Abstract: A hydraulic tensioner includes a ball check valve disposed inside a tensioner body for permitting the flow of oil only in one direction from an oil passage connected to an oil source toward and a high-pressure chamber formed behind a plunger within a plunger receiving hole in the tensioner body. The ball check valve includes a valve seat on which a check ball rests when closed. The valve seat has a tapered seating surface outwardly diverging at an angle of 60°-110°, and the check ball has a mass of 0.1 g or less. The check ball enables following up oil pressure variations of high frequencies, and even in a region wherein the load acting on the plunger varies at high frequencies it is possible to ensure a sufficient backstop force without increasing the oil pressure supplied.

Abstract: Active ingredients such as medicines are mixed with excipient and then kneaded together with binder and solvent such as alcohol or water to prepare a wetted paste. A mold is filled with this paste. Top and bottom surfaces of the paste within the mold are coated with powder such as lubricant in order to avoid possible sticking of the paste to the apparatus during a subsequent compression step. Then a compressive pressure is exerted on the surface of the paste. Thereafter, the tablet is taken from the mold. The molded tablet can contain water-soluble or fat-soluble medicine.

Abstract: A packaging container having a container body and a lid unit which is undetachably mounted on the container body. The container body has a neck portion provided with an opening. An external thread cut in the outer periphery of the neck portion, and a lid mounting portion is provided below the external thread. The lid unit has a lid body and a fitting member. The lid body is provided with an internal thread engageable with the external thread of the container body, and has a function of hermetically sealing the opening of the container body. The fitting member is rotatably fitted around the lid mounting portion of the container body, but vertical movement of the fitting member is restricted within a predetermined range. The fitting member is held undetachable from the lid mounting portion by a collar of the container body.

Abstract: Formation of a drug into microspheres by an oil-on-water solvent evaporation process in which a mixed solvent of at least one water-insoluble solvent and at least one water-miscible solvent is used as a solvent of an oil phase. A fatty acid or a salt thereof or at least one glycerin fatty acid ester and/or at least one propylene glycol fatty acid ester are added to the mixed solvent. The oil phase may also comprise the mixed solvent; a fatty acid or a salt thereof; and at least one glycerin fatty acid ester and/or at least one propylene glycol fatty acid ester. This oil phase is mixed and emulsified with an aqueous phase to form an oil-in-water emulsion. The emulsion with a drug contained therein is then subjected to an oil-in water solvent evaporation to produce the microspheres. The resulting drug-containing microspheres contain the drug at a high concentration and slowly release from the initial stage after administration.

Abstract: A homopolymer of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid derivatives having the general formula: ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 represents a hydrogen atom or methyl group; R.sup.2 is a residue of a compound having physiological activity; X is a residue of a compound having a hydroxyl group, amino group or carboxyl group at both ends in its chemical structure after bonding between such compound and acrylic or methacrylic acid, and between such compound and the physiologically active compound; and the homopolymer has a number-average molecular weight ranging from 20,000 to 200,000; and a process for the preparation thereof by a mechanochemical polymerization reaction; as well as a polymeric drug and prodrug comprising the homopolymer.

Abstract: A thermal head, rotatably supported by a supporting shaft parallel to the shaft of a platen, is resiliently pressed by an elastic member, such as a sheet spring, and comes into contact with the platen. A pair of arm members are provided on either side of the platen, the arms having through holes which allow for rotatably fitting and supporting therein the platen shaft. A bar member for receiving a resilient force of the elastic member is linked to other ends of the arm members, passing across the space between the arm members. The bar member is relieved from contact with the elastic member by rotating at least one of the arm members around the platen shaft or by moving at least one end of the bar member in a direction away from the platen. In the latter case, a crank mechanism is used for changing the effective length of one of the arm members. The thermal printer is compact and light, has high printing reliability, and facilitates ease in maintenance and replacement of the thermal head.

