An apparatus to pick up and amplify sounds created by vibrations of a flexible member having a base which supports a sound pick up that transmits a signal to an amplifier. The apparatus is attached to the flexible member by an attachment assembly mounted on the base at an approximate center of gravity of the apparatus. The attachment assembly has two points of attachment such that when the flexible member is under tension a rotational force around the attachment assembly brings the sound pick up close to or in contact with the flexible member. The apparatus may also have the sound pick up mounted to a speaker that is mounted to the base. The apparatus may also have the sound pick up mounted to the base and transmit a signal to a separate amplifier.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the removable addition of sound pick up and amplification to strings and in particular kite strings that are under varying tensions and have varying vibrations.
2. Description of the Related Art
A number of devices exist for creating sound while flying a kite. In all of these devices sound is created by a feature added to the functional structure of the kite. U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,051, issued to Chang on Jun. 21, 1988, discloses a rotating device that creates sound. The device is intended to be attached to a kite string. When the device is in operation, air flow causes a windsail to rotate, which in turn rotates a plucking device that strikes a spring to make a clicking sound. This device is attached to the kite string by cutting the string and tying either end to either side of the device, which makes attaching and removing the device inconvenient. Use of this device also requires that it be attached to the string prior to launching the kite.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,085, issued to Cuesta et al. on Jan. 6, 1987, discloses a kite structure that incorporates a device with the sole purpose of creating sound. This device mounted on the body of the kite uses a flexible strap that vibrates in the air to create a sound. This device is intended to be a permanent feature of the kite and thus would not be easy to remove or install.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,800,293, issued to Kindelberger et al. on May 4, 1954, discloses a propeller to be mounted on a kite to help control the kite as well as create sound. Air passing through openings in the rotating propeller blades creates a buzzing sound. The propeller is intended to be a permanent feature of the kite and has to be mounted on the body of the kite before the kite is airborne. U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,915, issued to Stoecklin et al. on Jun. 29, 1982, also discloses a kite structure that incorporates a rotating device mounted on the body of the kite. In this patent whistles attached to the blades of the rotating device create sounds as air passes through them.
Other devices intended to be attached to kite strings exist in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,222, issued to Baird on Jun. 27, 1989, discloses a device that enables kites to carry loads upwards for release. One part of this device is fixedly attached to a kite string. The device and the load must be attached to the string before the kite is airborne. U.S. Pat. No. 3,583,662, issued to Bury on Jun. 8, 1971, discloses another device that enables kites to carry loads upwards for release. All of the described embodiments of this device have at least one part that is fixedly attached to the kite string and must be attached before the kite is airborne. Neither of these two devices creates or amplifies sound.
In the present invention, the sound to be picked up and amplified is that created by the vibrations of a string under tension. When used on a kite string, the apparatus picks up and amplifies the sound created by the vibrations of the kite string caused by the wind.
The known devices for creating sound while flying a kite are either permanent features of the kite itself or attached to the string in a way that damages the string and makes removal difficult. None of the devices in the prior art are easily attached and removed. It would be an improvement on the current art to create an apparatus for the pick up and amplification of sounds created by the vibrations of a string that can be easily attached and removed from any string. The present invention discloses an apparatus that can be easily and quickly attached to a string, and just as easily and quickly removed. The apparatus can be attached to a string while it is under tension during kite flying or before the kite is airborne while the string is not under tension.
None of the devices in the prior art allow the user to disable the sound creating function without removing the device from the kite or the string. It would be an improvement on the current art to create an apparatus that would allow a user to disable the sound creating function while the apparatus remains attached to a string under tension.

Sound pickup and amplifier apparatus for vibrating strings


A vehicle wheel splash attenuator has a deflection-suppressing member designed to be installed in a tire housing so as to face a tire and define a space of more than 15 mm between itself and the inner face of the tire housing. The deflection-suppressing member has strands formed therein which define a plurality of apertures through which muddy water flung by the tire is passed. The deflection-suppressing member thus suppresses the deflection of the muddy water impinging upon the tire housing. The opening ratio of the apertures is within a range of 25 to 55%, the diameter of the apertures elongated circumferentially of the tire is within a range of 30 to 150 mm, and the width of those strands defining the apertures and facing the tire is within a range of 2 to 15 mm. The cross-section of at least those strands projected toward the tire is shaped into a triangle whose apex is directed toward the tire and whose bottom is directed toward the tire housing.

The present invention relates to a splash attenuator intended for use with a vehicle wheel to prevent muddy water or rain water flung from a tire from being sprayed and splashed by deflection when it impinges upon a tire housing.
Various types of splash attenuators are known. A typical one is shown in Roberts et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,861.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show the vehicle wheel spray collector disclosed in the Robert et al., U.S. patent. A shield 200 is provided inside a fender 100 and faces a front wheel 101. The shield 200 has formed therein a plurality of apertures 102 through which rain water or the like flung from the wheel 101 is passed. The shield 200 and fender 100 are spaced from each other. A plurality of troughs 103 is formed between adjacent apertures 102. The spray collected in troughs 103 flows into a runoff gutter 104 provided beneath the forward end of the shield. The runoff gutter 104 is inclined to dump the collected water. Also, another inclined runoff gutter 105 is provided beneath the rear end of the shield 200 to dump the collected rain water. There is provided a flange 106 at the boundary between a trough 103 and an aperture 102. The rain water collected in the trough 103 surrounded by the flange 106 cannot easily return into the aperture 102 because of the surrounding flange.
In this conventional spray collector, the ratio of the whole opening area of the troughs 103 to the total surface area of the shield 200 is small, so that rain water is also flung from the wheel 101 against other surface in addition is the troughs 103. In other words, the amount of rain water flung against the shield 200 is larger than that of the rain water passed through the shield 200, and so rain water is deflected and sprayed from the shield 200. A spray collector using such a shield 200 thus cannot satisfactorily perform its function.


A process for forming a surface-treatment layer on an electroactive material includes heating the electroactive material and exposing the electroactive material to a reducing gas to form a surface-treatment layer on the electroactive material, where the surface-treatment layer is a layer of partial reduction of the electroactive material.

In general, transition metal compounds such as LiNiO2, LiCoO2, LiMn2O4, LiFePO4, LiNixCo1-xO2(0<x<1) and LiNiyMnyCO1-2yO2 (0<y<0.5), and oxides of these compounds and of lithium are widely used as cathodic materials for lithium batteries. Recently, various composite oxides have been proposed as alternative cathode materials to address the ever increasing demand for higher capacity batteries. One such composite oxide, xLi2MO3.(1-x)LiMeO2, is a solid-solution complex of Li2MO3 and LiMeO2 where M is one, or more, of Mn, Zr, or Ti; and Me is one, or more, of Ni, Co, Mn, Cr, Fe, V, Al, Mg, or Ti. The complex has a layered structure, with respective layers of Li2MO3 and LiMeO2, where excess lithium is substituted in the transition metal layer. Although this material offers very high capacity, it suffers from poor rate capability caused by its low conductivity.


There are basically two types of rumble strips: shoulder/center rumble strips and in-lane rumble strips. In an embodiment of the invention, there is a device that automatically identifies the type of rumble strip with which a vehicle tire is in contact with. The device may include a processor adapted to receive input indicative of a state of rotation of a first vehicle tire and input indicative of a state of rotation of a second vehicle tire when one or more of the first vehicle tire and the second vehicle tire is in contact with a rumble strip. The processor includes logic to compare the state of rotation of the first vehicle tire to the state of rotation of the second vehicle tire, and determine from the comparison, the type of rumble strip in contact with at least one of the first vehicle tire and the second vehicle tire.

Rumble strips are increasingly common on roadways. There are two major types of rumble strips: (1) shoulder/center rumble strips that are relatively narrow, that line sides of roads and/or are located in-between driving lanes of a road, and (2) in-lane rumble strips, which span about an entire lane of a road, or more. Shoulder/center rumble strips are typically used to provide warning to a driver that he or she is driving outside of a lane and/or off of a road, while in-lane rumble strips are typically used to provide a driver with a warning that he or she should reduce speed and/or that he or she is entering a geographic location that requires heightened driver caution.
Typically only tires on one side of the vehicle will contact shoulder/center rumble strips, while all tires of a vehicle typically contact in-lane rumble strips (the forward tires contacting the in-lane rumble strips first).

Rumble strip responsive systems: discrimination of types of rumble strips

Nissan Technical Center North America, Inc.


This application provides a bead with a covalently attached chemical compound and a covalently attached DNA barcode and methods for using such beads. The bead has many substantially identical copies of the chemical compound and many substantially identical copies of the DNA barcode. The compound consists of one or more chemical monomers, where the DNA barcode takes the form of barcode modules, where each module corresponds to and allows identification of a corresponding chemical monomer. The nucleic acid barcode can have a concatenated structure or an orthogonal structure. Provided are method for sequencing the bead-bound nucleic acid barcode, for cleaving the compound from the bead, and for assessing biological activity of the released compound.

