When a host mobile electronic device and a client mobile electronic device connect to each other for at least a second time, the client mobile electronic device refers to an entry corresponding to the host mobile electronic device for retrieve required information to wirelessly connect to the host mobile electronic device and to connect to an application installed on the host mobile electronic device under authentication. Therefore, the client mobile electronic device can be relieved from the burden of requesting required information for authentication repeatedly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of establishing application-related communication between mobile electronic devices, the mobile electronic device thereof, and a media sharing method and more particularly, a method of establishing application-related communication between mobile electronic devices according to whether the mobile electronic devices are connected to each other for a first time or later than the first time, the mobile electronic device thereof, and a media sharing method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are some issues related to people's daily life. The issues include:
(A) Group Buying
Most market stores are willing to offer a lower price, i.e. offering a discount, for a specific type of merchandise when customers attempt to buy a larger quantity of this specific type of merchandise. Customers also learn to group together for buying this specific type merchandise they want with a discount.
However, grouping enough customers is no easy task, especially when one customer encounters a specific type of merchandise he/she wants by accident but is bothered by the high price of the specific type of merchandise. If it happens that there are enough nearby customer wanting the same type of merchandise, grouping together with the enough number of nearby customers could be a better way for this customer to buy the specific type of merchandise with a discount.
(B) Reminding
A popular way to remind people of tasks on his/her to-do-list is to set his/her schedule on mobile electronic devices, such as smart mobile phones or tablet computers. However, when a user of a mobile electronic device meets someone who has important businesses related to the user, it is always not easy to remind the user of the important business when they meet so that many missed opportunities for the user occur.
(C) Contact List
A mobile electronic device user, such as a mobile phone user or a tablet computer user, may have multiple groups of contacts in a database of his/her mobile electronic device. Contact groups can be classified into subjects including families, friends, work team members, professional acquaintances, emergency contacts, and etc. One group member of the contact group may maintain a group contact list for the entire contact group and update it periodically. When updates occur, the rest of the members of the contact group have to correspondingly update the group contact list manually, or correctness of the group contact list may fail.
Besides, when a group member intends to update the group contact list, it usually requires complicated manual operations at bad timings, e.g., when the group member is busy, for inputting updated information.
(D) Media Manipulations
In general, conventional portable digital media players ("DMPs"), which are also mobile electronic devices, are capable of allowing their users to (a) transfer compressed media files from a computer to the mobile electronic device by using an associated transfer management program installed on the computer and utilized for establishing a physical connection to the computer, where the physical connection could be a USB cable; (b) store the compressed media files in a non-volatile memory; (c) decode the compressed media files for playback according to various compression algorithms; (d) convert a compressed or uncompressed digital file to an analog stream, and potentially process signals of the analog stream to enhance audio and video of the analog file; (e) process and amplify the signals of the analog stream; and (f) produce high-fidelity audio and video, which may be played, paused, fast-forwarded, rewound, skipped or replayed instantly and on-demand.
Also, typically in the case of audio DMPs (e.g., the "iPod Nano"), the mobile electronic device may include a relatively small digital display window that provides information regarding the audio files stored on the mobile electronic device, where the information may include a song title or an artist name. The mobile electronic device may also be utilized for viewing (or modifying) a sequence of audio files currently stored on the mobile electronic device.
However, data transfer and advanced sorting/sequencing of audio/video selections are difficult or impossible for a user to accomplish unless the DMP is connected to the computer, which does not allow the user to insert new content or make other desirable modifications to original contents stored on the DMP, such as modifying the sequence of the audio/video selections stored on the device while the player device is not physically connected to the computer. Moreover, non-technical users of the audio/video players are usually restricted from creating, editing and managing custom "playlists" (i.e., fixed song sequences), where a user is usually allowed by the mobile electronic device to develop and use a variety of customized playlists.
Also disadvantageously, the display and user interface on the mobile electronic device are typically limited in size, including the use of multi-functional buttons which are complex for many users and/or are not touch-sensitive, thereby discouraging non-expert users from viewing, modifying, and even sharing the playlists and the sequence of audio files stored on the DMP.

Method of establishing application-related communication between mobile electronic devices, mobile electronic device, non-transitory machine readable media thereof, and media sharing method


A vehicle includes a powertrain system having a non-combustion tractive power generating device and a positioning system. A method of managing power flow in the vehicle includes determining a present location and a trajectory of the vehicle, and determining a probability of vehicle braking at a predetermined location within the trajectory of the vehicle. The non-combustion tractive power generating device is operated to manage power flow in the vehicle based upon the probability of vehicle braking at the predetermined location.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Vehicle manufacturers are currently developing vehicles that use non-combustion power sources to generate tractive torque. Exemplary vehicles utilizing non-combustion power sources to generate tractive torque include electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and hydraulic hybrid vehicles.
Hybrid vehicles can utilize a non-combustion power source to achieve improved fuel economy and reduced emission levels over vehicles that utilize only internal combustion engines to provide vehicle propulsion. Hybrid vehicles achieve improved fuel economy and reduced emission by selectively utilizing an internal combustion engine or the non-combustion power source. Exemplary vehicles having non-combustion power sources can convert electrical power through motor/generator units. Motor/generator units can function as a motor to convert electrical power from batteries to provide torque to the transmission, independent from torque input from the internal combustion engine. Motor/generator units can function as a generator to convert kinetic energy from the vehicle transmission to electrical power stored by the batteries. In particular, hybrid electric vehicles can utilize regenerative braking in which the hybrid electric vehicle's speed is reduced by converting kinetic energy from the moving vehicle to electrical power stored in the batteries.
By controlling motor and generator functionality of the motor/generator units, control systems can control the balance between electrical power and internal combustion power utilized by the powertrain. The control systems can maintain the batteries at a state of charge that is within calibrated upper and lower charging limits. The state of charge is a ratio of the amount of electrical charge of a battery to the charge capacity of the battery. The lower charging limit is calibrated such that the battery state of charge is sufficiently high such that the battery can provide a selected amount of torque to the transmission. The upper charging limit is calibrated such that the battery state of charge is sufficiently low to accept charge from regenerative braking.
Global positioning systems hereafter ('GPS') utilize satellites to transmit signals to provide positioning information to GPS devices. Vehicles can utilize the GPS devices to determine a current position on the earth along with related information such as a current speed and a current direction at which the GPS device is travelling.
Map databases include information relating to a geographic region and can perform navigation functions such as determining travel routes to guide a driver within the geographic region. The travel route can include roads, streets or any other type of thoroughfare.

Method of managing power flow in a vehicle


A cooling unit is provided to an image forming device. The image forming device includes a process unit having a photosensitive body on which is formed an electrostatic latent image and a developing unit for forming a toner image on the photosensitive body based on the electrostatic latent image; a transfer unit that transfers the toner image onto a sheet; and a fixing unit that thermally fixes the toner image onto the sheet, the process unit and the fixing unit having facing surfaces that face each other. The cooling unit itself includes: an airflow duct disposed between the facing surfaces of the process unit and the fixing unit and formed with at least either process-unit-side holes facing the process unit or fixing-unit-side holes facing the fixing unit; and a cooling fan that draws air from around a corresponding one of the process unit and the fixing unit through the process-unit-side, the fixing-unit-side holes, or both, through the airflow duct, and out of the image forming device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to configuration of a cooling device used in an image forming device such as a copy machine, a facsimile machine, and a laser printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, such an image forming device includes: a sheet-supply unit for supplying sheets on which an image is to be formed; a process unit including a photosensitive drum and a developing device for forming a toner image on the photosensitive drum; an exposure unit for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum; a transfer unit for transferring the toner image onto a sheet; a fixing unit for thermally fixing the toner image onto the sheet; a drive motor for rotatingly driving components in the above-described units; transmission gears; and a power source for supplying power to a control unit.
The above-described components, such as components related to drive of the device and the power source portion, are mounted in a housing case formed from metal plate or a compound resin. Conventionally, a cooling fan is provided in the housing case in order to cool off heat generated by the power source, the drive motor, the thermal-type fixing unit, and the like. The cooling fan draws air from outside of the device via an inlet vent and discharges the air out of the device via an outlet vent.

Cooling device used in image forming device


A wearable support belt is provided. The wearable support belt includes a support surface having a first end and a second end, the first end and the second end configured to fasten to each other, the support surface composed of a first material disposed over a second material. The wearable support belt includes a section coupling the first end and the second end, the section coupling the first end and the second end having a thickness and a height that is different than a thickness and a height of a front section of the structure. The wearable support belt includes a removable cover disposed around the support belt, the removable cover having an outer surface, the outer surface having a fastening mechanism affixed thereto, the fastening mechanism proximate to the first end and the second end.

