Abstract: A dialogue supporting apparatus that easily selects a desired sample sentence from among candidate-sample sentences corresponding to inputted speech.

Abstract: A content searching apparatus facilitating a search of a content which a user desires even where relativity between a content and a keyword change includes: a content table storing unit (108) storing content tables (108a); an input unit (112) obtaining a keyword which has been selected as a selected keyword; a relevant keyword creating unit (109) calculating a relevance degree, for each of keywords, to the selected keyword, based on a target content table (108a), selecting a keyword having a predetermined relevance degree out of each of the keywords, and creating a relevant keyword out of the corresponding keywords; a variance calculating unit (106) calculating a variance value of selected keywords including the keyword when the user is confused; and a content table selecting unit (114) changing the above mentioned target content table (108a) to another content table (108a) in the case where the variance value is larger than a threshold value.

Abstract: A semiconductor optical waveguide-A having an optical amplification function and a semiconductor optical waveguide-B having a light control function are integrated together on the same substrate. A facet of the semiconductor optical waveguide-A facing an isolation trench and a facet of the semiconductor optical waveguide-B facing the isolation trench are configured as a composite optical reflector/optical connector using an optical interference. The facet of the semiconductor optical waveguide-A achieves an optical reflectivity not higher than the reflectivity corresponding to a cleaved facet and not smaller than several percent, and an optical coupling coefficient of not lower than 50% between the semiconductor optical waveguide-A and the semiconductor optical waveguide-B.

Abstract: An object of the invention is to provide an optical integrated device which enables to supply a wide range of variable wavelength and to reduce the coupling loss. The optical integrated circuit chip (10) includes a semiconductor optical amplifier section (20), a phase control section (18), a partially reflecting mirror (16) having optical power splitter function and a Mach-Zehnder optical modulator (22), wherein all elements are formed on a same substrate monolithically. On each facet of the optical integrated circuit chip (10), an Anti-Reflection coating (12, 14) is formed respectively. A lens (30), an optical filter (32) and an external resonator mirror (28) are located outside of the optical integrated circuit chip (10), wherein an external cavity laser is formed with a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) section (20) operating as gain section, a partially reflecting mirror (16) operating as first reflecting mirror and an external resonator mirror (28) operating as a second mirror.

Abstract: The reflectance of a semiconductor optical amplifier (1) on the side where an external cavity is formed is 0.1% at most. The finesse value obtained by dividing the period of the transmission characteristic of the wavelength selection filter (3) by the half value width of the transmission characteristic is 4 or more and 25 or less. Even when the reflectance of a cavity side end face (1bb) of the semiconductor optical amplifier (1) is about 0.1%, a wavelength accuracy of ±1.5 GHz can be achieved by setting the finesse to 4 or more. In addition, a wavelength accuracy of about ±0.5 GHz can be achieved by setting the finesse to 8 or more. In order to suppress insertion loss, it is preferable to set the finesse of the FP etalon to 25 or less. This makes it possible to implement an external cavity wavelength tunable laser with high wavelength accuracy.

Abstract: A dialog supporting device supporting improved dialog by reducing the number of utterances resulting from misunderstandings and hasty conclusions.

Abstract: In an external cavity wavelength tunable laser device including an external cavity (20) which includes a semiconductor optical amplifier (2) and performs laser oscillation operation by feeding back external light, a wavelength tunable mirror (7) having at least a single-peak reflection spectrum characteristic within a laser wavelength tuning range is placed on one end of the external cavity (20), and a Fabry-Perot mode interval determined by the effective length of the external cavity (20) is not less than 1/10 times and not more than 10 times the reflection band full width half maximum of the wavelength tunable mirror (7).

Abstract: Only the light at an overlapping wavelength of the transmission characteristics of at least two wavelength selecting filters is looped, and at least one of the wavelength selecting filters varies a selected wavelength. Since a loss due to the optical filters is small and there is not a loss caused by a highly reflecting film, the output of an external-resonator variable-wavelength laser can be increased. Optical circuit component (8) divides light input from external device (1) into at least two ports. Loop waveguide (11) interconnects at least ports (9, 10) divided by optical circuit component (8) in the form of a loop. At least two first wavelength selecting filters (12, 13) are inserted in series in a path of loop waveguide (11), and have periodic transmission characteristics on a frequency axis which are different from each other. At least one of first wavelength selecting filters (12, 13) varies the selected wavelength.

