All The Claims

1. An optical option attachment ring comprising:
a ring body that connects one end to the other end, receives a lens barrel, and has a predetermined gap between the one end and the other end;
a fastening screw that is inserted into screw holes that pass through the one end and the other end;
a rotator having an abutting surface that projects inward from the inner circumferential surface of the ring body and abuts the front end of the lens barrel as well as an arcuate portion that follows the upper end of the abutting surface;
a resilient member that applies an urging force to the rotator such that the rotator rotates in the direction opposite to an insertion direction of the lens barrel; and
a stopper that abuts at least one of the one end and the other end so as to restrict the rotation caused by urging force of the resilient member, wherein
the one end and the other end, the ring body and the fastening screw are configured such that tightening the fastening screw brings the one end and the other end closer to each other and hence the diameter of the ring body decreases so that the optical option attachment ring is fastened to the lens barrel, while loosening the fastening screw separates the one end and the other end from each other and hence the diameter of the ring body increases so that the optical option attachment ring disengages from the lens barrel,
the rotator is configured such that when the lens barrel is inserted into the ring body and moved to a predetermined position, the front end of the lens barrel abuts the abutting surface and the front end of the lens barrel moves relative to the abutting surface so as to rotate the rotator, so that the abutting surface and the arcuate portion are situated outside the inner circumferential surface of the ring body, and
when the lens barrel is inserted into the ring body and moved to the predetermined position, the urging force of the resilient member rotates the rotator so that the abutting surface and the arcuate portion are situated in a groove formed in the lens barrel.
2. The optical option attachment ring according to claim 1, wherein
the rotator is provided with an opening into which the fastening screw is inserted, and the rotator is disposed between the one end and the other end, and rotatably held around the inserted fastening screw.
3. The optical option attachment ring according to claim 1, wherein
the rotator has a small arcuate portion that follows the lower end of the abutting surface and is smaller than the arcuate portion.
4. The optical attachment ring according to claim 2, wherein the rotator has a small arcuate portion that follows the lower end of the abutting surface and is smaller than the arcuate portion.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of controlling transmission power in a mobile station which is used in a CDMA cellular mobile radio communication system, said CDMA cellular mobile radio communication system comprising a plurality of base stations each of which transmits a pilot signal pre-assigned to each base station and a control signal for power control of the mobile station, said mobile station successively controlling transmission power in response to the control signal sent from each of the base stations during communication with the base stations, comprising the steps of:
periodically detecting, in the mobile station, a level of each pilot signal sent from the plurality of the base stations;
checking out whether or not the mobile station is being connected to the plurality of the base stations;
discriminating between a first group of the base stations under connection and a second group of the base stations under non-connection;
comparing a first reception level of the pilot signals concerned with the first group of the base stations with a second reception level of the pilot signals concerned with the second group of the base stations to determine whether or not the first reception level is higher than the second reception level; and
suppressing an increase of the transmission power in the mobile station when the second reception level exceeds the first reception level.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the detecting step is periodically carried out in the mobile station.
3. A method of controlling transmission power in a CDMA cellular mobile radio communication system which comprises a plurality of base stations each of which transmits a pilot signal preassigned to each base station and a plurality of mobile stations communicable with the base stations, each of the mobile stations comprising first transmission power control means for adjusting the transmission power on the basis of a reception level concerned with the pilot signals and second transmission power control means for controlling the transmission power by a control step size on the basis of a control instruction sent from the base stations under connection, comprising the steps of:
receiving the pilot signals from the plurality of the base stations;
determining the transmission power in inverse proportion to a maximum one of reception levels of the pilot signals;
judging whether or not a first reception level of the pilot signals concerned with the base stations under connection exceeds a second reception level of the pilot signals concerned with the base stations under non-connection to produce a result of judgement; and
changing the control step size from one to another when the second reception level exceeds or does not exceed the first reception level.
4. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the changing step comprises the steps of:
decreasing the control step size when the second reception level exceeds the first reception level; and
increasing the control step size when the second reception level does not exceed the first reception level.
5. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the changing step comprises the steps of:
rendering the control step size into a small step size for an increase of the transmission power when the second reception level exceeds the first reception level; and
rendering the control step size into a large step size for a decrease of the transmission power when the second reception level does not exceed the first reception level.
6. A method of controlling transmission power in a CDMA cellular mobile radio communication system which comprises a plurality of base stations each of which transmits a pilot signal pre-assigned to each base station and a plurality of mobile stations communicable with the base stations, each of the mobile stations comprising first transmission power control means for adjusting the transmission power on the basis of a reception level concerned with the pilot signals and second transmission power control means for controlling the transmission power by a control step size on the basis of a control instruction sent from the base stations under connection, comprising the steps of:
