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The effectiveness of an emergency water supply using private wells has been asserted theoretically but not evaluated in detail. This paper aims to consider the effectiveness and shortcomings of emergency water supply based on local wells and to support policy formulation regarding groundwater usage in the event of a disaster. In Kamisu City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, not only public-operated formal water supply points using water trucks but also informal water supply points using private wells were open to address water outages following the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. This study clarified the pattern of appearance and spatial distribution of those points by combining information from local newspapers, Internet archives, and an original questionnaire survey. In addition, the function of informal water supply points was quantitatively evaluated using GIS by comparing cases with and without informal water supply points. Analysis revealed that informal water supply points expanded the size of the serviced population within a 500-m radius of the water supply points by 47%, compared with cases when only formal water supply points were available. However, well water was not necessarily suitable for drinking owing to quality issues. As a policy lesson, the importance of sharing well information is indicated. HIGHLIGHTS In emergency, informal water supply points (IWSPs) using private wells are superior to public ones in terms of service area and speed of availability.; In this case study, IWSPs expanded the size of the serviced population within a 500-m radius of water supply points by 47%.; Groundwater cannot always be potable owing to quality problems.; Information sharing on IWSPs could encourage the appearance of additional water providers.;

Abstract In this study, the stability of a sampled‐value control system with time‐ and state‐dependent disturbance and aperiodic sampling is investigated. To expand the application class of the sampled‐value controller, the local stability on a compact set is considered under the assumption of local Lipschitz continuity on the compact set. Because the assumption is weaker than the global Lipschitz continuity, the proposed stability analysis is applicable to a wider class of controlled systems. Global stability under the assumption of global Lipschitz continuity is also considered. The effectiveness of the derived stability condition is verified by conducting numerical simulations with some control parameters variations such as the disturbance magnitude and sample interval.

Abstract This study discusses a cooperative control problem of a flexible beam by two planar space robots. The goal is to control the position and orientation of the flexible structure and robots, and to suppress the vibration of the flexible structure. To solve this problem, a boundary controller based on a dynamic model represented by a hybrid PDE‐ODE model is presented. In particular, a boundary controller using the Lyapunov method is derived, and it is showed that the system becomes Lyapunov stable and that the system in the neighbourhood of the desired configuration becomes asymptotically stable. As the system has an actuation redundancy, distribute control inputs among actuators considering each actuator's performance can be distributed. Finally, several numerical simulations are carried out to investigate the validity of the proposed boundary controller.

Background: Lateral mass screw (LMS) and transpedicular screw (TPS) techniques are the two major options for performing posterior cervical fusion of the subaxial cervical spine. Although these two techniques can cover the vast majority of patients who require posterior fixation of the cervical spine, they are not without their limitations. Objective: The objective of this study is to introduce a novel technique, lateral mass intrapedicular screw (LMIS) fixation, for posterior subaxial cervical spine (C3–C6) fixation. Materials and Methods: The starting point of the screw is defined as the midpoint of the lateral mass. In the axial plane, the screw is angled at 20°–25° with respect to the midline of the spinous process. In the sagittal plane, the screw is directed toward the rostral quarter (zone 1) of the vertebral body and placed within the pedicle. A preliminary, proof-of-concept experiment was performed using a bone model created with synthetic bone and computed tomography images before performing the operation on a patient. Results: During the preliminary experiment, insignificant breaching of the inner cortex of the pedicle was observed with one of the screws. However, no other screws breached the inner cortex in the same manner during the preliminary experiment or during the operation, and the intraoperative fixation was strong. Conclusion: LMIS is a relatively simple and safe technique that can be performed for the fixation of subaxial cervical spines with screws that are longer than those used in LMS. We believe that this technique may join the two existing techniques to become a common alternative technique, particularly for patients with poor bone quality.

BackgroundAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder associated with numerous functional deficits and poor long-term outcomes. Internationally, behavioral interventions are recommended as part of a multimodal treatment approach for children with ADHD. Currently, in Japan, there are limited interventions available to target ADHD. Well Parent Japan (WPJ), a new hybrid parent-training program, provides a culturally acceptable and effective way to help support Japanese children with ADHD and their parents. ObjectiveThis pragmatic multicenter randomized controlled trial aims to provide preliminary evidence about the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of WPJ evaluated against treatment as usual (TAU) within routine Japanese mental health services. MethodsMothers of children (aged 6-12 years) diagnosed with ADHD were recruited from child and adolescent mental health care services at three hospital sites across Japan (Fukui, Fukuoka, and Okinawa). The mothers were randomized to receive immediate treatment or TAU. The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of WPJ over TAU at the end of the intervention and at 3-month follow-up will be evaluated. The primary outcome is maternal parent domain stress in the parenting role. The following secondary outcomes will be explored: child behavior, including severity of ADHD symptoms; parenting practices; emotional well-being; and the parent-child relationship and maternal child domain parenting stress. Data analysis will follow intention-to-treat principles with treatment effects quantified through analysis of covariance using multilevel modeling. An incremental cost-effectiveness ratio will be used to analyze the cost-effectiveness of the WPJ intervention. ResultsStudy funding was secured through a proof-of-concept grant in July 2018. Approval by the institutional review board for the data collection sites was obtained between 2017 and 2019. Data collection began in August 2019 and was completed in April 2022. Participant recruitment (N=124) was completed in May 2021. Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness analyses are expected to be completed by July 2022 and December 2022, respectively. These timelines are subject to change owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. ConclusionsThis is the first multisite pragmatic trial of WPJ based on the recruitment of children referred directly to routine clinical services in Japan. This multisite randomized trial tests the effectiveness of WPJ in children and families by comparing WPJ directly with the usual clinical care offered for children diagnosed with ADHD in Japan. We also seek to assess and compare the cost-effectiveness of WPJ with TAU in Japan. Trial RegistrationInternational Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number ISRCTN66978270; https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN66978270 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/32693

This paper presents a stability analysis of swarm robots, a group of multiple robots. In particular, we focus on robot swarms with heterogeneous abilities, in which each robot has a different sensing range and physical limitations, including maximum velocity and acceleration. In addition, each robot has a unique sensing region with a limited angle field of view. We previously proposed a decentralized navigation method for such heterogeneous swarm robots consisting of one leader and multiple followers. With the decentralized navigation method, a single leader can navigate for followers while maintaining connectivity and satisfying the physical limitations unique to each robot; i.e., each follower has a target robot and follows it without violating its physical limitations. In this paper, we focus on a stability analysis of such swarm robots. When the leader moves at a constant velocity, we mathematically prove that the shape and orientations of all robots eventually converge to the equilibrium state. For this, we must first prove that the equilibrium state exists. Then, we show the convergence of the state to its equilibrium. Finally, we carry out experiments and numerical simulations to confirm the stability analysis, i.e., the convergence of the swarm robots to the equilibrium states.

Background: The reported prevalences of IgG autoantibodies (AAbs) to FcεRIα and IgE in sera from patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) have varied, and these AAbs are also often observed in healthy control subjects. Regarding the histamine release activity of purified IgG from patients with CSU, the number of examined patients has been small. Thus, we sought to determine the prevalence and FcεRI crosslinking ability of these AAbs in a large number of patients with CSU and non-atopic control (NC) subjects. Methods: We compared the concentrations of anti-IgE and anti-FcεRIα AAbs and the abilities of these AAbs to cause FcεRI aggregation in patients with CSU (n = 134) and NC subjects (n = 55) using ELISA and an in vitro elicitation test, respectively. Results: The concentration of anti-IgE AAbs was significantly different between the NC subjects and the CSU patients (P