Abstract: A light source apparatus for an endoscope system comprises a light source, a light reduction unit, and a light guide. The light reduction unit has a light-passing area that is exposed to light from the light source. The light-passing area has a transmittance that is variable. The light guide illuminates an incident light through the light reduction unit, to a photographing subject. The transmittance is set based on a quantity of light emitted from the light source that varies with respect to a time of use of the light source.

Abstract: A gas supplying unit supplies a nitrogen gas into a furnace body of a graphite heating furnace in which at least a part of the furnace body is formed with a graphite. An exhausting unit exhausts a gas inside the furnace body to outside the furnace body. A dew-point temperature of the nitrogen gas supplied into the furnace body is equal to or lower than ?80° C. A pressure inside the furnace body is equal to or higher than 140 Pa with respect to an atmospheric pressure outside the furnace body.

Abstract: A process for producing a magnetic tape is provided, in which a web is extended in the width direction immediately before it is cut by a slitter when the web is supplied to the slitter to be cut into several magnetic tapes. The extension of the web is performed by an extension roller apparatus comprises a backup roller for rolling the web and a pair of horizontally disposed extension rollers which elastically push the web WB at portions near both sides thereof to allow the web for extending in the width direction.

Abstract: An electronic endoscope has a video-scope with an image sensor, a light source that radiates illuminating-light on an object, and a brightness adjuster that maintains a brightness of an object image at a proper brightness on the basis of an amount of illuminating-light. The electronic endoscope has a brightness state detector and a reporting processor. The brightness state detector detects whether the amount of illuminating-light is aberrant while the brightness is adjusted by the brightness adjuster. The reporting processor reports an aberrant state of the illuminating light.

Abstract: A video-scope according to the present invention has an image sensor and is selectively connectable to plural types of video-processors. The video-scope has a memory, a signal processor, a video-processor detector, and a data setter. The memory stores a series of register setting data, which is associated with signal processes for image signals, read from the image sensor, and which corresponds to the plural types video-processors. The signal processor is provided in the video-scope and processes the image signals. The video-processor detector detects the type information of the connected video-processor. Then, the data setter reads the register setting data corresponding to the detected type information from the memory, and writes the register setting data in a register provided in the signal processor. The signal processor processes the image signals in accordance with the register setting data in the register.

Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide a strain having a significantly increased frequency of homologous recombination, which is necessary for gene disruption of gene replacement by gene targeting of a mitosporic filamentous fungus. This invention relates to a transformant having an increased frequency of homologous recombination (gene targeting), which is a mitosporic filamentous fungus belonging to Trichocomaceae, due to suppression of a ku gene by ku gene disruption or antisense RNA method, to a method for the production of a gene-disruption stain, gene-deletion strain, gene-replacement strain, gene-insertion strain or chromosome-modification strain by means of the gene targeting method using said transformant, and to the above-mentioned ku genes such as those derived from Aspergillus sojae and Aspergillus oryzae, and their expressed products (proteins).

Abstract: An endoscope system includes a processor. The processor is physically connectable to different endoscopes to receive and process signals from an endoscope that is selectively physically connected to the processor. The processor includes a database that stores pieces of endoscope data each corresponding to a different endoscope. Each piece of endoscope data is associated with ownership information. The pieces of endoscope data indicate whether usage of a physically connected endoscope is authorized. The ownership information indicates a term for which the physically connected endoscope is allowed to be utilized. An output outputs the ownership information.

Abstract: An endoscope includes a storage device. The storage device is configured to store ownership information. The ownership information indicates a term for which the endoscope is allowed to be utilized.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a single-phase film of a metal sulfide with good quality, and a method for preparing a metal sulfide film at a low cost in a convenient manner. The present invention provides a preparation method of a metal sulfide film, comprising the steps of providing metal halide, such as iron halide (FeCl3, FeI3, FeBr3, FeCl2, FeI2 and FeBr2), as a first raw material and a thioamide compound, such as thioacetamide, as a second raw material, preferably vaporizing these raw materials and reacting them at atmospheric pressure; and a metal sulfide film prepared by this method.

Abstract: An endoscope system including a database and a database managing device is disclosed. The database is configured to store a plurality of pieces of endoscope data. Each piece of the endoscope data corresponds to a different endoscope and is associated with ownership information indicating a term for which the corresponding endoscope is allowed to be utilized. The database managing device selects the piece of endoscope data to be replaced based on the ownership information. The ownership information includes information on whether the corresponding endoscope is purchased or not The database managing device selects and replaces the piece of endoscope data related to the endoscope that is not purchased in preference to purchased endoscope data.

Abstract: A component of a catalyst for polymerizing an olefin, comprises: a carrier containing an inorganic oxide selected from silica, alumina, zirconia and titania and having a crushing strength of 0.5 to 25 MPa; and at least one member selected from oxides or hydroxides of metals of the groups 2, 3, 4, 13 and 14 in the periodic table, the metals being different from the metal constituting the inorganic oxide in the carrier, wherein the at least one member is supported on the surface of the carrier, so as to provide a novel catalyst component suitable for particle polymerization of an olefin and enabling to easily change molecular weight distribution of the resultant polymer.

