l Liberty, libations and letting loose in the Roaring '20s By www.inlander.com Published On :: Thu, 27 Feb 2020 02:30:00 -0800 The '20s issue The '20s are back, baby.… Full Article Culture/Arts & Culture
l With ridership declining, we hop on the bus with one big question in mind: Where is the STA headed? By www.inlander.com Published On :: Thu, 05 Mar 2020 04:05:00 -0800 Before my car broke down, I didn't ride the bus.… Full Article News/Local News
l CONCERT REVIEW: Tool's same ol' sound still bursts to creative new highs live at Spokane Arena By www.inlander.com Published On :: Tue, 10 Mar 2020 10:38:09 -0700 Tool's music is not only not for everyone, it's such a challenging polyglot of oft-derided musical styles that it risks not being for anyone. And yet, the quartet's blend of prog-rock, art-rock, metal and performance art has become a genre unto itself over the course of 30 years, and it's a genre that has proved remarkably commercial.… Full Article Music/Music News
l Local bakery miFlavour is flourishing at its chic new bakery and cafe in east Spokane By www.inlander.com Published On :: Thu, 12 Mar 2020 01:30:00 -0700 A little more than a year ago, local French-inspired bakery miFlavour moved into a building on East Sprague Avenue after two years in a shared commercial kitchen.… Full Article Food/Food News
l Community leaders are feeding Spokane and supporting local restaurants at the same time By www.inlander.com Published On :: Thu, 09 Apr 2020 01:33:00 -0700 As soon as state Rep. Marcus Riccelli returned home from Olympia, he jumpstarted a community-wide effort to feed Spokane constituents deeply affected by the COVID-19 crisis.… Full Article Food/Food News
l Usually cannabis business booms in April. Will the coronavirus change that? By www.inlander.com Published On :: Thu, 16 Apr 2020 01:30:00 -0700 The Cannabis Issue In a normal year, cannabis stores would be cashing in this April.… Full Article Special Guides/Cannabis Issue
l Los Angeles porn store owners get the spotlight in Netflix's new Circus of Books By www.inlander.com Published On :: Thu, 30 Apr 2020 01:30:00 -0700 The new documentary Circus of Books is predicated on an intriguing and admittedly amusing bit of cognitive dissonance: One of Los Angeles' premier adult emporiums was, for decades, operated by a buttoned-up, middle-aged Jewish couple, who kept the true nature of their jobs hidden from even their closest acquaintances.… Full Article Film/Film News
l Chris Hemsworth stars as a mercenary in the empty, but exciting, action flick Extraction By www.inlander.com Published On :: Thu, 30 Apr 2020 04:00:00 -0700 Extraction was supposedly the most-watched new movie on Netflix last week, and yet it feels suspiciously like one you've already seen, possibly late at night on some obscure cable channel back in the '90s.… Full Article Film/Film News
l 'We obviously have a Camp Hope 2.0-type situation': photos from Thursday night's homeless camp police confrontation By www.inlander.com Published On :: Sat, 02 May 2020 08:55:00 -0700 At around 5:30 pm on Thursday, there were two camps of people set up in Coeur d'Alene Park in Browne's Addition.… Full Article News/Local News
l Inland Northwest politicians put pressure on governors, health officials to accelerate reopening By www.inlander.com Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 11:58:20 -0700 Yesterday, Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward and other local leaders urged Gov. Jay Inslee to allow Spokane County to open on a different schedule than the rest of the state. Inslee, however, wouldn't budge.… Full Article News/Local News
l While Washington state forges alliances, Idaho battles the coronavirus its own way By www.inlander.com Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 01:34:00 -0700 When Washington Gov. Jay Inslee solemnly looked into the camera on Friday, May 1, he wasn't ready to declare victory yet.… Full Article News/Local News
l GOOD NEWS: These local insects never murdered anybody that we know of By www.inlander.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 15:56:15 -0700 Last week, the New York Times dropped a terrifying story: Asian Giant Hornets, or "murder hornets" as more J. Jonah Jameson-esque researchers like to call them, have been identified in Western Washington. These insects can grow up to 2 inches long, can rip the heads off an entire hive of honeybees in a matter of hours, and have dagger-like stingers that pierce beekeeper suits to deliver a sting that sears like molten acid.… Full Article News/Local News
l Process for the preparation of O-desmethyl venlafaxine and intermediate for use therein By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 21 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT The present invention relates to a compound of formula A, wherein R is alkyl. Compound A may be used as an intermediate in the preparation of O-desmethyl venlafaxine or a salt thereof, and the present invention provides such a preparation, as well as a process for preparing the compound of formula A. Full Article
