A financial scoring system for forecasting the financial behavior of a bank customer holding a direct-deposit-account, commonly referred to as a checking account, to forecast the probability of being a cross sell or up sell acquisition candidate, a default candidate on a loan repayment account, a default candidate on a credit card payments, a default candidate on an off-line debit card transaction, an account closing, attrition, candidate, or a potential fraud candidate, such as money laundering. The financial scoring system can assist the bank in determining profitable and non-profitable account activity and customer groups. The financial behavior scoring will help banks to attract retailers to participate and co-sponsor marketing initiative based on the financial score achieved for a specific group of bank customers.

Banks are continuously trying to offer their customers additional products. One of the older techniques is to induce customers with savings account to open a certificate of deposit, or to induce customers retaining a certificate of deposit to participate in an investment fund at a higher interest rate. As an inducement to consider the cross sell offer, banks provide everything from a free toaster, to a fee set of Tupperware. The flaw with this technique is that no consideration is given to the customer's financial ability to maintain the cross sell products being offered.
Over the last decade banks have strength their retail cross sell marketing initiative by implementing demographic and lifestyle segmentation systems to better target and match cross sell products. These segmentation systems, breakdown a bank customer database into lifestyle categories, such as elite suburbs, urban core, country families, to rustic living. Each lifestyle category calculates the median age and income of the category population.
When the segment is selected, various statistical models are applied to information stored in these segment classifications to generate a score that reflects the most likely and less likely to be a candidate for a specific bank or retail product. These statistical model ranges from linear and logistic regression to the new decision tree segmentation modeling techniques, like Chi-Square Automatic Interactive Detector (CHAID). The implementation of these classes of technology have contributed to growth in response rate from less than one-half percent a decade ago, to over two percent in today's bank cross sell world.
A deficiency found with these segmentation techniques, is no economic consideration is given to the amount of cash that flows through a customers direct-deposit, time-deposit, and loan accounts to match a customers financial ability to a specific bank initiative. Bank products are still offered as incentives, which in most cases, the bank customer has no interest or financial ability to support the bank product offered.
In the credit card industry world, an economic scoring technique has been development that determines a credit card holders ability to make credit card payments. The FICO scoring algorithm uses a scoring model and mathematical tables to assign points for different pieces of information which best predict future credit card payment behavior.
The FICO scoring algorithm has taught that by measuring and scoring the variation in payment history of credit card customers, that customer future payment ability can be forecast.
Another invention that has taught the use of scoring to target the right bank customer is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,415 issued to Shurling, et al., where each social security number (SSN) stored in a banks customer-information-file is assigned relationship points based on the number bank accounts tied to each SSN and the period each account has been help by the SSN. The length of time that the SSN has been active is considered in the relationship scoring process. Through the computer implementation of the relationship scoring system, the relationship point are summed for each SSN and match to a bank reward, lower interest rates to no service charges, being offered by the bank management for each level of relationship point accumulation.
The deficiency with this invention is that no consideration is given to measuring and scoring the financial information stored in a bank's CIF. The number of bank account and years of longevity misses addressing the financial ability of the SSN holder.
Bank management is continuously pursuing better method to match customers to the right product to cross sell, and the right incentive to reward. With the establishment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the US Patriot Act, and Basel Accord, the forecasting of account performance, the forecasting of default events, the forecasting of account attrition and detection of account fraud has become a major focus of the bank industry. The systems and method available to date have failed to effectively forecast the financial variations of a direct-deposit-account holder to address these demands.

Systems and methods for scoring bank customers direct deposit account transaction activity to match financial behavior to specific acquisition, performance and risk events defined by the bank using a decision tree and stochastic process


The present disclosure relates to an accelerator for systolic array-friendly data placement. The accelerator may include: a systolic array comprising a plurality of operation units, wherein the systolic array is configured to receive staged input data and perform operations using the staged input to generate staged output data, the staged output data comprising a number of segments; a controller configured to execute one or more instructions to generate a pattern generation signal; a data mask generator; and a memory configured to store the staged output data using the generated masks. The data mask generator may include circuitry configured to: receive the pattern generation signal from the controller, and, based on the received signal, generate a mask corresponding to each segment of the staged output data.

Machine learning has been widely used in various areas. Convolutional neural network (CNN) is one type of a neural network widely applied on machine learning. CNNs are used in a variety of applications including image processing, speech recognition, game play, robotics, etc. Therefore, improving efficiency for processing CNNs is important to increase overall neural network execution performance.
Systolic arrays are a popular architecture for matrix-matrix multiplication. In order for a systolic array to perform matrix-matrix multiplication, both input matrices have to be staged to a particular format, which is usually done by line-buffers. However, line buffers are costly, and three may be required (two for input, and one for output). The overhead resulting from the line-buffers is within the same order of magnitude of systolic array itself. Removing the line-buffers may require the input data to be stored in memory with particular placement pattern. In certain applications, the intermediate output of last layer after general matrix multiply (GeMM) may need to maintain the same placement format as the input data, which is costly in terms of control and latency. Thus, there is a trade-off between the hardware cost of line-buffers (or equivalent module), or the cost of additional control and latency overhead.

Systolic array-friendly data placement and control based on masked write


In one aspect, a material system comprises a metal substrate and a first coating layer disposed on the metal substrate. A first electrode is directly disposed on the first coating layer, and a second electrode is disposed on the metal substrate. In one aspect, a method for determining material performance includes flexing a material system and detecting impedance of the material system with an electrochemical impedance spectrometer. The material system has a metal substrate, a first coating layer disposed on the metal substrate, a first electrode directly disposed on the first coating layer, and a second electrode disposed on the metal substrate.

Spanning the lifetime of operation, an aircraft will experience repeated and harsh conditions resulting in degradation of component parts of the aircraft. Such degradation may take the form of, for example, corrosion and subsequent metal fatigue and fracture. Corrosion can contribute to a decrease in the integrity and strength of aircraft components. More specifically, a material system, such as an aircraft component, includes a fuselage or skin panels, a coated lap joint between two metal panels, or a wing-to-fuselage assembly on the exterior of an aircraft. Material systems may corrode over time due to exposure to mechanical and chemical stresses during use of the aircraft. Before a material is determined to be suitable for use as an aircraft material system, it may be desirable to determine the material system's propensity to corrode. However, performance of aircraft material systems, such as panels, during actual, real world use of the aircraft seldom correlates with corrosion testing data.
Furthermore, a corrosion testing procedure of a material system comprises spraying the material system with a salt solution in a chamber. Assessment of the extent of corrosion of the material system involves stopping the corrosion procedure and removing the material system from the chamber for visual inspection to determine the extent of corrosion.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for material systems, apparatus, and methods for controlled and accurate exposure and corrosion detection for determining operational performance of material systems.

Manufacture electrodes for electrochemical monitoring


The instant invention involves a method of treating and/or reversing androgenic alopecia and promoting hair growth, and methods of treating acne vulgaris, seborrhea, and female hirsutism, by administering to a patient in need of such treatment a 5.alpha.-reductase 2 inhibitor, such as finasteride, in a dosage amount under 5 mgs/day.

Certain undesirable physiological manifestations, such as acne vulgaris, seborrhea, female hirsutism, androgenic alopecia which includes female and male pattern baldness, and benign prostatic hyperplasia, are the result of hyperandrogenic stimulation caused by an excessive accumulation of testosterone ("T") or similar androgenic hormones in the metabolic system. Early attempts to provide a chemotherapeutic agent to counter the undesirable results of hyperandrogenicity resulted in the discovery of several steroidal antiandrogens having undesirable hormonal activities of their own. The estrogens, for example, not only counteract the effect of the androgens but have a feminizing effect as well. Non-steroidal antiandrogens have also been developed, for example, 4'-nitro-3'-trifluoromethyl-isobutyranilide. See Neri, et al., Endocrinol. 1972, 91 (2). However, these products, though devoid of hormonal effects, compete with all natural androgens for receptor sites, and hence have a tendency to feminize a male host or the male fetus of a female host and/or initiate feed-back effects which would cause hyperstimulation of the testes.
The principal mediator of androgenic activity in some target organs, e.g. the prostate, is 5.alpha.-dihydrotestosterone ("DHT"), formed locally in the target organ by the action of testosterone-5.alpha.-reductase. Inhibitors of testosterone-5.alpha.-reductase will serve to prevent or lessen symptoms of hyperandrogenic stimulation in these organs. See especially U.S. Pat. No. 4,377,584 assigned to Merck & Co., Inc., issued Mar. 22, 1983. It is now known that a second 5.alpha.-reductase isozyme exists, which interacts with skin tissues, especially in scalp tissues. See, e.g., G. Harris, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 89, pp. 10787-10791 (November 1992). The isozyme that principally interacts in skin tissues is conventionally designated as 5.alpha.-reductase 1 (or 5.alpha.-reductase type 1), while the isozyme that principally interacts within the prostatic tissues is designated as 5.alpha.-reductase 2 (or 5.alpha.-reductase type 2).
Finasteride (17.beta.-(N-tert-butylcarbamoyl)-4-aza-5.alpha.-androst-1-ene-3-one), which is marketed by Merck & Co., Inc. under the tradename PROSCAR.RTM., is an inhibitor of 5.alpha.-reductase 2 and is known to be useful for the treatment of hyperandrogenic conditions. See e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,071. Finasteride is currently marketed in the United States and worldwide for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Finasteride's utility in the treatment of androgenic alopecia and prostatic carcinoma is also disclosed in the following documents: EP 0 285,382, published Oct. 5, 1988; EP 0 285 383, published Oct. 5, 1988; Canadian Patent no. 1,302,277; and Canadian Patent no. 1,302,276. The specific dosages exemplified in the above-noted disclosures varied from 5 to 2000 mg per patient per day.
In the treatment of androgenic alopecia, which includes both female and male pattern baldness, and other hyperandrogenic conditions, it would be desirable to administer the lowest dosage possible of a pharmaceutical compound to a patient and still maintain therapeutic efficacy. Applicants have surprisingly and unexpectedly discovered that a low daily dosage of a 50.alpha.-reductase 2 inhibitor is particularly useful in the treatment of androgenic alopecia. Furthermore, a low daily dosage of a 5.alpha.-reductase 2 inhibitor may also be particularly useful in the treatment of the hyperandrogenic conditions of acne vulgaris, seborrhea, female hirsutism, and polycystic ovary syndrome.

