The strength and workability of a reinforced composite corrugated body are improved. A corrugated body is constituted such that corrugate lines provided with vertically spaced ridges and grooves formed alternately in a sheet material are formed in a smooth meandering waveform in a horizontal direction. The corrugate lines have a substantial amplitude ratio H/L higher than or equal to 0.4 but lower than or equal to 1.4, a substantial meandering ratio D/N lower than or equal to 0.35, a substantial meandering overlapping ratio higher than or equal to 0.5 and a width narrowing ratio i in the advancing direction of the corrugate lines lower than or equal to 8% plus a stretch strain ratio of the sheet material. Sectional shapes of crest and bottom portions of the corrugate lines are curved or chamfered with a small width. A flat liner is adhered to at least one of the opposite faces of the resultant corrugated body.

This invention relates to a composite corrugated body wherein vertically extending ridges and grooves are formed alternately in a sheet material to form corrugate lines that meander in a plane to form a corrugated body and wherein a flat liner is adhered to at least one of the opposite faces of the corrugated body.


The present invention relates to a composition (C) comprising a polymer blend including a polyarylether sulfone polymer and a polyarylene sulfide polymer and to an article including said composition.

Polyarylether sulfones have excellent properties such as strength, chemical and thermal resistance and are used in many applications ranging from plumbing articles, electronic components, airplane and automotive parts and medical devices.
Compositions comprising polyarylether sulfones reinforced by glass fibers have been available for several years; however, their use in some areas is hindered by their overall poor mechanical performance, especially with respect to their impact resistance and low tensile strength, and by their high viscosity, which limits moldability and fiber content. Thus, available glass fiber-reinforced compositions comprising polyarylether sulfones are generally unsuitable for molding compositions for thin-walled parts with enhanced ductility.
The aim of the present invention is to provide compositions having reduced viscosity, enhanced moldability, and improved mechanical properties such as impact strength.

Polymer compositions including polysulfones and articles made therefrom


To decrease the sulfur emissions of a sulfate cellulose mill, black liquor is heated before the last effect of the evaporation at a temperature higher than the cooking temperature of the sulfate cook and the sulfidity of white liquor is adjusted by adjusting the temperature and/or retention time of the heat treatment so that a predetermined amount of sulfur compounds are separated from the gaseous black liquor. Preferably, the sulfur containing gas is thereafter divided into different fractions and separately combusted.

Wood is treated in sulfate cooking process by white liquor containing NaOH and Na.sub.2 S, whereby lignin dissolves and cellulose fibers are released. The mixture of cellulose fibers (pulp) and cooking chemicals is then treated with water, resulting in the generation of black liquor. The black liquor is next concentrated by evaporation in an evaporation plant. The black liquor thereby concentrated is combusted in a soda recovery boiler, and the chemical melt thereby produced and containing mainly Na.sub.2 S and Na.sub.2 CO.sub.3, is dissolved in water, resulting in the generation of green liquor. The green liquor is next causticized by caustic lime (CaO) to white liquor containing NaOH, and lime sludge mainly comprising CaCO.sub.3. This white liquor is transferred back to the digester, and the lime sludge is calcinated in a lime sludge reburning kiln to caustic lime which is recycled back into the causticizing stage.
In a sulfate cellulose mill sulfur emissions are generated mainly in the soda recovery boiler, the evaporation plant and the digester house. In order to decrease the environmental impact of the cellulose mill the sulfur emissions should be minimized. It has been found that an increase in the dry solids content of black liquor causes a decrease in the sulfur emissions of the soda recovery boiler. On the other hand, the sulfur content of green liquor increases as a consequence thereof and thus also results in an increase in the sulfidity of the white liquor as well as the sulfur content of the black liquor. As a result, the overall sulfur emissions of an evaporation plant will increase as a consequence of the continuous increase of sulfur in the black liquor as described above. The instant invention is directed to overcoming this problem by removing the sulfur containing gas during the evaporation process but prior to the last stage thereof.
Finnish published application 75615 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,929,307) shows that the viscosity of the black liquor can be decreased by heating the liquor to a temperature higher than its cooking temperature. Consequently, it is possible to evaporate the black liquor to a higher dry solids content, while also decreasing the sulfur emissions of the soda recovery boiler. Also U.S. Pat. No. 2,711,430 discloses that heating of black liquor causes the release of organic sulfur compounds.
Surprisingly, it has been discovered that the above mentioned phenomena can be utilized in a completely new manner. It is thus an object of the instant invention to utilize the above-mentioned phenomena to control the sulfidity of a sulfate cellulose mill.

Method of controlling sulfidity of a sulfate cellulose mill


This is generally directed to systems and methods for local tone mapping of high dynamic range (“HDR”) images. For example, a HDR image can have its larger dynamic range mapped into the smaller dynamic range of a display device. In some embodiments, to perform the local tone mapping, a RGB to Y converter can be used to convert the input image signal to a luminance signal in the YCgCo color space, a shape adaptive filter can be used to separate the luminance signal into its illumination and reflectance components, contrast compression can be applied to the illumination component, image sharpening can be applied to the reflectance component, and the processed illumination and reflection components can be used to calculate a processed RGB signal. The dynamic range of the processed RGB signal can then be mapped into the dynamic range of the display device.

In real life, scenes can oftentimes include a very high dynamic range, where the "dynamic range" of a scene can be defined as the luminance ratio between the brightest and the darkest objects in the scene. For example, a scene including a tree on a bright, sunny may have both bright areas where the sunlight is illuminating objects and very dark areas that are within the shade of the tree, thus resulting in a wide dynamic range for that scene. Nowadays, various imaging system have been developed to effectively capture images of such high dynamic range ("HDR") scenes. As an example, one method of HDR imaging can capture several low dynamic range images, where each low dynamic range image is taken under a different exposure time. For example, one low dynamic range image can have a long exposure time to suitably capture the dark areas of the scene, another low dynamic range image can have a short exposure time to suitably capture the bright areas of the scene, and so forth. The several low dynamic range images may then be combined to form a single, HDR image that can clearly portray image features ranging from dark shadows to bright lights.
However, even though imaging systems have been developed to capture HDR images having a wide luminance range, the portrayal of such HDR images can be limited by the display device used to display the HDR image. For example, nowadays a typical liquid crystal display ("LCD") monitor can have a contrast ratio of, for example, 1,000:1, where the "contrast ratio" of a display device can define the ratio of the luminance of the brightest color to the darkest color that the monitor can produce. However, a typical HDR image can have a dynamic range of, for example, 250,000:1. In other words, it may not be uncommon for an HDR image to have a greater dynamic range than a display device attempting to display that HDR image. Accordingly, in order to reproduce the HDR image on the relatively low dynamic range display device, the luminance range of the HDR image can be compressed to within the available luminance range of the display device. This technique for compressing the luminance range of the HDR image to the range of the display device can be referred to as "tone mapping."

Systems and methods for local tone mapping of high dynamic range images


A service indicator SI field is used for load sharing in SS7 networks, in addition to the service link selection SLS field. If there are only two links or connections between two points of the SS7 network, load sharing can also be performed on the basis of the SI field only.

In communications networks in which the central Signaling System No. 7 standardized by the International Telecommunication Union ITU or Common Channel Signaling System 7 CCS7, also called SS7, conforming to the ITU-T Q.700 Recommendations and following is used for transmitting messages, the communication between two signaling points SP, i.e. nodes and/or end points of the communications network, takes place via connections which in this context are called signaling links or SS7 links. A node is also referred to as a signaling transfer point STP, whereas an end point, in contrast, is also referred to as a signaling end point SEP.
As described in ITU-T Q.700ff, it is possible in SS7 communications networks to combine signaling links into so-called signaling link sets. Each signaling link set comprises at least one signaling link.
The architecture of SS7 is also described in ITU-T Q.700ff. A distinction is made between different protocol layers, called levels in this context. Levels 1-3 form the Message Transfer Part MTP. A number of Level 4 protocols are defined in SS7 and here are called User Parts UP. Examples of these are the Telephone User Part TUP, the ISDN User Part ISUP or the Signaling Connection Control Part SCCP. Messages of these User Parts are transferred securely by the MTP. In this case a so-called service indicator SI is used in order to distinguish the individual User Parts. The SI is a 4-bit value; the following assignment to the User Parts applies (extract shown):
SIMTP User0Signaling NetworkManagement Messages (SNM)1Maintenance RegularMessages (MTN)2Maintenance SpecialMessages (MTNS)3Signaling ConnectionControl Part (SCCP)4Telephone User Part (TUP)5ISDN User Part (ISUP)6Data User Part (call andcircuit-related messages)7Data User Part (facilityregistration/cancellation messages)8MTP Testing User Part
The MTP, particularly MTP Level 3, also handles the administration of the links. If there are multiple link sets and/or multiple links between two signaling points, load distribution or load sharing, among other functions, is effected by MTP Level 3 on the basis of the so-called signaling link selection field SLS, described in ITU-T Q.704. The SLS value is part of the so-called routing label and has a length of 4 bits.
In known SS7 implementations, load sharing has been carried out until now solely on the basis of the value included in the SLS field. This is insufficient in certain application scenarios, however. In ITU-T Q.700 Section 3.2.1 and in ITU-T Q.704 Section 2.3.1 it is mentioned in each case that the routing of messages, though not load sharing, can also be performed on the basis of the service indicator SI.


