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After the severe seismic disaster, to investigate the damage states of buildings, the experts go to the disaster area, however, they encounter some difficulties. To solve the above problems, this study suggests a damage evaluation system for steel structures, which adopts the concept of Internet of Things (IoT). This system makes it possible for us to hold on damage of a building without going there after an earthquake. It has been recognized that the temperature change occurs on steel materials during inelastic behavior. In other study, the effectiveness of the damage evaluation method was confirmed by using the heat generation of steel at unsteady plastic amplitude. Here, the experimental study and discuss is performed to investigate the effectivity of evaluation method with the history of voltage by thermoelectric devices measured by a microcomputer when subjected to seismic response behavior. The cumulative plastic strain can be estimated from the relationship between temperature and strain of steel using the inverse heat conduction analysis. By dividing the cumulative plastic strain into half cycles, the strain amplitude per half cycle can be estimated, and the degree of damage can be calculated from the strain amplitude. By conducting the above analysis, we could predict damage level of the steel from the history of voltage by thermoelectric devices under the seismic response behavior. In addition, it was also shown that the microcomputer can be used to track the temperature rise of plastic heating in steel.

Recently, in Japan, there are some discussions to promote the use of timber resource in the field of architectural buildings. For examples, some latest mid-rise buildings are constructed using wooden material, such as the facilities of Tokyo Olympic 2020. We can experiment the dairy life and architectural space with timber materials, which often has attracted attention. In Japan, the demand of low-rise prefabricated steel building is recently increasing. However, to satisfy the seismic resistant performance of building, they are required to have lots of seismic resistant wall which restrict layout of wall and opening. The object of this study is to develop low-rise prefabricated steel building with high seismic resistance performance using hybrid structural system using wooden materials. We suggest the method of sandwich panel structures, which steel column is sandwiched by structural plywood connected by bolt joints. To improve productivity and seismic resistance, this paper suggests the construction process using inserted wall sliding construction method. To clarify the resistant mechanism and structural performance, a horizontal loading test is conducted. From the results, the resistant mechanism in the diagonal direction is appeared; it means that the effective resistant system can be obtained. Also, the composite effect of steel and plywood is presented to give the high strength and rigidity. From the observation of test results, the analysis model is assumed. And also, it is confirmed that the proposed model can evaluate the strength of test results.

After the earthquake events, building damage assessment is detected by experts. However, in fact, it takes a long time to conduct the assessment process during field survey. Also, it is worried about ensuring the safety of the surveys. In recent years, structural health monitoring has been attempted. This paper suggests a damage evaluation method based on temperature measurement using thermoelectric devices. The cyclic loading tests were conducted as parameters with the loading amplitude; three types of constant amplitude, and three types of variable amplitude with gradual decrease, gradual increase, and random amplitude, totaling six types of dynamic cyclic bending. As a result of applying the damage evaluation method to the loading test, it was confirmed that the cumulative damage calculated from the temperature measurement and the cumulative damage calculated from the input displacement were almost equal. In addition, seismic response analysis was conducted using an analytical model of a four-story building, and the effectiveness of the measurement method using thermoelectric devices was examined. The results of seismic response analysis shows that the natural frequency of the primary mode of the displacement response was lower than 4Hz, and the results of the sweep loading test confirmed that the thermoelectric devices captured the waveform of the temperature up to 4Hz.

Active and reactive power control using smart inverters (SI) is highly effective in mitigating voltage rise in distribution systems, which is caused by the high penetration of photovoltaic (PV) power generation. However, the voltage control performance depends on the SI settings. We propose a new approach that uniquely determines the parameter settings for volt-VAR-watt control based on the active and reactive power-voltage sensitivity matrix of SIs. Because the voltage sensitivity matrix is calculated based solely on the impedance of the distribution system and it does not vary with time or the number of SIs, the proposed method can determine the individual SI parameter settings theoretically and efficiently without the need for optimization problem formulation, power flow calculation, or communication between the SIs. To evaluate the proposed method, the voltage control performance in a real distribution system model with a large number of PV installations is compared with that of volt-VAR-watt control using default parameters and optimized parameters in case that the load demand and PV generation are given in advance. The results show that the proposed method achieves better control performance than other conventional methods in terms of all the evaluation indices; in particular, it realizes effective control in the case of voltage rise. Furthermore, the proposed method can also achieve the same level of voltage control performance as the optimization results, even though it uses only the voltage sensitivity matrix and SI rating capacities for parameters determination, and the accuracy of the proposed voltage control can be ensured.

