There is considerable interest in extraction of rare earth elements from NdFeB magnets to enable recycling of these elements. In practical extraction methods using wet processes, the acid waste solution discharge is a problem that must be resolved to reduce the environmental impact of the process. Here, we present an encouraging demonstration of rare earth element extraction from a NdFeB magnet using a closed-loop hydrochloric acid (HCl)-based process. The extraction method is based on corrosion of the magnet in a pretreatment stage and a subsequent ionic liquid technique for Fe extraction from the HCl solution. The rare earth elements are then precipitated using oxalic acid. Triple extraction has been conducted and the recovery ratio of the rare earth elements from the solution is approximately 50% for each extraction process, as compared to almost 100% recovery when using a one-shot extraction process without the ionic liquid but with sufficient oxalic acid. Despite its reduced extraction efficiency, the proposed method with its small number of procedures at almost room temperature is still highly advantageous in terms of both cost and environmental friendliness. This study represents an initial step towards realization of a closed-loop acid process for recycling of rare earth elements.

The aim of this study is to propose a novel system that has an ability to detect intra-fractional motion during radiotherapy treatment in real-time using three-dimensional surface taken by a depth camera, Microsoft Kinect v1. Our approach introduces three new aspects for three-dimensional surface tracking in radiotherapy treatment. The first aspect is a new algorithm for noise reduction of depth values. Ueda's algorithm was implemented and enabling a fast least square regression of depth values. The second aspect is an application for detection of patient's motion at multiple points in thracoabdominal regions. The third aspect is an estimation of three-dimensional surface from multiple depth values. For evaluation of noise reduction by Ueda's algorithm, two respiratory patterns are measured by the Kinect as well as a laser range meter. The resulting cross correlation coefficients between the laser range meter and the Kinect were 0.982 for abdominal respiration and 0.995 for breath holding. Moreover, the mean cross correlation coefficients between the signals of our system and the signals of Anzai with respect to participant's respiratory motion were 0.90 for thoracic respiration and 0.93 for abdominal respiration, respectively. These results proved that the performance of the developed system was comparable to existing motion monitoring devices. Reconstruction of three-dimensional surface also enabled us to detect the irregular motion and breathing arrest by comparing the averaged depth with predefined threshold values.

A method for global simultaneous optimization of oil, hysteretic and inertial dampers is proposed for building structures using a real-valued genetic algorithm and local search. Oil dampers has the property that they can reduce both displacement and acceleration without significant change of natural frequencies and hysteretic dampers possess the characteristic that they can absorb energy efficiently and reduce displacement effectively in compensation for the increase of acceleration. On the other hand, inertial dampers can change (prolong) the natural periods with negative stiffness and reduce the effective input and the maximum acceleration in compensation for the increase of deformation. By using the proposed simultaneous optimization method, structural designers can select the best choice of these three dampers from the viewpoints of cost and performance indices (displacement, acceleration). For attaining the global optimal solution which cannot be attained by the conventional sensitivity-based approach, a method including a real-valued genetic algorithm and local search is devised. In the first stage, a real-valued genetic algorithm is used for searching an approximate global optimal solution. Then a local search procedure is activated for enhancing the optimal character of the solutions by reducing the total quantity of three types of dampers. It is demonstrated that a better design from the viewpoint of global optimality can be obtained by the proposed method and the preference of damper selection strongly depends on the design target (displacement, acceleration). Finally, a multi-objective optimization for the minimum deformation and acceleration is investigated.