Provided is a method for manufacturing an FRP member with insert which enables to reduce a machining time to improve productivity. First, a threaded hole 11 is formed in an insert 3. An FRP member 2 where at least the threaded hole 11 of the insert 3 is covered with a coating 4 made of FRP is molded. A counter-bored hole 31 that penetrates the coating 4 of the FRP member 2 to communicate with the threaded hole 11 of the insert 3 is formed, to thereby obtain an FRP component 1 with insert. Accordingly, a machining step after molding the FRP member 2 in which dry machining is required includes only the boring step of forming the counter-bored hole 31 in the FRP member 2. Thus, the machining time can be reduced, and the productivity can be improved.

A clinch-type fastener is formed by simultaneously creating an undercut during the same forging that creates the head and displacer of the fastener. A fastener blank is compressed end-to-end between top and bottom dies whereby the axial compression of a blank causes the outward bulging of the shank at its midline. Simultaneously, a tapered end point and a tangential interference band are formed provided by a curvilinear-shaped bulge in the shank. As the bulge is formed an undercut is created between the bulge and a shoulder which extends downwardly from a head of the fastener. This method of formation and the fastener produced thereby are particularly suited to the manufacture of small clinch pins having a diameter in the range of 1.0 mm.

A method for manufacturing a thread-forming screw having a shank and a thread formed in one piece with the shank and region-wise circumferentially arranged on the shank, is disclosed. After the formation of the thread on the shank, a plurality of recesses is subsequently stamped into the thread. Then, a plurality of compact cutting elements is welded into the recesses in the thread, where the cutting elements are made of a hard material and have a hardness greater than the hardness of the thread. Additionally, a stamping device for carrying out the method is also disclosed.

A spiral fluted tap is provided which includes a threaded portion having an external thread corresponding to an internal thread to be cut and a cutting edge formed along a spiral flute formed to divide the external thread, and being screwed into a prepared hole that is provided on a workpiece to cut an internal thread by the cutting edge on an inner circumferential surface of the prepared hole with discharging chips toward a shank via the spiral flute, the spiral flute having a stepped portion at a rear end of a chamfer portion or in a portion on a shank side from the rear end of the chamfer portion in the threaded portion, and a flute bottom diameter on a distal end side of the spiral fluted tap from the stepped portion being smaller than a flute bottom diameter on a shank side from the stepped portion.

A faceted bone screw and a method for manufacturing the same includes a screw thread configuration having facets that are substantially transverse to the thread. The facets are generally made up of a plurality of transitioning peaks and valleys which vary the depth of the thread and are disposed in one or more locations throughout the threaded portion of the bone screw. The facets operate to reduce the torque required to drive the bone screw into bone, while at the same time operate to assist in anchoring the bone screw within the bone once inserted therein, and thereby reduce the possibility for the screw backing out after insertion.

A nail-forming apparatus and method to rapidly form nails typically with circular heads is provided. One aspect relates to a sequential wire piece positioner configured for sequentially positioning wire pieces respectively adjacent a plurality of nail head formers. The wire piece positioner may include several carriages related to moving and forming the wire pieces.

A method for manufacturing a bolting part, such as a screw or a nut. The bolting part having a head with a periphery having at least one shoulder extending in a radial plane. The method includes at least the following forming steps: shearing of a wire of material so as to obtain a part of determined length, calibration of the part so as to correct the geometry of the part, rough machining of the calibrated part so as to obtain the head of the bolting part, and finishing of the rough-machined part by means of a third punch so as to form a head having at least one shoulder. The calibration, rough machining and finishing steps being carried out only by cold heading.

Provided is a magnetic disk comprising a lubricating layer formed of a lubricant. The lubricant constituting the lubricating layer has excellent properties, for example, excellent fluidity, surface energy, and CFT properties. By virtue of the excellent properties, the magnetic disk has a high level of reliability despite a low flying height of a magnetic head due to a recent rapid increase in recording density and a very severe environment resistance requirement due to diversification of applications. The magnetic disk comprises a substrate and at least a magnetic layer, a protective layer, and a lubricating layer provided in that order over the substrate. The lubricating layer is formed of a lubricant that is a mixture of a specific perfluoropolyether lubricant with a lubricant formed of a compound comprising perfluoropolyether groups having a perfluoropolyether main chain in the structure thereof and having a hydroxyl group at the end thereof, the perfluoropolyether groups being bonded to each other through a divalent linking group having at least two hydroxyl groups in the structure thereof.

