The disclosed embodiments support proxy Mobile IP registration for nodes that do not implement CHAP. This is accomplished, in part, through the generation of a CHAP challenge and response by either a AAA server or a network device such as a PDSN or Foreign Agent. If the CHAP challenge and response is generated by the AAA server, the AAA server provides the CHAP challenge and response to the network device. In this manner, the network device may generate a Mobile IP registration request based upon the CHAP challenge and response.

The present invention relates to Mobile IP network technology. More particularly, the present invention relates to supporting proxy Mobile IP registration for nodes that do not support the Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP).
Mobile IP is a protocol which allows laptop computers or other mobile computer units (referred to as "Mobile Nodes" herein) to roam between various sub-networks at various locations—while maintaining internet and/or WAN connectivity. Without Mobile IP or a related protocol, a Mobile Node would be unable to stay connected while roaming through various sub-networks. This is because the IP address required for any node to communicate over the internet is location specific. Each IP address has a field that specifies the particular sub-network on which the node resides. If a user desires to take a computer which is normally attached to one sub-network and roam with it so that it passes through different sub-networks, it cannot use its home base IP address. As a result, a business person traveling across the country cannot merely roam with his or her computer across geographically disparate network segments or wireless nodes while remaining connected over the internet. This is not an acceptable state-of-affairs in the age of portable computational devices.
To address this problem, the Mobile IP protocol has been developed and implemented. An implementation of Mobile IP is described in RFC 3344 of the Network Working Group, C. Perkins, Ed., "IP Mobility Support for Ipv4," August 2002. Mobile IP is also described in the text "Mobile IP Unplugged" by J. Solomon, Prentice Hall. Both of these references are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties and for all purposes.
The Mobile IP process in a Mobile IPv4 environment are illustrated in FIG. 1. As shown there, a Mobile IP environment 2 includes the internet (or a WAN) 4 over which a Mobile Node 6 can communicate remotely via mediation by a Home Agent 8 and may also include a Foreign Agent 10. In a Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2)/CDMA2000 network, the Foreign Agent is implemented in what is generally referred to as a Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN). In the absence of a Foreign Agent in a Mobile IPv4 environment, or in a Mobile IPv6 environment in which a Foreign Agent is not implemented, the Mobile Node 6 can obtain a topologically correct IP address (i.e., collocated IP address) and register this IP address with the Home Agent. (In a Mobile IPv6 environment, this is accomplished via an Access Router rather than a Foreign Agent.) Typically, the Home Agent and Foreign Agent are routers or other network connection devices performing appropriate Mobile IP functions as implemented by software, hardware, and/or firmware. A particular Mobile Node (e.g., a laptop computer) plugged into its home network segment connects with the internet through its designated Home Agent. When the Mobile Node roams, it communicates via the internet through an available Foreign Agent. Presumably, there are many Foreign Agents available at geographically disparate locations to allow wide spread internet connection via the Mobile IP protocol. Note that it is also possible for the Mobile Node to register directly with its Home Agent.
As shown in FIG. 1, Mobile Node 6 normally resides on (or is "based at") a network segment 12 which allows its network entities to communicate over the internet 4 through Home Agent 8 (an appropriately configured router denoted R2). Note that Home Agent 8 need not directly connect to the internet. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, it may be connected through another router (a router R1 in this case). Router R1 may, in turn, connect one or more other routers (e.g., a router R3) with the internet.
Now, suppose that Mobile Node 6 is removed from its home base network segment 12 and roams to a remote network segment 14. Network segment 14 may include various other nodes such as a PC 16. The nodes on network segment 14 communicate with the internet through a router which doubles as Foreign Agent 10. Mobile Node 6 may identify Foreign Agent 10 through various solicitations and advertisements which form part of the Mobile IP protocol. When Mobile Node 6 engages with network segment 14, Foreign Agent 10 relays a registration request to Home Agent 8 (as indicated by the dotted line "Registration"). The Home and Foreign Agents may then negotiate the conditions of the Mobile Node's attachment to Foreign Agent 10. For example, the attachment may be limited to a period of time, such as two hours. When the negotiation is successfully completed, Home Agent 8 updates an internal "mobility binding table" which specifies the care-of address (e.g., a collocated care-of address or the Foreign Agent's IP address) in association with the identity of Mobile Node 6. Further, the Foreign Agent 10 updates an internal "visitor table" which specifies the Mobile Node address, Home Agent address, etc. In effect, the Mobile Node's home base IP address (associated with segment 12) has been shifted to the Foreign Agent's IP address (associated with segment 14).
Now, suppose that Mobile Node 6 wishes to send a message to a Correspondent Node 18 from its new location. In Mobile IPv4, a message from the Mobile Node is then packetized and forwarded through Foreign Agent 10 over the internet 4 and to Correspondent Node 18 (as indicated by the dotted line "packet from MN") according to a standard internet protocol. If Correspondent Node 18 wishes to send a message to Mobile Node—whether in reply to a message from the Mobile Node or for any other reason—it addresses that message to the IP address of Mobile Node 6 on sub-network 12. The packets of that message are then forwarded over the internet 4 and to router R1 and ultimately to Home Agent 8 as indicated by the dotted line ("packet to MN(1)"). From its mobility binding table, Home Agent 8 recognizes that Mobile Node 6 is no longer attached to network segment 12. It then encapsulates the packets from Correspondent Node 18 (which are addressed to Mobile Node 6 on network segment 12) according to a Mobile IP protocol and forwards these encapsulated packets to a "care of" address for Mobile Node 6 as shown by the dotted line ("packet to MN(2)"). The care-of address may be, for example, the IP address of Foreign Agent 10. Foreign Agent 10 then strips the encapsulation and forwards the message to Mobile Node 6 on sub-network 14. The packet forwarding mechanism implemented by the Home and Foreign Agents is often referred to as "tunneling." In the absence of a Foreign Agent, packets are tunneled directly to the Mobile Node 6 collocated care-of address.
Since a node may not support Mobile IP, a node that changes its location within a network cannot initiate registration with its Home Agent. Proxy mobile IP support (i.e., proxy registration) may therefore be performed by a proxy entity other than the node, such as an Access Point, a Foreign Agent, or a Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN) (e.g., in a CDMA2000 network) on behalf of the node. Typically, multiple Access Points, Foreign Agents or PDSNs can be placed throughout a facility to give users the ability to roam freely throughout an extended area while maintaining uninterrupted access to all network resources. Once a node is registered with a Home Agent, packets may be forwarded by the Home Agent to the PDSN or Foreign Agent.
In order to send a registration request on behalf of the node, the proxy entity needs the node's IP address and Home Agent address (i.e., default gateway) in order to compose a registration request packet. In addition, the proxy entity also ascertain's the node's sub-network network mask (i.e., netmask) in order to ascertain whether Mobile IP proxy services are required. Specifically, when the proxy entity determines from the source address of a data packet and the netmask that the node is located on the subnet identical to the subnet of the proxy entity, no Mobile IP service is required on behalf of the node as shown at block. However, when the proxy entity determines from the source address that the node is not located on the subnet of the proxy entity, proxy Mobile IP service is performed by the proxy entity is performed on behalf of the node.
Thus, the proxy entity acts as a proxy Mobile Node to register a client (i.e., node) with its Home Agent. Specifically, the proxy entity identifies or allocates a Home Agent and sends a registration request to the Home Agent to establish a Mobile IP session on behalf of the client. The client receives packets addressed to its home address throughout the Mobile IP session. In this manner, a node may roam while maintaining connectivity to the network.
There are a number of authentication mechanisms that may be used to authenticate a user. These authentication mechanisms include Password Authentication Protocol (PAP), CHAP, Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP), and Microsoft Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (MS-CHAP). However, the Mobile IP protocol operates under the assumption that a CHAP challenge and response are used to authenticate a Mobile Node. In other words, the registration request is required to include the CHAP challenge and response.
During the Mobile IP registration process, a Mobile Node typically provides a CHAP challenge and response in its Mobile IP registration request. Specifically, the Foreign Agent typically advertises a CHAP challenge in an agent advertisement. When the Mobile Node composes a Mobile IP registration request, it includes a Mobile-Foreign Challenge Extension (MFCE) including the CHAP challenge and a CHAP response as a Mobile Node-AAA key to be shared between the Mobile Node and a AAA server. When the CHAP challenge and response are provided to the AAA server, the AAA server uses this information to authenticate the Mobile Node based upon a shared password associated with the CHAP challenge and response.
In a proxy Mobile IP situation in a network such as a CDMA2000 network, the PDSN does not receive a registration request from the node and therefore does not receive a CHAP challenge and response from the node. However, if the node negotiates a Point to Point Protocol (PPP) session using the CHAP protocol, the CHAP challenge and response are received by the PDSN from the node during PPP negotiation. In these situations, the PDSN may generate a registration request on behalf of the node using the CHAP challenge and response received during PPP negotiation.
Unfortunately, many nodes do not support the CHAP protocol. For example, PAP is often the only supported protocol, since it is an older protocol. Since the PDSN does not receive a CHAP challenge and response during PPP negotiation for these nodes, the PDSN cannot construct a registration request including a CHAP challenge and response. Accordingly, proxy Mobile IP is unsupported in these systems.
In view of the above, it would be beneficial if proxy Mobile IP could be supported for nodes that do not use CHAP.

