A method of stimulating endogenous production of cytokines and hemopoietic factors by introducing to a mammalian body in need of stimulation of cytokines or hemopoietic factors or both, an effective amount of oxidized glutathione and/or its therapeutically beneficial salts, and/or its therapeutically beneficial derivatives, for a period of time to stimulate said endogenous production to obtain a therapeutic effect. Oxidized glutathione with or without extenders are used in drug forms.

The present invention relates to medicine and more particularly to pharmacology and therapy, and is intended to be used for preventing and treating various diseases by way of increasing endogenous production of cytokines and hemopoietic factors.
It has been known that a number of endogenously produced mammalian humoral factors, i.e. cytokines and hernopoietic factors possess important biological activities that are considerably helpful in treating various human diseases1,2. Many of these factors are being tested in man, those with proven efficiency being commercially available as medicinal agents.
The following cytokines and hemopoietic factors are being most extensively researched in oncology: interleukin 2 (IL-2)3,4, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-xcex1)5, erythropoietin, macrophage-granulocyte and granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (GM-CSF and G-CSF, respectively6,7). No less actively is being studied the use of cytokines and hemopoietic factors for the treatment of infectious disease: interferons (IFN-xcex3 and IFN-xcex2)8,9,10, colony-stimulating factors11,12, and the like13. Colony-stimulating factors and erythropoietin are broadly used in hematology14,15.
However, the medicinal use of these exogenously administered agents has its limitations associated with the lack of acceptable drug formulations or their exorbitant cost, a short half-life of these substances in biological media, difficulties in dose finding as well as numerous toxic and allergic effects16,17, since even the recombinant products are more or less immunogenic to the human organism because of the processing fluctuations in the course of the artificial synthesis.
In this regard, in view of achieving a more invariable and significant therapeutic effect free of adverse reactions, it is preferable to induce the endogenous production of the autologous cytokines and hemopoietic factors immediately within the organism of a subject. The remedial effect due to such intrinsic stimulation is free of all the disadvantages associated with exogenously introduced cytokines and hemopoietic factors.
A number of compounds are currently being evaluated that stimulate endogenous production of cytokines and hemopoietic factors in both experimental and clinical settings. There are universally known cases, including successful ones, of using microbial products for cancer therapy which in recent decades has been shown to be mediated via stimulation of the tumor necrosis factor endogenous production18. The products capable of evoking concomitant production of various cytokines and hemopoietic factors have presently come to be known as multi-cytokine inducers. Among these are a killed streptococcal preparation, Nocardia Opaca, and other bacterial products19,20,21. However, virtually all the substances possessing such capability are either killed microorganisms or microbial products or compounds having irregular composition, which results in their limited medicinal utility or even renders their therapeutic use impracticable. Thus, the problem of finding a medically and pharmaceutically acceptable inducer of the cytokine and hemopoietic factor endogenous production has not heretofore been resolved.
Oxidized glutathione (also known as glutathione disulfide and GSSG) will often be referred to as GSSG in this application.
GSSG is known as a dimmer of tripeptide glutathione (xcex3-glutamyl-cysteinyl-glycine) where two molecules of the tripeptide with the above structure are linked via a covalent disulfide bond between the cystamine residues. Therefore, both the tripeptide glutathione (glutathione, reduced glutathione, GSH; hereinafter referred to as GSH) and its dirmuer GSSG are natural metabolites present in animal tissues and biological fluids. At the same time, the natural blood level of GSSG is not sufficient for inducing the cytokine endogenous production in both normal and pathological conditions.
GSH is known to be one of the most important intermediates in the amino acid metabolism and a factor maintaining the intracellular homeostasis22,23. The reducing properties of GSH and its function as a donor of reduction equivalents, which is due to the sulfhydryl moiety of the cystamine residue, are of key importance. This characteristic of GSH is responsible for the substance playing a crucial part in one of the most important intracellular antioxidant systems, consisting of GSH as such and two enzymes of its reversible conversion into GSSG: glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase24,25. The permanent functioning of said system is essential for inactivating or reducing endogenously generated oxidants as well as active metabolites of foreign substances26,27.
GSH is also known to participate in detoxification reactions involving a group of enzymes collectively known as glutathione S-transferase28. These enzymes are capable of conjugating the GSH molecule with various xenobiotics by forming a bond between the latter and glutathione via the thiol moiety of the cystamine residue of the tripeptide. The subsequent degradation of the conjugate is catalyzed by the xcex3-glutamyl cycle enzymes, and may vary considerably depending upon the nature of the xenobiotic.
Under natural conditions, GSSG does not accumulate in amounts sufficient for inducing cytokine and hemopoietic factor production, due to a constant reduction of GSSG to GSH. The GSSG reduction to GSH also actively progresses in the intestines and liver upon GSSG oral administration, and as any product made of amino acids, the substance is proteolytically degradable in the gastrointestinal tract.
GSSG is known to be used as a components of a nutritional supplement utilized as an adjunct diet in treating patients29. However, being a peptide substance, most of the orally administered GSSG is digested in the gastrointestinal tract with the remainder being reduced in the intestinal and hepatic cells to GSH and not entering the circulation. Therefore, the delivery of GSSG into the organism through the gastrointestinal tract may eliminate the possibility of the realization of its activity as a stimulator of endogenous production of cytokines and hemopoietic factors.
An elevation of the GSH endogenous levels for medicinal utility is known to be suggested for boosting immunity30 and treating toxemias, poisonings, diabetes, mellitus, cardiovascular, infectious and other disorders31,32,33. Possible functions of GSH and GSSG appear in the literature.
Exogenous GSH or its direct (xcex3-glutamyl-cystamine, n-acetyl-cystamine, and n-acetyl-cystamine-glycine) or indirect (2-oxothiazolidine-4-carboxylate) biochemical precursors, or their salts and esters, are reportedly used as medicinal agents and dietary supplements in treating various diseases34,35,36,37,38.
GSH is also claimed to be useful as a chemoprotective agent that prevents neurotoxicity in cancer chemotherapy39 as well as in combination with antineoplastics in order to augment their effect40.
No reference, however, is currently available to GSSG as a medicine in its own right (sole substance) used to induce the endogenous production of cytokines and hemopoietic factors. The substance is known neither to have medicinal effects in human and animal diseases nor to be applied as a pharmaceutical agent for treating illnesses.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an active substance, and advantageous combinations of said substance and/or its derivatives with extenders and/or enhancers or modulators of its activity which are capable of inducing endogenous cytokine and hemopoietic factor production to an individual or a subject in need thereof.
xe2x80x9cSubject in need thereofxe2x80x9d as used in this application is intended to mean a mammal, e.g., man, domestic animals and livestock including cats, dogs, cattle and horses, having one or more manifestations of a disease in which stimulation of endogenous cytokine or hemopoietic factor (or both) production would be considered beneficial by those skilled in the art. xe2x80x9cTherapeutic agentxe2x80x9d as used in this application is meant to include any drug form of GSSG-containing material or GSSG alone, which has a therapeutic effect on neoplastic, infectious, hematologic, immunologic or other diseases. Therapeutic effect, as will be further defined, indicates any effect in man and other mammals which is beneficial, including curative, preventative, allowing maintenance at a beneficial level, or is in any way advantageous in connection with the body of man and other mammals.
In accordance with the present invention, it is GSSG that upon parenteral administration induces the endogenous cytokine and/or hematopoietic factor production in an individual or subject in need thereof, in both health and disease.
Having performed studies in search for a medically and pharmaceutically acceptable inducer of the cytokine and hemopoietic factor endogenous production, the applicants discovered a new property of a previously known substance, oxidized glutathione (oxidized glutathione, glutathione disulfide, GSSG; hereinafter often referred to as GSSG).
Being administered parenterally or acting on isolated cells, the substance is capable of inducing production of several cytokines and hemopoietic factors in mammals (animals and humans) in both health and disease.
The inducer or stimulator of the endogenous cytokine and hemopoietic factor production is oxidized glutathione (GSSG) which is a dimmer of reduced glutathione having the structure xcex3-glutamyl-cysteinyl-glycine, where the two molecules of the tripeptide are linked via a covalent disulfide bond between the cystamine residues.
According to the invention, a method is provided for stimulating endogenous production of cytokine and hemopoietic factors by introducing to a mammalian body in need of stimulation of cytokine or hemopoietic factor or both, an effective amount of oxidized glutathione for a sufficient period of time to stimulate said endogenous production to obtain a therapeutic effect.
Preferably, the glutathione is introduced parenterally or topically. In a preferred form, the method is carried out by introducing the oxidized glutathione (GSSG) or its derivatives with an extender of half life and/or enhancers or modulators to enhance the desired effect of stimulating endogenous production of cytokines and hemopoietic factors and producing a therapeutic effect in a body.
Preferably, the GSSG derivative is selected from the group of compounds representing a molecule of GSSG chemically modified by binding covalently as for example: with cysteamine-(2-mercaptoethylamine), lipoic acid (6,8-thioctic acid), camosine (b-alanyl-hystidine), adenosine (9-xcex2-D-ribofuranosyladenine), methionine (2-amino-4-[methylthio]butanoic acid); and both the D and L forms of the amino acids set forth in this paragraph can be used.
Particularly desirable derivatives are GSSG covalently bound either to cysteamine (S-thioethylamine-glutathione disulfide), or to lipoic acid (bis-[6,8-thiooktanil]xe2x80xa2glutathione disulfide), or to camosine ([b-alanyl-hystidil]xe2x80xa2glutathione disulfide), or to adenosine ([9xcex2-D-ribofuranosyladenil]xe2x80xa2glutathione disulfide), or to methionine (bis-[2-amino-4-[methylthio]butanoil]xe2x80xa2glutathione disulfide), or mixtures thereof and including the D and/or L forms of amino acids herein.
Preferably, the extender is selected from the group consisting of pharmaceutically acceptable pro-oxidant compounds, (hydrogen peroxide, ascorbic acid) compounds capable of forming both weak ionic and coordinating links which stabilize molecule of GSSG (dimethyl sulfoxide), or materials which are competitors of NADP-H-dependent reduction of GSSG into GSH catalyzed by glutathione reductase, compounds capable of producing reversible inhibition of reduction of NADP+ into NADP-H catalyzed by glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase or by other NADP-H-dependent enzymes, or mixtures thereof.
Particularly desirable extenders are hydrogen peroxide, inosine, ascorbic acid, dimethyl sulfoxide, or cystamine or mixtures thereof.
Preferably, the enhancer/modulator is selected from the group consisting of methyl moiety donators (such as choline-chloride{[2-hydroxyethyl]trimethylammonium chloride} or S-adenosyl-methionine), representatives of intracellular redox-oxidative pairs (such as lipoic/dehydrolipoic, folic/dehydrofolic, ascorbic/dehydroascorbic acids). An enhancer or modulator or enhancer/modulator as used herein is meant to be a material which increases or changes beneficially in terms of curative outcomes the therapeutic effect of GSSG or its derivatives, but is not an extender of half life of the GSSG.
Particularly desirable enhancers or modulators are choline-chloride, S-adenosylmethionine, lipoic (6,8-thioctic) and folic (pteroylglutamic) acids.
In the preferred form, GSSG is introduced to the body at a dose of from 0.01 to 0.5 mg of GSSG base per kg of body weight for GSSG base and its salts, and from 0.01 to 1.0 mg for GSSG derivatives, at least one time during each 24 hour period, although it can be continuously injected or otherwise introduced to the body to have a 24 hour total dosage of from 0.01 to 0.5 mg per kg of body weight for GSSG base and its salts, and from 0.01 to 1.0 mg for GSSG derivatives each 24 hour period. Preferably, administration and introduction to the body is carried out until a desired stimulating effect increasing production of cytokines and hemopoietic factors and providing a therapeutic effect is obtained.
According to the invention, a therapeutic agent for treating neoplastic, infectious, hematologic, immunologic and other diseases is provided, comprising an effective amount of oxidized glutathione, along with a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient. Preferably, the oxidized glutathione for parenteral use is in a pharmaceutically acceptable solvent as, for example, an aqueous solution including water, glucose solution, isotonic solutions of sodium chloride, buffered salt solutions. Preferably, a pharmaceutically acceptable extender capable of enhancing and prolonging therapeutic effect as by increasing the half life of oxidized glutathione; or a pharmaceutically acceptable enhancer or modulator of GSSG activity by mechanisms other than increasing the GSSG half life, is used along with the GSSG.
The applicants have for the first time shown that an immediate action of exogenous GSSG or its salts on mammalian (human and laboratory animal) cells capable of producing cytokines and hemopoietic factors, exerts stimulation on the synthesis of these molecules and their increased level in the blood serum (in vivo conditions) or culture media (ex vivo or in vitro conditions). The method suggested can bring about the effect of stimulating production of cytokines and hemopoietic factors, and this effect is elicited by the administration of GSSG into the organism or entering into the cultural media, as well as by the administration of GSSG in combination with pharmacologically active formulations mediating either the prolongation of glutathione""s retaining the oxidized form or enhancing or beneficially modulating its activity. The studies performed by the applicants have revealed GSSG and its formulations to possess a therapeutic effect in various experimental and clinical pathological conditions.
The revealed GSSG-induced stimulation of the endogenous cytokine and hemopoietic factor production in the body results in antitumor, anti-infective, hemopoietic, immunomodulatory and other pharmacological effects resulting, in turn, to a greater or lesser extent therapeutic or preventive effect in various diseases.