The present invention provide a two-component anti-seizure agent for hot metal working process comprising the first aqueous solution and the second aqueous solution, wherein the first aqueous solution contains 10˜30 mass % of sodium silicate equivalent to anhydride to 100 mass % of total mass of the first aqueous solution, and the second aqueous solution contains at least one kind selected from a group consisting of: an organic acid and water-soluble amine salts thereof, an inorganic acid and water-soluble amine salts thereof, a water-soluble amine, a water-soluble alcohol, and a water-soluble metal chloride. When the two-component anti-seizure agent is applied onto disk-roll type guide shoes, it can be provided and maintained on the circumferential surface of the disk-roll type guide shoes without washed away by rolls' cooling water. Thereby, the anti-seizure agent does not adhere to rolls and the rolls and a pipe material do not cause slippage each other. Thus, it is capable to carry out piercing-rolling of the pipe material.

Provided is a magnetic disk that is excellent in durability, particularly in LUL durability and CFT properties, and thus has high reliability despite the low flying height of a magnetic head following the rapid increase in recording density in recent years and despite the very strict environmental resistance following the diversification of applications. A magnetic disk (10) has at least a magnetic layer (6), a carbon-based protective layer (7), and a lubricating layer (8) provided in this order over a substrate (1). The lubricating layer (8) contains a compound having a perfluoropolyether main chain in a structure thereof and having a polar group other than at ends of a molecule thereof.

Disclosed herein are silicone wax emulsions and methods of manufacturing the same. One method of manufacturing silicone wax emulsions as disclosed herein comprises charging alpha-olefins of C-18 or greater chain length to a heating and mixing vessel along with undecylenic acid and blocking the carboxylic acid of the undecylenic acid with a compound containing a trimethylsilyl group by adding the compound in sufficient quantity and heating as a melt until blocking is complete. While maintaining a melt temperature, a silicone polymer containing methyl hydrogen siloxy units is added, followed by a hydrosilation reaction catalyst to effect a hydrosilation reaction. This results in an acid functional silicone polymer. The acid functional silicone polymer is combined with an emulsifier, and the molten combination is added to a stirred solution of alkaline agent and water that has been heated to a temperature above the silicone wax melting point. This process produces silicone wax emulsions with excellent qualities.

A head tool changer for use with a deposition-based digital manufacturing system, the head tool changer comprising a tooling unit configured to retain a deposition head, a grip unit configured to engage with tooling unit and to relay electrical power to the tooling unit, and a master unit operably mounted to a gantry and configured to engage with the tooling unit and to relay electrical power to the tooling unit.

Techniques are provided describing a first connector unit that receives first data from a first transceiver and a second connector unit that receives second data from a second transceiver. A switch unit is configured to receive first switch data from the first connector unit at a first data rate and second switch data from the second connector unit at the first data rate. A third connector unit receives the first switch or the second switch data from the switch unit and a second portion of the second data from the second connector unit. The third connector unit also sends the first switch data to a host port when the first connector unit receives the first data and to send the second switch data and the second portion of the second data to the host port when the second connector unit receives the second data.

A cutting insert of the present invention includes an upper surface; a lower surface; a side surface; a cutting edge which is located along an intersection of the upper surface and the side surface, and comprises a major cutting edge, a flat cutting edge, and a minor cutting edge located between the major cutting edge and the flat cutting edge; and a land part located along the cutting edge on the upper surface. The land part includes a minor cutting edge land portion located correspondingly to the minor cutting edge. The minor cutting edge land portion is inclined downward toward a central part of the upper surface. The present invention also provides a cutting tool including the cutting insert, and a method of manufacturing a machined product by using the cutting tool.

A cutting insert includes an upper surface; a lower surface; a side surface which is connected to each of the upper surface and the lower surface and includes a first side surface, a second side surface and a third side surface being adjacent to each other in order; an upper cutting edge including an upper major cutting edge located at an intersection of the upper surface and the first side surface, and an upper flat cutting edge located closer to the upper major cutting edge in an intersection of the upper surface and the second side surface; and a lower cutting edge including a lower major cutting edge located at an intersection of the lower surface and the third side surface, and a lower flat cutting edge located closer to the lower major cutting edge in an intersection of the lower surface and the second side surface. The second side surface comprises an upper flank surface connected to the upper flat cutting edge, and a lower flank surface connected to the lower flat cutting edge. As going from the upper surface to the lower surface, the upper flank surface is closer to a central axis extending between the upper surface and the lower surface and the lower flank surface is separated from the central axis in a side sectional view. A cutting tool including the cutting insert, and a method of manufacturing a machined product by using the cutting tool are also provided.

