Disclosed herein is a process for producing a steeped grain comprising steeping at least one grain at a temperature from about 2° C. to about 29° C. for a period of time less than about 24 hours to a moisture content ranging from about 29% to about 38%; optionally, germinating the at least one grain for less than about 2 days; and kilning with controlled air circulation the at least one grain at a temperature ranging from at least about 49° C. to about 93° C. for less than about 20 hours to a moisture content of about 7% to about 16%. Also disclosed herein is a sprouted grain prepared from the processes disclosed herein. Further disclosed herein are a dough comprising steeped whole grains prepared from the processes disclosed herein, as well as baked goods and beverages comprising steeped whole grains prepared from the processed disclosed herein.

Wheat and other grains, such as barley and sorghum, may be used for the production of beverages, such as beer. For example, in the production of certain malted beverages, a barley seed is subjected to a malting process, which increases enzymatic activity. The enzymes, such as amylases, beta-glucanases and xylanases, degrade the starch and non-starchy components from the seeds. Thereafter, the malt may be used in processes such as brewing, milling or other fermentation processes.
For example, in traditional malting processes for production of beer, water and barley seeds may be added to a steep tank. The seeds soak up the water in the steep tank, where the temperature of the water ranges from about 3° C. to about 21° C. thereby increasing the seed moisture content. The presence of water and oxygen then triggers the growth of the plant embryo. Traditionally, seeds are steeped to a moisture content ranging from about 35% to about 45%, such as about 38% to about 45%. In a typical example of a traditional method seeds are steeped in water for about 12 hours, aerated for about 8 hours, and then steeped again in water for about an additional 6 hours. The seeds may be steeped for a period of time ranging from about 20 hours to about 40 hours. Traditionally, about 100% of the seeds are chitted after the steeping process.
After the steeping step, the seeds are germinated in a germination step. During germination, biochemical reactions occur within the kernels leading to the activation of enzymes, the breakdown of cell walls and proteins, and an increase in the bioavailability of nutrients. The seed kernels "grow" over a period of about three to about four days during the germination step. The grain may also be gently turned to sustain even growth and to prevent the kernels from matting together. For example, the grain may be turned about every 8 to 10 hours. By the end of the germination step, rootlets have formed on the kernels, and the moisture content of the seeds ranges from about 40% to about 47%, such as about 44 to about 47%, wherein the seeds may be sprayed with water as necessary during the germination step to maintain the desired moisture content. Applied humidified air may be circulated to maintain a temperature ranging from about 7° C. to about 29° C. in the malt bed, depending on the malting location and season of year. The germinated seeds, known as green malt, traditionally will have an α-amylase activity ranging from as low as about 10 dextrinizing units (DU), for example in Munich malt, to as great as about 130 DU, for example in distiller's malt.
After the germination step, the germinated seeds are then put in a kiln for drying. Kilning circulates warm air to dry the seeds, helps develop flavor and color in the seeds, and arrests the biochemical reactions taking place in the seeds. After kilning, brittle rootlets break off and may be easily removed. Traditionally, the kiln removes moisture from the seed until the moisture content of the seed ranges from about 4% to about 6%, and the seeds are kilned for about 24 hours at a low temperature, such as a temperature ranging from about 49° C. to about 85° C. or as high as about 93° C. After kilning, the resulting malt will also have an α-amylase activity ranging from about 10 DU to about 130 DU. To the naked eye, the malt looks similar to the original kernel. However, inside the kernel, changes have taken place, and the malt is now ready to be stored or sent to a brewery or mill for further processing.
Grains may also be used in the production of flour, such as for baked goods. For example, wheat is traditionally cleaned and then tempered for several hours, such as about 18 to about 24 hours, to soften and increase the moisture content of the wheat kernels. Thereafter, the kernels are passed through a milling or grinding process to produce flour, and the wheat grains are no longer considered "whole kernel," and if the flour is fractionated into germ, bran and endosperm, the wheat flour no longer fits the definition of "whole grain."
It is also possible, however, to use malted grains wherein the grains are considered "whole" in the production of flour. The malting process for grains in the production of flour is substantially identical to the process described above, for beverage production. In flour and food products produced using flour, however, whole grains are desirable for their improved nutritional benefits. To be considered a whole grain food, the food product should contain at least 8 grams of whole grain per 30 grams of product, according to American Association of Cereal Chemists recommendations. Currently, traditional whole grain flours and products made from these flours may have decreased palatability as the whole grain concentration increases. However, consumers desire products, such as baked goods, that are prepared from whole grain flours in order to achieve the nutritional benefits thereof, yet maintain a desirable taste. As such, there is a need to produce whole grains and whole grain food products with desirable taste and nutritional benefits.
Sprouting has been reported to increase key nutrients of whole grain, including antioxidants, tocopherols, thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), pantothenic acid (B5), biotin (B7), folic acid (B9), and fiber. Sprouting of whole grains may also reduce anti-nutrients, such as phytic acid. Phytic acid binds with important minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc and prevents these minerals from being absorbed in the intestine. Phytic acid also chelates niacin making it unavailable for the body. Thus, sprouted whole grains can fill the need to produce whole grains and whole grain food products with desirable taste and nutritional benefits.

Processes for making steeped whole grains and products comprising steeped whole grains


The methods and apparatus of this invention provide instrumentation for clamping and securing instruments to support members. Specific embodiments of the invention are particularly useful as devices and methods for use during surgical procedures, such as implantation procedures to properly implant a prosthesis.

