytokine/chemokine alterations in CSF when comparing RRMS and PPMS. In PPMS, increased CCL4 (C—C motif chemokine 4 sometimes also referred to as macrophage inflammatory protein-1β) and CXCL10 (C-X-C motif chemokine 10 also known as interferon gamma-induced protein 10 or small-inducible cytokine B10) levels reflect an on-going low grade inflammation in the central nervous system whilst in RRMS, only a mild elevation of proinflammatory cytokines/chemokines was detectable at relapse.
Although there is a wide variability, the incidence of focal brain lesion types seems to be reduced in PPMS patients, compared to RRMS patients. In contrast, a comparatively higher lesion load in the spinal cord seems to be typical for PPMS and SPMS. Neuronal atrophy in the whole brain and the grey matter is significantly stronger in PPMS patients. Grey matter atrophy is a characteristic early feature in PPMS. The respective signals are stronger in magnetization transfer imaging, diffusion tensor imaging and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in PPMS patient. Actively demyelinating white matter lesions characterized by the presence of abundant macrophages with cytoplasmic early myelin degradation products at the lesion border are more frequently observed in RRMS than in PPMS patients. Vessels with perivascular inflammation in PPMS/SPMS lack leakage of the blood-brain barrier and/or expression of markers associated with increased endothelial permeability. This is reflected in fewer gadolinium enhancing lesions (cf. Antel et al., 2012). The lesser degree of inflammation in PPMS/SPMS leads to a compartmentalization in the CNS, e.g. meningeal inflammatory aggregates (lymphatic follicles-like).
It could be shown that chronic oxidative stress in PPMS/SPMS causes mitochondrial injury in CNS neurons. In consequence, a deletion of mitochondrial DNA could be observed over time, a symptom that is also found in other classical neurodegenerative diseases. This brings about an increased energy deficiency and an amplification of the oxidative injury. In the long run the reserve capacity of the CNS is exhausted. An increasing iron accumulation has been observed with aging. These iron ions are released from the demyelinating lesions and contribute to further oxidative injury. A consequence of oxidative stress injury and neurodegeneration can be a microglial activation in PPMS/SPMS, which does not occur to this degree in RRMS (cf. Perez Cerda et al., 2016). The role of microglia in PPMS/SPMS, however, is still controversially discussed in literature. Remyelination of demyelinated axons regularly occurs in RRMS, thus reestablishing the functionality of the affected muscles. This corresponds with a remission period in the disease course. In PPMS/SPMS, however, remyelination does not occur or only incompletely. Hence, inflammation declines with disease duration while neurodegeneration proceeds. Therein the affected axons appear paler than the normally myelinated axons of the white matter due to the reduction in axons and thinner myelin sheaths. Completely myelinated lesions (shadow plaques) are relatively rare in PPMS/SPMS, accounting for only ca. 20% of the lesions (cf. Perez Cercla et al., 2016). Taken together, the reduced number of new inflammatory lesions, the increase in atrophy and diffuse white matter abnormalities indicate a dominance of neurodegenerative mechanisms in PPMS/SPMS (Antel et al., 2012). Inflammation, however, is significantly less marked in PPMS/SPMS, though the clinical appearance of the disease in the patient may be more severe. Oversimplified it could be said that RRMS symptoms are mainly inflammatory, while PPMS/SPMS symptoms are predominantly neurodegenerative. Thus, substantially different pathophysiological mechanisms are involved in both MS forms, consequently requiring different pharmacological therapy approaches. Therefore, it is comprehensible that mainly anti-inflammatory or immunosuppressive drugs effective in RRMS treatment show only poor or no results in PPMS/SPMS treatment.
Regarding the clinician's view PPMS/SPMS are mainly characterized by continuos growing disabilty in the course of the disease. The so called Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS)—originally introcuced by Kurtzke (Neurology 1983 November; 33(11):1444-52)—is commonly used as ordinal scale to rate the grade of neurologic impairment: e.g. an EDSS>6 means that at least a constant bilateral support—cane, crutch, or braces—is required to walk 20 meters without resting (EDSS 6.5). The mean annualized EDSS increase amounts to 0.25 points (0.5 in 2 years) in SPMS patients and to 0.35 points in PPMS patients (Stellmann et al., PLOS ONE, March 2014, Vol. 9(3):e92761), however in the single patient the smallest EDSS grade unit is 0.5 points.
Only one drug has been recently approved for the treatment of PPMS. The anti-CD-20 monoclonal antibody ocrelizumab is directed against B cells. It shows moderate success, but has strong immunosuppressive actions triggering the well-known unwanted side effects of immunosuppressive drugs. Otherwise, only medications for the treatment of symptoms are prescribed. Conventional immunomodulatory therapies such as interferon beta and glatiramer acetate are ineffective. Thus, there is a huge medical need for a drug that effects a substantial improvement in the disease course of PPMS/SPMS. Surprisingly, it has been found that a systemic administration of 5-amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione sodium salt showed an excellent effect in PPMS/SPMS treatment, as will be specified in detail in Example 1.
According to the recommended therapy schemes for multiple sclerosis provided by the currently effective guideline (valid till September 2017) for diagnosis and therapy of multiple sclerosis published by the German Society for Neurology (Gold 2014; DGN: Leitlinien für Diagnostik and Therapie in der Neurologie) various drugs are recommended for the treatment of MS, depending on type, state and severity of the disease. Therapy suggestions include amongst others the administration of glatiramer acetate, interferon beta 1a, interferon beta 1 b, PEG interferon beta 1a, alemtuzumab, fingolimod, natalizumab, dimethyl fumarate, teriflunomide, mitoxantrone, cyclophosphamide and/or methylprednisolone, plasma separation and experimental methods. When it comes to SPMS without additional relapses the only therapy suggestions are the cytostatic drugs mitoxantrone and cyclophosphamide.
