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This paper presents new spectra of responses and control force for an active base-isolated building that uses the equivalent-input-disturbance (EID) approach for active structural control. The EID approach estimates the effect of disturbances and uses it to suppress building vibrations. This system plugs an EID estimator into a conventional state-feedback control system. Note that these kinds of disturbance-rejection systems contain both feedforward and feedback terms from disturbances to a control output. This paper describes spectra that can handle systems with such structure. The spectra can be used to simplify the design of an active structural control system. This paper illustrates the use of the spectra for control-system design and presents a design algorithm for the EID-based control system. A shear building model and 44 kinds of earthquake waves are used to demonstrate the availability of the spectra.

Background and study aims Visual assessment of laterally spreading tumors non-granular type (LST-NG) and depressed lesions by narrow band imaging (NBI) without magnification has not been studied. We investigated the role of non-magnifying NBI in detecting LST-NG and type IIc lesions on colonoscopy. Patients and methods This retrospective study examined consecutive patients diagnosed as having LST-NG and/or type IIc lesions in our hospital between August 2011 and July 2013. These lesions were classified as “Brownish area (BA),” “Brown only in the margins (O-ring sign),” “Same color as the normal mucosa (SC),” and “Whitish area (WA)” based on their appearance on non-magnifying NBI, and their appearance were compared with their histopathological findings. Results A total of 18 type IIc and 180 LST-NG lesions were analyzed. Among the type IIc lesions, 5 (28 %), 12 (67 %), and 1 (5 %) were classified as BA, O-ring sign, and SC, respectively. Among the LST-NG lesions, 126 (70 %), 26 (14 %), and 28 lesions (16 %) were classified as BA, O-ring sign, and SC, respectively. The IIc lesions were found to have 1 lesion (20 %) with high-grade dysplasia (HGD) in the BA, and 2 lesions (17 %) with invasive cancer (IC) in the O-ring sign group. Among the LST-NG lesions, 27 (21 %) were found to have IC and 49 (39 %), HGD in the BA group; 8 lesions (31 %) had IC and 4 (15 %) had HGD in the O-ring sign group; and 1 lesion (4 %) had IC and 4 (14 %) had HGD in the SC group. Conclusions Most flat and depressed colorectal lesions were seen on non-magnifying NBI as brown lesions with the exception of some flat lesions that were indistinguishable in color from the adjacent normal mucosa. Some of these flat lesions were also found to have HGD or IC.

An automated warehouse is a system which automatically controls the storing and shipping of a large number of cargoes in small floor spaces. In the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, many automated warehouses shut down because of the fall of stacked cargoes, and the recovery needs a long time. The importance of the seismic countermeasure preventing the fall of cargoes is noticed from the business continuity planning. The authors developed two countermeasures; one is the vibration control system and the other is the base isolation system. For developing these countermeasures, it is important to clarify the falling behaviors of cargoes. Shaking table tests were conducted for evaluating them. This paper describes the experimental results focusing on the dynamic characteristics of cargoes.

Yabumame (Amphicarpaea bracteata (L.) Fernald subsp. edgeworthii (Benth.) H.Ohashi var. japonica (Oliv.) H.Ohashi) is a legume plant that the Ainu people eat as a traditional food, although the bioactive ingredients other than vitamins have not been studied. In this study, the structures of yabumame isoflavone glucosides were determined and their effect on leukotriene (LT) B

Proton beam therapy (PBT) with concurrent chemotherapy is promising for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The aim of study was to evaluate the outcome of concurrent chemo-proton therapy (CCPT), i.e., PBT with concurrent chemotherapy for cT1 ESCC and the salvage endoscopic therapy for local recurrence. Patients with clinical T1 ESCC who underwent CCPT (60 GyE) between April 2013 and April 2017 at the National Cancer Center Hospital East were investigated. The efficacy of CCPT at the primary site was evaluated via endoscopy; primary complete response (CR) was defined as disappearance of the tumor lesion/ulcer and absence of cancer cells on biopsy. Endoscopic evaluation was performed with the same protocol of conventional chemoradiotherapy. Local recurrence after CCPT was treated with endoscopic resection for cT1a and with esophagectomy or photodynamic therapy for cT1b+. Of the 44 patients (median age, 70 years) that underwent CCPT, 43 patients (98%) achieved primary CR. Among the 44 patients, the 3-year overall survival rate was 95.2%. Five patients (11%) developed local recurrence without regional lymph node or distant metastasis and received endoscopic resection or photodynamic therapy. All five patients were alive with no recurrence after a median 23 months. The results suggest that CCPT is an effective treatment for cT1 ESCC and careful endoscopic follow-up allows preferable local control with salvage endoscopic treatment.