Combinatorial chemistry, for example, involving split-and-pool chemistry, can be used for synthesizing large amounts of compounds. Compounds made in this way find use in the field of medicinal chemistry, where the compounds can be screened for various biochemical activities. These activities include binding to one or more proteins, where the proteins are known at the time the screening test is performed. Alternatively, the proteins that are bound by a compound being tested are identified only after a binding event is detected. Compounds can also be screened for their activity of inhibiting or activating a known protein (this is not merely screening for a "binding" activity). Alternatively, compounds can be screened for their activity of inhibiting or activating a cellular function, and where the molecular targets are not known to the researcher at the time of screening.
The screening of compounds, such as compounds belonging to a huge library of chemicals made by split-and-pool methods, can be facilitated by conducting screening with an array of many thousands of microwells, nanowells, or picowells. Moreover, screening can be facilitated by providing a different compound to each picowell by way of a bead, and where each bead contains hundreds of copies of the same compound, and where the same bead also contains hundreds of copies of a "DNA barcode" that can be used to identify the compound that is attached to the same bead. Moreover, screening of compounds is further facilitated by using cleavable linkers, where the cleavable linker permits controlled release of the compound from the bead, and where the released compound is then used for biochemical assays or cell-based assays in the same picowell.
Assaying compounds in very small, confined volumes, such as droplets, picowells or microfluidic environments is broadly beneficial, for instance, due to the low volumes of assay reagents needed, and therefore need not be limited to combinatorially generated compounds. Any method that can load compounds onto beads, that also allows the compounds to be eluted off the beads at a later time, may be used for delivering bead-bound compounds to assays in small, confined volumes. The addition of nucleic acid barcodes to the beads allows the identity of the compound present within the beads to be carried along to the assay volume. In his manner, very high throughput assays may be performed without needing robotics or spatial indexing of compounds within microtiter plates. Millions to billions of compounds may be held within one small vial, the identity of the compounds tagged on the same bead (with DNA) that contains each individual compound.
A common method for drug discovery involves picking a target of interest and monitoring the interaction of the target protein or enzyme with a large library of chemical compounds. In many cases, a large number of initial hits are found toxic to the body or cross reactive with other proteins in the body, rendering the target-based selection an inefficient method for drug screening. The need for a pre-selected target is also an inherent limitation, since it requires the biological underpinning of disease to be well-known and understood. Screening compounds against an entire organism is a difficult, expensive, and very low-throughput task.
Conventional phenotypic screening on cells has involved creating models of diseased-state cells, contacting the cells with various drug libraries, and monitoring if the disease phenotype is corrected by a measurable assay. Such screening methods are called phenotypic screening, as the underlying biological mechanism is not necessarily understood at the beginning, but a measurable, phenotypic change that is indicative of a curative response is considered the relevant metric. A vast number of cell lines and disease models reflecting various baseline and diseased cell states are available today. Also available are larger numbers of compound libraries and biological drugs candidates. The obvious screening campaign combining different cell models with different drug candidates to look for phenotypic responses is fraught with technical limitations as assays are limited to microtiter plate formats and imaging modalities, both of which are severely limited in throughput.
One method to overcome throughput limitations is to adopt high-throughput single-cell screening approaches to drug discovery (see, e.g., Heath et al., Nat Rev Drug Discov. 15:204-216, 2016). In these approaches, single cells are separated and isolated into compartments where individual assays can be performed on each of the cells. Genomic analysis via mRNA sequencing of the single cells, e.g., using droplet encapsulation, is a popular method that reveals intricate details that are hidden in ensemble measurements (see, e.g., Macosko et al., Cell 161:1202-1214, 2015 and Ziegenhain et al., Mol Cell 65:631-643, 2017, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties). Present state of the art single-cell analysis platforms have enabled quantitation of mRNA transcripts with single-cell resolution to characterize and fingerprint cells based on their transcriptional state. This approach allows for comparison between tissue samples, extracted from a subject or prepared in an experiment, and examining single-cell transcription, and therefore, protein expression states. The measurements of single-cell mRNA by transcriptome sequencing and profiling are important approaches to investigate molecular mechanisms of not only genealogic phenotypes of cells during disease progression, but also drug efficacy, resistances, and discovery of therapeutic targets (see, e.g., Chu et al., Cell Biol and Toxicol 33:83-97, 2017, Wang, Cell Biol Toxicol 32:359-361, 2016, and Wang et al., Cell Biol Toxicol 33:423-427, 2017). The application of single-cell RNA sequencing has been used to define intercellular heterogeneity, evidenced by transcriptomic cell-to-cell variation, which is extremely relevant to drug efficacy and specificity, transcriptional stochasticity, transcriptome plasticity, and genome evolution. Encapsulation in picowells has also been demonstrated (see, e.g., Gierahn et al., Nat Methods 14:395-398, 2017). Single cell protein measurements are also possible using similar isolation methods (Butnik et al., BioRxiv, January 2017, Su et al., Proteomics 17:3-4, 2017).
Despite the rapid rise in high-throughput single-cell RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) methods, including commercialized versions of automated platforms such as the Fluidigm C1, 10× Genomics or 1CellBiO systems, the application of single-cell RNA profiling for target agnostic high-throughput drug screening and target discovery is constrained by the lack of methods that can efficiently partition different drugs to different cells. While incubating cells or tissues under different perturbations within well plates, followed by single-cell analysis and comparisons between transcript profiles can be done, the number of drugs that can be examined is limited by the plate capacity. Further, the need to prepare barcoded mRNA from each sample in isolation and then perform comprehensive RNA profiles for every sample, creates a major bottleneck, as well.

Oligonucleotide encoded chemical libraries


According to one embodiment of the present invention, a camera module includes: a movable element having first magnets which are formed at uniform intervals on the outer circumferential surface of a bobbin fixing a lens and second magnets which are arranged between the first magnets on the outer circumferential surface of the bobbin; a stator having first coil blocks which respectively face the first magnets, second magnets which respectively face the second magnets, and a housing which fixes the first coil blocks and the second magnets; an elastic member elastically supporting the movable element with respect to the stator; a base supporting the stator; and a case covering the housing and coupled to the base.

Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a lens driving actuator configured to adjust a location of a lens with respect to an image sensor.
Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, mobile phones or smart phones, which are installed with a camera module configured to store an object as an image or motion picture, are being developed.
A conventional camera module includes a lens and an image sensor module configured to convert light passed through the lens to a digital image.
However, a high-quality digital image can hardly be obtained using the conventional camera module, because the conventional camera module lacks an auto-focusing function to automatically adjust an interval between the lens and the image sensor module. In addition, the conventional camera module suffers from a disadvantage in that the image quality degradation due to handshake may be cause by the user's handshakes.

Lens driving actuator for auto-focus function and handshake compensation function


The invention relates to a device for applying a needle array (1) to biological tissue (2), comprising a needle array holder (6) carrying the needle array (1), a pre-tensioning geometry (3) and an actuating element (4), wherein the actuating element (4) is so configured that, during its actuation, in a first step it transfers the pre-tensioning geometry (3) into a pre-tensioning position on the biological tissue (2) while pre-tensioning the biological tissue, and in a second step it transfers the needle array (1) into an application position on the biological tissue (2), while in this respect the pre-tensioning geometry (3) is held in the pre-tensioning position by the actuating element (4).

This invention relates to a device for applying a needle array to biological tissue.
Needle arrays are often used to administer pharmaceuticals in a manner that is as pain-free as possible for the patient. In this respect, a plurality of individual needles is arranged on the needle array. The needles can be in solid or hollow form. However, in this respect a problem is that, as a needle array penetrates the skin, the so-called "bed of nails" effect occurs. In this respect the skin at the outer needles is stretched, but it rests on the inner needles almost as if on a solid body. As a result, the inner needle tips may not reliably penetrate the skin and administer the pharmaceutical as desired.
It has therefore already been proposed to pre-tension the skin by means of a tensioning geometry before the pharmaceutical is administered by a needle array. Such devices are described, for example, in WO2003/074102 A2 and WO2001/93931 A1.
In the devices therein, the skin is pre-tensioned by means of a pre-tensioning geometry so that the needles of the needle array are better able to penetrate into the skin. However, in this respect it has been found that the application is not uniformly reproducible. The depth of penetration in this respect is in turn dependent on the force with which the person who places the needle array on the skin presses against the application surface on the skin.
Accordingly, the object of the invention is to further develop a device for applying a needle array to biological tissue in such a manner that application of the needle array to biological material can take place reproducibly with in each case the same force, so that it is ensured that substantially all the needles of the needle array reach the desired depth of penetration into the biological tissue without, however, exceeding it.
This object is achieved by a device for applying a needle array to biological tissue having features as described herein. Advantageous embodiments of the invention will be found as described in the claims.