Method of treating acne with 5-.alpha. reductase inhibitors


An impact modifier for a thermoplastic resin is disclosed, which comprises (I) 100 parts by weight of a graft copolymer formed by graft-polymerizing (B) a monomer having a vinyl group in the molecule onto (A) a butadiene polymer and, incorporated therein, (II) 0.01 to 5 parts by weight of a thioether type heat stabilizer, (III) 0.01 to 5 parts by weight of a phosphite type heat stabilizer and (IV) 0.01 to 5 parts by weight of a phenol type heat stabilizer having a molecular eight of at least 500. A thermoplastic resin composition having this impact modifier incorporated therein exhibits a good heat discoloration resistance and heat deterioration resistance under high-temperature conditions, as well as an improved impact resistance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an impact modifier for a thermoplastic resin having an excellent heat discoloration resistance and heat deterioration resistance under high-temperature conditions, and a thermoplastic resin composition formed by incorporating this impact modifier into a thermoplastic resin.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently a polyester resin such as polyethylene terephthalate or polytetramethylene terephthalate is used for parts and members subjected to high temperatures, such as oven-useable trays, engineering plastics for exterior parts of heating devices, and electric parts, by utilizing the high melting points of such a resin. These polyester resins moreover have a poor toughness, and accordingly, a method has been proposed in which a methyl methacrylate/butadiene/ styrene copolymer (MBS resin) comprising a butadiene polymer as the rubber component is incorporated into a polyester resin to improve the impact resistance of the polyester resin.
A polycarbonate resin has an excellent impact resistance, heat resistance, dimensional stability, and electric insulating property and is widely used for machine parts, safe tools, electrically insulating members, optical machine parts, and containers.
This polycarbonate resin however, has a poor flowability and chemical resistance, and accordingly, as a means of overcoming there defects, a polymer-alloying process has been proposed and developed in which a saturated polyester resin such as polyethylene terephthalate or polytetramethylene terephthalate is incorporated in the polycarbonate resin (see Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 36-14035, Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 53-12537 and Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 57-2744), and thus the application range thereof has been broadened. Nevertheless, if a saturated polyester resin is incorporated in a polycarbonate resin, the toughness possessed by the polycarbonate resin is reduced and accordingly, a process has been proposed in which the impact strength is improved by further incorporating an MBS resin (see Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 55-9435).
It is known that an MBS resin can be incorporated in a vinyl chloride resin, and it is known as well that an MBS resin can be incorporated into a thermoplastic resin such as a saturated polyester resin or a polycarbonate resin, to improve the impact resistance.
But where a thermoplastic resin, in which an impact modifier comprising a butadiene polymer as the rubber component is incorporated is subjected to extrusion molding or injection molding under high-temperature conditions, the physical properties are often reduced by a heat discoloration or heat deterioration attributed to the butadiene rubber component in the MBS resin. Furthermore, this impact modifier is disadvantageous in that, if the obtained molded article is heat-treated, the impact strength retention ratio is lowered, and thus various improvements have been proposed; for example, an incorporation of a phenol type heat stabilizer into a thermoplastic resin. More specifically, the incorporation of a phenol type heat stabilizer is disclosed in the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 3,637,582, the incorporation of athioether type heat stabilizer is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,758,549 and the incorporation of a phosphite type heat stabilizer is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,163, U.S. Pat. No. 4,088,709 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,474,914. Furthermore, a combined incorporation of a phenol type heat stabilizer and a thioether type heat stabilizer is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,629, U.S. Pat. No.4,507,417, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,576,734 and the combined incorporation of a phenol type heat stabilizer and a phosphite type heat stabilizer is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,595,936, U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,486, U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,548, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,146.
In these proposals, however, where a thermoplastic resin, in which an impact modifier comprising a butadiene polymer as the rubber component is incorporated is subjected to extrusion molding or injection molding under high-temperature conditions, a reduction of the physical properties by a heat discoloration or heat deterioration attributed to the butadiene polymer rubber component in the MBS resin, and a reduction of the impact strength retention ratio upon heat treatment of the obtained molded article, cannot be properly controlled.

Impact modifier for thermoplastic resin having good heat discoloration resistance and heat deterioration resistance, and thermoplastic resin composition comprising this impact modifier


A shift register unit, a driving device, a display device and a driving method are disclosed, The shift register unit includes a first circuit unit and a second circuit unit; the first circuit unit includes an input terminal, a reset terminal, a clock signal terminal, a first voltage terminal, a second voltage terminal and a first output terminal, and is configured to output a first output signal of the shift register unit from the first output terminal; the second circuit unit includes a third voltage terminal, a fourth voltage terminal and a second output terminal, and is configured to output a second output signal of the shift register unit from the second output terminal, at least under the control of the first output signal; and the second output signal and the first output signal are mutually phase-inverted signals.

In the field of display technology, the pixel array for such as liquid crystal display usually includes rows of gate lines and columns of data lines that intersect with the gate lines. Driving of the gate lines may be realized by an attached integrated drive circuit. In recent years, with the continuous improvement of amorphous silicon thin film process, the gate-line drive circuit may also be directly integrated onto a thin film transistor array substrate to form a GOA (Gate driver On Array) for driving gate lines.
For example, a GOA including a plurality of cascaded shift register units may be used to provide the rows of gate lines of a pixel array with ON/OFF voltage signals, thereby controlling sequential turning-on of the rows of gate lines, and to provide data signals to the pixel units of the corresponding rows in the pixel array via the data lines, so as to form grayscale voltages necessary for presenting each grayscale of an image. In turn, each frame image is displayed.

Shift register unit, driving device, display device and driving method

CHONGQING BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. A base station and a user equipment (UE) may communicate in a high reliability and low latency communications system (e.g., ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC)). The base station may signal a UE-specific scheduling request (SR) repetition configuration that the UE may utilize to transmit an instantaneous SR when a buffer status report (BSR) is triggered by a new data packet. The UE may repeatedly transmit the SR until a number of repetitions or a time period of repetitions is met or an uplink grant is received from the base station. The SR repetition configuration may include a number of parameters including a repetition setting, power settings, a resource allocation, and an acknowledgement/negative acknowledgment (ACK/NACK) procedure.

The following relates generally to wireless communication, and more specifically to user equipment (UE)-specific scheduling request (SR) repetitions (e.g., retransmissions).
Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such as a Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ technologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform-spread-OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple-access communications system may include a number of base stations or network access nodes, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as UE.
In some wireless communications systems, a UE may transmit an SR to a base station to request resources for an uplink transmission. The SR may be triggered when data becomes available for transmission. In some cases, the UE may wait to transmit the SR at periodic starting times designated by the base station for SR transmissions. However, in wireless communications systems with high reliability and low latency requirements (e.g., ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC)), more efficient techniques for transmitting an SR more frequently may be desired.

User equipment-specific scheduling request repetitions


This application provides a photovoltaic power optimizer and a method and apparatus for controlling same, and a photovoltaic power generation system. The photovoltaic power optimizer includes: a power optimization module, a bypass module, and a control module, where the bypass module is connected to an input end of the power optimization module, an output end of the power optimization module, and the control module, and the control module is connected to the power optimization module; and when detecting that the power optimization module is faulty, the control module is configured to control the bypass module to be on, to bypass the faulty power optimization module, so that the photovoltaic battery component can be directly connected to other battery groups in the photovoltaic power generation system, and connected to an inverter.

A photovoltaic power optimizer is a device in a photovoltaic power generation system and is configured to optimize power output by a photovoltaic battery component, to ensure maximization of power output by the photovoltaic power generation system.
In the related art, the photovoltaic power generation system usually includes a plurality of serially-connected battery groups, and each battery group includes a photovoltaic (PV) battery component and a photovoltaic power optimizer connected to the photovoltaic battery component. The plurality of serially-connected battery groups are connected to an input end of an inverter, and an output end of the inverter is connected to a power supply network. Each photovoltaic power optimizer usually includes a power optimization module and a control module. The control module can control the power optimization module to perform maximum power point tracking (Maximum Power Point Tracking, MPPT) on the photovoltaic battery component, so that the photovoltaic battery component outputs maximum power, thereby effectively improving power generation efficiency of the entire photovoltaic power generation system.
However, when a photovoltaic power optimizer to which a photovoltaic battery component is connected is faulty, even if the photovoltaic battery component can work normally, the photovoltaic battery component cannot output generated power, and a waste of power is easily caused.

