Abstract: A method of producing a semiconductor device having a plurality of wiring layers forms a first interlayer-insulating film, forms a plurality of grooves for wiring in the first interlayer-insulating film, fills metallic films in the grooves to form wirings, etches the first interlayer-insulating film with the wirings as a mask and removes the interlayer-insulating film between the wirings to provide grooves to be filled, and fills a second interlayer-insulating film made of a material of low dielectric constant in the grooves to be filled.

Abstract: The zoom lens includes a first lens group G1 having a negative refracting power, an aperture stop FA, a second lens group G2 having a positive refracting power, and a third lens group G3 having a positive refracting power, which are disposed in order from an object side. In this configuration, at least the first lens group G1 and the second lens group G2 move along with changing magnification from the wide-angle end toward the telephoto end, in a manner that a spacing between the first lens group G1 and the second lens group G2 decreases gradually and a spacing between the second lens group G2 and the third lens group G3 increases gradually. Here, the second lens group G2 includes a first cemented lens C1 having at least three pieces of lenses united, and a second cemented lens C2 having at least two pieces of lenses united.

Abstract: An elevator control device that drives a cage in a high-efficient speed pattern without using a load detector such as a conventional scale device. The elevator control device includes: a current detector for detecting a current that is supplied to a motor from an inverter; a speed detector for detecting a rotation speed of the motor; a speed pattern generator for generating an elevator speed pattern; a motor speed control device for controlling the speed so that a speed detection value follows a speed command value of the speed pattern; and a motor current control device for controlling a current that is supplied to the motor with respect to the inverter by using a current detection value and the speed detection value on the basis of the speed command value.

Abstract: A battery includes a unit cell including spirally rolled electrodes, a jacket having a recessed section, a cathode lead terminal, and an anode lead terminal. The unit cell is placed in the recessed section, the recessed section is covered with a portion of the jacket, and the cathode and anode lead terminals are each connected to corresponding outer ends of the rolled electrodes, are placed on the side of the rolled electrodes that is exposed from an opening of the recessed section, and extend straight out of the jacket.

Abstract: The present invention provides an industrial method that allows to produce an indole derivative trimer with high purity in mass, as well as novel indole derivative trimers obtainable by the method, having high conductivity, high oxidation-reduction potential, high oxidation-reduction capacity, and the excellent cycle characteristics. The present invention relates to a method of producing an indole derivative trimer comprising the step of oxidizing an indole derivative in a reaction solution containing an organic solvent and to the novel trimers produced by the method.

Abstract: A computer-readable recording medium is disclosed that stores a workflow function addition program for causing a computer to execute a method including the steps of (a) displaying a list of work items on a screen related to an e-mail program and (b) changing the display state of the list displayed in step (a).

Abstract: Disclosed are a mirror and an angle detection device that detects an inclined angle of a mirror surface of the mirror. A mirror includes a mirror surface, an actuator for swiveling the mirror surface, at least one magnet for changing its orientation by an angle according to a variation in an inclined angle of the mirror surface, and at least one signal output unit for outputting a signal according to the inclined angle, based on the orientation of the magnet. An angle detection device that detects an inclined angle of a mirror surface of a mirror includes at least one magnet for changing its orientation by an angle according to a variation in the inclined angle of the mirror surface, and at least one signal output unit for outputting a signal according to the inclined angle, based on the orientation of the magnet.

Abstract: It is to obtain a silica glass suitable as a material for an optical material constituting an optical system to be used for EUVL, which has a low coefficient of thermal expansion from 0 to 100° C., and on which formation of concave defects is suppressed in a polishing step to achieve a high level of flatness. A silica glass containing from 0.1 to 10 mass % of Sn calculated as SnO2 and from 3 to 10 mass % of Ti calculated as TiO2, which has a homogeneity of the coefficient of thermal expansion from 0 to 100° C. to the temperature of from 50 to 200 ppb/° C., a coefficient of thermal expansion from 0 to 100° C. of 0±250 ppb/° C., and a Vickers hardness of at most 650.

Abstract: Peripheral devices connected to a network each include a device management controller capable of deciding which peripheral device is to perform the managing function for all peripheral devices. The selected peripheral device has a device management server that can be enabled to function as a centralized management server. The default URLs of the web servers for the non-selected peripheral devices are set to correspond to the web server for the selected peripheral device. A user accessing any of the peripheral devices is thus routed to the centralized managing device. The peripheral devices can be printers forming a distributed printing system managed by one printer. A system, a method and a computer program product for managing peripheral devices on a network are also disclosed.

Abstract: A printed circuit board is by formed by laminating an interlaminar insulating layer on a conductor circuit of a substrate, in which the conductor circuit is comprised of an electroless plated film and an electrolytic plated film and a roughened layer is formed on at least a part of the surface of the conductor circuit.

Abstract: A highly pure ultra-fine SiOx (wherein x is from 0.6 to 1.8) powder having a specific surface area of at least 10 m2/g and a total content of Na, Fe, Al and Cl of at most 10 ppm is provided. The SiOx powder is produced by reacting a monosilane gas with a gas capable of oxidizing the monosilane gas in a non-oxidizing gas atmosphere under a pressure of from 10 to 1000 kPa at a temperature of from 500 to 1000° C. In this case, the amount of the non-oxidizing gas is preferably larger than the total amount of the monosilane gas and oxygen participating in the oxidation of the gas capable of oxidizing the monosilane gas.

