Abstract: The present invention provides a solar cell substrate having a transparent conductive film formed on a glass substrate, wherein the thermal expansion coefficient of the glass substrate is from 50×10?7 to 110×10?7/° C. The present invention also provides a solar cell substrate having a conductive film of fluorine-doped tin oxide or antimony-doped tin oxide formed on a glass substrate having a thickness of from 0.05 to 2 mm, wherein the strain point of the glass substrate is 525° C. or higher.

Abstract: The present invention provides a solar cell substrate having a transparent conductive film formed on a glass substrate, wherein the thermal expansion coefficient of the glass substrate is from 50×10?7 to 110×10?7/° C. The present invention also provides a solar cell substrate having a conductive film of fluorine-doped tin oxide or antimony-doped tin oxide formed on a glass substrate having a thickness of from 0.05 to 2 mm, wherein the strain point of the glass substrate is 525° C. or higher.

Abstract: Disclosed is a composition for application to skin or mucosa comprising alginic acid and/or salts thereof, which has reduced cytotoxicity against a skin cell or mucosa cell and higher safety, the composition for application to skin or mucosa comprises an alginic acid and/or salts thereof that contains substantially no low-molecular-weight fraction having a molecular weight of 3,500 or less.

Abstract: The invention provides a pharmaceutical product in which a tranilast-containing pharmaceutical preparation is contained in a packaging container through which the content can be visually observed and which can inhibit photodegradation of tranilast. The invention provides a pharmaceutical product in which a pharmaceutical preparation containing tranilast and/or a salt thereof is contained in a packaging container through which the content can be visually observed and which is provided with a shading means for blocking light in the wavelength range from 350 nm to 450 nm.

Abstract: Disclosed is an optical collimator-use lens component including: a thin tube; a partially spherical lens that has been fixed in an inner hole of the thin tube so that an insertion portion having a predetermined length is left, is made of glass whose refractive index is approximately uniform, and has translucent spherical surfaces, whose centers of curvature are approximately the same, at both ends of a cylindrical portion of the partially spherical lens; and an adhesive that bonds the partially spherical lens to the thin tube. An axial deviation amount between a center axis of the thin tube and an optical axis of the partially spherical lens is 5 ?m or less. When a capillary tube, in whose inner hole an optical fiber has been fixed and whose axial deviation amount between an outer peripheral surface of the capillary tube and a core center of an end surface of the optical fiber is 1.

Abstract: A prism is produced by the steps of feeding a glass base material into a heating furnace, the glass base material having surfaces to be prism surfaces after forming, the Ra value of the surface roughness of the surface being less than the Ra value corresponding to #170, the glass base material having a predetermined dimensional ratio, grasping the glass base material with feeding means, and feeding the glass base material into a heating furnace to heat the glass base material to a temperature so that a minimum viscosity of the glass base material becomes equal to or more than 104 Pa·s and less than 106 Pa·s, drawing and forming the lower portion of the glass base material, and then cutting the glass base material to obtain a longer body having a desired dimension and prism surfaces with the Ra value of the surface roughness equal to or less than a quarter of the wavelength of incident light, and cutting the longer body into desired length.

Abstract: A prism is produced by the steps of feeding a glass base material into a heating furnace, the glass base material having surfaces to be prism surfaces after forming, the Ra value of the surface roughness of the surface being less than the Ra value corresponding to #170, the glass base material having a predetermined dimensional ratio, grasping the glass base material with feeding means, and feeding the glass base material into a heating furnace to heat the glass base material to a temperature so that a minimum viscosity of the glass base material becomes equal to or more than 104 Pa·s and less than 106 Pa·s, drawing and forming the lower portion of the glass base material, and then cutting the glass base material to obtain a longer body having a desired dimension and prism surfaces with the Ra value of the surface roughness equal to or less than a quarter of the wavelength of incident light, and cutting the longer body into desired length.

Abstract: Disclosed is an optical collimator-use lens component including: a thin tube; a partially spherical lens that has been fixed in an inner hole of the thin tube so that an insertion portion having a predetermined length is left, is made of glass whose refractive index is approximately uniform, and has translucent spherical surfaces, whose centers of curvature are approximately the same, at both ends of a cylindrical portion of the partially spherical lens; and an adhesive that bonds the partially spherical lens to the thin tube. An axial deviation amount between a center axis of the thin tube and an optical axis of the partially spherical lens is 5 ?m or less. When a capillary tube, in whose inner hole an optical fiber has been fixed and whose axial deviation amount between an outer peripheral surface of the capillary tube and a core center of an end surface of the optical fiber is 1.