receiving the pilot signals from the plurality of the base stations;
determining the transmission power in inverse proportion to a maximum one of reception levels of the pilot signals;
judging whether or not a first reception level of the pilot signals concerned with the base stations under connection exceeds a second reception level of the pilot signals concerned with the base stations under non-connection to produce a result of judgement;
minimizing the transmission power at every time interval for a predetermined time period when the second reception level exceeds the first reception level; and
executing a control operation by the use of the first and the second transmission power control means either during a time period except the predetermined period or when the second reception level does not exceed the first reception level.
7. A method of controlling transmission power in a CDMA cellular mobile radio communication system which comprises a plurality of base stations each of which transmits a pilot signal pre-assigned to each base station and a plurality of mobile stations communicable with the base stations, each of the mobile stations comprising first transmission power control means for adjusting the transmission power on the basis of a reception level concerned with the pilot signals and second transmission power control means for controlling the transmission power by a control step size on the basis of a control instruction sent from the base stations under connection, comprising the steps of:
receiving the pilot signals from the plurality of the base stations;
determining the transmission power in inverse proportion to a maximum one of reception levels of the pilot signals;
judging whether or not a first reception level of the pilot signals concerned with the base stations under connection exceeds a second reception level of the pilot signals concerned with the base stations under non-connection to produce a result of judgement;
decreasing the transmission power in the mobile station by a predetermined amount at every preselected time interval when the second reception level of the pilot signals exceeds the first reception level; and
executing a control operation by the use of the first and the second transmission power control means either during the preselected time interval or when the second reception level does not exceed the first reception level.
8. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the transmission power in the first transmission power control means is determined in inverse proportion to a reception level concerned with a whole of the pilot signals.
9. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the transmission power in the first transmission power control means is determined in inverse proportion to a reception level concerned with a whole of the pilot signals.
10. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the transmission power in the first transmission power control means is determined in inverse proportion to a reception level concerned with a whole of the pilot signals.
11. A method of controlling transmission power in a mobile station in a CDMA cellular mobile radio communication system, comprising the steps of:
detecting each pilot signal level from a plurality of base stations;
checking out whether or not the base stations are under connection to discriminate between a first group of the base stations under connection and a second group of the base stations under non-connection; and
reducing the transmission power in the mobile station to suppress an increase of the transmission power in the mobile station when a first reception level concerned with the first group of the base stations does not exceed a second reception level concerned with the second group of the base stations.
12. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the detecting step is periodically carried out in the mobile station.
13. A method of controlling transmission power in a mobile station in a radio communication system which comprise a plurality of base stations, the mobile station being continuously communicable through radio channels with the base stations by executing a hand-off operation during a hand-off time, comprising the steps of:
determining the hand-off time; and
lowering the transmission power in the mobile station during the hand-off time to mitigate interference among the radio channels.
14. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the hand-off time detecting step comprises the steps of:
receiving a plurality of constant power signals each of which is sent from each base station at a predetermined power level; and
determining the hand-off time with reference to each reception level of the pilot signals.
15. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein each of said constant power signals is specified by a pilot signal sent from each base station.
16. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the determining step comprises the steps of:
classifying the base stations into a first group base station under connection and a second group base station under non-connection;
comparing a first reception level concerned with the first group base station with a second reception level concerned with the second group base station to judge whether or not the second reception level exceeds the first reception level; and
deciding the band-off time when the second reception level exceeds the first reception level.
17. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the radio channels are defined by a common frequency.
18. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the first and the second reception levels is determined by a weighted sum of the reception levels of the pilot signals.
19. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein each of the first and the second reception levels is determined by a weighted sum of the reception levels of the pilot signals.
20. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein each of the first and the second reception levels is determined by a weighted sum of the reception levels of the pilot signals.
21. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein each of the first and the second reception levels is determined by a weighted sum of the reception levels of the pilot signals.
22. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein each of the first and the second reception levels is determined by a weighted sum of the reception levels of the pilot signals.
23. A mobile station for use in a communication system which comprise a plurality of base stations, the mobile station being continuously communicable through radio channels with the base stations by executing a hand-off operation during a hand-off time, comprising:
means for determining the handoff time; and
means for lowering the transmission power in the mobile station during the hand-off time to mitigate interference among the radio channels.

