Spectrophotometric apparatus for reducing fluid carryover

An apparatus adapted to inspect reagent strips having fluid samples, such as urine samples, disposed thereon and to reduce the likelihood of contamination of one of the fluid samples with another of the fluid samples is provided with a reagent strip support (22) adapted to support a reagent strip (14) having a plurality of reagent pads (26) disposed in a longitudinal direction along the reagent strip (26), including reagent pad which has a reagent sensitive to contamination. The apparatus also includes a reagent strip mover (18 and/or 80) adapted to cause the reagent strip (14) to be moved in a direction generally transverse to the longitudinal direction from an initial reagent strip location to an inspection location (120 or 122), a light emitter (64 or 68) adapted to illuminate the reagent strip (14) when the reagent strip (14) is supported by the reagent strip support (18 and/or 80) at the inspection location (120 or 122), and a detector (66 or 70) adapted to receive light from the reagent strip (14) when the reagent strip (14) is being illuminated by the light emitter (64 or 68).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 The present invention relates to an apparatus for performing optical
 inspection tests on reagent strips having samples of body fluid thereon
 which reduces the likelihood of carryover of body fluid from one reagent
 strip to another.
 Conventional spectrophotometers may be used to perform a number of
 different urinalysis tests utilizing a reagent strip on which a number of
 different reagent pads are disposed. Each reagent pad may be provided with
 a different reagent which causes a color change in response to the
 presence of a certain type of constituent in urine, such as leukocytes
 (white blood cells) or erythrocytes (red blood cells). The color change is
 detected by the spectrophotometer by illuminating the pad and taking a
 number of reflectance readings from the pad, each having a magnitude
 relating to a different wavelength of light. The color may then be
 determined based upon the relative magnitudes of red, green and blue
 reflectance signals, for example.
 In a conventional spectrophotometer, the process of inspecting a reagent
 strip is performed by dipping the reagent strip in a urine sample,
 blotting excess urine from the reagent strip, placing the reagent strip at
 a designated location in the spectrophotometer, and pressing a start
 button which causes the spectrophotometer to begin automatic processing
 and inspection of the reagent strip.
 FIG. 1A illustrates a prior art table 1 for supporting a reagent strip. The
 support table 1 has a receiving area 2 on which a reagent strip (not shown
 in FIG. 1A) is initially placed and an inspection area 3 to which the
 reagent strip is moved for optical inspection. Reagent strips are moved,
 one at a time, from the receiving area 2 to the inspection area 3 by a
 blotter arm 4, shown in FIG. 1B, which makes contact with each reagent
 strip.
 The support table 1 has a plurality of upwardly extending ribs 5 designed
 to support the reagent strips so that they are held above the upper
 surfaces of the support table 1. The support table 1 has a first raised
 platform 6, having the approximate shape of a reagent strip, on which a
 reagent strip is positioned when being read by a first readhead (not
 shown), and a second raised platform 7 on which a reagent strip is
 positioned when being read by a second readhead (not shown).
 The blotter arm 4 shown in FIG. 1B was designed to extract or remove urine
 from a reagent strip when it makes contact with the reagent strip so that
 significant amounts of urine from one reagent strip will not contaminate,
 or be left on, the portions of the support tray 1 with which subsequent
 reagent strips make contact. To that end, the surface of the blotter arm 4
 which makes contact with reagent strips is provided with small capillaries
 (not shown) which draw urine away from the reagent strip due to capillary
 action.
 Other prior art spectrophotometers have been designed to extract urine from
 reagent strips to prevent fluid carry over from one reagent strip to
 another. For example, in one prior art spectrophotometer, reagent strips
 were moved through the device on a paper web which is designed to absorb
 excess urine from each of the reagent strips.
