Abstract: An electronic circuit capable of efficiently transmitting signals in a case where signals are transmitted over substrates with three or more substrates three-dimensionally mounted. In the present invention, LSI chips are stacked in three layers, and a bus is formed over three chips. The first through the third transmitter coils 13a, 13b, 13c and the first through the third receiver coils 15a, 15b, 15c are formed by wiring on the first through the third LSI chips 11a, 11b, 11c. These three pairs of transmitter and receiver coils are disposed so that the centers of the openings thereof are coincident with each other, whereby three pairs of transmitter and receiver coils 13 and 15 form inductive coupling to enable communications.

Abstract: An optical functional waveguide having a small size, used with stored energy, controlling the phase of light at high speed, and adjusting the optical path length. The optical functional waveguide includes a substrate (11), a quartz waveguide clad (12), a quartz waveguide core (13), groove structures (14), a filling material (15), and heater electrode (16). The filling material (15) placed in the groove structures (14) is, e.g., a resin transparent to the wavelength region of the guided light, and the refractive index temperature coefficient is about 10 to 100 times that of quartz. The heater electrode (16) is interposed between the groove structures (14) provided along the optical path. Therefore, the temperature of the filling material (15) can be varied sharply and quickly with little energy expended.

Abstract: A method for creating a monkey model of spinal cord injury, which includes exposing the dura mater of the cervical cord of a monkey and applying a load on the dura mater; the thus-created monkey model of spinal cord injury; and a method for evaluating a therapeutic drug for spinal cord injury by use of this model. According to the present invention, it is possible to create a monkey which is close to the human and thus useful as a model of human spinal cord injury. This model enables proper evaluation of therapeutic effects of various drugs on spinal cord injury. Through use of this model, it has been confirmed for the first time that transplantation therapy of human neural stem cells is efficacious against spinal cord injury.

Abstract: An event detecting apparatus capable of high-precision detection of an event even by use of a narrow-band signal comprises: a plurality of antennas 21 that receive radio waves transmitted from a transmitter, a correlation matrix operation unit 22 that expresses signals received by the plurality of antennas 21 as received vectors, to operate a correlation matrix on the basis of the received vectors, an eigenvector operation unit 23 that performs eigenvalue expansion of the correlation matrix operated by the correlation matrix operation unit 22, to operate eigenvectors covering a signal subspace, and an event detecting unit 24 that detects a temporal change in the eigenvectors operated by the eigenvector operation unit 23, to detect an event.

Abstract: The manipulator has two-degree-of-freedom of rotation and gripping, and is capable of ensuring force feedback or force sensation with excellent operationability. A link mechanism 3 is provided between an operation part 1 and a working part 2. The link mechanism 3 has four driving rods 3a to 3d and first and second coupling members of the sane structure, 41, 42 provided at opposite ends of the driving rods. First and second working members 2a, 2b move correspondingly to the operation of first and second operating members 1a, 1b with the aid of the link mechanism 3. The first and second working member can open and close, change the yaw angles and the pitch angles in response to the same action of the first and second operating member through the link mechanism.

Abstract: The invention relates to a microscopic cell observation and inspection system that uses a total internal reflection cell illuminator that is capable of freely changing an observation position without recourse to any special slide glass, makes sure high SN-ratio observation and facilitates sample manipulation, thereby making high-sensitivity, fast detection of a lot of cell reactions on the same slide glass. While, in response to a command from personal computer (80), step motors (53, 54) are driven to sequentially scan observation positions of cell sample (S) on slide glass (21), one of shutter units (71) and (72) is closed and the other is opened at high speed, whereby either one of illumination optical paths for a TIRF microscope and a drop fluorescence microscope is selected to illuminate cell sample (S) on that observation position.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to providing a carrier which can transport a compound to a gut-associated lymphoid tissue efficiently without being degraded or digested. For that purpose, the carrier contains a coccoid cell of a gastric mucosa-damaging spiral bacterium. Preferably, the carrier is orally administered. By making this carrier carry an antigen and orally administering it, a local or a systemic immunological reaction to the antigen can be induced.

Abstract: The present invention has an object to provide a method for configuring a pattern recognizer using versatile, readily available data, comprehensive protein data, and comprehensive chemical data and an object to provide a method for predicting an unknown interaction of a pair by the pattern recognizer-configuring method.

Abstract: A communication system and a security assurance device are proposed, which are capable of assuring that a target party for communication is implementing security countermeasures. A server 3 transmits information 104 necessary for AC issuance to a security assurance authority 2. The security assurance authority 2 verifies the security of the server 3 during communication based upon this information necessary for AC issuance 104. And, when the security of the server 3 during communication is confirmed, the security assurance authority 2 issues an AC 105 which proves the security of the server 3 during communication, and transmits it to the server 3. Upon receipt of this AC 105, the server 3 transmits the AC 105 to a client 4, according to a connection request from the client 4. And, upon receipt of this AC 105, the client 4 verifies the security during communication of the server 3, based upon the AC 105.