The power hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) simulation has become a popular testing approach due to the flexibility it provides and the high-fidelity of its results. It is expected to be utilized as an advanced laboratory testing scheme to validate the grid support functions of distributed energy resources (DERs) because it can evaluate the interaction between the power system and DERs. Despite the strong demand to utilize the PHIL simulation for such testing, the literature that elaborates on the practical design of PHIL simulation based testing (hereafter called “PHIL testing”) environment including laboratory device setup, power system models, and test procedures is very limited. The simulation models, interfacing with the tested equipment, and data collection approaches are all different parameters that need to be fine-tuned for the successful execution of PHIL testing. It is vital for such successful test experiences to be shared to build universal knowledge around PHIL testing. In order to fill this knowledge gap, this paper presents such practical and essential techniques for the PHIL testing to share the knowledge for promotion of the PHIL simulation utilization. The development of PHIL testing environment to validate the smart inverter functions, i.e., volt-var function and frequency-watt function, is focused on in terms of laboratory setup, power system modeling, interfacing, and test procedure. The volt-var and frequency-watt functions of a 500 kW smart inverter of photovoltaic are validated on the basis of the presented techniques. Detailed test configurations, test procedures, and simulation models are presented along with obtained test results.

Inertia reduction due to inverter-based resource (IBR) penetration deteriorates power system stability, which can be addressed using virtual inertia (VI) control. There are two types of implementation methods for VI control: grid-following (GFL) and grid-forming (GFM). There is an apparent difference among them for the voltage regulation capability, because the GFM controls IBR to act as a voltage source and GFL controls it to act as a current source. The difference affects the performance of the VI control function, because stable voltage conditions help the inertial response to contribute to system stability. However, GFL can provide the voltage control function with reactive power controllability, and it can be activated simultaneously with the VI control function. This study analyzes the performance of GFL-type VI control with a voltage control function for frequency stability improvement. The results show that the voltage control function decreases the voltage variation caused by the fault, improving the responsivity of the VI function. In addition, it is found that the voltage control is effective in suppressing the power swing among synchronous generators. The clarification of the contribution of the voltage control function to the performance of the VI control is novelty of this paper.

We used our previously proposed structural-health-monitoring system that uses machine learning and requires only one sensor to identify damage locations of braces and walls and applied it to two wooden-house model to identify damage locations. In our previous studies, we succeeded in identifying damage locations with 90% accuracy in a wooden-house model with two crossed braces by using our system. We also conducted an experiment on an actual wooden house in Oita prefecture, Japan and identified the damage locations with an accuracy of 86.0%. For this study, we used this system to identify the damage locations of a wooden-house model with only 28 diagonal braces and another wooden-house model with 26 walls. We removed only one brace and one wall from each model and assumed that they were the damage locations. Shaking was generated by attaching a motor as a vibration source to models. The vibration of models was detected using a piezoelectric sensor, and the output voltage waveform of the piezoelectric sensor was recorded using a digital oscilloscope. This output voltage waveform was analyzed using a neural network. Using a three-layer neural network, four sides of both models were identified separately and more than 95% of the braces and walls were recorded. Damage locations throughout the entire braced and walled models were then identified using a neural network with three to ten layers. As a result, the identification rate was 94.5% for the braced model with the neural network with four layers and 97.8% for the walled model with the neural network with five layers.

We are finding the location of damage to timber and wooden houses. Two years ago, we succeeded in classifying the damage location with 90% accuracy in a wooden brace house. Last year, we conducted an experiment on a model house in Oita Prefecture and improved the classification rate by preprocessing data. Therefore, we conducted experiments to further improve the classification rate and practical application. The vibration data of the model house in Oita Prefecture was collected using multiple 3-axis acceleration sensors equipped with wireless communication means and monitored at Katsushika Campus, Tokyo University of Science, about 969 km away. By classifying the waveform data by CNN, we succeeded in classifying the damage location and degree of damage with a maximum accuracy of 86.0%.