 Conventional reagent strips used in the spectrophotometer having the
 support table 1 shown in FIG. 1A have multiple reagent pads which are
 provided with reagents to test for various conditions. One such reagent
 pad is designed to detect "occult blood" in urine. Such a reagent pad is
 impregnated with a conventional reagent which causes a blue color to be
 formed in the presence of very small concentrations of blood in urine.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 The present invention is directed to an apparatus adapted to inspect
 reagent strips after having body fluid samples, such as urine samples,
 disposed thereon and to reduce the likelihood of contamination from one
 body fluid sample with another body fluid sample. The apparatus is
 provided with a reagent strip support, such as a support table, adapted to
 support a reagent strip having a plurality of reagent pads disposed in a
 longitudinal direction along the reagent strip, including, for example, an
 occult blood reagent pad which has a reagent that enables detection of
 occult blood. The apparatus also includes a reagent strip mover adapted to
 cause the reagent strip to be moved in a direction generally transverse to
 the longitudinal direction from an initial reagent strip location to an
 inspection location, a light emitter adapted to illuminate the reagent
 strip when the reagent strip is supported by the reagent strip support at
 an inspection location, and a detector adapted to receive light from the
 reagent strip when the reagent strip is being illuminated by the light
 emitter.
 In one aspect of the invention, the reagent strip support and the reagent
 strip mover are designed not to remove excess body fluid from the reagent
 strips.
 In another aspect of the invention, the occult blood reagent pad is located
 on the reagent strip at a reagent pad area, and the reagent strip support
 is adapted to support the reagent strip so that there is no significant
 physical contact between the reagent strip support and the reagent pad
 area when the reagent strip is located at the inspection location and when
 the reagent strip is moved between the initial reagent strip location and
 the inspection location.
 In another aspect of the invention, the reagent strip support is adapted to
 support the reagent strip so that there is no physical contact between the
 reagent strip support and a no-contact area when the reagent strip is
 located at the inspection location and when the reagent strip is moved
 between the initial reagent strip location and the inspection location,
 the no-contact area being defined as the combined area of the reagent pad
 area, a first area extending at least about one-eighth of an inch from the
 reagent pad area in a first direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of
 the reagent strip, and a second area extending at least about one-eighth
 of an inch from the reagent pad area in a second direction parallel to the
 longitudinal axis of the strip.
 The reagent strip mover may be provided with a first portion that makes
 physical contact with the reagent strip at a first point along the reagent
 strip and a second portion that makes physical contact with the reagent
 strip at a second point along the reagent strip, and the reagent pad area
 of the reagent strip may be disposed between the first and second points
 along the reagent strip so that the reagent strip mover does not make
 physical contact with the reagent pad area of the reagent strip.
 The reagent strip support may be provided with a first upwardly extending
 elongated rib which makes physical contact with the reagent strip at a
 first contact point between the reagent pad area and a first end of the
 reagent strip and a second upwardly extending elongated rib which makes
 physical contact with the reagent strip at a second contact point between
 the reagent pad area and a second end of the reagent strip.
 The apparatus may include a reagent strip pusher arm which is adapted to
 push the reagent strip along the reagent strip support while the reagent
 strip is being supported by the reagent strip support, the reagent strip
 pusher arm being shaped so that no portion of the reagent strip pusher arm
 makes contact with the reagent pad area of the reagent strip.
 The features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to
 those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the detailed description of
 the preferred embodiment, which is made with reference to the drawings, a
 brief description of which is provided below.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
 FIG. 1 illustrates a spectrophotometer 10 for performing various tests,
 such as urinalysis tests, on reagent strips. The spectrophotometer 10 has
 a receiving area 12 at which a reagent strip 14 may be placed and a
 reagent strip inspection area covered by a housing portion 16. The reagent
 strip receiving area 12 is located between a laterally movable transfer
 arm 18 and the left side of the housing portion 16. The reagent strip 14
 is supported by a number of relatively thin upwardly extending ribs 20
 formed in the left-hand side of a reagent strip support table 22.
 To operate the spectrophotometer 10, the reagent strip 14 is placed in the
 receiving area 12. The spectrophotometer 10 may be designed to
 automatically detect the presence of the reagent strip 14, and upon such
 detection, may cause the transfer arm 18 to move from left to right in
 FIG. 1, thus automatically moving the reagent strip 14 from the receiving
 area 12 to the inspection area located within the housing portion 16. The
 spectrophotometer 10 includes a visual display 23 for displaying various
 messages relating to the operation of the spectrophotometer 10.