Abstract: The present invention provides, as a composition that is highly safe and superior in preservative properties, comprising (a) a xanthine, (b) a buffer and (c) at least one member selected from sorbic acid, EDTA, and salts thereof. This composition has superior preservative properties so that it inhibits the generation and proliferation of microorganisms even when stored for a long period of time. Furthermore, the present invention provides a method for enhancing the preservative properties of sorbic acid, EDTA, and salts thereof, which are known to have preservative properties, and the preservative properties of compositions containing these ingredients, and provides a method for producing a composition with superior preservative effectiveness.

Abstract: In the capillary tube 22, the cross section of the outer surface is substantially square, and the cross section of the insertion hole 23 is substantially square. Sides La, Lb of the outer surface have high dimensional accuracy and the insertion hole 23 is made to allow two optical fibers 5, 6 to be inserted while adjoining each other and arranged in order therein. The phases of the outer surface and the insertion hole 23 are relatively offset with each other, so that angles &thgr;a, &thgr;b which the sides 23a, 23b of the insertion hole 23 form with flat surfaces 22a, 22b of the outer surface are acute angles of substantially 45°±0.5°. Consequently, the flat surface 22a becomes substantially parallel to the center line M that connects the centers of the cores 5a, 6a of the two optical fibers 5, 6 inserted in the insertion hole 23, and the flat surface 22b becomes substantially perpendicular to the center line M.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a negative film accumulating apparatus for accumulating therein a plurality of negative films successively fed from a photographic printer or the like. The negative films fed from the previous process such as the photographic printer or the like are placed on a supporter employed in the negative film accumulating apparatus. The rear end of each of the negative films is pressed in the film thickness direction by a pressure block. Each of the negative films thus pressed is accumulated in a holder. The pressure block presses against the negative films each time the negative films are successively delivered. It is therefore possible to accumulate the rear ends of the negative films in the holder in a stack.

Abstract: A vascular dilatation instrument 1 includes an outer tube 2, an inner tube 5 extending through the outer tube 2, and an inflatable member 3 having one end attached to the inner tube 5 and another end attached to the outer tube 2. The outer tube 2 includes a superelastic or pseudoelastic metal tube 2b and a synthetic resin tube 2a covering the metal tube, the metal tube 2b having a distal zone provided with a slit or perforations 2e so that the distal zone is more flexible and deformable than the remainder of the metal tube. Also provided is a catheter 100 comprising a main body section which includes a superelastic metal tube 101 and a synthetic resin layer 104 covering the metal tube, the metal tube 101 having a distal zone provided with a slit or perforations 106 so that the distal zone is more flexible and deformable than the remainder of the metal tube.

Abstract: A film accumulator includes a pressing mechanism for consecutively pressing a plurality of films which are consecutively fed out from a printer and a holding member in which the films are accumulated and held with widthwise sides of the pressed films retained therein. Accordingly, the plurality of films can be accumulated automatically.

Abstract: A film accumulator includes a pressing mechanism for consecutively pressing a plurality of films which are consecutively fed out from a printer and a holding member in which the films are accumulated and held with widthwise sides of the pressed films retained therein. Accordingly, the plurality of films can be accumulated automatically.

Abstract: A permanent optical fiber connector which makes it possible to connect and fix optical fibers (A) in some seconds. This connector comprises a base part (B) including a base body (4) made of a material of low expansion coefficient having a pair of opposed locking elements (7) and one or more capillary tubes (5) bonded to the base body and having an inner diameter slightly greater than the cladding of an optical fiber, and an optical fiber pressing part (C) including a pressing body (21) made of a material of low expansion coefficient and adapted to fit between the locking elements (7) of the base body to be embraced thereby and elastic bodies (22) attached to the lower surface of the pressing body, said pressing body (21) being embraced between the locking elements (7) of the base body, whereby the optical fiber pressing part (C) presses the covers (3) and optical fiber bodies (2) of the optical fibers (A) against the base part (B) to fix them to the latter.

Abstract: A film supplying apparatus includes a holding member for holding the vicinity of leading end portions of strips of negative film placed therein in a superposed state with a longitudinal direction of the negative film set in a curved configuration, and a pressing device for pressing an innermost ones, as viewed in a curved state, of the strips of negative film against a feed roller via the holding member. Accordingly, as the feed roller is rotated in the negative film feeding direction, the strips of film starting with the innermost one, as viewed in the curved state, of the strips of negative film are consecutively fed to a printer. In this case, since a force acting in a direction in which the curved shape of the film is reduced is applied to the negative film being fed, no large friction occurs with respect to the remaining film.