Abstract: A named entity extracting apparatus that extracts a named entity suitable for a user by enabling an order to be set in which the named entity is extracted from texts includes: an extraction order reading unit 103 that acquires a named entity pattern name stored in association with an extraction order in an extraction order storage unit 102; a named entity extracting unit 105 that extracts the named entity from input texts using a named entity pattern corresponding to the named entity pattern name acquired by the extraction order reading unit 103; and an extraction end judging unit 106 which outputs, in the case where extraction has not ended, a text on which the extraction is in progress to the extraction order reading unit 103, and continues the named entity extraction processing.

Abstract: Provided is a dialog supporting device which can support dialog to be speedily completed on the whole, by reducing the number of operations required to generate one utterance regardless of dialog partner's interrupting utterances.

Abstract: A dialogue supporting apparatus is provided which carries out a trade-off between the speed of the translation process and the fluency of the translation result, in accordance with the contents of a dialogue.

Abstract: A dialog supporting apparatus which can support an on-going dialog so that the dialog is smoothly completed. The dialog supporting apparatus includes an utterance receiving unit which receives an utterance of a dialog participant and outputs utterance information, an utterance processing unit which translates the utterance identified by the utterance information, an utterance output unit which outputs the translated utterance information, a dialog history database, an utterance prediction unit which generates a first utterance prediction information based on the first utterance prediction information and the second utterance prediction information.

Abstract: A dialog supporting apparatus which can support an on-going dialog so that the dialog is smoothly completed. The dialog supporting apparatus includes an utterance receiving unit which receives an utterance of a dialog participant and outputs utterance information, an utterance processing unit which translates the utterance identified by the utterance information, an utterance output unit which outputs the translated utterance information, a dialog history database, an utterance prediction unit which generates a first utterance prediction information based on the first utterance prediction information and the second utterance prediction information.

Abstract: To facilitate phase adjustment in an external resonator type wavelength-variable laser. An external resonator type wavelength-variable laser (50) includes a semiconductor light amplifier (1), a wavelength selection filter (3) having periodic frequency characteristics, an external resonator (6), and a wavelength-variable filter (4). ?f is divided into one or more regions. The following conditions are satisfied for one ?fi region: mj=(j×?ffs)/?FP where ?ffs: a period of the wavelength selection filter, ?fFP: a Fabry-Perot mode interval dependent on a length of the external resonator, j: an integer not smaller than 1 and not larger than (?fi/?ffs). A coefficient Mj is an integer obtained by rounding off the first digit after decimal point of the coefficient mj. A coefficient Ni,j is an integer obtained by discarding the first digit after decimal point of ?fi/(j?ffs). In this regard, a relation of (|Ni,j×2?(Mj?mj)|<?/2) is satisfied for one j.

Abstract: The present invention provides a fused ring compound of the following formula [I] wherein each symbol is as defined in the specification, a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, and a therapeutic agent for hepatitis C, which contains this compound. The compound of the present invention shows an anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) action based on the HCV polymerase inhibitory activity, and is useful as a therapeutic agent or prophylactic agent for hepatitis C.

Abstract: Provided is a dialog supporting device which supports dialog to speedily complete by reducing the number of utterances resulted from misunderstandings and hasty conclusion.

Abstract: Provided is a dialog supporting device which can support dialog to be speedily completed on the whole, by reducing the number of operations required to generate one utterance regardless of dialog partner's interrupting utterances.

Abstract: A dialogue supporting apparatus is provided which carries out a trade-off between the speed of the translation process and the fluency of the translation result, in accordance with the contents of a dialogue.

Abstract: When traveling to a destination reported in a television broadcast or the like, the user has had to make a memo while watching the television and, when actually traveling by car, the user has had to enter necessary information into an in-vehicle terminal by looking at the memo. A broadcast provider broadcasts a travel program together with travel destination information related to it, and a television terminal presents the received broadcast and travel destination information to the user. If the user desires to travel to the destination thus presented, the television terminal downloads the received travel destination information into a memory card.

Abstract: A distributed-feedback semiconductor laser as a direct modulation light source with a modulation rate over 10 Gb/s having (1) a low threshold current characteristic, (2) a high single-mode characteristic, (3) a high resonant frequency (fr) characteristic, (4) a high temperature characteristic, and (5) adaptability to wide wavelength band and an extremely short active region. The distributed-feedback semiconductor laser 1 comprises an active region 30 for generating the gain of the laser beam and a diffraction grating 13 formed in the active region 30. Out of the two front and back end surfaces sandwiching the active region 30, the front end surface 1a has a reflectivity of 1 percent or less, and the back end surface 1b has a reflectivity of 30 percent or more when viewed from the back end surface 1b toward the front. The coupling coefficient ? of the diffraction grating 13 is 100 cm?1 or more, and the length L of the active region 30 is 150 ?m or less.