BACKGROUND AND AIM Endoscopic diagnosis of advanced histology in colorectal lesions sized

Linked color imaging (LCI) and blue laser imaging-bright (BLI-b) improve the visibility of gastrointestinal lesions. In this multicenter study, we compared the effects of LCI and BLI-b on the visibility of flat polyps with visibility scores and color difference (CD) values, including fast-withdrawal and large-monitor observation. We recorded 120 videos of 40 consecutive flat polyps (2–20 mm), adenoma, and sessile serrated adenoma and polyp (SSA/P), using white light imaging (WLI), BLI-b, and LCI from July 2017 to December 2017. All videos were evaluated by eight endoscopists according to a published polyp visibility score of 4 (excellent) to 1 (poor). Additionally, 1.5 ×faster and 1.7 ×sized videos were evaluated. Moreover, we calculated the CD values for each polyp in three modes. The mean LCI scores (3.1 ± 0.9) were significantly higher than the WLI scores (2.5 ± 1.0, p

The linear quadratic regulator (LQR) is widely used in active structural controls (ASCs). However, at the present stage, the influence of the design parameters (LQR weighing matrices) on the vibration characteristics of the control system has not been explicitly expressed. In particular, the estimation of the required control force has not been conducted. Therefore, the LQR weighting matrices are mainly selected by trial and error approach, making it very difficult to design a control system that achieves the desired performance. To solve this problem, an equivalent model of the single-degree-of-freedom active model (structure with active control) is constructed, using which, a calculation method for the weighing matrices that does not require a trial and error approach to satisfy the desired control performance is proposed. Thereafter, the concept of the transitional response spectrum, which is widely used in structural design, is promoted as a control force spectrum that can be used to estimate the maximum control force. Finally, the design of a passive base isolation (PBI) reactor is discussed as an example, and the performance-oriented design method for the PBI structure combined with ASC is proposed that simultaneously satisfies the limitation conditions of the responses and control force.

In this paper, we demonstrated parallelized detection of fluorescent microbeads flowing in multiple microfluidic channels coupled with an array of single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs). A complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-integrated circuit (IC) containing an SPAD array was used for time-domain separation of fluorescence photons from excitation photons using fast gating and active quenching circuits to realize parallelized detection of fluorescence signals without complex microscopy and optical filters. The system can be used for the development of a parallelized flow cytometry system.

The efficient light energy usage in the chemical reaction system is an important issue in the field of photoelectrochemical region. The visible light induced hydrogen evolution reaction can be recognized as the one of the promising challenges. For the realization of it, the wide-band semiconductor electrode could be the good candidate. However, semiconductor electrodes often have the limitation to the ultraviolet region because of their wide band gap energy. As the breakthrough for it, the introduction of the plasmonic metal nanostructures has been received much attention because the system which is recognized as the plasmonic photoconversion electrode shows the visible light response characters. Up to now, although various systems have been achieved both the cathodic and anodic reactions by the selection of the materials, the molecular process especially on the plasmonic cathode system has not been fully understood yet. In our previous study, we have established the plasmonic photocathode by using the plasmonic nanostructure and the p-type semiconductor electrode [1]. In this system, the holes excited in the metal structures injected into the valence band of the p-type semiconductor and the remained electron are consumed in the hydrogen evolution reaction. It was interesting that, in the pH dependence examination, the photocurrent generations under the neutral condition was comparable to the acidic condition which is the favorable to the hydrogen evolution. This unique property could derive from the unique molecular process influenced by the plasmonic field excitation. In this study, we have attempted to investigate the kinetic isotope effect on the plasmonic cathode system for the clarification of the molecular process on it. Through the various photoelectrochemical measurements, we have confirmed the unique inverse isotope effect on the plasmonic cathode system under the specific condition. Our current research would provide the novel insight for the accurate design of the high efficient light conversion device. [1] H. Minamimoto et al., Chem. Lett., 2020, 49, 806.

