Abstract: A method and a system for the optimal allocation of investment funds to construct an investment portfolio by using a two-segment, risk-averse utility function, where the first segment is a log-utility function indicative of the portfolio holder's utility for positive rates of return and reflects the portfolio holder's desire for maximizing portfolio growth, and the second segment is a power-utility function with a zero or negative power indicative of the degree to which the portfolio holder is averse to losses. An optimization algorithm determines the optimal investment weights for the assets in the investment portfolio to maximize the portfolio's expected utility, which is based on the two-segment utility function. A computer software includes modules for carrying out the optimization to determine the optimal investment weights for the assets and to thereby construct the investment portfolio. The computer software is in the form of codes executed by a processor.

Abstract: A system for computing probability distribution of loan losses includes a loan amount and bankruptcy probability input device for inputting loan amounts and bankruptcy probabilities of individual loan customers, a characteristic function calculating device for calculating a characteristic function from these loan amounts and bankruptcy probabilities. A probability distribution calculating device calculates probability distribution by Fourier transform inversion of the characteristic function, and a probability distribution output device outputs the calculated probability distribution as a graph through a printer.

Abstract: A purchasing company registers selling companies with which she does not want to trade in a setting management unit, and a selling company registers purchasing companies with which she does not want to trade in the setting management unit. The registration information is stored in a selling company/purchasing company table. An electronic catalog is made public only to purchasing companies with which the selling company permits trade. A transaction unit makes an estimate request received from a purchasing company public only to selling companies with which the purchasing company permits trade.

Abstract: A system and method for merchant function assumption of Internet checking and savings account transactions enables a service provider to take over all merchant type transactions and provide a merchant, such as an Internet merchant, with an approved order and appropriate credit for the transaction. A service provider server receives an electronic check or a payment instruction for the merchant from a customer. The payment instruction includes, for example, the originator's digital certificate and payment and purchase information, including the originator's checking or savings account number. The payment instruction is automatically sent to a customer's bank's server, which confirms the availability of funds for the payment. A confirmation of the availability of funds is automatically sent to the merchant, and a credit for the payment is automatically sent to the merchant's account.

Abstract: A method is provided for processing authentication of a consumer using one of a plurality of different types of payment instruments to conduct a commercial transaction over a communications network with a merchant. The payment instrument being used is either enrolled in or not enrolled in an authentication program conforming to one of a plurality of authentication protocols prescribed for the respective plurality of different types of payment instruments by payment networks supporting the same.

Abstract: An electronic parcel delivery system for delivering digital information between computer systems over a network is described. The parcel delivery system includes a server system interposed between a sending system and a receiving system. The server system stores digital information received over the network. The digital information can represent a parcel, document, image, executable software, audio file, etc. The sending system transmits a notification to the receiving system. The notification signifies that the sending system is transmitting the digital information to the server system over the network and that the digital information may be accessible by the receiving system. The receiving system can receive the notification directly from the sending system or through a second server system connected to the network. The server system can receive the digital information directly from the sending system or through a second server system connected to the network.

Abstract: A computer network having a requesting node and a providing node permits data transfer therebetween when permitted by an authorizing node. Reports generated in response to authorizations and reports generated in response to data transfers are reconciled at a reconciliation node to improve the accuracy of payments collected and paid for use of the data. Such payments include copyright royalties for audio, video, and other works recorded in digital format.

Abstract: A digital rights management (DRM) system operates on a computing device and requires a black box for performing decryption and encryption functions. To obtain the black box from a black box server, the DRM system requests such black box from such black box server. The black box server in response generates the black box, where such black box is unique and has a public/private key pair. The black box server then delivers the generated black box to the DRM system and the DRM system installs the delivered black box in such DRM system.

