Abstract: A simply configured speech synthesis device and the like for producing a natural synthetic speech at high speed. When data representing a message template is supplied, a voice unit editor (5) searches a voice unit database (7) for voice unit data on a voice unit whose sound matches a voice unit in the message template. Further, the voice unit editor (5) predicts the cadence of the message template and selects, one at a time, a best match of each voice unit in the message template from the voice unit data that has been retrieved, according to the cadence prediction result. For a voice unit for which no match can be selected, an acoustic processor (41) is instructed to supply waveform data representing the waveform of each unit voice. The voice unit data that is selected and the waveform data that is supplied by the acoustic processor (41) are combined to generate data representing a synthetic speech.

Abstract: An astrocyte-specific drug carrier containing a retinoid derivative and/or a vitamin A analog as a constituent; a drug delivery method with the use of the same; a drug containing the same; and a therapeutic method with the use of the drug. By binding a drug carrier to a retinoid derivative such as vitamin A or a vitamin A analog or encapsulating the same in the drug carrier, a drug for therapeutic use can be delivered specifically to astrocytes. As a result, an astrocyte-related disease can be efficiently and effectively inhibited or prevented while minimizing side effects. As the drug inhibiting the activity or growth of astrocytes, for example, a siRNA against HSP47 which is a collagen-specific molecule chaperone may be encapsulated in the drug carrier. Thus, the secretion of type I to type IV collagens can be inhibited at the same time and, in its turn, fibrosis can be effectively inhibited.

Abstract: In a reforming apparatus, for use in a fuel cell, for reforming a raw fuel into a hydrogen-rich reformed gas, a reformer generates the reformed gas from the raw fuel. A shift reactor reduces carbon monoxide contained in the reformed gas through a shift reaction. A selective oxidation unit reduces the carbon monoxide contained in the reformed gas that has passed through the shift reactor by performing selective oxidation on the carbon monoxide. A reforming reaction tube houses linearly the reformer, the shift reactor and the selective oxidation unit in this order. A combustion means produces combustion exhaust gas by combusting the raw fuel. An outer casing is placed around the reforming reaction tube, and the outer casing has a larger diameter than that of the reforming reaction tube. A heated flow passage through which the combustion exhaust gas passes to heat the reforming reaction tube is formed between the reforming reaction tube and the outer casing.

Abstract: An astrocyte-specific drug carrier containing a retinoid derivative and/or a vitamin A analog as a constituent; a drug delivery method with the use of the same; a drug containing the same; and a therapeutic method with the use of the drug. By binding a drug carrier to a retinoid derivative such as vitamin A or a vitamin A analog or encapsulating the same in the drug carrier, a drug for therapeutic use can be delivered specifically to astrocytes. As a result, an astrocyte-related disease can be efficiently and effectively inhibited or prevented while minimizing side effects. As the drug inhibiting the activity or growth of astrocytes, for example, a siRNA against HSP47 which is a collagen-specific molecule chaperone may be encapsulated in the drug carrier. Thus, the secretion of type I to type IV collagens can be inhibited at the same time and, in its turn, fibrosis can be effectively inhibited.

Abstract: An astrocyte-specific drug carrier containing a retinoid derivative and/or a vitamin A analog as a constituent; a drug delivery method with the use of the same; a drug containing the same; and a therapeutic method with the use of the drug. By binding a drug carrier to a retinoid derivative such as vitamin A or a vitamin A analog or encapsulating the same in the drug carrier, a drug for therapeutic use can be delivered specifically to astrocytes. As a result, an astrocyte-related disease can be efficiently and effectively inhibited or prevented while minimizing side effects. As the drug inhibiting the activity or growth of astrocytes, for example, a siRNA against HSP47 which is a collagen-specific molecule chaperone may be encapsulated in the drug carrier. Thus, the secretion of type I to type IV collagens can be inhibited at the same time and, in its turn, fibrosis can be effectively inhibited.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for providing users diagnosis on driving operations in the same manner as diagnosing vehicle failures and for presenting evaluation with supporting data so that users may recognize their driving operations. The apparatus reads out driving data for a plurality of driving cycles from an electronic control unit on board the vehicle. The electronic control unit includes a memory for storing driving data representing fuel efficiency condition of the vehicle in accordance with driving operation by a user in each driving cycle of the vehicle. Charts are produced representing fuel efficiency condition for each driving operation by the user for each driving cycle, based on the read out driving data. The charts are output as comparison results for each one of the driving cycles.

