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A carbon nanotube-based field-emission cathode (FEC) has been researched and developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency mainly for space-debris removal systems with electrodynamic tether (EDT) propulsion. An in-orbit experiment to demonstrate the EDT technologies including the FEC was planned and conducted in early 2017. The FEC operated well without any critical trouble during the one-week mission period. The data obtained include its electron emission capability to space plasma and its durability in low Earth orbit, which suggest the prospect of using the FEC in space.

To address the gap of sustainable development in developing countries, this study conducted a sustainability assessment of multiple neighbourhood developments in Myanmar using well-known international rating systems/tools established in developed countries. The study examined three cases, each a neighbourhood development in three significant cities, using the three rating systems. First, the study content analysed the three tools to determine the effectiveness of the rating systems. Following this, evaluation performances reflected the degree of compliance of the cases with each system through different results of specific developments. The shortcomings of the selected tools and weaknesses of the case studies determined that there is no perfect tool from developed countries to demonstrate the sustainability performance of the cases in developing countries. This research successfully interpreted the strengths and weaknesses of the Myanmar case studies to strengthen sustainability in the future.

Bicycle is widely used in Japan by people of all age groups in daily usage, which may significantly ease traffic congestion. Responding to the cyclists increasing, the method to assess the quality of bicycle travel become necessary. Previous studies reported several approaches to obtain evaluation methods. However, cycleway evaluation in Japan is still far behind the evaluation methods developed in Europe or America. This paper concentrated on familiarizing readers with two methods for evaluating the quality of bicycle facilities and then presenting some proposals of cycleway evaluation in Japan referencing to these two methods. The first method, Bicycle Compatibility Index (BCI), is used to evaluate the road environment for cycling according to the road characteristics by statistical analysis. The second method, Bicycle Level of Service (BLOS), also represents an evaluation of safety for bicyclists. Both of the above methods offered equations of comfort and safety perceptions of bicyclists according to cycling environments. By introducing these methods in combination, this paper enables the readers to maximize the comparative advantages of both BCI and BLOS. The comparison includes sensitivity of variables and the development of both methods. Then we applied BCI and BLOS to evaluate the target roadways in Kumamoto, Japan.