There are many instances when it is necessary, during surgery or otherwise, to attach instruments to a frame or support member. For example, during stereotactic surgery, which involves positioning a stable reference point with respect to a patient in order to properly guide and reference instruments to the surgical site, a support member is mounted with respect to a patient, and surgical instruments are positioned with respect to the support member. This invention seeks to provide such a system with a clamp that allows the stable securing of such instruments.
Obtaining clear access to a surgical site during any open surgical procedure presents certain challenges. These challenges are multiplied when the surgical procedure involves precisely locating a specific target location, such as during stereotactic surgery. There is a need for a system that allows retraction of the patient's tissue in order to allow clear access to the site.
The proper location of an endoprosthetic implant is a key element to the success of the implantation procedure in improving patient quality of life. For example, properly locating an intervertebral endoprosthesis ensures, among other benefits, that the patient will enjoy the full range of motion offered by the implant and will avoid potentially dangerous conditions resulting from contact of the implant with delicate spinal cord structures.
The use of intervertebral implants (arthroplasty) has, in recent years, attained increasing acceptance as a preferable alternative to spinal fusion (arthrodesis) as a method for treating patients where discectomy is indicated. This is in part due to recent advances in implant technology, and in part due to the increasing appreciation of the advantages provided by implantation, including increased range of motion, decreased post-operative damage to adjacent intervertebral discs (which can result from the decreased range of motion at the level of the fusion), decreased risk of harvest site morbidity, etc. This increasing acceptance seems likely to continue for the foreseeable future, and more and more implantation procedures will likely be performed.
Similar considerations apply in other areas of surgery, and in particular, in neurosurgery. For example, during surgery on the brain, the surgeon often anchors a frame to the sides of the patient's head, which provides constant reference points during surgery, irrespective of how the patient's head or neck is positioned or moved during the procedure. This level of stereotactic precision in location and placement is particularly desirable for medical and surgical procedures where the margin for error is very small due to the proximity to the spinal cord and other neuro and vascular structures. However, contrary to brain surgery, in most procedures used for spinal surgery, as well as surgery to other body parts, it is difficult to secure an external frame to the patient's skeleton or soft tissues to provide constant reference points.
Electronic systems exist for stereotactic positioning of medical instruments during surgical procedures. However, these systems are extremely expensive, require significant computing power, are highly complex, require specialized software, and are not always available, particularly in smaller health care systems or in less developed countries.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for methods and apparatus for locating, and preferably stereotactically locating, targeted implantation positions, for precisely positioning tools for preparing the implantation site, and for precisely inserting the implant in the desired position that is simple, safe, that does not require expensive electronic or computerized tracking of medical instrumentation, and that can be used with conventionally available imaging technologies. Furthermore, there is a need in the art to provide methods and instrumentation that will allow a surgeon to revise two fused vertebra and interpose an articulating implant therebetween.
While current methods may be sufficient to achieve a successful intervertebral implantation, there remains a need for improved techniques and instruments that provide even more precise localization, such as improved stereotactic location of the desired site of the implant, the precision positioning of milling, burring, and other tools and instruments for conducting the procedure, and the implantation of the endoprosthesis into the prepared site.
There remains a further need for a clamping apparatus and method to assist a practitioner in exposing and preparing a cavity to receive an endoprosthesis or any other surgical implant or treatment. In particular, there is a need for a clamp adapted to secure surgical instruments to a stable support frame for the preparation of a surgical site.


A Mobile Security Unit (MSU) has a security checkpoint and a transport. The security checkpoint has an item screening area and a personal screening area. The checkpoint is configured as needed to fit within the transport. The MSU may further separate certain individuals into a secure, enclosed wanding station for additional security screening. The wanding station may be constructed using glass (or other strong, visually transparent substance) and metallic (such as aluminum or steel) posts so that people may be securely enclosed in the wanding station but still have a direct line of sight to personal items being screened at another location. The MSU is configured so that most people pass straight through the checkpoint, and people leaving the wanding station can easily obtain their items without delaying others.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention provides a mobile security checkpoint configuration that processes people efficiently, improves public satisfaction, and provides improved security.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Security measures allow the public to continue to live normal lives in an increasingly dangerous world. Because of the increasing dangers, security precautions are becoming common aspects of modern life. For example, security checkpoints at airports and other public locations provide increased safety to the public through the screening, location, and collection of harmful items, thereby helping to prevent the presence of these harmful items in the public locations. In exchange for this increased safety, the public trades inconvenience and a loss of privacy.
Also, the security checkpoints are relatively expensive to construct and staff. While the public is generally not charged for the use of security checkpoints, the costs for the security procedures are passed to the public in the form of higher costs. A security checkpoint typically employs expensive screening equipment, such as an x-ray device, a walk through metal detector (WTMD), and/or a handheld metal detector (HHMD). As the need for security increases, the security checkpoints increasingly include more precise versions of the screening devices and new types of equipment (such as a chemical trace detection device that detects the presences of contraband chemicals on a person or item). The staffing of the security checkpoint may also have high costs, since the checkpoint must be adequately staffed as needed for safety and desired checkpoint throughput. Furthermore, with the above-described use of new security equipment and with a desire for increased security, training and qualification requirements for the security workers are increasing.
To help ensure the general acceptance of security checkpoints, the checkpoints should minimize the costs to the public. Various performance measures quantify these costs to the public. For instance, the delay time associated with a checkpoint may be measured, and the security checkpoint may be modified to minimize the delays.
Security checkpoint configurations typically suffer from several disadvantages. Primarily, the conventional checkpoint may not process the public with optimal efficiency. Because of resulting delays, the public is frequently dissatisfied with the conventional security checkpoint configurations. Even if the delays associated with a checkpoint are minimal, the checkpoint may cause public dissatisfaction for unnecessary delays and for the perception of unnecessary delays.
Furthermore, establishing security checkpoints at certain locations, such as seaports or outdoor public venues, raises several problems. Many locations need security checkpoints only intermittently. For example, passenger ships typically depart from a seaport perhaps once or twice per week. In the same way, large public venues, such as an outdoor sports facility, typically host a few events per week. Thus, a security checkpoint at these locations, despite having relatively high constructing and staffing costs, sits idle most of the time.
At the same time, these checkpoints often need to be configured to process a large number of people in a relatively short period. For example, a large number of passengers may need to board a ship in a short time at a seaport. Similarly, a public venue may need to process and admit a large number of people before the start of an event, such as a music concert or sport contest. If the security checkpoints are too small or understaffed, excessive delays may result in processing the large number of people, causing public dissatisfaction. For example, excessive delays at the public venues may cause ticket-holders to miss all or part of an event. Thus, the security checkpoints at these locations, despite their infrequent use, often need to be configured and staffed to process a large number of people in a short time period. The checkpoint consequently needs to be sufficiently staffed and include sufficient equipment to achieve the desired throughput, further increasing the costs for the checkpoints.
Even checkpoints that are used more frequently, such as those located in airports, face wildly fluctuating demand levels. For instance, significantly larger numbers of people travel through the airport (and thus must pass through the checkpoints) at certain days (such as holidays) or seasons (such as summer travel to ocean resorts). Thus, excessive lines and delays may occur at these checkpoints during these periods of high demand. Configuring the checkpoint to meet the higher checkpoint demand during these period results in increased costs, as described above.
Security checkpoints in outdoor locations face other challenges. As described above, the equipment used in the checkpoints is relatively expensive. Furthermore the performance and accuracy of the security equipment tends to be quite sensitive to environmental factors such as moisture. Also, contact with the environment may quickly damage or destroy the expensive search equipment, especially harsh environments surrounding certain areas, such as seaports. Furthermore, even if expansion of a checkpoint is desired, a location may lack sufficient space to accommodate the additional security equipment and workers.