Cytokine and hemopoietic factor endogenous production enhancer and methods of use thereof


A gas cross-sensitivity analysis method is provided. The method includes, an injection frequency signal is generated from a first gas. A second gas sensing signal is captured from a second gas. Then, the second gas sensing signal is converted to a second gas sensing frequency signal by using Fast Fourier Transform. Further, a sensing peak frequency signal is determined from peak frequency of the second gas sensing frequency signal. The injection frequency signal and the sensing peak frequency signal are analyzed. A gas cross-sensitivity effect can be direct interpretation by a singular indication between the injection frequency signal and the sensing peak frequency signal.

Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a sensing signal analysis method and a system thereof. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a gas cross-sensitivity effect analysis method and a system thereof.
Description of Related Art
Acid rains, depletion of ozone and photochemical smog, produced by NOX, SOX, and other volatile organic compounds, have constituted enormous threat to human health and ecological environment. The emission of SOX and other volatile organic compounds have been substantially reduced by the improved oil refinery techniques. Therefore, the removal of NOX from waste gases has already become one of the most important tasks of environmental pollution treatment in the 21st century.
Using urea solution as a reductant, selective catalyst reduction (SCR) is one of the most effective aftertreatment systems for reducing engine exhaust NOx emission. The NGK/Continental Smart NOx Sensor (SNS) is widely used for exhaust aftertreatment systems such as SCR. The output signal of the SNS, however, is characterized with different levels of oscillation as the urea injection changes. Moreover, due to the cross-sensitivity of the SNS to the ammonia concentration for higher-than-stoichiometric ammonia injection, the sensor signal cannot be interpreted in a straight-forward way as it is not clear whether excess NOX or NH3 is present. So that it not only causing the logic errors of the SCR aftertreatment systems and the excess ammonia injection causing wasteful, but also the contaminants produced by excess ammonia and SOX causing reduced the efficiency of the SCR aftertreatment systems.
Prior arts attempt to solve this problem of gas cross-sensitivity of the SCR aftertreatment systems. As is known, one is placed two SNS on upstream and downstream of the SCR aftertreatment systems to determine the ammonia concentration excess or not. Another is installed a chemiluminescence analyzer to calculate the ammonia concentration. As mention above, prior arts need to install another SNS or apparatus, increase not only cost but also system weight and complication.

Gas cross-sensitivity analysis method and system thereof


A method for producing a microbial polyester by culturing a microorganism being capable of producing a poly hydroxyalkanoate polyester in a culture medium containing 1-hexene as a sole carbon source.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a production method of a polyester by using a microorganism.
2. Related Background Art
Microbial polyesters represented by poly 3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) have a remarkable feature that they are biologically degradable, differing from the synthetic polymers made from petroleum.
Synthetic polymers have been used as plastics etc. for a long time. On disposal, however, this feature of hard-to-decompose makes them accumulated in waste-disposal facilities, or when they are burned, harmful substances such as dioxin and endocrine-disruptors are generated to cause environmental pollution.
On the other hand, polyesters produced by microorganisms (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cmicrobial polyestersxe2x80x9d) can be biologically degraded to be incorporated in a natural recycling system, usable as environment-maintaining plastics. They also have a potential as soft materials for medical use (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-159).
Heretofore, various bacteria have been reported to produce and accumulate PHB or copolymers of other hydroxyalkanoic acids in the cells (Handbook of Biodegradable Plastics, ed. by Biodegradable Plastics Society, published by N.T.S., p. 178-197 (1995)).
Recently, for industrial use of such poly hydroxyalkanoic acids (PHA), various attempts have been done to make the microorganisms produce modified PHA comprised of unusual monomer units for broader physicochemical properties.
One of these attempts, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-30980, discloses that Pseudomonas fluorescence FA-031 (FERM P-3433) can produce copolymers of poly hydroxyfatty acid esters made of monomer units of C4 to C16, when the cells are cultured using oleic acid, triolein (olive oil) or triglyceride as a carbon source under nitrogen starvation. The presence of carbon-carbon double bonds were confirmed in C14 and C16 units.
Further, it discloses that when linoleic acid is used as a substrate, the produced polyester is comprised of units of C4 to C16, the presence of double bond was confirmed in units of C10, C12, C14, and C16, and when xcex1-linolenic acid is used as a substrate, the produced polyester is comprised of units of C4 to C16, the presence of double bonds were confirmed in units of C8, C10, C12, C14, and C16.
A method to produce PHA containing units of 3-hydroxyoctenoic acid and 3-hydroxyhexenoic acid is disclosed in Int. J. Biol. Macromol. Vol,12 p. 85-91 (1989), where Pseudomonas oleovorans ATCC 29347 is grown using 3-hydroxy-6-octenoic acid or 3-hydroxy-7-octenoic acid as a substrate.
A method to produce PHA containing units of 3-hydroxydecenoic acid and 3-hydroxytetradecenoic acid is disclosed in Appl. Environ. Microbiol. (1992) Vol. 58(2) p. 536-544, where Pseudomonas putida KT2442 is grown using glucose, fructose and glycerol as substrates.
A method to produce PHA containing units of 3-hydroxyoctenoic acid and 3-hydroxyhexenoic acid is disclosed in Polymer, Vol 35(10) (1994) p. 2090-2097, where Pseudomonas oleovorans ATCC 29347 is grown using n-octane and 1-octene as substrates.
A method to produce PHA containing units of 3-hydroxydecenoic acid and 3-hydroxytetradecenoic acid is disclosed in Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 23 (1994) p. 61-72 where Pseudomonas resinovorans NRRL B-2649 is grown using tallow as a substrate.
Although various methods have been studied to produce PHA having carbon-carbon double bonds in their side chains using microorganisms as described above, the inventors have come to think that more variety of the culture conditions and substrates are required for practical use. At present, studies on the use of organic substrate materials derived from relatively inexpensive minerals such as petroleum are not at least sufficient.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for producing microbial polyester which comprises a step of growing a microorganism capable of producing a polyester in a medium containing 1-hexene as a sole carbon source.
Preferably, at least one monomer unit constituting the polyester is a hydroxyfatty acid having a carbon double bond, more preferably, at least one of 3-hydroxyhexenoic acid and 3-hydroxyocteinoic acid.
Preferably, the microorganism is a bacterium of genus Pseudomonas, more preferably, Pseudomonas cichorii YN2 (FERM BP-7375).
The method of the present invention further comprises a step of recovering the polyester product from the microorganism in the culture medium.
The method of the present invention enables the production of poly hydroxyalkanoate containing 3-hydroxyfatty acid having a double bond in the side chain by using 1-hexene as a sole carbon source.

