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Background and study aims: Sedation impairs full visualization of the esophagogastric junction (EGJ) and Z line (the squamocolumnar junction) during esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). The aim of this study was to determine whether induction of esophageal peristalsis could improve the ability to evaluate the Z line in children and adolescents. Patients and methods: Study 1: Consecutive patients (10-15 years) undergoing EGD with propofol or midazolam sedation were enrolled. The proportion of Z line observed was compared between the two groups. Study 2: The effect of an air infusion near the EGJ following deflation of the stomach to induce esophageal peristalsis was investigated in the patients (15-18 years), undergoing EGD with propofol sedation. The proportion of Z line observed was compared between the stimulated group and control group. Results: Study 1: 149 patients were evaluated; 87 received propofol (43 boys; average age 13.2 years (range, 10-15)) and 62 received midazolam (30 boys; average age 12.8 years (range, 10-15)). The proportion of the Z line visualized was low but was greater with propofol vs. midazolam sedation (36.8% vs 16.1%, P=0.0059). Study 2: 102 patients were evaluated; 62 had induction of peristalsis (34 boys; average age 16.2 years (range, 15-18)) and 40 controls (20 boys; average age 16.8 years (range, 15-18)). Complete visualization of the Z line achieved in 95% (59 of 62) following induction of peristalsis vs. 37.5% (15 of 40) of controls (P

Background Few studies have assessed depression in healthcare workers (HCWs) in Japan owing to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and no studies have proposed effective interventions to help support their mental health. Aims To test the hypothesis that enhancing access to mental healthcare professionals helps to improve HCWs’ mental health. Methods This cross-sectional study assessed depressive symptoms in HCWs at three hospitals in Osaka prefecture between May and July, 2020. The survey obtained information on HCWs’ mental state and related situations/perceptions. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with depressive symptoms. Results Of the 3291 eligible HCWs, 1269 (39%) completed the survey. Of all HCWs, 87 (7%) were physicians, and 700 (55%) were nurses. A total of 181 (14%) HCWs had moderate-to-severe symptoms of depression. Being a frontline worker was not significantly associated with depressive symptoms (odds ratio: 0.86 [95% confidence intervals: 0.54–1.37], P = 0.50). The unwillingness to consult with anyone was significantly associated with more severe depressive symptoms (1.70 [1.10–2.63], P < 0.01). HCWs who had no opportunity to confide in family/friends (1.66 [1.10–2.52], P < 0.01) or colleagues/supervisors (3.19 [2.22–4.58], P < 0.001) were significantly more likely to have depressive symptoms. Conclusions Being a frontline HCW in a Japanese hospital treating patients with COVID-19 was not significantly associated with having depressive symptoms. The study highlights that encouraging daily communication with close persons (family, friends, colleagues and supervisors), rather than improving access to mental health professionals, might help to prevent depression in HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

One aim of animal behaviour research is to explain why animals live in groups. The grouping behaviour of solitary mammals is important for understanding the ecological factors promoting the evolution of sociality. We present field data of Japanese serow, a primitive solitary ungulate, in forest and alpine meadow habitats. We found no differences in group size of all age–sex classes between the forest and alpine meadow habitats, and both populations were mainly solitary. The current findings suggest that group size in the serow is not affected by ecological conditions, including habitat structure, forage abundance, and population density. However, female associations involving up to three females occurred in the alpine meadow habitat throughout the year, whereas such groupings were not observed in the forest habitat. This finding suggests that abundant food supply in the alpine meadow promoted female associations by decreasing the cost of food resource competition.

Primary energy consumption is one of the key drivers of global CO2 emissions that, in turn, heavily depends on the efficiency of involved technologies. Either improvement in technology efficiency or the expansion of non-fossil fuel consumption requires large investments. The planning and financing of such investments by global policy makers or global energy firms require, in turn, reliable measures of associated global spread and their evolution in time, at least from the point of view of the principles for responsible investment (PRI). In this paper, our main contribution is the introduction of index measures for accessing global spread (that is, measures of inequality or inhomogeneity in the statistical distribution of a related quantity of interest) of technology efficiency and CO2 emission in primary energy consumption. These indexes are based on the Gini index, as used in economical sciences, and generalized entropy measures. Regarding primary energy sources, we consider petroleum, coal, natural gas, and non-fossil fuels. Between our findings, we attest some stable relations in the evolution of global spreads of technology efficiency and CO2 emission and a positive relation between changes in global spread of technology efficiency and use of non-fossil fuel.

