Abstract: A uric acid-lowering agent containing, as an active ingredient, a tyrosine-containing cyclic dipeptide selected from the group consisting of cyclotryptophanyltyrosine, cycloseryltyrosine, cycloprolyltyrosine, cyclotyrosylglycine, cyclotyrosyltyrosine, cyclophenylalanyltyrosine, cycloleucyltyrosine, cyclolysyltyrosine, cyclohistidyltyrosine, cycloalanyltyrosine, cycloglutamyltyrosine, cyclovalyltyrosine, cycloisoleucyltyrosine, cyclothreonyltyrosine, cycloaspartyltyrosine, cycloasparaginyltyrosine, cycloglutaminyltyrosine, cycloarginyltyrosine, cyclomethionyltyrosine, and cyclotyrosylcysteine, or a salt thereof. The uric acid-lowering agent of the present invention has an excellent action of lowering a uric acid level, and the uric acid-lowering agent is useful in, for example, prevention or treatment of hyperuricemia, gout or the like.

Abstract: A thermistor element includes a thermistor main body having a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a first covering layer having reduction resistance and covering the periphery of the thermistor main body. At least a portion (exposed outer surface) of the outer surface of the first covering layer is exposed to the outside. When the shortest distance in a straight line in the first covering layer extending from a starting point on the thermistor main body to the exposed outer surface is defined as an exposed layer thickness at the starting point, the first covering layer is formed such that an exposed layer thickness measured by using any vertex of the rectangular parallelepiped thermistor main body as a starting point is equal to or greater than the smallest one of exposed layer thicknesses measured by using points on three sides and three flat surfaces which form the vertex.

Abstract: A production energy management system is provided, including a production and energy flow model definer configured to define a production and energy flow model wherein the production and energy flow model represents, by directed lines, a flow with regard to an input and output of a production-related material between apparatuses disposed in a plant and a flow with regard to an input and output of energy and associates index values of the production-related material and the energy with a kind of metered data measured in the plant, a data collector configured to collect the metered data from the plant, and an energy calculator configured to perform an energy calculation for each apparatus based on the collected metered data and the defined production and energy flow model.

Abstract: There is provided a trench-gate type semiconductor device that can prevent breakdown of a gate insulating film caused by a displacement current flowing into a protective diffusion layer at a portion of a trench underlying a gate electrode at a turn-off time and simultaneously improves a current density by narrowing a cell pitch. The semiconductor device has a gate electrode 7 embedded into a trench 5 penetrating a base region 3. The gate electrode 7 is disposed into a lattice shape in a planar view, and a protective diffusion layer 13 is formed in a drift layer 2a at the portion underlying thereof. At least one of blocks divided by the gate electrode 7 is a protective contact region 20 on which the trench 5 is entirely formed. A protective contact 21 for connecting the protective diffusion layer 13 at a bottom portion of the trench 5 and a source electrode 9 is disposed on the protective contact region 20.

Abstract: The present invention aims to provide antidepressants which are free from the problem of side effects and are excellent in safety. The present invention also aims to provide learning motivation improvers which are useful for improvement of learning motivation and can be ingested continuously. The present invention provides antidepressants and learning motivation improvers, each comprising a cyclic dipeptide with the 2,5-diketopiperazine structure as an active ingredient.

Abstract: A display apparatus for vehicle includes a speedometer that measures speed of a vehicle, an eco-drive level determination unit that determines an eco-drive level at driving the vehicle based on a recommended depression amount and an actual depression amount, a determination display portion located inside a peripheral visual field region of the driver, a detail display portion located outside of the peripheral visual field region, and a display control unit that controls display in the determination display portion and the detail display portion. The display control unit performs the following controls of (A) setting the display in the determination display portion to ambient display in which contrast of the outline region is lower than contrast inside the outline region, and (B) changing the ambient display according to the change in the eco-drive level.

