Abstract: Disclosed is a therapeutic agent effective for the fundamental treatment of a spinal cord injury and a demyelinating disease. Specifically disclosed are a therapeutic agent for a spinal cord injury and a therapeutic agent for a demyelinating disease, each of which comprises an HGF protein as an active ingredient.

Abstract: A method for differentiating a human differentiated cell-derived pluripotent stem cell into a neural stem cell is provided, which includes the steps of: making an embryoid body from the human differentiated cell-derived pluripotent stem cell; and culturing the embryoid body in a medium containing LIF to differentiate into a neural stem cell, so that, when the neural stem cell is allowed to differentiate in vitro after multiple subculturing of the neural stem cell, it differentiate mainly into neurons but substantially not into glial cells.

Abstract: A multilayered piezoelectric element and a method of producing the multilayered piezoelectric element are disclosed. The multilayered piezoelectric element is made of piezoelectric ceramic layers and electrode formation layers which are alternately laminated. The piezoelectric ceramic layers are made of crystal oriented ceramic as polycrystalline material. The crystal oriented ceramic is made mainly of an isotropic perovskite type compound in which the specific {100} crystal plane of each of crystal grains that form the polycrystalline material is oriented. The electrode formation layers have electrode parts forming inner electrodes containing a conductive metal. The isotropic perovskite type compound is expressed by a general formula (1): [Agh{Lix(K1-yNay)1-x}1-h]j(Nb1-z-wTazSbw)O3-k ??(1), where 0?x?0.2, 0?y?1, 0?z?0.4, 0?w?0.2, x+z+w>0, 0<h?0.05, 0.94?j?1, and 0?k?0.5).

Abstract: In order to provide a therapeutic agent for nerve injury which contains iPS-derived neural stem cells and has low or no risk of side effects, as well as a method for treating a nerve injury using the iPS cells, by efficiently establishing in vivo the iPS-derived neural stem having low or no risk of tumor formation, neurospheres are formed following formation of embryoid bodies from the iPS cells, and a clone whose ratio of cells in which the promoter of Nanog gene is activated is 0.01% or less is selected, and the clone is administered to a patient suffering from the nerve injury.

Abstract: A heat exchanger has partitioning means for dividing a header tank such that a first space and a second space of a tank main body are arranged in a longitudinal direction of the header tank. An annular outer peripheral seal surface is provided around a tube bonding surface of a core plate of the header tank over an entire perimeter thereof and is provided with a gasket. A partitioning seal surface is provided to the tube bonding surface at a position corresponding to the partitioning means, and is provided with the gasket. The gasket seals between the core plate and the partitioning means. The partitioning seal surface is positioned on a plane identical with a plane of the outer peripheral seal surface. A part of the gasket, which is held by the core plate and the tank main body therebetween, has a uniform thickness.

Abstract: The invention provides biodegradable polyesters, polyurethanes, comprising 3-carboxymuconolactone as a structural unit, 3-carboxymuconolactone esters and a process for their production. Polyesters comprising a repeating unit represented by the following formula (I): [wherein R represents a hydrocarbon-based divalent residue which, in the structure, optionally contains a heteroatom without an active hydrogen], polyurethanes comprising the polyester structure; 3-carboxymuconolactone esters; and a process for their production.

Abstract: An information processing device includes a display, an access unit for accessing a storage medium, and a display control unit referring to the storage medium and causing the display to display text. The storage medium stores at least one text data. Each of the text data includes at least one text for which a display attribute value is set. In a first mode, the display control unit causes the text to be displayed within a first display area of the display in a display manner in accordance with an associated display attribute value. In a second mode, the display control unit causes the text to be displayed within a second display area smaller than the first display area of the display in a predetermined display manner independent of the associated display attribute value.

Abstract: Industrial-scale fermentative production of 3-carboxy-cis,cis-muconic acid from terephthalic acid. Also, a protocatechuate 4,5-ring-cleaving enzyme gene-disrupted strain in which the gene coding for (a) the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 or 3, or (b) the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 or 3 which has a deletion, substitution, addition and/or insertion of one or more amino acids and exhibits protocatechuate 4,5-ring cleavage activity, present in the chromosomal DNA of microbial cells, has been disrupted; recombinant plasmids comprising the Tph gene and protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase gene; transformants obtained by introducing the recombinant plasmids into the disrupted strain; and a process for production of 3-carboxy-cis,cis-muconic acid and/or 3-carboxymuconolactone characterized by culturing the transformants in the presence of terephthalic acid.

