Abstract: The present invention provides a sweetener which has mild sweetness like sugar while maintaining a high sweetness intensity of a Stevia sweetener and also has a sharp head-taste of sweetness, a sharp after-taste of sweetness, as well as reduction of the bitterness and astringency of after-taste peculiar to the Stevia sweetener, and a process for producing the same. The sweetener contains steviol glucosides comprising ?-1,4-galactosyl rebaudioside A having one to three ?-1,4-bonded galactosyl groups in a molecule and rebaudioside A, wherein the following expressions (1) and (2) are satisfied: [(GRA+RA)/(X)]?0.4??(1) [(GRA)/(RA)]?1.0??(2) wherein GRA represents the weight percentage of the ?-1,4-galactosyl rebaudioside A having one to three ?-1,4-bonded galactosyl groups in a molecule, RA represents the weight percentage of the rebaudioside A, and X represents the weight percentage of the steviol glucosides.

Abstract: The present invention provides a process for producing a polyurethane emulsion, capable of continuously producing a polyurethane emulsion which contains substantially no organic solvent and also has excellent storage stability over time.

Abstract: An aqueous primer composition of the present invention includes a water-dispersible polyisocyanate (A) and an acrylic resin water dispersion (B), wherein a polystyrene equivalent weight average molecular weight, determined using gel permeation chromatography, of an acrylic resin in the acrylic resin water dispersion (B) is 350,000 or more, and a glass transition temperature, determined by using a differential scanning calorimeter, of the acrylic resin is 15° C. to 130° C., and a weight ratio between the water-dispersible polyisocyanate (A) and the acrylic resin water dispersion (B) is (A):(B)=70:30 to 50:50.

Abstract: A polymerizable liquid crystal composition includes a liquid crystal compound having a polymerizable group, wherein the composition includes from 0.1 to 6.0% by weight of a (meth)acrylic copolymer (H), which 1) has a side chain containing a fluorine group, and a side chain containing a group represented by a general formula (h): 2) has a fluorine group content of 3 to 30% by weight, 3) has a ratio of side chains containing the group represented by the general formula (h) relative to the combined total of all side chains that falls within a range from 9 to 95 mol %, and 4) has a weight average molecular weight within a range from 10,000 to 300,000.

Abstract: A process for producing a leather-like sheet, wherein a skin-like layer composed of a resin composition (C) is formed on top of a fibrous substrate (E), comprising; heating and melting a moisture-curable polyurethane hot-melt resin composition (C) which contains a hot-melt urethane prepolymer (A) having isocyanate groups at molecular terminal ends and a colorant (B), and applying said heated and melted resin composition (C) to either [1] a releasable substrate (D) and then bonding the coated surface to a fibrous substrate (E), or [2] a fibrous substrate (E) and then bonding the coated surface to a releasable substrate (D); wherein the colorant (B) contains a polyol with a number average molecular weight within a range from 1,000 to 20,000 as a vehicle (B-1), and a pigment (B-2).

Abstract: A mixture including a high specific gravity masterbatch pellets group (A) with specific gravity within a range from 1.8 to 3.5, and a low specific gravity masterbatch pellets group (B) with specific gravity within a range from 0.5 to 1.6. The high specific gravity masterbatch pellets group (A) comprises m different columnar masterbatch pellets, each with a different specific gravity, and the low specific gravity masterbatch pellets group (B) comprises n different columnar masterbatch pellets, each with a different specific gravity. The high specific gravity masterbatch pellets group (A) and the low specific gravity masterbatch pellets group (B) satisfy a formula (1) shown below: 0.5 ? ? ( mm - 1 ) ? ? p = 1 m ? ( Hp Sp × Rp ) - ? q = 1 n ? ( Hq Sq × Rq ) ? 12 ? ? ( mm - 1 ) ? .

Abstract: This thermosetting powder coating composition is a thermosetting powder coating composition which contains a coating forming component which can crosslink and harden by an ester exchange reaction between a carboxylic ester group and a hydroxyl group, and an ester exchange reaction catalyst, in which the ester exchange reaction catalyst is constituted from an organic sulfonate (X) derived from a carboxylic amide and an organic sulfonic acid having fluorine atoms.

Abstract: A curable resin composition which exhibits excellent hardness of their curing products as well as storage stability is provided, and a simple method to obtain acrylated resins is provided. The composition comprises a curable oligomer which has an acryloyl group and a substituted methacrylate group represented by the following structure The process comprises a reaction step of reacting at least one monomeric multifunctional acrylate in the presence of a tertiary organic phosphine.

Abstract: The present invention provides a comb-shaped epoxy resin represented by the following formula (1): in the formula (1), X1 and X2 represent a divalent group having a residue selected from xanthene residue, biphenylene residue, hydrogenated bisphenol residue, alkylene residue and polyoxyalkylene residue, each may having a methyl group or a ethyl group as a substituent, and at least one of them is an aromatic residue, Y represents a polymer chain such as linear polymer chain, a number average polymerization degree being 5 to 2000, and n (number average polymerization degree) represents an integer within a range of 3 to 200, and to a method for preparing the comb-shaped epoxy resin.

