Development of a Musical-based Interaction System for the Waseda Flutist Robot-Implementation of a Real-time Vision Interface Based on the Particle Filter Algorithm

The aim of this paper is to create an interface for human-robot interaction.Specifically,musical performance parameters(i.e.vibrato expression)of the Waseda Flutist Robot No.4 Refined IV(WF-4RIV)are to be manipulated.This research focused on enabling the WF-4RIV to interact with human players(musicians)in a natural way.In this paper,as the first approach,a vision processing algorithm,which is able to track the 3D-orientation and position of a musical instrument,was developed.In particular,the robot acquires image data through two cameras attached to its head.Using color histogram matching and a particle filter,the position of the musician's hands on the instrument are tracked.Analysis of this data determines orientation and location of the instrument.These parameters are mapped to manipulate the musical expression of the WF-4RIV,more specifically sound vibrato and volume values.The authors present preliminary experiments to determine if the robot may dynamically change musical parameters while interacting with a human player(i.e.vibrato etc.).From the experimental results,they may confirm the feasibility of the interaction during the performance,although further research must be carried out to consider the physical constraints of the flutist robot.

Comparison of Carbon Dynamics among Three Cool-Temperate Forests (<i>Quercus serrata, Larix kaempferi</i>and <i>Pinus densiflora</i>) under the Same Climate Conditions in Japan

To understand the role of forest ecosystems in the global carbon cycle, it is important to clarify the factors affecting the carbon balance of forest ecosystems. However, little is known about the direct effect of forest types, especially dominant species, on their different carbon dynamics. To clarify the effect of difference in forest types, an experiment was conducted in three forests, which were located in the same place and exposed to the same climate conditions. These forests were middle-aged (40 - 45 years) and dominated by Quercus serrata (Q forest), Larix kaempferi (L forest) and Pinus densiflora (P forest). Net primary production (NPP), heterotrophic respiration (HR) and net ecosystem production (NEP) were estimated in each forest, using a biometric method over one year. For NPP estimated from the annual growth of tree biomass (ΔB) and amount of litter (LF), P forest NPP (5.3 MgC·ha-1·yr-1) was higher than Q and L forest NPP (4.6 and 3.2 MgC·ha-1·yr-1). The difference was affected by a significant difference in ΔB (p = 0.032) and LF (p -1·yr-1) was higher than L and P forest (2.3 and 2.1 MgC·ha-1·yr-1). This difference could result from the amount of litter (respiration substrate) and chemical properties of litter (lability of decomposition). The NEP, which was calculated from the difference between NPP and HR, varied widely among the forest types (0.5, 0.9 and 3.2 MgC·ha-1·yr-1 in Q, L and P forests, respectively). The range of values among the forest types was comparable to those among age sequences and climate zones in previous studies. These results suggest that the difference in forest types (especially dominant species) can potentially lead to a large variation in carbon dynamics, in ecosystems located in the same place.

Localization and Associative Strength of Acid Polysaccharides in Coccoliths of <i>Pleurochrysis haptonemofera</i>(Haptophyta) Predicted from Their Extractability from Partially Decalcified Coccoliths

The coccolithophorids have calcified scales called coccoliths on their surface that include abundant acid polysaccharides. To determine the localization and associative strength of acid polysaccharides Ph-PS-1, -2, and -3 incoccoliths of Pleurochrysis haptonemofera, we analyzed the acid polysaccharides extracted with urea from partially decalcified coccoliths. On treatment of coccoliths with8.0 Murea at pH8.0 inboiling water, Ph-PS-2 was not extracted, but parts of Ph-PS-1 and -3 were from the surface without the crystal morphology being affected. When coccoliths were partially decalcified at various pHs (pH 8.0 - 5.0), Ph-PS-1, -3, and -2 were extracted with urea in that order as the calcite crystals dissolved. Detection of the acid polysaccharides using fluorescein-isothiocyanate-labeled lectin (ConA) and anti-Ph-PS-2 antibodies demonstrated that Ph-PS-2 exists on the surfaces of both untreated and urea-treated coccoliths. Moreover, NaClO-treatment under moderate conditions extracted only Ph-PS-1, -3, and part of Ph-PS-2 from coccoliths, without separation of the crystal units, suggesting that at least some part of Ph-PS-2 acts as a glue connecting crystal units and/or a crystal unit and a base plate inside coccoliths. These results suggest that Ph-PS-2 exists not only on the surface but also inside of the coccoliths, most of it being strongly bound to coccoliths, while Ph-PS-1 and -3 are weakly associated close to the coccolith surface, in that order from the surface. This strongly supports a scheme in which PS-2 type acid polysaccharides play an important role in the crystal nucleation and PS-3 type functions during crystal growth.

