Abstract: A spark plug includes a sealing material disposed around a center electrode in an insulator. On a cross section including a center line of an axial hole, one of long sides of a rectangle is set into the insulator along the center line. The rectangle is divided into 20 equal regions in the insulator by dividing each of short sides of the rectangle into two equal parts and dividing each of the long sides of the rectangle into 10 equal parts. The rectangle has a porosity of 5% or less. Among pores that appear in each of the regions, 10 pores having largest areas are selected as specific pores. The specific pores have an average area of 26.3 ?m2 or less. The specific pores include no more than 30 pores having areas of 37 ?m2 or more and no less than eight pores having areas of 51 ?m2 or more.

Abstract: An objective of the present invention is to provide a technique for increasing sensitivity of latex immunoagglutination reagents while inhibiting sedimentation of particles in a latex particle dispersion liquid. In particular, it is to provide the latex particle dispersion liquid which can be applied to the latex immunoagglutination reagents with adequate sensitivity while inhibiting occurrence of agglutination over time in the latex particle dispersion liquid having a large particle diameter. That is, it is to provide the latex particle dispersion liquid using an aqueous medium as a dispersion medium, and including one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of polyacrylic acid, sodium polyacrylate, polyethylene oxide, and sodium poly-?-glutamate. It is also to provide immunoagglutination reagents to which the latex particle dispersion liquid is applied.

Abstract: A spark plug includes a tubular metallic shell, a tubular insulator held in the metallic shell and having an axial hole, a center electrode held at one end of the axial hole, a metallic terminal member held at the other end of the axial hole, and a resistor element disposed between the center electrode and the metallic terminal member in the axial hole and containing glass and an electrically conductive material. The resistor element has a first resistor layer disposed on the center electrode side and closest to the center electrode and containing titanium oxide, and a second resistor layer disposed on the metallic terminal member side in relation to the first resistor layer and whose titanium oxide content is lower than that of the first resistor layer. The titanium oxide content decreases from the center electrode side toward the metallic terminal member side.

Abstract: When a force to bend a spark plug insulator is applied to the spark plug insulator to fracture the spark plug insulator, for a range including a starting point of the fracture out of two ranges into which a fracture surface created by the fracture is divided by a plane which is a plane perpendicular to a direction of the force and includes the axial line, an average of areas of particles appearing in a planar image of the range is 4.4 ?m2 or larger and 8.0 ?m2 or smaller, and a maximum area of the particles is 600 ?m2 or smaller. The particles include large particles having an area of 60 ?m2 or larger and 600 ?m2 or smaller, and, as the large particles, 0.1 particles/mm2 or more are present per unit area of the planar image.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for suppressing non-specific reactions using a highly versatile method without affecting specific reactions. The present invention provides a detection method for detecting a target antigen in a sample using a specific antibody that specifically binds to the antigen, the method comprising: a) a step of bringing the sample into contact with a modified antibody; and b) a step of bringing the sample into contact with the specific antibody simultaneously with or after the step a), which is a highly versatile method that can suppress non-specific reactions.

Abstract: A spark plug includes a sealing material disposed around a center electrode in an insulator. On a cross section including a center line of an axial hole, one of long sides of a rectangle is set into the insulator along the center line. The rectangle is divided into 20 equal regions in the insulator by dividing each of short sides of the rectangle into two equal parts and dividing each of the long sides of the rectangle into 10 equal parts. The rectangle has a porosity of 5% or less. Among pores that appear in each of the regions, 10 pores having largest areas are selected as specific pores. The specific pores have an average area of 26.3 ?m2 or less. The specific pores include no more than 30 pores having areas of 37 ?m2 or more and no less than eight pores having areas of 51 ?m2 or more.

Abstract: When a force to bend a spark plug insulator is applied to the spark plug insulator to fracture the spark plug insulator, for a range including a starting point of the fracture out of two ranges into which a fracture surface created by the fracture is divided by a plane which is a plane perpendicular to a direction of the force and includes the axial line, an average of areas of particles appearing in a planar image of the range is 4.4 ?m2 or larger and 8.0 ?m2 or smaller, and a maximum area of the particles is 600 ?m2 or smaller. The particles include large particles having an area of 60 ?m2 or larger and 600 ?m2 or smaller, and, as the large particles, 0.1 particles/mm2 or more are present per unit area of the planar image.

Abstract: An object is to provide a diluent for a calibration sample and a sample that is less likely to cause a carryover of the TARC antigen. The object can be solved by a composition including (A) TARC (Thymus and activation-regulated chemokine) and (B) one or more components selected from the group consisting of acidic amino acids, basic amino acids, acidic polymers having an average molecular weight of 4,000 to 1,200,000, and salts thereof, and being in liquid form.

Abstract: A spark plug 1 of the present invention includes: an insulator 2 made from an alumina-based sintered body; a center electrode being a bar-like electrode inserted in the insulator 2 and having, on a rear end side of the center electrode, a diameter-enlarged portion enlarged in a radial direction and engaged with an inner wall of the insulator; and a conductive sealing material provided on the rear end side of the center electrode 3 inside the insulator.

Abstract: An object of the invention is to suppress non-specific reaction in an immunoreaction measurement method. An immunoassay method characterized by conducting immunoreaction in the presence of an anti-C3 antibody in a method for measuring an analyte in a sample immunologically is provided. Moreover, a method for suppressing non-specific reaction in a method for immunologically measuring an analyte in a sample which is characterized by conducting immunoreaction in the presence of an anti-C3 antibody is provided.

