A method for treating a digestive ulcer of the small intestine or stomach is disclosed with a non-purine xanthine oxidase inhibitor that is a carboxylic acid compound, wherein the non-purine xanthine oxidase inhibitor is a carboxylic acid compound of formula (I) or its salt and wherein the terms of formula (I) are herein defined:

The digestive ulcer indicates an ulcer in which the partial defect of the epithelial tissue in the mucosal layer of a digestive tract has reached the depth. The basic consideration for the reasons for the pathogenesis is a balance theory that the balance between the aggressive factor such as gastric acid, pepsin, stress, Helicobacter pylori, NSAID, etc. and the mucosal membrane protecting factors for digestive tracts, i.e., the equilibrium of the function of mucus/mucosa barrier and blood flow/microcirculation, growth factor and prostaglandin, may be lost to form an ulcer (Chiryogaku, 2005; 39(5): 8-10; Can. J. Gastroenterol., 1999, November; 13(9): 753-9). It has been considered that the main pathogenic sites of this disorder are upper digestive tracts such as stomach and duodenum; but with the recent technical development of capsule endoscopes, double balloon endoscopes, etc., it has been known that some ulcer may be formed even in small intestine which has heretofore been difficult to inspect (World J. Gastroenterol., 2005 Aug. 21; 11(31):4861-4). However, it has been reported that administration of the proton pump inhibitor, which is a standard medicine for a gastric/duodenal ulcer, is not effective for a small intestine ulcer (Gastroenterology, 2005 May; 128(5): 1172-8). From these, a pharmaceutical composition having a mechanism of widely effective for digestive ulcers not limited only to stomach/duodenum is desired.
Allopurinol is known as an agent for treating gout and hyperuricemia, and this compound inhibits xanthine oxidase to thereby exhibit the action of lowering the serum uric acid level (Am. J. Manag. Care., 2005 November; 11(15 Suppl.): S451-8). On the other hand, the compound has a nucleic acid-derived structure (purine-like structure), and many side effects have been reported, which are considered to be based on the inhibition of the nucleic acid metabolism (Am. J. Med. 1984 January; 76(1):47-56; Isr. Med. Assoc. J., 2005 October; 7(10): 656-60; Biol. Pharm. Bull., 1999 August; 22(8): 810-5). Therefore, recently, development of a non-nucleic acid structure xanthine oxidase inhibitor has been much studied; and for example, there are mentioned phenylazole-carboxylic acid derivatives such as 2-phenylthiazole derivatives (Patent References 1 to 3), 3-phenylisothiazole derivatives (Patent Reference 4 and Patent Reference 5), phenylpyrazole derivatives (Patent Reference 6, Patent Reference 7 and Patent Reference 8), 2-phenyloxazole derivatives (Patent Reference 9), 2-phenylimidazole derivatives (Patent Reference 9). There is no report showing the indication of these xanthine oxidase inhibitors for digestive ulcer.
Some reports say that allopurinol is effective for models with upper and lower digestive ulcers at an extremely high-level dose (Non-Patent References 1 to 3). Non-Patent Reference 1 has a description discussing that allopurinol has a xanthine oxidase-inhibiting effect and expresses the effect by inhibiting the production of free radicals. There is a clinical test report saying that a combination of allopurinol and cimetidine enhances the effect of curing duodenal ulcer (Non-Patent Reference 4). On the other hand, there is a report saying that allopurinol does not inhibit NSAID ulcer at a clinical dose to human (Non-Patent Reference 5). In addition, it is also reported that allopurinol has a purine-like structure, and its structure itself has a strong action of scavenging free radicals (Non-Patent Reference 6). As in the above, the effectiveness and the functional mechanism of allopurinol for animal models with digestive ulcer have been unclear.                Patent Reference 1: International Publication WO 92/09279        Patent Reference 2: JP-A 2002-105067        [Patent Reference 3: International Publication WO 96/31211        Patent Reference 4: JP-A 57-85379        Patent Reference 5: JP-A 6-211815        Patent Reference 6: JP-A 59-95272        Patent Reference 7: International Publication WO 98/18765        Patent Reference 8: JP-A 10-310578        Patent Reference 9: JP-A 6-65210        Non-Patent Reference 1: Biochemical Pharmacology, 2003, Vol. 65, pp. 683-695        Non-Patent Reference 2: Digestive Diseases and Sciences, 1998, Vol. 43, No. 9 (extra issue, 1998 September), pp. 30S-34S        Non-Patent Reference 3: Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, 1995, Vol. 21, pp. 154-157        Non-Patent Reference 4: Journal of Surgical Research, 1994, Vol. 56, No. 1, pp. 45-52        Non-Patent Reference 5: Gut, 1996, Vol. 38, pp. 518-524        Non-Patent Reference 6: FEBS LETTERS, 1987, Vol. 213, No. 1, pp. 23-28

Methods for treating an ulcer of the small intestine and stomach


Systems, devices, and methods for identifying a target aerial vehicle, deploying an interceptor aerial vehicle comprising at least one effector, maneuvering the interceptor aerial vehicle to a position to engage a target aerial vehicle, deploying the at least one effector to intercept the target aerial vehicle, and confirming that the target aerial vehicle has been intercepted.

The popularity of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), such as quadrotor UAVs, has led to regulations and the enactment of no-fly zones. Users of these UAVs have continued to operate their UAVs in no-fly zones and in other areas, such as near airports, which could cause harm to property and life.

System and method for interception and countering unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVS)


A method and a filter system for filtering messages which are received, via a serial data bus of a communications network, in a communication module of a user connected to the data bus. To allow particularly simple and efficient filtering of incoming messages, even when there is a large number of filtering criteria, it is proposed that the filter system includes a list in which multiple identifier pairs are stored which define a range delimited in each case by a first identifier and a second identifier. The identifier for an incoming message is compared at least to selected identifier pairs from the list, and a query is made concerning whether the identifier for the incoming message is greater than, or greater than or equal to, the selected first identifier, and is less than, or less than or equal to, the selected second identifier. The incoming message is forwarded to the application or rejected, depending on the configuration bit specification, if the identifier for the incoming message is within the range delimited by the first identifier and the second identifier.

There are believed to be communication networks from the related art in which messages are transmitted according to serial communication protocols (for example, Controller Area Network (CAN), FlexRay, Local Interconnect Network (LIN), and Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST)). The networks include at least one data bus to which multiple user nodes are connected. It is also known for all user nodes connected to the data bus in these communication networks not to use all of the messages sent via the data bus. Each user node includes a communication module and an application. To relieve load on the host application in the user nodes, many of the communication modules forward to the application only the messages which are also used in the application. The messages are recognized on the basis of their numerical identifiers. This method is referred to as "acceptance filtering." The known methods for acceptance filtering include lists of identifiers which are to be allowed through (so-called acceptance codes). Portions of the identifiers may be masked for the filtering, so that each list entry may stand for a group of identifiers (so-called acceptance mask). In each case n bits of the identifier may be masked with the aid of a mask, so that the identifier stands for a group of 2n identifiers. The known method may be varied using lists of identifiers which are not to be accepted, i.e., which are to be blocked. These lists are configurable using software.
When an application uses messages from a broad spectrum of identifiers, the filtering capabilities of the hardware communication module may not be adequate for passing through all necessary messages and at the same time blocking all unnecessary messages. For the remaining acceptance filtering, the application software must then expend computing power of the computing unit (central processing unit (CPU), for example) of the user node. In addition, other variables of the groups defined by the acceptance masks are possible only by overlaying, by simultaneously observing and combining multiple list entries. However, this requires time and hardware resources. A further disadvantage of the filtering using acceptance codes and acceptance masks is the risk that desired messages are inadvertently rejected. To prevent this, the acceptance mask is usually opened very wide, so that as a result messages which actually are not used at all by the application are also accepted. This results in an additional load on the application software (frequent operation of the FIFO for retrieving the message, filtering the message, etc.).
Based on the described related art, an object of the exemplary embodiments and/or exemplary methods of the present invention is to implement, with the least possible complexity, acceptance filtering having a large number of filtering criteria.

Method and filter system for filtering messages received via a serial data bus of a communication network by a user of the network


A speech coding apparatus includes a base layer coder that codes an input signal and generates first coded information. A base layer decoder decodes the first coded information and generates a first decoded signal. The base layer decoder also generates long term prediction information comprising information representing long term correlation of speech or sound. An adder obtains a residual signal representing a difference between the input signal and the first decoded signal. An enhancement layer coder calculates a long term prediction coefficient using the residual signal obtained in the adder and a long term prediction signal fetched from a previous long term prediction signal sequence based on the long term prediction information. The enhancement layer coder further codes the long term prediction coefficient and generates second coded information.