Abstract: A method for creating a monkey model of spinal cord injury, which includes exposing the dura mater of the cervical cord of a monkey and applying a load on the dura mater; the thus-created monkey model of spinal cord injury; and a method for evaluating a therapeutic drug for spinal cord injury by use of this model. According to the present invention, it is possible to create a monkey which is close to the human and thus useful as a model of human spinal cord injury. This model enables proper evaluation of therapeutic effects of various drugs on spinal cord injury. Through use of this model, it has been confirmed for the first time that transplantation therapy of human neural stem cells is efficacious against spinal cord injury.

Abstract: Disclosed is a therapeutic agent effective for the fundamental treatment of a spinal cord injury and a demyelinating disease. Specifically disclosed are a therapeutic agent for a spinal cord injury and a therapeutic agent for a demyelinating disease, each of which comprises an HGF protein as an active ingredient.

Abstract: There is provided a process for industrial production of simple 3-carboxy-cis,cis-muconic acid and/or 3-carboxymuconolactone from low molecular mixtures derived from plant components such as vanillin, vanillic acid and protocatechuic acid, via a multistage enzyme reaction. A recombinant plasmid containing a vanillate demethylase gene (vanAB genes), benzaldehyde dehydrogenase gene (ligV gene) and protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase gene (pcaHG genes); transformants incorporating the plasmid; and a process for production of 3-carboxy-cis,cis-muconic acid and/or 3-carboxymuconolactone characterized by culturing the transformants in the presence of vanillin, vanillic acid, protocatechuic acid or a mixture of two or more thereof.

Abstract: A multilayered piezoelectric element and a method of producing the multilayered piezoelectric element are disclosed. The multilayered piezoelectric element is made of piezoelectric ceramic layers and electrode formation layers which are alternately laminated. The piezoelectric ceramic layers are made of crystal oriented ceramic as polycrystalline material. The crystal oriented ceramic is made mainly of an isotropic perovskite type compound in which the specific {100} crystal plane of each of crystal grains that form the polycrystalline material is oriented. The electrode formation layers have electrode parts forming inner electrodes containing a conductive metal. The isotropic perovskite type compound is expressed by a general formula (1): [Agh{Lix(K1-yNay)1-x}1-h]j(Nb1-z-wTazSbw)O3-k . . . (1), where 0?x?0.2, 0?y?1, 0?z?0.4, 0?w?0.2, x+z+w>0, 0<h?0.05, 0.94?j?1, and 0?k?0.5).

Abstract: A method of producing a piezostack device including multiple piezoelectric ceramic layers of a crystal-orientated ceramic and multiple electrode-containing layers laminated alternately. A raw material mixture is prepared in the mixing step, as an anisotropically shaped powder of oriented particles and a reactive raw powder are mixed. The anisotropically shaped powder and the reactive raw powder are then mixed in amounts at a stoichiometric ratio giving an isotropic perovskite compound, and a Nb2O5 powder and/or a Ta2O5 powder were added thereto. The raw material mixture is molded into a sheet shape in the sheet-forming step, while the crystal faces of the anisotropically shaped powder particles are almost oriented. An electrode material is printed on the green sheet in the printing step. The green sheets obtained after the printing step are laminated in the laminating step. The composite thus obtained is sintered in the sintering step, to give a piezostack device.

