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The primary goal of the present paper is to argue for the hypothesis that labeling is required for linearization, which is called Labeling for Linearization (LfL). To achieve this goal, it is first argued that labels are not necessary for semantic interpretation. It is then proposed that labels are necessary for linearization at the PF-interface in that they serve as a device to encode structural asymmetries that are employed to determine precedence relations, which are asymmetric as well. It is also shown that LfL can remove several problems of the original labeling framework. Building on the idea that Spell-Out applies to the whole phase but not its subpart, it is illustrated that the LfL-based analysis can solve the problem concerning the variable ways of applying Spell-Out, which arises in the standard phase theory. Extending the LfL-based framework to Japanese, a novel analysis of particle-stranding ellipsis is also proposed. Incorporating some insights of recent approaches that particle-stranding ellipsis arises through a PF-deletion process, it is shown that the proposed analysis based on LfL offers a theoretically more suitable characterization of the PF-deletion process. In this way, the present article contributes to not only sharpening the core theoretical notions regarding structure building and linearization in terms of labeling but also deepening our understanding of the structure of Japanese.

The aim of this paper is to argue for a particular analysis of null clausal arguments in terms of ellipsis. It is first illustrated that null clausal arguments have underlying syntactic structures that are subject to ellipsis. The main and novel observation for this claim is that null clausal arguments exhibit the effect of the parallelism constraint that other ellipsis constructions like verb phrase ellipsis are also subject to, along the line of Takahashi (Proceedings of FAJL 6: formal approaches to Japanese linguistics, MIT Working Papers in Linguistics, Cambridge, pp 203–213, 2013). It then examines a hitherto unexplored construction, called antecedent-contained clausal argument ellipsis, where a null clausal argument appears to be properly contained by its antecedent. Although the construction can be readily accommodated by assuming the ellipsis process that directly elides arguments (argument ellipsis), it raises serious difficulties for its alternative analysis that employs the ellipsis process targeting a VP whose head has evacuated it (verb-stranding VP-ellipsis). This paper thus provides a novel case where the argument ellipsis analysis is required, no matter how well the verb-stranding VP-ellipsis analysis accommodates other null argument phenomena.

This paper first argues that Japanese right dislocation, where a constituent appears in the post-verbal position, is derived in two ways, depending on whether the dislocated constituent is accompanied with Case-markers/postpositions or not. In particular, it is argued that while right dislocation involves clausal ellipsis when the dislocated element is accompanied with Case-markers/postpositions, it is derived from what is called the bare-topic construction when the dislocated element is not accompanied with Case-markers/postpositions. Then, it is illustrated that the bare-topic construction, where the topic element is base-generated in the sentence-initial position without any Case-marker, postposition, or the topic-marker -wa, has close similarities with Hanging Topic constructions found in Romance and other languages. Claiming that the bare-topic construction should be equated with Hanging Topic constructions, this paper argues that an investigation of the properties of Japanese right dislocation makes it possible to contribute to a deeper understanding of the nature of the bare-topic construction, which in turn opens a novel way of comparing Japanese with other languages in terms of the syntax of topics.

Germanium (Ge) nanodots are expected for various applications. We have proposed a unique fabrication method for them with bismuth (Bi) mediation, and we have successfully formed high-density crystalline Ge nanodots by vacuum evaporation followed by low-temperature annealing. In this paper, we show the experimental results, such as dependence of the process condition on the nanodot structure and some results of the analyses of the nanodot samples. Then we discuss and propose a schematic formation mechanism for the nanodots as follows. First, during the deposition process, sequentially deposited Bi and Ge layers are mixed by solid phase diffusion and form an amorphous-alloy layer. Next, during the annealing process, crystallization of the Ge nanodots and desorption of the Bi proceeds; during this time, Bi and Ge exist as a solid–liquid coexistence phase in the alloy system, and this condition may enhance the phenomena.

In our previous studies, many experiments using pseudoblood vessels with an inner diameter of ≤6 mm have been carried out assuming that the catheter is inserted in a femoral artery. In recent years in Japan, however, along with the trends of reducing the burden on patients and the downsizing of catheters, in more than half of the cases, catheters are inserted in radial arteries with inner diameters of 2.0–3.5 mm for the treatment of dysfunctional coronary arteries. The purpose of this study was to develop a small active catheter so that the catheter can navigate in a radial artery. The effectiveness of the catheter was confirmed by the driving experiment using silicon tubes with inner diameters of 2.5–3.0 mm and an endovascular surgery simulator.

This paper proposes that a particular conception of the Spell-Out operation provides a hitherto unnoticed way of determining a label of otherwise unlabeled syntactic objects. It is shown that this proposal simplifies the grammar and gains several theoretical and empirical consequences, eliminating certain unnecessary complications in Chomsky’s (

One of the important topics in current syntactic theory is whether there is a directionality parameter in Universal Grammar. Based on the observation that the presence of Chinese sentence-final aspectual particles blocks movement out of their complement, Lin (Complement-to-Specifier movement in Mandarin Chinese. MS., National Tsing Hua University, 2006) argues that each of these particles is the head of an underlyingly head-initial phrase and that the surface head-final order is derived by movement of its complement. Thus, movement out of it violates the Condition on Extraction Domain [CED: Huang (Logical relations in Chinese and the theory of grammar. PhD dissertation, MIT, 1982)]. Taking this analysis as a diagnostic that distinguishes a derived head-final structure from a genuine one, this paper illustrates that it is not the case that Japanese head-final structures are derived from head-initial ones. Our result implies that Universal Grammar is equipped with a directionality parameter, admitting not only head-initial structures but also head- final structures.

This paper presents ACM-S1 (Active Cord Mechanism - Slime model 1), a snake-like robot. Conventional snake-like robots have difficulty negotiation uneven ground. In this paper, we propose “a bending and expanding joint unit” which has three degrees of freedom (3DOF) in inchworm/angleworm-like motion and has been developed to solve this problem. The ACM-S1 we developed is composed of a series of these joint units. Experiments conducted to evaluate ACM-S1's performance demonstrate the effectiveness of inchworm motion over uneven ground and of angleworm motion over flat, smooth ground.

We developed an inexpensive, robust Shape Feedback Master Slave (M-S) arm for use with the demining robot TITAN-IX. Conventional M-S arms, while important elements of such systems, are difficult to use in unpredictable environments such as minefields due to the largely unknown control parameters. The shape-feedback M-S gripper, called SPADE GRIPPER, used for detecting and removing landmines, consists of 3 unilateral position controls without bilateral force control and works stably in environments where control parameters may be unclear. We confirmed the feasibility of the gripper's mechanical design and operating principles through a series of experiments.