Method for producing microbial polyester


The present invention pertains to a system for managing network access to resources that allows a first entity to impersonate a second entity. In one embodiment, the first entity can impersonate the second entity without knowing the second entity's password and/or without altering anything in the entity's set of personal information. This invention provides the first entity with the ability to troubleshoot in a live production system without disrupting the users or the system. In one embodiment, the first entity authenticates as itself. Access to resources is provided in response to an authorization process based on the identity of the entity being impersonated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to impersonating an entity in an access system.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the impact of the Internet continues to alter the economic landscape, companies are experiencing a fundamental shift in how they do business. Business processes involve complex interactions between companies and their customers, suppliers, partners, and employees. For example, businesses interact constantly with their customers—often other businesses—to provide information on product specification and availability. Businesses also interact with vendors and suppliers in placing orders and obtaining payments. Businesses must also make a wide array of information and services available to their employee populations, generating further interactions. To meet new challenges and leverage opportunities, while reducing their overall cost of interaction, many organizations are migrating to network-based business processes and models. One example is the Internet-based E-business model.
To effectively migrate their complex interactions to an Internet-based E-business environment, organizations must contend with a wide array of challenges and issues. For example, businesses need to securely provide access to business applications and content to users they deem authorized. To meet these challenges, E-business host companies have used web access management solutions to secure and manage all the various network based interactions. These systems will authenticate users attempting to access resources protected by the system, and selectively authorize the authenticated users to access one or more of the resources.
Use of prior and existing web access management solutions have given rise to customer service issues. For example, situations exist where entities attempting to access one or more resources protected by the web access management solution are not properly trained to use the web access management system. Therefore, they encounter trouble and are unable to effectively access the appropriate resources. Additionally, a web access management solution may have a bug or other issue that prevents a user from effectively accessing the requested resource. In those situations, as well as many other situations, users may attempt to contact a customer service representative for the entity providing the E-business interface. These customer service representatives need to troubleshoot, debug and verify end user experiences. However, current tools make it difficult for these customer service representatives to do such troubleshooting, debugging and verifying. At best, they can hypothesize about what the user is experiencing and make an educated guess as to a solution.
One attempt to provide a troubleshooting capability included editing functionality for each resource such that the resource will allow an administrator to be considered as a particular end user. The administrator will identify who that administrator is and which end user the administrator wishes to act as. The resource will then treat the administrator as that end user. Several problems have existed with the above described solution. One problem is that this solution requires every resource to be altered to include the additional functionality. One example of a resource is a software application. In some cases, there are many resources being protected and, therefore, the effort to alter each resource is too costly. Furthermore, as new resources are added into the system, those new resources will need to be altered to add the functionality. In some cases, the resources cannot be altered. For example, if a resource is purchased from a third party vendor, the source code may not be provided and, therefore, the resource cannot be altered to add the functionality. Another problem is that this solution is too burdensome on the administrator. That is, if the administrator wants to interact with multiple resources, the administrator may need to authenticate at each resource. In some cases, the administrator needs to know or alter the user's password to be able to perform the troubleshooting, which imposes security risks and privacy issues.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a new means to troubleshoot, debug and verify end user experiences on a network based system for accessing resources.


An objective lens unit for an optical pickup device which is composed of a first optical element including a first element body positioned on an optical information recording medium side and a first annular portion formed on the outer periphery of the first element body, and further composed of a second optical element including a second element body and a second annular light source side of the first element body and a second annular portion formed on the outer periphery of the second element body and coupled to the first annular portion, and at least one of the first and second annular portion has a portion in which the size of outer shape is smaller than the vicinity on at least a part of the light source side.

The present invention relates to an objective lens unit that is suitable as an optical pickup objective system, and further relates to the optical pickup device including this objective lens unit.
Until now, various kinds of optical pickup devices for reproducing and recording information on optical information recording media such as a CD (compact disc) or a DVD (digital video disc) and the like have been developed and manufactured and are being widely used. It is to be noted that "reproducing and recording" refers to reproduction and/or recording. Examples of the optical head device which is built into the optical pickup device include those in which the objective lens body and the phase control element are secured as a single unit inside a holder for stable recording and playing of both CDs and DVDs (Refer to Patent Document 1).
However, in the optical head device described above, because the structure is such that the two optical elements which are the objective lens and the phase control element are indirectly connected via the holder, alignment of both optical elements is not simple. In addition, there is a problem in that the degree of freedom for the configuration of the holder is limited by the size and distance between both optical elements because both optical elements are fixed in the holder.
Due to this problem, a method can be considered in which the two optical elements, which are the objective lens and the like, are provided with cylindrical flanges on their outer peripheries and both optical elements are directly joined together by the flange to form an optical lens unit which is a single part. In this case, the alignment accuracy of both optical elements can be ensured and assembly in holders with various shapes is simple.
However, for the above-described objective lens unit, there is a tendency for the girth of the objective lens unit to become large as a result of providing a flange of a thickness exceeding a predetermined amount on both optical elements which are the objective lens and the like, or because of securing space for adhering both optical elements to each other.
In the optical pickup device including the above-described objective lens unit, securing the objective lens unit to the front end side of the cylindrical holder may be considered in order to lighten the movable portion of the objective system including the objective lens unit. However in this case, the diameter of the holder is increased to correspond with the increased diameter of the objective lens unit and the weight of the movable portion of the objective system is increased and there is a tendency for the responsiveness of the movable portion to deteriorate. On the other hand, if the diameter of optical elements such as the objective lens and the phase control element, and thus that of the objective lens unit, is not larger than a certain amount, the information cannot be reproduced and recorded using NA conforming to the standard. In particular, in recent times, there has been a strong desire for objective lenses which meet the high NA standards and the diameter of the optical elements such as the objective lenses and phase control elements and the like must be above a certain value.
[Patent Document 1] Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-6203

Objective lens unit and optical pickup device


In example implementations, methods for selecting a network connection for paired endpoint devices and an apparatus for performing the same is provided. The method includes establishing a connection to a mobile endpoint device. A first quality score associated with a wireless connection of the mobile endpoint device is calculated based on a parameter associated with the wireless connection between the mobile endpoint device and a wireless network. A network selection is made based on a comparison of the first quality score and a second quality score. The second quality score is associated with a connection between the computer and a communication network.

Networks may allow devices to communicate and to exchange data. The quality of networks can vary based on the type of network. For example, a wired network may be faster and more consistent than a wireless network that can experience more interference. Similarly, a wireless Wi-Fi network may have a better network connection than a cellular network used by the phone.
The quality of networks can also vary based on location. For example, how wireless access points are located within an office building may affect the network quality depending on a location. Some locations may have better coverage than other locations within the building. This may be due to strength of a particular wireless access point, interference due to many walls or barriers, and the like.

Network connection selections based on quality scores

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


The present invention are dielectric black particles for use in electrophoretic images displays, electrostatic toner or the like, and the corresponding method of manufacturing the same. The present invention black particles are latex particles formed by a polymerization technique, wherein the latex particles are stained to a high degree of blackness with a metal oxide.