The present invention provides a seat apparatus having: a seat back; a forward tilt device that allows at least a portion of the seat back to tilt forward; a securing device that secures the seat back at a vehicle body side; and a release strap that is used for releasing a securing condition of the securing device and has a grip portion. The release strap has a first condition in which the grip portion is positioned at a rear side of the seat back and a second condition in which the grip portion is positioned at a portion so as to be accessible from a front side of the seat back, and one of the first condition and the second condition of the release strap can be selected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a construction in which a seat back can be tilted forward in a vehicle (for example, a car). In particular, the present invention relates to a structure that releases a lock of a locking mechanism that regulates the forward tilt.
2. Description of Related Art
Among seat backs (for example, rear seat backs) having a rear side at which a luggage compartment (trunk) is provided, there is a seat back in which the rear seat back can be tilted forward. For example, a piece of luggage (for example, skis), which has a size larger than a luggage compartment formed at a rear portion of vehicle body, can be provided in the luggage compartment by forward tilt of the rear seat back. In order to ensure safety, in a normal condition (that is, a condition in which the seat back is raised), the structure for forward tilt of the rear seat back is locked by a locking mechanism, so that the rear seat back cannot be tilted forward, and the rear seat back can be tilted forward by a lock release operation.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-348626 has proposed a construction in which the lock release operation can be performed from both a luggage compartment side and a vehicle interior side. In this construction, the rear seat back can be tilted forward by the lock release operation from both the luggage compartment side and the vehicle interior side.
The construction, in which the lock release operation can be performed from both the luggage compartment side and the vehicle interior side, is highly convenient. However, users may perceive that this construction is undesirable from the viewpoint of security. That is, for example, when a user gives a key to a parking attendant at a parking lot, if a rear seat back can be easily tilted forward, access from a vehicle interior side to a luggage compartment side can be easily performed, and a user may be anxious about such a situation. For example, when someone breaks into a vehicle, a lock release operation is performed from the vehicle interior side, a piece of luggage in a luggage compartment side may be stolen. Therefore, a construction is desired in which a lock release of the forward tilt mechanism of the rear seat back can be also performed from the vehicle interior side and the lock release of forward tilt mechanism from the vehicle interior side can be prevented by appropriately setting by user (that is, the lock release can be allowed only from the luggage compartment side by appropriately setting by user).
In the construction proposed by Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-348626, lock release can be performed from the vehicle interior side, and the forward tilt of the rear seat back can be performed, so that the above requirements cannot be satisfied. In order to satisfy the above requirements, when the lock release is performed from the luggage compartment side, an operation using a password or a key may be necessary. However, this construction is complicated, the cost is thereby increased, and the operability is deteriorated (the lock release operation is troublesome).


The present invention relates to a solution for the preservation of cells from placental blood, from bone marrow and from peripheral blood.

Placental blood stem cells are an alternative to bone marrow grafts. Patients not having a compatible donor who is related or on the national register of bone marrow donors can then benefit from the grafting of one or two units of placental blood. The advantage of this alternative is that these cells circumvent the need for a very high level of HLA compatibility between the patient and the graft cells.
Between the steps of collecting placental blood units and the freezing thereof, recommendations in force stipulate a period of only 24 hours since the viability and functionality of stem cells and progenitors are reduced a 4° C. An extension of this period would make it possible to collect placental blood units at weekends, but also to lengthen the distance between the place of collection and the place of storage.
Also, ex vivo amplification of CD34+ cells, in particular those of placental blood, has been developed over these last 15 years (Duchez et al, 2003, J Hematother Stem Cell Res, 12, 587-9; Duchez et al, 2012, Cell Transplant, 21, 2517-21; Ivanovic et al, 2004, Stem Cells, 22, 716-24; Ivanovic et al, 2006, Transfusion, 46, 126-31; Ivanovic et al, 2011, Cell Transplant, 20, 1453-63; Polini et al, 1997, Hematol Cell Ther, 39, 49-58; Boiron et al, 2006, Transfusion, 46, 1934-42; Milpied et al, 2009, ASH Meeting abstracts, Blood, 114, Abst 502, p. 207). It allows the forming of haematopoietic grafts having two advantages: maintaining graft potential over the long term and reducing the post-packaging aplasia period.
The clinical phase of the GRAPA protocol (Greffe Allogénique de Progéniteurs Amplifiés—allogeneic grafting of amplified progenitors) for the ex vivo expansion of placental blood CD34+ cells, showed the therapeutic advantage of this technology which allows the long-term regeneration of medullar cells whilst shortening the post-graft aplasia period (Milpied et al, supra).
However, for the preparation of grafts, the cells contained in a non-injectable preserving or culture medium are washed and then resuspended in a 4% solution of human albumin for injection into patients within a period of 6 hours, this only allowing transport over a short distance (less than 50 kilometres). Longer periods are associated with a major loss of functionality of the progenitors used and of HSCs (Duchez et al, 2013, Cell Transplant, 22, 1501-6).
Studies have shown the possibility of proper preserving of these cells after culture for a period of 48 h at +4° C. in a preserving medium (HP02 medium, Macopharma) that is non-injectable in man (Duchez et al, supra). To the knowledge of the inventors, this is the only medium currently known to have such capacity. However, this medium is non-injectable and washing is required before grafting.
Most solutions for preserving human cells or organs are not injectable since they contain molecules that are not included in the Codex. These molecules are not listed because they are not of therapeutic advantage, do not attract the interest of pharmaceutical suppliers or because they are toxic for patients. For example, this list being non-exhaustive, the media comprise polyethylene glycol, Trolox (6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid), sodium erythorbate, glutathione, a dismutase superoxide, catalase, polyoside selected from among lactobionate, sucrose, raffinose and trehalose, a phosphate buffer (in particular Na2PO4, K2PO4, NaHPO4, or KHPO4), HEPES buffer and ketoglutarate.
The setting up of competent regional, national, or all the more so international centres for this type of cell production and/or storage requires the possible transport of these grafts over long distances, within Europe or even on other continents, these grafts being properly preserved and able to be injected without prior washing. Washing involves relative long handling operations necessitating dedicated equipment and staff.
In this context, there is therefore a need to have available an injectable preserving medium.

Injectable preserving medium for preserving cells from placental blood, from bone marrow and from peripheral blood

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE


Systems and methods are disclosed for inter-coding of a video. To inter-code a frame relative to a previous frame of the video, techniques disclosed include partitioning the frame and the previous frame into corresponding portions. Then, for each portion of the frame, a difference between the frame's portion and its corresponding portion in the previous frame is determined. A probability for suppressing the determined difference is further devised as a function of the difference. A decision whether to suppress the difference is then made based on the probability. If a decision to suppress has been made, the difference between the frame portion and the corresponding portion in the previous frame is suppressed before the frame portion is inter-encoded relative to the corresponding portion in the previous frame.

When encoding a video sequence, it is differences between video frames that are expensive to encode. For a video sequence of a scene, pixel values will differ between each frame. Sometimes the difference is desired, i.e. when there are actual events in the scene, but sometimes the difference is undesired, e.g. due to sensor noise or small changes of light levels in the scene. The latter is especially true for monitoring applications in which the number of events is limited. For the undesired changes an approach to use in order to reduce the cost for encoding is to suppress the differences by setting a threshold value suppressing differences below the threshold. However, doing so will lead to structured artifacts. Human vision is very sensitive to structured artifacts, so the threshold would have to be quite small to avoid disturbing structured artifacts. Hence, there is a need to be able to reduce the cost for encoding a video sequence and at the same time avoid structured artifacts.


