25 research outputs found
Between and Connection:An Attempt at Sensory Communications in a Specified Enviroment
No full textapplication/pdfAN10052143-20200605-1This is a progress report of the investigational research on the olfactory communication in the 2017 Doshisha Womenʼs College of Liberal Arts research grant. This research comprised four studies: 1. Survey research on the olfactory communication; 2. Design of the olfactory
communication interface; 3. Exhibition of the olfactory communication interface; 4.Questionnaire survey in the exhibition. Through these four studies, this research attempts to examine the possibilities of olfactory communication, which differs from visual and auditory communications. However, this research consists of various exclusive fields (theoretical consideration about sense and communication, theoretical and historical considerations about media and technology, design of interface including the system, space design of display of the
interface, etc.). Therefore, the author, who is a research representative, sought the cooperation of four experts (Koichi Mori (space design), Takehisa Mashimo (interface design), and Akisha Iwaki (theoretical and historical considerations about the olfactory media and technology)) of
the side mentioned above and carried out a collaborative investigation. Thus, this report takes the form of a research project article, which consists of inputs from the author (Chapter 1), Mori (Chapter 2), Mashimo (Chapter 3), and Iwaki (Chapter 4), so that the result of the research theme is clearer. Further, based on all these studies, this is a progress report of the investigational research on the olfactory communication.論文departmental bulletin pape
Effects of Light and Sound on the Prefrontal Cortex Activation and Emotional Function: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study
No full textWe constructed a near infrared spectroscopy-based real-time feedback system to estimate the subjects' emotional states using the changes in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration [Δ(oxy-Hb)] in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Using this system, we investigated the influences of continual mild and equivocal stimuli consisting of lights and a reconstructed waterfall sound on Δ[oxy-Hb] in the PFC. The visual (light) and auditory (sound) stimuli changed randomly and independently, depending on the emotional states of the individual subjects. The emotional states induced by the stimuli were examined via a questionnaire rated on an 11-point scale, from +5 (pleasant) to −5 (unpleasant), through 0 (neutral), after the 5-min experiments. Results from 757 subjects revealed that Δ[oxy-Hb] in the PFC exhibited a weak, but significant, correlation with emotional change, with the given continual and mild stimuli similar to that experienced in response to the intense pleasant/unpleasant stimuli. Based on the results we discuss the generation of pleasant/unpleasant weak emotional change induced by mild and weak stimuli such as light and sound
Enhanced Activity of Integrated CO<sub>2</sub>Capture and Reduction to CH<sub>4</sub>under Pressurized Conditions toward Atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub>Utilization
No full textA desirable process for realizing a low-carbon society is the direct conversion of dilute CO2 from flue gases or air into highly concentrated hydrocarbons without a need for separate CO2 capture and purification processes. In this study, we investigated the performance of integrated CO2 capture and reduction to CH4 over Ni-based dual-functional catalysts promoted with Na, K, and Ca. Ni/Na-γ-Al2O3 exhibited the highest activity for integrated CO2 (5% CO2) capture and reduction, achieving high CO2 conversion (>96%) and CH4 selectivity (>93%). In addition, very low-concentration CO2 (100 ppm CO2) was successfully converted to 11.5% CH4 at the peak point (>1000 times higher concentration than that of the supplied CO2) over Ni/Na-γ-Al2O3. The Ni-based dual-functional catalyst exhibited a high CO2 conversion exceeding 90%, even when 20% O2 was present during CO2 capture. Furthermore, an increased operation pressure had positive impacts on both CO2 capture and CH4 formation, and these advantageous effects were also observed when CO2 concentration was at the level of atmospheric CO2 (100-400 ppm). As the pressure increased from 0.1 to 0.9 MPa, CH4 production capacity with 400 ppm CO2 was enhanced from 111 to 160 μmol gcat-1. This approach in combination with the efficient catalyst shows encouraging potential for CO2 utilization, enabling direct air capture-conversion to value-added chemicals. Accepted Author ManuscriptChemE/Catalysis Engineerin
