Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes a processor that: receives, from a user terminal, a request for first update regarding a first vehicle, notifies the user terminal that the first update is to be performed at a shop, when the first update is update of hardware, and notifies the user terminal that the first update is to be performed through wireless communication, when the first update is update of software.

Abstract: A top-blowing lance nozzle is configured to freely switch an adequate expansion condition so as to control an oxygen-blowing amount and a jetting velocity independently of each other without requiring a plurality of lance nozzles or a mechanically movable part. A lance nozzle is configured to blow refining oxygen to molten iron charged in a reaction vessel while a gas is blown from a top-blowing lance to the molten iron. One or more blowing holes for blowing a working gas are on an inner wall side surface of the nozzle, at a site where the lance nozzle has a minimum cross-sectional area in a nozzle axis direction or at a neighboring site of the site.

Abstract: A vertical layer stack including a bit-line-level dielectric layer and an etch stop dielectric layer can be formed over an array region. Bit-line trenches are formed through the vertical layer stack. Bit-line-trench fill structures are formed in the bit-line trenches. Each of the bit-line-trench fill structures includes a stack of a bit line and a capping dielectric strip. At least one via-level dielectric layer can be formed over the vertical layer stack. A bit-line-contact via cavity can be formed through the at least one via-level dielectric layer and one of the capping dielectric strips. A bit-line-contact via structure formed in the bit-line-contact via cavity includes a stepped bottom surface including a top surface of one of the bit lines, a sidewall segment of the etch stop dielectric layer, and a segment of a top surface of the etch stop dielectric layer.

Abstract: A method of producing modified vinyl alcohol-based polymer particles, includes mixing vinyl alcohol-based polymer particles with a mixed medium containing unsaturated carboxylic acid, an acid catalyst, and water, wherein, by mixing the vinyl alcohol-based polymer particles with the mixed medium, the vinyl alcohol-based polymer particles are reacted with the unsaturated carboxylic acid to obtain modified vinyl alcohol-based polymer particles containing a vinyl ester unit represented by a formula (2) below, having a vinyl alcohol unit content based on the total constitutional units of 60 mol % or more and less than 95 mol %, and having an average particle diameter from 50 to 2000 ?m. The production method is capable of controlling the particle shape and does not cause the problem of the residual sulfur content, and is further convenient and economically advantageous.

Abstract: A method of producing a polymer composition is provided, including: kneading (A) a conjugated diene-based polymer that is a polymer of a conjugated diene compound or a copolymer of a conjugated diene compound and an aromatic vinyl compound, and is a reaction product between an active polymerization end and a compound represented by any one of the general formulae (1) to (3), and (B) a basic compound having an acid dissociation constant of 8.0 or more; and kneading a kneaded product from (A) and a crosslinking agent.

Abstract: The invention relates to particles with an average particle size of 300 to 1000 ?m, comprising a modified polyvinyl alcohol having vinyl alcohol units and structural units represented by formula (1), wherein a content of the vinyl alcohol units is 60 to 90 mol % based on the total structural units: wherein R1 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group. Thus, the present invention provides particles containing a modified polyvinyl alcohol having high water solubility and high affinity for a photosensitive monomer, which are highly photosensitive.

Abstract: The present invention provides a dispersion stabilizer for suspension polymerization that, when used for suspension polymerization of a vinyl compound, provides excellent polymerization stability, and can produce a vinyl polymer having a reduced number of coarse particles, and a reduced number of fisheyes when molded into a sheet form. The present invention also provides a method therewith. The present invention relates to a dispersion stabilizer for suspension polymerization of a vinyl compound, the dispersion stabilizer comprising a vinyl alcohol polymer (A) having a viscosity-average degree of polymerization of more than 400 and less than 1,000, a degree of saponification of more than 67 mol % and less than 78 mol %, 0.02 mol % to 1.0 mol % of a group having an ethylenic double bond in its side chain, and an absorbance (x) at 280 nm of more than 0.17 and less than 0.65 in an ultraviolet absorption spectrum of a 0.1 mass % aqueous solution.

Abstract: A coating composition may include a modified polyvinyl alcohol resin (A) having an ethylene unsaturated group in a side chain thereof. Examples of the modified polyvinyl alcohol resin (A) include those including a structural unit represented by formula (II) or (III). Substrates in various technical fields such as the resin molding field, automobile/railway/aircraft/ships-related field, medical product field, food field, agriculture/gardening field, electrical field, and construction field can be coated with such a coating composition.

Abstract: A method of producing modified vinyl alcohol-based polymer particles, includes mixing vinyl alcohol-based polymer particles with a mixed medium containing unsaturated carboxylic acid, an acid catalyst, and water, wherein, by mixing the vinyl alcohol-based polymer particles with the mixed medium, the vinyl alcohol-based polymer particles are reacted with the unsaturated carboxylic acid to obtain modified vinyl alcohol-based polymer particles containing a vinyl ester unit represented by a formula (2) below, having a vinyl alcohol unit content based on the total constitutional units from 95 to 99.99 mol %, and having an average particle diameter from 50 to 2000 ?m. The production method does not cause the problem of the residual sulfur content derived from a liquid medium used for reaction and is also capable of modifying the vinyl alcohol-based polymer particles while maintaining the particle shape.