In the fields of digital wireless communications, packet communications typified by Internet communications, and speech storage and so forth, techniques for coding/decoding speech signals are indispensable in order to efficiently use the transmission channel capacity of radio signal and storage medium, and many speech coding/decoding schemes have been developed. Among the systems, the CELP speech coding/decoding scheme has been put into practical use as a mainstream technique.
A CELP type speech coding apparatus encodes input speech based on speech models stored beforehand. More specifically, the CELP speech coding apparatus divides a digitalized speech signal into frames of about 20 ms, performs linear prediction analysis of the speech signal
on a frame-by-frame basis, obtains linear prediction coefficients and linear prediction residual vector, and encodes separately the linear prediction coefficients and linear prediction residual vector.
In order to execute low-bit rate communications, since the amount of speech models to be stored is limited, phonation speech models are chiefly stored in the conventional CELP type speech coding/decoding scheme.
In communication systems for transmitting packets such as Internet communications, packet losses occur depending on the state of the network, and it is preferable that speech and sound can be decoded from part of remaining coded information even when part of the coded information is lost. Similarly, in variable rate communication systems for varying the bit rate according to the communication capacity, when the communication capacity is decreased, it is desired that loads on the communication capacity can be reduced at ease by transmitting only part of the coded information. Thus, as a technique enabling decoding of speech and sound using all the coded information or part of the coded information, attention has recently been directed toward the scalable coding technique. Some scalable coding schemes are disclosed conventionally.
The scalable coding system is generally comprised of a base layer and enhancement layer, and the layers constitute a hierarchical structure with the base layer being the lowest layer. In each layer, a residual signal is coded that is a difference between an input signal and output signal in a lower layer. According to this constitution, it is possible to decode speech and/or sound signals using the coded information of all the layers or using only the coded information of a lower layer.
However, in the conventional scalable coding system, the CELP type speech coding/decoding system is used as the coding schemes for the base layer and enhancement layers, and considerable amounts are thereby required both in calculation and coded information.

Speech coding apparatus and speech decoding apparatus each having a scalable configuration


Techniques for performing machine learning-based program analysis using synthetically generated labeled data are described. A method of performing machine learning-based program analysis using synthetically generated labeled data may include receiving a request to perform program analysis on code, determining a first portion of the code associated with a first error type, sending the first portion of the code to an endpoint of a machine learning service associated with an error detection model to detect the first error type, the error detection model trained using synthetically generated labeled data, and receiving inference results from the error detection model identifying one or more errors of the first error type in the first portion of the code.

The field of machine learning has become widely acknowledged as a likely significant driver of the future of technology. Organizations everywhere now seek to use machine learning techniques to address a wide variety of problems, such as optimizing aspects of their products, processes, customer experience, etc. Program analysis includes techniques to automatically analyze computer programs to identify bugs (e.g., errors in the code) and/or other features of the code. Program analysis may be used to identify and correct bugs, improve code performance, etc. before the code is released. Program analysis may include static program analysis in which the code is analyzed without being executed, and/or dynamic program analysis which is performed during runtime.

Machine learning-based program analysis using synthetically generated labeled data


An objective and reproducible system for, and method of, monitoring and/or controlling the pressure during nerve blockage injection, especially by less experienced personnel, is provided in order to decrease the possibility of intraneuronal injection. More specifically, the present invention employs a pressure sensing and/or limiting device located between an injection device (typically a syringe) and a nerve block needle whereby injection pressure during a nerve block injection can be easily and objectively monitored, thereby allowing the operator to monitor the injection pressure and/or injection speed during a nerve blockage injection procedure and to take appropriate corrective actions if abnormal pressure conditions are observed.

When a surgeon operates on the legs or arms, nerve block anesthesia may be performed to numb or anesthetize the nerves innervating the region being operated upon. Performance of nerve blocks consists of several phases. In the first phase, the operator inserts the needle in the presumed vicinity of the nerve(s) to be blocked. In doing so, the operator may insert the needle "blindly" relying on anatomical landmarks, the operator may try to elicit "paresthesia," whereby the nerve is touched by the needle and the patient perceives "a shock" traveling down the nerve being touched, or the operator may use a nerve stimulator to elicit the motor response (twitch) of the nerve being sought. Whichever method is used, the operator hopes to be in the immediate vicinity to the nerve (which is necessary for reliable nerve blocks) and not in the nerve itself (which may result in traumatic nerve injury when the local anesthetic is injected into the nerve). It is important to emphasize that all three methods used to locate nerves at best approximate the needle position in relationship to the nerve and not confirm it with absolute accuracy. Consequently, with these three described methods for localizing nerves during nerve blocks, the needle tip may inadvertently be inserted into the nerve itself. The resultant injection directly into the nerve(s) may result in significant nerve injury.
Regional anesthesia is widely thought to have a number of advantages over general anesthesia. Regional anesthesia is an effective, low-cost technique that provides a means of selectively anesthetizing a region of the body while minimally interfering with the patient's vital systems. However, one of the major disadvantages of regional anesthesia and nerve blocks in particular is the possibility of nerve damage during administration of nerve blocks or regional anesthesia. Other drawbacks include the risks of systemic and local toxic complications. The primary target for local anesthetic effect in regional anesthesia is neural tissue, such as peripheral nerves, nerve roots, and spinal cord. Thus, it may not be surprising that the most common and troublesome local complications of nerve blocks and regional anesthesia involve the peripheral nerves. Such complications are, fortunately, rare, but they can cause considerable problems for both patient and physician. Of note, even the most careful anesthesiologist will occasionally encounter a PNS complication. For instance, in a survey of hand surgeons regarding experience of neurologic complications associated with axillary block anesthesia, 171 (21%) of the responding 800 surgeons had seen a total of 249 major complications (i.e., lasting at least a year), and 521 (65%) had dealt with minor neurologic sequelae (Stark, "Neurologic Injury from Axillary Block Anesthesia," J. Hand Surg. 21A, 391 (1996)). Thus, about one of five hand surgeons has seen a major neurologic sequela that might have been related to a nerve block. While the overall incidence of nerve damage after nerve blocks is relatively low, the consequences can be catastrophic and result in a temporary or permanent injury to the nerve, loss of limb function and paralysis. See, e.g., Auroy et al., "Serious Complications Related to Regional Anesthesia: Results of a Prospective Survey in France," Anesthesiology, 87, 479-484 (1997); Eisenach, "Regional Anesthesia: Vintage Bordeaux (And Napa Valley)," Anesthesiology, 87, 467-9 (1997). Indeed, the neurologic complications after regional anesthesia are among the most commonly discussed issues at various anesthesia conferences, and a common topic of many scientific publications. Lesions to the brachial plexus seem to be reported most frequently. See, e.g., Bonica et al., "Brachial Plexus Block Anesthesia," Am. J. Surg., 78, 65 (1949); Moberg et al., "Brachial Plexus Block Analgesia with Xylocaine," J. Bone Joint Surg., 33A, 884 (1951); Wolley et al., "Neurological sequelae of brachial plexus nerve block," Ann. Surg., 149, 53 (1959); Brand et al., "A Comparison of Supraclavicular and Axillary Techniques for Brachial Plexus Blocks," Anesthesiology, 22, 226 (1961); Schmidt et al., "Komplikationen und Gefahren der Plexus-brachialis-Anesthesie unter besonderer Berucksictinung von Langzeitschaden," Anasth. Intensivther. Notfallmed., 16, 346 (1981); de Jong, "Axillary block of the brachial plexus," Anesthesiology, 22, 215 (1961); Hamelberg et al., "Perivascular Axillary Versus Supraclavicular Brachial Plexus Block and General Anesthesia," Anesth. Analg., 41, 85 (1962); Wall, "Axillary nerve blocks," Ann. Surg., 149, 53 (1959); Moore et al., "Bupivacaine: a Review of 11,080 Cases," Anesth. Analg., 57, 42 (1978); Selander et al., "Parasthesiae or No Parasthesiae? Nerve Lesions after Axillary Blocks," Acta. Anaesth. Scand., 23, 27 (1979); Plevak et al., "Paresthesia Vs. Non Paresthesia—the Axillary Block," Anesthesiology, 59, A216 (1983); Winchell et al., "The incidence of neuropathy following upper extremity nerve blocks," Reg. Anesth., 10, 12 (1985); Tourtier et al., "Complications of Axillary Block Using Two Techniques: Experience with 1400 Cases," Anesthesiology, 71, A726 (1989); Davis et al., "Brachial Plexus Anesthesia for Outpatient Surgical Procedures on an Upper Extremity," Mayo Clin. Proc., 66, 470 (1991); Stan et al., "The Incidence of Neurovascular Complications Following Axillary Brachial Plexus Block Using a Transarterial Approach," Reg. Anesth., 20, 486 (1995); Lofstrom et al., "Late Disturbances in Nerve Function after Block with Local Anesthetic Agents." Acta. Anesth. Scand., 10, 111 (1966); Mogensen et al., "Posttraumatic Instability of the Metacarpophalangeal Joint of the Thumb," Hand, 12, 85 (1980).
One of the mechanisms of nerve injury is inadvertent insertion of the needle into a nerve with consequent injection of local anesthetic inside the nerve. This in turn may result in either mechanical trauma to the nerve, ischemic injury to the nerve due the resultant increase in endoneural pressure due to the high pressures inside the nerve, and/or endoneral edema. Indeed, experimentally, it was found that intrafascicular injections in rabbit sciatic nerve in vivo can produce endoneural pressures of more than 700 mm Hg, and after such injections the endoneural pressure could exceed the estimated capillary perfusion pressure for about 15 minutes. During this period, the nerve fascicle is both ischemic and vulnerable to otherwise toxicologically neutral local anesthetic solutions. Selander et al., "Longitudal Spread of Intraneurally Injected Local Anesthetics," Acta Anesth. Scand., 22, 622 (1978). Similar conditions can also occur in humans, and admixture of epinephrine with local anesthetic can enhance ischemia when injected intraneuronally and thus increase the risk of nerve injury. Selander et al., "Parasthesiae or No Parasthesiae? Nerve Lesions after Axillary Blocks," Acta Anaesth. Scand., 23, 27 (1979). The pressures on normal injection of local anesthetics in humans range from about 500 mm Hg to about 1200 mm Hg. Higher pressures may indicate an intraneuronal injection. Hadzic et al., "Injection Pressure During Peripheral Nerve Blockade," Anesthesiology, Abstract (2002).
The current recommendations to decrease the risk of intra-neuronal injections consist of slow injection to avoid high injection pressures and the avoidance of injection when high pressures are noticed during injection of local anesthetic. Finucane, Complications of Regional Anesthesia, Churchill Livingstone, N.Y. (1999). However, these recommendations assume that the operator or operators are able to perceive the difference between "normal" and "abnormal" injection pressures and take appropriate actions when "abnormal" injection pressures are observed. However, these judgments are prone to subjective interpretation and/or the "feel" of the operators and not on any objective measurements (e.g., measured injection pressure, speed, or similar variables). The ability of different operators to estimate and/or control the injection (especially as with regard to pressure) is further complicated by differences in hand strength and experience among operators as well as differences in resistance to injection for various needle types, lengths, and lumen calibers. In addition, in clinical practice, it is common practice for an operator (e.g., anesthesiologist, nurse anesthesiologist, other anesthesia providers, and the like) to perform the needle placement with an assistant (often without significant experience in nerve blockade) who injects the local anesthetic. This practice poses a risk of exerting too high pressures during injection and possible unrecognized intraneuronal injection. In addition, the operator typically uses both hands to perform the procedure (i.e., place the injection needle in the appropriate location relative to the nerve) and cannot easily determine and/or control the amount of force and pressure that the assistant may employ to inject the local anesthetic.
Moreover, forceful and/or fast injections of local anesthetic solutions can lead to a higher risk of systemic local anesthetic toxicity (e.g., seizures, arrhythmia, cardiovascular collapse, and death) due to tracking of local anesthetic between tissue layers and inadvertent intravascular injections. Additionally, intraneuronal and rapid injections of local anesthetics can backtrack to the spinal column and result in unintended epidural or spinal anesthesia with potentially disastrous consequences (Selander et al., "Longitudal Spread of Intraneurally Injected Local Anesthetics," Acta Anesth. Scand., 22, 622 (1978); Tetzlaff et al., "Subdural Anesthesia as a Complication of an Interscalene Brachial Plexus Block," Regional Anesthesia, 19, 357-359 (1994); Dutton et al., "Total Spinal Anesthesia after Interscalene Blockade of the Brachial Plexus," Anesthesiology, 80, 939-941 (1994)).
Various attempts have been made to improve anesthesia instruments. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,832 (Jun. 9, 1992); U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,241 (Jan. 3, 1995); U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,036 (Feb. 19, 1991); U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,367 (Oct. 4, 1988); U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,529 (Dec. 26, 1989); U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,670 (Apr. 17, 1990); U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,668 (Apr. 17, 1990); U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,631 (Feb. 4, 1992); U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,376 (Apr. 21, 1992); U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,525 (Aug. 4, 1992); U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,374 (May 17, 1994); U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,479 (Jul. 12, 1994); U.S. Pat. No. 5,512,052 (Apr. 30, 1996); U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,802 (May 20, 1997). None of these attempts, however, focused on controlling and/or measuring the pressure and/or injection speed during injection to avoid an inadvertent intraneuronal injection, or rapid spread, and/or absorption of local anesthetics during nerve blockade/regional anesthesia.
Thus, it is clear that a more objective and reproducible method of monitoring and/or controlling the pressure and/or injection speed during nerve blockage injection, especially by less experienced personnel and/or assistants, would be beneficial in order to decrease the possibility of intraneuronal injection. The present invention provides such a method and apparatus.