A number of support structures are known. Reference may be made, for example, to U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,122 (Yewer), U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,606 (Castel), U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,876 (Phelps-McMillon), U.S. Pat. No. 8,272,546 (Leistensnider), U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,513 (Simmons), U.S. Pat. No. 6,513,523 (Izuchukwu), U.S. Pat. No. 6,434,770 (Matthews), U.S. Pat. No. 6,685,024 (Matthews), U.S. Pat. No. 7,055,196 (Littlehorn), U.S. Pat. No. 7,127,760 (Bartley), U.S. Pat. No. 7,290,303 (Mead), U.S. Pat. No. 7,587,773 (Littlehorn), U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,828 (Simon), U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,999 (Clark), U.S. Pat. No. 7,010,821 (Leach), U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,833 (Zenoff), and US 2007/0056110 (Tuoriniemi). The entire disclosure of each of those US patents and patent publication is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. Yet, there are further uses and needs not addressed by these and other support belts. Therefore, there is a need in the art for further improvements in support belts that can be worn by a user.


Some embodiments of the present invention describe a battery including a plurality of master-less controllers. Each controller is operatively connected to a corresponding cell in a string of cells, and each controller is configured to bypass a fraction of current around the corresponding cell when the corresponding cell has a greater charge than one or more other cells in the string of cells.

A battery is comprised of a series of cells. In order to manage the voltage of the cells, a single controller is utilized. For example, the current state-of-the-art in digital charge control of batteries rests on the use of a single controller for multiple cells stacked in series. However, this approach may cause the battery to be susceptible to a single fault failure. In other words, this is a failure of the single charge controller (e.g., a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) or a Microcontroller). As a result, the cells in the battery may be more susceptible to failure due to the failure of the single charge controller.

The United States of America as Represented by the Administrator of National Aeronautics and Space Administration


A computer system including: at least one host computer, a storage system for storing data used in the host computer, and a managing computer for managing storing the data in the storage system which are connected to each other with a network. The managing computer monitors the journal volume which is a storing destinations of the journal, in a case that the journal is stored in the journal volume in parallel, when it is detected that the storing destination of the journal changes from one of the groups into which the journal is just stored to another group, transmits an instruction to the storage system to change the storing destination of the journal to another group.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computer system with data recovering, a method of managing data with data recovering and a managing computer for data recovering.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, in an information system, a backup operation is periodically made to recover data lost upon a trouble in a storage system, data corruption, an erroneous operation by a user.
For this, a backup and recovery technology using journaling (acquisition of updating history) is proposed. For example, U.S. patent application publication No. 20050015416, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses backup and recovery technology using the journaling as follows:
A snapshot (full-backup or logical image such as differential backup) at a specific timing of a logical group (hereinafter referred to as journal group) including more than one data volume (data storing area) is acquired. Data written after that in the data volume is stored in a journal volume related to the journal group as journal (referred to as AFTER journal). Data at specific timing is recovered by applying of a series of the AFTER journals to the acquired snapshot in order of writing the AFTER journals. Generally, this is an example of a technology referred to as CDP (Continuous Data Protection).
Further, U.S. patent application publication No. 20050015416 discloses a method of canceling application of the AFTER journal to the snapshot when the recovered data is corrupted after application of the AFTER journal. U.S. patent application publication No. 20050015416 also discloses as follows:
Data at an area on which new data is overwritten upon applying the AFTER journal to the snapshot is saved in the journal volume. When application of the AFTER journal is cancelled, the data is recovered to the snapshot before the AFTER journal is applied in short time by applying the saved data (writing the saved data) to the original area to the snapshot to which the AFTER journal is applied. The saved data is referred to as BEFORE journal.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Publication No. 2004-252686 discloses a technology in which the AFTER journal and the BEFORE journal are acquired at the same time when the data from a host computer is written. This recovers past data by applying the BEFORE journal to the volume in use. The AFTER journal, the BEFORE journal, and meta data for managing the journals are simply referred to as journal. Further, the snapshot, which is a target to which the journal is applied when recovering, is referred to as base snapshot.
Further, a technology is disclosed in which lives of disk drives forming a storage system are expanded and a power consumption of a disk array of the system is reduced (for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Publication No. 2005-157710). Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Publication No. 2005-157710 discloses a technology in which a managing computer controls a power for disk drives as follows:
The managing computer includes a disk control program for sending an instruction to the disk array to turn ON/OFF a power for the disk drives forming a specific logical volume. The storage system includes a power control instruction receiving program for receiving the ON/OFF instruction for the power source and a disk power control circuit for turning ON/OFF disk drives corresponding to the logical volume.

Computer system with data recovering, method of managing data with data recovering and managing computer for data recovering


Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for augmenting clusters of news articles with translated news articles. In one aspect, a method includes obtaining data characterizing a first cluster of electronically published news articles in a presentation language, wherein the data characterizing the first cluster of news articles comprises one or more terms in the presentation language and region data identifying a first geographical region associated with the first cluster; generating translated terms by translating one or more of the terms from the presentation language to a first language, wherein the first language corresponds to the first geographical region; and obtaining one or more news articles in the first language in response to a search query derived from the one or more translated terms.

This specification relates to presenting electronic news articles.
A news service can cluster news articles that have been electronically published, e.g., on the Internet or directly to the news service, by various news sources. The news service crawls resources to identify news articles and clusters the news articles so that each cluster includes news articles that describe, report on, or are related to a respective news event. The news articles are clustered by language, so that a given cluster includes news articles in a particular language.
The news service maintains editions that are each targeted to a respective geographical region. Each edition includes one or more presentations of news articles that are targeted to the geographical region and are presented in a presentation language that corresponds to the geographical region, e.g., in one of the official languages of the geographical region. Each of the presentations identifies one or more highest-scoring news articles from one or more clusters of news articles in the presentation language. The news service can determine which edition is to be presented to a user based on, e.g., user preferences or the interface through which the user interacts with the news service. For example, if the user submits a query using an interface targeted to a particular geographical region, the news service can generate a presentation that is included in an edition targeted to that region in response to the query.
The news service can generate the presentations dynamically in response to received search queries that identify the edition to be searched, e.g., by populating the presentations with information that identifies news articles from clusters that match the search queries. The news service can score the news articles in the clusters and select the highest-scoring clusters for presentation. The news service can also maintain and update presentations that are directed to specific categories of news (e.g., top news, local news, or international news) and are populated with information that identifies news articles from clusters that match the specified categories.
The news articles in the clusters identified by presentations can be scored so that articles by publishers in the geographical region to which the edition is targeted are promoted. For example, the news articles identified in a presentation of a cluster of news articles that is targeted to Australia will tend to include more news articles published by Australian publishers than will be identified in a presentation of the cluster that is targeted to the United States. Similarly, the news articles identified in a presentation generated in response to a search query that specifies that an Australian edition is to be searched will tend to identify more articles from Australian publishers than will be identified in response to a search query that specifies that a United States edition is to be searched.


Provided herein is a recombinant viral vector having packaged therein an expression cassette comprising an engineered complement regulator factor H (fH), wherein the gene encodes a hfH protein variant comprising short consensus repeats (SCRs) 1-4, 6-8, and 17-20. Pharmaceutical compositions containing this vector and plasmids comprising nucleic acid sequences that encode the fH protein variant are also provided.