l Method for producing alcohol and/or amine from amide compound By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 21 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT Disclosed herein is a method for producing an alcohol and an amine from an amide under an atmosphere of hydrogen with the use of, as a catalyst, a ruthenium complex that is easily prepared, easy to handle, and relatively cheaply obtained. Specifically, the method is a method for producing an alcohol and/or an amine from an amide compound under an atmosphere of hydrogen with the use of as a catalyst, a ruthenium carbonyl complex represented by the following general formula (1): RuXY(CO)(L) (1) wherein X and Y may be the same or different from each other and each represents an anionic ligand and L represents a tridentate aminodiphosphine ligand containing two phosphino groups and a —NH— group. Full Article
l Graphene prepared by using edge functionalization of graphite By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT Disclosed is a method for producing graphene functionalized at its edge positions of graphite. Organic material having one or more functional groups is reacted with graphite in reaction medium comprising methanesulfonic acid and phosphorus pentoxide, or in reaction medium comprising trifluoromethanesulfonic acid, to produce graphene having organic material fuctionalized at edges. And then, high purity and large scaled graphene and film can be obtained by dispersing, centrifugal separating the functionalized graphene in a solvent and reducing, in particular heat treating the graphene. According to the present invention graphene can be produced inexpensively in a large amount with a minimum loss of graphite. (FIG. 1) Full Article
l Indanesulfamide derivatives By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT Novel indansulfamide derivatives or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof such as N-[(1S)-2,2,5,7-tetrafluoro-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-1-yl]sulfamide, N-[(1S)-2,2,4,7-tetrafluoro-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-1-yl]sulfamide, (+)-N-(2,2,4,6,7-pentafluoro-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-1-yl)sulfamide, have an action of improving Seizure Severity Index (Score) in mice kindling model. Thus the compounds or the salt thereof are expected as a drug for treating epilepsy. Full Article
l Catalyst for living radical polymerization and polymerization method By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT A nonmetallic compound having an ionic bond with a halide ion is used as a catalyst for living radical polymerization. Even if a radical initiator is not used, a monomer can be subjected to a radical polymerization to obtain a polymer having narrow molecular weight distribution. The cost of the living radical polymerization can be remarkably reduced, and it is made possible to prevent adverse effects of using a radical initiator (such as side reactions). The present invention is significantly more environmentally friendly and economically excellent than conventional living radical polymerization methods, due to advantages such as low toxicity of the catalyst, low amount of the catalyst necessary, high solubility of the catalyst, mild reaction conditions, and no coloration/no odor, etc. The catalyst can be applied to various monomers and enables synthesis of high molecular weight polymers. Full Article
l Method for preparation of aryl poly(oxalkyl) quaternary ammonium compound By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT A method for preparation of an aryl poly(oxalkyl) quaternary ammonium compound is provided, said method comprising steps of: 1) reacting a phenol with a dihalopolyalkylene ether under the action of a phase transfer catalyst, to obtain an arylpoly(oxalkyl) halide; 2) reacting said arylpoly(oxalkyl) halide with an amination reagent under the action of a phase transfer catalyst, to obtain an arylpoly(oxalkyl) amine; 3) reacting said arylpoly(oxalkyl) amine with an alkylation reagent, to obtain an aryl poly(oxalkyl) quaternary ammonium compound; wherein R1 is H or a C1 to C16 alkyl group, located in the ortho, meta or para position; n is an integer of 2 to 6; R2 is H or a C1 to C16 alkyl group; R3 is H or a C1 to C16 alkyl group; R4 is a C1 to C16 alkyl group; X1 is Br or Cl; X is Cl, Br, or I. The preparation method according to the present invention requires low temperature and low pressure, the reaction time is short, and an overall yield can reach 75%. The operation is simple, the cost is low, and the product can be separated easily and have a purity of pharmaceutical grade, thereby facilitating the large-scale production. Full Article