Photovoltaic power optimizer and method and apparatus for controlling same, and photovoltaic power generation system

HUAWEI DIGITAL POWER TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.


A shift control apparatus of an automatic transmission of a motor vehicle to which torque is transmitted from an engine via a fluid coupling device is provided. In the automatic transmission including a plurality of hydraulically operated friction elements, a clutch-to-clutch downshift is carried out during coasting of the vehicle by releasing one of the friction elements and engaging another friction element. A controller of the shift control apparatus detects a difference between input and output rotation speeds of the fluid coupling device, and increases an engine speed by a controlled amount based on the difference between the input and output rotation speeds when the clutch-to-clutch downshift is carried out during coasting of the vehicle, so that the vehicle is brought into a minimal driving state in which the engine speed is slightly higher than the output rotation speed of the fluid coupling device.

The disclosures of Japanese Patent Applications No. 2001-234154 filed on Aug. 1, 2001 and No. 2001-233923 filed on Aug. 1, 2001, each including the specification, drawings and abstract, are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to a shift control apparatus of an automatic transmission of a motor vehicle, and more particularly to such a shift control apparatus that effects coast downshift of the transmission while the vehicle is kept in a minimal driving state in which a weak engine brake is applied.
2. Description of Related Art
One type of a downshift control apparatus of an automatic transmission of a motor vehicle has been proposed which keeps the vehicle in a weak engine brake state when the automatic transmission is shifted down while the vehicle is coasting or decelerating with the accelerator pedal being released or not operated. An example of such a downshift control apparatus is disclosed in Japanese laid-open Patent Publication No. 11-287317. With this apparatus, certain engine brake force is kept constantly applied to the vehicle during clutch-to-clutch downshifts, whereby the downshifts to low-speed gear ratios do not cause excessive engine brakes or shift shocks.
When the automatic transmission goes through a clutch-to-clutch downshift, a release-side friction element (or offgoing friction element) is released and an engagement-side friction element (or oncoming friction element) is engaged around at the same time, and therefore the transmission tends to suffer from racing (a rapidly increase in the speed) of its input shaft or a temporary drop (or tie-up) of its output torque. In view of these situations, expensive control equipment that operates with considerably high accuracy may be required to control the engaging pressure for the release-side friction element when it is released and the engaging pressure for the engagement-side friction element when it is engaged. With generally available control apparatus for use in standard vehicles, however, the engaging pressures for the friction elements cannot be controlled with sufficiently high robustness with respect to disturbances, such as braking of the vehicle, and shift shocks may not be sufficiently reduced or suppressed.
It is therefore one object of the invention to provide a shift control apparatus of an automatic transmission with which a clutch-to-clutch downshift during coasting of the vehicle is controlled with sufficiently high robustness with respect to disturbances, such as braking of the vehicle. It is another object of the invention to provide a shift control apparatus of an automatic transmission with which a clutch-to-clutch downshift during coasting is controlled without using high-accuracy control equipment, so that shift shocks are sufficiently reduced even in the event of disturbances, such as braking of the vehicle.
To accomplish the above and/or other object(s), there is provided according to a first aspect of the invention a shift control apparatus of an automatic transmission of a motor vehicle to which a torque is transmitted from an engine via a fluid coupling device, the automatic transmission including a plurality of hydraulically operated friction elements, wherein a clutch-to-clutch downshift is carried out during coasting of the vehicle by releasing one of the friction elements as a release-side friction element and engaging another of the friction elements as an engagement-side friction element. A controller of the shift control apparatus detects a difference between input and output rotation speeds of the fluid coupling device, and increases an engine speed by a controlled amount based on the difference between the input and output rotation speeds when the clutch-to-clutch downshift is carried out during coasting of the vehicle, so that the vehicle is brought into a minimal driving state in which the engine speed is slightly higher than the output rotation speed of the fluid coupling device.
With the shift control apparatus constructed as described above, the engine speed is increased by a controlled amount based on the difference between the input and output rotation speeds of the fluid coupling device when a clutch-to-clutch downshift is effected during coasting of the vehicle. Since the clutch-to-clutch downshift is carried out during coasting while the vehicle is maintained in the minimal driving state as described above, the hydraulic pressures applied to the friction elements associated with the downshift can be controlled with high accuracy owing to reduced torque variation, and sufficient robustness with respect to disturbances, such as braking of the vehicle, can be achieved without requiring high-accuracy control apparatus.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a shift control apparatus of an automatic transmission of a motor vehicle in which a coast downshift is carried out during coasting of the vehicle, the automatic transmission including a plurality of hydraulically operated friction elements. A controller of the shift control apparatus causes the coast downshift to be carried out while the vehicle is kept in a minimal driving state in which an engine speed is slightly higher than an input shaft speed of the automatic transmission, and sets a hydraulic pressure applied to at least one of the friction elements associated with the coast downshift during a shifting period, according to the minimal driving state.
With the shift control apparatus as described above, the hydraulic pressures applied to the hydraulically operated friction elements associated with the coast downshift during the shifting period are set in accordance with the minimal driving state. Thus, the engaging pressures for the friction elements can be appropriately controlled during the shifting period, so that the engaging and releasing actions can be accomplished with high accuracy, irrespective of disturbances such as braking, resulting in sufficiently reduced shift shocks.
According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a shift control apparatus of an automatic transmission of a motor vehicle in which a coast downshift is carried out during coasting while the vehicle is kept in a minimal driving state in which an engine speed is slightly higher than an input shaft speed of the automatic transmission, the automatic transmission including a plurality of hydraulically operated friction elements. A controller of the shift control apparatus controls a hydraulic pressure applied to at least one of the friction elements associated with the coast downshift during a shifting period, according to the minimal driving state, and corrects, by learning, the hydraulic pressure for the at least one friction element during the shifting period.
With the shift control apparatus constructed as described above, the hydraulic pressures applied to the hydraulically operated friction elements associated with the coast downshift during the shifting period are set in accordance with the minimal driving state. Thus, the engaging pressures for the friction elements can be appropriately controlled during the shifting period, so that the engaging and releasing actions can be accomplished with high accuracy, irrespective of disturbances such as braking, resulting in sufficiently reduced shift shocks. In addition, correcting the hydraulic pressures by learning reduces or eliminates differences among individual apparatus or chronological changes, thus assuring improved accuracy in the engaging/releasing actions and significantly reduced shift shocks.

Shift control apparatus of automatic transmission of motor vehicle


Provided is an image forming apparatus having a preview function and an original paper size automatic detection function, capable of displaying a preview of original image data immediately next a detected original paper size has been switched with a simple operation. On receipt of an operation of a next skip button by a user, a preview image display control portion refers to a paper size recording table and displays a preview of image data of a top page in the group (unit) next to the group in which the preview of the image data of the top page is currently displayed, the group being different in a paper size from the other group.

Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-311065 discloses a function of detecting an original paper size, and when the function is used, an original can be copied (printed) with a paper size corresponding to a detection result.
When the function is used, in a case where a bundle of originals in which original paper sizes are different, the bundle of originals is set on an Auto Document Feeder (ADF) and copying is instructed, a copy is automatically made in accordance with an original paper size.
However, when an image forming apparatus erroneously performs original paper size detection, for example, an original with a paper size of A4 is copied as an A3 original, and an A3 original is copied as an A4 original in some cases.
In such a case, a user is required to check all the obtained copies to confirm whether the paper size detection is correctly performed after copying a bundle of originals in which original paper sizes are different.
In a case where paper size detection has been erroneously performed for even one sheet in the bundle of originals in the above checking, it is necessary to make all the copies again, or pick up an erroneously detected original from the bundle of originals, make a copy again with a correct setting to replace the erroneously copied paper.
When a copy is made using an automatic detection function in this manner, a printing member such as copy paper or a toner is wasted in some cases, and additionally, time for making a copy again is wasted.
Meanwhile, an image forming apparatus having a so-called preview display function, for confirming by displaying a printing image (image data) on a display panel or the like before copying or printing has been proposed. The user, with the use of the preview display function, is able to confirm the printing image before making a copy to cut out the waste of the printing member or the trouble of making a copy again.
By the way, in the image forming apparatus having the preview display function, when an instruction of displaying a preview from a user is received, image data of a firstly scanned original is displayed. It is usual that the image data of the original is sequentially displayed sheet (one image data) by sheet thereafter by an instruction operation of the user.
Accordingly, in the case of scanning a bundle of originals consisting of 10 sheets of originals with the paper size of A4 and 10 sheets of A3 originals, and confirming whether or not the paper size detection of originals included in the bundle of originals is performed correctly, it is necessary to operate an instruction button (next display button) and display a preview of image data of the original sheet by sheet sequentially.
In the above example, the user needs to operate the instruction button 10 times for displaying the preview of aimed image data of the original in order to confirm whether or not the paper size detection is performed correctly on the 11th A3 original, however, such an operation is too troublesome for the user.
Meanwhile, in the case of confirming whether or not the paper size detection is performed correctly on the original, it is assumed that the user thinks that he/she may make a copy actually after displaying a preview of original image data immediately after (next) a detected original paper size has been switched, such as from A3 to A4, or original image data before (previous) or after (next) the original image data to confirm that the paper size detection is performed correctly.