This invention is a temperature-based smart insole capable of continuously or intermittently measuring the foot temperature of the patient at one or more locations of the foot while the insole is worn. The device provides feedback to the patient alerting the individual of risk based on his/her plantar temperatures. Benefits of this device include: its ability to free the patient from the clinical setting and increase patient's confidence to be mobile, thus enhancing circulation while at the same time allowing the patient to self-monitor their feet.

There are almost 16 million patients with diabetes in the United States; approximately 798,000 new cases are diagnosed each year (1). Among people with diabetes, 15% will experience a foot ulcer in their lifetime. Foot ulcers are a major predictor of future lower-extremity amputation in patients with diabetes. One of the many dangers of pedal ulcers is that they are portals of entry for infection and directly overlie more than 90% of cases of pedal osteomyelitis (a destructive bone disease) (2). About 14-24% of people with a foot ulcer will require an amputation. It is therefore not surprising that diabetes is the leading cause of non-traumatic lower-extremity amputations in the US. Despite much effort directed toward amputation prevention in the last decade, the incidence of lower-extremity amputation in people with diabetes continues to rise (3). The cost of diabetic foot ulcers is at least $1 billion annually in the United States (4). In a study done by Ramsey, S. D. et al at the Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, the attributable cost associated with a foot ulcer was $28,000.00 per patient in the two years following diagnosis (5).
Unfortunately, the mortality rate for amputees is very high and constantly increasing. If there were a diagnostic tool that could be used as a warning device for those patients that suffer from the loss of protective sensation caused by peripheral neuropathy, many diabetics could return to a more "normal" lifestyle. It is well known that unrecognized trauma has gives rise to most of the foot problems that this group of individuals suffer from. Development of a device that could be used on a daily basis by the patient that would provide the patient with feedback to inform them about when they are at risk would be very valuable.
One of the largest tasks in the development of such a tool is to find what characteristics of diabetic feet are indicators of the condition of the individual's feet. Commonly, pressure has been and remains to be an important indicator of ulceration (6, 7, 8, 9). In-shoe pressure, unfortunately, is a difficult and expensive parameter to measure. There are some pressure-sensing devices available such as the Novel/EMED insoles and the Tekscan F-scan. Neither of these systems meets the desired goal of making the patient completely independent and aware of their foot condition at any time. The Novel insole starts at $10,000.00 for the entry-level variety. The Tekscan insole is cheaper but requires a much more bulky data acquisition system. The Tekscan insoles are designed for a small number of cycles. After a few uses, they lose their ability to accurately determine the pressure.
Temperature, which is very closely associated with pressure, is a much more reliable parameter to measure. This is based, in part, on the available hardware. Thermistors that are highly accurate and also very small are readily available. However, less attention has been paid to plantar temperatures as an indicator of ulcer risk as compared to pressure (10, 11, 12).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,921 describes a device that measures pressure of predetermined pressure points of the foot using a flexible sensor mat, and also measures the temperature inside the shoe. U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,096 contains pressure and temperature sensors in a liquid hydrocell within an insole to detect the pressure and temperature values of a patient's feet. U.S. Pat. No. 5,929,332 describes a sensor shoe with a plurality of sensors which measure pressure, temperature, moisture of feet and activates an alarm if values exceed a preset threshold. US patent application 2005/0060906 describes shoes which pump hot air and odor out and fresh air in, which pumps are controlled by an electronic temperature control unit on the outside of the shoe.
Clinically, patients with the loss of protective sensation and failing eyesight are asked to monitor their own feet between visits to their podiatrist. Sadly, many patients are presented to the emergency room after reaching a point of no return in regard to their feet. Currently, there is no device available that can provide a portable and continuous monitoring and assessment of the condition of the feet in diabetic patients. Such a device is urgently needed.

Colorado Seminary, which owns and operates The University of Denver


A security system to create and maintain a secure communication link between a remote secure storage site and a law enforcement office using a continuous prearranged encrypted signal on the communication link. The authenticity of the encrypted signal is validated at the law enforcement office. Interruption of the encrypted signal is treated as an alarm that must be investigated. Sensors at the remote secure storage site detect intrusions and trigger the transmission of an alarm signal from the site to the law enforcement office on the communication link. The law enforcement office may enable video cameras or containment devices in the event of an intrusion.

