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Synthetic liquid production with solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) are expected to enhance a system efficiency via the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) by 20% compared to conventional water electrolysis. Co-electrolysis performances were obtained using solid oxide cells, which were a single cell, a 6-cell-stack, and a 25-cell-stack optimized for fuel cell operation. Low partial pressure of the reactant H2O/CO2 resulted in larger concentration overvoltages. Gas composition and flowrate of the produced syngas with the 25-cell-stack agreed by 0.5% or less to calculated values in thermodynamic equilibrium at 800 ºC and 80% reactant utilization, leading to 99.8% current efficiency. Process simulations for an SOEC-FTS combined system clarified that fuel-electrode offgas recycle at 800 ºC will enhance a power-to-oil system efficiency by 8 percentage points. Flat profile of co-electrolysis and oil production efficiencies at 0.2-0.7 A/cm2 were observed. SOEC operative voltages should be optimized to avoid large temperature gradient in the stack.

It is recently shown that a split-step quantum walk possesses a chiral symmetry, and that a certain well-defined index can be naturally assigned to it. The index is a well-defined Fredholm index if and only if the associated unitary time-evolution operator has spectral gaps at both $+1$ and $-1.$ In this paper we extend the existing index formula for the Fredholm case to encompass the non-Fredholm case (i.e., gapless case). We make use of a natural extension of the Fredholm index to the non-Fredholm case, known as the Witten index. The aim of this paper is to fully classify the Witten index of the split-step quantum walk by employing the spectral shift function for a rank one perturbation of a fourth order difference operator. It is also shown in this paper that the Witten index can take half-integer values in the non-Fredholm case., Comment: 26 pages, 1 figures

Background and objectives Acoustic wave therapy is a novel facial tightening technique that involves nonthermal penetration of the skin and subcutaneous tissue, affecting cells and their metabolism, and resulting in an increased release of unwanted fat and activation of blood and lymphatic flow in tissues. The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of acoustic wave therapy. Study design/materials and methods A total of 333 patients underwent multiple facial tightening treatment sessions using focused and radial acoustic waves. Each patient received 2,000-3,000 pulses of focused acoustic waves at a power of 0.45-0.88 mJ/mm2 with a pulse frequency of 3-5 Hz and 4,000 pulses of radial acoustic waves at 4-bar power at a frequency of 21 Hz. These sessions were performed more than three times, and treatments were repeated at 1-month intervals. Digital photographs superimposed three-dimensional volumetric assessments, and three-dimensional skin surface displacement calculations using vectors were used to evaluate the results 12 months after the last treatment. Patients also evaluated the results using a 5-point Likert scale. Results Improvements in skin texture, clarity, and laxity were observed in digital photographs. Superimposed three-dimensional color images showed marked volumetric reduction and/or formative modification for even contour toward the lower mid-face. Most vectors showed three-dimensional skin surface displacement at the lateral sides of the temples, cheeks, and chin, in an upward direction. These results were obtained and sustained for up to 12 months without edematous reactions. Almost all patients reported improvement, with 79% reporting "good" or "excellent" improvement. Complications were minor and transitory. Persistent side effects were not observed. Conclusion Acoustic wave therapy could be used as a standard facial tightening treatment, with skin rejuvenation effects shown on digital photographs and three-dimensional quantification assessments. This noninvasive acoustic wave approach was found to be a safe, long-lasting, and effective method for facial tightening. Lasers Surg. Med. 00:00-00, 2020. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Downsizing and high power density of turbopumps is achieved by increasing their rotational speed. Cavitation often becomes a problem while the influence of cavitation will be generally relieved by employing an inducer before the impeller. For general-use turbopumps with an inducer, instability-free operation, as well as high suction performance is required in a wide flow rate range including extremely low flow rate. However, the cavitation surge phenomenon with low frequency and large amplitude is often to be a serious problem even with inducer when operated at very low flow rates. In this study, a reduced-diameter suction pipe (RSP) equipped with swirl brake (SB) was proposed for a suppression device of the inlet backflow as well as of the cavitation surge through removing the swirling velocity component. The effectiveness of this device was investigated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and experiments. First, several geometries of RSP with SB were examined by CFD, and it was found that the extension of inlet backflow was stopped at this device provided that the swirl brake had a sufficient radial or axial length. Then, one of the proposed RSP with SB was manufactured, and the experimental evaluation of the effectiveness of this device was conducted. It seemed that RSP with SB could well prevent the extension of inlet backflow. The cavitation surge was completely suppressed even at extremely low flow rates. As a result, the suction performance was also improved at low flow rates.