Allowing network access for proxy mobile IP cases for nodes that do not support CHAP authentication


In a predetermined multibit test mode, a multibit test circuit 114 issues determination result data pairs RDM0 and /RDM0 to RDM3 and /RDM3, each of which corresponds to match/mismatch of logics of data read from memory cells selected by one column select line in corresponding one of memory cell plane blocks. In each memory cell plane block, memory cell columns selected by one single column select line can be replaced as a unit. The unit of memory cell columns containing a defective memory cell is replaced in accordance with determination result data RDM0 and /RDM0 to RDM3 and /RDM3.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device, and in particular to a circuit structure for controlling a test operation of a dynamic semiconductor memory device.
2. Description of the Background Art
FIG. 17 schematically shows a whole structure of a dynamic semiconductor memory device in the prior art. In FIG. 17, a semiconductor memory device 1 includes four memory cell planes 2a-2d, which are formed on a semiconductor chip and each has a plurality of memory cells arranged in a matrix form.
In order to select a memory cell in accordance with an address signal, there are arranged a row select circuit (a row predecoder, a row decoder and a word line driver) and a column select circuit (a column predecoder, a column decoder and an I/O gate), which are not shown for simplifying the figure.
Each of memory cell planes 2a-2d is divided into four column groups. A global I/O line pair GIOP is arranged for each column group. When one of memory cell planes 2a-2d is selected, the memory cell of one bit is selected in each of the column groups in the selected memory cell plane, and is coupled to global I/O line pair GIOP for the selected memory cell.
The semiconductor memory device further includes preamplifier/write-buffers 7, which are provided correspondingly to global I/O line pairs GIOP for input/output of data to and from corresponding global I/O line pairs GIOP, respectively, read drivers 8, which amplify internal read data sent from the corresponding preamplifiers and send the same to the corresponding read data buses RDAP (RDAPa-RDAPd), respectively, first test mode circuits 9, which are provided correspondingly to memory cell planes 2a-2d, respectively, and determine match/mismatch of logics of data read from preamplifier/write-buffers 7 in a test operation mode, a second test mode circuit 10, which receives signals indicative of results of determination sent from first test mode circuits 9 provided for memory cell planes 2a-2d, respectively, and determines match/mismatch of logics of the determination result signals thus received, and a driver circuit 11 which receives signals on read data buses RDAPa-RDAPd and a signal sent from test mode circuit 10, and selectively transmits the received signals to an output buffer 13 via an output bus RDP.
Preamplifier/write-buffers 7 select one of the four column groups in each of memory cell planes 2a-2d, and the memory cell data in the selected column group is transmitted via read driver 8 onto the corresponding one of read data buses RDAPa-RDAPd.
In the test operation mode, all the four column groups are selected in each of memory cell planes 2a-2d, and the output signals of four preamplifiers 7 are transmitted to corresponding first test mode circuit 9.
In the normal operation mode, driver circuit 11 selects data read from the selected memory cell plate among data read onto read data buses RDAPa-RDAPd, and send the same to output buffer 13.
In the test operation mode, driver circuit 11 selects the signal indicative of the test result sent from test mode circuit 10, and transmits the same via output data bus RDP to output buffer 13.
Write buffers of preamplifier/write-buffers 7 are coupled to an input buffer 12 via an input data bus WD. Write buffers 7 corresponding to the selected one among memory cell planes 2a-2d are activated, and data is written via the write buffer into selected memory cells contained in the selected column group in the selected memory cell plane.
The semiconductor memory device further includes an address buffer 3 which receives an externally applied address signal and produces an internal address signal, an ATD generating circuit 4 which detects change in the internal address signal (internal column address signal) sent from address buffer 3 and generates an address change detection signal ATD, a PAE generating circuit 5 which is responsive to address change detection signal ATD sent from ATD generating circuit 4 to generate a preamplifier enable signal PAE for activating the preamplifier of preamplifier/write-buffer 7, and an IOEQ generating circuit 6 which is responsive to address change detection signal ATD sent from ATD generating circuit 4 and generates an equalize instruction signal IOEQ for equalizing global I/O line pair GIOP.
Global I/O line pair GIOP is formed of a pair of complementary signal lines for transmitting data signals which are complementary to each other. Equalize signal IOEQ functions to equalize the potentials on global I/O lines of global I/O line pair GIOP.
The semiconductor memory device further includes an internal voltage regulator 29, which receives an externally applied power supply potential Vcc, and generates a power supply potential Vccp for a peripheral circuit and a power supply potential Vccs for the memory cell plane, which are lower than external power supply potential Vcc. Power supply potential Vccp for peripheral circuit is supplied as an operation power supply potential to preamplifier/write-buffers 7, read drivers 8 and others.
Power supply potential Vccs for memory cell plane is applied to circuits for driving memory cell planes 2a-2d (i.e., sense amplifiers for charging/discharging bit lines) and substrate regions of p-channel MOS transistors in the planes.
Output buffer 13 and input buffer 12 perform external input/output of data via a common data input terminal DQ.
A multibit test operation related to the invention will be described below.
As a storage capacity of the semiconductor memory device increases, the number of memory cells increases. If determination of defect/nondefect in memory cells is performed bit by bit, an extremely long test time is required, resulting in increase in cost of chips. Therefore, determination of defect/nondefect is performed on multiple memory cells at a time, so that the test time can be reduced. This manner of performing the test on multiple memory cells at a time is called a multibit test mode.
An operation of writing test data in the multibit test mode will be described below. In each of memory cell planes 2a-2d, one memory cell row is selected. Then, in each of memory cell planes 2a-2d, memory cells of 4 bits are selected from memory cells belonging to the selected memory cell row. Test data to be written into the selected memory cells is transmitted to the write buffers in preamplifier/write-buffers 7 from input buffer 12.
In the multibit test mode, all the write buffers are enabled. Thereby, the same test data is written into the selected memory cells of 4 bits in each of memory cell planes 2a-2d, and thus the same test data is written into the memory cells of 16 bits in total.
Then, data reading in the multibit test mode will be described below.
Similarly to the test data writing, memory cells of 4 bits are simultaneously selected in each of memory cell planes 2a-2d. All the preamplifiers included in preamplifier/write-buffers 7 are enabled. Data of 4-bit memory cells selected in each of memory cell planes 2a-2d is amplified by the preamplifiers, and is transmitted to corresponding first test mode circuits 9.
Each first test mode circuit 9 determines match/mismatch of logics of received memory cell data of 4 bits, and sends a signal indicative of the result of determination to second test mode circuit 10.
Second test mode circuit 10 operates in accordance with the determination results sent from four first test mode circuits 9, and determines whether match of logics of test data read from four first test mode circuits 9 is detected or not.
The determination data issued from test mode circuit 10 is applied to output buffer 13 via driver 11, and output buffer 13 transmits this determination data to data I/O terminal DQ.
Thus, second test mode circuit 10 determines match/mismatch of logics of all the data of memory cell groups each including the memory cells of 4 bits selected in each of memory cell planes 2a-2d, i.e., all the data of memory cells of 16 bits in total. Based on the determination data sent from second test mode circuit 10, it is determined whether a defective memory cell is present among the simultaneously selected memory cells of 16 bits.
As described above, memory cells of 16 bits can be tested at a time, the test time can be significantly reduced.
In the conventional structure of the semiconductor memory device, the first test mode circuits are provided for the plurality of memory cell planes, respectively, and the output signals of these first test mode circuits are transmitted to the second test mode circuit, so that the second test mode circuit determines defect/nondefect of simultaneously selected memory cells.
In the above structures of the test mode circuits, however, it is impossible to specify the defective memory cell among the selected memory cells.
For example, in semiconductor memory devices having increased storage capacities, when a defective memory cell was found by the test, a memory cell column containing the defective memory cell is replaced with a backup or spare memory cell column. This replacement can prevent a malfunction, even when the defective memory cell was found.
In the multibit test of the semiconductor memory device in the prior art, however, the replacement with the spare memory cell column is impossible, because it is difficult to specify the memory cell column containing the defective memory cell. When an operation test was performed in the multibit test mode for reducing a test time, such a problem arises that a malfunction by the defective memory cell cannot be overcome.

Semiconductor memory device allowing repair of a defective memory cell with a redundant circuit in a multibit test mode


Some novel features pertain to an integrated device (e.g., integrated package) that includes a base portion for the integrated device, a first die coupled to a first surface of the base portion, and an underfill between the first die and the base portion. The base portion includes a dielectric layer, and a set of redistribution metal layers. In some implementations, the integrated device further includes an encapsulation material that encapsulates the first die. In some implementations, the integrated device further includes a second die coupled to the first surface of the base portion. In some implementations, the integrated device further includes a set of interconnects on the base portion, the set of interconnects electrically coupling the first die and the second die. In some implementations, the first die includes a first set of interconnect pillars and the second die includes a second set of interconnect pillars.