This invention relates to intrusion detection and secure alarm communication systems that may be used to provide security for weapons creating materials stored in a space.
Recent terrorist acts and analysis have shown that weapons of mass destruction can be created from "active ingredients" that are in inactive storage and are minimally guarded within the United States and the rest of the world. These "active ingredients" of weapons of mass destruction include radioactive materials, chemical materials, and biological materials. An example weapon is the radioactive dispersal device or RDD, otherwise known a dirty bomb. This device is an explosive charge surrounded by non-weapons grade radioactive material that is dispersed in a populated area by detonation of the explosive charge. The explosive charge is readily available, and the "active ingredient", the radioactive material, may be stolen from thousands of minimally guarded storage sites in the world. Similarly, there are numerous sites at which are stored aging chemical weapons such as nerve gas canisters. Therefore, the theft of these "active ingredient" materials by terrorists presents a major risk to the security of the citizens of the United States. Due to the utility of these materials as building blocks for terrorist weapons, these materials require higher levels of security than is presently in place. The risk of a catastrophe increases greatly if any theft of these materials is not immediately detected, thereby allowing the terrorists time to flee and go into hiding to prepare the weapon. Armed guards may be used, but they are an expensive option. Also, armed guards must be constantly present in sufficient force to ensure that they are not overwhelmed before giving an alarm to local law enforcement personnel. Also, armed guards may be compromised by threats or bribery to aid in the theft and the non-reporting of it. Custom designed vaults may be used, but they are also expensive and take a significant time to construct. Ideally, it would be desirable to have an intrusion detection and alarm communication system that is economical and easily and quickly installed at an existing storage location. The security system would maintain a secure communication link to a receiving station manned by sufficient personnel so as to be very nearly incorruptible. The system would announce an alarm at the receiving station, whenever an intrusion was detected or whenever the secure communication link was lost. The receiving station personnel would dispatch rapid response armed personnel to the site to prevent the attempted theft or hotly pursue the thieves until they are captured. The security system would be mass-produceable to minimize costs. Once in place and activated, the system would be constantly active. It would have no means to be turned off without giving an alarm.
A sophisticated intruder team can circumvent existing alarm communication links that transmit an alarm signal from a remote secure site to a receiving station. If the communication link is simple and the secure site only transmits an alarm signal when an intruder is detected, the transmitting mechanism or the communication link only needs to be disabled prior to the intrusion. Then, the alarm signal will not be received and the disabling of the communication link is not immediately detected by the receiving station. If the transmitter at the secure site maintains a constant communication signal on the communication link to demonstrate its integrity, a bogus transmitter operated by the intruder team and interrupting the real transmitter signal prior to the intrusion can replicate the constant signal on the communication link and deceive the receiver. Alternatively, the personnel at the receiving station could be forcibly overwhelmed or compromised by bribery or threats. In any of these scenarios, an intrusion would not be communicated to the outside world for a period of time and that would facilitate the theft and the escape of the intruders. It is advantageous for this time delay to be as short as possible to maximize the probability of successful intervention of the theft and the recovery of the stolen material.

Intrusion detection and secure remote alarm communication system for a security system for the inactive storage of the active ingredients of weapons of mass destruction


An ultrasound imaging apparatus and method in which an ultrasound signal is transmitted a plurality of times in each scanning direction and its echo is received. A Doppler signal detected from a group of echo signals consisting of a train of sequential Doppler data for each spatial sample position in each scanning direction. The amount of instantaneous changes in a phase of a clutter component included in the Doppler signal is estimated, the clutter component occurring due to reflection of the ultrasound signal from an organ. A phase of the Doppler signal is corrected using the estimated amount of instantaneous changes in the phase. A constant value corresponding to the clutter component is subtracted from the Doppler signal of which phase is corrected, information representing a blood flow is extracted based on the Doppler signal of which clutter component is removed and the extracted information is displayed in color.

