Abstract: An acoustic matching layer according to the present invention includes a powder of a dry gel. The dry gel preferably has a density of 500 kg/m3 or less and an average pore diameter of 100 nm or less. By using the dry gel powder, a variation in the property of the acoustic matching layer can be reduced.

Abstract: An acoustic matching member that is incorporated into an ultrasonic transducer for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, includes: at least two layers including a first layer and a second layer that have different acoustic impedance values from each other. The first layer is made of a composite material of a porous member and a filling material supported by void portions of the porous member, the second layer is made of the filling material or the porous member, and the first layer and the second layer are present in this stated order. A piezoelectric member is disposed on a side of the first layer of the acoustic matching member to form an ultrasonic transducer or an ultrasonic flowmeter. The acoustic matching member does not have independent intermediate layers between the layers, so that delamination hardly occurs and the difficulty in the designing associated with the presence of intermediate layers can be avoided.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic transducer, which is so configured as to reduce the variations in characteristics, thereby to enable the stabilization of the precision, as well as to enable the improvement of the durability, and the like, a method for manufacturing the ultrasonic transducer, and an ultrasonic flowmeter. In order to attain this object, in accordance with the present invention, the ultrasonic transducer is so configured as to include a piezoelectric element and an acoustic matching layer, wherein the acoustic matching layer is made of a dry gel of an inorganic oxide or an organic polymer, and a solid skeletal part of the dry gel has been rendered hydrophobic. With this configuration, it is possible to obtain the ultrasonic transducer having an acoustic matching layer 3 which is very lightweight and has a small acoustic impedance due to the solid skeletal part of the dry gel which has been rendered hydrophobic.

Abstract: A porous material made of a dry gel of a polyimide resin having an apparent density of 800 kg/m3 or less and a mean pore size of 1 &mgr;m or less is disclosed. The porous material exhibits high heat resistance and is low in density and mean pore size. The use of the porous material provided by the present invention can produce not only a heat insulator with a low thermal conductivity and high heat insulation but also an insulating material having a low dielectric constant and exhibiting excellent dielectric characteristics at high frequencies. The present invention can also provide a semiconductor circuit including the insulating material.

Abstract: The present invention provides an organic porous material having equivalent thermal insulating properties to those of a porous material of a silica material and improved brittleness. The organic porous material of the present invention is an aggregate of organogel fine particles having a particle diameter of 10 to 300 nm, wherein inter-particle crosslinking is formed between adjoining organogel fine particles.

Abstract: The present invention provides a thermal insulator cabinet having high thermal insulating ability and long-term reliability as well as excellent energy-saving and maintenance properties. The thermal insulator cabinet includes a gas-tight container that is filled with a charging gas and a continuous spacing core and a gas-storage container that communicates with the gas-tight container and is filled with an absorbent for absorbing at least the charging gas, wherein the gas-storage container absorbs the charging gas to make inside of the gas-tight container in a state of reduced pressure.

Abstract: A polyurethane foam is constituted by using a blowing agent selected from the group consisting of iodofluorohydrocarbons, perfluoroalkenes and hydrogen-containing fluoromorpholine derivatives. These blowing agents have a low thermal conductivity and a short life in the air, and thus impose no or very small load such as ozone layer depletion potential (ODP) and global warming potential (GWP) on the environment. The iodofluorohydrocarbon, in particular, can give an incombustibility and self-extinguishing property to the conventionally used inflammable substance such as cyclopentane or the like, and thus is also advantageous from the viewpoint of safety of the thermal insulating material.

