Abstract: A gene participating in addition of mannose phosphate to a sugar chain of a glycoprotein originating in a yeast belonging to the genus Pichia is described. Also described is a means of suppressing a functional product encoded by the gene.

Abstract: The present invention intends to find out a gene participating in addition of mannose phosphate to a sugar chain of a glycoprotein originating in a yeast belonging to the genus Pichia and provide a means of controlling the same. The present invention also intends to provide a process for producing a protein with reduction of an acidic sugar chain by using the thus controlled yeast strain belonging to the genus Pichia. Namely, the present invention includes a protein participating in the addition of mannose phosphate to a sugar chain of a glycoprotein; a gene coding this protein; a mutant of this gene; a vector carrying the mutant gene; a yeast strain belonging to the genus Pichia having been transformed by this vector; a process for producing a protein with reduction of an acidic sugar chain by using the transformed yeast strain; and a glycoprotein thus produced.

Abstract: The present invention intends to find out a gene participating in addition of mannose phosphate to a sugar chain of a glycoprotein originating in a yeast belonging to the genus Pichia and provide a means of controlling the same. The present invention also intends to provide a process for producing a protein with reduction of an acidic sugar chain by using the thus controlled yeast strain belonging to the genus Pichia. Namely, the present invention includes a protein participating in the addition of mannose phosphate to a sugar chain of a glycoprotein; a gene coding this protein; a mutant of this gene; a vector carrying the mutant gene; a yeast strain belonging to the genus Pichia having been transformed by this vector; a process for producing a protein with reduction of an acidic sugar chain by using the transformed yeast strain; and a glycoprotein thus produced.

Abstract: The present invention intends to find out a gene participating in addition of mannose phosphate to a sugar chain of a glycoprotein originating in a yeast belonging to the genus Pichia and provide a means of controlling the same. The present invention also intends to provide a process for producing a protein with reduction of an acidic sugar chain by using the thus controlled yeast strain belonging to the genus Pichia. Namely, the present invention includes a protein participating in the addition of mannose phosphate to a sugar chain of a glycoprotein; a gene encoding this protein; a mutant of this gene; a vector carrying the mutant gene; a yeast strain belonging to the genus Pichia having been transformed by this vector; a process for producing a protein with reduction of an acidic sugar chain by using the transformed yeast strain; and a glycoprotein thus produced.

Abstract: The present invention provides a piperidine derivative having antagonistic action for tachykinin receptors and the like, a crystal thereof, and an agent for the prophylaxis or treatment of diseases including lower urinary tract disease and the like, which contains the derivative. Specifically, the present invention provides an optically active compound represented by the formula (I): wherein each symbol is as defined in the specification, and a salt thereof.

Abstract: An artificial bone comprising a calcium phosphate-based ceramic porous body having a plurality of pores which are three-dimensionally distributed throughout an entire region of the porous body including a surface thereof and have a diameter ranging from 0.01 ?m to 2000 ?m, and interconnecting portions which are formed between neighboring pores, interconnect a plurality of pores existing on a surface of the porous body.

Abstract: A communication system for efficient sales promotion of a product or a service is provided. An information providing site is provided with a simple diagnosis processing portion for performing a simple skin diagnosis of a user of a terminal device, a simple result transmitting portion for transmitting simple diagnosis data and an ID key to the user, and a customer data extracting portion for transmitting private data and the simple diagnosis data to a service providing site. The service providing site is provided with an ID key receiving portion for receiving the ID key from the user, a customer data requesting portion for transmitting the ID key to the information providing site, and a customer data receiving portion for receiving private data corresponding to the ID key. The customer data extracting portion transmits private data corresponding to the ID key transmitted by the customer data requesting portion.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a cell culturing system that cultures predetermined cells collected from a patient and supplies cultured cells to the original patient, which together with enabling correlations between the cultured cells and the supplier of the cells to be managed accurately and easily at all times, allows cultured cells and patients to be collated rapidly. In a cell culturing system 20 that carries in cells containing stem cells and contains them in an incoming transport container to which is attached unique identification information, transfers the transported cells to and cultures them in a culture container to which is attached unique identification information, and carries out the cultured cells by transferring them to an outgoing transport container to which is attached unique identification information, ID numbers attached to the containers before and after transfer are input from a barcode reader 31 whenever the cells are transferred to a different container.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a cell culturing method that allows the growth status of cells for transplant to be accurately determined without directly contacting the cells. This cell culturing method is comprised of a step in which cells for transplant 200 and cells for examination 300 are respectively and separately housed in a culture vessel 100 having partitions for separately housing a plurality of samples in a single vessel, a step in which cells for transplant 200 and cells for examination 300 are cultured under identical conditions, and a step in which the growth status of cells for transplant 200 is assessed according to the growth status of cells for examination 300.

Abstract: An artificial bone comprising a calcium phosphate-based ceramic porous body having a plurality of pores which are three-dimensionally distributed throughout an entire region of the porous body including a surface thereof and have a diameter ranging from 0.01 &mgr;m to 2000 &mgr;m, and interconnecting portions which are formed between neighboring pores, interconnect a plurality of pores existing on a surface of the porous body.

