Abstract: The lid shaping device includes: container placing table 111; container lifter; lid shaping unit 112 including container mouth press 119, annular coil spring 123 arranged in a cylindrical holder, and pusher provided above the annular coil spring and having spring pressing inner circumferential surface 127; and pusher driver. The device operates in the order of first lifting by the container lifter until upper part or middle part of the lid skirt is located on the inner side of the annular coil spring, lowering of the pusher for lowering the container until the spring pressing inner circumferential surface reduces the diameter of the annular coil spring, and second lifting by the container lifter for lifting the container until the lower end of the lid skirt is located on the inner side of the annular coil spring.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a technique for improving a taste derived from Rubus suavissimus S. Lee (Rosaceae) while maintaining the effect of extracts of Rubus suavissimus S. Lee (Rosaceae) to enhance the proliferative capability or viability in culturing of lactic acid bacteria. Provided is a lactic acid bacteria culture product which is obtained by culturing a lactic acid bacterium in a culture medium, wherein the culture medium contains an essence of Rubus suavissimus S. Lee (Rosaceae), wherein the essence of Rubus suavissimus S. Lee (Rosaceae) is a concentrate obtained through an electrodialysis of a mixture obtained by adding an inorganic salt to an extract of Rubus suavissimus S. Lee (Rosaceae).

Abstract: A continuous rotary filling and packaging machine covers a container body with a molded lid and ultrasonically seals the container body. The molded lid to produce a sealed container includes a lid detecting device 70 disposed on the downstream side of the lid supplying device 60 and an ultrasonic sealing device 100 including lifting and lowering means including a cam mechanism for lifting and lowering a container table 103. The lifting and lowering means is configured such that the molded lid on the container body and a seal working surface of an ultrasonic horn 108 come into press-contact with each other at a top dead point of the container table. A container table lowering control mechanism does not lift, to the top dead point, a container table of a container whose container body does not have the molded lid placed thereon or properly placed thereon as determined.

Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide a technique whereby the flavor of products such as fermented milk that use the Bifidobacterium bacteria can be improved while maintaining the effect of the Rubus suavissimus S. Lee for improving the viability of the Bifidobacterium bacteria. Provided is a fermented food that includes: a Rubus suavissimus S. Lee essence obtained as a concentrate through electrodialyzing a Rubus suavissimus S. Lee extract added with an inorganic salt; and bacteria of the genus Bifidobacterium. Also provided is a method for producing such fermented foods.

Abstract: A novel compound having an excellent NF?B inhibitory effect is provided and specifically disclosed is a compound represented by the following formula (1) or a salt thereof: wherein, R1 represents a hydrogen atom, a lower alkyl group, a lower alkyloxy group, or a halogen atom; R2 represents a hydroxyl group, or a lower alkyloxy group; R3 represents a hydrogen atom, a lower alkyl group, or a halogen atom; R4 represents a hydrogen atom or a lower alkyloxy group; R5 represents a hydrogen atom, a lower alkyloxy group, a halogen atom, a hydroxyl group, or a methylenedioxy group formed together with R6 or an isopropylidenedioxy group formed together with R6; R6 represents a hydrogen atom, a lower alkyloxy group, or a methylenedioxy group formed together with R5 or an isopropylidenedioxy group formed together with R5; R7 represents a hydrogen atom or a lower alkyl group; and R8 represents a hydrogen atom, a hydroxyl group, an amino group, or a lower alkylcarbonyloxy group (excluding the case where R1, R3, R4 and R7 a

Abstract: Provided is a gene that is useful for imparting hydrogen peroxide resistance to a microorganism. Also provided is a method for using the same. The hydrogen peroxide resistance-imparting gene encoding a protein selected from the following proteins (a) to (c): (a) a protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2; (b) a protein which has an amino acid sequence equivalent to the amino acid sequence of (a), except that one to several amino acid residues are deleted, substituted, or added, and which exhibits hydrogen peroxide resistance-imparting activity; and (c) a protein which has an amino acid sequence having an identity of 85% or higher to the amino acid sequence of (a), and which exhibits hydrogen peroxide resistance-imparting activity.

Abstract: To provide a method for determining the sensitivity of a patient to irinotecan, SN-38, and/or a salt thereof, which method can determine the therapeutic response of the patient and to provide a novel cancer therapeutic means employing the method. The method for determining the sensitivity of a subject to irinotecan, SN-38, and/or a salt thereof includes measuring the expression levels of AMD1 gene, CTSC gene, EIF1AX gene, C12orf30 gene, DDX54 gene, PTPN2 gene, and TBX3 gene in a specimen, and calculating the best tumor response rate (%), overall survival (days), or progression-free survival (days) from formulas (1) to (3).

Abstract: Provided are an marker for determining sensitivity to an anticancer agent capable of distinguishing a therapeutic response of an individual patient and a novel means for a cancer therapy using the marker. The marker for determining sensitivity to an anticancer agent contains a calcium-binding protein S100A7, S100A8, or S100A10.

Abstract: An object is to provide an acid milk beverage, which shows no precipitation or aggregation and reduced whey separation, and which has a refreshing texture, even in cases where the acid milk beverage has a low solids-not-fat concentration. An acid milk beverage characterized by containing an acid milk beverage base and a pectin having an intrinsic viscosity of 5.9 to 8.5, a degree of esterification of 74 to 80, and a calcium reactivity of 230 or less is provided.

Abstract: An object of the invention is to provide a medical drug, a food and drink having a role in regulating the concentration of equol in vivo and being capable of taking for a long time with high safety and provide a selective medium for a microorganism having conversion ability to equol and a method of detecting the same. Provided are an equol concentration-raising or reducing agent containing a carbohydrate as an active ingredient; use of a carbohydrate for producing the equol concentration-raising or reducing agent; a method of raising or reducing the concentration of equol by administrating a carbohydrate in an effective dose; a selective medium containing a carbohydrate for a microorganism having conversion ability to equol; and a method of detecting a microorganism having conversion ability to equol by use of the selective medium.

