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Mainland China's domestic academic literature on foreign issues can be regarded as a reference for its policymaking since the early stages of the "Reform and Opening Up". This investigation constructs a multi-theoretical framework for examining and interpreting mainland China's domestic academic narrative surrounding higher education internationalization in foreign countries/regions. Taking an academic journal data-based approach, it presents the findings and further discusses China's domestic disciplinary culture in the field of international higher education studies, as well as the possible impact of such narratives on its practices.

In the digital era, traditional communication has undergone a drastic transformation into computer-mediated communication (CMC), which can be classified into synchronous CMC (SCMC) and asynchronous CMC (ASCMC). This study compared the effects of extracurricular CMC among students about schoolwork on students' digital reading achievement between SCMC and ASCMC, with the categorization of students into three levels, i.e., top, medium, and low achievers. Data from 6,109 samples representing 183 schools in Japan were retrieved from the dataset of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018. Due to the hierarchical nature of the data, multilevel regression analysis was adopted to identify the variance of studentand school-level. The results revealed a significant positive effect of SCMC on the digital reading performance of students, while ASCMC had a negative impact. Furthermore, among the three categories of achievers, medium achievers were the group most sensitive to both SCMC and ASCMC at any frequency, while top achievers were not significantly influenced by SCMC and ASCMC at any frequency, and low achievers were influenced by SCMC and ASCMC only at several frequencies. These findings indicate that it is more advisable for students to use SCMC, and treatment should be customized to students of different levels.

Small water supply systems (SWSSs) are often more vulnerable to waterborne disease outbreaks. In Japan, many SWSSs operate without regulation under the Waterworks Law, yet there is limited investigation into microbial contamination and the associated health risks. In this study, the microbiological water quality of four SWSSs that utilize mountain streams as water sources and do not install water treatment facilities were monitored for over 2 years. In investigated SWSSs, the mean heterotrophic plate counts were below 350 CFU/mL, and the total bacterial loads (16S rDNA concentration) ranged from 4.71 to 5.35 log10 copies/mL. The results also showed the consistent presence of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), i.e., Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens, suggesting the potential of fecal pollution. E. coli was then utilized as an indicator to assess the health risk posed by E. coli O157:H7 and Campylobacter jejuni. The results indicated that the estimated mean annual risk of infection and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) exceeded acceptable levels in all SWSSs for the two reference pathogens. To ensure microbial water safety, implementing appropriate water treatment facilities with an estimated mean required reduction of 5–6 log10 was necessary. This study highlighted the potential microbial contamination and health risk level in SWSSs that utilize mountain streams as water sources, even though the water sources were almost not affected by human activities. Furthermore, this study would also be helpful in supporting risk-based water management to ensure a safe water supply in SWSSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a core functional material in acoustic resonators and filters, the elasticity of aluminum nitride (AlN) piezoelectric thin film and its correlated intrinsic properties deserve priority attention. This paper presents an in‐depth investigation of elastic softening and stiffening effect induced by stress loading in AlN piezoelectric thin film. Based on the Born‐Lande equation, the physical mechanism of such new intrinsic elastic property is revealed and predicted quantitatively for the first time from the perspective of atomic interaction forces. It is found that a maximum 6.7% modulation range of elasticity coefficient can be achieved under ultimate stress loading conditions from (−2.5, −2.5) to (2.5, 2.5) GPa. © 2023 Institute of Electrical Engineer of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the mass penetration of renewable energy (RE) in Japan, the replacement reserve for feed‐in tariff (RR‐FIT) was introduced in 2021. To promote the further introduction of RE, we attempted to provide reserve power value to the balancing market by controlling the headroom of photovoltaic (PV) power with a PV power plant as a research subject. At the planning stage, the information available is the predicted value, and PV prediction error always occur on the day. Therefore, in this research, we proposed an algorithm to determine the absorption of prediction errors headroom in PV output, thereby maximally reducing negative imbalance. In addition, we developed a statistical model, SVR model, and combined models to calculate and compare the number of imbalance spots and amount of imbalance. Accordingly, the proposed methods can significantly reduce imbalance compared to planning with predicted values, without setting the headroom of prediction errors. © 2023 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bibliometric analysis is a mature method for quantitative evaluation of academic productivity. In view of the rapid development of research in the field of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in the past decade, we used bibliometric methods to comprehensively analyze the literature in the field of SLE from 2013 to 2022. Methods: The relevant literature in the field of SLE from 2013 to 2022 was screened in the Web of Science Core Collection database. After obtaining and sorting out the data, CiteSpace and VOSviewer software were used to visualize the relevant data, and SPSS software was used for scientific statistics. Results: A total of 18,450 publications were included in this study. The number of articles published over the past 10 years has generally shown an upward trend, while Altmetric attention scores have also shown a clear upward trend in general and in most countries. Citation analysis and Altmetric analysis can mutually prove and supplement the influence of papers. The USA, China, Japan, Italy, and the UK are the most productive countries, but China and Japan are significantly inferior to other countries in terms of research influence. Four of the top ten authors are at the center of the collaboration network. LUPUS is the most contributing journal. The theme of systemic lupus erythematosus research mainly focuses on the pathogenesis, treatment, and management of SLE, and the emerging trend is related research on machine learning and immune cells. Conclusion: This study shows the research status of SLE, clarifies the main contributors in this field, discusses and analyzes the research hotspots and trends in this field, and provides reference for further research in this field to promote the development of SLE research. Key Points • Through bibliometric analysis, Altmetric analysis, and visual analysis, we reveal the global productivity characteristics of SLE-related papers in the past 10 years. • The number of global SLE-related studies has shown a significant increase, indicating that SLE is still a hot topic and deserves further study. • Citation analysis and Altmetric analysis can mutually prove and supplement the influence of papers, and the attention of related literature among non-professional researchers is increasing. • The theme of SLE research mainly focuses on the