Abstract: A spark plug 1 of the present invention includes: an insulator 2 made from an alumina-based sintered body; a center electrode being a bar-like electrode inserted in the insulator 2 and having, on a rear end side of the center electrode, a diameter-enlarged portion enlarged in a radial direction and engaged with an inner wall of the insulator; and a conductive sealing material provided on the rear end side of the center electrode 3 inside the insulator.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a TARC-containing composition with high storage stability. Provided is a composition including TARC (Thymus and activation-regulated chemokine) and one or more selected from the group consisting of a sugar fatty acid ester-type nonionic surfactant, a polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene block copolymer-type nonionic surfactant, and a polyoxyethylene alkylamine-type nonionic surfactant and being in liquid form. The aforementioned object is achieved by the composition.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a TARC-containing composition with high storage stability. Provided is a composition including TARC (Thymus and activation-regulated chemokine) and a polymer having 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine as a structural unit, and being in liquid form. The aforementioned object is achieved by the composition.

Abstract: A spark plug includes a tubular metallic shell, a tubular insulator held in the metallic shell and having an axial hole, a center electrode held at one end of the axial hole, a metallic terminal member held at the other end of the axial hole, and a resistor element disposed between the center electrode and the metallic terminal member in the axial hole and containing glass and an electrically conductive material. The resistor element has a first resistor layer disposed on the center electrode side and closest to the center electrode and containing titanium oxide, and a second resistor layer disposed on the metallic terminal member side in relation to the first resistor layer and whose titanium oxide content is lower than that of the first resistor layer. The titanium oxide content decreases from the center electrode side toward the metallic terminal member side.

Abstract: A method for avoiding the influence of a blood sample on a measurement error in a latex agglutination immunoassay. The measurement error caused by a blood sample in a latex agglutination immunoassay can be reduced by a method which includes a step of bringing the sample into contact, in a liquid phase, with latex particles carrying a substance having a specific affinity for an analyte in the presence of imidazole.

Abstract: To prevent a sealant from intruding between a flange and a stepped portion during manufacture of a spark plug and to prevent cracking of an insulator during use of the spark plug, a spark plug includes a center electrode including a flange, an insulator having a through-hole extending in an axial-line direction and holding the center electrode, and a sealant filled in the through-hole to fix the flange and the insulator to each other; the insulator including a stepped portion in which the through-hole reduces a diameter toward a front end side and that supports the flange, and a small-diameter portion that is continuous with a front end side of the stepped portion and in which the diameter of the through-hole is smaller than in the stepped portion; an angle ?1 formed by the stepped portion and a plane perpendicular to the axial line and an angle ?2 formed by the plane perpendicular to the axial line and an opposing surface of the flange opposing the stepped portion satisfies ?1??2?6°, and in a cross section i

Abstract: Provided are a method of efficiently producing an sIL-2R antigen in an amount necessary for antibody generation, and a method of producing an anti-sIL-2R antibody using the antigen. Specifically, provided are a method of producing soluble interleukin-2 receptor, including culturing SCC-3 cells and recovering soluble interleukin-2 receptor from a culture of the cells, and a method of producing an anti-soluble interleukin-2 receptor antibody, including immunizing an animal with sIL-2R produced by the method.

Abstract: [Object] To prevent a sealant from intruding between a flange and a stepped portion during manufacture of a spark plug and to prevent cracking of an insulator during use of the spark plug. [Solution] A spark plug includes a center electrode including a flange, an insulator having a through-hole extending in an axial-line direction and holding the center electrode, and a sealant filled in the through-hole to fix the flange and the insulator to each other. The insulator includes a stepped portion in which the through-hole reduces a diameter toward a front end side and that supports the flange, and a small-diameter portion that is continuous with a front end side of the stepped portion and in which the diameter of the through-hole is smaller than in the stepped portion. An angle ?1 formed by the stepped portion and a plane perpendicular to the axial line and an angle ?2 formed by the plane perpendicular to the axial line and an opposing surface of the flange opposing the stepped portion satisfies ?1??2?6°.

Abstract: An ignition plug comprising: an insulator having a through hole extending from a rear-end side toward a forward-end side; a center electrode inserted at least partially into a portion of the through hole on the forward-end side; a metal terminal member inserted at least partially into a portion of the through hole on the rear-end side; and a seal disposed within the through hole and in contact with the center electrode and an inner circumferential surface of the insulator. The seal contains a glass and an electrically conductive substance, and the glass contained in the seal contains Si in an amount of 50 mass % or more as reduced to SiO2 and Na in an amount of 0.1 mass % or more and less than 1 mass % as reduced to Na2O.

Abstract: An ignition plug comprising: an insulator having a through hole extending from a rear-end side toward a forward-end side; a center electrode inserted at least partially into a portion of the through hole on the forward-end side; a metal terminal member inserted at least partially into a portion of the through hole on the rear-end side; and a seal disposed within the through hole and in contact with the center electrode and an inner circumferential surface of the insulator. The seal contains a glass and an electrically conductive substance, and the glass contained in the seal contains Si in an amount of 50 mass % or more as reduced to SiO2 and Na in an amount of 0.1 mass % or more and less than 1 mass % as reduced to Na2O.