Abstract: A trouble diagnosis apparatus which supports reproduction of trouble according to a trouble code provided from an electronic control unit of the vehicle. The apparatus comprises means for extracting, for at least one of the trouble codes, characteristics unique to the trouble code with respect to respective driving parameters, means for extracting, from said driving data associated with a plurality of trouble codes, global characteristics associated with a plurality of said trouble codes with respect to each one of said driving parameters, and for said at least one of the trouble codes, means, based on similarity between the characteristics unique to the trouble code and said global characteristics, for setting the portion of the characteristics unique to the trouble code that have low similarity as the driving data for reproducing the trouble corresponding to the trouble code.

Abstract: A pyrochlore-type oxide represented by a general formula A2B2O7-Z is prepared by precipitate formation, where A and B each represent a metal element, where Z represents a number of at least 0 and at most 1, where A contains at least one element selected from a group consisting of Pb, Sn, and Zn, and where B contains at least one element selected from a group consisting of Ru, W, Mo, Ir, Rh, Mn, Cr, and Re. Impurities are then sufficiently removed through washing and drying processes, and the pyrochlore-type oxide is calcined under controlled conditions. This allows the crystallinity of the pyrochlore-type oxide, which contained amorphous parts immediately after the production of the precipitate, to be increased so that the resistance to acid can be improved while preventing particle aggregation.

Abstract: A speech recognition unit (2) performs speech recognition on a speech of an utterer input by a speech input unit (1), specifies possible words which are represented by the speech, and the scores thereof, and a natural language analyzer (3) specifies parts of speech of the words and supplies word data representing the words to an agent processing unit (7). The agent processing unit (7) stores process item data which defines a data acquisition process to acquire word data or the like, a discrimination process, and an input/output process, and wires or data defining transition from one process to another and giving a weighting factor to the transition, and executes a flow represented generally by the process item data and the wires to thereby control devices belonging to an input/output target device group (6) in such a way as to adequately grasp a demand of the utterer and meet the demand.

Abstract: A vehicle failure is diagnosed based on data recorded in an electronic control unit (ECU) of a vehicle. Driving data pertaining to multiple parameters which are stored in the electronic control unit of the vehicle for when a vehicle failure occurs are compared with reference values representing data during normal driving in order to diagnose a failure. The device utilizes an approximate search between inspection data, that is, driving data which are stored in the electronic control unit of the vehicle to be diagnosed for failure, and reference value groups categorized by driving environment, wherein a normal value range is set for each of the aforementioned parameters categorized by driving environment, and selects the reference value group categorized by driving environment which approximates the inspection data.

Abstract: An image converting apparatus includes a memory which can store frame information of an image to be played, and an image processing section which can read frame information from the memory and convert the frame rate to a predetermined frame rate in response to a predetermined state and in accordance with the play state.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for preparing a pyrochlore type oxide having a larger specific surface area, a polymer electrolyte fuel cell and a fuel cell system improved in power generation efficiency and capable of being produced more inexpensively, and a method for producing an electro catalyst for a fuel cell, which electro catalyst has a larger specific surface area, is relatively inexpensive, and has high electrode activity per unit mass. A method for preparing a pyrochlore type oxide represented by A2B2O7-Z wherein A and B represent a metal element, Z represents a number of 0 or more and 1 or less, A includes at least one selected from the group consisting of Pb, Sn, and Zn, and B includes at least one selected from the group consisting of Ru, W, Mo, Ir, Rh, Mn, Cr, and Re, wherein the pyrochlore type oxide is produced by a reaction of a halide or nitrate of A with an alkali salt of a metal acid of B.

Abstract: A signal corresponding to a short-period change and a signal corresponding to a long-period change of a sound signal are detected, and optimal quantization is performed based on the combination of the two signals. In an ADPCM encoding apparatus (100), a differential value dn between a 16-bit input signal Xn and a decoded signal Yn-1 of one sample ago is calculated by a subtractor (102). Thereafter, the 16-bit differential value dn is adaptively quantized by an adaptive quantizing section (103), so as to be converted to a (1 to 8)-bit length-variable ADPCM value Dn. Thereafter, the ADPCM value Dn is compression-encoded by a compression-encoding section (108) to generate a signal D?n, and the signal D?n is framed by a framing section (130) and outputted. Further, in an ADPCM decoding apparatus, a framed input signal is subjected to a reverse of the aforesaid process so as to be decoded.