The electrophoretic effect is a well known and the prior art is replete with a number of patents and articles which describe the effect. As will be recognized by a person skilled in the art, the electrophoretic effect operates on the principle that certain particles, when suspended in an medium, can be electrically charged and thereby caused to migrate through the medium to an electrode of opposite charge. Electrophoretic image displays (EPID) utilize the electrophoretic effect to produce desired images. In prior art EPID colored dieletric particles are suspended in a fluid medium that is either clear or of an optically contrasting color as compared to the dielectric particles. The colored electrophoretic particles are then caused to selectively migrate to, and impinge upon, a transparent screen, thereby displacing the fluid medium against the screen and creating the desired image.
As will be recognized by a person skilled in the art, the selection of the electrophoretic particles used in the EPID is very important in determining the performance of the EPID and the quality of the viewed image produced. Ideally, electrophoretic particles should all be of a uniform size, to help in assuring that each of the electrophoretic particles will behave similarly. Additionally, it is desirable to utilize electrophoretic particles that have essentially the same density as the fluid medium in which they are suspended. By using electrophoretic particles of essentially the same density as the suspension medium, the migration of the electrophoretic particles through the medium remains independent of both the orientation of the EPID and the forces of gravity.
To affect the greatest optical contrast between electrophoretic particles and the suspension medium, it is desirable to have either white particles suspended in a black medium or black particles suspended in a backlighted clear medium. In the prior art, it has proven difficult to produce black electrophoretic particles that are dielectric, of uniform size, and which have a density matching that of a common suspension medium. As a result, EPIDs commonly use readily manufactured light colored electrophoretic particles suspended in dark mediums. Such EPIDs are exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos: 4,655,897 to DiSanto et al., 4,093,534 to Carter et al., 4,298,448 to Muller et al., and 4,285,801 to Chaing. In such prior art where light particles are suspended in a dark medium, the suspension often appears grayish until the application of an electric field. With the electric field applied, the light colored particles migrate through the grayish suspension producing a light image on a gray background, thereby resulting an image that is not highly contrasted.
To produce a more contrasted image, it is desirable to backlight suspended black particles in a clear medium. However, as has been mentioned, the development of suitable dielectric black particles remains a long felt need in the art of electrophoretic image displays. In arts other than EPIDs, black particles are commonly produced from carbon. However, carbon blacks are not readily adaptable to EPIDs because carbon blacks are conductive and the density of carbon blacks is not readily matched to a suitable suspension medium. Research efforts have been made in an attempt to solve the density and conductivity problems of carbon blacks, however, none has succeeded without trading off the blackness (i.e. energy absorbency) of the particles created. Such efforts to produce dielectric particles from carbon blacks are exemplified in the following articles: Fowkes et al. "Electrophoretic Display Medium", a research project report for the Department of Chemistry at Lehigh University Aug. 28, 1989) and Hou et al. "Polymer-Encapsulated Particles With Controlled Morphologies." PH.D Dissertation, (Lehigh University, 1991).
The present invention does not use carbon black as the source of the electrophoretic particle. Rather, composite latexes stained with a metal oxide are used to form the dielectric black particles suitable for use in a EPID. More particularly, the preferred embodiment of the present invention produces black particles from seeded emulsion polymerization techniques, used to produce core/shell latex structures with the residual double bonds, that are stained black with a metal oxide. The density, blackness, particle size and surface characteristics of the present invention black particle are controlled by the polymer composition, crosslink density, residual double bond density and reaction conditions.
The development of particles from synthesized core/shell latexes has been addressed in numerous technical articles, as exemplified by the following: Wessling et al. "A Study of Emulsion Polymerization Kinetics by the Method of Continuous Monomer Addition." Journal of Macromolecular Science., A7 (3), pp. 647-676 (1973); Keusch et al." The Growth of Polystyrene Latex Particles." Journal of Macromolecular Science., A7 (3) pp. 623-646 (1973); Grancio et al." The Morphology of the Monomer-Polymer Particle in Styrene Emulsion Polymerization." Journal of Polymer Science., vol. 8, pp 2617-2629 (1970); Grancio et al. "Molecular Weight Development in Contrast-Rate Styrene Emulsion Polymerization." Journal of Polymer Science., vol. 8, pp. 2733-2745 (1970); and Wiener, H. "Polymerization in the System Vinylidene Chloride-Potassium Laurate-Potassium Persulfate", Journal of Polymer Science vol. 7, pp. 1-20 (1951). Of more direct relation to the present invention process of producing black particles are the below referenced articles.
In Daniels et al. "Preparation of Acrylonitrile/Butadiene/Styrene Latexes Using Hydroperoxide Redox Initiators." Journal of Applied Polymer Science, vol. 41, pp. 2463-2477 (1990), an acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene composite latex is shown where the polybutadiene core is uniformly surrounded by a poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) shell. In Daniels, batch and semi-continuous seeded emulsion polymerization techniques are used with varying core and shell ratios and other reaction parameters.
In Merkel, M.P. "Morphology of Core/Shell Latexes and their Mechanical Properties" PH.D. Dissertation (Lehigh University 1986), seeded emulsion polymerization is utilized to synthesis polybutadiene-poly(methyl methacrylate) core/shell latexes. The core/shell latexes have various levels of crosslink density of the core and various thickness of the shell.
In Sundberg et al. Journal of Dispersion Science Technology vol. 5, pp. 433 (1984), synthesized polybutadiene-polystyrene core-shell latexes are studied in various conditions, such as monomer/polymer ratio, initiator level, degree of conversion and concentration of chain transfer agent, to determine grafting efficiencies of styrene onto polybutadiene latexes.
The use of staining agents on polymers was first used to form contrasts helpful in viewing polymer structures through electron microscopy. The prior art pertaining to such polymer staining is exemplified in the following articles. In Gaylarde et al. Science, vol 161, pg. 1157 (1968) ruthenium tetroxide was used as a staining agent for polymeric materials in electron microscopy. In Vitali et al. Polymer, vol 21, pg. 1220 (1980) ruthenium tetroxide was used to improve image contrast for polybutadiene lattices, a terpolymer of acrylnitride, butadiene and styrene, and an acrylnitrile-styrene-acrylnitrile polymer. In Trent et al. Journal of Polymer Science, volume 19, pg. 315 (1981), ruthenium tetroxide was used in vapor staining polystyrene/poly(methylmethacrylate) blends for electron microscopy studies. Finally, in Trent et al. Macromolecules, vol 16, pg. 589 (1983) ruthenium tetroxide was shown having the capability of staining both saturated and unsaturated polymer systems that contain ether, arene, alcohol, aromatic, amide, or olefin moieties.
However, none of the above referenced prior art addresses a process of producing dielectric particles having a high degree of blackness with a controlled density and particle sizes so as to be adaptable to an electrophoretic image display. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved electrophoretic particle that has a high degree of blackness, a controlled particle size, surface functionality and density so as to be readily suspended in the liquid medium of an electrophoretic image display.

Black electrophoretic particles for an electrophoretic image display


The present invention is applicable to a gateway device, which is configured with an icon list storing a plurality of icons each corresponding to a specific network device type and is able to search for all active or passive network devices currently connected thereto, read basic data of each network device thus found, read the icon corresponding to each network device from the icon list, and then convert the icons thus read and the basic data of each network device found into a web page message for creating a network device map web page. Thus, when the gateway device sends the web page message to the active network device, a user of the active network device can see each icon on the network device map web page by using a browser and instantly know the network devices currently connected to the gateway device and their basic data.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a gateway device, more particularly to a method for providing a network map through the gateway device, which is configured with an icon list for storing a plurality of icons each corresponding to a specific network device type, and is able to search for all active or passive network devices that the gateway device currently connects to and convert the icons thus read and the basic data of each network device found into a web page message for creating a network device map web page, thereby assisting a user in managing peripheral network devices,
2. Description of Related Art
With the advancement of network transmission technology and due to the rapid growth of and the various value-added services provided by commercial Internet service providers (ISPs), people nowadays are familiar with and accustomed to using all kinds of network applications such as World Wide Web (WWW), electronic mail (e-mail), file transfer via the File Transfer Protocol (FTP), the Bulletin Board System (BBS), and remote terminal emulation (e.g., Telnet). Many schools and companies have also begun providing distance education programs or holding transnational meetings through video conference.
Indeed, the dynamic development of Internet applications has connected people's working modes, friend-making activities, and hobby cultivation closely to the Internet. In order to satisfy the need to make Internet connection from different locations, a variety of network devices were designed and are now commercially available, such as desktop computers and laptop computers that are configured for wired connection; smart phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) that are configured for wireless connection; and access points, switches, hubs, and routers that are used to construct a local network environment. Apart from that, many non-network devices can be additionally provided with network interface cards so as to be shared by many people via network connection; some common examples of such modified devices are network printers and network scanners. The aforementioned network devices, though capable of Internet connection and providing various convenient services, have their shortcomings. Take a home network system composed of a plurality of network devices for example. The number of the network devices may be so large that it is unlikely for the user to know exactly how many network devices there are in the current network environment. This not only causes difficulty in management, but also prevents the user from rapidly locating any malfunctioning network device (e.g., a network device that cannot make Internet connection). In fact, the malfunctioning network device cannot be identified until it is actually used, which can be a serious problem if the user has to connect to the Internet using that particular network device at the very moment.
Furthermore, it is now common practice to use a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) router to connect a plurality of network devices in a home network to the external Internet. If the parents decide to block certain websites whose contents are considered inappropriate for their children, the addresses of such websites can be added to a blacklist of the DSL router. A "blacklist" is a list that is stored in a network device, stores a plurality of user-input website addresses, and functions in such a way that, if an attempt is made to connect the network device to any of the websites in the blacklist, the network device will automatically deny such connection. However, once a blacklist is created in the DSL router, all the network devices that depend on the DSL router to connect to the Internet are kept from visiting the websites in the blacklist. If the parents, as required by work, have to visit one of those websites, it is necessary to remove the website from the blacklist and, after visit, put the website back into the blacklist. The foregoing process, in addition to being inconvenient in itself, substantially limits and restricts the time window in which the parents can visit the websites in the blacklist, for the removal of websites from the blacklist can only be done when the children are asleep or at school so as to prevent the children from accessing those websites at the same time.
If it is desired to create a blacklist only in certain network devices or to set the Internet access time limit of certain network devices (e.g., the children's computers are allowed Internet access only from 8 am to 9 pm on Saturdays, or a network printer is available over the network only from 5 pm through 11 pm), the user must install specific management software into the target network devices according to their respective network device types and set each and every target network device. When the settings need to be changed at a later time, the target network devices must be reset one after another, which is extremely inconvenient. If the network system includes so many network devices or if the setting was done so long ago that the user cannot be sure which network device has been set or what has been set, the only way to figure it out is to check each network device for its settings, which is unfavorable to management.
Besides, most of the network device management software nowadays needs to be additionally installed from CDs, and the management interface is typically shown in text. The text-based management interface not only is user-unfriendly in terms of viewing, but also may include network device-related jargons that are very likely to deter the user from performing the setting procedure or require the user to consult the manufacturer of the intended network device in order not to set the unintended network devices by accident. Therefore, if a more convenient management method is developed and made available to the public, it will no doubt be rapidly adopted by users and effectively take a strong market share in the network industry. The issue to be addressed by the present invention is to design a management interface that is easy to view, enables convenient management, and thereby overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art.

