Abstract: There are provided a hybrid control unit, an engine control unit that controls an engine based on command information received from the hybrid control unit and an operation status of the engine, and a communication abnormality detection means that detects an abnormality in communication between the hybrid control unit and the engine control unit. In the case where due to an abnormality in the communication between the hybrid control unit and the engine control unit, the engine control unit cannot receive command information from the hybrid control unit, each of the hybrid control unit and the engine control unit performs control in preliminarily set sequence.

Abstract: There are provided a hybrid control unit, an engine control unit that controls an engine based on command information received from the hybrid control unit and an operation status of the engine, and a communication abnormality detection means that detects an abnormality in communication between the hybrid control unit and the engine control unit. In the case where due to an abnormality in the communication between the hybrid control unit and the engine control unit, the engine control unit cannot receive command information from the hybrid control unit, each of the hybrid control unit and the engine control unit performs control in preliminarily set sequence.

Abstract: The present invention provides a powdery starting material for preparing a drug-coating solution, which has high safety as a drug component and is very rapidly dissolved in room temperature water upon preparation of a coating solution. The powdery starting material for preparing a drug-coating solution comprises hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose and/or methyl cellulose particles having an average particle size ranging from 200 to 1000 .mu.m and whose content of particles having a particle size of 75 .mu.m or smaller is not more than 30% by weight. More preferably, the viscosity of a 2% by weight aqueous solution of the powdery starting material as determined at room temperature ranges from 2 to 60 cP and preferably 2 to 20 cP.

Abstract: A novel endermic medicament having a consistency of a gel is proposed which is formulated, as a gel base, with non-ionic water-soluble cellulose ether, e.g., methyl cellulose and hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, modified with a modification agent containing, in the molecule, an alkyl group having 6 to 26 carbon atoms and a functional group having reactivity with the hydroxyl group in the cellulose ether, e.g., stearyl glycidyl ether, decyl glycidyl ether and cetyl epoxide. The endermic medicament formulated with the modified cellulose ether is stable by virtue of the very little interaction between the active ingredients and the gel base and also can exhibit high percutaneous absorptivity of the active ingredients through the human skin.

Abstract: An apparatus for manufacturing capsules which causes a solution of thermo-gelling material to gelatinize, and then drys the gel, whereby the process of manufacturing capsules is less affected by drying conditions, thus providing capsules of uniform wall thickness without wrinkles. In the apparatus of this invention, circulating capsule pins are dipped in the solution of thermo-gelling material, thus the solution adheres to the pins, and, the pins are rotated upside down, thus thickness of the solution adhering to the pins becomes uniform. Then, the pins are retained in the vessel maintained at a higher temperature than the gelling temperature of the solution, and the solution adhering to the pins is accelerated to gelatinization. The formed gel is dried in a drying device, and the dried gel bodies, i.e. capsules, are removed from the capsule pins.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing capsules causes the solution of thermo-gelling material to gelatinize once, and then drys the gel. Therefore the process of manufacturing capsules is less affected by drying conditions, thus providing capsules of uniform wall thickness without wrinkle. In the apparatus, circulating capsule pins are dipped in the solution of thermo-gelling material, thus the solution adheres to the pins. The pins are rotated upside down, thus thickness of the solution adhering to the pins becoming uniform. Then the pins are retained in the vessel maintained at a higher temperature than the gelling temperature of the solution, and the solution adhering to the pins is gelatinized. The thus-formed gel is dried through a drying device, and the dried gel, i.e. capsules, is removed from capsule pins.

Abstract: Solid medicament forms, such as granules, beads, tablets, are first coated with a hot aqueous dispersion of a cellulose ether, which is soluble in cold water but insoluble in hot water, and then subjected to a wax treatment with heating to form a masking layer of the wax. Different from the coating film of a cellulose ether formed by using an aqueous or organic solution of the cellulose ether, the coating film formed by using the aqueous dispersion of the cellulose ether has a porous structure so that the amount of the wax deposited in the wax treatment is much larger than in the prior art methods to exhibit a high effect of masking the bitterness of the ingredient contained in the medicament form.