Abstract: To provide a marker for determining sensitivity of a patient to an anti-cancer agent, which marker can determine whether or not the patient has a therapeutic response to the anti-cancer agent, and novel cancer therapeutic means employing the marker. The marker for determining the sensitivity of a subject to an anti-cancer agent including oxaliplatin or a salt thereof, fluorouracil or a salt thereof, and levofolinate or a salt thereof, the marker containing one or more genes selected from the group consisting of ALAD gene, C20orf43 gene, CABLES1 gene, CDC14B gene, GDA gene, HOXB6 gene, RPL7AP27 gene, TMEM18 gene, and UGT2B10 gene.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a technique for improving a taste derived from Rubus suavissimus S. Lee (Rosaceae) while maintaining the effect of extracts of Rubus suavissimus S. Lee (Rosaceae) to enhance the proliferative capability or viability in culturing of lactic acid bacteria. Provided is a lactic acid bacteria culture product which is obtained by culturing a lactic acid bacterium in a culture medium, wherein the culture medium contains an essence of Rubus suavissimus S. Lee (Rosaceae), wherein the essence of Rubus suavissimus S. Lee (Rosaceae) is a concentrate obtained through an electrodialysis of a mixture obtained by adding an inorganic salt to an extract of Rubus suavissimus S. Lee (Rosaceae).

Abstract: To provide an anti-cancer agent sensitivity determination marker, which marker can determine whether or not the patient has a therapeutic response to the anti-cancer agent, and novel cancer therapeutic means employing the marker. The anti-cancer agent sensitivity determination marker, the anti-cancer agent including oxaliplatin or a salt thereof and fluorouracil or a salt thereof, contains one or more substances selected from among an amino-acid-metabolism-related substance, a nucleic-acid-metabolism-related substance, a substance in the pentose phosphate pathway, a substance in the glycolytic pathway, a substance in the TCA cycle, a polyamine-metabolism-related substance, 7,8-dihydrobiopterin, 6-phosphogluconic acid, butyric acid, triethanolamine, 1-methylnicotinamide, NADH, NAD+, and a substance involved in the metabolism of any of these substances.

Abstract: It is a method for producing a food-filled and sealed container having a high product value, in which a container lid made of resin is not deformed after sealing. In this method for producing a food-filled and sealed container, after a food is filled in a container body (10) made of thermoplastic resin, the container is sealed by heat sealing a container lid (20) made of thermoplastic resin, and the container body (10) and/or the container lid (20) have sealing surfaces (13, 24) provided with a concavity or convexity.

Abstract: Provided are a marker for determining sensitivity to an anticancer agent capable of distinguishing a therapeutic response of an individual patient and a novel means for a cancer therapy using the marker. The marker for determining sensitivity to an anticancer agent contains a substance in a metabolic pathway in which L-phenylalanine and/or N,N-dimethyl glycine are/is involved.

Abstract: Provided is a highly safe and effective compound represented by the following general formula (1) or a salt thereof which acts on tubulin and has an anticancer effect, wherein Ar represents an aryl group or a heteroaryl group; Z1, Z2, Z3, and Z4 each independently represent CH, a nitrogen atom, an oxygen atom, or a sulfur atom; R1 represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, an alkyl group, or the like; R2 and R3 are the same or different and each represent a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a carboxyl group, or the like; n units of R4 are the same or different and each represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, or the like; and n represents a number of 0 to 4.

Abstract: A method for producing bacteria belonging to the genus Bifidobacterium having excellent viability even under various conditions with different environmental factors, novel bacteria belonging to the genus Bifidobacterium obtained by the method, and a method for detecting the bacteria are provided. By subculturing and storing bacteria belonging to the genus Bifidobacterium alternately in systems under conditions with different environmental factors, the bacteria belonging to the genus Bifidobacterium exhibiting excellent viability under all the conditions used for the alternate subculturing and storing can be produced.

Abstract: It is intended to provide an acidic milk drink with a favorable flavor which has an excellent quality stability and a light texture required for low calorie drinks even at a low milk solid non-fat content in the acidic milk drink. Namely, an acidic milk drink characterized by containing polydextrose and sucrose at a solid non-fat milk content of 1.0 to 4.0% by mass.

Abstract: Colonies growing on a culture medium surface may be more accurately counted with reduced variation in the counts obtained by capturing a plurality of images of the entire culture medium surface, wherein successive images are captured following rotation of the culture medium surface relative to the image capture apparatus by n/360 degrees where n is the number of images to be captured; performing data processing on image data of the entire culture medium surface of the petri dish at each specified angle; and the number of colonies in the petri dish is calculated by performing numerical processing on the number of colonies counted separately at each specified angle.

Abstract: A method for detecting microorganisms, which comprises: a training step for forming, by a classifier, feature vectors based on color data on individual points within a subject region of training in a culture medium, mapping the points in the culture medium, that are specified by the feature vectors, on a high-dimensional feature space, and linearly separating a set of the points ? (x1), that are specified by the high-dimensional feature vectors thus obtained, to thereby color-classify the class (C1) of the culture medium; and a identifying step for forming, by a classifier, feature vectors based on color data on individual inspection points within a region in the culture medium using image data obtained by capturing an image of the culture medium under cultivation, mapping the inspection points (xj), that are specified by the feature vectors, on a high-dimensional feature space, and determining whether or not the mapped points ? (xj), that are specified by the high-dimensional feature vectors thus obtained, b