An analytical test tape instrument includes an exchangeable test tape unit which comprises a test tape provided with a plurality of test elements to which body fluid can be applied. The test tape instrument also includes a tape drive that can be coupled with the test tape unit to wind the test tape so that the test elements can be successively made available at an application site. The tape drive has a direct current motor and a reduction gear unit arranged between the direct current motor and the test tape unit.

Test tape systems have already been proposed in a number of patent applications from the applicant in order to gain further advantages for the user compared to the strip systems on the market. In addition to a reliable positioning of the test elements, it is also necessary for practical purposes to ensure that their on the spot use is not impaired by excessive noise development.
On this basis it is desireable to further improve the systems proposed in the prior art and to achieve a reliable test element positioning with little interfering noise in a compact assembly.


An interface for an audience response system and method of operation is disclosed, The interface includes a receiving mechanism to receive transmissions from a plurality of hand-held audience response units programmed to transmit data according to a first transmission protocol in response to a user input, where the data comprises response data corresponding to the user input and unit data suitable to identify a particular user. The interface further includes logic to convert the data in the received transmissions into a data package for transmission according to a second transmission protocol, and to selectively control a transmitting mechanism to wirelessly transmit the data package, for example, over a wireless RF network, for example, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max and the like according to the second transmission protocol.

Audience response systems may be used to provide an interactive component to various instructional or informative environments. For example, an instructor may periodically assess a classroom's understanding of the instructional subject matter by inserting a query into a Microsoft PowerPoint, Open Office Impress or other presentation software applications. In another example, a meeting organizer may take "votes" from meeting members on meeting topics quickly and, if desirable, anonymously. In yet another example, tests or other assessments of subject matter mastery may be administered with an audience response system.

Audience response system and method of use


The present invention is a hand-held device for obliterating personal medical information printed on a prescription-labeled bottle. The innovative concept scarifies the label with an abrasive surface to render the printing unreadable.

One of the fastest growing types of identity theft in the US is Medical Identity Theft (MIT) of personal health information. Like traditional identity theft, MIT costs consumers hundreds of millions of dollars annually; but unlike traditional identity theft, MIT can potentially result in harm to a person's health.
MIT can occur at interfaces such as the doctor's office, the pharmacy, the healthcare insurer, the delivery carrier and even through the internet. Most of these services provide the consumer with little or no control over how their private medical information is displayed on documents and labels.
Access for MIT is as near as a victim's own trash. Most people are casual about their trash, although some, increasingly more, shred financial documents to avoid "dumpster divers" from stealing personal identity information. Ironically, however, most people do not think of their RX bottle as a source of personal information, and one's medical prescription bottles are not typically shred-able.
The data contained on a prescription-labeled bottle sometimes includes, in addition to the patient's name, the patient's address, type of medication prescribed, doctor's name, and pharmacy name, address and phone. The data also includes the number of refills available. The name of the drug printed on the label reveals the disease or condition being treated, which is regarded as highly sensitive personal information for many.
While a medical ID thief can obtain or pay for health care treatment and medications using another's medical information, the health record relied upon for repeat or chronic treatment can also be corrupted. The result could be devastating in more than a financial way. Delivery of critical, or life-sustaining, medications to one could be compromised by the false records created by another. Unexpectedly used up refills and terminated medical insurance could cause a victim inconvenience at best and loss of critical service at worst.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule in the US requires "covered entities" to safeguard protected health information (PHI). This includes prohibitions regarding the disposal of prescription-labeled bottles. Thus, the problem of removing PHI from refuse is not just a domestic problem but extends into the public domains of pharmacy and hospital.
The prior art field dealing with expunging medical information treats the problem on more of an institutional scale rather than one appropriate to a home or professional office. U.S. Pat. No. 8,459,578 to Fischer, for example, discloses a label peeling apparatus which includes a motor, gears, linkage arms and a table-mounted housing. The unfulfilled need is for a small hand-held tool for individual use.


A method for proactively creating a photo product includes storing a library of points of interest in a computer storage, detecting one or more images from a user, automatically extracting image capture locations from the images, automatically comparing the image capture locations with the points of interest in the library to obtain one or more identified points of interest, automatically identifying an occasion based on the identified points of interest in the library, automatically selecting, by the computer processor, a photo product type in part based on the occasion, automatically creating a design of a photo product of the photo product type using one or more images from the user, and manufacturing a physical photo product based on the photo product design.

In recent years, photography has been rapidly transformed from chemical-based technologies to digital imaging technologies. Images captured by digital cameras and mobile phones can be stored in computers and viewed on display devices. Users can also produce image prints based on the digital images. Such image prints can be generated locally using output devices such an inkjet printer or a dye sublimation printer or remotely by a photo printing service provider. Other products that can be produced using the digital images can include photo books, photo calendars, photo mug, photo T-shirt, and so on. A photo book can include a cover page and a plurality of image pages each containing one or more images. Designing a photobook can include many iterative steps such as selecting suitable images, selecting layout, selecting images for each page, selecting backgrounds, picture frames, overall Style, add text, choose text font, and rearrange the pages, images and text, which can be quite time consuming. It is desirable to provide methods to allow users to design and produce photo albums in a time efficient manner.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Described herein is a diffusion-based ex-situ group V element doping method in the CdCl2 heat-treated polycrystalline CdTe film. The ex-situ doping using group V halides, such as PCl3, AsCl3, SbCl3, or BiCl3, demonstrated a promising PCE of ˜18% and long-term light soaking stability in CdSe/CdTe and CdS/CdTe devices with decent carrier concentration>1015 cm−3. This ex-situ solution or vapor process can provide a low-cost alternative pathway for effective doping of As, as well as P, Sb, and Bi, in CdTe solar cells with limited deviation from the current CdTe manufacturing process.