Cholinergic receptor, nicotinic, alpha 7 as a target molecule of Arctic mutant amyloid β

Alzheimer’s disease（AD）is a progressive cognitive disorder that develops predominantly in elderly patients and is characterized by cognitive impairments affecting memory,learning,and attention（Selkoe,2002）.

Propagation Characterization and Analysis for 5G mmWave Through Field Experiments

The 5G network has been intensively investigated to realize the ongoing early deployment stage as an effort to match the exponential growth of the number of connected users and their increasing demands for high throughput,bandwidth with Quality of Service(QoS),and low latency.Given that most of the spectrums below 6 GHz are nearly used up,it is not feasible to employ the traditional spectrum,which is currently in use.Therefore,a promising and highly feasible effort to satisfy this insufficient frequency spectrum is to acquire new frequency bands for next-generation mobile communications.Toward this end,the primary effort has been focused on utilizing the millimeter-wave(mmWave)as the most promising candidate for the frequency spectrum.However,though the mmWave frequency band can fulfill the desired bandwidth requirements,it has been demonstrated to endure several issues like scattering,atmospheric absorption,fading,and especially penetration losses compared to the existing sub-6 GHz frequency band.Then,it is fundamental to optimize the mmWave band propagation channel to facilitate the practical 5G implementation for the network operators.Therefore,this study intends to investigate the outdoor channel characteristics of 26,28,36,and 38 GHz frequency bands for the communication infrastructure at the building to the ground floor in both Line of Sight(LOS)and Non-Line of Sight(NLOS)environments.The experimental campaign has studied the propagation path loss models such as Floating-Intercept(FI)and Close-In(CI)for the building to ground floor environment in LOS and NLOS scenarios.The findings obtained from the field experiments clearly show that the CI propagation model delivers much better performance in comparison with the FI model,thanks to its simple setup,accuracy,and precise function.

Similar Video Retrieval via Order-Aware Exemplars and Alignment

In this paper, we present machine learning algorithms and systems for similar video retrieval. Here, the query is itself a video. For the similarity measurement, exemplars, or representative frames in each video, are extracted by unsupervised learning. For this learning, we chose the order-aware competitive learning. After obtaining a set of exemplars for each video, the similarity is computed. Because the numbers and positions of the exemplars are different in each video, we use a similarity computing method called M-distance, which generalizes existing global and local alignment methods using followers to the exemplars. To represent each frame in the video, this paper emphasizes the Frame Signature of the ISO/IEC standard so that the total system, along with its graphical user interface, becomes practical. Experiments on the detection of inserted plagiaristic scenes showed excellent precision-recall curves, with precision values very close to 1. Thus, the proposed system can work as a plagiarism detector for videos. In addition, this method can be regarded as the structuring of unstructured data via numerical labeling by exemplars. Finally, further sophistication of this labeling is discussed.

Limb Stiffness Improvement of the Robot WAREC-1R for a Faster and Stable New Ladder Climbing Gait

Ladder climbing is a relatively new but practical locomotion style for robots. Unfortunately, due to their size and weight, ladder climbing by human-sized robots developed so far is struggling with the speedup of ladder climbing motion itself. Therefore, in this paper, a new ladder climbing gait for the robot WAREC-1R is proposed by the authors, which is both faster than the former ones and stable. However, to realize such a gait, a point that has to be taken into consideration is the deformation caused by the self-weight of the robot. To deal with this issue, extra hardware (sensor) and software (position and force control) systems and extra time for sensing and calculation were required. For a complete solution without any complicated systems and time only for deformation compensation, limb stiffness improvement plan by the minimal design change of mechanical parts of the robot is also proposed by the authors, with a thorough study about deformation distribution in the robot. With redesigned parts, ladder climbing experiments by WAREC-1R proved that both the new ladder climbing gait and the limb stiffness improvement are successful, and the reduced deformation is very close to the estimated value as well.

楼梯间内人流合并特性研究(英文)

探讨了楼梯间内人流合并的影响以及随着人员密度的变化,合流方向和楼梯间与大厅之间门开启与关闭状态对人流合并难易程度的影响。研究结果表明:(1)人员密度小时合流较容易;(2)如果加入人流与楼梯内人员疏散方向相同时,人流合并较容易;(3)门处于开启状态时,合流较容易。如果门处于关闭状态,人员的疏散速度将降低30%。

ANFIS-based Sensor Fusion System of Sit-to-stand for Elderly People Assistive Device Protocols

