Abstract: Species of human-derived bacteria belonging to the Clostridia class have been shown to induce accumulation of regulatory T cells (Treg cells) in the colon and suppress immune functions. Pharmaceutical compositions containing these bacteria can be used to prevent and treat immune-mediated diseases such as autoimmune diseases.

Abstract: Provided is an image processing device including a changing unit that changes a threshold value of intensity of each of points within an image, a first display control unit that controls displaying of points including an intensity value equal to or greater than the threshold value every time the threshold value is changed by the changing unit, a receiving unit that receives designation of one or a plurality of predetermined regions within a displayed image based on an operation of a user, a fixing unit that fixes the threshold value of each of the points within the designated predetermined region as a threshold value by the changing unit at a time of designation of the predetermined region, a second display control unit that controls displaying of points including an intensity value equal to or greater than the threshold value fixed by the fixing unit among the points within the predetermined region, and points including an intensity value equal to or greater than the threshold value to be changed by the chan

Abstract: In order to obtain a carbon nanotube array including no m-CNTs through simple steps using a mechanism that is different from thermocapillary flow, there are provided a process for producing a carbon nanotube array including (A) a step of preparing a carbon nanotube array in which m-CNTs and s-CNTs are horizontally aligned; (B) a step of forming an organic layer on the carbon nanotube array; (C) a step of applying voltage to the carbon nanotube array in a long axis direction of the carbon nanotubes constituting the carbon nanotube array in the air; and (D) a step of removing the organic layer, and a carbon nanotube array obtained by the process.

Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide a novel medicinal use in regeneration medicine, said medicinal use comprising using pluripotent stem cells (Muse cells). Provided is a cell preparation for treating skin ulcer, said cell preparation comprising SSEA-3 positive pluripotent stem cells isolated from a mesenchymal tissue of a living organism or cultured mesenchymal cells. The cell preparation according to the present invention is based on such mechanism of skin tissue regeneration that, when the Muse cells are administered to a skin ulcer site of a subject suffering from the aforesaid disease, the Muse cells differentiate into skin-constituting cells.

Abstract: Projection images of reduced resolution are generated by reducing resolution of filtered projection images and/or reducing the number of filtered projection images. Volume data of reduced resolution is generated by performing CT reconstruction using the projection images of reduced resolution. Each voxel of the volume data of reduced resolution is provisionally divided. The provisionally divided voxels are compared in voxel value before and after provisional division. If a difference in voxel value before and after the provisional division is greater than a threshold, the provisional division is determined to be valid, and division is further continued. If the difference in voxel value before and after the provisional division is less than or equal to the threshold, the provisional division is determined to be invalid and the voxel ends being divided.

Abstract: A medical apparatus for estimating a mental/neurological disease with high precision is provided. This medical apparatus includes a computational processing device, a recording device having an estimation program which causes the computational processing device to execute processing recorded therein, a calculation unit configured to calculate a score of a subject, a detection unit configured to detect a disease whose score exceeds a reference range, and an estimation unit configured to estimate a mental/neurological disease.

Abstract: An analysis device includes: a cell image acquisition unit that acquires a plurality of cell images in which a stimulated cell has been captured; a feature value calculation unit that calculates a feature value for each of first and second constituent elements constituting the cell, from the cell images acquired by the cell image acquisition unit; a correlation calculation unit that calculates correlations between first feature values and between second feature values in the first and second constituent elements calculated by the feature value calculation unit; a correlation extraction unit that extracts the correlation between the first feature values by selecting the first feature values with respect to the correlations between the feature values in the first and second constituent elements calculated by the correlation calculation unit; and a display unit that displays the correlation between the first feature values extracted by the correlation extraction unit.

Abstract: A MOS optical modulator having high modulation efficiency and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. A MOS optical modulator includes: a p-type Si layer constituting an optical waveguide; a gate insulating film provided on the optical waveguide; a gate layer provided on the gate insulating film and formed of an n-type group III-V semiconductor; a first contact portion connected to the gate layer; and a second contact portion connected to the Si layer.

Abstract: A transformant obtained by introducing a DNA of (a1), (a2), or (a3) below, and (b) an alcohol dehydrogenase gene, into a bacterium of the genus Hydrogenophilus, can efficiently produce isobutanol utilizing carbon dioxide as a sole carbon source. (a1) DNA which consists of a base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1; (a2) DNA which consists of a base sequence having 90% or more identity with SEQ ID NO: 1, the DNA encoding a polypeptide having 2-keto-acid decarboxylase activity; (a3) DNA which hybridizes with a DNA consisting of a base sequence complementary to SEQ ID NO: 1 under stringent conditions, and which encodes a polypeptide having 2-keto-acid decarboxylase activity.

Abstract: The present invention is intended to provide an adjuvant having high safety to living bodies and an action to sufficiently reinforce immune function, and a vaccine comprising the adjuvant. Specifically, the present invention relates to 34 novel adjuvant candidate compounds, which have been identified by screening 145 food additives and 51 injection additives, using, as indicators, an increase in the antibody titer against influenza virus and a protective effect against infection with influenza virus, and then selecting those having the function of increasing the antiviral antibody titer in blood and the protective effect against viral infection. In addition, the present invention also relates to a vaccine comprising these adjuvant candidate compounds.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for screening a nucleic acid aptamer comprising: (a) contacting a target molecule immobilized on a solid phase support with a nucleic acid aptamer candidate; (b) collecting the nucleic acid aptamer candidate binding with the target molecule by a capillary electrophoresis; and (c) amplifying the nucleic acid aptamer candidate by PCR.