The complement system is a part of innate immunity that plays a key role in host defense. Complement can be activated by three different pathways, the classical, alternative and lectin pathways. Among them, the alternative pathway is unique in that it not only represents an independent pathway by which complement is activated by the "tick-over" mechanism, but also it amplifies complement activation initiated by the other two pathways. The alternative pathway requires the participation of C3, factor B (fB), factor D (fD) and properdin (fP). All pathways converge at the C3 activation step from where the alternative pathway amplification loop comes into play. Regardless of which pathway complement activation occurs, activated complement produces three types of effector functions: opsonization of targets with C3b/iC3b/C3d to facilitate phagocytosis and clearance, production of pro-inflammatory mediators C3a and C5a, and direct cellular attack by the terminal complement activation effector C5b-9, also known as membrane attack complex (MAC). Through activation of complement receptors (CRs) such as CR2 on B cells and follicular dendritic cells, and anaphylatoxin receptors C3a receptor (C3aR) and C5a receptor (C5aR) on leuckocytes such as macrophages and monocytes, complement also interacts with and cross-regulates the adaptive immune systems and thus plays a modulatory role in B and T cell immunology.
A number of human diseases are caused by complement dysregulation, resulting in complement-mediated autologous tissue injury. The complement dysregulation may arise from mutations, either somatic or germline, in complement regulator or regulator-related genes such that these regulators no longer function normally. Examples of this category include mutations in hematopoietic stem cells of the PIG-A gene that encodes for a key enzyme in the GPI anchor biosynthesis and such mutations result in the lack of expression of DAF and CD59 on blood cells of paroysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) patients. As a result, PNH patient's red blood cells and platelets are not protected from complement attack and they develop intravascular hemolysis and platelet activation, leading to anemia and thrombotic attacks. A second example is mutation in the membrane regulator MCP or fluid phase regulators fH or fI which render over-activation of the alternative pathway of complement in the kidney, leading to the pathogenesis of C3 glomerulopathy or atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS). In addition to such rare and high penetrant mutations leading to absence of expression or dysfunction of DAF, CD59, fH, fI and MCP, there are single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in fH that are more prevalent and less penetrant but nevertheless have been identified to contribute to disease pathogenesis via a complement-mediated mechanism. A very well characterized example is the strong association of Y420H polymorphism in fH with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Thus, complement regulator dysfunction or sequence variation may lead to common as well as rare human diseases.
Complement dysregulation may arise not only from regulatory mutation/polymorphism but also from mutations in genes that encode the critical components of the alternative pathway, namely C3 and fB, as well as by the presence of autoantibodies against regulators or complement proteins such as fH, C3 or fB. It is now understood that certain mutations in C3 or fB will result in proteins which, when activated, form an unusually stable alternative pathway C3 convertase C3bBb that is resistant to regulation by the regulatory proteins, which in turn can lead to complement dysregulation and over-activation. In the case of autoantibodies against complement regulators, they often mimic mutations in genes encoding such proteins with the result being reduced functional potency of such proteins in the fluid phase or on the cell surface. Separately, autoantibodies against C3b called C3 nephritic factors (C3nef) are capable of binding and stabilizing the alternative pathway C3 convertase C3bBb, thus achieving the same effect of prolonging the half-life and activity of the convertase as that produced by C3 or fB gene mutations. Overall, there are common and rare human diseases that are caused by excessive complement activation resulting from dysregulation of the complement activation cascade. The underlying mechanism of complement dysregulation are variable, some are due to gene mutations and others to autoantibodies, and the mutated genes or targets of autoantibodies could be regulatory proteins or components of the alternative pathway.
Current therapeutic approaches are focused on the development of reagents such as mAbs, peptides or other small molecules that bind and block specific alternative pathway or terminal pathway complement components. A clinically validated example is Eculizumab, a humanized mAb against complement C5 which has been approved for the treatment of PNH and aHUS. Other approaches that have been described include mAbs against fB, fD, or fP, and a cyclic peptide that binds and inhibits C3. The limitation of these approaches is that they require repeated and inconvenient IV dosing of patients. Further, since they block the alternative pathway or terminal pathway, they run the risk of compromising host defense. Indeed, patients on Eculizumab therapy have to be vaccinated against bacteria strains that cause lethal meningitis and these patients are also put on prophylactic antibiotic therapy before being treated with the approved mAb drug.
In other approaches, recombinant regulatory proteins such as soluble DAF, CR1, CRIg and proteins comprising minimal domains of fH (N-terminal short consensus repeat [SCR] 1-5 and C-terminal SCR19-20) or fusion proteins between fH and CR2 (TT30) have been tested. See, e.g., US Patent Publication No. US2013/0296255; US Patent Publication No. 2008/0221011. However, large scale heterologous expression of such proteins as therapeutic drugs requires significant effort, and animal studies have shown their in vivo clearance rate after administration to be fast (Nichols E M, Barbour T D, Pappworth I Y, Wong E K, Palmer J M, Sheerin N S, Pickering M C, Marchbank K J. Kidney Int. 2015 Jul. 29. doi: 10.1038/ki.2015.233; Fridkis-Hareli M, Storek M, Mazsaroff I, Risitano A M, Lundberg A S, Horvath C J, Holers V M, Blood. 2011 Oct. 27; 118(17):4705-13. doi: 10.1182/blood-2011-06-359646. Epub 2011 Aug. 22.), making such therapeutic strategies cumbersome and less practical as multiple and frequent administrations of such protein drugs would be required.
A need remains in the art for compositions useful for treating complement-mediated diseases with greater and longer-lasting efficacy.

Composition and method for treating complement-mediated disease

The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania


A modified polyphenylene ether resin is provided which is a product of the reaction of 100 parts by weight of (A) a polyphenylene ether having a main chain structure of the following formula (1):

Since polyphenylene ethers are excellent in processability and productivity, products/parts of any shape can be produced efficiently from them by melt injection molding, melt extrusion and the like. They are therefore widely used as a material for products/parts in the electric/electronic fields, automotive field, various other industrial material fields, or food/package fields.
With recent trends in the production of a variety of products/parts particularly in the electric/electronic fields, automotive field or various other industrial fields, the demand for resin materials has increased.
In order to satisfy this demand, resin materials having properties that have not been hitherto attained in existing materials have been developed by forming a composite from different materials or by a polymer alloy technique using various existing polymer materials in combination.
Although ordinarily employed polyphenylene ethers have high heat resistance and excellent mechanical properties, materials that form composites with polyphenylene ethers are limited owing to their poor affinity for other materials. Affinity with a highly polar material such as polyamide is particularly poor so that a modified polyphenylene ether resin having polar group functionality is required upon formation of a composite with such a resin.
As means for obtaining a modified polyphenylene ether resin, chemical modification, in a molten state, of a polyphenylene ether or polyphenylene-ether-containing resin composition with a compound having a polar group is under investigation.
For example, proposed in JP-B-3-52486 (the term "JP-B" as used herein means an "examined published Japanese patent publication"), U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,405, U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,397 or JP-A-63-54425 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application) is a process for obtaining a modified polyphenylene ether resin by mixing a polyphenylene ether with maleic anhydride or another reactive compound for modification in the presence or absence of a radical initiator, and kneading the mixture in a molten state.
The above-described process however causes various problems, because kneading of the polyphenylene ether in a molten state requires high temperature and the melt viscosity of the polyphenylene ether is very high, which inevitably cause a marked rise in the reaction temperature.
In other words, a modified polyphenylene ether resin obtained by the conventional melt kneading method is processed at almost the decomposition temperature so that a color change due to thermal deterioration occurs and the modified polyphenylene ether resin thus obtained suffers a problem in its color tone/appearance.
In order to overcome the above-described problem in color tone/appearance, there has been proposed a process for melt extrusion of a mixture of a polyphenylene ether and an additive such as heat stabilizer and antioxidant. This process however fails in achieving sufficient improvement in color tone/appearance because the temperature upon melt kneading is unduly high.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,027, there is disclosed a polyphenylene ether resin having a specific cyclic end group which resin is available by melt kneading a polyphenylene ether having a specific end structure and a compound having functionality. While the number of Fries rearrangement structures in the ordinarily employed polyphenylene ether is 0.18 or greater per 100 recurring units of the resin, the number of such structures in this polyphenylene ether resin can be reduced to 0.01 per 100 recurring monomer units of the resin. It is reported that this resin has therefore excellent color tone.
The above-described technique however cannot produce a highly functional polyphenylene ether resin having Fries rearrangement structures reduced in number to less than 0.01 per 100 recurring units.
In addition, the Fries rearrangement can be suppressed only when the polyphenylene ether has a specific cyclic end group so that the above-described technique is not sufficient for obtaining a highly functional polyphenylene ether resin.
As another technique for improving color tone/appearance, conventionally employed is addition of a plasticizer such as mineral oil to a polyphenylene ether, thereby lowering the processing temperature upon melt extrusion. The resulting modified polyphenylene ether resin, when molded or formed, has improved color tone/appearance but has deteriorated heat resistance/mechanical physical properties.
Thus, modified polyphenylene ether resins available by the prior art do not satisfy the demands of industry, because they have drawbacks in equipment/energy or are not sufficient in the balance between color tone/appearance and heat resistance/mechanical physical properties.
The present invention therefore relates to a modified polyphenylene ether resin and a process for preparing same. An object of the present invention is to provide a modified polyphenylene ether resin which exhibits sufficient functionality, is free from problems in equipment or energy, assures well-balanced color tone/appearance and heat resistance/mechanical physical properties, and can satisfy the demands of industry sufficiently.

Conjugated non-aromatic diene or dienophilic compound-modified polyphenylene ethers

Abstract: (wherein R1 and R4 each independently represents hydrogen, a primary or secondary lower alkyl, a phenyl, an aminoalkyl or a hydrocarbonoxy, and R2 and R3 each independently represents hydrogen, a primary or secondary lower alkyl or a phenyl), with 0.01 to 10.0 parts by weight of (B) a modifier selected from conjugated non-aromatic diene compounds, dienophilic compounds having one dienophile group and precursors of the diene or dienophilic compounds, wherein the number of rearrangement structures each represented by the following formula (2):

Abstract: (wherein R1, R2, R3, and R4 have the same meanings as defined above in the formula (1)) is less than 0.01 per 100 phenylene ether units of the formula (1).


A process is provided where at least one main face of an optical lens is subjected to a corona discharge or atmospheric plasma treatment. The optical lens is dipped in a curable coating composition to deposit a layer of the curable coating composition on said main face, and is then cured. During the whole process, the optical lens is carried by a same lens holder so that the lens face is freely accessible and without necessitating manual handling of the lens.

Optical lenses, in particular ophthalmic lenses, whether made of mineral glass or organic glass, commercially available are commonly provided with one or more property enhancing coatings on one or both of their main faces for improving mechanical and/or optical properties of the final lens. Typically, those coatings are used for improving the adhesion of another coating to the lens, improving the impact resistance and/or the scratch resistance of the lens, imparting antireflective or anti-soil/anti-smudge or anti-fog properties to the lens.
It is also common to subject a lens face, uncoated or coated, to a corona discharge or atmospheric plasma treatment prior to the deposition of a further coating composition in order to improve adhesion of the coating on the lens main face or the surface of the previously deposited property enhancing coating.
In certain circumstances, corona discharge treatment or atmospheric plasma treatment is used to eliminate an outer coating, in particular an outer temporary coating, deposited on one or both main faces of an optical lens prior to applying a novel outer coating, generally having different properties than the eliminated coating, on the lens main faces. This is the case when an outer temporary coating is used for improving adhesion of the lens to the maintaining pad during an edging operation of the optical lens.
Typically, for the corona discharge treatment and atmospheric plasma treatment, the lens is just placed flat on a belt or a similar device with the surface to be treated freely accessible for the intended treatment.
Thus, the operator must manually turn the lens if both faces have to be treated by corona discharge or atmospheric plasma and manually placed the lens in a lens holder after the corona discharge or atmospheric plasma treatment for the subsequent coating deposition steps, for example a dip coating step and a curing step.