Abstract: A system and method for maintaining customer privacy where an identity of the customer must be divulged. The invention includes separating data associated with the institution into a first database of private data and a second database of public data; storing an encrypted copy of the private data and an unencrypted copy of the public data with an intermediary service provider; providing to the customer a security system that allows the customer to decrypt the encrypted data and remain anonymous to the intermediary service provider; merging the encrypted copy of the private data and the unencrypted copy of the public data; and providing an interface that allows the customer to view the merged data.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for printing an information-based indicia program (IBIP) postage in a computer printing subsystem is disclosed wherein a third-party word processing software with mail merge capabilities generates text and a matching address as the input for a client application in high-volume document processing and mail systems without programmatically altering the word processing program to accommodate the printing subsystem. Addresses are validated and corrected in the printing subsystems prior to creation of the indicia image and address image to be printed on the mailpiece.

Abstract: A method and system for determining the state-of-health of a nickel-metal hydride battery connected to a load comprises: detecting at least one of a real and imaginary part of an impedance of the battery at each of a first set of selected frequencies, the first set of selected frequencies including at least one frequency, and determining the state-of-health of the battery from a fuzzy system trained in a relationship between each impedance and the state-of-health, wherein the state-of-health is a function of the battery's ability to deliver power required by the load and the battery's capacity to meet load requirements.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for automatic detection of trends (and epidemics) among cases faced by a customer or patient support organization, based on automated classification of the logs of those cases in a topic hierarchy. The method includes establishing an item topic hierarchy of desired granularity and applying that hierarchy to a selected group of items, automatically classifying new items to at least one topic in the hierarchy, establishing windows having sequential sets of items based upon selected temporal parameters, determining item distributions over respective windows, and comparing respective item distributions in at least two such windows.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of creating a conversation in an educational simulation for a learner comprising the steps of providing simulation software code, providing a dynamic data model comprising tasks and statements, receiving a statement made by the learner, and generating a list of possible statements for the learner to make from the statements within the dynamic data model. Also provided is a system for performing the method.

Abstract: Disclosed is apparatus for controlling devices comprising a data structure representing devices to be controlled; means for controlling the state of the device controller; means for dynamically determining the current sub-state within a state of the device controller; means for controlling the physical state of a controlled device; and a rules database having rules to be executed by the apparatus, the rules database having rules corresponding to a plurality of states and sub-states of said device controller.

Abstract: A system and user friendly display interface supports creation and modification of a flexible and comprehensive organization structure model able to support provision of clinical care, patient tracking, billing and administration. A method provides a user interface for maintaining organization related information in support of organization operation. The method involves receiving search criteria for use in identifying organization characteristic information. The search criteria is employed in searching a profile comprising information identifying an encompassing organization structure including information identifying multiple constituent organizations and associated organization type and user determinable organization role. Search result information is processed in providing organization characteristic information suitable for presentation to a user via a displayed image in response to user command.

Abstract: The present invention is directed towards a diagnostic system for a database system. The diagnostic system includes a grouping module for assigning a grouping identifier to each query received by the database system; and a statistics collection module. The statistics collection module includes a query processing statistics module for obtaining processing statistics corresponding to each query; a group statistics compilation module for compiling processing statistics for each query by the query's grouping identifier; and group data storage for storing compiled processing statistics. A method is also disclosed for generating database diagnostic data.

Abstract: Architecture for improving text searches using information redundancy. A search component is coupled with an analysis component to rerank documents returned in a search according to a redundancy values. Each returned document is used to develop a corresponding word probability distribution that is further used to rerank the returned documents according to the associated redundancy values. In another aspect thereof, the query component is coupled with a projection component to project answer redundancy from one document search to another. This includes obtaining the benefit of considerable answer redundancy from a second data source by projecting the success of the search of the second data source against a first data source.

