Analysis of Strategies of Companies under Carbon Constraint: Relationship between Profit Structure of Companies and Carbon/Fuel Price Uncertainty

Abstract in HTML and technical report in PDF available on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change website (http://mit.edu/globalchange/www/).This paper examines the relationship between future carbon prices and the expected profit of companies by case studies with model companies. As the future carbon price will vary significantly in accordance with the political and economic situation, a specified probability density profile for the carbon price in the future has been assumed in this paper and the expected profits of the model company have been calculated on the basis of this profile. A power company has been selected as the model company representing a typical instance of a large-scale emitter of CO2. In the case of a single-fuel using company, it has been established that the influence on corporate profits can be assessed quantitatively by determining the profit break-even line with the carbon price as the parameter using the company’s carbon emission intensity and its operating profit per unit of production output. For multi-fueled companies, it is shown that the future optimum fuel mix is determined not only by the carbon price but also by the operating profit ratio for the fuels concerned. These studies have thus confirmed that corporate profits are governed by the ratio of the operating profit levels achieved per unit of production output for the different fuels and the carbon price

On dissemination mechanism of corporate social responsibility (CSR): Analysis with agent simulation

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), such as pro-environmental behaviour and fair trade, is a kind of normative behaviour by private companies to provide a quasi-public good. We study dissemination mechanism of CSR with a multi-agent model in which corporation agents and consumer agents interact with each other. We show that the mechanism to disseminate CSR is a positive feedback between the corporations\u27 popularity seeking behaviour and the consumers\u27 social learning in which CSR-seeking preference is evaluated according to both the local average of the preferences of surrounding consumers and the global average of the investment in CSR by all corporations. We also discuss an institutional design to establish CSR from an objectionable social state

A Detailed Study on the Liquefaction-Induced Settlement of Timber Houses During the 2000 Tottoriken-Seibu Earthquake

More than 100 timber houses settled and tilted due to liquefaction at a housing development during the 2000 Tottoriken-seibu earthquake in Japan. Among the damaged houses, 47 houses tilted more than 15/1000. Heavily tilted houses were necessary to restore to become horizontal after the earthquake, though several houses, that tilted slightly, were not necessary to restore. The authors studied the boundary of the angle of the restored and non-restored houses. According to the study by the authors, the critical angle of tilting to restore houses was about 10/1000. The authors studied soil conditions also, and found that groundwater level was shallower than about 1.7 m in the damaged zone. This implies that small structures such as timber houses have no damage due to liquefaction if the groundwater level or the bottom of surface non-liquefiable layer is deeper that about 1.7 m

Efficient generation of single domain antibodies with high affinities and enhanced thermal stabilities

Shinozaki, N., Hashimoto, R., Fukui, K. et al. Efficient generation of single domain antibodies with high affinities and enhanced thermal stabilities. Sci Rep 7, 5794 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-06277-x

Inclusion of gaming disorder criteria in ICD-11: A clinical perspective in favor

Data from a specialist treatment facility for Internet addiction (IA) in Japan showed that (a) the vast majority of treatment seekers are addicted to online games, (b) their symptoms are often quite severe, and (c) there is a significant demand for IA treatment. In addition, systemic obstacles to the delivery of medical services in Japan exist due to the exclusion of IA criteria from ICD-10. Consequently, the inclusion of GD criteria in ICD-11 will almost certainly increase the capacity and quality of treatment through advances in research and possible changes in national medical systems to meet treatment demand

多発性硬化症における髄液中Guanase活性

Thirty-eight CSF specimens obtained from 33 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) (20 definite, 18 probable; 20 active, 18 inactive) were subjected to the measurement of guanase activity, cell count and concentrations of total protein and Ig G. There was no difference in cell count and total protein concentration between MS and normal controls (n=14). The guanase activity, however, was significantly higher in MS as compared with normal controls (p<0.05). In addition, active MS revealed significantly elevated guanase activity, total protein and Ig G as compared with inactive MS (p<0.05). Serial guanase determinations together with Kurtzke\u27s expanded disability status scales in 5 MS patients supported the idea that CSF guanase activity reflects the disease activity more appropriately than other parameters in CSF

KEGG for representation and analysis of molecular networks involving diseases and drugs

