Mitsubishi UFJ Research & Consulting (Japan)

Abstract. We have updated the Regional Emission inventory in ASia (REAS) as version 2.1. REAS 2.1 includes most major air pollutants and greenhouse gases from each year during 2000 and 2008 and following areas of Asia: East, Southeast, South, and Central Asia and the Asian part of Russia. Emissions are estimated for each country and region using updated activity data and parameters. Monthly gridded data with a 0.25° × 0.25° resolution are also provided. Asian emissions for each species in 2008 are as follows (with their growth rate from 2000 to 2008): 56.9 Tg (+34%) for SO2, 53.9 Tg (+54%) for NOx, 359.5 Tg (+34%) for CO, 68.5 Tg (+46%) for non-methane volatile organic compounds, 32.8 Tg (+17%) for NH3, 36.4 Tg (+45%) for PM10, 24.7 Tg (+42%) for PM2.5, 3.03 Tg (+35%) for black carbon, 7.72 Tg (+21%) for organic carbon, 182.2 Tg (+32%) for CH4, 5.80 Tg (+18%) for N2O, and 16.0 Pg (+57%) for CO2. By country, China and India were respectively the largest and second largest contributors to Asian emissions. Both countries also had higher growth rates in emissions than others because of their continuous increases in energy consumption, industrial activities, and infrastructure development. In China, emission mitigation measures have been implemented gradually. Emissions of SO2 in China increased from 2000 to 2006 and then began to decrease as flue-gas desulphurization was installed to large power plants. On the other hand, emissions of air pollutants in total East Asia except for China decreased from 2000 to 2008 owing to lower economic growth rates and more effective emission regulations in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Emissions from other regions generally increased from 2000 to 2008, although their relative shares of total Asian emissions are smaller than those of China and India. Tables of annual emissions by country and region broken down by sub-sector and fuel type, and monthly gridded emission data with a resolution of 0.25° × 0.25° for the major sectors are available from the following URL: http://www.nies.go.jp/REAS/.

BACKGROUND: Procedural results for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in coronary vessels with chronic total occlusion (CTO) have improved in recent years, and PCI strategies have moved toward more complete revascularization with more liberal use of CTO-PCI. However, evidence evaluating CTO-PCI is limited to observational studies and small clinical trials. METHODS: In this open-label, multicenter, randomized, noninferiority trial, PCI-eligible patients were assigned to receive either 1 of 2 strategies: PCI or no PCI for the qualifying de novo CTO lesion with the option for PCI of obstructive non-CTO lesions at the discretion of the operator. The primary end point was a composite of death, myocardial infarction, stroke, or any revascularization. Health-related quality of life was assessed at baseline and at 1, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months. Because of slow recruitment, the trial was stopped before completion of the 1284 planned enrollments. RESULTS: Between March 2010 and September 2016, 834 patients were randomly assigned to the CTO-PCI (n=417) or no CTO-PCI (n=398) strategy. Among the patients assigned to the no CTO-PCI strategy, 78 (19.6%) crossed over to receive staged CTO-PCI within 3 days of randomization. The overall CTO-PCI success rate was 90.6%. Serious nonfatal complications associated with CTO-PCI occurred in 3 patients (1 stroke, 1 cardiac tamponade, and 1 patient with recurrent episodes of ventricular tachyarrhythmia induced by intracoronary thrombus). Approximately half of the patients in each group underwent PCI for an average of 1.3 non-CTO lesions, resulting in a comparable residual SYNTAX score (Synergy Between PCI With TAXUS and Cardiac Surgery; 3.7±5.4 versus 4.0±5.9, P=0.42) confined to non-CTO vessels. During a median follow-up of 4.0 years (interquartile range, 2.4 to 5.1 years), there was no significant difference between the CTO-PCI and the no CTO-PCI strategies in the incidence of the primary end point (22.3% versus 22.4%, hazard ratio, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.77 to 1.37; P=0.86). Both CTO-PCI and no CTO-PCI strategy were associated with significant improvements but without between-group differences in disease-specific health status that was sustained through 36 months. CONCLUSIONS: CTO-PCI was feasible with high success rates. There was no difference in the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events with CTO-PCI versus no CTO-PCI, but the study was limited by low power for clinical end points and high crossover rates between groups. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT01078051.