Polycrystalline cadmium telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic (PV) devices are one of the most successful commercial thin film solar cell technologies with record power conversion efficiency (PCE)>22% (M. A. Green et al., Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, 2019, 27, 565-575; A. Polman et al., Science, 2016, 352, aad4424). Making a high PCE CdTe device demands extrinsic doping to achieve a high carrier concentration and long carrier lifetime, which would lead to a high open-circuit voltage (Voc) and short-circuit current (Jsc). For example, Cu (Group 1) doping in polycrystalline CdTe solar cells lead to a record Voc˜880 mV with a champion efficiency of 22.1% (J. M. Burst et al., Nature Energy, 2016, 1, 16015; Y. Zhao et al., Nature Energy, 2016, 1, 16067). However, the superior performance of polycrystalline CdTe compared to that of the monocrystalline CdTe could benefit from the Cl and dopant passivated grain boundaries to enhance the photogenerated carrier transport and collection (J. J. Becker et al., IEEE J Photovoltaics, 2017, 7, 900-905; C. Li et al., Phys Rev Lett, 2014, 112, 156103; L. Zhang et al., Phys Rev Lett, 2008, 101, 155501; J. D. Major, Semiconductor Sci Technol, 2016, 31, 093001). The excellent polycrystalline CdTe device performance is at the expense of photovoltage loss, which significantly obstructs the CdTe devices to overcome the 25% goal with a Voc>1V to further boost the solar energy application (T. Ablekim et al., ACS Appl Energy Mater, 2018, 1, 5135-5139; B. E. McCandless et al., Sci Rep, 2018, 8, 14519-14519). In addition, the most popular Cu doping in polycrystalline CdTe causes reliability issues due to the rapid migration of Cu and its complicated defect interactions (D. Guo, et al., J Physics D: Appl Phys, 2018, 51; D. Grecu et al., J Appl Phys, 2000, 88, 2490-2496; D. Kuciauskas et al., Appl Phys Lett, 2015, 107, 243906; D. Krasikov and I. Sankin, J Mater Chem A, 2017, 5, 3503-3513; J.-H. Yang et al., J Appl Phys, 2016, 119, 045104). For instance, the Cu can stay at Cd sites to act as shallow acceptors (CuCd) and increase the hole concentration (D. Kuciauskas et al., Appl Phys Lett, 2015, 107, 243906). However, Cu may enter interstitial sites and become a donor (i.e., hole killer) to reduce the p-type conduction of CdTe. Meanwhile, Cuca can interact with the Cl interstitials (Cli) and Cl substitution on Te sites (ClTe) to form CuCd—Cli and CuCd—ClTe complexes (D. Krasikov and I. Sankin, J Mater Chem A, 2017, 5, 3503-3513). These undesired Cu interstitials and Cu related defect complexes could also limit the polycrystalline CdTe device performance improvement to PCE>25%. Moreover, the fast migration of Cu and Cu related defects could also lead to significant degradation of the Cu doped CdTe solar panel within the 25-year warranty.
To address the low open-circuit voltage and poor reliability issues associated with Cu doping in the polycrystalline CdTe PV devices, group V elements doping (i.e., P, As, Sb and Bi elements) were extensively investigated because, these group V dopants possess larger radii than that of Cu ion, which can lead to a slow ion migration (i.e., slow degradation), and also expect to occupy Te sites to form shallow acceptors to increase the hole concentration (M. A. Flores, et al., Phys Rev B, 2017, 96; T. Ablekim, et al., Sci Rep, 2017, 7; A. Nagaoka, et al., Appl Phys Lett, 2017, 111, 232103; G. L. Burton, et al., Sol Energ Mater Sol C, 2018, 182, 68-75). For example, the promising results for the Voc above 1 V were demonstrated in the P doped monocrystalline CdTe device with an efficiency of 17%, As doped monocrystalline CdTe obtains a Voc˜901 mV (A. Nagaoka, et al., Appl Phys Lett, 2018, 112, 192101;) and Sb doped polycrystalline CdTe has achieved Voc˜760 mV (Khan, Imran Suhrid, Graduate Theses and Disertations, 2018). Most recently, it was successfully demonstrated that in-situ As doped polycrystalline CdTe using vapor transport deposition (VTD) achieved a Voc 856 mV and an efficiency>20% in CdSe/CdTe devices (W. K. Metzger et al., Nature Energy, 2019). Although these record efficiency and Voc values are slightly lower than that of Cu doped record CdTe cell (22.1%), it creates a pathway to achieve long-term reliability of CdTe solar modules.
Traditionally, in-situ extrinsic doping of group V elements was widely performed during the CdTe deposition, and it successfully achieved a high doping concentration and long carrier lifetime. For example, in-situ Sb, As, and P doping using CdSb, Cd3As2, and Cd3P2 as dopant sources during the VTD CdTe deposition (B. E. McCandless et al., Sci Rep, 2018, 8, 14519-14519). In-situ As doping of polycrystalline CdTe films have also been demonstrated by using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) using [(CH3)2N]3As gas (G. Kartopu et al., Sol Energy Mater Sol C, 2019, 194, 259-267; A. Danielson et al., MOCVD Deposition of Group V Doped CdTe in Sublimated CdTe and CdSeTe Devices, 2018; A. V. Chilyasov et al., Inorg Mater, 2016, 52, 1210-1214), traveling heater method using As shot (A. Nagaoka, et al., Appl Phys Lett, 2018, 112, 192101) electrodeposition using AsCl3 (J. P. Nair et al., Semiconductor Sci Technol, 1998, 13, 340-344; R. N. Bhattacharya and K. Rajeshwar, J Appl Phys, 1985, 58, 3590-3593), elemental vapor transport (EVT) using As gas (S. Farrell et al., J. Electron. Mater, 2015, 44, 3202-3206) and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) using Asine (AsH3) (G. Burton et al., Solar Eng. Mater. Solar Cells, 2016). However, the successful bulk in-situ group V element doping using VTD face various challenges. For example, the addition of group V dopants during the polycrystalline CdTe film deposition (at ˜600° C. substrate temperature) or single crystal growth by the blend of CdTe with dopant sources still needs the following CdCl2 treatment (at ˜ 400° C.) to passivate grain boundaries and activate doping concentration (B. E. McCandless et al., Sci Rep, 2018, 8, 14519-14519; W. K. Metzger et al., Nature Energy, 2019). However, the high-temperature CdCl2 treatment and activation process (˜400° C.) will also limit the activation rate in the in-situ group V doping.
Moreover, the Group V doping process performed at the beginning of the CdTe module manufacturing could leave a significant As footprint in the manufacturing line, which could increase the As exposure risk and hence require extra protection and cost during the manufacturing. Additionally, the group V dopants were introduced at 1-2 at. % level (corresponding to ˜1020 cm−3 dopants if incorporated) during the in-situ group V element doping, which is much higher than the doping demands since the doping activation efficiency is only ˜1-5% to produce about 10-100 ppm doping concentration (B. E. McCandless et al., Sci Rep, 2018, 8, 14519-14519). In other words, most of the group V dopant source (e.g., Cd3As2), i.e., >95%, in the CdTe act as non-active impurities (A. Nagaoka, et al., Appl Phys Express, 2019, 12, 081002). These semi-metal Cd3As2 residual non-active dopant sources would significantly impede the electron transport and suppress the device efficiency improvement for group V doping due to the excess Cd and As related defect formation (S. Grover et al., IEEE Photovoltaics, 2017; T. Liang et al., Phys Rev Lett, 2017, 118, 136601). More importantly, localized segregation of the group V dopants and impurity cluster formation (e.g., As2Te3) were predicted in theory and experimentally observed in the in-situ As doped CdTe (H. Duan et al., J Phys Chem Solids, 2013, 74, 57-64; V. Barrioz et al., MRS Proceedings, 2007, 1012, 1012-Y1012-1008), which will not contribute to the hole concentration (G. L. Burton et al., Sol Energ Mater Sol C, 2018, 182, 68-75; V. Barrioz et al., MRS Proceedings, 2007, 1012, 1012-Y1012-1008 V. Barrioz, et al., MRS Proceedings, 2007, 1012, 1012-Y1012-1008). Particularly, the in-situ group V doping during the CdCl2 heat treatment to passivate the as-grown group V element doped CdTe film could further increase the complicated defect chemistry in CdTe through Cl incorporation (A. Nagaoka et al., Appl Phys Lett, 2017, 111, 232103; A. Nagaoka et al., Appl Phys Express, 2019, 12, 081002; B. McCandless et al., IEEE J Photovoltaics, 2019, 9, 912-917; J. H. Park et al., J Electron Mater, 2014, 43, 2998-3003). In addition, existing ex-situ group-V doping efforts during the high temperature CdTe deposition use Cd3P2, Cd3As2 or Cd3Sb2 as the doping sources. In this case, P, As and Sb are negatively charged ions that have a much lower diffusion rate than those positively charged ions (i.e., PCl3, AsCl3, SbCl3 and BiCl3). Therefore, existing ex-situ diffusion requires a higher temperature to activate the dopants, which may damage CdTe absorber layers. Meanwhile, the extra Cd ions from the existing ex-situ Group V doping may also disturb the Cd vacancies conditions in the CdTe absorbers. Thus, what is needed are new methods for doping cadmium telluride films with group V elements. The methods disclosed herein address these and other needs.

Diffusion based ex-situ group V (P, As, Sb, Bi) doping in polycrystalline CdTe thin film solar cells

