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<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>In one aspect, the invention features a system and method for managing users' genomic data. Therefore, one object of the invention is to provide a system and method for providing and offering access to genomic-based services. Another object of the invention is to provide a system and method for routing genomic data to providers of genomic-based services. Still another object of the invention is to provide a system and method for brokering financial transactions related to the management of genomic data. A further object of the invention is to provide a system and method for securing a user a best price for a genomic-based service. Still another object of the invention is to provide a system and method for allowing users to earn money for the use of their genomic and other data. Still further objects of the invention are to provide a system and method for using genomic data to market a product in a geographic region of interest, and a system and method of using genomic data in developing new products to satisfy unmet demands or needs of a population. Accordingly, in one embodiment the invention concerns a method for recruiting a new user for a genome management service, comprising obtaining a cell sample from a person, waiting a period of time, after the period of time has elapsed seeking from the person final permission to have his or her genomic data managed, analyzing at least a portion of the person's genome, and storing the resultant genomic data electronically. In a second embodiment the invention concerns a method for maintaining an individual's genomic data, comprising a data storage unit in which the individual's genomic data is stored and a self-destruct unit, which deletes the data on the device when a trigger event occurs. In a third embodiment the invention concerns a data card for maintaining an individual's genomic data, comprising a data storage unit in which the individual's genomic data is stored. In a fourth embodiment the invention concerns a method for providing product usage advice for an individual, comprising receiving the individual's genomic data, using the genomic data to consult a database or table which correlates genomic data with responses to products, and creating a report containing product usage advice for one or more products. In a fifth embodiment the invention concerns a method for producing marketing data, comprising receiving from a group of individuals their genomic data, receiving from the group of individuals data concerning their purchasing habits, determining correlations between the genomic data and the purchasing habits, and making a prediction concerning an individual's purchasing habits based on that individual's genomic data. In another embodiment the invention concerns a method for marketing products to individuals based on their genomic data, comprising receiving from a group of individuals their genomic data, receiving from the group of individuals data concerning their purchasing habits, determining correlations between the genomic data and the purchasing habits, making a prediction concerning an individual's purchasing habits based on that individual's genomic data, and making a product suggestion. In an additional embodiment the invention concerns a method of providing an individual with lifestyle advice related to his or her genomic data, comprising using an individual's genomic data to consult a database or table which correlates genomic data with information related to the genomic data, receiving, as a result of the consultation, information related to the genomic data, and providing lifestyle advice related to the information. In yet another embodiment, the invention concerns a method of marketing a product in a geographic region of interest, comprising obtaining information relating to correlations between users' response to the product and a haplotype profile, determining the frequency of the haplotype profile in the population living in the geographic region, and making a marketing decision for the geographic region based on the determined frequency of the haplotype profile. In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for developing a new product to satisfy a particular unmet demand or need of a population, comprising identifying a haplotype profile that is correlated with the unmet demand or need in the population, determining a functional cause for the correlation between the haplotype profile and the unmet need or demand, and developing a new product designed to avoid the functional cause. In still another embodiment the invention concerns a method of providing a gaming experience to an individual based on his or her genomic data, comprising receiving the genomic data of the individual and affecting gameplay using the genomic data, whereby the individual's gaming experience is due at least in part to his or her genomic data. In a further embodiment the invention concerns a method of designing products based on an individual's genomic data, comprising obtaining the individual's genomic data and creating a design for the product based on the genomic data. In another embodiment the invention concerns a method for marketing an individual's genomic data, comprising contacting a party interested in using an individual's genomic data, negotiating with the party to determine the terms of use for the data, seeking the individual's consent to allow the party to use the data under the determined terms of use, and if consent is received, providing, under the determined terms of use, the genomic data to the party. In still another embodiment the invention concerns a method for providing an individual with low price genomic-based services, comprising receiving from the individual or his or her representative a request for a genomic-based service, negotiating with a plurality of parties capable of providing the service in order to determine which party of the parties is willing to offer the service at a lower price than the remainder of the parties, and upon receiving the individual's or representative's consent, allowing the party which offered the lower price to perform the service. In a further embodiment the invention concerns a billing method for a genomic data managing service, comprising charging a management fee and charging a fee for each access or update of the data. In an additional embodiment the invention concerns a method for providing an individual's genomic data, comprising receiving from a party a request for an individual's genomic data, negotiating with the party to determine the terms of use for the data, seeking the individual's consent to allow the party to use the data under the determined terms of use, and, if consent is received, providing, under the determined terms of use, the genomic data to the party. Another embodiment of the invention concerns a method for securely transmitting an individual's genomic data to a party, comprising storing an individual's genomic data on a data card and physically transporting the data card to the party. Still another embodiment of the invention concerns a method for securely transmitting an individual's genomic data to a party, comprising creating one or more data packages containing the individual's genomic data and allowing the party to download the package over a network. A further embodiment of the invention concerns a method for allowing a user to make use of his or her genomic data, comprising receiving from the user a request for an operation he or she wishes to be performed making use of his or her genomic data and performing the operation. The scope of the invention should not be considered as being limited by these objects and embodiments. Additional aspects, objects, and embodiments will become clear upon a reading of the disclosure and the claims that follow it.

Collapsing chair with solid armrest and tensioned seat

A chair (100) with solid armrests (150) and a tensioned seat collapses in a single movement, in which the front legs (110) approximate each other when the front and rear legs (120) pivot towards each other and when the seat and the back pivot towards each other.

1. A collapsible chair, comprising: a pair of front legs, a pair of rear legs, and a pair of solid arm rests, wherein at least one of the rear legs is telescoping, and wherein at least one of the front legs is rotatably coupled to at least one of the pair of rear legs; a backrest coupled to a pair of back support rods, and a seat coupled to a pair of seat support rods; and wherein the front legs, the rear legs, the arm rests, the back support rods, and the seat support rods are coupled in a manner such that the chair collapses in a single movement in which the front legs approximate each other when the front legs and the rear legs pivot towards each other and when the seat support rods and the back support rods pivot towards each other. 2. The collapsible chair of claim 1 wherein one of the pair of front legs and one of the pair of rear legs are rotatably coupled to each other, and wherein one of the pair of front legs and one of the pair of rear legs are rotatably coupled to one of the pair of arm rests. 3. The collapsible chair of claim 1 wherein one of the pair of seat support rods is rotatably coupled to one of the pair of front legs and one of the pair of rear legs. 4. The collapsible chair of claim 1 further comprising a first pair of cross braces that couple the pair of seat support rods to the pair of front legs. 5. The collapsible chair of claim 4 further comprising a second pair of cross braces that couple the pair of back support rods to the pair of rear legs. 6. The collapsible chair of claim 1 wherein at least one of the pair of front legs, the pair of rear legs, the pair of seat support rods, and the pair of back support rods is manufactured from aluminum. 7. The collapsible chair of claim 1 wherein the backrest comprises a weather resistant fabric. 8. The collapsible chair of claim 1 wherein the backrest comprises Nylon. 9. The collapsible chair of claim 1 wherein the backrest is removably attached to the pair of back support rods. 10. The collapsible chair of claim 1 wherein the tensioned seat is removably attached to the pair of seat support rods. 11. The collapsible chair of claim 1 wherein the seat is coupled to the backrest. 12. The collapsible chair of claim 1 wherein the pair of seat support rods pivot upwardly and the pair of rear legs leg pivot towards the pair of front legs, when the chair folds into a closed configuration. 13. (canceled) 14. (canceled) 15. (canceled) 16. (canceled) 17. (canceled)

<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Folding chairs are relatively popular, in part because they can be stored at considerably reduced space requirements when compared to non-folding chairs. Exemplary folding chairs with solid arm rests and seat support rods are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,185 to Marchesini et al. (Sep. 23, 1986), U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,525 to Tseng (May 4, 1999), U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,553 to Tseng (Sep. 7, 1999), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,639 to Hill (May 16, 2000), all of which are incorporated by reference herein. Nevertheless, previously known folding chairs still take up a relatively large space when folded, since the dimension of the folding chair is generally reduced only along one space coordinate (e.g., reduced length). To further reduce the space requirement, collapsible chairs have been developed in which further size reduction is achieved by folding the chair along at least two space coordinates (e.g., length and width). Various collapsing chairs are known in the art. For example, Sparkes describes in U.S. Pat. No. Des 247,618 (Mar. 28, 1978) a collapsible stroller with solid armrests and seat support rods that is first folded in a front to back motion and then folded in a side-to-side motion. Although Sparkes' stroller provides substantial space saving over non-collapsible strollers, the collapsing is relatively cumbersome since both halves of the chair have to be rotated relative to each other. Improved collapsibility can be achieved by including a detachable connector element into a structure that couples foldable halves of the stroller as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,317,581 to Kassai (Mar. 2, 1982). Uncoupling of the detachable element advantageously simplifies side-to-side folding of the stroller. However, Kassai's stroller nevertheless requires at least two folding operations to collapse the stroller. To avoid at least some of the problems associated with multiple operations of collapsible chairs, Mann describes in U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,950 (Oct. 22, 1991) the use of hinges in both armrests and seat support rods. Mann's chair can be collapsed in a single side-to-side and front-to-back motion, however, the hinges in the armrests may be uncomfortable for at least some of the users. Moreover, due to the particular configuration of movable elements in the chair, front and back seat support rods are perpendicular to the legs of a person sitting in the chair, which will likely restrict blood flow in the legs of almost all users over a prolonged period. Although there are various collapsible chairs with solid armrests known in the art, all or almost all of them suffer from one or more disadvantages. Therefore, there is a need to provide improved methods and apparatus for collapsible chairs with solid armrests.

<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The present invention is directed to a collapsible chair that can be collapsed in a single motion, wherein the chair includes a pair of solid armrests and a tensioned seat coupled to a pair of seat support rods. In particular, the collapsible chair has a pair of front legs, a pair of rear legs, and a pair of solid arm rests, wherein at least one of the rear legs is telescoping. A backrest is coupled to a pair of back support rods, and a tensioned seat is coupled to a pair of seat support rods, wherein the front legs, the rear legs, the arm rests, the back support rods, and the seat support rods are coupled in a manner such that the chair collapses in a single movement in which the front legs approximate each other when the front legs and the rear legs pivot towards each other and when the seat support rods and the back support rods pivot towards each other. In one aspect of the inventive subject matter, at least one of the front legs and one of rear legs are rotatably coupled to each other and rotatably coupled to an arm rest. It is further contemplated, that at least one of the seat support rods is rotatably coupled to a front and rear leg. Additional cross braces may couple the seat support rods to the front legs, and further additional cross braces may couple the back support rods to the rear legs. In another aspect of the inventive subject matter, the legs, back support rods and seat support rods are manufactured from a metal, preferably aluminum. It is preferred that the seat and backrest are removably attached to the chair, and are fabricated from a weather resistant material, preferably a synthetic polymer, and more preferably from Nylon. In a further aspect of the inventive subject matter, a method of imparting collapsibility into a chair comprises one step in which a front leg, a telescoping rear leg, a seat support rod, a back support rod, and a solid armrest are provided. In a further step, both the back support rod and the front leg are rotatably coupled with the armrest and the seat support rod to form a quadrilateral. In a still further step, the telescoping rear leg is rotatably coupled to at least one of the armrest and the front leg, and rotatably coupled to at least one of the seat support rod and the back support rod. Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with the accompanying drawing, in which like numerals represent like components.

Method for quantifying cytosine methylations in genomic dna that is amplified in a complex manner

A method is described for preparing demethylated DNA as reference material for the analysis of cytosine methylations in genomic DNA samples with the use of complex amplification.

1. A method for providing demethylated DNA as reference material for the analysis of cytosine methylations in genomic DNA samples with the use of complex amplifications is hereby characterized in that the following method steps are conducted: a) a genomic DNA sample is amplified, wherein either very short or degenerate oligonucleotides or oligonucleotides complementary to adaptors are used each time as primers; in the latter case, the genomic DNA is cleaved with a restriction enzyme prior to the amplification, and adaptors are ligated to the ends of the DNA fragments that are formed; b) the amplificates are chemically treated in such a way that cytosine bases that are unmethylated are converted to uracil, or another base unlike cytosine in hybridization behavior, while the 5-methylcytosine bases remain essentially unchanged; c) the chemically pretreated amplificates are again amplified, whereby either several specifically hybridizing oligonucleotides or oligonucleotides complementary to the adaptors are used each time as primers; in the latter case, the adaptors are also converted according to the rules of step 1b. 2. A method for the analysis of cytosine methylations in genomic DNA samples with the use of complex amplifications by means of adaptors, is hereby characterized in that the following method steps are conducted: a) a genomic DNA sample to be investigated is cleaved by means of a restriction enzyme; b) adaptors are ligated to the ends of the DNA fragments and the sample is then divided; the first portion of the sample is amplified by means of oligonucleotides, which are complementary to the adaptors, as primers, whereas the second portion of the sample is not amplified; b) the two portions of the sample are chemically treated separately in such a way that cytosine bases that are unmethylated are converted to uracil, or another base unlike cytosine in hybridization behavior, while the 5-methylcytosine bases remain essentially unchanged; d) the two portions of the sample that are chemically treated are amplified, whereby oligonucleotides complementary to the adaptors after the chemical treatment are used as primers; e) both portions of the sample are analyzed, whereby the first portion of the sample supplies the reference value for a methylation degree of 0%, and the second portion of the sample supplies the measurement value, which essentially corresponds to the degree of methylation in the original genomic DNA sample. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further characterized in that a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) is used for the amplification. 4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further characterized in that a heat-stable DNA polymerase is used for the polymerase chain reaction. 5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further characterized in that the amplification of several DNA segments is conducted in one reaction vessel. 6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further characterized in that the chemical treatment is conducted with sodium bisulfite (=hydrogen sulfite, disulfite). 7. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further characterized in that after the chemical treatment, the amplificates are separated from reagents and other components of the reaction mixture by binding to a solid phase or to a gel and by washing steps. 8. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further characterized in that after the chemical treatment, the reagents and the other components of the reaction mixture are preferably then diluted in such a way that they are no longer troublesome in the subsequent amplification, but the concentration of the treated amplificate is still sufficient for the second amplification. 9. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further characterized in that one of the following restriction endonucleases is used: RsaI, DpnI, DpnII, MseI, Sau3AI, AluI, NlaIII, HaeIII, BfaI, Tsp509I, BstUI or MboI. 10. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further characterized in that the demethylated reference DNA which is produced is analyzed in the same way as a sample DNA to be investigated and supplies in the analysis the reference value for a methylation degree of 0%. 11. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further characterized in that a DNA which is methylated enzymatically and which is treated in the same way as the sample DNA in the following steps, additionally is used as a reference for a methylation degree of 100%.

Spinal intervertebral implant adjustable in situ comprising hard pass point

The invention concerns a spinal intervertebral implant (200) comprising at least an upper element (203), a lower element (205), and an intermediate member (201) adapted to co-operate with the upper and lower elements by helical linking means (207, 254) including means (216) forming hard pass points when the helical linkage is carried out.

