Abstract: As a result of collecting blood from pancreatic cancer patients, esophageal cancer patients, and stomach cancer patients, and conducting mass spectrometry on N-linked sugar chains in the plasmas, sugar chains whose abundances are significantly different from those of healthy subjects have been successfully identified from the blood samples of the cancer patients.

Abstract: A control method is proposed that controls inter-component phase difference solitons by using splitting or fusion caused by the interaction between inter-component phase difference solitons themselves, without the need for application of external energy.

Abstract: A polyion complex (PIC) or a PIC nanoparticle that may be easily prepared, and that is finally disappeared in vivo due to its suitable biodegradability while exhibiting high stability in vivo, an immunotherapy agent comprising the PIC nanoparticle to which various antigen proteins or peptides may be easily conjugated or incorporated and/or which may be easily mixed with the antigen proteins or peptides, as well as a process for preparing thereof are provided. Specifically, a polyion complex (PIC) comprising a hydrophobized poly(acidic amino acid) and a basic polypeptide, a nanoparticle thereof having a particle shape, an immunotherapy agent comprising the PIC nanoparticle, as well as a process for preparing the PIC, comprising steps of introducing a hydrophobic amino acid to a poly(acidic amino acid) to prepare a hydrophobized poly(acidic amino acid), and dissolving the hydrophobized poly(acidic amino acid) prepared to a buffer, and it is mixed with a basic polypeptide dissolved in a buffer.

Abstract: A novel ligand conjugate which is effectively utilizable for analyzing a function of a protein; a ligand-supporting object; and a method of analyzing a protein. The ligand conjugate has a structure which comprises: a linker compound having a structure represented by the following General Formula (1): (wherein n and p each is an integer of 0 to 6) in which X is a structure comprising one, two, or three hydrocarbon derivative chains which have an aromatic amino group at the end and may have a carbon-nitrogen bond in the main chain, Y is a hydro-carbon structure containing one or more sulfur atoms, and Z is a straight-chain structure comprising a carbon-carbon bond or carbon-oxygen bond; and a sugar which has a reducing end and is bonded to the linker compound through the aromatic amino group.

Abstract: A diagnostic marker for digestive organ cancer according to the present invention is used for determining whether or not to have a digestive organ cancer. The diagnostic marker for digestive organ cancer contains at least one of N-binding type sugar chains released from a glycoprotein contained in blood and represented by the following formulas (1) to (6). This makes it possible to provide a diagnostic marker for digestive organ cancer capable of being used for an inspection method of easily determining whether or not to have a digestive organ cancer at an early stage, and an inspection method for digestive organ cancer of easily determining whether or not to have a digestive organ cancer at an early stage.

Abstract: This invention provides a quantitative assay technique for soft agar colony formation that can be carried out rapidly with high accuracy. Specifically, this invention relates to a method for evaluation of cell survival comprising: a step of overlaying agar at the bottom of a vessel with agar containing cells, overlaying the agar containing cells with a medium and culturing the cells; a step of removing the medium, adding tetrazolium that produces water-soluble formazan and an electron carrier and culturing the cells; and a step of evaluating cell survival based on the color developed by the water-soluble formazan.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a cartilage/bone destruction suppressor which can suppress the destruction of cartilage or bone seen in rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, bone metastasis of malignant tumor, or the like. The present invention relates to a cartilage or bone destruction suppressor comprising an antibody against folate receptor ? or a complex of the antibody and a biologically or chemically active substance.

Abstract: A lighting apparatus is provided with: a light-emitting unit, a heat spreader in heat-conductive contact with the light-emitting unit that diffuses the heat conducted from the light-emitting unit, heat pipes with one end in heat-conductive contact with the heat spreader that transport heat to their other end, and a lower row of cooling fins and upper row of cooling fins that are in heat-conductive contact with the other ends of the heat pipes, and that radiate the heat conducted from the heat pipes into the environment.

Abstract: A novel ligand conjugate which is effectively utilizable for analyzing a function of a protein; a ligand-supporting object; and a method of analyzing a protein. The ligand conjugate has a structure which comprises: a linker compound having a structure represented by the following General Formula (1): (wherein n and p each is an integer of 0 to 6) in which X is a structure comprising one, two, or three hydrocarbon derivative chains which have an aromatic amino group at the end and may have a carbon-nitrogen bond in the main chain, Y is a hydro-carbon structure containing one or more sulfur atoms, and Z is a straight-chain structure comprising a carbon-carbon bond or carbon-oxygen bond; and a sugar which has a reducing end and is bonded to the linker compound through the aromatic amino group.

Abstract: An object is to provide a novel therapeutic drug for adult T-cell leukemia having an ATL cell specific antitumor effect. The therapeutic drug for adult T-cell leukemia according to the invention is characterized by containing a compound represented by the formula I or a prodrug thereof, wherein R1 is H, OH, an alkoxy group, an acyl group, or a thioacyl group, R2 is an acyl group, a thioacyl group, CONR7R8, or CSNR7R8 (R7 and R8 being each independently H, an alkyl group containing 1 to 3 carbon atoms, or a phenyl group), or R1 and R2 together may form a ring, X1 and X2 may be the same or different and are each —CR3R4—, —SiR3R4— or oxygen, and R3 and R4 may be the same or different and are each an alkyl group containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms.