Observation training of home dental practice is easily influenced by the site and time, and differences in learning content are likely to occur among students. The aim of the present study ...

Yohei TanakaClinica Tanaka Plastic, Reconstructive Surgery and Anti-aging Center, Matsumoto, Nagano, JapanBackground: Despite the knowledge that the vast majority of skin aging is caused by the sun, and the widespread prevalence of sunscreen usage, solar skin damage continues to occur due to the combined biological impact of ultraviolet, visible light and near-infrared radiation. Sunscreens have only proven effective at filtering ultraviolet light. They do not attenuate visible light or near-infrared.Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a novel, solar-specific skincare approach embracing both comprehensive daily solar protection from ultraviolet through to near-infrared radiation and nightly solar repair.Participants: Eighteen Japanese patients were enrolled in this study. Topical skincare products (The Essential Six, RATIONALE, Victoria, Australia), comprising solar protection preparations to be used in the morning and topical solar repair at night, were applied to the patients’ skin for 12 months. Patients refrained from using any other skincare formulations and did not undergo any form of medical esthetic treatment during the study.Measurements: Digital facial skin and three-dimensional volumetric assessment were performed pre- and post-treatment, and patient assessments were recorded after 6 and 12 months post-treatment.Results: Improvements in skin texture and luminosity as recorded via digital photography, significant amelioration of skin redness and pigmentation in facial surface analysis, and volumetric reduction in three-dimensional volumetric assessment were observed compared to the pre-treatment for all patients. Eighty-nine percent, and 94% of patients self-reported their approval of treatment outcomes after 6 and 12 months post-treatment, respectively. Minor complications, characterized by slight pain and itching were observed in 3 patients. These minor complications resolved spontaneously.Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the solar-specific skincare formulations focused on the daily comprehensive prevention of negative solar effects and nightly repair of photodamage provide a safe and highly effective pathway to skin preservation and rejuvenation.Keywords: long-term objective assessment, rejuvenation, solar protection, solar repair, sunscreen, volumetric measurement &nbsp

BACKGROUND: Common techniques, including photography and subjective assessments, have been used to measure the efficacy of skin rejuvenation treatments. However, the efficacy of skin treatments can be difficult to assess, particularly when the effects are gradual or subtle. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effectiveness of a skincare regimen for skin rejuvenation that employs comprehensive solar protection, ranging from ultraviolet through to near-infrared radiation, and nightly repair of photodamage, and clarified the difference in the results relative to other lifting medical procedures. METHODS: Twenty Japanese patients were enrolled in this study. The participants used topical skincare products (The Essential Six; RATIONALE, Victoria, Australia) for six months. Patients did not use any other skincare formulations and did not undergo any form of aesthetic procedures during the study. A superimposed three-dimensional volumetric assessment and quantification of three-dimensional skin surface displacement with vectors were performed at baseline and after six months of treatment with the topical skincare products. RESULTS: Improvements in skin texture and clarity as recorded via digital photography and volumetric reduction was observed relative to pretreatment in all patients. All patients self-reported skin rejuvenation, tightening, and lifting. Most vectors suggested three-dimensional skin surface displacement at the forehead, lateral sides of the cheek, and around the chin. CONCLUSION: Skin tightening and lifting effects are not synonymous. The results of this study suggest the solar-specfic skincare formulations evaluated here constitute a safe and effective means of skin rejuvenation and tightening.