Abstract: A homopolymer of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid derivatives having the general formula: ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 represents a hydrogen atom or methyl group; R.sup.2 is a residue of a compound having physiological activity; X is a residue of a compound having a hydroxyl group, amino group or carboxyl group at both ends in its chemical structure after bonding between such compound and acrylic or methacrylic acid, and between such compound and the physiologically active compound; and the homopolymer has a number-average molecular weight ranging from 20,000 to 200,000; and a process for the preparation thereof by a mechanochemical polymerization reaction; as well as a polymeric drug and prodrug comprising the homopolymer.

Abstract: A motor driving circuit coupled to a motor having a plurality of phases of coils includes a standard power source generating a first power supply voltage, and a step-up power source for generating a second power supply voltage greater than the first power supply voltage. A selecting circuit selects either the first power supply voltage or the second power supply voltage in response to a selecting signal. A motor driving circuit causes currents to flow in the phases of the motor in accordance with motor driving signals respectively related to the phases in a state in which a selected power supply voltage output by the selecting circuit is applied to one or more phases. A switching unit generates the selecting signal on the basis of the motor driving signals and a voltage signal corresponding to a current flowing through at least one of the phases of the motor so that the second power supply voltage is selected first and the first power supply voltage is selected second with respect to each of the phases.

Abstract: A hydraulic tensioner 10 includes a piston rod 12 slidably fitted in a cylinder 14 with a small gap or clearance therebetween, and a housing 16 containing the cylinder 14. A ball seat 20 is press-fitted in an end of the cylinder 14 opposite to the piston rod 12 so as to define within the cylinder 14 a high pressure oil chamber 21. The housing 16 has a partition wall 26 at a substantially central portion thereof. The cylinder 14 is loosely fitted in the housing 16 with its longitudinal portion extending forwardly from the partition wall 26. The partition wall 26 has an oil passage 32 having an inside diameter smaller than the outside diameter of the ball seat 20, so that the cylinder 14 and the ball seat 20 are in abutment with the partition wall 26 of the housing 16. A force tending to retract the piston rod 12 generates a pressure which acts on the partition wall 26 either directly via a spring 24 and the cylinder 14 or via the high pressure oil chamber 21 and the ball seat 20.

Abstract: A hydraulic tensioner 10 includes a hollow housing 14 having formed therewith an intermediate partition wall 12, a circular hollow cylinder 16 disposed concentrically in the housing 14, and a piston rod 18 slidably received in the cylinder 16 with a small gap or clearance therebetween. The cylinder 16 and the piston rod 18 jointly define therebetween a high pressure oil chamber 20. The pressure in the high pressure oil chamber 20 counteracts the force tending to retract the piston rod 18. The piston rod 18 projects from an open end of the housing 14, and a seal 24 surrounds the piston rod 18 to seal or close the end of the housing 14. The piston rod 18 has secured thereto a rod guide 28 disposed within the low pressure oil chamber 26. A spring 36 is disposed in a compressed condition between the housing 14 and the rod guide 28 to urge the piston rod 18 in the advancing direction. The rod guide 28 has radially elongated oil holes or passages 38 formed in its surface which engages the spring 36.

Abstract: A sustained-release multi-granule tablet is obtained by compressing sustained-release granules, which contains a basis, and a formulation adjuvant. Each of the granules has been coated in advance with a layer of the formulation adjuvant and/or a layer of a mixture of the formulation adjuvant and the basis. The tablet releases an active substance at a suitable velocity into the digestion tract, resulting in that the inbalance in the absorption of the drug in each patient and among individual patients is minimized to achieve maximum bioavailability.

Abstract: A sustained-release multi-granule tablet is obtained by compressing sustained-release granules, which contains an active substance, and a formulation adjuvant. Each of the granules has been coated in advance with a layer of the formulation adjuvant and/or a layer of a mixture of the formulation adjuvant and the active substance. The tablet releases an active substance at a suitable velocity into the digestion tract, resulting in that the variability in the absorption of the drug in each patient and among individual patients is minimized to achieve maximum bioavailability.

