The present invention relates to a novel DCDGF protein which is a member of a novel family of growth factors of which the prototype is called Insect-Derived Growth Factor (IDGF). In particular, isolated nucleic acid molecules are provided encoding the human DCDGF protein. DCDGF polypeptides are also provided as are vectors, host cells and recombinant methods for producing the same. The invention further relates to screening methods for identifying agonists and antagonists of DCDGF activity. Also provided are diagnostic methods for diagnosing DiGeorge Syndrome and, particularly, immune system-related disorders. and therapeutic methods for treating immune system-related disorders.

Cellular growth and differentiation appear to be initiated, promoted, maintained and regulated by a multiplicity of stimulatory, inhibitory and synergistic factors and hormones. The alteration and/or breakdown of the cellular homeostasis mechanism seems to be a fundamental cause of growth related diseases, including neoplasia. Growth modulatory factors are implicated in a wide variety of pathological and physiological processes including signal transduction, cell communication, growth and development, embryogenesis, immune response, hematopoiesis cell survival and differentiation, inflammation, tissue repair and remodeling, atherosclerosis and cancer.
Several gene families are known to encode diverse groups of structurally and functionally related proteins referred to as "growth factors." One such growth factor family includes epidermal growth factor (EGF), transforming growth factor alpha (TGF.alpha.), betacellulin, amphiregulin, and vaccinia growth factor, which are growth and differentiation modulatory proteins produced by a variety of cell types, either under normal physiological conditions or in response to exogenous stimuli. These peptide growth factors influence cells through autocrine and paracrine mechanisms, playing important roles in normal wound healing in tissues such as skin, cornea and the gastrointestinal tract. They also share substantial amino acid sequence homology including the conserved placement of three intrachain disulfide bonds. In addition, all the factors of this EGF-related family bind to a 170,000 molecular weight transmembrane glycoprotein receptor and activate the tyrosine kinase activity in the receptor's cytoplasmic domain (Buhrow, S. A. et al., J. Biol. Chem., 258:7824-7826 (1983)). The receptors are expressed by many types of cells including skin keratinocytes, fibroblasts, vascular endothelial cells, and epithelial cells of the GI tract.
The EGF-related peptide growth factors are synthesized by several cells involved in wound healing including platelets, keratinocytes, and activated macrophages. These growth factors have also been implicated in both the stimulation of growth and differentiation of certain cells, for example, in neoplasia, and the inhibition of other types of cells. For instance, betacellulin is a potent mitogen for retinal pigment epithelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells. Amphiregulin is a bifunctional cell growth regulatory factor which exhibits potent inhibitory activity on DNA synthesis in neoplastic cells, yet promotes the growth of certain normal cells. A wide variety of uses for amphiregulin have been assigned including the treatment of wounds and cancers. For example, amphiregulin has potent anti-proliferative effects in vitro on several human cancer cell lines of epithelial origin. Amphiregulin also induces the proliferation of human foreskin fibroblasts as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,096. TGF.alpha. has pleiotropic biological effects and is synthesized by a number of oncogenically transformed, as well as by a variety of tumors, including renal, breast and squamous carcinomas, melanomas and glioblastomas. TGF.alpha. also plays a role in normal embryonic development and adult physiology and is expressed in many tissues including skin, brain, gastrointestinal mucosa and activating macrophages (Derynck, R. Adv. Cancer Res. 58:27-5 (1992)). Accordingly, TGF.alpha. is an important factor in controlling growth of epithelial cells and is important in wound healing, and it has also been found to be angiogenic (Schreiber, et al., Science, 2321250-1253 (1986)).
The transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-.beta.) family of peptide growth factors includes five members, termed TGF-.beta.1 through TGF-.beta.5, all of which form homo-dimers of approximately 25 kDa. The TGF-.beta. family belongs to a larger, extended super family of peptide signaling molecules that includes the Muellerian inhibiting substance (Cate, R. L. et al., Cell, 45:685-698 (1986)), decapentaplegic (Padgett, R. W. et al., Nature 325:81-84 (1987)), bone morphogenic factors (Wozney, J. M. et al., Science 242:1528-1534 (1988)), vg1 (Weeks, D. L., and Melton, D. A., Cell 51:861867 (1987)), activins (Vale, W. et al., Nature, 321:776-779 (1986)), and inhibins (Mason, A. J. et al., Nature 318:659-663 (1985)). These factors are similar to TGF-.beta. in overall structure, but share only approximately 25% amino acid identity with the TGF-.beta. proteins and with each other. All of these molecules are thought to play important roles in modulating growth, development and differentiation. TGF-.beta. was originally described as a factor that induced normal rat kidney fibroblasts to proliferate in soft agar in the presence of epidermal growth factor (Roberts, A. B. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 78:5339-5343 (1981)). TGF-.beta. has subsequently been shown to exert a number of different effects in a variety of cells. For example, TGF-.beta. can inhibit the differentiation of certain cells of mesodermal origin (Florini, J. R. et al., J. Biol. Chem. 261:1659-16513 (1986)), induced the differentiation of others (Seyedine, S. M. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci USA 82:2267-2271 (1985)), and potently inhibit proliferation of various types of epithelial cells, (Tucker, R. F., Science 226:705-707 (1984)). This last activity has lead to the speculation that one important physiologic role for TGF-.beta. is to maintain the repressed growth state of many types of cells. Accordingly, cells that lose the ability to respond to TGF-.beta. are more likely to exhibit uncontrolled growth and to become tumorigenic. Indeed, the cells lack certain tumors such as retinoblastomas lack detectable TGF-.beta. receptors at their cell surface and fail to respond to TGF-.beta., while their normal counterparts express self-surface receptors in their growth is potently inhibited by TGF-.beta. (Kim Chi, A. et al., Science 240:196-198 (1988)). TGF-.beta.1 has been shown to be a multi-functional regulator of cell growth and differentiation (Sporn et al., Science 233:532-534 (1986)) being capable of such diverse effects as inhibiting the growth of several human cancer cell lines, T and B lymphocytes (Kehrl et al., J. Exp. Med. 163:1037-1050 (1986)), inhibition of early hematopoietic progenitor cell proliferation (Goey et al., J. Immunol. 143:877-880 (1989)), stimulating the induction of differentiation of rat muscle mesenchymal cells and subsequent production of cartilage-specific macro molecules (Seyedine et. al., J. Biol. Chem. 262:1946-1949 (1986)), causing increased synthesis and secretion of collagen (Ignotz et al., J. Biol. Chem. 261:4337-4345 (1986)), stimulating bone formation (Noda et al., Endocrinology, 124:2991-2995 (1989)), and accelerating the healing of incision wounds (Mustoe et al., Science 237:1333-1335 (1987)). Further, TGF-.beta.1 stimulates formation of extracellular matrix molecules in the liver and lung. When levels of TGF-.beta.1 are higher than normal, formation of fiber occurs in the extracellular matrix of the liver and lung which can be fatal. High levels of TGF-.beta.1 occur due to chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant as an attempt to treat cancers such as breast cancer. A second protein termed TGF-.beta.2 has been isolated from several sources including demineralized bone, a human prostatic adenocarcinoma cell line (Ikeda et al., Biol. Chem. 26:2406-2410 (1987)). TGF-.beta.2 shares several functional similarities with TGF-.beta.1. These proteins are now known to be members of a family of related growth modulatory proteins including TGF-.beta.3 (Ten-Dijke et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:471-479 (1988)), Muellerian inhibitory substance and the inhibins.
Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) represent another growing family of peptide growth factors with diverse activities (Miyamoto, M. et al., Mol. and Cell. Biol. 13(7):4251-4259 (1993)). These proteins share the characteristic of binding to heparin and are, therefore, also called heparin binding growth factors (HBGF). Expression of different members of the FGF family is found in various tissues under various temporal and spatial controls. These proteins are potent mitogens for a variety of cells of mesodermal, ectodermal, and endodermal origin, including fibroblasts, corneal and vascular endothelial cells, granulocytes, adrenal cortical cells, chondrocytes, myoblasts, vascular smooth muscle cells, lens epithelial cells, melanocytes, keratinocytes, oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, osteoblasts, and hematopoietic cells.
Each member of the FGF family has activities overlapping with others and also has its unique spectrum of functions (Burgess, W. H. and Maciag, T., Ann. Rev. Biochem. 58:575-606 (1989)). In addition to the ability to stimulate proliferation of vascular endothelial cells, both FGF-1 and 2 are chemotactic for endothelial cells, and FGF-2 has been shown to enable endothelial cells to penetrate the basement membrane. Consistent with these properties, both FGF-1 and 2 have the capacity to stimulate angiogenesis. Another important feature of these growth factors is their ability to promote wound healing. Many other members of the FGF family share similar activities with FGF-1 and 2 such as promoting angiogenesis and wound healing. Several members of the FGF family have been shown to induce mesoderm formation and to modulate differentiation of neuronal cells, adipocytes and skeletal muscle cells. Other than these biological activities in normal tissues, FGF proteins have been implicated in promoting tumorigenesis in carcinomas and sarcomas by promoting tumor vascularization and as transforming proteins when their expression is deregulated cells (Miyamoto, M., et al., Mol. Cell. Biol. 13(7):4251-4259 (1993)).
