This paper discusses the problem of designing a single linear functional observer (S. . . .) to estimate a single linear function of the state of a linear time-invariant system, for the purpose of implementing a feedback control law.
First, canonical forms of S. . . . are obtained both in the case that S. . . . can have arbitrary poles and in the case that poles of S. . . . must satisfy a constraint condition. Second, an algorithm obtaining the optimal S. . . . is easily derived by using this canonical form. The optimal criterion is the time-integral of the mean-square estimation error. By the presented procedure, the S. . . . is designed under the following conditions:
(1) poles of S. . . . have the most possible freedom of choice,
(2) the order of S. . . . is as small as possible,
(3) the number of paths of S. . . . is as few as possible,
(4) optimality.
Finally, an illustrative example for a power system is given to show the effectiveness of the presented method.

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Licorice flavonoid oil () is a new functional food ingredient consisting of hydrophobic licorice polyphenols in medium-chain triglycerides. Recent studies reported that prevented and ameliorated diet-induced obesity via the regulation of lipid metabolism-related gene expression in the livers of mice and rats, while it reduced body weight in overweight human subjects by reducing total body fat. However, the direct effects of on energy metabolism have not been studied in human subjects. Therefore, we investigated the effects of ingestion of on energy metabolism, including fat oxidation, by measuring body surface temperature under resting conditions and respiratory gas analysis under exercise conditions in healthy humans. We showed that ingestion of a single 600 mg dose of elevated body trunk skin temperature when measured in a slightly cooled air-conditioned room, and increased oxygen consumption and decreased the respiratory exchange ratio as measured by respiratory gas analysis during 40% Vo₂max exercise with a cycle ergometer. Furthermore, repeated ingestion of 300 mg of for 8 d decreased respiratory exchange during the recovery period following 40 min of 30% Vo₂max exercise on a treadmill. These results suggest that enhances fat oxidation in humans during light exercise.

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Licorice flavonoid oil () is a new dietary ingredient for functional foods consisting of licorice hydrophobic polyphenols in medium-chain triglycerides (MCT). In an effective dose finding study conducted previously, has exhibited a dose-dependent body fat-reducing effect. Here we report the weight-reducing effect of in a placebo-controlled, double-blind, long-term (12 weeks) ingestion study at 300 mg/day, the minimal effective dose observed in the dose finding study. A total of 103 overweight subjects [body mass index (BMI): 24-30] completed this study and were analyzed. Body weight increased in the placebo group, but was maintained at close to pre-ingestion level in the group, resulting in significant (p < 0.05) differences in the changes in body weight and BMI between the group and the placebo group at each time-point. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measurement of body fat indicated that the weight-reducing effect was attributable to reduced body fat. No clinically significant adverse events occurred during the 12-week ingestion period. To confirm the safety of for practical use we also conducted a placebo-controlled, double-blind safety study in 40 overweight subjects with a 4-week excessive ingestion at 1800 mg/day; 6 times the dose of the 300 mg/day study that exhibited a weight-reducing effect. No clinically significant adverse events occurred during the 4-week ingestion period. Based on these findings in both human studies it was shown that is a safe ingredient for functional foods even for long-term or excessive ingestion, with a potential weight-reducing effect.

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We applied licorice flavonoid oil () to high-fat diet-induced obese C57BL/6J mice and investigated its effect. contains hydrophobic flavonoids obtained from licorice by extraction with ethanol. The oil is a mixture of medium-chain triglycerides, having glabridin, a major flavonoid of licorice, concentrated to 1.2% (w/w). Obese mice were fed on a high-fat diet containing at 0 (control), 0.5%, 1.0%, or 2.0% for 8 weeks. Compared with mice in the control group, those in the 1% and 2% groups efficiently reduced the weight of abdominal white adipose tissues and body weight gain. A histological examination revealed that the adipocytes became smaller and the fatty degenerative state of the hepatocytes was improved in the 2% group. A DNA microarray analysis of the liver showed up-regulation of those genes for beta-oxidation and down-regulation of those for fatty acid synthesis in the 2% group. These findings suggest that prevented and ameliorated diet-induced obesity via the regulation of lipid metabolism-related gene expression in the liver.

