Abstract: An information receiving terminal includes a designation information transmitting portion to transmit designation information designating a program and a related information receiving portion. The information providing apparatus includes a related information storage portion to store related information containing a plurality of information to which each provision period is settable in association with a program, a designation information receiving portion, a related information extracting portion to extract the related information appropriate for a designated program, and a related information transmitting portion to transmit the extracted related information.

Abstract: There is provided an information providing apparatus that can be connected to a broadcast receiving terminal that displays electronic contents guide (ECG) information including attribute information expressing contents of a program, including an ECG information storage part that stores ECG information, a viewer EID processing part that processes viewer emotional identification (EID) information as emotional information expressing a program preference of a viewer, a program EID processing part that creates a program EID as emotional information corresponding to contents of the program; an ECG unit constitution part that constitutes an ECG unit by correlating the ECG information with the program based on the attribute information and correlates the program EID with the ECG unit, an EID conformity determination part that determines the ECG unit provided to the broadcast receiving terminal and an ECG unit providing part that provides the determined ECG unit to the broadcast receiving terminal.

Abstract: Provided are providing an ECG unit which is formed of content information and related information related thereto, and is linked to another ECG unit through the related information, calculating an association-degree score between the pieces of content information based on a degree of association of an attribute between the pieces of content information, collecting a history of operation performed for making a transition from a link-source-ECG unit to a link-destination-ECG unit, as a usage log of the ECG unit, calculating a transition score between the ECG units in a manner that a weight of a larger correction coefficient is assigned to a number of usage logs, as there are more attributes of content information having low degree of association with each other between the link-source-ECG unit and the link-destination-ECG unit, and generating an ECG unit linked to another ECG unit, based on the association-degree score and the transition score.

Abstract: An ECG server for providing ECG information about a program to broadcast receiving terminals and user terminals includes an ECG information storage unit for storing the ECG information including attribute information, an emotion information acquisition unit for acquiring emotion information representing emotions of viewers about content of the program displayed by the broadcast receiving terminals via at least one of the information acquisition terminals, an emotion information analysis unit for analyzing at least one piece of the acquired emotion information, and an ECG unit configuration unit for configuring an ECG unit by associating at least one piece of the ECG information with the program and associating at least one piece of the acquired emotion information with the program based on attribute information of the ECG information to suit analysis results of the emotion information. Accordingly, viewers can be lured to view the program by inviting viewers to view the program.

Abstract: An apparatus mounted in a vehicle which can communicate with an information supplying server includes: a detection portion for detecting that a predetermined process is carried out in the vehicle; an institution information acquiring portion for acquiring institution information indicating an institution in a location where the process is carried out; a recording portion for recording the institution information acquired by the institution information acquiring portion in a memory medium; an information acquiring portion for acquiring information to be outputted from an information supplying server which stores information to be outputted, including map additional information to be added to maps or advertisement information; and an extraction portion for extracting information to be outputted relating to an institution indicated by the institution information recorded in the memory medium from the information to be outputted acquired by the information acquiring portion.

Abstract: There is provided an information processing apparatus including: a database in which content information, content-related information, and unit information are registered; a unit information receiving unit receiving the unit information, which was generated by connecting the content-related information to the content information, from an operation terminal; an overlapping registration confirming unit confirming whether unit information that overlaps the received unit information is registered in the database; an overlapping registration notifying unit notifying, via the operation terminal, an operator of the confirmation result; a credibility confirming unit operable when overlapping registration has not been found, to confirm credibility of the unit information based on verification information registered in one of the database and an external database; a credibility notifying unit notifying, via the operation terminal, the operator of the confirmation result; and a unit information registering unit register

Abstract: To display a program guide for making an efficient search for a desired program, there are provided a program guide displaying method and apparatus, and a computer program which controls a computer to carry out the program guide displaying method. The program guide displaying method includes the steps of receiving information on programs to be broadcast on at least one day from a plurality of stations; and placing a plurality of cells in which pieces of the program information are to be displayed, respectively, in a two-dimensional program guide having time and date axes and displaying, in the cells, program information pieces whose airtimes overlap each other on the same airdate, in such a manner that they will not overlap each other.

Abstract: There is provided a motion picture providing apparatus including a keyword management section which manages, in order to search a motion picture related to content, a keyword registered with respect to the content, a viewing state acquisition section which acquires a viewing state of content from an outside TV, a keyword specification section which specifies a keyword registered with respect to the content which is being viewed by using the acquired viewing state, a motion picture selection section which selects one or more motion pictures that satisfy a predetermined reference from among one or more motion pictures searched by one or more outside motion picture sharing devices by using the specified keyword, and a motion picture providing section which acquires, from the motion picture sharing devices, a motion picture designated by a viewer from among the selected motion pictures, and provides the acquired motion picture to the TV.

Abstract: The present invention provides an information providing system including an information registration unit capable of registering a front keyword for use in relation to content or content information to be provided a user terminal and back keywords set in relation to the front keyword can be registered, an advertisement registration unit capable of registering advertisement information for use in relation to the back keyword and an information providing unit capable of providing the advertisement information to the user terminal. The advertisement registration unit is capable of selecting specific advertisement information through an auction transaction. The information providing unit is capable of displaying keyword buttons enabling keyword selection in a display screen at the user terminal.

Abstract: This invention relates to a method for isolating smooth muscle stem cells derived from mammalian smooth muscle comprising bringing mammalian smooth muscle cells into contact with a fluorescence-labeled anti-CD45 antibody, anti-CD34 antibody, and anti-CD49f antibody, and isolating cells that would not bind to the anti-CD45 antibody but would bind to the anti-CD34 antibody and the anti-CD49f antibody.