The formation of new blood vessels, or angiogenesis, is essential for embryonic development, subsequent growth, and tissue repair (Folkman, J. and Klagsbrun, M., Science 235:442-447(1987). Angiogenesis, however, is an essential part of certain pathological conditions such as neoplasia, for example, tumors and gliomas, and abnormal angiogenesis is associated with other diseases such as inflammation, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and diabetic retinopathy. Both acidic and basic fibroblast growth factor molecules are mitogens for endothelial cells and other cell types. Angiotropin and angiogenin can induce angiogenesis, although their functions are unclear. A highly selective mitogen for vascular endothelial cells is vascular endothelial growth factor or VEGF (Ferrara, N., et al., Endocr. Rev. 13:19-32, (1992)), also known as vascular permeability factor (VPF). Vascular endothelial growth factor is a secreted angiogenic mitogen whose target cell specificity appears to be restricted to vascular endothelial cells.
The murine VEGF gene has been characterized and its expression pattern in embryogenesis has been analyzed. A persistent expression of VEGF was observed in epithelial cells adjacent to fenestrated endothelium, e.g., in choroid plexus and kidney glomeruli. The data was consistent with a role of VEGF as a multifunctional regulator of endothelial cell growth and differentiation Breier, G. et al. Development 114:521-532 (1992)). VEGF is structurally related to the .alpha. and .beta. chains of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), a mitogen for mesenchymal cells and placenta growth factor (PLGF), an endothelial cell mitogen. These three proteins belong to the same family and share a conserved motif. Eight cysteine residues contributing to disulfide-bond formation are strictly conserved in these proteins. Alternatively spliced mRNAs have been identified for both VEGF, PLGF and PDGF, and these different splicing products differ in biological activity and in receptor-binding specificity. VEGF and PDGF function as homodimers or heterodimers and bind to receptors which elicit intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity following receptor dimerization.
The temporal and spatial expression of VEGF has been correlated with physiological proliferation of the blood, and its high affinity binding sites are localized only on endothelial cells in tissue sections (Gajdusek, C. M., and Carbon, S. J., Cell Physiol. 139:570-579 (1989)); McNeil, P. L., Muthukrishnan, L., Warder, E., D'Amore, P. A., J. Cell. Biol. 109:811-822 (1989)). The factor can be isolated from pituitary cells and several tumor cell lines, and has been implicated in some human gliomas. Expression of some forms of VEGF confers on Chinese hamster ovary cells the ability to form tumors in nude mice (Ferrara, N., et al., J. Clin. Invest. 91:160-170 (1993)), and inhibition of VEGF function by anti-VEGF monoclonal antibodies was shown to inhibit tumor growth in immune-deficient mice (Kim, K. J., Nature 362:841-844 (1993)). Further, a dominant-negative mutant of the VEGF receptor has been shown to inhibit growth of glioblastomas in mice. Vascular permeability factor has also been found to be responsible for persistent microvascular hyperpermeability to plasma proteins even after the cessation of injury, which is a characteristic feature of normal wound healing. This suggests that VPF is an important factor in wound healing. Brown, L. F. et al., J. Exp. Med. 176:1375-9 (1992). The expression of VEGF is high in vascularized tissues (e.g., lung, heart, placenta and solid tumors) and correlates with angiogenesis both temporally and spatially. VEGF has also been shown to induce angiogenesis in vivo. Since angiogenesis is essential for the repair of normal tissues, especially vascular tissues, VEGF has been proposed for use in promoting vascular tissue repair (e.g., in atherosclerosis).
Thus, there is a need for polypeptides that function as growth factors in regulating a wide variety of developmental and physiological processes, since disturbances of such regulation may be involved in disorders relating to development, hemostasis, angiogenesis, tumor metastisis, cellular migration and ovulation, as well as neurogenesis. Therefore, there is a need for identification and characterization of new families of mammalian growth factors, particularly novel human growth factors, which can play a role in detecting, preventing, ameliorating or correcting such disorders.
Recently, insect homologs of several mammalian growth factors and their receptors have been genetically identified in Drosophila and suggested to play roles in oogenesis (Padgett, R. W. et al., Nature 325:81-84 (1987)); Fergoso, E. L. and Anderson, K. V., Cell 71:451-461 (1992); Stoehling-Hampton, K. et al., Nature 372:783-786 (1994); Panganiban, G. E. et al., Mol. Cell Biol. 10:2669-2677 (1990)), embryogenesis (Xia, T. et al., Science 283: 1756-1759 (1994); Raz, E. and Shilo, B. Z., Genes & Dev. 7: 1937-1943 (1993); Brand, A. H. and Perriman, N., Genes & Dev. 8: 629-639 (1994); Goode, S. et al., Development 116:177-192 (1992); Livneh, E. et al., Cell 40:599-607 (1985); Neuman-Silverberg, F. S. and Schupbach T., Cell 75:165-174 (1993)) and morphogenesis of specified organs (Heberlain, U. et al., Cell 75:913-926 (1993); Nellen, D. et al., Cell 78:225-237 (1994); Brummel, T. J. et al., Cell 78:251-261 (1994); Penton, A. et al., Cell 78:239-250 (1994)). For instance, a member of the Drosophila TGF-.beta. family, decapentaplegic (dpp), was shown to act as a morphogen for dorsal-ventral pattern organization in Drosophila (Fergoso, E. L. and Anderson, K. V., supra).
However, a prototype for a new polypeptide growth factor family, for which no mammalian homolog was known, has recently been identified in insects (K. Homma et al., J. Biochem. 271:13370-13775 (1996)). This growth factor, termed "Insect-Derived Growth Factor (IDGF)," was isolated from the conditioned medium of NIH Sape-4 cells, an embryonic cell line of the flesh fly, and was purified to homogeneity. Like many other cell lines established from various insects, NIH Sape-4 cells inoculated at high density proliferated in the absence of fetal calf serum and known growth factors. As suggested by this finding, these embryonic insect cells were found to produce a growth factor, IDGF, that stimulates their proliferation in an autocrine manner. IDGF is a homodimer of a protein with a molecular mass of 52 kDa, and its specific activity for stimulating replication of cultured embryonic cells is comparable to those of mammalian growth factors in stimulating target cell replication. Imunoblotting experiments revealed that unfertilized mature eggs of the flesh fly contained this growth factor, a certain level of which was maintained throughout embryonic development. Analysis of cDNA for the growth factor showed that this factor is a novel protein consisting of 553 amino acids. No significant sequence similarity was found between this factor and other proteins except 25% amino acid identity shared with atrial gland granule-specific antigen (AGSA) of Aplysia californica, suggesting that this insect antigen for which no function was previously known is also a growth factor.
It is also known that dendritic cells (DC) are the principal antigen presenting cells involved in primary immune responses; their major function is to obtain antigen in tissues, migrate to lymphoid organs, and activate T cells (Mohamadzadeh, M. et al., J. Immunol. 156: 3102-3106 (1996). For example, Langerhans cells (LC), which are skin-specific members of this family, have been shown to present a variety of antigens that may be generated in or penetrate into skin. In contact hypersensitivity, topical application of a reactive hapten activates LC to migrate out of the epidermis into draining lymph nodes, where they present this antigen to selected T cells. Human LC lines secrete relatively large amounts of various chemokines such as NAP-1/IL-8 and MIP-1.alpha. upon ligation of CD40 on cell surfaces. Thus, it is likely that LC possess the potential to produce a selected set of chemokines with chemotactic activities for T cells.
DC are also the first immune cells to arrive at sites of inflammation on mucous membranes, the major site of sexual transmission of HIV. Weissman, D. et al., J. Immunol. 155:4111-4117 (1995) Mature DC in peripheral blood bind HIV to their surface and induce infection when added to autologous CD4+ T cells in the absence of added stimuli, such as mitogens. These mature DC, when isolated directly from peripheral blood, appear to be conjugated to T cells, and these conjugates are infected easily and productively with HIV. These findings suggest a role for DC in early HIV infection in which they bind virus and interact with T cells locally or after migrating to a lymphoid organ, thus establishing a productive infection. Furthermore, they likely play a role in the propagation of HIV infection by activating T cells in the presence of HIV, which leads to viral replication and immune cell destruction. Thus, there is a need for identifying new polypeptide factors which may mediate interactions between DC and T cells which may lead to T cell activation or HIV infection.
DiGeorge Syndrome, also called thymic aplasia (failure of organ to develop naturally), thymic hypoplasia (defective development of tissue), or third and fourth pharyngeal arch or pouch syndrome, is a congenital immune disorder characterized by lack of embryonic (stage in prenatal development between 2-8 weeks inclusive) development or underdevelopment of the pharyngeal pouches. The syndrome is often associated with congenital heart defects, anomalies of the great vessels, esophageal atresia (congenital failure of esophageal tube to develop) and abnormalities of facial structures, and low levels of serum calcium as a result of the hypoparathyroidism (insufficient secretion of the parathyroid glands). In most cases there is an observable chromosomal defect on chromosome 22.
Pathologically, DiGeorge Syndrome is characterized by absence or hypoplasia of the thymus and parathyroids with varying degrees of T cell immunodeficiency. Deficiency of cell-mediated immune response may result in increased susceptibility to infection. Depending on the degree of parathyroid or thymic hypoplasia, hypocalcemic tetany (intermittent, tonic spasms, paroxysmal and involving the extremities) may be present. DiGeorge Syndrome arises from a disturbance of normal embryologic development of the pharyngeal pouches between the sixth and 10th weeks of gestation. This disturbance can affect the first, second, third, fourth and sixth pharyngeal pouches, depending on when during this key time period the disturbance occurs. For example, a disturbance of the third and fourth pharyngeal pouches affects development of the thymus and aorta. Disturbances in the third pharyngeal pouch also affect development of the parathyroid, while disturbances in the first and second pharyngeal pouches affect lip and external ear development. Development of the pulmonary artery is influenced by the sixth pharyngeal pouch. Thus, to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of DiGeorge syndrome and similar pathologies, there is a need to identify polypeptide factors which map near the chromosome 22 locus associated with DiGeorge syndrome, are expressed early in development, and also have effects on embryonal cells.