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA


A soy protein isolate that has increased amounts of isoflavones and saponins and a high Nitrogen Solubility Index (“NSI”) is produced by a process that involves ultrafiltration and the avoidance of isoelectric precipitation. The soy protein isolate has at least about 90.0 wt. % protein of total dry matter; an isoflavone content of at least about 1.0 mg/g isoflavones of total dry matter; a Nitrogen Solubility Index (“NSI”) of at least about 75%; and wherein a solution of about 12.0 wt. % of the soy protein isolate in water at a temperature of about 22° C. has a viscosity of less than about 500 centipoise (cp). The isolate is high in saponins and has at least 2.0 mg/g soyasapogenols. The process for producing the soy protein isolate involves removing fiber from a defatted soybean material and obtaining liquor that is subsequently pasteurized. Next, sugars and other small molecular weight components are removed from the liquor using membrane separation with diafiltration while retaining isoflavones and saponins and the resulting retentate is subjected to pasteurization, and optionally spray dried.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a high solubility, low viscosity, isoflavone enriched vegetable protein isolate and a process for producing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
The benefits of soy protein are well documented. Cholesterol is a major concern with consumers throughout the industrialized world. It is well known that vegetable products contain no cholesterol. For decades, nutritional studies have indicated that the inclusion of soy protein in the diet actually reduces serum cholesterol levels in people who are at risk. The higher the cholesterol, the more effective soy proteins are in lowering that level.
Soybeans have the highest protein content of all cereals and legumes. In particular, soybeans have about 40.0 wt. % protein, while other legumes have between 20.0 wt. % and 30.0 wt. % protein, and cereals have between about 8.0 wt. % and 15.0 wt. % protein. Soybeans also contain about 20.0 wt. % oil, and the remaining dry matter is mostly carbohydrates (about 35.0 wt. %). In the soybean, both protein and lipid bodies are contained in the usable meat of the soybean, called the cotyledon. The complex carbohydrate (dietary fiber) is also contained in the cell walls of the cotyledon. The outer layer of cells (the seed coat) makes up about 8.0 wt. % of the soybean's total weight. A typical raw soybean includes approximately 18.0 wt. % oil, 15.0 wt. % soluble carbohydrates, 15.0 wt. % insoluble carbohydrates, 14.0 wt. % moisture and ash, and 38.0 wt. % protein.
In processing, soybeans are carefully selected for color and size. The soybeans are then cleaned, conditioned (to make removal of the hull easier) and cracked, dehulled and then rolled into flakes. The flakes are subjected to a solvent bath that removes the oil. The solvent is removed and the flakes are dried, creating the defatted soy flakes that are the basis of all soy protein products. Despite the large number of products on the market, there are only three types of soy protein products: flours, concentrates, and isolates.
Soy flours are the simplest forms of soy protein, having a protein content of approximately 50.0 wt. %. Soy flours are produced by simply grinding and screening the defatted flakes. This simple processing leaves the soy flour with many of the soybean's characteristics. The lack of processing also makes soy flours highly variable in terms of quality.
Soy flours and grits are still widely produced and are used most often in baked goods, snack foods and pet foods applications where the high flavor profile does not pose a problem. Textured soy flours were an early attempt at simulating or enhancing the texture of meat products. Texturizing does not change the composition of soy flours and reduces the flavor profile only slightly. The primary applications of texturized soy flours are inexpensive meat products or pet foods.
Soy concentrates have at least 65.0 wt. % protein. Soy protein concentrates are made by removing soluble carbohydrate material from defatted soy meal. Aqueous alcohol extraction (60-80% ethanol) or acid leaching (at the isoelectric pH 4.5 of the protein) are the most common means for carbohydrate removal. In both aqueous alcohol extraction and acid leaching, however, essentially all of the protein is rendered insoluble. Protein solubility may be recovered in acid leach products by neutralization. A myriad of applications have been developed for soy concentrates and texturized concentrates in processed foods, meat, poultry, fish, cereal and dairy systems.
Isolates are produced through standard chemical isolation, drawing the protein out of the defatted flake through solubilization (alkali extraction at pH 7-10) and separation followed by isoelectric precipitation. As a result, isolates are at least 90.0 wt. % protein on a moisture-free basis. They are sometimes high in sodium and minerals (ash content), a property that can limit their application. Their major applications have been in dairy substitution, as in infant formulas and milk replacers.
Isoflavones occur in a variety of leguminous plants and oilseeds, including vegetable protein materials such as soybeans. These compounds generally include daidzin, 6″-O-acetyldaidzin, 6″-O-malonyldaidzin, daidzein, genistin, 6″-O-acetylgenistin, 6″-O-malonylgenistin, genistein, glycitin, 6″-O-malonylglycitin, glycitein, biochanin A, and formononetin.
It has recently been suggested that the isoflavones contained in vegetable proteins such as soybeans may inhibit the growth of human cancer cells, such as breast cancer cells, prostate cancer cells and colon cancer cells. In addition, it has been suggested that isoflavones reduce cardiovascular risk factors, for example by reducing the levels of atherosclerosis inducing lipoproteins and low-density cholesterol and by increasing endothelial dependent vasodilation response. Isoflavones are also showing promise in preventing osteoporosis and treating menopausal symptoms.
Isoflavone compounds have been associated with an inherent, bitter flavor in vegetable protein materials such as soybeans. In the commercial production of such protein materials, such as protein isolates and protein concentrates, the focus has been to remove isoflavone compounds. For example, in a conventional process for the production of a soy protein isolate, soy flakes are extracted with an aqueous medium having a pH above the isoelectric point of the protein to solubilize the protein. The extract containing the protein is separated from insoluble fiber materials to provide a protein extract. Most of the isoflavones are solubilized in the extract as well as the protein. The protein is precipitated by acid leaching, i.e., adjusting the pH of the extract to about the isoelectric point of the protein, typically between 4.2 and 4.6 for soy protein, with an acid. The precipitated protein is then separated from the extract. Much of the isoflavones remain solubilized in the extract following separation of the precipitated protein (curd) from the extract; however, some of the isoflavones are usually present in the precipitated curd. After separation of the precipitated protein curd from the extract, the extract and the isoflavones solubilized therein are usually discarded. Any residual isoflavones left in the separated protein are removed by exhaustive washing of the protein to ensure that the taste associated with the isoflavones is not present in the protein. Therefore, these commercial isolates contain essentially no isoflavones.
It is desirable, however, to provide an isoflavone rich protein material, and a process for producing the same, which is suitable for administration in a diet. Such an isoflavone rich protein material can be used to provide the nutritional benefits of the protein and the health benefits of the isoflavones when administered in a diet.
It is known to produce a protein material which includes isoflavones by a process that involves subjecting a vegetable material containing protein and isoflavones to extraction with an aqueous extractant having a pH above the isoelectric point of the protein material to obtain an extract that contains isoflavones and protein. The pH of the extract is adjusted to about the isoelectric point of the protein material to precipitate a protein curd containing isoflavones. The protein curd is separated from the extract at a temperature of about 20° C. to about 32° C., and optionally washed with only a controlled amount of water, such that many of the isoflavones which are in the precipitated protein curd remain in the resulting isolate. However, because most of the isoflavones remain in the extract when the protein is precipitated at the isoelectric point of the protein, and are subsequently discarded along with the extract, the isoflavone content of these isolates is low, typically below about 0.75 mg/g of total dry matter.
Further, processes that involve the use of isoelectric precipitation, such as those discussed above, reduce the water solubility of the proteins, which is measured by the nitrogen solubility index ("NSI") of the product. In particular, isolates which are produced by processes which involve the use of isoelectric precipitation have an NSI of below about 70%. Isoelectric precipitation and subsequent neutralization also adds minerals to the product, which increases the ash content.
Water solubility of isolates produced using isoelectric precipitation may be increased with heat treatment of the neutralized protein isolate suspension; however, such heat treatment also increases the viscosity of the finished product such that, an increase in the NSI of such products to above 70% by heat treatment also provides a product having a high viscosity, for example, of at least 2,000 centipoise (cp) when reconstituted in water at a 12.0 wt. % solution at a temperature of about 22° C.
Soybeans contain about 0.5 wt. % saponins. Soy saponins have been the subject of investigation since the early 20th century. These compounds consist of a triterpenoid skeleton with various sugar and acetyl moieties. The current consensus is that soyasapogenols A, B and E are true aglycons, while other soyasapogenols are artifacts of hydrolysis conditions. The corresponding glycosides are the so-called "group A saponins", "group B saponins", and "group E saponins", respectively.
Soy saponins have demonstrated anti-mutagenic properties that make them promising agents for cancer prophylaxis. Moreover, group B soy saponins have exhibited pronounced suppressive effects on the replication in vitro of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The chemical structure of soybean saponins is very similar to that of the compound glycyrrhizin, a known anti-viral agent, so soy saponins show promise as building blocks for the synthesis of anti-viral pharmaceutical compounds.
Despite the cultivation and processing of very large quantities of soybeans, at the present time soy saponins are not a significant article of commerce due to the difficulty of isolating and purifying them.
Bowman-Birk Inhibitor Concentrate ("BBIC") has been shown to exhibit inhibitory activity against the malignant transformation of cells under certain conditions and its administration has been shown to affect various forms of cancer.
In particular, it has been shown that the enzyme-inhibitor described by Bowman (Proc. Soc. Expd. Med., 63:547 (1946)) and Birk et al. (Bull. Res. Council Israel, Sec. A 11:48 (1962) and Biochim. Biophys Acta, 67:326 (1963)), which is found in soybeans and is subsequently referred to as the Bowman-Birk Inhibitor ("BBI"), can prevent, or greatly reduce, radiologically or chemically induced malignant transformation of cells in culture and in experimental animals.
The present invention provides and produces a soy protein isolate that has a high nitrogen solubility index, and a lower viscosity, higher isoflavones content, and higher saponins content than the conventionally available soy protein isolates.

Process for producing a high solubility, low viscosity, isoflavone-enriched soy protein isolate and the products thereof


Techniques for controlling HARQ processes in uplink communication to implement low latency communication are disclosed. One aspect of the present invention relates to user equipment, comprising: a transmission and reception unit configured to transmit and receive radio signals to/from a base station; and an HARQ process control unit configured to control multiple HARQ processes for uplink communication with the base station, wherein the HARQ process control unit asynchronously transmits uplink data from the multiple HARQ processes to the base station in accordance with a predetermined transmission method allowing the base station to identify a transmitting HARQ process of received uplink data.