Under the Paris Agreement, each participant country established its Nationally Determined Contribution aiming at reducing its C O 2 emissions. This makes the trade-off between the electricity capacity expansion planning to meet the increase of demand and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions a challenge, specially for developing countries, which require a higher rate of economic growth. To consider this trade-off, and identify the feasibility of the targets of the electricity expansion planning, a multiperiod optimization model is proposed considering the seasonality of supply and demand and the peak period demand. The goal is to minimize the total cost, satisfying demand constraints, the maximum C O 2 emission constraints and the power expansion supply restrictions for each source. An analysis of the Brazilian electricity matrix for the years 2020–2033 is performed considering two scenarios for the growth of the demand and two scenarios for the C O 2 target emissions The numerical simulations indicate that the present Brazilian electricity expansion planning seems adequate to meet the Nationally Determined Contribution only under a mild economic growth rate scenario. A higher economic growth rate would require a stronger economic policy related to the power expansions of the renewable sources.

Thrombotic microangiopathies (TMAs) are a group of life-threatening conditions characterized by microangiopathic haemolytic anaemia, thrombocytopaenia, and organ injury (1). Based on the activity o...

Nowadays, there are several electricity generation technologies based on the different sources, such as wind, biomass, gas, coal, and so on. Considering the uncertainties associated with the future costs of such technologies is crucial for planning purposes. In the literature, the allocation of resources in the available technologies have been solved as a mean-variance optimization problem using the expected costs and the correspondent covariance matrix. However, in practice, the expected values and the covariance matrix of interest are not exactly known parameters. Consequently, the optimal allocations obtained from the mean-variance optimization are not robust to possible errors in the estimation of such parameters. Additionally, there are specialists in the electricity generation technologies participating in the planning process and, obviously, the consideration of useful prior information based on their previous experience is of utmost importance. The Bayesian models consider not only the uncertainty in the parameters, but also the prior information from the specialists. In this paper, we introduce the Bayesian mean-variance optimization to solve the electricity generation planning problem using both improper and proper prior distributions for the parameters. In order to illustrate our approach, we present an application comparing the Bayesian with the naive mean-variance optimal portfolios.

The first portfolio risk diversification strategy was put into practice by the All Weather fund in 1996. The idea of risk diversification is related to the risk contribution of each available asset class or investment factor to the total portfolio risk. The maximum diversification or the risk parity allocation is achieved when the set of risk contributions is given by a uniform distribution. Meucci (2009) introduced the maximization of the Renyi entropy as part of a leverage constrained optimization problem to achieve such diversified risk contributions when dealing with uncorrelated investment factors. A generalization of the risk parity is the risk budgeting when there is a prior for the distribution of the risk contributions. Our contribution is the generalization of the existent optimization frameworks to be able to solve the risk budgeting problem. In addition, our framework does not possess any leverage constraint.

The addition of water to ready mixed concrete once turned into a social problem. One of the reasons was the fact that as the rebar density of structures increased, cases emerged where ready mixed concrete as specified in construction specifications failed to offer sufficient workability. Further, as the use of pumping increased construction speed, the need for a rational standard for slump selection according to construction conditions came to be needed. Against such backdrop, the Japan Society of Civil Engineers stipulated “minimum slump in casting” as one of the construction requirements in the Standard Specifications for Concrete Structures. Yet a common awareness with respect to specified slump values still cannot be said to exist to a sufficient degree among clients, builders, and ready-mixed concrete producers. Further, requirements for ready-mixed concrete quality and performance are growing increasingly diverse, but the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) provide only general specifications that fall far short of addressing the broad range of needs. There is also the view that a quality and performance classification system needs to be made part of the JIS standards. This paper presents the main findings of a survey and panel discussion to determine the direction of future studies with regard to these two issues.生コンクリートへの加水が，かつて社会問題化した。その理由としては，構造物の配筋密度が高くなり，工事仕様書で規定されている生コンクリートのスランプでは十分なワーカビリティーが得られないケースが生じるようになったこと，ポンプ打込みの普及で工事速度が向上する一方で，スランプの選択に施工条件に応じた合理性が求められるようになったこと，等が挙げられる。そのような背景のもと，土木学会では，コンクリート標準示方書で“打込みの最小スランプ”を施工に必要な条件の1つとして規定した。しかし，スランプの規定値に関していまだに発注者，施工者，生コン生産者の間で共通認識が十分得られているとは言えない。この問題解決のためには何が必要か。一方，生コンクリートの品質・性能に対する要求が多様化してきているが，JIS規格には単に標準品的なものが規定されているに過ぎず，これだけでは多様化するニーズに応えることはできない。そこでJIS規格にも品質・性能についての区分を設ける必要があるのではないか，との声も聞かれる。ここでは，これらの2課題について今後の検討の方向性を見いだすことを目的として行ったアンケート調査とパネルディスカッションの概要を報告する。