A first description of relevant characteristic of electrical elements is applied to a portion of a box containing the elements, preferably when the box is molded. When a second description is needed in lower volume as compared to the first description, a label having the second description is adhered over the first description to provide the desired display as well as to conceal the first description.

In a known fuse box, cover 1 is fitted on the receptacle shown in FIG. 7 after the fuses have been inserted. To the upper surface of fuse cover 1, label 2 carrying the desired indicia relating to the individual fuses in the box, is affixed. Specifically, in the present case there are a total of 21 fuses, seven rows arranged in three columns, mounted in the fuse box. Thus, label 2 is in accordance therewith so that sections 2a are also arrayed in three columns and seven rows. Indicia 2b on label 2 describe each of the fuses in the box. Label 2 is a resin sheet and has an adhesive applied to the rear surface thereof so that it can be readily adhered to cover 1.
The foregoing construction suffers from certain defects. If labels 2 are to be affixed to covers 1, it is necessary that each individual cover receive a label. When a particular model automobile is produced in very large numbers, each car must have an identical label manually adhered to its fuse box. This takes considerable time and is consequently expensive.

Box carrying indicia relating to its contents and method of applying the indicia


Children's clothing with matching decorative indicia for teaching relatively young children how to fold their clothing are disclosed. Either matching pair of decorative illustrations, such as blocks with letter or numbers, or foldline illustrations are placed on the clothing. The clothing is folded by sequentially matching the paired illustrations or folding along the foldline illustrations.

1. Field of Invention
A method and articles of clothing designed to teach relatively young children how to fold the articles of clothing. The method and articles of clothing utilizes the placement of either matching pairs of illustrations or fold line illustrations on the article of clothing to be folded. By sequentially matching the paired illustrations, or folding along the fold line illustrations, the article of clothing [or other object] is properly folded.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Children of relatively young ages have great difficulty in learning how to properly fold clothes. With younger children, efforts utilized in teaching the proper method of folding often becomes extremely frustrating for both children and parents. As a result, parents avoid teaching children how to fold clothes while the task of folding becomes a chore without reward.
The complexity of folding is related to the fact that in order to properly fold a shirt, a pair of pants, or skirt, various steps must be taken to properly fold different portions of the object on top of itself to arrive at a proper fold. To perform the proper folding steps children need to comprehend the geometry associated with each object as well as the proper placement of portions of the object on top of itself to arrive at a completed proper fold. These concepts are difficult for young children to comprehend and remember and are never considered an enjoyable or educational opportunity. Accordingly, parents often fold their childrens' clothes and defer teaching their children how to fold until later years.
Relatively young children do have certain skills that can be used to overcome these problems. Specifically, children of relatively young ages can recite the alphabet, count number, recognize patterns and pictures and assimilate various other similar concepts. Additionally, children enjoy participating in events where they can apply their newly learned skills to the world around them and often enjoy receiving an indication or reward for having completed a task properly. Finally, it has been found that children enjoy using their sense of touch, sound and sight in combination while learning, often responding quickly to such multisensory experiences. Nevertheless, these skills have not been applied to teaching children how to fold clothes or other objects.
Various attempts have been used to teach children how to dress. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 4,253,197 to Posta and U.S. Pat. No. 3,775,775 to Mazzenga are generally directed to solving such efforts. Other attempts have been used to entertain or educate children by placing illustrations on garments. Specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,101 to Slezak and U.S. Pat. No. 4,710,979 to Poole et al.
None of the apparatuses or methods disclosed in the above-identified U.S. patents disclose a method or apparatus for teaching children how to properly fold clothes.
Therefore, the principal object of this invention is to provide clothing suitable for teaching children how to properly fold their clothes.
Another object of this invention is to teach children how to properly fold their clothes by sequentially matching pairs of illustrations.
Another object of this invention is to teach children how to properly fold their clothes by sequentially folding their clothes along fold line illustrations.
Another object of the invention is to provide a reward to children after completing a proper fold.
Another object of this invention is to teach children how to properly fold shirts, pants, and skirts.
These highly desirable and useful results are accomplished by the present invention of teaching children how to properly fold clothes.
Objects and advantages of the invention are set forth in part herein and in part will be readily appreciately here from, or may learned by practice with the invention, the same being realized and attained by means of instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appending specification and claims.

Method and apparatus for teaching children how to fold clothes and other objects


An ink jet recording method using a recording apparatus including a plurality of ink jet heads, comprising performing printing by depositing droplets of an ink composition ejected from the ink jet heads on a recording medium, wherein the ink jet heads are aligned in a direction cross to a transporting direction of the recording medium and the ink composition has a yield value of 0.50 to 2.00 mPa.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording method.
2. Related Art
The ink jet recording method is a technique for printing performed by ejecting droplets of an ink onto a recording medium, such as a paper sheet, from an ink jet head. The ink jet recording method is being innovatively developed and increasingly applied to high-resolution image recording (printing), which has been performed by photo printing and offset printing. For the ink jet recording method, it is desirable that ink ejection nozzles of ink jet heads be prevented from being clogged.
One of the ink jet recording methods has been known in which a line head including ink ejection nozzles linearly aligned ejects droplets of an ink composition (hereinafter may be referred to as ink droplets) onto a recording paper being transported at a speed according to the ejection speed and volume of ink droplets. In order to increase the resolution of the image printed by this recording method, an arrangement of ink jet heads each including nozzles aligned in a straight line is proposed. In this arrangement, the ink jet heads are disposed in the direction along the width of the recording medium in a staggered manner across the entire width of the recording medium with no spaces so that the pitch of the nozzles is reduced to reduce the dot pitch.
In this instance, solid printing can be performed by overlapping ink jet heads adjacent to each other in the direction in which the recording medium is transported (hereinafter referred to as the transport direction). However, if the volume of the ink droplet ejected from the ink ejection nozzles in the overlap portion of each ink jet head overlapping with the adjacent ink jet head is set to be equal to the volume of the ink droplet ejected from the nozzles in the non-overlap portion or middle portion of the ink jet head, the overlap portions of the two ink jet heads eject ink droplets to the same position on the recording medium. Consequently, a striped pattern of nonuniform density is formed in the image. Such nonuniformity in density can be prevented by setting the ejection volume so that the ink ejection nozzles in the middle portion eject a larger volume of ink droplet than the ink ejection nozzles in the overlap portion. For example, JP-A-2007-185904 discloses an ink jet image printing system that perform printing on an image printing medium using a line head having overlap portions in which a predetermined number of nozzles of each head chip are aligned with nozzles of the adjacent head chip. The ink jet image printing system includes a density detector that detects the density of the image formed, an image memory module in which image data is stored, and a controller that controls the amount of ink to be ejected from the overlap portion of the head chips according to the difference in image density between an image formed by the overlap portion and an image formed by the middle portion of the head chip, obtained from the image data read out of the image memory module.
The above cited patent document describes that if the ink ejection nozzles of the overlap portion are slightly displaced along the line of the nozzle alignment by the displacement of an ink jet head to increase or reduce the nozzle-to-nozzle distance between the heads relative to the nozzle-to-nozzle distance in a head, the image printed on the recording medium exhibits nonuniformity in density or undesired white stripes at the portion corresponding to the joint of the heads. According to this document, the above system can solve such an issue.
However, the present inventors have conducted detailed research on the system disclosed in the above-cited document and found that even this system cannot sufficiently solve the issue of the striped pattern of nonuniform density in printed images.


A quick release fishing lure connection includes a base member rigidly connected to the lure body and a separate connector member with a connecting portion adapted to be received in a receptacle formed in the base member. The base member includes a retaining feature formed on a side wall of the receptacle and the connector member includes a locking member movably mounted on the connecting portion. The locking member is adapted to reside in either a retracted position or an extended position. When in the extended position, the locking member contacts the retaining feature on the base member to retain the connector member in the base. The retaining feature may comprise an annular groove that allows the connector member and a hook connected thereto to pivot within the base.

