Abstract: Previously, it was difficult to obtain high-affinity antibodies that specifically bind to HMGB-1 but not to HMGB-2. Under this circumstance, the present inventors successfully obtained antibodies that are more reactive to HMGB-1 than to HMGB-2 by using specific peptides as an antigen. The present inventors also demonstrated that the antibodies had a HMGB-1-neutralizing activity. The present inventors administered the antibodies to amyloidosis model animals, and as a result, successfully demonstrated that the antibodies produced a significant therapeutic effect.

Abstract: A method of treating food capable of easily softening or pulverizing food in a short time without losing nutrients is provided. A shock wave (SW) generated in a shock wave source is applied to food such as an apple or tea leaves to soften or pulverize the food. A large mechanical load is not necessary, so the food is easily softened or pulverized. Moreover, it is not necessary to heat the food, so the food is softened or pulverized in a short time without losing nutrients in the food due to heat during heating.

Abstract: The object of the present invention is to find out another tumor marker which is useful for early diagnosis of melanoma, and provide a diagnostic kit and diagnostic method for malignant melanoma using such marker. The present invention provides a diagnostic kit for malignant melanoma, which comprises an antibody against SPARC and an antibody against GPC3.

Abstract: A polishing method and a polishing apparatus capable of polishing a surface of a substrate made of SiC or diamond extremely smoothly and efficiently without causing subsurface damage are provided. A polishing platen 1 can rotate around a rotating shaft 4, and is made of quartz having high transparency to ultraviolet radiation. A large number of grooves 11 are arranged on a front surface of the polishing platen 1 in a lattice form, and each of the grooves 11 is filled with solid photocatalytic particles 20 (CeO2). The polishing platen 1 is relatively rubbed against a to-be-polished surface 30A of a substrate 30 made of silicon carbide (SiC) or diamond (C) while pressing the polishing platen 1 to the to-be-polished surface 30A of the substrate 30 with a very high pressure, thereby the to-be-polished surface 30A is oxidized by the solid photocatalytic particles 20 to perform chemical polishing.

Abstract: To provide a data generating method, device, and program that can generate drawing data for drawing the entire general design graphic data with an accuracy of about 1 to 4 nm in a drawing method or a drawing system adapted to draw gradation-controllable spotlights in a two-dimensional array. The data generating method is a method for generating, in an exposure system having a function of irradiating multigradation-controllable spotlights in a two-dimensional array onto a photosensitive film on a substrate, gradation values of the spotlights based on design graphic data.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a novel compound that is an agonist of guanosine-3?,5?-cyclic monophosphate and has an effect of activating protein kinase G. The present invention provides 8-guanosine-3?,5?-cyclic monophosphate compound which is represented by the following formula, and a pharmaceutical composition, especially a protein kinase G activating agent, which contains the 8-guanosine-3?,5?-cyclic monophosphate compound as an active ingredient.

Abstract: The present invention provides a monoclonal antibody that recognizes the V3 loop of the envelope glycoprotein gp120 of AIDS virus, which is any one selected from the following antibodies: (a) an antibody having the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 as the amino acid sequence of a H chain variable region (VH), and having the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 2 as the amino acid sequence of a L chain variable region (VL); and (b) an antibody having the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 3 as the amino acid sequence of a H chain variable region (VH), and having the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 4 as the amino acid sequence of a L chain variable region (VL).

Abstract: An object is to provide a novel anatase titanium oxide having especially high photocatalytic activity as a photocatalyst useful as a material for environmental clean-up, such as removal of toxic substances, deodorization and decomposition of malodorous substances, prevention of fouling and sterilization, and a method of producing such an anatase titanium oxide. There is provided a titanium oxide having a reflectance of 80% or lower with respect to light having a wavelength of 400 nm to 700 nm. There is also provided a method of producing an anatase titanium oxide, comprising creating pulsed plasma by an electric current of lower than 5 amperes between titanium electrodes in water to oxidize a titanium. Preferably, the titanium oxide has a percentage weight loss of 1.0% or lower when heated at a temperature within the range of 400° C. to 800° C., and has the anatase structure or the anatase and rutile structures.

Abstract: An object of the invention is to provide a method for the stable production of a high-purity Group II-VI compound semiconductor on an industrial scale, and also a hexagonal crystal of Group II-VI compound semiconductor in which a metal can be doped easily. Another object of the invention is to provide a method of producing a Group II-VI compound semiconductor phosphor. The objects are achieved by a method of producing a Group II-VI compound semiconductor comprising generating a pulsed electrical discharge plasma between metallic electrodes in sulfur to produce a Group II-VI compound semiconductor; a method of producing a Group II-VI compound semiconductor phosphor using a pulsed electrical discharge plasma; and a hexagonal crystal of Group II-VI compound semiconductor composed of a plurality of twin crystals.

Abstract: A harmful gas treatment apparatus and a water treatment apparatus uses an electrochemical device provided with a solid electrolyte membrane having ion conductivity. A first electrochemical device provided with an anode on one surface of a hydrogen ion conductive electrolyte membrane and a cathode on the other surface thereof is combined with a second electrochemical device provided with an anode on one surface of a hydroxyl ion conductive electrolyte membrane and a cathode on the other surface thereof. Both cathodes are disposed so as to face each other within an electrochemical reaction tank. Each of the cathodes is provided with TiO2 as a metal oxide and Pt as a platinum group supported on a porous body having functions to occlude, concentrate and reduce harmful substances as a reducing catalyst. Thus, a water vapor partial pressure and an oxygen partial pressure on the both cathodes is reduced, making it possible to enhance hydrogen generation efficiency at the normal temperature and constant current.