Abstract: The present invention provides a therapeutic agent for a nerve injury and a method for treating a nerve injury. One aspect of the invention is the method for treating a nerve injury by administering to a patient with a nerve injury a therapeutic agent for a nerve injury containing a differentiated cell-derived pluripotent cell obtained by forced expression of reprogramming genes such as a combination of the Oct3/4 gene, Sox2 gene, Klf4, and c-myc gene. in a differentiated cell; or cells obtained by inducing the aforementioned differentiated cell-derived pluripotent cells to differentiate into an embryoid body or a neurosphere.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a crystal oriented ceramics is disclosed. The method comprises preparing step, mixing step, shaping step and sintering method. At least one of anisotropically shaped powder, used as raw material, and a compact, formed by shaping step, is selected to have an orientation degree of 80% or more with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 15° or less according to a rocking curve method. A microscopic powder, having an average grain diameter one-third or less that of anisotropically shaped powder, is prepared for mixing therewith to prepare raw material mixture. The raw material mixture is shaped into the compact so as to allow oriented planes of anisotropically shaped powder to be oriented in a nearly identical direction. In a sintering step, anisotropically shaped powder and microscopic powder are sintered with each other to obtain the crystal oriented ceramics.

Abstract: A stacked piezoelectric element obtained by alternately stacking a piezoelectric ceramic layer and an electrode layer, wherein said electrode layer mainly comprises an electrically conducting base metal electrode material, and the region held between the electrode layer positioned at the top of each ceramic layer and the electrode layer positioned at the bottom of each ceramic layer contains a material having no piezoelectricity, in which a constituent element of said material having no piezoelectricity is uniformly dispersed so as not to have local distribution of a distributed strength exceeding 2 times the distributed strength which is distributed in a largest number of places and is not 0.

Abstract: To provide a production method of a polycrystalline ceramic body with excellent density, a preparation step, a mixing step, a forming step and a heat-treating step are performed. In the preparation step, a coarse particle ceramic powder, and a fine particle powder having an average particle diameter of ? or less of the average particle diameter of the coarse particle ceramic powder are prepared. In the mixing step, the coarse particle ceramic powder and the fine particle powder are mixed to produce a raw material mixture. In the forming step, the raw material mixture is formed to a shaped body. In the heat-treating step, the shaped body is heated and thereby sintered to produce a polycrystalline ceramic body. In the heat-treating step, a temperature elevating process and a first holding process are performed and at the same time, a second holding process and/or a cooling process are performed.

Abstract: In an integrated unit including an evaporator and an ejector located inside a tank of the evaporator, a first vibration-isolating seal member and a second vibration-isolating seal member are disposed in a gap between an outer surface of the ejector and an inner surface of the tank. The first vibration-isolating seal member is located between a refrigerant discharge port and a refrigerant suction port of the ejector in a longitudinal direction, and the second vibration-isolating seal member is located between a refrigerant flow inlet of the ejector and the refrigerant suction port in the longitudinal direction. Furthermore, the first vibration-isolating seal member has a seal capability lower than that of the second vibration-isolating seal member, and a vibration isolation capability higher than that of the second vibration-isolating seal member.

Abstract: A piezoelectric actuator 1 includes a piezoelectric element 2, which has a pair of electrodes formed on the surface of a piezoelectric ceramic member, as a drive source. The piezoelectric actuator 1 satisfies at least one of the following requirements (a) to (c): (a) the variation width WC in an apparent dynamic capacity C [F] due to a change in temperature should fall within ±11% over a specific temperature range from ?30° C. to 80° C.; (b) the variation width WL in a displacement L [?m] due to a change in temperature should fall within ±14% over the specific temperature range from ?30° C. to 80° C.; and (c) the variation width WL/C in a quotient L/C due to a change in temperature should fall within ±12% over the specific temperature range from ?30° C. to 80° C., wherein C [F] denotes the apparent dynamic capacity and L [?m] denotes the displacement.

Abstract: The piezoelectric actuator includes a piezoelectric element (2) including a sheet of piezoelectric ceramic and electrodes formed at least part of the surface of the sheet of piezoelectric ceramic, and a holding member (4) holding the piezoelectric element (2); The piezoelectric at least one of the requirements (a) to (e) described below; (a) The bulk density shall be equal to or smaller than 5 g/cm3, and the Young's modulus Y11E calculated according to a resonance-antiresonance method shall be equal to or larger than 90 GPa; (b) The coefficient of thermal conductivity shall be equal to or larger than 2 Wm?1K?1; (c) The coefficient of thermal expansion shall be equal to or larger than 3.0 ppm/° C. over a temperature range from ?30° C. to 160° C.; (d) The pyroelectric coefficient shall be equal to or smaller than 400 ?Cm?2K?1 over the temperature range from ?30° C. to 160° C.