This invention relates to fishing lures and more particularly to a quick release connection for detachably connecting hooks, fishing line, and other articles to a lure.
Fishing lures commonly include one or more hooks that are permanently attached to the lure body. The permanently attached hooks, however, make storing and handling the lures difficult. Also, where the permanently attached hooks are ill suited for a particular application for the lure, the entire lure must be removed from the line and replaced with one having the desired hooks. This requirement that the entire lure be changed when different hooks or other features are desired creates the need for a large number of lures and further exacerbates the storage and handling problem of lures with permanently attached hooks.
In addition to the hooks permanently attached to the fishing lure, fishing lures also include a permanently attached eye by which the lure may be connected to the fishing line. The preferred method for attaching the fishing lure to the fishing line is simply to tie the line to the eye. Tying fishing lures to fishing line, however, takes time and skill and is particularly difficult to perform while riding in a small, unstable, fishing boat. Numerous connectors exist but are often bulky and interfere with the action of the lure.
Lures with detachable hooks are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 3,009,279 to Jacobson and U.S. Pat. No. 2,884,732 to Bailer show respectively a J-slot arrangement and a key arrangement for detachably connecting hooks to a fishing lure. U.S. Pat. No. 3,357,124 to Stepacoff, et al., uses another arrangement for detachably connecting a fishing hook to a lure. All of these devices, however, suffer in that the connector member upon which the hook is mounted must be aligned perfectly with the receiving arrangement on the lure in order to make the connection. Also, all of these devices prevent the hook from rotating on its base. Furthermore, the Stepacoff, et al. detachable hook arrangement interferes with the appearance and function of the lure and can allow the hook to release accidentally.

Quick release fishing lure connection apparatus and method


Exemplary embodiments provide a technique to offload storage workload. In one aspect, a computer comprises: a memory; and a controller operable to manage a relationship among port information of an initiator port, information of a logical volume storing data from the initiator port, and port information of a target port to be used for storing data from the initiator port to the logical volume, and to cause another computer to process a storage function of a storage system including the logical volume and the target port by creating a virtual machine for executing the storage function and by configuring the relationship on said another computer, said another computer sending the data to the logical volume of the storage system after executing the storage function. In specific embodiments, by executing the storage function on said another computer, the workload of executing the storage function on the storage system is eliminated.

The present invention relates generally to storage systems and, more particularly, to reducing workload in a storage system.
The amount of digital data is growing rapidly. As a result, a storage subsystem is required to provide more storage capacity. To utilize storage resources better, a storage subsystem provides data reduction features such as compression and deduplication. These features, however, consume more computing resources such as processor and memory of storage subsystem. To improve data reduction workload, specialized hardware for processing such as compression and deduplication is provided. This kind of hardware acts as the gateway between server and storage. For example, US2009/0063528 discloses a method for de-duplicating redundant data in memory, storage, or both, comprising: providing a virtualization layer on a computer architecture comprising memory for temporarily storing data, and storage for persistently storing data.
The specialized hardware approach is difficult to expand capacity according to the usage of data store, I/O, and processor/memory. Also, it is difficult to migrate from running process on the storage subsystem without disrupting existing connection between host and storage. US2009/0063528 does not show how to migrate from running process on the storage subsystem without disrupting existing connection between host and storage.

Method and apparatus for offloading storage workload


A rear wiper assembly that moves to a parked position located out of contact with the rear windshield upon the occurrence of a specified condition. Upon resuming the normal operation of the rear wiper assembly the rear wiper arm waits a first delay prior to moving to a flip position located on the rear windshield and then waits a second delay prior to resuming its normal oscillation across the rear windshield.

A. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to the art of methods and apparatuses regarding the manufacture and design of automobiles, and more particularly to methods and apparatuses regarding automobile rear wiper assemblies.
B. Description of the Related Art
It is known to manufacture a vehicle that includes a rear windshield. Often, the rear windshield is a "flip-glass" window or a rear windshield that can be opened independent of a rear-facing door or tailgate. Typically, the flip-glass window is pivotally connected to the rear-facing door or tailgate allowing an operator to conveniently access an interior storage or passenger compartment located in the rear portion of the vehicle from outside the vehicle without having to open the rear-facing door or tailgate. Commonly, the flip-glass window is used in combination with a rear wiper assembly. The rear wiper assembly comprises a wiper arm that oscillates across the flip-glass window in order to clear raindrops or other moisture as well as debris that may collect on the flip-glass window and impede the vehicle operator's rearward field of view.
It is known to "force park" the rear wiper arm of a rear wiper assembly when an operator attempts to open the flip-glass window, to open the rear-facing door or tailgate, or the operator moves the ignition to the OFF position while the rear wiper assembly is operating. Prior to utilizing known force park methods, often, if the operator attempted to open the flip-glass window, to open the rear-facing door or tailgate, or moved the ignition to the OFF position, the rear wiper arm would immediately stop operating while still in contact with the flip-glass window. Consequently, the operator would have to close the flip-glass window, which was now ajar, turn off the rear wiper assembly, and then attempt to re-open the flip-glass window. Therefore, a "forced park condition" may be said to occur when an operator attempts to open the flip-glass window, to open the rear-facing door or tailgate, or moves the ignition to the OFF position while the rear wiper assembly is operating. Force parking a rear wiper assembly then may refer to the method for ceasing operation of the rear wiper assembly and moving the rear wiper arm to a "parked position" or a position wherein the rear wiper arm is not in contact with the flip-glass window prior to opening the flip-glass window.
Conventionally, three methods or scenarios are known for dealing with the subsequent termination of the forced park condition. A first scenario entails the rear wiper assembly remaining in the parked position. In this first scenario, the operator must reset the rear wiper assembly by turning an operating switch to the off position and then back to an operating position in order for the rear wiper assembly to resume its normal operations. A second scenario requires that the rear wiper assembly immediately resume operating upon the termination of the forced park condition. A third scenario requires that the rear wiper assembly experiences a predetermined delay prior to resuming its normal operations. In both the second and third scenarios, the rear wiper arm resumes its normal operation by moving directly from the parked position without any warning to the operator indicating the resumption of normal operations.
Although known methods work well for their intended purpose, several disadvantages exist. One disadvantage relates to the positioning of a rear window handle and a rear window locking mechanism. It is desirable to place the rear wiper arm at an approximate center of the of the flip-glass window. By positioning the rear wiper arm at an approximate center of the flip-glass window, the effective clearing area of the rear wiper arm may be maximized. This placement of the rear wiper arm conflicts, however, with the placement of the rear window handle and rear window locking mechanism as it is also desirable to place both the rear window handle and rear window locking mechanism at an approximate center of the flip-glass window in order to ensure the proper sealing of the flip-glass window. Off-centered placement could result in improper sealing of the flip-glass window that would allow moisture and air to pass between the flip-glass window and the rear-facing door or tailgate causing undesirable leaking and wind noise. It is known to design the rear wiper arm with a curvature that allows the rear wiper arm to pass over the rear window handle and rear window locking mechanism while still providing a maximum effective clearing area. By resuming normal operation of the rear wiper assembly directly from the parked position, an operator is given no warning as to the impending resumption of operation. As a result, an operator may inadvertently leave their arm or hand in contact with or in close proximity to the rear window handle or the rear window locking mechanism. The operator's hand or arm may then be contacted and potentially injured by the rear wiper arm.
Another disadvantage is associated with the first scenario. Requiring the operator to reset the rear wiper assembly prior to the rear wiper assembly resuming its normal operations may lead to confusion as to why the rear wiper assembly is not functioning. An operator attempting to activate the rear wiper assembly after the termination of a forced park condition may notice that the operating switch is activated and the operator may therefore conclude that the rear wiper assembly is malfunctioning or broken because it is not operating. This confusion can lead to customer dissatisfaction and lower sales and is therefore generally undesirable. What is needed then is a rear wiper assembly that eliminates operator confusion and provides the operator adequate warning of an impending resumption of the normal operation of the rear wiper assembly after the termination of a forced park condition.

Rear wiper control method when combined with flip up glass


The present invention adds an additional feedback loop to a phase locked loop (PLL). The additional feedback loop detects if the actual output frequency of the PLL is above or below the desired output frequency. If the actual output frequency is above the desired output frequency a signal is added to the forward path of the PLL to decrease the frequency of the PLL oscillator. If the actual output frequency is below the desired output frequency a signal is added to the forward path of the PLL to increase the frequency of the PLL oscillator.