To evaluate the effect of adaptive iterative dose reduction (AIDR) on image noise and image quality as compared with standard filtered back projection (FBP) in 320-detector row CT coronary angiography (CTCA).50 patients (14 females, mean age 68 ± 9 years) who underwent CTCA (100 kV or 120 kV, 400-580 mA) within a single heartbeat were enrolled. Studies were reconstructed with FBP and subsequently AIDR. Image noise, vessel contrast and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) in the coronary arteries were evaluated. Overall image quality for coronary arteries was assessed using a five-point scale (1, non-diagnostic; 5, excellent).All the examinations were performed in a single heartbeat. Image noise in the aorta was significantly lower in data sets reconstructed with AIDR than in those reconstructed with FBP (21.4 ± 3.1 HU vs 36.9 ± 4.5 HU; p0.001). No significant differences were observed between FBP and AIDR for the mean vessel contrast (HU) in the proximal coronary arteries. Consequently, CNRs in the proximal coronary arteries were higher in the AIDR group than in the FBP group (p0.001). The mean image quality score was improved by AIDR (3.75 ± 0.38 vs 4.24 ± 0.38; p0.001).The use of AIDR reduces image noise and improves image quality in 320-detector row CTCA.

Spontaneous ignition of compacted mixture has been examined not only experimentally but also theoretically, relevant to materials synthesis by combustion for Ti–Al system. By varying compact and particle sizes, mixture ratio, and degree of dilution, spontaneous ignition temperature has been measured, which is determined from the inflection-point of the temporal variations of the surface temperature. It is found that the spontaneous ignition temperature decreases with increasing aspect ratio, defined as the ratio of the sample height and compact diameter, due to an establishment of the stationary temperature distribution in the radial direction in the compacted mixture, as the sample height becomes tall. It is also found that the spontaneous ignition temperature decreases with increasing size ratio, defined as the ratio of compact and particle diameters, due to an increase in the particle surface per unit spatial volume of the compacted mixture, caused by a decrease in the particle diameter and/or an increase in the compact diameter. By further examining its dependence on mixture ratio and/or degree of dilution, it is confirmed that the limit of flammability also exerts influences on the spontaneous ignition temperature. In addition, a fair degree of agreement, shown in experimental comparisons with theoretical results, indicates that the present formulation has captured the essential features of the spontaneous ignition of compacted mixture. Since this kind of particle size effect, especially, relevant to the spontaneous ignition of compacted mixtures, has not been captured in the previous studies, its elucidation can be considered not only notable but also useful, especially, in manipulating combustion process in materials synthesis.

At J-PARC's pulsed spallation neutron source, a cryogenic hydrogen system has been operated to provide liquid para-hydrogen (20K and 1.5 MPa) to the moderators since 2008. Typical operating period of the cryogenic hydrogen system was approximately 3 months continuously. However, the pressure differences between No.1, No.2 heat exchangers (HXs) and an adsorber (ADS) in the helium refrigerator had begun to increase rapidly since the beginning of 2015, the refrigerator could not be operated continuously. The impurity in the refrigerator was measured by newly introduced quadrat mass spectrometer, but no significant impurities was observed. We suspected the oil contamination from the helium compressor, as it caused performance degradation of the cryogenic system in other facilities, such as RIKEN, CERN, etc. In the summer outage in 2016, we cleaned the HXs with Freon to remove the oil contamination, and replaced the activate charcoals of ADS and oil separator (OS-5). As a result, the performance of the helium refrigerator was recovered completely.

