Abstract: Various embodiments for maintaining security and confidentiality of data and operations within a fraud detection system. Each of these embodiments utilizes a secure architecture in which: (1) access to data is limited to only approved or authorized entities; (2) confidential details in received data can be readily identified and concealed; and (3) confidential details that have become non-confidential can be identified and exposed.

Abstract: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a data editing program causing a computer to execute data editing processing, the data editing processing includes transferring insert data between a transfer start position and a transfer end position to a transfer insertion position; the transferring the insert data including: transferring transfer-start-back-data at and after the transfer start position in a transfer start cluster to a first new cluster; transferring transfer-end-forward-data at and before the transfer end position in a transfer end cluster to a second new cluster; transferring transfer-insertion-forward-data at and before the transfer insertion position or transfer-insertion-back-data at and after the transfer insertion position to the first or the second new cluster; and editing the management data, such that a cluster next to the transfer start cluster is linked after the first new cluster, and a cluster preceding the transfer end cluster is linked before the second new cluster.

Abstract: Provided is a gas turbine combustor having improved maintainability obtained by facilitating the mounting and removal of a base plate for supporting main burners and a pilot burner. A gas turbine combustor is provided with: a pilot burner disposed at the center of a combustor inner tube; main burners provided on the outside of the pilot burner in the radial direction so as to be arranged in the circumferential direction of the inner peripheral surface of the combustor inner tube; a circular disc-shaped base plate disposed within the combustor inner tube and supporting both the pilot burner and the main burners; and an engagement section protruding from the inner peripheral surface toward the inside thereof in the radial direction and engaging with the base plate. The base plate, and the engagement section or the inner peripheral surfaces are affixed by bolts.

Abstract: An image-forming apparatus includes a main body and a genuine toner cartridge without a memory device that is supplied with the main body. The apparatus includes a cartridge installation part configured to receive at least two different types of toner cartridges, including the genuine cartridge without a memory device and a genuine toner cartridge with a memory device that is to be supplied as a replacement for the genuine toner cartridge without a memory device. Also, the apparatus includes a reader configured to retrieve data from the memory device of the genuine toner cartridge with the memory device received in the cartridge installation part.

Abstract: The file information write processing method according to the present invention is a file information write processing method wherein a computer executes a process for outputting instruction corresponding to a file information write instruction from an application to a device driver, wherein: searching clusters which are empty areas within an actual data area of a memory unit of the computer, and obtaining the search result; if clusters which are empty areas exist, writing information to overwrite to one or more clusters within the actual data area of the memory unit which is a target of the write instruction from the application, to the clusters which are empty areas; and freeing clusters which were to be overwritten by the information written to the empty area clusters.

Abstract: A method of marketing optimization with respect to brand lifetime management formulates a problem of brand equity maximization utilizing Markov Decision Process (MDP) thereby casting brand equity management as a long term regard optimization problem in MDP, The marketing mix is optimized by formulating the mix as actions in MDP and, utilizing historical marketing and transaction data, aspects of the MDP are estimated.

Abstract: A method of marketing optimization with respect to brand lifetime management formulates a problem of brand equity maximization utilizing Markov Decision Process (MDP) thereby casting brand equity management as a long term regard optimization problem in MDP, The marketing mix is optimized by formulating the mix as actions in MDP and, utilizing historical marketing and transaction data, aspects of the MDP are estimated.

Abstract: A system and method for sequential decision-making for customer relationship management includes providing customer data including stimulus-response history data, and automatically generating actionable rules based on the customer data. Further, automatically generating actionable rules may include estimating a value function using reinforcement learning.

Abstract: Multi-class cost-sensitive boosting based on gradient boosting with “p-norm” cost functionals” uses iterative example weighting schemes derived with respect to cost functionals, and a binary classification algorithm. Weighted sampling is iteratively applied from an expanded data set obtained by enhancing each example in the original data set with as many data points as there are possible labels for any single instance, and where each non-optimally labeled example is given the weight equaling a half times the original misclassification cost for the labeled example times the p?1 norm of the average prediction of the current hypotheses. Each optimally labeled example is given the weight equaling the sum of the weights for all the non-optimally labeled examples for the same instance. Component classification algorithm is executed on a modified binary classification problem. A classifier hypothesis is output, which is the average of all the hypotheses output in the respective iterations.

Abstract: A “variable group selection” system and method in which constructs are based upon a training data set, a regression modeling module that takes into account information on groups of related predictor variables given as input and outputs a regression model with selected variable groups. Optionally, the method can be employed as a component in methods of temporal causal modeling, which are applied on a time series training data set, and output a model of causal relationships between the multiple times series in the data.

Abstract: A large amount of entrapping immobilization pellets with highly stable quality are produced inexpensively by high-speed treatment. There is provided a process for producing entrapping immobilization pellets in which microorganisms are entrapped and immobilized in an immobilizing agent, the process comprising polymerizing a mixture containing the microorganisms and a solution of the immobilizing agent in a forming frame into a gel to prepare a pellet block.