Provided are a method, system, deployment and program for managing data transfer in consistency group formation. In one embodiment, nodes are periodically polled to determine traffic conditions. An estimated drain time for a node such as the most congested node, for example, is compared to a drain time limit and if within a vicinity of the drain time limit, operations switch to a consistency group formation mode. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Disaster recovery systems typically address two types of failures, a sudden catastrophic failure at a single point in time or data loss over a period of time. To assist in recovery of data updates, a copy of data may be provided at a remote location. Such dual or shadow copies are typically made as the application system is writing new data to a primary storage device. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), the assignee of the subject patent application, provides the following systems for maintaining remote copies of data at a secondary site, Extended Remote Copy (XRC) and Peer-to-Peer Remote Copy (PPRC). These systems provide a method for the continuous mirroring of data to a remote site to failover to during a failure at the primary site from which the data is being continuously mirrored. Such data mirroring systems can also provide an additional remote copy for non-recovery purposes, such as local access at a remote site. The IBM XRC and PPRC systems are described in the IBM publication "DFSMS/MVS Version 1 Remote Copy Administrator's Guide and Reference; Document Number SC35-0169-03© Copyright IBM Corp. 1994, 1997), which publication is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In such backup systems, data is maintained in volume pairs. A volume pair is comprised of a volume in a primary storage device and a corresponding volume in a secondary storage device that includes an identical copy of the data maintained in the primary volume. Typically, the primary volume of the pair will be maintained in a primary direct access storage device (DASD) and the secondary volume of the pair is maintained in a secondary DASD shadowing the data on the primary DASD. A primary storage controller may be provided to control access to the primary DASD and a secondary storage controller may be provided to control access to the secondary DASD. In the IBM XRC environment, the application system writing data to the primary volumes includes a sysplex timer which provides a time-of-day (TOD) value as a time stamp to data writes. The host system time stamps data sets when writing such data sets to volumes in the primary DASD. The integrity of data updates is related to insuring that updates are done at the secondary volumes in the volume pair in the same order as they were done on the primary volume. In XRC and other prior art systems, the cross systems common time stamp provided by the system on behalf of the application program determines and maintains the logical sequence of data updates across any number of data volumes on any number of storage systems. In many application programs, such as database systems, certain writes cannot occur unless a previous write occurred; otherwise the data integrity would be jeopardized. Such a data write whose integrity is dependent on the occurrence of a previous data writes is known as a dependent write. For instance, if a customer opens an account, deposits $400, and then withdraws $300, the withdrawal update to the system is dependent on the occurrence of the other writes, the opening of the account and the deposit. When such dependent transactions are copied from the primary volumes to secondary volumes, the transaction order must be maintained to maintain the integrity of the dependent write operation.
Volumes in the primary and secondary DASDs are consistent when all writes have been transferred in their logical order, i.e., all dependent writes transferred first before the writes dependent thereon. In the banking example, this means that the deposit is written to the secondary volume before the withdrawal. A consistency group is a collection of updates to the primary volumes such that dependent writes are secured in a consistent manner. For instance, in the banking example, this means that the withdrawal transaction is in the same consistency group as the deposit or in a later group; the withdrawal cannot be in an earlier consistency group. Consistency groups maintain data consistency across volumes and storage devices. For instance, if a failure occurs, the deposit will be written to the secondary volume before the withdrawal. Thus, when data is recovered from the secondary volumes, the recovered data will be consistent.
A consistency time is a time the system derives from the application system's time stamp to the data set. A consistency group has a consistency time for all data writes in a consistency group having a time stamp equal or earlier than the consistency time stamp. In the IBM XRC environment, the consistency time is the latest time to which the system guarantees that updates to the secondary volumes are consistent. As long as the application program is writing data to the primary volume, the consistency time increases. However, if update activity ceases, then the consistency time does not change as there are no data sets with time stamps to provide a time reference for further consistency groups. If all the records in the consistency group are written to secondary volumes, then the reported consistency time reflects the latest time stamp of all records in the consistency group. Methods for maintaining the sequential consistency of data writes and forming consistency groups to maintain sequential consistency in the transfer of data between a primary DASD and secondary DASD are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,615,329 and 5,504,861, which are assigned to IBM, the assignee of the subject patent application, and which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Details of creating and operating data structures in the formation of consistency groups are described in the copending and commonly assigned patent application entitled "METHOD, SYSTEM, AND PROGRAM FOR FORMING A CONSISTENCY GROUP", having Ser. No. 10/676,852, filed Sep. 29, 2003, which patent application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. One data structure, an out of synch bitmap, may be used to indicate tracks to be transferred. A storage controller may receive a consistency group formation command to copy consistent data on specified volumes managed by the storage controller to a remote site. In response, the storage controller may queue any further writes while generating a change recording bitmap to keep track of queued writes as well as any subsequent writes after formation of the consistency group is initiated. This mode of operation may be referred to as a "Consistency Group in Progress Mode." In this mode, tracks indicated in the out-of-synch bitmap may be copied to the remote site to create a consistency group.
After the out of synch bitmap is drained such that all the asynchronous remote copy operations indicated in the out of synch bitmap have been completed, a consistency group may have been formed. If so, the mode of operation may switch to a second mode in which subsequent writes may instead be recorded in the out of synch bitmap. Tracks indicated in the out-of-synch bitmap may continue to be copied to the remote site. This mode of operation may be referred to as a "Normal Transfer Mode," for example. In this mode, the change recording bitmap may be merged with the out of synch bitmap, and the change recording bitmap may be discarded. Further, a virtual copy may be performed at the remote site of the volumes consistent as of the time of the storage controller receiving the point-in-time copy command.
In general, all of the bits in the out of synch bitmap are cleared in the Consistency Group in Progress mode before a consistency group is successfully formed. One approach to managing the data transfer in consistency group formation is to impose a fixed time limit on the creation of the consistency group. If the out of synch bitmap is not completely drained before the expiration of the period of time, then the consistency group formation attempt is deemed failed. If so, the mode of operation may be switched from the Consistency Group in Progress Mode to the Normal Transfer Mode. In preparation for the mode switch, the bits of the change recording bitmap may be merged with the out of synch bitmap and any new host writes are recorded in the out of synch bitmap by setting appropriate bits of the out of synch bitmap. As a consequence, tracks from all volumes may be transferred to remote sites as the out of synch bitmap continues to be drained. Thus, a backlog of writes for the next consistency group formation attempt can be reduced or eliminated in some applications.
If the out of synch bitmap is not completely drained after another time limit, another attempt may be made to form a consistency group by switching back to the Consistency Group in Progress Mode. This time limit on duration of the Normal Transfer mode may be dynamically calculated as conditions change as described in copending application Ser. No. 10/987,570, filed Nov. 12, 2004, entitled "DATA TRANSFER MANAGEMENT IN CONSISTENCY GROUP FORMATION".
Having switched back to the Consistency Group in Progress Mode, the storage controller may queue any subsequent writes while generating the change recording bitmap. After generating the change recording bitmap, any queued writes and subsequent writes may be indicated in the change recording bitmap, and tracks indicated in the out-of-synch bitmap may continue to be copied to the remote site. Again, if the out of synch bitmap is not fully drained by the expiration of the associated time period, the consistency group formation may be deemed a failure and the mode of operation may be switched back to the Normal Transfer Mode. After a certain number consistency group attempts are failed (such as five consistency group attempts, for example) due to the draining of the out of synch bitmap exceeding the associated time limit for formation of each consistency group, the time limit may be ignored. As a consequence, the operation mode may remain in the Consistency Group in Progress mode until a consistency group is successfully formed.
To dynamically calculate the time limit for remaining in the Normal Transfer Mode, the number of tracks remaining to be transferred for a particular node such as a server toward creation of the consistency group as indicated by the out of synch bitmap, may be queried a first time and again at a second, subsequent time as the controller leaves the Consistency Group in Progress Mode. In this manner, the rate of change of the number of tracks remaining to be transferred for the particular server may be determined as a function of the change in the number of tracks determined at the first and second times and dividing by the duration of time between the first and second times. An estimated transfer or drain time for each server may be determined by dividing the number of tracks remaining to be transferred for the particular server toward creation of the consistency group as indicated by the out of synch bitmap, by the data transfer rate determined for the particular server. The longest estimated transfer time of the estimated transfer times calculated for each source server may be selected as a transfer time. In addition, the selected transfer time may be multiplied by a constant to provide a dynamically calculated time limit for the Normal Transfer Mode before returning to the Consistency Group in Progress Mode to attempt formation of another consistency group.

