Abstract: An object of the present invention is to identify a Nesfatin-1 receptor, and to provide a method for screening or designing a Nesfatin-1-action regulating substance or a Nesfatin-1-like action substance using the Nesfatin-1 receptor. A method for screening a Nesfatin-1-like action substance comprising steps of making a test substance act on a receptor protein selected from the group consisting of GPR3, GPR6 and GPR12, and of identifying the Nesfatin-1-like action substance based on a change of Nesfatin-1 action.

Abstract: A conventional DC/DC converter with both a step-up function and a step-down function has a drawback that its output voltage will be discontinuous when its operations are switched. An error signal, which is representative of a difference between a target voltage and a present voltage, is inputted to both a step-down switching control circuit and a step-up switching control circuit. When the difference between the target voltage and the present voltage is below a predetermined value, the switchings of the step-down and step-up converters by the step-down and step-up switching control circuits, respectively, are caused to concurrently run in a time division manner.

Abstract: A high-precision ?? modulator reduces nonlinear noise due to the use of a multibit DAC and has little hardware and power consumption. A digital signal is DA converted and fed back to a subtraction circuit supplied with an analog signal. The DAC used in this feedback circuit uses a DAC (DWADAC) that includes a weighted pointer so that input digital signals are supplied in order to a plurality of segment elements that construct the DAC. In this DWADAC, the construction and number of the pointer is set based on the type and order of the filter disposed before the ADC.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to identify a Nesfatin-1 receptor, and to provide a method for screening or designing a Nesfatin-1-action regulating substance or a Nesfatin-1-like action substance using the Nesfatin-1 receptor. A method for screening a Nesfatin-1-like action substance comprising steps of making a test substance act on a receptor protein selected from the group consisting of GPR3, GPR6 and GPR12, and of identifying the Nesfatin-1-like action substance based on a change of Nesfatin-1 action.

Abstract: For received fingerprint data, there are generated a large number of fingerprint data which are varied by estimating a frequency of appearance of errors due to offset of a finger and inverting predetermined bits. A one-way function is applied to data, which combines a received password and each of the large number of fingerprint data, so as to convert into data of 128 bits for example. Each of the large number of 128-bit data is converted into a character string of 32 characters for example. The large number of character string data are classified by using first two characters thereof, and are registered in an HDD as verification templates corresponding to a user name. By using these verification templates, it is possible to prevent surreptitious use of biological information in a device for verifying an individual by biological information.

Abstract: The compound represented by the general formula (I) is administered to a subject suffering from diabetes or obesity. In the formula (I), R1 and R2 independently represent an aliphatic hydrocarbon group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms or phenyl group, and arbitrary hydrogen atoms on the aliphatic hydrocarbon group and the phenyl group may be replaced by halogen, X1 represents halogen, and X2 represents hydrogen or halogen.

Abstract: An image with a bright image plane can be photographed without deteriorating the yield. An object is photographed by a CCD (18) through each of plural filters (141-14N) that have optical films vacuum deposited thereon so that spectral transmission characteristics vary between the filters periodically. Image data obtained by photographing is converted into image data which corresponds to a band by using a plurality of coefficients for converting the spectral transmission characteristics of the filter into spectral transmission characteristics of the target band.

Abstract: A plurality of CT images of an organ (10) which has undergone a subtle variation or deformation are used as input data, blood vessels and trachea 12 distributed inside the organ are extracted and subjected to thinning, the thus thinned images 14 are used to extract the coordinates of bifurcations 16 and connections, the thus extracted coordinates are used as feature points to track the motion of individual points between a plurality of CT images in a three dimensional space, thereby measuring the movement of the organ (10). Thus, it is possible to realize a local motion tracking at an arbitrary point over an entire region inside an organ, which would be impossible by using a metal marker.

Abstract: A gaseous fuel injector 3 supplies gaseous fuel from a compressed gas cylinder 1 into a measuring portion thin tube 5 and pressure change in the tube is measured by a pressure measuring device 4 through a small hole provided in the thin tube 5. An extension thin tube 6 for removing the influence of reflected waves is provided on the downstream side of the measuring portion thin tube 5. There is provided at the downstream side end of the extension thin tube a back pressure valve 13 for uniformly increasing the pressure in the tube and for bringing the pressure close to the actual environment in the engine cylinder. Also, a tapered-shape nozzle is arranged in the measuring portion thin tube 5. Pressure measured by the pressure measuring device 4 is transduced into mass flow rate in the thin tube according to a predetermined calculation formula. Accordingly, it is possible to measure instantaneous mass flow rate of gaseous fuel injected from the gaseous fuel injector.

Abstract: A pharmaceutical composition is produced by obtaining an antibody which specifically recognizes an extracellular domain of SIRP? and formulating the antibody with a pharmaceutical acceptable carrier. The patient suffering from infectious disease or cancer is treated by administering the pharmaceutical composition to activate macrophages.

Abstract: A region-in object measuring system comprises a reference object (1) having two frames, i.e., an object surface frame (2) brought into contact with the surface of an object and a film frame (3) with which an X-ray film (7) is brought into contact, spaced from each other and a computing device.