Method and Apparatus to Decrease the risk of intraneuronal injection during administration of nerve block anesthesia


A filtration portion 11 constituting a filter element 3 is composed of a first filtration material 9 wound around the outer periphery of an inner tube 8 and a second filtration material 10 wound tightly around the outer peripheral surface of the first filtration material 9, and gas comprising oil mist is passed inside the filtration portion 11 from the inner peripheral surface to the outer peripheral surface thereof. As a result, a filter with good oil mist separation efficiency can be provided in which oil mist can be trapped and caused to condensate into oil drops with the first filtration material 9 and the oil drops can be grown with the second filtration material 10 and separated from the gas.

When CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) is used as a fuel, oil dispersed from, for example, a compressor during compression of natural gas is sometimes admixed as oil mist to the CNG. If the CNG containing the oil mist is supplied to an engine, the combustion efficiency is decreased. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the oil mist from the gas (CNG).
Furthermore, if combustion gas (blow-by gas) leaking from a combustion chamber of an engine is emitted to the atmosphere, it causes environmental pollution. For this reason, this gas is circulated again to the combustion chamber with a blow-by gas circulation unit and combusted. However, engine oil used for engine lubrication is dispersed, e.g., from cylinders and admixed as oil mist to the blow-by gas. Directly supplying such blow-by gas containing oil mist causes problems.
For this reason, a gas filter has been suggested for separating and removing oil mist from a gas such as the above-described CNG and blow-by gas (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-120932).
In such a gas filter, a high separation (filtration) efficiency has to be implemented upon adjusting, for example, pressure loss of the filter element according to the properties of the gas which is to be filtered. However, with the conventional products, such an adjustment was difficult, and sufficient separation efficiency of oil mist could not be obtained for certain types of gases.


A method for preparing fuel from tall-oil soap. The tall-oil soap is mixed with diesel oil. The tall-oil soap and the diesel oil are then reacted with carbon dioxide, thereby forming a reaction product and a mixture of diesel oil, tall oil and tall-oil soap. The mixture is separated from the reaction product and recovered. The mixture may then be burned as a fuel.

The present invention relates to a method of producing fuel from tall-oil soap by treating the soap with carbon dioxide. Tall-oil soap is a by-product of sulphate pulp manufacturing processes. The soap can be separated out from black liquor when concentrating the liquor into heavy black liquor. The tall-oil soap obtained has a pH of about 12 and is normally acidified with sulphuric acid to convert the soap to tall oil. A process of this kind is, in principle, carried out in all sulphate pulp mills. The tall oil obtained can be used as a crude product in the preparation of different chemicals or as fuel.
One drawback with this process is that relatively large volumes of sulphuric acid are required. The delivery of sulphur to the system makes it difficult to achieve a closed process in the mill while avoiding environmentally harmful emissions.
It has been proposed to treat tall-oil soap with carbon dioxide, with the intention of eliminating the use of sulphuric acid or reducing the amounts in which it is used. The proposed process uses inorganic carbonic acid which is generated by the reversible reaction between carbon dioxide and water: EQU CO.sub.2 +H.sub.2 O.revreaction.H.sub.2 CO.sub.3
The resultant carbonic acid reacts with the tall-oil soap in accordance with the following reactions: EQU RCOONa+H.sub.2 CO.sub.3 .revreaction.RCOOH+NaHCO.sub.3
However, only about half of the soap is converted to tall oil in these reactions.
Because the earlier processes that use carbon dioxide have been intended mainly to produce the purest possible tall oil, so as to enable the oil to be used in the preparation of different chemicals, the carbon dioxide treatment stage is followed by a sulphuric acid treatment stage. Although this process results in a reduction of the sulphuric acid otherwise required, it does not eliminate the use of sulphuric acid completely. An alternative solution proposes the onerous repetition of the carbon dioxide treatment in several treatment steps.
The present invention is based on the realization that tall-oil soap can be treated with carbon dioxide to obtain a fuel which contains tall oil that does not require the same degree of purity as tall oil intended for some other use. The inventive process affords the important advantage of enabling tall-oil soap to be used as fuel without the addition of sulphur.

Process for preparing a fuel from tall-oil soft soap


A propulsion system for a jet- or rocket-propelled vehicle in which the resulting jet exhaust nozzle profile is a 3D spiral. The propulsion system can be applied to any jet- or rocket-propelled vehicle, including aircraft and watercraft. The propulsion system also contemplates a vehicle including the modified 3D spiral nozzle exhaust profile