Method for providing network map through gateway device and thereby assisting user in managing peripheral network devices


Methods, apparatus, and computer program products for classifying a mobile device location are described. An example of a method for classifying the mobile device location includes mapping the mobile device location to a pixel address in a dilated test texture, wherein the dilated test texture corresponds to an uncertainty estimation associated with the mobile device location and determining an in-out classification of the mobile device location based on a query of a pixel value associated with the pixel address in the dilated test texture.

An accurate and fast in-out classification of a mobile device location is beneficial for many mobile device navigation applications. The in-out classification can classify the mobile device location as "in" or "out" of an indoor area by comparing a location determined, for example, by a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) (e.g., global positioning system (GPS)) with mapping information for the indoor area. The results of the in-out classification may determine a preferred location determination method. For example, GNSS based positioning may be preferred if the mobile device location is classified as "out" of the indoor area and Wi-Fi based positioning may be preferred if the mobile device location is classified as "in" the indoor area.

Method and apparatus for classifying a mobile device location


A system for interfacing a third-party system with a client device, the system includes a platform having one or more computing devices communicatively coupled to the third-party system and the client device, the platform is configured to receive, from a third-party system, a request for a client device, translate the request from the third-party system to a client specific protocol, transmit the request in the client specific protocol to the client device, and receive a response from the client device based on the request.

Real-time control systems operate in an iterative fashion and are known to have onerous memory requirements when operating in the server environment. Further, real-time control systems generally require a tight coupling between hardware and software and tight timing loops. That is, tight timing between receipt of a status or data from a system to be controlled and the delivery of a new or the next control command. Additionally, security is paramount in server based systems, and that means that the software that operates on the server should be well vetted for security. Further, the stability and scalability of the software that operates on servers should be well understood to provide an adequate customer experience.
However, understanding the stability and security of a third-party's software and/or control algorithms requires significant review and testing before implementing on a platform for server based real-time control of a system. Since it is generally too high of a risk to execute third-party software and/or control algorithms in fragile environments (e.g., real-time control servers) without extensive review, there is a need for an alternate solution to interfacing third-party software and/or control algorithms with real-time control systems.

System and method for remote execution of real time control (RTC) hardware


In a rotary electric machine, an on-timing setter sets on-timings of each of a high-side switching element and a low-side switching element for each of at least two three-phase stator windings. An off-timing setter sets off-timings of each of the high-side switching element and the low-side switching element. An off-timing fault determiner determines a fault of an off-timing of a target switching element as one of the high-side switching element and the low-side switching element set by the off-timing setter when a time interval from the off-timing of the target switching element set by the off-timing setter to time when a phase voltage corresponding to the target switching element reaches a threshold after the off-timing thereof is shorter than a preset value.

There are alternators, which are one type of rotary electric machines, equipped with a power converter for performing, using upper- and lower-arm (high- and low-side) switching elements for multiphase armature windings, synchronous rectification of a phase voltage of one-phase armature winding in the multiphase armature windings, an example of which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-110176. The power converter of the alternator disclosed in the Patent Publication measures a time "Count" taken from a turnoff of an upper-arm switching element to when a corresponding phase voltage, which exceeded a fourth threshold V4, drops a third threshold V3, thus monitoring an off timing of the upper-arm switching element.

Rotary electric machine for reliably detecting off timing of switching element


A reference buffer includes a first current mirror, a second current mirror, a first source follower coupled in series to a branch of the first current mirror and receiving a first initial reference voltage and outputting a first reference voltage, a second source follower coupled in series to a branch of the second current mirror and receiving a second initial reference voltage and outputting a second reference voltage, and a resistor coupled between a first node and a second node outputting the first and second reference voltages, respectively. The first node is disposed between the first current mirror and the first source follower and the second node is disposed between the second current mirror and the second source follower. The voltage difference between the first reference voltage and the first initial reference voltage is substantially same as that between the second reference voltage and the second initial reference voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reference buffer and, more specifically, to an on-chip CMOS reference buffer generating reference voltages for use in a pipelined analog to digital converter.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pipelined analog to digital converters (ADC) are widely used in a variety of electronic devices. A pipelined analog to digital converter divides the analog-to-digital conversion task into several consecutive stages. FIG. 1A is a simplified block diagram illustrating a conventional pipelined ADC 100, and FIG. 1B is a simplified block diagram illustrating one of the m-bit analog-to-digital conversion stages of the pipelined ADC 100. The pipelined ADC 100 includes a sample and hold circuit 102, and a plurality (p) of m-bit analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) stages 104, 106, . . . , 108. The sample-and hold circuit 102 holds the analog input voltage (VIN) while the ADC stages 104, 106, . . . , 108 convert the analog input voltage (VIN) to a digital voltage value having n=p×m bits. The ADC stages 104, 106, . . . , 108 have identical structures, one of which is shown in FIG. 1B. In FIG. 1B, the notation "A" refers to analog signals and the notation "D" refers to digital signals.
As shown in FIG. 1B, each of these ADC stages 104, 106, . . . , 108 is comprised of a sample and hold circuit 152, an m-bit ADC (e.g., a flash converter) 154, an m-bit D/A converter (DAC) 156, and an amplifier 160 with a gain of 2m. These ADC stages are usually referred to as Multiplying DACs (MDACs). FIG. 1B is illustrated with reference to the first ADC stage 104, but the other ADC stages have substantially same structures. First, the sample and hold circuit 152 acquires the analog input voltage (VIN). The m-bit ADC (flash converter including comparators) 154 converts the sampled analog input voltage (VIN) signal 153 to m-bit digital data 155, which forms the most significant bits of the digital output. The m-bit digital data 155 is added to the digital data output from the preceding ADC stage (which does not exist in the case of the first stage 104) to generate the accumulated digital output 167 from the first stage to this ADC stage. Referring back to FIG. 1A, note that a time alignment circuit 110 may time-align the digital outputs from the ADC stages 104, 106, . . . , 108 before adding them up. This same m-bit digital data 155 is fed into an m-bit digital-to-analog converter 156, and its output 157 is subtracted from the original sampled signal 159 by the subtractor 158. The residual analog signal 161 is then amplified by the amplifier 160, and the amplified residual analog signal 163 is sent on to the next ADC stage in the pipeline to be sampled and converted in the same manner. This process is repeated through as many stages as are necessary to achieve the desired resolution.
In principle, a pipelined converter with p pipelined stages, each with an m-bit flash converter, can produce a high-speed ADC with a resolution of n=p×m bits using p×(2m−1) comparators in the flash converter ADC 154. For example, a 2-stage pipelined converter with 8-bit resolution requires 30 comparators, and a 4-stage 16-bit ADC requires only 60 comparators. In practice, however, a few additional bits are generated to provide for error correction. Note that as soon as a certain ADC stage finishes processing a sample, it can start processing the next sample while the subsequent ADC stages processes the previous sample, due to the sample-and-hold circuitry 152 embedded within each ADC stage. Such pipelining action accounts for the high throughput.
Referring back to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the pipelined ADCs typically require 3 reference voltages, VREFP, VREFN, and VCOM for use in comparators of the flash converter ADCs 154. In general, VREFP, VREFN, and VCOM in a pipelined ADC satisfy the following relationship:VREFP>VREFNVCOM=(VREFP+VREFN)/2
These reference voltages VREFP, VREFN, and VCOM typically suffer from dynamic kickback from the MDACs and need to settle within the required accuracy for a given number of bits for an ADC within half of the sampling clock period. Typically, the reference voltages are buffered with buffers compensated by external capacitors. FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional reference buffer 200 that modifies and amplifies an initial reference voltage VREFi to generate a reference voltage VREF for use in a pipelined ADC. In the circuitry of FIG. 2, VREFi could be one of VREFPi, VREFNi, and VCOMi, and VREF could be one of VREFP, VREFN, and VCOM. Therefore, it is necessary to have three such conventional reference buffers as illustrated in FIG. 2 to generate all 3 reference voltages VREFP, VREFN, and VCOM for use in a pipelined ADC.
Referring to FIG. 2, the reference buffer 200 is comprised of a buffer 202, a current source, 206, and a transistor 204, which are typically on-chip on the pipelined ADC chip. The buffer 202 receives an initial reference voltage VREFi at the negative input of the buffer 202. The buffer 202 and the transistor 204 form a two-stage amplifier and its driving capability is controlled by its biasing current IB 206.
Note that an external capacitor CEXT 208 is coupled between node 210 and ground (GND) through a pin on the IC (integrated circuit) in a conventional reference buffer 200. The external capacitor 208 is a compensation capacitor for keeping the node 210 at low impedance, providing loop stability, and reducing charge injection to the reference buffer 200. However, adding this external capacitor 208 adds significant cost to the reference buffer 200, and the parasitic inductance caused by the IC pin dedicated to the external capacitor 208 degrades the performance of the pipelined ADC.
Therefore, there is a need for a reference buffer that does not require an external capacitor at its output node.