We have prepared a set of polycrystalline samples of PbPd 1 − x − y Fe y Li x O 2 ( x = 0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, and 0.04; y = 0, 0.02, and 0.05) and have measured synchrotron x-ray diffraction and magnetization systematically. We have found high-temperature ferromagnetism in Fe- and Li-substituted samples and the largest magnetic moment of 0.023 μ B per formula unit in PbPd 0.93 Fe 0.05 Li 0.02 O 2. The ferromagnetism survives at 700 K, and the Curie temperature will be far above 800 K. Although similar but controversial high-temperature ferromagnets have been reported in many thin-film samples thus far, the discovered ferromagnetism is macroscopic in the sense that bulk samples stick to a permanent magnet at room temperature. The Fe and Li dependence of the ferromagnetism is complicated, implying that the ferromagnetism is truly unconventional.

This report shows the advantage of using high-strength steels and hysteretic dampers for low- and medium-rise buildings. In this paper, the structural members are decided by the long term stress. Seismic loads are burdened with hysteretic dampers. There are two methods to increase the yield stress of columns; one is using high-strength steels, and the other is adopting larger members. Through the investigation of time history response analysis, a method using high-strength steels has high performance not only decreasing damage of frame but also increasing the equivalent damping factor than another method.

A new method of active structural control, which suppresses vibrations in civil structures due to seismic shocks, has been developed. It is based on the equivalent-input-disturbance (EID) approach, which estimates the effect of a seismic shock and produces an equivalent control signal on the control input channel to compensate for it. A system designed by this method can be viewed as a conventional state-feedback control system with an EID estimator plugged in. Unlike conventional control systems, this one has two degrees of freedom, which yields better control performance. Simulations on a model of a ten-degree-of-freedom building demonstrated the validity of the method. In addition, the effect of the parameters of the low-pass filter in the EID estimator on the vibration suppression performance was examined. A comparison revealed that this method is superior to a linear-quadratic regulator and sliding-mode control.

178 Background: Recently, JCOG0502 trial have shown a comparable efficacy with chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and esophagectomy as standard treatment in patients with clinical stage (cStage) I esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), showing the standard treatment option of CRT. However, there is few reports for comparison of clinical outcomes with these treatments in real-world. The aim of this study was to clarify the real-world outcomes in cStage I ESCC who performed with CRT or esophagectomy. Methods: This retrospective study included patients with clinical stage I ESCC who received thoracoscopic or open esophagectomy with three-field lymph node dissection or CRT mainly consisted of 5-fluorouracil and platinum with concurrent radiotherapy (50.4 Gy/28Fr or 60 Gy/30Fr) between 2009 and 2017 at National Cancer Center Hospital East. Survival outcomes were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the differences were evaluated using the log-rank test. Results: Among a total of 156 patients, 128 were male and median age was 68 years old. 120 and 36 patients underwent esophagectomy and CRT, respectively. ECOG performance status 0/1/2 were 138/12/6 patients. Tumor location was Ut/Mt/Lt in 16/87/53 patients. Clinical tumor depth (MM-SM1/SM2-SM3) were 33/123 patients. Patients’ characteristics were similar among treatment groups, except clinical tumor depth (SM2-3; 84.2% in esophagectomy group vs. 61.1% in CRT group, p = 0.005). All patients underwent radical surgery in esophagectomy group, while three patients (8.3%) in CRT group were received additional esophagectomy or endoscopic resection due to residual disease. With a median follow-up of 72 months, 5-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival rate were 81.5%/77.0% in esophagectomy group and 82.6/74.4% in CRT group (p = 0.89 and p = 0.48). In safety profile, grade 3 or higher stenosis was observed in 21.7% of esophagectomy group. There was no treatment-related death in both groups. In subgroup analysis for OS, elderly patients (75 years and older) tended to have better 5-year OS rate in CRT group (76.9% in esophagectomy group vs. 81.8% in CRT group), while younger patients ( < 75 years) showed comparable 5-year OS rate in both groups (82.4% in esophagectomy group vs. 82.9% in CRT group). Conclusions: Real-world data reproduced the results of clinical trial, supporting CRT as one of the standard treatment options in patients with cStage I ESCC.

The semiconductor photocathode with AlGaAs/GaAs superlattice structures, which is a highly durable electron beam source with low energy dispersion, were grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The sample showed a step-like quantum efficiency spectrum of photoelectron emission, indicating its applicability to photocathodes. The optimization of room temperature photoluminescence provides the improvement of the photocathode quantum efficiency up to 0.5%, promising for its further improvement and realistic applications.