Node polling in consistency group formation


Disclosed are a displaying substrate and a liquid crystal display device having the same. A pad portion formed on the displaying substrate has a plurality of via holes for exposing a pad metal layer. A width of the via hole is smaller than a diameter of a conductive particle. Where the width of the via hole is larger than the diameter of the conductive particle, a depth of the via hole is smaller than the diameter of the conductive particle. Thus, a driving failure which may occur in the pad portion is prevented while maintaining a deformation ratio of the conductive particle at about 20xcx9c60%, thereby enhancing a connecting force between the pad portion and a circuit substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cLCDxe2x80x9d), and more particularly to a displaying substrate formed with a pad portion capable of enhancing contact characteristics with a circuit substrate for applying electric signals to the displaying substrate, and an LCD having the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Information-processing appliances have been rapidly developed to have a variety of shapes and functions and much faster information processing speed. Information in the form of an electrical signal processed in such an information-processing appliance requires a displaying device serving as an interface.
Compared with a CRT-type display device, a flat type display device has various advantages such as lighter weight and smaller size. Moreover, the flat type display device is able to realize full colorization and high resolution. The LCD is one of currently available flat-type display devices, which is provided with a liquid crystal display panel including two sheets of substrates formed with electrodes and a liquid crystal layer injected between the two substrates. Images are displayed in such a manner that the quantity of light transmitted is adjusted by applying a voltage to the electrodes of the liquid crystal display panel to rearrange the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer.
Generally, in order to precisely display the detailed images on the liquid crystal display panel of the LCD, an image data generated from an external information processing apparatus should be converted into driving signals which are suitable for driving the liquid crystal display panel. The driving signals are applied to the liquid crystal display panel at proper timing.
For embodying such an operation, the LCD requires a process of signal processing upon the image data on a driving printed circuit substrate prior to being applied to the liquid crystal display panel.
In order to allow the LCD to carry out the full-color display, signal lines including gate lines and data lines are densely formed within a certain area of the TFT substrate. Also, a pad formed to be wider than the area occupied by the signal lines is connected to one end of the signal lines.
A medium for transmitting signals are required so as to apply the driving signals generated from the driving printed circuit substrate to the densely formed signal lines at an accurate timing. Chip On Glass (COG), Chip On Film (COF), Flexible Printed Circuit film (FPC) or Tape Carrier Package (TCP) are mainly employed as the medium. One end of the medium is connected to the driving printed circuit substrate while the other end thereof is electrically connected to the pad to be firmly fixed.
An interval between the pad and adjacent pad is too narrow as described above to utilize a method such as a fine welding typically employed for connecting the pad with the medium. For this reason, the pad is electrically and mutually connected with the medium by interposing an Anisotropic Conductive Film (ACF).
The ACF includes an adhesive tape and conductive particles regularly arranged in the adhesive tape. The conductive particle is smaller than several micrometers in diameter. That is, the conductive layer having an adhesive material and conductive particles and a passivation layer form the ACF. The conductive particles serve for applying the signal transmitted via the medium to the liquid crystal display panel via the pad. The conductive particles have one directional orientation in transmitting the signal. In other words, the signal from the medium can be applied to the liquid crystal display panel; on the contrary the signal from the liquid crystal display panel cannot be transmitted to the medium.
Additionally, the ACF is thermally compressed under the state of being interposed between the liquid crystal display panel and medium to be adhesively bonded therewith. The pad of the liquid crystal display panel and the medium are bonded with each other by means of the adhesive material, and further they are firmly attached to each other by a restoring force originated from an elastic deformation of the conductive particles.
FIG. 1 is a plan view for explaining a structure of a conventional pad, and FIGS. 2A to 2D are sectional views showing the manufacturing process of the pad shown in FIG. 1. FIGS. 1 to 2D show a gate pad structure which is extended from a gate line of an LCD. TCP is used as a medium. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2A, a metal such as aluminum (Al) or chrome (Cr) is deposited on a substrate 60 generally formed of an insulating material, and is patterned to form a gate pad 10. Then, as shown in FIG. 2B, a silicon nitride layer is deposited on the entire surface of the substrate 60 formed with the gate pad 10 thereon via a plasma chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) method, thereby forming a gate insulating layer 20.
As shown in FIG. 2C, an organic resist layer is coated on the entire surface of the gate pad 10 and a peripheral region thereof to form an organic insulating layer 30. In order to form an opening 11 in the gate insulating layer 20 to expose a portion of the gate pad 10, a mask 31 is placed over the organic insulating layer 30. Thereafter, the opening 11 for exposing the gate pad 10 is formed in the organic insulating layer 30 by an exposure and development process. The gate insulating layer 20 underlying the organic insulating layer 30 is also removed together to form the opening 11 that partially exposes the gate pad 10.
Then, as shown in FIG. 2D, a conductive layer 40 is formed along an inner surface of the opening 11 and organic insulating layer 30 at the periphery of the opening 11. The conductive layer 40 includes a metallic material such as aluminum or a transparent conductive material such as Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) or Indium Zinc Oxide (IZO).
Referring to FIG. 3, an anisotropic conductive film 70 includes conductive particles 71 and an adhesive material 72 is placed over the conductive layer 40 formed on the gate pad 10, and aligned with an output port 81 of a gate-side TCP 80. Then, a compressing operation is performed, to make an electrical connection between the conductive layer 40 and the output port 81 of the gate-side TCP 80 by means of the conductive particles 71.
The conductive particle 71 include a first conductive particle 71a, a seconds conductive particle 71b. The first conductive particle 71a is placed in the opening 11 and the seconds conductive particle 71b is placed on the surrounding portions of the opening 11. At this time, the difference in thickness of the second conductive particle 71b and the orgarnic insulating layer 30 is not large enough to transfer a sufficient compressing force upon the second conductive particle 71b when compressing the second conductive particle 71b onto the gate pad 10. Therefore, the height difference between the organic insulating layer 30 and the gate pad 10 induces a problem that the gate-side TCP 80 is poorly bonded to the gate pad 10 or detached therefrom even after being adhered thereto.
Furthermore, if the gate-side TCP 80 is mistakenly bonded onto the gate pad 10, the gate-side TCP 80 should be detached from the gate pad 10, and correctly bonded again thereto. For re-attachment, the substrate is wiped by means of a cotton swab and so on for eliminating foreign materials remaining on the gate pad 10. The organic insulating layer 30 is, liable to be detached from the gate insulating layer 20 because of weak adhesive strength between them and the step between the organic insulating layer 30 and the gate pad 10. As a result, the conductive layer 40 formed on the organic insulating layer 30 is detached together with the organic insulating layer 30 and placed between adjacent pads, thereby causing a short between the pads.
However, the organic insulating layer 30 functions to prevent an electrical short between adjacent gate pads. For this reason, if the organic insulating layer 30 is removed at and around the gate pad 10, an electrical short may occur between adjacent gate pads, which lowers reliability of the resultant product. Therefore, the organic insulating layer 30 should not be thoroughly removed from the portion where the gate pad 10 is formed.
The present invention provides a displaying substrate capable of enhancing connection characteristics between a pad portion and a circuit substrate, and reducing a driving failure.
Also, the present invention provides a liquid crystal display device having a displaying substrate capable of enhancing connection characteristics between a pad portion and a circuit substrate, and reducing a driving failure.
In one aspect, the displaying substrate according to the present invention includes at least one pad portion for receiving an electrical signal from a circuit substrate. The pad portion has a pad metal layer which is formed on the displaying substrate and has a pad area. A passivation layer covers the pad metal layer and has a plurality of via holes to partially expose the pad area. Also, a conductive layer is formed over the passivation layer corresponding to the pad area and is electrically connected to the pad metal layer through the via holes.
Each of output ports of the circuit substrate is electrically connected to the conductive layer of the corresponding pad portion by an anisotropic conductive film interposed therebetween.
A width of the via hole is smaller than a diameter of a conductive particle of the anisotropic conductive film.
A deformation ratio of the conductive particle is about 20xcx9c60%. The width of the via hole is smaller than 0.8 times of the diameter of the conductive particle.
A depth of the via hole is smaller than a diameter of the conductive particle. The depth of the via hole can be 0.8 to 0.4 times of the diameter of the conductive particle.
The via holes have various shapes such as rectangles, squares, circles or ellipses when viewed from an upper side of the displaying substrate.
The displaying substrate may be used for one of LCD, PDP, FED and EL.
In another aspect, a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention includes a liquid crystal display panel which has a pad portion and a plurality of pixel portions and a circuit substrate that has output ports electrically connected to the pad portion of the liquid crystal display panel for applying an electrical signal to the liquid crystal display panel.
The pad portion of the liquid crystal display panel has a pad metal layer that is extended from one end portion of a plurality of signal lines connected to the pixel portions and has a pad area. A passivation layer covers the pad metal layer and includes a plurality of via holes to partially expose the pad area, and a conductive layer is formed on the passivation layer corresponding to the pad area. The conductive layer is electrically connected to the pad metal layer via the via holes.
Each of the output ports of the circuit substrate is electrically connected to the corresponding conductive layer of the pad portion by interposing an anisotropic conductive film.
According to the displaying substrate and liquid crystal display device as described above, the pad portion has the via holes for exposing the pad metal layer. A width of the via hole is formed to be smaller than a diameter of the conductive particle of the anisotropic conductive film. Where the width of the via hole is larger than the diameter of the conductive particle, the depth of the via hole is formed to be smaller than the diameter of the conductive particle.
Consequently, the driving failure which may be generated from the pad portion can be prevented, and the deformation ratio of the conductive particles is about 20xcx9c60%. Thus, the connection force between the pad portion and circuit substrate can be enhanced.

Displaying substrate and liquid crystal display device having the same


Methods and compositions for treating and diagnosing cancer and screening for agents for such treatment and diagnosis are provided. The methods involve screening for agents that modulate the activity or expression of FOXM1, which has been discovered herein to play a role in cell growth and cell cycle regulation. Methods for treating cancer, methods for modulating the activity or expression of FOXM1, methods for diagnosing a subject that has or is at risk of developing cancer, and pharmaceutical compositions are also provided.