本論では中等教育段階における歴史教育と歴史学研究の結節を企図し、高等学校で使用されている日本史教科書の記述について、歴史学的知見からこれに検討を加えた。具体的には、近世宗教史分野の研究成果を整理するとともに、これに新たな研究知見を付与したうえで教科書の記述を再検討している。ここでは、これまでの研究史及び『肥後藩人畜改帳』の分析から、寺檀制度の成立に照応させつつ、それを担う寺院が建立されたことを確認し、にもかかわらず、そうした寺院がどの段階で造営されていったかという点について、教科書中には記述がないことを指摘した。併せて近世宗教史研究のうえで長らく議論されてきた「近世仏教堕落論」についても、これを教科書に記載したうえで、歴史事象に関する生徒間の討論を深化させるための素材とすることができる可能性について言及した。

Background: Hair loss in women has a various psychosocial impact and effective treatments have been required. Camouflaging products which cover exposed areas on the scalp and hide visible hair loss are common, but medical therapies for female pattern hair loss (FPHL) are not so common. We have treated patients with FPHL using our combination therapy that consists of oral spironolactone, oral and topical minoxidil, and an injectable treatment for six years. Methods: 4568 female patients were treated between the years 2013 and 2018. Our combination therapy consists of 25 mg oral spironolactone once daily, 2.5 mg oral and 5% solution topical minoxidil twice daily, and an injectable treatment once monthly for 6 - 12 months. Digital photographs were taken pre- and post-treatment, and patient assessments were recorded after 6 and 12 months post-treatment. Results: Significant improvement was observed compared to the pre-treatment for all patients in the digital photographs. 95% and 96% of patients reported satisfaction with the results of the treatment after 6 and 12 months post-treatment, respectively. Minor complications were observed in a total of 223 (4.9%) patients, characterized by slight pain and bleeding due to injection, slight palpitation, swelling, hair growth in undesirable areas, headache, dizziness, itching. The seminor complications resolved spontaneously. No treatment-related adverse events were observed. Conclusion: A combination of these therapeutic options offers rapid and highly efficacious treatment for FPHL with minimal complications, and is recommended as an effective treatment for FPHL.

Background: Acoustic wave has been used for many medical purposes, and although it is widely applied in cosmetic procedures, it has not been conducted for facial rejuvenation and tightening. Acoustic wave has been proven to penetrate deeper than subcutaneous tissue, independent of skin color, and to be beneficial for skin tightening and body contouring. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a single acoustic wave treatment session using unique focused and radial acoustic waves for facial tightening. Participants: Sixty Asian patients were treated between the years 2016 and 2018. The single acoustic wave treatment session consists of focused long planar acoustic pulses thought to have an effect on cells and their metabolism resulting in an increased release of fat, and radial short acoustic pulses thought to have an effect on tissues activating blood and lymphatic flow. Patients did not undergo any form of medical aesthetic treatment during the study. Measurements: Digital photographs and three-dimensional imaging were used to evaluate the results. Results: Objective assessments with digital photographs and superimposed three-dimensional color images showed preferable facial tightening effects and marked volumetric reduction on the lower one-third of the face. These results were obtained without the edematous reactions observed in laser and radiofrequency therapies, and were sustained up to 12 months. All of the patients reported satisfaction with the results and convenience of the procedure. Complications were minor and transitory, consisting of a slight tingly sensation to the teeth during the treatment, and mild erythema resolving within 5 hours. Side effects were not observed. Conclusions: The advantages of the single acoustic wave treatment are the high potency of facial tightening effects, reduction of discomfort and side effects. Taken together, these characteristics facilitate the ability to give repeated treatments and provide an alternative or adjunct treatment for patients with improved results.

