Seismic exploration at Fuji volcano with active sources : The outline of the experiment and the arrival time data

Fuji volcano (altitude 3,776m) is the largest basaltic stratovolcano in Japan. In late August and early September 2003, seismic exploration was conducted around Fuji volcano by the detonation of 500 kg charges of dynamite to investigate the seismic structure of that area. Seismographs with an eigenfrequency of 2 Hz were used for observation, positioned along a WSW-ENE line passing through the summit of the mountain. A total of 469 seismic stations were installed at intervals of 250-500 m. The data were stored in memory on-site using data loggers. The sampling interval was 4 ms. Charges were detonated at 5 points, one at each end of the observation line and 3 along its length. The first arrival times and the later-phase arrival times at each station for each detonation were recorded as data. P-wave velocities in the surface layer were estimated from the travel time curves near the explosion points, with results of 2.5 km/s obtained for the vicinity of Fuji volcano and 4.0 km5/s elsewhere

Design and validation of looping assistance methods in robotic-assisted neonatal surgical suturing in a chest model

Background: Neonate patients have a reduced thoracic cavity, making thoracoscopic procedures even more challenging than their adult counterparts. Methods: We evaluated five control strategies for robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgical looping in simulations and experiments with a physical robotic system in a neonate surgical phantom. The strategies are composed of state-of-the-art constrained optimization and a novel looping force feedback term. Results: All control strategies allowed users to successfully perform looping. A user study in simulation showed that the proposed strategy was superior in terms of Physical demand (Formula presented.) and task duration (Formula presented.). The cumulative sum analysis of inexperienced users shows that the proposed looping force feedback can speed up the learning. Results with surgeons did not show a significant difference among control strategies. Conclusions: Assistive strategies in looping show promise and further work is needed to extend these benefits to other subtasks in robot-aided surgical suturing.</p