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  The LaFeO_x () powder for pulsed laser deposition (PLD) target was prepared by Pechini method. The fired temperature was optimized at 800ºC to obtain small particle with dominantly 0.8 μm in diameter without any other phases. The target surface after PLD deposition was quite smooth, resulting in the constant growth rate of 0.0671 unis/sec with 135.4 units in film thickness. The intensity of the specular spot, using high-pressure reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) equipment, showed oscillation until the end of the growth, indicating the layer-by-layer growth. The film surface was step-terraces structure. Around Bragg diffraction, Laue oscillation was clearly observed. All obtained results revealed that the film was perfect using dense target, the powder of which was prepared by Pechini method.

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Licorice flavonoid oil (), which contains hydrophobic flavonoids from Glycyrrhiza glabra LINNE, is a new ingredient for functional foods. In this study, we investigated the anti-obesity action of in diet-induced obese rats. The addition of 2% in a high-fat diet significantly decreased the weight of abdominal adipose tissue and the levels of hepatic and plasma triglycerides. We found that the enzymatic activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and fatty acid synthase, the rate-limiting enzymes in the fatty acid synthetic pathway, were significantly decreased by , whereas the enzymatic activity of acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, the rate-limiting enzyme in the fatty acid oxidative pathway, was significantly increased. All our findings suggest that the anti-obesity action of is controlled by regulation of the rate-limiting enzymes in the fatty acid synthetic and oxidative pathways in the liver.

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Dietary licorice fravonoid oil () significantly decreased hepatic cholesterol and plasma lipoprotein cholesterol levels in high-fat diet rats. It significantly suppressed hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA synthase activity and increased cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase activity. The low density lipoprotein receptor mRNA level was significantly increased by . These results suggest that dietary improves cholesterol metabolism in obese animals.

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Superlattice composed of alternative growth of 7 units CaFeOX (CFO) and 5 units BiFeO₃ (BFO) for 14 times was grown on 7 units grown LaFeO₃ () / SrTiO₃(001) substrate. The 7 units was used as calibration layer for CFO/BFO superlattice because an intensity oscillation of a RHEED specular spot of 135.4 units single layer maintained until the end of the growth, and the estimation thickness from initial RHEED oscillation period was consistent with the XRD result. Smooth surface and streaky RHEED pattern were observed in the superlattice. From the result of 2θ-θ XRD, we can clearly see the satellite peaks from -4 to +4, indicating the superstructure with smooth interface. Superstructure unit was calculated at 4.750 nm with an average lattice parameter of 0.3848 nm. Those values were consistent with the result of low angle x-ray reflection with the error less than 0.45%. The initial deposited film thickness was 2.817 nm (7.10 units). Superstructure unit was composed of 2.564 nm (6.942 units) of CFO and 2.165 nm (5.319 units) of BFO, and totally 4.729 nm.

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Licorice, the root of the Glycyrrhiza species, is one of the most frequently employed botanicals in traditional medicines. In this study, we investigated the effects of hydrophobic flavonoids from Glycyrrhiza glabra LINNE on abdominal fat accumulation and blood glucose level in obese diabetic KK-A^y mice. In order to enrich a fraction of hydrophobic flavonoids, licorice flavonoid oil () was prepared by further extracting licorice ethanolic extract with medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), and adjusting the concentration of glabridin, the major flavonoid of licorice, to 1.2% in oil. KK-A^y mice aged 6 weeks were assigned to 5 groups (n=6 each), and fed a high-fat diet containing 0 (control), 0.5%, 1%, or 2% , or 0.5% conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) for 4 weeks. Compared with the control, body weight gain and weights of abdominal adipose tissues were suppressed (p<0.05) by feeding the diet containing 2% , and blood glucose levels after 2 and 4 weeks were suppressed by all of the diets containing . Although CLA feeding suppressed (p<0.05) body weight gain, it increased (p<0.05) blood glucose level after 2 weeks compared with the control level. Furthermore, and licorice ethanolic extract stimulated human adipocyte differentiation in vitro. These results indicate that licorice hydrophobic flavonoids have abdominal fat-lowering and hypoglycemic effects, possibly mediated via activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ).