Although corticosteroids, as e.g. dexamethasone or methylprednisolone, have shown to be effective in a variety of disease models in animals and thus are used as positive controls (cf. Example 1, 2 and 3) they are not recommended to be used for long-term treatment in humans due to habituation and adverse reactions. Therefore, methylprednisolone is recommended for treating active states of multiple sclerosis within the scope of relapses only. It is not recommended to treat PPMS/SPMS.
Mitoxantrone is an immunosuppressive drug with a number of serious side effects, in particular bone marrow suppression and thus a lot of contraindications including amongst others viral and bacterial infections, heart diseases, insufficient performance of liver or kidneys, neutropenia and so on. Furthermore mitoxantrone is not allowed during pregnancy and breastfeeding, administration should even be stopped by both father and mother at least 6 months before procreation. Apart from that it often leads to infertility in both men and women. Due to this very unfavourable risk profile a maximum lifetime dosage has been established for mitoxantrone. The drug shall also not be administered in late/severe forms of the disease (EDSS>6) thereby withdrawing even this disadvantageous therapy from those patients. Mitoxantrone also has a negative impact on the efficacy of vaccines. Mitoxantrone has to be administered intravenously thus requiring an at least ambulant treatment.
Cyclophosphamide might be used in single cases of severe disease courses when no other treatment—including mitoxantrone—showed any stabilizing or at least decelerating effect. Cyclophosphamide is currently not approved for the treatment of MS, but used in individualized treatments. Adverse reactions and contraindications are comparable to those described for mitoxantrone above.
Both mitoxantrone and cyclophosphamide show only limited efficacy in decelerating the progression of the disease and thus the progression of inabilities in SPMS. There was no improvement shown in PPMS patients. Moreover, neither Gold (2014) nor further relevant guidances (Birnbaum 2013: Multiple Sclerosis: Clinician's Guide to Diagnosis and Treamtment, 2nd ed, OANL; Willis 2016: BMJ Best Practice: Mulitiple sclerosis, last updated 26Jan. 2016) provide any therapy suggestions for PPMS.
5-amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione belongs to the pharmaceutical class of the phthalazinediones. Compounds of this class are known for their beneficial anti-inflammatory actions. 5-amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione is also well known under the names 3-aminophthalhydrazide and luminol. Luminol became known for its chemiluminescent properties. It is widely applied in diagnostic assays as a detection means and in forensic medicine, for example for tracing blood spots. In medicine, 5-amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione has been developed in the form of a sodium salt. Its use has been described for a broad range of acute and chronic inflammatory disorders, including amongst others acute infections of bacterial and viral origin, particularly of the intestinal tract, hepatitis B and C, gastroenteritis, inflammations such as prostatitis, endometriosis, throat inflammation, bronchial asthma, pneumonia, periodontitis, pyelonephritis and autoimmune diseases such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, lupus erythematosus and scleroderma. Further, there is still a long list of indications in scientific and patent literature in the treatment of which 5-amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione was allegedly tested or a beneficial use was at least suggested (cf. WO 2004/041169; WO 2007/018546; WO 2012/127441).
The use of 5-amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione or a related compound in the treatment of acute phases in MS, respectively RRMS has been suggested in WO 2011/107295 and WO 2010/082858, and has further been mentioned in WO 2016/096143, WO 2004/041169, U.S. Pat. No. 7,759,337 and WO 2007/018546 within the scope of long listings of inflammatory, respectively autoimmune diseases. Experimental evidence for an efficacy in MS (RRMS) is not provided therein. Trinitatskii (2003 Lechashchii Vrach, N6-C27) investigated the effect of 5-amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione sodium salt on various biochemical parameters, in particular specific cytokines and cytokine expressing receptors related thereto in patients with acute phase RRMS when administered as an add on therapy to a standard therapy. The standard therapy therein was composed as follows: mexidol (an antioxidant with a structure comparable to pyridoxin), nootropics, pyridoxine hydrochloride and a muscle relaxans (baclofen or detrusitol). Results, particularly the downregulation of TNFalpha, were at least promising, however these results were related to acute phase in the course of relapses only. Effective treatments of various indications are mostly referred to dosages of 100 mg 5-amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione sodium salt provided intramuscularly, orally or as suppository daily or each second day (cf. Trinitatskii 2003, WO 2010/082858, WO 2007/018546, WO 2016/096143). 5-amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione sodium salt is known as an active substance with a great immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory potential. RRMS symptoms are mainly inflammatory, however PPMS and SPMS are based on different mechanisms as outlined above. In a poster presentation Qiang et al. (Neuroscience, Nov. 17, 2008, Program #/Poster #: 312.3) suggest that 5-amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione sodium salt might be able to prevent neuronal damage in neurodegenerative diseases which are associated with accumulation of various abnormal proteins if administered in low concentrations in vitro. However, if 5-amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione sodium salt was administered in higher concentrations apoptosis was activated, thus leading to a contrary effect.
An effective treatment of PPMS/SPMS using 5-amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione or a related compound, however, hasn't been described yet, neither as standalone nor in combination with other therapy approaches.