l Combinatorial synthesis of libraries of macrocyclic compounds useful in drug discovery By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT A library of macrocyclic compounds of the formula (I) where part (A) is a bivalent radical, a —(CH2)y— bivalent radical or a covalent bond;where part (B) is a bivalent radical, a —(CH2)z— bivalent radical, or a covalent bond;where part (C) is a bivalent radical, a —(CH2)t— bivalent radical, or a covalent bond; andwhere part (T) is a —Y-L-Z— radical wherein Y is CH2 or CO, Z is NH or O and L is a bivalent radical. These compounds are useful for carrying out screening assays or as intermediates for the synthesis of other compounds of pharmaceutical interest. A process for the preparation of these compounds in a combinatorial manner, is also disclosed. Full Article
l Production of alpha, omega-diols By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT Disclosed herein are processes for preparing an α,ω-Cn-diol, wherein n is 5 or greater, from a feedstock comprising a Cn oxygenate. In one embodiment, the process comprises contacting the feedstock with hydrogen gas in the presence of a catalyst comprising Pt, Cu, Ni, Pd, Pt, Rh, Ir, Ru, or Fe on a WO3 or WOx support. In one embodiment, the process comprises contacting the feedstock with hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst comprising a metal M1 and a metal M2 or an oxide of M2, and optionally a support. In one embodiment, M1 is Pd, Pt, or Ir; and M2 is Mo, W, V, Mn, Re, Zr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cr, Ge, Sn, Ti, Au, or Co. The Cn oxygenate may be obtained from a biorenewable resource. Full Article
l Process for producing acesulfame potassium By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT In one embodiment, the invention relates to processes for producing acesulfame potassium. In one embodiment, the process comprises the step of reacting a first reaction mixture to form an amidosulfamic acid salt such as a trialkyl ammonium amidosulfamic acid salt. The first reaction mixture comprises sulfamic acid, an amine, and smaller amounts, if any, acetic acid, e.g., less than 1 wt % (10000 wppm). In terms of ranges, the first reaction mixture may comprise from 1 wppm to 1 wt % acetic acid. The process further comprises the step of reacting the amidosulfamic acid salt with diketene to form an acetoacetamide salt. In preferred embodiments, the amidosulfamic acid salt formation reaction is conducted at pH levels from 5.5 to 7.0. The process further comprises the step of deriving the acesulfame-K from the acetoacetamide salt. Full Article
l Process for preparing carboxylic acid amides useful in the treatment of muscular disorders By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT The present invention relates to a process for preparing a compound of formula wherein: R2 is cycloalkyl or alkyl, each of which may be optionally substituted; Y is —CONR3R4, —CN or CO2R5; R3, R4 and R5 are each independently H or alkyl; n is 1 to 6; wherein said process comprising the steps of: (i) treating a compound of formula (IV), where R1 is alkyl, with a compound of formula (V) and forming a compound of formula (IIIb); (ii) treating said compound of formula (IIIb) with a compound of formula (I1) to form a compound of formula (I). Full Article
l Process for the preparation of crystalline forms of agomelatine and novel polymorph thereof By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT The invention concerns a new process for the preparation of crystalline form of agomelatine from a solution of agomelatine in a solvent, characterized in that the agomelatine is crystallized by instantaneous precipitation from said solution, at a temperature equal to or below −10° C. Full Article
l Method for producing xylylenediamine By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT Provided is a method for stably and economically producing xylylenediamine with a high yield and long catalyst service life by hydrogenating dicyanobenzene that is obtained by ammoxidating xylene. By bringing an aqueous basic solution into contact with a dicyanobenzene-absorbed liquid, which is obtained by bringing an ammoxidation reaction gas into contact with an organic solvent, under specified temperature conditions, and subjecting a base and a carboxylic acid in the dicyanobenzene-absorbed liquid to a neutralization reaction so as to form an aqueous phase that contains a water-soluble salt, and then subjecting an organic phase and the aqueous phase to liquid-liquid separation so as to remove the aqueous phase, it is possible to remove the carboxylic acid contained in the dicyanobenzene-absorbed liquid with high selectivity while inhibiting loss of the dicyanobenzene. By subjecting the raw material dicyanobenzene, which is obtained by separating low boiling point compounds from the post liquid-liquid separation organic phase by distillation under reduced pressure, to hydrogenation, xylylenediamine is produced with a high yield and the service life of the hydrogenation catalyst is extended. Full Article
