Report on highly automated works in Japan — management of labour in line with technology development

In recent years drastic shifts in the paradigms of politics, economics and technologies have occurred throughout the world. The shifts in these three fields are all related. It is our responsibility to investigate these shifts from the aspects of society and mankind for the prosperity of future generations. For this, societies should share with each other their wisdom and knowledge in an effort to plan for the future.Presented at conference on Ecology of Science and Technology, Japan Science Foundation, Tokyo, 1992.     

An investigation of non-linear elastic behavior of CFRP laminates and strain measurement using Lamb waves

This paper investigates the non-linear elastic behavior of unidirectional and cross-ply CFRP laminates and proposes a new method to measure tensile strain using Lamb waves. Young’s modulus was measured as a function of strain in situ using Lamb wave velocity during a tensile test. The stiffening effect of the carbon fibers on [0]₈ specimens and the softening effect of the epoxy matrix on [90]₈ specimens were accurately evaluated. Young’s modulus of the 0° ply was obtained as a quadratic function of strain. Using the function and the rule of mixture, the dependence of Young’s modulus on strain was accurately predicted for cross-ply laminates. Based on the results, the tensile strain was quantitatively correlated with the corresponding arrival time of the Lamb waves. The strains obtained from the proposed method agreed well with those from the strain gauge. Finally, the effect of transverse cracks on the in situ Young’s modulus of the cross-ply laminate under a tensile load was investigated. This method clearly detected even a small decrease in the Young’s modulus due to the transverse cracks in stiffening cross-ply laminate.     

Observation of very thin gold island films vacuum-deposited onto MoS2 surface by STM

A gold film of about half a monolayer in thickness was vacuum-deposited onto air-cleaved MoS₂ surface at room temperature at a pressure of 10^?5 Pa. Quasi-two-dimensionally grown gold islands made of several atomic layers were observed by scanning an area of 40×30 nm². The shape of them was oblate and about 20 nm in diameter. Atomic corrugations which reflect the Au(111) surface were observed. The islands were found to move and changed their shape during the microscopy.     

Improvement in impact strength of modified cardanol‐bonded cellulose thermoplastic resin by using olefin resins

Impact strength of a modified cardanol‐bonded cellulose thermoplastic resin was greatly improved by using a small amount of olefin resins. As we showed, this thermoplastic resin (3‐pentadecylphenoxy acetic acid (PAA)‐bonded cellulose diacetate (CDA): PAA‐bonded CDA) exhibited high practical properties such as bending strength, heat resistance, and water resistance. However, its impact strength was insufficient for use in durable products. We improved the impact strength of PAA‐bonded CDA by adding hydrophobic olefin resins, such as polyethylene or polypropylene, while maintaining good bending strength and breaking strain. Furthermore, the application of olefin resins also increased water resistance and fluidity. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 39829.     

Improvement in impact strength of modified cardanol‐bonded cellulose thermoplastic resin by adding modified silicones

The impact strength of cellulose diacetate (CDA) bonded with a modified cardanol (3‐pentadecylphenoxy acetic acid: PAA) was greatly improved up to 9 kJ/m² by adding a relatively small amount of modified silicones while suppressing a decrease in bending strength. In our recent research, this thermoplastic resin (PAA‐bonded CDA) exhibited high rigidity, glass transition temperature, and water resistance. However, its impact strength was insufficient for use in durable products. Therefore, silicones modified with polyether, amino, and epoxy groups were investigated as possible ways to improve the impact strength. The results show that adding polyether‐modified silicone (polyether silicone) with moderate polarity relative to PAA‐bonded CDA resulted in shearing deformation greatly enhances its impact strength while maintaining other properties, including glass transition temperature (T_g), water resistance, and thermoplasticity. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40366.     