Reference buffer using current mirrors and source followers to generate reference voltages


A garment includes a non-bamboo fabric body portion that has at least one high perspiration area. A bamboo fabric member is affixed to the high perspiration area. In a method of making a lower undergarment, a piece of non-bamboo fabric is cut so as to form an unassembled panty having a crotch member. A piece of bamboo fabric is cut so as to correspond in shape to the crotch member. The piece of bamboo fabric is affixed to the crotch member. The unassembled panty is sewn so as to form a completed panty.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to garments and, more specifically, to a garment that has a portion subjected to high levels of perspiration.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Undergarments are worn next to a wearer's skin as an interface between the skin and the wearer's outer garments. There is a wide range of undergarments, such as panties, undershorts and undershirts. Undergarments are worn for a variety of reasons. For example, certain undergarments (such as brassieres and girdles) provide shaping and support for the user. Other undergarments, such as panties and undershirts, are worn for personal hygiene by absorbing perspiration and other materials from the skin and reducing the rate at which they are allowed to reach the outer garments.
Depending on the nature of an undergarment, it can be made from one of several different materials. For example, less stylish undergarments used for absorbing perspiration and heat retention are frequently made of cotton. Undergarments in which appearance is important are often made of synthetic materials and silks.
It is known to line certain stylish undergarments made of synthetic fabrics, such as panties, with a cotton liner. While the outward appearance is of panty has a desired color, sheen and texture, the cotton liner absorbs perspiration. This is done for added comfort and odor reduction.
Since certain area of the body, such as the crotch and the armpits, tend to be relatively warm and perspire at a relatively high rate, bacteria and other microbes tend to grow at a relatively high rate in these areas. Such microbes often generate unpleasant odors and can cause skin irritation. Wearing of cotton undergarments, or undergarments with cotton liners, can reduce the amount of perspiration adjacent to the skin in these areas. However, cotton tends to become saturated quickly and does no inhibit growth of microbes.
Bamboo fabric is a natural textile made from bamboo fibers. Bamboo is a fast growing grass that is highly sustainable. Fabric made from bamboo fibers has excellent wicking properties and may absorb more water than cotton fabric prior to saturation. Bamboo fibers also contain a substance referred to as "bamboo kunh," which has anti-microbial properties. Also, bamboo fabric has a high carbon content and is quite porous so as to have a high surface area. The carbon in bamboo fabric may also bind with organic molecules, thereby interrupting microbe growth.
The bamboo kunh stays in the bamboo fabric even after multiple washings. Thus, clothing made of bamboo fabric has the ability to kill odor causing microbes (such as bacteria, yeast and fungi) that live on human skin, without requiring treatment with harmful chemicals. This feature results in the wearer producing less unpleasant odors for a given perspiration level.
Many fabrics also induce allergies in the wearer, especially in high perspiration zones in which the skin already tends to be tender. Bamboo fabric, on the other hand, is also smooth and hypoallergenic. Thus, even users with sensitive skin can wear bamboo fabric without experiencing allergic reactions.
Unfortunately, because of the nature of bamboo fibers, it is difficult to make bamboo fabrics that are shear enough for certain undergarment applications. Also, certain undergarment styles require a type of sheen that is not readily achieved in untreated bamboo fabric.
Therefore, there is a need for undergarments that have a desired outward appearance, but that absorb high amounts of perspiration and inhibit growth of microbes.


A protective overshoe which reduces the risk of injury from industrial impact, compression, chemical, puncture, and electrical hazards and simultaneously protects both a foot and a street shoe worn by the foot is described. The overshoe may include a protective sole, a protective upper, and a toe box. The protective sole is made with conventional materials such as butyl rubber, neoprene rubber, polyvinyl chloride, nitrile, and combinations thereof. An optional puncture guard in the sole protects against punctures. The protective upper is large enough to substantially cover the upper of the street shoe. Protective uppers are made of the same or similar materials as those used in the protective soles. The toe box, which substantially covers and protects the user's toes, is formed of a conventional rigid material such as steel, rigid plastic, or fiberglass. The overshoe may also include a metatarsal guard, an upper which extends up along the user's calf, or a strap for tightening the overshoe about the street shoe.

Visitors of various kinds make occasional but necessary visits to mines, mills, labs, factories, warehouses, and other industrial sites. Such visitors include management personnel, inspectors and other regulatory officials, attorneys, investors, and other people who have business at the site but do not normally work there. The results of such visits may have longlasting effects on both the site and the lives of the people who work there each day. It is important that such visits be conducted both safely and efficiently.
Unfortunately, materials and material-handling processes in industrial environments pose a variety of hazards to occasional visitors, including in particular hazards to the visitor's feet. For instance, acids, solvents, alkalis, and other chemicals are used in a wide variety of mining, manufacturing, and engineering applications. Many industrial environments also contain boulders, large pipes, concrete blocks, heavy equipment, and other objects which can seriously injure a visitor's feet by impact or by compression. Sharp rock fragments, nails, and similar objects also expose visitors to the risk of receiving puncture wounds in the feet.
In other situations the visitor may pose a risk to the environment. Thus, visitors near explosives or delicate electronic equipment must wear dissipating shoes and other gear to avoid building up a dangerous static electric charge. As used herein, "hazards" include risks created by a visitor to an industrial environment, risks created by the industrial environment, and risks created jointly by the visitor and the environment. Industrial environments include, without limitation, mining sites, manufacturing facilities, metal working sites, warehouses, airport and shipyard baggage handling facilities, and chemical research and development facilities.
Various means are available to control the interaction of workers with their daily industrial environment to the extent necessary to ensure the safety of each. Proper-training, safety procedures, and inspections are all important measures for minimizing hazards. In addition, employees whose feet are regularly exposed to chemical, impact, compression, puncture, electric shock, and static electric hazards in the course of their daily work are generally equipped with protective footwear. For example, chemical workers wear workboots that are made of materials chosen for their impermeability and their ability to resist corrosion and other effects of the chemical hazards in question.
Mining and construction workers likewise wear workboots that are equipped with protective toe boxes to resist impact and compression forces from falling rocks, rolling machines, and like hazards. The toe boxes, which are constructed of strong, rigid materials, cover the top and sides of the toes, and may extend beneath the toes. The toe box may also be extended or supplemented by a rigid metatarsal guard which protects the metatarsal bones of the worker's foot.
Unlike workers, visitors to industrial sites must generally choose between inadequate options. In some cases the visitor may choose to forego special protective footwear and simply wear street shoes during the visit. As used herein, "street shoes" include conventional dress shoes, running shoes, sandals, cowboy boots, other boots, socks, pumps, and other footwear which does not provide substantial protection against industrial hazards. Choosing to wear street shoes rather than protective workboots often places the visitor's feet at risk of being burned, crushed, punctured, shocked, or otherwise seriously injured.
A secondary drawback of simply wearing street shoes during a visit is that the street shoes themselves may be damaged, regardless of whether the visitor's feet are harmed. Grease, paint, sharp rocks, dust, mud, solvents, and other chemicals may all leave the visitor's feet unharmed while nonetheless ruining a good pair of shoes. An additional disadvantage is that the failure to utilize adequate protective footwear may be a violation of industrial safety laws and regulations.
Thus, the visitor may choose to remove the street shoes and replace them with a borrowed pair of protective workboots. Although this approach improves the visitor's chance of emerging intact from the visit it nevertheless has several disadvantages. For instance, the borrowed workboots are unlikely to fit properly. Workboots which are too large or too small may cause severe discomfort during the course of a longer visit. Moreover, boots that do not fit may cause the visitor to stumble at an inopportune or even a dangerous time.
To ensure a proper fit, a large selection of workboots of different sizes may be kept on hand. However, each pair of workboots typically costs somewhere in the range from $80 to is $150, so keeping a selection of different sizes on hand for use by occasional visitors may be financially impractical. Such a collection of workboots is also bulky and cumbersome to store.
The visitor who replaces street shoes with borrowed workboots also faces the unpleasant and unhygienic prospect of wearing shoes which were previously (and perhaps recently) worn by numerous other people. Moreover, the desired path during the visit may not take the visitor back to the location at which the street shoes were removed, so it may be necessary for the visitor to carry the removed street shoes by hand throughout the visit.
An alternative approach is for the visitor to obtain a personal pair of workboots rather than borrowing a pair. The street shoes are removed at the visitor's office and replaced by workboots, which are then worn to the industrial site. After the visit, the visitor wears the workboots back to the office and there replaces them with the street shoes. The street shoes are not exposed to industrial hazards because they are not taken to the industrial site, and the visitor's feet are protected during the visit by the workboots.
However, workboots are relatively expensive. Moreover, this approach poses a serious risk of contamination. Chemicals, grease, particulates, mud, and other substances carried from the work site on the workboots may contaminate the visitor's office, residence, or other areas of the community at large. Although rubberized workboots can be hosed off before leaving the site, such a cleaning is not always done thoroughly. In addition, workboots constructed of leather, fiber, and other porous materials are not easily decontaminated.
A different approach is to fasten an external rigid guard made of plastic, fiberglass, or steel over a conventional street shoe. According to this approach, a rigid toe cap or metatarsal guard is placed over the toe end of a street shoe and then secured with a strap which wraps around the heel of the street shoe. This approach has the advantage of providing protection against impact and compression hazards without requiring that the protective device's user remove the street shoes. Thus, the external guard may be worn without carrying the user's street shoes by hand or forcing the user to wear a workboot recently worn by someone else.
Unfortunately, such external rigid guards have several disadvantages. Because external guards are noisy and unattractive, they draw unnecessary attention to the user's foot. By causing the user to feel self-conscious and uncomfortable, external guards interfere with the user's concentration on the business purpose of the visit. Even worse, in some cases an external rigid guard actually increases the risk of injury to the user by creating tripping hazards. External guards include many exposed edges which may catch on a rock, a step, or another protrusion. External guards may also cause unsightly wear to the exterior of the street shoe. In addition, such external guards do not protect the user's foot or the user's street shoes against chemical, electrical, or puncture hazards.
Thus, it would be an advancement in the art to provide foot and street shoe protection which does not require users employing the protection to replace their street shoes with workboots or to supplement them with conventional rigid external guards.
It would be an additional advancement to provide such protection which protects the feet and the street shoes worn by the feet from impact hazards and from compression hazards.
The art would be advanced still further if such protection were provided against chemical hazards, against puncture hazards, and against hazards caused by electricity.
It would also be an advancement to provide such protection without increasing the risk that a person using the protection will trip.
A method and a device providing such protection are disclosed and claimed herein.