Abstract: The hydrogen-producing method of the an aspect of the present invention is a method for producing hydrogen in which hydrogen is produced from an organic matter using a microorganism, characterized by using pellets on which hydrogen-producing acid-resistant bacteria are entrapped and immobilized, producing hydrogen by bringing the pellets into contact and react with the organic matter in an environment of a pH of 4 to 6. The inventors of the present invention have obtained a finding that a hydrogen-producing bacteria are entrapped and immobilized, so that the optimum pH of the hydrogen-producing bacterium shifts to low range. The present invention is made based on the above finding and uses pellets on which the hydrogen-producing bacteria are entrapped and immobilized, so that the hydrogen-producing bacterium is activated at a low pH range of 4 to 6 to produce hydrogen. Therefore, the effects of contaminated bacteria that consume hydrogen are less, and the yield of hydrogen can be improved.

Abstract: It is possible to eliminate fluctuation in the pellet strength of the entrapping immobilization pellets according to production lots, and constantly and stably produce the entrapping immobilization pellets having high pellet strength regardless of the production lots. An apparatus for producing entrapping immobilization pellets by polymerizing an immobilizing material into a gel in the presence of an activated sludge to entrap and immobilize microorganisms in the immobilizing material, the apparatus including: a line mixer which mixes an activated sludge with an immobilizing material to prepare a raw material solution, a temperature sensor which measures a temperature of the prepared raw material solution, an addition pump which adds a polymerization initiator to the prepared raw material solution, and a controller which controls the addition pump according to the measured temperature to control an additive rate of the polymerization initiator.

Abstract: A method and apparatus usable in an image forming apparatus, comprising a photoreceptor, and a plurality of exposing devices having a plurality of light emitting elements arranged therein for exposing the photoreceptor, wherein the plurality of exposing devices include at least two exposing devices having a distribution tendency similar to the plurality of light emitting elements.

Abstract: Provided is a gas turbine combustion burner capable of uniformly ejecting fuel from ejection holes for reduced NOx emissions of gas turbine combustors. The gas turbine combustion burner includes a plurality of swirling vanes (20) for ejecting fuel from fuel ejection holes (23, 24) into air or a mixture of air and fuel flowing from an upstream side while applying a swirling force to form a swirling mixed airflow and a nozzle (21) having the swirling vanes (20) arranged radially on an outer circumferential surface thereof and having a first fuel passage (26), through which the fuel is guided to the fuel ejection holes (23, 24), provided therein, a cavity (25) communicating with the fuel ejection holes (23, 24) is provided in each swirling vane (20), and at least two second fuel passages (27) are provided between the cavity (25) and the first fuel passage (26) along an axial direction.

Abstract: An image-forming apparatus for forming an image using toner contained in a toner cartridge, genuineness of the toner cartridge with or without a memory device is verified. A counter counts a value concerning image formation. A cartridge detector determines the presence or absence of the toner cartridge. A reader is configured to retrieve data from a memory device if any provided in the toner cartridge. A controller is configured to exercise two types of control. If the cartridge detector determines that the toner cartridge is present, the value counted by the counter is greater than a predetermined value, and the reader has failed retrieval of predetermined data, then a first type of control conformable to a toner cartridge other than a genuine toner cartridge is exercised. Otherwise, a second type of control conformable to the genuine toner cartridge is exercised.

Abstract: A computing system initializes a first frontier to be a root of a multi-dimensional hierarchical data structure representing an entity. The system acquires first data corresponding to the first frontier. The system performs modeling on the first data to obtain a first model and a corresponding first statistic. The system expands a dimension of the first frontier. The system gathers second data corresponding to the expanded frontier. The system applies the data modeling on the second data to obtain a second model and a corresponding second statistic. The system compares the first statistic of the first model and the second statistic of the second model. The system sets the second model to be the first model in response to determining that the second model statistic is better than the first model statistic. The system outputs the first model.

Abstract: A proposed file delete method is a method used by a computer or a file processing device performing a process of outputting to a device driver a directive corresponding to a directive to delete a file satisfying a predetermined condition from an application, and includes: a step of obtaining in primary storage from an actual data area in secondary storage the directory entry information in a directory storing a file to be deleted; a step of adding in the primary storage a delete mark to the file in the obtained directory entry when the file in the obtained directory entry satisfies the predetermined condition; a step of writing a result of the delete mark adding process to a corresponding portion of the actual data area in the secondary storage; and a step of freeing FAT information stored in the secondary storage corresponding to the delete mark added file.

Abstract: In an image-forming apparatus for forming an image using toner contained in a toner cartridge, genuineness of the toner cartridge with or without a memory device is verified. A counter counts a value concerning image formation. A cartridge detector determines the presence or absence of the toner cartridge. A reader is configured to retrieve data from a memory device if any provided in the toner cartridge. A controller is configured to exercise two types of control. If the cartridge detector determines that the toner cartridge is present, the value counted by the counter is greater than a predetermined value, and the reader has failed retrieval of predetermined data, then a first type of control conformable to a toner cartridge other than a genuine toner cartridge is exercised. Otherwise, a second type of control conformable to the genuine toner cartridge is exercised.

Abstract: A method (and system) for causal modeling includes modeling a data set. The modeling includes estimating a reverse Bayesian forest for the data set and detecting outliers in a separate data set. Detecting the outliers includes applying the reverse Bayesian forest to the separate data set to obtain a probability value assigned to data points in the separate data set and identifying outliers in the separate data set by evaluating the probability value given by the reverse Bayesian forest.