Abstract: The present invention relates to a plant into which DNA encoding a basidiomycete-derived peroxidase is transferred, said DNA being expressed therein, and to a method for decomposing and removing hazardous chemicals in an environment effectively by using the plant.

Abstract: A field emission cathode capable of emitting electrons under a low voltage. Lead-out electrodes are formed on an insulating layer and openings are formed at a lamination between the insulating layer and each of the lead-out electrodes. Emitters each are arranged in each of the openings. The insulating layer is provided on a lower surface thereof with a photoresist layer modified by heating. The modified photoresist layer is electrically connected through a resistive layer to a cathode electrode. The cathode electrode is formed in a pattern on a cathode substrate made of glass or the like. The emitters each are constituted by a distal end of each of projections of the modified photoresist layer exposed from the insulating layer. The photoresist is modified by heating, resulting in being provided with electrical conductivity and exhibiting stable electron emitting characteristics under a low voltage.

Abstract: A simple and efficient method is proposed for the preparation of a &bgr;-lactam compound such as 1-phenyl-4-ethoxy-2-azetidinone which can be produced by mixing an isocyanate compound such as phenyl isocyanate and a vinyl ether compound such as ethyl vinyl ether and heating the mixture at a moderate temperature under a superatmospheric pressure of up to 12000 atmospheres.

Abstract: An angle compensation method compensates for the angle of the light-receiving surface of a photodiode disposed in an inclination detection device. The light-receiving surface is divided into four parts by an a-axis and a b-axis disposed perpendicular to each other and receives light reflected from an object surface that is an X-Y plane. The inclination detection device seeks the inclination of the object surface from changes in the irradiation position of the light reflected onto the photodiode light-receiving surface.

Abstract: The invention provides an artificial tooth root having acid resistance and anti-adherence of sordes and various germs, consisting of a substrate and a coating of calcium phosphate based ceramic having bioaffinity formed on the surface of this substrate, the substrate is composed of a polymer, ceramic, metal, or other material, the surface of the ceramic coating on the substrate surface is endowed with a protrusion-and-recession configuration, and is, chemically modified, and to a method for producing the artificial tooth root, by forming a coating of calcium phosphate based ceramic having bioaffinity over a substrate while imparting protrusions and recessions thereto, masking an area of the ceramic coating surface of which bioaffinity is required, and fixing a silane coupling agent exclusively over a predetermined area of the ceramic coating surface.

Abstract: A composition containing less than 95 mol % of a trihydrofluorinated saturated hydrocarbon represented by the following formula (I) Rf1—R1—Rf2  (I) (wherein R1 represents a carbon chain in which CHF and CH2 are bound, and Rf1 and Rf2 are bound to each other to form a ring by a perfluoroalkylene chain of 2 to 4 carbon atoms) and the balance of a tetrahydrofluorinated saturated hydrocarbon having the same carbon number and the same carbon structure as the trihydrofluorinated saturated hydrocarbon, as represented by the following formula (II) Rf1—R2—Rf2  (II) (wherein R2 represents a carbon chain in which CH2 and CH3 are bound, and Rf1 and Rf2 are as defined above) is provided as a composition containing, in a high proportion, trihydrofluorocarbon, a hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) known to have a small global heating coefficient, which has less influence on the global environment, shows less toxicity to animals, and is chemically stable.

Abstract: A single detector module is used both for CT imaging of two sections to measure the velocity of a moving object, and high spatial resolution measurement of a single section. A large number of slender CdTe devices are arranged to project alternately. Slits are aligned with sparsely arranged portions of the devices on both end sides of the devices, and the internal information of two sections of the moving object is simultaneously measured by detecting X-rays passing through the slits. The internal information of the two sections is again simultaneously measured after a very short time interval, and the speed of the moving object is obtained by comparison. A densely arranged portion of the CdTe devices can be used for high spatial resolution measurement of the object by exchanging the slits.

Abstract: The present invention is to realize fixed points in a temperature region exceeding the melting point of copper, thereby highly accurately calibrating all the thermometers used in a high temperature region such as a radiation thermometer, a thermocouple, and the like. A fixed-point crucible 1 comprises a crucible composed of carbon and a fixed-point material of high melting point enclosed in the wall of the crucible. The fixed-point material is carbon-metal eutectic structure. The crucible 1 is disposed in a temperature-variable furnace 6, the environmental temperature of the crucible 1 is increased and decreased by the temperature-variable furnace 6, the temperature of the cavity in the crucible 1 at the time is measured with a thermometer 9 and the thermometer 9 is calibrated from the state of the temperature variation measured.

Abstract: A lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) having a layered rock-salt type structure produced at low temperatures by hydrothermally treating at least one water-soluble cobalt salt in an aqueous solution containing a water-soluble lithium salt and an alkali metal hydroxide at 105 to 300° C. in the presence of an oxidizing agent. An inexpensive salt of divalent cobalt is used as a starting material in this process. The lithium cobalt oxide thus obtained is useful as a cathode material for rechargeable lithium batteries.