pathogenesis, treatment, and management of SLE. The emerging trend is machine learning and immune cells, which may provide new strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of SLE in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an online compensation predictive control method based on hybrid torque sharing function (HTSF) is proposed to reduce current spikes in the torque sharing control of switched reluctance motor (SRM). First, predictive control is introduced to the torque sharing function (TSF) and a new cost function is designed with Laplace multiplier method by predicting the current and torque of the next cycle of SRM. Then the optimal current control amount is carried out. Second, the ratio of the torque error to the desired torque and its derivative are compensated online to the current phase at the beginning of the commutation overlap period to accurately track the torque, and the torque distribution is optimized by a HTSF at the end of the phase change to further reduce the current spikes and suppress the torque ripple. Finally, the experiment on 8/6 four‐phase SRM is achieved to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed control strategy, and the results show that the current spikes and the torque ripple are reduced by 25% and 14.5% respectively. Therefore, compared with traditional TSF control, this method can effectively reduce the SRM torque ripple and excessive current spikes. © 2023 Institute of Electrical Engineer of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To realize Carbon Neutrality, renewable energy would be the main source of electricity, such as photovoltaic (PV) power generation in the Japanese power system. However, a decrease in the number of operating thermal generators, the main source of balancing power in the Japanese balancing market, is causing concerns regarding a shortage of balancing power in the future. PV can therefore provide balancing power in addition to energy; thus, the PV power economic value in electricity markets will become diversified. A solution examination and rationality analysis of technical issues for PV‐based balancing power creation are needed. Here, by applying the proposed headroom control method based on the PV output curtailment beforehand, PV generator optimizes benefit by bidding into the balancing market when the spot market price is very low. Optimizing the bidding strategy on the spot market and balancing market is conducted, and battery integration is also considered. The optimization simulation results validate the possibility of creating balancing power by a PV power producer, and the total revenue valuation verifies a more beneficial effect. © 2023 Institute of Electrical Engineer of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a designed experimental simulation scheme for dynamic air gap eccentricity (DAGE) faults in permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG), along with the testing of their electromechanical characteristics. Unlike previous studies, this paper proposes and applies an experimental device setting scheme that enables accurate and convenient calibration of the DAGE fault degree, offering a novel solution for practical DAGE simulation. The experimental unit measures the electromechanical characteristics of the PMSG before and after the DAGE fault, taking into account the influence of load. The mechanical parameter considered is the stator vibration, while the electrical parameter is the circulating current parallel branches (CCPB) inside the stator winding. The characteristic frequencies of stator vibration and CCPB under the DAGE fault are analyzed based on the experimental results and verified through theoretical calculations and finite element analysis (FEA). The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed DAGE experimental device. Moreover, DAGE failure increases the strength of stator vibration and introduces new frequency components, namely fr and 2f ± fr. Under normal operation, the PMSG exhibits no CCPB. However, DAGE faults cause CCPB with frequency components of f ± fr. Moreover, the severity of the fault degree positively correlates with larger root‐mean‐square (RMS) values and characteristic frequency amplitudes of stator vibration and CCPB. Furthermore, the amplitude of stator vibration and CCPB decreases with increasing load. © 2023 Institute of Electrical Engineer of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The acceptance of ethical literary criticism in Japan has gone through three stages: initial period, high period and falling period. The main reason for its decline lies in the prevalent misunderstanding in Japanese academia, simply equating ethical literary criticism with Chinese traditional ethical criticism or moral criticism. To dispel misunderstandings and deepen Japanese scholars' understanding of ethical literary criticism, it is necessary to emphasize the interdisciplinary characteristic of ethical literary criticism within the academic community in Japan. Taking into account the characteristics of Japanese literature and the research tradition of Japanese academia, this paper suggests three interdisciplinary approaches: 1) the interdisciplinary path of literature and psychology, which enjoys a broad research base in Japan; 2) the interdisciplinary path of literature and brain science, an area that has not gained substantial research in Japan; 3) the interdisciplinary path of literature and science and technology with significant development prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus (CKD-aP) is very common and sometimes refractory to treatment in hemodialysis patients. In a trial conducted in Japan, nalfurafine, effectively reduced itching of treatment-resistant CKD-aP. Our present bridging study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of nalfurafine in Chinese cohort with refractory CKD-aP. In this phase III, multicenter bridging study conducted at 22 sites in China, 141 Chinese cases with refractory CKD-aP were randomly (2:2:1) assigned to receive 5 μg, 2.5 μg of nalfurafine or a placebo orally for 14 days in a double-blind manner. The primary end point was the mean decrease in the mean visual analogue scale (VAS) from baseline. A total of 141 patients were included. The primary endpoint analysis based on full analysis set (FAS), the difference of mean VAS decrease between 5 μg nalfurafine and placebo group was 11.37 mm (p =.041); the difference of mean VAS decrease between 2.5 μg and placebo group was 8.81 mm (p =.110). Both differences were greater than 4.13 mm, which met its predefined success criterion of at least 50% efficacy of the key Japanese clinical trial. The per protocol set (PPS) analysis got similar results. The incidence of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) was 49.1% in 5μg, 38.6% in 2.5 μg and 33.3% in placebo group. The most common ADR was insomnia, seen in 21 of the 114 nalfurafine patients. Oral nalfurafine effectively reduced itching with few significant ADRs in Chinese hemodialysis patients with refractory pruritus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molybdenum (Mo) is a trace element sensitive to oceanic redox conditions. The fidelity of sedimentary Mo as a paleoredox proxy of coeval seawater depends on the extent of Mo remobilization during postdepositional processes. Here we present the Mo content and isotope profiles for deep sediments from the Nankai Trough, Japan. The Mo signature suggests that these sediments have experienced extensive early diagenesis and hydrothermal alteration at depth. Iron (Fe)‐manganese (Mn) (oxyhydr)oxide alteration combined with Mo thiolation leads to a more than twenty‐fold enrichment of Mo within the sulfate reduction zone. Hydrothermal fluids and Mo adsorption onto Fe‐Mn (oxyhydr)oxides cause extremely negative Mo‐isotope values at the underthrust zone. These postdepositional Mo