Abstract: An intermediate transfer member including a base layer, wherein the base layer contains a thermoplastic resin and an electroconductive filler dispersed in the thermoplastic resin, and wherein the base layer has a volume resistivity of 1×106 to 1×1013 ?·cm, and the base layer has an electroconductive path index of 0.20 or less.

Abstract: An information provision device includes a processor configured to acquire a first variation amount of an amount of excrement and a second variation amount of a body weight in a pet, estimate a medical condition of the pet, based on the acquired first variation amount and the acquired second variation amount, and output provided information including the estimated medical condition.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an animal toilet usage status management system, which is an animal toilet usage status management system including an animal toilet and a management server, wherein the animal toilet has a hole penetrating in the vertical direction at the bottom of the formed upper container, a lower container that receives urine passing through the hole, and a weight measuring unit that measures the weight of the upper container, the management server including a calculating part configured to calculate animal body weight and excretion information based on the measured weight transition change of the upper container.

Abstract: A cat toilet, etc., which specifies precisely one cat who entered a toilet for cat is provided. The present invention relates to a camera for capturing a plurality of images of a cat entering a cat toilet, a cat identifying process for identifying identifiers of one cat appearing in a plurality of images based on a plurality of images captured by the camera section, the cat identification processing section extracts each feature amount from a plurality of images, determines the identifier of one cat as the identification result for each image based on the feature amount, and makes a majority decision of the identification result based on this, identifiers of one cat appearing in a plurality of images are specified.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an animal toilet usage status management system, which is an animal toilet usage status management system including an animal toilet and a management server, wherein the animal toilet has a hole penetrating in the vertical direction at the bottom. The formed upper container, a lower container that receives urine passing through the hole, and a weight measuring unit that measures the weight of the upper container, the management server including a calculating part configured to calculate animal body weight and excretion information based on the measured weight transition change of the upper container.

Abstract: A cat toilet, etc., which specifies precisely one cat who entered a toilet for cat is provided. The present invention relates to a camera for capturing a plurality of images of a cat entering a cat toilet, a cat identifying process for identifying identifiers of one cat appearing in a plurality of images based on a plurality of images captured by the camera section, the cat identification processing section extracts each feature amount from a plurality of images, determines the identifier of one cat as the identification result for each image based on the feature amount, and makes a majority decision of the identification result based on this, identifiers of one cat appearing in a plurality of images are specified.

Abstract: A dental implant includes a male threading part and an implantation torque increasing part from the tip side. The male threading part includes multiple threading parts that have the same lead but different pitches, with the pitch increasing toward the tip side. The outer diameter of the male threading part is constant or increases toward the implantation torque increasing part. The implantation torque increasing part includes thread crests that have a different lead from the lead of the male threading part or a projecting row that is continuous circumferentially. In cross-section, a contour line connecting tops of the thread crests of the threading part that is adjacent to the implantation torque increasing part is a straight line, and the tops of the thread crests or the top of the projecting row of the implantation torque increasing part are located on an extension line of the contour line.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a sintered ceramic implant fixture that includes a first portion configured to be buried in tissue of a living organism and a second portion configured to serve as a mount for a superstructure. The method includes fabricating a master model, subjecting the master model to blasting to roughen a surface of the master model, fabricating a mold having a cavity that is defined by the master model having the roughened surface, pouring a slurry containing ceramic powder into the cavity of the mold to obtain a hardened but not-yet-sintered ceramic implant fixture, and sintering the hardened but not-yet-sintered ceramic implant fixture to obtain the sintered ceramic implant fixture.

Abstract: A dental implant includes a male threading part and an implantation torque increasing part from the tip side. The male threading part includes multiple threading parts that have the same lead but different pitches, with the pitch increasing toward the tip side. The outer diameter of the male threading part is constant or increases toward the implantation torque increasing part. The implantation torque increasing part includes thread crests that have a different lead from the lead of the male threading part or a projecting row that is continuous circumferentially. In cross-section, a contour line connecting tops of the thread crests of the threading part that is adjacent to the implantation torque increasing part is a straight line, and the tops of the thread crests or the top of the projecting row of the implantation torque increasing part are located on an extension line of the contour line.

Abstract: An implant fixture is made from ceramics containing zirconia. The implant fixture has monoclinic percentage of 1 volume % or less. The implant fixture includes a buried portion having an arithmetic average roughness Ra in the range of 1 to 5 ?m. The zirconia content accounts for 86 mass % or more in the implant fixture. The implant fixture contains alumina and/or yttria. Further, the implant fixture has a sintered grain size of 0.45 ?m or less.

