Abstract: Disclosed is an aromatic compound expressed by the general formula (I), wherein A represents of a fused aromatic hydrocarbon moiety such as triphenylene, X represents a hydrogen-bonding site such as an atomic group containing an amide linkage, Y represents a chain functional group such as an alkyl group having 3 to 18, preferably 10 to 18 carbon atoms, and n represents an integer ranging from 2 to 10. The aromatic compound forms a molecular assembly in which the aromatic rings mutually overlap and exhibits an excellent charge carrier transfer property AX—Y)n.

Abstract: According to the present invention, by using a microorganism having the ability to produce the L-amino acid which carries the avtA gene encoding alanine-valine transaminase (transaminase C) and whose alanine-valine transaminase activity is enhanced compared with its parent strain, it is possible to reduce the production of by-product amino acids which disturb purification in L-amino acid production by fermentation, and an industrially advantageous process for producing an L-amino acid can be provided.

Abstract: Novel polynucleotides derived from microorganisms belonging to coryneform bacteria and fragments thereof, polypeptides encoded by the polynucleotides and fragments thereof, polynucleotide arrays comprising the polynucleotides and fragments thereof, recording media in which the nucleotide sequences of the polynucleotide and fragments thereof have been recorded which are readable in a computer, and use of them.

Abstract: Disclosed is an aromatic compound expressed by the general formula (I), wherein A represents of a fused aromatic hydrocarbon moiety such as triphenylene, X represents a hydrogen-bonding site such as an atomic group containing an amide linkage, Y represents a chain functional group such as an alkyl group having 3 to 18, preferably 10 to 18 carbon atoms, and n represents an integer ranging from 2 to 10. The aromatic compound forms a molecular assembly in which the aromatic rings mutually overlap and exhibits an excellent charge carrier transfer property.

Abstract: Attempts are made to provide a novel transaldolase gene; a polypeptide encoded by this gene; a recombinant DNA obtained by integrating this gene; a microorganism carrying this recombinant DNA; and a process for producing an aromatic amino acid, an aromatic vitamin, L-histidine, riboflavin, a nucleic acid, a nucleic acid-associated substance, a novel saccharide, etc. by using the above microorganism. As the results of extensive studies, a novel transaldolase gene is isolated from chromosomal DNA of a microorganism belonging to the genus Corynebacterium as a DNA fragment complementary to the requirement for shikimic acid of a transketolase defective variant obtained as a variant with the requirement for shikimic acid belonging to the genus Corynebacterium. Further, a recombinant DNA containing this gene is constructed and transferred into a host microorganism, thereby achieving the objects as described above.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a novel transaldolase gene, and to a polypeptide encoded by the gene, a recombinant DNA obtained by ligating the gene, a transformant carrying the recombinant DNA, and a process for producing the polypeptide, aromatic amino acids, aromatic vitamins, L-histidine, riboflavin, nucleic acids, nucleic acid-associated substances, novel saccharides and others by utilizing the transformant.

Abstract: The present invention provides a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence in which at least one amino acid is deleted, substituted or added in an amino acid sequence of isopropylmalate isomerase derived from a microorganism belonging to coryneform bacteria, wherein a coryneform bacterium which produces the polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence as the sole isopropylmalate isomerase exhibits a partial leucine requirement in a minimal medium; a DNA encoding the polypeptide, a recombinant DNA comprising the DNA, a microorganism transformed with the recombinant DNA, and a process for producing an L-amino acid using the microorganism.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a polypeptide having a modified amino acid sequence of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (hereinafter abbreviated as GND) derived from a microorganism belonging to the genus Corynebacterium, said modification being substitution of the amino acid residue(s) at the position(s) corresponding to the 158th and/or the 361st amino acid(s) of the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 1, and having GND activity; DNA encoding the polypeptide; a recombinant DNA comprising the DNA; a transformant carrying the recombinant DNA; a microorganism carrying the DNA on the chromosome; and a process for producing a useful substance which comprises culturing the transformant or the microorganism in a medium.

Abstract: Purine nucleotides are produced by culturing a microorganism having the ability to produce a precursor of the purine nucleotide and carrying an introduced DNA which can express an enzyme capable of synthesizing the purine nucleotide from the precursor upon induction; allowing the purine nucleotide precursor to accumulate in the culture; inducing the expression of the enzyme; allowing the purine nucleotide formed to accumulate in the culture; and recovering the purine nucleotide. Suitable microorganisms include Corynebacterium ammoniagenes which are induced to express GMP synthetase/XMP aminase and inosine-guanosine kinase for use in producing IMP and GMP, especially from the nucleotide precursor XMP.

