Abstract: A negative electrode used for a nonaqueous electrolyte solution battery having nonaqueous electrolyte solution containing lithium ion includes a metal carbon composite material. The metal carbon composite material has a porous carbon material having cavities, and a metal material made of metal to reversibly store or emit lithium ion. The metal material is arranged on a surface of the porous carbon material including inner surfaces of the cavities. The porous carbon material has a mass of 1-65 mass % when the metal carbon composite material is defined to have a mass of 100 mass %.

Abstract: A solid laser apparatus which includes: two reflection elements for forming an oscillator; a plate-shaped gain medium being disposed between the two reflection elements, thereby augmenting a stimulated emission light in a thickness-wise direction; a doughnut- or deformed-doughnut-type planar waveguide being disposed so as to make an inner peripheral face thereof come in contact with an outer peripheral face of the plate-shaped gain medium; and a plurality of excited-light sources being directed in five or more directions, the excited-light sources being coupled to an outer peripheral face of the doughnut- or deformed-doughnut-type planar waveguide so as to make excited lights propagate from the outer peripheral face of the doughnut- or deformed-doughnut-type planar waveguide to the plate-shaped gain medium.

Abstract: It is an object of the invention to provide novel approaches capable of detecting activated protease and also detecting protease activation on real time at a high sensitivity in a noninvasive manner. By the method for detecting activated protease of the invention, an indicator in a circular form comprising the C-half fragment of luciferase (Luc-C) and the N-half fragment of luciferase (Luc-N) linked together through a substrate peptide for a protease is introduced in an in vitro assay system or in cells. Upon digestion of the substrate peptide by the protease, Luc-N and Luc-C together reconstructs active luciferase, so that the activated protease can be detected by assaying the luminescence signal from the luciferase.

Abstract: To provide a passive Q-switch-type solid laser apparatus for outputting a high peak-power pulse laser whose pulse energy is large and pulse-time width is small. A passive Q-switch-type solid laser apparatus has: two reflection elements for forming an oscillator; a solid gain medium being disposed between the two reflection elements; a saturable absorber being disposed between the two reflection elements; an excitation device for exciting the solid gain medium; and a cross section control device for making at least one of a stimulated emission cross section of the solid gain medium and an absorption cross section of the saturable absorber closer to another one of them; and the cross section control device is equipped with at least one or both of a temperature control device for retaining the solid gain medium at a predetermined temperature and an oscillatory-wavelength control device for fixating an oscillatory wavelength at a predetermined wavelength.

Abstract: A laser ignition system that is mounted on an internal combustion engine and that condenses a laser beam oscillated from a laser oscillator into an engine combustion chamber by using a condenser lens to generate a flame kernel with high energy and to perform ignition includes at least a highly-refractive optical element that refracts optical axes OPX1 to OPXn of plural laser beams oscillated from plural semiconductor lasers 5-1 to 5-n through a resonator to change traveling directions of the laser beams and a condenser device that condenses the laser beams refracted by the highly-refractive optical element on plural positions FP1 to FPn in the engine combustion chamber.

Abstract: A method for modifying nucleic acid bases by a chemical means, which enables the discrimination of every base species in plural species of bases in a nucleic acid comprising plural nucleotide units, while retaining the base sequence information of the nucleic acid. A nucleic acid base-modified product provided by the method. The nucleic acid base-modified product is essentially a single strand. In accordance with the invention, a novel means for sequencing a nucleic acid by a microscopic means is provided.

Abstract: This invention provides a carbon nanostructure including: carbon containing rod-shaped materials and/or carbon containing sheet-shaped materials which are bound three-dimensionally; and graphene multilayer membrane walls which are formed in the rod-shaped materials and/or the sheet-shaped materials; wherein air-sac-like pores, which are defined by the graphene multilayer membrane walls, are formed in the rod-shaped materials and/or the sheet-shaped materials.

Abstract: Upon producing a transparent polycrystalline material, a suspension liquid (or slurry 1) is prepared, the suspension liquid being made by dispersing a raw-material powder in a solution, the raw-material powder including optically anisotropic single-crystalline particles to which a rare-earth element is added. A formed body is obtained from the suspension liquid by means of carrying out slip casting in a space with a magnetic field applied. On this occasion, while doing a temperature control so that the single-crystalline particles demonstrate predetermined magnetic anisotropy, one of static magnetic fields and rotary magnetic fields is selected in compliance with a direction of an axis of easy magnetization in the single-crystalline particles, and is then applied to them. A transparent polycrystalline material is obtained by sintering the formed body, the transparent polycrystalline material having a polycrystalline structure whose crystal orientation is controlled.

Abstract: A pain sensory nerve stimulation apparatus includes: a stimulation electrode which is adapted to be attached to a living body, at least one of an exogenous algesic substance and pyrogen which is to be interposed between the living body and the stimulation electrode; and a stimulation power supplier which is configured to supply electric power to the stimulation electrode.

Abstract: A compact semiconductor laser pumped solid-state laser device is provided that can suppress unnecessary parasitic oscillation in a microchip and efficiently extract energy.

