Abstract: Precipitation-hardened, martensitic, cast stainless steel having a composition comprising, by mass, 0.08-0.18% of C, 1.5% or less of Si, 2.0% or less of Mn, 0.005-0.4% of S, 13.5-16.5% of Cr, 3.0-5.5% of Ni, 0.5-2.8% of Cu, 1.0-2.0% of Nb, and 0.12% or less of N, the amounts of C, N and Nb meeting the condition of ?0.2?9 (C %+0.86N %)?Nb %?1.0, the rest being Fe and inevitable impurities, and having a structure in which Cu precipitates having an average particle size of 0.1-0.4 ?m are dispersed in a tempered-martensite-based matrix.

Abstract: Inorganic polymers are produced from silicate (—Si—O—) and/or phosphonate (—P—O—) bonds, commonly found in rocks and glass, to create new polymeric materials for rubbers, fibers, and plastics. These inorganic polymers have various advantages over organic counterparts including abundance on the earth's crust, and properties including nonflammability, low toxicity, recyclability, and excellent thermal and chemical resistance.

Abstract: Provided are a striped pattern image examination support device, method, and program. The device includes: image transformation element for transforming at least one of two striped pattern images so as to cause coordinates of charting points, which are points that correspond across the two striped pattern images, to match in a plurality of pairs of the charting points which are included in the two striped pattern images; intersecting point extraction element for calculating coordinates of intersecting points of stripes in the striped pattern images and line segments each of which connects two of the charting points in the striped pattern images; charting diagram display element for displaying the two striped pattern images after transformation by the image transformation element, and displaying figures representing charting points at positions corresponding to coordinates after the transformations of each of the charting points on the two striped pattern images.

Abstract: Provided are a striped pattern image examination support device, method, and program. The device includes: image transformation element for transforming at least one of two striped pattern images so as to cause coordinates of charting points, which are points that correspond across the two striped pattern images, to match in a plurality of pairs of the charting points which are included in the two striped pattern images; intersecting point extraction element for calculating coordinates of intersecting points of stripes in the striped pattern images and line segments each of which connects two of the charting points in the striped pattern images; charting diagram display element for displaying the two striped pattern images after transformation by the image transformation element, and displaying figures representing charting points at positions corresponding to coordinates after the transformations of each of the charting points on the two striped pattern images.

Abstract: A ridge direction extraction unit, which analyzes the shape of a ridge in a fingerprint image and extracts the ridge direction that indicates the slope of the ridge, includes: a low confidence region density value conversion module that reduces the density values in a low confidence region to generate a density conversion image; a synthesized image generating module for synthesizing a high confidence region and the low confidence region to generate a synthesized image; an auxiliary direction determining function for determining which ridge direction in the synthesized image is to be the auxiliary direction and deriving the degree of confidence in the auxiliary direction; and a high confidence region expanding module for calculating the degree of confidence in the direction, and correcting the ridge direction in the low confidence direction contiguous with the high confidence region so as to increase the degree of confidence in the ridge direction.

Abstract: A distribution device according to the present application includes a receiving unit, a calculation unit, and a distribution unit. The receiving unit receives location information from a terminal device owned by a user. The calculation unit calculates, once the receiving unit receives the location information, an expected time within which the user arrives from a first coverage region in which communication is possible by way of an out-of-coverage region in which communication is impossible to a second coverage region. The distribution unit distributes an alert to a predetermined distribution destination if the location information of the second coverage region is not received from the terminal device within the expected time calculated by the calculation unit.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes: a data storage section configured to store image data as a density image containing a fingerprint or a palm print and ridge pattern direction distribution data which shows a direction distribution of a ridge pattern in a fingerprint or a palm print; a direction usage image enhancing section configured to execute ridge direction usage image enhancement processing on the density image based on the ridge pattern direction distribution data; and a direction extracting section configured to extract a first direction distribution of a first pattern which is contained in a ridge direction usage image enhanced image, from the ridge direction usage image enhanced image as a result of the ridge direction usage image enhancement processing to the density image. The direction usage image enhancing section executes first direction usage image enhancement processing on the density image based on first direction distribution data which shows a first direction distribution.

Abstract: Provided is a stripe pattern image analysis device by which a burden of an appraiser regarding a new charting point searching designation operation can be reduced. The device includes a charting point modification element obtaining or modifying a first point located on a first stripe pattern image displayed in a first window, and a second point which is corresponding to the first point and located on a second stripe pattern image displayed in a second window; a nonlinear coordinate transformation element transforming the first stripe pattern image using a nonlinear coordinate transformation so that a first coordinate of the first point in the first window matches a second coordinate of the second point in the second window; and a charting figure edit and display element displaying the first stripe pattern image, transformed by the nonlinear coordinate transformation element by use of the nonlinear coordinate transformation, in the first window.

Abstract: A ridge direction extraction unit, which analyses the shape of a ridge in a fingerprint image and extracts the ridge direction that indicates the slope of the ridge, includes: a low confidence region density value conversion module that reduces the density values in a low confidence region to generate a density conversion image; a synthesized image generating module for synthesizing a high confidence region and the low confidence region to generate a synthesized image; an auxiliary direction determining function for determining which ridge direction in the synthesized image is to be the auxiliary direction and deriving the degree of confidence in the auxiliary direction; and a high confidence region expanding module for calculating the degree of confidence in the direction, and correcting the ridge direction in the low confidence direction contiguous with the high confidence region so as to increase the degree of confidence in the ridge direction.