Recently, there are many discussions about repairability and recovery on damaged buildings. It is desirable to establish the design manuals for recovery considering continuous use of structures. In our previous researches, the damaged steel members of H-shaped and square tube section were reproduced by loading test. From the loading test results, the inelastic behavior and restoring force characteristics were clarified, and also the analytical model were proposed which can chase test results well. It means that we have already conducted the member based research on repairability. So, in this study, to investigate the inelastic behavior and restoring force characteristics of repaired steel frames, the loading test is performed on half size scaled - partial frame model as parameters with strength ratio of column-beam and panel-beam. It is assumed that the various type of failure mode is generated on original state and repaired state. During loading test on original state, local buckling is observed on H-shaped steel beam. Therefore, the damaged area is repaired by welding cover plates method which is recommended by Japanese restoration manual for damaged building structure by severe seismic disasters. And also, the loading tests on repaired state is performed, and it is confirmed that the strength is restored at the same or high level compared with original state. However, in case of beam failure mode on original state, different failure mode is observed on repaired state. Furthermore, a finite element analysis is performed, and the resistant mechanism during ultimate state is investigated analytically in detail.

A surge of needs for the low carbon society promotes a spread of electric vehicle (EV). EVs could be charged at night simultaneously, as a result, severe voltage drop may happen. The authors have proposed the method which can compensate the voltage drop caused by EV charging by means of adjusting charging schedules and controlling reactive power. And, we have confirmed the effectiveness of the method by estimating steady state in order to figure out the limitation of the control capability. In this paper, from a practical viewpoint, we propose the method to consider dynamic behavior. In this method, the EV can not only finish charging effectively but also control minimal reactive power to keep admissible voltage with monitoring system voltage.

Recently, there have been many discussions about repairability for damaged building structures after severe disasters. In japan, a technical manual for repairing damaged buildings has been established; however, its repair abilities have not been reported sufficiently. In this study, the Box-Shaped Repair Method which has been suggested on Japanese technical guideline is adopted for the damaged steel members, and its applicability and feasibility are investigated experimentally. Herein, the damaged portion on steel member such as plastic hinge or local buckling occurrence is covered with steel plate by welding. So the loading test is performed as parameters with section size of steel members, thickness of cover plate and welding size during repair process, and loading path. The procedure of this study is as follows; the first, the damaged test specimens of H-shaped steel member with local buckling are reproduced by initial loading test. Next, the damaged specimens with plastic residual deformation are returned to the original position. Finally, the loading test is done after repair. From test results, it is confirmed that the fundamental structural performance such as the rigidity, maximum strength, and absorbed energy after repair are improved by comparison of original state. And also, this performance can be controlled by adjusting the thickness of cover plate and welding condition. Furthermore, from the observation of test results, the analytical model of repaired steel member is suggested. From the comparison of test results, it can be said that the proposed model shows good agreements both test results and theoretical figure.

Recently, a lot of building structures have been experienced severe natural disasters, and it was reported that various types of terrible collapse mode were occurred. And also, there are many discussions about repairability and recovery on damaged buildings over the world. In particular, there has been focused on new keyword a²¯ Resilience a²° in any field including structural engineering. In Japan, a technical guideline for repairing damaged buildings has been established. However, the applicability and feasibility of repair method and recovery has not been well reported. Herein, to investigate the recovery and ultimate seismic state of repaired steel framed structures, experimental and analytical studies are conducted. Herein, the actual repairing technique for steel framed structure is suggested. During experimental study, the damaged steel member is reproduced by loading tests with consideration of past reports of mega-earthquake disasters. The next, the damaged portion is repaired by proposed method by use of steel-cover plate technique. After this repair process, the loading test is done again. And the recovery of structural performance is estimated by comparison of original and repaired state. From the test results, it is confirmed that the strength and ductility are improved after repair. Furthermore, the analytical model and restoring force characteristics of repaired steel member are suggested by observation of ultimate behavior during loading test. Here, the purpose on seismic design is to guarantee the overall failure mode formation on frames. So, the structural demand of strength and rigidity and column-to-beam strength ratio on repaired state are discussing analytically.

This paper presents a new computation method to determine simultaneously the optimal parameters of several voltage regulators such as the load-ratio control transformer (LRT) and step voltage regulator (SVR) installed in a radial distribution network. The proposed method determines a combination of their control parameters by minimizing the weighted sum of deviations of line voltage from the upper and lower voltage limits and the amounts of voltage violations by referring to the stored data measured by IT switches, which are sectionalizing switches with sensors installed in the distribution feeder. The optimization algorithm is based on particle swarm optimization (PSO), which is one of the nonlinear optimization methods, by using the concept of swarm intelligence. In order to confirm the validity of the proposed method, numerical simulations are carried out on a distribution network model. © 2008 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

