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This article presents relevant data on the usage of the sinograph jīng 椋 and revisits its origin and lexical form on the basis of textual examination, using primary sources from China, Korea and Japan. The authors conclude that jīng 椋, and its variants jīng , jīng 稤 and the miscopied form lǜe 掠, originated from its radical character jīng 京, meaning "warehouse, granary", and that jīng 椋 was widely used in Koguryŏ, Paekche, Silla and Japan. Historical documents during the Koryŏ period also attest to the use of jīng 椋. The authors have reconstructed the lexical form of jīng 椋 as the disyllabic pre-Old Korean **kuL.raH in Paekche and **koL.raH in Silla, and the monosyllabic Old Korean *kolR as a Sillaic substratum that underwent the syllabic contraction and liquid change **-r- > *-l, that is **koL.raH > *kolR. The Western Old Japanese kun'yomi of jīng 椋, kura , is a loan from pre-Old Korean **kuL/koL.raH that took place before the eighth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a case history of an embankment constructed on the soft Ariake clay on the bank of Rokkaku River, Saga, Japan. The staged method was used in the construction of embankment. To shorten the time of construction, the soft subsoil was treated by a prefabricated vertical drain (PVD). The physical and mechanical properties of soft subsoil, such as water content, unit weight, and unconfined compressive strength, were investigated before and during embankment construction. Based on the field data, the strength increase of Ariake clay during construction was revealed. A nonlinear relationship between strength increment and the degree of consolidation was found. Finite element method (FEM) was employed to investigate the strength increase behavior. The results showed that it is difficult to predict the filed behavior of strength increase using Cam-clay model. Based on the concept of structure loss of structured clay, the strength variation of Ariake clay during consolidation is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural hazards have a significant impact on the sustainable development of human society. This paper reports on the catastrophic floods in western Japan in 2018. Continuous rainfall resulted in catastrophic floods, leading to 212 deaths, damage to more than 2000 houses and 619 geological disasters in 31 prefectures. The causes and contributing factors of these catastrophic floods are analyzed. The analysis of the causes of typical natural hazards provides an important lesson for hazard prevention and management. To adapt to climate change and prevent natural hazards in the future, the preliminary investigation and sustainable perspective analysis in this paper suggest the importance of the construction of a spongy city and the establishment of an early warning system with the help of information science and artificial intelligence technologies (ISAIT); we also highlight the urgent need to improve and strengthen the management of infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]