Abstract: A system and method allowing a broadcaster to deliver short-term cyclic data along with the main content of the broadcast stream, synchronized with that main content, and for allowing users to have access to that information for longer periods than a typical data broadcast system would allow. Additional data content is added to the main content stream and is broadcast along with it. The additional data content is initially broadcast shortly prior to the time of its relevance to the main content and is buffered upon reception. In addition, it is rebroadcast cyclically over a short period, allowing viewers who tune in late to take advantage by acquiring the material during and briefly after the time of its initial relevance. If a viewer tunes in after the cyclic broadcast period has elapsed or if there was an error in the receiving or buffering of the additional data content, a return channel can be used to request that the material be retransmitted.

Abstract: Testing is performed on an amplifier wafer housing a transimpedance amplifier prior to packaging the transimpedance amplifier with an external photodetector, wherein the transimpedance amplifier includes a small, auxiliary, integrated silicon photodetector provided at the input of the transimpedance, in parallel with external photodetector attachment points. To test the transimpedance amplifier, the transimpedance amplifier is stimulated by optically exciting the small auxiliary photodetector, wherein the small auxiliary photodetector is excited using short wavelength light, whereby advantages such as higher efficiency may be obtained. The testing method includes placing the amplifier wafer in a testing system, probing the power and ground connections on the amplifier wafer, illuminating the small auxiliary photodetector on the amplifier wafer, and detecting the output of the transimpedance amplifier housed on the amplifier wafer.

Abstract: An expressive speech-to-speech generation system which can generate expressive speech output by using expressive parameters extracted from the original speech signal to drive the standard TTS system. The system comprises: speech recognition means, machine translation means, text-to-speech generation means, expressive parameter detection means for extracting expressive parameters from the speech of language A, and expressive parameter mapping means for mapping the expressive parameters extracted by the expressive parameter detection means from language A to language B, and driving the text-to-speech generation means by the mapping results to synthesize expressive speech.

Abstract: A method for automatically linking an anonymous electronic trade order having an order quantity (q) to an identity of a trader by providing an identity marker (s) of the trader; embedding the identity marker (s) by splitting the anonymous trade order into a number (n) of trade orders each having a corresponding order quantity x (i) to generate a trade order set; and placing the generated trade order set in an electronic order book.

Abstract: The invention describes a method for transmitting data packets by a router, whereby the ports of the router are assigned to affinity values. The data packets also comprise affinity values. Depending on a match of the affinity values of the data packets and the affinity values of the ports, the router forwards the data packets to selected ports. Furthermore, the data of the payload of the data packets are attenuated depending on the affinity value that is used for selecting the port.

Abstract: There are provided methods and systems for facilitating international shipment of goods that enable centralized control of both the establishment of and any changes to international shipping requirements. Users can conveniently query the system through remote terminals. Requirement information is provided in a user-useful and friendly manner including matrices of core requirements relating to all shipments and country specific requirements relating to specified origination and/or destination countries. Compliance testing is provided by which a user can evaluate a particular international shipment for compliance with requirements particular to that shipment.

Abstract: A memory cell (10) comprising at least a source electrode (MS) formed on a substrate (6); at least a drain electrode (MD) formed on the substrate (6); at least a coupling layer (1) formed between the source electrode (MS) and the drain electrode (MD), and at least a gate electrode (MG) formed on the substrate (6), wherein the coupling layer (1) comprises a transition-metal oxide exhibiting a filling-controlled metal-insulator transition property; the gate electrode (MG) comprises an oxygen ion conductor layer (2), and the gate electrode (MG) is arranged relative to the coupling layer (1) such that application of an electrical signal to the gate electrode (MG) causes alteration of the oxygen vacancy (3) concentration in the coupling layer (1).

Abstract: A problem determination system and method reduces the time and effort required by system administrators to trouble shot transaction processing difficulties in a large distributed I/T environment by monitoring system component performance and computing operational performance threshold limits based on dependency graphs for the system. Using this data, a prioritized list of suspect components for the I/T system is generated.

Abstract: A system and method for evaluating workload units in a computer system whereby each workload unit is assigned an impact number representing the number of days that the expiration date of a computer system would be changed if the workload unit were to be added or removed from the system with all other workload units remaining the same. Each workload unit may be assigned a different number for each system in the environment. The inventive system and method simplify the task of combining multidimensional workload measures and incorporate the interaction with other workload units in the system by assessing the impact on both a donor and a recipient computer systems' expiration dates. Thus, the invention provides a more robust way to measure the effect of moving workload units between systems to result in a better allocation of work amongst computer systems in a processing environment.

Abstract: A word predicting method for use with a voice recognition using a computer includes the steps of specifying a sentence structure of a history up to a word immediately before the word to be predicted, referring to a context tree stored in arboreal context tree storage section having information about possible structures of a sentence and a probability of appearance of words with respect to the structures at nodes, and predicting words based on the context tree and the specified sentence structure of the history.