1. Field
Various features relate to an integrated device that includes high density interconnects and redistributions layers.
2. Background
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional integrated package 100 that includes a substrate 102, a first die 106, a second die 108, a first set of solder balls 116, a second set of solder balls 118, and a third set of solder balls 120. The first die 106 is coupled to the substrate 102 through the first set of solder balls 116. The second die 108 is coupled to the substrate 102 through the second set of solder balls 118. The third set of solder balls 120 is coupled to the substrate 102. Typically, the third set of solder balls 120 is coupled to a printed circuit board (PCB) (not shown).
Conventional integrated packages, such as the one described in FIG. 1, have certain limitations and downsides. For example, the substrate 102 of the integrated package 100 of FIG. 1 is typically made of an organic laminate (e.g., rigid or flexible), or a silicon (Si) interposer. The use of such materials as a substrate creates design problems when attempting to manufacture low profile integrated package. That is, these materials create substantial design penalty due to their manufacturing limitations. In particular, these materials make it impossible or cost-prohibitive to provide a low profile integrated package.
Moreover, the use of solder balls as a coupling method between a die and a substrate limits the density of the connection that can exist between a die and a substrate, as the minimum spacing required between solder balls is often greater than the minimum spacing required between traces and/or vias on a substrate.
In addition, during the manufacturing process of an integrated device, tool alignment tolerances and the shifting of dies can cause inaccuracy in the placement of dies on a substrate. To account for these issues, big landing pads must be provided to ensure that there is proper connection of the dies. These big landing pads can take up valuable space in the integrated device and add unnecessary cost to the manufacturing of an integrated device.
Therefore, there is a need for a cost effective integrated package that has a low profile but also takes up a little real estate as possible. Ideally, such an integrated package will also provide higher density connections with the dies.

Integrated device comprising high density interconnects and redistribution layers


The system and method described herein provide a computerized training video system. The computerized training video system may be capable of producing video content for computerized training. A user interface descriptive language (UDL) document describe user interface features of a new or updated application. The computerized training video system may generate a training video based on the UDL document. The training video may be generated on-demand or stored in advance. The training video may be customized for a particular software release, user group. The training video may be personalized on an individual level based on a previous training history, user role, or another characteristic of the user that will view the training video.

This disclosure generally relates to the field of computerized training, and, more particularly, to video content for computerized training. When a new application (or software tool) is deployed or updated, there may be a desire to train users how to use the new application. This may present problems for a large organization having a large workforce that needs training. Furthermore, an organization may wish to deploy frequent updates to the application. However, the process (or cost) associated with training a workforce may discourage the organization from releasing frequent updates to the software, even if the update may provide new and useful enhancements. The organization may opt for a web-based or computerized training model. Traditional computer-based training may be cumbersome for users, may include irrelevant content for some users, and may be expensive to produce.


In an enterprise cloud computing environment, a system for structured development for web application frameworks is implemented to develop applications efficiently. A structured development tool analyzes a component specification of a web application under development. The structured development tool is capable of generating a functional decomposition of the web application based on the component specification. The structured development tool is further capable modifying the component specification based on analyzing the structure of the components described in the component specification for redundancy and reusability, and further capable of modifying the component specification to restructure the components to reduce any redundancy and take advantage of reusable components.

Modern software development models for web-based applications are based on a continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) that integrates development and operation of software into a process referred to as "DevOps." Rather than a traditional software development model with discrete analysis, specification, programming, testing and operational phases, CI/CD promotes rapid development of software applications through continuous integration of code and delivery of the code into production operation.
To meet the demands of CI/CD developers often create components, directories and sub-directories for a software application "on the fly" without going through the analysis and specification phases associated with the traditional software development model. Such an approach can result in component redundancy and code that is inefficient and difficult to maintain.

Structured development for web application frameworks


A method, a system, and an apparatus are described for the data acquisition in the well-logging of a borehole wall during the investigation of formation properties. Data acquisition is conducted by either an adaptive phase compensation processing or a modulus mode processing, both of which use in-phase and out-of-phase current components to obtain current values. Adaptive phase compensation employs a calculation of a phase shift compensation value, which may then be applied to subsequent acquisitions and can be further processed in the generation of an image of the borehole wall.

For purposes of geologic exploration, such as for example in connection with exploring the earth for underground petrochemical fossil deposits, it is known to measure certain electrical properties existing along an earth-formation wall. For example, the variations in the electrode currents and/or voltages thus monitored and displayed have been found to correlate with certain properties of the adjacent earth formation. One way in which this correlation can be determined is to form a hole in the earth by coring. For example, a cylindrical cut can be made into the earth and the core inside the cut removed intact, to leave a borehole. Logging of the exposed wall inside the borehole can then be performed, and the resultant measured electrical values at each depth may be compared with the structure and properties of the core at corresponding locations. Such coring and logging can enable one to attribute specific physical, chemical, and geologic properties to the logging data obtained, with a high degree of certainty.
A borehole can be formed, for example by a conventional rig, and with the borehole filled with a drilling mud, an electrode structure on a pad is moved along the length of the borehole while a voltage is applied between the measurement electrodes on the pad and a return electrode. The resultant currents and/or voltages present at the borehole wall are monitored and recorded. Recording may be on a magnetic tape, on an ink recorder, on a computer disk or in a computer memory, as some examples. A simultaneous record of the position of the electrode structure along the borehole wall can be made, so that a plot of distance along the borehole against a selected electrical property may be formed from the data obtained, from which a visually-observable image of the segment of the borehole wall swept over by the electrodes on the pad can be generated.
As one example, a technique for obtaining such electrical measurements of a formation is to use an array of electrodes or "buttons" mounted on, and insulated from, an electrically conductive pad. The pad is pushed against the borehole wall as the pad is moved along the borehole, while a voltage or current is applied between each button and another return electrode, such as a remote electrode located on the tool body. The currents flow at least in part from the electrodes through the borehole wall, in a magnitude dependent upon the properties of the earth formation adjacent the electrodes. Such procedures have been termed as microresistivity measurements, since they measure the electrical resistivity of relatively small vertical segments of the wall structure.
Improvements may yet be made to the acquisition of electrical data from the borehole logging during investigation of formation properties, including for example that are less complicated and less time consuming, and that may be viable with existing well-logging tools and systems, and that may be viable for example with bandwidth capabilities of such tools and systems.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for investigating a formation surrounding a borehole


A priority-based scheduling service may schedule appointments between service providers and service consumers by assigning a priority to an appointment request based on one or more factors. The scheduling service may take into consideration the history of the service consumer and the purpose or reason for the appointment request. In addition, preferences indicated by the service provider and service consumer may be taken into consideration by the scheduling service. A prioritized appointment request may be scheduled dependent upon how high or low a priority has been assigned to the request. The scheduling service may apply rules during the prioritizing and scheduling processes. Rules may be configured by the service providers. Once the appointment has been scheduled by the scheduling service, notification may be sent to the service provider and service consumer. Communication between the scheduling service, service providers and service consumers may be accomplished via a communications network.

Scheduling appointment times for a service provider is typically a manual process. A service provider may utilize scheduling software to keep track of appointments. Upon being contacted by a service consumer, an employee of the service provider may enter an appointment in the scheduling software for a time agreed upon with the consumer and subject to availability. In many service industries, the needs of some consumers may be more urgent than others. For this reason and others, a service provider may need to prioritize appointments in regards to one another. When a service consumer makes an appointment with a service provider, the service provider typically needs to know the reason for the appointment in order to evaluate its priority before an appointment day and time can be determined. For example, when a patient (service consumer) makes an appointment with a health care provider (service provider), the health care provider may need to know the patient's symptoms and health history to complete the scheduling process. Some medical conditions require more immediate attention than others and therefore may receive a higher priority during the scheduling process. If the priority of an appointment request is high and there are no available time slots in the near future, other appointments with a lower priority may need to be shifted to another time in order to accommodate the request with the higher priority. The process of evaluating and comparing priorities of appointments, rescheduling, notifying consumers of changes, etc. may be very complex.
If a consumer's appointment time is changed as the result of a higher priority appointment, the provider needs to notify the consumer of the change to his appointment time. The provider may have contact information for the consumer, but the consumer's contact information may be incomplete or outdated. Generally, the process of contacting consumers regarding changed appointment times may be difficult and time consuming for the service provider.

Method and system for priority-based appointment scheduling


A convenience gaming system is provided. The convenience gaming system allows users to access applications via gaming communication devices coupled to a communication network. At least a portion of the network may be wireless. The gaming applications include gambling, financial, entertainment service, and other types of transactions. The system may include a user location determination feature to prevent users from conducting transactions from unauthorized areas.

On-line casinos are accessible via the Internet. These on-line casinos present a graphical representation of games, such as casino games, to a user on the screen of a computer in communication with the Internet. The user may place wagers, participate in the gaming, and win or lose money. Receipt of winnings, or payment of losses is typically handled through a credit account.

System and method for convenience gaming


There are provided methods for assaying biological specimens for one or more of leptin, prorenin or renin in order to provide predictive information about the likelihood of a woman carrying a Downs Syndrome affected fetus.