Abstract: A method and system are disclosed for a flexible data-driven target object model which allows a client to gather and present information about objects on a target system independently of the target's operating system and processor architecture. The object descriptions are implemented using XML in order to provide architecture-generic descriptions of objects. The architecture-generic descriptions define the object data to be returned from the target and also defines its presentation to the user.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for administrating a data base comprising a document set, a schema and a repository. The data base comprises a structure index, into which a document reference and, assigned to said document reference, at least one structure path reference of the referenced document is mappable as supplementary path reference. Further at least one schema path reference is mappable into the structure index as missing path reference. The invention relates to a data base. The data base is installed for administration by the inventive administration method. The invention relates to a computer system with a storage unit and a central processing unit. The storage unit of the computer system includes a data base, which is administrated according to the invention by means of the central processing unit.

Abstract: An information retrieval system that deals with the problems of synonymy, polysemy, and retrieval by concept by allowing for a wide margin of uncertainty in the initial choice of keywords in a query. For each input query vector and an information matrix, the disclosed system solves an optimization problem which maximizes the stability of a solution at a given level of misfit. The disclosed system may include a decomposition of the information matrix in terms of orthogonal basis functions. Each basis encodes groups of conceptually related keywords. The bases are arranged in order of decreasing statistical relevance to a query. The disclosed search engine approximates the input query with a weighted sum of the first few bases. Other commercial applications than the disclosed search engine can also be built on the disclosed techniques.

Abstract: A database search system that retrieves multimedia information in a flexible, user friendly system. The search system uses a multimedia database consisting of text, picture, audio and animated data. That database is searched through multiple graphical and textual entry paths. Those entry paths include an idea search, a title finder search, a topic tree search, a picture explorer search, a history timeline search, a world atlas search, a researcher's assistant search, and a feature articles search.

Abstract: A method and system for using indicated text to automatically query a search engine for a database and return images that are relevant to the indicated text. At least five integrated components are employed by a client program to get, view and use a returned image. A user interface component provides for automatically creating search criteria for a query from the indicated text and inserting a thumbnail or higher quality image into an open document. A metadata results component provides for managing the storing, parsing and displaying of the metadata results returned from a query of the database of images. A navigation component provides for managing user interface navigation elements that are employed to control the display of the results (thumbnail images) of the query, e.g., play, stop, back and next controls. An image binary data component provides for managing the display of returned images and managing the storage of the binary image data for the thumbnail and higher quality images.

Abstract: A method, apparatus and article of manufacture for accessing data in a database. One embodiment comprises providing a query against the database, the query being associated with a re-execution indication; initially executing the query; providing an initial query result; determining at least one re-execution time from the re-execution indication; and re-executing the query at the at least one determined re-execution time.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is provided in a parallel database system having a plurality of nodes for computing a moving aggregate of an attribute of a relation having multiple tuples. Portions of the relation are distributed across the plurality of nodes of the database system. For each node i, the database system identifies one or more other nodes that contain tuples of the relation which are covered by a moving window of each tuple of the relation at node i. For each such identified node, a value representing an aggregate of the tuples at each such identified node is communicated to node i. The moving aggregate is then calculated using at least tuples of the relation at node i as well as the value from each of the identified one or more nodes.

Abstract: A technique for generating cross-references among categories in a knowledge base extracts a plurality of themes from a corpus of documents. A theme identifies subject matter contained in a corresponding document. A plurality of scores are generated such that each score identifies a relative theme strength among theme pairs of the themes extracted from the documents. In general, a theme strength reflects the amount of subject matter contained in a document for a corresponding theme relative to other themes in the document. Thereafter, the most related theme pairs are selected as indicated by the scores. Category pairs of the knowledge base are then selected by mapping the themes of the selected theme pairs to corresponding categories of the knowledge base. A cross-reference between categories of the category pairs in the knowledge base is generated so as to identify an association between the category pairs.

Abstract: Systems and method for enhancing search functionality provided to a user. In certain aspects, a query processing engine automatically decomposes queries into constituent units that are related to concepts in which a user may be interested. The query processing engine decomposes queries into one or more constituent units per query using statistical methods. In certain aspects, no real world knowledge is used in determining units. In other aspects, aspects of world and content knowledge are introduced to enhance and optimize performance, for example, manually using a team of one or more information engineers.