Abstract: The present invention provides a nematic liquid crystal composition using a 4,6-difluoroindane-based compound that has a low lower limit temperature (T?N) of the liquid crystal phase, high upper limit temperature (TN-I) of the liquid crystal phase, and wide liquid crystal phase temperature range without impairing response speed, threshold voltage and other liquid crystal characteristics within a the range of the optimal ?n as a nematic liquid crystal, and a 4,6-difluoroindane-based compound that is used in said liquid crystal composition. The nematic liquid crystal composition contains at least one type of compound having a 4,6-difluoroindan-2,5-diyl group, and the refractive index anisotropy is within the range of 0.08 to 0.15, the liquid crystal phase upper limit temperature is 70° C. or higher, the liquid crystal phase lower limit temperature is ?20° C. or lower, and the difference between the liquid crystal phase upper limit temperature and liquid crystal phase lower limit temperature is 90° C. or more.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a liquid crystal compound which has negative dielectric anisotropy and a large absolute value thereof; and a liquid crystal display element which contains the compound as a constituent element and has a negative value of dielectric anisotropy in the vertical alignment mode, IPS, or the like. The liquid-crystal display element has a structure including a pair of substrates and a liquid crystal sandwiched therebetween, and includes at least an alignment control layer, a transparent electrode, and a polarizing plate, in which the liquid crystal includes at least one compound having a partial structure represented by general formula (A): (wherein W1 and W2 each independently represents fluorine, chlorine, —CF3, —CF2H, —OCF3, or —OCF2H) and has negative dielectric anistropy.

Abstract: A modifier for a polylactic acid comprising a block polymer (C) having a polymer block (A) satisfying relationship (1): 7.80??/?<8.54 wherein ? represents a solubility parameter value of a polymer block; and ? represents a density value of a polymer block, and a polymer block (B) satisfying relationship (2): 8.54??/?<9.20 wherein ? and ? have the same meanings as described above, wherein each of the aforementioned polymer block (A) and the aforementioned polymer block (B) is independently a polymer block selected from the group consisting of a polyester block, a polyether block, and a polyhydroxycarboxylic acid block, and said block polymer (C) has a glass transition temperature of 0° C. or lower, can enhance impact resistance, flexibility, and tensile strain, while biodegradability of the polylactic acids and thermal resistance are maintained, and in addition, is free from bleed-out from the moldings formed from a polylactic acid composition.

Abstract: The present invention provides 1,7,8-trifluoro-2-naphthol and a derivative thereof as intermediates for efficiently producing a trifluoronaphthalene liquid crystal material. A method for efficiently producing a trifluoronaphthalene liquid crystal material using such intermediates is also disclosed. A naphthol derivative having the following general formula (I) is disclosed.

Abstract: Surface impact strength in a molded article of an impact-resistant styrene resin composition, and balance between the surface impact strength and the rigidity is improved. Disclosed is a styrene resin composition comprising a styrene copolymer (A), and a block copolymer (B) comprising a polymer block (b1) of a styrene monomer and a polymer block (b2) of a conjugated diene monomer, wherein the styrene copolymer (A) is a copolymer of a styrene monomer (a), a butyl acrylate (b) and a methyl methacrylate (c), the block copolymer (B) forms a multi-layered structure in which a layer of the polymer block (b1) and a layer of the polymer block (b2) of the diene monomer are alternately laminated, and the styrene resin composition has 9 to 25%, on a weight basis, of structural units derived from the conjugated diene monomer.

Abstract: To provide a heat resistant filter of which the reduction of tensile strength and folding endurance is small even when used as a filter material for a filter used at high temperatures, failure of the filter material is difficult even when used at high temperatures, and which is capable of achieving a long life. The heat resistant filter contains: a heat resistant organic fiber base material, and a resin composition which contains an alkaline substance and which adheres to the heat resistant organic fiber base material.

Abstract: An aqueous resin composition is provided which does not use a high boiling point solvent, and yet displays favorable long term stability and excellent film formation, and does not suffer from problems such as skin generation. The aqueous resin composition comprises a water soluble magnesium salt (A) and an aqueous polyurethane (B).

Abstract: A nematic liquid crystal composition comprising compounds of the general formulas (I-1) to (I-5) each having naphthalene-2,6-diyl, decahydronaphthalene-2,6-diyl and 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene-2,6-diyl, and a liquid display device using the same. This nematic liquid crystal composition broadens the operating temperature range of liquid crystal display characteristics due to an improvement in co-solubility and storage at low temperature, thereby making it possible to improve a reduction in driving voltage and a change in temperature and to attain comparatively fast response characteristics for a predetermined driving voltage. Accordingly, the nematic liquid crystal composition is best suited for use as TN, STN, TFT, IPS, MVA, OCB, ECB, PC, PNLC, PDLC, PSCT or the like.

Abstract: A water-dispersible polyisocyanate composition comprises a hydrophobic polyisocyanate (A) and a vinyl polymer (B) having a nonionic group and an isocyanate group, in which the hydrophobic polyisocyanate (A) can be dispersed in a water-based medium by the vinyl polymer (B) having a nonionic group and an isocyanate group. The water-dispersible polyisocyanate composition is produced by reacting a hydrophobic polyisocyanate with a vinyl polymer (b) having a nonionic group and an active hydrogen group-containing group capable of reacting with an isocyanate group at a molar ratio of the isocyanate group to the active hydrogen group-containing group of 3 to 350.

Abstract: An optical disk comprising a first substrate, a first reflective layer for reflecting laser beams for information reading formed on the first substrate, and a resin layer made of a cured film of an ultraviolet curable composition formed on the first reflective layer, wherein the first reflective layer is a reflective layer made of silver or an alloy containing silver as a main component, and the ultraviolet curable composition contains (a) a radical polymerizable compound, (b) a compound represented by the following formula (1) and (c) a radical photopolymerization initiator.

Abstract: An aqueous pigment dispersion which contains C.I. Pigment Yellow 74, a styrene-acrylic-based resin with an acid number of 100 to 250, and a basic compound, wherein the styrene-acrylic-based resin includes at least styrene-based monomer units, acrylic acid monomer units, and methacrylic acid monomer units as component monomer units, and the weight average molecular weight of the resin is within a range from 7,000 to 15,000.