Abstract: The present invention relates to a process for producing compost, characterized in that when the compost is produced by inoculating aerobic composting seed bacteria to an organic waste material, the process comprises: supplying oxygen while the waste material is stirred, and supplying water so that the water content of the waste material is 60±5%, and to a process for producing compost, characterized in that when the compost is produced by inoculating aerobic composting seed bacteria to an organic waste material, the process comprises, after begining of the fermentation, adding sugars to the waste material in a divisional manner before a main fermentation is transferred to the amine/ammonium metabolic system. Further, according to the present invention, an apparatus for producing compost is provided.

Abstract: In an endoscopic imagining system, a signal representing an object image produced by a scope and projected by a camera head is processed by a CCU and displayed as an endoscopic image on a TV monitor. The object image is stored as digital image data on a memory in the CCU, read as image data of a still image, and recorded on a PC card mounted in a PC card slot. The PC card slot is formed in the front panel or the like of the CCU. A lid member or the like functioning as an anti-liquid invasion member and shield can be located at an opening of the slot.

Abstract: The present invention provides bis-aminomethyl carbonyl protease inhibitors and pharmaceutically acceptable salts, hydrates and solvates thereof which inhibit proteases, including cathepsin K, pharmaceutical compositions of such compounds, and methods for treating diseases of excessive bone loss or cartilage or matrix degradation, including osteoporosis; gingival disease including gingivitis and periodontitis; arthritis, more specifically, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis; Paget's disease; hypercalcemia of malignancy; and metabolic bone disease, comprising inhibiting said bone loss or excessive cartilage or matrix degradation by administering to a patient in need thereof a compound of the present invention.

Abstract: In an endoscopic imaging system, a signal representing an object image produced by a scope and projected by a camera head is processed by a CCU and displayed as an endoscopic image on a TV monitor. The object image is stored as digital image data on a memory in the CCU, read as image data of a still image, and recorded on a PC card mounted in a PC card slot. The PC card slot is formed in the front panel or the like of the CCU. A lid member or the like functioning as an anti-liquid invasion member and shield can be located at an opening of the slot.

Abstract: The present invention provides compounds which inhibit proteases, including cathepsin K, pharmaceutical compositions of such compounds, and methods for treating diseases of excessive bone loss or cartilage or matrix degradation, including osteoporosis; gingival disease including gingivitis and periodontitis; arthritis, more specifically, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis; Paget's disease; hypercalcemia of malignancy; and metabolic bone disease, comprising inhibiting said bone loss or excessive cartilage or matrix degradation by administering to a patient in need thereof a compound of the present invention.

Abstract: An absolute-value difference arithmetic section obtains an absolute-value difference from a first component and a second component. A component discriminating section or a signal discriminating section (circuit) discriminates an inputted chroma signal by phase discrimination and distance discrimination using the absolute-value difference. A correction executing section corrects the phase of the inputted chroma signal using the absolute-value difference. The absolute-value difference arithmetic section is formed by an adder and/or a subtracter on a small circuit scale.

Abstract: The present invention provides 4-amino-azepan-3-one protease inhibitors and pharmaceutically acceptable salts, hydrates and solvates thereof which inhibit proteases, including cathepsin K, pharmaceutical compositions of such compounds, novel intermediates of such compounds, and methods for treating diseases of excessive bone loss or cartilage or matrix degradation, including osteoporosis; gingival disease including gingivitis and periodontitis; arthritis, more specifically, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis; Paget's disease; hypercalcemia of malignancy; and metabolic bone disease, comprising inhibiting said bone loss or excessive cartilage or matrix degradation by administering to a patient in need thereof a compound of the present invention.

Abstract: In an endoscopic apparatus, when the dynamic range expansion on/off switch is turned on, a CPU changes a switch from one contact over to another. Red, green, and blue digital signals sent from a knee and gamma circuit are output to respective dynamic range expanding circuits. Thus, the dynamic ranges for the digital signals are expanded. On the other hand, when the CPU changes another switch from one contact over to the other, a light adjustment signal output from an operational amplifier is then driven to a level causing a diaphragm in a light source unit to open further. Consequently, an increased amount of illumination light is supplied to the incident end of a light guide running through an endoscope. Thus, when a dynamic range is expanded, a halation effect will not occur in imaging of an object located at a point near the distal end of the endoscope. Moreover, insufficiency of illumination light will not occur in the imaging of an object located at a point far from the endoscope distal end.

Abstract: An electronic shopping system enables a user to purchase one or more commodities by way of a network such as the Internet. The electronic shopping system comprises a private information input unit for inputting private information on the user as well as an image of the user, and an image superimposing unit for processing the image of the user based on the private information input by the private information input unit, for superimposing the processed image of the user upon an image of a commodity specified by the user so as to produce a composite image, and for providing the composite image for the user.

Abstract: In an endoscopic imaging system, a signal representing an object image produced by a scope and projected by a camera head is processed by a CCU and displayed as an endoscopic image on a TV monitor. The object image is stored as digital image data on a memory in the CCU, read as image data of a still image, and recorded on a PC card mounted in a PC card slot. The PC card slot is formed in the front panel or the like of the CCU. A lid member or the like functioning as an anti-liquid invasion member and shield can be located at an opening of the slot.