Abstract: A method of producing modified vinyl alcohol-based polymer particles, includes mixing vinyl alcohol-based polymer particles with a mixed medium containing unsaturated carboxylic acid, an acid catalyst, and water, wherein, by mixing the vinyl alcohol-based polymer particles with the mixed medium, the vinyl alcohol-based polymer particles are reacted with the unsaturated carboxylic acid to obtain modified vinyl alcohol-based polymer particles containing a vinyl ester unit represented by a formula (2) below, having a vinyl alcohol unit content based on the total constitutional units of 60 mol % or more and less than 95 mol %, and having an average particle diameter from 50 to 2000 ?m. The production method is capable of controlling the particle shape and does not cause the problem of the residual sulfur content, and is further convenient and economically advantageous.

Abstract: The present invention provides a resin composition having superior flexibility and that exhibits excellent durability in thermal molding, and a molded body of such a resin composition. The present invention relates to a resin composition comprising: a copolymer (B) constituted of a vinyl alcohol polymer (B-1) region and a diene polymer (B-2) region; and at least one compound selected from the group consisting of a phenol-based compound (C), an amine-based compound (D), and a phosphorus-based compound (E).

Abstract: In an example of a game system, based on saved data of a plurality of players, a plurality of player characters are generated, and based on an operation on each of a plurality of operation devices, one of the player characters corresponding to the operation device is controlled in a virtual space. The game system can set any of the plurality of player characters as a main character, set the other player character as a sub characters, switch the main character and the sub character. Then, the game system controls a field of view of the game so that at least the main character is included in the field of view. The game system generates a game image based on the field of view to be displayed on a display device.

Abstract: A polymer composition including: a filler (A); a polymer (B) having a repeating unit derived from a conjugated diene compound, having a peak temperature of a tan ? temperature dispersion curve of ?110° C. or more and less than ?30° C., and having a functional group capable of interacting with the filler (A); and a polymer (C) having a repeating unit derived from a conjugated diene compound and a repeating unit derived from an aromatic vinyl compound, having a peak temperature of a tan ? temperature dispersion curve of ?30° C. or more and 10° C. or less, and having a functional group capable of interacting with the filler (A), wherein the polymer (B) and the polymer (C) are incompatible with each other, and a concentration of functional groups per unit mass of the polymer (B) is higher than a concentration of functional groups per unit mass of the polymer (C).

Abstract: A polyvinyl alcohol has a number-average molecular weight (Mn) from 4,400 to 440,000, a molecular weight distribution (Mw/Mn) from 1.05 to 1.70, a degree of saponification from 80 to 99.99 mol %, and a carbon-carbon double bond content (X) of 0.1 mol % or less based on total monomer units, and satisfying a formula (1) below. A polyvinyl alcohol, having a narrow molecular weight distribution and a high number-average molecular weight with good hue, and a method for producing the same are thus provided.

Abstract: The present invention provides a rubber composition having superior moldability, wear resistance, and grip performance, and tires therewith. The present invention relates to a rubber composition comprising: a copolymer (B) constituted of a vinyl alcohol polymer (B-1) region and a diene polymer (B-2) region; and a rubber component (C), wherein the rubber composition comprises 1 to 20 parts by mass of the copolymer (B) relative to 100 parts by mass of the rubber component (C).

Abstract: There is provided a vinyl alcohol-based polymer having an olefin in side chain, comprising 0.001 to 10 mol % of a structural unit represented by Formula (1) based on the total amount of structural units, wherein the total carbon number of X, R1, R2, R3 and R4 is 2 or more. The vinyl alcohol-based polymer having an olefin in side chain has excellent storage stability, good solubility in water or an organic solvent even after thermal treatment, and excellent reactivity to high energy beam.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a vinyl alcohol-based polymer having an olefin in side chain, comprising a vinyl alcohol unit and a structural unit represented by Formula (I), wherein X represents a divalent saturated hydrocarbon group with 1 to 6 carbon atoms, optionally having a branched structure; Y represents a hydrogen atom or a saturated hydrocarbon group with 1 to 6 carbon atoms, optionally having a branched structure; and Z represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group. Thus, there is provided a vinyl alcohol-based polymer having an olefin in side chain exhibiting higher water solubility even after thermal treatment, higher storage stability, and higher reactivity to high energy beam, and a method for producing it.

Abstract: A modified conjugated diene-based polymer having high Mooney viscosity and good shape stability and exhibiting excellent processability and low heat build-up is obtained in as few steps as possible. The modified conjugated diene-based polymer is produced by a method of reacting a conjugated diene-based polymer having an active chain end, obtained by polymerizing a monomer containing a conjugated diene compound in the presence of an initiator that contains at least either of an alkali metal compound and an alkaline earth metal compound, with a compound [M] having at least two groups selected from the group consisting of a group “—C(R1)?N-A1” and a group “—N?C(R1)-A1”, where R1 is a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbyl group and A1 is a monovalent group having an alkoxysilyl group.

Abstract: In an example of a game system, based on saved data of a plurality of players, a plurality of player characters are generated, and based on an operation on each of a plurality of operation devices, one of the player characters corresponding to the operation device is controlled in a virtual space. The game system can set any of the plurality of player characters as a main character, set the other player character as a sub characters, switch the main character and the sub character. Then, the game system controls a field of view of the game so that at least the main character is included in the field of view. The game system generates a game image based on the field of view to be displayed on a display device.

Abstract: The invention relates to particles with an average particle size of 300 to 1000 ?m, comprising a modified polyvinyl alcohol having vinyl alcohol units and structural units represented by formula (1), wherein a content of the vinyl alcohol units is 60 to 90 mol % based on the total structural units: wherein R1 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group. Thus, the present invention provides particles containing a modified polyvinyl alcohol having high water solubility and high affinity for a photosensitive monomer, which are highly photosensitive.