Abstract: This invention discloses a system for creating voice XML file automatically, comprising: a graphic user interface for defining a plurality of icons, wherein each of said icons corresponds to one or more attributes of voice XML; voice XML tag generator for interpreting said action stream based on a library of voice XML tags, generating the corresponding voice XML tags; and, voice XML file generator for combing the contents to be played with the tags generated by the voice XML tag generator according voice XML syntax, for creating the voice XML file. This system can create the voice XML file for the TTS voice XML file or the real-time-recorded audio voice XML file.

Abstract: A method and system architecture to manage system resources in such a way as to provide service time guarantees to various classes of work using the system. In the case that the system resources are not sufficient to provide the specified service time guarantees, a method and system architecture is provided to limit work into the system such that the guarantees are satisfied and the revenue derived from the system is maximized.

Abstract: An expressive speech-to-speech generation system and method which can generate expressive speech output by using expressive parameters extracted from the original speech signal to drive the standard TTS system. The system comprises: speech recognition means, machine translation means, text-to-speech generation means, expressive parameter detection means for extracting expressive parameters from the speech of language A, and expressive parameter mapping means for mapping the expressive parameters extracted by the expressive parameter detection means from language A to language B, and driving the text-to-speech generation means by the mapping results to synthesize expressive speech. The system and method can improve the quality of the speech output of the translating system or TTS system.

Abstract: An iterative refinement algorithm for content-based retrieval of images based on low-level features such as textures, color histograms, and shapes that can be described by feature vectors. This technique adjusts the original feature space to the new application by performing nonlinear multidimensional scaling. Consequently, the transformed distance of those feature vectors which are considered to be similar is minimized in the new feature space. Meanwhile, the distance among clusters are maintained. User feedback is utilized to refine the query, by dynamically adjusting the similarity measure and modifying the linear transform of features, along with revising the feature vectors.

Abstract: A reading or language interactive system which utilizes a mechanism to permit a computer-based instruction program in reading or language instruction to implement a shared reading program, wherein portions of the text are read by the student and portions by the computer itself. The proportion of the text “read” by each participant and the pace at which the lesson progresses can each be automatically altered based upon the proficiency of the student. In addition, the system utilizes a computer instructor to share the task of reading or language learning by modeling the task for the learner, variably controlling the amount of material that the student reads aloud based upon a computer assessment of the student's ability, helping the learner navigate through the instructional application, and participating in a joint performance that demonstrates the student's reading.

Abstract: A system and method for multiplexing and remultiplexing whereby multiplexed programs from an input stream are only demultiplexed if they are to be copied or modified locally. Any multiplexed programs which are part of an input stream and which are intended to be part of the output stream are not demultiplexed but are simply passed along to be added to the transport stream with other multiplexed programs. A further inventive aspect comprises a multiplexer apparatus and process whereby dynamic bit rate adjustment is applied to eliminate the need to recalculate timebase information for altered streams.

Abstract: A technique for improving the execution speed of a computer system by effectively reducing the costs to perform a search operation for an exception handler during the exception handling process is established. A computer system comprises 1) a compiler for compiling a program written in a programming language having an exception handling mechanism and 2) an execution unit for executing the compiled program. The execution unit calculates an occurrence frequency of an execution context in which a search operation for an exception handler is performed for execution handling, and determines the execution context to be optimized based on the frequency data. The compiler determines the exception handler for handling an exception that occurs in the above execution context, and generate a code describing a process path from a point that throw the exception in said execution context to the exception handler.

Abstract: A framework of a service directory that can handle service records changing rapidly is provided by using a content-based routing network. A directory node for providing the service directory is called a data resolver. The data resolver listens for service advertisements for certain service categories from service providers, and stores such advertisement data in the form of service records in a local cache. If a data resolver receives a query for some services, it first looks in the cache. If the cache contains at least one service record that satisfies the query, the data resolver returns the record. Otherwise, the data resolver issues a secondary query corresponding to the query it received, to other data resolvers connected by the content-based routing network. Simultaneously, the data resolver begins listening for service advertisements (service records) from other data resolvers on the content-based routing network.

Abstract: To provide a message sending function which reflects “taste” in a destination agent designated by a user and a policy of the market in which agents operate. When multicasting a message to agents, a message monitor executes the steps of: receiving preferential destination information designated by a user along with the message; determining to which agents the message is to be sent, by referring to the preferential destination information; and sending the message to the agents determined as destinations. This preferential destination information designated by a user is the information representing a user's “taste” which is represented, for instance, by an agent name and a priority (or weight). It is also possible that the destination determining step comprises a step of referring to a messaging policy data defining priorities of agents to which the message can be sent. By doing so, it becomes possible to reflect a policy of a market's sponsor on message sending.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for extracting a model vector representation from multimedia documents. A model vector provides a multidimensional representation of the confidence with which multimedia documents belong to a set of categories or with which a set of semantic concepts relate to the documents. A model vector can be associated with multimedia documents to provide an index of its content or categorization and can be used for comparing, searching, classifying, or clustering multimedia documents. A model vector can be used for purposes of information discovery, personalizing multimedia content, and querying a multimedia information repository.