Abstract: An artificial bone material having a satisfactory compatibility with a human body and capable of effecting osteogenesis satisfactorily which is obtained by integrating a marrow cell in a porous ceramic consisting of &bgr;-tricalcium phosphate.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method for level equalization. In this method, a first optical amplifier having a gain tilt coefficient defined as a change in gain tilt to a unit change in gain is first provided. A second optical amplifier having a gain tilt coefficient different from the gain tilt coefficient of the first optical amplifier is cascaded to the first optical amplifier. The gains of the first and second optical amplifiers are distributed so that a level tilt of light amplified by the first and second optical amplifiers becomes substantially flat. Thus, it is possible to provide a simple method for allowing automatic level equalization by providing a plurality of optical amplifiers having different gain tilt coefficients and distributing the gains of these optical amplifiers so that a level tilt of light amplified by these optical amplifiers becomes substantially flat.

Abstract: The present invention intends to find out a gene participating in addition of mannose phosphate to a sugar chain of a glycoprotein originating in a yeast belonging to the genus Pichia and provide a means of controlling the same. The present invention also intends to provide a process for producing a protein with reduction of an acidic sugar chain by using the thus controlled yeast strain belonging to the genus Pichia.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method for level equalization. In this method, a first optical amplifier having a gain tilt coefficient defined as a change in gain tilt to a unit change in gain is first provided. A second optical amplifier having a gain tilt coefficient different from the gain tilt coefficient of the first optical amplifier is cascaded to the first optical amplifier. The gains of the first and second optical amplifiers are distributed so that a level tilt of light amplified by the first and second optical amplifiers becomes substantially flat. Thus, it is possible to provide a simple method for allowing automatic level equalization by providing a plurality of optical amplifiers having different gain tilt coefficients and distributing the gains of these optical amplifiers so that a level tilt of light amplified by these optical amplifiers becomes substantially flat.

Abstract: A communication system for efficient sales promotion of a product or a service is provided. An information providing site is provided with a simple diagnosis processing portion for performing a simple skin diagnosis of a user of a terminal device, a simple result transmitting portion for transmitting simple diagnosis data and an ID key to the user, and a customer data extracting portion for transmitting private data and the simple diagnosis data to a service providing site. The service providing site is provided with an ID key receiving portion for receiving the ID key from the user, a customer data requesting portion for transmitting the ID key to the information providing site, and a customer data receiving portion for receiving private data corresponding to the ID key. The customer data extracting portion transmits private data corresponding to the ID key transmitted by the customer data requesting portion.

Abstract: An improved porous ceramic body to be embedded in a patient for sustained release of a medicament, and a method of making the ceramic body is provided. To control the release of the medicament, the pores of the ceramic body decrease in diameter from the inner surface to the outer surface of the body whereby the pore diameter is substantially proportional to the distance from the outer surface of the carrier. First, raw ceramic slurry is made from the blend of &bgr;-TCP, deflocculating agent, and water. Next, using a syringe the ceramic slurry is supplied to the internal region of a solvent-absorbable mold from an aperture along the inner wall surface. Then, the ceramic slurry is quickly dehydrated before thinly adhering itself onto the inner wall surface of the mold. Therefore, a preformed body having a hollow is obtained. Next, after fully being dried, the dried preformed body is fired at 1,050° C. for an hour before eventually yielding a spherical carrier for use in sustained release preparation.

Abstract: A plasminogen activator such as urokinase or tissue plasminogen activator is covalently bonded to a porous body composed of calcium phosphate to form a plasminogen activator-porous body complex. The tricalcium phosphate can be .alpha.-tricalcium phosphate, .beta.-tricalcium phosphate, hydroxyapatite, tetracalcium phosphate, octacalcium phosphate and mixtures thereof. In a preferred embodiment, .beta.-tricalcium phosphate which has excellent biocompatibility with the body or a mixture of .beta.-tricalcium phosphate and hydroxyapatite is used. Preferably, synthetic calcium phosphate is used is to avoid impurities contained by natural calcium phosphate. Covalent bonding is by crosslinking with glutaraldehyde, bismaleimides, dihalogenic aryls or diisocyanates, or by using cyanogen bromide, diazotization or periodic acid. The complex can be filled into a column to form a bioreactor.

Abstract: Powdery calcium carbonate and a powdery dihydrate of calcium monohydrogenohosphate are weighed to get a Ca/P ratio of 1.45 to 1.67. The powdery mixture thus prepared is then added pure water at a temperature of 30.degree. C. or higher to obtain an aqueous slurry having a concentration of about 10% by weight. Thereafter, the aqueous slurry is subjected to a rotational attrition by using a ball mill to conduct a mechanochemical reaction of the calcium carbonate with the dihydrate of calcium monohydrogenphosphate. The slurry is then dried completely at 80.degree. C., followed by pulverization to yield a dry powder of calcium phosphate hydrate. The dry powder is calcinated at a temperature ranging from 720.degree. to 1,150.degree. C. for 1-10 hours or more to give calcium phosphate powder, which is molded in a desired shape and is sintered at a certain temperature to obtain a sintered body of calcium phosphate.

Abstract: A drug-impregnated ceramic to be embedded in a living body is disclosed, and includes a porous ceramic having pores with a pore size of 10 to 300 .mu.m, a drug impregnating the porous ceramic via the pores, and a surface layer for controlling the release of the drug. The surface layer is formed to cover at least a portion of the outer surface of the porous ceramic and has a porosity lower than that of the porous ceramic.

Abstract: A sustained release material to be buried at a position close to a diseased part in a living body to slowly release an impregnated liquid drug includes a core mainly consisting of a ceramic material and having a plurality of pores formed at a predetermined porosity, and a surface layer mainly consisting of a ceramic material, formed around the outer surface of the core, and having a plurality of pores having a pore size or porosity smaller than that of the pores formed in the core.