Abstract: A G-CSF solution formulation which is substantially free from proteins as a stabilizer but which contains at least one amino acid or a salt thereof as a stabilizer.

Abstract: Data during normal driving is generated using travel data during the occurrence of a failure or the like, the travel data being accumulated into ordinary vehicles traveling in a city or other places on a daily basis. A failure diagnosis of a vehicle is performed by comparing a reference value with the time sequence electronic control unit (ECU) data of a plurality of driving parameters during the occurrence of a failure, the data being stored into a storage device in the ECU of the vehicle when a failure of the vehicle has occurred. The time sequence ECU data obtained from a large number of vehicles are sequentially accumulated and stored and the numerical vectors of the accumulated time sequence ECU data are generated. The numerical vectors are clustered and classified into a plurality of clusters according to the characteristics. In each of the plurality of clusters, a range of high occurrence rate values is obtained for the values of the respective driving parameters.

Abstract: An acoustic characteristic control apparatus supplies music signal, for example, to input terminal connected to a band-pass filter and a peaking filter. In a zero-cross detection circuit, a pulse signal corresponding to a period while a signal is positive is formed. A pulse-width measuring circuit output a signal corresponding to a pulse width. Next, the output of the pulse-width measuring circuit is inputted to one comparator and another comparator. The one comparator discriminates a time when the pulse width is equal to or larger than a first setting value, and the another comparator discriminates a time when the pulse width is equal to or smaller than a second setting value. The comparator is connected to the up terminal and the down terminal of an up/down counter. The output of the up/down counter is connected to the peaking filter through the subtractor, and acoustic characteristics of the peaking filter is controlled according to the count value of the up/down counter.

Abstract: To provide a speech coding technology that realizes a low bit rate and can suppress distortion of reproduction speech as compared with a conventional technology. There are provided pitch detecting means 5 that detects a pitch frequency of an input speech signal, residual calculating means 6 that calculates the difference (residual frequency) between the pitch frequency and a reference frequency, a frequency shifter 4 that shifts a frequency of the input speech signal in proportional to the residual frequency in a direction for being close to the reference frequency and equalizes a pitch period, and orthogonal transforming means that orthogonally transforms the speech signal (pitch-equalizing speech signal) output by the frequency shifter 4 by a constant number of the pitch intervals and generates transforming coefficient data, and waveform coding means that encodes the transforming coefficient data.

Abstract: In an active muffler having improved response characteristics, a speaker section includes a diaphragm adapted to generate sound, a voice coil for driving the diaphragm, and a distance sensor to detect the movement of the diaphragm. A light generated by the LED is reflected by the diaphragm, the reflected light is detected by a phototransistor to thereby measure the distance to the diaphragm, so that the movement of the diaphragm is detected. Noise is detected by a microphone, and a signal having opposite phase to that of the noise is generated by an opposite-phase generating section. The difference between the opposite-phase signal and the signal of the distance to the speaker from the distance sensor is calculated and inputted to a PID control section. Such a difference indicates the delay of the speaker movement. Feedback control is performed in a direction in which the difference is canceled out.

Abstract: A Faraday rotator mirror which is compact, allows high workability of manufacturing and has high reliability and high coupling efficiency is provided. The Faraday rotator mirror comprises a graded-index fiber, a Faraday rotator and a reflector mirror, wherein light incident via the graded-index fiber passes through the Faraday rotator to be reflected on the reflector mirror, and the reflected light passes through the Faraday rotator and emerges through the graded-index fiber.

Abstract: A reforming apparatus for reforming a raw fuel into a hydrogen-rich reformed gas includes a reformer for generating the reformed gas from the raw fuel, and a steam supply means for supplying the steam to the reformer. The steam supply means has a dry-out heat exchanger that dries out the water by conducting heat exchange with the reformed gas generated when the raw fuel is combusted. The cross-sectional area of passage in the dry-out heat exchanger is larger than that of a pipe connected upstream of the dry-out heat exchanger.