Populations of M.persicae from glasshouses in Britain were found to have a structurally heterozygous chromosome complement. Biometric data from somatic metaphase chromosomes, and the pairing configurations of chromosomes at spermatocyte meiosis, indicate either a simple or a reciprocal translocation involving autosomes 1 and 3. All except one of the clones started from these populations showed high levels of esterase activity indicative of resistance to organophosphorus insecticides. The British translocated clones were all androcyclic in reproductive character, but of several distinct genotypes. A similar or identical translocation was found in seven out of nine clones started from M.persicae collected in the field in Japan. The translocation was present in Japanese M.persicae of all reproductive categories, being somehow maintained in the sexual breeding system of the aphid. In breeding experiments, translocation heterozygosity was inherited independently from colour and reproductive characters. The translocation was also found in a sample of M.persicae from southern California.

The intraday trading volume of a security is the total amount of traded contracts distributed over the day. Consequently, the intraday trading volume captures part of the intraday trading activity and represents a proxy for the intraday liquidity of a market. When executing orders in the market, it is important to avoid impacting the market and, consequently, the prices. Usually, the market impact causes adverse price movements implying in an implicit cost of the execution process. Clearly, the intraday trading volume is important when developing execution strategies. In the literature, the intraday trading volume for equities has been reported to possess an intraday U-shaped pattern. In this paper, we investigate for the first time the statistical factors behind the intraday trading volume using non-negative matrix factorization (NNMF). The obtained factors are directly applicable to the design of execution strategies. Additionally, we observe that the factors obtained using NNMF are more intuitively int...

Spallation targets withstanding beam powers of several megawatts are required for significant transmutation of waste in accelerator-driven systems (ADS). Such target systems are being designed and operated in current spallation neutron source facilities. This paper presents a brief overview of the development history of spallation targets used at several facilities. In particular, the spallation target development programs of the Swiss Spallation Neutron Source, SINQ, and of the Spallation Neutron Source, SNS, in Oak Ridge are reviewed.

Execution strategies are algorithms used to execute huge amount of orders in stock exchanges. Consequently, they are very important for big players such as institutional investors, asset management firms, pension funds and, so on. In this context, there is a plethora of execution algorithms used by traders and brokers to execute the orders of their clients. In this paper, we define execution strategies as execution density functions. We propose an execution impact cost function based on Kullback-Leibler divergence to be used in the derivation of execution strategies in general. Time weighted average price (TWAP) and volume weighted average price (VWAP) execution strategies are the two fundamental algorithms that originate several other strategies. Formally, we derive the TWAP and VWAP strategies using the minimum discrimination information principle. Additionally, we use the developed theory to obtain some VWAP tilt execution strategies.

We address the problem of estimating the input conditions (mixture compositions, operating temperature, pressure, etc.) that will result in manufacturing a product with the required properties using a data-based approach. A single-model type paradigm is shown to be unsuitable for all data sets or even for all output variables in a particular data set. A multiple-model type paradigm is therefore advocated. The input-output map is first obtained using one or more of the several modeling approaches. These models are then inverted to suggest operational strategies that will meet production goals. Several examples are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed methodology.

Summary We evaluated the effect of soil conservation by weeds on the degradation and generation of humic acids, fulvic acids, and water-soluble non-humic substances (WS-NHS) in a red-acid soil (Vertic Dystrudept) (Indonesia) from the changes in humus composition and stable carbon isotopic ratio (δ13C). Three plots, a weeded plot (T-1; the common practice), a plot covered with Paspalum conjugatum Berg., a C4 plant (T-2), and a plot in which native weeds were allowed to grow (T-3), were prepared. An incubation experiment determined the δ13C values of the humus fractions generated from Paspalum in soil. Based on the increase in δ13C value, the proportion of total C that originated from Paspalum C after 4 years under coffee was 16 ± 4% in the T-2 topsoil (0–10 cm). Humic and fulvic acids in the T-1 topsoil decreased to 46 and 84%, respectively, whilst both increased or remained constant in the T-2 and T-3 soils. The WS-NHS content varied little and was independent of land management. The preferential loss of the humic acids with a smaller degree of humification as assessed by their darkness in colour was shown in T-1. The decrease in the degree of humification suggested the accumulation of the weed-derived humic acids in T-2 and T-3. In the T-2 topsoil, 36 ± 2%, 13 ± 3% and 15 ± 2% of C in the humic acids, fulvic acids and WS-NHS, respectively, were estimated to be Paspalum-derived after 4 years. The estimated initial C loss during the same period was 17 ± 3%, 14 ± 2% and 7 ± 2%, respectively, for those fractions, which suggests the fastest turnover rate for the humic acids and significant retardation of their degradation in soil colonized by weeds.

