Photovoltaic (PV) technology has been the focus of interest due to its nonpolluting operation and good installation flexibility. Irradiation and temperature are the two main factors which impact the performance of the PV system. Accordingly, when partial shading from surroundings occurs, its incident shadow diminishes the irradiation and reduces the generated power. Since the conventional maximum power point tracking methods (MPPT) could not distinguish the global maximum power of the power-voltage (P-V) characteristic curve, a new tracking method needs to be developed. This paper proposes a global maximum power point tracking method using shading detection and the trend of slopes from each section of the curve. Full mathematical equations and algorithms are presented. Simulations based on real weather data were performed both in short-term and long-term studies. Moreover, this paper also presents the experiment using the DC-DC synchronous and interleaved boost converter. Results from the simulation show an accurate tracking result and the system can enhance the total energy generated by 8.55% compared to the conventional scanning method. Moreover, the experiment also confirms the success of the proposed tracking algorithm.

Associations of objective measures of trauma exposure with psychological sequelae following motor vehicle accidents (MVA) were examined in a Japanese population. Impact and injury severity of 93 MVA victims was assessed using on-the-scene in-depth investigations measured by the Injury Severity Score (ISS), barrier equivalent speed (BES), and change in velocity during the impact (Delta-v). Results showed that ISS, BES, and Delta-v were not related to posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) or psychiatric symptoms at 5 and 14 months after the MVA. Subjective measures (e.g., perceived life risk, persistent medical problems) were significantly related to psychological sequelae. These findings suggest that the objective measures of trauma exposure are not associated directly with PTSS or psychiatric symptoms after an MVA.

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Micro-reflector data storage is a practical candidate for post Blu-ray optical memory. It is based on bit-wise recording in a monolithic recording medium with a reference layer. In our conventional drive system, the objective lens position is controlled by servo error signals obtained from the reference layer. However, this servo system is not sufficiently robust against recording medium tilt and decentering because the servo error signals are not directly obtained from recorded marks. Here, we present a novel direct three-dimensional servo method to resolve this problem. In this servo method, the objective lens position is controlled by servo error signals directly obtained from recorded marks, or micro-reflectors. We verified the validity of the novel servo method by simulations. Furthemore, we demonstrated the improvement of the envelope and the jitter of a RF signal by the novel servo method experimentally.

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Although many studies have been conducted on behavioral profiling of homicide offenders, none of these have empirically shown that this technique has scientific validity and solid accuracy. Based on data from 839 Japanese homicide cases, we constructed multivariate logistic regression models to infer offenders' characteristics of sex, age, stranger offender, criminal record, single offender, member of organized crime, and residential area. We evaluated validity with a tenfold cross-validation procedure and a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The results indicated that the area under the ROC curve ranged from .70 to .87, suggesting moderate and sufficient accuracy. Such a multivariate approach would be useful to reduce costs and minimize errors in the early stages of an investigation, especially for jurisdictions that possess large homicide databases. He has focused on the use of quantitative research in police psychology. His current research topics include driving behavior under the influence of alcohol, traumatized crime victims, and offender profiling.Kazumi Watanabe, PhD, is the current head of the Investigation Support Section at the NRIPS. Her interests include the role of psychological and psychiatric research in police investigations. She is currently investigating the behavioral characteristics of serial and mass murderers, recidivism of homicide offenders, and the behavioral consistency of serial sex crimes.Kaeko Yokota is a senior researcher in the Investigation Support Section at the NRIPS. She earned her MSc and PhD degrees in investigative psychology from the University of Liverpool. Her research interests include risk assessment of hostage incidents, behavioral consistency of residential burglars, and case linkage of violent, serial crimes.hiroki Kuraishi, MA, is a researcher in the Investigation Support Section at the NRIPS. Before joining the NRIPS, he worked in the Shiga Prefectural Police Headquarters as a forensic psychologist. His current research focus is on the decisionmaking process of residential burglars from the perspective of cognitive psychology.Mamoru suzuki, MA, is a senior researcher in the Crime Prevention Section at the NRIPS. He is interested in psychological research on crime prevention and police investigations. His interests include the cognitive process of fraud victimization, the sexual arousal of sex offenders, and the geographic analysis of serial crimes.taeko Wachi, MPhil, is a senior researcher in the Investigation Support Section at the NRIPS. She is also a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge. The main focus of her current research is on police interviewing and interrogation techniques. She has also investigated the behavioral characteristics of serial arsonists.Yusuke otsuka, MA, is a researcher in the Investigation Support Section at the NRIPS. He is also attached to the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the National Police Agency of Japan. His research interests include the modi operandi of sex crimes, offender characteristics of extortion, a...