Abstract: A leg apparatus shoe sole has an upper sole member and a lower sole member interconnected by expanders so as to be movable towards and away from each other wherein the expanders are connected with a remote actuator by a drive wire. The actuator is operated to reduce the thickness of the shoe sole when the associated leg is the free leg and to increase its thickness when the associated leg is the supporting leg.

Abstract: The duration or pulse width of an ultrashort laser pulse is measured by disposing a nozzle in a vacuum, intermittently or continuously jetting an atomic or molecular gas beam from the nozzle, directing ultrashort laser pulses to be measured into the beam to produce harmonic radiation of the laser pulse in the gas beam or produce ions by absorption of multiple laser photons, and detecting a signal related to the harmonic or the ions.

Abstract: A laser-beam annealing apparatus that provides reliable, continuous control of the intensity of the laser beam used to perform the annealing process.

Abstract: A method for producing a compound oxide superconducting thin film, comprising forming an oxide thin film on the surface of a substrate of a first metal element having a redox charge by oxidizing the metal, using the oxide thin film thus formed as an electrode for oxidation reaction of a second metal element contained in an electrolyte solution or molten salt to incorporate the second metal element in the oxide thin film, using the compound oxide thin film thus formed as an electrode to obtain a cyclic voltammogram, and electrochemically processing the compound oxide thin film at an electrolytic potential that is determined based on the cyclic voltammogram.

Abstract: A multifunction machine module includes an upper layer member having a plurality of equiangularly spaced projecting arms, a middle layer member shaped identically with the upper layer member and, a lower layer member shaped identically with the upper layer member. The upper, middle and lower layer members are coaxially stacked with the upper and lower layer members angularly aligned, the middle layer member is offset by one-half pitch from the upper layer member and the projecting arms of the upper and lower layer members are spaced to permit a projecting arm of the middle layer member of another identically configured module to be inserted between them, first connector is provided on the projecting arms of the upper and lower layer members. A second connector is provided on the projecting arms of the middle layer member.

Abstract: A sintered ceramic article formed mainly of alumina, having a chemical composition of from 1 to 10% by weight of La.sub.2 O.sub.3, from 0.01 to 0.1% by weight of SiO.sub.2, and the balance of Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 and containing these components in the form of corundum (.alpha.-Al.sub.2 O.sub.3) and lanthanum .beta.-alumina (La.sub.2 O.sub.3.llAl.sub.2 O.sub.3) and a method for the production of a sintered ceramic article formed mainly of alumina, comprising the steps of shaping a mixture of Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, La.sub.2 O.sub.3, and SiO.sub.2, calcining the shaped mixture in the air at a temperature in the range of from 600.degree. C. to 1000.degree. C., and further firing the calcined shaped mixture to a temperature in the range of from 1400.degree. C. to 1800.degree. C.

Abstract: An apparatus for evaluating the mechanical properties of a material has a superconducting magnet that has a plurality of magnet windings arranged side by side in the direction of a longitudinal axis of the magnet. The interior of the magnet is provided with a vertical space and a horizontal space for housing a test specimen in alignment with its longitudinal axis and at right-angles to the longitudinal axis. The apparatus is also provided with a fitting so that the magnet can be attached in an orientation that is in alignment with a longitudinal axis of the vertical space, and can be rotated by 90 degrees in a plane that includes a longitudinal axis of the horizontal space to thereby be oriented in a second direction.

Abstract: An artificial heart pump comprises a cylindrical stator provided between the inner surface of a casing and a rotor so as to establish a blood flow channel between the outer surface of the stator and the inner surface of the casing, and a rotating magnet and a stationary magnet differing in length in their N-S pole directions provided on the rotor and the stator with their N-S pole directions aligned parallel with the axis of rotation, the boundary between the N and S poles of the rotating magnet being positioned closer to a pivot than the boundary between the N and S poles of the stationary magnet.

Abstract: In a computer system, when data for a register assigned to a current process arrives at a processing element, an instruction for loading this data is automatically inserted into an instruction sequence to be fetched by an instruction fetch unit provided in the processing element, thus synchronizing of data on registers is enabled. In addition, when data for a register assigned to a process which had previously been suspended and is not the current process arrives at the processing element, the data is written to a corresponding save area allotted in local memory for that register. Suspension of a process occurs at a point in time at which a register assigned to that process is accessed by an instruction but no data is yet present in the register and when this process suspension occurs, the process to be executed is switched to another process.

Abstract: A phase conjugate interferometer includes a laser light source, an optical lens (through which the laser beam is diverged) disposed at the end of the optical fiber, a paraboloidal mirror surface to be tested which reflects the laser beam diverged by the objective lens, a semi-transparent mirror disposed between the objective lens and the paraboloidal mirror surface for transmitting the laser beam from the objective lens to the paraboloidal mirror surface, a light reflection portion having both a parallel plane glass plate with a reference flat surface and a non-linear optical crystal for causing a phase conjugate wave front, and a screen. The light reflection portion reflects the incident laser beam reflected by the paraboloidal mirror surface as two laser beams, one with a reference flat surface and the other with a phase conjugate wave front caused by the non-linear optical crystal.