Abstract Background : The ability to isolate extracellular vesicles (EVs) from blood is vital in the development of EVs as disease biomarkers. Both serum and plasma can be used, but few studies have compared these sources in terms of the type of EVs that are obtained. The aim of this study was to determine the presence of different subpopulations of EVs in plasma and serum. Method : Blood was collected from healthy subjects, and plasma and serum were isolated in parallel. ACD or EDTA tubes were used for the collection of plasma, while serum was obtained in clot activator tubes. EVs were isolated utilising a combination of density cushion and SEC, a combination of density cushion and gradient or by a bead antibody capturing system (anti‐CD63, anti‐CD9 and anti‐CD81 beads). The subpopulations of EVs were analysed by NTA, Western blot, SP‐IRIS, conventional and nano flow cytometry, magnetic bead ELISA and mass spectrometry. Additionally, different isolation protocols for plasma were compared to determine the contribution of residual platelets in the analysis. Results : This study shows that a higher number of CD9 + EVs were present in EDTA‐plasma compared to ACD‐plasma and to serum, and the presence of CD41a on these EVs suggests that they were released from platelets. Furthermore, only a very small number of EVs in blood were double‐positive for CD63 and CD81. The CD63 + EVs were enriched in serum, while CD81 + vesicles were the rarest subpopulation in both plasma and serum. Additionally, EDTA‐plasma contained more residual platelets than ACD‐plasma and serum, and two centrifugation steps were crucial to reduce the number of platelets in plasma prior to EV isolation. Conclusion : These results show that human blood contains multiple subpopulations of EVs that carry different tetraspanins. Blood sampling methods, including the use of anti‐coagulants and choice of centrifugation protocols, can affect EV analyses and should always be reported in detail.

Summary Tropical forests in Borneo maintain a high level of productivity/biomass even under phosphorus (P)‐limited conditions. The P‐acquisition properties of roots may be an important factor that contributes to forest productivity, but they have not been well evaluated compared with above‐ground properties of plants. In this study, we analysed root acid phosphatase activity and morphological properties (surface area, diameter and tissue density of roots) of dominant tree species in three tropical montane forests on Mt. Kinabalu, Borneo, to investigate changes in root properties along a soil P availability gradient. We found at the community level that root phosphatase activity and specific root surface area (root surface area per gram root biomass) increased, and root diameter decreased, with decreasing soil P availability at the community level, and the relationship was not changed in general even if we focused on a single‐tree species distributed across multiple study sites that differ in soil P availability. Root acid phosphatase was significantly positively correlated with specific root surface area, and negatively correlated with root diameter, suggesting that finer roots have higher phosphatase activities. Furthermore, we compared root acid phosphatase activity with leaf P concentration of a given tree species and found a significant negative correlation between them. The significant correlation suggested that root P‐acquisition properties could influence leaf P concentration, and/or vice versa . Below‐ground properties (i.e. root P‐acquisition properties) might be directly/indirectly linked to above‐ground properties (i.e. leaf P concentration) of a tree individual. In conclusion, the root physiological and morphological properties change along a gradient of soil P availability in the tropical montane forests. In addition, the changes in the root properties are coordinated with the changes in leaf P concentrations. The adaptive changes in the above‐ground and below‐ground properties along the soil P gradient could contribute to the maintenance of forest productivity in the tropical montane forest in Borneo.

BACKGROUND: There are multiple approaches for estimating emissions and removals arising from harvested wood products (HWP) based on differences between when and where a given carbon stock change is calculated. At this moment, countries are free to use any HWP approach to prepare their annual greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory and determine emission reduction targets for their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), although under the Paris Agreement (PA), the production approach is used for standard reporting in GHG inventories. Global double-counting and non-counting of HWP might occur depending on the HWP approach each country uses; however, the impact of such double-counting and non-counting has not been thoroughly evaluated. RESULTS: We identified all cases of global double-counting and non-counting of HWP for combinations of the six HWP approaches: 'instantaneous oxidation', 'stock-change', 'production', 'stock-changes approach for HWP of domestic origin (SCAD)', 'simple-decay' and 'atmospheric-flow' approaches. In Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), forest land is often partly or completely excluded, especially by developing countries. In such cases, HWP approaches that require comprehensive national data on wood harvesting and trade are not suitable for estimating HWP contributions. In addition, most developing countries apply the 'instantaneous oxidation' at the time of harvesting. Recent GHG inventories from Annex I countries show the averaged contribution of annual HWP emissions or removals to national total emissions is nearly 1%; therefore, the potential contribution of HWP to the accounted emission reduction volume is assumed to be a smaller value. CONCLUSIONS: Instantaneous oxidation remains a pragmatic approach for countries in which wood production is not a dominant part of the economy. The combination of 'instantaneous oxidation' with the 'production', 'SCAD' or 'simple-decay' approaches could be a practical solution to realize a global HWP accounting approach the eliminates double-counting. Regardless of how global double-counting and non-counting occur, the amount is not large. To improve the accuracy of the global assessment, it is important to reduce the uncertainty of estimation regarding when and how much HWP-related emissions occur at national level.

