Hosei University

How do citizens respond to political violence during election campaigns? Previous research suggests such events can increase support for the victim's party through a “rally ‘round the flag” effect, where the public unites against perceived threats, or an “empathy effect,” where individuals sympathize with the victim. Yet it remains unclear whether these effects vary across contexts. This study examines regional variation in public opinion following the 2022 assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which occurred two days before the national election. Using over 640,000 daily responses from a Voting Advice Application (VAA), we estimate changes in support for Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Applying the generalized synthetic control method (GSCM), we find no significant change in public opinion in the area surrounding the assassination site. By contrast, in Abe's home region, support for the LDP temporarily increased and support for rights restrictions declined, suggesting that psychological proximity to the victim briefly influenced public opinion. However, surveys conducted 8 to 9 months later reveal no persistent regional effects, suggesting that neither physical nor psychological proximity to the victim produced lasting changes in political attitudes.

The green alga Pleodorina japonica is an interesting volvocine species that harbors abundant rickettsial endosymbionts ("MIDORIKO") within its cytoplasm. However, the diversity and transmission of these endosymbionts within the species remain unclear. In this study, we examined the presence or absence of "MIDORIKO" and the genetic diversity in 21 culture strains of the host P. japonica population from various localities in Japan. Genomic polymerase chain reactions using "MIDORIKO"-specific primers and 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole-staining demonstrated that only five of the 21 strains harbored "MIDORIKO." The 16S ribosomal DNA sequences of "MIDORIKO" from these five strains (1148 bp) were identical to each other and distinct from the sequences of the rickettsial endosymbionts harbored by other algal species and protists, suggesting that "MIDORIKO" from P. japonica is specific to P. japonica. The phylogenetic results for the 21 host strains, which were resolved based on three nuclear genes encoding oxygen-evolving enhancer protein 1, F1F0 ATP synthase subunit beta and actin disagreed significantly. None of the three gene phylogenies supported the close relationship of the five "MIDORIKO"-harboring strains. A recombination test using the three concatenated genes provided strong evidence of recombination. Therefore, gene flow by sexual reproduction has likely occurred in the natural habitats of P. japonica. The transmission of "MIDORIKO" among different P. japonica genotypes could also be considered to occur via sexual reproduction, although it is likely infrequent via that method given the sporadic nature of "MIDORIKO" within the P. japonica population. Although P. japonica exhibits homothallic sexual reproduction, the present genetic data demonstrate that it is undoubtedly a biological species.

This paper presents a domain decomposition finite element method (DD-FEM) to accelerate topology optimization of photonic devices. In the proposed approach, the structure invariant region is precomputed and transformed into a reduced boundary conditions for the design region, allowing only the design region to be reanalyzed during optimization. The applicability of the method is demonstrated through the analysis and optimal design of a matching coupler between a strip waveguide and a subwavelength-grating (SWG) waveguide, as well as a waveguide lens. Under the same optimization settings, DD-FEM reduces the computational time per-analysis by approximately a factor of 2-3 and the memory requirement to about one third of that of a standard FEM analysis, making it particularly advantageous when the design region is small relative to the overall computational domain. In addition, we investigate a thresholding method for the dense interface matrix, where small nonzero entries are discarded to further reduce the computational cost of DD-FEM. If an error of about 0.5% in transmitted-power evaluation is acceptable, the linear-system solving time can be reduced to approximately 77% of that without thresholding.

Purpose This study aims to propose a permanent magnet (PM) magnetization estimation method that utilizes the induced voltage measured by a pickup coil. Design/methodology/approach To efficiently minimize the objective function, a gradient-based optimization method supported by the adjoint variable method is applied. Findings The estimation of PMs magnetization was successfully carried out. Furthermore, the reconstructed induced voltages were quite similar to the target distribution. Originality/value The estimation method for PM magnetization using induced voltage at pickup coil located on the airgap of surface permanent magnet synchronous motors derived from rotor rotation.

There are still not many academic reports on cases where privately owned postwar modern architecture that are not registered as cultural properties and have been completely renovated. In order to preserve and maintain more modern architecture in the future, it is essential not only to discuss methodologies, but also to accumulate reports of similar cases that can be referred to. This paper reports the overview of the Office and Hall of All Japan Seamen’s Union designed by Masato Otaka and completed in 1964, and its process toward the decision making of the renovation project.