 As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the reagent strips 14 used in the
 spectrophotometer 10 have a thin, non-reactive substrate 24 on which a
 number of reagent pads 26 are fixed. Each reagent pad 26 may be composed
 of a relatively absorbent material impregnated with a respective reagent,
 each reagent and reagent pad 26 being associated with a particular test to
 be performed. When urinalysis tests are performed, they may include, for
 example, a test for leukocytes in the urine, a test of the pH of the
 urine, a test for blood in the urine, etc. When each reagent pad 26 comes
 into contact with a urine sample, the pad may change color over a time
 period, depending on the reagent used and the characteristics of the urine
 sample. The reagent strip 14 may be, for example, a Multistix.RTM. reagent
 strip commercially available from Bayer Corporation.
 One of the reagent pads 26 is impregnated with a reagent that causes a
 color to form in the presence of "occult blood," which as is well known in
 the art, is defined as relatively small concentrations of blood which are
 not visible to the naked eye. As used herein, the reference to "occult
 blood reagent pad" means a reagent pad which is designed to detect occult
 blood.
 FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the interior mechanical
 structure of the spectrophotometer 10. Referring to FIG. 2, the
 spectrophotometer 10 may include a light emitting apparatus 30, which may
 be provided in the form of five light-emitting diodes (LEDs) 30a-30e,
 which may be in the form of narrow angle, high output LEDs commercially
 available from Hewlett Packard. The LEDs 30a-30e may be spaced apart so
 that each of them illuminates a separate portion of the reagent strip
 receiving area 12. The spectrophotometer 10 may include a detecting
 apparatus 32, which may be in the form of four light detectors 32a-32d,
 each of which is disposed between two of the LEDs 30a-30e. The detectors
 32a-32d are positioned so that they detect light which is received from
 portions of the receiving area 12 which are illuminated by the LEDs
 30a-30e so that the presence of a reagent strip 14 in the receiving area
 12 may be automatically detected (based on the differentiation of a
 lightly colored reagent strip 14 from the darker color of the
 spectrophotometer 10).
 Alternatively, instead of providing the light emitting apparatus 30 and the
 light detecting apparatus 32 to automatically detect a reagent strip 14
 and move the transfer arm 18 in response thereto, the movement of the
 transfer arm 18 could be manually initiated by pressing a button (not
 shown).
 As shown in the left-hand portion of FIG. 2, the spectrophotometer 10
 includes a pivot arm 34 having a central portion which is connected to a
 rotatable shaft 36, which is controllably driven by a motor (not shown).
 The end of the pivot arm 34 is slidably disposed in a vertical shaft
 formed in the back of a transfer arm support member 38 to which the
 transfer arm 18 (FIG. 1) is connected. The transfer arm support member 38,
 which has a receptacle 40 in which an end of the transfer arm 18 is
 disposed, is slidably supported by a horizontally disposed cylindrical rod
 42. The horizontal position and movement of the transfer arm 18 are
 controlled by selectively causing the pivot arm 34 to rotate about the
 central shaft 36 to change the lateral position of the end of the pivot
 arm 34, and thus the lateral position of the transfer arm support member
 38.
 As shown in the right-hand portion of FIG. 2, the spectrophotometer 10 has
 a movable carriage 50 that is fixed to one side of a positioning belt 52
 supported by a pair of toothed gears 54, 56. The gear 56 is fixed to a
 rotatable drive shaft (not shown) that is controllably driven by a motor
 (not shown) to precisely move and position the movable carriage 50 in a
 direction parallel to the length of the reagent strip 14 (FIG. 1).
 The movable carriage 50 has a pair of readheads 60, 62. As shown in FIG. 6,
 the readhead 60 includes a light source in the form of an incandescent
 lamp 64 and a detector 66, which may be in the form of four light
 detectors 66a-66d, each of which is adapted to detect light of a different
 wavelength, such as red, blue, green and infrared light, for example. The
 readhead 62 includes a light source in the form of an incandescent lamp 68
 and a detector 70, which may be in the form of four light detectors
 70a-70d, each of which is also adapted to detect light of a different
 wavelength. Although the readheads 60, 62 could be designed as disclosed
 in U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,563 to Howard, et al., which is incorporated by
 reference herein, no particular design of the readheads 60, 62 is
 considered necessary to the invention. Alternatively, only a single
 readhead could be used to optically inspect reagent strips. Any type of
 detectors 66, 70 could be used, including detectors that detect only a
 single wavelength of light.
 FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the spectrophotometer 10 which
 shows a reagent strip advancing tray 80. The advancing tray 80 has a pair
 of upwardly extending walls 82, 84. The upper portion of the wall 82 has a
 plurality of pegs 86 extending therefrom, and the upper portion of the
 wall 84 has a plurality of pegs 88 extending therefrom. The pegs 86, 88
 are spaced apart by a distance slightly greater than the width of the
 reagent strips 14 so that the space between each adjacent pair of pegs 86,
 88 can accommodate one of the reagent strips 14. Referring to FIG. 4, the
 pegs 86, 88 of the advancing tray 80 extend upwardly through a pair of
 slots 90, 92 formed in the reagent strip support table 22.
 The reagent strip advancing tray 80 is supported by a positioning mechanism
 100 which is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The positioning mechanism 100 has a
 support table 102 which supports the reagent strip advancing tray 80 and a
 mechanism for moving the support table 102 in a generally circular path
 which includes a vertical member 104 having a pair of oblong slots 106,
 108 formed therein and a pair of motor-driven actuators 110, 112 disposed
 within the slots 106, 108. Rotation of the actuators 110, 112 causes the
 vertical member 104 and the support table 102 to move in a circular path,
 as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,202, which is incorporated by
 reference herein.
 The movement of the support table 102 causes the advancing tray 80 to move
 in a circular path, which in turn moves the pegs 86, 88 to cause the
 reagent strips 14 disposed between them to be periodically moved or
 indexed rightward through the spectrophotometer 10, so that a reagent
 strip 14 is disposed at a first reagent strip inspection position beneath
 the readhead 60, and then is disposed at a second reagent strip inspection
 position beneath the readhead 62.
 Referring to FIG. 4, when the advancing tray 80 moves in a single circular
 path, the pegs 86, 88 move from left to right while they extend upwardly
 through the reagent strip support table 22, thus moving each of the
 reagent strips 14 one reagent strip position to the right. During the
 latter half of the circular motion, the pegs 86, 88 are downwardly
 retracted so that their upper ends are disposed beneath the upper surface
 of the support table 22, so that they can be moved from right to left
 without moving the reagent strips 14. The particular design of the system
 for conveying the reagent strips 14 from the receiving area 12 to the
 inspection area within the housing portion 16 and for conveying the
 reagent strips 14 within the inspection area is not considered necessary
 to the invention, and other types of conveyor systems could be utilized.
 FIG. 7A is a top view of the reagent strip support table 22 shown in FIG.
 1, and FIG. 7B is a perspective view of the support table 22. Referring to
 FIGS. 7A and 7B, the support table 22 has a first inspection position 120
 at which a reagent strip 14 (FIG. 4) is disposed when being optically
 inspected by the readhead 60 (FIG. 6) and a second inspection position 122
 at which a reagent strip 14 is disposed when being optically inspected by
 the readhead 62 (FIG. 6).
 When a reagent strip 14 is pushed from the receiving area 12 (by the
 transfer arm 18) towards the first inspection position 120, the reagent
 strip 14 makes physical contact with, and is supported above the upper
 surface of the support table 22 by the ribs 20 and an elongate guide rail
 124. The guide rail 124 may be used to maintain the transverse position of
 reagent strips 14 as they are moved across the support table 22, which
 position may be maintained due to the fact that the lower surface of the
 reagent strip substrate 24, which is damp or wet due to the body fluid
 sample, tends to adhere to the upper surface of the guide rail 124, thus
 inhibiting movement transverse to the direction of movement (parallel to
 the ribs 126) of the reagent strip 14.
 When the reagent strip 14 is positioned at the first inspection location
 120, the reagent strip 14 makes physical contact with, and is supported
 above the upper surface of the support table 22 by, the ribs 20, the guide
 rail 124, a pair of outer ribs 126, and an inner rib 128. When the reagent
 strip 14 is positioned at the second inspection location 122, the reagent
 strip 14 makes physical contact with, and is supported above the upper
 surface of the support table 22 by, the outer ribs 126, the guide rail
 124, and an inner rib 130.