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a jet propulsion system. More specifically, the invention relates to a jet propulsion system having a jet or nozzle modified to produce a jet exhaust formation having a 3D spiral formation by using a slit to produce spiral exhaust for improving performance and handling, as well as reducing drag (i.e., jet and rocket engines), thereby increasing speed. The slit preferably has a generally S-shaped configuration.
2. Description of Related Art
Jet propulsion is well known in both the fields of aircraft and marine vehicles. The exhaust of these vehicles is produced by rotating power plants, such as compressors and turbines, producing thrust. The resulting exhaust leaves the nozzles of these vehicles in a generally cylindrical plume. None of the prior art, however, teaches the conversion of the exhaust from a cylindrical plume into a 3D spiral formed by a twisting ribbon. Conventional propulsion system and proposed modifications thereto are exemplified in the following publications.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2002/0049010, published Apr. 25, 2002, teaches a steerable watercraft including a jet propelled power plant. U.S. Pat. No. 2,420,323, issued to Meyer et al. on May 13, 1947, teaches a steering system in which a jet propelled vehicle is steered in response to a set of flaps located on the nozzle exhaust. U.S. Pat. No. 2,928,238, issued to Hawkings, Jr. on Mar. 15, 1960, teaches a jet aircraft having a controllable deflector and orifice control.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,087,303, issued to Heinze et al. on Apr. 30, 1963, teaches a jet propelled aircraft with a jet deflecting means. U.S. Pat. No. 3,285,262, issued to Ernst et al. on Nov. 15, 1966, teaches an aerodynamic servo-valve for use in guidance and stabilization of rockets. U.S. Pat. No. 3,350,886, issued to Feraud et al. on Nov. 7, 1967, teaches a rocket having a stabilizing and guiding means.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,581,995, issued to Fischer on Jun. 1, 1971, teaches a device for modifying the hot exhaust gases emanated from a jet aircraft. U.S. Pat. No. 3,610,556, issued to Charlton, Jr. on Oct. 5, 1971, teaches a directional control mechanism for reaction propelled aircraft. U.S. Pat. No. 3,635,404, issued to Hopkins et al. on Jan. 18, 1972, teaches a pin stabilizing rocket nozzle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,640,469, issued to Hayes et al. on Feb. 8, 1972, teaches a modification of a jet nozzle in which the vector of the jet is deflected about a single axis. U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,376, issued to Smith on Apr. 9, 1974, teaches a jet-propelled boat steering system. U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,696, issued to Kureth on Jul. 12, 1977, teaches a boat stabilizer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,685, issued to Jacobs on Dec. 20, 1977, teaches a rocket thrust stabilizer nozzle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,432,736, issued to Parramore on Feb. 21, 1984, teaches a water-jet steering mechanism. U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,374, issued to Friederich on Feb. 17, 1987, teaches a jet propulsion steering apparatus. U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,964, issued to Enderle et al. on Dec. 15, 1992, teaches a jet-propelled nozzle thrust control.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,115, issued to Maghon on Apr. 7, 1998, teaches a gas turbine combustor with means for removing swirl in order to avoid turbulence. U.S. Pat. No. 6,159,059, issued to Bernier et al. on Dec. 12, 2000, teaches a thrust-controlled system for watercraft. U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,499, issued to Griffin, Sr. et al. on Aug. 28, 2001, teaches a rotational get-drive bow thruster for a marine propulsion system.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,299,494, issued to Bowers et al. on Oct. 9, 2001, teaches an articulated nozzle assembly for water jet apparatus. U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,816, issued to Tsuchiya et al. on Dec. 25, 2001, teaches a jet-propelled boat including steering control. U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,407, issued to Renshaw on Apr. 16, 2002, teaches a mechanism for vectoring jet exhaust flow. U.S. Pat. No. 6,382,559, issued to Sutterfield et al. on May 7, 2002, teaches a further jet thrust vectoring mechanism.
U.K. Patent Application No. 1,063,945, published on Feb. 22, 1965, teaches a liquid jet reaction propulsion unit. U.K. Patent Application No. 2,060,078, published on Apr. 29, 1981, teaches a flight stabilization system for rockets including spiral twist of the exhaust flow. However, the invention avoids use of an external structure to create the intended thrust flow, but rather uses modification of the internal surface of the rocket exhaust nozzle to resemble the spiral pattern obtained from a rifled gun barrel.
U.K. Patent No. 2,094,252, published on Mar. 2, 1981, teaches a water-jet steering mechanism. German Patent No. 3,222,413, published on Dec. 15, 1983, teaches a direction converter for an aircraft for controlling vertical and horizontal flight. As noted above, many patents have issued describing various jet propelled vehicles including various types of directional control systems. However, none teach the application of a slit-shaped exit to control the flow of a jet exhaust to resemble a 3D spiral. More specifically, the present invention requires the use of a slit to create a 3D spiral exhaust pattern in any jet-propelled vehicle, including jet aircraft and watercraft.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.


A method of controlling spectrum use in a first wireless communications system which is operable to take part in a spectrum assignment process involving a plurality of wireless communications systems including the first wireless communications system, in which spectrum assignment process one of the said wireless communications systems assigns a portion of spectrum to at least one of the other said wireless communications systems. The method comprising effecting an instance of the spectrum assignment process in response to a trigger which is based on network conditions.

The increasing demand for flexible use of the radio spectrum for emerging new services and applications is the motivation behind numerous research activities worldwide. Efficient access to radio spectrum resources will generate new sources of revenues for worldwide vendors and wireless network operators. Recent studies worldwide indicate that while some systems and mobile operators are starving for more efficient utilization of spectrum resources, most of the radio spectrum resources remain underutilized or unused most of times. The new design of wireless radio infrastructure outlines the new attempts to share the spectrum in a fundamentally novel fashion which would ultimately lead to better utilization of spectrum. The proposed spectrum management architectures and the spectrum sharing functionalities developed recently will result in reducing the time required to tailor a new service to an operator network. Furthermore, the flexible spectrum access and usage leads to more capable and faster services with high Quality of Service (QoS) giving more user satisfaction than conventional networks.
FIG. 1 shows a proposed architecture in a potential scenario where different radio access networks (RANs) are engaged in so-called long-term and short-term spectrum assignment processes. The central diagram of FIG. 1 shows three gateways GW of respective radio access networks RAN1-3 taking part in a LT spectrum negotiation, while the individual base stations of the three RANs 1-3 take part in ST spectrum negotiations. The two graphs to the left of FIG. 1 represent the amount of spectrum allocated respectively to the first base station BS1 of the first radio access network RAN1 and to the second base station BS2 of the second radio access network RAN2. As can be seen in each of the graphs, the low-frequency curve represents the amount of spectrum allocated to the respective base station as a result of LT spectrum negotiations, while the high-frequency curve represents the amount of spectrum as a result of ongoing ST spectrum negotiations. The diagram to the right of FIG. 1 shows the spectrum boundaries set by LT spectrum assignment being adjusted by ST spectrum assignment, in this case with BS3 of RAN3 borrowing a chunk of spectrum from BS2 of RAN2 in the ST spectrum assignment process.
FIG. 2 shows a novel system for spectrum sharing and coexistence. The possibility of spectrum exchange between two or more RANs has been proposed and may ultimately lead to a better utilization of spectrum for wireless mobile networks. In FIG. 2, base stations negotiate over the air during ST spectrum assignments, and may take part in horizontal sharing (a type of sharing in which there is no priority among RANs) while gateways negotiate over an external IP network during LT spectrum assignments, and may take part in vertical sharing (a type of sharing in which one RAN has priority over other RANs). The gateways communicate with a central database, which includes information regarding spectrum policies and regulations, and may also include historical logs of spectrum access and assignments.
The basic idea is to let independent radio access networks (RANs) use the spectrum of other RANs when it is not needed by those RANs. The RANs may negotiate using proposed gateways (GWs).
Four stages for the spectrum negotiations and management have been proposed:
Spectrum Co-existence and Sharing
In the first stage, RANs (perhaps belong to different operators) decide on the size of a shared spectrum band which might be available from one of those RANs beyond their existing dedicated spectrum band. A typical scenario is shown in FIG. 3, in which a dedicated band licensed to RAN1-3 is extended by borrowing extra shared bandwidth. The decision on the precise final boundaries of spectrum is location-dependent and also depends on the nature of the area, e.g. metropolitan area, local area and the coordinates (X,Y) of the RANs and is based on the trade-off between spatial separation and frequency separation. FIG. 4 illustrates a typical scenario for a cellular configuration, including three adjacent cells. It can be observed in FIG. 4 that the initial boundaries of available spectrum are different on a cell-by-cell basis.
Long Term (LT) Spectrum Assignment
In the second stage, after making the decision about the boundaries of spectrum, a negotiation occurs on a couple of minutes' basis through negotiations between gateways assigned to different RANs (i.e. from the different operators) to rearrange the available spectrum to maximize the utilization of spectrum, say between a primary and a secondary system. The idea is to give the capability to each mobile operator to trade its unused spectrum in order to maximize revenue and to provide a new extra source of spectrum when needed to improve the QoS. As depicted in FIG. 5, the spectrum boundaries and guard bands are changed on a couple of minutes basis depending on traffic conditions, the assigned and agreed policy and regulations.
Short Term (ST) Spectrum Assignment
In the third stage, after making the decision about the boundaries of spectrum, a negotiation occurs on a one second or couple of second basis locally between the base stations as depicted in FIG. 1. A typical scenario is depicted in FIG. 6 where a base station from a Metropolitan Area (MA) Deployment has managed to progressively negotiate and get spectrum from a Wide Area (WA) deployment.
Channel Allocation/Radio Resource Partitioning
We assume that, in both the physical layer and the network layer, the radio specifications can be changed in order to provide an acceptable level of BER. At the network level, the interference can be minimised by applying channel allocation/radio resource partitioning (i.e. by suitable selection of channel frequency). After a decision is reached regarding ST Spectrum Assignment, a decision is made on a couple of 10 ms basis to allocate suitable sub-channels to each cell or base station. This is depicted in FIGS. 7A and 7B. Channel allocation also can be applied at the base station (BS) level where the BS decides how to allocate the sub-channels to user equipment (UEs) (perhaps using another smaller sub-channel arrangement).
FIG. 8 shows the hierarchy of the four stages of spectrum assignment based on the employed time granularity. Spectrum Co-existence and Sharing operates on a timescale of hours or a couple of days. LT Spectrum Assignment operates on a timescale of a minute or a couple of minutes. ST Spectrum Assignment operates on a timescale of a second or a couple of seconds. Channel Allocation/Radio Resource Partitioning operates on a timescale of 10 ms or a couple of 10 ms.