In this paper, we propose an experimental multiobjective evaluation method based on the use of distribution network equipment to evaluate distribution network configuration candidates with distributed generators (DGs), such as photovoltaic generation systems and wind power generation systems, by hourly changing states of sectionalizing switches satisfying constraints of voltage and line current limit. In the proposed experimental multiobjective evaluation method, the optimal network configuration is determined by using multiobjective evaluation based on total distribution loss rate, maximum voltage total harmonic distortion, and maximum voltage imbalance rate in order to reduce distribution loss and to keep power quality. The proposed method is applied to radial and loop distribution network configurations by using an experiment of scaled-down three-phase distribution network with 1 bank distribution transformer, 5 distribution lines, 5 sectionalizing switches, 12 single-phase loads, and 5 DGs. © 2008 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Recently, there are many discussions about repairability and recovery for damaged buildings after severe disasters, and new keywords such as “Resilience” and “Redundancy” have been closed-up. This paper investigates the repairability of damaged steel building structures which experienced severe disasters such as earthquake input motions. At first, the analytical model for repaired steel member is explained, and also its applicability is represented by comparison with past test results. The next, the ultimate states of steel framed model of original state and repairing state under seismic loads are calculated by limit analysis. Herein, an analytical frame model is designed that the whole story collapse mode is predominated in original state. And also, to adjust the failure mode of frame after repair, a various strategy of repairing portion in frame is assumed. From the analytical results, it is observed that the strength and energy absorption are enhanced if the adequate repairing strategy is adopted to generate the whole collapse failure mode. That is, it can be said that these repaired frame has high repairability and resilience.

Checlear O-157 is the immunochromatography test kit which is developed for easy and rapid detection of E.coli O-157 in food. Detection limited of E.coliO-157 by this method was 5 × 104cells/mL. Compare to the result of culture method (official method), data of Checlear O-157 correspond with culture method (official method). But Checlear O-157 showed cross reaction with some strains (Citrobacter freundii, Salmonella urbana, Bacillus cereus) other than E.coli. Considering those results, Checlear O-157 will be useful in preliminary screening of E.coli O157 in food.

To gain insight into the molecular mechanism for nociceptin function, functional coupling of the nociceptin receptor expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells with phospholipase A 2 (PLA 2 ) was examined. In the presence of A23187, a calcium ionophore, activation of the nociceptin receptor induced time- and dose-dependent release of arachidonate, which was abolished by pretreatment of the cells with pertussis toxin (PTX). Immunoblot analysis using anti-Ca 2+ -dependent cytosolic PLA 2 (cPLA 2 ) monoclonal antibody demonstrates that activation of the nociceptin receptor induces a time- and dose-dependent electrophoretic mobility shift of cPLA 2 , suggesting that phosphorylation of cPLA 2 is induced by the nociceptin receptor. Pretreatment of the cells with PD98059, a specific mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase 1 inhibitor, or staurosporine, a potent inhibitor of serine/threonine protein kinases and tyrosine protein kinases, partially inhibited the nociceptin-induced cPLA 2 phosphorylation and arachidonate release. These results indicate that the nociceptin receptor expressed in CHO cells couples with cPLA 2 through the action of PTX-sensitive G proteins and suggest that cPLA 2 is activated by phosphorylation induced by the nociceptin receptor via mechanisms partially dependent on p44 and p42 mitogen-activated protein kinases.

The authors investigated the influence on the properties of vacuum-deposited thin films of organic dyes prepared applying magnetic fields. In spite of a weak magnetic-field intensity (0.1–0.3 T), the effect of the magnetic field could be observed in PL spectra, X-ray diffraction pattern and IR-RAS spectra on p-quaterphenyl (4PO). 4PO molecules are reported to orient almost normal to the substrate, and the molecular orientation of 4PO is disturbed by applying a magnetic field during growth. It is found that some 4PO molecules which are oriented perpendicular to the substrate by a magnetic field will become incorporated into the original alignment domain.