Process for applying a coating on an optical lens face and implementation system

Essilor International Compagnie Generale d' Optique


In a memory cell including a floating gate, a gate insulation film and a control gate, after removing injected charges from the floating gate with tunneling currents through the gate insulation film, charges are removed from the gate insulation film by applying a pair of positive and negative voltage pulses to the control gate at least one time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a non-volatile semiconductor memory, and in particular to a control method for a non-volatile memory including a floating gate.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a flash memory cell array where the cell data stored in a plurality of selected cells can be erased concurrently, the cell data are usually erased with Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) tunneling currents to emit the electrons stored in the floating gate to the source or the substrate. However, there is distribution of the F-N tunneling current caused by distribution of physical parameters such as the thickness of gate insulation film and the overlapped area of the source and the floating gate among memory cells. The distribution of the F-N tunneling current causes the distribution of the erased cell threshold voltage (erased-V.sub.TM).
To suppress this erased-V.sub.TM distribution, there has been proposed the 2-step erasing method in the article "A Novel Erasing Technology for 3.3 V Flash Memory with 64 Mb Capacity and Beyond" written by Okazawa et al. (IEEE International Electron Device Meeting (IEDM) 92, pp. 607-610, 1992) and Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 5-258583. The 2-step erasing method consists of two different cell gate bias conditions. In the IEDM a first document step, a negative high voltage is applied to the control gates of the cells to erase the cell data, and in a second step, a positive high voltage is applied to decrease the erased-V.sub.TM distribution (see FIG. 6). According to a control method disclosed in the Publication (5-258583), in the first step, a negative high voltage is applied to the control gates of the cells and, at the same time, a positive voltage is applied to the source to erase the cell data.


The present invention relates to an iron-containing crystalline aluminosilicate, a hydrocracking catalyst comprising the same and a process for hydrocracking utilizing the catalyst, and employing the catalyst in hydrocracking for heavy oil results in easy production of great quality kerosene and gas oil having low contents of sulfur and nitrogen as well as increased production thereof.

In the past, hydrocracking processes of heavy oil such as residual oil or vacuum gas oil (VGO) contributed to increased production of as well as to desulfurization of an intermediate fraction including kerosene and gas oil through reasonable cracking thereof by loading a part or all of reactors with hydrocracking catalysts containing a crystalline aluminosilicate (referred to hereinafter as zeolite).
It has been well known that a catalyst comprising an iron-containing zeolite obtained by treating zeolite with an iron salt was particularly excellent for a hydrocracking activity because deterioration control thereof caused by coke formation is capable through the increased hydrogen transfer capability (for examples, Patent literatures 1 and 2).
However, the hydrocracking catalyst comprising the iron-containing zeolite has had the difficulty of yielding high selectivity of an intermediate fraction in the range of high cracking activity thereof, and produced a plenty of a light fraction such as naphtha since the increased production of the intermediate fraction showed signs of leveling off as a result of an over cracking.
Further, it was also of problem that the cracking activity of a heavy fraction (343 deg C.+, a boiling point of the fraction is higher than 343 deg C.) was particularly low.
More further, in the case of not in harmony between a hydrocracking activity and a hydrodesulfurization activity, a sulfur content in the intermediate fraction comprising mainly kerosene and gas oil resulted in high and a second treatment of the intermediate was required additionally.
Therefore, so as to improve selectivity for an intermediate fraction catalysts have been modified by treating zeolites with excessive steam (a high temperature treatment under steam atmosphere) or with acid in a low pH area, therefore a part of the zeolite was destroyed and a certain volume of mesopores was formed so as to be space for cracking a heavy fraction.
However, the above modification methods resulted in destruction of the framework of the zeolite, accordingly the formation of enough numbers of mesopores resulted in deteriorating the crystallinity thereof.
Therefore, there was of problem that the hydrocracking activity was not demonstrated adequately because of decreasing of the surface area thereof due to the crystallinity deterioration of the zeolite.
Patent literature 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. Heisei 6 (994)-074135
Patent literature 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 2000-86233
Patent literature 3: Japanese Patent No. 1739396

Iron-containing crystalline aluminosilicate, hydrocracking catalyst comprising the aluminosilicate, and method of hydrocracking with the catalyst


The sialic acid-like sugar legionaminic acid is found as a virulence-associated surface glyco-conjugate in Legionella pneumophila and Campylobacter coli. In this work, we have purified and biochemically characterized eleven candidate biosynthetic enzymes from C. jejuni, thereby fully reconstituting the biosynthesis of legionaminic acid and its CMP-activated form, starting from fructose-6-P. This pathway involves unique GDP-linked intermediates and provides a facile means for the efficient large-scale synthesis of an important sialic acid mimic and novel precursors.

The sialic acids are a diverse family of α-keto sugars, sharing a defining 9-carbon structural skeleton, and are typically the outermost moiety of oligosaccharides on vertebrate glycolipids and glycoproteins. They are generally attached to the underlying sugar chain via an α-glycosidic linkage between their 2-position (FIG. 1) and either the 3- or 6-hydroxyl group of galactose or N-acetylgalactosamine, the 6-hydroxyl group of N-acetylglucosamine, or they may also exist as α2,8-linked homopolymers (Lehman et al., 2006). With the presence of various substitutions at their 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 positions (Varki and Varki, 2007), their various linkages, as well as their prominent and accessible location, it is not surprising this diverse family of sugars mediates and/or modulates a multitude of cellular interactions. Intercellular adhesion and signaling often results from sialic acid-specific binding proteins, or lectins, present on mammalian cell surfaces, most noted for their importance in regulating the immune system and in neuronal development. For example, the Siglecs (Sia-recognizing lg-superfamily lectins) MAG and CD22 are involved in the binding of glial cells to gangliosides, which is critical to the long-term stability of myelin as well as inhibition of neurite outgrowth, and in negatively regulating B-cell function, respectively (Varki and Angata, 2006; Crocker et al., 2007; Varki, 2007). In addition, the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) possesses α2,8-linked poly-sialic acid, which is important for brain development and neural regeneration, while its expression correlates with poor prognosis for several neuroendocrine tumours (Bork et al., 2007). Another example of sialic acid having prognostic significance in human cancer is the enhanced expression of α2,6-linked sialic acid on N-glycans, correlating with cancer progression, metastatic spread and poor prognosis for colon, breast and cervical cancers, to name a few (Hedlund et al., 2008).
It is possible that the importance of sialic acids within humans has contributed to the abundance of pathogens that display, bind or catabolize sialic acid. In fact, sialic acids are now recognized as the receptor or ligand most frequently used by pathogenic viruses, bacteria, and protozoa (Lehman et al., 2006). Furthermore, pathogenic bacteria have gained the ability to display sialic acids on their surface, either by de novo synthesis or through specific scavenging mechanisms, which is believed to influence pathogenesis through immune evasion, adhesion and invasion (Hsu et al., 2006; Severi et al., 2007). For example, the poly-sialic acid capsules of Neisseria meningitidis B and Escherichia coli K1 are poorly immunogenic, likely due to their molecular mimicry with the poly-sialic acid found on NCAM. In addition to utilizing host sialic acids as nutrient sources, many pathogenic bacteria possess sialic acid-specific lectins, which assist host-pathogen interactions and ultimately pathogenesis. Interestingly, they may also deploy soluble lectins, or toxins, that bind sialoglycoconjugates, such as the AB5 cholera toxin that recognizes the GM1 ganglioside (Angstrom et al., 1994; Merrit et al., 1998), and pertussis toxin that recognizes the GD1a ganglioside (Hausman and Burns, 1993; Stein et al., 1994). Finally, an increasing number of protozoal pathogens have been found to utilize sialic acid-specific lectins, such as Plasmodium spp., the causative agent of malaria (Lehman et al., 2006). Moreover, Trypanosomes possess a cell-surface trans-sialidase allowing these organisms to coat themselves with mammalian derived sialic acid (Pontes de Carvalho et al., 1993).
In addition to presenting sialic acids on their surface, bacteria can also incorporate sialic acid-like sugars (5,7-diacetamido-3,5,7,9-tetradeoxy-nonulosonate derivatives) into their virulence-associated cell-surface glycoconjugates, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), capsular polysaccharide, pili and flagella (Schoenhofen et al., 2006b). These sugars (FIG. 1) are unique to microorganisms and may exhibit configurational differences compared with sialic acid. One particular sialic acid-like sugar, legionaminic acid (5,7-diacetamido-3,5,7,9-tetradeoxy-D-glycero-D-galacto-nonulosonic acid; X), has the same absolute configuration as sialic acid. Legionaminic acid was first identified in 1994 to be a component of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 LPS, hence its name (Knirel at al., 1994). However, it wasn't until 2001 that its correct stereochemistry was realized using synthetic methods (Tsvetkov et al., 2001). L. pneumophila, the causative agent of Legionnaires' disease, invades and replicates within alveolar macrophages leading to a debilitating and sometimes fatal pneumonia (Kooistra et al., 2002). The role of legionaminic acid in this disease progression may be significant, as it has been suggested that LPS is a key determinant in the ability of L. pneumophila to inhibit the fusion of phagosomes with lysosomes (Fernandez-Moreira et al., 2006). L. pneumophila serogroup 1 LPS contains both legionaminic acid and its 4-epimer isomer 4-epi-legionaminic acid (FIG. 1), although the majority appears to be an α2,4-linked homopolymer of legionaminic acid (Knirel et al., 2003). Interestingly, the first report of a proteoglycan containing legionaminic acid (X) was the recent discovery of this sugar on the flagellins of the gastrointestinal pathogen Campylobacter coil (McNally et al., 2007). Here, a number of Campylobacter genes were identified as being critical to its synthesis by screening isogenic mutants for the presence of CMP-legionaminic acid (XI) metabolites.