Direct and continuous conversion of flue gas CO<sub>2</sub> into green fuels using dual function materials in a circulating fluidized bed system
No full textCarbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies, such as CO2 methanation, generally require energy-intensive CO2 capture and separation processes prior to catalytic CO2 conversion. In contrast, integrated CO2 capture and reduction (CCR) technologies that use dual function materials (DFM) can directly convert low-concentration CO2 in flue gas or atmosphere into high-concentration CH4 or CO. In this study, we demonstrate a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) approach to enable continuous operation of CCR. In the CFB approach, the DFM (Na/Ni/Al2O3) circulates between two bubbling fluidized beds to enable steady-state cyclic operation of (1) selective capture of CO2 in flue gas/air and (2) hydrogenation of the captured CO2. We succeeded in the continuous synthesis of CH4 with high CO2 capture efficiency (>88 %) and high H2 conversion (>85 %) yielding mainly CH4 (selectivity > 99 %) as the product at high concentration (>20 % CH4) using 2 % CO2/N2 as the model flue gas.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.ChemE/Catalysis Engineerin
Integrated CO<sub>2</sub>capture and selective conversion to syngas using transition-metal-free Na/Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>dual-function material
No full textIntegrated CO2 capture and conversion (ICCC) using dual-function materials (DFMs) is one of the key technologies for addressing critical global environmental and energy issues. DFMs generally consist of alkali or alkaline earth metals for CO2 capture and transition metal catalysts for CO2 conversion. In this study, we studied the ICCC to CO using transition-metal-free DFMs to demonstrate their potential to directly produce syngas from atmospheric-level CO2. Among the DFMs prepared herein, Na/Al2O3 exhibited excellent performance and achieved a CO2 conversion exceeding 90% and CO selectivity exceeding 95% at a reaction temperature of 450-500 °C. Na/Al2O3 maintained its capture and conversion capacity throughout a 50-cycle stability test without significant deactivation. Furthermore, in the scale-up experiments using Na/Al2O3 DFM, a syngas-like mixture an H2/CO molar ratio of 3.3 (48.1 vol% H2 and 14.5 vol% CO) was directly obtained from 400 ppm CO2. These results suggest that ICCC using the transition-metal-free Na/Al2O3 DFM may be practicable provided the CO2 capture capacity of the DFM is further improved while maintaining the aforementioned advantages. Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.ChemE/Catalysis Engineerin
Asynchronous local dynamics contributes to stability of a seagrass bed in Tokyo Bay
No full textIt is known that asynchronous temporal variations in local populations can contribute to the stability of metapopulations. However, studies evaluating the hierarchical organization of multiple spatial scales are rare for continuous marine landscapes, especially for marine vegetation such as seagrass beds. In this study, long-term observation (26 years) of temporal changes and nested spatial analyses were combined for an extensive seagrass meadow in Tokyo Bay, Japan, using remote sensing and geographic information system technologies. We examined how the dynamics at the whole-bed scale (∼1 km2) are related to those at a local scale (0.04 km2), and investigated the relationship between the seagrass dynamics and long-term changes in environmental conditions using data on oceanography, water quality, and sediment dynamics. The seagrass bed size fluctuated between a maximum of 1.28 km2 (in 1987) and a minimum of 0.39 km2 (in 2001), with an average of 0.90 km2. The temporal variation in seagrass bed size at the whole-bed scale correlated with sand movement within the seagrass bed related to changes in the position of a sandbar. Seagrass