Abstract: Provided herein are compounds of formula (1): or a stereoisomer or tautomer thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of any of the foregoing, wherein X1, X2, Ry, Rz, R1, R2, R3, and R4 are as defined herein. Also provided herein is a pharmaceutically acceptable composition comprising a compound of formula (I), or a stereoisomer or tautomer thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of any of the foregoing. Also provided herein are methods of using a compound of formula (I), or a stereoisomer or tautomer thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of any of the foregoing, to treat various diseases, disorders, and conditions responsive to the modulation of the contractility of the skeletal sarcomere.

Abstract: A sheet container, which is incorporated in an image forming apparatus, includes a container body having a loading face to load a sheet thereon, an extension unit disposed extendable in a sheet feeding direction with respect to the container body to extend the loading face, a length regulator disposed movable in the sheet feeding direction with respect to the extension unit to regulate a sheet trailing end position in the sheet feeding direction, and a sheet size indicator having a strip-shape provided on the container body along with a moving direction of the extension unit as a reference of a position of the length regulator, having at least one sheet size mark to indicate a size of the sheet, and being variable in length in a longitudinal direction with respect to the container body along with movement of the extension unit.

Abstract: A sheet feed tray to stack a sheet to be conveyed to an image forming apparatus includes a platen on which a first portion of the sheet is placed; a pair of first support portions to support a second portion of the sheet folded back upward at a trailing end of the first portion; and a pair of second support portions to support a third portion of the sheet folded back upward at a trailing end of the second portion. In the sheet feed tray, the first support portions and the second support portions are reciprocally movable toward each other, and a distance between the second support portions is wider than a distance between the first support portions.

Abstract: A sheet feed tray to stack a sheet to be conveyed to an image forming apparatus includes a platen on which a first portion of the sheet is placed; a pair of first support portions to support a second portion of the sheet folded back upward at a trailing end of the first portion; and a pair of second support portions to support a third portion of the sheet folded back upward at a trailing end of the second portion. In the sheet feed tray, the first support portions and the second support portions are reciprocally movable toward each other, and a distance between the second support portions is wider than a distance between the first support portions.

Abstract: A sheet container, which is incorporated in an image forming apparatus, includes a container body having a loading face to load a sheet thereon, an extension unit disposed extendable in a sheet feeding direction with respect to the container body to extend the loading face, a length regulator disposed movable in the sheet feeding direction with respect to the extension unit to regulate a sheet trailing end position in the sheet feeding direction, and a sheet size indicator having a strip-shape provided on the container body along with a moving direction of the extension unit as a reference of a position of the length regulator, having at least one sheet size mark to indicate a size of the sheet, and being variable in length in a longitudinal direction with respect to the container body along with movement of the extension unit.

Abstract: A gas hydrate production apparatus capable of reacting a raw gas with a raw water to thereby form a slurry gas hydrate and capable of removing water from the slurry gas hydrate by means of a gravitational dewatering unit. The gravitational dewatering unit is one including a cylindrical first tower body; a cylindrical dewatering part disposed on top of the first tower body; a water receiving part disposed outside the dewatering part; and a cylindrical second tower body disposed on top of the dewatering part, wherein the cross-sectional area of the second tower body is continuously or intermittently increased upward from the bottom.

Abstract: Unburned carbon is efficiently separated according to the properties of fly ash. An apparatus is provided which comprises: a slurry preparation tank (10) in which water (c) is added to fly ash (a) to produce a slurry (d); a scavenger addition device (20) for adding a scavenger (e) to the slurry (d); a vertical surface-modification device (30) in which the slurry after addition of the scavenger is stirred at a high speed to impart shear force thereto and thereby cause the scavenger (e) to adhere to the surface of unburned carbon (b) contained in the slurry; a regulating tank (60) in which a blowing agent (f) is added to the slurry (d?) which has undergone surface modification with the surface modification device; and a flotation machine (70) with which the unburned carbon (b) is floated together with bubbles (n) and separated from the slurry containing the blowing agent.

