Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image carrying member, a charging device that uniformly charges the image carrying member, an exposure device that forms an electrostatic latent image on the image carrying member, a development device that applies a development bias voltage to form a visible image in which toner is adhered to the electrostatic latent image, a control portion that controls an exposure amount in the exposure device and the development bias voltage and a storage portion that stores an exposure condition and a development condition. The resolution of image data can be switched to at least two types, a standard resolution and a high resolution higher than the standard resolution, and when the resolution of the image data is set at the high resolution, the control portion controls the exposure amount in the exposure device to perform thinning processing on the image.

Abstract: Provided is a separation membrane manufacturing method capable of easily manufacturing a dense separation membrane. The separation membrane manufacturing method comprises a membrane forming step of forming a separation membrane precursor containing a separation membrane precursor solution on the surface of cells formed in a porous monolith substrate; and a drying step of performing ventilation drying by passing hot air through the cells having the separation membrane precursor in the monolith substrate to dry the separation membrane precursor. During the ventilation drying in the drying step, the temperature of the monolith substrate having the separation membrane precursor is raised to 90° C. within 15 minutes from the start of the passing of the hot air at such a rate of temperature rise that an average rate of temperature rise is 7° C./min or more from the start of the passing of the hot air until the temperature reaches 90° C.

Abstract: A clean environmental actuator is less in weight, height in transverse section and compact in construction, even with ensuring accurate position control and conformable to high speed operation and high acceleration/deceleration. Both a bed and a slider are stowed in an enclosure and packings are in T-slots in side walls of the bed to seal clearances between the bed and the enclosure. The enclosure is composed of an end bracket to cover one end of the bed, a motor bracket to cover another end of the bed, a pair of side coverings to enclose the side surfaces and tops of the side walls of the bed, a sealing panel to cover an upward opening between the side coverings, and a table covering to overlay an area of the sealing panel lying on the slider and side areas of the table bulging out from side edges of the sealing panel.

Abstract: There is disclosed a process for producing a separation membrane The process for producing the separation membrane includes a membrane forming step of passing a precursor solution of the separation membrane through cells of a monolith substrate to form a separation membrane precursor made of the precursor solution 31 on the surfaces of the cells; and then a cell suction step of sucking the insides of the cells from open ends of the cells in a first end face of the monolith substrate, to suck and remove an excess portion of the precursor solution which is present in the cells.

Abstract: Provided is a method of producing a carbon membrane including dipping a porous support in a suspension of a phenolic resin or a suspension of a phenolic resin precursor, drying the resulting support to form a membrane made of the phenolic resin or the phenolic resin precursor, and heat treating and thereby carbonizing the resulting membrane into a carbon membrane.

Abstract: This fiber laser is provided with: a signal light source that outputs a signal light; a rare earth-doped fiber that amplifies and outputs the signal light from the signal light source; a Raman amplifying fiber that is routed as a portion of an optical transmission path in order to output the output light from the rare earth-doped fiber to an outside thereof; and a wavelength selecting element that is provided in the optical transmission path from the Raman amplifying fiber to the signal light source and does not allow transmission of a Stokes light that is generated in the Raman amplifying fiber.

Abstract: Techniques for unsupervised management of a question and answer (QA) forum include labeling of answers for quality purposes, and identification of experts. In a QA thread, a ranking of answers may include an initial labeling of the longest answer in each thread as the best answer. Such a labeling provides an initial point of reference. Then, in an iterative manner answerers are ranked using the labeling. The ranking of answerers allows selection of experts and poor or inexpert answerers. A label update is performed using the experts (and perhaps inexpert answerers) as input. The label update may be used to train a model, which may describe quality of answers in one or more QA threads and an indication of expert and inexpert answerers. The iterative process may be ended upon convergence or upon a maximum number of iterations.

Abstract: Techniques for unsupervised management of a question and answer (QA) forum include labeling of answers for quality purposes, and identification of experts. In a QA thread, a ranking of answers may include an initial labeling of the longest answer in each thread as the best answer. Such a labeling provides an initial point of reference. Then, in an iterative manner answerers are ranked using the labeling. The ranking of answerers allows selection of experts and poor or inexpert answerers. A label update is performed using the experts (and perhaps inexpert answerers) as input. The label update may be used to train a model, which may describe quality of answers in one or more QA threads and an indication of expert and inexpert answerers. The iterative process may be ended upon convergence or upon a maximum number of iterations.

Abstract: There are provided an image reader with high resolution capability for images in a high density range and an image forming apparatus. An image reader 2 comprises a reflected light reading unit (11, 12, 13, 14, 10) for irradiating a surface to be read of an original sheet with a light and reading the amount of the reflected light and a transmitted light reading unit (15, 12, 13, 14, 10) for irradiating the original sheet with a light and reading the amount of the transmitted light, and calculates the density of an image of the original sheet based on the amount of the reflected light read by the reflected light reading unit and the amount of the transmitted light read by the transmitted light reading unit.

Abstract: For achievement of a reduction in size, a slider unit comprises a mounting base 1, a rail 2 fixed to a mounting face 1a of the mounting base 1, a slide table 3 moving along the rail, position detection means for detecting the position of the slide table 3, and a driving system for moving the slide table 3. The mounting face 1a of the mounting base 1 has a mounting recess 14 formed therein. A sensor board 16 on which a Hall element 16a is mounted is installed in the mounting recess 14. The slide table 3 has a permanent magnet 19 attached to the face thereof facing the mounting face 1a. The permanent magnet 19 and the Hall elements 16a form the position detection means.