Biosynthesis of CMP-legionaminic acid from fructose-6-P, and respective pathway intermediates, using novel GDP-linked precursors


A headliner assembly covers an inner surface of a motor vehicle roof having a sunroof opening. The headliner assembly includes a dimensionally stable substrate having a first edge extending along the sunroof opening. The substrate has an upper surface facing the inner surface of the motor vehicle roof. The substrate further has a bottom surface opposite the upper surface. A molded reinforcement is fixedly secured to the upper surface of the substrate. The reinforcement has a second edge extending along the sunroof opening. The second edge of the reinforcement has a contoured portion that extends further inwardly toward a center of the sunroof opening relative to the first edge of the substrate. A trim cover has a third edge extending along the sunroof opening. The trim cover is disposed along the bottom surface of the substrate and extends around the contoured portion of the reinforcement so that the third edge of the trim cover is disposed between the upper surface of the substrate and the inner surface of the motor vehicle roof.

Motor vehicles commonly include sunroof openings formed in the roof. Motor vehicles also typically include a headliner for covering the inside surfaces of the roof. A headliner for vehicles with a sunroof will include an opening allowing access to the sunroof from inside of the vehicle. Several conventional methods are known for forming and finishing the peripheral edges defining the opening in the headliner. One method involves folding a substrate of the headliner and a liner or fabric together over themselves in order to conceal the unfinished peripheral edge of the substrate. Another involves forming the opening by water jet trimming the substrate and liner together, then wrapping an additional piece of liner around the unfinished edge resulting from the trimming. Yet another way involves installing a garnish along the unfinished edge. Each of these conventional methods of forming an edge of a sunroof opening in a headliner are known to present a number of issues in production, such as difficulty in providing a repeatable edge, undesired labor costs and/or undesired part cost.
As such, it remains desirable to provide an improved headliner design that allows repeatable formation of the edges defining the sunroof opening in the headliner.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


A cavity ring-down spectrometer includes:                a) multiple detectors for monitoring the intensity of the radiation emitted from the cavity and the wavelength of the radiation injected into the cavity;        b) controllers which turn off the radiation into the cavity and precisely adjust the temperature of, and current to, the laser gain medium; and        c) means for adjusting the beam path length of the optical cavit to bring the cavity into resonance with the injected radiation. Additionally, disclosed is a method for using the spectrometer to detect a target analyte.

Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CRDS) is an increasingly widely used technique for detecting and monitoring analytes, especially when the target analyte is present in very low concentration. Techniques are available which enable the use of CRDS with gaseous, liquid or solid samples. Various aspects of CRDS are described in numerous U.S. Patents such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,815,277, 5,903,358, 5,912,740, 6,084,682, 6,094,267, 6,233,052, 6,377,350, 6,452,680, 6,466,322 and 6,532,071. Cavity Ringdown Spectroscopy by K. W Busch and M. A Busch, ACS Symposium Series No 720, 1999 ISBN 0-8412-3600-3, gives a comprehensive, generally up to date overview of many aspects of CRDS technology.
In essence, CRDS involves measuring the decay time of a photon filled, high finesse resonant optical cavity (the ring-down cavity). The cavity is formed by from two to usually three or four ultra-high reflectivity dielectric mirrors, which comprise the optical resonator. Monochromatic light from a laser is injected into the cavity which encloses the analyte sample. The decay time is determined by:                i) the round trip path length of the optical beam within the cavity;        ii) losses inherent in the cavity itself (primarily diffraction losses and losses through the mirrors); and        iii) most importantly, losses due to the frequency dependent losses due to absorption by the target analyte.
Since losses i) and ii) are independent of the analyte, the analyte spectrum is determined by the frequency dependent decay time of the resonant cavity with the target analyte present.
A major advantage of CRDS relative to conventional absorption spectroscopy is that it does not depend on a power-ratio measurement but rather provides an absolute measurement (i.e, decay time).
As above-indicated, cavity ring-down spectroscopy involves measuring the absorption of radiation by a sample via the effects of this absorption on the decay rate (the "ring-down time constant") of an optical cavity. The absorption is measured as a function of the wavelength of light resonating in the cavity to obtain the desired spectrum and/or concentration of a target analyte.
The optical cavity is initially filled with radiation from a laser, and ring-downs are initiated by interrupting this incoming radiation. It is important for the purposes of high-resolution spectroscopy that the wavelength of the laser be precisely known at the time each ring-down occurs. In the present invention the cavity length is adjusted so that (a mode of) the cavity is in resonance with the laser radiation at the time of ring-down. Due to the resonance condition, the intra-cavity intensity builds up rapidly while the laser is on. The accuracy to which the ring-down time constant can be measured improves with increasing intra-cavity optical intensity, so it is desirable to make this quantity (the "cavity filling") as large as possible.
Several factors limit how much cavity filling can be achieved in practice. Due to the very high finesse (or very narrow line width) of the cavity, small fluctuations in the laser wavelength (or the cavity length) can cause the incident light to go into and out of resonance with the cavity. When this happens, the intra-cavity intensity may decrease or fluctuate irregularly while the laser remains turned on. In addition, filling uniformity also affects the repetition rate and hence measurement speed. It is therefore doubly important for the laser to have minimal frequency jitter. For a semiconductor laser, the wavelength is a very sensitive function of both the pump current to, and the temperature of, the laser, making the control of these quantities very important. In particular, achieving good cavity filling at each of a collection of wavelengths (as required for a spectral scan) requires a very low-noise current source and the ability to control the laser pump current over a moderately wide bandwidth (of the order of the inverse cavity lifetime) to maintain the laser output at the desired wavelength set point while the cavity fills up.
A conventional two-mirror, continuous wave (CW) CRDS instrument (200) is shown in FIG. 1.
As shown in FIG. 1, light is generated from a narrow band, tunable, continuous wave diode laser 202. Laser 202 is temperature tuned by a temperature controller (not shown) to emit its radiation at a wavelength approximately equal to a desired spectral line of the analyte. An acousto-optic modulator (AOM) 204 is positioned in front of the radiation emitted from laser 202. AOM 204 provides a means for providing light 206 from laser 202 along the optical axis 219 of resonant cavity 218. Light 206 exits AOM 204 and is directed by mirrors 208 and 210 to cavity mirror 220 as light 206a which travels along optical axis 219 and exponentially decays between cavity mirrors 220 and 222 when light 206 is extinguished or deflected from the cavity axis. The measure of this decay is indicative of the presence or lack thereof of a trace species. Detector 212 is coupled between the output of optical cavity 218 and controller 214. Controller 214 is coupled to laser 202, processor 216, and AOM 204. Processor 216 processes signals from optical detector 212 in order to determine the level of trace species in optical resonator 218.
In AOM 204, a pressure transducer (not shown) creates a sound wave that modulates the index of refraction in an active nonlinear crystal (not shown), through a photoelastic effect. The sound wave produces a Bragg diffraction grating that disperses incoming light into multiple orders, predominantly zero order and first order. Different orders have different light beam energy and follow different beam directions. In CW-CRDS, typically, a first order light beam 206 is aligned along with optical axis 219 of cavity 218 incident on the cavity in-coupling mirror 220, and a zero order beam 224 is idled with a different optical path (higher order beams are very weak and thus not addressed). Thus, AOM 204 controls the direction of beams 206 and 224.
When AOM 204 is on, most light power (typically, up to 80%, depending on size of the beam, crystals used in AOM 204, alignment, etc.) goes to the first order along optical axis 219 as light 206. The remaining beam power goes to the zero order (light 224), or higher orders. The first order beam 206 is used for the input coupling light source; the zero order beam 224 can be used for diagnostic components. Once sufficient light energy is built up within the cavity. AOM 204 is turned off. This results in all the beam power going to the zero order as light 224, and no light 206 is coupled into resonant cavity 218. The light energy inside the cavity then follows an exponential decay (i.e., "rings down").
In order to "turn off" the laser light to optical cavity 218, and thus allow for energy within optical cavity 218 to ring down, AOM 204, under the control of controller 214, redirects (deflects) light from laser 204 along path 224 and thus away from optical path 206 into optical resonator 218.
Some art workers have endeavored to provide an alternative to using an AOM to turn off the transmission of photons into the optical cavity. For example, the system described in WIPO applications 03/098173 (US 2003/0210398) is reported to function as follows:                i) a controller deactivates (shuts off) the laser light source when the light emitted from the cavity reaches a predetermined threshold. The laser is turned off by shunting the laser current away from the laser;        ii) the laser remains shut off for a fixed period significantly exceeding the ring-down time and the cavity rings-down during the initial portion of the fixed shut-off period and the concentration of the target analyte is thereby measured;        iii) the light source is turned back on at the end of this first shut-off period to thereby initiate a second fixed period during which the restarted laser "stabilizes". By setting the laser temperature to an appropriate value, by the end of this period the laser emission frequency should be stabilized at a value which is approximately correct for a given target analyte. The current to the laser is then modulated to more finely vary the laser emission frequency until it coincides with a cavity resonance mode at some point during the modulation resulting in energy build-up within the fixed length cavity. While this system may sometimes have advantages over a system using an AOM to turn off the light into the optical cavity, it is not capable of achieving the degree of precision achievable with an optimized CRDS instrument in accordance with the present invention.
Since the laser emission wavelength depends both on temperature and pump current, adjusting the laser temperature to a preset value so as to provide a nominal (in reality only approximately correct) wavelength, and subsequently modulating the current, can cause the actual laser wavelength to differ significantly from the desired value. It is not possible to do high-resolution spectroscopy with such a configuration. Equally significant, in this method no mechanism to compensate for the effects of laser aging. It is well known in the laser art that over time the temperature and current required to achieve a particular emission wavelength will change. The above design does not provide a feedback mechanism to detect or compensate for the effects of aging so that over time the instrument will tend to drift away from the analyte absorption feature which it is trying to detect.