bed size fluctuated asynchronously at a local scale. Multivariate analyses recognized clusters of local areas showing similar patterns of fluctuation. Temporal patterns in the various clusters responded differently to changes in environmental factors, e.g., the position of the sandbar was highly correlated with seagrass bed size in shallow habitats but not in deeper areas. The magnitudes of the temporal variations for the local clusters were greater than that of the entire bed, suggesting that asynchronous fluctuation in different areas of the bed plays an important role in the overall stability of the seagrass bed. The results of the present study also highlight the importance of physical processes in regulating the temporal dynamics of seagrass beds in shallow sedimentary landscapes
A New Numerical Analysis of Line Equations Considering Corona Loss on Single-Conductor System
No full textIt is very important to investigate the wave attenuation and distortion due to corona discharge, for the purpose of solving successfully the surge problems on the ultra-high voltage transmission systems. So, in this paper, from the nonlinear line equations considering corona loss on a single-conductor system, the author derived a new ditigal calculation to analyse the attenuation and distortion of the travelling waves caused by corona discharge on a single-conductor system, which is founded on their surge analyser considering corona loss. Then, they compared their digital computation results with the experimental ones on the artificial transmission line by the other researchers and they could successfully elect the optimum values of the corona loss constants of the positive and negative travelling waves
Plastic/Ferroelectric Crystals with Distorted Molecular Arrangement: Ferroelectricity in Bulk Polycrystalline Films through Lattice Reorientation
No full textPlastic/ferroelectric crystals have attracted increasing attention as emerging functional molecular materials with unique features. In this study, a new plastic/ferroelectric crystal is developed from ionic molecules, which exhibits three solid phases: a paraelectric plastic crystal phase and two ferroelectric phases. Owing to the malleability in the plastic crystal phase, by applying pressure to the powder at a high temperature, transparent polycrystalline films are easily fabricated, exhibiting ferroelectric performance at room temperature. The crystal structures of the three solid phases are determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The arrangement of anions and cations in the ferroelectric crystal is significantly distorted from the CsCl-type structure in the paraelectric cubic crystal. The large distortion results in distinct splitting of the diffraction peaks that are equivalent in the cubic phase, which enables the observation of electric-field-induced lattice reorientation using powder X-ray diffraction measurements. These results broaden the range of compounds for which plastic/ferroelectric crystals can be developed and provide a solid understanding of the switching process in their bulk polycrystals, which will facilitate their application to a variety of device elements
Solid Solutions of Plastic/Ferroelectric Crystals : Toward Tailor-Made Functional Materials
No full textPlastic crystals that show ferroelectricity are highly promising materials for a wide range of applications. Their inherent remarkable malleability and highly symmetric cubic structures in the plastic crystal phase ensure that their ferroelectricity and related properties are retained in their bulk polycrystals. To develop functional materials based on such plastic/ferroelectric crystals, methods to tune their properties for specific applications are required. Here, we report the preparation of solid solutions of plastic/ferroelectric ionic crystals by mixing crystals with a common anion but different cations, or crystals with a common cation but different anions, which allows a continuous modification of the Curie temperature of the ferroelectric system over a range of 100 K. This adjustment of the Curie temperature allows the flexible tuning of the pyroelectric properties of the solid solutions, including a significant enhancement of room-temperature performance. The solid solutions also exhibit morphotropic phase boundaries in the composition-temperature phase diagrams, which shows an abrupt change in crystal structures with a variation of composition. This study showcases a simple and versatile property-tuning method that can be expected to pave the way for major progress in the development of materials based on plastic/ferroelectric crystals, which will eventually advance to the stage of pursuing tailor-made functional materials with desired properties
