Market Structure Analysis Using Birth and Asymmetric Growth of Products Based on a Mechanism of the 80/20 Law : Why and How the 80/20 Law Emerges

Consumers, companies and products differ among markets and change according to time ；why does a universal structure ‐the 80/20 law‐ hold in any market and time, how does it emerge, and what is its meanings in marketing? This paper, after proving that the 80/20 law is universally observed in markets and time by consumer purchasing data, discusses its emerging mechanism and managerial meanings. First, a simulation model shows that the 80/20 law emerges only if a product occurs constantly and grows in process of time. Since birth and growth of products are natural in a market, the 80/20 law emerges inevitably and autonomously in any market. Next, this paper proposes market structure analysis method based on the mechanism of the law. While birth and growth of products are common to all markets, birth probability of a new product varies among markets, and a growth rate of existing products is asymmetric among products within a market (i.e. whether the growth rate of products increases or decreases according as products grow). By referring to the universal parameter, birth and asymmetric growth of products, companies compare directly any market and comprehend how products are born and grow in a market

Exploration of new superconductors and functional materials and fabrication of superconducting tapes and wires of iron pnictides

This paper reviews the highlights of a 4-years-long research project supported by the Japanese Government to explore new superconducting materials and relevant functional materials. The project found several tens of new superconductors by examining ~1000 materials, each of which was chosen by Japanese team member experts with a background in solid state chemistry. This review summarizes the major achievements of the project in newly found superconducting materials, and the wire and tape fabrication of iron-based superconductors. It is a unique feature of this review to incorporate a list of ~700 unsuccessful materials examined for superconductivity in the project. In addition, described are new functional materials and functionalities discovered during the project.Comment: 141 pages, 127 Figures, 14 Tables, 535 Refrence

Prediction of anastomotic leakage

Background : Anastomotic leakage after esophagectomy is significantly associated with more severe complications, such as sepsis and mortality. Early prediction for anastomotic leakage is usually difficult and needs to be treated rapidly. In the current study, we investigated the correlation between hemodynamic and several complications after esophagectomy in patients with esophageal cancer, using the FloTrac system. Materials and Methods : Between April 2013 and December 2014, 39 patients with a mean age of 66.6 ± 8.9 years underwent postoperative supervision using the FloTrac sensor / Vigileo monitoring system after curative surgery for esophageal cancer. We retrospectively evaluated the association between the number of aberrant cardiac index (CI) along with stroke volume variability (SVV) values and clinicopathological parameters of postoperative complications in this report. Results : There were significant positive correlations between the number of aberrant values of CI along with SVV and depth of invasion during pathological stage. Concerning major postoperative complications, there was a significant positive correlation between the number of aberrant values of CI and anastomotic leakage. Discussion: The hemodynamic change by employing the FloTrac system could predicts the complication of anastomotic leakage after esophagectomy. Adequate management of hemodynamic stability by utilizing it will reduce the complications of anastomotic leakage

Ultrasonic Sensitivity of Strain-Insensitive Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors and Evaluation of Ultrasound-Induced Strain

In conventional ultrasound detection in structures, a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is glued on or embedded in the structure. However, application of strain to the structure can influence the sensitivity of the FBG toward ultrasound and can prevent its effective detection. An FBG can work as a strain-insensitive ultrasound sensor when it is not directly glued to the monitored structure, but is instead applied to a small thin plate to form a mobile sensor. Another possible configuration is to affix an FBG-inscribed optical fiber without the grating section attached to the monitored structure. In the present study, sensitivity to ultrasound propagated through an aluminum plate was compared for a strain-insensitive FBG sensor and an FBG sensor installed in a conventional manner. Strains induced by ultrasound from a piezoelectric transducer and by quasi-acoustic emission of a pencil lead break were also quantitatively evaluated from the response amplitude of the FBG sensor. Experimental results showed that the reduction in the signal-to-noise ratio for ultrasound detection with strain-insensitive FBG sensors, relative to traditionally-installed FBG sensors, was only 6 dB, and the ultrasound-induced strain varied within a range of sub-micron strains

Enhancement of superconducting properties in FeSe wires using a quenching technique

Enhancements of superconducting properties were observed in FeSe wires using a quenching technique. Zero resistivity was achieved at about 10 K in quenched wires, which is about 2 K higher than that of polycrystalline FeSe bulk. Furthermore, transport Jc of quenched wires showed three times higher than that of furnace-cooled wires. In contrast, the quenched polycrystalline FeSe bulks did not show the enhancement of Tc. The quenching technique is a greatly promising for fabricating FeSe wires with high Tc and high Jc, and quenched FeSe wires have high potential for superconducting wire applications

Informational and Consumption Values of Word-of-Mouth Communications in Serial Drama Viewing : An Empirical Investigation

application/pdfThis paper studies the roles of Word-of-Mouth (WOM) communications where consumers make consumption decisions on a continual basis and they re-evaluate their opinions about the product or service as their experiences change with repeated consumption.In such an environment, the valence of contents of WOM communications change over time and the purpose of consuming WOM could change from information acquisition to opinion exchanges with other consumers. We study the changing role of WOM communications using data on Japanese serial dramas between 2017 and 2018. Our goals are two folds. First, we document how the valence and contents of WOM change over time through topic modeling and sentiment analysis. Second, we develop a structural Bayesian learning model of consumers’ drama viewing decisions and evaluate how informational and consumption values of WOM communications vary over time, by topic and sentiment. We find that WOM on experiential attributes of dramas and neutral and negative WOM contents have higher informational values than other WOM contents. Moreover, WOM on negative emotions and drama’s storyline tend to generate higher consumption values. Our results provide insights into how to design products and services effectively so as to benefit from the changing roles of WOM communications.departmental bulletin pape