1. A spinal intervertebral implant comprising at least an upper element (203; 403), a lower element (205; 405), and an intermediate member (201; 401) which can cooperate with the upper and lower elements via helical linking means (207, 254; 407, 435, 450), characterized in that the helical linking means include means (216; 408, 416) forming hard pass points when the helical linkage is carried out. 2. The implant as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the helical linking means comprise at least a cam (254; 435, 450) and a cam follower (207; 407) which is able to come into contact with a bearing surface (254; 438, 454) of the cam. 3. The implant as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the bearing surface has zones forming the hard pass points (236, 237; 417, 419). 4. The implant as claimed in claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the zones forming the hard pass points comprise pass points (236, 237; 417, 419) protruding from the bearing surface. 5. The implant as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that the high pass points are bosses (219; 417, 419). 6. The implant as claimed in one of claims 2 through 5, characterized in that the intermediate member comprises the cam. 7. The implant as claimed in one of claims 2 through 5, characterized in that the intermediate member comprises the cam follower (207; 407). 8. The implant as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the intermediate member (401) can be received in one of the upper (403) and lower (405) elements. 9. The implant as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that the central element can be received in the other of the upper and lower elements. 10. The implant as claimed in one of claims 1 through 7, characterized in that one of the upper (203) and lower (205) elements can be received in the intermediate member (201). 11. The implant as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that the other of the upper and lower elements can be received in the intermediate member. 12. The implant as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the helical linkage between the intermediate member and the upper element has a direction of screwing counter to that of the helical linkage between the central element and the lower element. 13. The implant as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it additionally comprises means (432) for blocking in position at least one of the upper and lower elements relative to the intermediate member. 14. The implant as claimed in claim 13, characterized in that the means for blocking in position comprise a stud (432). 15. The implant as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that the stud comprises a part which is eccentric in relation to the main axis of use of the stud. 16. The implant as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that the stud comprises a part which can be screwed. 17. The implant as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises means (222; 422) for anchoring the implant in the vertebral plateaus. 18. The implant as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the upper (203) and lower (205) elements can fit into one another through being of complementary shape. 19. The implant as claimed in claim 18, characterized in that the upper and lower elements fit into one another with sliding. 20. The implant as claimed in claim 18 or 19, characterized in that each lower and upper element has a general U-shape, the elements being able to fit into one another with the U-shapes in opposition. 21. The implant as claimed in claim 18, 19 or 20 and as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that, with at least one of the upper and lower elements comprising the cam (254), said cam has an opening facing its bearing surface (245).

Package, particularly a cigarette package, and method and device for the production thereof

A cuboidal cigarette pack with a large-surface-area pack side, namely rear side (13), is provided with a blank (23), which serves as a printing carrier, in the region of this rear side (13). Said blank is positioned between an outer wrapper (19) made of film and the pack (10). A top region of the blank (23) is connected to a detachable top part of the outer wrapper, namely a film cap (22), and is also removed when the pack (10) is opened for the first time.

1.-8. (canceled) 9. A pack, in particular cigarette pack, having a large-surface-area front side (15) and a corresponding rear side (13) and also having an outer wrapper (19) made of film which has a tear-open strip (20) which runs all the way round and is intended for detaching a (top) film cap (22) of the outer wrapper (19), a separate blank (23) being positioned, as a printing carrier or coupon, between the outer wrapper (19) and the pack (10), in the region of a large-surface-area pack side (13, 15), and being connected to the inside of the outer wrapper, characterized by the following features: a) the blank (23) is connected to the outer wrapper (19), exclusively in the region of the film cap (22), by adhesive bonding or thermal sealing, b) the blank (23) is further connected to the pack in the region of the large-surface-area pack side (13, 15), to be precise by an easily releasable blob of glue (27). 10. The pack as claimed in claim 9, characterized by the following features: a) the blank (23) is arranged in the region of a rear side (13) of the pack, b) the blank (23) is connected to the detachable film cap (22) in the region of a cap rear wall (24), c) the blob of glue (27) for releasably connecting the blank (23) to the pack is arranged in the region of the rear side (13). 11. The pack as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the blank (23) is connected to the outer wrapper (19) by spots of glue, in particular by two spots of glue (25, 26) which are spaced apart from one another on the inside of the outer wrapper (19) in the region of the film cap (22). 12. The pack as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the blank (23) is of rectangular design with dimensions which are slightly smaller than the dimensions of the rear side (13). 13. The pack as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the blank (23) is of multi-layered design, in particular in the form of a strip with concertina-like folding, such that an inner leg (28) of the folded blank (23), said leg being connected to the rear side (13), has a free end directed downward, and an outer leg (29), which is connected to the outer wrapper (19) and/or film cap (22), has a free end directed upward. 14. A method of producing packs as claimed in claim 9, characterized by the following features: a) a film web (30) is provided with spots of glue (25, 26), in particular with pairs of spots of glue (25, 26), at intervals from one another in the region of the film cap (22), b) a continuous tear-open strip (20) in the form of a strip web (36) is then fitted in a precisely positioned manner on the film web (30), c) in the region of a blank subassembly (32), blanks for the outer wrapper (19) are severed from the film web (30) and held ready in an upright plane, d) on a transversely directed, horizontal pack path (33), packs with a blank (23) fitted in a precisely positioned manner on the top side are fed to the blank subassembly (32), e) the outer wrapper (19) is folded around the pack (10) provided with the blank (23), the spots of glue (25, 26) being connected to the blank (23). 15. The method as claimed in claim 14, characterized by the following features: a) the packs (10) are transported along a pack path (33) with the rear side (13) oriented upward, b) a blob of glue (27) is applied to the rear side (13) of the pack (10), c) thereafter, the blank (23) is applied to the rear side (13) of the pack (10) in the region of the blob of glue (27), d) the outer wrapper (19) is then folded around the pack (10). 16. An apparatus for producing packs as claimed in claim 9, characterized by the following features: a) a film web (30) for producing blanks for the outer wrapper (19) can be conveyed through a glue station (34) for the purpose of applying spots of glue (25, 26), b) a continuous strip web (36) can be fitted on the film web (30) for the purpose of forming a tear-open strip (20), c) in the region of a blank subassembly (32), blanks for the outer wrapper (19) can be severed from the prepared film web (30) in a vertical plane, d) on a horizontal pack path (33), packs (10) are fed to the blank subassembly (32) for the purpose of receiving a prepared outer wrapper (19), e) arranged above the pack path (33), as seen in the conveying direction, are a glue subassembly (38) for applying a blob of glue (27) to the pack (10) and, following this, a blank supplier (39) for providing the blank (23).

Method for control of a diagnosis of a catalyst in the exhaust of an internal combustion engine

A control for diagnosing a catalytic converter in the exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine having means for determining the catalytic converter temperature is presented. The diagnostic method is carried out in dependence upon the catalytic converter temperature. In the diagnosis, only such results are used which have been determined below a threshold value for the catalytic converter temperature.

1-5. cancel 6. A method for controlling the diagnosis of a catalytic converter in the exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine having means for determining the temperature of said catalytic converter, the method comprising the steps of: carrying out the diagnosis in dependence upon said temperature of said catalytic converter; and, utilizing only such results for said diagnosis which were determined below a threshold value (TMAX) for said temperature of said catalytic converter and for which results said temperature of said catalytic converter was below said threshold value (TMAX) for a predetermined waiting time. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said temperature of said catalytic converter must lie within a temperature interval (TMAX, TMIN). 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the length of the predetermined waiting time is dependent upon the speed with which the catalytic converter temperature drops. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the predetermined waiting time for higher temperature rates of change is selected longer than for lower temperature rates of change. 10. An arrangement for diagnosing a catalytic converter in the exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine, the arrangement comprising: means for determining the temperature of said catalytic converter; means for comparing said temperature of said catalytic converter to a predetermined threshold value (TMAX); decision means for utilizing only such results for said diagnosis which were determined below said threshold value (TMAX) for said temperature of said catalytic converter; and, said comparing means functions to use only said results for which said temperature of said catalytic converter was below said threshold value (TMAX) for a predetermined waiting time.

Sliding litter scoop

The present invention provides an animal refuse scoop comprising a scoop, and a handle attached to the scoop. The scoop defines a top and bottom surface, and a plurality of openings therein. The openings are defined to allow the passage of litter granules therethrough. A cover, having a solid body and a trigger attached to the solid body, is slidably attached to the scoop. The solid body defines a plurality of openings therein. The solid body is adjacent to the scoop bottom surface and is adapted to matingly cover the scoop openings in a first position to prevent the passage of granules therethrough. The cover solid body is adapted to slide to a second position by pulling of the trigger, wherein the cover solid body openings align with the scoop openings to allow the passage of granules therethrough. The scoop can be modified to switch the first and second positions.

1. An animal refuse scoop comprising: (i) a scoop; (ii) a handle attached to the scoop; (iii) the scoop defining a top surface and a bottom surface, and a plurality of openings therein, the openings being defined to allow granules to pass therethrough; (iv) a cover having a solid body and a trigger attached to said solid body, the solid body defining a plurality of openings therein, the solid body being slidably attached to the scoop and adjacent to the scoop bottom surface and adapted to matingly cover the scoop openings in a first position to prevent the passage of granules through the cover openings; and (v) the cover solid body being adapted to slide to a second position by pulling of the trigger, wherein the cover solid body openings align with the scoop openings to allow the passage of granules through the scoop and cover openings. 2. An animal refuse scoop comprising: (i) a scoop; (ii) a handle attached to the scoop; (iii) the scoop defining a top surface and a bottom surface, and a plurality of openings therein, the openings being defined to allow granules to pass therethrough; (iv) a cover having a solid body and a trigger attached to said solid body, the solid body defining a plurality of openings therein, the solid body being slidably attached to the scoop and adjacent to the scoop bottom surface and adapted to align with the scoop openings to allow the passage of granules through the scoop and cover openings in a first position; and (v) the cover solid body being adapted to slide to a second position by pulling of the trigger wherein the cover solid body matingly covers the scoop openings to prevent the passage of granules through the cover openings. 3. The animal refuse scoop as defined in claim 1 further comprising a biasing means attached to the scoop, the biasing means engaging the cover to bias said cover into the first position. 4. The animal refuse scoop as defined in claim 2 further comprising a biasing means attached to the scoop, the biasing means engaging the cover to bias said cover into the first position. 5. The animal refuse scoop as defined in claim 1 wherein the biasing means is a wound coil. 6. The animal refuse scoop as defined in claim 2 wherein the biasing means is a wound coil. 7. The litter scoop as defined in claim 1 further comprising a plurality of fingers attached to the cover solid body. 8. The litter scoop as defined in claim 2 further comprising a plurality of fingers attached to the cover solid body.

<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Domesticated animals such as cats are often trained to use litter boxes for defecation and urination. These litter boxes are typically filled with some type of disposable litter, which is usually comprised of some sort of fine absorbent granules. A particularly useful type of disposable litter is a clumping litter, such as the type disclosed in Canadian patent nos. 2,323,103; 2,233,406 and 2,225,328. Clumping litter allows a user to clean the litter box by removing solidified clumps of litter, that have been coagulated together by an animal's urine, or attached to wet/fresh faeces, to form a clumped mass. To remove such clumped masses of litter, the user should, for hygienic reasons, preferably employ a scoop. Numerous animal refuse scoops are disclosed in the prior art. Recently, animal refuse scoops have been adapted to work particularly well with clumping litter in that these scoops provide openings to allow the non-clumped granules to fall through the scoop, and back in to the litter box. For example, the scoops disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,312,029 and U.S. Des. patent no. D332,675 are particularly well suited for use with clumping litter. These scoops operate as sifting scoops, which allow the user to preserve and conserve unused litter by keeping most of the unused litter in the litter box. A problem with these sifting scoops results from the fact that very often, the user will have to travel some distance from the litter box to a place of disposal, such as a garbage can, to dispose of the clumped masses. During transport, litter granules that are held loosely to the clumped mass will typically fall away from the clumped mass, travel through the openings in the sifting scoop, and wind up on the user's floor or carpet. Cleaning these loose granules is a nuisance, and the granules having been in contact with urine and faeces, are unhygienic.

<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The present invention provides an animal refuse scoop comprising a scoop, and a handle attached to the scoop. The scoop defines a top and bottom surface, and a plurality of openings therein. The openings are defined to allow the passage of litter granules therethrough. A cover, having a solid body and a trigger attached to the solid body, is slidably attached to the scoop. The solid body defines a plurality of openings therein. The solid body is adjacent to the scoop bottom surface and is adapted to matingly cover the scoop openings in a first position to prevent the passage of granules therethrough. The cover solid body is adapted to slide to a second position by pulling of the trigger, wherein the cover solid body openings align with the scoop openings to allow the passage of granules therethrough.

Universal clutch puller and installer

The materials needed for making the universal clutch puller and installer (UCPI) consist of flat steel stock and metal pins. After outlining, cutting, drilling, and bending you will end up with a device that makes the installation and removal of clutches easier on motorcycles and small engines with the three shoe clutch system. It cut my install/removal time from 1 ½ hours to approximately fifteen minutes. As you can see in the drawings this device is 14 ½″ inches long, 1 ⅜″ inches wide and ¼″ inch high.

1. I claim the universal clutch puller and installer makes the removal and installation of the clutch easier and faster.

<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>After trying different tools and many frustrating hours installing and removing clutches on motorcycles, I came up with the idea for the universal clutch puller and installer. One tool that would work for both removing and installing clutches on motorcycles and even on some small engines.

<SOH> BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>I designed the universal clutch puller and installer to make the removal and installation of the clutch easier and faster. This tool is designed to work on a three shoe clutch system that is generally found on motorcycles and small engines of various makes and models. I have outlined how to use and the making of this tool in the Detailed Description Of The Invention document.

Information processing apparatus and program

The present invention is associated with an information processing apparatus and a program adapted to provide content to a terminal via a server without otherwise notifying the terminal thereof. A personal computer 1 transmits an image taken by a CCD video camera 33 for example to a server 6 along with the address of a terminal 6, which allows the personal computer 1 to request the server 5 for providing the transmitted image to the terminal 6. In response to the request from the personal computer 1, the server 5 provides the image supplied from the personal computer 1 to the terminal 6.

1. An information processing apparatus connected to a network with a server and a terminal to provide content to said terminal via said server, comprising: first input means for inputting said content; second input means for inputting an address of said terminal; and requesting means for transmitting said address of said terminal along with said content to said server to request said server for providing said content to said terminal. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: third input means for inputting login information necessary for logging in said server; and wherein said second input means inputs said address of said terminal after said server has been authenticated by inputting said login information. 3. A program for an information processing apparatus connected to a network with a server and a terminal to provide content to said terminal via said server, said program causing a computer to execute: a first input controlling step for inputting said content; a second input controlling step for inputting an address of said terminal; and a request controlling step for transmitting said address of said terminal along with said content to said server to request said server for providing said content to said terminal.

<SOH> BACKGROUND ART <EOH>For example, a content providing system has been developed in which content is supplied from a user terminal to a server via a network to be stored in the server for another user terminal to get the stored content. However, such a content providing system presents a problem that another terminal to which the content is eventually supplied must be notified of getting the content from the server for example, thereby complicating a user procedure.

<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS <EOH>FIG. 1 illustrates a usage example of a personal computer 1 to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary configuration of the external view of the personal computer of FIG. 1 . FIG. 3 illustrates another exemplary configuration of the external view of the personal computer of FIG. 1 . FIG. 4 illustrates still another exemplary configuration of the external view of the personal computer of FIG. 1 . FIG. 5 illustrates yet another exemplary configuration of the external view of the personal computer of FIG. 1 . FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary configuration of the external view of a port replicator of FIG. 1 . FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary internal configuration of the personal computer of FIG. 1 . FIG. 8 illustrates an example of capture mode screen. FIG. 9 illustrates a positional relationship between jog dial and file list. FIG. 10 illustrates an example of send mode screen. FIG. 11 illustrates a method of operating a capture button and a send button. FIG. 12 is a flowchart describing the operation of the CPU of a personal computer for displaying a manipulated presentation image. FIG. 13 illustrates the processing of displaying a manipulated presentation image. FIG. 14 is a flowchart describing the operation of a video controller of a personal computer for displaying a manipulated presentation image. FIG. 15 illustrates the contents of the recording in a frame memory of a video decoder of a personal computer. FIG. 16 illustrates a method of converting an image of 720×480 to an image of 640×480. FIG. 17 illustrates a pixel configuration. FIG. 18 illustrates another example of capture mode screen. FIG. 19 is a flowchart describing the operation of an I/O controller of a personal computer for displaying an image corresponding to an AV signal superimposed with a viewing disable signal. FIG. 20 is a flowchart describing the operation of a video decoder of a personal computer for displaying an image corresponding to an AV signal superimposed with a viewing disable signal. FIG. 21 is a flowchart describing the operation of a personal computer when a send image is transmitted to a server 5 . FIG. 22 is a flowchart describing the operation of a server when a send image is transmitted to a terminal 6 . FIG. 23 is a flowchart describing the operation of a terminal when it receives a send image from a server. detailed-description description="Detailed Description" end="lead"?