Abstract: A DNA fragment is disclosed which has connected to the downstream side of a first DNA sequence containing a region coding for the first ribozyme RNA a second DNA sequence containing a region coding for second ribozyme RNA capable of cleaving by self-processing the 3'-terminus site of the first ribozyme RNA subjected to transcription. A ribozyme having the 3'-terminus site thereof self-processed is obtained by effecting transcription of a RNA using as a template a recombinant vector obtained by recombination by the use of the DNA fragment.

Abstract: A platelike hydroxyapatite is produced by preparing from a phosphate and a calcium salt an aqueous slurry of amorphous calcium phosphate having an atomic ratio of calcium atoms to phosphorus atoms in the range of 1.3:1 to 2.0:1, adding to the aqueous slurry not less than 10% by weight of alcohol based on the amount of the aqueous slurry, and subjecting the resultant mixture to a hydrothermal treatment.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for driving one or multiple microbodies having a size in the order of several nanometers, using a relatively simple system structure that does not require the use of large peripheral devices. Each body moves along a substrate that is hydrophobic at a low temperature and hydrophilic at a high temperature, and consists of an attachable flexible portion at the front and a detachable flexible portion adjoining the rear of the attachable flexible portion.

Abstract: A micromotion stage comprises a stationary plate and a moving plate connected by six links each consisting of a stacked piezoelectric element serving as an actuator, a holder fixed at one end of the stacked piezoelectric element, a capacitance type displacement gage retained by the holder and a target member fixed at the other end of the stacked piezoelectric element to have a part thereof face a tip portion of the capacitance type displacement gage across a small gap. Change in the distance between the holder and the target member caused by expansion or contraction of the stacked piezoelectric element and indicative of a change in the link stroke can be detected by the capacitance type displacement gage.

Abstract: An optical displacement sensor that has a light beam polariscope located on the light path of light reflected from a target surface, and means for detecting the focal point position and transverse position of the light beam from the polariscope. The focal point position corresponds to axial displacement at the target surface, and the transverse position corresponds to inclination of the target surface, so the effect of the inclination of the surface can be compensated for by using a transverse position detection signal to adjust the light beam polariscope.

Abstract: A method of measuring the shape of a glossy object includes the simultaneous illumination of the whole surface of the object by two light sources which are arranged on the same axis a fixed distance apart, light from one of the light sources that is reflected from the glossy object being picked up by image capture means located at the position of the other light source, and from the imaging position of the reflected light thus captured the angle of incidence of the reflected light on the image capture means is calculated and triangulation is used to calculate the spatial location of a light reflection point on the surface of the glossy object.

Abstract: A core for casting titanium or an alloy thereof consists essentially of a sintered formed substrate of a powder having as its main component either mullite powder alone or a combination of mullite powder and at least one member selected from among quartz glass, alumina, zircon, magnesia, and cristobalite and a surface layer formed of at least one member selected from among yttria, zirconia, hafnia, alumina, neodymium oxide, and samarium oxide and deposited as a coating layer on the surface of the formed substrate.

Abstract: An air refractometer measures the refractive index of air by directing a laser beam onto a first nonlinear optical crystal to convert a part thereof into a second-harmonic wave, directs the laser beam and the second-harmonic wave onto a reflecting mirror which reflects them onto a second nonlinear optical crystal to convert another part of the laser beam into a second-harmonic wave, produces interference fringes by interference between the harmonic wave produced by the first nonlinear optical crystal and the harmonic wave produced by the second nonlinear optical crystal, counts the number of interference fringes generated when the reflecting mirror is moved, and divides the number of interference fringes by the distance moved by the reflecting mirror.

Abstract: To provide a separating membrane of a polyion complex having excellent separation factor, permeation rate and performance stability and being used in separating a mixture of water and an organic substance in accordance with the separating membrane technology. The separating membrane is a novel one comprising a polyion complex which comprises an ionic combination of an anionic polymer having carboxyl groups with a cationic polymer having divalent piperidinium bases. With respect to the separation characteristics of the separating membrane, a permeation rate is at least 100 g/m.sup.2 .multidot.hr and a separation factor is at least 1,000 in an evaluation according to pervaporation (by reducing the pressure outside the hollow fiber while feeding a 99 wt. % aqueous ethanol solution inside the same at 70.degree. C.). Further, a durability evaluation shows that the permeation rate and separation factor of the separating membrane are respectively 110 g/m.sup.2 .multidot.

Abstract: A method of fabricating a diffraction grating comprises the steps of illuminating a first hyperbolic diffraction grating having a spatial frequency of f/2 with a spherical wave from a point light source to produce a diffracted ray, diffracting the diffracted ray from the first hyperbolic diffraction grating with second and third hyperbolic diffraction gratings having a spatial frequency of f, merging the diffracted rays from the first and second hyperbolic diffraction gratings on a photographic plate to record interference fringes. The point light source, the first, second and third diffraction gratings, and the photographic plate are disposed to satisfy the relationship ##EQU1## where d is the distance between the point light source and the first diffraction grating and c is the distance between the first diffraction grating and each of the second and third diffraction gratings and also the distance between each of the second and third diffraction gratings and the photographic plate.