Abstract: Provided herein is a taxane having a hydrocarbon attached at the 2′ and/or 7 positions, the hydrocarbon's alpha position being occupied by a “hydrolysis-promoting group” (“HPG”). In one embodiment, the hydrolysis promoting group is stereospecifically attached to the a-carbon of the hydrophobic taxane. The Substitution of an HPG for the methylene unit ordinarily occupying the alpha position allows for enhanced in vivo hydrolysis of the hydrocarbon-taxane bond, and hence, for enhanced taxane therapeutic activity. Also provided herein are taxane-containing compositions, and methods of administering taxanes to animals, including those afflicted with cancers or inflammatory diseases.

Abstract: A method for supplying a glass molding material by dropping it from a higher level onto a molding surface of a lower mold of a mold constituted of an upper mold and the lower mold, in which a guide means is used for dropping the glass molding material and is disposed at a position such that the glass molding material drops onto the molding surface of the lower mold, and the guide means used for this method are disclosed. Moreover, a method for supplying a glass molding material to a molding surface of a lower mold of a mold constituted of an upper mold and the lower mold, in which after the glass molding material is supplied to the molding surface of the lower mold the position of the glass molding material is corrected so that the vertical center of the glass molding material substantially coincides with the center point of the molding surface of the lower mold, and a position correcting means used for this method are disclosed.

Abstract: A method for producing a composite composed of a mixture containing a metal oxide derived from a metal fluoro complex compound. The method includes adding a fluoride ion capturing agent to an aqueous solution containing a metal fluoro complex compound to precipitate the composite. The composite can be a mixture of two or more kinds of metal oxides derived from metal fluoro complex compounds, a mixture of a metal oxide derived from the metal fluoro complex compound and microparticles, or a metal oxide derived from the metal fluoro complex compound doped with metal ions. The composite may be in the form of a thin film precipitated on a substrate immersed in the aqueous solution.

Abstract: Methods and compositions are described for the preparation of bioactive agents entrapped in lipid vesicles the bilayers of which comprise a salt form of an organic acid derivative of a sterol, such as the tris-salt form of a sterol hemisuccinate, and to bompositions comprising a mixtue of tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane salt of cholesteryl hemisuccinate with either an antifungal compound or a peptide. These compositions have various applications in vivo.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for producing double-stranded DNA comprising treating double-stranded DNA having a homopolymer part or parts at one or both ends with a restriction enzyme to partly or fully eliminate at least one of the homopolymer part or parts. The restriction enzyme is capable of cleaving double-stranded DNA at a cleavage site separate from a recognition site therefor. Disclosed is a method for determining a nucleotide sequence of double-stranded DNA utilizing one or both strands of the double-stranded DNA as a template, wherein the double-stranded DNA used as the template is double-stranded DNA prepared by the above method of the present invention.

Abstract: An emergency sign is mounted to a canopy that is attached to a support such as a ceiling or vertical wall. The canopy includes a post, and the sign includes a housing having a slot for receiving the post. The slot includes a wide portion and a narrow portion. The post is insertable into the wide portion and then slidable into the narrow portion. The sign housing includes a pair of locking arms that are spread apart by movement of the post into the narrow portion, and then snap back to a position blocking reverse travel of the post out of the narrow portion. The canopy includes through-holes for receiving mounting screws to secure the canopy to a support. Each through-hole includes radially inwardly projecting ears which are deformable in response to the entry of a screw into the through-hole to retain the screw in the through-hole during the mounting procedure.