A cutting insert having excellent chip discharge performance is provided. The cutting insert (1) according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an upper surface (2), a lower surface (3), a side surface (4) connected to the upper surface (2) and the lower surface (3), and a cutting edge (5) which is located at an intersection of the upper surface (2) and the side surface (4), and includes a major cutting edge (51) and a flat cutting edge (52). The major cutting edge (51) includes a major cutting section (512) which has a concave shape and is inclined downward as a straight line connecting both ends thereof is away from the flat cutting edge (52) in a side view. A cutting tool (11) according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the cutting insert (1) and a holder (10) configured to attach the cutting insert (1) thereto.

A cutting insert according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an upper surface; a lower surface; a side surface located between the upper surface and the lower surface; at least one concave part extending in a thickness direction in the side surface, and having one end thereof located at the upper surface; and a cutting edge which is located at an intersection region of the upper surface and the side surface, and is divided into a plurality of divided cutting edges with the at least one concave part interposed therebetween. The upper surface includes a first raised part located inwardly of the at least one concave part, and a plurality of second raised parts respectively located inwardly of the plurality of divided cutting edges. The plurality of the second raised parts are located inward compared to one end of the first raised part close to the cutting edge in a top view. A cutting tool including the cutting insert, and a method of manufacturing a machined product using the cutting tool are also provided.

A cutting insert according to an embodiment of the invention includes: an upper surface; a lower surface; a side surface which is connected to each of the upper surface and the lower surface, and includes a first side surface and a second side surface adjacent to each other; and a cutting edge including a major cutting edge located at an intersection of the upper surface and the first side surface, and a minor cutting edge located at an intersection of the upper surface and the second side surface. The upper surface includes a rake surface which is located along the major cutting edge, and is inclined downward as the upper surface separates from the major cutting edge. The second side surface includes a second upper constraining surface and a second lower constraining surface in order as the second side surface goes from the upper surface to the lower surface. The second upper constraining surface is inclined inward at an inclination angle α1 with reference to a central axis extending between the upper surface and the lower surface. The second lower constraining surface is continuous with the second upper constraining surface, and is inclined outward at an inclination angle α2 with reference to the central axis. A cutting tool with the cutting inserts, and a method of manufacturing a machined product by using the cutting tool are also provided.

There is provided a profile measuring apparatus which measures a profile of an object including: a projection unit which projects a pattern on the object from a projection direction; a measurement unit, which is displaced at a difference position for the projection unit and takes an image of the pattern from a direction different from the projection direction to measure a position on a surface of the object based on an image data obtained with the taken image; an object-rotation unit which rotates the object in two directions; and a pattern-rotation unit which is connected to the projection unit so as to be able to rotate the pattern relative to the object-rotation unit.

A biochip for the integration of all steps in a complex process from the insertion of a sample to the generation of a result, performed without operator intervention includes microfluidic and macrofluidic features that are acted on by instrument subsystems in a series of scripted processing steps. Methods for fabricating these complex biochips of high feature density by injection molding are also provided.

An near-field light device (100) is provided with: a first electrode layer (123) having a protruding portion (123a); a second electrode layer (121); and a light emitting layer (122), the protruding portion protrudes along a predetermined direction (Y axis direction) to be capable of extracting energy which is caused by emission of light at the light emitting layer, the predetermined direction intersects with a laminated direction (X axis direction) of the near-field light device, an edge surface of at least one portion of the projection portion is located at more outward side in the optical device than an edge surface of the second electrode layer is.

A catalyst can be manufactured using a method which can include preparing a first aqueous solution including zirconium, filling the pores of the porous alumina with the aqueous solution by a pore-filling method using the capillary phenomenon, forming a zirconia layer in the pores of the porous alumina, preparing a second aqueous solution including noble metals, filling the pores of the porous alumina with the second aqueous solution by a pore-filling method using the capillary phenomenon, and drying and baking the porous alumina to carry the noble metals in the pores of the porous alumina formed with a zirconia layer.

A process is disclosed for producing plastic materials by providing a biology based feedstock and reacting the biology based feedstock to form a feedstock capable of reaction to form the plastic material, wherein the plastic material is selected from polystyrene and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

The invention provides protein adhesives and methods of making and using such adhesives. The protein adhesives contain ground plant meal or an isolated polypeptide composition obtained from plant biomass.

