Abstract: The present invention allows even soft tissue such as body tissue having a hierarchic structure of skin, fat, muscle and bone, etc., to be estimated and allows estimation only through a short-time pressing operation to thereby reduce damages to the soft tissue.

Abstract: The housing of a card reader has a connector to be inserted into an electronic equipment. When using a moving member movable in the inserting and removing directions (inserting direction and removing direction) of the connector and inserting the connector into the housing of the electronic equipment, the moving member is pushed by the circumferential portion of the counterpart connector of the electronic equipment connecting to the connector and moved in the removing direction of the connector to prevent a medium from being removed.

Abstract: A device for fabricating an oxide superconductor cable includes a spinning furnace for receiving a preform and spinning the preform into a glass fiber. The device further includes a sputtering apparatus for receiving the spun glass fiber and coating the glass fiber with an oxide superconductor film as well as a pulling mechanism for pulling the glass fiber.

Abstract: An oxide superconductor cable and a method of producing the same. The oxide superconductor cable includes a ceramic fiber and an oxide superconductor layer coated over the ceramic fiber. Such a structure of the cable provides flexibility to it to some extent and enables it to become relatively thin.

Abstract: A single crystal oxide superconductor and the method of producing the same. One face of a substrate is coated with an oxide superconductor for forming an oxide superconductor layer. Then, the oxide superconductor layer is heated so that the oxide superconductor has a single crystalline structure.

Abstract: An optical fiber coupler is disclosed, which comprises two polished substrates each of which comprises a grooved substrate having a polished surface on the open side end thereof and adapted to hold therein an optical fiber and an optical fiber comprising a core, a cladding and two stress-applying parts arranged in the cladding so as to sandwich the core, a part of the optical fiber being polished off such that the polished surface of the fiber is close to the core so as to allow leakage of light power propagating in the core to the outside, the polished optical fiber being embedded in the grooved substrate and fixed thereto in such a manner that the polished surface of the grooved substrate is in flush with the polished surface of the polished optical fiber, with the two polished substrates being in close contact with each other at the polished surfaces thereof to allow coupling of light power, wherein said polished optical fiber is of a construction such that the polished surface thereof is perpendicular to

Abstract: An oxide superconductor including an oxide superconductor member and a hermetical seal layer, coated over the oxide superconductor member, for hermetically sealing the oxide superconductor member from the atmosphere.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of manufacturing a preform for an asymmetric optical fiber which comprises the steps of (a) fixing plural transparent glass rods involving at least one core-mother rod functioning as the core in said optical fiber in parallel relationship, (b) depositing glass soot around an assembly of said plural parallel fixed glass rods, thereby providing a single porous cladding bearing the predetermined shape, and (c) vitrifying the porous cladding by thermal fusion, thereby providing the entirely integral transparent preform. The above method does not involve any process of perforating a drilled-pore which is needed inevitably in conventional method. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a long preform with high dimensional precision, and to fabricate the optical fiber with low transmission loss.

Abstract: An image-transmitting fiber includes at least one first fiber element for transmitting light power therethrough, and a plurality of second fiber elements disposed around and extending along the first fiber element. The second fiber elements cooperates with one another for transmitting an image of an object therethrough. The first fiber element is greater in diameter than each of the second fiber elements.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of manufacturing a preform for an asymmetric optical fiber which comprises the steps of (a) fixing plural transparent glass rods involving at least one core-mother rod functioning as the core in said optical fiber in parallel relationship, (b) depositing glass soot around an assembly of said plural parallel fixed glass rods, thereby providing a single porous cladding bearing the predetermined shape, and (c) vitrifying the porous cladding by thermal fusion, thereby providing the entirely integral transparent preform. The above method does not involve any process of perforating a drilled-pore which is needed inevitably in conventional method. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a long preform with high dimensional precision, and to fabricate the optical fiber with low transmission loss.

Abstract: An optical fiber includes light-transmitting means comprising at least one optical fiber element, and a heat-resistant and radiation-resistant coating formed around the light-transmitting means. The coating comprises an inner buffer layer formed around the light-transmitting means and an outer layer of polyether ether ketone formed around the inner layer.

Abstract: Alcohol is produced in a noncooking system by mixing a ground starchy material with mashing liquor at the range that the weight ratio of mashing liquor to ground starchy material is from 1.8 to 3.4 to form a slurry, without cooking, adding to the slurry at least 3.5 units as a saccharifying power of the enzyme preparation derived from a microorganism source, favorably Rhizopus sp., as a saccharifying agent, further adding an alcoholic fermenting yeast, and fermenting the slurry. Examples of the starchy material are cereals such as maize, sorghum, wheat, barley, rye, rice, barnyard millet, German millet, and common millet, and starchy rootcrops such as sweet potato and cassava.

Abstract: An apparatus for producing a multi-component glass fiber preform includes a multi-conduit burner 31 having five concentric conduits 31a-31e, the center three conduits (a), (b) and (c) being flush with each other at their ends, the fourth conduit d, interposed between the third (c) and outermost conduit (e) extends axially beyond the first three. The burner has a flange 33 to direct the flame onto a substrate.In operation glass raw material is fed through the inner-most conduit (a) by a carrier gas. The material emitted from conduits (a -d) is mixed in a mixing area 32. Glass raw material and a nebulized dopant salt solution are emitted and burned with hydrogen gas depositing particulate glass material or soot on an adjacent substrate to produce a multi-component glass fiber preform.

Abstract: A method for producing a multi-component glass fiber preform which comprises the steps of nebulizing an aqueous solution of at least one metal salt, and reacting the nebulized solution and a gaseous glass raw material with oxygen gas at a high temperature to produce particulate glass material deposited on a substrate. Apparatus for producing such a preform is also disclosed.