A movable cargo floor assembly for a vehicle providing at least a portion of the cargo floor moving closer to an entrance of the vehicle or extending beyond or outside the vehicle when it is in a deployed position, and the cargo floor being in a stowed position when not in the deployed position. In addition, the cargo floor has at least one ramp surface integrated into the base of the cargo floor, and a track that is integrated into the ramp surface so that a gear assembly contacts the track and moves the cargo floor to and from a deployed position and a stowed position. Thus, as a gear rotates it contacts the teeth of the track and causes the cargo floor to move between positions.

Almost all vehicles have an area in the passenger compartment designated for transporting cargo or a trunk area designated for transporting cargo. In some vehicle models, such as mini vans or SUVs, it is ideal to have a larger cargo area inside the passenger compartment so that more cargo or large cargo can be transported in the vehicle. However, when a vehicle has a large cargo area, it can be difficult and not ergonomically ideal to place objects in hard to reach areas of the cargo area. For example, in a mini van the portions of the cargo area that are farthest away from the rear hatch can be difficult to reach from outside the vehicle. Thus, if a person wishes to place cargo in the hard to reach area of the cargo area, they have limited options in order to get the cargo in the desired location.
One option is for the person to put the cargo partially in the cargo area and then enter the vehicle to get on the other side of the cargo area. This is not ideal because the person has to change locations in order to get the cargo into the vehicle, and in most models of vehicles, the person would have to stretch over a row of seating in the vehicle. Another option is to stretch across the cargo area from outside the vehicle. This is not ideal because the person must get close to the vehicle and most likely contact the exterior side of the vehicle. This can result in the person getting dirty from the road dirt or other byproducts on the exterior of the vehicle. Additionally, when the cargo to be stored is a heavy object it is not ergonomically ideal to stretch across a large cargo area with heavy cargo, even if the person has the strength to move the cargo in that manner.
Therefore, it would be desirable to develop a load floor for a vehicle in which the floor is repositioned from a stowed position to a deployed position so that a person can place cargo on the portion of the load floor farthest from the opening in the vehicle, without reaching across the entire cargo area. In addition, it would be desirable to integrate the track in which the load floor moves along into the base of the load floor in order to reduce the number of parts needed for operation, and thus making the manufacturing and assembly of the load floor more efficient.


An approach is provided for optimizing reference counting. Responsive to receiving code representing a program by a just-in-time compiler, one or more processors in computing machinery supporting transactional memory identify regions of the code having respective sets of reference counting operations executed dynamically. Identifying the regions of the code uses an analysis of semantics of the code. The identified regions are enclosed in respective transactions. The code that was to perform atomic operations, including the reference counting operations in the identified regions, is transformed into new code that performs non-atomic operations that are variants of the atomic operations. Fallback code sequences are inserted into the transformed code. In a non-transactional manner and in response to detections of failures in respective transactions, the fallback code sequences execute original code sequences that were in the code prior to the transformation of the code. The original code sequences include respective multiple atomic operations.

The present invention relates to computer resource management, and more particularly to reference counting optimization.
Known programming languages that lack mark and sweep garbage collectors use reference counting to track uses and lifetimes of computer resources, which include objects, blocks of memory, and disk space (i.e., by storing the number of references, pointers, or handles to each resource). Reference counting is a memory management technique to recycle memory and keep the memory footprint low because object memory is reclaimed as soon as there are no remaining references to the object or other resource.

Using hardware transactional memory to optimize reference counting

International Business Machines Corporation


A request to add tags (e.g., labels, key-value pairs, or metadata) to resources can be digitally signed by the entity making the request, such that the source can be verified and an authorization determination made for each tag. For a request involving multiple services (or entities) that can each add tags, any tag added by a service can be included in the request and digitally signed by that service. Each service processing the request can also digitally sign the request before forwarding, so that each service signs a version of the request, which includes elements signed by other services earlier in the request chain. When the request is received to a tagging service, the service ensures that every tag was digitally signed by the appropriate authorized entity or service, and validates the signatures to ensure that no data was modified or omitted, before adding the tags to the designated resource(s).

Users are increasingly performing tasks using remote computing resources, often referred to as part of "the cloud." This has many advantages, as users do not have to purchase and maintain dedicated hardware and software, and instead can pay for only those resources that are needed at any given time, where those resources typically will be managed by a resource provider. Because a resource provider will often provide resource access to many different users, various types of credentials can be used to authenticate a source of the request, as well as to demonstrate that the source is authorized to access a resource to perform a task. In conventional systems there is no way to authorize individual elements within such a request, or to identify the contributors of certain elements within the request. Services at the end of a request chain may be tasked with performing or triggering tasks for the request, but there can be problems with the end service performing tasks for systems earlier in the request chain or the authorization information differing based on the path of the specific request chain.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The invention relates to methods of identifying and characterizing properties of polymers to provide information about the polymer such as the charge of the polymer, the number and types or characteristics of units of the polymer and the sequence of the polymers. The invention also relates to methods of sequencing polymers such as nucleic acids, polypeptides and polysaccharides and methods for identifying a polysaccharide-protein interaction.

Various notational systems have been used to encode classes of chemical units by assigning a unique code to each chemical unit in the class. For example, a conventional notational system for encoding amino acids assigns a single letter of the alphabet to each known amino acid. A polymer of chemical units may be represented using such a notational system using a set of codes corresponding to the chemical units. Such notational systems have been used to encode polymers, such as proteins, in a computer-readable format. A polymer that has been represented in such a computer-readable format according to a notational system may be stored and processed by a computer.
Conventional notational schemes for representing chemical units have represented the chemical units as characters (e.g., A, T, G, and C for nucleic acids), and have represented polymers of chemical units as sequences or sets of characters. Various operations may be performed on such a notational representation of a chemical unit or a polymer comprised of chemical units. For example, a user may search a database of chemical units for a query sequence of chemical units. In such a case, the user typically provides a character-based notational representation of the sequence in the form of a sequence of characters, which is compared against the character-based notational representations of sequences of chemical units stored in the database. Character-based searching algorithms, however, are typically slow because such algorithms search by comparing individual characters in the query sequence against individual characters in the sequences of chemical units stored in the database. The spread of such algorithms is therefore related to the length of the query sequence, resulting in particularly poor performance for long query sequences.
The study of molecular and cellular biology is focused on the macroscopic structure of cells. We now know that cells have a complex microstructure that determine the functionality of the cell. Much of the diversity associated with cellular structure and function is due to the ability of a cell to assemble various building blocks into diverse chemical compounds. The cell accomplishes this task by assembling polymers from a limited set of building blocks referred to as monomers. The key to the diverse functionality of polymers is based in the primary sequence of the monomers within the polymer and is integral to understanding the basis for cellular function, such as why a cell differentiates in a particular manner or how a cell will respond to treatment with a particular drug.
The ability to identify the structure of polymers by identifying their sequence of monomers is integral to the understanding of each active component and the role that component plays within a cell. By determining the sequences of polymers it is possible to generate expression maps, to determine what proteins are expressed, to understand where mutations occur in a disease state, and to determine whether a polysaccharide has better function or loses function when a particular monomer is absent or mutated.

Method for identifying or characterizing properties of polymeric units


In some instances, a method for ingesting data files is provided. The method comprises: obtaining, by an ingestion system associated with a distributed file system, a data file from an external data source; determining, by the ingestion system, a plurality of processing threads within the ingestion system to use to process the data file; determining, by the ingestion system, one or more offsets within the data file based on the plurality of determined processing threads; and ingesting, by the ingestion system, the data file by having each of the plurality of processing threads begin processing the data file at a plurality of different locations within the data file, wherein the plurality of different locations are associated with the one or more offsets.

A file system may receive many data files from many different sources. In some instances, these data files may be flat files such as a simple plain text file or binary file. The size of the data files may impact how fast the file system is able to ingest the data files. For example, typically, when the file system receives a data file (e.g., a data file from the LINUX file system), the file system (e.g., a HADOOP file system) may perform one or more operations (e.g., an "hdfs dfs -put" command) to convert this data file into an appropriate data file associated with the file system (e.g., convert the data file from LINUX file system into a HADOOP data file) and ingest the data file. When the data file is smaller in size, it may be fairly quick for the file system to ingest this data file. However, the file system may have to ingest numerous different data files that are typically substantial in size. Accordingly, with a large amount of data flowing into the file system, this may cause a bottleneck in the process of data ingestion.
Traditionally, by using the "hdfs dfs -put" command, the file system is able to transfer and ingest the contents of the data file using a single-threaded process (e.g., a single processing thread of a device or processor such as a central processing unit (CPU)). Other methods that have been used include splitting the file into multiple different pieces such as by using a UNIX split command and then using the "hdfs dfs -put" command. However, the time it takes to actually split the data file into multiple pieces is not instantaneous and in fact, may actually increase the overall time taken to ingest a file. In particular, regarding splitting the data files into separate data files and then ingesting the split data files, the overhead for this operation actually resides in the process splitting the data files as the time taken to split a file physically increases with the increase in file size. Accordingly, there remains a technical need to rapidly ingest data files into the file system.