In LTE (Long Term Evolution) systems, a high throughput can be achieved through fast retransmission using an HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request). The HARQ is performed in a MAC (Medium Access Control) layer, and in LTE standard, the number of HARQ processes managed at user equipment (UE) and a base station (evolved NodeB: eNB) is determined depending on cell duplex modes and so on. Also, if carrier aggregation is configured, an HARQ entity is configured for each cell or component carrier (CC) as illustrated in FIG. 1, and the respective HARQ entities maintain multiple HARQ processes.
In transmission and reception operations between user equipment and a base station, data is processed on a per HARQ process basis identified by an HARQ process number. Typically, asynchronous transmission is used in downlink communication, and the base station can transmit data from the HARQ processes at arbitrary timings as long as the timings are separated longer than a predetermined period (for example, 8 ms in FDD (Frequency Division Duplex)) from the previous transmission of the HARQ processes. Meanwhile, synchronous transmission is used in uplink communication, and the user equipment retransmits data from the HARQ processes at a predetermined cycle (8 ms) as illustrated in FIG. 2. Specifically, as illustrated, upon receiving an uplink grant from the base station, for example, the user equipment starts the HARQ process #0 to transmit uplink data from the respective HARQ processes #1 to #7. Typically, the HARQ process number is uniquely determined at the initial transmission timing of a PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel) and is not explicitly indicated to the base station.
According to the LTE standard, a transport block (TB) is decoded in accordance with a decoding procedure as illustrated in FIG. 3. First, upon receiving the transport block, at step S11, the MAC layer confirms the HARQ process number of the transport block and determines whether the transport block has been newly transmitted or retransmitted. If the transport block has been newly transmitted, the MAC layer decodes the transport block at step S12 and determines whether the decoding result is successful at step S13. If the decoding result is successful, the MAC layer forwards the decoding result to a disassembly and demultiplexing entity at step S14 and transmits an ACK at step S15. On the other hand, if the decoding result is not successful at step S13, the MAC layer stores data attempted for decoding in a soft buffer at step S16 and transmits a NACK at step S17.
On the other hand, if the transport block has been retransmitted at step S11, at step S18, the MAC layer determines whether the transport block has been successfully decoded before. If the transport block has been successfully decoded before, at step S19, the MAC layer transmits the ACK. On the other hand, if the transport block has not been successfully decoded before, at step S20, the MAC layer combines the transport block with data in the soft buffer. The MAC layer decodes the combined transport block at step S21 and determines whether the decoding result is successful at step S22. If the decoding result is successful, at step S19, the MAC layer transmits the ACK. On the other hand, if the decoding result is not successful, the MAC layer stores data attempted for decoding at step S23 and transmits the NACK at step S24.
In the fifth generation (5G) communication, three typical use cases as illustrated in FIG. 4 are assumed. Specifically, the three use cases are a use case where mobile broadband is further developed, a use case such as IoT (Internet of Things) where everything is connected to networks and a use case where highly reliable and ultra-low latency communication is achieved.


An outboard motor for mounting on the transom of a boat, has a horizontal engine and output shaft, an exhaust system having a high speed exhaust discharge includes a horizontal portion and a vertical portion having an enlarged cross sectional water jacketed muffler within a water chamber having a retaining wall defining the water level, and a low speed exhaust discharge extending from the muffler into a conduit having an end disposed below the water level of said water chamber, a low speed exhaust gas expansion chamber receiving exhaust gas and expelling same to the atmosphere. The outboard motor is tiltable and provides an enclosure for the engine area including a cowling, hood, and moveable hood section and a sleeve between the moveable hood and engine to perfect enclosure during tilting.

This invention relates to an outboard motor, and more particularly, to an improved outboard motor having a compact configuration with an improved exhaust system having both a main high speed underwater discharge and a low speed exhaust gas discharge opening to the atmosphere.
It is well known in marine engines to silence the exhaust gases emanating from the engine, be it either an inboard or an outboard mounted engine, by passing them through the body of water in which the watercraft is operated. This is normally accomplished by a form of underwater exhaust gas discharge, such as those that discharge the exhaust gases through the hub of the propeller.
At high speed, the boat is typically raised upwardly causing a shallow immersion for the hub of the propeller and which, combination with the rearward motion of the water, facilitates the flow of exhaust gases through the hub of the propeller. However, when the watercraft is operating at low speed, the underwater exhaust gas discharge will become relatively deeply submerged, and this submergence coupled with the relatively low exhaust gas pressure in the exhaust path during low speed operation can give rise to high back pressure in the exhaust system.
High back pressure in the exhaust gas system impedes engine operation at low speeds. For that reason, it is the normal practice to employ a further, low speed, above the water discharge for discharging the exhaust gases directly to the atmosphere without flowing through the body of water in which the watercraft is operating under this low speed running condition.
Normally, the above water exhaust gas discharge is generally open under all conditions, and the flow path to it is provided with restrictions so as to ensure against excess noise when operating under high speed conditions. However, the above water exhaust gas discharge is typically just large enough to handle idling speed exhaust gases yet small enough to cause the bulk of the exhaust gases to become routed to the underwater exhaust at high engine speeds.
Insofar as other aspects of outboard motor design are concerned, conventional outboard motors generally are affixed so that they extend just rearwardly of the transom of a watercraft and include a driveshaft housing in which a vertically positioned driveshaft is journaled for driving a propulsion unit in the lower unit to propel the watercraft. An internal combustion engine is normally mounted in a power head above the driveshaft housing and has its output shaft directly coupled to the driveshaft for driving the propulsion unit.
Although this type of construction may have some advantages, it naturally lends itself to a limited length exhaust scheme, and little space for other features.
In addition to the aforenoted defects of the conventional type outboard motors, there are certain other defects which have been overcome by outboard motors having a construction of the type shown in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 661,430, filed Feb. 25, 1991, entitled "Exhaust System for Outboard Motor" filed in the name of Susumu Yamazaki, which application is assigned to the assignee hereof now U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,654. That outboard motor obviates the deficiencies of conventional outboard motors by placing the powering engine substantially forwardly of the transom of the watercraft and extending in a horizontally disposed position so that the engine output shaft rotates about a horizontally disposed axis. This configuration provides for an elongate, tuned, water jacketed exhaust system. This advantageous exhaust system pivots about the generally vertically extending steering axis and tilts about the generally horizontally extending pivot axis. The exhaust of the above-mentioned co-pending application is sufficiently silenced and cooled before being expelled in a high speed underwater discharge. Although such an arrangement has excellent advantages, there is some additional advantage to insuring that the exhaust gases produced during idle or at trolling speed are also sufficiently silenced and cooled before being expelled, and that a system for doing so is not accomplished against the significant back pressure inherent in the main exhaust route during idling or at trolling speed.


A cosmetic container is manufactured as a pouch type to accommodate a small amount of liquid cosmetics. The pouch-type liquid color makeup container facilitates confirmation of whether the container is initially opened and exhibition and selling of the container in a vending machine and the like while enabling cosmetic materials to be conveniently carried and used indoors/outdoors through the attachment/detachment of a cap and the entrance/exit of cosmetic tools. A cap attachment/detachment and cosmetic tool entrance/exit and rail movement guide are provided in a discharge member of a pouch manufactured so as to receive and portably carry a small amount of liquid cosmetics, such as lip gloss, mascara, and eyeliner; enabling detailed application by being stably held, thereby enabling various demands of young people sensitive to color to be satisfied.

In general, cosmetics are contained in a cosmetic container in the form of powder or liquid, which is sealed by a cap However, liquid color cosmetics, such as lip gloss, mascara, eyeliner, and the like, may not be completely sealed due to their characteristics, or may be hardened or deteriorated when used for a long period of time, and may be contained in a liquid cosmetic container with a limited space at a small amount for distribution.
In addition, since such liquid color cosmetics generally have to use a separate cosmetic brush or tip when used, the liquid cosmetics are manufactured and sold by additionally installing a separate cosmetic brush or tip on the cap of the container for the user's convenience. In most cases, the price is also relatively high compared to general cosmetics.
Therefore, once such color cosmetics are purchased, the color cosmetics are used for a relatively long period of time, and therefore, users who are sensitive to color and want various expressions, or users with relatively low economic power, cannot freely express various expressions using color cosmetics.
As a related art, there has been disclosed Korea registered utility model No. 20-0414842 (entitled 'Pouch-type color cosmetic container', hereinafter, referred to as 'patent document 1'), where a discharge member, which can couple or separate a cap to which a brush or tip as a cosmetic tool is attached, is installed on an upper portion of a pouch of the liquid color cosmetic container manufactured in a pouch type.
In patent document 1, the discharge member capable of attaching a brush to the pouch manufactured to store a small amount of color cosmetics such as lip gloss, mascara, and the like, so that it breaks away from the design of the existing cosmetic container and at the same time, is conveniently used by taking the cosmetic material contained in the pouch into the brush. In addition, it is possible to satisfy the needs of young people who are sensitive to color by providing a variety of low-volume, multi-colored cosmetic containers.
However, since the conventional color cosmetic container described above has a relatively short length of the cap for storage or carrying, when the cap is used as a handle and the lips, eyebrows, eyeliner, or the like are touched with a cosmetic brush or tip, it is difficult to securely grip the cap, so that the use of the cap is not appropriate when an elaborate or fine touch is required.
Accordingly, in recent years, there is a need to provide a pouch-type cosmetic container that contains a small amount of color cosmetics to be stored and carried and easily and perform fine touching indoors and outdoors inexpensively without burdening the price.

Pouch-type liquid color makeup container


The disclosure relates to a method and system for downhole processing of data, such as images, including using a set of downhole sensors to measure parameters relative to the borehole at a plurality of depths and azimuths and detecting predetermined features of the borehole, using a downhole processor, with a trained machine-learning model and extracting characterization data, characterizing the shape and position of the predetermined features that are transmitted to the surface. It also provides a method and system for providing an image of a geological formation at the surface including transmitting a first dataset to the surface that will be used for reconstructing an image at the surface, downhole processing of a second dataset to detect predetermined features and extract characterization data that are transmitted at the surface and displaying a combined image comprising the predetermined features overlaid on the first image.