 The reagent strip support table 22 is specially designed to prevent or
 minimize carryover of body fluid from one reagent strip 14 to the next.
 That is accomplished in part by minimizing the areas of the support table
 22 that come into physical contact with the portions of the reagent strip
 14 adjacent a reagent pad 26.
 Referring to FIG. 4, as a reagent strip 14 is pushed so that it slides
 across the support table 22 from left to right in FIG. 4, body fluid on
 the reagent strip substrate 24 (see FIG. 6) may be left behind on top of
 the guide rail 124 and the ribs 126, 128, 130. When a subsequent reagent
 strip 14 follows the same path, the body fluid left behind by the
 preceding reagent strip 14 may come into contact with the leading
 (righthand) side edge of the substrate 24 of the subsequent reagent trip
 14, and may build up on the subsequent reagent strip 14 so that the body
 fluid comes into contact with one or more of he reagent pads 26 on the
 subsequent reagent strip 14.
 The reagent pads 26 disposed on a reagent strip 14 are not uniformly
 affected by carryover of body fluid from one reagent strip 14 to another.
 Since the occult blood reagent pad is particularly sensitive to such body
 fluid carryover, the reagent strip support table 22 is designed so that
 the area on the reagent strip 14 adjacent the occult blood reagent pad
 does not come into physical contact with the support table 22.
 Consequently, the likelihood that the portion of a reagent strip 14 which
 carries the occult blood reagent pad 26 will come into contact with body
 fluid left by a previously inspected reagent strip 14, as described above,
 is minimized or eliminated.
 Referring to FIG. 4, ten possible positions 26a-26i are shown for an occult
 blood reagent pad 26 (there is typically one occult blood reagent pad per
 reagent strip 14). It is considered undesirable for the occult blood
 reagent pad 26 to occupy the positions 26a, 26b, 26g, and 26i since the
 reagent strip substrate 24 underneath those positions would come into
 contact with the rib 126, the pegs 88, the guide rail 124, and the pegs
 86, respectively. For example, if the occult blood reagent pad were
 located in position 26a, body fluid left on top of the rib 126 from a
 previously inspected reagent strip 14 could contact the leading side edge
 of the next reagent strip substrate 24 and "climb" onto, or be absorbed
 into, through the substrate 24, the occult blood reagent pad at that
 location 26a, thus contaminating the occult blood reagent pad.
 FIG. 8 illustrates a plurality of predefined areas of a reagent strip 14.
 Referring to FIG. 8, the reagent strip 14 has a reagent pad area 140 which
 is defined as the area on the reagent strip substrate 24 bounded by the
 perimeter 142 of an occult blood reagent pad. The reagent pad area 140 has
 a first area 144 adjacent to it which extends for a predetermined
 distance, such as about one-fourth or about one-eighth of an inch, from
 the reagent pad area 140 in a first direction parallel to the longitudinal
 direction 146 in which the reagent pads 26 of the reagent strip 14 are
 disposed and a second area 148 adjacent to the reagent pad area 140 which
 extends for a predetermined distance, such as about one-fourth or about
 one-eighth of an inch, from the reagent pad area 140 in a second direction
 parallel to the longitudinal 146 of the reagent strip 14. The combined
 areas 140, 144, 148 may be referred to as a no-contact area 150.
 Preferably, during movement of a reagent strip 14 along the reagent strip
 support 22, to minimize or eliminate body fluid carryover from one reagent
 strip 14 to another, there is no significant physical contact between the
 reagent pad area 140 and the reagent strip support 22. This would be the
 case, for example, where the occult blood reagent pad 26 is located in one
 of the positions 26c, 26d, 26e, 26f, or 26h.
 Alternatively, there may be no physical contact between the no-contact area
 150 and the reagent strip support 22. This would be the case (depending on
 the size of areas 144, 148 of the no-contact area 150) where the occult
 blood reagent pad is located in the position 26c.
 The width of the ribs 126, 128, 130 that support the reagent strips 14 is
 preferably minimized so as the minimize the likelihood of physical contact
 between the ribs 126, 128, 130 with either the reagent pad area 140 or the
 no-contact area 150. The width of the ribs 126, 128, 130 could be, for
 example, no greater than about one-half the distance between adjacent
 reagent pads 26.