Device for applying a needle array to biological tissue


Embodiments relate to a method for encapsulating a virtual server in a hypervisor subpartition of a single logical partition to provide additional hardware support and advanced virtualization functions. An aspect includes running a first hypervisor and one or more additional hypervisors over a single logical partition. A request to manage a virtual server is received at the first hypervisor. The request is then analyzed to determine what resources are necessary to manage the virtual server. Based on the analyzed request, one of the first hypervisor or the one or more additional hypervisors is selected to complete the request.

The present invention relates generally to virtual machines, and more specifically, to encapsulating a virtual server in a hypervisor subpartition of a single logical partition to provide additional hardware support and advanced virtualization functions.
Although new hardware is constantly being developed, it may not always be a simple matter to provide support for the new hardware to older systems that manage one or more virtual machines. In some cases, a system may include years' worth of upgrades and modifications, which can make adding new hardware support costly as the support may require modifications to numerous system modules that have been added over the years.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Offloading service requests to a second guest hypervisor in a logical partition shared by a plurality of guest hypervisors

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention relates to systems, methods, and computer program products for the analysis of gene expression data, especially data that have been acquired using microarray technologies. In particular, the present invention relates to methods for analyzing a set of genes that have been partitioned into disjoint subsets known as clusters. It describes methods for quantitatively evaluating the quality of gene clustering, based on the extent to which the similarity of documents associated with genes in a cluster collectively distinguish that cluster from all the other clusters, as well as the extent to which words and phrases, present in documents associated with genes in the cluster, collectively distinguish that cluster from all the other clusters.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of bioinformatics, and specifically to systems, methods, and computer program products that make use of clustering of data, statistical natural language processing, and machine learning, for purposes of analyzing data acquired using DNA arrays that have been hybridized with cDNA probes.
2. Description of Prior Art
Disease processes, as well as physiological responses to agents such as drugs and radiation, are often investigated by measuring the amounts of different messenger RNA (mRNA) species in a tissue specimen or in a cultured cell population. The present invention is concerned with analyzing such data, in particular, data acquired through use of a recently developed tool known as microarrays [DUGGAN et al., Nature Genetics 21, Suppl. 1:10-14 (1999)].
Microarrays consist of hundreds or thousands of spots of different DNA sequences, corresponding to many different genes, arranged in a grid pattern on a glass substrate or nylon membrane. Complementary DNA (cDNA) prepared from the mRNA of a tissue specimen is hybridized to the microarray, which is then detected by fluorescence or autoradiographic methods. The signal detected at each of the many spots on the microarray is then used as an indication of the relative amount of the corresponding mRNA species in the specimen.
Microarray experiments are often performed to compare mRNA levels from tissues under two conditions (e.g., cancerous vs. normal cells; before vs. after administration of a drug), in which case, the ratio of estimated mRNA levels for each microarray spot under the two conditions is also ordinarily calculated. The construction or interpretation of such ratio estimates may benefit from the application of statistical corrections, especially when spot values are close to the threshold of measurement detectability [CHEN et al., patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,517 (2001); NEWTON et al. (1999) from the Web site having the following domain name—top level domain=edu, second level domain=wisc, third level domain=stat, fourth level domain=www, path=/˜newton/papers/publications.
Microarrays have also been used to monitor the time course of mRNA levels in a cell population that had been subjected to an intervention, such as a shift in serum concentration in the growth medium, which alters the concentration of hormones and other factors needed for cell growth [IYER et al., Science 283: 83-87 (1999)]. Those microarray measurements are typically made from mRNA collected at short time intervals (on the order of several minutes) immediately after application of the intervention, and longer intervals thereafter (hours). cDNA prepared from each of these mRNA samples is ordinarily hybridized to a separate array. Ratios are then constructed for each time point, as mentioned above, by dividing the measurement at each microarray spot at the time point, by a measurement corresponding to time-zero for that microarray spot. After inspecting the time course of estimated mRNA levels for all the genes on the arrays in those experiments, investigators noted that the mRNA levels for certain groups of genes tend to fluctuate up and down together. Subsequently, computer algorithms were used to group together sets of genes (known as "clusters", produced by a clustering algorithm) according to the similarity of the time-course of their estimated mRNA levels, making the groupings more objective and relieving investigators of the burden of grouping the genes by eye [EISEN et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95: 14863-14868 (1998); TAVAZOIE et al., Nature Genetics 22: 281-285 (1999); TAMAYO et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96: 2907-2912 (1999); BEN-DOR et al., J. Computational Biol. 6: 281-297 (1999), GETZ et al. (1999), arXiv:physics/9911038 from the Web site having the following domain name—top level domain=gov, second level domain=lanl, third level domain=xxx; ZHENG et al., patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,287 (2001)].
Microarrays have also been used to measure cell responses to several different types of interventions, at a single time point, rather than the response to a single intervention at a series of time points. In those experiments, groups of genes were also observed to exhibit similar mRNA levels in response to the various interventions, and groupings of those genes were also produced automatically by using clustering algorithms [PEROU et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96: 9212-9217 (1999); TIBSHIRANI et al. (1999) from the Web site having the following domain name—top level domain=edu, second level domain=stanford, third level domain=www-stat, path=/˜tibs/lab/publications.html
The similarity of estimated mRNA levels—observed among genes in individual clusters—could in some instances be coincidental, but most investigators attribute the similarity of mRNA levels to unknown biological control mechanisms, whereby functionally related genes are transcribed in a coordinated fashion in order to participate stoichiometrically in a biochemical or cell-physiological process. Thus, the clustering of genes on the basis of the similarity of their mRNA levels is viewed by investigators as an initial step in identifying functionally significant biochemical pathways or cell-physiological processes and their mechanisms of transcriptional control. For example, genes involved in mediating progression through the cell cycle may be found in the same cluster [IYER et al., supra]. However, it has also been observed that genes with supposedly similar known functions do not always appear together in the same clusters [TAVAZOIE et al., supra]. This may be due in part to inadequacy of the particular clustering algorithm that was used. If a different clustering algorithm were applied to the data, it would generally produce different clusters and may be more successful at grouping together functionally related genes.
Initially, investigators applied hierarchical clustering algorithms to array data [EISEN et al. supra]. Later investigators used self-organizing maps to perform clustering [TAMAYO et al., supra]. Other investigators have performed clustering of microarray data using the k-means algorithm [TAVAZOIE et al., supra], a graph theoretical algorithm [BEN-DOR et al., supra], super-parametric clustering [GETZ et al., supra], as well as grid and σ-τ clustering [ZHENG et al., supra]. Variations of these algorithms have also been implemented by using various normalizations and distance measures. Additional clustering algorithms were described for situations in which data are parameterized by two or more variables [TIBSHIRANI et al., supra]. Considering that hundreds of other general-purpose clustering algorithms have been described [KAUFMAN and ROUSSEEUW, Finding Groups in Data: An Introduction to Cluster Analysis, Wiley (1990) and references contained therein], many of which may eventually be applied to microarray data, and considering that all of these clustering algorithms may group microarray data in different ways, investigators have the problem of deciding which of those algorithms is most useful for analyzing their data.
One therefore needs to compare results made with different clustering algorithms, in order to decide which algorithm is most useful for the data under investigation. The comparison may be made first in terms of the statistics of how well members of each cluster resemble their corresponding centroid (i.e., tightness of clustering), or in terms of a figure-of-merit obtained using a resampling approach YEUNG et al. (2000) from the Web site having the following domain name—top level domain=edu, second level domain=washington, third level domain=cs, fourth level domain=www, path=/homes/kayee/research.html. However, such goodness-of-fit comparisons do not assess the quality of clustering in terms of the biological reasonableness of the results, which must be based on the physiological functions of the genes in the clusters.
However, there is little prior art that can assist investigators in evaluating the extent to which genes in clusters are functionally related, which has been taken to be a primary criterion upon which the quality of clustering is judged. The main difficulty in establishing functional relations among genes in clusters lies in the unavailability or incompleteness of factual databases that explicitly link the known functions of genes with one another. TAVAZOIE et al., supra, indexed yeast genes using the 199 functional categories in the Martinsreid Institute of Sciences functional classification scheme database (ribosomal, mitochondrial, TCA pathway, etc.). For each cluster of genes, they then calculated probabilities (P values) of the frequency of observed genes in the various functional categories, to determine whether particular clusters are significantly composed of genes associated with particular functional categories. However, such functional classification databases are available to characterize the genes of only a limited number of organisms, or they may not contain a complete list of known genes. Furthermore, those databases force genes into a predetermined classification scheme that may contain overly-broad or overly-narrow classifications, or classifications that are not mutually exclusive. Possibly for this reason, TAVAZOIE et al., supra, found that genes with supposedly similar known functions—as defined by the Martinsreid Institute of Sciences functional classification scheme database for yeast—do not preferentially appear together in the same microarray cluster.
