Abstract: In one embodiment, a method for preventing and/or treating a virus infection contains administering a type I and/or type III interferon production promoter including Clostridium butyricum or a culture thereof to a subject in need thereof. In another embodiment, a method for promoting production of an interferon contains administering an effective amount of Clostridium butyricum or a culture thereof to a subject.

Abstract: The invention provides a heat-bonding blade and a heat-bonding apparatus capable of heat-bonding thermoplastic resin sheets, in particular non-woven cloth sheets of thermoplastic resin, with or without heat-cutting these sheets. A first-type heat-bonding blade intended for heat-cutting/bonding has pressing members provided on both sides of the blade. The distance between the lower end of each pressing member and the edge of the blade is determined such that the pressing members lightly press the sheets of the thermoplastic resins when the edge of the blade has pressed into the sheets.A second-type heat-bonding blade intended only for heat-bonding the sheets is provided with a contact surface on the edge thereof. The contact surface is embossed so as to have a multiplicity of emboss projections. This type of heat-bonding blade may be formed by removing the pressing members from the blade of the first type and providing an embossed contact surface on the edge of the same.