Abstract: Proteins that interact with c-Fos, nucleic acids encoding them and inhibitors utilizing them as well as methods for detecting an interaction and screening methods utilizing a protein that interacts with c-Fos are provided. Comprehensive analysis of transcription control factor complexes in a mouse brain cDNA library with c-Fos as a bait by using the cotranslation selection and screening of in vitro virus (IVV) and the C-terminal labeling method are conducted, thereby to analyze proteins unknown so far, proteins known so far, but unknown to form a complex with the c-Fos protein, and so forth.

Abstract: A position/force control device includes position detectors on a master 1 side and on a slave 3 side. Reaction force estimation observers 2 and 4 estimate reaction force based on outputs of the position detectors. A position control part 5 generates acceleration signals apm, aps for controlling positions on the master side and on the slave side on the basis of the position signals outputted by the position detectors. The operation force control part 6 generates acceleration signals afm, afs for controlling forces applied to the master side and to the slave side based upon the outputs from reaction force estimation observers 2 and 4. The acceleration composition part 7 composes the two sets of acceleration signals apm, aps, and afm, afs, and outputs the driving signals for the master side and the slave side.

Abstract: Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is an autoimmune disease with a possible fatality of the skin and mucosae which is induced by an antibody against desmoglein 3 (Dsg3). Persistent production of anti-Dsg3 IgG can be induced by adoptively transferring spleen cells of a DSG3?/? mouse immunized with rDsg3 into an RAG2?/? immunodeficient mouse expressing Dsg3 protein. This IgG in the blood binds to the Dsg3 protein in vivo, induces the breakage of intercellular adhesion of keratinocytes and thus brings about the phenotype of pemphigus vulgaris involving the formation of blisters in the oral mucosa and the disappearance of resting hair. These effects are sustained over 6 months. By using this method, active disease model animals relating to various autoimmune diseases can be constructed.

Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide methods for inhibiting proliferation of neural stem cells, an agent for inhibiting proliferation of neural stem cells, and methods for using the same. According to the method of the present invention, a galectin-1 inhibitor such as anti-galectin-1 antibody and/or an integrin ?1 inhibitor such as anti-integrin ?1 antibody is administered to a human or a vertebrate other than human for inhibiting proliferation of neural stem cells. This method can be used for treatment of nerve injury and nerve tumors.

Abstract: A swallowing function evaluating apparatus capable of quantitatively evaluating a swallowing function safely and repeatedly, which comprises a height variation detecting unit 10 for detecting a variation in the height of the surface of a throat from a predetermined reference position in the height direction in which a thyroid protrudes and an analyzing unit 21 for time-serially analyzing the variation to calculate an index for evaluating a swallowing function. The swallowing function evaluating apparatus can repeatedly detect the variation safely without radiating X-rays and can quantitatively evaluate the swallowing function using a calculated index.

Abstract: A 3-D shape measurement apparatus for grasping the state of an object with ease and accuracy is provided.

Abstract: An autonomous moving body includes: an omnidirectional moving mechanism for moving the moving body; a detecting unit for detecting an obstacle; and a movement control unit for generating a movement instruction signal for avoiding the obstacle detected by the detecting unit while maintaining a frontal direction of the moving body to be substantially constant and transmitting the generated signal to the omnidirectional moving mechanism.

Abstract: An objective of the present invention is to provide methods for selecting candidate peptides presented on the surface of cancer cells following binding to MHC class I molecules, wherein the peptides are involved in the stimulation of T cell immunity (cellular immunity). The present inventors discovered a new principle of MHC I-mediated antigen presentation in which a T cell antigen epitope is more efficiently presented on MHC I molecules when it is positioned at the N-terminal side than when positioned at the C-terminal side.

Abstract: Evaluation methods for evaluating susceptibility to multifactorial diseases in sexual differentiation disorders, human estrogen receptor alpha (?) genes carrying single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with the multifactorial diseases, DNAs containing the nucleotides at the SNPs, and diagnostic markers containing the DNAs are provided. Susceptibility to the multifactorial diseases can be evaluated by examining at least one of SNPs 8 to 14, or SNPs 10 to 14, in a human estrogen receptor ? gene, and more precisely evaluated by examining a diplotype encompassing SNPs 10 to 14.

Abstract: Powdery fullerene is milled in an oxygen atmosphere, whereby mechanical impacts are applied to the fullerene and a carbon cage of the fullerene is dynamically distorted to the extent that an energy for conversion of atmospheric oxygen to a singlet excited state is accomplished from the distorted carbon cage to atmospheric oxygen. Singlet oxygen, i.e. an efficient oxidant in various industrial fields, is generated by solid-state reaction under stable conditions without necessity of photo-irradiation. The singlet oxygen also enables efficient oxidation of fullerene itself.

Abstract: It is intended to provide a method for delivering a drug such as a gene to a tissue or organ for transplant such as skin by use of a laser-induced stress wave (LISW) and thereby producing a high-performance tissue or organ for transplant with a high survival ability and to provide an apparatus for carrying out the method as well as a high-performance tissue or organ for transplant produced by the method. The present invention provides a method for delivering a drug to a graft of a tissue or organ for transplant, comprising applying a drug to a graft of a tissue or organ for transplant and applying, to the graft, a stress wave induced by the laser light irradiation of a light absorber provided in proximity to the graft, wherein the light absorber is made of a substance capable of absorbing a laser light and generating a stress wave.