Abstract: A program information retrieval system in which a broadcast receiving terminal and a resolver server are connected through a communication network includes a local storing unit that stores a program information, a taste-information acquiring unit that acquires taste information of a user, a program-information requesting unit that requests the resolver server to provide program information, and a program-information receiving unit that receives the program information transmitted from the resolver server.

Abstract: A screen display apparatus for controlling the size each display area to appropriately display content information of each display area into one display screen. The screen display apparatus includes a selection accept block for accepting selection of first content information displayed in a first display area, a content information acquisition block for acquiring the content information associated with the selected first content information, this content information being second content information located on a layer below the first content information, and, in order to allocate a second display area for displaying the second content information to the display screen, a display area control block for controlling either or both of the first display area and the second display area.

Abstract: An information search system is provided. The information search system is capable of searching a target content based on meta information provided by a broadcast station, in which a reception device makes an inquiry toward a directory service server based on a meta information reference ID accompanying meta information coming from the broadcast station so that a meta information group is derived for reference by the meta information reference ID. Also, another inquiry is made toward a content service server based on address information or a keyword of the content included in sub meta information in the meta information group so as to perform a search for any desired content.

Abstract: There is provided a content usage managing apparatus including a memory unit to store the first relation between a POP and one or more contents included in the POP and the second relation between the POPs linked via a content in a package which includes two or more POPs, a selection unit to select the first content out of contents included in the first POP of the package, a specifying unit to specify the first webpage including the first content, and an examination unit to examine whether the first POP and one or more contents included in the first POP satisfy the first relation and to examine whether the first POP and the second POP linked to the first POP via the second content satisfy the second relation on at least any one of the first webpage or one or more webpages linked to the first webpage.

Abstract: There is provided an advertisement providing system including an advertisement article data obtaining unit which obtains advertisement article data of an advertisement item expected to be contained in a publication, an advertisement information preparing unit which prepares advertisement information of the advertisement item from the obtained advertisement article data, an item information obtaining unit which obtains item information of the advertisement item from an electric commerce system which sells the advertisement item, a unit information preparing unit which prepares unit information of the advertisement item by relating the obtained advertisement information and the obtained item information, a unit information providing unit which provides the prepared unit information to the electric commerce system which sells the advertisement item, and a sales log obtaining unit which obtains a sales log of the advertisement item which is sold through the electric commerce system with utilizing the provided uni

Abstract: A screen display apparatus for controlling the size each display area to appropriately display content information of each display area into one display screen. The screen display apparatus includes a selection accept block for accepting selection of first content information displayed in a first display area, a content information acquisition block for acquiring the content information associated with the selected first content information, this content information being second content information located on a layer below the first content information, and, in order to allocate a second display area for displaying the second content information to the display screen, a display area control block for controlling either or both of the first display area and the second display area.

Abstract: An ECG server, which provides program contents-related ECG information to a television terminal and a user terminal, comprises a storage unit that stores the program contents-related ECG information, a configuring unit that configures an ECG module in correspondence to the program contents, made up with a plurality of sets of ECG information including tuning information to be used to allow the television terminal to select the program contents, a setting unit that sets timing information, which will allow the ECG module to be provided to the user terminal by linking with consignment of the program contents and a providing unit that provides, in conformance to the timing information, the ECG module to an user terminal capable of providing the tuning information to the television terminal. By utilizing the ECG server, the ratings of the program contents can be improved and the program contents can be more easily selected.

Abstract: The information providing device includes the program listing information transmitting portion to transmit program listing information indicating a plurality of currently viewable programs to the receiving device, the related information storage portion to store related information including a plurality of pieces of information concerning a program edited to be sequentially displayed in association with the program, the program designation information receiving portion to receive program designation information designating a selected channel or a program selected or determined based on the program listing information from the receiving device, the related information extracting portion to extract related information corresponding to a program designated by the program designation information from the related information storage portion, and the related information transmitting portion to transmit the extracted related information to the receiving device.

Abstract: An ECG server for providing ECG information about a program to broadcast receiving terminals and user terminals includes an ECG information storage unit for storing the ECG information including attribute information, an emotion information acquisition unit for acquiring emotion information representing emotions of viewers about content of the program displayed by the broadcast receiving terminals via at least one of the information acquisition terminals, an emotion information analysis unit for analyzing at least one piece of the acquired emotion information, and an ECG unit configuration unit for configuring an ECG unit by associating at least one piece of the ECG information with the program and associating at least one piece of the acquired emotion information with the program based on attribute information of the ECG information to suit analysis results of the emotion information. Accordingly, viewers can be lured to view the program by inviting viewers to view the program.

Abstract: There is provided an information providing apparatus including an ECG scenario storage portion to store an ECG scenario related to a program in association with reference ID, an ECG package storage portion to store reference IDs of ECG scenarios related to programs in association with discrimination ID of an ECG channel allocated to an ECG package in order to provide a collection of information related to programs having a relationship as an ECG package, an ECG package providing portion to acquire discrimination ID of a particular channel from a receiving terminal, extract an ECG package corresponding to the acquired discrimination ID and provide it to the receiving terminal, and an ECG scenario providing portion to acquire reference ID of a particular ECG scenario included in the ECG package from the receiving terminal, extract an ECG scenario corresponding to the acquired reference ID and provide it to the receiving terminal.