Abstract: An apparatus comprising: an image sensing device having a plurality of pixels for receiving light from an object upon separating the light into respective ones of different color components; an optical guidance device for accepting light rays in different directions from the same part of the object and guiding the light rays to the image sensing device; and a phase-difference determining device for determining a phase difference in an output signal of the image sensing device with respect to each of the light rays accepted in the different directions by the optical guidance device, determination being performed based upon a signal obtained by combining output signals of pixels, among the plurality of pixels, that correspond to prescribed different color components.

Abstract: An active matrix display device has an inspection circuit for inspecting the image quality. The inspection circuit includes a plurality of input terminals for inputting a test signal and a plurality of test transistors connected respectively to the input terminals. Input test signals which are to be sent to sub pixel sections from the individual input terminals are controlled by the associated test transistors to display a desired test screen. The test transistors are preferably amorphous silicon TFTs.

Abstract: During the exposure of an image sensing device, the optical image of a subject is rotated by one revolution or a plurality of revolutions relative to the sensing surface of the image sensing device along a plane perpendicular to the plane of the image sensing device while the orientation of the image is maintained substantially horizontally and vertically with respect to the sensing surface. The radius r of this rotation is set so as to satisfy the equation r = ω 0 2 ⁢ π ⁢   ⁢ ρ where &rgr; represents trap frequency and &ohgr;0 the initial zero point of a Bessel function of the first kind of order zero.

Abstract: According to the present invention, by using a microorganism having the ability to produce the L-amino acid which carries the avtA gene encoding alanine-valine transaminase (transaminase C) and whose alanine-valine transaminase activity is enhanced compared with its parent strain, it is possible to reduce the production of by-product amino acids which disturb purification in L-amino acid production by fermentation, and an industrially advantageous process for producing an L-amino acid can be provided.

Abstract: Novel polynucleotides derived from microorganisms belonging to coryneform bacteria and fragments thereof, polypeptides encoded by the polynucleotides and fragments thereof, polynucleotide arrays comprising the polynucleotides and fragments thereof, recording media in which the nucleotide sequences of the polynucleotide and fragments thereof have been recorded which are readable in a computer, and use of them.

Abstract: The present invention provides a process for producing a purine nucleotide which comprises: culturing in a medium a microorganism having the ability to produce a precursor of the purine nucleotide and carrying an introduced DNA which can induce and express an enzyme capable of synthesizing the purine nucleotide from said precursor; allowing said precursor of the purine nucleotide to accumulate in the culture; inducing and expressing the enzyme capable of synthesizing the purine nucleotide from said precursor; allowing the purine nucleotide formed from said precursor to accumulate in said culture; and then recovering said purine nucleotide therefrom. Microorganisms useful in said process are also provided.

Abstract: A focus detecting device for determining the focus state of an imaging optical system, of a type for time-sequentially entering light beams, transmitted by different areas of an imaging optical system, into a sensor and detecting the phase difference between the image signal obtained from the sensor means corresponding to such time-sequentially entered light beams. The device determines the positional difference in the vertical direction of the light beams (images) time-sequentially entering the sensor, and determines the storage positions of the outputs (image signals) from the sensor corresponding to the light beams (images) of the respective areas, thereby enabling exact focus detection even in case the images are received in vertically different positions on the sensor.

Abstract: A focus detecting device for detecting images from different pupil areas on time-shared basis, and detecting the phase difference of the images from the different areas, thereby detecting the defocus amount, is described. The focus detecting device of this type is incapable of exact defocus amount detection, because of the influence of the relative movement between the object and the photographing optical system. The exact defocus amount can be determined by detecting images from a same pupil area on time-shared basis, determining the phase difference between such images and effecting correction corresponding to the phase difference between the images from the same pupil area.

Abstract: An image pickup apparatus is provided which can obtain a high image quality by using a camera with a conventional field read type DSP. The image pickup apparatus has an image pickup element having a plurality of color filters disposed in a predetermined layout at respective pixel positions, a calculating and processing unit for performing calculation and processing by using two sets of adjacent pixel data in the vertical direction, at each line of image data generated by the image pickup element, and a luminance signal generating unit for generating a luminance signal by using an output of the calculating and processing unit.

Abstract: An active matrix display device has an inspection circuit for inspecting the image quality. The inspection circuit includes a plurality of input terminals for inputting a test signal and a plurality of test transistors connected respectively to the input terminals. Input test signals which are to be sent to sub pixel sections from the individual input terminals are controlled by the associated test transistors to display a desired test screen. The test transistors are preferably amorphous silicon TFTs.

Abstract: An industrially more advantageous method for the production of metabolites biologically synthesized via phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate (PRPP) is provided, making use of metabolically modified strains in which transketolase activity is deficient or reduced in comparison with the parent strain.