14C wiggle-matching was applied to two wood samples closely related to geological and archaeological events with associated dendrochronological dates, to demonstrate the accuracy of 14C dating with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Wiggle-matching on charred wood with bark, excavated from a pyroclastic mud-flow deposited by the huge 10th Century eruption of the Baitoushan Volcano, revealed the eruption age as cal A.D. 935 +8/−5 with 95% confidence. This date is consistent with the eruption age of A.D. 912 to A.D. 972 estimated by dendrochronology on two wooden boards that had clear stratigraphical connections to the B-Tm tephra deposit in Japan, an ash fall layer formed by the eruption of the Baitoushan Volcano. The date is also consistent with an A.D. 937–938 date estimated by the analysis of varved sediments from Lake Ogawarako in Aomori prefecture. The other wooden board collected from the Mawaki archaeological site in Ishikawa prefecture was wiggle-matched as 783 +13/−11 cal B.C. with 95% confidenc...

A novel electrical evaluation method was proposed for crystal quality characterization of thin Si on insulator (SOI) wafers, which was done by measurement of minority carrier generation lifetime (τg) using transient capacitance method for lateral metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitor. The lateral MOS capacitors were fabricated on three kinds of thin SOI wafers. The crystal quality difference among these three wafers was clearly shown by the τg measurement results and discussed from a viewpoint of SOI fabrication. The series resistance influence on the capacitance measurement for this lateral MOS capacitor was discussed in detail. The validity of this method was confirmed by comparing the intensities of photoluminescence signals due to electron–hole droplet in the band-edge emission.

We describe a design and a construction of a TW-class 12-fs Ti:sapphire chirped-pulse amplification system. We developed a broadband pulse stretcher, a broadband gain-narrowing compensator, broadband high-energy mirrors, high-energy dichroic chirped mirrors, a dispersion compensator, and a broadband pulse compressor for /spl sim/10-fs pulse generation. Utilizing these optical devices, we demonstrated a generation of 12-fs pulses from a 10-Hz-repetition-rate Ti:sapphire chirped-pulse multipass amplifier system and a 1-kHz-repetition-rate Ti:sapphire chirped-pulse regenerative amplifier system. Optimized designs of broadband Ti:sapphire amplifiers with multilayer gain-narrowing compensators and an adaptive dispersion compensator with a spatial light modulator contribute to the shorter pulse amplification.

Compared to young patients with Takayasu's arteritis (TA), little information about elderly patients with TA has been reported. Additionally, no reports were found regarding TA cases with complications of intestinal amyloidosis. This is a case report of an elderly female, who developed intestinal amyloidosis, during late-stage TA. After years of outpatient management, she developed sudden severe dyspnea with pulmonary effusion, requiring hospitalization. After this event, betamethasone was replaced by methotrexate (MTX) for the next 34 months, but it seemed ineffective. After 1.5 years, she developed intractable diarrhea, followed by increases in BUN and serum creatinine (Cr), requiring several courses of hemodialysis. Colonoscopy revealed the presence of amyloid in her intestine, although she died of complicated sepsis caused by MRSA infection. This may be the first paper describing intestinal amyloidosis in a TA patient. Additionally, her case is rare in that she lived more than 30 years after the onset and diagnosis of TA.

Liquid crystal (LC) photo-alignment using azo-dyes is reviewed. This alignment method is very different from previously reported ones, which are due to mechanisms such as photo-crosslinking, photo degradation, and photo-isomerization. We present the basic physical mechanisms of the photo-induced orientational order in various photo-aligning materials and in azo-dye layers in particular. This method is based on rotational diffusion in a potential created by the light field as well as intermolecular forces. It will be shown that this photo-aligning method can provide a controllable pretilt angle and strong anchoring energy of the LC cell, as well as having high thermal and ultraviolet (UV) stability. The application of this method to the alignment and fabrication of various types of LC displays is also discussed.