Abstract: An author-oriented document summarizer for a word processor is described. The document summarizer performs a statistical analysis to generate a list of ranked sentences for consideration in the summary. The summarizer counts how frequently content words appear in a document and produces a table correlating the content words with their corresponding frequency counts. Phrase compression techniques are used to produce more accurate counts of repeatedly used phrases. A sentence score for each sentence is derived by summing the frequency counts of the content words in a sentence and dividing that tally by the number of the content words in the sentence. The sentences are then ranked in order of their sentence scores. Concurrent with the statistical analysis, during the same pass through the document the summarizer performs a cue-phrase analysis to weed out sentences with words or phrases that have been pre-identified as potential problem phrases.

Abstract: In display processing and input processing of multidimensional aggregate patterns, a graph including coordinate axes for displaying aggregation levels of respective dimensions is used. An aggregate pattern of each aggregate cube is displayed as a figure on the graph. By using position relations on the graph, the relation between pre-aggregate data and aggregated data is visualized. On the basis of the position relations on the graph, the user can select a pre-aggregate cube.

Abstract: A system and method for monitoring software locks is presented. Metric data collection is invoked only when thin lock contention arises in a computer system's application layer. Instrumentation in a computer system's middleware layer tracks time-based metric information such as a waiting time for an application to acquire a lock. Instrumentation tracks garbage collection events and removes garbage collection time durations from time-based metric data as to not distort time-based metric data. Instrumentation also tracks quantity-based events such as the number of applications that request a particular lock. An instrumentation user may retrieve metric data for computer system performance analysis.

Abstract: An information service system, information service participation management apparatus, information service providing apparatus, and recording medium which are designed to collectively manage identification information once acquired by a participant by the information service participation management apparatus, to once permit the participant who newly requests participation in the information service by the identification information to participate provisionally with the participant's behavior being recorded for a certain period, to permit/reject official participation depending on the evaluation of the recorded result, to record a history that the participant to whom the identification information has been issued is permitted or rejected participate in which information service, to report the historical information in response to an inquiry from the information service providing apparatus, and further to record a history of the participant to whom the identification information has been issued that in which i

Abstract: A system and method for concurrency control in high performance database systems. Generally includes receiving a database access request message from a transaction. Then, generating an element that corresponds to the access request message. The element type is that of a read element, commit element, validated element, or restart element. The element is then posted to a read-commit (RC) queue. If the element is a commit element, an intervening validation of the transaction is performed. Upon the transaction passing validation the requested database access is performed.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer-readable medium for identifying sequences of interaction events of interest that frequently occur is described. In particular, techniques are described for receiving multiple groups each having related interaction events in serial or sequential order, and for determining sequences of interaction events that frequently occur in the multiple groups. Reports can also be generated and provided that include information about the determined frequent sequences. The techniques can at times be used to provide a service to customers in which logs containing data about interaction events related to that customer (e.g., usage events for a provided service or of a provided Website) are received or obtained, in which frequent sequences in the log data are identified, and in which reports are provided to representatives of the customer about the frequent sequences (e.g., remotely over the Web based on interactive specifications).

Abstract: A system of managing a directory with templates. A template file is created containing various structure templates. The templates entries may then be loaded into the directory or be read directly from the file by users. The templates provide structure information to users of the directory, and allow an administrator to more easily configure part or all of the directory.

Abstract: Provided is a method, system, and program for managing access to data objects by multiple user programs over a network. A page is generated including at least one editable field of data from at least one data object. An initial value is calculated from the at least one data object and the page and the initial value are transmitted to one user program over the network. The page and the initial value are received from the user program, wherein the received page includes modified data in at least one editable field. A current value is calculated from the at least one data object after receiving the page and a determination is made as to whether the initial value transmitted with the received page is different than the current value. If the initial and current values match, then the data object is updated with the modified data included in the received page.