Abstract: A semiconductor biosensor and a control method thereof are disclosed for enhancing performance of semiconductor biosensor and the reducing price of medical healthcare chip. An embodiment of the semiconductor biosensor includes a central reaction unit. The central reaction unit comprises a plurality of semiconductor conducting wires; a common source, wherein one end of each conducting wire is connected to the common source; a plurality of non-volatile memory type transistors respectively connected to another end of each conducting wire; a plurality of sense-amplifiers respectively connected to the said non-volatile memory type transistors; a bit line controller analyzing signals sensed by the said sense-amplifiers and managing the operation of the said non-volatile memory type transistors; an oxide film wrapping or covering the said conducting wires, and a plurality of receptors fixed on a surface of the said oxide film.

Abstract: An memory management method, a memory storage device and a memory controlling circuit unit are provided. The method comprises: obtaining a threshold voltage distribution of memory cells, wherein the threshold voltage distribution comprises a plurality of states, and each of the states represents a storage status; determining whether a width of a gap window between two neighboring states among the states is less than a threshold value; and if the width of the gap window is less than the threshold value, eliminating one of the two neighboring states.

Abstract: A trench-gate type semiconductor device that can prevent breakdown of a gate insulating film caused by a displacement current flowing into a protective diffusion layer at a portion of a trench underlying a gate electrode at a turn-off time and simultaneously improves a current density by narrowing a cell pitch. The semiconductor device includes a gate electrode embedded into a trench penetrating a base region. The gate electrode is disposed into a lattice shape in a planar view, and a protective diffusion layer is formed in a drift layer at the portion underlying thereof. At least one of blocks divided by the gate electrode is a protective contact region on which the trench is entirely formed. A protective contact for connecting the protective diffusion layer at a bottom portion of the trench and a source electrode is disposed on the protective contact region.

Abstract: A semiconductor device having high breakdown voltage and high reliability without forming an embedded injection layer with high position accuracy. The semiconductor device includes a base as an active area of a second conductivity type formed on a surface layer of a semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type to constitute a semiconductor element; guard rings as a plurality of first impurity regions of the second conductivity type formed on the surface layer of the semiconductor layer spaced apart from each other to respectively surround the base in plan view; and an embedded injection layer as a second impurity region of the second conductivity type embedded in the surface layer of the semiconductor layer to connect at least two bottom portions of the plurality of guard rings.

Abstract: A semiconductor device that can improve reliability while suppressing increase of a conduction loss or a switching loss. In the semiconductor device, when a two-dimensional shape on a main surface of the semiconductor substrate is an unit cell, the shape being a repeating unit of a plurality of well regions periodically disposed in a surface layer of a drift layer, one unit cell and another unit cell adjacent in an x-axis direction are disposed misaligned in a y-axis direction, and one unit cell and another unit cell adjacent in the y-axis direction are disposed misaligned in the x-axis direction.

Abstract: Provided is an image reading device including a platen that supports an original document on which an image is recorded, a reading unit that is opposed to the original document with the platen interposed therebetween, and includes a reading member which reads the image on the original document extending in a first direction, and a supporting member that supports the reading member, is movable along a second direction intersecting with the first direction, and is movably supported such that the reading member reads the image on the original document in the first and second directions, a guiding member that extends in the second direction and guides the supporting member when the supporting member is moved in the second direction, and a moving member that is disposed to be separated from the guiding member in the first direction and moves the supporting member along the second direction.

Abstract: An image reading apparatus includes a reading apparatus body, an accommodation member, and a positioning member. The reading apparatus body reads a document mounted on a document platen. The accommodation member accommodates the reading apparatus body and moves from one end portion to the other end portion of the document when reading the document. The positioning member is mounted on the reading apparatus body, the positioning member having a convex section positioning the reading apparatus body in a height direction by coming into contact with the document platen and an engaging section engaging with an engaged section formed in the accommodation member in the height direction.

