Yamaha Corporation

Other

St. Marianna University School of Medicine

Toshihiro Nakajima

Tetsuya Amano

The present invention relates to a method for screening substances having weight-regulating action.

Method for screening substances having weight-regulating action

The present invention discloses a novel protein called Synoviolin and a gene that encodes it. This protein is expressed specifically by synovial tissue and also accompanies the presence of an auto-antibody that recognizes this protein in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. The protein according to the present invention and its antibody can be expected to be used as specific diagnostic markers for RA. In addition, the gene or protein according to the present invention may be used to permit the screening of drugs to treat RA. Moreover, the present invention provides synoviolin gene transgenic animals. The transgenic animals according to the present invention can be used as RA model animals in the development of pharmaceuticals to treat RA.

Synovial cell protein

A micro lens array has a translucent substrate of glass or the like and convex lenses formed on a principal surface of the substrate. Guide pin insertion holes are formed through the substrateon opposite sides of a line of lenses. A metal layerwith at least three metal projections is formed only in an inner wall section of each of the holes by a plating process so as to gradually increase an opening size of the hole at higher positions. The inner wall section has a depth of about 50 to 100 &#x3bc;m from the opening end on the guide pin insertion side. The metal layer may be omitted. Instead of the metal projections, a metal layer forming the hole having a polygonal shape may be used.

Micro lens array with guide pin insertion holes and its manufacture method

Pluralities of lens partsare formed on a lens substrateby dry-etching. The lens partsandhave same structures, and the lens partincludes toroidal lens surfaces Sand Sopposing to each other on one principal surface and another principal surface of the substrate. Assuming that a cross section in a y-axis direction of a laser beam emitted from a laser active layer in a z-axis direction is long and narrow in an x-axis direction, the lens surface Sis formed to have a radius of curvature Rin the x-axis direction smaller than a radius of curvature Rin the y-axis direction, and the lens surface Sis formed to have a radius of curvature Rin the x-axis direction smaller than a radius of curvature Rin the y-axis direction.

Micro lens array and its manufacturing method

An optical fiber positioning method comprises the steps of: preparing an optical fiber, an optical fiber holder, and a positioning plate; fitting the optical fiber holder in the fitting hole and inserting the optical fiber into an optical fiber holding hole of the optical fiber holder and an optical fiber positioning hole of the optical fiber positioning plate; abutting the optical fiber on the abutting position of the optical fiber positioning hole in the state that the end of the optical fiber holder is fitted in the fitting hole and the optical fiber is inserted into an optical fiber holding hole of the optical fiber holder and an optical fiber positioning hole of the optical fiber positioning plate; and fixing the optical fiber to the optical fiber positioning plate in the state that the optical fiber is abutted on with the abutting position of an optical fiber positioning hole.

Optical fiber array, optical fiber positioning method and optical fiber positioning plate

A positive resist layer formed on a translucent substrate is subjected to exposure and development to form circular resist patterns disposed near each other at a predetermined distance. The exposure pattern has an opening of a plurality of circular ring shape surrounding the plurality of resist patterns. The opening may have a width equal to the predetermined distance. Since the width of the opening is constant over the whole outer periphery of each resist pattern, uniform exposure can be realized at all positions along the periphery to form a perfect circle shape. After a convex lens shape is given to each resist pattern by heating and reflow process, the convex lens shape is transferred to the substrate by dry etching process using the resist patterns as a mask to form a microlens array with convex lenses.

Method of manufacturing microlens array

A holder for holding optical fibers has pin inserting holes to which corresponding positioning pins are pierced from one end to another. An optical fiber fixing plate has fixing holes corresponding to the optical fibers and pin inserting holes corresponding to the positioning pins. On an equipping surface of the fixing plate is formed a reinforcement layer having piercing holes corresponding to the fixing holes and pin piercing holes corresponding to the pin inserting holes. Each optical fiber is fixed and adhered by inserting to each fixing hole while the pins are inserted to the pin inserting holes of the holder, pin piercing holes of the reinforcement layer and the pin inserting holes of the fixing plate. A front surface of the fixing plate is planarized by polishing the surface. Positions of the optical fibers are easily defined at an end surface of the optical fiber holder with high precision.

Optical transmission path formation technique

A micro lens array has a quartz substrate and a coupling plate made of plated metal and mounted on the substrate. On one principal surface of the substrate, lenses and fitting pins made of plated metal are formed. The coupling plate has a transparent window which allows light from the lenses to pass therethrough and guide pin insertion holes gradually increasing the size from one principal surface toward the other principal surface. A taper of an opening end of each guide pin insertion hole defined by a plated layer can be formed by forming a plating seed layer and a plating area defining pillar on the substrate, with the plating seed layer being spaced apart from the pillar by a predetermined distance.

Micro lens array and its manufacture

An optical multiplexer/demultiplexer has: a substrate having a principal surface on which the optical multiplexer/demultiplexer is formed; a first waveguide unit having a plurality of first waveguides; a first slab waveguide connected to the first waveguide unit; an arrayed waveguide grating having one end connected to the first slab waveguide, the arrayed waveguide grating including a plurality of arrayed waveguides each having a core section, the core section being a serial connection of a plurality of core regions having a different refraction index, and ratios of lengths of the plurality of core regions having a different refraction index being adjusted so that an optical path length of each of the plurality of arrayed waveguides becomes approximately equal; a second slab waveguide connected to another end of the arrayed waveguide grating; and a second waveguide unit connected to the second slab waveguide and having a plurality of second waveguides. An arrayed waveguide grating type optical multiplexer/demultiplexer can be made compact.

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Hamamatsu, Japan

Toshihiro Nakajima