The present invention relates to ultrasound color-Doppler imaging producing in color dynamic information of blood flows within a living body utilizing an ultrasound color-Doppler technique and, in particular, relates to improvement in performance of a filter incorporated to remove clutter components made up of reflections from organs such as the cardiac muscle.
An ultrasound color-Doppler technique utilizes the Doppler effect of ultrasound to non-invasively acquire information concerning dynamics of blood flowing in an object from the outside thereof. Diagnostic ultrasound apparatus capable of executing this technique have advanced remarkably.
One type of diagnostic ultrasound apparatus is known as an apparatus performing a color-Doppler tomography (also referred to as color flow mapping (CFM)). The color-Doppler tomography, based on an MTI (moving target indication) technique which has been used in a field of radar systems, can obtain two-dimensional mapping images of blood velocities in a cross section of an object.
In order to make such velocity mapping images, an ultrasound echo is detected from an object responsively to the transmission of an ultrasound pulse and is converted into an electric signal, before it is branched into a real part signal and an imaginary part signal. Each of the real part and imaginary part signals is phase-detected against a reference signal by an orthogonal phase detector, thereby providing Doppler signals indicative of changes in phase against the reference signal. The real part and imaginary part signals composing a Doppler signal are each digitized by A/D converters and temporarily stored in each buffer memory.
For the CFM mode instructing color flow mapping, an ultrasound pulse is transmitted and received a plurality of times N (for example, 16 times) along the same scanning direction. Digital data necessary for the reconstruction of one CFM image become a three-dimensional volume data having the first to third directions for each of the real part and imaginary part signals and stored in a buffer memory of an MTI filer. The first direction corresponds to the number of each scanning line, the second one the number of pixels existing in each scanning line in its depth direction, and the third one the number of Doppler data obtained by repeating the transmission and reception of an ultrasound pulse.
In this three-dimensional volume data, the same pixel position in a scanned cross section has temporally sequential reception echoes in digital quantities, which are acquired by repeating N-times the transmission of an ultrasound pulse and the reception its echo, phase-detected, and mapped in the third direction. Velocities of changes of a signal represented by data aligned in the third direction indicate values of Doppler shift frequencies corresponding to travel velocities of an object to be imaged.
For the three-dimensional digital data (a group of Doppler signals) stored in the buffer memories of the MTI filter, clutter components are removed at each pixel position every data train aligned in the third direction, on the principle described below.
Received echoes are mixed signals of echo signals reflected from targets which move at velocities of a certain value or more, such as blood cell and echo signals (referred to as clutter components) reflected from tissues such as organs. In terms of signal intensities of echoes, clutter components are larger than blood flows, while in terms of travel velocities of echoes, blood flows are larger than clutter components. Thus a filtering circuit placed in the MTI filter is formed into a high-pass filter and its cut-off frequency is set to a limit at which clutter components are cut off. By this filtering configuration, clutter components are removed from a phase-detected Doppler signal, and echo signals reflected from blood flows are extracted.
The echo signal thus-extracted then undergoes estimation of motion states of blood flows (including blood flow velocities, power, and dispersion) and two-dimensional tomographic images are produced on the estimated information.
Although the conventional MTI filter has been used to remove clutter components in this way, it has not necessarily been satisfactory for removal of clutter components; that is, the conventional MTI filter lacks accuracy and high levels of the removal. This is because the actual organs are in slight motion or happen to move due to various reasons. Clutter components cased by such motion are difficult to clearly be distinguished from the blood flows of slower velocities.
The organs are in motion or tend to move by (1) the beats of the heart (in particular, this becomes a problem when diagnosing blood flows in the heart), motions of surrounding organs depending on shocks from the heart beat, (3) breathing of a patient (body motion), (4) the hand motion of an examining operator, and others.
When setting lower cut-off frequencies of the MTI filter clutter components will not be fully removed, leaving the remaining of the clutter components in the phase-detected signal. In this case, images for motion information of blood flows include the mixed remaining of the clutter components mixed. This results in lowered accuracy of diagnosis of blood flows and there is a problem of misdiagnosis.
In contrast, when setting the cut-off frequency at higher values, most clutter components can be removed steadily, but at the same time, part or most of echo signal components reflected from blood flows are removed. Particularly it is considered that blood flows having lower motion velocities will disappear from the monitor screen. Such images will no longer provide useful information for the diagnosis.
As understood from the above, the removal of clutter components and the extraction of echo signals from blood flows are mutually conflicted on requirements for the cut-off characteristics of signal components. Additionally the blood flow velocities vary with portions to be diagnosed and may vary person to person. In consideration with those conditions, the cut-off frequency of the MTI filter is obliged to be set at compromise values. In consequence, it is difficult for the conventional MTI filter to provide the full removal of clutter components, therefore being compelled to accept such a lower detectability for blood flowing at lower motion velocities.
The present invention has been made in consideration with the above problems posed by the conventionally-used MTI filter. An object of present invention is to provide a diagnostic ultrasound apparatus capable of distinguishing echoes reflected from blood flows of extremely lower velocities from clutter components in a steady and accurate manner, thus producing two-dimensional-mapped blood flow images of higher detectability by steadily removing clutter components caused by organs in motion and by detecting blood flows of extremely lower velocities without fail.

Removal of clutter components in ultrasound color-doppler imaging


A personal portable integrator is used to integrate the services of an arbitrary audio delivery device such as an MP3, CD, DVD, radio, or other media player, with the services of an arbitrary two-way communication device such as a mobile phone, or a two-way radio such as a walkie-talkie, citizen band radio (e.g., CB), HAM radio, marine or aviation radio, and the like. The portable integrator receives and provides input and output signals from both the audio delivery device and the two-way communication device, thereby enabling a user to listen to music or other audio material and receive and place phone calls on a mobile phone simultaneously. The portable integrator provides these services by switching between the audio and communication devices, mixing signals received therefrom, and optionally enabling a user to reduce the volume or mute the signals as desired.

1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to integrating electronic devices and, more particularly, to novel systems and methods for integrating services provided by personal music players and mobile phones.
2. Background and Relevant Art
The use of mobile telephones and other wireless communication devices has increased dramatically in recent years. Likewise, electronic music players, such as MP3, CD, DVD, and like players have proliferated. Some companies have attempted to integrate music players and mobile two-way communication devices into single devices. While integration may reduce the number of devices a user is required to carry, a user may unnecessarily discard devices that are still fully functional, incurring unnecessary expense.
With respect to music players and mobile phones, various conflicts may arise when attempting to operate independent devices simultaneously. For example, users may listen to portable music players while exercising, traveling, working, relaxing, and performing like activities. However, users may desire to simultaneously place and receive phone calls, activities that may be inherently difficult to perform while listening to music or other audio material. For example, a user may be unable to hear a phone ring while listening to music using headphones, earphones, or the like. Moreover, if a user is able to accept a call, the user may be required to remove headphones, reduce the volume of or mute a music player, pick up a mobile phone handset, or like actions, in order to accept or place a call. This may be an excessively clumsy process.
What is needed is apparatus and methods for users to simultaneously accept and place phone calls using a mobile phone or other two-communication device while listening to music, or other audio material using an independent audio delivery device.
What is further needed is apparatus and methods to integrate the services of substantially any arbitrary two-way communication device with substantially any arbitrary music or audio delivery device.

Personal portable integrator for music player and mobile phone


A valve for pressurized fluid having a body housing a fluid circuit having an upstream end configured to be placed in communication with a reserve of pressurized fluid and a downstream end configured to be placed in communication with a user of fluid, the circuit including a collection of valve shutter(s) comprising at least one shutoff valve shutter allowing the circuit to be closed or opened, the valve including a mechanism for manually controlling the collection of valve shutter(s), the control mechanism being mounted with the ability to move on the body between a rest position in which the collection of valve shutter(s) is in a position in which the circuit is closed and an active position in which the control mechanism actuates the collection of valve shutter(s) into a position in which the circuit is open to a first bore section.