Relating to fabric care

The invention is concerned with improvements relating to fabric care and in particular to means by which the apparent ageing of clothes can be reduced or retarded. Colour loss during laundering, as opposed to during wear, is a significant source of colour loss. We have determined that this problem may be overcome by use of a lubricant during the laundering process, to prevent the visible appearance of local colour loss through mechanical damage by the laundering process.

1. Use of a lubricant during the laundering process, to prevent the visible appearance of local colour loss through mechanical damage by the laundering process. 2. Use according to claim 1, wherein the lubricant is a nonionic or anionic, polymeric material. 3. Use according to claim 2, wherein the lubricant has an index of wet cotton lubrication as defined herein greater than 15 when measured with a solution containing 1 g dm−3 of the lubricant. 4. Use according to claim 2, wherein the lubricant is a material which when dissolved at a concentration of 1 g dm−3 in water at 25° C. gives a solution that has a viscosity greater than 0.05 Pa s when measured at a shear rate of 100 s−1. 5. Use according to claim 2 wherein the lubricant has a molecular weight greater than 100,000 Dalton. 6. Use according to claim 5 wherein the lubricant is a polyacrylate, polyacrylic acid, polyacrylamide, poly vinyl pyrrolidone or a co-polymer thereof. 7. Use according to claim 2 wherein the lubricant is a polydimethyl siloxane. 8. Use according to claim 2 wherein the lubricant is an oxidised polyethylene wax. 9. Use according to claim 2 wherein the lubricant is present at a level of 0.5-5% wt. 10. Use according to claim 2 wherein the articles being laundered are garments.

<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>It is well known that clothes, particularly lower cost and quality clothes, lose dye when washed. Almost everyone who washes a mix of clothes has at some time experienced the detrimental effects of washing a new dyed article with white articles. In simple terms, the dye is transferred from the dyed article to the white articles causing a significant change in their colour. The commonplace solution to this problem is to wash new clothes separately. Articles which are not new also release dye, but at a reduced rate. For this reason it has been proposed to incorporate various ‘dye fixatives’, ‘dye scavengers’ or ‘colour-safe’ bleaches for dyestuffs in laundry compositions. These have been the subject of intensive and extensive research and variously fix the dye in place, prevent it re-depositing or chemically bleach it so as to overcome the problem of dye transfer in mixed washes. It is well established that relatively small amounts of dye are released from older garments and that the bulk of dye release occurs in the first wash of a new garment. As will be explained in further detail below, this initial dye loss is seldom noted by users except in incidents of dye transfer. WO 01/53600 (P&G: 2000) relates to fabric dye protection which is specific to denim. As noted in that specification and otherwise known, denim is a rather unique cloth. First, it is woven from two forms of yarn, one of which is dyed and the other is not. Second, the dyed yarn is typically dyed with indigo and has most of the dye located in the outer fibres of the yarn. This form of dyeing is known as ‘ring-dyeing’ and results in a fabric where the dye is easily removed by abrasion during wear: a process known in the art as ‘crocking’. Thus, during wear, the dye becomes detached from the fabric, particularly on the seat, knees and thighs and is then easily extracted during washing. The characteristic colour loss from denim is thought by some to be a desirable feature. Some may even go so far as to deliberately augment damage to denim goods to make the goods appear ‘older’. Others, (according to the applicants of WO 01/53600) see such colour loss as a problem. WO 01/53600 suggests that this rather specific problem can be overcome by the combined uses of a cationic polymer, a low molecular weight polyamine, crystal growth inhibitor and dye fixing agent to provide protection to denim fabric from dye loss which is primarily due to mechanical loss. This mechanical loss occurs through the normal abrasive destruction of the fabric during wear. The agents proposed to overcome this, apparently bind to the cloth and fix the colour in place and thereby prevent or reduce the appearance of ageing. The characteristic colour loss of denim, which arises due to its peculiar structure, is somewhat unique. Very few other garments are purposefully ring-dyed so as to encourage colour loss. Ageing in garments which have not been ring-dyed still presents problems. As noted above, a large part if not the bulk of, colour loss occurs in the first wash. Despite this, clothes are not generally perceived as ‘old’ after the first wash. Indeed, the first wash of an article generally produces no appreciable change in appearance to the normal observer. While there may have been a significant change in hue or colour depth, this is simply not perceived without a suitable comparison. Thus, prevention of actual colour loss (by the use of dye transfer inhibitors, dye fixatives etc) is not in itself sufficient to prevent apparent ageing of garments.

<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <EOH>We have determined that the most significant cue for ageing in clothes and other articles is colour loss which is localised rather than general. While an article may lose a significant proportion of its colour overall, this loss is not perceived by the casual spectator unless it is extreme. Whereas any localised colour loss, for example on seams, acts as a strong indication that the article is ‘faded’. In addition, we have determined that actual removal of dyestuff is not required for an apparent colour loss to be perceived. On seams and the like, abrasion of the surface is sufficient to produce a modified scattering of light which gives the appearance of loss of dyestuff. In reality, the dyestuff may still be present. Moreover, we have determined that colour loss during laundering, as opposed to during wear, is a significant source of colour loss. We have determined that this problem may be overcome by use of a lubricant during the laundering process, to prevent the visible appearance of local colour loss through mechanical damage by the laundering process. By use of a lubricant in this manner, it is believed that localised abrasion of the articles being washed may be reduced or retarded. Without wishing to be limited by reference to any theory of operation, it is believed that, when dyed textiles fade, this is, almost without exception, characterised by an increase in the luminance component of the colour. It is known that human ability to perceive small differences in lightness is spatially dependent [M. D. Fairchild, ‘Colour Appearance models’, Addison Wesley Longman Publishing Co, New York (1998)]. The maximum in sensitivity corresponds to a spatial frequency in the range 2-15 cycles per degree. It just so happens that when a garment (such as a pair of jeans) is viewed at a typical viewing distance, then the laundry-induced faded features tend to fall within this range of spatial frequencies. Thus, relatively small changes in colour can strongly influence the perception of the garment provided that they are localised. While generalised colour loss may still occur to a significant and easily measurable extent, the perceived effect of this colour loss is greatly reduced when the colour loss is even. The effect of preventing local colour loss is to significantly reduce the degree to which the articles being washed appear visibly aged. detailed-description description="Detailed Description" end="lead"?

Method for producing acrylate adhesive materials

A process for preparing pressure sensitive adhesives based on acrylate hotmelt, in which a monomer mixture including at least the following monomers (a) 70 to 100% by weight of compounds from the group of (meth)acrylic acid and the derivatives thereof corresponding to the following general formula is free-radically polymerized in solution wherein I. the polymerization is initiated using at least one dissociating photoinitiator and by irradiation with ultraviolet light, the photoinitiator being added to the monomer mixture before the beginning of the polymerization and/or to the reaction mixture in the course of the polymerization, II. the polyacrylate is freed from the solvent, III. the polyacrylate is processed further in the melt.

1. A process for preparing pressure sensitive adhesives based on acrylate hotmelt, in which a monomer mixture including at least the following monomers (a) 70 to 100% by weight of compounds selected from the group consisting of (meth)acrylic acid and the derivatives thereof corresponding to the following formula with R1═H or CH3 and R2=an alkyl chain having 2 to 20 carbon atoms and also including (b) 0 to 30% by weight of olefinically unsaturated monomers containing functional groups and also including (c) if desired, optionally, further components is free-radically polymerized in solution to give a polyacrylate, wherein I. the polymerization is initiated using at least one dissociating photoinitiator and by irradiation with ultraviolet light, the photoinitiator being added to the monomer mixture before the beginning of the polymerization and/or to the reaction mixture in the course of the polymerization, II. the polyacrylate is freed from the solvent, III. the polyacrylate is processed further in the melt. 2. The process of claim 1, wherein the at least one photoinitiator is or are used in an amount of from 0.1 to 2% by weight, based on the weight of the monomer mixture. 3. The process of claim 1, wherein the irradiation with ultraviolet light is carried out in the form of two or more irradiation cycles and/or pulsed irradiation is carried out. 4. The process of claim 1, wherein the free-radical polymerization is conducted at least up to a conversion of 98% of the monomers. 5. The process of claim 1, wherein the removal of the solvent is carried out after the polymerization in a twin-screw extruder. 6. The process of claim 1, wherein crosslinkers are added to the monomer mixture, to the reaction mixture or to the polyacrylate. 7. The process of claim 1, wherein resins and/or additives are added to the monomer mixture, to the reaction mixture or to the polyacrylate. 8. The process of claim 1, further comprising the step of applying the pressure sensitive adhesive from the melt to a backing material. 9. An adhesive tape provided with a layer of a self-adhesive prepared by the process of claim 1 on one or both sides. 10. The process of claim 2, wherein said at least one photoinitiator is used in an amount of between 0.25 and 1% by weight, based on the weight of the monomer mixture. 11. The process of claim 6, wherein said crosslinkers are selected from the group consisting of difunctional or polyfunctional acrylates, difunctional or polyfunctional methacrylates, difunctional or polyfunctional isocyanates, difunctional or polyfunctional epoxides, or mixtures thereof. 12. The process of claim 7, wherein said resins and/or adhesives are selected from the group consisting of ageing inhibitors, light stabilizers, ozone protectants, fatty acids, plasticizers, nucleating agents, blowing agents, accelerators and fillers.

Dual polarisation antenna

A dual polarisation antenna comprising: one or more radiating elements (20); a pair of side walls (11,12) arranged on opposite sides of the radiating element(s); and one or more conductive isolating elements (44, 51, 70, 40, 41), each isolating element being at least partially supported by one or both of the side walls.

1. A dual polarisation antenna comprising: one or more radiating elements; a pair of side walls arranged on opposite sides of the radiating element(s); and one or more conductive isolating elements, each isolating element being at least partially supported by one or both of the side walls. 2. An antenna according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the isolating elements is supported by one of the side walls only. 3. An antenna according to claim 2 wherein the isolation element is a substantially rectangular tab. 4. An antenna according to claim 2 wherein the isolation element subtends an angle of less than 180 degrees with the inner face of its supporting side wall. 5. An antenna according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the isolation elements is formed integrally with its supporting side wall(s). 6. An antenna according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the isolation elements subtends an angle between 80 and 100 degrees with the inner face of its supporting side wall. 7. An antenna according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the isolating elements is supported by both side walls. 8. An antenna according to claim 1 including an insulating element arranged between an isolating element and its supporting side wall. 9. An antenna according to claim 8 wherein the insulating element passes through a hole formed in the supporting side wall. 10. An antenna according to claim 1, comprising two or more radiating elements, each radiating element having first and second opposite sides, and third and fourth opposite sides; and three or more isolating elements, wherein the side walls and isolating elements are positioned such that each radiating element faces a side wall on its first side, a side wall on its second side, an isolating element on its third side, and an isolating element on its fourth side. 11. An antenna according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the isolating elements comprises a rod with a substantially circular cross-section. 12. An antenna according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the isolating elements is fully supported by one or both of the side walls. 13. An antenna according to claim 1 wherein the side walls and radiating elements are arranged in front of a planar reflector. 14. An antenna according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the isolating elements comprises a wall. 15. An antenna according to claim 14 wherein the wall is connected on a first side to the planar reflector, on a second side to one side wall, and on a third side to the other side wall. 16. An antenna according to claim 1 wherein each radiating element is a patch. 17. An antenna according to claim 1 wherein the side walls are substantially continuous. 18. An antenna according to claim 1 comprising a plurality of radiating elements. 19. An antenna according to claim 18 further comprising one or more phase shifters for generating a relative phase difference between two or more of the radiating elements. 20. An antenna according to claim 18 wherein at least one of the isolating elements is positioned between adjacent radiating elements. 21. An antenna according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the isolating elements is aligned with a respective radiating element. 22. An antenna according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the isolating elements is formed with a ridge or trough between the two side walls. 23. A dual polarisation antenna comprising: one or more radiating elements; a pair of side walls arranged on opposite sides of the radiating element(s); and one or more walls transverse to the side walls, wherein the or each transverse wall comprises a conductive sheet which is folded at each side to form a pair of connection walls, and wherein each connection wall is secured to a respective side wall.

Considerations, evaluations, investigations and searching

Methods of considering DNA based links between two or more situations are provided. Amongst the methods is a method including obtaining a plurality of test results, each test result relating to a situation, each test result including information on the DNA from that situation, the plurality of test results providing a group of test results; selecting a plurality of test results from the group of test results, the plurality of results for the combination of test results; considering a genotype as possibly giving rise to each of the test results of the combination, evaluating the support for that genotype giving rise to all of the test results of the combination; considering the genotype as a DNA based link between the situations for the test results in a combination if the support meets the defined criteria. The methods provide new techniques for considering preexisting DNA test results and/or new DNA test results so as to establish links between them in terms of the genotypes which are supported as contributing to them. The methods enable the evaluation of the support for genotypes given the test results in relation to various combinations of test results.

1. A method of considering DNA based links between two or more situations, the method including: obtaining a plurality of test results, each test result relating to a situation, each test result including information on the DNA from that situation, the plurality of test results providing a group of test results; selecting a plurality of test results from the group of test results, the plurality of results forming a combination of test results; considering a genotype as possibly giving rise to each of the test results of the combination, evaluating the support for that genotype giving rise to all of the test results of the combination; considering the genotype as a DNA based link between the situations for the test results in the combination if the support meets defined criteria. 2. A method according to claim 1 in which the method includes the further step of comparing a genotype which is considered a DNA based link against records of genotypes to identify matching genotypes in the records. 3. A method according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the evaluation involves a direct evaluation of the support for a genotype giving the combination of test results or involves an evaluation of the support for a given genotype giving each of the test results, the individual evaluations being combined to give the overall evaluation. 4. A method according to any preceding claim in which the support meets the defined criteria when the probability that the genotype could have given rise to the test results of the combination is above a given level and/or when an expression of the support that the genotype could have given rise to the test results of the combination is below a given level. 5. A method according to any preceding claim in which the evaluation of the support for a genotype giving rise to the combination of test results includes a consideration of the probability of the test results arising given that genotype and the probability of occurrence of that genotype. 6. A method according to any preceding claim in which the evaluation of the support for a genotype giving rise to the combination of test results is defined by Pr ⁡ ( G l | D… ) = ∏ ijk ⁢ ⁢ Pr ⁡ ( D ijk | G l ) ⁢ Pr ⁡ ( G l ) ∑ i ⁢ ⁢ ∏ ijk ⁢ ⁢ Pr ⁡ ( D ijk | G l ) ⁢ Pr ⁡ ( G l ) ⁢ for ⁢ ⁢ all ⁢ ⁢ l . where G1 represents the particular genotype, D represents the combination of test results, potentially including test results due to various scenes and/or samples from scenes and/or replicates of samples from scenes, i represents the range of replicates, j the range of samples, k the range of scenes and l the range of genotypes under consideration. 7. A method according to any preceding claim in which one or more limits are applied to the genotypes which are considered from amongst the full set of possible genotypes, the limits being based on one or more rules as to genotypes which could not practically give one or more of the results in the combination being considered. 8. A method according to any preceding claim in which the evaluation of the support for a genotype giving rise to the group of test results includes a consideration of the effect of one or more of contamination of the test results and/or allele drop out from the results and/or stutter in the results and/or preferential amplification of the results. 9. A method according to any preceding claim in which a genotype which is considered as a DNA based link between the situations of the combination is used in a further consideration, the further consideration including the review of possible matches between the genotype and a collection of genotype records. 10. A method of considering DNA based links between two or more situations, preferably according to claim 1, the method including: obtaining a first test result for a first situation, the first test result including information on the DNA from the first situation; considering a genotype as possibly giving rise to the first test result and evaluating the support that the genotype gave rise to the first test result, repeating the evaluation of the support for a plurality of other genotypes, generating a set of possible genotypes based on the evaluation with respect to the first test result; obtaining a second test result for a second situation, the second test result including information on the DNA from the second situation; considering a genotype as possibly giving rise to the second test result and evaluating the support that this genotype gave rise to the second test result, repeating the evaluation of the support for a plurality of other genotypes, generating a set of possible genotypes based on the evaluation with respect to the second test result; combining the set of possible genotypes for the first test result and the set of possible genotypes for the second test result, genotypes present in the first set and the second set being given a higher ranking in the combined set than genotypes not present in one or more of the sets; considering one or more of the higher ranked genotypes in the combined set as a DNA based link between the first situation and the second situation. 11. A method according to claim 10 in which the evaluation of the support involves a determination of the mixture proportions contributed by different individuals. 12. A method according to claim 10 or claim 11 in which the evaluation of the support is used to rank the set. 13. A method according to any of claims 10 to 12 in which the evaluation produces a list of possible genotypes for the first and second test results. 14. A method according to any of claims 10 to 13 in which the combining of the set for the first test result and the set for the second test result includes, for genotypes present in the first set and in the second set, adding the support for that genotype for the first set to the support for that genotype for the second set. 15. A method according to any of claims 10 to 14 in which the combining of the set or ranked evaluation for the first test result and the set or ranked evaluation for the second test result includes combining the support for that genotype for the set or ranked evaluation it is present in with a dummy support for the set or ranked evaluation it is absent from. 16. A method according to any of claims 10 to 15 in which the genotypes are ranked within the combined set or combined evaluation, genotypes present in each of the sets or ranked evaluations receiving a high ranking in the combined set or ranked evaluation and/or genotypes absent from one or more of the sets of ranked evaluations receiving a low ranking in the combined set or ranked evaluation.