Abstract: An object trapping device enables efficiently trapping a plurality of objects in a specific combination. Each of a first electrode pair (13), a second electrode pair (14), and a third electrode pair (15) in an electrode pair group (3) is applied with an individual AC voltage and traps an object by dielectrophoresis generated in accordance with the AC voltage that is applied.

Abstract: The present invention is intended to provide a peptide that selectively binds to a metal surface. The present invention relates to a peptide consisting of an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 6, SEQ ID NO: 7, SEQ ID NO: 8, SEQ ID NO: 9, SEQ ID NO: 10, SEQ ID NO: 11, SEQ ID NO: 12, SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 14, SEQ ID NO: 15, SEQ ID NO: 16, SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 18, SEQ ID NO: 19, SEQ ID NO: 20, or SEQ ID NO: 21, or a peptide substantially identical to the aforementioned peptide, and a method for detecting a metal surface of a medical device, using these peptides.

Abstract: An antibody is provided that inhibits infection of cells with a norovirus. The antibody is a nanoantibody comprising a polypeptide described in (a), (b), or (c), and inhibiting infection of intestinal cells with HuNoV GII.4: (a) a polypeptide consisting of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 9, or SEQ ID NO: 13; (b) a polypeptide consisting of an amino acid sequence comprising a substitution, deletion, insertion and/or addition of one or several amino acids with respect to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 9, or SEQ ID NO: 13; and (c) a polypeptide consisting of an amino acid sequence having a sequence identity of 80% or more to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 9, or SEQ ID NO: 13.

Abstract: The present invention relates to novel and excellent small-molecule-compounds that specifically antagonize BMP signal pathways, and these compounds can be used to modulate cell growth, differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis, and thus can be used to treat diseases or pathological symptoms related to BMP signal pathway including inflammation, cardiovascular diseases, hematopoietic diseases, cancer, osteodystrophia, or the like, particularly, fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, and the present invention relates to provision of a pharmaceutical and pharmacological agent used for specifically antagonizing the BMP signal pathways and acting on the BMP signal pathways in the prevention and treatment or experimental application since the compounds can be beneficial for regulating cell differentiation and/or cell proliferation.

Abstract: A rare earth magnet including a magnetic phase having the composition represented by (Nd(1?x?y)LaxCey)2(Fe(1?z)Coz)14B. When the saturation magnetization at absolute zero and the Curie temperature calculated by Kuzmin's formula based on the measured values at finite temperature and the saturation magnetization at absolute zero and the Curie temperature calculated by first principles calculation are respectively subjected to data assimilation. The saturation magnetization M(x, y, z, T=0) at absolute zero and the Curie temperature obtained by machine learning using the assimilated data group are applied again to Kuzmin's formula and the saturation magnetization at finite temperature is represented by a function M(x, y, z, T), x, y, and z of the formula in an atomic ratio are in a range of satisfying M(x, y, z, T)>M(x, y, z=0, T) and 400?T?453.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for producing a copolymer of ethylene and an allyl monomer that is represented by formula (1) and has a polar group, or a copolymer of ethylene, the allyl monomer that is represented by formula (1) and has a polar group, and another monomer. This production method is characterized by using a metal complex, which is represented by general formula (C1), as a polymerization catalyst and by having a silane compound, which is represented by general formula (2) and has a silicon-hydrogen bond, coexist with the metal complex. (In the formulae, the symbols are as defined in the description.) According to the present invention, a copolymer of an allyl monomer that has a polar group is able to be produced with high catalytic activity, said copolymer being capable of having various applications.

Abstract: Provided are a copolymer having biocompatibility sufficient for use in medical material applications, and a method of forming a crosslinked body, the method including imparting biocompatibility to a substrate surface through the use of the copolymer. More specifically, a protein adsorption-suppressing effect and a cell adhesion-suppressing effect, which are features of a phosphorylcholine group, are imparted to the substrate surface. It has been found that a copolymer containing a phosphorylcholine constitutional unit and a photoreactive constitutional unit, or a copolymer containing a phosphorylcholine constitutional unit, a photoreactive constitutional unit, and a hydrophobic constitutional unit can impart a protein adsorption-suppressing effect and a cell adhesion-suppressing effect to a substrate surface through a simple approach called photoirradiation.

Abstract: The present invention provides a light-transmitting electrode which has high electrical conductivity and high electron blocking performance. The present invention also provides a solar cell which is capable of achieving high energy conversion efficiency at low cost. The present invention provides a method for producing a light-transmitting electrode that has a light-transmitting substrate, a carbon nanotube film which is formed directly or indirectly on the light-transmitting substrate, and a metal oxide film which is formed directly on the carbon nanotube film. This production method includes vapor depositing the metal oxide film, which contains oxygen and a metal element belonging to the group 4, 5 or 6 of the periodic table, on one surface or both surfaces of the carbon nanotube film. The present invention provides a light-transmitting electrode which includes a light-transmitting substrate and a conductive carbon nanotube film that is formed directly or indirectly on the light-transmitting substrate.

Abstract: A fracturing method, to cause a crack in bedrock, includes installing a depressurizing device in a well in the bedrock, and depressurizing the inside of the well with the installed depressurizing device. The installing step includes installing, in the well, a connecting pipe, which is connected to the depressurizing device, and a packer, which is attached to the connecting pipe, and the depressurizing step includes shutting off a gap between the well and the connecting pipe, with the packer, and depressurizing a region in the well below the packer, with the depressurizing device.