Consequently, many investigators simply review the lists of clustered genes manually and then offer expert commentary about the functional significance of genes in the various clusters, based on their reading of the literature about those genes. For example, IYER et al., supra, describe one cluster as being enriched for genes "involved in mediating progression through the cell cycle", describe another cluster as containing genes encoding "proteins involved in cellular signaling", and for other clusters they offer no description. At the present state of the art, expert human judgement may well be the best method for evaluating the relatedness of functions of genes in clusters. However, this method is limited by the expertise of its practitioners, as well as by the considerable labor involved in manually reviewing literature concerning the many genes that may be present in the clusters. In fact, even the task of identifying the relevant articles in the scientific literature is arduous.
Therefore, a practical impediment in interpreting microarray data is the time and effort needed to acquire literature about genes represented on microarrays, as well as the time and effort needed to manually review and integrate the information contained within that literature. It is consequently an objective of the present invention to produce automatically generated, quantitative indices (figures-of-merit) of the extent to which genes in a cluster are functionally related to one another, based solely on information within the scientific literature concerning genes present on a microarray. Investigators may use the indices to evaluate the functional relatedness of genes in clusters that were made using a particular clustering algorithm, as well as to compare the performance of different clustering algorithms. In so doing, investigators may use the figure-of-merit indices that are generated by the method to evaluate the quality of different clustering algorithms, based solely on the content of the literature about the genes associated with the clusters. An advantage of the present method and system is that it does not presuppose the existence of a structured database of gene annotations, such as the Martinsreid Institute of Sciences functional classification scheme database for yeast, which was mentioned above.
There is little prior art that that can assist an artisan in automatically generating a useful corpus of literature about an individual gene, which might then be used to analyze the literature about the genes that constitute a microarray cluster. PubMed/MEDLINE is the most widely used on-line source for gene-related abstracts and literature, which might be used to generate such a corpus, but few investigators have described its use for any similar purpose. SHATKAY et al., Internat. Conf. on Intelligent Systems in Molecular Biology 8: 317-323 (2000), explain that PubMed provides for literature search and retrieval by two methods—boolean query and similarity query (also known as "neighboring"). They describe how there are well-known deficiencies with any attempt to use the method of boolean queries to generate a text corpus. For example, CHAUSSABEL and SHER, Genome Biology 3(10):research0055.1-0055.16 (2002) attempted to use boolean queries consisting of gene names taken from a list, and ultimately found it necessary to manually edit or correct the unacceptably large number of errors that resulted from use of boolean queries. Accordingly, SHATKAY et al. advocate using only the neighboring feature of PubMed to acquire a set of documents about a gene, after first selecting a "kernel" citation for that gene, possibly from within a curated database about the genes under investigation. The literature in PubMed that "neighbors" this kernel citation is then generated by PubMed after providing it the kernel citation as the neighboring query. The method of SHATKAY et al. then seeks to find similarities within the documents so generated for different genes. This method can be automatic only if there already exists a curated citation list from which to obtain the "kernel" documents, as was the case with the yeast genes investigated by SHATKAY et al. Otherwise, and in general, an expert human would need to select the kernel documents. Furthermore, SHATKAY et al. teach that when a clustering of genes is already available from microarray expression experiments, then that clustering should be ignored, except for purposes of manually comparing with results obtained independently by their method. Thus, unlike the present invention, their method does not use the actual clustering of microarray data, and it provides no figure-of-merit for the quality of microarray clustering. Another method for generating a corpus of text using MEDLINE was described by ANDRADE and VALENCIA, Bioinformatics 14: 600-607 (1998), but it was used to generate a text corpus only for protein domain families, rather than for individual, arbitrarily selected genes. In their method, protein families in the PDBSELECT database pointed to entries in the SwissProt database, which pointed to articles in MEDLINE, which were then taken to be the corpus for the corresponding protein domain family. This method is not generally applicable to the problem of generating a literature corpus for an arbitrarily selected gene, because a gene may not belong to a known protein family. Furthermore, the size of the literature corpus generated by their method would be limited by the number of pointers in the SwissProt database. Unlike the present invention, their method does not make use of information from the clustering of microarray data, and it provides no figure of merit for the quality of microarray clustering.
The present method and system also produces text for each cluster in a different manner than what was described by MASYS et al., Bioinformatics 17: 319-326 (2001). Unlike the present invention, their method does not provide a figure of merit for the quality of microarray clustering. Their method also has the disadvantage that the words and phrases it produces are voluminous and generally non-specific, placing a significant burden of interpretation on the investigator, because it links sets of genes to the published literature by way of keyword hierarchies using the entire set of descriptors contained in MeSH and Enzyme Commission nomenclature.
Given all the above-mentioned limitations of the prior art, it was therefore an aim of the present invention to provide a method for automatically generating a substantial literature text corpus for an arbitrarily selected known gene, which could then be used to generate a text corpus for clusters obtained from microarray experiments, suitable for generating a figure-of-merit index indicating whether each particular microarray clustering has support in the scientific literature.
In one embodiment, the present invention obtains text in the scientific literature about genes on a microarray by following links about each gene in databases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to a corresponding entry in the NIH database "Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man" (OMIM). The latter database contains literature citations about the corresponding genes, text from which is downloaded from another NIH literature database and which is used to construct a text corpus for each grouping of genes that constitute a microarray cluster.
The present invention then makes use of concepts of machine learning and statistical natural langnge processing [MITCHELL, Machine Learning, McGraw-Hill (1997); MANNING et al., Foundations of Statistical Natural Language Processing, MIT Press (1999)] by treating the problem of interpreting literature about microarray clusters as one of text categorization, the goal of which is to classify the theme of any particular document. The rationale of the disclosed method is that if the microarray clusters correspond to distinctions that would be meaningful to a biologist reading the literature about genes in the clusters, then such distinctions can be made quantitatively in terms the frequent appearance of words or phrases that are contained within the text corpus for each cluster and simultaneously in terms of the infrequent appearance of such words or phrases with the text corpus for other clusters. To the extent that quantitatively distinguishing words and phrases can be found for each cluster, then we may use them to construct a text classifier that predicts whether a gene is associated with a particular cluster, based on the quantitative word/phrase composition of literature documents about that gene. Conversely, if the microarray clusters do not correspond to distinctions that would be meaningful to a biologist reading the literature about genes in the clusters, then it should not be possible to construct a text classifier that reliably predicts whether a gene is associated with a particular cluster, based on the quantitative word/phrase composition of literature documents about that gene.
The figure-of-merit indices of the present invention relate to the percentage of times that tested classifications are made correctly, as compared with classifications performed on text corresponding to genes placed randomly into clusters. Although the invention makes use of some conventional procedures of supervised machine learning, as implemented in the open source software "rainbow" (described in documentation at the Web site for the "bow" software, top level domain=edu, second level domain=cmu, third level domain=cs, fourth level domain=www, path=/˜mccallun/bow [McCALLUM (1998)]), the invention differs from the existing supervised machine learning art in that the categories into which documents are to be classified are not pre-selected by the artisan to be meaningful, but correspond instead to automatically generated microarray clusters, which may or may not be biologically meaningful entities. In fact, an objective of the invention is conversely to analyze the extent to which the microarray clusters (supervised machine-learning classification categories) are actually biologically meaningful.
In another embodiment of the invention, figure-of-merit indices are calculated by obtaining text in the scientific literature about genes on a microarray; by putting that literature in groups defined by microarray clustering of the corresponding genes; and by then evaluating the extent to which genes within a cluster are associated with the same literature citations, irrespective of the actual text within those literature citations. Indices are then generated by calculating the average fraction of times that pairs of genes in a cluster are associated with the same literature citation. Because the indices are based on literature citations rather than text within the citations, the indices are related to concepts that arise in connection with the analysis of literature co-citation frequencies [EGGHE and ROUSSEAU, Introduction to Informetrics, Elsevier Science Publ. (1990)], but which have nothing to do with the analysis of microarray data.