Wavelength control for cavity ringdown spectrometer


A system for controlling the rate of flow of data generated by a variable rate data source and fed to a buffer which outputs the data at a constant bit rate. The operating mode, which sets the bit rate of the variable rate data source, is determined not only by the degree to which the buffer is filled, but also by the immediately preceding operating mode. The feedback of the operating mode results in an hysteresis effect on the mode, thus reducing the number of changes of the rate of data generation and thereby increasing the transmission quality of the data generated and output from the system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for controlling the rate of flow of data from a variable data source, that, in conjunction with a buffer, outputs data at a constant rate. The invention also includes the circuitry for implementing such a system.
2. Description of the Related Art
The invention can be included in the field of control systems which take data from a variable rate source and transmit that data at a constant bit rate (where bit rate is a measurement of the quantity of information transmitted during a unit of time). To obtain a constant bit rate at the output when, at the input there is a data source generating data at a variable rate, it is necessary to use a delay memory (i.e. a buffer).
As is well-known, the buffer can be considered to be a recurrent memory, in which the data are read (outputted) serially at a constant frequency fr, but written (inputted) serially at a variable frequency fw (t). To avoid information losses, it is absolutely necessary to ensure that the pointers Pr for reading (increasing uniformly versus time) and the pointers for writing Pw (increasing in a variable manner versus time) do not overtake each other while the system is running, but instead maintain a suitable distance apart from one another. The difference between the writing pointer and the reading pointer represents the filling degree of the buffer (i.e. the buffer status).
A typical prior art control system has the structure shown in FIG. 1. The data Din (15) coming from the variable source S (1) are written in the BUFFER (3) in the locations of memory Pw generated by the written counter Conts (4), at a rate determined by clock Cks (16) (which has a variable frequency); similarly, the output data Dout (17) are read from the BUFFER (3) in the locations of memory Pr generated by the reading counter Contl (4'), working with the clock Ckl (18) (which has a constant frequency). The degree of buffer filling is determined by the difference between the pointers Pw and Pr calculated from the Diff (5). The rate of flow of data generated by the variable data source S is controlled by applying to the source an operating mode signal, output of register RE (7); the lower the operating mode, the greater the information quantity generated by the source (i.e., the higher the data rate) and the better the quality of the transmitted data, and vice versa. The operating mode is applied to the source with a control frequency established by the clock Ckc (19). The period of clock Ckc depends on the nature of the application: in video compression applications, typically, the period of clock Ckc corresponds to a so-called stripe period (8 video lines) or to a so-called macroblock period (1/N of stripe period), in dependence of the type of compression algorithm adopted. The mode signal is then obtained, at the successive time instants (t.sub.o, t.sub.1, t.sub.2, . . . t.sub.k, t.sub.k+1, t.sub.k+2, . . .) defined by the clock Ckc, as a function of the buffer status (buffer filling degree) at those time instants. In other words, the operating mode signal used to control the variable data source S during time instants between t.sub.k (comprised) and t.sub.k+1 (excluded) has a value that is a function of the buffer filling degree measured at time t.sub.k. Generally, alarm signals ALL (20) (overlapping or overtaking of the pointers), overflow control signals OV (21) (filling about to exceed the buffer dimensions) and underflow control signals UND (22) (filling approaching zero) are also generated to manage anomalous running situations.
Various buffer control strategies are well-known. Some strategies tend to keep the buffer filling constant whenever possible (typically equal to half the buffer dimensions); other strategies tend to obtain a mean bit rate at output, applying modes proportional to the buffer filling degree, using constant memory sectors for each running mode (an example is shown in FIG. 2), establishing in all cases a fixed relation between the buffer status (or filling degree) (abscissa) and the operating mode (ordinate).
The main drawbacks of the well-known techniques are mainly the limited capacity of mediation (cooperation) between source and output due to the assignment of limited buffer areas to each running mode. This causes the transmitted data quality to be excessively variable versus time, since it is closely connected to the activity of the source, thereby leading to a deterioration of the system performance.
It is true that it is possible to reduce these disadvantages by increasing the buffer dimensions, but it is also true that, among other things, the system costs and the round trip delay (the delay between data generation and its use) are increased.

System for controlling a variable source by the feedback of the running mode, and relevant circuit


The fundamental wave light emitted from a semiconductor laser is converted in wavelength by a wavelength conversion element and emitted therefrom. A lighting circuit lights the semiconductor laser, and a temperature control unit 21b controls the amount of electric power supply to a heater so that the temperature of the wavelength conversion element turns into temperature at which the wavelength conversion efficiency thereof becomes optimal. When a state where the amount of electric power supply of the heater is lower limit or below continues for a predetermined period or longer, the hang-up suppressing unit 21c, or when duration time in a state where the temperature of the wavelength conversion element is higher than the control target temperature becomes higher than a constant value, laser lighting current is decreased by a preset amount, thereby recovery from a high temperature hang-up state performed.