Imaging head with laser diode array and a beam-shaping micro light-pipe array

An optical imaging heads that produce a plurality of light spots on light sensitive media such as photographic film or printing plate. The optical head incorporates an array of multi-mode laser diodes as a light source, a Micro Light-Pipe Array (MLPA) as a beam-shaping element, means for reducing the divergence of the laser diode beam in the fast axis direction and means for imaging the laser diode emitters on a surface close to the micro light-pipe entrance aperture.

1. An optical imaging head comprising: an array of multi-mode laser diode emitters; an array of micro light-pipes (MLPs), each of said individual micro light-pipes being associated with one of said laser diode emitters; and means for imaging the exit aperture of each of said micro light-pipes on a photosensitive medium. 2. An optical imaging head according to claim 1, wherein said means for imaging comprises a telecentric lens. 3. The optical imaging head of claim 1, additionally comprising means for reducing the divergence of the laser diode beam in the fast axis direction. 4. The optical imaging head of claim 3, wherein said means for reducing the divergence is an anamorphic lens. 5. The optical imaging head of claim 4, wherein said anamorphic lens is cylindrical. 6. The optical imaging head of claim 3, wherein said means for reducing the divergence is common for all said laser diode emitters. 7. The optical imaging head of claim 3, wherein said means for reducing the divergence is separate for each of said laser diode emitters. 8. The optical imaging head of claim 7, wherein said means for reducing the divergence is a micro-lens array. 9. The optical imaging head of claim 1, additionally comprising means for imaging the laser diode emitters on a surface close to the micro light-pipe entrance aperture. 10. The optical imaging head of claim 1 wherein the micro light-pipes are tapered. 11. The optical imaging head of claim 3 wherein the micro light-pipes are of funnel type. 12. An external-drum electro-optical plotter comprising the optical head of claim 1. 13. A flatbed electro-optical plotter comprising the optical head of claim 1. 14. A method of producing a plurality of writing spots on a photosensitive medium, comprising the steps of: providing an array of multi-mode laser diode emitters; providing an array of micro light-pipes, each of said individual micro light-pipes being associated with one of said laser diode emitter; and imaging the exit aperture of each of said micro light-pipes on said photosensitive medium. 15. The method of claim 14, additionally comprising, before said step of imaging, the step of providing means for reducing the divergence of the laser diode beam in the foist axis direction. 16. The method of clam 15, additionally comprising, after said step of providing means for reducing the divergence of the laser diode beam in the fast axis direction, the step of imaging the laser diode emitter in a surface close to the micro light-pipe entrance aperture.

<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Optical heads for imaging a plurality of light spots on a light sensitive media may incorporate an array of laser diodes as a light source. The laser diodes array may be configured as an ordered plurality of individual laser diodes mounted on a common carriage, or as a plurality of laser emitters manufactured on a single-piece semiconductor material (such as GaAs). For brevity, the light source (whether configured out of individual laser diodes or manufactured on a single semiconductor chip) will be referred to hereunder as Individually Addressed Laser Diode Array (IALDA). The imaging speed in electro-optical plotters is generally limited by the power delivered to the medium by the laser beam(s). This is especially true when the imaged medium is a thermal or ablative printing plate, or laser-transfer material, where the sensitivity is typically of the order of several hundreds mJ/cm 2 . In order to achieve the required power, the IALDA has to be built of powerful multi-mode laser diodes (LD). Multimode LDs are characterized by the light-emitting region having a very elongated shape, typically 1 micron across and 50 to 200 microns along the array axis, with the beam divergence in the cross-emitter direction high, typically 50-60 degrees FWHM, and the beam divergence in the length direction relatively low, typically 10 degrees FWHM. For brevity, the cross-emitter direction will be referred to as the ‘fast axis’ and the emitter's length direction will be referred to as the ‘slow axis’ The near field emission pattern of multi-mode LDs is substantially rectangular. An important characteristic of multi-mode LDs is that the energy distribution of the near field in the slow axis direction is non-uniform and changes with the LD's junction temperature, as well as with the data current driving the diode. This effect is often displayed as a “hot spot” moving along the emitter's length. When the image on the photosensitive medium is formed by imaging the near field of the LD, the non-uniform and frequently changing energy distribution of its pattern leads to undesired effects, such as image density irregularities. A method and apparatus for overcoming these shortcomings of multi-mode LDs by using optical diffusers is disclosed in EP 0 992 343 A1 to Sousa U.S. Pat. No. 6,208,371 to Takeshi et al, describes an optical beam-shaping system imaging the near field of a LD. The present invention successfully solves the above mentioned shortcomings of imaging the multi-mode LD near field, by using a Micro-Light-Pipe Array (MLPA) for achieving spots with evenly distributed energy on the photosensitive medium, not depending on the LD's working conditions.

<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>It is an object of the present invention to provide a multiple laser-beam recording apparatus producing a plurality of high-degree identical optical spots with uniform energy distribution. Another object of the present invention is to provide a multiple laser-beam recording apparatus, which is free of image density irregularities due to non-uniform energy distribution of the LD near field. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a high energy-efficient multiple laser-beam recording apparatus free of image density irregularities due to non-uniform energy distribution on the LD near field.

Focussing of compound libraries using atomic electrotopological values

The present invention relates to a method for generating a focussed compound library containing an enriched amount of ligand compounds being capable of binding to a predetermined receptor.

1. A method for generating a focussed compound library from a starting compound library wherein said focussed compound library contains an enriched amount of ligand compounds being capable of binding to a predetermined receptor, comprising the steps: (a) providing at least one structure of a ligand, a ligand-receptor complex or a ligand binding site geometry for the predetermined receptor, (b) generating a computer-readable code of said at least one structure, (c) providing a description of said at least one structure in the form of its three-dimensional geometry or/and of its bond distance matrix, (d) providing atomic eletrotopological values for the atoms of said at least one structure; (e) generating atomic types based on said atomic electrotopological values, (f) generating pharmacophores based on said atomic types, (g) sorting a starting database with said pharmacophores, using a similarity index by (g1) providing a description of the structure of the compounds contained in the database in the form of their three-dimensional geometry or/and of their bond distance matrix, (g2) providing atomic electrotopological values for the atoms of said at least one structure, (g3) generating atomic types based on said atomic electrotopological values, (g4) generating pharmacophores based on said atomic types, and (g5) comparing the pharmacophores of said at least one ligand structure with the pharmacophores of the database compounds, (h) determining a ranking of the database compounds according to the detected similarities, and (i) obtaining a focussed compound libary having an enriched amount of ligand compounds. 2. A method according to claim 1 for generating a focussed compound library from a starting compound library wherein said focussed compound library contains an enriched amount of ligand compounds being capable of binding to a predetermined receptor, comprising the steps: (a) providing at least one ligand structure for the predetermined receptor, (b) generating a predetermined number of possible ligand conformers of said ligand structure, (c) generating a computer-readable code of the possible ligand conformers, (d) providing a description of the possible ligand conformers in the form of their three-dimensional geometry or/and of their bond distance matrix, (e) providing atomic electrotopological values for the atoms of the possible ligand conformers, (f) generating atomic types based on said atomic electrotopological values, (g) generating pharmacophores based on said atomic types, (h) sorting a starting database with said pharmacophores using a similarity index by (h1) generating a predetermined number of conformers for compounds contained in the database, (h2) providing a description of the structure of said conformers in the form of their three-dimensional geometry or/and their bond distance matrix, (h3) providing atomic electrotopological values for the atoms of said conformers, (h4) generating atomic types based on said atomic electrotopological values, (h5) generating pharmacophores for said conformers of said database compounds based on said atomic types and (h6) comparing the pharmacophores of the ligand structure with the pharmacophores of the database compounds and (i) determining a ranking of the database compounds according to the detected similarities, (j) obtaining a focussed compound library having an enriched amount of ligand compounds. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the similarity index used for sorting the database is selected from the group consisting of Tanimoto coefficient, Eucledian distance, Manhattan distance and any combination thereof. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein two-point pharmacophores (2PP), three-point pharmacophores (3PP) and/or four-point pharmacophores (4PP) are generated. 5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the conformers are generated by force field or rule based methods or combinations thereof. 6. The method according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined number of conformers is a number between 5 and 20. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the starting compound library is selected from a database of known individual compounds, a database of synthesized combinatorial libraries and/or a database of virtual combinatorial libraries. 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein specific atomic electrotopological values that are included in an atomic type and/or the total number of atomic types are optimized by screening a test library. 9. A method according to claim 1 for generating a focussed compound library from a starting compound library wherein said focussed compound library contains an enriched amount of ligand compounds being capable of binding to a predetermined receptor, comprising the steps: (a) providing a three-dimensional ligand-receptor-complex structure for the predetermined receptor, (b) deriving the ligand structure from the three-dimensional ligand-receptor-complex structure, (c) generating pharmacophores of the ligand structure based on intermolecular interactions between ligand and receptor based on atomic types generated using atomic electrotopological values, (d) sorting a starting database with said pharmacophores, using a similarity index by (d1) generating a predetermined number of conformers for compounds contained in the database, (d2) determining pharmacophores for said conformers of said database compounds based on atomic types generated using atomic electrotopological values, and (d3) comparing the pharmacophores of the ligand structure with the pharmacophores of the database compound and (e) determining a ranking of the database compounds according to the detected similarities and (f) obtaining a focussed compound library having an enriched amount of ligand compounds. 10. A method according to claim 1 for generating a focussed compound library from a starting compound library wherein said focussed compound library contains an enriched amount of ligand compounds being capable of binding to a predetermined receptor, comprising the steps: (a) providing a binding site geometry of said predetermined receptor, (b) inverting the binding site geometry of said receptor to create a ligand candidate, (c) generating a predetermined number of possible ligand conformers of said ligand candidate structure, (d) generating pharmacophores of the possible ligand conformers based on atomic types generated using atomic electrotopological values and (e) sorting a starting database with said pharmacophores using a similarity index by (e1) generating a predetermined number of conformers for compounds contained in the database, (e2) determining pharmacophores for said conformers of said database compounds based on atomic types generated using atomic electrotopological values, and (e4) comparing the pharmacophores of the ligand structure with the pharmacophores of the database compound, (f) determining a ranking of the database compounds according to the detected similarities and (g) obtaining a focussed compound library having an enriched amount of ligand compounds.

<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The search and evaluation of new drugs or drug targets on short time scales requires the use of high-throughput screening (HTS) in pharmaceutical research. Beside the screening of real compounds, it is also possible to determine new drug targets using computational screening methods. The application of computational screening is often called virtual screening. The bottleneck of current drug discovery and drug development is the large screening demand of pharmaceutically relevant targets. To circumvent this difficulty a lot of effort is put on improvement of effective virtual (computer) screening tools. Currently combinatorial chemistry and high-throughput screening is effective in the search of new lead structures. However, these processes are still very expensive and time-consuming. Therefore, computer-based algorithms can be a significant improvement in minimizing costs and time. In the current screening processes a hit rate of about 0.1% can be reached. Thus, an increase of the hit rate is desirable, which will improve the screening process and reduce costs and time. Tools that can screen databases for molecules with biological activity are of tremendous value for the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industry., A common scenario is that one or several molecules showing biological activity for a specific target is known. This/These molecule(s) are used to screen a database of molecules for other molecules with similar activity. Methods that have been developed in this area, for instance, are CATS (Schneider et al., Angewandte Chemie int.ed. 1999, 38, 2894-2896), CATALYST (Barnum et al., J.Chem.Inf.Comput.Sci. 1996, 36, 563-571) and PHACIR (U.S. application Ser. No.09/634,586). These methods have three essential parts: 1. Description of the molecular geometry. 2. Translation of the atomic properties of the molecule into a pharmacophore model. 3. Comparisons of the pharmacophores for different molecules. So far many methods are based on a search of individual chemical structures as new drug-lead compounds. The information used is derived either from existing active compounds or from the target structure. These conventional methods consider each structure separately and search for similarities with the known active compound or for complementarities to a protein-target binding site. However, these methods can be applied only to databases having a limited number of members, since the algorithms used are rather time consuming. However, an increasing number of potential drug candidates can be synthesized, e.g. by combinatorial chemistry or can be virtually generated. It is desirable to provide methods, allowing fast screening of large databases or reducing the total number of members of databases while at the same time increasing the percentage of hits within the database. It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a method to further improve and accelerate the virtual screening of databases for specific ligand compounds. It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a method which allows for generating a focussed compound library containing an enriched amount of ligand compounds being capable of binding to a predetermined receptor.