l Process for reductive amination of aliphatic cyanoaldehydes to aliphatic diamines By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A process for reductive amination of aliphatic cyanoaldehydes to aliphatic diamines comprising (1) providing a mixture of 1,3-cyanocyclohexane carboxaldehyde and/or 1,4-cyanocyclohexane carboxaldehyde; (2) contacting said mixture with a metal carbonate based solid bed or a weak base anion exchange resin bed at a temperature from 15 to 40 ° C. for a period of at least 1 minute; (3) thereby treating said mixture, wherein said treated mixture has a pH in the range of 6 to 9; (4) feeding said treated mixture, hydrogen, and ammonia into a continuous reductive amination reactor system; (6) contacting said treated mixture, hydrogen, and ammonia with each other in the presence of one or more heterogeneous metal based catalyst systems at a temperature from 80 ° C. to 160 ° C. and a pressure from 700 to 3500 psig; (7) thereby producing one or more cycloaliphatic diamines is provided. Full Article
l Compound and organic light-emitting device including the same By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 12 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A compound represented by Formula 1 below and an organic light-emitting device including an organic layer containing the compound of Formula 1: wherein R1 to R4, X and Y, a and b, and m and n are defined as in the specification. Full Article
l Process for the synthesis of arformoterol By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 12 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT The present invention provides a process for preparing a compound of formula (VI) or a salt thereof, the process comprising: (i) reacting 4-methoxyphenyl acetone with an amine of formula (VIII) under conditions of reductive amination to produce a compound of formula (II) or a salt thereof, wherein there is no isolation of an imine intermediate formed during the reductive amination; (ii) condensing the compound (II) or the acid addition salt thereof with an α-haloketone of formula (III) to produce the compound of formula (IV); (iii) reducing the compound (IV) to a compound of formula (V); and (iv) reducing the compound (V) to the compound of formula (VI), wherein the reduction is carried out in the presence of either (1) a hydrogen donating compound in the presence of a hydrogen transfer catalyst; or (2) ammonium formate using a hydrogenation catalyst, wherein R1 and R2 are independently optionally substituted arylalkyl, and Hal is selected from chloro or bromo. Full Article
l Branched hetero polyfunctional polyoxyalkylene compound and intermediate thereof By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 12 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A branched hetero polyfunctional polyoxyalkylene compound represented by the following formula (1): wherein Z represents a hydroxyl group-removed residue of pentaerythritol or dipentaerythritol, OA1 and OA2 represent an oxyalkylene group having 2 to 4 carbon atoms, L1, L2 and L3 represent an alkylene group or an alkylene group that contains an ester bond, a urethane bond, an amide bond, an ether bond, a carbonate bond, a secondary amino group or a urea bond, X and Y are different from each other and represent a functional group capable of a chemical reaction; m and n are an average number of moles of the oxyalkylene group added, m represents 5 to 1,000, n represents 0 to 1,000, and p, q and r represent 0 or 1; and s1 is an integer of 2 or more and s1+s2=4 or 6. Full Article
l Aryloxyurea compound and pest control agent By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 12 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT The present invention provides a pest control agent, acaricide or fungicide that contains, as the active ingredient thereof, at least one type of compound selected from the aryloxyurea compounds represented by formula (V) (wherein R1 to R5 each independently represents an alkyl group or the like, X is a halogen atom or the like, n is an integer of 0 to 5, and Z is an oxygen atom or sulfur atom) or salts thereof. Full Article
l Anti-microbial and anti-static surface treatment agent with quaternary ammonium salt as active ingredient and method for preventing static electricity in polymer fibers using same By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 12 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT Provided are an anti-static and anti-microbial surface treatment agent including a quaternary ammonium salt compound as an active ingredient and a method of preventing a polymer fiber from developing static electricity by using the surface treatment agent. The quaternary ammonium salt compound has excellent anti-static and anti-microbial effects for the prevention or improvement of static electricity in a polymer fiber. Accordingly, the quaternary ammonium salt compound is suitable for use as a fabric softener, or an anti-static agent, and also, provides anti-microbial effects to a polymer fiber. Full Article
