Abstract: Disclosed are a polyamic acid containing not less than 10 mol % of a repeating unit represented by the formula [1] below, and a polyimide represented by the formula [2] below which is obtained from such a polyamic acid. The polyamic acid and polyimide have high heat resistance as shown by a thermal decomposition temperature of not less than 300° C. In addition, the polyamic acid and polyimide have good workability because of their high solubility in solvents, while exhibiting good light transmission. (In the formula, R1 and R2 independently represent a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms; R3 and R4 independently represent a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms or a phenyl group, or alternatively R3 and R4 on adjacent carbon atoms may combine together to form a cycloalkyl group having 3 to 8 carbon atoms or a phenyl group; R5 represents a divalent organic group; and n represents an integer of not less than 2.

Abstract: A process which comprises reacting a 1,2,3,4-cyclobutanetetracarboxylic-1,2:3,4-dianhydride [1] with an alcohol [2] in the presence of an acid catalyst to obtain a compound [3], isomerizing the compound [3] with a base catalyst into a compound [4], reacting the compound [4] with an organic acid to obtain a compound [5], and reacting the compound [5] with a dehydrating agent to obtain a 1,2,3,4-cyclobutanetetracarboxylic-1,3:2,4-dianhydride: wherein R1 and R2 are each independently hydrogen, halogeno, alkyl of 1 to 10 carbon atoms, halogenated alkyl of 1 to 10 carbon atoms, cycloalkyl of 3 to 8 carbon atoms, phenyl, or cyano; and R3 is alkyl of 1 to 10 carbon atoms.

Abstract: A saxophone is equipped with a supporting system, and the supporting system assists a player in performance on the saxophone; the supporting system includes pressure sensors respectively adhered to the keys of the saxophone, torque motors provided in association with the keys for exerting assisting force on the keys and a controller for adjusting a driving signal to a certain amount corresponding to the pressure; since a conversion table is stored in the controller, the controller looks up the amount of driving current to be adjusted in the conversion table, and supplies the driving signal to the torque motor, whereby the keys are depressed by the total of finger force and assisting force.

Abstract: There is provided a projection apparatus including a plurality of light-emitting devices for respectively emitting lights of a plurality of colors, a projecting unit for forming an optical image of a plurality of color components for each frame and sequentially projecting the optical image, and a power control unit for adjusting power to be supplied to the plurality of light-emitting devices to correct a decrease in luminance due to heat generation of the plurality of light-emitting devices.

Abstract: Three valve assemblies are linked with finger buttons and inserted into a pipe structure of a trumpet for changing the length of air column, and a supporting system assists a player in fingering on the finger buttons; sensors are adhered to the finger buttons so as to supply a detecting signal representative of force exerted on the finger buttons by the player to a controlling unit; when the force exceeds over a threshold, the controlling unit energizes actuators connected to the valve assemblies so as to make the player feel the valve assemblies lightly changed.

Abstract: There is provided a composition for forming a resist underlayer film that the adhesion with a resist applied on the resist underlayer film is enhanced and the collapse of a resist pattern is suppressed. A resist underlayer film-forming composition for lithography comprising: a polymer having silicon atoms in the backbone; a compound of a polycyclic structure; and an organic solvent, wherein the compound of a polycyclic structure has at least two carboxyl groups as substituents; the two carboxyl groups are individually bonded to two carbon atoms adjacent to each other forming the polycyclic structure; and the two carboxyl groups both have an endo configuration or an exo configuration, or have a cis configuration.

Abstract: The present invention provides a compound represented by the formula: wherein the symbols are as described in the specification, or a salt thereof, which is useful for preventing/treating eicosanoid-associated diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, obesity, atherothrombosis, asthma, fever, pain, cancer, rheumatism, osteoarthritis and atopic dermatitis, and which has an excellent pharmacological action, physicochemical properties, etc.