Use of 5-amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione in the treatment of chronic progressive multiple sclerosis


A fuel cell system includes a raw fuel supply channel. A raw fuel supply apparatus, a desulfurizer, and a flow rate meter are provided in the raw fuel supply channel such that the desulfurizer is provided downstream of the raw fuel supply apparatus, and the flow rate meter is provided downstream of the desulfurizer. The raw fuel supply channel includes a first channel area provided upstream of the raw fuel supply apparatus, a second channel area provided downstream of the raw fuel supply apparatus, and upstream of the flow rate meter, a bypass channel having both ends connected to the first channel area and the second channel area, and an open/close valve for opening and closing the bypass channel based on the pressure in the first channel area and the pressure in the second channel area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel cell system including a fuel cell stack, a reforming unit, a raw fuel supply unit, and a water supply unit. Further, the present invention relates to a method of operating the fuel cell system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) employs an electrolyte of ion-conductive solid oxide such as stabilized zirconia. The electrolyte is interposed between an anode and a cathode to form an electrolyte electrode assembly (MEA). The electrolyte electrode assembly is interposed between separators (bipolar plates). In use, generally, a predetermined number of the MEAs and the separators are stacked together to form a fuel cell stack.
As the fuel gas supplied to the fuel cell, normally, a hydrogen gas generated from hydrocarbon raw material by a reformer is used. In general, in the reformer, a reformed raw material gas is obtained from hydrocarbon raw material of a fossil fuel or the like, such as methane or LNG, and the reformed raw material gas undergoes steam reforming, partial oxidation reforming, or autothermal reforming to produce a reformed gas (fuel gas).
For example, in a fuel gas supply apparatus used for a power generation apparatus including a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-260874, as shown in FIG. 8, a fuel gas supply line 2 is provided downstream of a fuel pump 1. The fuel gas supply line 2 is connected to the fuel pump 1, and a reformer 4 of a fuel processing apparatus 3 is connected to the fuel gas supply line 2. A desulfurizer 5 and a flow rate meter 6 are provided in the fuel gas supply line 2. The flow rate meter 6 is provided downstream of the desulfurizer 5.
The desulfurizer 5 functions as a pressure regulator. After the flow of the city gas supplied to the desulfurizer 5 is rectified, the city gas is discharged from the desulfurizer 5. According to the disclosure, in the structure, the pressure variation and the flow rate variation due to pulsation of the city gas supplied from the fuel pump 1 are suppressed by the desulfurizer 5.
However, in such a conventional technique, for example, when it becomes necessary that the fuel cell needs to be operated for a high load suddenly, and a large amount of fuel is requested to the fuel processing apparatus 3, by the pressure regulating operation of the desulfurizer 5, the load on the pump 1 becomes heavy. Under the circumstances, it is not possible to rapidly supply the fuel to the reformer 4. In view of the above, the size of the fuel pump 1 itself may be increased. However, the large fuel pump 1 cannot be used in practical applications.
Further, at the time of stopping operation of the fuel cell, since the desulfurizer 5 has the pressure regulating function, the fuel gas supply line 2 has a residual pressure of the fuel gas. Due to the residual pressure, the unnecessary fuel gas is supplied to the reformer 4. Therefore, operation of the fuel cell cannot be stopped promptly.