Apparatuses using laser light as a light source of a projection type projector, which is used for a movie or home theater, have been developed. In such a laser light source which serves as a light source, there are case where light emitted directly from a semiconductor laser element is used, and case where the wavelength of light emitted from the semiconductor laser element is converted to wavelength different therefrom by a nonlinear optical crystal in order to use the light. In recent years, laser light sources have been developed as blue or green laser light sources in which periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN: Periodically Poled Lithium Niobate), or periodically poled lithium tantalate (PPLT: Periodically Poled Lithium Tantalate), etc. is used for such a nonlinear optical crystal.
For example, what is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-54446 is known as such technology. The Japanese Patent Application Publication discloses that a laser light source apparatus comprises a light source, which is made up of a semiconductor laser; a wavelength conversion element (which is a nonlinear optical crystal, for example, PPLN) which receives and converts laser light emitted from the light source, into second harmonics; and an external resonator which chooses light of predetermined wavelength emitted from the wavelength conversion element, and which reflects it toward the light source (for example, volume bragg grating: VBG: Volume Bragg Grating). Moreover, it discloses that a temperature adjusting unit is provided between the wavelength conversion element and a subbase to which the wavelength conversion element is attached. Furthermore, it discloses that since a pitch of a polarization reversal cycle of the wavelength conversion element can be adjusted by adjusting the temperature of the wavelength conversion element using the temperature adjusting unit, it becomes possible to improve the light conversion efficiency.
FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a laser light source apparatus. A wavelength conversion element 5 (for example, PPLN) mounted on a laser light source unit LH has a function to perform wavelength conversion for converting the wavelength of light emitted from the laser light source element 2 (which is, for example, a semiconductor laser, and which will be referred to as a semiconductor laser) into wavelength shorter than that of the incidence light, wherein, for example, infrared rays can be converted into green light. A lightning circuit 20 comprises an electric power supply circuit U1 and a pulse circuits U2 which supplies pulse-like electric power, wherein voltage/current for lighting the semiconductor laser 2 is outputted. In this wavelength conversion element 5, quasi phase matching is carried out so as to raise the optical conversion efficiency, by raising it to predetermined temperature, so that very accurate temperature control is needed. Therefore, a heating unit 7 (hereafter explained as a heater 7) for heating the wavelength conversion element 5 is provided, and a temperature detection unit Th1 which detects the temperature of the heater 7, for example, a thermistor, is arranged.
Moreover, a control unit 21 comprises a control means 21a, a temperature control unit 21b, and a drive circuit U3 which drives the heater 7. The electric power supply circuit U1 performs control so that voltage impressed to the semiconductor laser 2 and current to be passed therethrough may be a preset value or a value set up from the outside, by the control means 21a of the control unit 21. Moreover, start or stop of the electric power supply etc. is controlled thereby. The control means 21a of the control unit 21 and the temperature control unit 21b are configured by an arithmetic processing unit (a CPU or a microprocessor). Moreover, the pulse circuit U2 is controlled by the control means 21a. The control means 21a turns on and off a switching element of the pulse circuit U2, and generates a pulse output which drives the semiconductor laser 2. The temperature control unit 21b controls the amount of electric power supplied to the heater 7 based on a difference between the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit Th1 and the preset temperature, which is target temperature, thereby performing feedback control so that the temperature of the wavelength conversion element may conform the setting temperature.
A control system, which is generally known as "ON/OFF-PID control" can be used" as the above-described feedback control system. The PID control is a method for performing control so that a proportionality element, an integration element, and a differentiation element are combined with one another, so as to become a target temperature. In addition, for example, a value of approximately several kilohertz is adopted as the frequency of a PWM output used in the present embodiments.
FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing an example of control and processing in the temperature control unit 21b of the control unit 21. The flow chart shown in FIG. 15 can be realized by software process in a microcomputer mounted in the above-described control unit 21. The temperature control unit 21b of the control unit 21 performs, for example, processing shown in the flow chart, so that the temperature of the wavelength conversion element 5 may be controlled so as to turn into the preset temperature. In order that the temperature control unit 21b of the control unit 21 controls the temperature of the wavelength conversion element 5 so as to turn into target temperature, the temperature detection unit Th1 detects the temperature of the wavelength conversion element 5, and an output manipulating value to the heater 7 is periodically put in execution and is controlled by comparing the detected temperature with the preset temperature which will serve as the target temperature. With respect thereto, a typical technique, which is PI control, where proportionality element and integration element are combined with each other, will be explained below as an example.
In FIG. 15, heater control starts at Step (B01). First, in Step (B02), a value of the temperature of the wavelength conversion element 5 (PPLN actually measured temperature value), is actually measured by the temperature detection unit Th1, whereby the actually measured temperature (Tm_PPLN) is obtained. Next, in Step (B03), target temperature of the wavelength conversion element 5, i.e. a temperature setting value (PPLN temperature setting value) of the wavelength conversion element 5 is read out, so that an optimal temperature setting value (Ts_PPLN) is obtained. And in Step (B04), the temperature setting value (Ts_PPLN) and the actually measured temperature value (Tm_PPLN) measured by the temperature detection unit Th1 are compared with each other, thereby a difference (en) therebetween is obtained. In Step (B05), a PI operation is performed using this difference (en). In this PI operation, the amount of electric power supplied to the heater 7, i.e., a manipulating value to the heater 7, is calculated from expression (1) shown below.MVn=MVn-1+Kp×en+Ki×en-1  (1)
Here, MVn, MVn-1, en, and en-1 respectively represent this time manipulating value, last cycle manipulating value, a temperature difference value which is calculated this time, and a temperature difference value which is calculated in last cycle, and Kp and Ki are constants.
Although the manipulating value (MVn) computed by the PI operation will be updated as an ON width of a PWM signal sent out from the control unit 21, when the manipulating value (MVn) exceeds the maximum (MVn upper limit) in Step (B06), the maximum value is treated as the manipulating value (MVn), and when it is less than the minimum (MVn lower limit) in Step (B07), the minimum value is treated as the manipulating value (MVn), whereby upper and lower limit restrictions are performed (Step (B08), and Step (B09)). And in the Steps (B06-B9), the manipulating value, which is finally determined, is updated as an ON width (Duty (n)) of the PWM signal to be sent out from the control unit 21, and the heater control of that cycle ends (Steps (B10, B11)). A series of the operations from Step (B01) to Step (B11) is repeated in a predetermined cycle. The control is stably performed so that the wavelength conversion element 5 becomes optimal in temperature, by performing this flow chart periodically so as to perform feedback control. Although the PI control method which is made up of proportional control and an integration element is used in the above-explained control algorithm, other feedback control methods including, for example, control such as the PID control where a differentiation (differentiation) element is added, may be used.
In addition, as for the wavelength conversion element 5 (for example, PPLN), the conversion efficiency of laser light changes with the temperature of the wavelength conversion element, and there is the optimal temperature at which the optical conversion efficiency can be maximized. For this reason, as for the above-mentioned temperature control unit 21b, it is common that the heater 7 is controlled so that the temperature of the wavelength conversion element 5 detected by temperature detection unit Th1 may become temperature at which the above-mentioned optical conversion efficiency is maximized, in order to control that temperature.


This invention concerns compositions and methods of treating or diagnosing inflammatory disorders and other disorders, as well as compositions and methods of treating HIV.

Inflammatory disorders are disorders characterized by the abnormal activation and subsequent migration of white blood cells (WBCs) to affected areas of the body. These conditions encompass a wide range of ailments that affect the lives of millions of people throughout the world. Although some treatments are presently available, many possess significantly side effects or are not very effective in alleviating all symptoms. At the same time, few tests exist that reliably diagnose or monitor the progress of the diseases. Thus, there is a need for drugs and reagents for treatment and diagnosis of inflammatory disorders.
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in humans characterized by several clinical features including wasting syndromes, central nervous system degeneration and profound immunosuppression that results in life-threatening opportunistic infections and malignancies. Two closely related types of HIV, i.e., HIV-1 and HIV-2, have been identified. Of them, HIV-1 is the most common cause of AIDS. Current efforts to treat HIV infection and prevent HIV transmission have focused on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and topical microbicides that kill the virus at the primary entry points or on vaccines that elicit virus-neutralizing antibodies. These strategies target the virus directly. However, given the tremendous genetic and antigenic variability and the high mutation rates of HIV-1, designing vaccines and drugs that are effective against diverse virus isolates circulating worldwide today has been a formidable challenge. Thus, there is a need for novel therapeutic agents and methods for treatment or inhibition of HIV infection.

Treatment and diagnosis of inflammatory disorders and HIV

RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY


An apparatus for sealing the top of a package for a food product is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a pair of oppositely disposed first and second sealing jaws configured for reversibly engaging each other over the top of the package, at least one wedge on the first sealing jaw configured for contacting a first top portion of the package to form a first gable panel, a key on the second sealing jaw configured for contacting a second top portion of the package to form a second gable panel, at least one lug on the key configured for reducing skewing of the package prior to sealing, and a rubber dolly on either the first or the second sealing jaw, the rubber dolly and the opposing sealing jaw being configured to form and seal a fin between the rubber dolly and the opposing sealing jaw thereby sealing the top of the package. A system for forming, filling, and sealing a package containing a food product comprising the apparatus is also disclosed.

Packaging containers for food products are well known. These containers often have four vertical side walls (generally rectangular panels) that are closed by a gable-shaped top. A typical gable top has two equal sized gable panels that are joined by a sealed top fin. One gable panel may include a closure such as a spout with a threaded cap mounted to the gable panel to facilitate access to the contents within the container. The bottom of the container is first formed from a blank packaging material prior to filling of the container with a food product. The gable top panels are then formed and the fin is sealed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,430,899 B1 discloses a top sealing and creasing apparatus for a gable top carton. The apparatus has a pair of opposing anvils for engaging and compressing the top fin of the carton together in order to seal the carton. Each anvil also has one or more wedges for shaping and forming distinct creases on the top gable panels.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,509,791 B2 discloses a top sealer for a gable top package having a sealed top fin. The sealer includes an arm support and a pair of opposing arms pivotally mounted to the arm support. The arms each have a sealing jaw at about an end thereof. The arms are pivotal to move the sealing jaws toward and away from one another through an arc. The arm support is linearly movable toward and away from the package, as the arms pivot, to move the sealing jaws downward, toward the package, to alter the arc of the pivoting sealing jaws.
However, existing sealing mechanisms of gable top packages do not provide effective sealing of the fin due to (i) irregularities in the package positioning that occur during feeding of the package to the sealing mechanism and/or (ii) variation in the packaging material specifications e.g. sleeve width and creasing tolerances. In turn this leads to increased bulging of the sealed package and premature leakage/spoilage of the food product within the package.
Thus there is a need for an improved sealing apparatus for a gable top package that is able to correct or at least tolerate variations in packaging positioning and packaging material specifications whilst effectively sealing the top of the package.

Apparatus for sealing the top of a package for a food product and system for forming and filling a food package


A fiber optic parking device includes a support wall having front and rear sides, and also includes at least one mount extending outwardly from the rear side of the support wall and defining a first plane. The fiber optic parking device further includes a platform extending outwardly from the front side of the support wall and defining a second plane, the platform including a plurality of connector slips. Each of the connector slips extends along a corresponding axis parallel to the second plane and intersecting the first plane at an acute angle.