The present invention relates to assay methods which allow for the detection, and quantitation, of analytes; such as, leptin and/or prorenin and/or renin, in biological samples, such as blood or urine from a pregnant woman, which are associated with an increased risk that the pregnant woman""s fetus has Downs Syndrome.
Trisomy 21, commonly known as Downs syndrome, is characterized by an extra copy of chromosome 21. People afflicted with Downs syndrome have severe mental retardation, reduced life expectancies, and abnormal immune responses that predispose them to serious infections as well as thyroid autoimmunity. Further, 40% of Downs syndrome patients have congenital heart disease and a 10 to 20-fold increased risk of developing leukemia relative to the general population. All Downs syndrome patients older than 40 develop neuropathological changes characteristic of Alzheimer""s disease.
Prenatal tests to detect aneuploidy, such as trisomy 21, by amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS) have been available since the late 1960s. Amniocentesis is the most common invasive prenatal diagnostic procedure. In amniocentesis, amniotic fluid is sampled by inserting a hollow needle through the mother""s anterior abdominal and uterine walls into the amniotic cavity by piercing the chorion and amnion. It is usually performed in the second trimester of pregnancy. CVS is performed primarily during the first trimester, and involves collecting cells from the chorion which develops into the placenta.
Another invasive prenatal diagnostic technique is cordocentesis or percutaneous umbilical cord blood sampling, commonly known as fetal blood sampling. Fetal blood sampling involves obtaining fetal blood cells from vessels of the umbilical cord, and is performed about the 20th gestational week.
Amniocentesis is used selectively because it presents a risk of about 1% of inducing spontaneous abortion. CVS and fetal blood sampling carry a similar or higher risk of inducing abortion, and there is also concern that these procedures may lead to fetal limb malformations in some cases. Thus, amniocentesis, CVS and fetal blood sampling are procedures that are only employed if a pregnancy is considered at high risk for a serious congenital anomaly. Thus, some means is required to select those pregnancies that are at a significant risk of Downs syndrome to justify the risks associated with invasive prenatal diagnostic procedures, such as amniocentesis, CVS and fetal blood sampling.
Prior to 1983, the principal method for selecting pregnancies that had an increased risk for Downs syndrome was based on material age, that is, the older the age of the mother, the higher the risk that the fetus would be affected by Downs syndrome. In 1974, biochemical screening for neural tube defects by measuring alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in serum began. In 1984, the use of the AFP screen was additionally adopted for the detection of Downs syndrome. Since the early 1990s, a multiple marker blood test has been used to screen for this disorder. A common version of this test is the three marker triple test. The triple screen measures AFP, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and unconjugated estriol (uE3) in the serum of pregnant women.
The triple screen provides a means to screen the population of pregnant women to determine which pregnancies are at risk for Downs syndrome and other serious genetic defects. The risk is calculated based on the results of the screen, along with other cofactors, such as, maternal age, to determine if the risk is high enough to warrant an invasive diagnostic procedure, such as, amniocentesis, CVS or fetal blood sampling. Such prenatal screens, as the triple screen, can be used either to reduce the need for amniocentesis or to increase Downs syndrome detection for the same number of amniocentesis. xe2x80x9cThe efficiency of the Triple test is projected to be one case of fetal Downs syndrome detected for every 50 amniocenteses performed.xe2x80x9d Canick and Knight, xe2x80x9cMultiple-marker Screening for Fetal Downs Syndrome,xe2x80x9d Contemporary OB/GYN, pp. 3-12 (April 1992).
Although pregnant women who are 35 years or older are the standard high risk group for fetal Downs Syndrome, screening also needs to be applied to young women because although they are at lower risk, most affected pregnancies are in young women. Approximately 80% of babies born with Downs syndrome are born to mothers under 35. [xe2x80x9cDowns Syndrome Screening Suggested for Pregnant Women under 35, ACOG Newsletter, 38(8): 141 (August 1994).]
The triple screen combines the analysis of three serum markers to reduce false positive results (which result in the performance of unnecessary invasive procedures) and false negatives (in which serious genetic defects, such as, trisomy 21, go undetected). In women under 35, the double screen (AFP and hCG) can detect about half of Downs syndrome cases and a large proportion of other chromosome defects during the second trimester. The triple screen (AFP, hCG and uE3) increases the detection rate of Downs syndrome by 5-10% and a further increase in the detection of all other serious chromosome defects, thus decreasing the number of false-negatives. Such rates mean that the double and triple screens still fail to detect a significant number (30%-35%) of Downs syndrome affected pregnancies.
Other screening markers have been found which may offer some predictive value with respect to Downs Syndrome. The present Applicant has added to this repertoire of predictive markers by finding that leptin, prorenin and/or renin are predictive of a pregnancy being affected by Downs Syndrome.
Leptin has heretofore been associated with obesity. Obesity is the result of a disorder in the body energy balance that occurs when energy intake chronically exceeds energy expenditure. This excess in energy intake is stored in the adipocyte. The recently discovered hormone leptin contributes to the regulation of energy balance by informing the brain of the amount of adipose tissue in the body. The brain may then make the appropriate adjustments in either energy intake or expenditure. Leptin is the protein product of the ob gene and in humans is expressed exclusively in adipose tissue. Studies suggest that leptin is a negative regulator of adiposity. However, leptin has only recently been discovered and further investigations into its actions in humans and its role in obesity remain to be determined. Leptin has also heretofore been generally associated with reproductive function. Renin is an enzyme that belongs to the family of aspartyl proteases, a classification that is based on the properties of having 2 aspartic acid residues at the active site and its susceptibility to inhibition by pepstatin. Renin synthesis was first discovered in the juxtaglomerular cells of the kidney. At present there is evidence that renin synthesis can also occur in other organs such as brain, heart and arterial smooth muscle. Renin circulates in two different forms, prorenin and the active renin form. Prorenin is the enzymatically inactive biosynthetic precursor of renin. In the secretory granules of the juxtaglomerular cell, prorenin is processed to active renin by a thiol protease resembling cathepsin B. An amino terminal prosegment of 42 amino acids is cleaved from the prorenin which allows the exposure of the active site of renin. Active renin converts angiotensinogen (renin substrate) to the biologically inactive decapeptide angiotensin I. Angiotensin I in turn is converted to the octapeptide angiotensin 11 by means of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). Angiotensin II causes constriction of the small arteries and also promotes sodium and water reabsorption in tubules both directly and indirectly via aldosterone. Aldosterone is a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal gland and its secretion is stimulated by Angiotensin II. Heretofore, the clinical utility of plasma renin is mainly centered around the diagnosis and management of patients with hypertension due to renal artery stenosis or renovascular hypertension. Approximately 10% of the adult population suffers from hypertension. Renal vascular stenosis is the cause of this hypertension in a subgroup of the patients. This subgroup constitutes 1% of the total hypertensive population. A rise in plasma prorenin often precedes the onset of vascular injury in patients with diabetes mellitus. Plasma prorenin measurements may be useful for predicting which patients will develop vascular injury and for monitoring the progression of the disease. .
Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) stimulation of the ovaries leads to elevated serum prorenin levels. Prorenin levels, like hCG, are high during the first trimester of pregnancy and decrease in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. Since hCG levels are increased in Downs syndrome pregnancies relative to normal pregnancies and hCG stimulation leads to increased prorenin levels, this led Applicant to postulate that prorenin (or renin) may also be increased in Downs Syndrome pregnancies.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide assay methods and compositions for leptin and/or prorenin and/or renin which would have predictive value with respect to the likelihood that a pregnant woman is carrying a fetus having Downs Syndrome.
Leptin levels in maternal biological samples are 3-fold higher during pregnancy and correlate positively with human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and progesterone levels. hCG levels are increased in Downs syndrome pregnancies relative to normal pregnancies; these facts provided the impetus to the Applicant to determine if the leptin levels correlation with hCG levels may extend to a relative increase in leptin in Downs Syndrome affected pregnancies.
In one aspect, the presently claimed subject matter is directed to a method of determining an increased risk of a woman carrying a Downs Syndrome affected fetus. The method comprising the steps of: quantitatively assaying a sample from a pregnant woman for an amount of leptin in the sample, thereby determining the amount of leptin in the sample; and comparing the amount of leptin in the sample from the pregnant woman with an amount of leptin found in pregnant women carrying a Downs syndrome unaffected fetus and comparing the amount of leptin in the sample from the pregnant woman with an amount of leptin found in pregnant women carrying a Downs syndrome affected fetus, thereby determining those at an increased risk of carrying a Downs syndrome affected fetus.
In a further aspect of the presently claimed subject matter, the amount of leptin in the sample as determined in a sample from a pregnant woman is below the median amount of leptin found in a pregnant women carrying a Downs syndrome unaffected fetus
In one embodiment of the present invention, the sample from the pregnant women is selected from the group consisting of serum, plasma or urine.
In another embodiment of the presently claimed subject matter, the sample is taken from a pregnant women in either of the first trimester or the second trimester or the third trimester of pregnancy.
In a particular embodiment of the presently claimed subject matter, the quantitative assay of the sample is performed by immunoassay, more particularly a competitive immunoassay or a direct immunoassay. In a particular embodiment, a radioimmunoassay can be used.
In another embodiment of the presently claimed subject matter, an additional step of analyzing at least one additional analyte selected from the group consisting of hCG, unconjugated estriol, alpha-fetoprotein, inhibin, PAPP-A, progesterone, DHEA-S or Leukocyte acid phosphatase is performed.
In yet another embodiment, an additional step of analyzing at least one additional factor predictive of an increased risk of a fetus being affected by Downs syndrome is performed. In a preferred embodiment, an ultrasound result is the additional predictive factor.
Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) stimulation of the ovaries leads to elevated serum prorenin levels. Prorenin levels, like hCG, are high during the first trimester of pregnancy and decrease in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. Since hCG levels are increased in Downs syndrome pregnancies relative to normal pregnancies and hCG stimulation leads to increased prorenin levels, this led Applicant to postulate that prorenin (or renin) may also be increased in Downs Syndrome pregnancies.
In another aspect, the presently claimed subject matter is directed to a method of determining an increased risk of a woman carrying a Downs Syndrome affected fetus. The method comprising the steps of: quantitatively assaying a sample from a pregnant woman for an amount of prorenin in the sample, thereby determining the amount of prorenin in the sample; and comparing the amount of prorenin in the sample from the pregnant woman with an amount of prorenin found in pregnant women carrying a Downs syndrome unaffected fetus and comparing the amount of prorenin in the sample from the pregnant woman with an amount of prorenin found in pregnant women carrying a Downs syndrome affected fetus, thereby determining those at an increased risk of carrying a Downs syndrome affected fetus.
In a further aspect of the presently claimed subject matter, the amount of prorenin in the sample as determined in a sample from a pregnant woman is below the median amount of prorenin found in a pregnant women carrying a Downs syndrome unaffected fetus
In one embodiment of the present invention, the sample from the pregnant women is selected from the group consisting of serum, plasma or urine.
In another embodiment of the presently claimed subject matter, the sample is taken from a pregnant women in either of the first trimester or the second trimester or the third trimester of pregnancy.
In a particular embodiment of the presently claimed subject matter, the quantitative assay of the sample is performed by immunoassay, more particularly a competitive immunoassay or a direct immunoassay. In a particular embodiment, a radioimmunoassay can be used.
In another embodiment of the presently claimed subject matter, an additional step of analyzing at least one additional analyte selected from the group consisting of hCG, unconjugated estriol, alpha-fetoprotein, inhibin, PAPP-A, progesterone, DHEA-S or Leukocyte acid phosphatase is performed.
In yet another embodiment, an additional step of analyzing at least one additional factor predictive of an increased risk of a fetus being affected by Downs syndrome is performed. In a preferred embodiment, an ultrasound result is the additional predictive factor.
In another aspect, the presently claimed subject matter is directed to a method of determining an increased risk of a woman carrying a Downs Syndrome affected fetus. The method comprising the steps of: quantitatively assaying a sample from a pregnant woman for an amount of renin in the sample, thereby determining the amount of renin in the sample; and comparing the amount of renin in the sample from the pregnant woman with an amount of renin found in pregnant women carrying a Downs syndrome unaffected fetus and comparing the amount of renin in the sample from the pregnant woman with an amount of renin found in pregnant women carrying a Downs syndrome affected fetus, thereby determining those at an increased risk of carrying a Downs syndrome affected fetus.
In still further aspects combinations of leptin and/or prorenin and/or renin are assayed and statistical methods of analyzing the contribution of more than two factors to the likelihood of an outcome, as are known in the art, are used to predict those at an increased risk of carrying a Downs syndrome affected fetus.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description.
A total of 397 second trimester (15-20 weeks gestation) serum samples were collected from individuals with a normal Downs Syndrome risk ( less than 1:270 based on the individual""s maternal age, and levels of alpha fetoprotein [AFP], hCG, and unconjugated estriol [uE3]). A total of 10 second trimester serum samples from known Downs Syndrome pregnancies were also collected. All samples were tested blindly for leptin utilizing a radioimmunoassay. It is to be understood that other methods of assay which allow for the quantification of leptin in a biological sample and which are or may become available are within the scope of the present invention.
Lepin values in unaffected pregnancies were both gestational age and maternal age independent. A positive correlation was observed, however, with maternal weight (R2=0.5345). Results from the unaffected pregnancies ranged from 1.2 to 93.6 ng/ml (median of 19.5 ng/mL, 1.0 (Multiple of the Median (xe2x80x9cMoMxe2x80x9d)). Results from the 10 Downas Syndrome pregnancies ranged from 2.7-44.7 ng/mL (median of 11.7 ng/mL, 0.60 MoM, p=0.012). None of the levels from Downs Syndrome pregnancies exceeded the 95th percentile; however, 2 were below the 5th percentile. Only one exceeded 1.70 multiples of the median (MoM), but levels from 6 of the 10 Downs Syndrome pregnancies were below 0.7 MoM.
The data illustrate that leptin levels are significantly decreased in Downs Syndrome pregnancies relative to unaffected pregnancies. The 0.60 median MoM is lower than that typically reported in the peer reviewed literature for AFP (0.73 MoM) and uE3 (0.72 MoM), but is not quite as large a difference from unaffected pregnancies as in hCG (1.70 MoM). Thus, it appears that leptin is a more sensitive marker for Downs Syndrome risk than AFP and uE3, but not quite as sensitive as hCG.