Abstract: A gas hydrate production apparatus capable of reacting a raw gas with a raw water to thereby form a slurry gas hydrate and capable of removing water from the slurry gas hydrate by means of a gravitational dewatering unit. This gravitational dewatering unit is one including a cylindrical first tower body; a cylindrical dewatering part disposed on top of the first tower body; a water receiving part disposed outside the dewatering part; and a cylindrical second tower body disposed on top of the dewatering part, wherein the cross-sectional area of the second tower body is continuously or intermittently increased upward from the bottom.

Abstract: A gas hydrate production apparatus capable of reacting a raw gas with a raw water to thereby form a slurry gas hydrate and capable of removing water from the slurry gas hydrate by means of a gravitational dewatering unit. The gravitational dewatering unit is one including a cylindrical first tower body; a cylindrical dewatering part disposed on top of the first tower body; a water receiving part disposed outside the dewatering part; and a cylindrical second tower body disposed on top of the dewatering part, wherein the cross-sectional area of the second tower body is continuously or intermittently increased upward from the bottom.

Abstract: In producing gas hydrate pellets by compression-molding a gas hydrate powder, heat generated in a compressing part is removed with a simple method so as to reduce the degree of gas hydrate decomposition, and a gas hydrate aggregate blocking the compressing part is promptly and easily removed. A gas-hydrate-pellet production apparatus A is characterized by including: a roll-cooling mechanism which causes cooling water to flow through outer peripheral portions and/or insides of rolls 6a and 6b, thereby cooling the rolls 6a and 6b, and also cools the cooling water 43 discharged after the flow and supplies the cooled cooling water 43 to the outer peripheral portion and/or the inner portion of each of the rolls 6a and 6b; and/or heating means provided in a part of a hopper chamber 5 from which the gas hydrate powder n is fed to the rolls 6a and 6b.

Abstract: Unburned carbon is efficiently separated according to the properties of fly ash. An apparatus is provided which comprises: a slurry preparation tank (10) in which water (c) is added to fly ash (a) to produce a slurry (d); a scavenger addition device (20) for adding a scavenger (e) to the slurry (d); a vertical surface-modification device (30) in which the slurry after addition of the scavenger is stirred at a high speed to impart shear force thereto and thereby cause the scavenger (e) to adhere to the surface of unburned carbon (b) contained in the slurry; a regulating tank (60) in which a blowing agent (f) is added to the slurry (d?) which has undergone surface modification with the surface modification device; and a flotation machine (70) with which the unburned carbon (b) is floated together with bubbles (n) and separated from the slurry containing the blowing agent.

Abstract: A gas hydrate production apparatus capable of reacting a raw gas with a raw water to thereby form a slurry gas hydrate and capable of removing water from the slurry gas hydrate by means of a gravitational dewatering unit. This gravitational dewatering unit is one including a cylindrical first tower body; a cylindrical dewatering part disposed on top of the first tower body; a water receiving part disposed outside the dewatering part; and a cylindrical second tower body disposed on top of the dewatering part, wherein the cross-sectional area of the second tower body is continuously or intermittently increased upward from the bottom.

Abstract: A recording apparatus of the present invention includes a bearing member for bearing a recording medium having toner and carrier and a backing electrode opposing to the bearing member for electrically attracting the toner on the bearing member. The toner and carrier are charged to opposite polarities. A substrate having a plurality of apertures is provided between the bearing member and the backing electrode. This allows the toner to propel from the bearing member toward the backing electrode. Further, both the toner and carrier have respective volume mean diameters smaller than a diameter of the apertures, and the volume mean diameter of the toner is larger than that of the toner. With the arrangement, the toner will propel through each aperture to form a corresponding image portion, i.e., dot, thereby forming a high quality image without any dot-defect.

Abstract: A tandem type direct printing apparatus 2 comprising a plurality of printing stations 16a, 16b, 16c and 16d for depositing printing particles 38 on a print medium 8. The plurality of printing stations 16a, 16b, 16c and 16d are positioned in a moving direction of the print medium 8. Each printing station 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d comprises a bearing member 30 for bearing charged printing particles 38 thereon, a backing electrode 44 opposed to the bearing member 38, a printing head 50 disposed between the bearing member 30 and the backing electrode 44, the printing head 50 having a plurality of apertures 56 through which the printing particles 38 can propel and a plurality of electrodes 68 disposed around the plurality of apertures 56.