Systems and methods for ingesting data files using multi-threaded processing


Systems and methods for treating contaminated impound water are disclosed which include a pretreatment stage wherein contaminated water is oxidized, pH adjusted, treated with a coagulant, and treated with a polymer to form a flocculent comprising bulk solids and fine particles. The oxidizing step may include two or more stages, one of which is a treatment with ferrous iron generated from iron filings or steel wool. Bulk solids are removed, and the liquid portion containing fine particles is applied to a low pressure microfiltration unit to remove the fine particles resulting in a microfilter effluent. The microfilter effluent may be directly fed to a reverse osmosis (R/O) unit. The R/O reject may be recycled to another R/O unit (second pass). The R/O permeate may be blended as needed with the microfiltration effluent to provide the final discharge effluent with reduced contaminant levels and maximized throughput. The R/O second pass reject water is further oxidized and recycled back to the front of the system to be retreated.

Tulare Lake Drainage District [TLDD] in Corcoran, Calif., has over 3,000 acres of impounded agricultural water and has been the subject of numerous studies for decades. This impounded water has been documented over the last several years as delineated in journals, web sites and newspapers. [www.water.ca.gov; Los Angeles Times (1994); University of California Center for Water Resources (2 studies), "Management effects on Selenium Fractionation, Speciation and Bioavailability in Sediments from Evaporation Basins" and "Transformation of Selenium species in Sediment and Wetland Management for the Enhancement of Selenium Volatilization and Remediation Efficiency"]; and the US Geological Survey studies. In addition to the above referenced studies and articles, several corporations have attempted to develop a systematic approach to treat the impound water and render it canal grade quality water for reintroduction to the ecosystem as agricultural based water mainly though redistribution of the water through the existing canals throughout central California.
The impounded water has several minerals and organics present that incorporate selenium, arsenic and uranium as contaminants of the impounded water and are in several forms, both as metallurgical and as organic species where selenium has been taken up by the bacteria, etc. as, e.g. seleno-methionine, seleno-cysteine and seleno-cystine, and are present in these forms to unacceptably high levels to prevent discharge as canal grade water.
Many of the studies have focused on traditional methods of eliminating the selenium, arsenic and uranium. For example, the University of California study on volatilization of the compounds as a method of eliminating the compounds from the impounded water. The focus of the studies, whether as private or public entities, has been on the elimination of the selenium analogs present in the water. [FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization) of the United Nations titled "Agricultural Drainage Water Management in Arid and semi-Arid Areas", FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 61]. In this study, they point out the arsenic and more importantly, the difficulty present in the treatment and the reduction of selenium in the impounded water from the region. Non-limiting examples of some of the selenium compounds are shown below:

Seleno-methionine; SeCl2: selenium (II) chloride; Se2Cl2: selenium (I) chloride; and [SeCl4]4: selenium (IV) chloride.
The contamination problems similar to those of the Tulare Lake Drainage District discussed above, are present in many other forms of contaminated impound water such as impound agricultural water, hydraulic fracturing (frac'ing) effluent of gas wells, and post anaerobic digested sludge effluent waste water.
It would be an advancement in the art to provide systems and processing for impound water contaminated with metals such as selenium, arsenic, uranium, and other undesirable metal or ion, as well as organic species.
It would be an advancement in the art to provide systems and processes for treating contaminated impound water to render it acceptable for environmental discharge or industrial recycling.


A new cultivar of Hebe plant named ‘TULLYRASP’ that is characterized by a compact habit with deep burgundy colored foliage and which bears abundant deep pink flowers through summer and fall. In combination these traits set ‘TULLYRASP’ apart from all other varieties of Hebe known to the inventor.

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(f) of the application for a grant of European Community Plant Breeders Rights which was filed for the instant plant variety on Jan. 25, 2008, Application Number 2008/0177.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Hebe that is grown for use as a flowering plant for use in containers and in the garden and landscape. The new cultivar is known botanically as HEBE×hybrida and will be referred to hereinafter by the cultivar name 'TULLYRASPB'.
'TULLYRASPB' is the product of a breeding program started by the inventor in 1998. The breeding program is ongoing, and is conducted at the inventor's nursery in Ballyboughal, County Dublin, Republic of Ireland. The primary focus of the breeding program is to produce new cultivars of Hebe which are extremely compact and which possess colorful foliage and abundant flowers. These characteristics in combination are considered by the inventor to be of most interest to the relevant market.
The breeding of 'TULLYRASPB' proceeded as follows: First, the inventor assembled several potential parent varieties, including the commercially available cultivars 'Autumn Glory' (not patented), 'Marjorie' (not patented), 'Margret' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,231), 'Oratio Beauty' (not patented), 'Red Edge' (not patented), 'Albicans' (not patented), 'Mrs. Winder' (not patented), 'Black Beauty' (not patented), 'Great Orme' (not patented), 'Pink Wand' (not patented) together with un-named and un-released varieties of the inventor's own development. Specimen plants of each of these varieties were placed in close proximity at the inventor's nursery in order to facilitate natural pollination. Pollination was not controlled and occurred naturally by means of insects and wind. The parentage was not restricted or monitored and may even have involved varieties not listed herein that were outside of the breeding area as a result of insects carrying pollen in. Once mature, seed was collected from these plants without segregation by parent plant. All of the collected seeds were sown and the new variety, 'TULLYRASPB' was selected in the spring of 2004 from amongst the resultant seedlings.
'TULLYRASPB' was selected by the inventor for its combination of compact habit, burgundy colored foliage and deep pink flowers. The variety of Hebe which the inventor considers most closely resembles 'TULLYRASP' is one of the possible parent varieties, 'Mrs. Winder'. In comparison with 'Mrs. Winder', 'TULLYRASPB' is more compact, has deeper burgundy foliage and deeper pink flowers.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar was first accomplished by the inventor at the inventor's nursery in 2004. The method of asexual propagation used was softwood cuttings. The inventor has determined that 'TULLYRASP' stable and reproduces true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation.


A glass fiber strand impregnated with a liquid crystal polymer and an aqueous slurry composition useful for producing the liquid crystal polymer impregnated glass fiber strand are disclosed. The aqueous slurry composition includes a liquid crystal polymer resin powder and a thickener material. The slurry composition is applied to the glass fiber surfaces during the fiber forming process. Coupling agents, surfactants or lubricants material may optionally be added to the slurry composition. One embodiment of the slurry composition includes a polyethylene oxide binder material and a melt spinnable liquid crystal polyester which is optically anisotropic in the melt phase.

The production of impregnated fibers and the application of thermoplastic resins to the fibers is well-known. Such fibers are coated with the thermoplastic resin after the fiber strand has been formed.
Sizing compositions employed as coatings for glass fibers have conventionally been applied to the surface of the glass fibers after the glass fiber has been formed. Typically, it is necessary to first produce the glass fibers by providing a thin layer of a size composition to the surface of the bare glass fibers. The size composition must be compatible with the glass fiber and the resin which is subsequently applied to the sized fiber. The size composition serves to improve the bonding relationship between the glass fibers and the polymeric or thermoplastic resins. The glass fibers are then collected into a strand and the strand is wound around a take-up bobbin to form a substantially cylindrical package, conventionally termed a "yarn package". The yarn package is then air dried or subjected to elevated temperatures in order to dry the size composition applied to the surface of the glass fibers. The glass fibers are thereafter impregnated with the thermoplastic resin to form an impregnated yarn or cord.
However, it is difficult to produce a liquid crystal polymer impregnated glass fiber strand. Liquid crystal polymers cannot be dissolved in the size composition solvents normally used in producing impregnated fibrous strands. Therefore, the liquid crystal polymer thus cannot be applied to a filament using a solvent impregnation process. In addition, the conventional melt impregnation process cannot be used to produce a glass fiber strand impregnated with a liquid crystal polymer since a specific size composition must be used which does not allow for the production of highly loaded liquid crystal polymer impregnated glass strands having optimum mechanical properties such as high strength.
It would be beneficial if a glass fibrous strand impregnated with a liquid crystal polymer could be produced which would have good integrity and optimum mechanical properties. Such impregnated strand would be especially useful for high performance and use items.
Considerable time and expense would be saved if a size composition useful for impregnating glass strands with a liquid crystal polymer resin were available which could be applied during the fiber forming process without the need for non-aqueous solvents, fluidized beds, sheaths or time-consuming manufacturing processes.
Moreover, it would be beneficial if a size composition could be employed which, when directly blended with the liquid crystal polymer resin during the glass fiber forming process, produces a substantially pure liquid crystal polymer impregnated glass strand.

Size composition for impregnating filament strands with a liquid crystal polymer and the strands produced thereby


A method for retrieving an object which becomes lost receives an image of an object from a camera device and analyzes the image to obtain features of the object. The features information comprises category of the object and other details such as serial number. Supplementary information of the object is input on a displayer, the supplemental information comprises time and location of a lost property office or other responsible authority in receiving an object apparently lost. Information according to the features of the object and the supplementary information is broadcast. A device facilitating the retrieval of such object is also disclosed.

People can lose objects, especially in public places, such as MRT stations, department stores, and railway stations. The lost object may be handed to a lost property management department and registered by a staff of the lost property management department. However, a manual registration of the lost object is time-consuming and information of the lost object may be incomplete, the lost object may not be returned to an owner.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

Method for retrieving lost object and lost object retrieval device

HONGFUJIN PRECISION ELECTRONICS(TIANJIN)CO., LTD.


A reflectance-based optical measurement device and a method for a reflectance-based optical measurement are provided. The device comprises an illumination and detection assembly configured to output light to a surface portion of a user for measurement and to detect the output light reflected from said surface portion of the user as a signal; a coupling member configured for coupling in a cableless configuration to a personal mobile processing device; a measurement surface configured to allow access to said measurement surface by the surface portion of the user; wherein said access is provided by the optical device being holderless such that the surface portion of the user is allowed access to said measurement surface from all directions in a single plane; and further wherein said coupling member is arranged to transmit the detected signal to the personal mobile processing device.