1. A method for determining the psychological impact of entertainment material having at least first and later episodes, the method including the steps of:
(a) presenting a first episode to a target group of subjects;
(b) after a predetermined period of time, presenting the later episode to the target group of subjects;
(c) determining brain activities of the target group of subjects whilst the later episode is being presented to the target group of subjects; and
(d) evaluating the psychological impact of the entertainment material by reference to the levels of brain activities determined in step (c).
2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein step (e) includes the step of averaging the brain activities determined in step (c).
3. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein step (a) includes presenting first and second episodes to the target group of subjects.
4. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the episodes of the entertainment material are in the form of animatics or story boards.
5. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein:
step (c) includes presenting the later episode or episodes as segments in an audiovisual presentation;
after each segment, presenting reference material to the target group of subjects;
determining reference levels of brain activities whilst the reference material is presented to the target group of subjects; and
removing the effect of long-term changes in brain activities by subtracting the reference levels of brain activities from the levels of brain activity determined in step (c).
6. A method as claimed in claim 5 wherein the reference material includes a sequence of still images.
7. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein step (b) is carried out by displaying the later episode on a video screen.
8. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein step (c) is carried out by determining gamma or high frequency EEG or MEG activity.
9. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein step (c) is carried out by detecting EEG or MEG activity in the frequency range 8 to 13 Hz.
10. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein step (c) is carried out by assessment of the phase of steady state visually evoked potentials (SSVEP) in EEG signals obtained from the target group of subjects or by assessment of steady state visually evoked responses (SSVER) in MEG signals obtained from the target group of subjects.
11. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein step (c) includes the steps of placing electrodes at scalp sites to obtain output EEG signals which enable assessment of:
engagement with the entertainment material;
attraction-repulsion of the entertainment material;
long term memory encoding associated with the entertainment material; andor
emotional intensity associated with the entertainment material.
12. A method as claimed in claim 11 including the step of applying a sinusoidally varying visual flicker stimulus to each subject during step (c) to thereby enable calculation of Fourier coefficients from said output signals to thereby enable calculation of said SSVEP amplitudes andor phase differences.
13. A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein said SSVEP amplitude and phase are calculated by the equations:
SSVEP
amplitude

=
(
A
n
2

+

B
n
2
)
SSVEP
phase

=

a
\ue89e
\ue89e

tan
\ue8a0

(
B
n
A
n
)
\ue89e
where: an and bn are cosine and sine Fourier coefficients calculated by the equations:
a
n

=
1

S
\ue89e
\ue89e
\u0394
\ue89e
\ue89e
\u03c4
\ue89e
\u2211

i
=
0
S
–
1
\ue89e
f
\ue8a0

(

nT
+

i
\ue89e
\ue89e
\u0394
\ue89e
\ue89e
\u03c4
)
\ue89e

cos
\ue8a0

(
2
\ue89e
\ue89e
\u03c0

T

\ue89e

(

nT
+

i
\ue89e
\ue89e
\u0394
\ue89e
\ue89e
\u03c4
)
)
b
n

=
1

S
\ue89e
\ue89e
\u0394
\ue89e
\ue89e
\u03c4
\ue89e
\u2211

i
=
0
S
–
1
\ue89e
f
\ue8a0

(

nT
+

i
\ue89e
\ue89e
\u0394
\ue89e
\ue89e
\u03c4
)
\ue89e

sin
\ue8a0

(
2
\ue89e
\ue89e
\u03c0

T

\ue89e

(

nT
+

i
\ue89e
\ue89e
\u0394
\ue89e
\ue89e
\u03c4
)
)
where:
an and bn are the cosine and sine Fourier coefficients respectively where;
n represents the nth flicker stimulus cycle;
S is the number of samples per flicker stimulus cycle;
\u0394\u03c4 is the time interval between samples;
T is the period of one cycle;
f(nT+i\u0394\u03c4) is the EEG signal (raw or pre-processed using ICA) obtained from said predetermined scalp sites;
and wherein An and Bn are overlapping smoothed Fourier coefficients calculated by using the equation:
A
n

