Osaka Research Institute of Industrial Science and Technology

Recommender systems are an important component of many websites. Two of the most popular approaches are based on matrix factorization (MF) and Markov chains (MC). MF methods learn the general taste of a user by factorizing the matrix over observed user-item preferences. On the other hand, MC methods model sequential behavior by learning a transition graph over items that is used to predict the next action based on the recent actions of a user. In this paper, we present a method bringing both approaches together. Our method is based on personalized transition graphs over underlying Markov chains. That means for each user an own transition matrix is learned - thus in total the method uses a transition cube. As the observations for estimating the transitions are usually very limited, our method factorizes the transition cube with a pairwise interaction model which is a special case of the Tucker Decomposition. We show that our factorized personalized MC (FPMC) model subsumes both a common Markov chain and the normal matrix factorization model. For learning the model parameters, we introduce an adaption of the Bayesian Personalized Ranking (BPR) framework for sequential basket data. Empirically, we show that our FPMC model outperforms both the common matrix factorization and the unpersonalized MC model both learned with and without factorization.

Topological insulators represent a new quantum state of matter which is characterized by peculiar edge or surface states that show up due to a topological character of the bulk wave functions. This review presents a pedagogical account on topological insulator materials with an emphasis on basic theory and materials properties. After presenting a historical perspective and basic theories of topological insulators, it discusses all the topological insulator materials discovered as of May 2013, with some illustrative descriptions of the developments in materials discoveries in which the author was involved. A summary is given for possible ways to confirm the topological nature in a candidate material. Various synthesis techniques as well as the defect chemistry that are important for realizing bulk-insulating samples are discussed. Characteristic properties of topological insulators are discussed with an emphasis on transport properties. In particular, the Dirac fermion physics and the resulting peculiar quantum oscillation patterns are discussed in detail. It is emphasized that proper analyses of quantum oscillations make it possible to unambiguously identify surface Dirac fermions through transport measurements. The prospects of topological insulator materials for elucidating novel quantum phenomena that await discovery conclude the review.

We studied the defect physics in ${\mathrm{CuInSe}}_{2},$ a prototype chalcopyrite semiconductor. We showed that (i) it takes much less energy to form a Cu vacancy in ${\mathrm{CuInSe}}_{2}$ than to form cation vacancies in II-VI compounds (ii) defect formation energies vary considerably both with the Fermi energy and with the chemical potential of the atomic species, and (iii) the defect pairs such as $({2\mathrm{V}}_{\mathrm{Cu}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}{+\mathrm{I}\mathrm{n}}_{\mathrm{Cu}}^{2+})$ and $({2\mathrm{C}\mathrm{u}}_{\mathrm{In}}^{2\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}{+\mathrm{I}\mathrm{n}}_{\mathrm{Cu}}^{2+})$ have particularly low formation energies (under certain conditions, even exothermic). Using (i)--(iii), we (a) explain the existence of unusual ordered compounds ${\mathrm{CuIn}}_{5}{\mathrm{Se}}_{8},$ ${\mathrm{CuIn}}_{3}{\mathrm{Se}}_{5},$ ${\mathrm{Cu}}_{2}{\mathrm{In}}_{4}{\mathrm{Se}}_{7},$ and ${\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}{\mathrm{In}}_{5}{\mathrm{Se}}_{9}$ as a repeat of a single unit of $({2\mathrm{V}}_{\mathrm{Cu}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}{+\mathrm{I}\mathrm{n}}_{\mathrm{Cu}}^{2+})$ pairs for each $n=4,$ 5, 7, and 9 units, respectively, of ${\mathrm{CuInSe}}_{2};$ (b) attribute the very efficient $p$-type self-doping ability of ${\mathrm{CuInSe}}_{2}$ to the exceptionally low formation energy of the shallow defect Cu vacancies; (c) explained in terms of an electronic passivation of the ${\mathrm{In}}_{\mathrm{Cu}}^{2+}$ by ${2\mathrm{V}}_{\mathrm{Cu}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}$ the electrically benign character of the large defect population in ${\mathrm{CuInSe}}_{2}.$ Our calculation leads to a set of new assignment of the observed defect transition energy levels in the band gap. The calculated level positions agree rather well with available experimental data.