l Process for preparing alkylated p-phenylenediamines By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 12 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A process for preparing alkylated p-phenylenediamine having the steps of reacting aniline and nitrobenzene in presence of a complex base catalyst to obtain 4-aminodiphenylamine intermediates, hydrogenating the 4-aminodiphenylamine intermediates to 4-aminodiphenylamine in presence of a hydrogenation catalyst, and reductively alkylating the 4-aminodiphenylamine to alkylated p-phenylenediamine. Full Article
l BNA crystal By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT An object of the present invention is to produce a non-conventional high-quality BNA single crystal. Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for producing the above-described high-quality BNA single crystal. Specifically, the present invention provides a BNA crystal characterized by having a half-value width of diffraction peak X-ray intensity of 100 seconds or less in a rocking curve measurement by X-ray diffraction method. Full Article
l Aminoalcohol and biocide compositions for aqueous based systems By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT Biocidal compositions and their use in aqueous media, such as metalworking fluids, the compositions comprising a biocidal agent; and a non-biocidal primary amino alcohol compound of the formula (I); wherein R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5 are as defined herein. Full Article
l Aminoethylation process having improved yield of aryloxyalkylene amine compounds and reduced urea by-products By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT Disclosed is a process for preparing an aryloxyalkylene amine compound via an aminoethylation reaction comprising: a) reacting an aromatic hydroxyl compound in the presence of a basic catalyst with a 2-oxazolidinone compound of the formula II to form an intermediate reaction product; wherein R3 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen or lower alkyl having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, R4 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, straight or branched chain alkyl having from one to six carbon atoms, phenyl, alkaryl, or arylalkyl; and b) reacting the intermediate product of step a) with a polyalkylene polyamine. Full Article
l Process for the conversion of aliphatic cyclic amines to aliphatic diamines By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A process for conversion of aliphatic bicyclic amines to aliphatic diamines including contacting one or more bicyclic amines selected from the group consisting of 3-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane and azabicyclo[3.3.1]non-2-ene with ammonia and hydrogen, and alcohols in the presence of heterogeneous metal based catalyst systems, a metal selected from the group consisting of Co, Ni, Ru, Fe, Cu, Re, Pd, and their oxides at a temperature from 140° C. to 200° C. and a pressure from 1540 to 1735 psig for at least one hour reactor systems; forming a product mixture comprising aliphatic diamine(s), bicyclic amine(s), ammonia, hydrogen, and alcohol(s); removing said product mixture from the reactor system; removing at least some of the ammonia, hydrogen, water, alcohols, bicyclic amines from said product mixture; thereby separating the aliphatic diamines from said product mixture. Full Article
l Process for making ethoxylated amine compounds By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT An improved process for making ethoxylated amine compounds such as ethanolamines. The improvement comprises the addition of an acid to the amine compound prior to the addition of ethylene oxide to a reactor wherein the ethoxylated amine compound is prepared. The improvement reduces the concentration of undesirable glycol ether and/or vinyl ether ethoxylate byproducts which may contribute to undesirable properties, such as color and foaming, of the ethoxylated amine compounds. Full Article
l P—N—P ligand By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 26 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A new P-N-P ligand is useful in ethylene oligomerizations. In combination with i) a source of chromium; and ii) an activator such as methylalumoxane; the ligand of this invention may be used to prepare an oligomer product that contains a mixture of high purity alpha olefins. In a preferred embodiment, the ligand of this invention enables a selective oligomerization in which the majority of the liquid product is a mixture of hexene and octene. The amount of by-product polymer that is produced in preferred oligomerization reactions is advantageously low. Full Article
l Method for producing ring-halogenated N,N-dialkylbenzylamines By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 26 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT The invention relates to a method for preparing ring-halogenated N,N-dialkylbenzylamines and intermediates obtainable therefrom for preparing agrochemicals and pharmaceutically active ingredients. Full Article