signals might be misinterpreted as expanded anoxia in the water column. Our findings highlight the importance of constraining postdepositional effects on Mo‐based proxies during paleoredox reconstruction. Plain Language Summary: Molybdenum (Mo) serves as a proxy for marine paleoredox reconstruction, offering valuable insights into how the oceanic oxygen level evolves with Earth's climate. The reliability of the Mo proxy depends on how much Mo is transferred in and out of the sediments after deposition. In this study, we investigate the Mo content and Mo‐isotope composition of sediments, along with porewater geochemistry, from the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Site C0023 down to 1,200 m below seafloor. We find that post‐depositional remobilization of Mo leads to Mo enrichments in sulfidic intervals of the sediment column. By contrast, at the underthrust hydrothermal zone, we suggest that Mo from hydrothermal fluids is mainly adsorbed onto mineral oxides resulting in the Mo‐isotope value to as low as −1.59‰. These Mo signals deviate from their primary values during deposition, but share some similarities with those derived from a range of marine redox conditions. As such, future studies need to evaluate the Mo behavior after burial before using this proxy for paleoredox reconstruction. Key Points: Fe‐Mn (oxyhydr)oxide alteration combined with Mo thiolation leads to a more than 20‐fold enrichment of Mo within the sulfate‐methane transition zoneAdsorption of hydrothermally derived Mo onto Fe‐Mn (oxyhydr)oxide results in extremely low δ98Mo values in the solid phasePotential postdepositional effects need to be assessed when using Mo‐based proxies for paleoredox reconstruction [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has undergone a transition from a dynastic state to a nation-state from modern times. The "dynastic realm" subsequently became "national territory," and the subjects of dynastic rule also became members of the Chinese nation. Under the backdrop of both domestic and international hardships, border regions became spaces for the practice of nationalism. In particular, after the September 18 incident, Chinese people paid more attention to the Northeast. Intellectuals and political elites attempted to establish the notion of a unified nation-state to resist the Japanese imperialist invasion. By writing about natural landscapes with Northeast features, war-ravaged landscapes from the invasion, and landscapes on the lives of members of the nation, war of resistance songs and Northeast resistance literature established the boundaries between the Chinese nation and the "other" (invaders), and molded the northeast, a border region with diverse ethnic groups and culture into a part of the territory of the Chinese nation. Most writers of war of resistance songs like "On the Songhua River" (松花江上 Songhua jiang shang) were not from the Northeast, and their landscape writing was based on their imagination and perception of the Northeast. The landscape writing of Northeast exiled authors was based on memories of their "lost home." The generation and transmission of this landscape writing itself constituted a part of the national imagination and identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to discover the most effective water environment improvement measures for the 109 most important watersheds of Japan, which are well-known Class-A watersheds under the jurisdiction of the Japanese government. An artificial intelligence (AI) model has been created by applying Deep Learning technologies with the expectation that an AI model is able to take adevantage of the multiple categorical water environmental data, and watershed information from 109 watersheds has been collected as teacher data to train the AI model. This study aims to find the best way to present the water environment data to an artificial intelligence model. To provide the most reliable water quality estimations, three different ways of water environment data presentation have been examined. It has been identified that presenting the raw environment data to the AI model as teacher data is the best way for building an AI model. This study concludes by pointing out that preprocessing data will cause information loss of teacher data and will also add biased information to teacher data. Therefore, using raw data without preprocessing as teacher data will help build a more reliable AI model. It is hoped that this study will contribute to establishing a more reliable river environment planning and management methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the different ways in which the notion of multiculturalism in Japan has been influenced by various social and historical trajectories. Since the Japanese government started to promote "internationalization" in the 1980's, slogans such as "international exchange," "cultural exchange," and "understanding of other cultures" have become the most popular expressions among policy makers and educators. This article demonstrates that the notion of Japanese multiculturalism is intricately and deeply embedded in the society, culture, and education system of Japan. It also points out that this particularly Japanese style of multiculturalism excludes some immigrants who have lived in Japan for generations, and that this exclusion is not the result of ideological products, but rather the effect of multiple power relations.

Point‐of‐interest (POI) recommendation has always faced serious data sparsity problem. Most of the existing POI recommendation methods do not consider the bidirectional relationship between the user‐preference for locations and the location‐ attractiveness to users in the original dataset when solving the sparsity. For this problem, a point‐of‐interest recommendation method based on bidirectional matrix and deep belief network (POI_DBNBM) is proposed in this paper. Specially, from the perspectives of users and locations, we first construct two different matrices with bidirectional relationship by mapping the original dataset, and we use deep belief network (DBN) with strong learning ability to predict the two matrices. Then, a local–global weight optimization method is developed to weight and fuse the two result matrices obtained by DBN, so as to achieve the more precise user's rating prediction matrix for locations. The abundant experimental studies and evaluations are conducted on FourSquare dataset. Results are encouraging and better than those previously reported on the dataset. © 2023 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article draws on prospect theory to explain the variation of China's risk propensity during the 2012–14 Diaoyu/Senkaku islands disputes with Japan. China's initial reference point 1.0 regarding the disputed islands was the 'shelving agreement' 'shelving the sovereignty dispute and a tacit acceptance of Japan's de facto exclusive control. So after Japan's 'nationalization' of the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands, China was clearly in a domain of losses. China was thus highly risk-acceptant by intensifying maritime and air patrolling, engaging in provocative behaviors, and suspending crisis management mechanisms. Meanwhile, China's reference point evolved. Discourse analysis of Chinese official statements and media coverage indicated that regularized patrolling or joint control became China's reference point 2.0. As it started to act from a domain of gains, Chinese behaviors turned risk-averse by scaling back patrolling and resuming negotiations over crisis management mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the effects of essential oils mainly containing Eupatorium fortune Turcz (EFCO, E. fortune Turcz extract, water calamus extract, grapefruit extract, lavender extract, mixed in the ratio of 6:1:1:1:0.1 by volume) on heart rate variability (HRV), forced vital capacity (FVC), and salivary hormones in 33 scientific researchers. The experimental design was a quasi‐experimental study with pre‐ and post‐testing and no control group. Subjects were tested for four immediate indicators before and after essential oils inhalation, for 30 s before each meal for the next 30 days, and for body mass index (BMI) after 30 days. For immediate effects, we observed significant increases in HRV (31%), spirometry (12%) and salivary oxytocin (26%), and a decrease in salivary cortisol (4.5%). BMI decreased by 1% after 1 month of intervention. Based on the observed changes in physiological parameters, EFCO helped to reduce stress, improve exercise performance and mood, and even promote weight loss. © 2022 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual vector is applied in neutral‐point‐clamped (NPC) three‐level converter finite control set model predictive control (FCS‐MPC) strategy due to its good performance of less current ripples and high power efficiency. However, in the process of adding virtual vectors, some redundant virtual vectors will be selected. Excessive virtual vector will increase the computational burden and affect grid‐tied current performance. A virtual vector optimal selection strategy for model predictive control to determine the vectors is proposed. The strategy calculates the fluctuation of grid‐tied current through theoretical analysis. Based on the analysis of amplitude fluctuation of grid‐tied current, the graphics of coverage angle visualization can be obtained under different virtual vector. The angle of the required virtual vectors is obtained through the graphics of coverage angle visualization. The number of virtual vector can be determined when the error current angle range covers the entire vector graph. The proposed control strategy was compared with the conventional control strategies, including excessive virtual vectors or with no any virtual vector. Experimental results show that the proposed control strategy can significantly reduce THD, grid‐tied current error and computational burden. © 2022 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the severe industrial pollution from World War II, the Setouchi Sea areas and its islands (the Triennale hosting areas) experienced severe economic and population shrinkage. The target of SDG 8.9 is to promote "direct tourism GDP" and "tourism-related jobs" by devising and implementing policies (e.g., some Triennale and Biennale) for sustainable tourism. Triennale-driven tourism is an essential component of sustainable tourism and city revitalization, lasting almost 20 years in Japan. The current paper attempts an empirical analysis into the positive impacts of exhibition-driven sustainable tourism for SDG 8.9 in these rural islands (from pollution to green and low-carbon islands revitalization). The panel data of "pollution load of living environment items" by cities in Japan and "tourists, income, and population" from 14 areas in Kagawa were monitored using multiple methods, such as descriptive and inferential statistics (the one-way ANOVA test and Simple Linear Regression (SLR)). It is a new attempt to devise and implement policies and theories for a sustainable tourism-related industry and its SDGs. Therefore, the present findings offer meaningful implications in academia and industry, not only in Setouchi Sea areas but also for similar areas in and out of Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) shows remarkable variation in incidence, survival, and risk factors. Although the genomic characteristics of ESCC have been extensively characterized, the genomic differences between different geographic regions remain unclear. Methods: In this study, we sequenced 111 patients with ESCC from northern (NC) and southern (SC) China, combined their data with those of 1081 cases fromprevious reports, and performed a comparative analysis among different regions. In total, 644 ESCC cases were collected from six geographic regions (NC, SC, Xinjiang, China [XJC], Japan [JP], Vietnam [VN], and Europe & America [EA]) as the discovery cohort. Validation cohort 1 included 437 patients with ESCC from the NC region. Validation cohort 2 included 54 and 57 patients from the NC and SC regions, respectively. Results: Patients with ESCC in different regions had different genomic characteristics, including DNA signatures, tumor mutation burdens, significantly mutated genes (SMGs), altered signaling pathways, and genes associated with clinical features. Based on both the DNA mutation signature and the mutation profile of the most common genes, the NC and SC groups were clustered close together, followed by the JP, XJC, EA, and VN groups. Compared to patients with ESCC from SC, SMGs, including KMT2D, FAT1, and NOTCH1 were more frequently identified in patients with ESCC from NC. Furthermore, some genes (TDG and DNAH8) correlated with overall survival in completely opposite ways in patients with ESCC from different geographical regions. Conclusions: Our study provides insights into genomic differences in ESCC among different regions. These differences may be related to differences in environmental carcinogens, incidence, and survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Postoperative adjuvant therapy with uracil and tegafur (UFT) is often used for stage II colon cancer in Japan, but a limited number of studies have investigated the effects of UFT in these patients. Materials and Methods: We conducted a population-based cohort study in patients with resected stage II colon cancer comparing the outcomes after postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with UFT with an observation-only group. The data were collected from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database from 2000 to 2015. The outcomes of the study were disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). The hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated using multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression models. Results: No differences in the DFS and OS were detected between the UFT (1137 patients) and observation (2779 patients) cohorts (DFS: adjusted HR 0.702; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.489–1.024; p = 0.074) (OS: adjusted HR 0.894; 95% CI 0.542–1.186; p = 0.477). In the subgroup analyses of the different substages, UFT prolonged DFS in patients with stage IIA colon cancer (adjusted HR 0.652; 95% CI 0.352–0.951; p = 0.001) compared with DFS in the observation cohort, but no differences in the OS were detected (adjusted HR 0.734; 95% CI 0.475–1.093; p = 0.503). Conclusions: Our results show that DFS improved significantly in patients with stage IIA colon cancer receiving UFT as a postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy compared with DFS in the observation group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distribution of earthquakes at intermediate depths corresponding to pressures <2 GPa in several hot subduction zones (such as Cascadia and southwestern Japan) coincides with the breakdown of antigorite to forsterite and talc; thus, this reaction may have triggered these earthquakes. However, previous studies have overlooked the potential significance of this reaction. Here, we performed a series of time-dependent dehydration experiments on antigorite at a pressure of 200 MPa and a temperature range of 500-650 °C. The results show that dehydration is controlled by a heterogeneous nucleation and growth mechanism and has an activation energy of 354 ± 24 kJ/mol. The formation of fine-grained forsterite and large talc crystals is consistent with kinetic results indicating Avrami exponents n = -- 1.4-1.1 and ~2.7, respectively. Fluid production rates at 600 and 650 °C are 2.54 x 10-6 and 4.69 x 10-5 mfluidm-3cks-1, respectively, which are much faster than those of mantle deformation, causing high fluid pressure in hot subducting mantle but not necessarily embrittlement. We emphasize the role of kinetic mechanisms in controlling the grain sizes of reaction products, which likely determine the mechanical behavior of serpentinized fault zones. Superplasticity or velocity weakening of fine-grained forsterite and velocity weakening of antigorite by water and/or talc may be responsible for earthquake nucleation and propagation in a heterogeneous system, which can be either dehydration products within a serpentinized fault zone or the mixture of antigorite fault and surrounding peridotite in hot subduction zones (<2 GPa). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: The safety and efficacy of filgotinib, a once-daily oral Janus kinase 1 preferential inhibitor, were evaluated in Japanese patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) in the phase 2b/3 SELECTION trial. Methods: SELECTION (NCT02914522) was a randomized, placebo-controlled trial comprising 2 induction studies and a maintenance study. Adults with moderately to severely active UC were randomized in induction study A (biologic-naïve) or B (biologic-experienced) to receive filgotinib 200 mg, 100 mg, or placebo once daily for 11 weeks. Patients in clinical remission or Mayo Clinic score response at week 10 entered the 47-week maintenance study. Efficacy and safety outcomes were assessed in Japanese patients enrolled in Japan. Results: Overall, 37 and 72 Japanese patients were enrolled in Japan in induction studies A and B, respectively, and 54 entered the maintenance study. Numerically higher proportions of filgotinib 200 mg-treated than placebo-treated patients achieved clinical remission in induction study A (4/15 [26.7%] vs. 0/6 [0%]) and the maintenance study (5/20 [25.0%] vs. 0/9 [0%]), but not induction study B (1/29 [3.4%] vs. 1/14 [7.1%]). Both doses were well tolerated, and no new safety signals were noted. Herpes zoster was reported in 1 filgotinib 200 mg-treated patient in each of induction study A (2.3%, 1/44) and the maintenance study (5.0%, 1/20). Conclusions: These data, alongside those of the overall SELECTION population, suggest the potential of filgotinib 200 mg as a viable treatment option for Japanese patients with UC. Owing to small patient numbers, data should be interpreted cautiously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: With low-dose computed tomography(CT) lung cancer screening, many studies with an increasing number of patients with ground-glass opacity (GGO) are published. Hence, the present study aimed to analyze the published studies on GGO using bibliometric analysis. The findings could provide a basis for future research in GGO and for understanding past advances and trends in the field. Methods: Published studies on GGO were obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection. A bibliometric analysis was conducted using the R package and VOSviewer for countries, institutions, journals, authors, keywords, and articles relevant to GGO. In addition, a bibliometric map was created to visualize the relationship. Results: The number of publications on GGO has been increasing since 2011. China is ranked as the most prolific country; however, Japan has the highest number of citations for its published articles. Seoul National University and Professor Jin Mo Goo from Korea had the highest publications. Most top 10 journals specialized in the field of lung diseases. Radiology is a comprehensive journal with the greatest number of citations and highest H-index than other journals. Using bibliometric analysis, research topics on "prognosis and diagnosis," "artificial intelligence," "treatment," "preoperative positioning and minimally invasive surgery," and "pathology of GGO" were identified. Artificial intelligence diagnosis and minimally invasive treatment may be the future of GGO. In addition, most top 10 literatures in this field were guidelines for lung cancer and pulmonary nodules. Conclusions: The publication volume of GGO has increased rapidly. The top three countries with the highest number of published articles were China, Japan, and the United States. Japan had the most significant number of citations for published articles. Most key journals specialized in the field of lung diseases. Artificial intelligence diagnosis and minimally invasive treatment may be the future of GGO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the extent to which residential dissonance affected changes in travel satisfaction before and during the pandemic. We conducted a gender-specific analysis using data from 540 spouses in 270 households in Greater Nagoya, Japan. The results showed that for women, the negative dissonance of accessibility and neighborhood socialization may deteriorate commute satisfaction, while the negative dissonance of car alternatives may decrease non-commute satisfaction. For men, the positive dissonance of aesthetics decreased non-commute satisfaction. Moreover, men who decreased car use reported a decrease in commute satisfaction. Men who cycled less frequently experienced a decrease in non-commute satisfaction, while women who cycled more frequently reported an increase in non-commute satisfaction. The findings suggest the importance of gender in travel satisfaction and suggest that intervention strategies should be tailored to address the needs of specific population subgroups, such as working women in dual-earner households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying the change of city‐scale extreme precipitation (EP) under the "new normal" of global climate is critical for various urban risk assessments. Here, we investigate the change of hourly EP caused by warmer climate regimes in a large urban agglomeration in midlatitude, Tokyo, Japan. We use pseudo‐global warming dynamical downscaling approach with a convection‐permitting regional climate model considering two Representative Concentration Pathways scenarios 8.5 and 4.5 to simulate the August climate for the present (2005–2014) and the future time (up to 2100). The results show a substantial enhancement of local hourly precipitation regarding both frequency and intensity. Framing the change with Clausius‐Clapeyron (CC) scaling relation, which is of approximately 7% per K warming, we confirmed the paradigm of "extreme gets more extreme" in the future local hourly precipitation. The 0.99 quantile precipitation is intensified at the super CC scaling rate (3 CC); whereas the intensification of lower‐quantile precipitation is at the sub‐CC rate. The EP intensification is much stronger than that reported for a tropical city, highlighting geographical diversity in precipitation response to the global warming effect. The EP intensification is attributed to the global‐warming caused convective inhibition (CIN) enhancement. Enhanced CIN temporarily delays weak convections to initiate, allowing it to build up further, and when the convection does trigger, it becomes intense. Plain Language Summary: Limited knowledge exists over how extreme precipitation (EP) in cities will change under the global warming effect. Here taking Tokyo, Japan, as a case study, we investigate the response of local precipitation to warmer climates using a fine‐resolution regional climate model, which can explicitly represent convection processes and urban effects. We found that precipitation will substantially enhance in both frequency and intensity, but the enhancement is not uniform among precipitation types. Heavy precipitation is found to intensify more than moderate and light rainfall. This result highlights a new normal of "extreme gets more extreme." The EP intensification is found much stronger than that reported for a tropical city, highlighting the geographical diversity in global warming effect on localized precipitation. The EP intensification is attributed to the global warming caused convective inhibition (CIN) enhancement. Enhanced