Abstract: The present invention provides a novel compound represented by general formula (I) below, a method of manufacturing the same and an organic electroluminescent device employing the same; where R1 to R6 are independent of one another and are each a hydrogen atom or a substituent represented by general formula (II) below, and at least one of R1 to R6 is a substituent represented by general formula (II): —C?C—SiRaRbRc ??(II) where Ra, Rb and Rc are independent of one another and are each an aliphatic hydrocarbon group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms or an aromatic hydrocarbon group.

Abstract: The present invention intends to inexpensively mass-produce a water-insoluble crystalline gel that mainly comprises a nucleic acid having both gelling properties and liquid-crystallizing properties as well as both an adsorptivity of an aromatic compound and optical properties. A nucleic acid dissolved solution is prepared by dissolving a nucleic acid in water, a buffer, an aqueous solution containing salt, an aqueous polar solvent solution, or a mixture thereof; and the nucleic acid dissolved solution is then dialyzed in an aqueous solution containing a multivalent metal cation having a valence of b 2 or more to obtain a liquid crystalline gel mainly comprises a nucleic acid in the shape of a column, tube, cone, rod, fiber, ball, plate, or film. This liquid crystalline gel has a structure, which is concentric and radially oriented from the center when observation is conducted on the plate or film surface.

Abstract: An apparatus which can objectively assess and display to what extent and to which disease the subject belongs based on the signals of changes in hemoglobin amount measured by the optical measurement apparatus is provided. The disease assessment apparatus comprises the feature extraction unit 15 for extracting features of the hemoglobin waveform, the feature analysis unit 16 and the storage unit 12 for storing features by each disease as database. The disease is assessed by extracting various kinds of feature amounts from the hemoglobin signals of the subject measured by the optical measurement apparatus in the feature extraction unit 15 and by applying multivariate analysis of similarities between feature amounts extracted and feature amounts stored by disease in the storage unit 12. Results of assessment are shown as scores expressing similarity with each disease group in a bar graph.

Abstract: A carbon nanomaterial produced by: performing centrifugal melt spinning of core-shell particles that are prepared by using fine particles containing a carbon precursor polymer and a thermally decomposable polymer that disappears as a result of heat treatment, wherein the core-shell particles are heated up to a temperature at which phase separation thereof is not caused, and pressed against a plate-like heater 12 having a large number of pores 12A that penetrate therethrough in a thickness direction of the plate-like heater using centrifugal force; making the fiber obtained by the centrifugal melt spinning infusible; and performing carbonization thereof. According to this method, a carbon nanomaterial such as a carbon nanotube or a carbon nanofiber can be produced with high efficiency.

Abstract: In a friction testing apparatus and method for accurately detecting a physical quantity relating to a friction such as a friction force or the like indicating a friction characteristic between objects to be measured in a dynamic states a first object (21) to be measured is mounted to a movable portion (10C) provided so as to be movable along a guide portion (10B), a second object (22) to be measured is pressed against the first object (21) to be measured mounted to the movable portion (10C), an object, in which the first object to be measured and the movable portion are integrated with each other, is moved in a state in which the second object to be measured is pressed against the first object to be measured, and an inertia force of the object at a time of moving the object is detected as a friction force acting between the first object to be measured and the second object to be measured.

Abstract: For received fingerprint data, there are generated a large number of fingerprint data which are varied by estimating a frequency of appearance of errors due to offset of a finger and inverting predetermined bits. A one-way function is applied to data, which combines a received password and each of the large number of fingerprint data, so as to convert into data of 128 bits for example. Each of the large number of 128-bit data is converted into a character string of 32 characters for example. The large number of character string data are classified by using first two characters thereof, and are registered in an HDD as verification templates corresponding to a user name. By using these verification templates, it is possible to prevent surreptitious use of biological information in a device for verifying an individual by biological information.

Abstract: The present invention aims to achieve accurate measurement and evaluation of mechanical properties of an object to be measured 1 without use of a force sensor. A weight 3 is attached to the object to be measured 1 to form a mass-spring system in which the object to be measured 1 serves as a spring element. Then vibration is applied to the mass-spring system to measure the inertial force acting on the weight 3 and the displacement of the weight 3 so that the mechanical properties of the object to be measured 1 will be evaluated based on the inertial force and displacement. A light wave interferometer 6 measures the displacement velocity of the weight 3 to calculate the inertial force from the acceleration determined by differentiating measured values of the displacement velocity of the weight 3 and calculate the displacement of the weight 3 by integrating the measured values of the displacement velocity of the weight 3.

Abstract: Phosphorus is removed from water to be treated by immersing electrodes into a tank filled with the water to be treated, applying a DC voltage between the electrodes to generate hydroxide ions through a cation migration in the water and/or an electrolysis, and precipitating phosphate ions in the water as a salt slightly soluble in water.

Abstract: The invention provides a gene specifically expressed in haploid cells of the testis. The gene is located on the X-chromosome of a mammal, is specifically expressed in haploid cells of the testis, has a base sequence which can hybridize, under stringent conditions, with DNA including a base sequence in SEQ ID NO: 1, and encodes a protein including an amino acid sequence having a homology of at least 25% with an amino acid sequence encoded by the drosophila gcl gene.