Abstract: An automatic exposure control apparatus includes an image frame luminance calculation unit for calculating an average luminance of an image frame; a region luminance calculation unit for calculating average luminances of a plurality of regions, the plurality of regions constituting the image frame; a select region luminance calculation unit for arranging the average luminances obtained by the region luminance calculation unit in the luminance order, for selecting at least one of the plurality of regions according to the luminance order and for calculating an average luminance selected from at least one of the plurality of regions; a backlight degree calculation unit for calculating a value representing a backlight degree based on the average luminance obtained by the select region luminance calculation unit; a target luminance calculation unit for calculating the target average luminance based on the value; and an exposure correction unit for correcting an exposure so that the average luminance obtained by th

Abstract: A microorganism belonging to the genus Pseudomonas; an alkaline lipase produced by the microorganism or its mutants; a method of producing the alkaline lipase; and detergents containing the alkaline lipase as an aid, the alkaline lipase having (1) an operative pH of from 4 to 11.5, and an optimum pH of from 7.0 to 9.5, as measured using triolein emulsion as a substrate; (2) an operative temperature of from 10.degree. to 80.degree. C., and an optimum temperature of from 55.degree. to 65.degree. C., as measured using triolein emulsion as a substrate; (3) a molecular weight of 28,000 .+-.2,000 as measured by electrophoresis using SDS polyacrylamide; (4) isoelectric point of 4.5 .+-.1.5 as measured by isoelectric focusing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; and (5) an inhibition of lipase activity by a detergent component of not higher than 50% as measured using sodium linear-alkylbenzenesulfonate as said detergent component.