Abstract: HbA1c measurement is a critical component of diabetes management; however, a key limitation of HbA1c as a measure of glycemia is the lack of timeliness—it does not detect underlying blood glucose excursion levels in moderately controlled diabetic patients (HbA1c<8) as it is a measurement of mean glucose levels over the longer-term. HbA1c also averages both hypo- and hyperglycemia over two to three months; therefore, it does not adequately reflect improvements in post-prandial hyperglycemia. 1,5-AG is also a marker of glycemic control over a shorter one to two week timeframe, but with a different mechanism than HbA1c. Given the unique biological and physiological characteristics of 1,5-AG, it is sensitive to acute and transient episodes of hyper-glycemia and is, therefore, a better indicator of glucose excursions. Peptidyl diabetic drugs such as pramlintide and exenatide have unique mechanisms of action and the glycemic effects of these drugs are not adequately shown by HbA1c.

Abstract: A sanitary ware comprises a sanitary ware body and a surface glaze layer provided on the sanitary ware body. The surface glaze layer has a center line average roughness Ra of less than 0.07 &mgr;m as measured with a stylus type surface roughness tester according to JIS B 0651-1996.

Abstract: A sanitary ware comprises a sanitary ware body and a surface glaze layer provided on the sanitary ware body. The surface glaze layer has a center line average roughness Ra of less than 0.07 &mgr;m as measured with a stylus type surface roughness tester according to JIS B 0651-1996.

Abstract: Sanitary wares having a controlled surface are disclosed which are less likely to be stained or soiled and/or possess excellent gloss. The first sanitary ware comprises a sanitary ware body and a surface glaze layer provided on the sanitary ware body, wherein the surface glaze layer has a center line average roughness Ra of less than 0.07 &mgr;m. This sanitary ware is advantageous in that stains or soils are much less likely to be adhered to the surface thereof and, even when adhered to the surface thereof, can be removed by a weak water stream. The second sanitary ware comprises a sanitary ware body and a surface glaze layer provided on the sanitary ware body, wherein the surface glaze layer has a kurtosis Rku of less than 2.70. This sanitary ware advantageously possesses excellent surface gloss.

Abstract: Disclosed is a sanitary ware which has a self-cleaning function for releasing carboxyl-containing greasy stains or soils, such as fatty acids, fatty esters, metallic soaps (scum of soaps), proteins, amino acids, bacteria, and fungi, and deposited stains or soils, such as water scale and urinary calculi. This sanitary ware comprises at least a sanitary ware body and a glaze layer as an outermost layer of the sanitary ware, a monovalent metal component and/or a metal component having a measure of the electronegativity based on Pouling's rule of not more than 1 being provided so as to be releasable evenly and continuously, over the whole surface of the glaze layer as the outermost layer, in such an amount large enough to impart a self-cleaning function for releasing stains or soils to the surface of the glaze layer as the outermost layer, the metal component being suppliable from the glaze layer as the outermost layer and/or the sanitary ware body to the whole surface of the outermost layer.

Abstract: In a discharge lamp sealing apparatus 30, luminescent substances are charged into an arc tube 11 through an opening 13b thereof, and an electrode member 15 is then inserted into the arc tube 11 through the opening 13b. A lower end of the arc tube 11 is supported by a support jig 57 in a state that a glass ring 16c is placed around the circumference of the opening 13b. The arc tube 11 is set in an air-tight condition by a feeding conduit 51 and inserted into a heating unit 40. The heating unit 40 fuses the glass ring 16c with heat of an infrared lamp and thereby seals the opening 13b. During the sealing process, one end of the arc tube 11 is supported by the support jig 57. The support jig 57 is mainly made of a material having a greater thermal conductivity than that of the material of the arc tube 11, for example, a metal material like Al or Cu. This arrangement enables heat to be readily conducted from the arc tube 11 to the support jig 57 and accordingly prevents a temperature rise in the arc tube 11.

Abstract: A disclosed gradient function material seal cap for discharge lamp bulb is produced by molding and thereafter firing a slurry which contains a plurality of groups of particles having different specific gravities. The plurality of groups of particles include at least a first group of particles and a second group of particles. The first group of particles comprises a group of non-metal particles having a specific gravity ranging from about 3 to 7 and a maximum particle diameter equal to or smaller than a deflocculation limit, said nonmetal particles being made of one or more materials selected from the group consisting of an oxide, a carbide, a nitride, and an oxynitride. The second group of particles comprises a group of metal particles having a specific gravity which is about 1.5 times the specific gravity of said first group of particles, and particle diameters distributed across the deflocculation limit.

Abstract: A disclosed gradient function material is produced by molding and thereafter firing a slurry which contains a plurality of groups of particles having different specific gravities. The plurality of groups of particles include at least a first group of particles and a second group of particles. The first group of particles comprises a group of non-metal particles having a specific gravity ranging from about 3 to 7 and a maximum particle diameter equal to or smaller than a deflocculation limit, said non-metal particles being made of one or more materials selected from the group consisting of an oxide, a carbide, a nitride, and an oxynitride. The second group of particles comprises a group of metal particles having a specific gravity which is about 1.5 times the specific gravity of said first group of particles, and particle diameters distributed across the deflocculation limit.

Abstract: A disclosed gradient function material is produced by molding and thereafter firing a slurry which contains a plurality of groups of particles having different specific gravities. The plurality of groups of particles include at least a first group of particles and a second group of particles. The first group of particles comprises a group of nonmetal particles having a specific gravity ranging from about 3 to 7 and a maximum particle diameter equal to or smaller than a deflocculation limit, said nonmetal particles being made of one or more materials selected from the group consisting of an oxide, a carbide, a nitride, and an oxynitride. The second group of particles comprises a group of metal particles having a specific gravity which is about 1.5 times the specific gravity of said first group of particles, and particle diameters distributed across the deflocculation limit.