The Introduction of Musket to Japan and the Influence of Wakō-Pirates : A Debate with Dr. Udagawa Takehisa
No full textapplication/pdf本誌第一九〇集に掲載された宇田川武久氏の論文「ふたたび鉄炮伝来論―村井章介氏の批判に応える―」に対する反論を目的に、「鉄砲は倭寇が西日本各地に分散波状的に伝えた」とする宇田川説の論拠を史料に即して検証して、つぎの三点を確認した。
①「村井が鉄砲伝来をヨーロッパ世界との直接のであいだと述べている」と反復する宇田川氏の言明は事実誤認である。②〈一五四二年（または四三年）・種子島〉を唯一の鉄砲伝来シーンと考える必要はなく、倭寇がそれ以外のシーンでも鉄砲伝来に関わった可能性はあるが、宇田川氏はそのオールタナティブを実証的に示していない。③一五四〇～五〇年代の朝鮮・明史料に見える「火砲（炮）」の語を鉄砲と解する宇田川説は誤りであり、それゆえこれらを根拠に鉄砲伝来を論ずることはできない。
以上をふまえて、一六世紀なかば以降倭寇勢力が保有していた鉄砲と、一六世紀末の東アジア世界戦争（壬辰倭乱）において日本軍が駆使した鉄砲ないし鉄砲戦術との関係を、どのように捉えるべきかを考察した。
壬辰倭乱直前まで、朝鮮は倭寇勢力が保有する鉄砲を見かけていたかもしれないが、軍事的脅威と感じられるほどのインパクトはなかったので、それに焦点をあわせた用語も生まれなかった。朝鮮が危惧していたのは、中国起源の従来型火器である火砲が、明や朝鮮の国家による占有を破って、倭寇勢力や日本へ流出することであった。
しかしその間、戦国動乱さなかの日本列島に伝来した新兵器鉄砲が、軍事に特化した社会のなかで、技術改良が重ねられ、また組織的利用法が鍛えあげられ、やがて壬辰倭乱において明や朝鮮にとって恐るべき軍事的脅威となった。両国は鉄砲を「鳥銃」と呼び、鹵獲した鳥銃や日本軍の捕虜から、鉄砲を駆使した軍事技術をけんめいに摂取しようとした。The purpose of my present article is to reply to the article of Udagawa Takehisa that appeared in issue 190 of this journal with the title “Another Study of the Introduction of Guns to Japan: As a Counter-argument to the Criticism of Dr. Shōsuke Murai”. In my article I examined Udagawa's theory that says, “wakō-pirates introduced and gradually distributed muskets to several places in Western Japan”. During my examination of his arguments based on the historical sources I came to the following three conclusions.
First, the often repeated statement of the author that says, “Murai states that the introduction of muskets was a direct encounter with the European world”, is a misunderstanding of that what I stated in fact in my article. Second, I agree with the author that it is not necessary to think about the year 1542 (or 1543) and the island Tanegashima as the only possible time and place for the introduction of muskets, and that it is possible that wakō-pirates also played a part in the introduction of muskets in other different ways. Still, the problem is that the author does not provide concrete examples or evidences for possible alternatives based on the historical sources that would support this argument. Third, the author's theory, according to which he is interpreting “huopao / hwap'o 火砲(炮) (cannon)” － a word that can be seen in the Chinese and Korean sources in the 1540-50s－ as “musket”, is a mistake. Therefore, it is not possible to discuss the introduction of musket based on this theory.
Based on these conclusions, I examined the following question: What was the relationship between those muskets possessed by wakō-pirates after the middle of the 16th century and the muskets used by the Japanese army during the war in the East Asian world at the end of the 16th century (the so called Imjin war)?
It is possible that Koreans saw the muskets of wakō-pirates before the Imjin war, but these muskets had probably no impact on them, and the Koreans did not feel yet the threat of muskets at that time. Therefore they did not create a special word for musket. Rather, Koreans felt apprehension that “huopao / hwap'o (cannon)”, the conventional firearms of Chinese origin would flow out from Korea or China into the hand of wakō-pirates or Japanese.
But during the following years, musket, the new weapon introduced to Japan in the midst of the disturbances of the Warring States period, underwent several technical improvements in the Japanese society that was characterized by continuous wars. Further, with the time Japanese soldiers became also perfectly trained in the use of musket in organized groups. Thus, musket soon became a fearful military menace to Ming China and Chosŏn Korea during the Imjin war. Both countries called musket “niaochong / choch'ong 鳥銃 (fowling piece)” and both of them eagerly tried to learn the military technique of muskets from captured Japanese soldiers and the confiscated “fowling pieces”.departmental bulletin pape