CIN temporarily delays weak convections to initiate, allowing it to build up further, and when the convection does trigger, it becomes intense. Key Points: A paradigm of "extreme gets more extreme" in city‐scale hourly precipitation under warming climates is confirmedExtreme precipitation is more intensified in midlatitude than that reported for a tropical cityConvective inhibition temporarily suppresses weak convection to initiate, and when the convection does trigger, it becomes intense [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Five specimens of Ophiuroidea from deep-sea seamounts in the West Pacific were collected and identified as two species, Astrodia duospina sp. nov. and Astrodia abyssicola. The new species, Astrodia duospina sp. nov., can be distinguished from its congeners by having indistinct or underdeveloped oral papillae, relatively short genital slits, crescent-shaped lateral arm plates, and plate-shaped external ossicles on the aboral surface of the disc. One specimen was identified as Astrodia abyssicola, which has been reported in the north-western Pacific and the north-eastern coast of Japan. The most recent tabular key of Astrodia was revised with two more key characteristics added, the shape and presence of oral papillae and the number of arm spines. The phylogenetic relationship of Astrodia and Asteronyx was analyzed based on 16S and COI sequences. The discovery of the two species further expanded the geographical distribution of the genus Astrodia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The mechanism of copper-induced cell death, which is called cuproptosis, has recently been clarified. However, the integrated role of cuproptosis-related genes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its relationship with immune characteristics are still completely unknown. Methods: In this study, the expression, genetic, and transcriptional regulation states of 16 cuproptosis-related genes in HCC were systematically investigated. An unsupervised clustering method was used to identify distinct expression patterns in 370 HCC patients from the TCGA-HCC cohort. Differences in functional characteristics among different expression clusters were clarified by gene set variation analysis (GSVA). The abundances of immune cells in each HCC sample were calculated by the CIBERSORT algorithm. Next, a cuproptosis-related risk score was established based on the significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs) among different expression clusters. Results: A specific cluster of HCC patients with poor prognosis, an inhibitory immune microenvironment, and high expression levels of immune checkpoint molecules was identified based on the expression of the 16 cuproptosis-related genes. This cluster of patients could be well-identified by a cuproptosis-related risk score system. The prognostic value of this risk score was validated in the training and two validation cohorts (TCGA-HCC, China-HCC, and Japan-HCC cohorts). Moreover, the overall expression status of the cuproptosis-related genes and the genes used to establish the cuproptosis-related risk score in specific cell types of the tumor microenvironment were preliminarily clarified by single-cell RNA (scRNA) sequencing data. Conclusion: These results indicated that cuproptosis-related genes play an important role in HCC, and targeting these genes may ameliorate the inhibitory immune microenvironment to improve the efficacy of immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The water environment of the most important watersheds of Japan generally have not improved in a considerable manner in the last two decades although central and local governments have made considerable management and improvement efforts, such as increasing sewerage system coverage rates nationwide and installing advanced wastewater treatment systems. It is believed that the marginal effects of these direct efforts have been diminishing. This study seeks to discover the most effective water environment improvement measures in a wider range other than those direct measures. An artificial intelligence (AI) model has been constructed with Deep Learning technology by applying the watershed information from 104 watersheds as teacher data to train the AI model. The well-trained AI model is used to identify the effectiveness of all the direct and indirect water-environment-related factors, ranging from geological/geographical factors, hydrological/hydraulic factors to socio-economic factors. This study concludes by pointing out that Deep Learning through big data can reveal and simulate the complicated relationships between river management goals and diverse water environment factors. It is hoped that this study will contribute to establishing a more reliable river environment planning and management methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soybean red crown root rot (RCR), caused by the soil-borne fungal pathogen, Calonectria ilicicola, is the most destructive disease affecting soybean production in Japan. To date, no resistant cultivars or effective fungicides have been developed to control this disease. In this study, we evaluated 13 bacterial strains to determine their efficacy in controlling C. ilicicola. We first investigated whether the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by the bacterial strains exhibited any antifungal activity against C. ilicicola using the double-plate chamber method. The results showed that VOCs from three Pseudomonas bacterial strains, OFT2 (Pseudomonas sp.), OFT5 (Pseudomonas sp.), and Cab57 (Pseudomonas protegens), exhibited strong inhibitory activity against C. ilicicola mycelial growth. Some antifungal activity was also observed in the culture supernatants of these Pseudomonas strains. Greenhouse soil inoculation tests showed that application of OFT2, OFT5, and Cab57 cultures around soybean seeds after seed sowing significantly reduced the severity of RCR, as shown by up to 40% reduction in C. ilicicola fungal growth in the roots and 180–200% increase in shoot and root fresh weights compared to the water control. Our results suggest that OFT2, Cab57, and OFT5 produce potent antifungal compounds against C. ilicicola, thereby showing considerable potential for the biological control of C. ilicicola during soybean production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A limited number of studies have explored drum brake noise with uncertainty. Therefore, a new method for the robust design of drum brakes is presented herein on the basis of complex modal analysis and Taguchi's robust design. Based on the finite element method, complex modal analysis is used to predict drum brake noise. Taguchi's robust design is adopted to reduce drum brake noise and improve system robustness. In this method, the Young's moduli of the brake drum, brake shoes, and friction lining are considered as control factors, the friction coefficient and brake pressure are taken as noise factors, and the weighted instability tendency coefficient is regarded as the objective function. When the proposed method is applied to drum brake design, drum brake noise is significantly reduced and system robustness is increased. Specifically, the signal‐to‐noise ratio increases by 62.94%, and the average value of the weighted instability tendency coefficient decreases by 91.7%. © 2022 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction direction of Japanese teaching evaluation system based on hybrid teaching mode is to give full feedback to teaching process, diversify evaluation subjects and evaluation methods, and obtain comprehensive and objective evaluation results. Compared with most similar studies, more EEG data of teachers' emotional stress relief and healthy people in Japanese teaching process were collected, and a large number of features were extracted. An experiment of