Ceramic nanocomposites can be divided into three categories: intergranular nanocomposite, intergranular nanocomposite and nano/nano composite. The intra- and intergranular nanocomposites were found to show the two to five times higher toughness and strength at room temperature than those of monolithic materials. The hardness, toughness, strength and fracture resistance for creep and fatigue at high temperatures as well as the thermal shock fracture resistance were also strongly improved for these composites. On the other hand, the new function such as machinability and superplasticity was observed for the nano/nano composites. The fabrication processes of these nanocomposites by sintering methods, micro and nanostructure observations, improvements of mechanical properties were reviewed and the roles of the nano-size dispersoids were discussed. Finally the new approach on structural materials design will be given.

Humans rely increasingly on sensors to address grand challenges and to improve quality of life in the era of digitalization and big data. For ubiquitous sensing, flexible sensors are developed to overcome the limitations of conventional rigid counterparts. Despite rapid advancement in bench-side research over the last decade, the market adoption of flexible sensors remains limited. To ease and to expedite their deployment, here, we identify bottlenecks hindering the maturation of flexible sensors and propose promising solutions. We first analyze challenges in achieving satisfactory sensing performance for real-world applications and then summarize issues in compatible sensor-biology interfaces, followed by brief discussions on powering and connecting sensor networks. Issues en route to commercialization and for sustainable growth of the sector are also analyzed, highlighting environmental concerns and emphasizing nontechnical issues such as business, regulatory, and ethical considerations. Additionally, we look at future intelligent flexible sensors. In proposing a comprehensive roadmap, we hope to steer research efforts towards common goals and to guide coordinated development strategies from disparate communities. Through such collaborative efforts, scientific breakthroughs can be made sooner and capitalized for the betterment of humanity.

In this review, we discuss recent progress in the explorations of topological materials beyond topological insulators; specifically, we focus on topological crystalline insulators and bulk topological superconductors. The basic concepts, model Hamiltonians, and novel electronic properties of these new topological materials are explained. The key role of the symmetries that underlie their topological properties is elucidated. Key issues in their materials realizations are also discussed.

Controlled self-assembly of a trinitrofluorenone-appended gemini-shaped amphiphilic hexabenzocoronene selectively formed nanotubes or microfibers with different photochemical properties. In these nanotubes, which are 16 nanometers in diameter and several micrometers long, a molecular layer of electron-accepting trinitrofluorenone laminates an electron-donating graphitic layer of pi-stacked hexabenzocoronene. The coaxial nanotubular structure allows photochemical generation of spatially separated charge carriers and a quick photoconductive response with a large on/off ratio greater than 10(4). In sharp contrast, the microfibers consist of a charge-transfer complex between the hexabenzocoronene and trinitrofluorenone parts and exhibit almost no photocurrent generation.

Topological insulators are predicted to present interesting surface transport phenomena but their experimental studies have been hindered by a metallic bulk conduction that overwhelms the surface transport. We show that the topological insulator ${\text{Bi}}_{2}{\text{Te}}_{2}\text{Se}$ presents a high resistivity exceeding $1\text{ }\ensuremath{\Omega}\text{ }\text{cm}$ and a variable-range hopping behavior, and yet presents Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations coming from the topological surface state. Furthermore, we have been able to clarify both the bulk and surface transport channels, establishing a comprehensive understanding of the transport in this material. Our results demonstrate that ${\text{Bi}}_{2}{\text{Te}}_{2}\text{Se}$ is, to our knowledge, the best material to date for studying the surface quantum transport in a topological insulator.

Tagging plays an important role in many recent websites. Recommender systems can help to suggest a user the tags he might want to use for tagging a specific item. Factorization models based on the Tucker Decomposition (TD) model have been shown to provide high quality tag recommendations outperforming other approaches like PageRank, FolkRank, collaborative filtering, etc. The problem with TD models is the cubic core tensor resulting in a cubic runtime in the factorization dimension for prediction and learning.

A topological superconductor (TSC) is characterized by the topologically protected gapless surface state that is essentially an Andreev bound state consisting of Majorana fermions. While a TSC has not yet been discovered, the doped topological insulator ${\mathrm{Cu}}_{x}{\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}{\mathrm{Se}}_{3}$, which superconducts below $\ensuremath{\sim}3\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{K}$, has been predicted to possess a topological superconducting state. We report that the point-contact spectra on the cleaved surface of superconducting ${\mathrm{Cu}}_{x}{\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}{\mathrm{Se}}_{3}$ present a zero-bias conductance peak (ZBCP) which signifies unconventional superconductivity. Theoretical considerations of all possible superconducting states help us conclude that this ZBCP is due to Majorana fermions and gives evidence for a topological superconductivity in ${\mathrm{Cu}}_{x}{\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}{\mathrm{Se}}_{3}$. In addition, we found an unusual pseudogap that develops below $\ensuremath{\sim}20\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{K}$ and coexists with the topological superconducting state.