l Real time safety management system and method By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 12 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A system and method assesses and manages risk of an operation of a user. A rules engine of computer executable instructions stored in the storage device determines at least one of a safety risk measurement based on key performance indicators, an operational safety risk measurement for the operation as a function of the operational safety risk measurement information stored in a storage device and/or a conditional safety risk measurement for the operation as a function of the conditional safety risk measurement information stored in the storage device. A processor connected to the storage device executes the rules engine. An output interface connected to the processor indicates the determined safety risk for the operation. Full Article
l Best match processing mode of decision tables By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 12 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT An input combination of at least one condition value to be evaluated against at least one rule of a decision table is received. The at least one rule includes at least one condition and the rule is associated with a result. The at least one rule is evaluated against the input combination to determine conditions fulfilled for the at least one condition value. In one aspect, a rule from the at least one rule that best matches the input combination is determined and a result associated with the rule that best matches the input combination is outputted. Full Article
l Matching metadata sources using rules for characterizing matches By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 12 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT Processing metadata includes storing, in a data storage system, a specification for each of multiple sources, each specification including information identifying one or more data elements of the corresponding source; and processing, in a data processing system coupled to the data storage system, data elements from the sources, including generating a set of rules for each source based on a corresponding one of the stored specifications, and matching data elements of different sources and determining a quality metric characterizing a given match between a first data element of a first source and a second data element of a second source according to the set of rules generated for the first source and the set of rules generated for the second source. Full Article
l Process analysis By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 12 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT An apparatus and method are disclosed for analysing a process. An exemplary method includes: generating a process template; and determining a probabilistic model specifying the process template. The method can include use of task nodes for tasks of the process; observables nodes for observables that may be caused by performance of the tasks; and a background activities node, wherein observables may further be caused by background activities of the background node. The method can include use of task nodes for tasks of the process; observables nodes for observables that may be caused by performance of the tasks; and a background activities node, observables may further be caused by background activities of the background node. The method can include measuring values of an observable corresponding to one of the observables nodes; and updating a probabilistic estimate of the process state using the measured values. Full Article
l Techniques for evaluation, building and/or retraining of a classification model By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 12 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT Techniques for evaluation and/or retraining of a classification model built using labeled training data. In some aspects, a classification model having a first set of weights is retrained by using unlabeled input to reweight the labeled training data to have a second set of weights, and by retraining the classification model using the labeled training data weighted according to the second set of weights. In some aspects, a classification model is evaluated by building a similarity model that represents similarities between unlabeled input and the labeled training data and using the similarity model to evaluate the labeled training data to identify a subset of the plurality of items of labeled training data that is more similar to the unlabeled input than a remainder of the labeled training data. Full Article
l Generating action tuples in response to discerned leads By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT Methods and arrangements for analyzing and responding to communications data. Telecom data are input, as are social network data. The telecom data and social network data are analyzed, and action tuples representing opportunistic leads are generated based on the analyzed telecom data and social network data. Full Article
