A protocol converter allows communications between a host and remotes that operate using different communications protocols. The pump layer follows the vertical emitter layer in the vertical direction and a conductive layer is provided between the vertical emitter layer and the pump layer. A temporary lapse of attention by a user of the interactive application is predicted. The method also includes determining, by the computer system, movement of the connected fluid phase region from the first timeframe to the second timeframe based on the tracking. Matrix x\u22121 represents an inverted pattern of the key pattern x. A protocol-enabled switch according to the present techniques bypasses a store-and forward communication device for the purposes of time synchronization by merging timing packets into each subnet serviced by the store-and forward communication device, thereby avoiding the variable delays that may occur in the store-and forward communication device.