Abstract: A biomass hydrothermal decomposition apparatus includes, a biomass feeder (31) that feeds biomass material (11) under normal pressure to under increased pressure, a hydrothermal decomposition device (42A) that allows the fed biomass material (11) to be gradually moved inside a device main body (42A) from either end thereof in a consolidated condition, and also allows hot compressed water (15) to be fed from an other end of a feed section for the biomass material into the main body (42A), so as to cause the biomass material (11) and the hot compressed water (15) to countercurrently contact with each other and undergo hydrothermal decomposition, and that elutes a lignin component and a hemicellulose component into the hot compressed water, so as to separate the lignin component and the hemicellulose component from the biomass material (11); and a biomass discharger (51) that discharges, from the side where the hot compressed water is fed into the device main body, a biomass solid residue (17) under increased pr

Abstract: There is provided a one-step process for producing a dihydroxy-substituted coumarin dimer compound by a photodimerization reaction of a hydroxy-substituted coumarin compound. The process comprises subjecting a hydroxy-substituted coumarin compound to a photodimerization reaction in a solvent selected from aliphatic ketones having 3 to 10 carbon atoms, aliphatic carboxylic acid esters having 2 to 10 carbon atoms, aliphatic alcohols having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, aliphatic nitriles having 2 to 10 carbon atoms, ethers having 4 to 10 carbon atoms, amides having 3 to 10 carbon atoms, and a mixture thereof to obtain a dihydroxy-substituted coumarin dimer compound.

Abstract: There is provided a positive photosensitive resin composition that is excellent in electric insulating properties, heat resistance, mechanical strength and electrical characteristics, and capable of forming a high-resolution circuit pattern. The positive photosensitive resin composition comprises at least one type of a polyhydroxyamide resin containing a repeating unit represented by Formula (1) and having a weight average molecular weight of 3,000 to 100,000, and a compound generating an acid by light irradiation. (where X represents a tetravalent aliphatic group or an aromatic group; R1 and R2 independently represent a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 10 carbon atom(s); Ar1 and Ar2 independently represent an aromatic group; Y represents an organic group containing an aromatic group substituted with at least one OH group; n represents an integer of 1 or more; and l and m independently represent an integer of 0 or 1 or more and satisfy l+m?2).

Abstract: An electronic camera includes a search unit for sequentially capturing and analyzing a monitor image for an object and for sequentially determining whether or not a figure of a specified form representing a print/picture image is included in the monitor image, and a memory for, responsive to determination that the figure is included in the monitor image, storing the monitor image including the figure as a candidate for the print/picture image.

Abstract: A supporting system is provided on a saxophone for offering assistance to the player, and includes pressure sensors monitoring the touch pieces of the keys, power assisting units equipped with torque motors provided for the keys and a controller connected to the pressure sensors and the power assisting units; a conversion table for depressed touch pieces and another conversion table for released touch pieces are prepared in the controller, and different relations between the finger force and the amount of current to be supplied to the torque motor are respectively defined in the conversion tables, respectively; the amount of current to be supplied is read out from the conversion tables depending upon the increase and decrease of finger force so that the player quickly closes the tone whole with the padded cup without curious key touch.

Abstract: In order to realize a small and light key actuating apparatus for actuating a key which is rotatably supported with respect to a frame, a key actuating apparatus (7) is provided which includes a polymer transducer (9) for rotatably moving the key (3) by using a deformation of the transducer, wherein the transducer which is substantially formed in a plate shape includes: a polymer film (15) which is dielectric and made from an elastically deformable polymer material; and a pair of electrodes (17) arranged at both sides of surfaces of the polymer film, and the transducer is deformed corresponding to switching between an application of voltage and a lack of voltage between the electrodes.

Abstract: To provide polyamic acids and polyimides, which have high light transmittance and heat resistance such that their thermal decomposition temperatures are at least 300° C. and which are excellent in their solubility in solvents and have their processability improved. A polyamic acid comprising repeating units represented by the following formula (1), characterized in that at least 10 mol % of A has a structure represented by the formula (2), or a polyimide obtainable by cyclodehydration of such a polyamic acid.