The efficient control of the visible light driven hydrogen evolution reaction can be recognized as the one of the promising challenge for the sustainable society. It can be said that the wide-band semiconductor electrode is the promising material for the photo-energy conversion system. However, various semiconductor electrodes have the limitation to the ultraviolet region because of their wide band gap energy. Recently, plasmoic photoelectric conversion system, which is the combination of the plasmon active metal nano-structures with the semiconductor substrate, has been received much attention because the system shows the visible light response characters beyond the limitation of the limitation. In this system, the electrons excited in the metal structures injected into the conduction band of the n-type semiconductor and the remained holes are consumed through the oxidation reaction. Up to now, various plasmon-induced chemical reactions, even the water splitting, have been proposed. As our previous study, we have not only visualized the reaction active sites but also determined the reaction active species through the polymerization reactions of the conductive polymer. Although well-established systems have been reported, the direct control of the reduction reaction at the metal-semiconductor interface by the excited electrons has not been well examined. This is because the almost plasmonic photoconversion systems consist of the n-type semiconductor electrode and applied the generated holes to the reactions. In this study, we have tried to establish the plasmon-induced hydrogen evolution system by the introduction of the plasmon-active metal nano-structures into the p-type semiconductor substrate. By supporting the plasmonic structures, we have confirmed the photo-current generation under the visible light illumination.[1] Through the photocurrent measurements and the incident photon to current conversion efficiency obtained under different pH conditions, we have confirmed the unique pH dependence. In addition to these, we have also investigated the isotopic effect on the hydrogen evolution reaction to clarify the unique surface molecular process. Through the various photoelectrochemical measurements, we are sure that our plasmonic hydrogen evolution system could be one of the good candidate for future light energy conversion system. [1] D. Sato, H. Minamimoto, and K. Murakoshi, Chem. Lett., in press.

The efficient control of the visible light driven hydrogen evolution reaction can be recognized as the one of the promising challenge for the sustainable society. It can be said that the wide-band semiconductor electrode is the good material for the photo-energy conversion system. However, various semiconductor electrodes have the limitation to the ultraviolet region because of their wide band gap energy. Recently, plasmoic photoelectric conversion system, which is the combination of the plasmon active metal nano-structures with the semiconductor electrodes, has been received much attention because the system shows the visible light response characters beyond its limitation. In this system, the electrons excited in the metal structures injected into the conduction band of the n-type semiconductor and the remained holes are consumed through the oxidation reaction. Up to now, various plasmon-induced chemical reactions, even the water splitting, have been proposed. As our previous study, we have not only visualized the reaction active sites but also determined the absolute electrochemical potential of the reaction active species through the polymerization reactions of the conductive polymer.1 Although well-established systems have been reported, the direct control of the reduction reaction at the metal-semiconductor interface by the excited electrons has not been well examined. This is because the almost plasmonic photoconversion systems consist of the n-type semiconductor electrode and applied the generated holes to the reactions. In this study, we have tried to establish the plasmon-induced hydrogen evolution system by the introduction of the plasmon-active metal nano-structures into the p-type semiconductor electrodes. By supporting the plasmonic structures, we have confirmed the photo-current generations under the visible light illumination. Through the photocurrent measurements and the incident photon to current conversion efficiency obtained under different pH conditions, we have confirmed the unique pH dependence. In addition to these, we have also investigated the isotopic effect on the hydrogen evolution reaction to clarify the unique surface molecular process.2 Through the various photoelectrochemical measurements, we are sure that our plasmonic hydrogen evolution system could be considered as one of the good candidate for future light energy conversion system. Reference 1. Minamimoto and K. Murakoshi et al., J. Phys. Chem. C., 120(29), 16051 (2016). 2. Minamimoto, R. Osaka, and K. Murakoshi, Electrochimica Acta, 304(1), 87 (2019).

The quantum efficiency (QE) of an InGaN photocathode as a function of InGaN layer thickness (240, 100, and 70 nm) was investigated. To activate the sample surface, Cs and O were deposited on the surface in an ultrahigh–vacuum chamber. The QE for different optical power densities was measured by irradiating excitation light from the front and back sides of each sample. The QEs for InGaN layer thickness of 240, 100, and 70 nm with back-side irradiation were 0.9, 9.8, and 7.5%, respectively. For the thicknesses of 70 and 100 nm, the QEs were higher for back-side irradiation than for front-side irradiation, whereas for the thickness of 240 nm, the QE was higher for front-side irradiation. The InGaN layer thickness dependence of the QEs for back- and front-side irradiations was calculated using a continuous equation considering processes such as excitation, diffusion, recombination, and escape of electrons from the surface of the photocathode. The tendency of the experimental results, where QE was maximum at 100–120 nm, corresponded to that of the calculated results.