本論では、下総国相馬郡布施村（現千葉県柏市）の真言宗寺院・東海寺を事例として、近世における寺院経営の有り様について分析を加えた。同寺は多数の祈禱檀家を有する一方で、葬祭檀家は過少であり、寺檀制度を基盤とした寺院ではないことを確認した。この東海寺が経営体としての生き残りを図るため、本尊である弁財天の開帳を積極的に開催して、多数の参詣者を集めていた実態を明らかにしている。併せて、同寺に近接する山地に桜木の植樹を計画し、参詣者の獲得を企図していた点に触れ、寺檀制度に依存しない多角的な経営を指向していた様子を描出した。

本論では、淑徳大学人文学部歴史学科に設置されている学生主体の研究会「淑徳大学教職サークル師道塾」における教育活動と、そこから浮上してくる教職課程の課題、及び今後の展望について論じた。同塾では、参加する学生が将来教職に就くこと、あるいは教育実習生として教壇に立つことを想定し、参加者を募っている。ここに参加する学生は、模擬授業の徹底的な反復によって、教授技術を中心とする授業力の向上を目指すとともに、高等学校までに修得しておくべき知識を再確認することで、大学での講義内容についても理解を深めているという、新たな学びの循環サイクルを構築している。併せて、日々の講義開始前の時間を利用した教員採用試験対策に関する取り組みについても、その一端を紹介した。

本稿は、人文学部が完成年度を迎えた今年（平成29）度に、これまでの4年間の教職課程運営委員会の取組成果を明らかにし、今後の課題を明確にすることによって、学生の資質能力の一層の向上を図ることを目的としている。第1に本委員会の使命について述べ、第2に「師道塾」における実践的指導力の基礎の錬磨について考察した。（この項は、別稿において「論文」として投稿した。）第3に教育実習の参観指導について述べ、第4に「教職実践演習」による学生の質保証への取組とWEB入力上の諸問題を明らかにし、最後に、本委員会が着実な歩みを展開してきたことを示す資料として、平成27年度と平成29年度の「自己点検中間振り返り票」を事例として取り上げ、比較考察しながら、本委員会が達成できなかった事業を今後の課題として明らかにした。

Bone-modifying or antiresorptive agents that target osteoclasts, such as bisphosphonates, are known to cause delayed wound healing and osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) following tooth extraction. However, there are no data on whether such adverse events are also caused by drugs that may suppress the immune system, including corticosteroids, immunosuppressants, biological agents, and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). The aim of this retrospective study was to examine the incidence of delayed post-extraction wound healing and identify risk factors among patients treated with potential immunosuppressive drugs undergoing tooth extraction. We performed a retrospective cohort study involving 101 patients by reviewing their medical records. The underlying diseases of the enrolled patients included dilated cardiomyopathy, hematological malignancy, sarcoidosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus. The sample comprised 131 cases of tooth extraction among the 101 patients; delayed post-extraction wound healing occurred in 10 patients (12 cases, 9.2%), including ONJ in three patients (3 cases, 2.3%). The surgical tooth extraction performed for impacted teeth or a residual root (P = 0.009), the number of surgical tooth extraction (P = 0.012), decreased lymphocyte counts (P = 0.008), and decreased eosinophil counts (P = 0.009) were significantly related to delayed wound healing. Thus, among patients taking corticosteroids, immunosuppressants, biological agents, and/or DMARDs, there is a risk of delayed wound healing and ONJ. Moreover, the significant risk factors are low lymphocyte counts, low eosinophil counts, and surgical extraction. It is of particular importance to prevent surgical site infection, when the high-risk patients undergo tooth extraction.

It is a well-known result of T.\,Kato that given a continuous path of square matrices of a fixed dimension, the eigenvalues of the path can be chosen continuously. In this paper, we give an infinite-dimensional analogue of this result, which naturally arises in the context of the so-called unitary spectral flow. This provides a new approach to spectral flow, which seems to be missing from the literature. It is the purpose of the present paper to fill in this gap., 46 pages

In this paper, a hybrid approach of the constrained interpolation profile (CIP) method and the transmission line modeling (TLM) method has been proposed for analyzing lightning electromagnetic fields and surges in the three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system. The TLM method is employed locally in the working space for representing thin-wire conductors, and the CIP method is used for computing fields in the rest of the working space. Waveforms of lightning electromagnetic fields and surges computed using the CIP-TLM hybrid method agree well with corresponding ones computed using exact analytical expressions or with the finite-difference time-domain method.