Fuel cell system and method of operating the fuel cell system


A system for reprogramming a transaction card may include a reprogrammable microchip transaction card, an account provider system, and a mobile device. A reprogrammable transaction card may include an embedded microprocessor chip, or integrated circuit (IC), housing various modules to provide card capabilities, such as transaction capabilities, security capabilities, and reprogramming capabilities. An account provider system may include a number of servers and computers, each equipped with storage and modules programmed with various capabilities, such as, storing cardholder data, transaction processing, and/or transaction card reprogramming. A user device may include various hardware and software components, such as a Near Field Communication (NFC) hardware and software components, one or more processors, various input/output interfaces, and/or modules, such as transaction processing modules and transaction card resetting modules. Each component of the system may communicate with each other in order to reprogram the transaction card.

In order to replace a transaction card, a cardholder must request a new transaction card through the account provider (e.g., a bank, financial institution, retail store, and other card providers). This process may require an cardholder to physically visit a location associated with the account provider to receive a new card or request a new card to be delivered to the cardholder's address.
An cardholder may be unable to visit the location associated with the account provider (e.g., if the cardholder is out of the country or not near any account provider locations, if the cardholder is unable to visit during business hours, etc.). Additionally, an cardholder may not be able to wait the number of days until a new card is delivered.
These and other drawbacks exist.

System, method, and apparatus for reprogramming a transaction card


A cylindrical frame is provided with an incident angle detecting section for detecting an incident angle of the light from a source of light capable of transmitting pulses and a focus detecting section having a movable lens constructed so that it detects an incident light from the source of light to control the focus position of the incident light. On the basis of the incident angle detected by the incident angle detecting section, the movable lens is caused to be directed to the source of light. Furthermore, by the focus detecting section, the focus position of light is controlled to detect the position of the movable lens. A distance from the position to the source of light is calculated.

This invention relates to a wireless input system for a computer. More particularly it relates to improvements in the earlier invention described in the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/831,944 filed on Feb. 6, 1992, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,622 on Jul. 13, 1993 which was assigned to the same applicant.
The present invention and the earlier invention differs in that in the earlier invention two incident angle detectors are used while in the present invention only one incident angle detector is used to make the system to be compact. Furthermore, since the construction and operation of the incident angle detector is the same, the detailed explanation thereof is omitted.
There are provided a mouse, a joy stick, a light-pen and others. However, they are all mechanically connected with wires to the bodies of computers.
The computer input devices which use wires have disadvantages that a smooth surface is required in using a mouse, a wire become entangled and input operation must be carried out with hands being touched off the keyboard.


A power management system pad clock and self-test circuit includes a clock processing circuit having a input configured to receive an oscillator clock signal having a first frequency. The clock processing circuit is configured to generate a first pad clock signal having a frequency approximately equal to one-half the first frequency and a second pad clock signal having a frequency that is equal to a programmable fraction of the first frequency. The circuit also includes a main pad clock output node. Multiplexer circuitry is coupled to the clock processing circuitry and the main pad clock output node and configured to receive a plurality of peripheral signals. The multiplexer circuitry is configured to operate in a standard mode of operation wherein one of the first pad clock signal and the second pad clock signal is routed to the main pad clock output node and a first test mode of operation wherein one of the plurality of peripheral signals is selectably routed to the main pad clock output node.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to power management systems, and more particularly, to a configurable power management system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Previous power management systems for use with integrated circuit (IC) chips have been limited in their ability to be configured. Thus, there is a need for a power management system which is configurable.