l Classifying unclassified samples By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A system and method for classifying unclassified samples. The method includes detecting a number of classes including training samples in training data sets. The method includes, for each class, determining a vector for each training sample based on a specified number of nearest neighbor distances between the training sample and neighbor training samples, and determining a class distribution based on the vectors. The method also includes detecting an unclassified sample in a data set and, for each class, determining a vector for the unclassified sample based on the specified number of nearest neighbor distances between the unclassified sample and nearest neighbor training samples within the class, and determining a probability that the unclassified sample is a member of the class based on the vector and the class distribution. The method further includes classifying the unclassified sample based on the probabilities. Full Article
l Urban traffic state detection based on support vector machine and multilayer perceptron By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A system and method that facilitates urban traffic state detection based on support vector machine (SVM) and multilayer perceptron (MLP) classifiers is provided. Moreover, the SVM and MLP classifiers are fused into a cascaded two-tier classifier that improves the accuracy of the traffic state classification. To further improve the accuracy, the cascaded two-tier classifier (e.g., MLP-SVM), a single SVM classifier and a single MLP classifier are fused to determine a final decision for a traffic state. In addition, fusion strategies are employed during training and implementation phases to compensate for data acquisition and classification errors caused by noise and/or outliers. Full Article
l Statistical data learning under privacy constraints By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A computer-implemented method is provided for statistical data learning under privacy constraints. The method includes: receiving, by a processor, a plurality of pieces of statistical information relating to a statistical object and aggregating, by the processor, the plurality of pieces of statistical information so as to provide an estimation of the statistical object. Each piece of statistical information includes an uncertainty variable, the uncertainty variable being a value determined from a function having a predetermined mean. The number of pieces of statistical information aggregated is proportional to the reliability of the estimation of the statistical object. Full Article
l Modeling of time-variant threshability due to interactions between a crop in a field and atmospheric and soil conditions for prediction of daily opportunity windows for harvest operations using field-level diagnosis and prediction of weather conditions an By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A modeling framework for evaluating the impact of weather conditions on farming and harvest operations applies real-time, field-level weather data and forecasts of meteorological and climatological conditions together with user-provided and/or observed feedback of a present state of a harvest-related condition to agronomic models and to generate a plurality of harvest advisory outputs for precision agriculture. A harvest advisory model simulates and predicts the impacts of this weather information and user-provided and/or observed feedback in one or more physical, empirical, or artificial intelligence models of precision agriculture to analyze crops, plants, soils, and resulting agricultural commodities, and provides harvest advisory outputs to a diagnostic support tool for users to enhance farming and harvest decision-making, whether by providing pre-, post-, or in situ-harvest operations and crop analyzes. Full Article
l Monitoring method and subsystem that detects abnormal system states By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT The current application is directed to monitoring subsystems, and monitoring methods incorporated within the monitoring subsystems, that monitor operation of devices and systems in order to identify normal states and to quickly determine when a device or system transitions from a normal state to an abnormal state. The methods and monitoring components to which the current application is directed employ self-organizing maps and moving-average self-organizing maps to both characterize normal system behavior and to identify transitions to abnormal system behaviors. Full Article
l Multiple two-state classifier output fusion system and method By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A system and method for providing more than two levels of classification distinction of a user state are provided. The first and second general states of a user are sensed. The first general state is classified as either a first state or a second state, and the second general state is classified as either a third state or a fourth state. The user state of the user is then classified as one of at least three different classification states. Full Article