Methods of determining an increased risk of a woman carrying a downs syndrome affected fetus by measuring an analyte in a biological sample

Quest Diagnostic Investments, Incorporated


A cleat for a sports shoe including a cleat base having an opening and a cleat tip having a connecting element. The connecting element has the shape of a pin which exhibits a first diameter and a second diameter, measured perpendicular to the first diameter, which is smaller than the first diameter. In order to connect the cleat tip to the cleat base, the connecting element can be pressed into the opening and the cleat tip is held in the cleat base by a force fit.

Fitting shoes, in particular sports shoes, with cleats in order to provide the shoe with special characteristics has been known for some time. Thus, for example, sprinters have for some time used spikes which exhibit different shapes depending on the surface on which the sprinter is running. Footballers also use cleats which can be different depending on the weather and the surface of the pitch. Since separate shoes or boots for each type of weather are not kept at hand, cleats were soon developed which can be detachably connected to the sole of a shoe or boot, such that it is possible to change the cleats as simply as possible.
A sports shoe with a cleat is known from WO 03/055341 A2, in which the cleat comprises a latching pin using which the cleat is spring-elastically latched in a cavity of the sole automatically, wherein the cleat can be attached manually and is detached by being rotated with the aid of a tool. DE 31 34 817 A1 describes a connection between the sole of a shoe and a gripping element by means of locking elements, wherein the part of the gripping element which protrudes into the sole of the shoe comprises, as a locking element, an appendage which is substantially radially aligned and, when rotated, is brought into engagement with a counterlock arranged within the sole of the shoe. In the engagement, the locking element grips behind the counterlock in such a way that the gripping element is connected, biased, to the sole of the shoe.
It is an object of at least one embodiment of the invention to provide a cleat for a sports shoe which can be cost-effectively produced and easily exchanged. Another object is to provide a corresponding method for connecting the cleat to the sole of the shoe.


A door module for a vehicle door comprises an aggregate carrier for holding functional components of the vehicle door and at least one guide section arranged on the aggregate carrier for guiding an adjustment part along an adjustment direction on the aggregate carrier. The at least one guide section is formed at least sectionally flexible and movable perpendicularly to the adjustment direction relative to a rigid section of the aggregate carrier. In this way a door module with an aggregate carrier is provided which can be produced in an easy and cost efficient manner and can be used substantially without structural modifications in different conditions.

The invention relates to a door module for a vehicle door according to the preamble of claim 1.
A door module of this kind comprises an aggregate carrier for holding functional components of the vehicle door and at least one guide section arranged on the aggregate carrier for guiding an adjustment part along an adjustment direction on the aggregate carrier.
Conventional door modules use an aggregate carrier on which functional components, for example a window lift unit, a loudspeaker, a side airbag, a door lock assembly or the like are arranged to provide a pre-mounted, pre-testable unit which in an easy way can be mounted on a vehicle door. As part of a window lift unit the aggregate carrier herein carries one or more guide sections in the shape of guide rails, along which a window pane—in this case constituting the adjustment part—is guided and via which the window pane is movably connected with the aggregate carrier.
From DE 199 44 965 B4 a door module of a vehicle door is known, comprising an aggregate carrier in the shape of a plastic carrier plate to which a guide section in the shape of a guide rail is integrally molded. On the plastic carrier plate a drive unit is arranged, which is operative to move a window pane of the vehicle door being connected via a carrier with the guide rail.
Door modules of the described kind are used in different shapes for different vehicles. Each vehicle type and each variant of a vehicle type herein requires, generally, a specific, individual shape of the door module, in particular of the aggregate carrier, because the vehicle doors of the different variants and the different vehicle types are built differently and differ in their constructive design and their configuration. For example, for different vehicle doors window panes with different radii of curvature and different pitch angles (which indicate whether a window pane is moved into a vehicle door almost perpendicularly or in an oblique direction) are used and require a specific adaption of the aggregate carrier in particular with respect to the guide sections arranged on the aggregate carrier, because the provided guide sections must be adapted, in their radii of curvature and their angular arrangement on the aggregate carrier, to the window pane to be adjusted.