Power management system that one of plurality of peripheral signals is selectably routed to main pad clock node during a test mode


A light control device includes a substrate, a first reflective layer, a light modulating film in which the refractive index varies according to an applied electric field, a transparent electrode, and a second reflective layer having a reflection characteristic such that the reflection band and transmission band exhibit a steep switching pattern at a specified wavelength. The device is configured such that the specified wavelength and the resonant wavelength of a Fabry-Perot resonator defined by the first reflective layer, the light modulating film, the transparent electrode, and the second reflective layer are substantially the same. The reflection-type light control device has improved light utilization efficiency.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light control device using an electro-optic material whose refractive index varies as a result of the application of an electric field, and a light control system including the light control device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, digital information recording systems utilizing the principle of holograms have been known as large-capacity recording systems. See, for instance, Patent Reference 1 (Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. 2002-297008).
For example, materials that have the electro-optic effect such as lanthanum lead titanate zirconate (hereafter referred to as "PLZT") can be used as the material for a spatial light modulator of a hologram recording device. PLZT is a transparent ceramic having a composition of (Pb1-yLay) (Zr1-xTix) O3. The electro-optic effect refers to a phenomenon in which polarization occurs in a substance when an electric field is applied to the substance, so that the refractive index is varied. If the electro-optic effect is utilized, the phase of light can be switched by switching the application of a voltage on and off. Therefore, a light modulating material having the electro-optic effect can be applied to the light shutter of a spatial light modulator or the like.
In this type of application to elements such as a light shutter, bulk PLZT has been widely utilized. See, for example, Patent Reference 2 (Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. H5-257103). However, it is difficult for light shutters using bulk PLZT to meet the demand for miniaturization and integration and the demand for a reduction of an operating voltage and a cost reduction. Furthermore, a bulk method for manufacturing bulk PLZT includes a step of treating the PLZT at a high temperature of 1000° C. or higher after mixing a metal oxide constituting a raw material. Therefore, when such a method is applied to the element formation process, many restrictions are applied to the material selection, element structure, and the like.
For these reasons, instead of bulk PLZT, an approach involving the application of a thin film of PLZT formed on a base material to a light control element has been studied. Patent Reference 3 (Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. H7-146657) describes a display device in which a PLZT film is formed on a transparent substrate such as glass, and comb electrodes are provided on this film. This display device has a construction in which polarizing plates are provided on both surfaces of the display substrate on which the PLZT film is formed. Here, desired pixels are driven by connecting the electrode terminal parts of the respective pixels to an external driving circuit, so that a desired display can be performed by transmitted light from a light source provided on one side of the display substrate.
However, in order to put a light modulating film such as the PLZT film described above to practical use as an element such as a light shutter, it is necessary to create a driving circuit for controlling the on/off switching of a voltage that is applied to the light modulating film on a substrate, together with the light modulating film. In this case, in the construction described in Patent Reference 3, the region where the driving circuit is formed cannot be used as the display region, so that there is a problem in that an effective display region cannot be sufficiently obtained.
Furthermore, in the transmitting-type display device described above, when visible light is used as the illuminating light, the following problem is also encountered. More specifically, a driving circuit cannot be formed on a substrate including silicon or the like that is not transparent with respect to visible light. Moreover, in the display device described in Patent Reference 3, light loss caused by polarizing plates occurs because of the use of the polarizing plates.

Light control device and light control system using the same


The invention relates to a steering device for mutually steering a first vehicle unit and a second vehicle unit of an articulated vehicle, which vehicle includes a substantially vertical link shaft about which the vehicle units are pivotable, first and second steering elements arranged to mutually turn the vehicle units, wherein the steering device includes a housing configuration arranged to form a supply space between the vehicle units. The invention also relates to an articulated vehicle with a steering device.

Steering arrangements for articulated vehicles, particularly articulated tracked vehicles, comprising a front vehicle unit and a rear vehicle unit steerably interconnected by means of the steering device are known. The front and rear vehicle units are interconnected over a link mechanism of the steering device comprising link shafts about which both vehicle units are mutually pivotable by means of hydraulic cylinders.
WO 00/35735 discloses a steering device for an articulated vehicle being configured in such a way that the vehicle units firstly may rotate mutually about a longitudinal, horizontal shaft, secondly turn mutually about two parallel, transversal horizontal shafts, and thirdly obtain an improved steering geometry with the vertical steering link situated centrally between the vehicle units.
Articulated vehicles with such steering devices comprises a driveline for operation of front and rear vehicle units, wherein the driveline is arranged to run from the front to the rear vehicle units in connection to the steering device/through the steering device for drive of the rear vehicle unit. Further, according to a variant of such steering devices, electricity, fuel, brake fluid and fluid for air-conditioning device are arranged to be transferred in conduits between the vehicle units in connection to/through the steering device.
Due to the fact that the steering device is exposed between the vehicle units it constitutes a weak point of the articulated vehicle. A problem with such a steering device is consequently that it is subjected to external impact, e.g. effective fire in a war situation, such that e.g. the steering of the vehicle or other sensitive function such as braking, drive function, electricity is put out of operation.