Abstract: The present invention provides compounds which inhibit proteases, including cathepsin K, pharmaceutical compositions of such compounds, and methods for treating diseases of excessive bone loss or cartilage or matrix degradation, including osteoporosis; gingival disease including gingivitis and periodontitis; arthritis, more specifically, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis; Paget's disease; hypercalcemia of malignancy; and metabolic bone disease, comprising inhibiting said bone loss or excessive cartilage or matrix degradation by administering to a patient in need thereof a compound of the present invention.

Abstract: The present invention provides bis-aminomethylcarbonyl compounds that are inhibitors of cysteine and serine proteases. The compounds are particularly useful for treating diseases in which excess cysteine protease activity has been implicated, including osteoporosis, periodontitis and arthritis.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a terminal device including a photodetector, amplitude detecting circuit, light source, drive circuit, and control circuit. The photodetector receives a first optical signal. The amplitude detecting circuit detects the amplitude of an output from the photodetector. The drive circuit supplies a drive current to the light source so that the light source outputs a second optical signal. The control circuit decreases and increases the drive current according to an increase and decrease in the amplitude detected by the amplitude detecting circuit, respectively. In the case that this terminal device is used with another terminal device to construct a network, the dynamic range of the other terminal device can be reduced. Accordingly, the use of this terminal device can improve the extensibility of the network.

Abstract: The AGC circuit is provided with an analog variable gain amplifying circuit which includes a plurality of fixed gain amplifiers and a selector for selecting one of the output signals of the plurality of fixed gain amplifiers, an A/D converter for receiving the selected output signal from the variable gain amplifying circuit, a digital band pass filter which allows only the burst signal and the color signal in the output signal from the A/D converter to pass through, and a digital AGC/detection circuit for controlling the gain of the variable gain amplifying circuit such that the burst signal remains stable and for amplifying the digital signal to obtain a digital output color signal such that the detected burst signal becomes equal in level to the digital reference signal. Thus, a more stable output signal can be obtained even with the variation in the ambient temperature or the power supply voltage.

Abstract: The invention relates to a protective device for a clean robot that includes a base 7 in which actuators 4 and 5 for driving a robot arm 3 are accommodated; a translational guide 8 for causing the base 7 to travel in a rectilinear direction; and a robot controller 10 that drives and controls the drive motor 4A and 5A of the robot arm 3 and an actuator 9 of the translational guide 8; wherein the protective device further includes acceleration sensors 11, which are disposed in the base 7 and are provided in respective axes so that they can detect an impact, when the clean robot 1 interferes with a surrounding substance, as vibration acceleration in the three-dimensional directions; an interference detecting device 13 that outputs a pulse when the detection signals of the acceleration sensors 11 of the respective axes exceed the threshold values that will become standards; and the first AND circuit that converts signals outputted from the interference detection means of the respective axes to interference signal

Abstract: The present invention provides compounds which inhibit proteases, including cathepsin K, pharmaceutical compositions of such compounds, and methods for treating diseases of excessive bone loss or cartilage or matrix degradation, including osteoporosis; gingival disease including gingivitis and periodontitis; arthritis, more specifically, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis; Paget's disease; hypercalcemia of malignancy; and metabolic bone disease, comprising inhibiting said bone loss or excessive cartilage or matrix degradation by administering to a patient in need thereof a compound of the present invention.

Abstract: The present invention provides compounds which inhibit proteases, including cathepsin K, pharmaceutical compositions of such compounds, and methods for treating diseases of excessive bone loss or cartilage or matrix degradation, including osteoporosis; gingival disease including gingivitis and periodontitis; arthritis, more specifically, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis; Paget's disease, hypercalcemia of malignancy; and metabolic bone disease, comprising inhibiting and bone loss or excessive cartilage or matrix degradation by administering to a patient in need thereof a compound of the present invention.

Abstract: Solid phase combinatorial synthesis is carried out in a multi-reactor synthesizer comprising an array of separate reactor cells (1-9) containing a solid reaction support medium (26). Subsets of the reactor cells (1-9) are interconnected with one another in a desired pattern, and, in a first reaction step, reagents (A, B, C) are circulated through the subsets. After the first reaction step is completed, the reactor cells (1-9) are rearranged into a new configuration of the subsets, and the same, or other, reagents (A, B, C) are circulated through the new subsets. The process can be repeated to produce large numbers of compounds differing from one another.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a process for producing compost, characterized in that when the compost is produced by inoculating aerobic composting seed bacteria to an organic waste material, the process comprises: supplying oxygen while the waste material is stirred, and supplying water so that the water content of the waste material is 60±5%, and to a process for producing compost, characterized in that when the compost is produced by inoculating aerobic composting seed bacteria to an organic waste material, the process comprises, after begining of the fermentation, adding sugars to the waste material in a divisional manner before a main fermentation is transferred to the amine/ammonium metabolic system. Further, according to the present invention, an apparatus for producing compost is provided.

Abstract: Invented is a method of preparing combinatorial libraries and combinatorial libraries prepared thereby. Also invented is a method for identifying compounds having desired characteristics from a combinatorial library or a set of combinatorial libraries by the use of flow cytometry. Also invented is a method for encoding combinatorial libraries using fluorophore labeled beads.