Adhesive copolymers and methods for preparing them are disclosed. An adhesive copolymer may be prepared from a reaction mixture containing monosaccharide monomers and dicarboxylic monomers. The monosaccharide monomers may include any of a number of C5 and/or C6 monosaccharides.

A roof system for an electric arc furnace includes a skew removably attached to the electric arc furnace, a lining of refractory material affixed to the skew, and a delta composed of a refractory material. The delta has at least one aperture capable of receiving an electrode. The delta fits onto and is supported by the refractory lining that is affixed to the skew.

Method of manufacturing a fused silica crucible, including manufacturing a plurality of carbon electrodes for melting a vitreous silica object to be melted by arc discharge by rubbing the surface of a carbon electrode of the electrodes with a vitreous silica of the same type as the vitreous silica object to be melted, by at least one of: inserting a front end of the carbon electrode into a storage tank storing powdered vitreous silica, by at least one of rotating and reciprocating in an axial direction the storage tank and the carbon electrode relative to each other; rubbing the surface of the carbon electrode by ejecting powdered vitreous silica from a nozzle onto the surface of the electrode; rubbing the surface of the electrode with a vitreous silica grinder; and rubbing the surface of the electrode against a rotating surface of a portion of a fused vitreous silica crucible.

Structure of a cross universal joint is achieved in which the fact that an excessive torque was applied to a universal joint due to a collision accident or mishandling can be easily determined afterwards. Protrusions 20, which are straight lines as seen from the outside surface sides of linking arm sections 15c of a yoke 12c, are formed on the outside surfaces of the linking arm sections 15c. When an excessive torque acts and the linking arm sections 15c are plastically deformed, the protrusions 20 change from a straight line to a non-straight line. From this change it is possible to easily confirm that an excessive torque has been applied to a cross universal joint that includes this yoke 12c. Moreover, when the space between the inside surfaces of the linking arm sections 15c is taken to be D, and the length in the axial direction of the linking arm sections 15c is taken to be L, the dimensions of the parts of the yoke 12c are regulated so that the relation 3

A flexible shaft coupling demonstrates a high performance in transmitting torque and accommodating positional deviations, and is yet highly durable. A first elastomer member (82) having a relatively high rubber hardness is circumferentially interposed between a first claw (32) of a first shaft coupling member (20) and a second claw (62) of a second shaft coupling member (50), and a second elastomer member (84, 86) having a lower rubber hardness than the first elastomer member is interposed between a surface portion (end surface) (30) of the first shaft coupling member (20) and the second claw (62) and/or between a surface portion (end surface) (60) of the second shaft coupling member (50) and the first claw (32).

A method models a defect management routine. Both the modeling and a handling are executed within a manufacturing execution system. During an engineering phase: modeling the production process and creating a library of possible defect types which may occur; assigning the defect types to at least one defect group; creating a library of defect specifications; creating a library of defect type specification details; creating at least one runtime defect criteria that is used to link the defect type to a certain production volume; and creating a runtime defect measurement routine that monitors a corrective measure. During a runtime production phase evaluating the product produced; identifying the respective defect type out of the library of defect types; and using the identified defect type to determine a corrective measure, a runtime defect criteria identifying the resource causing the defect type, a production volume, and to run the respective runtime defect management routine.

The invention relates to a bonding product suitable as a carrier for medicinal substances and to the compound derived therefrom that carries medicinal substances. The invention further relates to a process and device for preparing such bonding products and compounds. Further, the invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition containing such bonding products and compounds, and to the use thereof for preparing an infusible medicament for treating a disease.

The present invention relates to an (amide amino alkane) metal compound represented by the formula (1): wherein M represents a metal atom;R1 represents a linear, branched or cyclic alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms;R2 and R3 may be the same as, or different from each other, and each independently represents a linear or branched alkyl group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, or R2 and R3 may form a substituted or unsubstituted 5- or 6-membered ring together with the nitrogen atom to which they are bound;Z represents a linear or branched alkylene group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms (a part of which may optionally form a ring); andn represents a number of the ligands, which is equal to the valence of the metal (M), and represents an integer of from 1 to 3; with the proviso that the metal compounds in which M is Li (Lithium), Be (Beryllium), Ge (Germanium) or Nd (Neodymium) are excluded;the metal compounds in which M is Mg (Magnesium) and R1 is methyl group are excluded;the metal compounds in which M is Zn (Zinc) and R1 is methyl group are excluded;the metal compounds in which M is Bi (Bismuth) and R1 is t-butyl group are excluded; andin cases where n is two or greater, two or more ligands may be the same as, or different from each other; and a method of producing a metal-containing thin film using the metal compound.