Abstract: A method and architecture having components for performing a method comprising the steps of: forming a simple bi-directional communication link between each of the clients and a server; and, transmitting along the communication link at least one of two kinds of messages comprising a first message which is a synchronous query/response, and a second message which is an asynchronous subscription based event notification, to allow arbitrary data structures to be rendered into a standard communication format.

Abstract: A hierarchy may be explicitly or implicitly reflected in existing data maintained external to hierarchy structures. Such hierarchies are referred to herein as a “pre-existing hierarchies”. Techniques are described herein for capturing a pre-existing hierarchy in hierarchy structures. After a pre-existing hierarchy has been captured, there exist two independent sets of data that reflect the hierarchy: the external hierarchy definition and the internal hierarchy definition. Changing either hierarchy definition changes the hierarchy. Therefore, to maintain a consistent reflection of the hierarchy, the internal hierarchy definition must be modified in response to changes made to the external hierarchy definition, and the external hierarchy definition must be modified in response to changes made to the internal hierarchy definition. Various techniques are described for maintaining consistency between the two hierarchy definitions.

Abstract: Execution of a restartable sub-tree of a query execution plan comprises determining whether use of parallel processes is a preferred or optimal mode of executing the sub-tree. The determination is based, at least in part, on how long it takes to restart the sub-tree using two or more parallel processes and/or how long it takes to probe the sub-tree, i.e., to fetch a row that meets one or more conditions or correlations associated with the sub-query, using the two or more parallel processes. Thus, a dynamic computational cost-based operation is described, which determines at query runtime whether to execute the restartable sub-tree using a single server process or multiple parallel server processes.

Abstract: A data construction for storing data efficiently and a method for forming and using the data construction is disclosed. The method comprises representing a set of actual data values from an original source of data with an alternative representation. One or more parameters of a formula are determined to approximate the set of actual data values in the original source of data. For each actual data value in the original source of data, the difference between the actual data value and the value predicted therefor by the formula is determined. The difference for each actual data value is stored in a data construction on the medium along with the one or more parameters. The alternative representation preserves the information content of the actual data values from the original source of data while reducing the storage requirements for storing the information on a medium.

Abstract: The present invention generally relates to an inventive automated system, and method for its use, including a computer having a computer program defining three development phases including project proposal development, business proposition development, and implementation for market introduction. The project proposal development phase includes a unique idea verification feature by automated reference to an internal knowledge repository and database. The computer is coupled for intercommunication to a plurality of stations or clients from which respective authorized users each have a browser-based interface with the computer.

Abstract: The present invention provides an efficient method and system of data mining using SQL queries for model building and scoring. The invention provides a database management system having a database containing data, a database engine operatively connected to process the data, a SQL server operatively connected to the database and a data mining tool, whereby the data mining tool is based on a Naïve Bayes model. The SQL server uses the data and the Naïve Bayes model to develop the data mining tool. The data mining tool is located is located in the database management system. The data mining tool has a model building system based on at least one SQL query and training data, and a scoring system based on SQL queries.

Abstract: A system and method for a reporting information service using metadata to communicate with databases and a user interface. The invention includes software in a data access component, a report component, and a user interface component for populating, maintaining, and dispatching reports responsive to user requests for the reports via metadata. The data access component provides a logical view of data in a database via data access metadata. The report component populates, maintains, and dispatches reports via report metadata characterizing the reports. The user interface component renders the report dispatched from the report component via user interface metadata specifying rendering attributes for the report.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for facilitating uniform access control to data managed by a database server that can emulate hierarchically organized systems, whether the data is accessed through hierarchical or relational access mechanisms. A database server that can emulate hierarchically organized systems uses separate relational or object-relational database tables to store the content of the resources that belong to a hierarchy (the “content structures”) and information that captures the hierarchy (the “hierarchy structures”). Both types of structures contain access control data that define consistent user access privileges. To determine access privileges for a user requesting access to data in the database, access control information is accessed in the hierarchy structures when the request is made through the hierarchical access mechanism, or accessed in the content structures when the request is made through a relational access mechanism.