 As shown in FIGS. 4, 7A and 7B, the ribs 128, 130 only extend part way
 across the reagent strip support 22. That is to further reduce the
 likelihood of physical contact between the ribs 128, 130 and the reagent
 pad area 140 and the no-contact area 150. For example, if the occult blood
 reagent pad is located in the position 26d shown in FIG. 4, there would be
 no physical contact with the ribs 128, 130 if the reagent strip 14 is
 properly aligned parallel to its longitudinal axis, as shown in FIG. 4
 (because the ribs 128, 130 only contact the area between the adjacent
 positions 26d and 26e).
 However, there can be some movement or misalignment of reagent strips 14 in
 a direction parallel to their longitudinal axis. For example, due to such
 misalignment, a reagent strip 14 could be positioned so that the reagent
 pad area 140 slightly overlaps the ribs 128, 130 (which is not considered
 to be significant physical contact). In such a case, the fact that the
 ribs 128, 130 do not extend all the way across the reagent strip support
 22 minimizes the likelihood that such strip misalignment will result in
 significant body fluid carryover. Depending upon the stiffness of the
 reagent strips 14, it may be preferable that the ribs 128, 130 not be
 eliminated altogether since they provide support to the center of the
 reagent strips 14 at the first and second inspection locations 120, 122,
 and since it may be desirable to have all the reagent pads 26 of a reagent
 strip 14 spaced equally from the readheads 60, 62.
 In the above description, the possible placement of an occult blood reagent
 pad in one of a number of possible positions 26a-26i has been described.
 However, it should be noted that the design of the reagent strip support
 22, including where the ribs 126, 128, 130 and the guide rail 124 (if
 present) are placed, may be done in the context of a number of preexisting
 reagent strip designs. In particular, there may be (for example) four
 different types of reagent strips 14 intended to be used in the
 spectrophotometer 10, with each type of reagent strip 14 having the occult
 blood reagent pad in a different one of the locations 26a-26i. In that
 case, the guide rail 124 and the ribs 126, 128, 130 could be placed to
 minimize fluid carryover. For example, the guide rail 124 should be
 positioned so that it never overlaps the position of an occult blood
 reagent pad and the ribs 126, 128, 130 should be placed so that they are
 positioned within the spaces between adjacent reagent pads 26.
 FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the transfer arm 18 shown in FIG. 1.
 Referring to FIG. 5, the transfer arm 18 has a pair of pusher members 160,
 162 which extend laterally from a bottom portion of the transfer arm 18 to
 make contact with the trailing elongate side edge of each of the reagent
 strips 14 when the transfer arm 18 pushes the reagent strips 14 from the
 receiving location 12 of the reagent strip support 22 towards the
 inspection location 120 of the reagent strip support 22. Each of the
 pusher members 160, 162 makes contact with the side edges of the reagent
 strips 14 at the ends of the reagent strips 14 so that the occult blood
 reagent pad 26 on each of the reagent strips 14 is disposed between the
 pusher members 160, 162 and so that neither of the pusher members 160, 162
 makes contact with the portion of the reagent strip 14 at which the occult
 blood reagent pad is located or with the no-contact area 150. The transfer
 arm 18 has no capillaries or other features that are adapted or designed
 to extract or remove body fluid from the reagent strips 14.
 It should be appreciated that the approach to avoiding carryover of body
 fluid from one reagent strip 14 to another in accordance with the
 invention is based on minimizing or eliminating physical contact between
 the reagent pad area 140 and the reagent strip support 22, while not
 attempting to remove or extract body fluid from the reagent strips 14. In
 particular, the reagent strip support 22, the pegs 86, 88, the transfer
 arm 18, and other features of the spectrophotometer 10 are adapted or
 designed to not remove body fluid from the reagent strips 14. This
 approach is contrary to prior art approaches which are designed to remove
 excess body fluid from the reagent strips 14.
 Numerous modifications and alternative embodiments of the invention will be
 apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description.
 This description is to be construed as illustrative only, and is for the
 purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode of carrying out
 the invention. The details of the structure and method may be varied
 substantially without departing from the spirit of the invention, and the
 exclusive use of all modifications which come within the scope of the
 appended claims is reserved.