It is an object of the present invention to provide antimicrobial metallodrugs comprising an antimicrobial peptide (“AMP”) and/or an antibiotic covalently bound to a metal binding moiety. These metallodrugs combine a metal binding domain which typically catalyzes oxido-reductase chemistry or acts as a Lewis-Acid catalyst, with a member of a diverse class of antimicrobial agents currently validated in preclinical and clinical settings for the treatment of a broad spectrum of pathogenic organisms.

Provided, amongst other things, are dyes of formula II: wherein R1, R2, R3 and R4 are independently H or alkyl, so long as one or more is alkyl, and salts of the compound of formula II. Methods of making, inks, surgical markers and methods of marking tissue and the like are further provided.

The present invention relates to a compound which is a polysaccharide derivative of GCSF, or of a GCSF like protein, wherein the polysaccharide is anionic and comprises between 2 and 200 saccharide units. The present invention also relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising the novel compounds, and methods for making the novel compounds.

The present invention relates to novel antibodies, particularly antibodies directed against deletion mutants of epidermal growth factor receptor and particularly to the type III deletion mutant, EGFRvIII. The invention also relates to human monoclonal antibodies directed against deletion mutants of epidermal growth factor receptor and particularly to EGFRvIII. Diagnostic and therapeutic formulations of such antibodies, and immunoconjugates thereof, are also provided.

Provided is an adhesive composition for a protective film including an acrylic emulsion resin capable of providing contamination resistance on the film and low peel strength and minimizing generation of static electricity during peeling of the protective film. The acrylic emulsion resin includes a mixture including 80 to 99.9% by weight of a polymer of a (meth)acrylic acid ester monomer including a C1-C14 alkyl group and a (meth)acrylic acid ester monomer including an alkylene oxide unit, and 0.1 to 20% by weight of a monomer including a carboxyl group and/or a hydroxyl group or a combination thereof, and 5 to 30 parts by weight of a reactive emulsifier having a double bond structure radical-polymerizable with the polymer and including an alkylene oxide unit based on 100 parts by weight of the mixture.

This invention relates to whitlockite and a method for manufacturing the same. The method includes adding, to water, a calcium ion supplying material and a cation supplying material containing a cation (X) other than the calcium ion to prepare a cation aqueous solution, adding a phosphoric acid supplying material to the cation aqueous solution, and aging the cation aqueous solution including the phosphoric acid supplying material. As a result, whitlockite having high purity and high crystallinity can be mass produced using a simple process.

A chimeric protein containing neutrophil inhibitory factor and hirugen, the chimeric protein having an amino acid sequence that includes FPRPGSGG (SEQ ID NO:21) Also provided is a pharmaceutical composition comprising the chimeric protein, which can be used for treating or preventing cerebral injury and cerebral edema, or for inhibiting platelet aggregation.

The present invention provides a method for enhancing an immune response in a mammal to facilitate the elimination of a chronic pathology. The method involves the removal of immune system inhibitors such as soluble TNF receptor from the circulation of the mammal, thus, enabling a more vigorous immune response to the pathogenic agent. The removal of immune system inhibitors is accomplished by contacting biological fluids of a mammal with one or more binding partner(s) such as TNFα muteins capable of binding to and, thus, depleting the targeted immune system inhibitor(s) from the biological fluids. Particularly useful in the invention is an absorbent matrix composed of an inert, biocompatible substrate joined covalently to a binding partner, such as a TNFα mutein, capable of specifically binding to a targeted immune system inhibitor such as soluble TNF receptor.

The invention relates to human medicine and to the use of epidermal growth factor (EGF) for preparing a pharmaceutical composition which is administered by infiltration into the periphery of nerve ganglia and/or trunks for the morphofunctional restoration of peripheral nerves in painful sensory-motor neuropathy as well as manifestations of ischemic neuritis. The invention also includes a composition containing EGF which can be formulated together with anesthetics or analgesics or encapsulated in microspheres and to the use thereof for the morphofunctional restoration of peripheral nerves in painful sensitive-motor-type diabetic neuropathy and the manifestations of ischemic neuritis.