Phase-locked loops (PLLs) are feedback control systems that are often an essential part of many telecommunications devices. PLLs are used in modulators and demodulators, in frequency synthesizers, in clock synchronizations circuits and in many other high-speed communication applications. PLL can be implemented using digital or analog devices.
FIG. 1A shows a block diagram of a prior art PLL. The PLL shown in FIG. 1 includes four main components, namely, a Phase Frequency Detector (PFD) 11, a Filter 12, a Variable Frequency Oscillator (VFO) 13 and feedback loop with an adjustable frequency divider 14. The VFO 13 could for example be a Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO).
The PFD 11 compares the phase and frequency of the feedback signal to the reference signal and it generates an error signal indicating any difference it detects. The error signal generated by PFD 11 passes through the filter 12 and is used to adjust the frequency of the VFO 13. Any differences between the input signal and the feedback signal are thus used to change the frequency of the VFO.
A PLL can be used as a frequency multiplier. For example, in the circuit shown in FIG. 1, the output of the reference signal may be a 10 Mhz signal. The output of the VCO may for example be a 1 Ghz signal. In such a PLL the frequency divider 14 would divide the 1 Ghz output signal down to a 10 Mhz signal. The frequency divider 14 can be adjusted to a higher or lower divisor in order to change the output frequency of the PLL.
There is great deal of published literature which describes the design and operation of prior art PLLs. For example, PLL technology is described in a text book entitled "Phase-Locked Loops" by Roland Best, ISBN: 0071412018, dated Jun. 20, 2003. Other books and literature which describe the principles and applications of PLL are also available.
When the frequency of a prior art PLL is changed, some time is required for the circuit to move between frequencies. FIG. 1B illustrates that as a PLL moves from a frequency A to a frequency B, the frequency may first go to a frequency C which is highest frequency at which the circuit is capable of operating. It may lock at this frequency for some time and finally drop back down to frequency A. FIG. 1B is intended merely to show that the frequency fluctuates or varies and that it may lock at the circuit's upper (or lower) frequency for a considerable time period. In general, the locking can be caused by physical limitations of the circuit, such as, not enough frequency range or not enough voltage range of the filter. While (for convenience of illustration) only a few fluctuations (or oscillations) are shown in FIG. 1B, in general, there will be may such fluctuations. The important point that FIG. 1B illustrates is that when the frequency of the circuit is changed, a considerable time may elapse before the circuit settles down at its new frequency.
It is often desirable to have a circuit that settles quickly when the operating frequency is changed. This can be particularly important in applications such as in radio frequency (RF) circuit which do frequency hopping and which have a "tight" frequency range. In such circuits it is important that the circuit settle at a new frequency quickly. Furthermore, such circuits may have a tendency to clamp at the extreme upper and lower frequency limits for a considerable period of time (relative to the frequency period), when the frequency of the circuit is adjusted.
Several different techniques are known to shorten the time required for a PLL to settle at a new frequency. One such prior art technique uses a VCO that has a wider frequency range than what is actually needed. In order to have a wide frequency range, the VCO must have a large VCO gain Kv (MHz/V). In general, VCOs with large Kv are undesirable because they will consume more power, be susceptible to noise at the input to the VCO, and will also exhibit different behavior (e.g., lock times and PLL bandwidth) than the VCO with a small Kv.
Another prior art technique uses a dual-gain scheme of coarse and fine gain control for the VCO. The disadvantage to this technique is that it greatly increases the complexity of the VCO design, complicates the overall system design (when to switch between coarse and fine gain, how to handle the coarse to fine transition, etc.), requires additional devices and therefore a larger layout, and also requires high power since the counters must be able to keep up with the VCO frequency.
A third prior art technique is to adjust the PLL to have a large forward gain. This may be accomplished by adjusting the VCO gain, the pump current, or filter parameters. This technique also complicates the PLL design and requires high power for the counters to keep up with the VCO frequency. Additionally, in the problem area where the VCO is clamped, adjusting the PLL parameters is useless. Furthermore, speeding up the lock response may cause even more overshoot into the clamped region of the VCO, which actually hurts lock time.
The present invention provides an improved technique for decreasing the amount of time required for a PLL to settle at a new frequency when the frequency of the PLL is changed.

Method of improving lock acquisition times in systems with a narrow frequency range


A throttling specification is received by a computer task to direct the computer task's usage of critical computer resources, such as CPU cycles. The computer task comprises units of work, and the elapsed time of each unit of work is calculated as each unit of work completes. Upon the completion of one unit of work, a suspension time is calculated based at least partially on the throttling specification and the elapsed time corresponding to the completed unit of work. Prior to initiating the next unit of work for the computer task, the computer task is suspended for the calculated suspension time. In this manner, other important computing tasks operating in the computer system have access to critical computer resources during the suspension period. Even though the computer task may be given the highest possible priority to ensure a timely and predictable completion, total monopolization of critical computer resources is avoided.

Databases have wide spread usage in many large enterprises where high transaction volume, reliability, availability and scalability are of the utmost importance. Typically, these enterprise databases are very large with entries that number into the millions and their reliable operation is critical to the success of the enterprise.
An example of databases with these characteristics is Information Management System (IMS) databases, developed by International Business Machines Corporation. (IMS is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.)
Due to the high volume of transactions, it is necessary from time to time to re-organize these databases to minimize the performance impact of usage induced fragmentation of the data and related records within the database. Re-organizing a database returns the structure of the database to a non-fragmented state yielding significant performance improvement over an equivalent fragmented database. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that significant performance improvement for database transactions can be realized by keeping related pieces of information proximate to each other in storage.
However, with large databases comprising millions of records, a reorganization process takes significant amounts of computer resources and, even with dedicated computer resources, may take several hours of elapsed time to complete. These extended time frames may create several problems that the enterprise must deal with. First, the extended reorganization time increases the possibility that a disruptive event or failure could occur prior to completion of the reorganization. It is highly desirable to complete long running jobs without incidence due to the complications of continuing to endure poor performance on the fragmented database, as well as wasted time and effort in restarting (or starting over) the lengthy reorganization process. Accordingly, it is not surprising to find that when reorganization of a large database is required, an enterprise typically assigns very high priority to the reorganization task in order to ensure completion of the reorganization in a predictable and timely manner. This high task priority directs the workload manager (or task scheduler) component of the operating system (or subsystem) to prioritize the availability of critical computing resources for these high priority tasks, thereby facilitating the timely completion of these tasks without unanticipated delays. Examples of critical computer resources typically include CPU cycles, I/O buffers, I/O channels, and the like.
However, simply assigning a very high priority to a task may create another problem. Namely, a very high priority, long running task can tie up critical computer resources for extended periods of time and thereby cause significant disruption to other important work in the system. When online response times undergo substantial degradation, users of the computing system may become frustrated and unproductive. Thus, on one hand the enterprise desires to assign very high priorities for large database reorganizations to ensure timely and predictable completion; but on the other hand, this may be disruptive to users of the database concurrently initiating online transactions with expectations of achieving reasonable response times.
While it is possible to temper the negative effects of these problems by adjusting the priorities of the reorganization task and/or the tasks of other important work in the computer system, this option risks significant delay of the database reorganization which may be unacceptable to an enterprise. That is, if the priority of the database reorganization is lowered relative to other tasks, the resultant effect may be to allow too much computer resource to be diverted away from the reorganization task with the undesirable result of unanticipated, extended delays in realizing the completed reorganization.
Accordingly, there is a need to ensure the timely completion of a critical database reorganization, or other high priority computing process of a very long duration, while avoiding the monopolization of computer resources such that shorter tasks of relatively high priority can complete without extended delays.

Method, computer program product, and system for a self-throttled computing task


A chip comprising a bonding pad region and a transmission section. The bonding pad region has a first impedance, and is configured for electrical connection to an external transmission line. The transmission section extends away from the bonding pad region and has a second impedance. The bonding pad region is configured to enable field confinement and field matching between the bonding pad region and the external transmission line, and the second impedance is not equal to the first impedance.

In many RF components, such as modulators, there is a need to connect an external transmission line to a chip. This is typically done by using a set of bonding pads on the chip for electrical connection to the external transmission line. Connection may be achieved using bonding wires, although it will be appreciated that other approaches such as, for example, a flip chip, may also be employed. Typically, a transmission section on the chip may extend away from the connection towards electrical componentry on the chip. An exemplary top view of an edge region of a chip with a bonding pad is shown in FIG. 1. The RF circuitry comprises a body region 101 (for transmission away from the edge of the chip), a bonding pad region 102, and a taper 103 at the transition between the bonding pad region 102 and body region 101. The body region is effectively itself a flat transmission line with a ground electrode 111 either side of a signal electrode 112. The bonding pad region 102 connects to an external transmission line 104 (shown schematically in FIG. 1). The external transmission line could be coaxial or flat. The pads 121, 122 in the bonding pad region are wider than the electrodes 111, 112 in the body region, in order to allow a secure connection to the external transmission line to be made. The connection may also be placed away from the edge region of the chip.
In order to maintain substantially the same impedance as the body section (in order to reduce losses to signals traversing the bonding pad), the gaps between the signal pad 122 and the ground pads(s) 121 of the chip need to be greater than the corresponding gaps between the signal electrode 112 and the ground electrode(s) 111 of the body section, creating a wide cross section for the bonding region.

Optimised RF input section for coplanar transmission line


A controller for a boost power factor correction (PFC) converter. The controller is configured to operate the boost PFC converter in multiple operating modes, including a continuous conduction mode (CCM), a transition mode (TM), and a hybrid mode in which the controller operates the converter in both CCM and TM within a same line cycle. An example controller includes a current control loop and a mode transition circuit. The current control loop is configured to compute an inductor current for each of first and second operation modes, based on a current sample taken, for example, during a boost synchronous rectifier conduction period of the converter. The mode transition circuit includes digital logic circuitry and is configured to generate a pulse indicating that one, two or all three of: zero-voltage switching (ZVS) has been achieved; the synchronous rectifier conduction period is active; and/or one of TM or hybrid mode is active.