Abstract: Provided are a base substrate made of a semi-insulating semiconductor; an emission region multilayer unit formed on a surface of the base substrate and including each of an N-type semiconductor contact layer, an N-type DBR layer, an active layer, a P-type semiconductor DBR layer, and a P-type semiconductor contact layer; an anode electrode connected to the P-type semiconductor contact layer; and a cathode electrode formed on a surface side of the base substrate and connected to the N-type semiconductor contact layer. The N-type DBR layer is formed of 15 or more pairs of layers with different compositions laminated on each other. Through this configuration, a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser that can suppress an occurrence of a defect caused by crystal missing arising from the base substrate can be provided at reduced cost.

Abstract: The present invention aims to provide antidementia agents which are free from the problem of side effects and are excellent in safety. The present invention also aims to provide agents for improving learning and memory which are useful for improvement of learning and memory and can be ingested continuously. The present invention provides antidementia agents and agents for improving learning and memory, each comprising a cyclic dipeptide with the 2,5-diketopiperazine structure as an active ingredient.

Abstract: A rotational speed control apparatus for an engine is provided. The engine is configured to drive a compressor and includes an ignition plug. The rotational speed control apparatus includes an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to: (a) correct a torque of the engine through feedback such that a rotational speed of the engine during idle operation becomes close to a target rotational speed; and (b) adjust the ignition timing such that a reserve torque that is ensured is larger when a first changeover is started than when a second changeover is started, the first changeover being a changeover from a stopped state of the compressor to a driven state of the compressor, the second changeover being a changeover from the driven state of the compressor to the stopped state of the compressor.

Abstract: A rotational speed control apparatus for an engine is provided. The engine configured to drive a compressor that compresses a cooling medium for air conditioning. The rotational speed control apparatus includes electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to: (a) correct a torque of the engine through feedback in accordance with a deviation between a rotational speed during idle operation and a target rotational speed; (b) (i) calculate a load torque of the compressor, and (ii) correct the calculated load torque through feedback in accordance with a deviation between the rotational speed of the engine and the target rotational speed and correct a required value of the torque of the engine in accordance with the corrected load torque, in a predetermined period from a start of a changeover between a driven state of the compressor and a stopped state of the compressor.

Abstract: A rotational speed control apparatus for an engine is provided. The engine is configured to drive a compressor for air conditioning. The rotational speed control apparatus includes an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to: (a) correct a calculated value of the load torque in accordance with a deviation between a rotational speed of the engine and the target rotational speed, as changeover transition period control, in a changeover transition period; and (b) set an execution period of the changeover transition period control such that the execution period in a changeover transition period from the stopped state of the compressor to the driven state of the compressor becomes longer than an execution period of the changeover transition period control in a changeover transition period from the driven state of the compressor to the stopped state of the compressor.

Abstract: A motion vector predictive encoding method, a motion vector decoding method, a predictive encoding apparatus, a decoding apparatuses, and storage media storing motion vector predictive encoding and decoding programs are provided, thereby reducing the amount of generated code with respect to the motion vector, and improving the efficiency of the motion-vector prediction. If the motion-compensating mode of the target small block to be encoded is the global motion compensation, the encoding mode of an already-encoded small block is the interframe coding mode, and the motion-compensating mode of the already-encoded small block is the global motion compensation, then the motion vector of the translational motion model is determined for each pixel of the already-encoded small block, based on the global motion vector (steps S1-S5). Next, the representative motion vector is calculated as the predicted vector, based on the motion vector of each pixel of the already-encoded small block (step S6).

Abstract: Fabrication of a termination structure in a semiconductor device increases in some cases the numbers of ion implantation processes or of photolithography processes, thus leading to an increase in fabrication costs. To overcome this problem, a semiconductor device is provided which includes an n-type drift layer formed on a semiconductor substrate; an element region formed in a surface portion of the drift layer; a recess formed in a loop in a laterally outer portion of the drift layer, spaced away a predetermined distance from the element region; and a p-type dopant region formed ranging from a bottom of the recess to a position away from the recess and toward the element region, a thickness of the dopant region where no recess is provided being greater than that where the recess is provided.