To examine the effect of halothane on the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i)-tension relationship of rat aortic smooth muscle.Rat aortic rings without endothelia were loaded with the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator, Fura PE3-AM, and then mounted in organ baths. The changes in isometric tension and [Ca2+]i were measured simultaneously. In one series ionomycin (10 nM-3 microM) was added to normal Krebs' solution cumulatively in the absence and presence of halothane (1.5%, 3%). In the other series, CaCl2 (0.3-3 mM) was added to Ca2+-free Krebs' solution including high KCl (50 mM), phenylephrine (100 nM) or prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha, 1-3 microM) in the absence and presence of halothane (1.5%, 3%). The linear part of [Ca2+]i-tension relationship was analyzed by a linear regression.Halothane, 1.5%, had no effect on the normal [Ca2+]i-tension relationship obtained with the calcium ionophore, ionomycin (10 nM-3 microM), but halothane 3% decreased the slope of the relationship (0.239 +/- 0.037 for control and 0.110 +/- 0.010 for halothane 3%, P0.05). Halothane, 1.5% and 3%, did not change the [Ca2+]i-tension relationship obtained with CaCl2 (0.3-3 mM) in the presence of high KCl (50 mM) or phenylephrine (100 nM). In contrast, halothane, 3%, inhibited the intercept of [Ca2+]i-tension relationship obtained with CaCl2 (0.3-3 mM) in the presence of prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha, 1-3 microM) (45.708 +/- 4.233 for control and 26.997 +/- 2.522 for halothane 3%, P0.01).Halothane decreases the Ca2+ sensitivity and that in the presence of PGF2.

Oxidative stresses such as UV irradiation to mammalian cells triggers a variety of oxistress responses including activation of transcription factors. Recently, activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) has been shown to be under oxidoreduction (redox) regulation controlled by thioredoxin (TRX), which is one of major endogenous redox-regulating molecules with thiol reducing activity. In order to elucidate where in the cellular compartment TRX participates in NF-κB regulation, we investigated the intracellular localization of TRX. UVB irradiation induced translocation of TRX from the cytoplasm into the nucleus. In our in vitro diamide-induced cross-linking study, we showed that TRX can associate directly with NF-κB p50. Overexpression of wild-type TRX suppressed induction of luciferase activity under NF-κB-binding sites in response to UV irradiation compared with the mock transfectant. In contrast, overexpression of nuclear-targeted TRX enhanced the luciferase activity. Thus, TRX seems to play dual and opposing roles in the regulation of NF-κB. In the cytoplasm, it interferes with the signals to IκB kinases and blocks the degradation of IκB. In the nucleus, however, TRX enhances NF-κB transcriptional activities by enhancing its ability to bind DNA. This two-step TRX-dependent regulation of the NF-κB complex may be a novel activation mechanism of redox-sensitive transcription factors.

Properties of thin films of organic dyes prepared under a magnetic field are studied. In spite of the magnetic field strength of 0.1–0.3 T, the effect of the magnetic field was observed in the PL spectra and X-ray diffraction pattern of vacuum-deposited p -quaterphenyl films that show an orientation. The degree of change depended on the magnetic field strength. The phenomenon can be explained by considering that the normal growth of original alignment of p -quaterphenyl molecules due to π – π orbital stacking will be disturbed by the irregular orientation due to the magnetic field. On the other hand, this was not observed for diamine derivatives and aluminum quinoline with amorphous film structure.

Naloxone is a widely used opioid antagonist.To analyze the cellular responses induced by naloxone in the absence of opioid agonists, Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, which do not endogenously express the opioid receptors, have been permanently transfected with the cloned complementary DNAs to produce the [micro sign]-, delta-, and kappa-opioid receptors. Naloxone dose-dependently reduced forskolin-stimulated cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) formation in the cells expressing the [micro sign]- and kappa-opioid receptors, although the effect was less than that of opioid agonists [D-Ala2, N-Me-Phe4, Gly-ol5]enkephalin and U50,488, respectively. The naloxone-induced cAMP reduction was abolished by pretreatment of the cells with pertussis toxin, which suggests that pertussis toxin-sensitive G proteins (Gi and/or Go) are involved in the response. Cellular guanosine triphosphatase activity was significantly increased by naloxone in the cells expressing the [micro sign]- and kappa-opioid receptors, which suggests that the application of naloxone to these receptors induces activation of the G proteins. We conclude that naloxone possesses partial agonistic activity on the [micro sign]- and kappa-opioid receptors expressed from complementary DNAs in CHO cells. Implications: In this study, we examined whether naloxone has agonistic activity on the opioid receptors by using cultured cells transfected with delta-, [micro sign]-, and kappa-opioid receptor complementary DNAs. Our data indicate that naloxone is a partial agonist on the [micro sign]- and kappa-opioid receptors. (Anesth Analg 1998;87:450-5)