This paper presents a simple multistage drive circuit that can reduce turn-off loss by 27% from our previously presented paper for a silicon carbide metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (SiC-MOSFET) inverter for EV / HEV traction motor drive.

This paper presents a response evaluation of a Passive controlled building with viscous dampers considering its performance decrement under long-period ground motion. From the long-time sinusoidal wave test results using a full-scale viscous damper, it was shown that the performance decrement of the viscous damper was based on energetic density. An analytical model of the viscous damper considering the performance decrement caused by long-period cyclic loading was proposed, and its accuracy was confirmed by comparing with test results. The time history response analysis using a 20-story model with the proposed viscous dampers was performed. It was verified that the response of the passive controlled building with viscous dampers increases under certain long-period ground motions. Especially, for vibration control of a building designed with insufficient dampers, it was found that the response increased with the influence of the performance decrement of the damper when the long-period ground motion was received.

We newly propose a high-speed robotic system that can investigate running insects such as ants on a 2D space. The developed system comprises a high-speed actuator (inkjet mechanism) that can make $\pmb{100\ \mu\text{m}}$ sized droplets with a 3 m/s ejection speed using a piezoelectric actuator and a high-speed online vision sensor. The design and implementation of the system is described, and its performance was confirmed through the experiments with actual running ants. This system provides on-line investigation with high functionality that has been difficult to achieve with previous approaches and contributes towards the discovery of previously unknown functions and dynamic behaviors of insects in the bioscience fields.

This paper presents a new control system that suppresses not only the relative displacement, but also the absolute acceleration of a structure. It uses the modified-equivalent-input-disturbance (MEID) approach to design a control system. The control of the absolute acceleration is very important to protect properties and people from a large earthquake, and has been considered to be a difficult problem. To deal with this problem, this study constructed a modified EID control system to achieve satisfactory control performance.

Utilization of nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) has been widely studied as a novel approach to induce cellular stress for biological and medical applications. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress has become to be considered as a cause of diseases as diabetes mellitus, Parkinson's disease, and so on. The objective of this study is to activate the ER stress response, which is a built-in function in cell to avoid ER stress, by applying pulsed high electric fields. Eventually, we aim to establish therapy and prevention methods for the diseases. Therefore, nsPEFs were applied on suspended solution of cultured cells to investigate adequate condition to activate stress response in this study. The nsPEFs of 14-ns and 70-ns pulse-width were applied on suspended solution of HeLa and MEF cells. It is well known that eIF2α phosphorylation is induced by various cellular stress, especially ER stress. Western blotting was used to analyze the nsPEFs-induced eIF2α phosphorylation. The cell viability after nsPEFs exposure was measured with WST-8 assay. It was confirmed that 14-ns and 70-ns pulses activated ER stress response. The 14-ns pulses activated a little response. The 70-ns pulses activated stress response as large as thapsigargin treatment. It was confirmed that 70-ns pulses could activate sufficiently large stress response even when most cells survived.

