Abstract: An aldehyde-containing oily solution and an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution are reacted in the presence of a catalyst comprising a polymer compound having a sulfonic acid group in a side chain thereof in a heterogeneous solution system. According to such a reaction process, carboxylic acid can be efficiently produced under mild conditions having very little influence and toxicity on the environment and a human body, with simple operations, without requiring the operation for removing a solvent after the completion of the reaction.

Abstract: An insulating portion of the respective wiring layers for a semiconductor device is constituted of insulating films. The one insulating film is made of a material whose conductivity is higher than that of the other insulating film that is made of an ordinary silicon oxide film and is provided in contact with the wiring. An electric charge accumulated in the wiring generated in the course of manufacture of the semiconductor device is discharged through the one insulating film at a stage where a charge accumulation in the wiring is low. This permits the heat release value generated through the discharge can be suppressed to a low level, and the short-circuiting failure between adjacent wirings can be suppressed or prevented.

Abstract: The present invention provides a safe, convenient and efficient method for producing carboxylic acid by a reaction of alicyclic alcohol with an aqueous hydrogen peroxide to thereby obtain carboxylic acid in high yield from alicyclic alcohol or alicyclic ketone under mild reaction conditions, wherein the reaction operation is simple and easy, a step for removing solvent after completion of the reaction is not necessary and influence and toxicity upon the environment and human body are markedly small. In order to provide it, an oily alicyclic alcohol is allowed to react with an aqueous hydrogen peroxide in the presence of a catalyst containing a metal compound belonging to Group 6 of the Periodic Table in a heterogeneous solution system.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an image processing method using the error diffusion method to prevent jumps in a highlight part and darkening in a shadow part at high resolution. The image processing method comprises a step of calculating an average value of density values of N×M (N, M>1) pixels, a step of adding the average value and a diffused quantization error value, a step of quantizing the addition result with a predetermined number of tones, a step of selecting a quantization pattern corresponding to the quantization result, and a step of calculating the diffused quantization error value from the quantization error. The error diffusion algorithm has flexibility in outputting dots. In other words, error diffusion processing is performed in N×M pixel units, and a plurality of quantization patterns are provided, and a quantization pattern is selected based on the quantization result.

Abstract: The present invention provides an imaging control method, which allows cardiac imaging of better quality to be obtained and an X-ray CT apparatus suitable for such imaging control. In order to control the start timing of the imaging by an X-ray CT apparatus, the method comprises computing the heart rate of the subject, and starting the imaging when the heart rate is stably settled. The heart rate computation is conducted on the heartbeats during the breath holding period. The start of imaging is automatic or manual when the heart rate stability is well fallen within the tolerance. The manual start of imaging is based on the indication that the heart rate stability is fallen within the tolerance. The manual start may also be based on the indication of the heartbeats or the transition of heart rate stability.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an image processing method, an image processing apparatus and a recording medium that convert a grey scale image into an area gradation image. The present invention intends to provide an image processing method, an image processing apparatus and a recording medium capable of increasing processing speed in a state where high image quality is maintained. In the image processing method and the image processing apparatus according to the present invention, image data of a C component and image data of an M component in grey scale image data are converted into halftone image data in accordance with an error diffusion method, and image data of a Y component are converted into halftone image data in accordance with a blue noise mask method.

Abstract: An oily solution of water-insoluble aliphatic alcohol is allowed to react with an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution in the presence of a catalyst containing a metal compound belonging to Group 8 to 10 of the Periodic Table in a heterogeneous solution system. As a result, a carbonyl compound can be produced from an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution under mild conditions in high yield. Also, the reaction operation is simple and easy, a step for removing solvent after completion of the reaction is not necessary and influence and toxicity upon the environment and human body are markedly small. Thus, a carbonyl compound can be produced safely, simply and efficiently.

Abstract: This invention is intended to provide an ink jet printing apparatus capable of maintaining the ink ejection performance in good condition at all times even when a large number of ink droplets are used to form an image. To this end, the ink jet printing apparatus of this invention includes a wiping member to wipe off ink adhering to ejection ports and surrounding areas of the print head; and a control unit to count the number of ink droplets ejected from the ejection ports and change processing associated with a wiping-based recovery operation using the wiping member according to the counted number of ink droplets ejected.

Abstract: A composite fiber, which includes: 100 parts by weight of a wholly aromatic polyamide mainly including structural units of the following formulae (A) and (B): —NH—Ar1—NH—??(A) —OC—Ar2—CO—??(B) where in the formulae (A) and (B), Ar1 and Ar2 each independently represent a bivalent aromatic group having 6 to 20 carbon atoms; and 0.01 to 100 parts by weight of carbon nanotubes with an average diameter of 300 nm or less, and an average aspect ratio of 5.0 or more, characterized in that the carbon nanotubes are oriented in the fiber axis direction. It is excellent in mechanical characteristics.

Abstract: There is provided a device in which surroundings of a building can be monitored using a sensor; when detecting an intruder, an object can be detected even in the case of bad weather; and a predetermined area can be monitored using as few sensors as possible. The device includes a security system which emits a radio wave from a building to a predetermined area outside the building to detect an object, and on the basis of output of the object detecting unit, a judgment is made as to whether or not the object will intrude into the predetermined area.

Abstract: An aldehyde-containing oily solution and an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution are reacted in the presence of a catalyst comprising a polymer compound having a sulfonic acid group in a side chain thereof in a heterogeneous solution system. According to such a reaction process, carboxylic acid can be efficiently produced under mild conditions having very little influence and toxicity on the environment and a human body, with simple operations, without requiring the operation for removing a solvent after the completion of the reaction.