We propose two kinds of mosaic-based four-channel multiplexers operating with 20-nm channel spacing in the C- and O-bands, respectively. Mosaic devices feature a complex refractive-index distribution including etched holes. A triangular lattice is introduced to maximize the hole density per area and facilitate fabrication. The hole configurations are optimized using the Bayesian direct binary search method. The multiplexers are the smallest among those validated through experimental demonstration with 20-nm channel spacing. The C-band multiplexer exhibits a low insertion loss of 3 dB and dimensions of 13.8 μm × 7.58 μm. Tolerance analyses indicate that spectral shifts caused by waveguide width deviations is 1/10 of that caused by hole diameter deviations. The O-band multiplexer, suitable for coarse wavelength division multiplexing systems, exhibits an insertion loss of 3.6 dB and dimensions of 12.7 μm × 7.9 μm. Mosaic devices are a powerful option as ultrasmall passive components for large-scale photonic integrated circuits.

Electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) cells are promising for applications in unique displays due to their simple structure, but further improvements in cell performance have been desired. Herein, we successfully enhanced the luminescent characteristics of the green fluorescent ECL cell by introducing a stilbene derivative as a redox mediator into an anthracene-9,10-diamine derivative solution. 9,10-Bis[phenyl(m-tolyl)-amino]anthracene (TPAA) was used as a luminescent material, while (E,E)-1,4-bis[4-[bis(4-methoxyphenyl)amino]styryl]benzene (TOP-HTM-α1) was used as the mediator. The maximum luminance and current efficiency of the cell with a configuration of indium tin oxide anode/mixed solution/fluorine-doped tin oxide cathode reached 191 cd m−2 and 1.96 cd A−1, respectively, which are the highest values ever reported in green ECL cells. Moreover, the cell showed a low turn-on voltage (defined as the voltage at 0.01 cd m−2) of 2.5 V, which is close to the singlet emission energy of TPAA. We believe that our findings in this study could contribute to the development of advanced ECL display devices.

Background: Evidence for the acute effects of molecular hydrogen (H2) inhalation on exerciserelated responses remains limited, particularly in elite female athletes exposed to high oxidative stress during intense exercise. Objective: To generate hypotheses and assess feasibility of near-lower explosive limit (LEL) hydrogen inhalation (approximately 4% H2 in air) on post-exercise oxidative stress markers, peripheral venous diameter, and exercise performance in nationally competitive female rowers. Methods: This participant-blinded, fixed-order (placebo then H2) exploratory pilot case series enrolled four nationally competitive female rowers. On the same day, each participant completed 30 min of placebo inhalation followed by an incremental exercise test (Wattbike), and, after a pragmatic 60-min recovery interval, completed 30 min of approximately 4% H2 inhalation followed by the same test. Blood/urine sampling and ultrasound measures were obtained at baseline, immediately post-exercise, and 60 min post-exercise. Within-participant differences in change scores (H2 minus placebo) were summarized using Hodges-Lehmann (HL) median differences with percentile bootstrap 95% confidence intervals. Exact Wilcoxon signed-rank pvalues were treated as descriptive; with n=4 the smallest two-sided p-value is 0.125. Results: Post-exercise change differences were directionally consistent across participants for HDL-C (HL +2.5 mg/dL), LDL-C (HL +6.5 mg/dL), cholinesterase (HL +10.5 U/L), and venous diameter (HL +2.98 mm) (all exact p=0.125, reflecting the minimum possible two-sided value with n=4). During recovery, urinary 8-OH-dG tended to be lower under H2 (HL-9.9; exact p=0.25), suggesting a potential attenuation of oxidative DNA damage, and venous diameter also showed consistent differences (HL-2.88 mm; exact p=0.125). Mean power output (mean WATT) was higher under H2 in three of four participants; one participant had lower mean WATT due to a transient orthostatic hypotension-like event requiring brief interruption. Conclusions: In this feasibility-constrained, fixed-order pilot case series (n=4), hydrogen inhalation showed directionally favorable signals in selected biochemical, vascular, and performance indices, but efficacy cannot be inferred because learning, fatigue, and carry-over effects cannot be separated. Larger double-blind, counterbalanced randomized crossover trials with adequate washout, plasma volume correction, and pre-specified safety endpoints are warranted.

We investigated the role of position-dependent memorability and input dynamics in password recall tasks. Eight participants performed a 2 (length: 6-character vs. 8-character) × 4 (character set: numeric/alphabetic/alphanumeric/alphanumeric + symbols) task with physiological and behavioral measures (EEG, blink index, keystroke logs). Generalized estimating equations (GEE) confirmed a robust sequential position effect: accuracy declined toward later positions in the 6-character sequence, with this trend being even more pronounced in the 8-character sequence. The immediate interkey interval (IKI) negatively predicted character-level accuracy, suggesting that local reaction delay serves as a proximal marker for recall failure. In contrast, simple Spearman correlations between accuracy, self-reported fatigue, EEG band power, blink indicators, and reverse digit span were small and non-significant. These findings reaffirm the universality of sequential position mechanisms in mixed-character stimuli and identify IKI as a practical behavioral metric for interface design. We discuss creating passwords that balance usability and robustness.