Coagulation process of soymilk characterized by electrical impedance spectroscopy

Soymilk coagulation process is the most important step in tofu making. An experimental setup was developed to control the coagulation temperature and heating rate by ohmic heating and to perform impedance measurement in time-sharing mode. Soymilk coagulation process was characterized by electrical impedance spectroscopy. Frequency 10 kHz was chosen to analyze the coagulation process. Normalized conductivity was useful in determination of the endpoint of soymilk coagulation process. The coagulation process was considered as two successive first-order reactions. The rate constant in the first stage was 10 times higher than that in the second stage, both rate constants increased with coagulation temperature. The activation energy in the second stage was three times greater than that in the first stage. The successive reaction process was elucidated by using soymilk coagulation mechanism. The use of impedance measurement to analyze the coagulation process provides a basis for the control of soymilk coagulation process.     

One Mouse per Child: interpersonal computer for individual arithmetic practice

Single Display Groupware (SDG) allows multiple people in the same physical space to interact simultaneously over a single communal display through individual input devices that work on the same machine. The aim of this paper is to show how SDG can be used to improve the way resources are used in schools, allowing students to work simultaneously on individual problems at a shared display, and achieve personalized learning with individual feedback within different cultural contexts. We used computational fluency to apply our concept of ‘One Mouse per Child’. It consists of a participatory approach that makes use of personal feedback on an interpersonal computer for the whole classroom. This allows for N simultaneous intelligent tutoring systems, where each child advances at his or her own pace, both within a lecture and throughout the curricular units. Each student must solve a series of mathematical exercises, generated according to his or her performance through a set of pedagogical rules incorporated into the system. In this process, the teacher has an active mediating role, intervening when students require attention. Two exploratory studies were performed. The first study was a multicultural experience between two such distanced socio‐economic realities as Chile and India. It showed us that even in different environmental conditions, it is possible to implement this technology with minimal equipment (i.e. a computer, a projector, and one mouse per child). The second study was carried out in a third grade class in a low‐income school in Santiago de Chile. The students were asked to solve mainly addition exercises. We established statistically relevant results and observed that the software proved most beneficial for the students with the lowest initial results. This happens because the system adapts to the students' needs, reinforcing the content they most need to work on, thus generating a personalized learning process.     

An Efficient Dynamic Formulation for Multibody Systems

The objective of this article is to present an efficient extension ofRosenthal's order-n algorithm to multibody systems containing closedloops. The equations of motion are created by using relative coordinatesand partial velocity theory. Closed topological loops are handled by cutjoint technique. The set of constraint equations of cut joints isadjoined to the system's equation of motion by using Lagrangemultipliers. This results in the equation of motion as adifferential-algebraic equation (DAE) rather than an ordinarydifferential equation. This DAE is then solved by applying the extendedRosenthal's order-n algorithm proposed in this article. While solvingDAE, violation of the kinematic constraint equations of cut joints iscorrected by coordinate projection method. Some numerical simulationsare carried out to demonstrate efficiency of the proposed method.     

A firm as a dialectical being: towards a dynamic theory of a firm

Today, firms are facing many contradictions: efficiency versuscreativity; exploitation versus exploration; speed versus time-consumingresource building. This paper argues that a firm's capabilityto synthesize such contradictions is the key to understandingwhy a firm can be more efficient at producing knowledge thanmarket. A firm can create new knowledge and capability thatgo beyond the balancing point in the existing frontier withits synthesizing capability, which is embedded in its knowledgevision, its ba, its creative routines, its incentive systemsand its distributed leadership.     

A sole del(15q) anomaly in post-myelodysplasia acute myeloid leukemia

We report the second case of post-myelodysplasia acute myeloid leukemia (post-MDS AML) with a sole chromosome change del(15q). This anomaly is rarely seen. To our knowledge, only seven cases so far have been reported in human neoplasias, including one case each of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), acute lymphoid leukemia, post myelodysplasia AML, myelodysplastic syndrome, myelofibrosis, macroglobulinemia, Hodgkin's lymphoma and uterine leiomyoma. This case suggests that del(15q) is related to lympho-myeloproliferative disorders. Moreover, we speculate that certain oncogene(s) located on 15q might have some role in the progression of the disease, since the del(15q) anomaly appeared only in the AML phase in this case.