The disclosure relates to a system and method for providing an image of a geological formation and/or for processing data relative to the formation acquired downhole.
A plurality of downhole measurements for measuring the properties of a geological formation, such as resistivity, acoustic properties, density, etc. may be taken in the borehole in order to obtain information relative to the formation properties. The downhole measurements may be taken at a plurality of locations and processed in order to be presented as an image of the borehole showing the property as a function of depth and azimuth. In other words, high-resolution measurements are taken along depth and azimuthal position in the wellbore, thus generating 2-dimensional arrays referred to as "borehole images".
Borehole images of a geological formation contain rock structural features relative to the formations and also can respond to irregularities in the borehole shape. The rock structural feature are defined in the following as any spatial arrangement of rock whether naturally occurring or due to borehole damage or rugosity during the drilling activity. Rock structural features may include features intrinsic to the geological formation such as layer boundaries (or bedding), porosity, natural fractures, texture of the rock including vugs, irregular boundaries, such as stylolites. Rock structural features may also include geomechanical features including stress features such as breakouts or induced fractures or features related to drilling, including hole shape changes due to the drilling process.
Borehole images that measure different properties can provide complementary information regarding such rock structural features. For example, resistivity images are generally sensitive to intrinsic rock structural features (such as layer boundaries) whereas ultrasonic images respond strongly to variations in the borehole surface due to mechanical or drilling processes (such as hole shape, fractures, breakouts etc). Similarly, density images respond to lithology and porosity whereas resistivity images are sensitive to water content and connectivity.
The interpretation of these images is used extensively to characterize the formation and take decisions about the next steps of the operations. A full set of data is recorded in the downhole tools memory but this is only accessible when the tools are back on surface. When the images are required during drilling, transmission of the image information to the surface may allow decisions to be made during the operations phase.
However, and in particular when the measurements are acquired while drilling, in most cases, low telemetry rates are available from downhole to surface. For instance, mud pulse telemetry generally used when data are acquired during drilling, or a slickline cable allowing limited communication, do not enable a high rate of data transmission to the surface.
The bit rate (or amount of data transmitted per unit of time) has an upper limit, which is imposed by the telemetry system used for the acquisition. Typical maximum bit rate values for mud pulse telemetry systems may be 6 to 8 bits per second (bps) for a whole bottom-hole assembly (BHA). This generally comprises real-time measurements from multiple drilling and logging tools (possibly with multiple measurements per tool) each of which has to share a fraction of the total transmission bit rate with the other tools of the tool string.
Data transmission of an image requires a high proportion of the available telemetry bandwidth (even with data compression) of such telemetry systems, and the result is that, in practice, a single compressed borehole image is almost always the maximum information that can be sent from downhole to surface when telemetry rate is limited—such as in a drilling context. Where more than one borehole image is acquired during the drilling phase, a choice has to be made as to which image to transmit and all of the information obtained from the measurements cannot be transmitted at the surface in real-time. This limitation impacts the decision making as different images contain different types of information about the formations and borehole condition.

Methods for transmitting data acquired downhole by a downhole tool


A tray for storing and transporting bottles includes a plurality of spaced apart base walls each for supporting a bottle thereon. A pair of opposed side walls and a plurality of interior columns are connected by a plurality of dividers. The dividers also connect the columns and the side walls to the base wall. Each divider includes a lower end having spaced apart pocket walls each connected to a different one of the base walls.

The present invention relates to a stackable low depth tray for storing and transporting beverages containers, such as bottles.
Plastic bottles are widely used as containers for soft drinks and other beverages. These bottles are often stored and transported in trays, particularly plastic trays. There are many known tray designs that are referred to as "low depth" trays in which the side and end walls are lower than the height of the stored bottles, and in which the bottles support the weight of additional trays and bottles stacked thereon.
It is desirable to reduce the nesting height of empty trays, to reduce the storage and transportation costs and space required. At the same time, it is desirable to have sufficient lateral support for the bottles to enhance the stability of stacks of loaded trays.


Disclosed is an electric parking brake commonly used as a single puller type or a dual puller type. The electric parking brake includes an actuator housing; a parking cable connected to a brake that applies braking force to wheels of a vehicle; a motor generating driving force to operate the parking brake; a reduction gear unit for transferring power of the motor; a screw nut unit including a gear member connected to the gear reduction unit, a nut member connected to the gear member, and a screw member connected to a first parking cable of the parking cable while moving relative to the nut member; and a displacement sensor connected to the nut member of the screw nut unit. The displacement sensor includes a sensor housing, a magnet housing that moves relative to the sensor housing, a magnet elastic member elastically supported between the sensor housing and the magnet housing, a magnet provided in the magnet housing, and a hall IC provided in the sensor housing. The magnet housing is coupled with a second parking cable of the parking cable or the actuator housing.

1. Field
The disclosure relates to an electric parking brake installed in a vehicle. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a cable puller type electric parking brake commonly used as a dual puller type or a single puller type.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an electric parking brake (EPB) applies braking force to wheels of a vehicle in order to prevent the wheels from being rotated in such a manner that the vehicle is not moved when the vehicle is parked.
Such an EPB is classified into a cable puller type EPB and a motor on caliper type EPB. The cable puller type EPB is further classified into a single puller type EPB and a dual puller type EPB. The single puller type EPB has an advantage in that the single puller type EPB can be easily installed in the vehicle as compared with the dual puller type EPB.
However, the cable puller type EPB according to the related art may not be commonly used as the single puller type and the dual puller type.


A memory system is functionally designed so that, despite operation without an error correction device, memory chips of a memory module that are actually provided for error correction are concomitantly used for the data transfer. A control device is configured to receive, store and transfer data packets to and from a first and second set of memory chips. Transfer of an internal packet data from the control device to memory takes place such that a first record is stored in a second set of memory chips and additional records are stored in the first set of memory chips. In preferred embodiments, data is allocated in the second set of memory chips such that at least one additional transfer step takes place to the second set of memory chips compared with transfers to the first set of memory chips. In the additional transfer step(s), the first set of memory chips is masked from receiving data.

Main memories of computer systems are generally formed using dynamic semiconductor memory chips (DRAM). For this purpose, a number of memory chips are combined on a small circuit board, a memory module. Such a memory module is often also referred to as a DIMM or SIMM memory. At least a portion of such memory modules then forms the main memory. The data traffic between the main memory and the processor device of the computer system is handled by means of a control device. The latter is arranged between one data bus, which connects it to the processor device, and a further data bus, which connects it to the main memory. In many computer systems, particularly relatively simple computer systems, both buses have the same data width. In this case, the number of memory chips to be selected for a data transfer operation is chosen such that their total number of data inputs and outputs is equal to the data width of the buses. By way of example, in the case of a simple desktop computer for so-called home use, the data width of the buses is nowadays usually equal to 64. If memory chips of so-called "×8" organization are used with a 64 bit wide data bus as main memory, 8 memory chips are provided for a single data transfer operation, since 8 memory chips having a data width of 8 bits per chip produce precisely 64 bits.
In the case of high-quality computer systems, such as network servers or workstations, the requirements made in respect of the memory chips being free of errors are often more stringent than in the case of the relatively simple computer systems described above. For this reason, such computer systems have so-called error correction devices which, upon storage of data in the main memory, generate one or more error correction bits (ECC bits or ECC information) per data record and transfer this information so that it is stored together with the data to be stored in the main memory. Correspondingly, when data stored in the main memory are read out, the associated ECC information is also concomitantly read out and transferred to the error correction device for corresponding evaluation and, insofar as is necessary and possible, error recovery (reconstruction of the original data). In this case, it is even possible to eliminate errors (in the sense of data reconstruction) which relate to the entire data width of one of the memory chips (so-called "chipkill"). The error correction device is generally part of the abovementioned control device.
Since this error detection and correction procedure is carried out chip by chip, two alternatives emerge for populating a memory module with memory chips: 1) either memory chips having a data width of 9 bits are used instead of memory chips having a data width of e.g. 8 bits (so-called ×8 organization) (other examples: memory chips having ×5 organization (=data width of 5 bits) instead of memory chips of ×4 organization) or 2) use is made of customary memory chips (e.g. ×8 or ×4 organization) for storing the data and, additional memory chips having a data width which in total, i.e. including additional memory chips, have a combined data width that corresponds to the number of memory chips used for data storage.
However, the following disadvantages accrue to the above-mentioned alternatives: in the case of alternative 1, it is necessary for a developer and manufacturer of memory chips to develop and manufacture two different chip variants for the same nominal storage capacity, namely, e.g., chips of ×8 organization and chips of ×9 organization. Correspondingly, a developer and manufacturer of the matching memory modules also has to develop and manufacture two circuit boards which are different from one another and are adapted to the respective memory chips.
In the case of the second alternative, although the developer and manufacturer of memory chips can restrict itself to a single type of memory chip (e.g. to those having a ×8 organization), the developer and manufacturer of the memory modules nevertheless has to develop two different variants, namely a first variant, in which only memory chips for storing the memory data are used for placement, and a second variant involving additional placement also of at least one memory chip for storing the error correction data. In accordance with the two variants, different line routings are needed on the different memory modules, since the line routing has to be optimized separately for each variant in order to avoid losses in the signal quality.
It is thus apparent that a need exists to improve operation of memory chips and still provide for error correction.

Memory system and method for transferring data therein