Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to obtain an alternative to a substitute of the mucosa in the middle ear which is engrafted on the surface of the bone in the middle ear, hyperplasia of the granulation tissue and the bone and the development of the fibroblast cell sir the middle ear are suppressed, and to obtain a middle ear mucosa-like cell sheet retaining cilia in the surface layer, comprising culturing nasal epithelium cells on a cell culture substrate coated with a polymer whose hydration force changes within a temperature range of 0 to 80 ° C., wherein the cells are cultured within a temperature range where the hydration force of the polymer is weak, and then changing the temperature to a temperature at which the hydration force is strong to recover the cultured cell sheet.

Abstract: The present invention provides an artificial kidney precursor containing a non-human mammalian metanephros separated out from a living body, wherein the metanephros has been subjected to freezing and thawing treatments outside a living body, and contains mammalian mesenchymal stem cells transferred outside a living body, and a method of production thereof.

Abstract: An ultrasound probe comprises therapeutic transducers which include a plurality of arrayed first transducer elements and emit therapeutic ultrasounds to a subject, and diagnostic transducers which include a plurality of arrayed second transducer elements and emit diagnostic ultrasounds to the subject and receive the diagnostic ultrasounds, wherein the therapeutic transducers are stacked over the diagnostic transducers.

Abstract: Disclosed is a human cell/tissue culturing system including a plurality of incubators, each incubator capable of aseptically storing/culturing cell(s) or tissue(s) derived from a (human) individual and identifying the cell(s) or the tissue(s) during incubation, wherein each incubator comprises a detector corresponding to an individual key, the response of the detector permitting opening/closing of a door of each incubator, the response of the detector of one incubator triggering the interception of the function of the detector(s) of other incubator(s) to consequently inhibit opening/closing of the door(s) of the other incubator(s).

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method for determining the drug sensitivity of a microbe which comprises pouring a microbial suspension into each of the compartments or wells at a position which is in the vicinity of an electrode for measuring dissolved oxygen concentration, measuring current from each electrode at a second time interval for a third time period, each time is obtained based upon each of the measured currents at which the maximum current is obtained, obtaining each current value within a fourth time period which starts from the time at which the maximum current is obtained, detecting drug sensitivity based upon the variation condition of each current value during the fourth time period. The method allows rapid drug susceptibility measurements.

Abstract: A method and apparatus wherein measurement current values output from a first oxygen sensor and a second oxygen sensor are time sequentially measured. Each moving average value is calculated from each sequential measurement current value. Each time differential value is calculated from the pair of each calculated moving average values, by least squares approximation. Then, drug susceptibility is measured based upon each calculated time differential value, so that drug the susceptibility measurement is performed quickly or accurately.

Abstract: An endoscope system is provided, including an endoscope having a flexible inserting tube to be inserted into a human body and a plurality of bending sensors distributed over the flexible inserting tube along the longitudinal direction thereof. Each of the bending sensors detects the local bending state of the flexible inserting tube at the location the bending sensor are provided. A computer adapted to receive data on the local bending state from each of the plurality of bending sensors is also provided. The computer generates a graphical image representing the geometrical configuration of the flexible inserting tube from the data on the local bending states. A monitor connected to the computer to display the graphical image generated by the computer.

Abstract: Disclosed are methods that achieve i) site-directed delivery, ii) in situ amplification, and iii) sustained expression of an exogenous gene product within renal glomeruli. An exogenous gene, E. coli .beta.-galactosidase, was introduced into cultured rat mesangial cells using a replication-defective retrovirus, and stable infectants were administered to a rat kidney via the renal artery. In the injected kidney, the engineered, cultured mesangial cells populated 40% of glomeruli site-specifically. The gene product was detected throughout a 14-week period of observation. In an alternative method, engineered, cultured mesangial cells were injected into a kidney subjected to an antibody that induces mesangiolysis followed by mesangial regeneration. Under these conditions, expression of .beta.-galactosidase was dramatically amplified in situ and high level expression continued for at least 8 weeks.

Abstract: Disclosed are methods that achieve i) site-directed delivery, ii) in situ amplification, and iii) sustained expression of an exogenous gene product within renal glomeruli. An exogenous gene, E. coli .beta.-galactosidase, was introduced into cultured rat mesangial cells using a replication-defective retrovirus, and stable infectants were administered to a rat kidney via the renal artery. In the injected kidney, the engineered, cultured mesangial cells populated 40% of glomeruli site-specifically. The gene product was detected throughout a 14-week period of observation. In an alternative method, engineered, cultured mesangial cells were injected into a kidney subjected to an antibody that induces mesangiolysis followed by mesangial regeneration. Under these conditions, expression of .beta.-galactosidase was dramatically amplified in situ, and high level expression continued for at least 8 weeks.

Abstract: Disclosed are methods that achieve i) site-directed delivery, ii) in situ amplification, and iii) sustained expression of an exogenous gene product within renal glomeruli. An exogenous gene, E. coli .beta.-galactosidase, was introduced into cultured rat mesangial cells using a replication-defective retrovirus, and stable infectants were administered to a rat kidney via the renal artery. In the injected kidney, the engineered, cultured mesangial cells populated 40% of glomeruli site-specifically. The gene product was detected throughout a 14-week period of observation. In an alternative method, engineered, cultured mesangial cells were injected into a kidney subjected to an antibody that induces mesangiolysis followed by mesangial regeneration. Under these conditions, expression of .beta.-galactosidase was dramatically amplified in situ, and high level expression continued for at least 8 weeks.