=
\u2211

i
=
1
i
=
N
\ue89e
a

n
+
i
N
B
n

=
\u2211

i
=
1
i
=
N
\ue89e
b

n
+
i
N
14. A method as claimed in claim 13 including the steps of:
obtaining EEG signals from a plurality of scalp sites of each subject; and
utilising inverse mapping techniques such as BESA, EMSA or LORETA to produce modified EEG signals which represent activity in deeper regions of the brain of each subject such as the orbito-frontal cortex or the ventro-medial cortex.
15. A method as claimed in claim 13 including the step of averaging the Fourier coefficients An and Bn for a selected group of the target subjects and then calculating the SSVEP amplitudes and SSVEP phase differences for said group of subjects.
16. A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein the flicker signal is applied only to the peripheral vision of each subject.
17. A method as claimed in claim 16 including the steps of directing the flicker signal towards the eyes of each subject via first and second screens and wherein each screen includes an opaque area, and wherein the method further includes the step of positioning the screens to the relative position of each subject such that said opaque areas prevent said flicker signal impinging on the fovea of each eye of each subject.
18. A method as claimed in claim 17 wherein the opacity of each screen decreases as a function of distance from its opaque area so that the intensity of the flicker signal impinging on each retina of each subject decreases in value from the central vision to the peripheral vision.
19. A method as claimed in claim 18 including the step of applying a masking pattern to each screen to define the opacity thereof, the method including the step of applying the pattern in accordance with a masking pattern function which provides zero or low gradients for changes in opacity adjacent to its opaque area and peripheral areas thereof which define parts of the flicker signal impinging on the peripheral vision of each subject.
20. A method as claimed in claim 19 wherein the opaque area of each screen is circular and wherein the masking pattern function is selected to be a Gaussian function, so that the opacity P of the screen is defined by the equation:
P=e\u2212(r\u2212R2G2
where:
r is the radial distance from the centre of the opaque area; and
G is a parameter that determines the rate of fall-off of opacity with radial distance, and wherein when r<R, P=1.
21. A method as claimed in claim 20 wherein G has a value in the range R4 and 2R.
22. A method as claimed in claim 13 including the step of applying an electrode to the scalp of each subject at a site which is approximately equidistant from sites O2, P4 and T6, calculating SSVEP amplitudes and phase differences from EEG signals from said electrode whereby the output signals indicate each subject’s emotional intensity associated with the entertainment material or selected actors.
23. A method as claimed in claim 14 wherein the step of utilising inverse mapping determines brain activity in the right cerebral cortex in the vicinity of the right parieto-temporal junction whereby the output signals indicate each subject’s emotional intensity associated with the entertainment material or selected actors.
24. A method as claimed in claim 13 including the steps of applying an electrode to the scalp of each subject at the F3, F4, Fp1 and Fp2 sites, calculating SSVEP amplitudes and phase differences from EEG signals from said electrodes, calculating values for attraction-repulsion using the equation:
attraction=(a1*SSVEP phase advance at electrode F3+a2*SSVEP phase advance at electrode Fp1\u2212a3*SSVEP phase advance at electrode F4\u2212a4*SSVEP phase advance at electrode Fp2)
where a1=a2=a3=a4=1.0

whereby said values indicate each subject’s like-dislike towards the entertainment material or selected actors.
25. A method as claimed in claim 14 wherein the step of utilising inverse mapping determines brain activity in:
the right orbito-frontal cortex in the vicinity of Brodman area 11;
the right dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex in the vicinity of Brodman area 9;
the left orbito frontal cortex in the vicinity of Brodman area 11; and
the left dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex in the vicinity of Brodman area 9; and
calculating a value for attraction-repulsion using the equation:
attraction=(c1*right orbito-frontal cortex (in vicinity of Brodman area 11)+c2*right dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (in vicinity of Brodman area 9)+c3*left orbito frontal cortex (in vicinity of Brodman area 11)+c4*left dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (vicinity of Brodman area 9))
where c1=1, c2=1, c3=1, c4=1,
whereby said values indicate each subject’s like-dislike towards the entertainment material or selected actors.
26. A method as claimed in claim 13 including the steps of applying electrodes to the scalp of each subject at F3, F4, Pp1 and Fp2 sites, calculating SSVEP amplitudes and phase differences from said electrodes, calculating values for engagement in features of the advertisement by a weighted mean SSVEP phase advance at said sites using the equation:
engagement=(b1*SSVEP phase advance at electrode F3+b2*SSVEP phase advance at electrode Pp1+b3*SSVEP phase advance at electrode F4+b4*SSVEP phase advance at Electrode Fp2)
where b1=0.1, b2=0.4, b3=0.1, b4=0.4,