Circuits and methods comprising: a radio frequency amplifier that powers off in response to an enable signal; a demodulator that outputs an RZ signal; an all-digital clock and data recovery circuit comprising: a phase detector that includes a tri-state phase frequency detector for use when in an acquisition mode and a Hogge phase detector for use when in a communication mode, that receives the RZ signal, and that outputs a phase detector output from the tri-state phase frequency detector when in the acquisition mode and from the Hogge phase detector when in the communication mode, a loop filter that receives the phase detector output from the phase detector and produces a loop filter output that is the sum of a proportional path of the loop filter and an integral path of the loop filter, and a numerical controlled oscillator that receives the loop filter output and produces the enable signal.

Pulse radio ultra wide band (PR-UWB) communications can be used to facilitate low power, low data rate communications in a wide variety of applications, such as sensor networks. Such communications use periodically transmitted pulses of radio frequency energy to represent data. Power savings in such communications can be realized by turning the transmitter and receiver off between data pulses. In order to take advantage of the power savings of such communications, however, pulse radio receivers need to be able to precisely power off during times when no data pulses are being transmitted and power on when data pulses may be transmitted. However, current pulse radio receivers are lacking in their ability to perform this function.
Accordingly, new circuits and methods for pulse radio receivers are provided.

Circuits and methods for pulse radio receivers

The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York


A cartridge is attached to or detached from a main body of an image forming apparatus that has an opening portion and a door that opens or closes the opening portion. The cartridge includes: a memory unit with a contact portion via which the cartridge is connected to the main body to transmit information of the cartridge to the main body; and a moving member on which the contact portion is mounted, wherein the moving member is moved to a first position where the contact portion is hidden inside the cartridge and a second position where the contact portion protrudes out of the cartridge to be connected to a connection portion provided in the main body, the moving member being moved to the second position in connection with closing of the door.

1. Field
One or more embodiments relate to an image forming apparatus capable of forming an image on a recording medium and a cartridge that is attached to or detached from the image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus using electrophotography prints an image on a recording medium by supplying toner to an electrostatic latent image formed on a photoreceptor to form a visible toner image on the photoreceptor, transferring the visible toner image onto the recording medium, and fusing the transferred visible toner image on the recording medium.
A process cartridge is an assembly of components for forming a visible toner image. The process cartridge is a consumable product that is detachable from a main body of an image forming apparatus and replaceable after a lifespan thereof has ended. A process cartridge may have various structures, such as a structure in which a photoreceptor, a development roller that supplies toner to the photoreceptor, and a container portion containing toner are integrally formed, a structure divided into an image cartridge including a photoreceptor and a development roller and a toner cartridge containing toner, or a structure divided into a photoreceptor cartridge including a photoreceptor, a development cartridge including a development roller, and a toner cartridge containing toner.
A cartridge includes a memory unit storing various types of information about the cartridge. When the cartridge is mounted in a main body of an image forming apparatus, the memory unit is electrically connected to the main body to communicate with the main body and may transmit information about the cartridge to the main body. The memory unit includes a contact portion that is electrically connected to a connection portion of the main body.

Cartridge and electrophotographic image forming apparatus using the same


In a wireless optical network with multiple coordinators or other access points, the coverage area of coordinators may overlap. Interference in the communication between coordinators and devices may occur in these overlapping coverage areas. Various embodiments propose an automatic allocation of reserved time slots to coordinators. These time slots support the coordinators to advertise their presence without interference and enable a device to detect the presence of a neighbour coordinator in a single MAC cycle. Cooperation of coordinators can be supervised by a global controller to determine non-interfering time schedules whereby the coordinators rely on interference reports from the devices in the overlapping coverage areas. Fast detection allows fast re-scheduling of time slots in the wireless optical network in order to prevent interference when a device that enters the overlapping coverage area of two coordinators.

Wireless optical networks, such as LiFi networks (named like Wi-Fi networks), enable electronic devices like laptops, tablets, and smartphones to connect wirelessly to the internet. Wi-Fi achieves this using radio frequencies, but LiFi achieves this using the light spectrum which can enable unprecedented data and bandwidth. It's important to consider that wireless data is required for more than just our traditional connected devices—today televisions, speakers, headphones, printer's, virtual reality (VR) goggles and even refrigerators use wireless data to connect and perform essential communications. Radio frequency technology like Wi-Fi is running out of spectrum to support this digital revolution and LiFi can help power the next generation of immersive connectivity.
Visible-light communication (VLC) transmits data by intensity modulating optical sources, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes (LDs), faster than the persistence of the human eye. VLC merges lighting and data communications in applications such as area lighting, signboards, streetlights, vehicles, and traffic signals. The IEEE 802.15.7 visible-light communication personal area network (VPAN) standard maps the intended applications to four topologies: peer-to-peer, star, broadcast and coordinated. Optical Wireless PAN (OWPAN) is a more generic term than VPAN also allowing invisible light for communication. Contrary to radio frequency (RF) communication, VLC typically requires a line-of-sight connection between the transmitter and the receiver.
In a star topology, the communication is established between devices and a single central controller, called the coordinator. In a peer-to-peer topology, one of two devices in an association takes on the role of the coordinator. In a coordinated topology, multiple devices communicate with multiple coordinators, supervised by a global controller. The global controller has a fixed network link to each coordinator. To scale up a system from one OWPAN to two or more OWPANs, the global controller function has been proposed to handle interference and hand-over between overlapping OWPANs. The global controller or network controller function manages the coordinators, while each coordinator controls its OWPAN. The global controller function can be connected to the coordinators via a separate network.
The above centralized approach has the disadvantage that the system relies on the availability of the central service or server, e.g., the global controller. If the global controller fails or the connection between the global controller and the coordinators fails, the coordinators lack control. Moreover, for a small system with only a few coordinators, it may also be a hurdle to install this global control service for a quick and easy installation of the system.
However, in decentralized optical wireless networks (e.g. LiFi systems or other optical communication systems covering light with wavelengths beyond the visible spectrum) without global control function, the coordinators often do not "see" each other due to the line-of-sight character between a coordinator and a connected local LiFi device. The coordinator may therefore not be able to directly measure any significant interference caused by a neighbor coordinator.