Abstract: In place of gelatin conventionally used as a material for shaping hard medicinal capsules, the invention proposes a hard capsule for medicinal use shaped of a polymer blend of a water-soluble cellulose ether, e.g., alkyl cellulose, hydroxyalkyl cellulose and alkyl hydroxyalkyl cellulose, and a polyvinyl alcohol in a weight ratio of 70:30 to 98:2. The inventive hard medicinal capsules have remarkably low permeability to oxygen and moisture with little influences on the medicament contained therein along with sufficiently high mechanical strengths and are much more stable than conventional gelatin-made capsules against the influences of the ambient conditions, such as, the crack formation unavoidable in a gelatin-made hard capsule when it is kept under an extremely low humidity.

Abstract: A novel aqueous coating composition is proposed for providing enteric coating on solid dosage forms such as tablets. The aqueous coating composition of the invention comprises a fine powder of an enterosoluble cellulose derivative such as hydroxypropylmethylcellulose phthalate and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose acetate succinate, which is insoluble in water but can be plasticized and solubilized with certain plasticizing agents, as dispersed in an aqueous dispersing medium and a plasticizing agent having compatibility with the enterosoluble cellulose derivative and dissolved in the aqueous dispersing medium. The particle size of the enterosoluble cellulose derivative and the boiling point of the plasticizing agent is the key parameters and should be finer than 100 .mu.m in an average particle diameter and not lower than 100.degree. C., respectively.

Abstract: The invention provides a novel enterosoluble capsule for containing a medicament, which is shaped with a hitherto not used novel cellulose derivative. The cellulose derivative is a mixed ester of an alkyl-, hydroxyalkyl- or hydroxyalkyl alkylcellulose esterified with succinyl anhydride and an aliphatic monocarboxylic acid anhydride. The enterosoluble capsules have excellent enterosolubility behavior as well as sufficient pliability even without the addition of a plasticizer which is almost indispensable in the prior art materials. The cellulose derivative can be shaped into capsules not only by the conventional dipping method but also by the plastic deformation at an elevated temperature under pressure such as compression molding, vacuum forming, matchedmold forming and the like.

Abstract: The present invention provides a novel compound cyanoethylpullulan which is a cyanoethylation product of pullulan. Pullulan is readily cyanoethylated by the reaction with acrylonitrile in the presence of an alkali catalyst such as sodium hydroxide.The cyanoethylpullulan having a degree of cyanoethylation of at least 50% has various unique properties in the heat resistance, solubility in organic solvents, film-forming property, adhesive bonding to metals and the like in comparison with related cyanoethylated products such as cyanoethylcellulose and cyanoethylated polyvinyl alcohol.

Abstract: A novel cellulose derivative provided in this invention is a mixed ester of an alkoxy or hydroxyalkoxy substituted cellulose ether, prepared by the esterification reaction of the ether with succinic anhydride and an anhydride of an aliphatic monocarboxylic acid. The cellulose derivatives are advantageous because of their capability of producing enteric coatings having sufficient flexibility without the use of a plasticizer as well as by their chemical and physical stability against moisture, and also by easy purification after completion of the esterification reaction. The coatings produced from the derivatives have a similar chemical and physical stability. The cellulose derivatives are useful for the enteric coating of pharmaceutical dosage forms and also for providing halation-preventing layers on photographic films.

Abstract: In the process for the preparation of low-substituted cellulose ethers comprising the successive steps of etherification of alkali cellulose, neutralization of the crude cellulose ether, washing, drying and pulverization, the neutralization step is carried out in two stages, i.e., by first employing 5 to 80% of an acid stoichiometrically required and then adding an additional amount of the acid to complete neutralization. The cellulose ethers thus prepared can readily be pulverized into fine powder having a very good flowing property and yet an excellent binding force, and work as a suitable disintegrator in tablets.