The present invention relates generally to diagnoses and therapeutics for cancer. Generally, the invention relates to methods of screening for cancer, methods of screening for agents to treat cancer and methods for treating cancer.
The cell cycle is a highly regulated event with each cycle comprising G1 phase for cell preparation before DNA replication, S phase for DNA replication, G2 phase for cell growth and preparation for division, and M phase for mitosis (nuclear division) and cytokinesis (cell division) to complete the cycle. In a normal cell, the S-M phases, separated by the preparative G1 and G2 phases, are tightly coupled so that only one round of S phase precedes each mitosis and mitosis is not initiated until one round of DNA replication is completed. As a result, chromosomal DNA is replicated precisely once per cell cycle. Failure of this S-M coupling results in aneuploidy (gain or loss of DNA) leading to abnormality in cell growth and function.
Centrosomes are the primary components of the microtubule organizing center in mammalian cells. The regulation of centrosome duplication in mammalian cells is tightly controlled in order to maintain genomic integrity and prevent aneuploidy. Hinchcliffe and Sluder, Gene Dev. 15:1167-1181 (2001). In addition to directing formation of the mitotic spindle, recent evidence indicates that the centrosome participates in cell cycle regulation. Hinchcliffe et al., Science 291:1547-1550 (2001); Khodjakov and Rieder, J. Cell Biol. 153:237-242 (2001). Cancer cells frequently contain elevated numbers of centrosomes (Lingle et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 99:1978-1983 (2002); Pihan et al., Cancer Res. 58:3974-3985 (1998)), although whether centrosome amplification contributes to transformation or is a consequence of cancer progression has not been determined. Because centrosomes usually nucleate microtubules, cells with supernumerary centrosomes form multopolar mitotic spindles and may undergo mitotic catastrophe. (Margottin-Goguet et al., Dev. Cell 4:813-826 (2003).
Mitotic catastrophe is loosely defined as a form of cell death that occurs during mitosis and arises from aberrant G2 checkpoint control. Although the molecular details of mitotic catastrophe remain to be defined, several genes involved in the G2 checkpoint induce mitotic castrophe when disrupted, including 14-3-3 σ (Chan et al., Nature 401:616-620 (1999)), ATR (Brown and Baltimore, Gene Dev. 14:397-402 (2000)), and the CHK1 kinase (Takai et al., Genes Dev. 14:1439-1447 (2000)). In addition, defects in proteins required for the mitotic spindle assembly also induce catastrophe. Depletion of hNuf2, a kinetochore protein involved in microtubule attachment, arrests cells in prometaphase and induces mitotic cell death. (DeLuca et al., J. Cell Biol. 159:549-555 (2002). Because mitotic catastrophe is induced in proliferating cells, and also occurs following DNA damage in cells with mutations in checkpoint proteins, induction of catastrophe presents a promising opportunity for specifically targeting cancer cells.
The forkhead box (Fox) family of transcription factors plays important roles in regulating cellular proliferation, differentiation, longevity, and cellular transformation. Wang et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 98:11468-11473 (2001). FOXM1, previously known as HFH-11, Trident, WIN and FKL16, is a Fox transcription factor widely expressed in proliferating cells.
It is suggested that FOXM1 is required for normal S-M phase coupling during cell cycle progression. FOXM1 levels increase at the start of DNA replication and persist until the end of mitosis in cells synchronized by serum starvation. Korver et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 25:1715-1719 (1997). FOXM1 knockout mice exhibit cell division defects including DNA polyploidy in the heart and the liver cells, indicating that expression of FOXM1 is required to prevent multiple rounds of S phase in one cell cycle. Korver et al., Curr. Biol., 8:1327-1330 (1998). Studies of cultured cells demonstrate that over-expression of FOXM1 alters cell cycle kinetics by facilitating progression through G2/M. Leung et al., FEBS Letters, 507:59-66 (2001). Moreover, it has been reported that FOXM1 protein and RNA levels were markedly increased throughout the period of lung repair when cells were undergoing extensive proliferation in response to acute lung injury. Kalinichenko et al., Am. J. Physiol. Lung Cell Mol. Physiol., 280:L695-L704 (2001). premature expression of FOXM1 in transgenic mice accelerates hepatocyte DNA replication and the expression of cell cycle regulatory proteins following partial hepatectomy. Ye et al., Mol. Cell Biol. 19:8570-8580 (1999). Elevated expression of FOXM1 has been reported in both hepatocellular carcinoma (Okabe et al., Cancer Res. 61:2129-2137 (2001)) and in basal cell carcinoma (Teh et al., Cancer Res. 62:4773-4780 (2002)). However, whether FOXM1 is essential for cancer cell proliferation has not been determined.
As a transcription factor, FOXM1 may exert its cell cycle regulation function by regulating the expression of other genes. It has been reported that FOXM1 activates the expression of cyclin B1 promoter but not of cyclin D1. Leung et al., FEBS Letters, 507:59-66 (2001). Additionally, studies using transgenic mouse models identified genes that are induced in regenerating livers of FOXM1 transgenic mice relative to wild-type control mice. These genes include several immediate early transcription factors (ID-3, Stat3, Nur77), MMP-9, and several stress response genes. Wang, et al., Gene Expr., 11: 149-62 (2003).
On the other hand, FOXM1 is a downstream target of glioma transcription factor-1 (Gli1) in certain cell carcinomas. Teh et al., Cancer Res., 62:4773-4780 (2002). Activation of Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) signaling plays a key role in the development of basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) of the skin in humans. It is reported that FOXM1 levels increase in BCCs and that expression of the Shh target Gli1 caused a significant elevation of FOXM1 mRNA level and transcriptional activation.
Specific gene targeting sheds light on the biological mechanism applied by FOXM1 in cell cycle regulation. In addition, such gene or protein targets may provide new candidates for therapeutics or diagnostics for cell proliferative disorders.
Cancer is a general term for a group of diseases that involve the growth and spreading of abnormal cells in the body. This disease develops when cells continue to grow and divide until they spread to other parts of the body, leading to tumor development and destruction or invasion of normal body tissue. Tumors ultimately form colonies of cells in certain parts of the body. Lung, colon, and breast cancers are among the most common cancer types. Other cancers include ovarian cancer, kidney cancer, skin cancer, Kaposi's sarcoma, esophageal cancer, stomach cancer, leukemia, and lymphoma.
Lung cancer causes more cancer-related deaths than breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer combined. The American Cancer Society estimates that over 170,000 new cases of lung cancer would be reported by the end of 2003. Lung cancer often begins in the bronchi, but it can appear in any of the parts of the lung. Once the cancer takes root it can spread to the other parts of the body through metastasis. Lung cancer is divided into two major types: small cell and non-small cell. Small cell lung cancer has small cells, but they can spread rapidly throughout the body affecting lymph nodes and other organs such as the brain, the liver and the bones. On the other hand, non-small scale lung cancer makes up nearly 80% of the diagnosis for lung cancer.
Colon cancer is an abnormal growth of cells in the digestive system. It is often called colorectal cancer because it can affect both the colon and the rectum. Colon cancer begins in the layers of tissue found in one of the four sections of the colon and develops slowly over time. It is usually first discovered as a polyp, or a small growth of tissue in the colon. According to American Cancer Society statistics, colon cancer is the third most common type of cancer among men and women. This type of cancer was estimated to affect 105,000 people by the end of 2003.
Breast cancer is a tumor that is originally found in the cells of the breast. It is most common in women, but can also be found in men as well. It is the most common form of cancer among women, other than skin cancer. Every year more than 200,000 women are diagnosed with the disease in the United States alone. It was estimated that, in 2003, nearly 40,000 American women would die of this disease. Women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer have a number of treatment options depending on the stage of the cancer. One of the most important factors about breast cancer is the concept of early detection.
As demonstrated above, cancer is one of the most pervasive diseases in the world today. However, definitive cures have not been established. As a result, innovative methods for treatment are constantly pursued. Indeed, one of the most important ways to control cancer is through early detection methods. The present invention addresses these needs.


A device for supporting the head of a patient is accommodated on a patient bed of an x-ray apparatus. To prevent image artifacts, the device has a head shell mounted on a fastening part by means of a joint, and a support is provided between the head shell and the fastening part for adjustment of the angle of inclination of the head shell.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a device to support the head of a patient accommodated on a patient bed of an x-ray apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, a head shell that can be affixed to the patient is provided for medical examination of the head, for example by means of x-ray computed tomography. To prevent artifacts in the head image, the head shell is produced from a material permeable for x-rays, for example fiber-reinforced plastic. To adjust the necessary examination position of the head, the angle of inclination of the head shell can be adjusted relative to the patient bed. For this purpose, the head shell is connected with the patient bed via a hinge executed such that it can be locked by a clamping screw. A leg of the hinge is connected with a fastening part to fasten the device to the patient bed. Substantial material thicknesses are required in order to ensure a sufficient stability of the hinge (likewise produced from a material permeable for x-rays). In practice, such a hinge causes image artifacts.
To minimize or prevent such artifacts one known approach, using asymmetrical configuration, is to arrange the hinge as far as possible outside the region of the head to be examined. The head shell is connected, for example, with the patient bed via a laterally mounted arm fashioned in the form of a half-arc, the hinge being a component of the arm. The occurrence of artifacts still can not be completely prevented with this relatively elaborate design. As before, it is necessary to eliminate such artifacts by means of complicated calculational correction methods on the image data after the implementation of a measurement (scan).
DE 297 06 436 U1 discloses a skull supporting device for a patient bed of a computed tomography system. An adapter part that can be attached on the patient bed is provided. A skull support is fastened on a carrier and held on the adapter part on one side by this carrier by means of a carrier arm, and can be pivoted around a horizontal axis. Locking of the skull support is possible by means of a blocking key that engages teeth on the adapter part. The blocking key can transfer the hinge mechanical moment (torque) that occurs upon loading of the skull support to a support part that is affixed on the underside of the carrier of the skull support. The forces arising from the weight of the head are conducted onto the pivotable hinge between the adapter part and carrier arm via the support part and the blocking key. The pivotable hinge must be able to operate under significant mechanical load and therefore must be ruggedly designed, thus requiring relatively massive parts. In tomographical acquisitions in which the x-ray source and detector rotate around the head of the patient, the pivotable connection is located in the beam path and can cause artifacts due to radiation absorption or radiation deflection.
A device for retention of the head in skull surgery is known from DE 40 40 789 A1. The device has a support for the back of the head to support the head of a patient lying on his or her back. With a first part and a second part of a mount, the support for the back of the head is connected with a patient support table by a clampable swivel joint. The swivel joint can be clamped to change the position of the head of the patient. The swivel joint and its clamping device accordingly bear the entire weight of the head and the device for retention of the head. The swivel joint therefore must be fashioned with a high mechanical stability. Low material thicknesses thus cannot be realized. In order to prevent artifacts in the computed tomography image, it is proposed to use polymethylacrylate for many parts of the retention device, but an aluminum alloy is used for the swivel joint. This is not permeable to x-rays. So as to generate as few artifacts as possible in the tomographic image, the hinge is arranged outside of the region of the head to be examined. This means that cantilever forces acting on the swivel joint are even larger and the design is thereby even more elaborate.
A device for supporting a patient in an x-ray examination is known from DE 698 21 368 T2. A tiltable headrest is provided that is connected via a connection piece with a retention plate for supporting the upper body of the patient. A pivotable joint is provided between the connection piece and the headrest. The joint must accommodate forces arising due to the weight of the head. From FIG. 8 it is clear that the joint has teeth and can be clamped. In order to withstand the loads, the joint must be massively designed. The problem of artifact formation is addressed by the joint being arranged above the region of the head to be examined. Nevertheless, artifacts cannot be precluded.