In the context of AC-to-DC power converters, power factor refers to the ratio of real power to apparent power. The real power is the power consumed by the load, and the apparent power is the product of the rms voltage and rms current of the converter while delivering that real power to the load. Power factor is a dimensionless value, between 0 and 1, with 1 being the best power factor (no circulating power). For an AC-to-DC converter, the AC input current does not naturally follow the AC input voltage, resulting in low power factor. Thus, in such converters, power factor correction (PFC) is used to maintain a relatively high power factor (compared to no PFC). A high PFC not only reduces circulating power (and increases efficiency), but also facilitates compliance with various regulations on AC-to-DC converters operating off a utility grid. An example such converter is referred to as a boost PFC converter. In operation, a boost PFC converter "boosts" (steps-up) the input voltage to some higher level by storing energy in an inductor and releasing it to a load at the higher voltage. Boost PFC converters can be bridged or bridgeless.
A bridged boost PFC converter topology includes a bridge rectifier (e.g., either passive or active) between the AC input source and the boost converter. A bridgeless PFC converter avoids the use of a separate bridge rectifier at the input, as the rectification is incorporated into the operation of the converter itself. This reduces power losses that normally occur in a full-bridge rectifier and, as a result, increases overall system efficiency. In both bridged and bridgeless topologies, the switching of the boost PFC converter is controlled such that shape of the input current mimics that of the input voltage, and can be accomplished both with hard-switching or soft-switching. Hard-switching refers to the actual switching of a given switching device (e.g., silicon metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor, or MOSFET), and tends to cause power loss during on-off transitions of the switch and generates switching noise. In contrast, soft-switching uses an inductive-capacitive (LC) resonant circuit present within the converter to turn a given switch on and off at zero (or nearly zero) current or voltage. In this manner, soft-switching can be used to reduce switching loss and noise. However, soft-switching is not available in all operation modes.
In more detail, existing PFC (bridged and bridgeless) boost converters are designed to operate either in continuous conduction mode (CCM) or transition mode (TM, also known as critical conduction mode, CrCM) at full power. Both CCM and TM designs may utilize discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) as their low power mode. CCM operation has low RMS current levels but cannot achieve soft-switching during all switching transitions. Consequently, CCM designs tend to have lower conduction losses, but higher switching losses. The converse is true for TM operation, which has relatively higher RMS current levels but operates with soft-switching (low switching loss). Therefore, CCM designs tend to be used for high power level AC-DC applications, where input current levels are high and the designs benefit from reduced conduction losses. On the other hand, TM designs tend to be used for lower power AC-DC applications, where the input current levels are relatively low and the designs benefit from low switching losses.
There remain a number of non-trivial issues associated with such boost PFC converter designs.

Autonomous mode transition for multimode operation in boost PFC converters


The present invention provides histone deacetylase inhibitors of general formula (I), process for the preparation of such compounds and uses of the compounds in medicine.

A number of recent research reports suggest that chromosome translocations in cancer cells disrupt proteins involved in the process of histone acetylation and de-acetylation, and that these abnormal proteins cause aberrant gene repression. Histones are the protein component of chromatin, which comprises DNA supported by histone octamers to form nucleosomes. These histone proteins have lysine rich tails which when deacetylated become charged and attracted to the DNA backbone. This condenses the chromatin structure such that proteins involved in gene transcription cannot gain access, resulting in transcriptional repression.
It has been proposed that inhibition of histone deacetylase (HDAC) enzymes could relieve such gene repression and reinstate the program of differentiation and apoptosis in a manner analogous to the use of retinoic acid in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia—a form of "transcription therapy" A number of compounds that inhibit HDAC have been described, and several are in phase I and II clinical trials. These compounds have been shown to induce cell cycle arrest, differentiation and cell death in cancer cells growing in vitro and in animal xenograft models. The most potent HDAC inhibitor, Trichostatin A (TSA) was isolated from Streptomyces hygroscopicus in the 1970's, as an antifungal antibiotic against trichophyton. Although potent in vitro, TSA has limited stability and is therefore not therapeutically useful. Novel compounds with a similar structure, such as suberoylanilide hydroxamate (SAHA), have activity in pre-clinical models, and have shown some anti-cancer activity in phase I studies. However, this compound is also rapidly eliminated, requiring large doses for activity. Other HDAC inhibitors that have been tested in the phase I setting have major side effects (i.e. Depsipeptide), or affect histone acetylation by an indirect mechanism (CI-994). Others are still undergoing early clinical investigation.
Potent, metabolically stable, HDAC inhibitors would be more therapeutically useful than many of those currently in clinical trials.


An image display system has an operating device, a specifying device and an image display device. If the operating device receives a single operation from an exterior (i.e., from user), the operating device outputs first and second signals based on the single operation. The specifying device specifies a viewpoint and a sight line direction to look down a picture based on the first and second signals outputted by the operating device. The image display device displays an image of the picture in such a manner that the picture is looked down from the viewpoint in the sight line direction specified by the specifying device. As a result, the operation for adjusting the viewpoint and the sight line direction is facilitated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an operating device, an image display system, a map display controller, and a program for the map display controller.
2. Description of Related Art
A user of an operating device described in JP-A-2003-99139 can perform two or more inputs with the single operating device by gripping and tilting a grip main body and by tilting a small lever provided on an upper portion of the grip main body with the thumb. However, this operating device can perform only a single kind of input through the single operation performed by the user with the hand gripping the grip of the operating device. The second kind of input is realized by additional motion of the thumb.
Conventionally, a device for sensing an inclination of the grip of the operating device has been provided near a supporting point supporting the grip. Accordingly, it has been difficult to make the grip thinner. Conventionally, the size of the operating device has to be enlarged to provide the center of the inclination of the grip of the operating device at a distant position.
A map display device described in JP-A-2002-267481 can set height of a viewpoint to view a map, a looking-down angle from the viewpoint, a spreading angle from the viewpoint and the like when the map display device displays a bird's-eye view of the map. However, the map display device requires complicated operations to set the height of the viewpoint, the looking-down angle and the like.

Operating device, image display system, map display controller and program for map display controller


A new class of opioid receptor analogs is described based on an alanine substitution in the three position in the enkephalin analog DPDPE. The alanine-substituted analogs show increased selectivity for the delta type of opioid receptors over the mu type of receptors.

Opioid analgesics are narcotic drugs used for treating a wide variety of clinical symptoms, most particularly pain. The serious drawbacks in the use of plant opioids, such as morphine, including addiction and intestinal blockage, are well known. A form of naturally occurring opiates is found in the nervous tissues of animals. These natural animal opiates are known as enkephalins. Naturally occurring enkephalins, which are part of a larger family of chemical signals known as endorphins, are mixtures of two pentapeptides. Much research effort has been focussed on enkephalins and their analogs in search of analgesics with lesser drawbacks.
As a part of this research, the receptors to which opioids bind have been studied and characterized. The opioid receptors are the molecules on the cell surface which recognize the opioid and imitates its biological effects. The opioid receptors have been found to vary in their characteristics, and several types or classes of such receptors have been identified. The major types of proposed receptors are the mu, delta, and kappa receptors. All three receptors are involved in analgesia, but differ in other pharmacological effects. The mu receptors are associated with respiratory depression and inhibition of gastrointestinal transit. Kappa receptors mediate sedation. The delta receptors also mediate analgesfa, but do not seem to be associated with inhibition of gastrointestinal transit. Some recent evidence suggests that compounds selective for the delta receptors may not be subject to the dependence and tolerance problems generally associated with opiate analgesics that are non-selective as to receptor type or are selective for the mu receptor. Opioid compounds which bind to the opiate receptors are said to be "agonists" if they inhibit electrically stimulated output of neurotransmitters in tissues containing receptors and "antagonists" if they prevent such inhibition. Morphine is an agonist and naloxone is an antagonist.
The natural enkephalins, as stated, are a mixture of two pentapeptides, methionine enkephalin (H-Tyr-Gly-Gly-Phe-Met-OH) and leucine enkephalin (H-Tyr-Gly-Gly-Phe-Leu-OH). Much research has been directed toward identifying analogs of these compounds which are selective as to the types of opiate receptors to which they bind. See, e.g., Hruby and Gehrig, Medicinal Research Reviews, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 343-401 (1989).
One class of analogs of natural enkephalins has been identified with relatively high selectivity for delta-type opiate receptors. This type is based on substitutions for the second and fifth amino acid residues of the pentapeptides, with either cysteine or with D- or L-penicillamine (beta, beta-dimethylcysteine). A particularly noteworthy member of that class is [D-Pen.sup.2, D-Pen.sup.5 ] enkephalin, or "DPDPE," which has the D-Pen residues at the second and fifth positions joined by a disulfide link to make a cyclic molecule. This compound, and several analogs of it, are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,518,711. The selectivity of DPDPE for the delta receptor is also described in Clark et al., Eur. Jour. Pharm., 128, pp. 303-304 (1986) among others. In addition, analogs of DPDPE have also been created, principally consisting of variations at the fourth residue (Phe), some of which have an even greater selectivity for the delta receptor. However, compounds of even greater selectivity for the delta receptors would still be useful, not only as candidates for clinical application, but also as research tools to further characterize the functioning of these biologically significant receptors.

Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona


An illumination device including at least one arm supporting one or more light emitting devices, such arm pivoting from a closed configuration for passing through a hole to an open configuration for function. In a preferred embodiment, the illumination device includes three or five arms, light emitting diodes (LEDs) as the light emitting devices and, springs for automatically pivoting the arms to the open configuration.

This invention relates generally to the field of illumination devices and more specifically to illumination devices where a light bulb or other device is typically installed through an opening into a housing.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention is particularly useful for replacing incandescent lamps used in automobiles, boats, aircraft and other vehicles, where the invention would be applied as a replacement for incandescent bulbs and use light emitting diodes (LEDs) as the source of illumination. Current LED devices produce very directional light emission. The placement and location of these LEDs in a light module should be spread out to maximize the projected effective area of light emission when viewed in operation. The result of spreading out the LEDs produces a light pattern.
The prior art describing incandescent lamps generally describes a glass bulb mounted in a brass bayonet base, a plastic base, or an integrated glass base, all having either single or dual contacts. One type of these incandescent lamps is described in Devir et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,278. Incandescent vehicle lamps have a perceived single point of light emission at the filament. The invention has multiple points of light emission that are distinct and create a light pattern. The preferred embodiment of the invention has provisions for several standard mounting bases having both single or dual contacts.
Lodhie et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,996, Wesson, U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,636, and Cheselske, U.S. Pat. No. 5,160,200 describe an automotive replacement LED lamp with multiple points of light emission from discreet LEDs. The LEDs in these lamps are located in a concentrated small area and in turn cause them to be perceived as a single point of light emission when viewed in operation. The nature of LEDs produces very directional light emission therefore these lamps have a small projected effective area of light when viewed in operation. The function of multiple LEDs in close proximity to each other within a confined area could be limited or prevented by an inability to adequately dissipate the heat produced by the LEDs. The invention has expanding arms that allows the light emitting devices to be spread out causing the projected effective area of light emission to be much larger and form a light pattern. The spread out light emitting devices also allows a much greater ability to dissipate heat.
Roney et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,551 and Hochstein, U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,240 teach one approach to producing a light pattern and providing a large projected effective area of light when viewed in operation. Roney and Hochstien describe an array of LEDs mounted on a large fixed substrate with the LEDs spread out in a pattern. Huang, U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,588 has a similar approach but also incorporates a housing with lens. These lamps are not designed to fit through a standard automotive light module mounting hole and do not fit in standard automotive lamp sockets. The invention collapses to fit through a standard automotive mounting hole and mates to standard lamp sockets.
Examples of lighting fixtures on a single vehicle where the invention may be implemented can include headlights, taillights, turn signals, brake lights, fog lights and other fixtures that will be known to those of skill in the art. Vehicles with such devices include and are not limited to motorcycles, boats, cars, busses, trucks, aircraft and other motorized or non-motorized devices. Other implementations of the invention may include decorative or functional lighting devices such as household or industrial lighting and hand-held flashlights that are designed around or with a bulb-type light source, and the choice of light source for the device is effectively limited by the opening, housing and connector type as configured for the light bulb.
By providing a new type of light source, this invention can provide a variety of lighting patterns with the lighting configured in a manner that will allow adequate heat dissipation. The invention is designed in a manner that allows a portion of the device to expand after installation within the lens, allowing a lighting pattern that is larger than the opening size for installation of a typical bulb. The expanded lighting area can allow multiple lighting patterns to be designed. The mounting portion of the lighting device can be designed for compatibility with existing or future connectors, mounting bases and electrical contact specifications.

Illumination device with arms that open after passing through a hole


A heat exchanger for a refrigerated merchandiser includes a fan housing having an asymmetrical configuration. The fan housing can include a first section with a first open outlet and a second section with a second open outlet. A first fan is positioned in the first section and configured to create a first airflow through the first open outlet. A second fan is positioned in the second section and configured to create a second airflow through the second open outlet. An evaporator is in fluid communication with the first open outlet and second open outlet. The first section is asymmetrical about a first section central axis and the second section is asymmetrical about a second section central axis.

The application relates to a merchandiser including a fan apparatus that creates an even air flow distribution.
Generally, refrigerated display case merchandisers use forced air convention systems designed with a heat exchanger assembly that includes one or more evaporator coils and one or more fans positioned in a plenum. The fans force a certain volume of air over the coil to achieve desired cooling through natural convection. Cooled air is directed through one or more air passageways in the merchandiser to provide cooling to a product display area.

Merchandiser with even distribution fan plenum


Methods and solutions for forming lanthanum-modified lead zirconium titanate (PLZT) layers are disclosed. The PLZT layers are highly transparent to 1550 nm wavelength light, and have high crystal quality. Loss factors as low as 0.25 dB per mm are achieved. Fast and low-cost methods are disclosed for making the layers. Devices structures using the layers are also disclosed.

Several types of optical communication devices comprise optical waveguides, optical modulators, and optical switching structures made of electro-optic material. A substrate optical waveguide comprises a lower cladding layer formed on the substrate, a core layer having a higher index of refraction formed over the lower cladding layer, and usually an upper cladding layer formed over the core layer. An optical modulator, or an optical switching structure, may be formed in line with the optical waveguide by forming a body of electro-optic (E/O) material on the same level as the core material, with the electro-optic material usually sandwiched between upper and lower cladding layers. Two electrodes are formed on opposing surfaces of the body E/O material, and are used to apply an electric field to the E/O body. The electric field changes selected optical properties (e.g., refractive index, polarization) of the E/O material. The changes in optical properties may be used to achieve various types of modulating, switching, and filtering functions.
A coefficient may be used to relate the change in the optical property of the material with respect to the applied electric field (i.e., the applied voltage divided by the dimension of the material along which the voltage acts). Electro-optic materials are usually crystalline or highly ordered materials (as in the case of polymers). In both cases, the value of the electro-optic coefficient usually depends upon the direction of the electric field relative to the orientation of the material's crystal or highly-ordered structure. Because of this, the electro-optic property is usually specified as a matrix of coefficient values, each of which is measured along a different axis of the material's crystal or ordered structure. This matrix is often called the tensor matrix of the material's property.
In electro-optic devices used in large systems integrated on substrate carriers, the E/O material usually comprises an inorganic single crystalline material, such as lithium niobate, which is difficult to grow and pattern. Single crystalline materials cannot be easily formed on substrate carriers, and must be grown on top of a base crystalline substrate in order to cause the material to form a crystalline structure that follows that of the substrate. Additionally, lithium niobate has a relatively low responses to the applied electric field compared to other inorganic crystalline materials, such as lanthanum-modified lead zirconium titanate (PLZT). However, conventionally grown PLZT layers have relatively high optical losses in the 1550-nm wavelength band, which is a common wavelength for optical communications. The optical loss generally exceeds 2 dB per millimeter of distance traveled through the PLZT layer. Also, the film thickness of the conventionally grown PLZT is so thin that special efforts are need to couple light into the film. In addition, the conventional deposition method usually cannot provide a high quality PLZT film on a large scale substrate. This inability limits the potential for mass production of PLZT films. Thus, the high optical loss value and these geometrical factors limit the practical use of PLZT material in integrated optics applications.

Methods of forming lanthanum-modified lead zirconium titanate (PLZT) layers


A technique includes maintaining a signal-to-noise ratio of the transmitted reference signals to be less than a lower signal-to-noise ratio threshold for a first period of time that is a sufficient length of time to allow a correctly operating user device to detect an out-of-sync status and subsequently declare a radio link failure with respect to the connection, increasing, after the maintaining, the signal-to-noise ratio of the reference signals transmitted to the user device from the second signal-to-noise ratio to a third signal-to-noise ratio, wherein the third signal-to-noise ratio is greater than an upper signal-to-noise ratio threshold, after the increasing, sending, by the network device to the user device, an uplink resource grant, and confirming that the network device does not receive an uplink transmission from the user device in response to the uplink resource grant within a second period of time.

A communication system may be a facility that enables communication between two or more nodes or devices, such as fixed or mobile communication devices. Signals can be carried on wired or wireless carriers.
An example of a cellular communication system is an architecture that is being standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). A recent development in this field is often referred to as the long-term evolution (LTE) of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio-access technology. S-UTRA (evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access) is the air interface of 3GPP's Long Term Evolution (LTE) upgrade path for mobile networks. In LTE, base stations or access points (APs), which are referred to as enhanced Node AP (eNBs), provide wireless access within a coverage area or cell. In LTE, mobile devices, or mobile stations are referred to as user equipments (UE). LTE has included a number of improvements or developments.
For reliable and efficient communication in a wireless system, a user device or UE that is connected to a serving cell or base station (BS) may monitor its downlink radio link quality and determine whether it is in out-of-sync (OOS) or in in-sync (IS) status. The procedure may be referred to as Radio Link Monitoring (RLM).