whereby said values indicate each subject’s engagement in the entertainment material or selected actors.
27. A method as claimed in claim 14 wherein the step of utilising inverse mapping determines brain activity in:
the right orbito frontal cortex in the vicinity of Brodman area 11;
the right dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex in the vicinity of Brodman area 9;
the left frontal cortex in the vicinity of Brodman area 11; and
the left dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex in the vicinity of Brodman area 9,
calculating SSVEP amplitudes and phase differences from said modified EEG signals from said electrodes; and
calculating a value for engagement using the equation:
engagement=(d1*right orbito frontal cortex (in vicinity of Brodman area 11)+d2*right dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (in vicinity of Brodman area 9)+d3*left orbito frontal cortex (in vicinity of Brodman area 11)+d4*left dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (in vicinity of Brodman area 9))
where d1=0.1, d2=0.4, d3=0.1, d4=0.4,
whereby said values indicate each subject’s engagement in the entertainment material or selected actors.
28. A method for determining the suitability of an actor from a group of actors for a role in entertainment material including the steps of:
(a) causing each of actors to separately perform by reading the same script or acting the same role;
(b) presenting each of the actor’s performances in step (a) to a test audience;
(c) determining brain activities of the test audience separately for each of the performances; and
(d) determining the suitability of the actors for the role by reference to the brain activities determined in step (c).
29. A method of determining the selecting of a person from a group of persons for a public role, the method including the steps of:
(a) causing each person to separately make a presentation which is associated with the public role;
(b) presenting the each of the presentations of step (a) to a test audience;
(c) determining brain activities of the test audience separately for each of the persons; and
(d) selecting a person for the role by deference to the brain activities determined in step (c).
30. A method as claimed in claim 29 wherein step (c) includes the steps of placing electrodes at scalp sites of the test audience to obtain EEG signals which enable assessment of:
engagement;
attraction-repulsion (like-dislike); andor
emotional intensity.
31. A method of evaluating actors performing in entertainment material, the method including the steps of:
(a) presenting the entertainment material in which one or more actors perform to an audience;
(b) determining brain activities of the audience during presentation of the entertainment material in step (a);
(c) averaging brain activity levels separately for each of the actors when they appear in the entertainment material; and
(d) evaluating the psychological impact of each of the actors by reference to the separate brain activities determined in step (c).
32. A method as claimed in claim 31 wherein step (b) includes the steps of placing electrodes at scalp sites to obtain EEG signals which enable assessment of:
engagement;
attraction-repulsion (like-dislike);
memory for detail and verbal features;
memory for non-verbal features and emotion; andor emotional intensity.
33. A system for determining the psychological impact of entertainment material having at least first and later episodes, the system including:
(a) display means for displaying a later episode of the entertainment material to a target group of subjects who have earlier viewed the first episode of the entertainment material;
(b) determining means for determining brain activities of the target group of subjects whilst the later episode is being presented to the target group of subjects; and
(c) evaluating means for evaluating the psychological impact of the entertainment material by reference to the levels of brain activity determined by said determining means.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

What is claimed is:

1. An isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a polynucleotide having a nucleotide sequence at least 95% identical to a sequence selected from the group consisting of:
(a) a polynucleotide fragment of SEQ ID NO:X or a polynucleotide fragment of the cDNA sequence contained in Clone ID NO:Z, which is hybridizable to SEQ ID NO:X;
(b) a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide fragment of SEQ ID NO:Y or a polypeptide fragment encoded by the cDNA sequence contained in cDNA Clone ID NO:Z, which is hybridizable to SEQ ID NO:X;
(c) a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide fragment of a polypeptide encoded by SEQ ID NO:X or a polypeptide fragment encoded by the cDNA sequence contained in cDNA Clone ID NO:Z, which is hybridizable to SEQ ID NO:X;
(d) a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide domain of SEQ ID NO:Y or a polypeptide domain encoded by the cDNA sequence contained in cDNA Clone ID NO:Z, which is hybridizable to SEQ ID NO:X;
(e) a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide epitope of SEQ ID NO:Y or a polypeptide epitope encoded by the cDNA sequence contained in cDNA Clone ID NO:Z, which is hybridizable to SEQ ID NO:X;
(f) a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:Y or the cDNA sequence contained in cDNA Clone ID NO:Z, which is hybridizable to SEQ ID NO:X, having biological activity;
(g) a polynucleotide which is a variant of SEQ ID NO:X;
(h) a polynucleotide which is an allelic variant of SEQ ID NO:X;
(i) a polynucleotide which encodes a species homologue of the SEQ ID NO:Y;
(j) a polynucleotide capable of hybridizing under stringent conditions to any one of the polynucleotides specified in (a)-(i), wherein said polynucleotide does not hybridize under stringent conditions to a nucleic acid molecule having a nucleotide sequence of only A residues or of only T residues.
2. The isolated nucleic acid molecule of claim 1, wherein the polynucleotide fragment comprises a nucleotide sequence encoding a protein.
3. The isolated nucleic acid molecule of claim 1, wherein the polynucleotide fragment comprises a nucleotide sequence encoding the sequence identified as SEQ ID NO:Y or the polypeptide encoded by the cDNA sequence contained in cDNA Clone ID NO:Z, which is hybridizable to SEQ ID NO:X.
4. The isolated nucleic acid molecule of claim 1, wherein the polynucleotide fragment comprises the entire nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:X or the cDNA sequence contained in cDNA Clone ID NO:Z, which is hybridizable to SEQ ID NO:X.
5. The isolated nucleic acid molecule of claim 2, wherein the nucleotide sequence comprises sequential nucleotide deletions from either the C-terminus or the N-terminus.
6. The isolated nucleic acid molecule of claim 3, wherein the nucleotide sequence comprises sequential nucleotide deletions from either the C-terminus or the N-terminus.
7. A recombinant vector comprising the isolated nucleic acid molecule of claim 1.
8. A method of making a recombinant host cell comprising the isolated nucleic acid molecule of claim 1.
9. A recombinant host cell produced by the method of claim 8.
10. The recombinant host cell of claim 9 comprising vector sequences.
11. An isolated polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 90% identical to a sequence selected from the group consisting of:
(a) a polypeptide fragment of SEQ ID NO:Y or the encoded sequence contained in cDNA Clone ID NO:Z;
(b) a polypeptide fragment of SEQ ID NO:Y or the encoded sequence contained in cDNA Clone ID NO:Z, having biological activity;
(c) a polypeptide domain of SEQ ID NO:Y or the encoded sequence contained in cDNA Clone ID NO:Z;
(d) a polypeptide epitope of SEQ ID NO:Y or the encoded sequence contained in cDNA Clone ID NO:Z;
(e) a full length protein of SEQ ID NO:Y or the encoded sequence contained in cDNA Clone ID NO:Z;
(f) a variant of SEQ ID NO:Y;
(g) an allelic variant of SEQ ID NO:Y; or
(h) a species homologue of the SEQ ID NO:Y.
12. The isolated polypeptide of claim 11, wherein the full length protein comprises sequential amino acid deletions from either the C-terminus or the N-terminus.
13. An isolated antibody that binds specifically to the isolated polypeptide of claim 11.
14. A recombinant host cell that expresses the isolated polypeptide of claim 11.
15. A method of making an isolated polypeptide comprising:
(a) culturing the recombinant host cell of claim 14 under conditions such that said polypeptide is expressed; and
(b) recovering said polypeptide.
16. The polypeptide produced by claim 15.
17. A method for preventing, treating, or ameliorating a medical condition, comprising administering to a mammalian subject a therapeutically effective amount of the polynucleotide of claim 1.
18. A method of diagnosing a pathological condition or a susceptibility to a pathological condition in a subject comprising:
(a) determining the presence or absence of a mutation in the polynucleotide of claim 1; and
(b) diagnosing a pathological condition or a susceptibility to a pathological condition based on the presence or absence of said mutation.
19. A method of diagnosing a pathological condition or a susceptibility to a pathological condition in a subject comprising:
(a) determining the presence or amount of expression of the polypeptide of claim 11 in a biological sample; and
(b) diagnosing a pathological condition or a susceptibility to a pathological condition based on the presence or amount of expression of the polypeptide.
20. A method for identifying a binding partner to the polypeptide of claim 11 comprising:
(a) contacting the polypeptide of claim 11 with a binding partner; and
(b) determining whether the binding partner effects an activity of the polypeptide.
21. The gene corresponding to the cDNA sequence of SEQ ID NO:Y.
22. A method of identifying an activity in a biological assay, wherein the method comprises:
(a) expressing SEQ ID NO:X in a cell;
(b) isolating the supernatant; a) (c) detecting an activity in a biological assay; and
(d) identifying the protein in the supernatant having the activity.
23. The product produced by the method of claim 20.
24. A method for preventing, treating, or ameliorating a medical condition, comprising administering to a mammalian subject a therapeutically effective amount of the polypeptide of claim 11.