Systems, methods, and computer program product for analyzing microarray data


The described programming techniques allow for the passing of code arguments to functions, referred to as meta-functions, at compile time through the use of compiler directives. Methods for implementing functions, referred to as meta-loops, which allow for a block of code to be repeated a variable number of times at compile time are also described. The programming methods of the present invention allow for greater code reuse since code arguments can be used to modify the functionality of a meta-function thereby altering its functionality. Meta-functions and meta-loops can also be used to generate a group of functions which share common behaviors. In accordance with the present invention the common behaviors are produced via the use of a common meta-function. This allows the behavior of a group of functions to be altered. This reduces the time and expense associated with creating and maintaining libraries of functions with shared behaviors. Because the programming methods of the present invention can be implemented using compiler commands and functionality supported by existing compiled languages such as C++ they serve to supplement and argument the functionality of existing compiled languages without requiring modifications thereto.

Computer programs are used to control computers to perform various operations, e.g., image processing operations. A computer program generally includes many lines of computer code, e.g., computer instructions, which are required to control a computer to perform a desired operation. Computer programs are frequently written in a high level language such as ANSI C or C++. After a computer program is written using, e.g., an editing program, the program is then compiled using a compiler. Object code produced as a result of the compilation process is then used to control a computer to perform the desired operation for which the program was written.
The cost of developing a new computer program to perform a desired task is related to, inter alia, the amount of new code that must be written to create the computer program. This is because a programmer must spend time writing and then debugging the new code.
Various techniques have been used to reduce the amount of new code that must be written to develop a new computer program. Some of these techniques are directed to minimizing the amount of code that must be written to perform a desired operation. For example, many high level languages support the use of "for" and "while" loops which include conditional statements performed at run time. Similarly, many high level languages support function calls which involve going to memory locations where a function is stored at run time.
For most applications, the time required to determine the outcome of a conditional statement, or to make a function call at run time, is not very significant. However, in speed sensitive operations, e.g., real time image processing operations, the use of conditional statements and run time function calls can significantly impact performance. Image processing applications are often particularly sensitive to the use of operations, e.g., runtime function calls, that introduce even small execution time delays. This is because image processing routines often involve performing nearly identical operations repetitively, e.g., on several hundred thousand pixels, to process a single image. Accordingly, in such speed sensitive operations, it is desirable to avoid the use of conditional loops and run time function calls, even if this means having to duplicate many thousands of lines of code to avoid the delays that would otherwise be introduced by the use of conditional loops and run time function calls.
Other techniques directed to reducing the amount of new code that must be written for a new program often involve directly incorporating one or more previously written functions from, e.g., function libraries into the program being written. Compiler directives are frequently used for this purpose. For example, in the C programming language, several compiler directives are supported. These are frequently identified by the placement of a # sign at the beginning of the directive. The C programming language supports, e.g., a # include directive which results in the inclusion into a program of the contents of a specified file, a#define directive which results in a text substitution operation being performed, and a ## directive which causes the compiler to concatenate parameters located directly before and after the ## directive.
Because compiler directives are performed at compile time, as opposed to run time, compiler directives included in a program need not affect run time performance.
In addition to supporting compiler directives, many high level languages have attempted to make functions more general in terms of their applicability so that a single function can be used with, e.g., a variety of parameters of different types, e.g., integer, character or floating point type. The C programming language's template function is an example of a function with a reasonable degree of argument type flexibility.
Unfortunately, certain highly desirable functionalities remain missing from known high level compiled languages that would greatly enhance their ability to reuse existing code. In particular, known compiled languages do not provide any direct mechanism for generating different functions by providing different blocks of code as an argument to a general function definition at compile time. Additionally, the known compiled languages, such as the C programming language, provide no way to unroll run-time loops at compile time by copying the inner loop function code the proper number of times that it would otherwise be repeated at runtime within the runtime loop.
Because of the above described shortcomings of the known high level compiled languages some real-time compiled programs often include large amounts of code which is manually repeated, e.g., copied using a text editor. This frequently results in a large codebase which is both difficult to debug and maintain.
In view of the problems associated with the known high level compiled languages, there is a need for new methods and apparatus which will increase the amount of code that can be reused in a compiled language. In particular, it is desirable that such new methods support the passing of code segments as arguments to function definitions at compile time. Code segments passed as arguments will be referred to herein as code arguments. The ability to pass code arguments to functions would make it possible to modify the functionality of an existing library function. In addition, the new methods should be capable of generating code which unrolls runtime loops at compile time. Furthermore, any new programming methods should be compatible with one or more existing computer programming languages so that they can be implemented without requiring modifications to existing compilers.


The present invention relates to a basket lid that is adapted to securely receive a decorative material without the use of nails, staples, screws, bolts, or adhesives. In general, the basket lid is comprised of a top side, a bottom side, a channel which separates the top side from the bottom side, and a material. The material is laid on the top side, and an adequate part of the material extends beyond the top side and into channel. The material is then secured to the basket lid simply by tucking the part of the material into the channel. The contact between the part of the material and the channel is sufficient to hold the part of the material in the channel without the use of nails, staples, screws, bolts, or adhesives.

The present invention relates generally to a basket lid, and more particularly to, a basket lid that is adapted to securely receive a decorative material without the use of nails, staples, screws, bolts, or adhesives. Basket lids perform a variety of purposes. For example, basket lids are utilized to prevent items from falling out of a basket, to allow easy access to items in a basket, to protect items in a basket from the elements, and to restrict the airflow to items in a basket. In addition to these functional purposes, basket lids are often decorated in order to enhance the aesthetic appeal and marketability of baskets.
A market demand currently exists for fabric-covered basket lids. To meet this demand, known art has used means such as nails, staples, screws, bolts, and adhesives to secure fabrics to basket lids. Although effective for securing fabric to a basket lid, such means typically require costs for parts, tools, and machinery. In addition, such means unnecessarily diminish the aesthetic appeal of basket lids.
In light of the deficiencies of known manufacturing processes, a need exists for a manufacturing process that does not use nails, staples, screws, bolts, or adhesives to secure fabric to a basket lid. A need also exists for a basket lid that has a decorative fabric secured to its top side in a manner that does not diminish the aesthetic appeal of the basket lid. The present invention is designed to address these needs. The present invention is also designed to reduce the cost of fabric-covered basket lids and to allow the fabric to be replaced without defacing the basket lid.
In general, the fabric-covered basket lid of the present invention is comprised of a top side, a bottom side, a channel which separates the top side from the bottom side, and a fabric. The fabric is laid on the top side, and an adequate part of the fabric extends beyond the top side and into channel. The fabric is then secured to the basket lid simply by tucking the part of the fabric into the channel. The contact between the part of the fabric and the channel is sufficient to hold the part of the fabric in the channel without the use of nails, staples, screws, bolts, or adhesives.
The present invention, however, is not limited to a basket lid that is decorated with a single layer of fabric. The material used to decorate the basket lid may be comprised of a single layer or multiple layers. Moreover, any flexible article such as cloth, foam, padding, or plastic may be substituted for the fabric. Similarly, the material may be comprised of layers of flexible articles including, but not limited to, fabrics, cloths, foams, padding, and plastic.


A composition for use as an additive for fuels or lubricants. The composition includes a reaction product of a treated amine and a compound selected from the group consisting of hydrocarbyl succinic anhydrides, Mannich adducts derived from hydrocarbyl-substituted phenols reacted with formaldehydes, ethylene-propylene copolymers grafted with ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic groups, copolymers of unsaturated acids and polyolefins, and acid or ester functionalized hydrocarbon polymers. The reaction product is oil soluble and has a number average molecular weight ranging from about 900 to about 50,000 as determined by gel permeation chromatography. The treated amine includes an aliphatic or aromatic amine containing at least one primary or secondary amino group reacted with an aliphatic or aromatic nitrile and hydrogen.

Chemical compositions are added to fuels and lubricants to control the physical and chemical properties of the fuel and lubricant compositions and to improve engine performance. Such additives include dispersants, antioxidants, viscosity index modifiers, corrosion inhibitors, antiwear agents, friction modifiers, and the like. Dispersants are particularly important additives for lubricant and fuel compositions. Dispersants solubilize sludge, resin and other combustion byproducts so that they can be removed from the system rather than being deposited on internal engine components.
Of the dispersants commonly used in lubricant and fuel applications, Mannich base additives, hydrocarbyl amine adducts, and hydrocarbyl succinic acid derivatives exhibit excellent properties for such applications. Mannich base dispersants are typically produced by reacting alkyl-substituted phenols with aldehydes and amines, such as is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,697,574; 3,704,308; 3,736,357; 4,334,085; and 5,433,875.
Hydrocarbyl succinic acid based dispersants are derived by alkylating, for example, maleic anhydride, acid, ester or halide with an olefinic hydrocarbon to form an acylating agent as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,071,919 and 4,234,435. The acylating agent is then reacted with an amine, typically a polyalkylene amine or amine to form a dispersant, such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,219,666; 3,272,746; 4,173,540; 4,686,054; and 6,127,321.
Despite the wide variety of additives available for lubricant and fuel applications, there remains a need for improved additives to provide increased deposit control and dispersancy without incurring a cost disadvantage.

Lubricant and fuel additives derived from treated amines


Methods of genotyping canines by analysis of polymorphisms in the number of microsatellite DNA repeats are provided. The internal repeat sequence is amplified by the use of specific primers. The number of repeats, and therefore the distance between the primers, is highly variable in a population, thereby providing an allelic marker for the locus. The combined information from multiple loci provides a means of distinguishing individuals, even among inbred dog breeds, for parentage testing, forensic testing and analysis of individuals relatedness.