Door module with an aggregate carrier with guide sections formed thereon

Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. KG, Hallstadt


A heat pipe heat dissipation structure includes a main body. The main body has an evaporation section, a condensation section, a chamber filled with a working fluid and at least one first capillary structure. The first capillary structure is disposed on an inner wall face of the chamber. The first capillary structure has at least one swelling capillary section. The swelling capillary section swells from a part of the first capillary structure in the evaporation section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a heat pipe heat dissipation structure, and more particularly to an improved heat pipe heat dissipation structure, which has better heat transfer efficiency and is able to bear greater thermal power impact.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, following the rapid advance of electronic techniques, various high-frequency and high-speed electronic components have been developed. Also, the integrated circuits have become more and more compact and miniaturized. Therefore, the amount of heat generated by the electronic components per unit capacity is abruptly increased. The conventional heat dissipation measures include radiating fins, heat pipes, heat conduction interfaces, etc. Nowadays, it has become a critical topic how to dissipate the heat generated by the electronic components of the more compact integrated circuit at higher heat dissipation efficiency so as to avoid high temperature and thus protect the electronic components from being damaged.
A heat pipe is a heat conduction component, which conducts heat by way of phase conversion of the working fluid contained in the heat pipe itself. The heat pipe has the characteristics of high thermal conductivity and excellent isothermality. Therefore, the heat pipe is widely applied in various fields. Moreover, the heat pipe has the advantages of high performance, compactness, flexibility and reliability and is able to solve the existent problem of heat dissipation caused by promotion of the performances of the electronic components.
The conventional heat pipe is able to transfer the heat of the electronic components to a remote end to dissipate the heat. However, this leads to another problem. That is, the capillary structure disposed on the inner wall face of the chamber of the heat pipe is limited. As a result, the amount of the working fluid absorbed by the capillary structure on the evaporation section is limited. Therefore, in case that the evaporation section of the heat pipe is used to absorb the heat generated by an electronic component with larger power, the working fluid in the capillary structure on the evaporation section often fails to process the large amount of heat in time. This will lead to dry burn and make the heat pipe lose its heat transfer function. Under such circumstance, the electronic component will burn out due to high heat. Therefore, it is tried by the applicant to provide a heat pipe heat dissipation structure in which the capillary structure has better liquid transfer ability and higher heat transfer performance.
According to the above, the conventional heat pipe has the following shortcomings:    1. The heat transfer efficiency is poor.    2. The unit area of the capillary structure of the evaporation section is limited so that the heat pipe cannot bear greater thermal power impact.    3. The amount of the transferred heat is limited.


A core molding machine which can be made smaller while having a favorable core sand filling property is provided. The machine comprises a core box having a pair of laterally separable dies and a sand filling device, having a blow head disposed under the core box, for filling the core box with core sand directed upward from the blow head; the blow head having a sand blow chamber for guiding the core sand to the core box while being connected to the core box and a sand storage chamber communicating with the sand blow chamber; the sand filling device having a compressed air supply unit for supplying a compressed air for blowing the core sand into the core box and an aeration air supply unit for supplying an aeration air for floating and fluidizing the core sand within the sand blow chamber.

A so-called top-blow type core molding machine in which a blow head is arranged above a core box so as to blow core sand down into the core box from thereabove has conventionally been used (e.g., Patent Literature 1).
In the case of the top-blow type core molding machine, however, the blow head is arranged above the core box, and a sand tank is further arranged above the blow head. This increases the size of the machine in its height direction, which may make the machine bulky. For reducing the size of the machine in its height direction and making it smaller in size, a so-called under-blow type in which a blow head is arranged under a core box so as to blow core sand up into the core box from thereunder may be employed. However, the under-blow type blows the core sand into the core box against gravity and thus may affect the filling property of the core sand for the core box.

Core-molding device, and core-molding method


A control arrangement for regulating the speed of a pressure cylinder increases the controllable flow volume through a proportional-action (control) valve, while avoiding a larger valve or two valves of the same type that must be connected in parallel. A control valve is used which has at least two flow paths connected in parallel. At least one controllable valve is connected in series with a first of the flow paths for the blocking or release of the delivery pipe. The connected first flow path and the controllable valve are connected in parallel to the second flow path.

The present invention relates to a control arrangement for regulating the speed of a pressure cylinder, particularly of a preacceleration cylinder in a drawing apparatus of the drawing stage of a press. The arrangement has a control valve in the delivery pipe leading to the pressure cylinder which can be adjusted in its cross flow section.
Pistons and piston rods of pressure cylinders must be moved at various and different speeds. The controlling of the speeds takes place by valves which can be changed in their (flow) cross section, for example, by means of proportional-action valves.
The flow characteristics of such valves show that a regulating of the flow (of the flow rate) can take place only within limits, relative to the opening cross section. Ranges of 0% to approximately 30% of the opening cross section and of approximately 60% to 100% of the opening cross section have almost no effect on the regulating or control. After the cross section is increased to, for example, 60%, no significant volume flow increases take place. Lower flow ranges may be regulated by means of one valve; higher flow ranges that can be connected require coupling in parallel. Valves with larger flow cross sections,, in turn, are unsuitable for lower flow ranges. Parallel connections of control valves require high control expenditures also because of the required isochronism of the regulating of the flow cross sections.
Parallel connections have been used, for example, in cases where pressure cylinders must be controlled in rapid motion (high flow volumes) and in one operating cycle (high pressure). See, for example, Maschinenmarkt, Wurzburg 88 (1982) 57, Page 1177 to 1180.
The German Patent Document DE 36 40 788 A1 discloses a drawing device in a press comprising a preacceleration cylinder. The present invention will be explained in the following by using the pressure cylinder that is shown in this patent document as an example, but the invention is not limited to using this type of cylinder. In the case of drawing devices of the disclosed type, a holding force must be applied for the drawing of a metal sheet. The drawing slide moves the metal sheet and a blank holder against the holding force applied by the drawing device. In addition, forces of the inertia of masses, which occur at the start of the deformation, must be overcome. In this case, forces occur abruptly which are reduced by the preacceleration of the blank holder with the metal sheet resting on it in the drawing direction. The preacceleration is generated via a cylinder which is acted upon by pressure. As a function of the number of strokes of the press, the quantity of hydraulic fluid must be controlled that flows to the pressure cylinder. The pilot control pressure cylinder, which feeds a hydraulic fluid to the preacceleration cylinder in a targeted manner, can be connected with a pressure source by a proportional-action valve. However, in this case, the speed range of the pilot control pressure cylinder is narrowed down by saturation ranges of the proportional-action valve (=30%; 60% to 100%).
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a control arrangement by which, on the one hand, a larger valve is avoided for the control of a pressure cylinder and by means of which, on the other hand, parallel connections of valves are avoided for a flow volume that is controlled in a targeted manner.
This and other objects are achieved by the present invention which provides a control arrangement for regulating the speed of a pressure cylinder in a drawing apparatus of a drawing stage of a press. This control arrangement has a control valve in a delivery pipe leading to the pressure cylinder. The control valve is adjustable in its flow cross section. The control valve has at least first and second flow paths connected in parallel. At least one controllable valve is connected in series to the first flow path, for blocking or releasing of the first flow path, the thus controllable first flow path and the controllable valve being connected in parallel to the second flow path.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Control arrangement for regulating the speed of a pressure cylinder


Center fill chewing gum compositions containing an effective amount of at least one stanol compound sufficient to provide a positive cholesterol effect in a warm-blooded animal including humans.