A system for using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) address assignments to determine a local destination address of a received packet in a Network Address Translation (NAT) environment. The system includes a DHCP server to assign local IP addresses to devices on a network. The system has a NAT device to execute network address translation, and a packet device to receive packets. The system further includes an addressing device to determine the local destination address of a packet received by the packet device. The addressing device uses an association table created from symbolic names of the devices on the network and the local IP addresses associated with the devices.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of network address assigning, and, more specifically, to a system, method, and apparatus for enabling Network Address Translation (NAT) of incoming Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) connections based on Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) address assignments.
2. Background of the Invention
Local area networks (LANs) have been used with network devices such as personal computers. A LAN typically has a set number of unique Internet Protocol (IP) addresses for all of the devices on the LAN. More specifically, multiple computers on the LAN may be represented by the same IP address and use the same router(s). In such embodiments, there may be 10 computers, for example, assigned to one router, where the router has its own unique IP address.
In such a LAN, Network Address Translation (NAT) allows a single device, such as a router, to act as an agent between the Internet, or "public network", and a local, or "private", network. This means that only a single, unique IP address is required to represent an entire group of computers.
In such an embodiment, a major problem with using NAT is to locate the correct device on the internal network when a packet from the Internet arrives at the router, because all packets received from the Internet are addressed to the router and not to the devices behind the router. Configuring static mappings in the router can, in some cases, solve the problem. For example, the router may be configured to send all World Wide Web (WEB) traffic to a specific PC behind a router, and send all File Transfer Protocol (FTP) traffic to a different specified PC behind the router. However, the problem with this type of static mapping is that it requires specific configuration of the router, which may be expensive for an ISP shipping thousands of routers. Moreover, it is problematic if several PCs are performing the same service (FTP, WEB, etc.).
When a connection is initiated from a device on the internal network to an external device, the access device can always establish the NAT mapping without the use of any additional information. However, when using NAT, connections may only be made from inside a local network to a location outside of the network. A device outside the network cannot connect to a device on the local network without the router being specifically configured to do so. Therefore, the prior art suffers from a serious inefficiency in that a connection cannot be initiated with a device on a LAN by a device outside the LAN without specific configuration of the router at the LAN.

Method enabling network address translation of incoming session initiation protocol connections based on dynamic host configuration protocol address assignments


After an ONO film in which a silicon nitride film (22) formed by a plasma nitriding method using a plasma processor having a radial line slot antenna is sandwiched by silicon oxide films (21), (23), a bit line diffusion layer (17) is formed in a memory cell array region (11) by an ion implantation as a resist pattern (16) taken as a mask, then lattice defects are given to the silicon nitride film (22) by a further ion implantation. Accordingly, a highly reliable semiconductor memory device can be realized, in which a high quality nitride film is formed in a low temperature condition, in addition, the nitride film can be used as a charge trap film having a charge capture function sufficiently adaptable for a miniaturization and a high integration which are recent demands.

In recent years, a multitude of so-called flash memories are used as a rewritable semiconductor memory device. The flash memory using a floating gate prevails among them, however, it is difficult for the memory of this type to allow a tunnel insulating film to be thinner, which is an obstacle for the mass storage. Hence, a multi-value memory cell is thought out, in which a threshold value of a transistor is varied by controlling a charge amount to the floating gate when writing, and multi-value data is allowed to be stored in one memory cell.
A new multi-value memory cell having an MNOS structure or a SONOS structure, different from the floating gate type memory cell, is proposed, which applies, to the gate insulating film just under a gate electrode, a two-layered structure of an oxide film/an nitride film (ON), namely, the structure that the nitride film is stacked on the oxide film as seen from a substrate, or a three-layered structure of the oxide film/the nitride film/the oxide film (ONO), namely, the structure that the nitride film and the oxide film are sequentially stacked on the oxide film seen from the substrate, and which stores the charge locally in the nitride film in the vicinity of respective source/drain of the transistor, resultingly storing 2-bits data with respect to one memory cell.
Such multi-value memory cell has a simpler structure than that of the floating gate-type memory cell, and has an advantage that a cell area per bit is about ½, compared with the floating-gate type memory cell. And further, a memory cell having a memory cell array structure and being advantageous to a miniaturization are studied, which does not have a contact hole for a bit line in each transistor even though it is a NOR type memory, by using a source/drain as a bit line (an embedded bit line), namely, by forming the bit line under a word line.
In the memory cell having the aforementioned MNOS structure or SONOS structure, in order to form the gate insulating film, first, after a thin lower oxide film (tunnel oxide film) having a film thickness of approximately 7 nm is formed by a thermal oxidation method, a nitride film having a film thickness of approximately 10 nm is deposited by a CVD method to form an ON film. In the case of the SONOS structure, an upper oxide film is further formed by thermally oxidizing an upper portion of the nitride film to form an ONO film in which the nitride film is sandwiched between upper and lower oxide films.
When the above-mentioned nitride film is formed by the CVD method, a heat of approximately 650° C. to 850° C. is applied. And further, in order to form the upper oxide film by the thermal oxidation of the nitride film, a heat treatment of 1000° C. or more is required. In addition, in order to form the high-quality lower oxide film, a temperature condition of 900° C. or more is required.
Accordingly, in order to form the ON film or the ONO film by the CVD method, there exists a problem that the high temperature heat treatment for a long time is fundamental and that a matching property is extremely low with respect to the miniaturization of a semiconductor element, especially a transistor, of a peripheral circuit region of a memory cell. In addition, in the memory cell structure to which an embedded bit line is used, an impurity of the bit line is diffused by the high temperature heat treatment. If the bit line is formed after the ON film or the ONO film is formed to avoid the diffusion, there is a problem that damage is generated in the ON film or the ONO film and the decrease of a withstand voltage is caused.
Since the nitride film (CVD nitride film) formed by the CVD method has many N holes constituting charge trap centers, the film is used for a charge trap film of the transistor of the MNOS structure or the SONOS structure and the like. However, the formation of the CVD nitride film requires the high temperature as described above, and further, in the case of the highly integrated MNOS structure or the SONOS structure and the like which stores 2 bits per cell by performing a charge injection only to respective edge portions of the source/drain switched between a read-out occasion and a rewrite occasion, the charge trap centers exist at portions where the charge injection is desired to be avoided in the nitride film in which the N holes are formed almost uniformly such as the CVD nitride film, so that inconvenience for a device operation is caused.
For example, if electrons are injected and stored to portions other than portions to which electrons or holes are injected and stored in the nitride film (in the vicinity of the edge of the drain), especially the center portion of a channel, there exists a problem that a threshold value of the transistor increases and a margin in the low state of threshold value decreases regardless of the injection state of the electrons or holes to the vicinity of the edge of the drain.
The present invention is made in view of the above problems and an object thereof is to provide a highly reliable semiconductor memory device and a manufacturing method thereof, in which a high quality nitride film is formed in a low temperature condition, in addition, the nitride film can be used as a charge trap film having a charge capture function sufficiently adaptable for a miniaturization and a high integration which are recent demands.

Semiconductor memory device and manufacturing method thereof


The remote monitoring and control system contains at least a control device, a server device, and a mobile device. The control device periodically collects status/environmental data and delivers these data to the mobile device via the server device. An operator can set up control data on the mobile device. The server device automatically converts the control data set by the operator into appropriate control command by a conversion table corresponding to a specific control device. Therefore, the present invention achieves the goal of using a single mobile device to control multiple devices without mistakenly issuing a false command to a wrong device.

(a) Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to remote monitoring and control, and more particular to a remote monitoring system and a related method through a cloud server.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Existing remote monitoring and control system is usually integrated with the controlled device such as an air conditioner so that the monitor and control system is able to monitor the controlled device's status. In addition, the control of the controlled device is also integrated with the controlled device and usually can be operated remotely. However, such remote control is usually limited by distance. When the remote monitoring and control system is too far away from the controlled device, remote control cannot be achieved.
Furthermore, the remote monitoring and control system is often designed for a specific controlled device. When there are multiple controlled devices, multiple remote monitoring and control systems are required, causing operational inconvenience and sometimes erroneous condition. For example, an operation is aimed for a first controlled device, yet both the first controlled device and a second controlled device are affected.
As described above, the operational inconvenience and erroneous condition for multiple controlled devices require further improvement in the remote monitoring and control system.

Remote monitoring and control system and method


A method having particular utility for making outer and inner formed windshield glass sheets is performed by glass sheet positioning centrally on a forming face (34) of a forming mold (32) to form each glass sheet to a design shape regardless of any size difference between the glass sheets from one cycle to the next.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for positioning glass sheets for forming.
2. Background Art
Glass sheets are conventionally formed by heating on a conveyor within a furnace and then forming prior to delivery for cooling. Such cooling can be slow cooling to provide annealing or faster cooling that provides heat strengthening or tempering. In connection with heating of the glass sheets, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,806,312 McMaster et al.; 3,947,242 McMaster et al.; 3,994,711 McMaster; 4,404,011 McMaster; and 4,512,460 McMaster. In connection with glass sheet forming, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,204,854 McMaster et al.; 4,222,763 McMaster; 4,282,026 McMaster et al.; 4,437,871 McMaster et al.; 4,575,390 McMaster; 4,661,141 Nitschke et al.; 4,662,925 Thimons et al.; 5,004,491 McMaster et al.; 5,330,550 Kuster et al.; 5,376,158 Shetterly et al.; 5,472,470 Kormanyos et al.; 5,900,034 Mumford et al.; 5,906,668 Mumford et al.; 5,925,162 Nitschke et al.; 6,032,491 Nitschke et al.; 6,173,587 Mumford et al.; 6,227,008 Shetterly; 6,418,754 Nitschke et al.; 6,543,255 Bennett et al.; 6,578,383 Bennett et al.; 6,718,798 Nitschke et al.; 6,729,160 Nitschke et al. In connection with the cooling, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,936,291 McMaster; 4,470,838 McMaster et al.; 4,525,193 McMaster et al.; 4,946,491 Barr; 5,385,786 Shetterly et al.; 5,917,107 Ducat et al.; 6,079,094 Ducat et al.; and 6,513,348 Bennett et al.
Vehicle windshields are conventionally manufactured from outer and inner formed glass sheets and an intermediate layer of polyvinyl butyral. The outer and inner glass sheets have different sizes since the outwardly curved shape of the formed windshield necessitates that the outer glass sheet be slightly greater in size than the inner glass sheet. Also, upon manufacturing, there can be slight variations in the size of flat glass prior to the forming. Thus, switches which have previously been utilized to sense the approach of a glass sheet to initiate transfer from a conveyor for forming do not necessarily initiate transfer that positions the glass centrally on a forming mold for the forming.