This paper describes the analysis and design of an assistive device for elderly people under development at the EgyptJapan University of Science and Technology（E-JUST） named E-JUST assistive device（EJAD）.Several experiments were carried out using a motion capture system（VICON） and inertial sensors to identify the human posture during the sit-to-stand motion.The EJAD uses only two inertial measurement units（IMUs） fused through an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems（ANFIS） algorithm to imitate the real motion of the caregiver.The EJAD consists of two main parts,a robot arm and an active walker.The robot arm is a 2-degree-of-freedom（2-DOF） planar manipulator.In addition,a back support with a passive joint is used to support the patient s back.The IMUs on the leg and trunk of the patient are used to compensate for and adapt to the EJAD system motion depending on the obtained patient posture.The ANFIS algorithm is used to train the fuzzy system that converts the IMUs signals to the right posture of the patient.A control scheme is proposed to control the system motion based on practical measurements taken from the experiments.A computer simulation showed a relatively good performance of the EJAD in assisting the patient.

Spray characteristics and controlling mechanism of fuel containing CO2

This paper presents studies of spray characteristics and controlling mechanism of fuel containing CO2. Using diesel fuel containing CO2 gas, experiments were conducted on diesel hole-type nozzles and simple nozzles. The steady spray and transient spray characteristics were observed and measured by instantaneous shadowgraphy, high-speed photography, phase Doppler anemometry （PDA） and LDSA respectively. The effects of CO2 concentration in the fuel, the injection pressure, the nozzle L/D ratio, surrounding gas pressure and temperature on the atomization behavior and spray pattern were evaluated. The results show that the injection of fuel containing CO2 can greatly improve the atomization and produce a parabolic-shaped spray; and the CO2 gas concentration, surrounding gas pressure, temperature and nozzle config- uration have dominant influences on spray characteristics of the fuel containing CO2. New insight into the controlling mechanism of atomization of the fuel containing CO2 was provided.

Coprecipitation mechanisms of Zn by birnessite formation and its mineralogy under neutral pH conditions

Birnessite(δ-Mn(IV)O_(2))is a great manganese(Mn)adsorbent for dissolved divalent metals.In this study,we investigated the coprecipitation mechanism of δ-MnO_(2) in the presence of Zn(II)and an oxidizing agent(sodium hypochlorite)under two neutral pH values(6.0 and 7.5).Themineralogical characteristics and Zn–Mn mixed products were compared with simple surface complexation by adsorption modeling and structural analysis.Batch coprecipitation experiments at different Zn/Mn molar ratios showed a Langmuir-type isotherm at pH 6.0,which was similar to the result of adsorption experiments at pH 6.0 and 7.5.X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption fine structure analysis revealed triple-corner-sharing innersphere complexation on the vacant sites was the dominant Zn sorption mechanism on δ-MnO_(2) under these experimental conditions.A coprecipitation experiment at pH 6.0 produced some hetaerolite(ZnMn(Ⅲ)_(2)O_(4))and manganite(γ-Mn(Ⅲ)OOH),but only at low Zn/Mn molar ratios(<1).These secondary precipitates disappeared because of crystal dissolution at higher Zn/Mn molar ratios because they were thermodynamically unstable.Woodruffite(ZnMn(IV)_(3)O_(7)•2H_(2)O)was produced in the coprecipitation experiment at pH 7.5 with a high Zn/Mn molar ratio of 5.This resulted in a Brunauer–Emmett–Teller(BET)-type sorption isotherm,in which formation was explained by transformation of the crystalline structure ofδ-MnO_(2) to a tunnel structure.Our experiments demonstrate that abiotic coprecipitation reactions can induce Zn–Mn compound formation on theδ-MnO_(2) surface,and that the pH is an important controlling factor for the crystalline structures and thermodynamic stabilities.

Improvement of solidification model and analysis of 3D channel blockage with MPS method

In a severe accident of a nuclear power reactor,coolant channel blockage by solidified molten core debris may significantly influence the core degradations that follow.The moving particle semi-implicit(MPS)method is one of the Lagrangian-based particle methods for analyzing incompressible flows.In the study described in this paper,a novel solidification model for analyzing melt flowing channel blockage with the MPS method has been developed,which is suitable to attain a sufficient numerical accuracy with a reasonable calculation cost.The prompt velocity diffusion by viscosity is prioritized over the prompt velocity correction by the pressure term(for assuring incompressibility)within each time step over the“mushy zone”(between the solidus and liquidus temperature)for accurate modeling of solidification before fixing the coordinates of the completely solidified particles.To sustain the numerical accuracy and stability,the corrective matrix and particle shifting techniques have been applied to correct the discretization errors from irregular particle arrangements and to recover the regular particle arrangements,respectively.To validate the newly developed algorithm,2-D benchmark analyses are conducted for steady-state freezing of the water in a laminar flow between two parallel plates.Furthermore,3-D channel blockage analyses of a boiling water reactor(BWR)fuel support piece have been performed.The results show that a partial channel blockage develops from the vicinity of the speed limiter,which does not fully develop into a complete channel blockage,but still diverts the incoming melt flow that follows to the orifice region.