Abstract: A slider mechanism includes two parallel guide rails, a first slider and a second slider constituted as separate members that are frictionally retained by and slidable along the guide rails, a first actuator for driving the first slider to change frictional force between it and the guide rails, a second actuator connecting the first and second sliders and adapted to move the second slider in the longitudinal direction of the guide rails, and a driving device for applying to the first actuator and second actuator a drive command that periodically produces a drive operation composed of four sequentially executed drive operation stages each consisting of a linear drive operation.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for isolating a microbe whereby a sample of microbe cells is encapsulated in agarose gel particulates, wherein some of the particulates contain a single cell, and the other particulates contain more than one cell; incubating the particulates in nutritional and environmental conditions that enable the microbe contained in the sample solution that can grow on a plate of a plate culture method to grow in the agarose gel particulate; and isolating the particulates having single cells from the group of the particulates having more than one cell.

Abstract: An apparatus for recognizing visual patterns of handprinted characters or the like by means of an optical character reader which reads the patterns by a so-called outermost point method. While tracing the contour of the pattern stored in a two-dimensional memory, the distances from the starting point of the tracing and the integrated values of the coordinates of the points traced on the contour from the starting points are simultaneously obtained successively to extract outermost points for the series of contours. According to this outermost points, the contours are segmented into the convex line segments, concavity line segments and hole segments and the corresponding parameters of features of each segment are detected. Simultaneously, the convex line segment of which is shorter than a predetermined length is rejected and the remaining segments are subjected to matching operation in accordance with preliminarily prepared dictionary, thereby making a decision as to the pattern's identity.

Abstract: A thermostable phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase and a process for producing the enzyme are provided. A host cell is transformed with an expression vector containing DNA encoding a thermostable enzyme derived from hyper-thermophilic archaea such as Pyrococcus, the enzyme having phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase activity and an optimum temperature of 90° C. or higher, and the transformed host cell is cultured.

Abstract: The present invention provides a novel orange light-emitting phosphorescent material that is non-toxic and chemically stable in air, and this invention relates to a Ti—CaO phosphorescent material, produced from a starting material of calcium oxide (CaO), or of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), calcium hydroxide(Ca(OH)2), calcium sulfate(CaSO4), calcium oxalate (CaC2O4), or other compound to be converted to CaO through heating in air, by a process of bringing this starting material into contact with metallic titanium (Ti) and conducting heat treatment thereof in vacuo or in an atmosphere that is not reactive with Ti such as argon gas, or by a process of mechanical alloying and the like of CaO and Ti.

Abstract: The present invention provides a secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) fusion protein obtainable by fusing SPARC to thioredoxin; a nucleic acid encoding the fusion protein; a recombinant vector capable of expressing the fusion protein, a method for producing and purifying the fusion protein; and a research reagent or pharmaceutical composition comprising the fusion protein as an active ingredient. In particular, the present invention relates to the use of a thioredoxin SPARC fusion protein for basic research in neurobiology and/or to its use for treating various neuropathologies.

Abstract: A heat storage device comprises a heat storage tank 2 charged with a heat storage material 1 for storing the heat supplied from the outside, and a heat exchanger 3 for executing an injection and an extraction of heat between the inside of the storage tank 2 and the outside by the heat exchange between the heat storage material and a heat transfer medium. The heat exchanger 3 is disposed so as to execute a heat exchange between the central portion 2a in the heat storage tank 2 and the outside, and suppresses the natural convection of the heat storage material 1 of the outer portion 2b by, for example, dispersing a liquid-absorbent material 5 in the outer portion 2b surrounding the central portion in the heat storage tank 2, whereby reduces the influence of external environment on the central portion 2a in the heat storage tank, thereby suppressing the heat loss toward the outside.

Abstract: A 3,5-dioxa-12-azawurtzitane compound represented by the formula (I) shown in the specification. The dioxaazawurtzitane compound may be prepared by reacting an amino acid, an oligo- or polypeptide or a polyamino acid with a trialdehyde represented by formula (II) shown in the specification.

Abstract: A substrate to be etched is subjected to dry etching by using a dry etching gas containing a perfluorocycloolefin while a plasma with a high density region of at least 1010/cm3 is generated. As the perfluorocycloolefin, those having 3 to 8 carbon atoms, especially 4 to 6 carbon atoms are preferably used.

Abstract: This invention relates to method for improving selectivity in liquid phase chemical reactions by flowing a reaction solution through a solution reaction column packed with particles having a multiplicity of nanometer-order pores, wherein the chemical reaction solution containing molecules to be reacted is flowed through mesopores having diameter on the order of several nanometers and length on the order of several ten nanometers, while simultaneously subjected to activating of the reaction thereof with reaction-initiating/accelerating means during the process; and a solution flow reaction system therefor.

Abstract: To provide a continuous rotary actuator using a shape memory alloy, having a simple structure, being small and light-weighted, and having high torque, which can lock the rotation during non-energizing, an inner drum 2 rotating around the axis as a rotating shaft 3 is provided in an outer cylinder 1, wherein a first shape-memory-alloy torsion spring 6 and a second shape-memory-alloy torsion spring 7 wound in opposite directions and unwound to recoil due to electrical heating are fixed between the outer cylinder 1 and the inner drum 2, and wherein switching means 4 and 5 for alternately switching the electrical heating according to the rotation angle of the inner drum 2 are connected to the first and second shape-memory-alloy torsion springs 6 and 7.