Abstract: A key actuating system (1) of a keyboard musical instrument is provided which helps quickly push the keys by reducing reaction force with respect to force of pushing the keys during manual operation, and which supports a person having less strength to play the keyboard musical instrument. The key actuating system for a keyboard musical instrument generates a sound when a key (3) is pushed including: a pressure detection sensor (11) detecting a pushing pressure on the key; a status detection sensor (13) detecting a movement status of the key: an actuator (15) actuating the key in a pushing direction of the key; and a control portion (19), when the pressure detection sensor detects the pushing pressure and the status detection sensor detects motion of the key, controls operations of the actuator in order to maintain the detected pressure by the pressure detection sensor at a pressure threshold which is in a range larger than 0 and smaller than a pushing pressure on the key which is necessary for making a sound.

Abstract: There is provided a method for preparing a ?-SiAlON phosphor capable of be controlled to show characteristics such as high brightness and desired particle size distribution. The method for preparing a ?-SiAlON phosphor represented by Formula: Si(6-x)AlxOyN(6-y):Lnz (wherein, Ln is a rare earth element, and the following requirements are satisfied: 0<x?4.2, 0<y?4.2, and 0<z?1.0) includes: mixing starting materials to prepare a raw material mixture; and heating the raw material mixture in a nitrogen-containing atmospheric gas, wherein the starting materials includes a host raw material including a silicon raw material including metallic silicon, and at least one aluminum raw material selected from the group consisting of metallic aluminum and aluminum compound, and at least activator raw material selected from the rare earth elements for activating the host raw material.

Abstract: The present invention provides a compound represented by the formula (I): wherein ring A is a ring which is optionally further substituted; R1 is a hydrogen atom or a substituent; R2 is a hydrogen atom or a substituent; R3 is a hydrogen atom or a substituent; R4 is a hydrogen atom or a substituent; R5 is a hydrogen atom or a substituent; R6 is a hydrogen atom or a substituent; X is ?N— or ?C(Z)- (Z is a hydrogen atom or a substituent); when X is ?C(Z)-, Z and R6 are optionally bonded to each other to form, together with the carbon atom bonded thereto, an optionally substituted ring, provided that when X is ?CH—, then R6 is not optionally substituted 2-piperidinyl, excluding N-imidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-2-yl-4-methyl-benzamide, N-imidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-2-yl-benzamide and N-(7-methylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-2-yl)-benzamide, or a salt thereof, and a pharmaceutical agent containing same.

Abstract: In a coupling mechanism, an inner peripheral wall of a coupling main body is inscribed with an outer side ring groove of containing an outer peripheral side edge portion of a stopper member, a stopper member introducing port formed by a width wider than a width dimension of a strip member of the stopper member is inscribed at a position of an outer wall portion of the coupling main body slightly shifted from a position of inscribing the outer side ring groove to a side of an inserting front end, the stopper member is applied with a spiral torsion such that both end portions opposed to each other of the strip member slightly carry out core deviation, an inner peripheral wall of the outer side ring groove is formed by a taper face in a state of being expanded from a rear end side to a front end side in an inserting direction, also an outer peripheral wall of the stopper member is formed by a taper face of a shape in correspondence with the taper face of the outer side ring groove, the inner peripheral wall of t

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a system and method for editing music on a computer. A preferred embodiment according to the present invention provides a score window display containing various types of execution graphical icon layers onto which graphical execution ions (representing musical symbols such as bend-up/down, grace-up/down, dynamics, glissando, tremolo) can be attached and arranged in conformity with a progression of a musical tune on a screen of the display. In accordance with the preferred embodiment, may select desired execution icons from an icon select palette that provides lists of execution icons and attach or detach them to the displayed layers via graphical drag-and-drop operations to edit the underlying musical score. In addition, a user may modify parameters of a specific icon.

Abstract: A sound source apparatus has operation blocks composed of softwares used to compute waveforms for generating a plurality of musical tones through a plurality of channels according to performance information. In the apparatus, a setting device sets an algorithm which determines a system composed of selective ones of the operation blocks systematically combined with each other to compute a waveform specific to one of the musical tones. A designating device responds to the performance information for designating one of the channels to be used for generating the musical tone. A generating device allocates the selective operation blocks to the one channel and systematically executes the allocated selective operation blocks according to the algorithm so as to compute the waveform to thereby generate the musical tone through the channel.