Abstract: The present invention provides artificial universal base capable of base pairing nonspecifically with any of four kinds of natural nucleic acid bases (A, T, G, and C) without the function to specifically recognize pairing natural nucleic acid bases for base pair formation. Universal base capable of base paring nonspecifically with four kinds of natural nucleic acid bases, wherein the universal base has a structure represented by the following chemical formula: wherein R represents a monovalent group other than a hydrogen atom.

Abstract: The present invention provides an electromagnetic wave/particle beam spectroscopic instrument that is not easily deteriorated in spectroscopic capability, and is resistant to electromagnetic noise, vibrations, heavy sound, heat and specific particle beams of interest, particle beams other than electromagnetic waves, electric noise due to electromagnetic waves, mechanical destruction, and recoiling of solid constituent atoms and is also more resistant to radiation exposure on the detection means than the conventional energy resolving technologies.

Abstract: A compact semiconductor laser pumped solid-state laser device is provided that can suppress unnecessary parasitic oscillation in a microchip and efficiently extract energy.

Abstract: There is provided a semiconductor laser pumped solid-state laser device for engine ignition that can stably provide optical energy required for ignition across a wide temperature range. In the semiconductor laser pumped solid-state laser device for engine ignition, a plurality of semiconductor lasers 21, 22, 23, and 24 are used that have locking ranges, a temperature width thereof divided into a plurality of temperature ranges corresponding to a variation width of an ambient temperature, and that have the respective wavelengths falling within an absorption wavelength band of a solid-state laser medium 5 of the solid-state laser device in the temperature width of each locking range, to pump the solid-state laser medium 5 by multiplexing emitted lights from the plurality of semiconductor lasers 21, 22, 23, and 24 using a multiplexing mechanism to irradiate the solid-state laser medium 5.

Abstract: To provide a catalyst that has sufficient catalytic activity as a platinum catalyst and yet is readily separated from a target material and can be reused. A resin-supported platinum cluster catalyst containing a resin layer comprising a platinum particle core, the average diameter of which is from 1 nm to 10 nm, and a compound containing nitrogen (general formula R1NH2) surrounding the core.

Abstract: A negative electrode used for a nonaqueous electrolyte solution battery having nonaqueous electrolyte solution containing lithium ion includes a metal carbon composite material. The metal carbon composite material has a porous carbon material having cavities, and a metal material made of metal to reversibly store or emit lithium ion. The metal material is arranged on a surface of the porous carbon material including inner surfaces of the cavities. The porous carbon material has a mass of 1-65 mass % when the metal carbon composite material is defined to have a mass of 100 mass %.

Abstract: A reactor has a casing composed of a magnesia-based refractory, and a bottom plate composed of an MgO-graphite mixed refractory is disposed on a bottom part of this casing. A graphite crucible is provided at a bottom of the reactor, and the graphite crucible and the reactor are joined together by a magnesia cylinder. Iron ore powder, coal powder, and other such raw materials supplied into the reactor are irradiated with microwaves from microwave oscillators and are heated. The iron ore is reduced, and the resulting molten pig iron flows out through a hole into a crucible, and then is poured out of the crucible through another hole into a ladle. It is thereby possible to manufacture molten pig iron with high energy efficiency, instead of using blast-furnace iron-making.

Abstract: A pain sensory nerve stimulation apparatus includes: an electrode portion including: a first electrode, a tip end of which is adapted to be inserted into a skin; and at lease one second electrode which is disposed in a circumference of the first electrode without being electrically conductive with the first electrode, and which is adapted to be in contact with a skin; and a pulse signal supplier, supplying a pulse signal in which an electrical polarity of the first electrode is set as a anode and an electrical polarity of the second electrode is set as a cathode.

Abstract: A laser type ignition device for an internal combustion engine includes a laser oscillator mounted in the internal combustion engine so as to focus its laser beam on an air-fuel mixture supplied into the combustion chamber, a pressure sensor for detecting pressure in the combustion chamber, a power source for the laser oscillator and a control unit for controlling the power source to supply the laser oscillator with the current whose amount changes according to the pressure in the combustion chamber. The power of the laser beam increases as the pressure in the combustion chamber decreases to completely ignite the air-fuel mixture.

Abstract: The present invention provides a laser irradiation mass spectrometer capable of analyzing components of living tissue or living cells with high accuracy. It includes a laser unit for irradiating a sample with a beam of laser light and controlling the irradiation spot of the laser beam on the sample; and a mass analyzer for performing a mass analysis of the ions generated at the irradiation spot, where the mass analyzer uses a frequency-driven ion trap and a time-of-flight mass spectrometer to carry out the mass analysis. The ion trap of this system assuredly traps ions having large mass to charge ratios, and enables the system to carry out analyses on samples of large molecules. Preferably, a digital driving method is used to drive the aforementioned frequency-driven ion trap. Also, a multi-turn time-of-flight mass spectrometer may preferably be used as the aforementioned time-of-flight mass spectrometer.