Estimation of the disaster building domain using RapidEye data to estimate the amount of disaster waste

To draw reconstruction plans following major earthquakes, such as the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, it is necessary to quickly estimate the amount of disaster waste. To this end, remote sensing data is used, which affects all subsequent processing. However, the digital number of each pixel of the remote sensing data represents the average land cover conditions. That is, the information provided by a pixel should be represented as a one‐pixel mixed class (‘mixel’) instead of a one‐pixel single class. In previous papers, we had proposed a method of land cover classification using Thailand Earth Observation System data of a stricken area. The land cover classification results were in good agreement with a manually classified map which referenced the geological map and aerial photograph. However, to detect collapsed buildings, a minimum 2‐m ground resolution is required. Therefore, we additionally proposed a method of land cover classification using RapidEye data. The ground resolution of RapidEye data was improved to 2‐m from 6.5‐m by the proposed method. These examination results suggested that the method is effective in the classification of land cover conditions using RapidEye data. Nevertheless, the disaster building domain was not yet estimated. In this paper, we therefore propose a method to estimate the disaster building domain using RapidEye data acquired before and after an earthquake. The effectiveness of this method is confirmed by evaluation results. © 2016 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Structures and Polymorphic Transitions of Triacylglycerols, SOS and POS Thin Films: A Study on Temperature Dependence

X-ray reflectivity (XR) and scanning probe microscopy (SPM) were used to examine the structures, polymorphic transitions, and surface morphologies of triacylglycerol (TAG), 1,3-stearin-2-olein (SOS) and 1-palmitin-2-olein-3-stearin (POS) thin films supported on Si substrates. The structural parameters: thickness, electron density, and surface/interface roughnesses of TAG thin films were determined by the nonlinear least-squares regression of XR profiles to reveal their temperature dependences. In the lower temperature regimes, we observed Bragg peaks without significant interference fringe patterns in the XR profiles. SPM at room temperature displayed isolated islands on TAG thin films with surface undulations. Whereas in the higher temperature regimes in which the Bragg peaks disappeared, the interference fringe patterns became prominent. The analyses of the XR profiles indicated the structural change in thin films from three layers to single layer on Si substrates with increasing temperature. However, the temperatures at which the structural change occurred were obviously different between SOS and POS thin films.     

Resistance in the Plant, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Barbarea vulgaris</Emphasis>, and Counter-Adaptations in Flea Beetles Mediated by Saponins

Three saponins and two sapogenins had differential effects on food consumption in five near-isogenic flea beetle lines, which differ in their ability to utilize a novel host plant, Barbarea vulgaris (Brassicaceae). The ability to live on this plant is controlled by major, dominant R-genes in the flea beetle, Phyllotreta nemorum (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticinae). A susceptible genotype (rr) is unable to live on the plant, whereas resistant genotypes (RR and Rr) can utilize the novel host plant. Among compounds isolated from B. vulgaris, hederagenin cellobioside (hederagenin-3-O-(4-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl)-β-D-glucopyranoside) inhibited feeding, whereas the effect of oleanolic acid cellobioside was much weaker. The aglycones (sapogenins) were inactive. Although hederagenin cellobioside was active against all flea beetle lines, its effect on food consumption was much stronger on the susceptible genotype (rr) compared to the resistant genotype (Rr). Susceptible and resistant flea beetle genotypes were equally sensitive to a non-host saponin, α-hederin (hederagenin-3-O-(2-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl)-α-L-arabinopyranoside). These results suggest that R-alleles in flea beetles might be specific adaptations to defensive saponins in B. vulgaris. A possible mechanism of action of the R-alleles might be to encode for an enzyme (e.g. a glucosidase), which is able to cleave glycosidic bonds in hederagenin cellobioside, but not in α-hederin. The potential role of saponins as defensive compounds in B. vulgaris and as targets for counter-adaptations in flea beetles and other insects is discussed.     

Delayed feedback control of three‐synchronous‐generator infinite‐bus system

A delayed feedback method for controlling a three‐generator infinite‐bus system is investigated by computer simulation. Nothing but the output signal from the system is used for control. The time series of the phase angle of generators with a transmission line fault shows irregular motion and step‐out. It is found that the irregular motion of the electric power system is coerced onto stable equilibrium points with six stable manifolds by the same control law as the delayed feedback method. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 156(1): 7–12, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20329     

Extraordinary wavelength dispersion of birefringence in cellulose triacetate film with anisotropic nanopores

We examined birefringence in a stretched film of cellulose triacetate (CTA) after extraction of an immiscible component. The CTA film plasticized by di(2-ethylhexyl) adipate (DOA), which was added as the immiscible additive, exhibited negative birefringence to the same degree as the pure CTA film. Following removal of DOA from the film by immersion into methanol, the birefringence of the blend film changed dramatically from negative to positive. Moreover, the wavelength dependence also changed from ordinary to extraordinary, in which the absolute value of birefringence increases with wavelength. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images revealed nanoscale ellipsoidal pores in the film after the extraction, suggesting that DOA was segregated and formed ellipsoidal domains in the CTA matrix during annealing and stretching. According to an optical theory for the nanoporous structure, we found that the form birefringence contributes to control of the optical properties of the CTA film. This phenomenon could be utilized in the design of high-performance optical films, such as quarter waveplate, because sign and wavelength dispersion of birefringence can be controlled even for a single component film.     