Radio link monitoring test procedures for wireless devices


A new and distinct cultivar of Lantana plant named ‘Balandrise’, characterized by its purple-pink and yellow-orange bicolored inflorescences, dark green-colored foliage, and vigorous, semi-upright growth habit.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Lantana plant botanically known as Lantana camara and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'Balandrise'.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in Arroyo Grande, Calif. during September 2004. The objective of the breeding program was the development of Lantana cultivars with continuous flowering, dark green-colored foliage, and a well-branched, vigorous growth habit.
The new Lantana cultivar was the result of a self-pollination of 'Simon Yellow', not patented, characterized by its medium yellow-colored inflorescences, dark green-colored foliage, and semi-upright growth habit. The new cultivar was discovered and selected as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated self-pollination during July 2005 in a controlled environment at Arroyo Grande, Calif.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal stem cuttings since July 2005 at Arroyo Grande, Calif. and West Chicago, Ill. has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all of the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.


Provided is an electrolytic solution suitable for use in a 100 WV class electrolytic capacitor having low inductance at low temperatures and high durability in high-temperature use conditions. This electrolytic solution for an electrolytic capacitor contains: a mixed organic solvent including sulfolane and γ-butyrolactone; water; an electrolyte selected from the group consisting of a quaternized pyridinium salt of carboxylic acid and a quaternized imidazolinium salt of carboxylic acid; boric acid; and mannitol; and has a mass ratio of boric acid and mannitol in the range of 1:1.2 to 1:1.6, and a total amount of boric acid and mannitol of 10.0 to 14.5% by mass of the total electrolytic solution, the water content being 1.5 to 2.0% by mass of the total electrolytic solution.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrolytic solution suitable for use in a 100 WV class electrolytic capacitor and to an electrolytic capacitor using this electrolytic solution.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electrolytic capacitor with an electrolytic solution has in a sealed case a structure comprising a positive electrode made of a foil of valve metal such as aluminum, tantalum and niobium with an oxide film as a dielectric on the surface, a negative electrode for current collection (an apparent negative electrode) and a separator holding the electrolytic solution between the positive electrode and the negative electrode, and a wound type or laminating type of electrolytic capacitor is widely used. In the capacitor, the electrolytic solution directly contacts the dielectric and functions as a true negative electrode, and the characteristic of the electrolytic capacitor largely depends on the kind of electrolytic solution.
An electrolytic capacitor used in the automobile industry requires a rating that enables it to function at a low temperature of −40° C. in addition to a voltage resistance of 50 WV or more. It also has to exhibit durability at high temperatures so it can be used within a high-temperature engine compartment etc. Further, it must show little deterioration in electrostatic capacitance and impedance characteristics after usage at 125° C. for a long period and must exhibit no structural weaknesses that can lead to problems such as liquid leakage. The applicant suggested an aluminum electrolytic capacitor that could meet these requirements in Patent Document 1 (JP 2001-223136 A). An electrolytic solution in this capacitor comprises a mixed solvent containing sulfolane, γ-butyrolactone and ethylene glycol, a quaternary imidazolinium salt or a quaternary pyrimidinium salt of carboxylic acid such as phthalic acid, boric acid amounting to 0.5 to 2.5% by mass of the total electrolytic solution, and mannitol amounting to 0.5 to 2.5% by mass of the total electrolytic solution. Especially, if 20 to 60% by mass of the mixed solvent is γ-butyrolactone, the dielectric loss of the capacitor decreases, while the high-temperature life characteristic and low-temperature characteristics improve.

Electrolytic solution for electrolytic capacitor, and electrolytic capacitor


A light pipe is configured to provide a wide effective angle of illumination while simultaneously providing a substantially uniform distribution of light along a length of the light pipe. One or more reflective surfaces not aligned with an inner surface are disposed such that when at least one reflective surface is illuminated, light is emitted from the light pipe at one or more specified angles of light emission. A plurality of reflection points are formed on the inner surface to cause the specified angles when at least one of the reflective surfaces is illuminated. A light pipe is also provided having one or more exterior protrusions configured to function as a secondary light source. A second portion of an outer surface of the light pipe has a radius of curvature which differs from the radius of curvature of the first portion of the outer surface.

Light pipes are typically cylindrical, transparent structures through which light is channeled longitudinally by total internal reflection. Total internal reflection occurs when light is transmitted at a critical angle from one medium to another medium with a lower index of refraction. At the critical angle, light is reflected back into the medium of higher refractive index instead of being refracted by the change in media and traveling through the second medium. All or some of light transmitted through a light pipe may undergo total internal reflection. Light not internally reflected is emitted from the light pipe along the length of the light pipe.
Light pipes transmit light generated by a light source. The light source is usually contained in a lamp assembly to which the light pipe is fastened. A typical lamp assembly includes a housing that contains a light source such as a tight emitting diode (LED), necessary electrical components to supply power to the light source, and a means for fastening the light pipe to the lamp assembly.
In many light pipe applications the space to accommodate the light pipe and associated lamp assembly is limited. Interior automobile lighting is an example of such an application. It is also desirable to maximize the light pipe output. Efforts to maximize output are typically directed to minimizing light degradation along the length of the pipe.
Some light pipes provide relatively even light distribution along the length of the light pipe, the projection angle of the light emitted from the light pipe is somewhat limited. In some applications, it is necessary to provide a wider distribution of the light emanating from the light pipe. In current applications, the angle of light projection may be increased by widening the reflective strip but a comparatively large increase in strip width is necessary to cause a significant difference in the projection angle. However, a large increase in the width of the reflective strip results in excessive light degradation along the length of the light pipe. Consequently, there is a need for a light pipe that provides a wide angle of light emitted from the light pipe and minimizes degradation of the illumination along the length of the pipe.
Along with increased light emissions from a light pipe via a wider angle of light emitting from the light pipe, some applications require additional characteristics of the light emitting from the light pipe. One particular need is for a light pipe that provides softer edges of the light emitting from a light pipe. In this application, the light emitted from the light pipe would not show a visibly distinct angle where the light is projecting from the light pipe. This may be required for specific "mood" lighting.

Light pipe providing wide illumination angle


A traditional gold pan 10 with a flat center base 11 with a spiral sidewall guide 20 from the pan rim 13 to the pan base 11 is pivotably mounted to a stand at its top, adjustably secured in a selective tilt orientation, and continuously rotated by a drive motor.

It was discovered early that particles of gold could be found in sand and gravel of stream and river beds. It was also discovered that the large difference in specific gravity between gold and sand could be used to separate the precious particles from gangue, noting that gold has a specific gravity of between 14.5 and 19.3, and sand has only a specific gravity of 2.5.
To exploit the difference in specific gravity, a gold pan now common was devised comprising a frustum, or truncated conical cylinder, with mildly inclining sides closed on its smaller end by a flat bottom. Use involves placing an amount of mineral matter in the pan with an appropriate amount of water. To separate comparatively large pebbles from the finer mineral matter, an agitation action is usually first employed that raises large matter above the fine matter. The pan is then moved in a circular motion with the pan sidewall inclined slightly below horizontal to wash away light sand material. With the water moving on the pan sidewall without excess spillage, a swirling action washes the mineral matter with the large and lighter matter being washed off of the pan.
In further washing of the matter with gentle agitation, small particles are lifted into the water to create a temporary suspension of the particles with particles of high specific gravity quickly falling back down to the pan sidewall while low specific gravity particles remain in suspension. Thus, particles are separated by specific gravity as particles of low specific gravity are suspended, carried and washed away in water. The process does not achieve a well-defined single separation but a continuum of separation, so it is necessary to repeat the process, progressively separating heavier particles from lighter particles until only the very heaviest remain.
Even the most skilled gold panner is not successful in recovering all of the gold mixed in the gangue using the traditional gold pan. Washing away low specific gravity particles also tends to wash away very small particles of high specific gravity with the sand. To improve the efficiency of the pan, various improvements have been attempted. One such improvement includes employing steps on the pan sidewall that create a pocket to capture the high specific gravity particles falling quickly out of suspension as the suspension flows laminarly over the steps. With the pan sidewal tilting slightly downwardly from horizontal, water progressively falls over succeeding steps and out of the pan carrying low specific gravity particles in suspension with it, as heavier particles fall out of suspension into the corners of the steps.
Another improvement now well-known is to have a spiral guide. wall on the pan side wall instead of concentric steps. As the pan is rotated instead of moved in a customary circular or orbital motion, small, high specific gravity particles are urged inwardly into the pan center along the guide as low specific gravity particles are washed in suspension from one spiral step to another until they fall out of the pan. High specific gravity particles that may inadvertently fall with the slurry over a guide into a more outward spiral segment are simply reprocessed as they resume their migration toward the pan center from a more distant position in the spiral.
The goal with this type of pan then is to lift the low specific gravity particles into suspension, leaving large heavy particles on the pan and washing the remainder of the slurry over the guides or steps and out of the pan.
To rotate the pan, it is normally mounted in its tilt position on a stand and rotated by a drive motor. As heavy mineral matter is separated in the pan from gangue, the pan functions more efficiently if its tilt angle is increasingly more steep. However, it is not known previous to this invetion to have a stand providing adjustment of a the pan on the stand during mineral classification to achieve a pan orientation of different tilt angles.