Abstract: This invention is intended to provide a method capable of diagnosis of pancreatic tumor type at an early stage. More specifically, this invention relates to an examination method for determining pancreatic tumor type comprising detecting the degree of methylation in a 5?-untranslated region or a region comprising a 5?-untranslated region and a translated region of a gene encoding a mucin core protein in a pancreatic fluid sample from a subject, and identifying the pancreatic tumor as being of pancreatic tumor type selected from the group consisting of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, an intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm of the gastric type, an intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm of the intestinal type, and an intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm of the pancreatobiliary type using the degree of methylation as an index value.

Abstract: The present invention provides a peptide which functions as a mimic peptide of an amyloid ? peptide and is capable of inhibiting the fibrillogenesis of an amyloid ? peptide. The present invention relates to an 8- to 30-amino acid residue peptide comprising an amino acid sequence represented by the following formula (I): X1-Asp-X2-X3-X4-Pro-X5-X6 (SEQ ID NO: 28) (I), wherein X1 represents a branched chain amino acid, and X2, X3, X4, X5, and X6 are the same or different and each represents an ?-amino acid, and to a pharmaceutical composition and an amyloid ? fibrillogenesis inhibitor comprising the peptide.

Abstract: [Problem] To provide a novel and effective method for treating cancer, method for preventing cancer, and method for suppressing metastasis by targeting cancer stem cells, the methods being capable of labeling and damaging cancer stem cells; and to provide a method for damaging and a method for identifying cancer stem cells. [Solution] The present invention provides a viral vector having a promoter that is specifically expressed in cancer stem cells and that can be used for treatment and diagnosis. Furthermore, the present invention provides a method for treating cancer, a method for preventing cancer, and a method for suppressing metastasis using this viral vector, and further provides a method for damaging and a method for identifying cancer stem cells. Furthermore, the present invention provides a labeling agent and a toxic agent for cancer stem cells containing the vector as the active ingredient, and further provides a diagnostic drug, a therapeutic drug, and a metastasis suppressant for cancer.

Abstract: A heat pipe for cooling an exothermic body by the vaporization and condensation of an enclosed cooling medium is disclosed. The heat pipe comprises a flat plate-like upper plate, a flat plate-like lower plate opposed to the upper plate, and a plurality of flat plate-like intermediate plates overlaid on each other between the upper plate and the lower plate and having internal through-holes. The internal through-holes formed in each of a plurality of the intermediate plates are adapted such that only part of each through-hole is overlapped on each other to form capillary tube paths, each having a cross-sectional area smaller than the cross-sectional area of the through-hole in the flat surface direction.

Abstract: Disclosed is a vector, preferably a viral vector, containing a treatment factor and/or a nucleic acid encoding a cytotoxic factor under control of an Aurora kinase promoter. Also disclosed is a virus vector in which the promoter of a nucleic acid encoding a factor necessary to the replication or assembly of at least one virus is substituted by the Aurora kinase promoter. Also disclosed are a disease treatment agent, in particular a cancer treatment agent, which contains the aforementioned vector, and a clinical diagnostic agent, in particular a cancer diagnostic agent, which contains the vector containing the Aurora kinase promoter.

Abstract: This invention is intended to discover a peptide that induces production of an antibody specific for an abnormal amyloid ? peptide from mimic peptides of the amyloid ? peptide and to utilize the same as a vaccine or immunogen. This invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition containing a peptide consisting of 8 to 30 amino acid residues, wherein the peptide comprises at least one of an amino acid sequence represented by formula (I): Tyr-Gly-Thr-Lys-Pro-Trp-Met (SEQ ID NO: 28) (I), and an amino acid sequence represented by formula (II): Leu-Asp-Ile-Phe-Ala-Pro-Ile (SEQ ID NO: 29) (II); or a conjugate of such peptide and a carrier.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a uronic acid-containing glucan or a modified product thereof. The glucuronic acid-containing glucan of the present invention is a glucuronic acid-containing glucan in which a glucuronic acid residue is bound to at least one non-reducing end of a glucan, and the glucan is a branched ?-1,4 glucan or a linear ?-1,4 glucan. The glucuronic acid-containing glucan of the present invention can be provided by allowing ?-glucan phosphorylase derived from Aquifex aeolicus VF5 to act on glucuronic acid-1-phosphate to thereby transfer a glucuronic acid residue to the non-reducing end of the receptor glucan.

Abstract: The present invention provides a watermark information embedding device, a watermark information processing system, a watermark information embedding method and program that can provide a two-dimensional code enabling detection of copying. The watermark information embedding device comprises a first wavelet transform unit (12), a watermark information embedding unit (14) and an inverse wavelet transform unit (150). The first wavelet transform unit (12) performs a discrete wavelet transform on an original image of a two-dimensional code and decomposes this into various frequency components, namely an LL component, an LH component, an HL component and an HH component. The watermark information embedding unit (14) embeds the watermark information in the HH component as a high-frequency component in an oblique direction.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for detection of a basic peptide by mixing a sample suspected to contain the basic peptide and a reagent containing denatured albumin and detecting turbidness due to a complex of the basic peptide and denatured albumin.

Abstract: An audio/video communication system includes plural network terminals. Each network terminal has a communication node and a stand-by node. Every node in a communication group has a first lower node connector and a second lower node connector, and is arranged to store a first value indicating a number of nodes in a first side diverging from the first lower node connector and a second value indicating a number of nodes in a second side diverging from the second lower node connector. A new node is added to the communication group such that the first value and the second value stored in each node is substantially equal, in order to define a balanced binary tree structure. Data sent from a node in the communication group reaches all other nodes in the communication group within a time proportional to a logarithm of the number of nodes in the communication group.