The present invention provides spreading agents based on sequence-specific oligomers comprising a peptoid, a peptide-peptoid chimera, a retropeptoid or a retro(peptoid-peptide) chimera, and methods for using the same, including for the treatment of respiratory distress of the lungs. The spreading agents are sequence-specific oligomers, including retrosequence-specific oligomers, based on a peptide backbone, that are designed as analogs of surfactant protein-B or surfactant protein-C.

The present invention is relevant to human medicine, and, in particular, to the use of Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) in a pharmaceutical composition, said composition is administered through infiltration at the periphery of nerve trunks and/or ganglia, for the morphofunctional restoration of peripheral nerves in painful, sensory-motor neuropathy, as well as ischemic neuritis. It is also relevant to an EGF containing composition, where this molecule can be formulated together with anesthetic or analgesic drugs, or encapsulated in microspheres, and their use for the morphofunctional restoration of peripheral nerves in painful, sensory-motor neuropathy, as well as in ischemic neuritis.

A power storage device cell is configured to include a capacitor positive electrode, a lithium positive electrode, and a common negative electrode in which electrode layers are formed on a collector foil in which penetration holes are formed, and such that the capacitor positive electrode and the lithium positive electrode are directly connected; each of the electrode layers of the common negative electrode is formed of a carbon-based material in which graphite particles and hard carbon particles are mixed, and the proportion of the hard carbon particles in the carbon-based material is from 5% by weight to 70% by weight.

An electrode is provided with a metal terminal extending from a battery module main body, a bolt which has an expanded section configuring a retaining section at a rear end portion and penetrates the metal terminal upward, and an insulating body which insulates the metal terminal and the battery module case one from the other. The insulating body is provided with a drop preventing section which abuts at least a lower surface of the expanded section of the bolt and prevents the bolt from dropping from the metal terminal.

There is provided a flexible circuit board capable of preventing corrosion and elution of a conductor layer constituting a current collector even under high-temperature and high-voltage working conditions while achieving sufficient electric connection with an MEA. A flexible circuit board having a current collector of a fuel cell provided thereon includes an insulating flexible base material 1, a plurality of openings 5 that supply fuel or air, the openings 5 being provided in a specified region so as to penetrate through the flexible base material 1 in a thickness direction, a plating film 6 that constitutes the current collector, the plating film 6 being formed on front and back surfaces of the flexible base material 1 in the specified region and on inner walls of the openings 5, a surface treatment film 9 formed on the plating film 6 and having corrosion resistance higher than that of the plating film.

There is provided a spindle motor including: a shaft connected directly or indirectly to a base member and having a depression groove formed in a central portion of an outer peripheral surface thereof; a sleeve rotatably installed on the shaft and having a communication hole formed so as to be connected to the depression groove; and a rotor hub fixedly installed on the sleeve to thereby rotate together therewith, wherein the communication hole is inclined so that lubricating fluid may be easily injected into the depression groove, and the sleeve has a fluid storage part formed on an outer peripheral surface thereof, the fluid storage part being connected to the communication hole and temporarily storing the lubricating fluid therein.

A cage for a roller bearing includes a first annular portion and a second annular portion opposite the first annular portion and a plurality of pillars interconnecting the first annular portion and the second annular portion. Adjacent pairs of the pillars each define a pocket for holding rollers. Each of the pockets is configured to receive at least one roller. One or more radially outward facing concave roller support surface is formed in one or more of the pillars at a position proximate a radially outer edge of the pillar. The concave roller support surface is configured to radially outwardly support a portion of one of the rollers.

The present invention relates to a production method for efficiently obtaining an acrylic acid-based polymer having a narrow molecular mass distribution and a low molecular mass, without using a large amount of chain transfer agent. A method for continuously producing an acrylic acid-based polymer obtained by continuously polymerizing a monomer having acrylic acid as an essential component, characterized in that a liquid feed pump applies a mechanical load of 0.5 to 2.5 kJ/L to the liquid discharged from the outlet of a reactor. An acrylic acid-based polymer having fewer high-molecular-mass components, excellent dispersion and other properties, and a low molecular mass is thereby obtained.

Methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to encode auxiliary data into text data and methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to obtain encoded data from text data are disclosed. An example method to embed auxiliary data into text data includes assigning source data to one of a plurality of groups, the source data comprising text data, identifying a symbol to be added to the source data based on an assigned group of the source data, and generating encoded data by including in the source data a text character representative of the symbol.