The invention relates to a valve and to a reservoir or collection of reservoirs for pressurized fluid.
The invention relates more particularly to a valve for pressurized fluid comprising a body housing a fluid circuit having an upstream end intended to be placed in communication with a reserve of pressurized fluid and a downstream end intended to be placed in communication with a user of fluid, the circuit comprising a collection of valve shutter(s) comprising at least one shutoff valve shutter allowing the circuit to be closed or opened, the valve comprising a mechanism for manually controlling the collection of valve shutter(s), the control mechanism being mounted with the ability to move on the body between a rest position in which the collection of valve shutter(s) is in a position in which the circuit is closed and an active position in which the control mechanism actuates the collection of valve shutter(s) into a position in which the circuit is open to a first bore section, the control mechanism comprising an intermediate open position in which it actuates the collection of valve shutter(s) into a predetermined intermediate position in which the circuit is open to a determined second bore section smaller than the first bore section.
Good practice in the use of pressurized gas cylinders fitted with a valve recommends that the outlet connector of the valve be swept with gas from the cylinder before any equipment is connected to it. This brief sweep is generally performed by briefly opening the isolation valve shutter of the valve by manipulating the manual control member (handwheel, lever or the like).
This purge also allows the user easily and in a controlled way to perform cycles of rinsing the equipment downstream of the valve. Usually, the rinsing cycles are cycles of pressurizing (5 to 10 bar) and purging (1-2 bar gauge) in order to remove the impurities (N2/O2/H2O/etc.) from the air.
However, this practice is not possible or is dangerous in the case of valves of which the manual control member causes opening to be too sudden (lever notably, and in the case of high-pressure), see for example FR2793297A1.
If the cylinder is not attached or firmly held it may topple and fall. In addition, the noise of the high-pressure gas released (very high frequency) may cause hearing damage.
This sudden opening of the circuit may also cause damage to the equipment (regulators) connected downstream. In instances in which the gas is a fuel oxidizer (oxygen), adiabatic compression (sharp increase in temperature) may arise and cause the non-metallic elements of the regulator (seal, seat made of plastic) to ignite.
One known solution consists in providing for gradual opening of the valve via a mechanism of two concentric valve shutters actuated sequentially by the lever, see EP3062005A1. This solution is ill-suited to purge operations. Furthermore, unwanted opening of the valve may be encouraged if the valve has ergonomics that allow this brief opening.
These solutions provide only an imperfect answer to these problems.

Valve and reservoir(s) for pressurized fluid

L'Air Liquide, Société Anonyme pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procédés Georges Claude


A fuel cell system includes a reformer for reforming fuel and generating hydrogen gas. A stack generates electricity through an electrochemical reaction between the hydrogen gas and oxygen. A fuel supply unit supplies fuel to the reformer. An air supply unit supplies air to the reformer and the stack. The reformer includes a reformation reactor unit for generating the hydrogen gas and a heat-insulating unit including a vacuum area covering the reformation reactor unit and recovering heat generated from the reformation unit.

A fuel cell is generally known as an electricity generating system which directly converts chemical energy into electric energy through an electrochemical reaction between oxygen, or air containing the oxygen, and hydrogen contained in hydrocarbon-grouped materials such as methanol and natural gas. Specifically, the fuel cell has a feature that it can produce electricity through the electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen without combustion and provides heat as a byproduct thereof that can be used simultaneously.
Fuel cells are classified into a phosphate fuel cell working at a temperature of about 150° C. to 200° C., a molten carbonate fuel cell working at a high temperature of about 600° C. to 700° C., a solid oxide fuel cell working at a high temperature of 1,000° C. or more, and a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and an alkali fuel cell working at room temperature or a temperature of 100° C. or less, depending upon the kind of electrolyte used. These fuel cells work basically on the same principle, but are different from one another in kind of fuel, operating temperature, catalyst, and electrolyte.
The recently developed polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has an excellent output characteristic, a low operating temperature, and a fast starting and response characteristic as compared with other fuel cells, and uses hydrogen obtained by reforming methanol, ethanol, natural gas, etc. Accordingly, the PEMFC has a wide range of applications such as a mobile power source for vehicles, a distributed power source for the home or buildings, and a small-sized power source for electronic devices.
The aforementioned PEMFC has a fuel cell main body (hereinafter, referred to as a stack), a fuel tank, and a fuel pump supplying fuel to the stack from the fuel tank, to constitute a typical system. Such a fuel cell further includes a reformer for reforming the fuel to generate hydrogen gas and supplying the hydrogen gas to the stack. Therefore, in the PEMFC the fuel is stored in the fuel tank is supplied to the reformer by means of pumping power of the fuel pump. The reformer then reforms the fuel and generates the hydrogen gas. The stack makes the hydrogen gas and oxygen electrochemically react with each other, thereby generating electric energy.
Alternatively, such a fuel cell can employ a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) scheme directly supplying liquid fuel containing hydrogen to the stack and generating electricity. The fuel cell employing the direct methanol fuel cell scheme does not require the reformer, unlike the PEMFC.
In the fuel cell system described above, the stack substantially generating the electricity has a stacked structure of several or several tens of unit cells having a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) and a separator (or a bipolar plate). The MEA has a structure such that an anode electrode and a cathode electrode are bonded to each other with an electrolyte membrane therebetween. The separator simultaneously performs a function of a passage through which oxygen and hydrogen gas required for the reaction of the fuel cell are supplied, and a function of a conductor connecting the anode electrode and the cathode electrode of each MEA to each other in series.
Therefore, through the separator, hydrogen gas is supplied to the anode electrode and oxygen is supplied to the cathode electrode. An oxidation reaction of the hydrogen gas takes place in the anode electrode and a reduction reaction of oxygen takes place in the cathode electrode. Due to movement of electrons generated at that time, electricity, heat, and water can be collectively obtained.
The reformer described above is an apparatus which converts through a catalytic reformation reaction the liquid fuel containing hydrogen and water into the hydrogen gas required for generation of electricity by the stack, and, in addition, which removes noxious substances such as carbon monoxide which poisons the fuel cell and shortens its lifetime. The reformer includes a reforming section for reforming the fuel and generating the hydrogen gas, and a carbon-monoxide removing section for removing carbon monoxide from the hydrogen gas. The reforming section converts the fuel into reformed gas that is rich in hydrogen through a catalytic reaction such as steam reformation, partial oxidation, natural reaction, etc. The carbon-monoxide removing section removes carbon monoxide from the reformed gas using a catalytic reaction such as a water-gas shift reaction, an oxidation reaction, etc., or hydrogen purification with a separating membrane.
In the conventional reformer of a fuel cell system, the reforming section includes an exothermic reaction portion inducing a catalytic oxidation reaction between fuel and air and generating combustion heat, and an endothermic reaction portion accepting the combustion heat, inducing a catalytic reformation reaction of the fuel, and generating the hydrogen gas. Therefore, in the reforming section, the endothermic reaction portion accepts a predetermined reaction heat from the exothermic reaction portion and generates the reformed gas having rich in hydrogen from a mixed fuel of liquid fuel and water through the catalytic reformation reaction.
However, since the conventional reformer of a fuel cell system has a structure such that the reaction heat can easily leak outside, the reforming section, which needs a uniform temperature distribution, exhibits an uneven temperature distribution, such that reaction efficiency and thermal efficiency of the overall reformer deteriorates.