Optical monitoring of physiological characteristics utilizes the detection of light transmitted through a location of a user being measured. Photoplethysmography (PPG) is an optical measurement technique used to detect blood volume changes in the microvascular bed of living tissue, typically by detecting light transmitted through the ear lobe or fingertip. As arterial pulsations enter the capillary bed, changes in the volume of the blood vessels or characteristics of the blood itself modify the optical properties of the capillary bed. A PPG signal is used to measure saturation of peripheral oxygen (SpO2), which is an estimation of the level of oxygen saturation in a fluid, such as blood. The PPG signal can also be used to measure blood pressure.
A device such as a pulse oximeter provides for measuring enhanced optical pulsatile signals emitted by the changes in the volume of blood flowing through a user. The pulse oximeter typically has a pair of small light emitting diodes (LEDs) facing a photodiode/photodetector, with a translucent part of the user's body, usually a fingertip or an earlobe, positioned there between. The LEDs illuminate the tissue (e.g. skin) of the user and the photodetector measures small variations in light intensity associated with changes in perfusion in a catchment volume. An oximeter in such a configuration is typically called a transmittance-type oximeter. The light from the LEDs passes through the tissue and is detected by the photodiode. One LED is red, with wavelength of approximately 660 nanometers (nm), and the other is infrared, with a wavelength of approximately 905, 910 or 940 nm. Absorption at these wavelengths differs significantly between oxyhemoglobin and its deoxygenated form. Therefore, the ratio of oxyhemoglobin to deoxyhemoglobin can be calculated from the ratio of the absorption of the red and infrared light, i.e. the ratio of red light to infrared light absorption of pulsating components at the measuring site.
For transmittance-type oximeters, a cuff or holder is typically provided to function primarily as a holder for the photodiode and also as a shield against ambient light. It has been recognised that having a cuff or a holder/clip typically enforces a fixed orientation of the part of the user's body for measurement. This may be undesirable to a user.
On the other hand, apart from transmittance-type oximeters, there also exist reflectance-type oximeters. For reflectance-type oximeters, the LEDs and the photodiode reside on the same side of the translucent part of the user's body. Light from the LEDs are reflected from the portion to be measured and detected by the photodiode. For reflectance-type oximeters, ambient light can be a significant factor in accuracy of light detection by the photodiode. Thus, reflectance-type oximeters typically still require a cuff or a holder/clip to provide shielding against ambient light from interfering with reflected light from the LEDs. This may be undesirable to a user.
Furthermore, for certain types of reflectance-type oximeters without clips, such as those in patch form, a shield is still required on the base of the oximeter to provide the ambient light shielding.
Further to the above, the inventors have recognised that a typical oximeter has relatively complicated design considerations centering on how to incorporate a power source such that the oximeter can function as a standalone device. This may delay development and increase production costs for oximeters.
In addition, for oximeters, ambient light can interfere with readings in the form of ambient noise. For example, ambient light such as those from bilirubin lamps, fluorescent light, infrared heating lamps and direct sunlight etc. can affect the accuracy of SpO2 readings. As a brief introduction, SpO2 calculation is based on the AC and DC components of both a red (RED) and an infra-red (IR) PPG signal. The Red PPG signal is obtained when a red LED of e.g. about 660 nm is reflected off the skin of a user. The IR PPG signal is obtained when an IR LED emitting electromagnetic waves of e.g. about 940 nm is reflected off the skin of a user.
Therefore, without removing ambient light interference from the PPG signals, a true reading of Red or IR PPG signals cannot be acquired. This in turn affects the calculation of SpO2. Typically, a third PPG signal, i.e. ambient PPG, is obtained. This ambient PPG signal is a signal obtained by a photodetector when both the IR and Red LEDs are turned off. Typically, an on-the-fly point-by-point subtraction of the ambient signal from the Red and IR PPG signals is carried out. However, it has been recognised by the inventors that such processing is typically power consuming. Digital reconstruction of PPG signals can also be time consuming. It has also been recognised by the inventors that the above processing may further typically require additional and relatively complicated multi-path circuitry, e.g. a different signal path for Red, Infrared and/or ambient PPG signals.
Thus, in view of the above, there exists a need for an optical measurement device and method that seek to address at least one of the above problems. There also exists a need for a noise cancellation method and system that seek to address at least one of the above problems.

Optical measurement device and a method for an optical measurement


Provided are: a thin display device that has reduced dimensions between a light guide plate and a display panel; and a television receiver provided with the display device. By threading screws, the edge of an opening and a bottom part press, with an elastic member interposed therebetween, the display panel and the light guide plate together. As a result, the dimensions between the display panel and the light guide plate can be reduced by sandwiching the display panel and the light guide plate by a front cabinet and a back cabinet from the front and back without interposing a support member between the display panel and the light guide plate.

A thin display device (a liquid crystal display device, for example), whose occupancy area in a room is small in comparison with its display screen size, is widely spread to the public because a limited indoor space is utilized efficiently. A liquid crystal display device displays images by emitting light from a light source housed in a back cabinet to a liquid crystal display panel to display images, arranged in a front cabinet.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-330599 discloses a liquid crystal display device in which a light guide plate is arranged behind a liquid crystal panel and the light is emitted from the light guide plate to the liquid crystal panel. The liquid crystal panel is sandwiched between a bezel and a carriage frame and the light guide plate is sandwiched between the carriage frame and a back cover.
In a liquid crystal display device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-330599, a carriage frame is arranged between a light guide plate and a liquid crystal panel, therefore a space is created between the light guide plate and the liquid crystal panel. This space is not essential for displaying images. Instead, it prevents the liquid crystal display device from being thin.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. An object of the invention is to provide a thin display device and a television receiver having a display device, by reducing dimensions between a light guide plate and a display panel.


A polymer used for a negative type resist composition having a first repeating unit of a Si-containing monomer unit, a second repeating unit having a hydroxy group or an epoxy ring and copolymerized with the first repeating unit is provided. The first repeating unit is represented by the following formula:

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to silicon-containing polymers, negative type resist compositions comprising the same, and a patterning method for semiconductor devices using the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to silicon-containing polymers for use in a bi-layer resist (BLR) process, negative type resist compositions comprising the same, and a patterning method for semiconductor devices using the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
As semiconductor devices become more highly integrated and complex, the ability to form ultra-fine patterns becomes more important. For instance, in semiconductor devices of 1-Gigabit or greater, a pattern size having a design rule of 0.2 μm or less is needed. Such pattern size is difficult to achieve using conventional lithography processes using lower wavelength devices, e.g., a KrF eximer laser (248 nm), with a conventional resist material. Lithography processes using different exposure light sources, e.g., ArF excimer laser (193 nm) or F2 excimer laser (157 nm), have been proposed.
Further, conventional ArF or F2 resist materials suffer from a variety of drawbacks due to their structural limitation. One problem is the increase in the occurrence of patterns collapsing as the aspect ratio of pattern features increases. Another problem is the weak resistance against a dry etching process. Accordingly, there is an increasing demand for the development of new resist materials and processes.
In photolithography for the manufacture of highly integrated semiconductor devices, a single layer resist (SLR) process and a bi-layer resist (BLR) process are widely used. Use of the BLR process overcomes problems associated with the SLR process. For example, the BLR process increases the resistance to dry etching. Therefore, patterns having large aspect ratios can be formed using the BLR process and high resolution power can be provided at short-wavelength regions.
Generally, a BLR process requires a two component chemically amplified resist comprising a silicon-containing polymer having a silicon atom substituted in the backbone of the polymer and a photoacid generator (PAG), which is a positive type chemically amplified resist. Also, high-sensitivity resist materials suitable for the BLR process developed to be compatible with short-wavelength light sources are mostly positive type chemically amplified resists.
Although positive type chemically amplified resists are preferred in view of their higher resolution, compositions synthesized from the positive type chemically amplified resists suitable for the BLR process are too hydrophobic. Thus, adhesion to underlying layer materials is weak, and it is difficult to control the amount of silicon needed to create suitable resist materials. In particular, the most serious problem with the positive type chemically amplified resists is shrinkage by e-beam. In other words, while observing sizes of resist patterns using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), critical dimensions (CDs) of the patterns may change.
In pursuit of high-speed, highly-efficient DRAMs, there is a limitation in using positive type resists for forming isolated patterns. In lithography processes for the manufacture of semiconductor devices having a memory capacity of 1-Gigabit or more, use of phase shift masks is needed. In the design of phase shift masks, negative type resists are preferred over positive type resists.
Therefore, there is a need to develop negative type resists having a high transmittance to short-wavelength exposure light sources, high resolution power, and high dry etching resistance.

Silicon-containing polymer, negative type resist composition comprising the same, and patterning method for semiconductor device using the same

Abstract: wherein R1 is a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, X is a C1–C4 alkyl or alkoxy group, and n is an integer from 2 to 4. Also, there is provided a negative type resist composition including the polymer which is an alkali soluble base polymer, a photoacid generator and a crosslinking agent cross linkable in the presence of an acid.