Plant stanols and derivatives thereof (e.g., phytosterols and esters thereof) are known to possess health enhancing properties including imparting positive cholesterol effects such as reducing or lowering blood cholesterol levels. These compounds are generally referred to hereinafter as stanol compounds. Such naturally occurring products have a chemical structure similar to that of cholesterol. They are considered essential constituents for properly functioning cells. Stanol compounds are typically C26-C30 alcohols which have an aliphatic chain in the C-17 position. Stanol compounds are believed to reduce cholesterol by binding to cholesterol and thereby forming a complex, which is readily passed out of the body. Since high blood cholesterol levels have consistently been implicated as an important risk factor in cardiac and vascular diseases, the reduction of blood cholesterol is seen as a means of helping to prevent and/or reduce the effects of cardiac and vascular disease.
Stanol compounds have been combined with various food products to provide a convenient means of administering the active agent to humans. For example, there are currently two commercially available margarine based products known as Benecol (a trademark of Raisio Benecol Ltd, of Rasio Finland) and Take Control (a trademark of Lipton Company of Englewood Cliffs, N.J.), each of which contains a stanol compound. The stanol compound containing margarine is applied and used in a manner similar to conventional margarine products.
Other stanol compound-containing products are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,836, which discloses the use of saponins bonded to sterols through a glycosidic linkage. The resulting complexes are used in a variety of products such as tablets, capsules, granules, cookies, wafers, candy products and the like for the purpose of reducing blood cholesterol levels.
WO99/15546 discloses the use of sistosterols as a dietary supplement in such food products as mustards, salad dressings, peanut butter, light spreads including margarine and mayonnaise as well as chocolate-flavored mint truffles.
WO98/58554 discloses the employment of a premix containing pulverized plant sterols and a conventional foodstuff raw material to prepare bakery products including bread, cake, pastries, crackers, biscuits, and the like.
European Patent Application No. 089767181 discloses the preparation of an aqueous dispersion of plant sterols and other high microlipids for use in spreads and other food products including beverages, dairy products, dry mixers, powdered non-dairy products, coffee, whiteners, milk shake mixes, confections, ice creams, instant milks, cake mixes, and the like.
Phytosterols have also been added to beverage compositions and acetic acid compositions such as disclosed in WO99/15547.
As indicated above, the incorporation of stanol compounds in wide variety of food products is known in the art. In many cases, the stanol compound is recognized as a cholesterol reducing agent. However, in order to obtain a cholesterol reducing effect in a human, the food product must be ingested in large quantities to provide a sufficient amount of the stanol compound to accomplish this purpose.
From a practical standpoint, the prior art food products contain r latively low levels of stanol compounds and therefore require the ingestion of large amounts of the food product to provide a sufficient amount of the stanol compounds in order to obtain a desired cholesterol reducing effect.
One particular class of food products incorporated with stanol compounds is chewing gum. The above problems encountered in the prior art are especially manifested in chewing gums. Stanol compounds especially plant stanols are oil soluble compounds, and they have a remarkably high affinity for the gum base employed in the making of chewing gum products. As a result, only a small portion of the stanol compound present in the chewing gum is released during chewing, while the rest of the stanol compound remains trapped in the gum base and unavailable to provide a positive cholesterol effect.
There are two major disadvantages of such chewing gums. First, the amount of the chewing gum, which must be chewed, is typically higher than the amount a consumer would consider convenient. Second, the chewing gum must be administered at least several times a day because individually the chewing gums are not able to deliver or do not contain sufficient stanol compounds to obtain a meaningful cholesterol reducing effect. Under these circumstances, the typical consumer is not likely to follow a regimen which requires ingestion of several and up to many individual servings of a chewing gum composition in order to obtain a cholesterol reducing effect. Such regimens have been problematical because they require discipline, and are contrary to acceptable chewing gum regimens for most humans.
To overcome this problem, it is theoretically possible to add higher amounts of stanol compounds per piece of chewing gum. However, high dosing of plant stanol compound adds significantly to the cost of producing such chewing gums, and may adversely affect the organoleptic and taste properties of the chewing gum.
A key to obtaining a positive cholesterol effect from chewing gums containing stanol compounds is to provide a chewing gum product which can deliver a desirable amount of the stanol compound in a small number of individual servings, preferably only one or two servings.
It would therefore be a significant advance in the art of reducing cholesterol if a chewing gum containing stanol compounds could be developed which contains a sufficient amount of stanol compounds that can be released at a suitable rate to furnish an effective positive cholesterol effect to aid in the overall nutritional regimen of the consumer.
It would be a further advance in the art if a chewing gum composition could be produced which can reduce cholesterol levels in a human in need of a reduction in cholesterol levels and can be readily adapted to a consumer's daily regimen over an extended period of time.
It would be a still further advance in the art if a chewing gum composition could be developed which is effective in providing a positive cholesterol effect but does not require the consumer to chew large volumes of a chewing gum product.

Cholesterol reducing chewing gum composition and method of making the same


A main player operates a controller while viewing a monitor game image displayed on a monitor. A sub player operates a terminal device while viewing a terminal game image displayed on an LCD of the terminal device. A game image that is substantially identical to the monitor game image viewed by the main player is displayed on the LCD. By touching a touch panel provided on a screen of the LCD of the terminal device, the sub player can generate various events at a position in a game world corresponding to a touched position.

Conventionally, there are games in which, while a certain player (main player) is playing the game through controlling of a player character, another player (sub player) can assist the main player.
In the conventional games, the main player and the sub player each had to conduct operations (for the main player, controlling a player character; and for the sub player, operation to assist the main player) while watching the same screen.
A feature of certain exemplary embodiments is to provide a new computer-readable storage medium, game apparatus, game system, and game processing method enabling a plurality of players to play the same game together.
The above described feature is achieved, for example, by the configurations described in the following.
A first configurational example is a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a game program executed by a computer of a game apparatus for conducting a game process in accordance with an input from a portable display device including a touch panel and an input from at least one input device. The game program causes the computer to function as a first input reception section, a second input reception section, a game processing section, an image generation section, a first display control section, and a second display control section.
The first input reception section is configured to receive an input from the touch panel. The second input reception section is configured to receive an input from the at least one input device. The game processing section is configured to conduct a predetermined game process based on an input received by the first input reception section from the touch panel and an input received by the second input reception section from the at least one input device. The image generation section is configured to generate a first game image and a second game image of an identical game world in accordance with a game process result obtained by the game processing section. The first display control section is configured to output the first game image generated by the image generation section to the portable display device. The second display control section is configured to output the second game image generated by the image generation section to a display device that is different from the portable display device. Furthermore, the game processing section generates a predetermined event at a position in the game world corresponding to a position on the second game image instructed through the touch panel.
The predetermined event may include an event that assists progress of the game conducted based on an input from the at least one input device.
Furthermore, the predetermined event may include an event that obstructs progress of the game conducted based on an input from the at least one input device.
Furthermore, the game processing section may move a predetermined object within the game world based on an input from the at least one input device.
Furthermore, the game world may be absent of any objects that are moved based on an input from the portable display device.
Furthermore, the game progressed by the game process may be a game whose objective is achievable without an input from the portable display device.
Furthermore, an input from the at least one input device may have direct influence on an outcome of the game progressed by the game process, and an input from the portable display device may lack any direct influence on the outcome of the game progressed by the game process.
Furthermore, the first game image and the second game image may be substantially identical game images.
Furthermore, display modes of a specific object in the game world may be different in the first game image and the second game image.
Furthermore, a display mode of the specific object in the first game image may be a display mode that is more advantageous for a player than a display mode of the specific object in the second game image.
Furthermore, the first game image and the second game image may be game images showing an identical range of the identical game world.
Furthermore, the first game image and the second game image may be game images of the game world from an identical direction.
Furthermore, the image generation section may generate the second game image so as to scroll in accordance with scrolling of the first game image.
Furthermore, the first display control section may output the first game image to the portable display device through wireless transmission.
Furthermore, the first display control section may compress and output the first game image to the portable display device.
Furthermore, an input section that is different from the touch panel may be provided on the portable display device. Furthermore, in addition to an input from the touch panel, the first input reception section may receive an input also from the input section.
Furthermore, the game program may cause the computer to further function as a displacement amount determination section configured to determine an amount of displacement based on a signal from the portable display device. Furthermore, the image generation section may change, in accordance with the amount of displacement determined by the displacement amount determination section, a relative position of a range of the game world displayed in the first game image with respect to a range of the game world displayed in the second game image.
Furthermore, the displacement amount determination section may detect a movement of the portable display device based on a signal from the portable display device, and may determine the amount of displacement in accordance with the movement of the portable display device.
A second configurational example is a game apparatus for conducting a game process in accordance with an input from a portable display device including a touch panel and an input from at least one input device. The game apparatus includes a first input reception section, a second input reception section, a game processing section, an image generation section, a first display control section, and a second display control section.
A third configurational example is a game system for conducting a game process in accordance with an input from a portable display device including a touch panel and an input from at least one input device. The game system includes a first input reception section, a second input reception section, a game processing section, an image generation section, a first display control section, and a second display control section.
A fourth configurational example is a game processing method for conducting a game process in accordance with an input from a portable display device including a touch panel and an input from at least one input device.
The method includes: receiving an input from the touch panel; receiving an input from the at least one input device; conducting a predetermined game process based on the input received from the touch panel and the input received from the at least one input device; generating a first game image and a second game image of an identical game world in accordance with a game process result; outputting, to the portable display device, the generated first game image; and outputting, to a display device that is different from the portable display device, the generated second game image, wherein in the game process, a predetermined event is generated at a position in the game world corresponding to a position on the second game image instructed through the touch panel.
With the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein, a new computer-readable storage medium, game apparatus, game system, and game processing method enabling a plurality of players to play the same game together can be provided.
These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the certain exemplary embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Video game with helper role or obstructer role for second player having separate display


A system and method of executing a convolution layer of a neural network may include: (a) selecting an output spatial position (OSP) of an output matrix data element of the convolution layer; (b) selecting, based on the selected OSP, a non-zero input element of an input matrix data element; (c) producing, based on the selected OSP, a vector of kernel elements from a kernel matrix data element; (d) performing a vectoral multiplication operation of the selected non-zero input element and the vector of kernel elements, and accumulating a product of the vectoral multiplication in a vector register of a processor; (e) repeating (c) and (d) with subsequent non-zero input elements and corresponding vectors of kernel elements to obtain an outcome of the convolution of the selected OSP; and (f) repeating (a) through (e) with subsequent selection of OSPs, to obtain an outcome of the convolution layer.