Fuel cell heat recovering reformer and system


Multilayer articles comprising a coating layer comprising resorcinol arylate chain members bound to a support substrate via an optional intermediate tie layer. Adhesion between the layers of the multilayer article is enhanced by modifying at least a part of a surface of at least one of the layers in the multilayer article by a technique selected from at least one of: surface adhesive treatment, surface corona treatment, flame treatment, plasma surface treatment, vacuum deposition treatment, ionization radiation, chemical surface treatment, surface abrasion treatment, and surface texturing treating.

Compositions and weatherable multilayer articles comprising resorcinol arylate chain members are known. See Published Patent Application Nos. EP 1124878 and WO0069945. The prior art references generally discuss methods to manufacture multilayer articles by various processes including co-injection molding, coextrusion, overmolding, multi-shot injection molding, sheet molding and placement of a film of the coating layer material on the surface of a substrate layer optionally followed by adhesion of the two layers by a tie-layer, with the coating layer comprising resorcinol arylate polyester chain members. In some applications, the multilayer article as taught in the prior art may be separated into the constituent substrate layer and the coating layer comprising resorcinol arylate chain members. If applied onto a substrate, i.e., wood, metal, plastic, paper, etc. as a protective carrier/weatherable layer, the inter-layers or intra-layers in the prior art may undergo separation.
Thermoset plastics are commonly used for automotive body panels including appearance parts, having to undergo extensive surface preparation to provide a weatherable, smooth, glossy surface, which always requires a coating of some type. Producing the desired surface is expensive and time consuming and detracts from the excellent mechanical properties of the thermoset materials. Without the proper finishing work a painted surface will not meet the automotive class "A" requirements due to imperfections in the surface from exposed glass fibers, glass fiber "read-through," "paint popping," long and short term waviness, "orange peel," and variations in gloss. Overmolding of thin, preformed paint films is also possible, but only for compositions that are capable of being molded to provide nearly perfect surfaces without secondary operations. The as-molded surface quality has been improved considerably over the last few years, but all parts to be painted still have to be sanded, especially at the edges, and sealed and primed prior to painting. In-mold coating can obviate these operations, but only at the cost of greatly increased cycle time and cost. The process uses expensive paint systems that may be applied to the part surface while the mold is re-opened slightly, then closed to distribute and cure the coating. Surface improvements have also been obtained by the addition of low profile additives. Such additives reduce the "read-through" at the surface by causing minute internal voids due to the high stresses in the resin as it shrinks due to polymerization and differential shrinkage of the glass and resin as the part cools. The voiding of the additive relieves the stresses and provides a smoother surface. If the void occurs at the surface however, a defect may result in the finish. The voids also act as stress concentrators, which may cause premature failures under additional stress or appear during the general sanding at the surface and leave a pit that the painting process can't hide.
One alternate approach in the prior art is to adhere a thin, high quality surface film to the molded part during or after the molding operation, also known as in-mold decorating or over-molding. Such films are generally highly crosslinked films based on acrylics or fluoropolymer films, which are very expensive and need special adhesive layers, adding cost and additional sources for defects and failure. The films are generally thin due to the expense of the fluoropolymer, or brittleness if acrylic and their method of production. The thin layers also make it difficult to maintain a uniform color when the film is non-uniformly stretched to conform to the part.
Applicants have found that substrate comprising resorcinol arylate chain members may be use as a weatherable surface with high gloss and hardness, providing a class "A" finish in thermoset molding, for use in automotive parts. Applicants have also found that the use of certain tie-layers surprisingly increase the adhesion between layers of a multilayer article, with a coating layer comprising resorcinol arylate chain members and the substrate layer, or the adhesion between the multilayer article comprising a coating layer of resorcinol arylate chain members and a substrate layer with another surface. We have also found that the adhesion between the layers can be significantly improved by various surface modification methods, by modifying the surface of at least one of the layers in a multilayer article.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Multilayer articles comprising resorcinol arylate polyester and method for making thereof