To provide a toner, which contains a colorant, a binder resin, and a releasing agent, wherein the toner satisfies the following (a) to (c): (a) the toner contains at least a polyester resin as the binder resin; (b) the toner has Tg1st of 25° C. to 50° C.; and (c) the toner has a TMA compressive deformation rate (TMA %) of 10% or lower at 50° C. under a condition having relative humidity of 70%, wherein the Tg1st is glass transition temperature of the toner for first heating, as the toner is measured by a DSC system (a differential scanning calorimeter).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toner for forming an electrostatic image, which is used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, such as a photocopier, a printer, and FAX, and to a developer using the toner, a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus in which the process cartridge is mounted.
2. Description of the Related Art
A technology for fixing a toner with low energy is desired because of the recent prosperity of environmentally friendly products. There are various ways for achieving such fixing, but among them, there is a strong demand for a toner for forming an electrostatic image, which can be fixed at low temperature.
As a method for lowering fixing temperature of a toner, typically performed is to lower glass transition temperature (Tg) of a toner binder. As Tg is merely made low, however, aggregation (blocking) of powder tends to occur. If the toner powder is aggregated inside an image forming apparatus, operation of a developing device is affected, and there is a case where the developing device cannot be operated. Even if the developing device can be still operated, a toner cannot be supplied, as the toner is aggregated inside a toner container, which leads to low toner density, and formation of defective images.
As a toner is designed to have low Tg, moreover, the toner tends to deposit on a carrier, a photoconductor, and various blades, and therefore defective images may be formed. Accordingly, it is necessary to prevent occurrences of blocking or filming, and to improve anti-blocking property of a toner. Moreover, shelf stability of a toner present at a surface of a fixed image is degraded, as Tg is low. If the fixed image is easily melted and dislocated, the toner may be deposited to another recording medium stacked on the recording medium bearing the fixed image, and therefore it may not be able to store the fixed image for a long period.
Tg is an important factor in the design of a toner binder. In according to a method merely reducing Tg, a toner, which can be fixed by a fixing device temperature of which is set lower than temperature used in conventional art, has not been obtained.
Meanwhile, as a method for achieving anti-blocking property, anti-filming property, and low temperature fixing ability of a toner, use of a crystalline resin as a toner binder has been known for a long time. However, such toner has a problem that hot offset is caused due to lack of elasticity when the toner is melted.
Moreover, as a method for achieving anti-blocking property, anti-filming property, and low temperature fixing ability of a toner, proposed is a core-shell type toner having a shell, formed by a melt suspension method, or emulsification aggregation method (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) Nos. 2009-053695, and 2011-150229). However, these toners are still insufficient to achieve excellent anti-blocking properties and anti-filming properties, while maintaining low temperature fixing abilities.
Furthermore, to solve the aforementioned problem, proposed is a method focusing on a crystalline resin (see JP-A No. 2011-123483). However, such crystalline resin is easily influenced by external conditions (heat history during production, storage, and fixing, and partial phase mixing), and a crystalline structure thereof is not stable, which may adversely affect various properties of a toner, anti-blocking property, and image stability.
In accordance with these conventional techniques, moreover, the crystalline polyester resin sharply melts compared to a non-crystalline polyester resin, and therefore these toners can achieve low temperature fixing ability. It is possible to achieve both low temperature fixing ability and heat resistant storage stability of a toner according to these conventional techniques, however, there are problems, particularly in the case where a toner is used in a high-speed device, that the toner forms aggregates as stress applied to the toner in the developing device is large, and a white missing area (transfer missing) is formed on an output toner image due to a doctor blockage. In case of a toner containing a crystalline polyester resin, moreover, there is a problem that the toner forms aggregates in high temperature high humidity environment.
Accordingly, it is current situation that there is needs for a toner, which has low temperature fixing ability, anti-blocking property, and anti-filming property, and capable of preventing transfer missing.

Toner for forming electrostatic image, developer, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus


In controlling valves, it is desirable for identical stroke changes to result in identical flow changes. To produce a non-linearity between the positioning signal and the valve opening, linearity is achieved between the positioning signal and the quantity of flow. In this case, the required positioning signal, in order to achieve a given opening stroke, is selected so that a linear function is produced between the quantity of flow and the positioning signal. The thus found setting signal is entered into the position regulator to control the valve. The position regulator is equipped for this purpose with a microprocessor circuit which acquires and processes the results of the ascertainment of the working characteristic of the installation.

Position regulators are used in installations for the control of valves in order to position the travel of stroke or the opening h of the control valve in accordance with a desired parameter. This parameter consists, as a rule, of a given desired flow quantity Q. Interfering and frictional forces in the flow should to be eliminated to a great extent. A given opening h of the valve is therefore associated with a given flow quantity Q. This ratio Q(h) is generally called a working characteristic.
In order to obtain the valve opening h corresponding to a desired flow quantity Q, a controller output position w is fed to the position regulator in the form of an electrical current signal and is compared with the topical opening or lifting position h of the valve. Depending on the result of this comparison, a pneumatic or mechanical positioning force is then fed to the pneumatic positioning drive until position and regulated magnitude (desired-/actual value) coincide.
The conventional position regulators are usually made according to electro-mechanical principles. The travel of stroke h or the opening of the valve is detected mechanically, e.g. through a lever coupling, and is fed back into the position regulator.
Newer designs replace the electro-mechanical system with electronic components, with microprocessors also used. The valve opening h is, in that case, converted into an electrical magnitude, e.g. by a potentiometer, and is compared in a suitable manner, e.g. through the processor software, with the guiding magnitude. These position regulators operate as microprocessor-controlled system as follows:
The controller output w is provided in the form of a current or voltage signal, e.g. by a process computer or also process regulator which calculates the position magnitude W, i.e. signals to trigger the valve via an algorithm formed in the microprocessor-controlled circuit of the computer (calculating process). The processing of the signals as a command and regulating variables is effected via a microprocessor-controlled circuit of the position regulator. Finally the obtained travel of stroke h is ascertained and is fed back via a potentiometer or a contact-less distance measuring system.
It is known that every valve has a certain characteristic valve line K.sub.v (h), which changes however relative to the working characteristic Q(h) depending on the resistances and operating states of the installation into which the valve is built in. For the precision, stability and regulating quality of the regulating circuit of the installation in which the valve is used as a positioning element, it would however be desirable to provide the same travel of stroke changes for the same flow changes. In other words: The working characteristic Q(h) of the system should show the flow Q as a linear function of travel of stroke h, i.e. for all operating states.
It has already been tried to assimilate, at least as much as possible, a linear working characteristic Q(h) by means of chokes, i.e. through mechanical configuration of the valves. However, this is very expensive. Above all, the form of the valve, once it has been designed, is only able to produce a linear working characteristic for one particular operating state. With other operating states and also in other installations, the design of this valve must again be adapted. Also, only an approximately linear attitude is obtained in this manner.


Techniques for generating a playlist include: receiving acoustic information, obtaining seed information based on the acoustic information, identifying audio tracks in an audio library based on the seed information, and generating the playlist using at least some of the identified audio tracks.

This disclosure relates generally to generating playlists of audio tracks based on input acoustic information.
Online music services provide users with access to audio tracks from various artists. Such services allow users to build libraries, and to organize those libraries according to input, or predefined, preferences. For example, audio tracks in a library may be grouped into playlists. A playlist can include a set of tracks that are grouped together, either randomly or based on some commonality. A music player for use with the music service typically reads the playlist and plays the audio tracks on the playlist randomly or in some order.

Generating a playlist based on input acoustic information


Various embodiments are directed to methods, systems, and devices for improving the quality of image data for printing by a printer having relatively low resolution capabilities. Image data may be scanned, captured or otherwise received. The image data may be received in bands, chunks, blocks, portions, regions, or its entirety. An edge detector is subsequently employed to detect a location of edges in a region of the received image data. For image data pixels that are located in or close to a detected edge, a first screen is applied to modify these pixels to compensate for printing at or near the detected edge. Otherwise, a second image screen is applied to modify pixels for printing that are not close to a detected edge. The first screen may be an error diffusion screen or a threshold screen. The second screen may be a halftone screen.

The printed quality of high-resolution image data can suffer when printed with relatively low-resolution printing devices. For example, when an image is printed for a relatively low resolution newspaper, book, or magazine, such printing devices often clump the ink or toner pixels into clusters (dots) at an edge. Screening of high-resolution image data has been employed to reduce its pixel depth and to cluster the "on" pixels into dots. In such applications, halftone screens reproduce solid, smooth, or slowly changing regions of the image data well, but may render printed edges (and other discontinuous regions) as fuzzy or jagged structures. Clustered dot halftone dots usually have between 4×4 and 10×10 output pixels per halftone dot. In other words the resolution of the dots is much less than the basic output resolution. This lower resolution is very visible at edges. In contrast, error diffusion screens or threshold screens render edges sharp and well defined in part because these screens generates edges at the higher output pixel resolution.
Half tone screening of image data is employed to reduce the pixel bit depth of digital image data. For instance, a halftone screen may be applied to simulate continuous tones in an image that is represented with screened image data that includes pixels of a bit depth of a single bit. In some halftone images, a pixel's single bit is either completely on or completely off. Dots of various amplitudes and frequencies may be clustered, via pixels of a 1-bit pixel depth, to render certain features in the screened image data. Such halftone screens are often applied when printing images for books, magazines, newspapers and the like. However, details of image data that are represented by screened image data are often lost due to lower cluster dot resolution than output pixel resolution. Thus, it is with respect to these considerations and others that the following disclosure is provided.

Systems and methods for selectively screening image data