Abstract: In an illumination control apparatus which drives headlamps in a PWM mode and automatically lights them at low power in a vehicle when the DRL executing condition is held, failure in a PWM-drive switching device and break failure in the lamp are detected as well as the arrangement of control units is optimized and meeting models is facilitated. A relay which switches between lamps and a power source, a CPU which is connected to a CAN and drive-controls the relay for manual lighting, and an integrator circuit which integrates voltage of drive side terminals of the lamps are disposed in a main control unit. An FET which switches between the lamps and the power source, a CPU which drive-controls the FET for automatic lighting, and a power source connecting resister having a resistance value greater enough than that of the lamp that drive side terminals of the lamps are connected to the power source through an ignition switch contact of the vehicle are disposed in a DRL control unit.

Abstract: An oily solution of water-insoluble aliphatic alcohol is allowed to react with an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution in the presence of a catalyst containing a metal compound belonging to Group 8 to 10 of the Periodic Table in a heterogeneous solution system. As a result, a carbonyl compound can be produced from an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution under mild conditions in high yield. Also, the reaction operation is simple and easy, a step for removing solvent after completion of the reaction is not necessary and influence and toxicity upon the environment and human body are markedly small. Thus, a carbonyl compound can be produced safely, simply and efficiently.

Abstract: There is provided a semiconductor test apparatus including: a first waveform generating means that generates a common pattern waveform corresponding to common information common to each of a plurality of semiconductor devices; a plurality of second waveform generating means that generates individual pattern waveforms corresponding to a plurality of individual information individually prepared in response to each of the plurality of semiconductor devices; and a waveform switching unit that selectively performs an operation of inputting the common pattern waveform generated from the first waveform generating means in common and an operation of inputting the individual pattern waveforms respectively generated from the plurality of second waveform generating means individually, into each of the plurality of semiconductor devices.

Abstract: Blocked polyurethane prepolymers obtained by reacting at least one polyol, a first polyisocyanate comprising diphenylmethane diisocyanate, a second polyisocyanate having a viscosity at 25° C. of less than about 250 mPa·s, a phenol blocking agent, and an oxime blocking agent, wherein the weight ratio of second polyisocyanate:first polyisocyanate is not more than 0.65:1. The blocked polyurethane prepolymers are especially useful in formulating coating compositions additionally comprising at least one acrylic resin, at least one plasticizer, at least one filler, and optionally other ingredients and additives. A cured coating is obtained by applying a layer of the coating composition to a substrate surface and heating the coating composition layer.

Abstract: Coated carbon nanotubes coated with 0.01-100 parts by weight of at least one type of aromatic condensation polymer selected from the group consisting of wholly aromatic polyamides, wholly aromatic polyesters, aromatic polyester carbonates, aromatic polycarbonates, semi-aromatic polyesters and wholly aromatic azoles, with respect to 100 parts by weight of the carbon nanotubes, as well as a process for their production. Aromatic condensation polymer compositions comprising 0.01-100 parts by weight of the coated carbon nanotubes and 100 parts by weight of an aromatic condensation polymer, and molded articles formed using them.

Abstract: A method to optimize the image quality for each specified area in a tomographic image. The method includes creating a plurality of reconstruction images reconstructed by using different reconstruction functions specifying some specific areas included in the tomographic image such as organs by either the trace function, by the automatic segmentation, or by the manual correction of the result from the automatic segmentation synthesizing by switching the reconstruction images for each specified area and convoluting an image filter for each area by switching among filters. The image quality for each area or organ in a tomographic image can be thereby optimized.

Abstract: Blocked polyurethane prepolymers obtained by reacting at least one polyol, a first polyisocyanate comprising diphenylmethane diisocyanate, a second polyisocyanate having a viscosity at 25° C. of less than about 250 mPa.s, a phenol blocking agent, and an oxime blocking agent, wherein the weight ratio of second polyisocyanate:first polyisocyanate is not more than 0.65:1. The blocked polyurethane prepolymers are especially useful in formulating coating compositions additionally comprising at least one acrylic resin, at least one plasticizer, at least one filler, and optionally other ingredients and additives. A cured coating is obtained by applying a layer of the coating composition to a substrate surface and heating the coating composition layer.

Abstract: In an illumination control apparatus which drives headlamps in a PWM mode and automatically lights them at low power in a vehicle when the DRL executing condition is held, failure in a PWM-drive switching device and break failure in the lamp are detected as well as the arrangement of control units is optimized and meeting models is facilitated. A relay which switches between lamps and a power source, a CPU which is connected to a CAN and drive-controls the relay for manual lighting, and an integrator circuit which integrates voltage of drive side terminals of the lamps are disposed in a main control unit. An FET which switches between the lamps and the power source, a CPU which drive-controls the FET for automatic lighting, and a power source connecting resister having a resistance value greater enough than that of the lamp that drive side terminals of the lamps are connected to the power source through an ignition switch contact of the vehicle are disposed in a DRL control unit.

Abstract: The present invention provides a safe, convenient and efficient method for producing carboxylic acid by a reaction of alicyclic alcohol with an aqueous hydrogen peroxide to thereby obtain carboxylic acid in high yield from alicyclic alcohol or alicyclic ketone under mild reaction conditions, wherein the reaction operation is simple and easy, a step for removing solvent after completion of the reaction is not necessary and influence and toxicity upon the environment and human body are markedly small. In order to provide it, an oily alicyclic alcohol is allowed to react with an aqueous hydrogen peroxide in the presence of a catalyst containing a metal compound belonging to Group 6 of the Periodic Table in a heterogeneous solution system.