The increased ability to analyze the genetic makeup of individuals from different species has allowed a number of new techniques to be developed. Detection of genetic polymorphisms is useful for differentiating between individuals, parentage testing, forensic testing, analysis of relatedness of individuals, and mapping genes of interest linked to the microsatellite repeats.
Microsatellites are perfect, imperfect, or compound arrays of tandemly repeated nucleotide sequences embedded in an otherwise unique nucleotide sequence. Microsatellite repeats typically range from one to six base pairs (bp) in length. The microsatellite repeat arrays vary in the number of repeats from 6 to 30 or more in humans. However, the longer arrays of repeats are less frequently isolated. Microsatellites may consist of simple repeats containing only one uninterrupted repeated sequence, imperfect repeats containing two identical repeats separated by a small interval of non-repeated nucleotides, or compound repeats containing several different repeated sequence types (Weber, 1990). For an individual, any particular microsatellite chromosomal locus may vary in the number of repeats present.
Commonly used methods of genetic mapping by microsatellites take advantage of length variations among individuals (Weber and May, 1989). Utilizing the nucleotide sequence of the cloned microsatellite and its flanking regions, oligonucleotide primers for the PCR are designed that anneal to unique sequences that flank the repeats. The primers can be designed as near or far from the microsatellite as desired, the only limit being the resulting size of the PCR product for subsequent analysis.
Detection and size determination of PCR products from a specific microsatellite locus can be accomplished by several means. As the procedure was first described, PCR products are labeled with .sup.32 P, fractionated by a denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and visualized by autoradiography. Alternatively, the PCR products are labeled with a fluorochrome, and separated on an automated DNA sequencing apparatus. Another method separates the PCR products by capillary electrophoresis, which has the advantage of being much faster than acrylamide gel electrophoresis while maintaining the accuracy of sizing (Buttler et al., infra.).
Whichever method is used for sizing of the DNA fragments, there is a limit to the resolution that is achieved. It becomes more difficult to obtain resolution of 1-2 bp when the fragments sized are greater than 500 bp, since the size difference between the products as a percentage of the total fragment size is small. Therefore, PCR primers must be designed such that the products of the reaction are easily distinguished from each other and accurately sized. Primers are usually designed to generate PCR products of 50 to 500 bp. In the future, methods may be developed to accurately resolve fragments of 1 Kb or even greater.
To date, many polymorphic dinucleotide microsatellites, usually of the (CA)n motif, have been isolated from the canine genome (Holmes et al., 1993; Ostrander et al., 1993). However, few polymorphic microsatellites other than those based on dinucleotide motifs have been isolated. There are several difficulties associated with the use of microsatellites based on dinucleotide motifs. One problem is the inherent difficulty of reproducible sizing, due to the high resolution required to accurately determine the size of PCR products derived from dinucleotide repeats. Another obstacle is the presence of so-called "stutter" bands generated due to slipped-strand mispairing during PCR, which is especially noticeable when employing microsatellites with dinucleotide motifs. These artifactual bands, which appear at 2 bp intervals below the correct size band, can make determination of allele size difficult in many cases.
Based on the inherent difficulties in typing with dinucleotide repeats, there is interest in determining trinucleotide and tetranucleotide repeat polymorphisms. Characterization of such polymorphisms may be useful in automation and standardized genotyping.

Microsatellite sequences for canine genotyping


A precipitation strengthenable, nickel-cobalt-iron base alloy and articles made therefrom are disclosed. The alloy contains controlled amounts of silicon, nickel, cobalt, iron, chromium, niobium, titanium, and aluminum which are critically balanced to provide a unique combination of high strength, good ductility, and controlled thermal expansion, together with good thermal stability and good oxidation resistance up to about 1200.degree. F. or higher.

This invention relates to precipitation strengthenable, nickel-cobalt-iron base alloys and articles made therefrom that contain chromium, and in particular, to such an alloy and article in which the elements are balanced to provide a unique combination of controlled thermal expansion, elevated temperature oxidation resistance, strength, and ductility.
Precipitation strengthenable, controlled thermal expansion alloys have been used in apparatus in which close tolerances must be maintained at high operating temperatures, such as in jet aircraft engines and gas turbines, because they provide a combination of high strength and low thermal expansion properties that such uses demand. The high temperatures to which the known controlled thermal expansion alloys are exposed in use, e.g., up to 1000 F., are expected to become still higher, e.g., 1200 F. and above. The oxidation resistance and the stability of the gamma prime phase of the known controlled thermal expansion alloys become inadequate at such higher operating temperatures, and can result in shorter useful life of parts made from such alloys.
Protective coatings have been used to prevent catastrophic oxidation of the known controlled thermal expansion alloys at temperatures above 1000 F. A disadvantage of using protective coatings is that known coatings must be applied at high temperatures, e.g., 1550-1750 F., and exposure of the alloys to such temperatures limits the attainment of desired mechanical properties when the alloys are subsequently age hardened. The process of applying protective coatings often results in an undesirable amount of scrap material because of such defects as warpage or distortion of parts during the coating process.
Experience with the known precipitation strengthenable, controlled thermal expansion alloys has shown that they undergo a significant loss in strength when exposed for extended periods of time to the high temperatures and loads that are typical of commercial jet engines or gas turbines. This loss in strength is primarily attributable to transformation of the gamma prime strengthening phase to eta phase and/or epsilon phase, which are significantly less effective for providing the high strength desired in such alloys.
Accordingly, a need has arisen for a high-temperature alloy that provides low thermal expansion, high strength, good ductility, especially, good stress rupture ductility, and good oxidation resistance at temperatures up to about 1200.degree. F. without requiring the application of a protective coating. Additionally, it is also desirable to provide good thermal stability in such an alloy. Here and throughout this application, the term "thermal stability" refers to the ability of the gamma prime strengthening phase to resist transformation at elevated temperatures and loads.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,447 ('447) relates to a nickel-iron base alloy that contains a small amount of chromium for the stated purpose of overcoming "certain difficulties of obtaining satisfactory notch strength, particularly 1200 F. notch-rupture strength, in high-strength low-expansion nickel-iron alloy product strengthened with gamma-prime precipitates . . . ". The broad composition of the alloy set forth in the '447 patent is as follows, in weight percent:
C 0-0.20 PA1 Mn 0-2 PA1 Si 0-1 PA1 P 0-0.015 PA1 S 0-0.015 PA1 Cr 1.7-8.3 PA1 Ni 30-57 PA1 Mo 0-1 PA1 Co 0-31 PA1 Ti 1-2 PA1 Al 0-1.5 PA1 Nb 1.5-5 PA1 Zr 0.10 PA1 B 0-0.03 PA1 Cu 0-1 PA1 W 0-1 PA1 C 0.03 max. PA1 Mn 0-2 PA1 Si 0-0.5 PA1 P 0.015 max PA1 S 0.015 max. PA1 Cr 0-6.2 PA1 Ni 34-55.3 PA1 Mo 0-1 PA1 Co 0-25.2 PA1 Ti 1-2 PA1 Al 0.20 max. PA1 Nb+1/2Ta 1.5-5.5 PA1 Zr 0-0.1 PA1 B 0-0.03 PA1 Cu 0-1 PA1 W 0-1 PA1 Mn+Cr 6.2 max.
and the balance is iron in an amount of at least 34 weight percent. The composition of the alloy is controlled to satisfy four relationships, A., B., C., and D. set forth in column 2, lines 52-61 of the patent. U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,459 ('459) relates to a nickel-iron base alloy which can contain up to 6.2% chromium. As characterized in the patent the alloy provides "controlled thermal expansion coefficient and inflection temperature and...high strength in [the] age-hardened condition and has [a] composition specially restricted to overcome detrimental sensitivity to stress-concentrating geometries and aid resistance to long-enduring stress in heated oxidizing atmospheres." The broad composition of the alloy set forth in the '459 patent is as follows, in weight percent:
and the balance is iron in the range of about 20-55%. The composition of the alloy is controlled to satisfy three relationships, A, B, and C set forth in column 2, lines 32-37 of the patent.
Although the '447 and '459 patents describe nickel-iron base alloys which contain chromium and may contain cobalt, and refer to low thermal expansion and high strength properties, they leave much to be desired in meeting modern day requirements for a good combination of low thermal expansion, high strength, good ductility, thermal stability, and good oxidation resistance at temperatures up to 1200 F. or above.

Controlled thermal expansion alloy and article made therefrom


The present invention relates to a process for producing cellulose with low inorganic impurities from sugarcane bagasse, the process comprising treating prehydrolysed sugarcane bagasse with a mixture of sulfite and at least one alkali to obtain residue having undissolved cellulose along with lignin rich liquor. The residue having undissolved cellulose is further subjected to delignification and addition of at least one enzyme to obtain a cellulose rich pulp. The cellulose rich pulp obtained is then treated with bleaching agents followed by separating pure cellulose rich pulp having high a-cellulose content and low inorganic impurities.

