Abstract: For work in which reflecting mirrors (or facets (31)) to be mounted on a heliostat 3 coincide with a pseudo toroid (53), an adjustment method of, and a mounting posture measuring device for, accurately measuring mounting postures of the respective facets (31) are provided for performing mounting adjustment efficiently and simply. In a method of installing the reflecting mirrors (or the facets (31)) constituting the heliostat 3 for sunlight condensation, each facet (31) is installed in such so that a reflected laser beam (52) reflected by the facet 31 can reach a virtual passage point (52b) in a laser point measuring unit (12).

Abstract: Provided are a gas hydrate percentage measuring device and a method of controlling the same which are capable of measuring a gas hydrate percentage with high accuracy even if source gas exists dissolved in gas hydrate slurry or as gas bubble therein.

Abstract: This thin-film forming device includes: a deposition vessel in which a reduced-pressure deposition space, to which a raw material gas and a reactant gas are alternately supplied on different timings, is formed in order to form a thin film on the substrate; and a gas supply unit configured to supply the raw material gas and the reactant gas to the deposition vessel. The gas supply unit is provided with at least one partition that bends a gas passage from an inlet port of each of the raw material gas and the reactant gas toward the deposition space.

Abstract: A fluorescence detection device for a flow site meter emits laser light intensity-modulated in accordance with a modulation signal and acquires a fluorescent signal of fluorescence emitted from a measurement object that passes through a measurement point of the laser light. The fluorescence detection device generates, separately from the modulation signal, a reference signal having a frequency different from a frequency of the modulation signal and a phase in synchronization with a phase of the modulation signal. The fluorescence detection device determines a fluorescent relaxation time of the measurement object from the fluorescent signal by using the reference signal.

Abstract: An automatic vessel position holding control method for holding a vessel position and a vessel heading of a vessel on the ocean in order to reduce a positional deviation and a heading deviation sharply as compared with the conventional automatic vessel position holding control by performing feedforward control for estimating and then compensating for at least one of a wave drifting force and a wave drifting moment that act on the vessel, wherein a vessel position holding control is performed that includes such controls as estimating waves entering the vessel from motion thereof, calculating at least one of the wave drifting force and the wave drifting moment from the estimated waves and performing feedforward control for at least one of the calculated wave drifting force and the calculated wave drifting moment.

Abstract: Two or more kinds of fluorescent beads containing at least two kinds of basic fluorochromes different in fluorescence intensity, fluorescence wavelength, and fluorescence relaxation time from each other, wherein a content ratio between the at least two kinds of basic fluorochromes and absolute amounts of contents of the basic fluorochromes are set so as to be different between different kinds of fluorescent beads. The fluorescent beads are used in a flow cytometer for fluorescence detection. This makes it possible to identify a greater variety of beads than before with high accuracy in a single measurement.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a fluorescence measuring apparatus capable of determining whether accuracy of measuring fluorescence lifetime is deteriorated or not due to adjustment of the apparatus. The fluorescence measuring apparatus for measuring fluorescence emitted when an objects to be measured are irradiated with laser light includes: a laser light source that irradiates each of the objects to be measured with intensity-modulated laser light; a light-receiving unit that receives fluorescence emitted when each of the objects to be measured is irradiated with the laser light; a signal processing unit that determines a fluorescence lifetime using a signal of the fluorescence received by the light-receiving unit; and a determining unit that determines whether or not a fluorescence lifetime dispersion of the objects caused by amplification of the signal of the fluorescence performed by the light-receiving unit or by the signal processing unit is larger than a predetermined value.

Abstract: Provided is a process and an apparatus for producing at low cost gas hydrate pellets having an excellent storability. A gas hydrate generated from a raw-material gas and raw-material water is dewatered and simultaneously molded into pellets with compression-molding means under conditions suitable for generating the gas hydrate while the gas hydrate is generated from the raw-material gas and the raw-material water that exist among particles of the gas hydrate.

Abstract: A gas hydrate production apparatus capable of reacting a raw gas with a raw water to thereby form a slurry gas hydrate and capable of removing water from the slurry gas hydrate by means of a gravitational dewatering unit. The gravitational dewatering unit is one including a cylindrical first tower body; a cylindrical dewatering part disposed on top of the first tower body; a water receiving part disposed outside the dewatering part; and a cylindrical second tower body disposed on top of the dewatering part, wherein the cross-sectional area of the second tower body is continuously or intermittently increased upward from the bottom.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a fluorescence detecting apparatus. The fluorescence detecting apparatus includes a light-receiving element that receives fluorescence emitted from an object to be measured irradiated with laser light modulated at a predetermined frequency and outputs a fluorescence signal at an adjusted output level; a signal processing unit that mixes the outputted fluorescence signal and a modulation signal with the frequency to generate fluorescence data including information about phase and intensity; and an analyzing device that calculates a first phase shift of the fluorescence emitted from the object to be measured with respect to the modulation signal, calculates a second phase shift by correcting the calculated first phase shift depending on conditions for adjusting the output level, and calculates a fluorescence relaxation time of the fluorescence emitted from the object to be measured using the calculated second phase shift.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a fluorescence measuring apparatus capable of more accurately measuring fluorescence emitted when an object to be measured is irradiated with laser light. The apparatus for measuring fluorescence emitted when an object to be measured is irradiated with laser light includes: a laser light source that irradiates the object to be measured with laser light; a first light-receiving unit that receives scattered light emitted when the object to be measured is irradiated with the laser light; a second light-receiving unit that receives fluorescence emitted when the object to be measured is irradiated with the laser light; and a signal processing unit that assigns a weight to a signal of the fluorescence received by the second light-receiving unit depending on an intensity of the scattered light received by the first light-receiving unit.