Method for positioning glass sheets for forming


A device for helping babies learn to walk properly consists of a wheeled frame that surrounds the baby, a harness that affixes to or more closely envelopes the baby, and an elastic support extending from the frame to the harness to bias the harness, and thus the baby, centrally within the frame. A braking mechanism prevents mobility except when the baby stands and balances, thus inspiring the baby to actually walk, and developing the baby's sense of balance and walking muscles.

"Baby walker" is a term used generically to describe common and well-known devices of three main types; unattended sit-in-walkers, unattended push walkers, and parent-assisted walkers (such as those employing lead strings). When used herein with reference to prior art walkers, the generic term "baby walker" is meant to refer to those such as pictured in U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,185, which include a central seat that allows a baby to sit with his/her feet touching the floor, so that pushing against the floor with his/her feet will cause the device to roll about the floor. The goal of such devices is that the baby will gradually learn to walk by such an activity. But such a goal has, as yet, never been realized. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatricians supports a ban on such "baby walkers", as they are believed to actually prevent the development of the torso muscles and cause back pain, ironically delaying the time it takes for a baby to learn to walk in comparison to natural unaided development (see http://www.childrenshealthnetwork.org/CRS/CRS/pa_walkers_pep.htm).
Despite the name, baby walkers let babies simulate walking but don't really help them acquire walking skills. Indeed, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), walkers can delay normal motor and mental development. In fact, one study found strong associations between the amount of walker use and the extent of developmental delay (see www.consumerreports.org/cro/baby-walkers/buying-guide.htm).
To enable progress from the crawling stage of life to walking, a baby must develop a sense of balance. Balance is essential to enable the child to stand up unassisted and to walk without falling. Currently, because existing baby walkers allow the baby to gain mobility without standing, such a sense of balance is not developed. The ability to move while sitting risk-free in current devices does not encourage the baby to seek mobility by standing and walking.
In addition, because of the seated position in current devices, babies oftentimes can only move their legs from the knee joint. They cannot use, and therefore do not exercise, develop, and strengthen the quad muscles which are essential for walking (see https://sciencequestionswithchris.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/how-do-baby-walkers-teach-a-baby-to-walk-sooner/).
There exists a need for a device and method for teaching babies to walk by developing their sense of balance, inspiring them to seek mobility while standing, and developing their "walking" muscles, and such are features and objects of the present invention. There exists a need for a device and method to discourage babies from expecting mobility while seated, from failing to develop their sense of balance, and from improperly developing their "walking" muscles, and such are features and objects of the present invention. There exists a need for a device which prevents mobility when a baby is seated or imbalanced, to thereby encourage standing and balance, and such are features and objects of the present invention. Further needs and objects exist which are addressed by the present invention, as may become apparent by the included disclosure of an exemplary embodiment thereof.


A process for transitioning between Ziegler Natta (Z/N) polymerization catalysts and Second Polymerization catalysts in a polymerization system which includes at least two polymerization reactors. During the transition, the Z/N catalyst is used in the “downstream” reactor, thereby providing a flow of polymer to finishing operations. This eliminates the need for lengthy shutdowns of finishing equipment and thereby improves the efficiency of the plant operations.

There are many different types of polymerization catalysts which are used to produce olefin (co) polymers. The use of different catalysts allows the production of polymer products which have different physical properties.
It is often desirable to switch between different polymerization catalysts in order to respond to market demands for different polymers. However, it is not a trivial undertaking to transition between some catalysts because different catalysts are often incompatible with one another—for example, it is well known that an active Zeigler Natta catalyst may "poison" an active metallocene catalyst (i.e. severely reduce the activity of the metallocene catalyst).
Accordingly, many attempts have been made to develop technologies which facilitate catalyst transitions, including these technologies disclosed in United States Patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,949,612 (Agapiou et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,284,849 (Almquist et al.); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,897,269 (Schreck et al.).
In general, these prior processes require that the first polymerization catalyst be "killed" or substantially deactivated. Although these technologies do mitigate problems resulting from undesirable reactions between two incompatible catalysts, these technologies may introduce other problems such as:
(i) the need to carefully control the addition of the deactivator agent (so that it does not become a poison for the new catalyst); and
(ii) the need to allow downtime for the deactivation reaction (and generally, the subsequent purging of the deactivator).
This second problem—i.e. "downtime" can cause further problems, particularly if it requires that polymer finishing operations (such as polymer degassing and pelletizing operations) be stopped and restarted. For example, the seals and/or bearings or mechanical pumps and compressors which are used in the polymer finishing operations may be more likely to fail during a shut down/start-up cycle than they would otherwise be during continuous operation.


Provided are: a novel triepoxy compound capable of forming, through polymerization, a cured article having excellent heat resistance; a production method thereof; a curable composition including the triepoxy compound; and a cured article obtained by curing the curable composition.

Epoxy compounds are known to give cured articles excelling in properties such as electric properties, moisture vapor resistance, heat resistance, and toughness. The epoxy compounds are used typically in machine part materials, electric/electronic component materials, automotive part materials, civil engineering and construction materials (building materials), molding materials, coating materials, adhesives, and sealants.
The field of electric/electronic component materials recently moves towards higher-density packaging of electronic components onto printed circuit boards. The field employs, as a main stream, a surface mounting technique in which a semiconductor package is directly soldered to a printed circuit board surface. In the surface mounting technique, the semiconductor package is directly exposed to an elevated temperature upon reflow soldering, and this requires epoxy compounds capable of forming cured articles being resistant to reflow heat. The field more and more employs lead-free solders from the viewpoint of environmental protection. Reflow soldering using such lead-free solders is performed at a reflow temperature higher than those in customary techniques, because the lead-free solders have preset melting points higher than those of customary solders. Under these present circumstances, demands have been made to provide an epoxy compound that gives a cured article having such reflow-heat resistance as to resist deformation and cracking caused by heat even when employed in the lead-free solder mounting.
Epoxy compounds are exemplified by compounds having at least one glycidyl group in molecule; and compounds having at least one alicyclic epoxy group in molecule. The compounds having at least one alicyclic epoxy group in molecule are known to give cured articles having heat resistance superior to that of cured articles of the compounds having at least one glycidyl group in molecule. Known compounds having at least one alicyclic epoxy group in molecule are exemplified by compounds having two alicyclic epoxy groups per molecule (e.g., Patent Literature (PTL) 1 and PTL 2). With employment of the lead-free solder mounting, demands have been made to provide an epoxy compound capable of forming a cured article having further excellent heat resistance and being applicable to the lead-free solder mounting.

Triepoxy compound and method for producing same

Abstract: The triepoxy compound according to the present invention is represented by Formula (1). The triepoxy compound represented by Formula (1) may be obtained typically by oxidizing a compound represented by Formula (2) with an oxidizing agent. In Formulae (1) and (2), R1 to R2° are the same as or different from one another and each represent hydrogen atom, methyl group, or ethyl group. Formulae (1) and (2) are expressed as follows:


Wafer level packaging of LED devices is accomplished using a bottom wafer that includes one or more vias. A passivation layer is placed over the top surface of the bottom wafer including the surface of the vias. Metal pads are placed on the top surface of the passivation layer and extend to the bottom of the vias. Bond pads are then associated with the metal pads and ultimately used in attaching an LED device bottom wafer assembly. An encapsulation layer is applied and in contact with the LED device and a top wafer is attached to the encapsulation layer. The thickness of the bottom wafer is reduced, removing the lower portion to expose the metal pads at the bottom of the vias. An isolation layer is applied to the bottom wafer and holes are formed in the isolation layer to expose the metal pads. Electroplated structures are in contact with the isolation layer and in contact with the exposed metal pads.