Interference-free scheduling for wireless optical networks with multiple coordinators


A method and a system for controlling lighting beams for vehicles. It proposes controlling the road lighting beam by combining data obtained from a navigation device and detection means suitable for supplying distance and nature information concerning target objects situated in front of the vehicle equipped according to the invention.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for controlling at least one member of a vehicle. It also relates to a system for this control as well as a vehicle which is equipped therewith. The member may be, for example, a road lighting device of the vehicle, the method making it possible to control the beam of this lighting.
2. Description of the Related Art
Its preferred application is the automobile industry, notably to equip vehicles with light projection for lighting the road in front of the driver.
The quality of the road lighting by the vehicles in traffic is a fundamental element both for visual comfort and for the safety of road movements. For a long time, automobile equipment has been limited to providing several beams of code, low beam and high beam or even fog beam type. These beams are conventionally controlled by the driver by means of a purely manual switching control. It occupies the driver's attention when the driving conditions generally implied by the management of the headlights—journeys at night, in bad weather, for example—already merit all his or her concentration. Human capabilities are not such that the control of the lighting can best be managed in all circumstances.
To remedy this, some systems use speed thresholds to switch from one beam state to another. Speed information is very clearly insufficient for characterizing a driving context and the lighting state that it implies.
Lighting devices implementing automatic controls have already been proposed with the use of navigation information. The navigation systems associate mapping data and location information supplied by a device of the GPS (Global Positioning System) type. It is thus possible to know in advance the geometry of the traffic lane and certain road context conditions, for example, the entry onto a freeway. Lighting devices exploit this information to control the beams. In particular, one technology handles the automatic switching between an activated state of a freeway lighting beam and a deactivated state depending on the recognition of the type of traffic lane used by the vehicle.
It has been found, however, that this automated beam control mode is not without its drawbacks. The location offered by a GPS system has a limited resolution (generally of the order of ten or so meters), so that the beam control can take into account only traffic conditions that change little and often with delays. As an illustration, an occasional change of traffic conditions linked to a slow-down on a freeway cannot be effectively reflected in the lighting control to deactivate the freeway lighting beam in real time. Moreover, the mapping data are not totally reliable because of potential errors in their construction or subsequent physical modifications to the traffic lanes. These imperfections, inherent in the GPS technology, are all the more of a hindrance when the lighting control impinges on road safety issues.


An apparatus for discriminating the genuineness of a security mark is provided having a first light detecting element for detecting a light emitted from a luminescent ink of the security mark placed in a specified environment and a second light detecting element for detecting a reflected light from a non-luminescent ink of the security mark. The first and second light detecting elements detect the light from the same location of a bank note. A third light detecting element detects the light intensity of a light emitted from a monitor mark that can be compared with a preset reference light intensity to calculate a deviation from the reference light intensity. The output of the first light detecting element can be converted into a corrected output value corresponding to the calculated deviation. The genuineness of the bank note can be discriminated based on the corrected output value.

This invention relates to a discriminating apparatus capable of discriminating genuineness of various certified papers including, for example, bank notes, securities such as stocks and various other certified documents such as slips at a higher reliability.
There have been conventionally known discriminating apparatuses for discriminating genuineness of bank notes, securities or like certified papers. Such discriminating apparatuses discriminate genuineness of certified paper by photoelectrically scanning characters, figures, symbols, or (hereinafter referred to collectively as "printed marks") printed in specified positions of the paper, and comparing a scanned pattern with a prestored pattern of the genuine certified paper.
However, improved forging technology has made it difficult to discriminate forged certified paper from genuine certified paper only based on usual printed patterns. German Patent Publication DE 197 085 43 A1 discloses printing of bank notes with a luminescent ink containing electroluminescent material which emits a light upon application of ultraviolet rays or an alternating voltage. The use of such an electroluminescent ink makes the certified paper luminous upon projection of ultraviolet rays or upon being placed in an alternating-current electromagnetic field and accordingly enables discrimination of genuineness of certified paper by detecting the presence or absence of the luminous light, even if the printed patterns made on the genuine and counterfeit certified papers by usual printing coincides with that of the genuine.
It could be seen, however, that if counterfeit bank notes should use the above luminescent ink, the discrimination of genuineness becomes more difficult. In particular, it is easy to forge an electroluminescent pattern similar to that of the genuine certified paper by spraying and adhering the electroluminescent material to the surface of the paper because the electroluminescent material is comprised of ultrafine particles. Accordingly, discrimination of genuineness cannot be made for the paper having the pattern of the electroluminescent by such an operation even if the electroluminescent is made luminous in an alternating-current electromagnetic field. The same applies to other luminescent inks other than the electroluminescent.
In order to solve the above problem, genuineness may be discriminated by detecting lights from both a printed mark made of the luminescent ink and the one made of the usual ink and discriminating the presence of a specified correlation between the detected values or by comparing the detected value of the printed mark made of the luminescent ink with a reference value corresponding to a printed mark made on a genuine certified paper. However, even with such discrimination, the degree of light emission may differ in the same environment of the alternating-current electromagnetic field due to different printed positions of particularly the luminescent ink and different printed states even in the same printing position from printing apparatus to printing apparatus. This presents a new problem of a reduced precision of genuineness discrimination.
In view of the above problems residing in the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a certified paper discriminating apparatus capable of securely discriminating genuineness even if the printed state of a luminescent ink on certified papers varies.

Certified paper and an apparatus for discriminating the genuineness thereof


A utility knife is provided with a feature of easy replacement of the blade and a characteristic that the utility knife body halves are prevented from separating from each other. The utility knife has a safety lock which is able to enhance the assembly between the body halves, such that even when the release mechanism of the knife is accidentally operated or the knife accidentally falls to the ground, the knife body halves are still securely attached with each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a utility knife, in particular, an improved utility knife with a safety lock, with which a user is able to securely lock an outer body of the knife without worrying that the utility knife may fall apart when an external force is accidentally exerted thereon.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional utility knife for woodworking is shown in FIG. 5. A utility knife of this kind has a retainer (30) pivotally received between an upper cover (10) and slide (40) movably received in a lower cover (20) which is detachably connected with the upper cover (10). The retainer (30) has a through hole (31) defined in the end thereof and the slide (40) has a wedge (41) detachably extending through the through hole (31), such that when the retainer (40) is pushed in a direction toward the lower cover (20), the slide (40) will first be forced to slide away by the insertion of the retainer (30) and then the slide (40) will return and insert into the through hole (31) of the retainer (30) due to the force of a recoil spring (21). When the upper cover (10) is to be disassembled from the lower cover (20), a user only needs to push the slide (40) along the lower cover (20) to force the wedge (41) to separate from the through hole (31) of the retainer (30). Because the retainer (30) is pivotally in connection with the upper cover (10), the upper cover (10) and the lower cover (20) are easily assembled and disassembled. When the upper and lower covers (10, 20) are assembled, the only force applied therebetween is the securing force between the retainer (30) and the slide (40). Therefore, it is still quite easy to separate the upper cover (10) and the lower cover (20), especially when an external force is accidentally applied, e.g. the knife accidentally falls on the ground. The blade (51) is held by a carrier (52) which is movably received between the upper cover (10) and the lower cover (20). Once the upper cover (10) and the lower cover (20) are separated with each other, the blade (51) may come out and hurt someone nearby.
In order to mitigate and/or obviate the above disadvantages, the invention provides an improved utility knife having a safety lock to strengthen the connection between the upper cover and the lower cover.

2nd Fl., No. 203-8, Chinlung Rd., Neihu Dist.


A system and method for treating ballast water within an ocean going vessel by generating hypochlorite for treating the ballast water. The system comprises one or more hypochlorite electrolytic cells in fluid communication with a stream of ballast water. A chlorine analyzer is positioned downstream from the electrolytic cells to determine the chlorine concentration of the treated ballast water. A hydrogen separator is connected to the hypochlorite electrolytic cells for venting hydrogen. In the method of this invention, water is taken aboard the ship for ballast in one port. A treatment stream is separated from the ballast water stream and piped to hypochlorite electrolytic cells. Hypochlorite is generated into the treatment stream and the hydrogen byproduct is separated by the hydrogen separators. The treatment stream is then reintroduced to the ballast water to eliminate marine species and pathogenic bacteria from ballast water. The ballast water undergoes de-chlorination prior to being discharged into a new port.

Ballast water is used to balance the weight distribution in a marine vessel. Ballast water is pumped into tanks where it is stored to properly balance a vessel for a voyage. Often ballast water is taken on at one port and transported to another where it is emptied into the new port. This common practice has an inherent danger. Releasing the ballast water taken aboard from a distant location can be both harmful to the environment and dangerous to human and animals in a new port.
The introduction of non-native marine life into a new ecosystem can have a devastating effect on the native flora and fauna which may not have natural defenses to the new species. Additionally, harmful bacterial pathogens, such as cholera, may be present in the origination port. These pathogens can multiply in the ballast tanks over time and cause an outbreak of illness in the area where they are released.
The dangers posed by the marine life and pathogens may be controlled by killing those species present in the ballast water. For the past century, chlorination has become the standard way to disinfect water supplies, potable water, wastewater and swimming pools, for example, to eliminate epidemics of waterborne diseases.

System and method for treatment of ballast water