Abstract: In a semiconductor device manufacturing method, a surface of a substrate structure including a semiconductor layer is covered with a first film including first and second openings. The first opening is configured as an alignment mark. The second opening is configured as an opening for introducing an impurity into a first predetermined position of the semiconductor layer. In this method, a third opening is formed in the first film, using a photo mask aligned with the first opening used as an alignment mark. The third opening is configured as an opening for introducing an impurity into a second predetermined position of the semiconductor layer.

Abstract: When charges are removed from a charged workpiece by applying positive and negative pulse-like high voltages to positive and negative electrode needles to generate positive and negative ions in a charge removing area and feeding the charged workpiece into the charge removing area, an ion balance inside the charge removing area is measured by a surface potential sensor before the workpiece is fed into the charge removing area, and a pulse width and/or a voltage value of the pulse-like high voltage applied to the electrode needle is changed depending on a measured result, thereby adjusting an amount of ions generated from the electrode needle to take a balance between the positive and negative ions.

Abstract: A community system is disclosed which allows community service offering apparatus to exchange information with a plurality of user terminals connected by a network. The community service offering apparatus includes: a virtual space information storing element for storing in advance information about a plurality of virtual spaces; a virtual space offering element for allowing a user to select any one of the virtual spaces and for offering the selected virtual space as a user-specific virtual space owned by the user regarded as a privileged user; and a charge controlling element for charging the privileged user who owns the user-specific virtual space a fee corresponding to a type of the user-specific virtual space, while not charging fees on those users other than the privileged user who simply gain access to the user-specific virtual space of the privileged user.

Abstract: New nateglinide crystals, i. e. nateglinide A-type crystals (main peaks in powder X-ray diffraction: 4.4°, 5.2°, 15.7°, 18.5° (2?)), M-type crystals (main peaks in powder X-ray diffraction: 6.0°, 14.2°, 15.2°, 18.8° (2?)) and P-type crystals (main peaks in powder X-ray diffraction: 4.8°, 5.3°, 14.3°, 15.2° (2?)), can be produced by dissolving nateglinide in a solvent in which nateglinide is highly soluble and then adding a solvent in which nateglinide is difficultly soluble or, alternatively, by dissolving nateglinide in a mixed solvent composed of a solvent in which nateglinide is highly soluble and another solvent in which it is difficultly soluble, cooling the nateglinide solution to form crystals, filtering the mixture and drying the crystals at a specified temperature.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a latent image carrier having a moving surface on which a latent image is formed, a drive control mechanism to control a drive of the latent image carrier so as to match a rotation angular speed of the latent image carrier with a target rotation angular speed thereof, a surface moving member having a moving surface on which an adjustment pattern for use in controlling the drive of the latent image carrier is formed, an image forming mechanism to develop the latent image with toner and transfer a resultant toner image on the surface moving member so as to form the adjustment pattern along a surface moving direction thereof, a pattern sensor to detect the adjustment pattern, a correction mechanism to correct the target rotation angular speed of the latent image carrier based on an amplitude and a phase of a variable component in a pattern interval of the adjustment pattern detected with the pattern sensor.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus which allows a user to select information on a predetermined program as programs interesting to the user and current topics of conversation. The information processing apparatus includes: a first selection section for extracting a keyword from program information of a predetermined program selected from at least one of a program being received and a recorded program, and selecting article information including the same keyword as the extracted keyword among article information described in an RSS format and being delivered to a user; and a display controller for displaying the article information selected by the first selection section simultaneously with an image of the predetermined program.

Abstract: The present invention provides nucleotide sequences coding for acetohydroxy acid synthetase (AHAS) mutants, the mutated enzymes themselves and a process for the fermentative production of branched-chain amino acids using these enzymes in specific hosts in which genes which code for the modified acetohydroxy acid synthetase (AHAS) are expressed.

Abstract: Disclosed, as a ?-secretase inhibitor, is a compound consisting of an amino acid sequence which consists of at least three consecutive amino acids of the amino acid sequence Val-Val-Ile-Ala-Thr-Val-Ile-Val-Ile-Thr-Leu-Val-Met-Leu-Lys-Lys-Lys including Leu at position 11, wherein, between the Leu and one or both amino acids located immediately before or after it, the peptide bond, —CO—NH—, is replaced with a hydroxyethylene group, —CHOH—CH2—, wherein the N terminus has an alkyloxycarbonyl group based on C1-10 alkyl that may carry phenyl or naphthyl as a substituent group, wherein the C terminus is converted to alkyl ester or alkyl amide based on C1-10 alkyl that may carry phenyl or naphthyl as a substituent group, and wherein the hydrogen atom of the hydroxyl group of the Thr at position 10 may be replaced with a C1-4 hydrophobic group or a Z group, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

Abstract: Provided are a pyrene derivative of a specified structure and an organic electroluminescence device including an organic thin film layer formed of one or multiple layers including at least a light emitting layer, the organic thin film layer being interposed between a cathode and an anode, in which at least one layer of the organic thin film layer contains the pyrene derivative alone or as a component of mixture. Thus, there are provided an organic electroluminescence device capable of obtaining long-life blue light emission with high luminous efficiency and a novel pyrene derivative for realization thereof.