Crossing experiments were conducted with 43 different parental clones of Myzus persicae (Sulzer) to clarify the genetic bases of esterase variations detected by electrophoresis. A total of 468 F1 clones obtained were analysed for variants at six polymorphic esterase loci, including one associated with resistance to organophosphorus insecticides (RAE). In addition, the effect of six different host plants on the activity of esterases was examined. The inheritance of variants at two loci could be explained by two-allele models, and that at three other loci by three-allele models, while segregation ratios at the RAE locus suggested a cumulative effect of the multiple genes. An interdependent assortment was found between two loci. The activity of the esterases detected in the alimentary canal was affected by the host plant. By combining the variants at the six polymorphic esterase loci with those in body colour, a total of 2592 colour-esterase forms were distinguishable. Thus esterases could be useful as genetic markers to study the genotypic composition and its dynamics of M. persicaepopulations.

The authors studied the measurement and control of relative carrier-envelope-offset phases among femtosecond light pulses whose optical frequencies have a subharmonic relation. They report the fluctuation dynamics of the phases and their control of two types of passive pulse-timing synchronized systems: passively synchronized mode-locked Ti:sapphire and Cr:forsterite lasers and a femtosecond subharmonic optical parametric oscillator. These techniques will facilitate Fourier synthesizing among subharmonic pulses in order to realize subfemtosecond pulse-train generation in the visible and infrared regions.

We have developed a projection X-ray microscope by modifying a conventional scanning electron microscope (SEM). The operational process for optical alignment and focusing is as simple as with SEM. Because there are no X-ray optical elements (e.g. a zone plate), this microscope can achieve a fairly deep focal depth. This implies it is possible to obtain projection images of thick and opaque sample in a single image without having to construct a composite image from thin sections. Taking this advantage, we inspected internal structure of thick biological specimens that were impossible to observe directly by either optical or electron microscopy.

Non-Negative Matrix Factorization (NNMF) is a technique for dimensionality reduction with a wide variety of applications from text mining to identification of concentrations in chemistry. NNMF deals with non-negative data and results in non-negative factors and factor loadings. Consequently, it is a natural choice when studying the term structure of interest rates. In this paper, NNMF is applied to obtain factors from the term structure of interest rates and the procedure is compared with other very popular techniques: principal component analysis and Nelson-Siegel model. The NNMF approximation for the term structure of interest rates is better in terms of fitting. From a practitioner point of view, the NNMF factors and factor loadings obtained possess straightforward financial interpretations due to their non-negativeness.

Factor analysis is a statistical procedure to describe observed data in terms of unobserved variables called factors. Naturally, it is necessary to determine the number of factors to represent the system. There are several existent criteria to deal with the tradeoff between reduction of approximation error and avoidance of overparameterization. However, given the factors there is a lack of an approach to verify if they are really equally inherent to the entire data. In this paper, the term ubiquitous factors is coined to describe such equally omnipresent factors. An information criterion is proposed to fill the existent blank. Additionally, we show the possibility to use the criterion to compare ubiquity of factors from two different techniques: principal component analysis and non-negative matrix factorization. Finally, the proposed criterion is extended to identify factors more suitable to describe only a partition of the data.

Accurate potential energy curves, dipole moment functions, dissociation energies and spectroscopic constants for six electronic states ( 3 Σ − , 3 Π , 5 Σ − , 1 Δ , 1 Π , 1 Σ + ) of the CaC molecule are reported with the multireference singles and doubles configuration interaction methodology. The ground state has symmetry 3 Σ − , with a dissociation energy ( D 0 ) equal to 1.94 eV. The 5 Σ − state is the first excited state lying 695 cm −1 above the 3 Σ − ground state. The 1 Δ and 3 Π states are the second and third excited states separated, respectively, by 10 763 and 12 167 cm −1 from the 3 Σ − ground state.

Issues related to the identification and control of systems with recycle of material and/or energy are investigated via simple case studies. We aim for high performance control using recycle compensators that can be easily implemented on industrial DCS systems. The modelling strategy centers around system identification and/or decomposing the overall process dynamics into a direct effect component and a recycle component. When fundamental process models are available, such decomposition is relatively straightforward. In their absence, the models required for controller design may only be gained via plant tests and subsequent system identification. This study will examine the issues related to the empirical identification of integrated systems such as the proper use of available sensor information and appropriate implementation of the recycle compensator. Though only two case studies are presented here, the principles and conclusions are broadly applicable to industrial chemical process systems.