Transparent zinc oxide (ZnO) films has been cathodically deposited on conductive glasses from a simple aqueous zinc nitrate electrolyte kept at 335 K. ZnO films prepared had a wurtzite structure and exhibited an optical band gap energy of 3.3 eV which is characteristic of ZnO. A 2-μm-thick ZnO film with an optical transmittance of 72% has been deposited by electrolysis only for approximately 20 minutes at the cathodic potential of −1.0 V compared with the Ag/AgCl reference electrode.

Abstract Redox‐active fullerenes can be covalently bound to a variety of donors, their photophysical properties have been investigated. Their photochemical processes. Including electron transfer and energy transfer, are varied, depending on the donor, linkage between the donor and C 60 , and solvent. Regardless of the solvent and linkage, the charge‐separated state is produced efficiently in zinc porphyrin‐C 60 systems, showing that C 6o is a good electron acceptor. The most intriguing characteristic of C 60 in electron transfer is that C 60 accelerates photoinduced charge separation and retards charge recombination in the dark. The long‐lived charge‐transfer state: of the C 60 –porphyrin dyad was successfully converted to photocurrent using a self‐assembled monolayer technique. These findings will provide a new strategy for the design and synthesis of artificial photosynthetic systems and photoactive materials using C 60 as a building block.

Human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8)-negative, idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease (iMCD) is a rare and life-threatening disorder involving systemic inflammatory symptoms, polyclonal lymphoproliferation, cytopenias, and multiple organ system dysfunction caused by a cytokine storm often including interleukin-6. iMCD accounts for one third to one half of all cases of MCD and can occur in individuals of any age. Accurate diagnosis is challenging, because no standard diagnostic criteria or diagnostic biomarkers currently exist, and there is significant overlap with malignant, autoimmune, and infectious disorders. An international working group comprising 34 pediatric and adult pathology and clinical experts in iMCD and related disorders from 8 countries, including 2 physicians that are also iMCD patients, was convened to establish iMCD diagnostic criteria. The working group reviewed data from 244 cases, met twice, and refined criteria over 15 months (June 2015 to September 2016). The proposed consensus criteria require both Major Criteria (characteristic lymph node histopathology and multicentric lymphadenopathy), at least 2 of 11 Minor Criteria with at least 1 laboratory abnormality, and exclusion of infectious, malignant, and autoimmune disorders that can mimic iMCD. Characteristic histopathologic features may include a constellation of regressed or hyperplastic germinal centers, follicular dendritic cell prominence, hypervascularization, and polytypic plasmacytosis. Laboratory and clinical Minor Criteria include elevated C-reactive protein or erythrocyte sedimentation rate, anemia, thrombocytopenia or thrombocytosis, hypoalbuminemia, renal dysfunction or proteinuria, polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia, constitutional symptoms, hepatosplenomegaly, effusions or edema, eruptive cherry hemangiomatosis or violaceous papules, and lymphocytic interstitial pneumonitis. iMCD consensus diagnostic criteria will facilitate consistent diagnosis, appropriate treatment, and collaborative research.

Abstract Spontaneously solar‐driven water splitting to produce H 2 and O 2 , that is, the conversion of solar energy to chemical energy is a dream of mankind. However, it is difficult to make overall water splitting feasible without using any sacrificial agents and external bias. Drawing inspiration from nature, a new artificial Z‐scheme photocatalytic system has been designed herein based on the two‐dimensional (2D) heterostructure of black phosphorus (BP)/bismuth vanadate (BiVO 4 ). An effective charge separation makes possible the reduction and oxidation of water on BP and BiVO 4 , respectively. The optimum H 2 and O 2 production rates on BP/BiVO 4 were approximately 160 and 102 μmol g −1 h −1 under irradiation of light with a wavelength longer than 420 nm, without using any sacrificial agents or external bias.