We demonstrate the characteristics of photonic crystal lasers fabricated by air hole retained regrowth using metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy based on an organic arsenic source [tertiary-butyl arsine (TBAs)]. TBAs has the advantage of high decomposition efficiency compared with AsH3, which enables us to achieve a unique air hole shape under the crystal regrowth. We demonstrate that photonic crystal lasers with an area of $200 \times 200~\mu \text{m}^{2}$ exhibit single-mode lasing with a low lasing threshold of ~0.5 kAcm−2. The effect of the unique shape of the air holes obtained by the TBAs-based regrowth on the laser performance is discussed using coupled-wave theory.

An anode off-gas recycle (AGR) technology is currently focused as a way for further improvement of efficiency of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) which have higher performance compared to other types of fuel cells. AGR is a technology that recycles a part of the anode off-gas containing electrochemically unreacted fuel that comes out from the SOFC anode and reutilizes it for power generation. Because the unreacted fuel component in the recycled gas is added to the input fuel to the system, the fuel flow in the cell becomes more than that for a conventional SOFC without AGR, even though the fuel supply to the system is equivalent. Therefore, fuel utilization can be easily increased and improvement of electrical efficiency of the system is expected. Another advantage is that the system, in principle, does not require external water supply due to reutilization of steam in the recycled gas. However, in the SOFC system in which AGR is introduced (AGR-SOFC), the changes in the current, the flow rate and the composition of the gasses supplied to the cell lead to the changes in the flow rate and the composition of the recycled gas. The effect of changes in the recycled gas is then feedbacked to the system inlet. Because a delay in response of a blower which recycles the anode off-gas (recycle blower) is added in this situation, the transient response performance of the system may become more complex and worse than conventional systems. Thus, in this study, we constructed an AGR-SOFC model for transient response analysis under power increase situations and analyzed the transient response of the system and dependency of the response on a degree of power increase by numerical simulation. The AGR-SOFC model is composed of a reformer, an SOFC, and a recycle blower assuming the plug flow. Transient behavior of the system was analyzed where the increase of output power in accordance with the step wise increases in required current and fuel supply was assumed. Because the transport of gasses in the SOFC systems is relatively slow, increase in the current and fuel supply without any limit leads to fuel starvation due to shortage of the fuel in the cell and carbon deposition due to shortage of the steam for fuel reforming. Due to these effects, the system may be damaged. Hence the operating conditions for avoiding these causes of damage were investigated. In this model the current and the fuel supply are chosen in accordance with the investigation. As a result of the analysis, the transient response of the AGR-SOFC is classified into three types according to the way of increase in the current and the fuel supply and characteristics of each type of responses are clarified. In addition, it is revealed that AGR-SOFC can afford more fuel and steam to the reformer and cell and can increase both the current and the fuel supply instantaneously compared to conventional non AGR SOFC systems under identical fuel utilization conditions. Therefore, superior transient response over wide range of power increase is clarified to be expected in AGR-SOFC, even though there had been a concern that transient response performance might become worse due to the complex recycling system.

We investigate the propagation of light in an ultra-thin gap in stacked-stripe three-dimensional (3D) photonic crystals operating in the near-infrared wavelength range. We fabricate 3D photonic crystals composed of 32 stacked layers with an artificially introduced gap (∼200 nm) in the center of the structure by using a wafer bonding method. In order to study the characteristics of the gap, we introduce oblique waveguides to connect the gap with the upper and lower sides of the photonic crystal. The observation of light output from waveguides that are distant from the waveguide used for incident light demonstrates for the first time that light propagates along the air gap and is distributed to multiple output waveguides. Moreover, we perform calculations that reveal the formation of a propagation mode resulting from introduction of the ultra-thin gap. We analyze the coupling between the propagation mode and the oblique waveguide mode and discuss the characteristics of light distribution via the gap.