<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The present invention is related to a novel ligand detection system. The method according to the invention identifies ligands, which are capable of specific binding to a given receptor or to given protein domains. An algorithm, preferably computer-based, can generate a focussed compound library which enriches the active compounds. Screening of such an enriched library results in a significant increase of the hit rate. The basic concept underlying the applied algorithms is a new way of translating the atomic information of a molecule into a pharmacophore model. The normal way of translating information about the properties of a molecule into pharmacophores is to assign atoms as different atomic types, traditionally atoms have been described as hydrogen bond donors, hydrogen bond acceptors, lipophilic, aromatic, positive or negative. In general, a pharmacophore describes the three-dimensional order of all atoms within a ligand which can interact with a receptor (Böhm, H.-J., Klebe, G., Kubinyi, H.; Wirkstoffdesign, Spektrum Verlag, Heidelberg, 1996). The pharmacophore concept, suitable interaction types and distance ranges are described e.g. by S. D. Pickett et al., J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci. 36 (1996), 1214-1232; H.-J. Böhm, G. Klebe, H. Kubinyi, Wirkstoffdesign, Spektrum Verlag, Heidelberg, 1996; S. M. Brocklehurst et al., Creating Integrated Computer Systems for Target Discovery and Drug Discovery, Pharmainformatics Elsevier Science Ltd., (1999), pages 12-15 and J. S. Mason, Computational Screening: Large-scale Drug Discovery, Pharmainformatics Elservier Science Ltd., (1999), pages 34-36. The invention particularly includes the enrichment of biologically active compounds in a focussed substance library, which is obtained from given starting databases. First the relevant biological properties are extracted from compounds with known biological activity and described in the form of pharmacophores. Pharmacophores produced this way can then be used for the extraction of similar compounds from a substance library or for focussing a database according to specific similarity criteria. It is very advantageous that the use of pharmacophores enables very rapid screening also of large databases. During the screening process a focussed substance library is generated, which is smaller than the originally used starting database and which contains an enormously increased proportion of active substances compared to the original substance library. An essential feature of the method according to the invention is the generation of pharmacophores based on atomic types obtained using atomic electrotopological (AET) values. According to the method of the invention, which is also named PHATS, pharmacophores are evaluated in a completely different way than in the state of the art. Atomic electrotopological (AET) values are calculated for each atom and used as atomic types. AET values are usually between −2 and 12. Atoms with AET values between two specified boundaries are assigned to belong to the same atomic type. The method of calculating AET values has been developed by Kier & Hall (Molecular Structure Description, The Electrotopological State, Academic Press, London, 2000). However, AET values have never been used in conjunction with the molecular geometry to screen for biologically active molecules. The atomic types are then used to construct a pharmacophore model. The new way of describing the atomic types has several advantages compared to the old one. Atomic types are assigned automatically by the computer, there is no need for a person to predefine what is a hydrogen bond donor, a lipophilic atom and so on. Most important, since AET values are assigned by the computer, the number of atomic types and the boundary values between different atomic types can be optimized for each specific target. The values can be optimized for a small test library and can then be used to screen large databases to find new lead compounds. This means that a specific pharmacophoric model can be developed for each target type instead of using the same for each target as in earlier models. A specifically designed pharmacophore model will screen a database more efficiently for active molecules of that specific target type. Calculations have shown that this new way of creating a pharmacophore model is superior to the traditional one. Further, with the method according to the invention biologically relevant interactions can be considered. The method according to the invention for the generation of a focussed substance library generally comprises the following steps: 1. The molecules (i.e. the known ligand(s) and compound(s) of a starting database) are described with a code in computer-readable form, e.g. the SMILES code (D. Weininger, J.Chem.Inf.Comput.Sci. 28 (1988), 31-36). 2. The geometry of the molecules is described either with their bond distance matrix or with their three-dimensional coordinates. 3. Atomic electrotopological indexes are evaluated for each atom, the values are used to assign the atoms as different atomic types. 4. The molecule is described with pharmacophores, e.g. two-, three-, or four-point pharmacophores, using these atomic types. 5. The collection of the pharmacophores is compared using a similarity index, e.g. with the distance between two vectors or with the Tanimoto coefficient. For the preparation of the pharmacophores particularly used are: one or more compounds having known biological activity, one or more compounds each having a known active three-dimensional conformation, one or more compounds, whose intermolecular interactions are derived from known interactions of ligand-protein complexes together with the receptor or one or more receptors with known three-dimensional structures for each a given biologically relevant property, e.g. the binding affinity to a receptor. The method according to the invention can be used for the virtual screening of substance libraries and can be applied in particular for the development of drugs or biologically active compounds. It is particularly suitable for applications in human or veterinary medicine and in plant protection. Examples for indications are oncology, cardiovascular diseases, neurology, metabolic diseases, infectious diseases and virology. The is method can also be applied in searches of substances, which shall be used for the modulation or inhibition of receptor-ligand interactions. Thus, the invention particularly can be applied to find new lead structures for pharmaceutical, biotechnological and agrochemical targets. The method according to the invention allows to convert a database of arbitrary size into a focussed substance library of much smaller size, the members of which can be further evaluated, e.g in experimental tests. With the method according to the invention a database is sorted according to other substances capable of binding, wherein it was detected that more than 40% and in particular 60-80% of the actual hits are placed in the focussed substance library. When the substances of a database are sorted using the inventive method, a substance library of arbitrary size can be generated, e.g. by selecting the 10% best hits, the 20% best hits or the 50% best hits. Preferably a reduction of the starting database to less than ⅓ of its original size, more preferably to less than ⅕ of its original size is carried out. Due to a limiting pre-selection, e.g. using the criterium 1% best hits or just the very best hit, it is further possible to synthesize also complicated structures from this focussed substance library, optionally in a multi-step process and subsequently investigate them experimentally. This synthesizing step requires only little effort, compared to conventional approaches taking into account the large amount of molecules contained in the original database and the large amount of molecules having little or no binding affinity existing therein. The described procedures of virtual screening are unique and innovative and result in an efficient sorting of databases, which allows a significant enrichment for biologically active molecules even within very large databases. The method of the invention preferably provides an enhancement of the proportion of molecules having the desired activity or properties. The enhancement can be described as enrichment factor (EF), which is defined as: EF=δ (focussed library)/δ (whole library) with the density δ=number of active compounds/total number of compounds. The enrichment factor EI is preferably greater than 2, more preferably greater than 3. The virtual screening methods can be applied to three point pharmacophores and can easily be extended to four point pharmacophores to be able to consider the chirality of the molecules, which play an additional role for binding specifity. The term “pharmacophore” as used herein refers to the sum of all ligand atoms which have intermolecular interactions to the receptor. The invention can be summarized as follows: The invention, in general, relates to the identification of biologically active molecules with virtual screening, using the following steps: Description of the molecules as a computer-readable code, e.g. a SMILES string. Description of the molecule e.g. with its three-dimensional geometry or with a bond distance matrix. This information can be extracted from the SMILES code. Description of atomic types based on the atomic electrotopological values. The AET values are calculated for each atom and are usually between −2 and 12. The AET value is specific for each atom depending on the environment/surroundings of the atom. Usually 3-5 different atomic typs are defined within the invention. The grouping of AET values into atomic types can be performed, for example, as follows: Atomic type I Δ AET values from −∞ to <0; atomic type II Δ AET values from 0 to <5; atomic type III Δ AET values from 5 to <10 and atomic type IV Δ AET values from 10 to +∞. However, other groupings are also possible and might prove advantageous for specific target types. The pharmacophore is based on these atomic types. Construction and enumeration of pharmacophores, e.g. of all possible two-, three- or 4-point pharmacophores. Optionally, the specific atomic electrotopological values that are included in an atomic type and the total number of atomic types can be optimized by screening a test libary containing known binding (hits) and non-binding structures. The optimized atomic types can be used to construct pharmacophores. The optimized pharmacophore models then are used to screen large databases for active molecules. With the method according to the invention one can sort a molecular database according to the molecules similarity and/or according to biological activity. The method according to the invention can be used to find new lead structures for pharmaceutical, biotechnological and agrochemical targets. detailed-description description="Detailed Description" end="lead"?

Transmitter and transmission control method ,and receiver and reception control method

Radio resources are saved, and power consumption is reduced. A base station 101 carries out training for obtaining correlation information that correlates the reception quality of a packet channel transmitted from a terminal 102 and the transmission power of an associated channel, and based on the correlation information, uses the transmission power of the associated channel to obtain a predicted value of the reception quality of the packet channel, and controls the transmission of data through the packet channel based on that predicted value. In addition, the base station 101 transmits through the associated channel transmission control information for controlling the transmission of the reception quality of the packet channel by the terminal 102. The terminal 102 controls the transmission of the reception quality of the packet channel based on the transmission control information included in the data of the associated channel transmitted from the base station 101. The present invention can be applied to, for example, a communications system of a W-CDMA system.

1. A transmission apparatus which uses a first channel through which data is transmitted and a second channel on which power control is performed to transmit said data, said transmission apparatus characterized by comprising: transmission power control means for controlling the transmission power of said second channel; training means for carrying out training to obtain correlation information that correlates the reception quality of said first channel transmitted from a reception apparatus for receiving said data and the transmission power of said second channel; predicting means for obtaining a predicted value of the reception quality of said first channel using the transmission power of said second channel based on said correlation information; and transmission controlling means for controlling the transmission of said data through said first channel based on the predicted value of the reception quality of said first channel. 2. The transmission apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said training means correlates the reception quality of said first channel and the transmission power of said second channel so as to minimize a statistical error between the reception quality of said first channel transmitted from said reception apparatus and the predicted value of the reception quality of said first channel obtained using the transmission power of said second channel. 3. The transmission apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said training means obtains said correlation information during a training period in which said reception apparatus is made to transmit said first reception quality, and said predicting means calculates the predicted value of the reception quality of said first channel using the transmission power of said second channel based on said correlation information after a lapse of said training period, and by further comprising a transmission control information transmitting means for transmitting transmission control information, which, with respect to said reception apparatus, controls the transmission of the reception quality of said first channel from said reception apparatus after a lapse of said training period. 4. The transmission apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that said transmission control information is information that instructs the starting or the stopping of transmission of the reception quality of said first channel by said reception apparatus. 5. The transmission apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that said transmission control information is information that indicates the transmission frequency of the reception quality of said first channel by said reception apparatus. 6. The transmission apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said training means, each time the reception quality of said first channel is transmitted from said reception apparatus, updates said correlation information by obtaining said correlation information using the reception quality of that first channel. 7. The transmission apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said transmission controlling means controls a code rate or a modulation method of said data transmitted through said first channel based on the predicted value of the reception quality of said first channel. 8. The transmission apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by further comprising transmission control information transmitting means for transmitting to said reception apparatus transmission control information, which controls the transmission of the reception quality of said first channel by said reception apparatus. 9. The transmission apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that said transmission control information is information that instructs the starting or the stopping of transmission of the reception quality of said first channel by said reception apparatus. 10. The transmission apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that said transmission control information is information that instructs the transmission frequency of the reception quality of said first channel by said reception apparatus. 11. The transmission apparatus according to claim 10, characterized by further comprising generating means for setting the transmission frequency of the reception quality of said first channel based on an error in the predicted value of the reception quality of the first channel, and for generating said transmission control information indicating that transmission frequency. 12. The transmission apparatus according to claim 10, characterized by further comprising generating means for setting the transmission frequency of the reception quality of said first channel based on the frequency of proper reception of said data at said reception apparatus, and for generating said transmission control information indicating that transmission frequency. 13. The transmission apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that said transmission control information transmitting means transmits said transmission control information through said second channel. 14. The transmission apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said transmission power controlling means controls the transmission power of said second channel in accordance with power control information for controlling the transmission power of said second channel, which is transmitted from said reception apparatus. 15. A transmission control method for a transmission apparatus that uses a first channel through which data is transmitted and a second channel on which power control is performed to transmit said data, said transmission control method characterized by comprising: a transmission power controlling step for controlling the transmission power of said second channel; a training step for carrying out training to obtain correlation information that correlates the reception quality of said first channel transmitted from a reception apparatus for receiving said data and the transmission power of said second channel; a predicting step for calculating a predicted value of the reception quality of said first channel using the transmission power of said second channel based on said correlation information; and a transmission controlling step for controlling the transmission of said data through said first channel based on the predicted value of the reception quality of said first channel. 16. A program for making a computer execute a transmission control process for a transmission apparatus that uses a first channel through which data is transmitted and a second channel on which power control is performed, and transmits said data, said program characterized by comprising: a transmission power controlling step for controlling the transmission power of said second channel; a training step for carrying out training to obtain correlation information that correlates the reception quality of said first channel transmitted from a reception apparatus for receiving said data and the transmission power of said second channel; a predicting step for obtaining a predicted value of the reception quality of said first channel using the transmission power of said second channel based on said correlation information; and a transmission controlling step for controlling the transmission of said data through said first channel based on the predicted value of the reception quality of said first channel 17. A reception apparatus that uses a first channel through which data is transmitted and a second channel on which power control is performed, in order to receive said data transmitted from a transmission apparatus for transmitting said data, said reception apparatus characterized by comprising: reception quality obtaining means for obtaining the reception quality of said first channel; reception quality transmitting means for transmitting the reception quality of said first channel to said transmission apparatus; power control information transmitting means for transmitting power control information that controls the transmission power of said second channel to said transmission apparatus; extracting means for extracting transmission control information that controls transmission of the reception quality of said first channel from the data of said second channel transmitted from said transmission apparatus; and transmission controlling means for controlling the transmission of the reception quality of said first channel based on said transmission control information. 18. The reception apparatus according to claim 17, characterized in that said transmission controlling means starts or stops the transmission of the reception quality of said first channel based on said transmission control information. 19. The reception apparatus according to claim 17, characterized in that said transmission controlling means controls the transmission frequency of the reception quality of said first channel based on said transmission control information. 20. A reception control method for a reception apparatus that uses a first channel through which data is transmitted and a second channel on which power control is performed, and receives said data transmitted from a transmission apparatus for transmitting said data, said reception control method characterized by comprising: a reception quality obtaining step for obtaining the reception quality of said first channel; a reception quality transmitting step for transmitting the reception quality of said first channel to said transmission apparatus; a power control information transmitting step for transmitting power control information for controlling the transmission power of said second channel to said transmission apparatus; an extracting step for extracting transmission control information that controls transmission of the reception quality of said first channel from the data of said second channel transmitted from said transmission apparatus; and a transmission controlling step for controlling the transmission of the reception quality of said first channel based on said transmission control information. 21. A program for making a computer perform a reception control process for a reception apparatus that uses a first channel through which a data is transmitted and a second channel on which power control is performed, and receives said data transmitted from a transmission apparatus for transmitting said data, said program characterized by comprising: a reception quality obtaining step for obtaining a reception quality of said first channel; a reception quality transmitting step for transmitting the reception quality of said first channel to said transmission apparatus; a power control information transmitting step for transmitting power control information for controlling the transmission power of said second channel to said transmission apparatus; an extracting step for extracting transmission control information for controlling transmission of the reception quality of said first channel from the data of said second channel transmitted from said transmission apparatus; and a transmission controlling step for controlling the transmission of the reception quality of said first channel based on said transmission control information. 22. A communications system, comprising: a transmission apparatus that uses a first channel through which data is transmitted and a second channel on which power control is performed, and transmits said data; and a reception apparatus for receiving said data transmitted from said transmission apparatus, said communications system characterized in that said transmission apparatus includes: transmission power controlling means for controlling the transmission power of said second channel in accordance with power control information for controlling the transmission power of said second channel; training means for carrying out training to obtain correlation information that correlates the reception quality of said first channel transmitted from said reception apparatus and the transmission power of said second channel; predicting means for obtaining a predicted value of the reception quality of said first channel using the transmission power of said second channel based on said correlation information; data transmission controlling means for controlling the transmission of said data through said first channel based on the predicted value of the reception quality of said first channel; and transmission control information transmitting means for transmitting to said reception apparatus through said second channel transmission control information that controls the transmission of the reception quality of said first channel by said reception apparatus; and said reception apparatus includes: reception quality obtaining means for obtaining the reception quality of said first channel; reception quality transmitting means for transmitting the reception quality of said first channel to said transmission apparatus; power control information transmitting means for transmitting said power control information to said transmission apparatus; extracting means for extracting said transmission control information from the data of said second channel transmitted from said transmission apparatus; and reception quality transmission controlling means for controlling the transmission of the reception quality of said first channel based on said transmission control information.