Abstract: An actuator has a frame and a slider body which are both made of extruded shapes of light-metal alloy. A first rail member is fastened to the frame by means of a simple construction. An upper sealing member is placed between the frame and the slider body. With the actuator constructed as stated earlier, the frame is an elongated extrusion of U-shape in transverse section whose side walls have first recesses of dovetail configuration to fit over first rail members and flanges. A slider has therein the slider body having second recesses of rectangular shape to fit over second rail members. There is further provided a driving unit to force the slider with respect to the frame. The first rail members each have the wedged configuration including tapered contours and dents, while the second rail members each have the rectangular shape.

Abstract: A clean environmental actuator is less in weight, height in transverse section and compact in construction, even with ensuring accurate position control and conformable to high speed operation and high acceleration/deceleration. Both a bed and a slider are stowed in an enclosure and packings are in T-slots in side walls of the bed to seal clearances between the bed and the enclosure. The enclosure is composed of an end bracket to cover one end of the bed, a motor bracket to cover another end of the bed, a pair of side coverings to enclose the side surfaces and tops of the side walls of the bed, a sealing panel to cover an upward opening between the side coverings, and a table covering to overlay an area of the sealing panel lying on the slider and side areas of the table bulging out from side edges of the sealing panel.

Abstract: A porous carbon membrane has as a loaded component water, alcohol, ether, or ketone loaded on a surface or in a pore, or on the surface and in the pore thereof. The carbon membrane has the loaded component preferably having a molecular weight of 100 or less. The carbon membrane has the loaded component preferably being linear alcohol or linear ether. The carbon membrane has the loaded component preferably being at least one selected from methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, and n-butanol. There is provided a carbon membrane having high separation performance and little change in the separation performance with the passage of time.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus of the invention includes an image carrier, an exposure device performing exposure for forming a toner image on a surface of the image carrier and having at least a first exposure light source and a second exposure light source, a sensor for detecting specified patterns, which are formed on the image carrier at a specified time with use of the first and second exposure light sources, a storing unit for storing a correlation, which is attained from a detection result by the sensor, between the first and second exposure light sources, and a controller for controlling the first and second exposure light sources based on the correlation.

Abstract: A video playback apparatus includes a data-storage unit storing video data and a first video-time stamp, an information-storage unit storing first-associated information and a first-associated-time stamp, a unit acquiring plural playback-video data and plural second-video-time stamps of the plural playback-video data from the data-storage unit, and acquiring second-associated information of the playback-video data and a second-associated-time stamp of the second-associated information from the information-storage unit, a unit measuring information amounts of the playback-video data of the second-video-time stamps to obtain a smallest information amount of the information amounts, a unit detecting a time-stamp section corresponding to the smallest information amount, a unit changing the second-associated-time stamp to generate a changed time stamp, the second-associated information being presented in the time-stamp section by the changed time stamp, and a unit presenting the second-associated information toget

Abstract: The present invention aims to provide an image forming apparatus and the like that perform a highly-accurate tone correction in a relatively short time and includes the following: a pattern former, with use of each image forming unit, on a sheet, forming tone patches in the main or sub scanning direction (41k,c,y,m) and aligning markers, which indicate positions of the tone patches, in the same direction as the tone patches (42k,c,y,m); a pattern reader reading the sheet with the tone patches and markers formed thereon; a coordinate determiner determining coordinates of the tone patches in the direction of the aligned tone patches based on the read markers (42k,c,y,m); a density determiner determining densities of the tone patches (41k,c,y,m) read based on the determined coordinates; and an updating part updating the tone correction table based on relationships between the determined densities and tone levels.

Abstract: A tandem-type color image forming apparatus forms a toner pattern and toner markers on an intermediate transfer member. Tone levels in the toner pattern vary in a sub scanning direction, and the toner markers which are a same color with the tone pattern each oppose, in a main scanning direction, a different one of the tone level portions in the toner pattern, each tone level portion representing a different one of the tone levels. Positions of the toner markers in the sub scanning direction are determined to detect densities in the toner pattern corresponding to the determined positions. Tone of image data is corrected in an image formation based on a relationship between the densities and the tone levels corresponding to the determined positions.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus performs image stabilization after a printed page count exceeds a first threshold, if either an end of a job or a mode switch from monochrome mode to color mode has been detected. Even if neither the end of the job nor the mode switch from monochrome mode to color mode has been detected, the image forming apparatus performs image stabilization if the printed page count exceeds a second threshold that is larger than the first threshold.

Abstract: A small slider unit having a size effectively reduced in the longitudinal direction is equipped with a rail 22; a slide table 23 moving on the rail 22; a screw shaft 26 coupled to the slide table 23 and situated parallel to the rail 22; a motor M for rotating the screw shaft 26; a coupling member 31 for providing the coupling between a rotating shaft 32 of the motor M and the screw shaft 26; and a bearing 29 supporting the screw shaft 26. The screw shaft 26 is rotated by driving the motor M, whereupon the rotation of the screw shaft 26 moves the slide table 23 in the axis direction of the rail 22. The screw shaft 26 has a holding portion 27a, and the bearing 29 is held between the holding portion 27a and the coupling member 31.

Abstract: A MO-PA type optical amplifier is provided which includes an oscillator and an amplifier including a fiber for optical amplification, including: a reflected-light wavelength conversion fiber which is provided on an optical path between the oscillator and the amplifier and which converts a wavelength of reflected-light traveling toward the oscillator due to Stimulated Raman Scattering; and a filter which is provided on the optical path between the oscillator and the amplifier and which eliminates the wavelength-converted light.