Abstract: A search for copyright-related information contained in image data is conducted. If no such information is detected, a database is queried to determine whether it contains copyright-related information corresponding to the image represented by this image data. Information relating to a copyright in accordance with the result of querying the database is added onto the image data. This prevents the unauthorized copying of a copyrighted article in an environment in which digitized copyrighted articles can be exchanged by networking and electronic filing.

Abstract: An electronic endoscope system includes an electronic endoscope and a processor to which the electronic endoscope is connectable. The processor includes a signal processor for displaying the images captured by the electronic endoscope, while adjusting the color balance thereof, and a memory holding an endoscope database. The processor further includes a CPU that retrieves endoscopic information from a memory of the electronic endoscope, which includes compensation data for white balance adjustment of the processor. The CPU registers the electronic endoscope with the endoscope database by storing the retrieved endoscopic information into the endoscope database when the white balance readjustment of the processor is required.

Abstract: An endoscope system is provided that includes a processor connectable to various endoscopes to process signals generated by the endoscope being connected. The processor further includes a database, a data selector and a data register. The database is configured to be registered a plurality of pieces of endoscope data, each of which being related to different one of the endoscopes connectable to the connector. Each piece of the endoscope data includes priority information indicating the priority of deleting the piece of endoscope data. The data selector selects one piece of the endoscope data based on the priority information. The data register registers a new endoscope with the database by replacing the selected piece of endoscope data with the piece of endoscope data of the new endoscope.

Abstract: A search for copyright-related information contained in image data is conducted. If no such information is detected, a database is queried to determine whether it contains copyright-related information corresponding to the image represented by this image data. Information relating to a copyright in accordance with the result of querying the database is added onto the image data. This prevents the unauthorized copying of a copyrighted article in an environment in which digitized copyrighted articles can be exchanged by networking and electronic filing.

Abstract: Provided are a protein comprising the amino acid sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 2 and having prolidase activities, a prolidase gene coding for the protein, a prolidase gene comprising the nucleotide sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 1, recombinant DNA having the gene inserted into vector DNA, and a transformant or transductant comprising the recombinant DNA, and a method for producing prolidase using the transformant or transductant. The present invention can improve the prolidase through protein engineering. The present invention can be also used for improving microorganisms used in the production of enzymes for food processing and fermented foods.

Abstract: An electronic endoscope displays the date so as to enable the year, month, and day to be differentiated on a screen when displaying a date together with the object image. The electronic endoscope is provided with, in a processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a real time clock (RTC), a cathode ray tube controller (CRTC) and a character generator read only memory (CG-RORM) and, on the outside, a keyboard and monitor. A date is read from the RTC and a character code corresponding to the year, month, and day to be displayed on the screen of the monitor is read from the CG-ROM at the CRTC. The character code is transmitted as a character signal to the monitor, and the date is displayed on the screen along with the object image, the month being displayed by a green color and the year and day by a white color at this time.

Abstract: An information providing system including an information providing apparatus for providing predetermined information according to an access from an electronic apparatus. The information providing apparatus includes a first acquiring unit for acquiring identification information correlated to predetermined information, a first generation unit for generating an address on a network according to identification information acquired by the first acquiring unit, and a setting unit for setting the address on the network generated by the first generation unit as an address for access from the electronic apparatus.

Abstract: An electronic endoscope of the present invention includes a video-scope, video-processor, a light source, a luminance value calculator, a light-adjuster, and a determiner. The luminance value calculator successively calculates a luminance value indicating brightness of the object image, on the basis of said image-pixel signals. The light-adjuster adjusts a quantity of light radiating from the distal end of the video-scope on the basis of a difference between the luminance value and a reference value indicating a proper brightness of the object image at regular-time-intervals, such that the brightness of said object image displayed on the monitor is maintained at a constant level. The determiner determines whether halation occurs on the object image displayed on the monitor, on the basis of the luminance value. The light-adjuster includes a light-reducer.

Abstract: In an electronic endoscope system, a flexible scope has a solid image sensor provided at a distal end thereof, to generate image-pixel signals. A proximal end of the scope is detachably connected to a video-signal processing unit, which produces a video signal based on the image-pixel signals. A monitor reproduces an image in accordance with the video signal. A displaying-size changer changes a size of a displaying-area of the image on a screen of the monitor to another size and vice versa. A pointer-image generator generates a pointer image on the monitor screen. A pointer-image controller controls a shifting of the pointer image on the monitor screen, and includes a pointer-image-position converter that converts a position of the pointer image on the monitor screen in accordance with the size-change of the displaying-area of the image on the monitor screen, such that two positions, indicated by the pointer image on the two-sized displaying-areas, correspond to each other.