teachers' emotional stress relief recognition in Japanese teaching process based on EEG signal was designed. The feature selection algorithm was used to screen the EEG feature combinations of teachers' emotional stress relief and healthy subjects, and the classification experiment was carried out to verify the difference. Finally, this paper uses the feature selection algorithm of tree model and the random forest model classifier to establish the recognition model of teachers' emotional stress discharge in Japanese teaching process based on EEG signals and achieves the effect of more accurate recognition of teachers' emotional stress discharge in Japanese teaching process. First, the connotation, value, and influencing factors of teachers' emotion management ability are logically integrated and systematically expounded. Second, based on emotional psychology, emotional intelligence theory, psychotherapy theory, and management theory, teachers' emotional management ability is constructed according to the three-dimensional structure theory of intelligence and information processing theory. It is constructed from three dimensions: object dimension (teachers themselves, students, and students), content dimension (positive and negative emotions), and operational dimension (emotional perception, emotional understanding, emotional expression, and emotional regulation). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, with the large‐scale access of distributed generation (DG), the line voltage of the distribution network will be offset, which will adversely affect users. This paper aims at the voltage adjustment of the distribution network. Firstly, the reactive power control methods of distributed static synchronous compensator (DSTATCOM) and electric spring (ES) are studied separately, and then a layered cooperative control strategy based on them is proposed, which combines centralized compensation and distributed compensation to stabilize the entire line voltage. The upper layer aims at optimizing the comprehensive factors including voltage offset, user comfort and cost, and applies the dynamic adaptive particle swarm optimization (DAPSO) algorithm to study the optimal scheme of voltage adjustment. The lower layer designs the control loops of the compensation devices in response to the reactive power instruction. Finally, simulation results show that the voltage of the distribution network is effectively controlled. © 2020 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bottom cold water mass (BCWM) is a widespread physical oceanographic phenomenon in coastal seas, and its temperature variability has an important effect on the marine ecological environment. In this study, the interannual variation of the BCWM in Iyo-Nada (INCWM), a semi-enclosed bay in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan, from 1994 to 2015 and its response to air–sea heat flux change were investigated using monthly observational data and a hydrodynamic model. Surrounded by the isotherm of 18 ∘ C, the observed multi-year average water temperature inside the INCWM was 17.58 ∘ C with a standard deviation of 0.27 ∘ C, while the mean area of INCWM was 5.73 × 10 5 m 2 with a standard deviation of 4.35 × 10 5 m 2. The interannual variation of average water temperature of INCWM showed a negative correlation with its area that indicates a low temperature corresponds to a big area. In addition, the interannual variation of the average temperature inside INCWM showed positive correlations with the local water temperature from April to July and with remote water temperature below 10 m in an adjacent strait in July. Differing from previously studied BCWMs, which had interannual variations depending closely on the water temperature before the warming season, the interannual variation of INCWM is more sensitive to the air–sea heat flux during the warming season than that in the previous winter. Further, by comparing several BCWMs, we found that the BCWM size is a key factor in understanding the heat transfer process responsible for the interannual variation of BCWMs in coastal seas. These findings will help us to understand the response of bottom cold water mass in coastal seas to sea surface forcing change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on real-life intergroup animosities originating from a historical conflict, the current study examined how the perceived stance of the outgroup about the conflict affects the dehumanization of the outgroup. In Study 1 (N = 120), Korean undergraduates attributed more human nature to the Japanese after reading an article that the Japanese government did (vs. refused to) issue an official apology for a historical wrong. In turn, the more human nature assigned to the Japanese predicted higher expectations about positive mutual relations in the future. Similarly, in Study 2 (N = 209), Japanese undergraduates attributed more human uniqueness to Koreans after reading an article that an official apology for a historical wrong from Japan was accepted (vs. rejected) by Koreans. The higher the perceived human uniqueness of Koreans was, the higher were the willingness to help and the expectations of a positive relationship in the future. The findings demonstrate how mutual dehumanization can be reduced as a result of the other side's reconciliatory stances and can further contribute to improving intergroup relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the installation of photovoltaic (PV) in distribution systems can contribute to the decarbonization of electricity generation, the PV output fluctuates depending on weather conditions, which in turn complicates power flow and destabilizes the voltage levels in distribution systems. Conventionally, step voltage regulators (SVRs) have been used to maintain voltage profiles within allowable ranges, however, the conventional control strategy might not be enough to successfully mitigate high speed voltage fluctuation caused by PVs. In this study, we focused on the time‐limit characteristic of tap operation in a system with two SVRs located, respectively, upstream near the distribution substation and downstream from the substation. Three methods for the cooperative control of two SVRs using moving average filters were proposed. The effectiveness of the proposed methods was validated through numerical simulation based on a model of a rural distribution system with a PV plant integrated at the end feeder. The performance of the proposed methods was compared with each other using evaluation indices such as the amount of voltage deviation and number of tap operations, and it was shown that the method with band‐pass filter for differential control had the best objective function. © 2021 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public–private partnership (or PPP) system is widely hailed as an effective approach to flood insurance. PPP effectiveness can be empirically demonstrated through an analytic framework based on model assessment, which we apply to Japan as an illustrative case study. We first introduce the widely-observed market failure phenomenon in the catastrophe insurance sector and how PPP systems may serve to avert this failure. We then proceed to select three candidate systems and model them respectively. Subsequently, we employ empirical data and Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate suitability for Japan's case via three perspectives. The results identified the market-oriented system as the economically-optimal choice. It should be noted, however, that the assessment is dependent on the priorities of each party and market-negotiated results. We find this methodology to be suitable for identifying the most adequate PPP system and invite policymakers to consider its use when implementing their own systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigate the interdecadal variation characteristics