Methods of observation and elimination of semiconductor defect states

A method of observation of interface states for ultrathin insulating layer/semiconductor interfaces is developed by use of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements under bias. The analysis of the energy shift of the semiconductor core level as a function of the bias voltage gives energy distribution of interface states. When the atomic density of SiO₂ layers is low (e.g., SiO₂ layers formed at 350 °C), only one interface state peak is observed near the midgap, and it is attributed to isolated Si dangling bonds at the interface. For SiO₂ layers with a high atomic density (e.g., SiO₂ layers formed at 700 °C), on the other hand, two interface state peaks, one above and the other below the midgap, are observed, and they are attributed to Si dangling bonds interacting weakly with a Si or oxygen atom in SiO₂. Interface states can be passivated by cyanide treatment which simply involves the immersion in cyanide solutions such as KCN and HCN solutions. When the cyanide treatment is applied to indium tin oxide/SiO₂/mat-textured single crystalline Si metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) solar cells, the photovoltage is greatly increased, leading to a high conversion efficiency of 16.2%. When the cyanide treatment is performed on polycrystalline Si (poly-Si)-based MOS diodes, a greater effect in comparison to that for single crystalline Si-based MOS diodes is observed due to the elimination of defect states in poly-Si as well as Si/SiO₂ interface states. The cyanide treatment can also increase the conversion efficiency of pn-junction single crystalline and poly-Si solar cells.     

Preparation and mechanical properties of exfoliated mica-polyamide 6 nanocomposites using sericite mica

A new mica/polyamide 6 (PA6) nanocomposite was formed by exfoliation of a mica, potassium sericite (K⁺-SE). The powder sample was separated through an air-classifier into D₅₀:6.0 μm (median particle diameter), D₁₀:3.5 μm, and D₉₀:9.5 μm. The K⁺-SE was modified with a dodecylammonium salt (DDA) by ion exchange at 70 °C for four days. The resulting organically modified SE was melt-kneaded with PA6 in a twin-screw kneader at 260 °C. In order to characterize the nanocomposite morphology, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy were used. Differential scanning calorimetry and mechanical property measurements were also carried out. The morphology of the nanocomposite revealed mica nanolayers with very high aspect ratios; that is, at levels about two times greater than that of conventional exfoliated clay-polymer nanocomposites. A small amount of organically modified SE with 2.1 mass% silicate was sufficient to improve the flexural properties and heat distortion temperature of the nanocomposite. However, overall mechanical properties were not completely improved, because the shearing stress induced during exfoliation of the silicate layers resulted in inhomogenous dispersion of silicate platelets in the matrix. The present study indicates that three factors, degree of exfoliation, aspect ratio and dispersion homogeneity of silicate platelets, play an important role for the development of high performance nanocomposites.     

Wavefield characterization of nearly diffraction-limited focused hard x-ray beam with size less than 10 nm

In situ wavefront compensation is a promising method to realize a focus size of only a few nanometers for x-ray beams. However, precise compensation requires evaluation of the wavefront with an accuracy much shorter than the wavelength. Here, we characterized a one-dimensionally focused beam with a width of 7 nm at 20 keV using a multilayer mirror. We demonstrate that the wavefront can be determined precisely from multiple intensity profiles measured around the beamwaist. We compare the phase profiles recovered from intensity profiles measured under the same mirror condition but with three different aperture sizes and find that the accuracy of phase retrieval is as small as λ∕12.     

Identification of a Triterpenoid Saponin from a Crucifer, Barbarea vulgaris, as a Feeding Deterrent to the Diamondback Moth, Plutella xylostella

Larvae of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, a crucifer specialist, refuse to feed on a crucifer, Barbarea vulgaris, because of the presence of a feeding deterrent, which is extractable with chloroform. We isolated a feeding deterrent from B. vulgaris leaves, by successive fractionations with silica-gel, ODS, i.e., C₁₈ reversed phase, and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatographies, and ODS-HPLC, guided by a bioassay for feeding deterrent activity. The structure of the compound was determined to be a monodesmosidic triterpenoid saponin, 3-O-[O--D-glucopyranosyl-(14)--D-glucopyranosyl]-hederagenin, based on FAB-MS, ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR spectra, and hydrolysis experiments. When the compound was applied to cabbage leaf disks at greater than 0.18 g/mm², consumption of the disks by third instars was less than 11% of control disks treated with the solvent alone. Furthermore, all first instars died on the disks treated with the same concentrations. Because the concentration of the compound in the fresh leaves of B. vulgaris was comparable to the effective dose in the cabbage leaf disk tested, we conclude that the unacceptability of B. vulgaris to P. xylostella larvae is primarily due to this saponin.     

Gastric-fluid-utilizing micro battery for micro medical devices

A variety of micro medical devices have been developed to provide more advanced and less invasive medical treatment. An effective power supply is crucial to the operation of these devices. Currently, two types of power supply are used: small batteries or radio-power transmission. However, the former limits the operating time of the devices, while radio-power transmission affects other medical devices due to the electromagnetic waves. In this paper, we report on a gastric-fluid-utilizing micro battery (GMB) that utilizes the gastric fluid in the stomach as an electrolyte. The GMB is designed to be used in the stomach and to generate electricity based on the principle of the voltaic cell. It consists only of biocompatible materials, including the electrodes, porous ceramic filter, and polydimethylsiloxane casing. Platinum deposited on a thin glass plate and a zinc plate work as positive and negative electrodes, respectively. Though zinc dissolves during the generation of electricity, it is an essential trace metal for humans and, given the small amount released, is not toxic. The porous ceramic filter placed between the electrodes filters out any foreign materials in the stomach fluid and holds the gastric fluid by capillary attraction. In experiments, GMB successfully generated 1.0 mW (0.42 V, 2.41 mA) with a 200-Ω external load. It generated a stable output voltage of 0.6 V for more than 39 min with a 5-kΩ external load. We demonstrated the feasibility of the GMB for medical applications by successfully supplying power to a telemetric system and a tiny DC motor that is commercially available.