Background To develop a triplet regimen containinggemcitabine,cisplatin,andS-1(GPS),weassessedtherecom-mendeddoseforpatientswithuntreatedadvancedbiliarytractcancer in this phase I study.Methods Dose-limitingtoxicities(DLTs)wereevaluatedforthe following two dose levels: gemcitabine (1000mg/m 2 forlevel 1 and 1200mg/m 2 for level 2 on day 1), cisplatin(30mg/m 2 fixeddoseonday1),andS-1(40–60mg/dayfixeddose twice a day for 7days), every 2weeks until progression.DLTs for each level were evaluated in six or more patientsduring the first twocycles.Results A total of 18 patients were enrolled and 16 patientswere evaluated. DLTs at level 1 were observed in two of10 patients. At level 2, a DLT was observed in one of sixpatients. The main grade 3 or 4 treatment-related adverseevents were neutropenia and leukopenia, and a few non-hematological toxicities were observed. Among 14 patientswith measurable lesions, the best response rate was 50%.Conclusions GPS with a relative dose intensity correspond-ingto90%ofthestandardgemcitabinepluscisplatinregimencould be administered safely, and showed preliminary antitu-mor activity. Survival benefits will be studied subsequently.Keywords Biliary tract cancer · Cholangiocarcinoma ·Cisplatin · Gallbladder carcinoma · Gemcitabine · S-1IntroductionGemcitabine and fluoropyrimidine (FU) are used widely inpatients with advanced biliary tract cancer (ABTC). Re-cently, gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GP) combination che-motherapy has been recognized as a standard first-linechemotherapy based on the results of a phase III study(ABC-02), which compared GP to gemcitabine alone inpatients with ABTC [1]. Since then, FU-containingregimens have been used as second-line chemotherapyfor ABTC. S-1, which contains tegafur, gimeracil, andoteracil, has been approved for the treatment of varioussolid tumors including ABTC in Japan, and S-1 incombination with cisplatin has been approved for gastriccancer therapy in Europe [2]. It showed promisingactivity against ABTC in several studies [3–10] and ismainly used in gemcitabine-refractory patients in Japan.However, all patients do not receive second-line chemo-therapy. The proportion of patients who receivedsecond-line chemotherapy after the failure of first-linechemotherapy was reportedly 20 to 70% [1, 11, 12]. It was60% in our previous study, where we explored prognosticfactors for ABTC [13].This study aimed to develop a triplet regimen, GP plusS-1, using valid drugs in the upfront treatment of patientswith ABTC.

We have synthesised novel ionic liquids (ILs) to show both cellulose dissolution ability and LCST-type phase transition after mixing with water. To realise both polar and hydrophobic properties, tetraalkylphosphonium cations and a series of carboxylate anions were employed to assume hydrophobic and highly polar properties, respectively. Effects of their alkyl chain length on the water compatibility and cellulose solubility of the corresponding ILs were systematically examined. We succeeded in synthesising novel ILs which dissolve cellulose and separable with water at moderate temperature. Through the present study, we have clarified that not only polarity but also density of ILs is an important factor in designing the ILs for cellulose dissolution.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between reactive swelling of regional lymph node (LN) and survival in colorectal carcinoma. We retrospectively studied 170 patients with surgically resected colorectal carcinoma histopathologically diagnosed as stage II (pStage II). These patients were classified into two groups:a) a "reactive LN swelling" group (clinically diagnosed as positive for LN metastasis, but pathologically negative) and b) a "no LN swelling" group. Survival analyses of the two groups showed that overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) were longer in the reactive LN swelling group than in the no LN swelling group in patients with total colorectal and right-sided colon cancer. Multivariate analyses revealed that reactive LN swelling was an independent prognostic factor in OS and DSS in patients with right-sided colon cancer. Reactive swelling of regional LN is regarded as an expression of local immune responses, which could explain the present results.

There is a method for charging a battery of electric vehicles by using bi-directional inductive power transfer (IPT). A system applied with IPT is convenient, safe and maintainable. In previous studies, various control schemes for a bi-directional IPT system have been proposed. However, these control schemes are not practical because the resonant circuit controlled with the control scheme is not optimized in efficiency, or the control scheme is highly complex. In addition, these control schemes have less generality because the appropriate design method of the resonant circuit form the viewpoint in the efficiency is not expressed. Therefore, this paper proposes the design method for the resonant circuit in order to obtain high efficiency, and the maximum efficiency control scheme for the resonant circuit considering the characteristics of an IPT system. The proposed control scheme obtains maximum efficiency easily by controlling the 3 control parameters: the magnitude of the primary-side and secondary-side voltages in the resonant circuit, and the phase between the primary-side and secondary-side voltages of the resonant circuit. In addition, these control scheme and design method are derived from the simple theoretical equations. Eventually, the effectiveness of the proposed design method and control scheme are revealed by the experiments.