Abstract: There are disclosed a thermal insulating foamed material, which is superior in thermal insulating property and does not cause deterioration of the thermal insulating property with a time lapse, and a method for producing the same. According to a method for producing a thermal insulating foamed material, a foamed polyurethane resin composition having closed cells, in which at least carbon dioxide is filled, is formed by blowing a raw material mixture containing epoxides comprising at least two members of an epoxide compound having high reactivity with carbon dioxide and an epoxide compound having low reactivity with carbon dioxide, a carbon dioxide fixation catalyst, polyisocyanate, a reactive blowing agent which evolves carbon dioxide by reacting with said polyisocyanate, and a polyol composition. Then, the carbon dioxide in the closed cells is allowed to react with the epoxides in the presence of the carbon dioxide fixation catalyst, thereby to fix carbon dioxide as carbonate compounds.

Abstract: A polyurethane foam is constituted by using a blowing agent selected from the group consisting of iodofluorohydrocarbons, perfluoroalkenes and hydrogen-containing fluoromorpholine derivatives. These blowing agents have a low thermal conductivity and a short life in the air, and thus impose no or very small load such as ozone layer depletion potential (ODP) and global warming potential (GWP) on the environment. The iodofluorohydrocarbon, in particular, can give an incombustibility and self-extinguishing property to the conventionally used inflammable substance such as cyclopentane or the like, and thus is also advantageous from the viewpoint of safety of the thermal insulating material.

Abstract: Provided are functional peptide fragments of human caldesmon having calmodulin and actin-binding activity, the amino acid sequences and nucleic acid sequences therefor.

Abstract: The present invention provides a thermal insulating foamed material with excellent thermal insulating properties and a method of manufacturing the same. The method comprises the steps of: concurrently mixing and blowing a polyurethane material to produce a foamed polyurethane resin composition with a multiplicity of closed cells, the polyurethane material including a reactive blowing agent, a volatile compound having a boiling point of not higher than 150.degree. C. and a molecular weight of not less than 70, an epoxy compound, and a carbon dioxide fixation catalyst, wherein the closed cells are filled with the volatile compound and carbon dioxide produced by a reaction of the reactive blowing agent with a polyisocyanate; and allowing the carbon dioxide to chemically react with epoxy groups of the epoxy compound in the presence of the carbon dioxide fixation catalyst to form a solid or liquid cyclic carbonate.

Abstract: A thermal insulator of the present invention includes a foam containing solidified CO.sub.2 gas. A method for producing the thermal insulator includes the steps of: mixing a metal compound selected from the group consisting of a metal oxide and a metal hydroxide, water, a polyol component, and an isocyanate component to generate a mixture; foaming the mixture in a container to generate closed-cells made of a water-foamed polyurethane; and allowing CO.sub.2 gas generated during the foaming step to react with the selected metal compound to solidify the CO.sub.2 gas, thereby depressurizing the closed-cells in the closed-celled foam.

Abstract: Provided are functional peptide fragments of human caldesmon having calmodulin and actin-binding activity, the amino acid sequences and nucleic acid sequences therefor.

Abstract: An optical recording medium contains a fluorescent material and a photo-reactive bistable quencher. Information is digitally recorded by utilizing the bistable isomers of the photo-reactive bistable quencher by irradiating the medium with a light in the wavelength to be absorbed by the fluorescent material, whereby energy is transferred from the fluorescent material to the photo-reactive bistable quencher. Reading is made by irradiating the medium with a weaker light and detecting the fluorescence emitted by the fluorescent material.

Abstract: The optical storage medium of the present invention comprises: (1) a substrate; (2) ultra-thin recording layers containing a dye; and (3) controlling layers. The recording layers and the controlling layers are accumulated alternately, and the uppermost layer is a controlling layer. The optical storage medium of the present invention contains dye cohesions in the recording layer in an extremely small amount and of extremely small size so that the medium can store a high density of records.

Abstract: A corridor spanned or suspended between horizontal support members such as girder members in structures such as those of buildings, ships, etc. so that operators can walk or carry out operations on the corridor.The corridor comprises a main corridor and a sub-corridor, connected to the main corridor to adjust the length of the corridor.This corridor can be easily incorporated in and moved from structures to be built, easily transported and housed in narrow spaces and mounted on different length of places by one unit of the corridor.