Extended Formulations via Decision Diagrams

We propose a general algorithm of constructing an extended formulation for any given set of linear constraints with integer coefficients. Our algorithm consists of two phases: first construct a decision diagram $(V,E)$ that somehow represents a given $m \times n$ constraint matrix, and then build an equivalent set of $|E|$ linear constraints over $n+|V|$ variables. That is, the size of the resultant extended formulation depends not explicitly on the number $m$ of the original constraints, but on its decision diagram representation. Therefore, we may significantly reduce the computation time for optimization problems with integer constraint matrices by solving them under the extended formulations, especially when we obtain concise decision diagram representations for the matrices. We can apply our method to $1$-norm regularized hard margin optimization over the binary instance space $\{0,1\}^n$, which can be formulated as a linear programming problem with $m$ constraints with $\{-1,0,1\}$-valued coefficients over $n$ variables, where $m$ is the size of the given sample. Furthermore, introducing slack variables over the edges of the decision diagram, we establish a variant formulation of soft margin optimization. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our extended formulations for integer programming and the $1$-norm regularized soft margin optimization tasks over synthetic and real datasets

Space Demonstration of Two-Layer Pop-Up Origami Deployable Membrane Reflectarray Antenna by 3U CubeSat OrigamiSat-2

3U CubeSat OrigamiSat-2 demonstrates a 50-cm × 50-cm two-layer pop-up Origami deployable membrane reflectarray antenna in space. The membrane has small stowage volume and high gain even though it has low flatness because of a large enough antenna area to cover its un-flatness. C-band transmitter is equipped in the CubeSat and offers 20-Mbps amateur satellite communication. In 3U size, a 1-m length deployable gravity gradient mast and magnetic torquer are equipped to stabilize and control its attitude. A camera is attached to the satellite to measure the shape of the membrane antenna. OrigamiSat-2 was selected as the Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-4 by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and is going to be launched in 2024 by Epsilon Launch Vehicle

An adult female suspected case of herpangina presenting with fever, headache, and oral phlyctenula

　ヘルパンギーナは，発熱と口腔粘膜の水疱性の発疹が特徴の急性のウイルス性咽頭炎で，おもに小児にみられ，夏に流行する．我々は，発熱，頭痛，軟口蓋の小水疱を呈し，ヘルパンギーナが疑われた成人女性の１例を経験したので報告する．患者は25歳，女性．７月に発熱，頭痛，嘔気を主訴に受診し，入院となった．血液検査では，CRP とプロカルシトニンの上昇を認めた．頭部 CT では，出血や占拠性病変は見られなかった．胸腹部 CT では，熱源となる異常所見は見られなかった．抗菌薬投与と対症療法を行い，発熱，頭痛は改善を認めた．口腔内違和感の訴えがあり，口腔内所見で軟口蓋に紅暈を伴う小水疱を数個認め，エンテロウイルス属感染症（ヘルパンギーナ）が疑われた．エンテロウイルス属のウイルス抗体検査では，原因ウイルスは特定できなかった．夏期に発熱，口内炎を呈する場合には，成人でもへルパンギーナを鑑別に挙げる必要があると考える．　Herpangina is an acute viral pharyngitis which presents with fever and oral phlyctenula. It is commonly seen in children, usually during summer. We report an adult female suspected of having developed herpangina because on admission she presented with fever, headache, and oral phlyctenula. The 25-year-old female underwent a medical check at our hospital because of fever, headache, and nausea in July. She was admitted to our hospital. The blood test showed elevation of C-reactive protein and procalcitonin. Brain CT scan showed no bleeding nor any space occupying lesion. Chest and abdominal CT scan showed no lesion of fever origin. Her fever and headache improved after antibiotics and symptomatic treatment. But the patient felt that something was wrong within her oral cavity. Herpangina was suspected because of the presence of phlyctenula with a red halo in the soft palate. Viral antibody test of enteroviruses did not identify viruses that commonly cause herpangina. This case indicates that herpangina should be considered for the differential diagnosis during medical examination of an adult patient who presents with fever and stomatitis during summer

Estimation of Steering and Throttle Angles of a Motorized Mobility Scooter with Inertial Measurement Units for Continuous Quantification of Driving Operation

With the growing demand from elderly persons for alternative mobility solutions, motorized mobility scooters (MMSs) have been gaining importance as an essential assistive technology to aid independent living in local communities. The increased use of MMSs, however, has raised safety issues during driving and magnified the necessity to evaluate and improve user driving skills. This study is intended to develop a novel quantitative monitoring method for MMS driving operation using inertial measurement units (IMUs). The proposed method used coordinate transformations around the rotational axes of the steering wheel and the throttle lever to estimate the steering and throttle operating angles based on gravitational accelerations measured by IMUs. Consequently, these operating angles can be monitored simply using an IMU attached to the throttle lever. Validation experiments with a test MMS in the stationary state confirmed the consistency of the proposed coordinate transformation with the MMS’s geometrical structure. The driving test also demonstrated that the operating angles were estimated correctly on various terrains and that the effects of terrain inclination were compensated using an additional IMU attached to the scooter body. This method will be applicable to the quantitative monitoring of driving behavior and act as a complementary tool for the existing skills’ evaluation methods

Clinical value of abnormal median-normal sural sensory response pattern for the early diagnosis of acute oropharyngeal palsy: a comparison of recent and previous cases

　To evaluate whether nerve conduction study (NCS) findings are useful to make an early diagnosis acute oropharyngeal palsy (AOP). 　We evaluated 2 AOP patients. Patient 1: An 18-year-old male who developed a nasal voice two weeks after common-cold symptoms with no weakness in his extremities. Patient 2: A 16-year-old female who developed a nasal voice two days after diarrhea with no weakness in her extremities. We conducted a routine NCS on these 2 patients and followed up their changes. Both patients had an abnormal median-normal sural (AMNS) sensory response pattern, which improved over time. Both patients were diagnosed with AOP and treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (400 mg/kg/day) with a good prognosis. Anti-GQ1b and/or anti-GT1a IgG antibodies were identified in the serum of both patients a few weeks after their initial diagnoses. 　The AMNS sensory response pattern can be useful for the early diagnosis of AOP

Cobalt-Doped Goethite-Type Iron Oxyhydroxide (α-FeOOH) for Highly Efficient Oxygen Evolution Catalysis

It is an urgent challenge to develop low-cost and high-performance catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). We synthesized nanoparticulate electrocatalysts consisting of cobalt-doped goethite-type iron oxyhydroxide (α-FeOOH) with controlled Co/Fe ratios [Co_<i>x</i>Fe_1–<i>x</i>OOH (<i>x</i> ≤ 0.20)] based on our own wet process. A Co_0.20Fe_0.80OOH-coated glassy carbon electrode generated a current density (<i>j</i>) of 10 mA cm^–2 at an overpotential (η) as small as 383 mV (1.61 V vs the reversible hydrogen electrode) in an alkaline electrolyte, with a small Tafel slope of 40 mV dec^–1 and excellent durability, whereas pure α-FeOOH required η = 580 mV to reach the same current density. This can be ascribed to the effect of Co doping, which resulted in an increase in electrochemically active surface area and a decrease in charge-transfer resistance. The content of cobalt, a scarce resource, in the catalyst is much smaller than those in most of the other Fe-based catalysts reported so far. Thus, this study will provide a new strategy of designing cost-effective and high-performance catalysts for the OER in alkaline solution