Abstract: Provided is a process and an apparatus for producing at low cost gas hydrate pellets having an excellent storability. A gas hydrate generated from a raw-material gas and raw-material water is dewatered and simultaneously molded into pellets with compression-molding means under conditions suitable for generating the gas hydrate while the gas hydrate is generated from the raw-material gas and the raw-material water that exist among particles of the gas hydrate.

Abstract: A plurality of reference holes are formed in the surface of a first substrate made of a first material, and a plurality of columnar members are each fitted in the reference holes in such a manner that at least a part of each of the columnar members projects from the surface of the first substrate. Subsequently, an electrode surface layer made of a second material is formed on the surface of the first substrate in such a manner that an end portion of each of the columnar members are exposed at the surface and then the columnar members are removed. Thus obtained is a substrate-like electrode including at least an electrode surface layer provided with through holes having a cross section matching a sectional shape of the projecting portion of the columnar members.

Abstract: [Problem] To provide a membrane treatment method and a membrane treatment apparatus for ballast water using a membrane module, which are capable of inhibiting the formation of scale on the membrane surface to reduce fouling, using a simple installation. [Means for Solving the Problem] The membrane treatment method and the membrane treatment apparatus for ballast water using a membrane module according to the invention, having a membrane treatment tank 2 and a membrane module 1 provided in the tank for continuously performing filtration while ballast water is being passed thereto as raw water; wherein a positive electrode and a negative electrode are provided in the membrane treatment tank 2 so as to come into contact with raw water in the tank, and a current passing means is provided in the tank for applying a voltage between the electrodes.

Abstract: Pellet damaging is prevented at the time of pellet charging into a storage tank. There is provided a method of storing a gas hydrate in which pellets obtained by compression molding of powdery gas hydrate are conveyed into a storage tank by the use of a slurry liquor, which method includes pouring a liquid for impact absorption in advance into the storage tank so that the impact on the pellets charged in the storage tank is absorbed by the liquid for impact absorption.

Abstract: Among donor molecules labeling protein in living cells to be measured, the rate of donor molecules binding to an acceptor molecule and occurring FRET is determined. In a plurality of previous measurement samples having different ratios of first molecule concentration to second molecule concentration, a fluorescence lifetime of the first molecule are calculated and the fluorescence lifetime minimum value of the first molecule is calculated. The samples are irradiated with a laser beam having time-modulated intensity and the fluorescence emitted by the laser-irradiated measurement samples are measured. By using the fluorescent signals thus measured, the fluorescence lifetime of the first molecule is calculated. By using the fluorescence lifetime minimum value of the first molecule and the fluorescence lifetime of the first molecule that is calculated above, the rate of the first molecules occurring FRET in the first molecules in the measurement samples is calculated.

Abstract: A membrane treatment apparatus includes a filtration membrane 10 filtering raw water existing in an external environment 100 by applying pressure thereto and a treated water outlet 11 from which treated water collected after filtration by the filtration membrane 10 is taken, and is provided with a filter cloth 12 placed and fixed outside the filtration membrane 10 with a predetermined space left between the filter cloth and the filtration membrane. Preferably, the filter cloth 12 is provided in such a way as to cover an outer circumferential side and a bottom of the filtration membrane 10, and the filter cloth 12 is provided in such a way as to cover the outer circumferential side of the filtration membrane 10 with the bottom thereof uncovered.

Abstract: Disclosed is a process for production of a gas hydrate, wherein the process comprises a gas hydrate production step, a cooling step, a depressurizing step and a re-cooling step. In the cooling step, the temperature (T) required for the cooling of the gas hydrate is adjusted to a temperature equal to or higher than a cooling limit temperature (t1+t2) (which is a sum of an equilibrium temperature (t1) of the gas hydrate and a temperature for correction (t2)) and equal to or lower than the freezing point (0° C.).

Abstract: A method for treating ship ballast water with a membrane, which can easily separate and reliably remove a fouling substance attached to a membrane and maintain the membrane flux for long periods. The method including a membrane separation step of taking in seawater in a port area in which a ship is anchored and separating a microorganism with a size equal to or greater than a predetermined size therefrom with a membrane filtration apparatus installed in or on a hull of the ship and having a filtration membrane module, a backwash step of separating a fouling substance attached to a membrane surface of the membrane filtration apparatus from the membrane surface by backwashing is provided.

Abstract: A laser beam with a wavelength capable of exciting atoms of helium in the metastable state is directed to a generated plasma, and atoms in the metastable state are excited. Absorption amount information representing the amount of laser beam absorbed is acquired, and the density of atoms of helium in the metastable state in the plasma is computed from the absorption amount. The emissions of light from helium gas in the plasma caused by transition from two different excited states to the lower level are measured, and the ratio between the intensities of the emissions is determined. The electron temperature of the produced plasma is computed from the computed density of the atoms of helium gas in the metastable state and the computed emission intensity ratio. With this, the plasma electron temperature can be computed with a relatively high accuracy irrespective of the condition of the plasma atmosphere.