A transgenic mouse expressing the human gene for PYRIN domain-only protein 2 (POP2). POP2, when expressed in the transgenic mouse model, broadly dampens inflammatory cytokine production, in part through restricting the activation of both Nlrp3 and Aim2 inflammasomes. POP2 mice exhibit reduced susceptibility to LPS- and bacteria-induced septic shock. Further, POP2 mice are less susceptible to the fatal, acute inflammatory pneumonia caused by pulmonary infection with F. tularensis LVS and F. novicida, which are highly pathogenic to mice, but non-pathogenic to humans.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to transgenic mouse models and, more particularly, to a transgenic mouse expressing human Pyrin-domain only (PYD) protein 2 (POP2).
2. Description of the Related Art
Inflammation is critical for clearing infections and responding to injury. However, excessive or prolonged inflammation contributes to irreversible tissue damage and the dysfunction of vital organs. Pro-inflammatory chemokines and cytokines, such as TNFα, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-1β, mediate inflammation. Most of these mediators are readily secreted as active form upon signal-induced synthesis, while the release of some other cytokines is tightly controlled. For example, the production of leaderless cytokines, such as IL-1 and IL-18, is controlled by several layers of enzymatic processes; (i) IL-1 or IL-18 is synthesized as a pro-form, which is cleaved by caspase-1 (a cysteine protease), (ii) the caspase-1, itself, is also synthesized as a pro-caspase-1, which is cleaved into active caspase-1 by inflammasome, and (iii) the inflammasome is a multi-protein complex structure formed by two or more proteins scattered in the cytoplasm, wherein they form a platform for self-cleaving of pro-caspase-1 into active caspase-1. Thus, the involvement of many steps in processing these cytokines highlights the importance of possible regulatory molecules that control unfettered activation and release of these cytokines as to avoid harmful effects in mammalian host.
Although the assembly of inflammasome structure is initiated by cytosolic sensors belonging to either the nod-like receptor (NLR) or the PYHIN family. NLR family proteins (e.g. NLRP3 and NLRC4) require an evolutionarily conserved Pyrin (PYD) or caspase recruitment domain (CARD), while members of the PYHIN family (e.g. AIM2) rely solely on a PYD. A homotypic PYD-PYD interaction between the sensor and apoptotic speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC) is followed by recruitment of pro-caspase-1 via a CARD-CARD interaction.
Recently, viral and mammalian PYRIN domain-only proteins (POPs), comprised of essentially a solitary PYD, have been identified as likely regulators of inflammatory processes by inhibiting the NF-kB p65 signaling, limiting inflammasome formation, or both. Among mammalian species, POPs are evolutionarily recent, highly conserved, and appear to be restricted to higher primates, implying a unique role for these proteins in modulating the inflammatory responses. The recent identification and characterization of POP3 and an initial description of POP4 brings the number of human POP family members to four; all of which lack homologs in mice.
POP1 is expressed in human monocytes, macrophages and granulocytes, while POP2 in human testis, lymphocytes and macrophages. Moreover, knockdown of POP2 in human cells or stable expression in mouse cells has revealed the capacity of POP2 to limit the production of both TNFα and IL-1β. A recent study reported that POP3 is expressed in human monocyte and macrophages, but not B cells and T cells. POP4 exhibits a broad constitutive expression, but is induced in human macrophages. Functionally, POP1 inhibits IKKα and β, but it does not inhibit the NLRP3 inflammasome. However, POP2 impairs both NF-κB activation and NLRP3 inflammasomes; thereby limiting the production of both TNFα and IL-1β. Inhibition of NF-κB signaling by POP2 occurs at the level of NF-κB p65, likely through altering nuclear translocation of p65 and reducing the transactivation capacity of the RelA/p65 NF-κB transactivation domain 1. POP2 also reduces formation of NLRP3 inflammasomes by disrupting PYD-PYD interaction between ASC and NLRP3. The minimum peptide and specific residues of POP2 required for restricting both NF-kB activity and the NLRP3 inflammasome have been elucidated in in vitro cultured cells. Interestingly, POP3 has been shown to specifically inhibit the AIM2 inflammasome, but not that of NLRP3, while POP4 maintains a POP2-like NF-kB inhibitory capacity, but is likely not an inflammasome inhibitor.
Since mice lack the POP2 gene (as do all non-primate species), no knockout mouse model exists to elucidate the in vivo function of POP2. Thus, the exploration of POP2 function to date has been restricted to in vitro cellular models. Moreover, the creation of a mouse model using conventional approaches that results in overexpression of the relevant gene or a tissue expression pattern that is random will not be effective for replicating the expression of the gene in humans. Consequently, there is a need in the art for a mouse model that expresses POP2 in a manner consistent with the way the protein is expressed in humans and thus can be used to understand and evaluate the physiologic role of POP2 in humans.

Transgenic mice expressing human pyrin domain only protein 2


In a connector for connecting a mating connector to a connection object, an insulator holds a first contact terminal and a second contact terminal which is removable from the insulator. The first contact terminal has an outer contacting portion to be contacted to the mating connector, a mounting terminal portion to be connected to the connection object, and a spring portion connected between the outer contacting portion and the mounting terminal portion. The spring portion is elastically displaceable within the insulator. The second contact terminal makes contact with the spring portion to serve as a stub terminal when the outer contacting portion is brought into press-contact with the mating connector.

This invention relates to a connector.
Generally, a contacting arrangement of a connector is classified into a stroke type and a butt type.
As an interface connector for a mobile apparatus such as a mobile telephone and a PDA (personal digital assistant), a butt-type contacting arrangement is often used. In a connector utilizing the butt-type contacting arrangement, a signal terminal is required to have a sufficient spring characteristic within a limited space. Therefore, the signal terminal is complicated in shape and a transmission path is increased in length. This results in characteristic impedance mismatching which makes it difficult to adapt the connector to high-speed transmission.
In a high-speed transmission connector, it is ideal that characteristic impedance matching is established uniformly per each signal terminal within the connector. However, due to design limitation, it is difficult to establish such characteristic impedance matching. For example, in a butt-type connector, a spring portion of the signal terminal tends to have a high characteristic impedance because the spring portion can not entirely be surrounded by a dielectric material (insulator). Therefore, it is difficult to match the characteristic impedance as the connector.
Since the characteristic impedance depends upon a sectional area of a transmission path. Therefore, if the sectional area of the transmission path is increased, the characteristic impedance can be lowered. In this case, however, it is difficult to narrow a contact pitch. In addition, it is difficult to set a spring condition providing a sufficient spring characteristic.
Japanese Utility Model Application Publication (JP-U) No. H5-97074 discloses a connector in which a contact spring portion and a terminal portion are fixed to an insulator and, only when the connector is connected to a mating connector, the contact spring portion is pressed by a mating contact to be brought into contact with the terminal portion. In this connector, however, no consideration is made about characteristic impedance matching.

Connectors for connecting mating connectors to connection objects

Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Limited