<SOH> BACKGROUND ART <EOH>In recent radio communications systems, instead of accommodating a single modulation and encoding system, using an adaptive modulation and code rate communications system that controls so as to perform communications by way of an optimum system depending on the conditions for communications is proposed. Communications systems using adaptive modulation and code rate (hereafter, referred to as an adaptive encoding modulation system where appropriate) change the code rate of an error correction code and the degree of multi-valued modulation depending on the quality of a propagation path, and provides high-speed data communications to a user, whose propagation path has a high quality, at the expense of noise durability characteristics, and provide low-speed data communications to a user, whose propagation path has poor quality, putting noise durability characteristics ahead. Such adaptive encoding modulation systems are expected to be additionally employed even in W-CDMA (Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access) which is attracting attention as a third generation mobile communications system. In adaptive encoding modulation systems, adaptive modulation and code rate between a base station and a terminal is realized through the basic procedures below. 1. The terminal measures the reception quality of a signal transmitted from the base station. 2. The terminal returns to the base station a reception quality message that indicates the measured result of the reception quality. 3. The base station determines the optimal modulation system and code rate from the reception quality message transmitted from the terminal, and transmits to the terminal a transmission parameter that indicates the determined modulation system and code rate. 4. The base station transmits user data based on the transmission parameter. 5. The terminal receives the transmission parameter and carries out a data receiving process based on the transmission parameter. 6. 1˜5 mentioned above are repeated periodically. An outline illustrating this procedure is shown in FIG. 1 . In FIG. 1 , the relationship between a downlink control channel for notifying the transmission parameter from the base station to the terminal, a downlink data channel for transmitting the user data from the base station to the terminal and an uplink control channel for transmitting the reception quality message from the terminal is shown. In the present figure, an example in which the steps 1˜5 mentioned above are carried out at predetermined frame periods is shown. That is, in FIG. 1 , the terminal measures the present reception quality at the terminal and transmits a reception quality message indicating the reception quality to the base station through the uplink control channel. The base station determines, from the reception quality message transmitted from the terminal, a combination of modulation method and code rate with which, for example, the error rate of the received data at the terminal is at or below a predetermined value, and transmits, as a transmission parameter, information that indicates the modulation method and the code rate to the terminal through the downlink control channel. Moreover, the base station transmits user data to the terminal through the downlink data channel in accordance with the code rate and the modulation method corresponding to the transmission parameter transmitted to the terminal. Then, the terminal receives the transmission parameter transmitted from the base station in advance and thereby recognizes the code rate, the modulation method and the like of the data transmitted from the base station thereafter. Moreover, the terminal receives the user data transmitted from the base station thereafter, and carries out demodulation by a demodulation method corresponding to the modulation method indicated by the transmission parameter received in advance, and carries out decoding based on a decoding method corresponding to the code rate. The words “downlink” and “uplink” in the downlink data channel, the downlink control channel and the uplink control channel in FIG. 1 are used for channels for signals transmitted to the terminal from the base station and for channels for signals transmitted to the base station from the terminal, respectively. That is, the word “downlink” is used in the names for channels for signals transmitted to the terminal from the base station. Also, the word “uplink” is used in the names for channels for signals transmitted to the base station from the terminal. Also, the transmission parameter comprises various parameters which are necessary for the transmission of data from the base station to the terminal. FIG. 2 shows an example of a configuration of a conventional base station that realizes a communications system using adaptive modulation and code rate (adaptive encoding modulation method). The base station comprises a transmission/reception compatible device 1 , an inverse spreading section 2 , a power control bit extracting section 3 , a control data inserting section 4 , a reception quality message extracting section 5 , a mode judging section 6 , a control section 7 , a control data generating section 8 , an encoding modulation section 9 , a power adjusting section 10 , a spreading section 11 , an adaptive encoding modulation section 13 and an antenna 14 . The base station demodulates the transmission signal from the user, at the transmission/reception compatible device 1 and the inverse spreading section 2 . That is, a spread spectrum transmission signal is transmitted to the base station from, for example, a terminal as a mobile station capable of radio communications comprising a portable telephone, other PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant) or the like. This transmission signal is received by the antenna 14 and is supplied to the transmission/reception compatible device 1 . The transmission/reception compatible device 1 receives the transmission signal from the antenna 14 , performs necessary processing and supplies it to the inverse spreading section 2 . The inverse spreading section 2 performs an inverse spread spectrum on the signal supplied from the transmission/reception compatible device 1 and supplies it to the power control bit extracting section 3 . The power control bit extracting section 3 extracts a power control bit from the signal supplied from the inverse spreading section 2 . In other words, there is included in the transmission signal transmitted to the base station from the terminal a power control bit, which is a one-bit flag that requests an increase or a decrease in the transmission power of the downlink control channel explained in FIG. 1 . The power control bit extracting section 3 extracts such a power control bit from the signal supplied from the inverse spreading section 2 and transfers it to the power adjusting section 10 . The power control bit extracting section 3 extracts the power control bit from the signal supplied from the inverse spreading section 2 , while at the same time supplying the signal to the reception quality message extracting section 5 . The reception quality message extracting section 5 obtains a reception quality message from the signal supplied from the power control bit extracting section 3 . That is, there is included in the transmission signal transmitted to the base station from the terminal a reception quality message that indicates the reception quality (SIR (Signal to Interference Ratio)) at the terminal, as explained in FIG. 1 . The reception quality message extracting section 5 obtains, through extraction, the reception quality message from the signal sent from the power control bit extracting section 3 , and transfers it to the mode judging section 6 . Here, the signal that is exchanged between the terminal and the base station is composed in frames of a predetermined duration. Moreover, a frame is configured such that, for example, a slot in units of 0.667 msec (milliseconds) is arranged in a plurality of slots. The power control bit mentioned above is such that it is transmitted from the terminal to the base station per slot. Thus, the power control bit extracting section 3 extracts the power control bit for each slot. Also, at the terminal, the reception quality message is such that it is transmitted in units of one frame. Hence, the reception quality message extracting section 5 extracts the reception quality message in units of one frame. The mode judging section 6 determines the optimal modulation method and code rate from the reception quality message and the condition of the resources the base station has, and assigns encoding resources and power resources to the user (the terminal). That is, if the combination of modulation method and code rate is now taken to be a transmission mode, the mode judging section 6 determines the transmission mode from the resources of the base station and the reception quality message supplied from the reception quality message extracting section 5 , and supplies it to the control section 7 . Here, a large number of transmission modes can be provided through combinations of code rates and modulation methods. However, here, in order to simplify the explanation, three transmission modes # 0 to # 2 shown in FIG. 3 are explained. In FIG. 3 , R=½ and R=¾ are provided for the code rate (the encoding method). The code rate R=½ signifies that one redundant bit is added for each input data of one bit. The code rate R=¾ signifies that one redundant bit is added for each input data of three bits. In the code rate R=½, although the error correction performance is stronger to the extent that there are more redundant bits in relation to the input data, the number of transmittable data becomes smaller. On the other hand, in the code rate R=¾, although the error correction performance is inferior to the code rate R=½ since the number of redundant bits in relation to the input data is smaller, the number of transmittable data can be increased. Also, in FIG. 3 , QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) and 16 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) are provided for the modulation methods. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B , in QPSK modulation, two bits of encoded data are mapped to one symbol among four symbols ( FIG. 4A ), and in 16 QAM, four bits of data are mapped to one symbol among sixteen symbols ( FIG. 4B ). If a transmittable symbol rate is assumed to be constant, data that is actually transmittable is greater for 16 QAM than it is for QPSK. However, in 16 QAM because the distance between the symbols becomes shorter as compared to QPSK, it has a feature that noise characteristics become worse. In FIG. 3 , the combination of R=½ and QPSK, the combination of R=½ and 16 QAM and the combination of R=¾ and 16 QAM are defined as the transmission modes # 0 , # 1 and # 2 , respectively. Thus, the relationship in terms of data transfer amount would be transmission mode # 0 (R=½, QPSK)<transmission mode # 1 (R=½, 16 QAM)<transmission mode # 2 (R=¾, 16 QAM). On the other hand, the relationship in terms of noise durability characteristics would be transmission mode # 0 (R=½, QPSK)>transmission mode # 1 (R=½, 16 QAM)>transmission mode # 2 (R=¾, 16 QAM). According to the adaptive encoding modulation method, if the noise is small and the propagation path is good (in a case where the reception quality at the terminal is good), by selecting a combination (a transmission mode) of modulation method and code rate whose data transfer amount is large, it is possible to carry out efficient data transmission. Also, if the noise is large and the propagation path is poor (in a case where the reception quality at the terminal is poor), by selecting a combination of modulation method and code rate whose noise durability characteristics are high, it is possible to suppress data transfer amount and enhance error characteristics. The mode judging section 6 selects, for example as shown in FIG. 5 , a transmission mode in which the error rate of the user data received by the terminal is at or below a predetermined value. In other words, FIG. 5 shows the relation between the reception quality (SIR) and the error rate of the user data (FER; Frame Error Rate), for each of the three transmission modes # 0 (R=½, QPSK), # 1 (R=½, 16 QAM) and # 3 (R=¾, 16 QAM) mentioned above. The mode judging section 6 judges and selects, for example, a transmission mode in which the error rate of the user data (FER) is 10% or below in relation to reception quality. In this case, the transmission modes # 0 (R=½, QPSK), # 1 (R=½, 16 QAM) and # 2 (R=¾, 16 QAM) are selected respectively at the mode judging section 6 when the reception quality is −8 dB or lower, higher than −8 dB and lower than −4 dB, and −4 dB or higher. Returning to FIG. 2 , the control section 7 transfers the transmission mode determined by the mode judging section 6 to the control data generating section 8 and the adaptive encoding modulation section 13 . The control data generating section 8 generates control data including the transmission mode supplied from the control section 7 , and supplies it to the control data inserting section 4 . The control data inserting section 4 is such that besides having the control data from the control data generating section 8 supplied thereto, audio data transferred from a different base station, NW (NetWork) control data used to judge and control a hand-off for shifting control of the terminal from one base station to another base station and the like are sent thereto. The control data inserting section 4 inserts the control data supplied from the control data generating section 8 into the audio data and the NW control data supplied thereto, and supplies it to the encoding modulation section 9 . The encoding modulation section 9 performs an encoding modulation process on the signal supplied from the control data inserting section 4 through a predetermined method, and sends the modulation signal obtained as a result to the power adjusting section 10 . At the power adjusting section 10 , the transmission power of the data through the downlink control channel explained in FIG. 1 is determined in accordance with the power control bit supplied from the power control bit extracting section 3 . In other words, the power control bit is, for example, as mentioned above, a 1-bit flag, and the power adjusting section 10 processes the modulation signal from the encoding modulation section 9 so as to increase the transmission power in the downlink control channel by 1 dB if the power control bit is 1, and decrease the transmission power in the downlink control channel by 1 dB if the power control bit is 0. Thus, a mechanism for transmitting data in the downlink control channel to the terminal at an optimal power is provided. In addition, the signal in this downlink control channel is transmitted in such a form that it is always associated with the downlink data channel explained in FIG. 1 . Here, in the W-CDMA system, the base station carries out such control of the transmission power in the downlink control channel in accordance with the power control bit transmitted from the terminal with each slot. The modulation signal whose transmission power is adjusted at the power adjusting section 10 is supplied to the spreading section 11 . On the other hand, packet data in which the user data transmitted through the downlink data channel explained in FIG. 1 is placed is supplied to the adaptive encoding modulation section 13 . Then, the adaptive encoding modulation section 13 encodes the packet data in accordance with the code rate represented by the transmission mode supplied from the control section 7 , and further carries out a modulation process in accordance with the modulation method represented by the transmission mode. The adaptive encoding modulation section 13 supplies to the spreading section 11 the modulation signal thus obtained by encoding and modulating the packet data. Here, FIG. 6 shows a configuration example of the adaptive encoding modulation section 13 in a case where, as shown in FIG. 3 , the three transmission modes # 0 to # 2 are arranged. The packet data inputted to the adaptive encoding modulation section 13 is supplied to a switch 21 . Then, if the transmission mode supplied from the control section 7 is transmission mode # 0 , the switch 21 selects a terminal 21 a , and a switch 24 selects a terminal 24 a. The terminal 21 a is connected to an encoding section 22 a . Therefore, if the transmission mode is # 0 , the packet data is supplied from the switch 21 to the encoding section 22 a . The encoding section 22 a encodes the packet data supplied thereto at a code rate of R=½, thereby adding an error correcting code, and supplying the encoded data obtained as a result thereof to a QPSK modulation section 23 a . The QPSK modulation section 23 a performs QPSK modulation on the encoded data from the encoding section 22 a , thereby carrying out a modulation symbol mapping, and supplies a modulation signal obtained as a result thereof to the terminal 24 a of the switch 24 . If the transmission mode is # 0 , because the switch 24 has selected the terminal 24 a as mentioned above, the modulation signal outputted by the QPSK modulation section 23 a is supplied to the spreading section 11 ( FIG. 2 ) via the switch 24 . In addition, if the transmission mode supplied from the control section 7 is transmission mode # 1 , the switch 21 selects a terminal 21 b , and the switch 24 selects a terminal 24 b . The terminal 21 b is connected to an encoding section 22 b . Therefore, if the transmission mode is # 1 , the packet data is supplied from the switch 21 to the encoding section 22 b . The encoding section 22 b encodes the packet data supplied thereto at a code rate of R=½, and supplies the encoded data obtained as a result thereof to a 16 QAM modulation section 23 b . The 16 QAM modulation section 23 b performs 16 QAM modulation on the encoded data from the encoding section 22 b , and supplies the modulation signal obtained as a result thereof to the terminal 24 b of the switch 24 . If the transmission mode is # 1 , because the switch 24 has selected the terminal 24 b as mentioned above, the modulation signal outputted by the 16 QAM modulation section 23 b is supplied to the spreading section 11 ( FIG. 2 ) via the switch 24 . Moreover, if the transmission mode supplied from the control section 7 is transmission mode # 2 , the switch 21 selects a terminal 21 c, and the switch 24 selects a terminal 24 c . The terminal 21 c is connected to an encoding section 22 c . Therefore, if the transmission mode is # 2 , the packet data is supplied from the switch 21 to the encoding section 22 c . The encoding section 22 c encodes the packet data supplied thereto at a code rate of R=¾, and supplies the encoded data obtained as a result thereof to a 16 QAM modulation section 23 c . The 16 QAM modulation section 23 c performs 16 QAM modulation on the encoded data from the encoding section 22 c , and supplies the modulation signal obtained as a result thereof to the terminal 24 c of the switch 24 . If the transmission mode is # 2 , because the switch 24 has selected the terminal 24 c as mentioned above, the modulation signal outputted by the 16 QAM modulation section 23 c is supplied to the spreading section 11 ( FIG. 2 ) via the switch 24 . Again, returning to FIG. 2 , using separate spreading codes, the spreading section 11 performs a spread spectrum on the modulation signal supplied from the power adjusting section 10 and the modulation signal supplied from the adaptive encoding modulation section 13 , and supplies the thus obtained spread signals to the transmission/reception compatible device 1 . The transmission/reception compatible device 1 performs the necessary process on the spread signals from the spreading section 11 , and transmits them to the terminal as radio waves from the antenna 14 . Of the signals thus transmitted, the modulation signal supplied from the power adjusting section 10 is the signal in the downlink control channel of FIG. 1 , and the modulation signal supplied from the adaptive encoding modulation section 13 is the signal in the downlink data channel of FIG. 1 . In addition, in the downlink data channel, as mentioned above, the user data is transmitted in the form of packet data. As such, the downlink data channel will hereinafter be referred to as a packet channel as deemed appropriate. Also, the downlink control channel is transmitted in such a manner as to be always associated with the downlink data channel (the packet channel) as mentioned above. As such, the downlink control channel will hereinafter be referred to as an associated channel as deemed appropriate. Here, the packet channel, in which the user data is transmitted and adaptive encoding modulation is performed, is referred to as, for example, HS-DSCH (High Speed Downlink Shared CHannel). Also, the associated channel, in which the audio data, the NW control data and the control data including the transmission mode are transmitted and on which transmission power control through the power control bit is performed, is referred to as, for example, DPCH (Dedicated Physical CHannel). Next, FIG. 7 shows a configuration example of a conventional terminal which realizes a communications system using adaptive modulation and coding rate (adaptive encoding modulation method). A terminal (a user terminal) comprises a transmission/reception compatible device 31 , an inverse spreading section 32 , an associated channel reception quality estimating section 33 , a power control bit generating section 34 , a packet channel reception quality estimating section 35 , a reception quality message generating section 36 , an associated channel demodulation decoding section 37 , a control section 38 , a user data demodulation decoding section 39 , an error detecting section 40 , a reception quality message inserting section 43 , a power control bit inserting section 44 , a spreading section 45 , and an antenna 47 . A transmission signal sent out from the base station is received by the antenna 47 and supplied to the inverse spreading section 32 after necessary processing is performed by the transmission/reception compatible device 31 . The inverse spreading section 32 performs an inverse spread spectrum on the signal from the transmission/reception compatible device 31 to thereby separate it into a packet channel signal and an associated channel signal. Then, the inverse spreading section 32 supplies the associated channel signal to the associated channel reception quality estimating section 33 and the associated channel demodulation decoding section 37 . Moreover, the inverse spreading section 32 supplies the packet channel signal to the packet channel reception quality estimating section 35 and the user data demodulation decoding section 39 . The associated channel reception quality estimating section 33 estimates the signal to noise ratio (SNR) from a pilot signal time-multiplexed on the associated channel. In other words, although not explained in FIG. 2 , for example, the control data inserting section 4 is such that it time-multiplexes a predetermined pilot signal as the associated channel signal. Thus, that pilot signal is included in the associated channel signal. The associated channel reception quality estimating section 33 estimates the SNR of the associated channel signal supplied from the inverse spreading section 32 using the pilot signal included in the signal, and supplies to the power control bit generating section 34 the estimated SNR as the reception quality of the associated channel. The power control bit generating section 34 outputs to the power control bit inserting section 44 a power control bit of a value of 0 if the estimated SNR of the associated channel (the reception quality of the associated channel) is better than a reference quality of the associated channel which is the desired SNR, or a power control bit of a value of 1 if it is worse. Here, the estimation of the SNR at the associated channel reception quality estimating section 33 and the generation of the power control bit at the power control bit generating section 34 are executed for each slot. In the base station in FIG. 2 , the power adjusting section 10 controls the transmission power of the associated channel based on the power control bit such that the associated channel can be received by the terminal always at a constant SNR. The associated channel demodulation decoding section 37 demodulates and decodes the associated channel signal supplied from the inverse spreading section 32 and separates the audio data, the NW control data and the control data. The audio data, the W control data and the control data are supplied to a circuit not shown in the drawings and are also supplied to the control section 38 . The control section 38 detects information on the modulation method and the code rate which are placed in the control data supplied from the associated channel demodulation decoding section 37 and applied to the packet channel, namely, the transmission mode, and carries out mode setting (control) of the user data demodulation decoding section 39 . In other words, if the transmission mode is # 0 , the control section 38 controls the user data demodulation decoding section 39 so as to QPSK demodulate the packet channel signal and further decode it at a code rate of R=½. Also, if the transmission mode is # 1 , the control section 38 controls the user data demodulation decoding section 39 so as to 16 QAM demodulate the packet channel signal and further decode it at a code rate of R=½. Alternatively, if the transmission mode is # 2 , the control section 38 controls the user data demodulation decoding section 39 so as to 16 QAM demodulate the packet channel signal and further decode it at a code rate of R=¾. On the other hand, the packet channel reception quality estimating section 35 estimates the SNR of the packet channel signal supplied from the inverse spreading section 32 . A pilot symbol that is time-multiplexed on the packet channel or a pilot channel symbol transmitted in parallel with the packet channel is used in this SNR estimation. In other words, although not explained in FIG. 2 , the spreading section 11 is such that it time-multiplexes the predetermined pilot signal on the modulation signal supplied from the adaptive encoding modulation section 13 and then carries out a spread spectrum. Thus, the packet channel signal includes the pilot signal. Also, the spreading section 11 is such that it performs a spread spectrum on a different pilot signal with a spreading code different from the spreading code used in the spread spectrum of the modulation signal supplied from the power adjusting section 10 or the adaptive encoding modulation section 13 , and transmits it via the transmission/reception compatible device 1 and the antenna 14 in parallel with the packet channel or the associated channel. The packet channel reception quality estimating section 35 estimates the SNR of the packet channel signal supplied from the inverse spreading section 32 using the pilot signal included in that signal or the pilot signal that is transmitted in parallel with the packet channel signal, and supplies to the reception quality message generating section 36 the estimated SNR as the reception quality of the packet channel. The reception quality message generating section 36 generates a reception quality message of a predetermined message format representing the estimated SNR of the packet channel (the reception quality of the packet channel) supplied from the packet channel reception quality estimating section 35 , and supplies it to the reception quality message inserting section 43 . Here, the estimation of the SNR of the packet channel by the packet channel reception quality estimating section 35 and the generation of the reception quality message by the reception quality message generating section 36 are executed for each frame. On the other hand, the user data demodulation decoding section 39 decodes and demodulates the packet channel signal supplied from the inverse spreading section 32 in accordance with the control of the control section 38 , and supplies the packet data obtained as a result thereof to the error detecting section 40 . In addition, the user data demodulation decoding section 39 , upon decoding the packet channel signal, carries out error correction of the packet data using the error correcting code included in that signal as a redundant bit. The error detecting section 40 carries out, for example, parity detection using cyclic redundancy check (CRC) and judges whether or not there is an error in the packet data decoded by the user data demodulation decoding section 39 . Then, the error detecting section 40 outputs ACK (ACKnowledge), which is a message indicating that the packet data was received properly, if there is no error in the packet data, and outputs NACK, which is a message indicating that the packet data could not be received properly, if there is an error in the packet data. In addition, although not shown in FIG. 7 (which similarly applies to FIG. 20 described later), the ACK/NACK outputted by the error detecting section 40 is supplied to the spreading section 45 and is transmitted to the base station. The reception quality message inserting section 43 frames the reception quality message, which is supplied from the reception quality message generating section 36 , in the uplink control channel signal explained in FIG. 1 , and supplies it to the power control bit inserting section 44 . The power control bit inserting section 44 frames the power control bit, which is supplied from the power control bit generating section 34 , in the uplink control channel signal supplied from the reception quality message inserting section 43 , and supplies it to the spreading section 45 . The spreading section 45 performs a spread spectrum on the uplink control channel signal from the power control bit inserting section 44 and supplies the spread signal obtained as a result thereof to the transmission/reception compatible device 31 . The transmission/reception compatible device 31 performs necessary processing on the spread signal from the spreading section 45 and transmits it from the antenna 47 as a radio wave. In addition, at the terminal, the reception quality message is transmitted per frame, and the power control bit is transmitted per slot. According to the adaptive encoding modulation method, the data transmission speed can be changed in accordance with the reception condition (the reception quality) of the terminal, and data can be transmitted to the terminal side more efficiently. By the way, in the adaptive encoding modulation method, for example, the terminal, which is the mobile station, reports the estimated result of the reception quality of the packet channel to the base station, and the base station selects the optimal combination of the modulation method and encoding method based on the reported value (the reception quality indicated by the reception quality message). For this reason, the reception quality accuracy reported to the base station becomes important. However, because there arises a delay in the estimation and reporting of the reception quality of the packet channel and the message reception at the base station, there are instances where there is some difference between the actual reception quality of the packet channel at the terminal at the time when the base station has demodulated the reception quality message and the reception quality represented by the reception quality message. In other words, at the terminal, as mentioned above, the reception quality of the packet channel is estimated in periods of frames and is transmitted to the base station. For this reason, from when the reception quality at the terminal is estimated till when that reception quality is recognized at the base station, there is a time lag corresponding to several frames. The reception quality recognized by the base station is a reception quality that is behind by a period of time represented by the time lag. Therefore, there are cases where the reception quality recognized by the base station differs from the current reception quality at the terminal. In such cases, the base station cannot select the optimal combination of the modulation and the encoding methods, which may lower system efficiency. This phenomenon presents itself most notably when reception propagation path characteristics change rapidly, such as when, in particular, the terminal, which is the mobile station, is moving at high speed. As such, a method may be considered in which the reception quality message representing the reception quality of the packet channel is transmitted more frequently from the terminal to the base station. However, if the transmission frequency of the reception quality message is made higher, the usage of radio resources increases, and further, power consumption at the terminal also increases. Therefore, in order to save radio resources and carry out a more effective system operation, it is effective to slow (extend) the reception quality report period. However, by slowing the period, the delay from the time of estimation of the reception quality to when the reported value (the reception quality message) reaches the base station further increases, which results in a larger difference between the reported value and the actual reception quality.