Abstract: A navigation device provides support for a driver of a vehicle in merging from one road onto another road (main road). The navigation device receives traffic information including at least positions and speeds of other vehicles traveling the main road. The navigation device then detects at least positions of inter-vehicle spaces between those other vehicles, using the traffic information, and determines which one of the detected inter-vehicle spaces is most suitable for the driver's vehicle to enter for merging. A beam radiating unit provided in the driver's vehicle is used to form a moving first entry point mark on the road surface to indicate the inter-vehicle space the driver's vehicle is going to enter upon merging.

Abstract: A vinyl alcohol polymer-containing coating agent for paper is provided that allows a curing step to be omitted after a paper surface is coated therewith and makes it possible to form a layer (for example, a coating layer or a color developing layer) that is excellent in water resistance and is subjected to less yellowing over time. It is an aqueous composition containing a vinyl alcohol polymer (A) in which the content X of vinyl alcohol units (mol %) and the content Y of ethylene units (mol %) satisfy a formula X+0.2Y>95, where X<99.9 and 0?Y?10, and an addition condensate (B) between ethylene urea and glyoxal in which the content of terminal aldehyde groups per gram of solid content is 1.2 to 3.0 (mmol), wherein the solid content weight ratio between the vinyl alcohol polymer (A) and the addition condensate (B) is in a range of (A):(B)=99:1 to 50:50.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a highly-reliable combined heater. Heater 1 includes hot water pipe 1a for allowing hot water to flow therethrough, and metal pipe 1b that is coaxial with hot water pipe 1a and that is secured in contact with an inner peripheral surface of the hot water pipe.

Abstract: A navigation device provides support for a driver of a vehicle in merging from one road onto another road (main road). The navigation device receives traffic information including at least positions and speeds of other vehicles traveling the main road. The navigation device then detects at least positions of inter-vehicle spaces between those other vehicles, using the traffic information, and determines which one of the detected inter-vehicle spaces is most suitable for the driver's vehicle to enter for merging. A beam radiating unit provided in the driver's vehicle is used to form a moving first entry point mark on the road surface to indicate the inter-vehicle space the driver's vehicle is going to enter upon merging.

Abstract: Apparatus for collecting information pertaining to a driver of the vehicle includes a unit for determining if the current load on the driver is a “low-load” in terms of satisfaction of one or more specific conditions. Driver information is stored and supplemented by answers to question scenarios communicated to the driver only when a “low-load” state is determined. A question information storage unit contains various question scenarios correlated with different items of driver information and from which a question scenario, corresponding to driver information not yet obtained, is retrieved for output when a “low load” is determined.

Abstract: An emergency reporting apparatus is provided which is capable of easily acquiring passenger information necessary at the time of an emergency report and reporting as deputy for a passenger in the case of an emergency. The emergency reporting apparatus, in a training mode, simulates questions from an emergency rescue facility which will be addressed when an emergency situation occurs, and learns and stores the reply contents and response procedures. From the questions and replies, the emergency reporting apparatus automatically acquires the necessary passenger information. Then, the emergency reporting apparatus reports, as a deputy for the user, the passenger information acquired in the training mode when there is no reaction from the user at the time of an actual emergency.

Abstract: A method of inspecting insulators such as spark plug insulators for defects, whereby a plurality of insulators are inspected concurrently by being disposed with a plurality of first electrodes engaged in respective apertures in the insulators, and with apertures formed in a second electrode being disposed to peripherally enclose respective insulators. With the insulators and electrodes set in a closed chamber under high air pressure, and high voltage applied between the first and second electrodes, any defect is detected based on a level of leakage current which then flows.

Abstract: An agent apparatus has a system capable of executing, periodically or when a particular condition is satisfied, processing to judge whether or not a condition to autonomously start (automatically present) an agent is satisfied based on scenario data created by a scenario creating apparatus, and automatically presenting the agent when the condition is satisfied. Thus, in the scenario creating apparatus, regardless of whether having knowledge of programming or not, it is possible to create and edit scenario data of an agent which automatically appears and responds when a particular condition is satisfied by having a scenario editor.

Abstract: A windbreak provided along a side of a tray prevents insulators located close to an entrance of a furnace from being directly cooled by the air coming into the furnace. All of the insulators mounted on the tray can be uniformly cooled when conveyed out of the furnace after finishing a sintering operation. A resistance value of the electric resistor in an insulator located close to the entrance is substantially equalized with a resistance value of the electric resistor in another insulator located far from the entrance.

Abstract: On a vehicle, a device for estimating a present position such as a GPS device and a communication device such as a cell phone are installed. The vehicle transmits a detected present position to an information center at specified intervals. On the other hand, the information center sets a plurality of areas in a region to which information is transmitted, and sets information for transmission for each area. When receiving data indicating the present position of the vehicle from the vehicle, the information center specifies, by using the data, an area where the vehicle is located, and transmits the information set for the area to the vehicle.