Abstract: A system including methodology for optimizing/customizing display or rendering of requested images is described. In one embodiment, the system provides on-demand creation of images that are customized for a particular device type. The system comprises a module serving as a repository for images, each image comprising image components arranged into distinct layers; a module for processing a request from a device for retrieving a particular image from the repository, the module determining a particular device type for the device based in part on information contained in the request; and a module for creating a copy of the particular image that is customized for the device, the module individually rendering image components in the distinct layers of the particular image based on the determined device type, such that at least some of the image components in the distinct layers of the particular image are customized for the device.

Abstract: DBM files represent a quick and relatively standard method of retrieving data. The DBM files essentially contain a two-column table representing a key/value pair. The simplified relational database extension (SRDE) design described herein extends the value column to be further divided into indexed columns that can be manipulated using a modified SQL interface. SRDE offers a simple setup and maintenance scheme, provides a rich set of regular expression matching that can be applied to all searches.

Abstract: Techniques for transferring a serialized image of data for an XML construct includes selecting a first format from multiple different XML serialization formats that represent, in a database system, data for XML constructs as a series of data units, such as a series of bytes representing characters, or a series of bits, bytes or octets representing binary values. A message is generated that includes a payload and a payload type field. The payload includes particular serialized data that represents particular data for a particular XML construct in the first format. The type field includes data that indicates the first format. The message is sent from a sending component of the database system to a different receiving component of the database system. These techniques allow the format selection to be based on characteristics of the sending or receiving components to make better use of the resources available to the two components.

Abstract: Systems and methods for dynamically generating a schema representing multiple hierarchies of inter-object relationships are described. In one aspect, a polyarchical query language data structure includes first, second, and third data fields. The first data field is used to specify a particular schema for presenting or managing a plurality of objects in a data polyarchy based on values of attributes in the objects. The second data field is to indicate an attribute of interest. The third data field indicates how one or more objects that include the attribute of interest are to be presented or managed with respect to one or more participating dimensions of inter-object relationships based on the schema.

Abstract: A method and system for managing communication of electronic data between a diagnostic service center and a plurality of mobile assets (10) generally remote relative to each other is provided. The electronic data comprises at least respective mobile asset data indicative of respective performance of the plurality of mobile assets. The mobile asset data used for detecting the presence of potential malfunctions which, if left uncorrected, would likely result in respective mission failures of the assets. The method allows for storing in a database (104) a list of respective cases to be processed. The method further allows for assigning to each case a respective download priority. A determining action allows for determining each case to be populated next with new mobile asset data based upon the assigned download priority.

Abstract: A system and method for using a website to provide tools that enable an employee perform employment-related functions. The system includes a website interface, data and applications stored in memory, and a data engine to provide the applications with the data to operate. The system may also include an external application accessible by the data engine via a link to a second electronic information system provided by a partner business. The method includes developing a website that utilizes applications and data to form tools to enable an employee perform employment-related tasks. The method also includes providing the computer system with a data engine to locate specific data in memory and transfer the specific data to an application to enable a tool to perform its employment-related function. The method further includes providing a website interface to access the tools.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a system for managing environmental audit information which includes receiving environmental audit information, accessing a predetermined set of environmental audit protocols, associating the audit information with at least one of the environmental audit protocols to form at least one environmental audit record, and storing the environmental audit record. The system of the present invention may also restrict access to the audit record, such that a quality assurance reviewer may review said audit record and may designate the status of that review, but may not modify the contents of the audit record.

Abstract: A method for combining multimedia files according to the present invention includes a step of selecting a plurality of files of the same kinds or different kinds, a step of checking the structures of the selected files, and a step of combining the selected files based on their structures. Various useful information for users can also be added to the combined files to provide the users better service. The present invention can be implemented in an on-line system as well as an off-line system.