An Efficient Scheme for Interference Mitigation in 6G-IoT Wireless Networks

The Internet of Things(IoT)is the fourth technological revolution in the global information industry after computers,the Internet,and mobile communication networks.It combines radio-frequency identification devices,infrared sensors,global positioning systems,and various other technologies.Information sensing equipment is connected via the Internet,thus forming a vast network.When these physical devices are connected to the Internet,the user terminal can be extended and expanded to exchange information,communicate with anything,and carry out identification,positioning,tracking,monitoring,and triggering of corresponding events on each device in the network.In real life,the IoT has a wide range of applications,covering many fields,such as smart homes,smart logistics,fine agriculture and animal husbandry,national defense,and military.One of the most significant factors in wireless channels is interference,which degrades the system performance.Although the existing QR decomposition-based signal detection method is an emerging topic because of its low complexity,it does not solve the problem of poor detection performance.Therefore,this study proposes a maximumlikelihood-based QR decomposition algorithm.The main idea is to estimate the initial level of detection using the maximum likelihood principle,and then the other layer is detected using a reliable decision.The optimal candidate is selected from the feedback by deploying the candidate points in an unreliable scenario.Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm effectively reduces the interference and propagation error compared with the algorithms reported in the literature.

Investigation of transient and heterogeneous micro-climate around a human body in an enclosed personalized work environment

Heterogeneous distribution of indoor environmental quality is known to have a great impact on human health,comfort,and productivity.A personalized work environment,that creates a localized and independent environ-ment with capsules or partitions,is being developed worldwide to provide workers with a space that enables undisturbed concentration on studying and working.However,the minimized interior space of a personalized work environment can immediately cause adverse health impacts for occupant if the air quality and thermal en-vironment in the personalized work environment is not controlled appropriately.Particularly,constant breathing can sharply increase the CO 2 concentrations in an interior space with an insufficient ventilation rate.In order to design a healthy and comfortable indoor environment,especially in a personalized work environment,it is important to predict precisely and comprehensively the transient and heterogeneous structure of the indoor envi-ronment formed around a human body.With this background,we have developed an in silico human model that integrates a computational human model(virtual manikin combined with thermoregulation models)and respi-ratory model(virtual airway)for estimating indoor environmental quality,targeting the microclimate around a human body and breathing zone with high accuracy.In this study,we report the applicability of a comprehensive in silico human model to estimate the environ-mental quality in a personalized work environment.A coupled analysis of heat and contaminant transfer with computational fluid dynamics was conducted targeting the space around the in silico human model installed in a virtual personalized work environment.The informative data including human thermal comfort and breathing air quality were obtained,potentially forming the basis for the development of a digital twin of the personalized work environment and contributing to the design of a healthy,comfortable,and productive personalized work environment.

Chrono-exercise: Time-of-day-dependent physiological responses to exercise

Exercise is an effective strategy to prevent and improve obesity and related metabolic diseases.Exercise increases the metabolic demand in the body.Although many of the metabolic health benefits of exercise depend on skeletal muscle adaptations,exercise exerts many of its metabolic effects through the liver,adipose tissue,and pancreas.Therefore,exercise is the physiological state in which inter-organ signaling is most important.By contrast,circadian rhythms in mammals are associated with the regulation of several physiological and biological functions,including body temperature,sleep-wake cycle,physical activity,hormone secretion,and metabolism,which are controlled by clock genes.Glucose and lipid tolerance reportedly exhibit diurnal variations,being lower in the evening than in the morning.Therefore,the effects of exercise on substrate metabolism at different times of the day may differ.In this review,the importance of exercise timing considerations will be outlined,incorporating a chrono-exercise perspective.

Cauchy matrix approach to three non-isospectral nonlinear Schrödinger equations

This paper aims to develop a direct approach,namely,the Cauchy matrix approach,to non-isospectral integrable systems.In the Cauchy matrix approach,the Sylvester equation plays a central role,which defines a dressed Cauchy matrix to provideτfunctions for the investigated equations.In this paper,using the Cauchy matrix approach,we derive three non-isospectral nonlinear Schrödinger equations and their explicit solutions.These equations are generically related to the time-dependent spectral parameter in the Zakharov–Shabat–Ablowitz–Kaup–Newell–Segur spectral problem.Their solutions are obtained from the solutions of unreduced non-isospectral nonlinear Schrödinger equations through complex reduction.These solutions are analyzed and illustrated to show the non-isospectral effects in dynamics of solitons.