Cellulose of a good and desirable quality is primarily produced from wood, thus making wood the most widely and commonly used raw material for the production of cellulose. However, there is a shortage of this raw material due to depletion of forests worldwide and also due to many countries being deficient in forests. As a result of such shortage, there is a need to preserve the forests and hence explore alternate raw materials for the production of cellulose.
Further, cellulose based fibrous resources are mainly used by the paper industry. The demand for paper worldwide is so large that almost every possible source of cellulose based fibrous raw material is exploited by paper industry. Therefore, in order to ensure a sustained supply of cellulose, the cellulose based industry has been forced to explore and consider alternate raw materials such as non-woody cellulose containing fibrous raw materials for the production of cellulose. Non woody raw materials like bamboo, cereal straws, bagasse, are characterized by high silica content and higher hemicelluloses content.
Sugar mills generate nearly millions of tones of sugarcane bagasse annually. For every ton of sugar produced around 1.3-1.5 ton of dry bagasse is generated, thus making sugarcane bagasse a very prominent waste product of sugarcane. Thus, sugarcane bagasse a by product of the sugar industry is one such non-woody fibrous residue that is left behind after the juice has been extracted from sugarcane.
However, in spite of being a potential source of good quality cellulose and other value added chemicals, a major problem in using sugarcane bagasse even after the removal of pith as an alternate to wood is the presence of impurities which makes it undesirable for the production of good quality and high purity cellulose. Therefore, various studies have been conducted on the utilization of sugarcane bagasse in the production of high quality cellulose and for the production of high value added products such as microcrystalline cellulose or cellulose esters. Even for the production of such value added products there is a need of cellulose of a very high quality which is devoid of impurities such as silica. Indian Patent Application no. 3240/MUM/2010 relates to a process for producing cellulose with a high molecular weight wherein pretreated lignocellulosic material is treated with alkali, sulfite and anthraquinone for solubulising the lignin component by converting it to lignosulfonate. This is then followed by washing and screening the pulp followed by bleaching the washed pulp and separating the fibrous organic residue and washing the pulp to obtain 92% alpha cellulose having a high molecular weight. The cellulose obtained by the method disclosed in the aforementioned application does not however teach a method to reduce the level of impurities to obtain cellulose of a high quality. Further, in the aforementioned process hazardous chemicals such as anthraquinone is used.
Indian Patent Application No. 1893/DEL/2007 relates to a process for fractionation and isolation of high α cellulose pulp, hemicelluloses and lignin from depithed fibrous organic biomass comprising the steps of contacting the biomass with steam hydrolyzing and solubulising the hemicelluloses component, separating and washing the undissolved fibrous organic biomass with water, followed by treatment with an alkali and then mineral acid to precipitate the lignin. This is then followed by separating and washing the undissolved fibrous organic biomass, bleaching, separating, washing and drying the fibrous organic residue to obtain a pulp of α-cellulose. However, the method used does not indicate a process to remove the impurities of sugarcane bagasse to yield high quality cellulose.
Silica is present in a high quantity in the raw material and is distributed throughout the cell wall in such a way that for the conversion of the raw material to cellulosic material, it becomes difficult to efficiently remove the impurities by the known processes. Though the major portion of the silica dissolves during alkaline treatment of the fibrous raw material, a substantial portion still remains to the cellulosic product thereby hampering the purity of the final cellulosic product thus restricting the use of the final cellulosic product for the industrially useful product.
Thus, there is a need for a process to produce cellulose with low impurities from sugarcane bagasse.

Process for producing cellulose with low impurities from sugarcane bagasse


A technique for detecting and verifying a fingerprint includes a skin resistance sensing array for translating the skin resistance of a fingertip into an electrical signal. The fingertip is moved relative to the skin resistance sensing array in a first linear direction for producing a reference trajectory signal which is stored into a memory. The fingertip is again moved relative to the skin resistance sensing array in a second linear direction for producing a sample trajectory signal. The second linear direction of movement is offset from the first linear direction of movement by a predetermined angle. A processor is provided for performing a set of functions on the reference trajectory signal and the sample trajectory signal. The sample trajectory signal is correlated with the reference trajectory signal for producing a verification signal related to the probability that the fingertip generated both the sample trajectory signal and the reference trajectory signal.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to fingerprint detection devices, and more particularly to electronic fingerprint detection devices for sensing the unique surface topography of a fingerprint.
2. Discussion
Fingerprint detection devices are utilized in many applications requiring an extremely high probability of positive recognition of persons seeking access to secured areas, at customs and border inspections, and where it is essential to verify that the correct person is involved in the transaction. Other forms of identification have been implemented to verify the correctness of a specific person including photographic identification, signature verification, and personal identification numbers (PIN). Problematically, the latter of these schemes fail to uniquely identify an individual with the same level of assurance as an individual's fingerprints. All of the above-mentioned forms of identification are extremely susceptible to fraudulent modification. The likelihood of two sets of fingerprints being the same is so remote that law enforcement agencies use fingerprints with high confidence to positively identify individuals. Real time fingerprint detection devices have been implemented for high probability identification, but many limitations still exist. The associated costs currently make large scale distribution of these devices impossible.
Currently, fingerprint detection devices employ some form of imaging system to scan the unique characteristics of a fingerprint which are then compared to those same characteristics of a known reference fingerprint. Typically these imaging systems consist of thermal or optical sensors for translating fingerprint line information into digital wave forms that can be analyzed by a microprocessor. Further, these imaging components require complex optics, lasers or electronic circuits which are expensive to manufacture. Therefore the devices in which they operate are expensive and typically have limited portability. They also require complex image processors to implement the fingerprint detection algorithms. To operate these conventional devices, the fingerprint is placed upon the imaging surface, and remains stationary while the device electronically scans or optically images the fingerprint line characteristic information. This often involves arrays as large as 256.times.512 sensing elements making the integrated sensor expensive and vulnerable since it must come in contact with the finger. These complex arrays produce a large number of data points that must be processed and ultimately stored for reference. In addition they are highly susceptible to dirt and oils present within their operating environment. Some arrays also require a complicated registration system for detecting the position or relative center of the fingerprint and establishing reference points before scanning the fingertip and processing its characteristics against a known reference.
An exemplary approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,985 to Lofberg entitled "Data Carrier" which discloses a fingerprint verification system fabricated into a device approximately the size of a credit card. The device includes a memory used to store a previously obtained reference bit sequence. The fingerprint to be detected is placed upon an imaging device consisting of thermal or optical sensing elements for translating fingerprint line information into a digital bit sequence. The digital signal is then compared to a reference bit sequence by a microprocessor. If the comparison process achieves a match within a certain degree of coincidence, a positive detection signal is produced. However, as noted above, this approach accomplishes fingerprint verification by using a sensing array with a large number of sensing elements. This complex array is expensive to fabricate, produces large volumes of data to process, and is easily damaged by excessive force. It further requires a registration means for detecting the position of the stationary fingertip, thereby increasing the complexity of the circuitry and requiring additional data processing capabilities.
Thus it would be desirable to provide a fingerprint detector employing a sensing array with a small number of sensing elements, thereby simplifying the data processing requirements by reducing the quantity of data to be analyzed and lowering overall power consumption permitting battery operated devices. In addition, it would be desirable to provide a fingerprint detection device which utilizes an electronic sensor allowing the electronics to be implemented within a single integrated circuit to reduce cost and eliminate exotic imaging technologies. These features enable manufacturing a cost effective device for large scale implementation in both industrial and consumer applications. Furthermore, it is desirable to provide a sensor which produces an electronic signal with high signal-to-noise ratio and high dynamic range, thereby significantly reducing the probability of error.

Fingerprint detector using ridge resistance sensor


A method, for use in a mobile communications system (MCS), efficiently generates routing information when a caller of a first electronic switching system (ESS) calls a receiver's phone connected to a second ESS through a base station system, wherein the routing information is used for the first ESS to choose one of a plurality of transit networks (TN's) formed between the ESS's to communicate voice messages and/or data between the caller and the receiver. At a first step, if there is a first demand signal from the first ESS, roaming information representing the location of the receiver is derived, wherein the first demand signal is generated when an identification code, indicating that the receiver is a mobile subscriber, is received by the first ESS from the caller. At a subsequent step, there is selectively generated first TN selection data based on subscriber information which is predetermined by each of the caller and the receiver or second TN selection data which is predetermined by the MCS, wherein each TN selection data denotes one of the TN's. At a final step, the produced first or second TN selection data and the derived roaming information are formatted to thereby gener ate the routing information.