of the dominant mode of summer precipitation over East Asia‐Northwest Pacific (EA‐NWP) before and after late 1990s, reveal the physical mechanism, and address its possible connection with the regional ocean warming background. Study results show that the empirical orthogonal function mode 1 (EOF1) of summer precipitation anomalies over EA‐NWP during the global ocean warming acceleration period (1979–1998) present a more significant dipole pattern between Yangtze River Basin (YRB) and tropical NWP compared with that during the global ocean warming slowdown period (1999–2012). And then we find that the anomalous dipoles of low‐level winds, geopotential height, convection, and associated wave activity fluxes over NWP significantly shift westward (eastward) and enhance (weaken) in 1979–1998 (1999–2012), which are regarded as the direct cause of the adjustment of dipole pattern between YRB and tropical NWP. Further analysis reveals that the negative sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the tropical NWP are prominent (not prominent), resulting in the stronger (weaker) Pacific–Japan Teleconnection over Japan and Tropics in NWP during the period 1979–1998 (1999–2012), and ultimately lead to the change of summer precipitation EOF1 in EA‐NWP. By regressing vertical velocity, outgoing longwave radiation, relative vorticity, wave activity fluxes, and precipitation onto the NWP SST in the two periods, the impacts of the SST in the NWP on the interdecadal variation of summer precipitation EOF1 in EA‐NWP are verified. Finally, the mechanism diagram of interdecadal variation of summer precipitation is given, which can be useful for short‐term precipitation prediction of East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lateral lymph node (LLN) metastasis is a determinant of local recurrence in advanced low rectal cancer. Lateral lymph node dissection (LLND) is effective in removing metastatic lymph nodes, and has been shown to have a decreased local recurrence rate. However, because of its complexity and complications it induces, there is still tremendous controversy about its usage. Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) and total mesorectal excision (TME) are recommended as a conventional treatment for advanced rectal cancer. However, LLN metastasis and local recurrence still occur despite nCRT with TME. In Japan, TME with LLND is the standard surgical treatment for Stage II/III of advanced low rectal cancer. Before surgery, a proper evaluation of LLN status should be performed. Laparoscopic LLND and robotic-assisted LLND are useful for this. More research is necessary to improve the oncological outcomes of LLND. In this review, we retrospectively examine previous reports about LLND, aiming to emphasize its application prospects to improve patient survival and life quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fish ecosystems perform ecological functions that are critically important for the sustainability of marine ecosystems, such as global food security and carbon stock. During the 21st century, significant global warming caused by climate change has created pressing challenges for fish ecosystems that threaten species existence and global ecosystem health. Here, we study a coastal fish community in Maizuru Bay, Japan, and investigate the relationships between fluctuations of ST, abundance-based species interactions and salient fish biodiversity. Observations show that a local 20% increase in temperature from 2002 to 2014 underpins a long-term reduction in fish diversity (∼25%) played out by some native and invasive species (e.g. Chinese wrasse) becoming exceedingly abundant; this causes a large decay in commercially valuable species (e.g. Japanese anchovy) coupled to an increase in ecological productivity. The fish community is analyzed considering five temperature ranges to understand its atemporal seasonal sensitivity to ST changes, and long-term trends. An optimal information flow model is used to reconstruct species interaction networks that emerge as topologically different for distinct temperature ranges and species dynamics. Networks for low temperatures are more scale-free compared to ones for intermediate (15-20°C) temperatures in which the fish ecosystem experiences a first-order phase transition in interactions from locally stable to metastable and globally unstable for high temperatures states as suggested by abundance-spectrum transitions. The dynamic dominant eigenvalue of species interactions shows increasing instability for competitive species (spiking in summer due to intermediate-season critical transitions) leading to enhanced community variability and critical slowing down despite higher time-point resilience. Native competitive species whose abundance is distributed more exponentially have the highest total directed interactions and are keystone species (e.g. Wrasse and Horse mackerel) for the most salient links with cooperative decaying species. Competitive species, with higher eco-climatic memory and synchronization, are the most affected by temperature and play an important role in maintaining fish ecosystem stability via multitrophic cascades (via cooperative-competitive species imbalance), and as bioindicators of change. More climate-fitted species follow temperature increase causing larger divergence divergence between competitive and cooperative species. Decreasing dominant eigenvalues and lower relative network optimality for warmer oceans indicate fishery more attracted toward persistent oscillatory states, yet unpredictable, with lower cooperation, diversity and fish stock despite the increase in community abundance due to non-commercial and venomous species. We emphasize how changes in species interaction organization, primarily affected by temperature fluctuations, are the backbone of biodiversity dynamics and yet for functional diversity in contrast to taxonomic richness. Abundance and richness manifest gradual shifts while interactions show sudden shift. The work provides data-driven tools for analyzing and monitoring fish ecosystems under the pressure of global warming or other stressors. Abundance and interaction patterns derived by network-based analyses proved useful to assess ecosystem susceptibility and effective change, and formulate predictive dynamic information for science-based fishery policy aimed to maintain marine ecosystems stable and sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bottom cold water mass (BCWM) is a widespread physical oceanographic phenomenon in coastal seas, and its temperature variability has an important effect on the marine ecological environment. In this study, the interannual variation of the BCWM in Iyo-Nada (INCWM), a semi-enclosed bay in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan, from 1994 to 2015 and its influencing factors were investigated using monthly observational data and a hydrodynamic model. The interannual variation in water temperature inside the INCWM showed a negative correlation with the area of the INCWM, and positive correlations with the local water temperature from April to July and with remote water temperature below 10 m in an adjacent strait in July. Differing from previously studied BCWMs, which had interannual variations depending closely on the water temperature before the warming season, the interannual variation of INCWM depends strongly on the air-sea heat flux during the warming season via local vertical heat transport and lateral heat advection. Further, by comparing several BCWMs, we found that the BCWM size is a key factor in understanding the mechanisms responsible for the interannual variation of BCWMs in coastal seas. These findings will help to predict bottom water temperatures and improve the current understanding of ecosystem changes in shelf seas under global climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]