Abstract: A neural network learning method firstly performs finding a linear operator which satisfies required conditions suited to the function for learning by using linear prediction, where the function characterizes the neural network of the function approximation type, and operating the linear operator on the teaching patterns which approximated by a linear sum of the function, and determining results of the operation, and secondly it performs replacing learning of a neural network with a linear predictive problem according to the operation result firstly obtained by the first, and for determining a solution with respect to the linear predictive problem, and thirdly it performs a determination of weights from the hidden layer to output layer so that an error between output data from the output layer and the teaching patterns is minimized, according to the solution with respect to the linear predictive problem.

Abstract: A neural network learning system in which an input-output relationship is inferred. The system includes a probability density part for determining a probability density on a sum space of an input space and an output space from a set of given input and output samples by learning, the probability density on the sum space being defined to have a parameter, and an inference part for inferring a probability density function based on the probability density from the probability density part, so that an input-output relationship of the samples is inferred from the probability density function having a parameter value determined by learning, the learning of the parameter being repeated until the value of a predefined parameter differential function using a prescribed maximum likelihood method is smaller than a prescribed reference value.

Abstract: An injection composition comprises a pharmacologically effective amount of a modified tPA, 47.5 mM or more of an amino acid or a salt thereof and is improved in view of stability and solubility.

Abstract: An object of this invention is to present a thermal printer for printing at high speed the data with the drive at a low voltage of around 5 V while preventing the printing problems attributable to the voltage drop due to internal impedance and to the loss inside the head coming from the common conductor inside the head. The thermal printer has a plurality of heating elements.The thermal printer comprises a print head consisting of the print blocks which have divided the heating elements at every stipulated quantity and a heating means for electrically heating the heating elements on the basis of the stipulated data at every print block wherein the heating means has been structured to simultaneously heat the heating elements against a plurality of print blocks to color the thermosensitive paper in contact with the heating elements of the print block.

Abstract: By forming a multi-layer preparation comprising a tablet or granule containing a medicine as the core and the outermost layer comprising a plasma-decomposable polymer and a plasma-crosslinkable polymer and irradiating the outermost layer with a plasma about release-regulating preparations according to the plasma irradiation, the direct exposure of the medicine to the plasma can be avoided and the release pattern can be controlled more easily.

Abstract: A preparation containing a cephalosporin medicament is disclosed. The preparation comprises a cephalosporin derivative represented by the following formula: ##STR1## namely, 7.beta.-{2-(5-amino-1,2,4-thiadiazol-3-yl)-(Z)-2-fluoromethoxyiminoacetami do}-3-{(E)-3-(carbamoylmethylethylmethylammonio) -1-propen-1-yl}-3-cephem-4-carboxylate or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof salt, lactose, citric acid or a sodium salt thereof, and arginine or a hydrochloride thereof; or the cephalosporin derivative represented by the formula (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, lactose, citric acid or a sodium salt thereof, and sodium chloride.

Abstract: A smoothing method and a smoothing apparatus for smoothing a contour of a dot pattern of a character extract a contour of a dot pattern of a character to be smoothened, smoothen the contour of the dot pattern, and carry out a rectilinear interpolation and a corner rounding process on a smoothened contour which is obtained after the contour is smoothened. The process of smoothing the contour includes a step of extracting corner points of the contour of the dot pattern, and a step of determining each position of curve points of each object corner point based on a direction and distance of each object corner point from other corner points before and after the object corner point for each of the extracted corner points, where the curve points constitute the smoothened contour of the character.

Abstract: In a flexible container, there is provided three or more approximately rectangular main sheets, and a rectangular inlet sheet and outlet sheet are provided on an imaginary line passing through approximately the central part in the width direction of each of the main sheets. One end of each of the inlet sheet and the outlet sheet in the direction along the imaginary line is sewed to an end of the main street corresponding to the one end, and the other end of each of the inlet sheet and the outlet sheet is projected away from the main sheet in the direction along the imaginary line. The imaginary lines of assembly sheets each constituted by the three types of sheets conform to one another, opposed surfaces of the adjacent assembly sheets are joined to each other, and outer side edges of the adjacent assembly sheets are sewed together.