Abstract Biodiesel derived from vegetable oils has drawn considerable attention with increasing environmental consciousness. We attempted continuous methanolysis of vegetable oil by an enzymatic process. Immobilized Candida antarctica lipase was found to be the most effective for the methanolysis among lipases tested. The enzyme was inactivated by shaking in a mixture containing more than 1.5 molar equivalents of methanol against the oil. To fully convert the oil to its corresponding methyl esters, at least 3 molar equivalents of methanol are needed. Thus, the reaction was conducted by adding methanol stepwise to avoid lipase inactivation. The first step of the reaction was conducted at 30°C for 10 h in a mixture of oil/methanol (1:1, mol/mol) and 4% immobilized lipase with shaking at 130 oscillations/min. After more than 95% methanol was consumed in ester formation, a second molar equivalent of methanol was added and the reaction continued for 14 h. The third molar equivalent of methanol was finally added and the reaction continued for 24 h (total reaction time, 48 h). This three‐step process converted 98.4% of the oil to its corresponding methyl esters. To investigate the stability of the lipase, the three‐step methanolysis process was repeated by transferring the immobilized lipase to a fresh substrate mixture. As a result, more than 95% of the ester conversion was maintained even after 50 cycles of the reaction (100 d).

We report the realization of p-type behavior in ZnO thin films, which are prepared by codoping method using Ga (donor) and N (acceptor) as the dopants. Especially, using active N formed by passing N 2 O gas through an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma source is quite effective for the acceptor doping. We have observed a room temperature resistivity of 2 Ω·cm and a hole concentration of 4×10 19 cm -3 . These values are enough high for practical applications in various oxide electronic devices.

Abstract A new thermal conduction model is proposed for filled polymer with particles, and predicted values by the new model are compared with experimental data. The model is fundamentally based on a generalization of parallel and series conduction models of composite, and further modified in taking into account that a random dispersion system is isotropic in thermal conduction. The following equation is derived from the new model; log λ = V · C 2 · log λ 2 + (1 − V ) · log( C 1 · λ 1 ). Therefore, when thermal conductivities of polymer and particles (λ 1 , λ 2 ) are known, thermal conductivity of the filled polymer (λ) can be estimated by the equation, with any volume content of particles ( V ). The new model was proved by experimental data for filled polyethylene, polystyrene and polyamide with graphite, copper, or Al 2 O 3 .

Manganese oxide thin films were deposited on transparent conducting tin oxide glass substrates by potentiostatic anodic electrolysis of alkaline solution of a manganese ammine complex at 298 K. The effects of varying deposition potentials on the microstructure and the electrochromic (EC) properties of the films were investigated. Characterization of films by X‐ray diffraction revealed that two distinct potential regions (lower and higher than 0.3 V vs. Ag/AgCl) were available for the film deposition; the crystal structure of the film deposited at lower and higher regions were and/or and , respectively. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses of the films featuring exchange splitting effect on Mn 3s spectra indicated that the valence of manganese in the films prepared at lower and higher potential regions are mixtures of divalence‐trivalence and of trivalence‐tetravalence, respectively. The XPS analysis also revealed that terminal chemical bonding species of the films are a mixture of hydroxide (Mn‐O‐H) and oxide (Mn‐O‐Mn). The mechanism of the EC process, by which the color change between brown and light yellow occurs, could be explained in terms of the transformation between these two oxygen groups in Mn‐O‐H and Mn‐O‐Mn, accompanied by the change in valence of Mn. The EC durability of the films in switching performance was also assessed. © 2000 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.

Bone tissue engineering is an emerging interdisciplinary field in Science, combining expertise in medicine, material science and biomechanics. Hard tissue engineering research is focused mainly in two areas, osteo and dental clinical applications. There is a lot of exciting research being performed worldwide in developing novel scaffolds for tissue engineering. Although, nowadays the majority of the research effort is in the development of scaffolds for non-load bearing applications, primarily using soft natural or synthetic polymers or natural scaffolds for soft tissue engineering; metallic scaffolds aimed for hard tissue engineering have been also the subject of in vitro and in vivo research and industrial development. In this article, descriptions of the different manufacturing technologies available to fabricate metallic scaffolds and a compilation of the reported biocompatibility of the currently developed metallic scaffolds have been performed. Finally, we highlight the positive aspects and the remaining problems that will drive future research in metallic constructs aimed for the reconstruction and repair of bone.

We report direct measurements of electrical transport through poly(dA)-poly(dT) and poly(dG)-poly(dC) DNA molecules containing identical base pairs. The observed experimental results suggest that electrical transport through DNA molecules occurs by polaron hopping. We have also investigated the effect of gate voltage on the current-voltage curve. It demonstrates the possibility of a DNA field-effect transistor operating at room temperature. Moreover, the gate-voltage dependent transport measurements show that poly(dA)-poly(dT) behaves as an n-type semiconductor, whereas poly(dG)-poly(dC) behaves as a p-type semiconductor.