<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS <EOH>FIG. 1 is a view explaining conventional data transmission; FIG. 2 is a view showing a configuration of an example of a conventional base station; FIG. 3 is a view explaining transmission modes; FIG. 4A is a view showing the mapping of data by a QPSK modulation method; FIG. 4B is a view showing the mapping of data by a 16 QAM modulation method; FIG. 5 is a view showing the relationship between reception quality and error rate; FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an adaptive encoding modulation section 13 ; FIG. 7 is a view showing a configuration of an example of a conventional terminal; FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an embodiment of a communications system to which the present invention is applied; FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a base station 101 ; FIG. 10 is a flowchart explaining a process at the base station 101 ; FIG. 11 is a flowchart explaining a process of a training mode; FIG. 12 is a view explaining power control of an associated channel; FIG. 13A is a view showing propagation characteristics; FIG. 13B is a view showing the transmission power of the associated channel; FIG. 13C is a view showing the reception quality of the associated channel; FIG. 14A is a view showing the transmission power of a packet channel; FIG. 14B is a view showing propagation characteristics; FIG. 14C is a view showing the reception quality of the packet channel; FIG. 15 is a view showing the transmission power of the associated channel and the reception quality of the packet channel; FIG. 16 is a flowchart explaining a process of a normal mode; FIG. 17 is a flowchart explaining another embodiment of a process at the base station 101 ; FIG. 18 is a flowchart explaining a process for setting a transmission period of a reception quality message; FIG. 19 is a view showing the transmission period of the reception quality message becoming longer; FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a terminal 102 ; FIG. 21 is a flowchart explaining a process at the terminal 102 ; FIG. 22 is a flowchart explaining a process at the terminal 102 ; FIG. 23 is a flowchart explaining a process at the terminal 102 ; and FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an embodiment of a computer to which the present invention is applied. detailed-description description="Detailed Description" end="lead"?

Oxidation dyeing composition for keratinous fibres on amphiphilic polymers of at least an ethylenically unsaturated monomer with sulphonic group and comprising a hydrophobic part

The invention concerns an oxidation dyeing composition for keratinous fibres, in particular for human keratinous fibres and more particularly hair, comprising, in a medium suited for dyeing, at least an oxidation dyeing agent, and also at least an amphiphilic polymer including at least an ethylenically unsaturated monomer with a sulphonic group, in free form or partly or completely neutralised and further at least a hydrophobic part. The invention also concerns dyeing methods and devices using said composition.