Most human diseases are complex multi-factorial diseases resulting from the combination of various genetic and environmental factors. In the KEGG database resource (http://www.genome.jp/kegg/), diseases are viewed as perturbed states of the molecular system, and drugs as perturbants to the molecular system. Disease information is computerized in two forms: pathway maps and gene/molecule lists. The KEGG PATHWAY database contains pathway maps for the molecular systems in both normal and perturbed states. In the KEGG DISEASE database, each disease is represented by a list of known disease genes, any known environmental factors at the molecular level, diagnostic markers and therapeutic drugs, which may reflect the underlying molecular system. The KEGG DRUG database contains chemical structures and/or chemical components of all drugs in Japan, including crude drugs and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) formulas, and drugs in the USA and Europe. This database also captures knowledge about two types of molecular networks: the interaction network with target molecules, metabolizing enzymes, other drugs, etc. and the chemical structure transformation network in the history of drug development. The new disease/drug information resource named KEGG MEDICUS can be used as a reference knowledge base for computational analysis of molecular networks, especially, by integrating large-scale experimental datasets

Resection of Metachronous Lymph Node Metastases from Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Hepatectomy: Report of Four Cases

We report 4 cases of surgical resection of metachronous lymph node (LN) metastases from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following hepatectomy. Clinicopathological features and results of LN dissection were investigated in the 4 patients. One patient was found to have a single metastasis in the mediastinal LNs, another had multiple metastases in the mediastinal and abdominal LNs, and the other 2 had single metastases in the abdominal LN. The locations of the abdominal LN metastases were behind the pancreas head in 2 patients and around the abdominal aorta in 1 patient. They all underwent surgical resection of metastatic LNs and had no postoperative complications. The 3 patients whose LN metastases were solitary have been alive for more than 2 years after LN resection, and one of them is free from recurrence. The patient with multiple LN metastases died 13 months after LN resection due to carcinomatosis. With the expectation of long-term survival, a single metachronous LN metastasis from HCC after hepatectomy should be resected in patients without uncontrollable intrahepatic or extrahepatic tumors

Developmental changes in facial expression recognition in Japanese school-age children

Purpose : Facial expressions hold abundant information and play a central part in communication. In daily life, we must construct amicable interpersonal relationships by communicating through verbal and nonverbal behaviors. While school-age is a period of rapid social growth, few studies exist that study developmental changes in facial expression recognition during this age. This study investigated developmental changes in facial expression recognition by examining observers’ gaze on others’ expressions. Subjects : 87 school-age children from first to sixth grade (41 boys, 46 girls). Method : The Tobii T60 Eye-tracker(Tobii Technologies, Sweden) was used to gauge eye movement during a task of matching pre-instructed emotion words and facial expressions images (neutral, angry, happy, surprised, sad, disgusted) presented on a monitor fixed at a distance of 50 cm. Results : In the task of matching the six facial expression images and emotion words, the mid- and higher-grade children answered more accurately than the lower-grade children in matching four expressions, excluding neutral and happy. For fixation time and fixation count, the lower-grade children scored lower than other grade children, gazing on all facial expressions significantly fewer times and for shorter periods. Conclusion : It is guessed that the stage from lower grades to middle grades is a turning point in facial recognition

Positivity for antinuclear antibody in patients with advanced rheumatoid arthritis.

Some patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as well as those with other collagen diseases are positive for antinuclear antibody (ANA). We investigated the frequency of positivity for ANA in 104 patients with RA and evaluated the clinical features and laboratory data in the ANA-positive and -negative groups. The presence of ANA in sera was studied by indirect immunofluorescence using HEp-2 cells as the antigen substrate. Sera with a positive fluorescence at a dilution of 1:20 were considered to be positive for ANA. Of the 104 patients, 39 (37.5%) were positive for ANA. The staining pattern in the positive cases varied, but most were speckled (64.1%) and homogeneous (48.7%). A small number showed a nucleolar (20.5%) or a centromere (10.3%) pattern. None showed a shaggy pattern. The ANA titer was lower in RA patients compared with those with other collagen-related diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus or progressive systematic sclerosis. None of the patients positive for ANA with either a nucleolar or centromere staining pattern had progressive systemic sclerosis or the CREST syndrome. One patient each had Raynaud's phenomenon and pulmonary fibrosis. There was no correlation between ANA positivity and indicators of joint inflammation. The prevalence of ANA positivity in patients with advanced or prolonged disease was higher than those with early stages or short durations. There was no correlation with drug therapy.</p