Electronic components such as transistors, MEMs, LEDs, diodes, or more complex integrated circuits are manufactured from semiconductor wafers using chemical processing techniques. Packaging of the devices is done by encapsulating the devices with protective covers while providing for physical connections between the device and the environment. Examples of physical connections include;                Electrical connection to provide current or voltage for device operation        Thermal connection to dissipate heat from the device        Optical connection to extract light from devices such as light emitting diodes, or to provide light for devices such as image sensors        To provide a physical connection to the device for measurement of external physical parameters such as pressure, temperature, humidity, acceleration, rotation, ambient light, etc.
State of art methods to package devices include                Connecting the device to metal lead frames and over molding with a polymer        Connecting the device to a polymer, glass fiber or ceramic substrate and over molding with a polymer        Chip scale packaging where the device electrical connections are extended using an overlay of deposited metal and protective polymer coating
These methods suffer from high production cost, large form factor and poor dissipation of the heat generated during the operation of the device. The heat dissipation of electronic devices is a major impediment in next generation electronics. As the density of components increases, the energy density increases. To prevent component failures enhanced heat dissipation is required.
Patent Cooperation Treaty publication WO/2014/064541 and WO/2011/033516 to the same assignee disclose a process for wafer packaging method of LEDs. The process described in the publications is based on a "via last" process flow. The via in the bottom wafer, which provides a route for the electrical contact from one face of the bottom wafer, to the other face of the bottom wafer, is done after the attachment of the LED and in the last stages of the wafer level packaging process. The "via last" process flow requires complex processing of the bottom wafer which can increase the cost of the package and reduce yield and applications. An alternative method described below is a "via first" process flow. The "via first" process flow offers several advantages in addition to simplifying the process flow as it can also enable integration of electronics in the packaging procedure.

Wafer level packaging of electronic device


A method useful for regulating cytokine production by a hematopoietic cell by regulating an MEKK/JNKK-contingent signal transduction pathway in such a cell is disclosed. Methods of identifying compounds capable of specifically regulating an MEKK/JNKK-contingent signal transduction pathway in hematopoietic cells, a kit for identifying cytokine regulators, methods to treat diseases involving cytokine production, and cells useful in such methods are also set forth.

The present invention relates to a method for regulating an MEKK/JNKK-contingent signal transduction pathway in a hematopoietic cell in order to regulate cytokine production by such cell.
Aggregation of the high-affinity Fc receptors for immunoglobulin E (IgE) (Fcxcex5RI) on the surface of mast cells initiates intracellular signal transduction pathways, involving the tyrosine phosphorylation of cellular proteins, activation of phospholipase Cxcex3, hydrolysis of phosphoinositide, increase in intracellular calcium, activation of protein kinase C and the stimulation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. These signal transduction pathways are believed to be involved in the exocytic release of inflammatory mediators such as vasoactive amines, cytokines, and lipid metabolites. The production of cytokines by mast cells is a critical event that influences the pathogenesis of allergic inflammation in asthma and other allergic disorders.
In addition to the activation of phospholipase Cxcex3 and protein kinase C, which appears to be essential for the Fcxcex5RI-mediated release of preformed mediators, the aggregation of Fcxcex5RI on rat basophilic leukemia 2H3 (RBL-2H3) cells has been shown to induce histamine and leukotriene release. Except for the activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinases/mitogen activated protein kinases (ERKs/MAPKs), however, the downstream consequences of early activation events in a signal transduction pathway leading to cytokine production are not well defined.
The extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs), ERK1 and ERK2, are serine/threonine protein kinases that are activated through concomitant phosphorylation of tyrosine and threonine residues. Prior to the current invention, it was thought that ERKs were one of the intermediates in the signal transduction pathway leading to increases in gene transcription and proliferation, including cytokine gene transcription. ERKs phosphorylate specific transcription factors including members of the Ets family, such as Elk-1, and it has been reported that ERKs are activated via Fcxcex5RI on mast cells.
Despite the current understanding of early signal transduction events in hematopoietic cells, there remains a need to elucidate signal transduction pathways that specifically regulate cytokine production in such cells and to determine what molecules and/or functional elements of such molecules are responsible for regulating such cellular pathways. There is also a need for products and processes that permit the effective regulation of specific steps in such a signal transduction pathway. Regulation of specific steps of a signal transduction pathway which regulate cytokine production permits the implementation of predictable controls of such signal transduction in cells, thereby allowing modulation of the effects of cytokine production in diseases wherein such modulation can ameliorate disease pathogenesis.
The present invention generally relates to a method to regulate a novel signal transduction pathway to modulate the production of cytokines by a hematopoietic cell. The present inventors have identified an MEKK/JNKK-contingent signal transduction pathway which regulates the production of cytokines by a hematopoietic cell. Prior to the present invention, it was thought that signal transduction through the ERK pathway lead to increases in gene transcription and proliferation, including cytokine gene transcription. The ERK pathway is known to be distinct from the pathway of the present invention; therefore, the discovery that an ERK-independent signal transduction pathway regulates cytokine production is unexpected. The present inventors were the first to appreciate that an MEKK/JNKK-contingent signal transduction pathway, and not an ERK-dependent pathway, regulates cytokine production. Furthermore, the present inventors were the first to appreciate that such an MEKK/JNKK-contingent pathway is activated in mast cells through aggregation of Fcxcex5RI and activation of PI3-kinase (PI3-K). The present inventors were also the first to appreciate the method of regulation of such a signal transduction pathway in order to regulate production of cytokines such as, TNF-xcex1, IL-1, IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-9, IL-10, IL-11, IL-12, IL-13, IL-14, IL-15, IL-16, G-CSF, GM-CSF, TNF-xcex2, TGF-xcex2, IFN-xcex3, and IFN-xcex1/xcex2, in a hematopoietic cell such as a mast cell, a basophil, an eosinophil, a neutrophil, a T cell, a B cell, a macrophage, a dendritic cell, and a natural killer cell.
One embodiment of the present invention relates to a method to regulate cytokine production by regulating an MEKK/JNKK-contingent signal transduction pathway in a hematopoietic cell. Preferably, such a method comprises regulating one or more of the signal transduction molecule selected from the group of MEKK1, MEKK2, MEKK3, MEKK4, JNKK, JNK1 and JNK2.
In one embodiment, an MEKK/JNKK-contingent signal transduction pathway can be regulated by administration of a compound which regulates a signal transduction molecule selected from the group of MEKK1, MEKK2, MEKK3, MEKK4, JNKK, JNK1 and JNK2, such that cytokine production is regulated. Preferably, such a compound regulates such a signal transduction molecule by a method such as degrading the molecule, binding an inhibitory compound to the molecule, inhibiting transcription of the molecule, inhibiting translation of the molecule, and inhibiting the interaction of the molecule with another signal transduction molecule.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention relates to a method to regulate cytokine production in a hematopoietic cell expressing Fcxcex5RI by regulating an MEKK/JNKK-contingent signal transduction pathway in such cell. Regulation of an MEKK/JNKK-contingent signal transduction pathway can further comprise regulating other signal transduction pathways that affect the MEKK/JNKK-contingent signal transduction pathway.
Another embodiment of the present invention relates to a method to identify compounds which regulate cytokine production in a hematopoietic cell. Such a method comprises contacting a cell with a putative regulatory compound and determining whether such a compound is capable of regulating cytokine production in a cell by regulating an MEKK/JNKK-contingent signal transduction pathway in the cell.
Yet another embodiment of the present invention relates to a kit for identifying compounds which regulate cytokine production by regulating an MEKK/JNKK-contingent signal transduction pathway.
Another embodiment of the present invention relates to a method to treat a disease involving cytokine production in an animal by regulating an MEKK/JNKK-contingent signal transduction pathway. In one embodiment, such a treatment involves administering to an animal an effective amount of a compound which interacts with a signal transduction molecule in an MEKK/JNKK-contingent signal transduction pathway such that cytokine production is regulated.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention relates to a method to treat allergic inflammation by regulating cytokine production. Such regulation of cytokine production is effected by regulation of an MEKK/JNKK-contingent signal transduction pathway.
Yet another embodiment of the present invention relates to a compound for regulating cytokine production. Such a compound interacts with a signal transduction molecule in an MEKK/JNKK-contingent signal transduction pathway in a manner effective to regulate cytokine production.
Another embodiment of the present invention relates to a cell used in a method to identify compounds capable of regulating cytokine production, comprising a cell having at least one heterologous mammalian nucleic acid sequence encoding at least one protein involved in an MEKK/JNKK-contingent signal transduction pathway. A preferred embodiment relates to a method of using such a cell to screen putative regulatory compounds for their ability to regulate cytokine production in said cell.

Regulation of cytokine production in a hematopoietic cell

National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine


According to an aspect, a method for selecting target vehicles for transmission by a vehicular message distribution entity is provided. Initially, map information and driving context information of a plurality of vehicles is maintained in a database of the vehicular message distribution entity in a communications system. Upon receiving from a first source vehicle a vehicular message comprising at least driving context information, the vehicular message distribution entity selects one or more vehicles in proximity of the first source vehicle from the plurality of vehicles based on geographical locations of said vehicles. Then, the vehicular message distribution entity further selects a first set of one or more target vehicles from the one or more vehicles based on driving context information and the map information. Finally, the vehicular message distribution entity causes sending the vehicular message to the first set using unicast transmission.

The following description of background art may include insights, discoveries, understandings or disclosures, or associations together with disclosures not known to the relevant art prior to the present invention but provided by the invention. Some such contributions of the invention may be specifically pointed out below, whereas other such contributions of the invention will be apparent from their context.
Wireless communication between vehicles and vehicles and infrastructure enables various connected car use cases, such as disseminating situation awareness messages for assisted driving, sending emergency alerts to increase safety and executing cooperative maneuvers such as lane merging or platooning. Vehicular connectivity over 3GPP cellular technology, often abbreviated as C-V2X, is being standardized starting with LTE-A and its evolution into 5G. One of the goals of the standardization effort is to integrate vehicular communication into the well-established 3GPP radio access networks. However, several challenges exist currently in arranging the C-V2X communication in a manner which would be both efficient and reliable.

Target vehicle selection and message delivery in vehicular systems