Abstract: A printing device includes a bearing member for bearing printing particles each having an electric charge, a backing electrode for forming an electric field between the bearing member and the backing electrode, and a substrate located between the bearing member and the backing electrode. The substrate includes a plurality of apertures. For each aperture, the substrate includes an attracting electrode and a plurality of converging electrodes. When, a first voltage is applied to the attracting electrode, the printing particles are attracted and then separated from the bearing member. Then, a second voltage is applied to the converging electrodes, the printing particles propelling in the aperture are converged. The converged printing particles are then deposited onto a recording sheet being transported to form a dot having a clear contour.

Abstract: A tandem type direct printing apparatus 2 comprising a plurality of printing stations 16a, 16b, 16c and 16d for depositing printing particles 38 on a print medium 8 to form a layer of printing particles. The plurality of printing stations 16a, 16b, 16c and 16d are positioned in a moving direction of the print medium 8. The printing station positioned downstream with respect to the moving direction of the print medium forms a layer of printing particles on the layer of printing particles formed by the printing station positioned upstream. At least any one of the printing stations 16a, 16b, 16c and 16d is different in intention of the electric field from another by changing the voltage applied to the backing electrode 44 or the distance between the backing electrode 44 and the printing head 50 in accordance with a charge quantity of printing particles or the number of the layer of printing particles in the one of the printing stations.

Abstract: The tandem type direct printing apparatus 2 comprises a plurality of printing stations 16a, 16b, 16c and 16d for propelling printing particles 38 born on a bearing member 30 through a plurality of apertures 56 formed on a printing head 50 and for depositing the printing particles 38 on a print medium 8 to form an image. The plurality of printing stations 16a, 16b, 16c and 16d are positioned in the moving direction of the print medium 8 to form the composite image on the print medium 8.

Abstract: A direct printing apparatus 2 for depositing printing particles 38 on a print medium 8 comprises a sleeve 30a for bearing charged printing particles 38 thereon, a drive roller 30b provided in the sleeve 30a, the drive roller 30b having a smaller outside diameter than an inside diameter of the sleeve 30a, a backing electrode 44 opposed to the sleeve 30a, a printing head 50 disposed between the sleeve 30a and the backing electrode 44, the printing head 50 having a plurality of apertures 56 through which the printing particles 38 can propel and a plurality of electrodes 68 disposed around the plurality of apertures 56. A spacer 90 is provided between the sleeve 30a and the printing head 50. The sleeve 30a has a slack 31 through which the sleeve 30a comes into contact with the spacer 90.

Abstract: The printing head 50 includes an insulative member 52 in which pluralities of apertures 56 are formed. Doughnut-like first and second electrodes 68 and 70 are disposed around the aperture 56. Pulse voltages V1(P) and V2(P) both having a certain polarity opposite to that of the toner particles are applied to the first and second electrodes 68 and 70, energizing the toner particles 38 to afford propelling thereof. Subsequently, a voltage V2(B) having the same polarity as the charged toner particles 38 is applied to the second electrode 70, forcing radially inwardly to converge the propelling toner particles 38 in the aperture 56. This ensures that a dot and an image both having clear contour can be formed on the sheet 8.

Abstract: A print head 50 comprises an insulative sheet member 52 that includes a plurality of apertures 56 arranged in rows. Arranged adjacent to each aperture 56 are first and second electrodes 68 and 70. The first electrode 68 is communicated with a driver 72 while the second electrode 70 is communicated with a driver 76 or 80. By applying first and second pulsating signals with the first and second electrodes, respectively, printing particles on a portion of bearing member 30 that opposes to the electrodes are energized to propel into corresponding aperture. A voltage and/or duration of the pulsating signal is determined according to the distance between the portion of the bearing member and the opposing aperture. Thereby, almost the same amount of printing particles are propelled into each aperture to form the same size dots on the sheet substrate 8.