Optical fibers are useful in a wide variety of applications, including the telecommunications industry for voice, video, and data transmissions. The benefits of optical fiber are well known and include higher signal-to-noise ratios and increased bandwidth compared to conventional copper-based transmission technologies. To meet modern demands for increased bandwidth and improved performance, telecommunication networks are increasingly providing optical fiber connectivity closer to end subscribers. These initiatives include fiber-to-the-node (FTTN), fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP), fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), and the like (generally described as FTTx).
In an FTTx network, fiber optic cables are used to carry optical signals to various distribution points and, in some cases, all the way to end subscribers. For example, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary FTTx network 10 that distributes optical signals generated at a switching point 12 (e.g., a central office of a network provider) to subscriber premises 14. Optical line terminals (OLTs; not shown) at the switching point 12 convert electrical signals to optical signals. Fiber optic feeder cables 16 then carry the optical signals to various local convergence points 18, which act as locations for splicing and making cross-connections and interconnections. The local convergence points 18 often include splitters to enable any given optical fiber in the fiber optic feeder cable 16 to serve multiple subscriber premises 14. As a result, the optical signals are "branched out" from the optical fibers of the fiber optic feeder cables 16 to optical fibers of distribution cables 20 that exit the local convergence points 18.
At network access points closer to the subscriber premises 14, some or all of the optical fibers in the distribution cables 20 may be accessed to connect to one or more subscriber premises 14. Drop cables 22 extend from the network access points to the subscriber premises 14, which may be single-dwelling units (SDU), multi-dwelling units (MDU), businesses, and/or other facilities or buildings. A conversion of optical signals back to electrical signals may occur at the network access points or at the subscriber premises 14.
There are many different network architectures, and the various tasks required to distribute optical signals (e.g., splitting, splicing, routing, connecting subscribers) can occur at several locations. Regardless of whether a location is considered a local convergence point, network access point, subscriber premise, or something else, fiber optic equipment is used to house components that carry out one or more of the tasks. The term "terminal" will be used in this disclosure to generically refer to such equipment, which may include fiber distribution hubs (FDH), cabinets, closures, network interface devices, etc.
Some terminals may include fiber optic connectors that are reserved for future connections. Depending on the location where the terminal is used in the network, there may be anywhere from one to hundreds of such connectors. Storage or "parking" features are typically included in the terminal to store connectors that are reserved for future use. Accommodating such features can be challenging when designing a terminal, particularly when a fairly large quantity, such as dozens or hundreds, of unused connectors are involved. The space within a terminal is typically limited because there is also a need to properly route and store cables, to accommodate components for splicing, splitting, or the like, and to allow technicians to effectively install or operate the components. Making terminals larger may not necessarily help with organization and may increase the likelihood of customers considering the equipment to be obtrusive.

Coming Research & Development Corporation


A desoldering sheath that comprises at least one hollow metal wire molded to conform to the tip of a desoldering tool. In one implementation, the desoldering sheath is formed using a hollow metal wire that is coiled around a male cone-shaped mold. The coiled, hollow metal wire is then compressed between the male cone-shaped mold and a female cone-shaped mold to cause the hollow wire to retain the coiled shape. In use, the desoldering sheath is placed on the tip of a desoldering gun or iron and then heated. The heated desoldering sheath, while still on the tip of the desoldering gun or iron, is then placed into contact with solder. This causes the solder to melt and the desoldering sheath captures the molten solder by using capillary action to draw the molten solder into the hollow metal wire.

Desoldering is a process for removing solder from a printed circuit board (PCB). Known methods for desoldering require two pieces of equipment, a desoldering gun (or a desoldering iron) and a device to remove the solder affixed to the PCB. The desoldering gun serves as a heat source for the desoldering operation. The desoldering gun includes a metal tip that is used to transfer heat to both the solder and the device used to remove the solder. The tip of the desoldering gun generally has either a tapered shape (i.e., conical or pointed) or a square shape.
Conventional devices to remove solder include vacuum pumps and solder wicks. A vacuum pump, also known as a solder sucker, is a suction device resembling a large syringe. The vacuum pump includes a spring loaded plunger to create suction. The plunger starts in a pushed down position, and a button is used to release the plunger whenever suction is required. As the plunger rises, a vacuum is created at a nozzle of the pump to draw molten solder into the vacuum pump, thereby removing the solder from the PCB. A user holds the desoldering gun in one hand and places its tip against the solder to melt it, and the user holds the vacuum pump in their other hand to collect the melted solder.
A solder wick is a braid of metal, generally copper, used to collect molten solder almost like a sponge. The solder wick has no moving parts and is generally positioned between the desoldering gun and the solder when used. The heat from the desoldering gun is then transferred to the solder through the solder wick. For example, a user holds the desoldering gun in one hand and the solder wick in the other hand. The user places the solder wick against the solder and heats the solder wick using the tip of the desoldering gun. The heat is transferred to the solder through the solder wick, and as the solder melts, it is collected by the solder wick.
The use of these conventional methods for removing solder has its drawbacks. One important drawback is that both the vacuum pump method and the solder wick method are two-handed operations. The user must hold the desoldering gun in one hand while working the vacuum pump or the solder wick with the other hand. This presents problems for some users who have a difficult time holding the vacuum pump or solder wick in intimate contact with the solder as the solder is being heated by the desoldering gun. In this situation, if the user moves the desoldering gun away from the solder too soon, the solder may quickly re-solidify and the tip of the vacuum pump or the solder wick may become affixed to the solder. Another drawback of the vacuum pump is that the solder will harden within the vacuum pump after it has been removed from the PCB. It then becomes a tedious task to remove the hardened solder from the vacuum pump. Accordingly, an improved device for removing solder from a PCB is needed.


With employment of two images acquired by imaging an imaging object at two different positions and also parameters of a camera under imaging operation at these positions, both the imaging positions with respect to an origin, and also positions of the imaging object with respect to both the imaging positions are obtained as three-dimensional vectors. With employment of the calculated three-dimensional vector of the imaging position with respect to the origin and also the three-dimensional vector of the imaging object position with respect to the imaging position, the imaging object position with respect to the origin is mapped as the three-dimensional vector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus for mapping a position of an imaging object and also for identifying an object within a three-dimensional space from a camera image produced by imaging the imaging object by a television camera which moves while being connected to a computer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as the method for mapping positions of objects within camera images, the below-mentioned first, second, and third methods are known. The first and second methods are described in, for instance, the Japanese publication "PLANT OPERATION MONITORING MAN/MACHINE INTERFACE WITH USING DIRECT OPERATION TO IMAGE" (written by M. TANI et al, Institute of Electrical Society D, volume 111, No. 12, 1991, pages 1023 to 1030). The third method is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No.5-334438 opened in 1993 filed by the Applicant.
(1) The first method is such a mapping method that while the camera image display range is defined as the two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate space, the object position is given as the two-dimensional orthogonal coordinates. In this method, while the range represented in the camera image is defined as the two-dimensional orthogonal coordinates space, the object position is given as the coordinates within this two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate space. In other words, the projection of the three-dimensional coordinates of the object is defined by the two-dimensional coordinates within the camera image of the fixed camera. PA0 (2) The second method is such a mapping method that while the camera image is set as the projection image of the three-dimensional space to the two-dimensional space, the object position and the camera position are given as the two-dimensional orthogonal coordinates. In this mapping method, the position of the camera and the actual position of the object are given by the coordinates within the three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate space. As a consequence, even when the camera parameter is changed, the projection calculation about the three-dimensional coordinates of the object position to the two-dimensional coordinates is executed, so that the coordinates of the object position on the projection plane can be obtained. PA0 (3) The third mapping method is such a mapping method that the camera image is set as the projection image of the three-dimensional coordinate space to the two-dimensional space while setting the camera position as the origin, and the object position is given as the three-dimensional coordinates while setting the camera position as the original. In this mapping method, the object position is mapped into the three-dimensional space by way of the polar coordinates while setting the camera position as the original with employment of the coordinate of the summit of the camera image display range as the two-dimensional coordinate space, the object coordinate within the display range, and the camera parameter. Also, as the object identifying method, the cursor figure for instructing the object image within the camera image display range is set, and the position of this cursor figure is mapped by way of the above-described mapping method. Similarly, the point position instructed with the camera image display range is mapped by way of the above-described mapping method, and the position of the cursor figure is compared with the point position in the polar coordinates, so that the object related to the instructed point is identified. PA0 (1) In accordance with the first mapping method, when the camera parameters such as the position, the elevation angle, the horizontal angle, and the field angle of the camera are changed, the coordinates of the object positions within the image display range are also changed. Then, when the object position is mapped, the respective camera images having the different camera parameters must be mapped. PA0 (2) In accordance with the second mapping method, when the coordinates of the object position are set, the three-dimensional coordinate data must be entered. Also, the complex three-dimensional projection calculation must be carried out every time the camera parameter is changed. PA0 (3) The third mapping method may be readily applied to such an imaging system that the camera parameters other than the camera position are changed. Moreover, the amount of the projection calculation is small and the data setting/inputting operation can be simply executed. However, this third mapping method could not be applied to such an imaging system with employment of the moving camera, namely the camera position is changed.
However, the above-described conventional mapping methods suffers from the following problems:

Image processing apparatus for moving camera