We studied the highest harmonic photon energies of high-order harmonic generation (HHG) for He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, and N2. This research employed 65-fs and 150-fs Ti:sapphire laser pulses, of which the peak intensities in a vacuum are higher than the barrier-suppression-ionization (BSI) intensities. We fitted two analytical formulae to the experimental results of HHG. One formula, which was obtained by fitting an analytical formula to the results by a quantum mechanical simulation of HHG, expresses the highest interaction intensity by a function of the BSI intensity and the Keldysh γ-parameter. The other formula is derived by introducing the saturation intensity of HHG, which was proposed by Chang et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 2967 (1997)]. We discuss the highest interaction intensity for the condition when the peak laser intensities are higher than the BSI intensities.

We investigated the value of magnetically evoked motor potentials (MEPs) for the differentiation of demyelinating and axonal polyneuropathies. The study population comprised 107 patients, with polyneuropathy verified by electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction study (NCS), who had also been examined by means of MEP. MEPs were evoked by magnetic stimulation of the cortex and the spinal roots and were recorded from three upper limb muscles and two lower limb muscles bilaterally. From the EMG/NCS results 53 patients were characterized as having primary demyelination (demyelinating patients) and 54 as having axonal involvement (axonal patients). Demyelinating patients were classified as acute (acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy: AIDP) or chronic (chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy: CIDP) according to the duration of illness. A series of indices were calculated from MEP results. One demyelinating patient and two axonal patients had normal MEPs. The MEPs of the demyelinating patients showed significantly longer peripheral conduction times, larger interside differences and lower amplitudes than the axonal patients. The central conduction index and the amplitudes upon cortical stimulation were significantly higher in patients with CIDP than in those with AIDP. Peripheral conduction time prolonged by more than 85% in at least one of the 10 muscles studied or a peripheral conduction index of above 9.4 were pathognomonic for demyelination. By combining all criteria 75% of the patients could be categorized as CIDP vs. AIDP in accordance with the EMG/NCS diagnosis. Likewise, 83% were categorized correctly as demyelinating versus axonal according to the EMG/NCS data.

The P-channel DINOR flash memory, which uses the band-to-band tunneling induced hot electron (BBHE) program method having the advantages of high scalability, high efficiency, and high oxide reliability, was fabricated by 0.35-/spl mu/m-rule CMOS process and was investigated in detail. An ultra-high programming throughput of less than 8 ns/byte (=4 /spl mu/s/512 byte) and a low current consumption of less than 250 /spl mu/A were achieved by utilizing 512-byte parallel programming. Furthermore, we investigated its endurance characteristics up to 10/sup 6/ program/erase cycles, and window narrowing and G/sub m/ degradation were found to be very small even after 10/sup 6/ cycles. It is thought that the BBHE injection point contributes to the G/sub m/ stability and the oxide-damage-reduced operation contributes to the good window narrowing characteristics. The P-channel DINOR flash memory realizing high programming throughput with low power consumption is one of the strongest candidates for the next generation of high-performance, low-voltage flash memories.

We investigated the suppression of the variation of switching field Hsw by reducing magnetization M in submicron-sized magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) by oxidizing the surface of the CoFeB layer. Examination confirmed a reduction in the M of oxidized CoFeB film. The results also confirmed that oxidization enlarges anisotropy field Hk of CoFeB films. We applied this film to the free layer of submicron-sized MTJs of various aspect ratios. The results revealed that Hsw variation depending on the aspect ratio is reduced more with oxidation than without. We confirmed that Hsw variation in submicron-sized MTJs originating in the CoFeB free layer's shape decreased due to the oxidation, which reduced the switching field distribution (SFD) for the MTJs

Using the concepts from information theory, it is possible to improve the traditional frameworks for long-only asset allocation. In modern portfolio theory, the investor has two basic procedures: the choice of a portfolio that maximizes its risk-adjusted excess return or the mixed allocation between the maximum Sharpe portfolio and the risk-free asset. In the literature, the first procedure was already addressed using information theory. One contribution of this paper is the consideration of the second procedure in the information theory context. The performance of these approaches was compared with three traditional asset allocation methodologies: the Markowitz's mean-variance, the resampled mean-variance and the equally weighted portfolio. Using simulated and real data, the information theory-based methodologies were verified to be more robust when dealing with the estimation errors.