As known to persons skilled in the art, a neural network (NN), e.g. a neural network implementing machine learning (ML), may refer to an information processing paradigm that may include nodes, referred to as neurons, organized into layers, with links between the neurons. The links may transfer signals between neurons and may be associated with weights. A NN may be configured or trained for a specific task, e.g., pattern recognition or classification. Training a NN for the specific task may involve adjusting these weights based on examples. Each neuron of an intermediate or last layer may receive an input signal, e.g., a weighted sum of output signals from other neurons, and may process the input signal using a linear or nonlinear function (e.g., an activation function). The results of the input and intermediate layers may be transferred to other neurons and the results of the output layer may be provided as the output of the NN. Typically, the neurons and links within a NN are not physical entities, but are rather virtual, represented by mathematical constructs, such as activation functions and matrices of data elements and weights. A processor, e.g. CPUs or Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), or a dedicated hardware device may perform the relevant calculations, and thus may be or act as the NN, modeling the nodes and links as mathematical operations.
As known to persons skilled in the art, GPUs and similar massively parallel hardware accelerators such as Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) and Image Processing Units (IPUs) are commonly used to provide the large amount of computational power needed to train and/or perform inference (e.g., at run time or execution) in NNs.
Such parallel computing devices normally include a large number of relatively weak computing cores, associated with relatively small cache memory spaces and high memory bandwidth. The cores of such parallel computing devices normally execute instructions in a SIMD (Single Instruction Multiple Data) synchronous or semi-synchronous manner, meaning that they may execute the same instruction together at about the same time.
In contrast, traditional CPU architectures normally include a relatively small number of powerful cores associated with large cache memory spaces and a low memory bandwidth, where each computing core is adapted to execute different instructions at different times in an asynchronous fashion.
A common assumption in the industry is that highly parallelized computation (e.g., as provided by systems of hardware acceleration such as GPUs) is necessary to execute mathematical computations of deep neural networks at an acceptable throughput rate. CPUs may, according to this line of thinking, only suffice for tasks of sequential computation, and therefore specialized hardware accelerators may be required in order to execute ML tasks such as training and/or inferring NNs.

System and method for executing convolution in a neural network


An integrated virtual market is provided that facilitates communication between the producers of a given commodity and the parties wishing to purchase such commodities. This system provides real-time updated information about local pricing being offered by those purchasers. In addition, those producers can post offers that can automatically be accepted by purchasers and have contracts automatically generated. An important consideration from a purchaser's prospective is minimizing the risk associated with making such transactions. Due to this, futures contracts are often obtained. The virtual market system of the present inventions automatically requests and obtains futures contracts to hedge the contracts being generated.

Agricultural commodities are a basic element of our economy and their exchange through transactional markets has been well established. In short, the process is extremely simple at a high level. Producers grow the various agricultural products and sell them to consumers at the best price they are able to obtain. Thus, the success of the producer depends on the price offered by the consumer and the quantities produced and ultimately sold. In practice, however, there is an extremely complex set of transactions that can actually occur in order to achieve this rather simple result.
Generally, the producers will sell and deliver their products to local intermediaries, such as elevator operators. The elevator operators then sell and deliver those products to end users/consumers (or to yet another middleman) who may be located anywhere. The elevator operator must generate a profit by selling the products at a higher price than paid to the producer, while taking into account the costs for storage and transportation. The producer realizes a profit when the products are sold to the intermediary at a price that is higher than the cost of production and transportation. One of the major considerations in these commodities transactions is that the margins are very low.
The prices for the commodities are not static and in fact can fluctuate dramatically based on any number of factors and issues. Centralized commodities exchanges have been established that allow for regulated transactions under these fluctuating conditions to occur. Through this system, the price of commodities is determinable, both at the present time and at least speculatively into the future. For example, the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) is such a commodities exchange and the prices indicated by that board become the de facto price of a given commodity world-wide. More accurately, the price indicated by CBOT serves as a base by which prices in given localities are determined. As an example, assume that a bushel of yellow corn is trading on CBOT for $2.00. That means, that a bushel of yellow corn delivered to Chicago, Ill. (during the specified time period that the price is good for) is worth $2.00.
Thus, if a producer can deliver his product to the Chicago area, that producer should receive the price for the commodity indicated by CBOT. In practice, this usually is not feasible. A farmer in Kansas who raises corn is usually not in a position to economically transport that corn to Chicago in quantities to make it worthwhile. Thus, the farmer delivers his corn to a local elevator operator and sells it there. The elevator operator is usually going to pay the farmer an amount that is based on the CBOT price. The price paid will depend on geographical location, transportation availability and cost, storage costs, etc.
To determine the amount paid to the local farmer, the elevator operator adds a basis price to the CBOT trading price. The basis includes the elevator's costs, such as transportation to market and costs associated with running the facilities, as well as the margin. For example, assuming transportation charges of $0.40/bushel and a margin of $0.04, the local farmer will be paid $1.56/bushel for yellow corn, when the CBOT trading price is $2.00/bushel ($2.00−$0.40−$0.04=$1.56). In this example, the elevator operator will realize a profit of $0.04/bushel when the corn is resold at the anticipated price.
This is obviously a very narrow margin for the elevator operator and this translates into a high degree of risk. Risk is incurred because delivery of the material is usually scheduled for some time after the agreement is completed. If at the time of delivery, the CBOT price has dropped the elevator operator is still obligated to pay the producer the amount agreed on. However, it will be difficult if not impossible for the elevator operator to resell the product at a price high enough to obtain his desired margin. In the above example, the margin was only $0.04. A minor shift in the commodities market can financially devastate the elevator operator.
To manage that risk, the elevator operator takes advantage of another element of the commodities exchange. For every contract that is generated with a producer, the elevator operator will place a hedge order. In the case of a cash purchase with a producer, a sell order would go into the commodities futures market. Continuing with the above example, assume that a producer wishes to sell to the elevator operator 500 bushels of yellow corn for delivery 3 month from today. Yellow corn is at $2.00/bushel at CBOT and the elevator operator agrees to pay the producer $1.56/bushel for delivery in three months. To cover his risk the elevator operator also works through a broker to sell 500 bushels of yellow corn in the futures market. The futures contract is for 500 bushels of yellow corn, deliverable in three months at a price of $2.00/bushel. If in three months when the elevator operator takes delivery from the producer, the trading price of yellow corn is down, the futures contract will prevent the elevator operator from realizing a loss. One way of looking at this is to assume that the elevator operator were to try and sell that corn on the market. Any potential buyer would look at the CBOT trading price, which is now below the $2.00 level and only be willing to pay a reduced amount. However, the elevator operator has the futures contract for a sale at the price of $2.00/bushel. Thus, the margin of $0.04 is maintained. Conversely, if the trading price goes up, purchasers will be willing to give the elevator operator an amount exceeding $2.00 a bushel, but the elevator operator still must fulfill his future contract to sell at $2.00.
Thus, the futures markets serves as a hedging tool to minimize risk for the various intermediaries, such as the elevator operators. As a practical matter, these various futures contracts are usually unwound in various ways without requiring actual delivery of the commodity. Therefore, it provides a truly advantageous function to the intermediary.
All of this simply lays a groundwork for commodities exchanges on the local level. The elevator operator negotiates with a local producer on price. When a tentative agreement is reached, the elevator operator tries to sell a futures contract to minimize risk. If an acceptable futures contract is obtained, the elevator operator then formally agrees to accept the contract with the producer. In effect, two contracts are negotiated and ratified for the sale of a commodity from a producer to an elevator operator.
As discussed above, the producer will have various subjective and objective incentives to deal with certain elevator operators. One obvious consideration is the proximity of the elevator to the producer. Past dealings with a given elevator operator would be another consideration. Whatever the reasons may be, a given producer will have several elevator operators that they might choose to deal with. At a given time, the producer will decide to sell a quantity of a product. The producer must call these various operators to determine what they will be paying. When an elevator operator receives such a call, he must then call a broker on the CBOT to determine what the current trading price of the commodity is. Then the elevator operator subtracts his basis to determine a flat price. Assuming that elevator is capable of handling it, the elevator operator makes an offer to buy a specified quantity of the commodity and a contract is ratified. The operator then secures a futures contract for the appropnate amount with another phone call to a broker. Of course, after hearing the flat price offered, the producer may refuse to proceed or attempt to renegotiate. In the later case, more calls to the broker may be necessary to determine if the required futures contracts can be obtained.
This process is slow and tedious when it works, but at times it is completely incapable of functioning. The elevator operators may be unavailable when the producers call or unable to immediately track down the required information. The commodities exchanges are only available during certain hours, thus further limiting the process. Even when the exchanges are open, securing quotes and placing orders by telephone is often a delayed process. In short, this can be drawn out process and fails to realize a high degree of efficiency.
Therefore, there exists a need to provide an automated service that allows for interaction between producers and intermediaries that can obtain and display real-time relevant data and allow for the required hedging activities to occur at any time, while facilitating the completion of commodities transactions.

System and method for automated commodities transactions including an automatic hedging function