Abstract: Disclosed is a pattern noise removal device for removing background pattern noise having periodicity from a digital image, which includes a candidate pixel extracting module for extracting candidate pixels that constitute the background pattern noise from the pixels in the image on the bases of the concentration of each of the pixels, a dot pattern feature extracting module for extracting the feature of a dot pattern formed by each of the candidate pixels and the peripheral neighborhood pixels among the extracted candidate pixels, a dot pattern area extracting module for extracting a dot pattern area including the candidate pixels of the periodicity and the neighborhood pixels, which have the feature of the dot pattern, and a periodic pattern noise removal module for removing the candidate pixels of the periodicity and the neighborhood pixels, which are included in the dot pattern area, as the background pattern noise.

Abstract: Provided is a test method for acute kidney injury, including detecting urinary podocalyxin. According to the test method, a subject to be tested who has a higher value for the urinary podocalyxin than a reference value can be assessed to have acute kidney injury. Further, as compared to a conventional method, the test method allows acute kidney injury to be assessed accurately and non-invasively, which allows a physical burden on a patient to be reduced. Thus, the test method is useful.

Abstract: A system, which computer processes a tenprint card where fingerprint images are imprinted, provides a processing mechanism which automatically crops or segments respective fingerprint images on the tenprint card. In particular, the system provides: a processing mechanism which appropriately crops or segments a slap print image, even if a fingerprint image of slap prints does not fit in a predetermined frame or even if noise other than fingerprints to be cropped or segmented is present within a frame of a four-finger slap, by using a result of matching with rolled prints; and a processing mechanism which checks a correspondence relationship between the rolled prints and the plane prints, assesses a finger position, and detects an error of imprinting position.

Abstract: A wireless device includes an input/output port that receives a first transmission signal subjected to transmission processing by another wireless device, the first transmission signal being output from the another wireless device, the another wireless device using a second frequency band adjacent to a first frequency band used by the wireless device, a synthesis circuit that synthesizes the first transmission signal received via the port and a second transmission signal subjected to transmission processing by the wireless device and that outputs the synthesized signal via an antenna, and a splitting circuit that splitbranches a first reception signal of the first frequency band and a second reception signal of the second frequency band, the first and the second reception signals being included in a reception signal received via the antenna, the splitting circuit outputting a split reception signal of the second frequency band via the port to the other wireless device.

Abstract: A feature-point matching unit calculates a first matching score between first and second biological patterns, based on: first and second feature-point data indicating first and second feature-point sets of first and second ridge patterns included in first and second images of first and second biological patterns respectively, and generates a corresponding feature-point list by extracting a corresponding feature-point set being a set of corresponding feature-points between the first and second feature point sets. A non-linear image conversion unit performs a first non-linear conversion making the first image approximate to the second based on the corresponding feature-point list. A feature point matching unit calculates a second matching score between the first and second biological patterns based on the first image after the first non-linear image conversion and the second. A high matching accuracy is achieved in fingerprint or palmprint matching using a low-quality image.

Abstract: A receiving apparatus includes: an interference wave reducer configured to reduce an interference wave included in a received signal; and an automatic gain controller configured to automatically control a gain for the received signal, the automatic gain controller including a convergence time saver to save convergence time of an automatic gain control for the received signal based on an input of an interference wave.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes: a data storage section configured to store image data as a density image containing a fingerprint or a palm print and ridge pattern direction distribution data which shows a direction distribution of a ridge pattern in a fingerprint or a palm print; a direction usage image enhancing section configured to execute ridge direction usage image enhancement processing on the density image based on the ridge pattern direction distribution data; and a direction extracting section configured to extract a first direction distribution of a first pattern which is contained in a ridge direction usage image enhanced image, from the ridge direction usage image enhanced image as a result of the ridge direction usage image enhancement processing to the density image. The direction usage image enhancing section executes first direction usage image enhancement processing on the density image based on first direction distribution data which shows a first direction distribution.

Abstract: Provided is a test method for acute kidney injury, including detecting urinary podocalyxin. According to the test method, a subject to be tested who has a higher value for the urinary podocalyxin than a reference value can be assessed to have acute kidney injury. Further, as compared to a conventional method, the test method allows acute kidney injury to be assessed accurately and non-invasively, which allows a physical burden on a patient to be reduced. Thus, the test method is useful.

Abstract: A first fine particle-containing solution is deposited on an appropriate substrate, and dried to form a first fine particle aggregate layer. Polymer particles are deposited on the first fine particle aggregate layer, and are supplied with a second fine particle-containing solution such that the polymer particles are immersed in the second fine particle-containing solution. The second fine particle-containing solution is dried to form a second fine particle aggregate layer containing a large number of the polymer particles embedded. A first structure precursor is completed at this stage. Then, the first structure precursor is separated from the substrate, and thermally treated. Thus, the production of a first solid electrolyte structure, which has a porous solid electrolyte portion and a dense solid electrolyte portion integrated, is completed.

Abstract: A solid electrolyte structure containing a porous solid electrolyte is prepared. At least the porous solid electrolyte of the solid electrolyte structure is immersed in a first sol solution containing at least a precursor of an electrode active material as a solute. Then, the first sol solution, in which the porous solid electrolyte is immersed, is heated. A solvent of the first sol solution is evaporated by the heating, whereby a pore of the porous solid electrolyte is filled with a high concentration (a large amount) of the electrode active material precursor.

Abstract: Provided is a test method for the detection of diabetic nephropathy at an early stage as compared to a conventional method. Specifically provided are: a test method for diabetic nephropathy, including detecting urinary podocalyxin; the test method, further including assessing diabetic nephropathy at least Stage I; a test reagent for use in the test method; and a test reagent kit for use in the test method. The present invention is based on a finding that urinary podocalyxin reflects the development and condition of diabetic nephropathy with high sensitivity at an early stage as compared to urinary albumin.