Abstract: A primary refrigerant circuit allows circulation of a primary refrigerant, the primary refrigerant circuit including a primary compressor, a cascade heat exchanger, a primary receiver, and a primary heat exchanger. A secondary refrigerant circuit allows circulation of a secondary refrigerant, the secondary refrigerant circuit including a secondary compressor, the cascade heat exchanger, and a utilization heat exchanger; a primary casing accommodating the primary compressor; and a heat source casing accommodating the secondary compressor. The receiver is provided outside the primary casing.

Abstract: A primary refrigerant circuit allows circulation of a primary refrigerant and includes a primary compressor, a cascade heat exchanger, and a primary heat exchanger. A secondary refrigerant circuit allows circulation of a secondary refrigerant and includes a secondary compressor, the cascade heat exchanger, and a utilization heat exchanger. The primary refrigerant circuit includes a first connecting pipe, a primary first connection pipe, and a liquid connecting pipe connecting the cascade heat exchanger and the primary heat exchanger, a primary suction flow path of the primary compressor, a primary subcooling circuit connecting the liquid connecting pipe and the primary suction flow path, and a primary subcooling expansion valve provided in the primary subcooling circuit.

Abstract: A primary refrigerant circuit allows circulation of a primary refrigerant and includes a primary compressor, a cascade heat exchanger, a primary heat exchanger, and a primary switching mechanism. A secondary refrigerant circuit allows circulation of a secondary refrigerant and includes a secondary compressor, the cascade heat exchanger, and a utilization heat exchanger; and an indoor fan configured to supply air to exchange heat with the secondary refrigerant flowing in the utilization heat exchanger When a defrosting condition is satisfied during normal operation, the primary refrigerant circulates in the order of the primary compressor, the primary heat exchanger, and the cascade heat exchanger after the indoor fan is stopped and the secondary compressor is operated.

Abstract: A primary refrigerant circuit allows circulation of a primary refrigerant and includes a primary compressor, a cascade heat exchanger, a primary heat exchanger, and a primary switching mechanism. A secondary refrigerant circuit allows circulation of a secondary refrigerant and includes a secondary compressor, the cascade heat exchanger, a utilization heat exchanger, and a secondary switching mechanism. The secondary refrigerant circuit includes a bypass flow path connecting a portion between the utilization heat exchanger and the cascade heat exchanger and a suction flow path of the secondary compressor, and a bypass expansion valve provided on the bypass flow path. Executed is defrosting operation of circulating the primary refrigerant in the order of the primary compressor, the primary heat exchanger, and the cascade heat exchanger, and circulating the second refrigerant in the order of the secondary compressor, the cascade heat exchanger, and the bypass flow path.

Abstract: A refrigeration cycle apparatus includes a primary-side refrigerant circuit in which a first refrigerant circulates and a secondary-side refrigerant circuit in which a second refrigerant circulates. The primary-side refrigerant circuit includes a primary-side compressor, a primary-side flow path of a cascade heat exchanger, a primary-side heat exchanger, and a primary-side switching mechanism.

Abstract: A valve opening circuit mounted on a heat pump device having a valve on a refrigerant circuit includes a DC electric path to which a DC voltage generated from an AC voltage for normal use is applied, a valve drive circuit that opens and closes the valve by using the DC voltage of the DC electric path, a control unit that acquires a control power source voltage based on the DC voltage of the DC electric path and controls the valve drive circuit, and a power feed port connected to the DC electric path and connectable to a DC power source line provided from outside for emergency. The control unit causes the valve drive circuit to open the valve when the AC voltage is lost and the DC voltage is fed from the DC power source line to the power feed port.

Abstract: An outdoor unit 3 of an air conditioner 1 includes an outdoor control unit 31 having a first control mode and a second control mode different from each other as control modes of a refrigerant recovery operation for recovering a refrigerant of a refrigerant circuit 9. A flow rate of the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit 9 in the first control mode is larger than a flow rate of the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit 9 in the second control mode.

Abstract: An air-conditioning management system includes: an air conditioning apparatus configured to carry out a refrigerant recovery operation of recovering a refrigerant from a refrigerant circuit that connects an outdoor unit and an indoor unit and sending the recovered refrigerant to each recovery unit of the outdoor unit; and a control unit configured to make a determination whether all the recovered refrigerant is sendable to each recovery unit before a start of the refrigerant recovery operation by the air conditioning apparatus, and to output, when determining that all the recovered refrigerant is not sendable to each recovery unit, a command for notifying the determination.

Abstract: The present invention provides a composition having a metabolism-improving action, which comprises a supernatant of brown adipocytes or a purified product thereof. The present invention also provides a method of preparing the supernatant without using a culture solution comprising a high concentration of glucose. The present invention also provides a method of producing brown adipocytes using pluripotent stem cells, which are useful for preparing the supernatant of brown adipocytes. The present invention has succeeded in obtaining a supernatant having a metabolism-improving action from brown adipocytes. It was also possible to obtain the supernatant without using a culture solution comprising a high concentration of glucose. The present invention has also succeeded in producing brown adipocytes from pluripotent stem cells using a feeder-free culture system without adding a cytokine cocktail or the like.

Abstract: The problem is to produce functional liver cells usable in testing the metabolism and toxicity of a drug, from pluripotent stem cells. The solution includes a method for producing highly functional liver cells using pluripotent stem cells, comprising, from pluripotent stem cells, acquiring primitive endoderm derived from the pluripotent stem cells by a process involving steps (A) and (B), from the primitive endoderm, acquiring liver precursor cells by a process involving step (C), and, from the liver precursor cells, acquiring the highly functional liver cells by a process involving step (D): (A) culturing under serum-free and feeder-free conditions; (B) culturing in the presence of albumin and at least one kind of cytokine; (C) culturing in the presence of SHH or an SHH agonist and at least one kind of cytokine; and (D) culturing and maturing in the presence of at least one kind of cytokine.

Abstract: Provided are a method of producing brown adipocytes from pluripotent stem cells, a method of producing cell aggregates as an intermediate product thereof, pluripotent stem cell-derived cell aggregates and pluripotent stem cell-derived brown adipocytes produced by these methods, and cell therapy using the pluripotent stem cell-derived brown adipocytes. In the method of producing brown adipocytes from pluripotent stem cells, cell aggregates are produced from pluripotent stem cells by a method including the step (A), and brown adipocytes are prepared from the cell aggregates by a method including the step (B). The step (A) is a step of producing cell aggregates by non-adhesive culture of pluripotent stem cells in serum-free environment in the presence of a hematopoietic cytokine, and the step (B) is a step of producing brown adipocytes by adhesion culture of the cell aggregates in the presence of a hematopoietic cytokine.

Abstract: Provided are a method of producing brown adipocytes from pluripotent stem cells, a method of producing cell aggregates as an intermediate product thereof, pluripotent stem cell-derived cell aggregates and pluripotent stem cell-derived brown adipocytes produced by these methods, and cell therapy using the pluripotent stem cell-derived brown adipocytes. In the method of producing brown adipocytes from pluripotent stem cells, cell aggregates are produced from pluripotent stem cells by a method including the step (A), and brown adipocytes are prepared from the cell aggregates by a method including the step (B). The step (A) is a step of producing cell aggregates by non-adhesive culture of pluripotent stem cells in serum-free environment in the presence of a hematopoietic cytokine, and the step (B) is a step of producing brown adipocytes by adhesion culture of the cell aggregates in the presence of a hematopoietic cytokine.