Abstract: The present disclosure provides a mutant of rhodopsin and a protein moiety thereof, nucleic acids encoding them, a cell containing any of them, and a method for culturing the cell.

Abstract: The present invention aims to provide a yeast that is genetically modified so as to more highly produce glutathione, and a method of producing glutathione utilizing the yeast. The present invention provides a method of producing glutathione, including culturing a yeast whose thiol oxidase activity is increased as compared to the parent strain in a culture medium to produce glutathione, and recovering glutathione from the cultured broth obtained.

Abstract: The present invention provides processes of producing useful substances, which include the steps of culturing in a medium microorganisms that lack from their chromosomal DNA all or part of a gene encoding a protein having the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 or a gene encoding a protein that is 80% or more homologous to the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 so as to produce and accumulate the useful substances in the culture, and recovering the useful substances from the culture.

Abstract: According to the present invention, the E. coli mutant strain having chromosomal DNA that is at least 470 kbp shorter than that of a wild-type E. coli strain exhibits such a property that the number of the cells after a certain period of culture is greater than a wild-type strain. Thus, by culturing the mutant strain in a medium so as to generate and accumulate a useful substance in the culture, a useful substance such as proteins, peptides, amino acids, nucleic acids, vitamins, saccharides, organic acids, and lipids can be efficiently produced.

Abstract: An apparatus for grouping a plurality of printed or like objects into a plurality of equal sets, while they are conveyed in a row in which they overlap one another in a mutually equally spaced apart relation, includes an upstream conveyor supported on a plurality of rollers and a downstream conveyor disposed downstream of the upstream conveyor at a level of height which is lower than that of the upstream conveyor. At least one of the rollers is disposed above the downstream conveyor so that the upstream conveyor vertically overlaps the downstream conveyor to transfer each of the objects to the downstream conveyor along a downward path. An object holding device is provided above that portion of the upstream conveyor which is supported on the at least one roller.

Abstract: There is disclosed a system for detecting a difference between an image on a primary sheet and an image on a secondary sheet. A microprocessor unit determines whether corresponding ones of first and second image elements representative respectively of the images on the primary and secondary films differ in optical density from each other below a predetermined level. The two corresponding first and second image elements different above the predetermined level are emphasized in optical density difference and alternately displayed on a display screen at a short time interval, so that the dot of the display screen which alternately display these image elements is caused to flicker.