1. An oxidation dye composition for keratin fibers, comprising: at least one oxidation dye in a medium that is suitable for dyeing and at least one amphiphilic polymer comprising at least one ethylenically unsaturated monomer containing a sulfonic group, in free form or partially or totally neutralized form, and also at least one hydrophobic portion. 2. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hydrophobic portion of the amphiphilic polymer comprises from 6 to 50 carbon atoms. 3. The composition as claimed in claim 2, wherein the hydrophobic portion of the amphiphilic polymer comprises from 6 to 22 carbon atoms. 4. The composition as claimed in claim 3, wherein the hydrophobic portion of the amphiphilic polymer comprises from 6 to 18 carbon atoms. 5. The composition as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that the hydrophobic portion of the amphiphilic polymer comprises from 12 to 18 carbon atoms. 6. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the amphiphilic polymers are partially or totally neutralized with a mineral or organic base. 7. The composition as claimed in 6 claim 1, wherein the amphiphilic polymers have a number-average molecular weight ranging from 1,000 to 20,000,000 g/mol. 8. The composition as claimed in claim 7, wherein the number-average molecular weight ranges from 20,000 to 5,000,000 g/mol. 9. The composition as claimed in claim 8, wherein the number-average molecular weight ranges from 100,000 to 1,500,000 g/mol. 10. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein an aqueous solution at 1% by weight of said polymers has, at a temperature of 25° C., a viscosity, measured using a Brookfield viscometer with a No. 7 needle, ranging from 20,000 mPa·s to 100,000 mPa·s. 11. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the amphiphilic polymers are prepared by free-radical precipitation polymerization in tert-butanol. 12. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the amphiphilic polymers are crosslinked or noncrosslinked. 13. The composition as claimed in claim 12, wherein the amphiphilic polymers are crosslinked. 14. The composition as claimed in claim 13, wherein one or more crosslinking agents is a polyolefinically unsaturated compound. 15. The composition as claimed in claim 14, wherein one or more crosslinking agent is selected from the group consisting of methylenebisacrylamide, allyl methacrylate, and trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA). 16. The composition as claimed in claim 13, wherein the degree of crosslinking ranges from 0.01 mol % to 10 mol % relative to the polymer. 17. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ethylenically unsaturated monomer comprising a sulfonic group is selected from the group consisting of a vinylsulfonic acid, a styrenesulfonic acid, a (meth)acrylamido(C1-C22)alkylsulfonic acid, and a N-(C1-C22)alkyl(meth)acrylamido(C1-C22)alkylsulfonic acid, and also partially or totally neutralized forms thereof. 18. The composition as claimed in claim 17, wherein the ethylenically unsaturated comprising a sulfonic group is selected from the group consisting of acrylamidomethanesulfonic acid, acrylamidoethanesulfonic acid, acrylamidopropane sulfonic acid, 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid, methacrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid, 2-acrylamido-n-butanesulfonic acid, 2-acrylamido-2,4,4-trimethylpentanesulfonic acid, 2-methacrylamidododecylsulfonic acids and 2-acrylamido-2,6-dimethyl-3-heptanesulfonic acid, and also partially or totally neutralized forms thereof. 19. The composition as claimed in claim 17, wherein the ethylenically unsaturated monomer comprising a sulfonic group is 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPS), and also partially or totally neutralized forms thereof. 20. The composition as claimed in claim 19, wherein the amphiphilic polymers comprise random AMPS polymers modified by reaction with an n-mono(C6-C22)alkylamine or a di-n-(C6-C22)alkylamine. 21. The composition as claimed in claim 19, wherein the amphiphilic AMPS polymers further comprise at least one ethylenically unsaturated monomer not comprising a fatty chain. 22. The composition as claimed in claim 20, wherein the ethylenically unsaturated monomer not comprising a fatty chain is or selected from the group consisting of a (meth)acrylic acid a (meth)acrylamide, a vinylpyrrolidone, maleic anhydride, itaconic acid, maleic acid, and mixtures of these compounds: wherein said (meth)acrylic acid is an alkyl derivative thereof or an ester thereof as obtained with monoalcohols or mono-or polyalkylene glycols. 23. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the amphiphilic AMPS polymers are amphiphilic copolymers of AMPS or at least one ethylenically unsaturated hydrophobic monomer comprising at least one hydrophobic comprises from 6 to 50 carbon atoms. 24. The composition as claimed in claim 23, wherein the hydrophobic portion comprises from 6 to 22 carbon atoms. 25. The composition as claimed in claim 24, wherein the hydrophobic portion comprises from 6 to 18 carbon atoms. 26. The composition as claimed in claim 25, wherein the hydrophobic portion comprises from 12 to 18 carbon atoms. 27. The composition as claimed in any one of claims 23 to 26 claim 23, wherein the ethylenically unsaturated hydrophobic monomer is an acrylate or an acrylamide of formula (I) below: in which R1 and R3, which may be identical or different, denote a hydrogen atom or a linear or branched C1-C6 alkyl radical; Y denotes O or NH; R2 denotes a hydrophobic hydrocarbon-based radical comprising at least from 6 to 50 carbon atoms; x denotes a number of moles of alkylene oxide and ranges from 0 to 100. 28. The composition as claimed in claim 27, wherein the hydrophobic radical R2 is selected from the group consisting of a linear C6-C18 alkyl radical, a branched C6-C18 alkyl radical ea cyclic C6-C18 alkyl radical: a C6-C18 alkylperfluoro radical, a cholesteryl radical, an ester of a cholesterol radical; and an aromatic polycyclic group. 29. The composition as claimed in claim 27, wherein the monomer of formula (I) has a value of x that ranges from 1 to 100. 30. The composition as claimed in claim 27, wherein the monomer of formula (I) further comprises at least one polyoxyalkylenated chain. 31. The composition as claimed in claim 30, wherein the polyoxyalkylenated chain consists of ethylene oxide units and/or of propylene oxide units. 32. The composition as claimed in claim 31, wherein the polyoxyalkylenated chain consists of ethylene oxide units. 33. The composition as claimed in claim 27, wherein the number of oxyalkylene units ranges from 3 to 100. 34. The composition as claimed in claim 33, wherein the number of oxyalkylene units ranges from 3 to 50. 35. The composition as claimed in claim 34, wherein the number of oxyalkylene units ranges from 7 to 25. 36. The composition as claimed in claim 23, wherein the amphiphilic AMPS polymer is selected from the group consisting of A and B. wherein A is defined by crosslinked or noncrosslinked, neutralized or nonneutralized copolymers comprising from 15% to 60% by weight of AMPS units and from 40% to 85% by weight of (C8-C16)alkyl(meth)acrylamide units or of (C8-C16)alkyl (meth)acrylate units relative to the polymer; and B is defined by terpolymers comprising from 10 mol % to 90 mol % of acrylamide units, from 0.1 mol % to 10 mol % of AMPS units and from 5 mol % to 80 mol % of n-(C6-C18)alkylacrylamide units relative to the polymer. 37. The composition as claimed in claim 23, wherein the amphiphilic AMPS polymer is selected from the group consisting of A and B; wherein A is defined by noncrosslinked copolymers of partially or totally neutralized AMPS and of n-dodecyl methacrylate; and B is defined by crosslinked or noncrosslinked copolymers of partially or totally neutralized AMPS and of n-dodecylmethacrylamide. 38. The composition as claimed in claim 23, wherein the amphiphilic AMPS polymer is a copolymer consisting of 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPS) units of formula (II) below: in which X+ is a proton, an alkali metal cation, an alkaline-earth metal cation or the an ammonium ion, and of units of formula (III) below: in which x denotes an integer ranging from 3 to 100; R1 has the same meaning as that given above in formula (I) and R4 denotes a linear or branched C6-C22. 39. The composition as claimed in claim 38, wherein x=25, R1 is methyl and R4 is n-dodecyl. 40. The composition as claimed in claim 27 wherein the molar percentage proportion of units of formula (I) or of units of formula (III) in the polymers ranges from 50.1% to 99.9%. 41. The composition as claimed in claim 27 wherein the molar percentage proportion of units of formula (I) or of units of formula (III) in the polymers ranges from 0.1% to 50%. 42. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the amphiphilic polymers are present in concentrations ranging from 0.01% to 30% by weight, relative to the total weight of the composition. 43. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the oxidation dye is an oxidation base and/or a coupler. 44. The composition as claimed in claim 43, wherein the composition comprises at least one oxidation base. 45. The composition as claimed in claim 43, wherein the oxidation base is selected from the group consisting of an ortho-phenylenediamine, a para-phenylenediamine, a double base, an ortho-aminophenol, a para-aminophenol, and a heterocyclic base, and also addition salts of these compounds with an acid. 46. The composition as claimed in claim 45, wherein the para-phenylenediamine is defined by structure (I) below: in which: R1 represents a hydrogen atom, a C1-C4 alkyl radical, a C1-C4 monohydroxyalkyl radical, a C2-C4 polyhydroxyalkyl radical, a (C1-C4)alkoxy(C1-C4)alkyl radical or a C1-C4 alkyl radical substituted with a nitrogenous, phenyl or 4′-aminophenyl group; R2 represents a hydrogen atom, a C1-C4 alkyl radical, a C1-C4 monohydroxyalkyl radical, a C2-C4 polyhydroxyalkyl radical, a (C1-C4)alkoxy(C1-C4)alkyl radical or a C1-C4 alkyl radical substituted with a nitrogenous group; R1 and R2 may also form, with the nitrogen atom that bears them, a 5- or 6-membered nitrogenous heterocycle optionally substituted with one or more alkyl, hydroxyl or ureido groups; R3 represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom such as a chlorine atom, a C1-C4 alkyl radical, a sulfo radical, a carboxy radical, a C1-C4 monohydroxyalkyl radical, a C1-C4 hydroxyalkoxy radical, an acetylamino(C1-C4)alkoxy radical, a mesylamino(C1-C4)-alkoxy radical or a carbamoylamino(C1-C4)alkoxy radical, R4 represents a hydrogen or halogen atom or a C1-C4 alkyl radical. 47. The composition as claimed in claim 45, wherein the double base is defined by structure (II) below: in which: Z1 and Z2, which may be identical or different, represent a hydroxyl or —NH2 radical which may be substituted with a C1-C4 alkyl radical or with a linker arm Y; the linker arm Y represents a linear or branched alkylene chain containing from 1 to 14 carbon atoms, which may be interrupted by or terminated with one or more nitrogenous groups and/or one or more hetero atoms such as oxygen, sulfur or nitrogen atoms, and optionally substituted with one or more hydroxyl or C1-C6 alkoxy radicals; R5 and R6 represent a hydrogen or halogen atom, a C1-C4 alkyl radical, a C1-C4 monohydroxyalkyl radical, a C2-C4 polyhydroxyalkyl radical, a C1-C4 aminoalkyl radical or a linker arm Y; R7, R8, R9, R10, R11 and R12, which may be identical or different, represent a hydrogen atom, a linker arm Y or a C1-C4 alkyl radical; it being understood that the compounds of formula (II) contain only one linker arm Y per molecule. 48. The composition as claimed in claim 45, wherein the para-aminophenol is defined by structure (III) below: in which: R13 represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, such as fluorine, or a C1-C4 alkyl, C1-C4 monohydroxyalkyl, (C1-C4)alkoxy(C1-C4)alkyl, C1-C4 aminoalkyl or hydroxy(C1-C4)-alkylamino(C1-C4)alkyl radical, R14 represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, such as fluorine, or a C1-C4 alkyl, C1-C4 monohydroxyalkyl, C2-C4 polyhydroxyalkyl, C1-C4 aminoalkyl, C1-C4 cyanoalkyl or (C1-C4)alkoxy(C1-C4)alkyl radical. 49. The composition as claimed in claim 45, wherein the heterocyclic base is selected from the group consisting of a pyridine derivative, a pyrimidine derivative a pyrazolopyrimidine, and a pyrazole derivative. 50. The composition as claimed in claim 45, wherein the oxidation base is present in concentrations ranging from 0.0005% to 12% by weight relative to the total weight of the composition. 51. The composition as claimed in claim 43, wherein the coupler is selected from the group consisting of a meta-phenyldiamine, a meta-aminophenol, a meta-diphenol, and a heterocyclic coupler, and the addition salts of these compounds with an acid. 52. The composition as claimed in claim 43, wherein the coupler is present in concentrations ranging from 0.0001% to 10% by weight relative to the total weight of the composition. 53. The composition as claimed in claim 43, wherein an acid addition salt of the oxidation dye comprises an anion which is selected from the group consisting of a chloride, a bromide, a sulfate, a hydrogensulfate, a tartrate, a lactate, and an acetate. 54. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the composition further comprises direct dyes. 55. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the composition further comprises at least one amphoteric polymer or one cationic polymer. 56. The composition as claimed in claim 55, wherein the cationic polymer is a polyquaternary ammonium consisting of repeating units corresponding to formula (W) below: 57. The composition as claimed in claim 55, wherein the cationic polymer is a polyquaternary ammonium consisting of repeating units corresponding to formula (U) below: 58. The composition as claimed in claim 55, wherein the amphoteric polymer is a copolymer comprising at least acrylic acid and a dimethyldiallylammonium salt as monomers. 59. The composition as claimed in claim 55, wherein the cationic or amphoteric polymer is present from 0.01% to 10% by weight relative to the total weight of the composition. 60. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein it comprises at least one surfactant chosen from anionic, cationic, nonionic and amphoteric surfactants. 61. The composition as claimed in claim 60, wherein the surfactants represent 0.01% to 40% by weight relative to the total weight of the composition. 62. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the composition further comprises at least one reducing agent in amounts ranging from 0.05% to 3% by weight relative to the total weight of the composition. 63. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the composition further comprises an oxidizing agent. 64. The composition as claimed in claim 63, wherein the oxidizing agent is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen peroxide, urea peroxide, an alkali metal bromate, an alkali metal ferricyanide, a persalt, and a redox enzyme, wherein said redox enzyme optionally comprises a respective donor or cofactor thereof. 65. The composition as claimed in claim 64, wherein the oxidizing agent is hydrogen peroxide. 66. The composition as claimed in claim 65, wherein the oxidizing agent is an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution with a titer ranging from 1 to 40 volumes. 67. The composition as claimed in claim 63, wherein it the composition has a pH ranging from 4 to 11. 68. A process for dyeing keratin fibers, which comprises: applying to the keratin fibers at least one dye composition comprising at least one oxidation dye in a medium that is suitable for dyeing, the color being developed at alkaline, neutral or acidic pH using an oxidizing composition comprising at least one oxidizing agent, which is mixed with the dye composition just at the time of use or which is applied sequentially without intermediate rinsing, at least one amphiphilic polymer as defined in claim 1 being present in the dye composition or in the oxidizing composition or in each of the two compositions. 69. The process as claimed in claim 68, which comprises applying to the wet or dry keratin fibers the composition prepared extemporaneously at the time of use from the dye composition and oxidizing compositions leaving the composition to act for an action time ranging from 1 to 60 minutes approximately; rinsing the fibers and then optionally washing them with shampoo, and then rinsing them again and drying them. 70. A process for dyeing keratin fibers, which comprises: applying to the wet or dry keratin fibers the ready to use a composition prepared extemporaneously at the time of use from a dye composition comprising at least one oxidation dye, another composition comprising at least one amphiphilic polymer as defined according to claim 1 and an oxidizing composition, leaving the composition to act for an action time ranging from 1 to 60 minutes approximately, rinsing the fibers and then optionally washing them with shampoo, and then rinsing them again and drying them. 71. The process as claimed in claim 70, wherein one or the other of said compositions also comprises at least one cationic or amphoteric polymer and at least one surfactant. 72. A two-compartment device or kit for dyeing keratin fibers, wherein one compartment contains comprises a dye composition comprising at least one oxidation dye in a medium that is suitable for dyeing, and another compartment comprises an oxidizing composition comprising an oxidizing agent in a medium that is suitable for dyeing, at least one amphiphilic polymer as defined in claim 1 being present in the dye composition or in the oxidizing composition or in each of the two compositions. 73. A three-compartment device for dyeing keratin fibers, wherein a first compartment comprises a dye composition comprising at least one oxidation dye in a medium that is suitable for dyeing, a second compartment comprises an oxidizing composition comprising at least one oxidizing agent in a medium that is suitable for dyeing, and a third compartment comprises a composition comprising at least one amphiphilic polymer as defined in claim 1, in a medium that is suitable for dyeing, the dye composition and/or the oxidizing composition also optionally comprises the amphiphilic polymer. 74. The composition as claimed in claim 13, wherein the degree of crosslinking ranges from 0.2 mol % to 2 mol % relative to the polymer. 75. The composition as claimed in claim 23, wherein the ethylenically unsaturated hydrophobic monomer is an acrylate or an acrylamide of formula (I) below: in which R1 and R3, which may be identical or different, denote a hydrogen atom or a methyl radical; Y denotes O or NH; R2 denotes a hydrophobic hydrocarbon-based radical comprising at least from 6 to 50 carbon atoms; x denotes a number of moles of alkylene oxide and ranges from 0 to 100. 76. The composition as claimed in claim 23, wherein the ethylenically unsaturated hydrophobic monomer is an acrylate or an acrylamide of formula (I) below: in which R1 and R3, which may be identical or different, denote a hydrogen atom or a linear or branched C1-C6 alkyl radical; Y denotes O or NH; R2 denotes a hydrophobic hydrocarbon-based radical comprising comprising at least from 6 to 22 carbon atoms; x denotes a number of moles of alkylene oxide and ranges from 0 to 100. 77. The composition as claimed in claim 23, wherein the ethylenically unsaturated hydrophobic monomer is an acrylate or an acrylamide of formula (I) below: in which R1 and R3, which may be identical or different, denote a hydrogen atom or a linear or branched C1-C6 alkyl radical; Y denotes O or NH; R2 denotes a hydrophobic hydrocarbon-based radical comprising comprising at least from 6 to 18 carbon atoms; x denotes a number of moles of alkylene oxide and ranges from 0 to 100. 78. The composition as claimed in claim 23, wherein the ethylenically unsaturated hydrophobic monomer is an acrylate or an acrylamide of formula (I) below: in which R1 and R3, which may be identical or different, denote a hydrogen atom or a linear or branched C1-C6 alkyl radical; Y denotes O or NH; R2 denotes a hydrophobic hydrocarbon-based radical comprising comprising at least from 12 to 18 carbon atoms; x denotes a number of moles of alkylene oxide and ranges from 0 to 100. 79. The composition as claimed in claim 23, wherein the amphiphilic AMPS polymer is copolymer consisting of 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPS) units of formula (II) below: in which X+ is a proton, an alkali metal cation, an alkaline-earth metal cation or an ammonium ion, and of units of formula (III) below: in which x denotes an integer ranging from 5 to 80; R1 has the same meaning as that given above in formula (I) and R4 denotes a linear or branched C6-C22. 80. The composition as claimed in claim 23, wherein the amphiphilic AMPS polymer is a copolymer consisting of 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPS) units of formula (II) below: in which X+ is a proton, an alkali metal cation, an alkaline-earth metal cation or an ammonium ion, and of units of formula (III) below: in which x denotes an integer ranging from 7 to 25; R1 has the same meaning as that given above in formula (I) and R4 denotes a linear or branched C6-C22. 81. The composition as claimed in claim 23, wherein the amphiphilic AMPS polymer is a copolymer consisting of 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPS) units of formula (II) below: in which X+ is a proton, an alkali metal cation, an alkaline-earth metal cation or an ammonium ion, and of units of formula (III) below: in which x denotes an integer ranging from 3 to 100; R1 has the same meaning as that given above in formula (I) and R4 denotes a linear or branched C10-C22. 82. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the amphiphilic polymers are present in concentrations ranging from 0.1% to 10% by weight relative to the total weight of the composition. 83. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the amphiphilic polymers are present in concentrations ranging from 0.1% to 5% by weight relative to the total weight of the composition. 84. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the amphiphilic polymers are present in concentrations ranging from 0.5% to 2% by weight relative to the total weight of the composition. 85. The composition as claimed in claim 55, wherein the cationic or amphoteric polymer is present from 0.05% to 5% by weight relative to the total weight of the composition. 86. The composition as claimed in claim 55, wherein the cationic or amphoteric polymer is present from 0.1% to 3% by weight relative to the total weight of the composition. 87. The composition as claimed in claim 60, wherein the surfactants represent 0.1% to 30% by weight relative to the total weight of the composition. 88. A process for dyeing keratin fibers, which comprises: applying to the wet or dry keratin fibers a composition prepared extemporaneously at the time of use from a dye composition comprising at least one oxidation dye, another composition comprising at least one amphiphilic polymer as defined according to claim 1, and an oxidizing composition, leaving the composition to act for an action time ranging from 10 to 45 minutes approximately rinsing the fibers and then optionally washing them with shampoo, and then rinsing them again and drying them. 89. A process for dyeing human keratin fibers, which comprises: applying to the wet or dry keratin fibers a composition prepared extemporaneously at the time of use from a dye composition comprising at least one oxidation dye, another composition comprising at least one amphiphilic polymer as defined according to claim 1, and an oxidizing composition, leaving the composition to act for an action time ranging from 1 to 60 minutes approximately rinsing the fibers and then optionally washing them with shampoo, and then rinsing them again and drying them. 90. A process for dyeing human keratin fibers, which comprises: applying to the wet or dry keratin fibers a composition prepared extemporaneously at the time of use from a dye composition comprising at least one oxidation dye, another composition comprising at least one amphiphilic polymer as defined according to claim 1, and an oxidizing composition, leaving the composition to act for an action time ranging from 10 to 45 minutes approximately rinsing the fibers and then optionally washing them with shampoo, and then rinsing them again and drying them. 91. A two-compartment device or kit for dyeing human keratin fibers, wherein one compartment comprises a dye composition comprising at least one oxidation dye in a medium that is suitable for dyeing, and another compartment comprises an oxidizing composition comprising an oxidizing agent in a medium that is suitable for dyeing, at least one amphiphilic polymer as defined in claim 1 being present in the dye composition or in the oxidizing composition or in each of the two compositions. 92. A three-compartment device for dyeing human keratin fibers, wherein a first compartment comprises a dye composition comprising at least one oxidation dye in a medium that is suitable for dyeing, a second compartment comprises an oxidizing composition comprising at least one oxidizing agent in a medium that is suitable for dyeing, and a third compartment comprises a composition comprising at least one amphiphilic polymer as defined in claim 1, in a medium that is suitable for dyeing, the dye composition and/or the oxidizing composition also optionally comprises the amphilic polymer.

Traversing firewalls and nats

An incoming UDP packet is allowed to traverse a network address translation (NAT) device or a firewall, wherein first, a TCP connection is opened and a Raw-IP interface is utilized to build the UDP-like packet using the parameters of the TCP connection (e.g., session number, port, etc.) Furthermore, when one of two communicating machines is behind a firewall, a connection is established between each of the machines and a proxy server located in a public network. The proxy then communicates the port and address information while using the proxy server's port and address information as the source port and address, or provides both with an address of an appropriate (potentially based on network proximity) packet forwarder.