In this paper, the authors describe the effectiveness of thermal annealing in vacuum for quantum efficiency (QE) recovery from Cs/O-activated GaN and GaAs photocathodes. The QE of Cs/O-activated GaN photocathodes at 3.4 eV dropped from 1.0% to

The combination of passive-base-isolated (PBI) and active structural control (ASC) has been employed in many buildings globally to improve control performance. Controllers are mainly designed using the linear-quadratic-regulator (LQR) method, which minimizes the response and control force by using their weights. While the estimation of the required control force is important to select an appropriate actuator to perform ASC, previous approaches utilized trial-and-error because the dependency of the maximum control force on the natural period and the passive damper has not been expressed theoretically. To solve this problem, this paper presents a spectrum, namely a control-force spectrum, to estimate the maximum control force while considering the combination of PBI and ASC. An equivalent model of an ASC system is derived to describe the relationship between the vibration characteristics and the LQR weighting matrices. Using the equivalent model and the control-force spectrum, the maximum control force of an ASC system designed by the LQR method is estimated, and the appropriate maximum control force, natural period, and damping ratio are theoretically determined. This study also develops a design method for PBI construction with ASC that selects the natural period, passive damper, and maximum control force by using spectra without requiring trial-and-error and numerical simulations. A numerical design example validates the design method.

From the environmental point of view, the efficient control of the visible light driven hydrogen evolution reaction is one of the promising issue. For that, the semiconductor electrode can be regarded as the sufficient material but various semiconductor electrodes cannot be used for the visible light driven reactions due to their wide band gap energy. Recently, plasmoic photoelectric conversion system, which is the introduction of the plasmon active metal nano-structures onto the surface of the semiconductor substrate, has been received much attention due to its wide range photo response abilities. In this system, the electrons are excited and injected into the conduction band of the n-type semiconductor under visible light illuminations. Up to now, various plasmon-induced chemical reactions, even the water splitting, have been established. However, although well-established systems have been reported, the direct control of the reduction reaction at the metal-semiconductor interface using the excited electrons has not been well examined because the almost plasmonic photoconversion systems consist of the n-type semiconductor electrode and used the generated holes for the reactions. In this study, we have tried to establish the plasmon-induced hydrogen evolution system by using p-type semiconductor substrate and plasmon active nano-structures. By the fabrication of the plasmonic Ag dimer structures, we have observed the generation of the photo-current derived from the hydrogen evolution reactions under visible light illumination. Through the photocurrent measurements and the incident photon to current conversion efficiency obtained under different pH conditions, we have confirmed the pH dependence of the photo current value and the photo response characters. In addition to these, as the very interesting point for the current study, we have found the very unique catalytic property for the plasmonic hydrogen evolution especially under specific pH condition. Through the various photoelectrochemical measurements including isotropic selectively, we are sure that our plasmonic hydrogen evolution system could be one of the good candidate for future light energy conversion system.

Construction of tunnels in Hokkaido, Japan often excavates rocks containing substantial amounts of arsenic (As) and boron (B). When these rocks are exposed to the environment, As and B are leached out that could potentially contaminate the surrounding soil and groundwater. Natural geologic materials contain minerals like Al-/Fe-oxyhydroxides/oxides that have As and B adsorption capabilities. Because these materials are widespread and readily available, they could be utilized in the mitigation of As and B leached out from these sources. This paper describes the ability of three natural geologic materials (i.e., pumiceous tuffs, partly-weathered volcanic ashes and coastal marine sediments) to sequester As and B from aqueous solutions and the actual leachate of a hydrothermally altered rock. The adsorption of As fitted well with either the Langmuir or Freundlich isotherm while that of B followed the Henry-type model (linear). Among the samples, those containing substantial amorphous Al and Fe exhibited higher As adsorption. However, the distribution coefficient of B only had a moderate positive correlation with these amorphous phases. The best adsorbent among these natural geologic materials was utilized in the adsorption layer of the column experiments. Adsorption of As was more effective the thicker the adsorption layer, but this retardation was only temporary due to significant changes in the pH. In contrast, the adsorption layer only retarded the migration of B to a limited extent.

A vibration control system for an automated warehouse was developed that can be applied to existing warehouses as well as newly built ones. The device used for this system is the “post- installed mass damper” that can be post installed on the cargo storage space in an automated warehouse. This damper has a large mass that causes a sustainable effect of reducing the response across a wide range of natural frequencies of an automated warehouse, which vary depending on the number of stacked cargoes and their weight. The results of the shaking table test demonstrated that the fall of cargoes by the earthquake ground motion could be prevented by using this damper because the accelerations of the rack were reduced to 50%-70%. Moreover, this effect was confirmed by the analysis conducted with the proposed model. The acceleration of the rack top was reduced to 80% and the maximum slip displacement of the cargoes was reduced to 25%.