It is well known that a mobile communications system (MCS) offers various services such as cellular phone service, radio pager service and the like to subscribers connected to the MCS by radio. Basic components of the MCS include a first and a second electronic switching systems (ESS's), a plurality of transit networks (TN's), a base station system (BSS) and a mobile station (MS). The TN's are provided by TN companies and each TN contains one or more other ESS's to be used for relaying voice messages and/or data between the first and the second ESS's and trunks coupled between the other ESS's. Both or either one, e.g., the second ESS, of the first and the second ESS's is capable of handling voice messages and/or data transmitted from the subscribers connected thereto.
When a public switched telephone network (PSTN) subscriber of the first ESS lifts his telephone handset and inputs a dial number of, e.g., the MS subscriber, to make a call, the first ESS receives and processes digits corresponding to the dial number. In the MCS, the dial number is commonly comprised of a network identification (NID) code, a country code, an area code, a station code and a subscriber number, wherein the NID code is a service type code indicating one of various communications services such as cordless phone service, radio pager service, cellular phone service and the like.
Specifically, if the NID code in the dial number is received by the first ESS, it first translates the received NID code to identify the receiving subscriber, i.e., the MS subscriber, as either a PSTN subscriber or a mobile subscriber. And if the MS subscriber is identified as the mobile subscriber based on the translated result, the first ESS sends a routing information demand (RID) signal and subscriber identification (SID) information representing the MS subscriber to a home location register (HLR) connected between the two ESS's; and, if otherwise, it relays voice signals and/or data from the PSTN subscriber to the second ESS.
In response to the RID signal, the HLR retrieves TN selection data, predetermined by the MCS and stored in a memory of the HLR, to be used by the first ESS to choose one of the TN's. Further, in response to the SID information, the HLR retrieves roaming information related to the MS subscriber's current location from a set of roaming information which is predetermined by mobile subscribers of the second ESS and stored in the memory of the HLR. After retrieving both the TN selection data and the roaming information, the HLR formats them by using a conventional data format scheme to obtain and provide routing information to the first ESS.
The first ESS chooses one of the TN's in response to the TN selection data in the routing information so that the PSTN subscriber of the first ESS can communicate with the MS subscriber of the second ESS through the selected TN based on the roaming information in the routing information. For interfacing the second ESS with the MS, the BSS is connected therebetween, wherein the BSS contains a base transceiver station and a base station controller and there are used a radio, an A and an A-bis interfaces issued at Open Systems Interconnection (OSI).
However, in the conventional routing information generation method provided in the MCS, the TN selection data employed to select one of the TN's is determined by the MCS only, resulting in a communications path which is not fully optimized for the PSTN and MS subscribers.

Routing information generation method for use in a mobile communications system


An image forming apparatus having; an electrostatic latent image support; a charger for charging the electrostatic latent image support; an exposure unit for exposing the electrostatic latent image support with a light beam to form an electrostatic latent image; a development unit for developing the electrostatic latent image into a toner image; a sheet feeding unit for feeding a recording sheet in an image forming operation; a transfer member for transferring the toner image to the recording sheet; a fuser for fusing the toner image onto the recording sheet; and a high-voltage power supply circuit for, in an image forming operation, applying a plurality of bias voltages at least to the charger and to the development unit, wherein the high-voltage power supply circuit supplies a high voltage only to the charger in an operation in an ion generation mode so as to cause the charger to generate ions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that is capable of generating negative ions.
2. Description of Related Art
An example of conventional image forming apparatuses that generate negative ions is one disclosed by Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-4144 (see FIGS. 4 and 5). In the image forming apparatus, an image forming section is provided in a housing, and the image forming section comprises a photoreceptor drum serving as an image support, a charger, etc. The surface of the image support is charged by the charger and is exposed to light modulated in accordance with image data. Thereby, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the image support.
In two side walls of the housing, a plurality of vent windows, each of which is for air intake or for air exhaust, are made. A blower generates a given airflow through the plurality of vent windows. A negative-ion generator is opposed to one of the vent windows for air exhaust and generates negative ions. Plasma dust collectors are located so as to be opposed to one of the vent windows for air intake and to the negative-ion generator, and the plasma dust collectors each comprise an ion generation part and a filter charged with a polarity opposite to the polarity of ions to be generated by the ion generation part.
However, such a conventional image forming apparatus has a disadvantage of comprising a negative-ion generator exclusively used for generating negative ions, thereby increasing the size and the cost of the apparatus.

Image forming apparatus with ion generation mode


A frame structure of a seat back for a vehicle contains a seat back frame which includes a framework disposed endlessly along a peripheral edge of a panel frame in a plane form with a substantially rectangular shape, the framework including a steel tube portion with a closed rectangular cross-section into which a pressed member is formed by welding in accordance with a position where the seat back for the vehicle is fixed to a vehicle body, the steel tube portion contains a surface on which the seat back for the vehicle is fixed.

1. Field of the Invention Vehicle
The present invention relates to a frame structure of a seat back for a vehicle and a seat back for a vehicle with such a frame structure, in particular, relates to the frame structure of the seat back for the vehicle and the seat back for the vehicle with the frame structure which is capable of securing a strength of the seat back in a sheet for the vehicle, while at the same time decreasing the weight of the seat back.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Conventionally, the sheet for the vehicle including a sheet cushion the lower portion of which is fixed to a floor portion of a vehicle compartment and a seat back the lower portion of which is supported by a rear portion of the sheet cushion has been used. With respect to the type of the seat back, there have been two types, one is a seat back which can be forwardly inclined and the other is a seat back which cannot be forwardly inclined so that it is maintained upright.
Such a seat back for the vehicle includes a seat back frame which comprises a panel frame in a plane form with a substantially rectangular shape and a framework disposed to be along a peripheral edge of the panel frame, and a pad covering the seat back frame and a trim for an outer skin, etc. are provided on the seat back frame.
As shown in FIG. 8, the seat back for the vehicle has been divided into two parts, each of which includes a structure in which a pipe product and a pressed product are assembled. In this connection, FIG. 8 shows one of the divided frameworks. For instance, with respect to the framework of the seat back for a rear seat which constitutes a leaning portion, as shown in FIG. 8, the seat back is supported at the three points, two of which are side portions of the lower section, and one of which is a door side of the upper section. As shown in FIG. 9, mainly from a technical point of view which is related to securing a torsion stiffness, a pipe member A with a closed cross-section is adopted as a structural member. The pipe member A is worked by a bending process so as to be shaped into a configuration which can be disposed to be the peripheral edge of the panel frame. On the other hand, in order to fix the seat back for the vehicle to a vehicle body via the pipe member A at the three respective points, a bracket member B as a pressed member is fixed to the pipe member A by welding.
In addition, as regulated by ECE (Automobile Regulation), in order to increase a maximum tolerant load which is applied to the rear seat due to a displacement of a luggage in a rear luggage compartment, the seat back for the rear seat extending at the substantially central portion of the panel frame and on which a reinforcing frame, both ends of which are fixed to the framework by welding, is disclosed by Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication 2003-235672, for instance.
By providing such a reinforcing frame, since the reinforcing frame is formed in such a way that an intermediate portion of the reinforcing frame extends through a portion on which an external force is exerted and both ends of the reinforcing member are connected to the framework including a high strength, dents on the panel frame can be prevented from being generated due to the fact that the intermediate portion of the reinforcing frame absorbs the external force generated by the displacement of the luggage, whereby its strength against the large load applied on an external force receiving portion can be improved.
However, such a structure has the following technical problems.
That is to say, recently, much attention has been paid to a decrease in the amount of fuel consumption, in view of the prevention of global warming, so that an effort has been made to improve an engine's performance and to decrease the weight of the automobile.
From the above points of view, the above structure adopts duplicate members, so that there is a room for further decreasing the weight of the automobile.
Conventionally, in the case of the seat for the vehicle, it was fixed to the necessary position of the vehicle body by adopting a steel tube as a strength member, while appropriately providing a bracket at the necessary position. More specifically, a bracket including a plane portion which is separately manufactured by a press is fixed on an outer surface of the pipe member by welding, so that an excessive member was adopted, from the technical point of view related to securing the necessary strength. This is contrary to decreasing the weight of the automobile. In particular, as described above, in case of the seat back for the rear seat, it is even more so when the reinforcing frame is adopted.

Frame structure of seat back for vehicle and seat back for vehicle with frame structure


In a data processing system with at least one data processing device, a large number of databases allocated to the data processing system and having user-specific data are linked together for forming a single resulting user database. Access permissions for resources provided by the at least one data processing device are awarded by predefined user roles. At least one user role is allocated to at least one user of the data processing system.

Market- and customer-oriented organizations change many times faster than the data processing systems which the organization uses to image its business processes. Special requirements arise from this in regard to the control of access to resources of data processing systems in organization units which are rapidly changing.
From DE 199 54 358 A1, a method is known for the control of user access in a network environment, using user roles. A user role determines the function of a user within an organization unit and serves to define of the scope of his operating responsibility.
A user role access control includes one or more user roles and access permissions, by which it is determined whether actions can be performed on computer-based objects. The user role access control is used to approve a user's request if user access roles grant access permissions which permit him to perform specific actions on a computer-based object.
One potential object of the present invention is to provide a method, a data processing system and a computer program for the efficient control of access to resources of a data processing system with different kinds of data processing devices, with different kinds of program applications which are provided by the data processing devices, and with frequent user data changes.

Method for controlling access to the resources of a data processing system, data processing system, and computer program