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Bioavailability of glabridin was elucidated to show that this compound is one of the active components in the traditional medicine licorice. Using a model of intestinal absorption, Caco-2 cell monolayer, incorporation of glabridin was examined. Glabridin was easily incorporated into the cells and released to the basolateral side at a permeability coefficient of 1.70±0.16 cm/s×10⁵. The released glabridin was the aglycone form and not a conjugated form. Then, 10 mg (30 μmol)/kg body weight of standard chemical glabridin and licorice flavonoid oil () containing 10 mg/kg body weight of glabridin were administered orally to rats, and the blood concentrations of glabridin was determined. Glabridin showed a maximum concentration 1 h after the dose, of 87 nmol/L for standard glabridin and 145 nmol/L for glabridin, and decreased gradually over 24 h after the dose. The level of incorporation into the liver was about 0.43% of the dosed amount 2 h after the dose. These detected glabridins were in the aglycone form and not conjugated forms. The bioavailability was calculated to be AUC_inf of 0.825 and 1.30 μM·h and elimination T_1/2 of 8.2 and 8.5 h for standard glabridin and , respectively. Adipocytokine levels were determined in the rats. The secreted amount of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 was significantly lower in the glabridin group compared to control vehicle group. Thus, dietary glabridin was at least partly incorporated into the body in an unchanged form, though most dietary flavonoids are converted to non-active conjugate forms during intestinal absorption.

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The motion stability of a vehicle depends on yaw-rate and side-slip angle. These two variables affect each other, and therefore, we performed decoupling control of yaw-rate and side-slip angle of an electric vehicle (EV) with active steering and torque difference between left and right in-wheel motors. However the robustness of decoupling control is fragile for road condition. Hence, we propose lateral force observer () that is highly robust to variations in the cornering stiffness. and yaw-moment observer (YMO) are used in an EV with an active steering and two in-wheel motors. In this paper, we compare the robustness of the proposed method and that of the decoupling-control method by means of an experiment. The results show that the proposed method delivers a better performance than that of the conventional method.

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Learning from Observation () has been widely applied in various types of robot system. It helps reduce the work of the programmer. But the available systems have application limited to rigid objects. Deformable objects are not considered. In this paper, we choose the knot tying as case study for operation on nonrigid bodies.

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TheLearning from Observation () paradigm has been widely applied in various types of robot systems. It helps reduce the work of the programmer. However, so far, the available systems have application limited to rigid objects. Deformable objects are not considered, because: (1) it is difficult to describe their states and (2) too many operations are possible on them. In this paper, we choose knot-tying tasks as case study for operating on deformable objects, since theknot theoryis available and since types of operations are limited. In actuality, we introduce an appropriate representation for describing knot's states and define four types of operations enough to realize any knot-tying tasks.

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This paper proposes a method for imitating human regrasping motion by a robot. The method is based on the learning from observation () paradigm, in which human motion is recognized by a task model and robot motion is reproduced from the recognized task sequence. For designing a task model for regrasping, we focused on a topological criterion, Gauss linking integral (GLI), which represents a tangle state of two strands. Fingers and an object are represented by strands in this study, and the relationship among them is described in a topological way based on GLI. In this paper, first, a task model for regrasping is proposed, and then, a method for recognizing human regrasping motion using the task model is described. Next, the proposed method is validated by reproducing a regrasping movement in a robotic hand. Human regrasping movements of a pen-like object are considered. The successful reproduction of the regrasping movement verifies the proposed methodology to be useful and proved that it is feasible to control a robotic hand by imitating human.

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