Abstract: A pulse power source which can perform high repetition of pulse signals by enhancing the throughput of a pulse source is provided. The pulse power source includes: a charger; an initial-stage capacitor section which is provided with a capacitor charged by the charger; and a magnetic pulse compression circuit which performs magnetic pulse compression of a pulse current generated by discharging a charge from the capacitor at the initial-stage capacitor section and, thereafter, outputs the pulse current. An exposure device which includes the pulse power source is also provided. The pulse power source includes, between the initial-stage capacitor section and the magnetic pulse compression circuit, a transistor which controls timing of discharging a charge from the initial-stage capacitor section, an inductor which constitutes a resonance circuit together with the capacitor at the initial stage capacitor section, and a diode which rectifies the pulse current.

Abstract: There is provided an oxygen storage/release material using a rare earth oxysulfate or oxysulfide, which has a high oxygen storage/release capacity even at lower temperatures. The oxygen storage/release material of the present invention comprises a compound consisting of Pr2O2SO4 and/or Pr2O2S and at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Pt, Rh and Fe supported thereon.

Abstract: This invention provides a method for separating and enriching isotopes in an efficient and low-cost manner from a condensation-system (liquid or/and solid) material comprising two or more different isotopes by taking advantage of the sedimentation of atoms through an acceleration field by ultra-high speed rotation. A condensation-system (liquid or/and solid) material (5) comprising the two or more isotopes is placed in a sedimentation tank (for example, 2) which is then housed in a supercentrifuge. The supercentrifuge in its rotor is rotation driven by an ultra-high speed rotation power source, and an acceleration field of energy of 100000 G to 1500000 G, i.e., about 100 to 800 m/s in terms of peripheral velocity, is applied to the above condensed (liquid or/and solid) material under such a temperature that is specified by an isotope material to be enriched.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to identify a glypican-3-derived peptide which can bind to HLA-A2 and activate human killer T cells, so as to provide a means for carrying out an immunotherapy which is able to target approximately 40% of Japanese patients suffering from several types of cancers, which express GPC3 at a high level. The present invention provides a peptide of any of the following (A) or (B): (A) a peptide, which has the amino acid sequence as shown in any one of SEQ ID NOS: 1 to 3; or (B) a peptide, which has an amino acid sequence comprising a substitution or addition of one or two amino acids with respect to the amino acid sequence as shown in any one of SEQ ID NOS: 1 to 3, and which has ability to induce killer T cells.

Abstract: A three-dimensional-object can be effectively detected. A pair of image capture devices capture a three-dimensional-object and calculate disparity component data of subdivided-image regions, respectively. On a basis of the disparity component data, gray scale values indicative of distances from the image capture device are calculated and a gray scale image in which each region has its corresponding gray scale value is generated. A model of the three-dimensional-object is defined and correlation values is calculated to show the degree of a similarity between the model and the image subdivided regions in the gray scale image. The model is a two-dimensional image with a shaping characteristic when the three-dimensional object is viewed from positions of the image capture devices while each subdivided region of the two-dimensional image has a gray scale value indicative of a distance from the image capture device at a portion corresponding to the three-dimensional object.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a novel compound that is an agonist of guanosine-3?,5?-cyclic monophosphate and has an effect of activating protein kinase G. The present invention provides 8-guanosine-3?,5?-cyclic monophosphate compound which is represented by the following formula, and a pharmaceutical composition, especially a protein kinase G activating agent, which contains the 8-guanosine-3?,5?-cyclic monophosphate compound as an active ingredient.

Abstract: A nucleic acid adsorbent in which a polymer having a constitutional unit represented by the following formula (I) is immobilized on a water-insoluble carrier is used as a nucleic acid adsorbent capable of selectively and efficiently adsorbing nucleic acids from complex mixtures, such as cell extract, wherein R1 represents hydrogen, fluoride, or methyl; R2 and R3 each independently represent alkyl of 1 to 6 carbon atoms; A is —NH— or —O—; and B represents alkylene of 2 to 18 carbon atoms. Nucleic acids are recovered from cell extract by allowing them to be adsorbed to the nucleic acid adsorbent by mixing this nucleic acid adsorbent with cell extract, removing the nucleic acids from the cell extract by separating the adsorbent therefrom, and dissociating the nucleic acids from the nucleic acid adsorbent by treating the separated nucleic acid adsorbent with alkali.

Abstract: The object of the present invention is to find out another tumor marker which is useful for early diagnosis of melanoma, and provide a diagnostic kit and diagnostic method for malignant melanoma using such marker. The present invention provides a diagnostic kit for malignant melanoma, which comprises an antibody against SPARC and an antibody against GPC3.

Abstract: It is found that blood cytochrome c levels quantified for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis patients are higher than those for healthy persons, and that the quantified blood cytochrome c values correlated with fat deposition rates in hepatocytes. It is possible to test non-alcoholic steatohepatitis by quantifying cytochrome c in serum. A test method and a test kit for the test are provided.

Abstract: The present invention provides a magnesium alloy material excellent in high mechanical characteristics without using special manufacturing facilities or processes and a method for manufacturing the magnesium alloy material. The magnesium alloy material is an Mg—Zn—RE alloy containing Zn as an essential component, at least one of Gd, Tb, and Tm as RE, and the rest including Mg and unavoidable impurities and contains a needle-like precipitate or a board-like precipitate (lengthy precipitate: X-phase=?-phase, ??-phase, and ?1-phase).