Abstract Disturbances to forest catchments have profound effects on the environment of headwater streams and have an impact on suspended sediment (SS) management. Forest harvesting is a dominant factor in increasing SS yields. Road construction, skidder activity and ploughing associated with harvesting cause serious soil disturbance that results in SS increases. However, few studies have shown whether harvesting itself increases SS yields. This study examined how harvesting influenced SS yields in a steep forested area. During harvesting, soil surface disturbance was prevented as much as possible by using skyline logging treatments and piling branches and leaves at selected locations in the watershed. Using these methods, the representative SS rating curve did not change significantly after harvesting. The results also show that the characteristics of SS transport were related to the SS source area, and reveal that the riparian zone/stream bank was a dominant SS source area at the study site. Annual SS yields did not increase despite increasing annual water yields after harvesting. The limited water capacity of the soil at the study site likely led to only slight differences in pre‐ and post‐harvest water discharge from heavy rainfall events. Most SS was transported during heavy rainfall events, and increases in SS yields were not detected after harvesting. We concluded that it is possible to prevent post‐harvest SS increases by performing careful, low‐impact harvesting procedures. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Since its introduction with Bitcoin in 2009, blockchain technology has received tremendous attention by academia, industry, politics and media alike, in particular, through extended blockchain-based visions such as smart contracts, decentralized finance, and, most recently, Web3. The critical prerequisite for any such blockchain-based vision to be turned into reality is uncapped scalability. Furthermore, and equally important, blockchain technology needs to transcend the stage of specialized tokens into an adaptive, heterogeneous tokenization platform. In this paper, we explain the Alphabill family of technologies that addresses both unlimited scalability and unrestricted adaptivity.We deliver a sharded blockchain technology with unlimited scalability and performance, called KSI Cash, which is based on a new form of electronic money scheme, the bill scheme. We present performance tests of KSI Cash that we have conducted with the European Central Bank and a group of eight national central banks from the Eurosystem in order to assess the technological feasibility of a digital euro.We show the system operating with 100 million wallets and 15 thousand transactions per second (under simulation of realistic usage); having an estimated carbon footprint of 0.0001g CO2 per transaction (Bitcoin = 100 kg and more). Furthermore, we show the system operating with up to 2 million payment orders per second, an equivalent of more than 300,000 transactions per second (in a laboratory setting with the central components of KSI Cash), scaling linearly in terms of the number of deployed shards. We explain, in detail, the key concepts that unlock this performance (i.e., the concepts of the bill money scheme). The results provide evidence that the scalability of our technology is unlimited in both permissioned and permissionless scenarios, resulting into the Alphabill Money technology. Next, we contribute the architecture of a universal tokenization platform that allows for universal asset tokenization, transfer and exchange as a global medium of exchange, called Alphabill platform. We reveal the crucial conceptual and technical contributions of the platform’s architecture and their interplay, including the data structures of KSI Cash and Alphabill Money, the dust collection solution of Alphabill Money, and the atomic swap solution of the Alphabill platform.

This study aims to explore the role of travel-related self-efficacy in sustained behavior change. Community-based electric ride-sharing as a pilot project has been introduced to reduce residents’ reliance on private cars in Bangkok, Thailand. This study integrated the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), and goal-framing theory to explain the cognitive process from intending a trial ride to sustaining behavioral change to substitute present travel modes. A sample of 101 valid responses was collected from the service users. The findings show a pivotal role of travel-related self-efficacy in encouraging users to keep using the promoted service by finding eudaimonic and normative goals during the intervention. Multi-group analysis was further applied to examine the moderating roles of transport mode preferences on hypothesized relationships. Pilot service users showed overall high self-efficacy associated with community-based mobility, and the stated self-efficacy was positively related to the intention to sustain behavior change. However, a drastic decrease was shown in user intention to pay for the service. Additional evidence was given to inform the importance of an affordable mobility service to secure residents’ self-efficacy in daily transport. Based on research findings, this study provides recommendations on practical applications and future research directions.

Although natural disturbances are inherent in any ecosystem, they can be hazardous to the local residents, indicating that it is necessary to mitigate these disturbances as much as possible appropriately. There has been an increased interest in taking advantage of ecosystem functions for disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR) as future infrastructure because of the lower introduction, maintenance costs, and the additional ecosystem services. Previous studies have suggested that intact ecosystems have a higher tolerance and/or resilience to natural disturbances. However, fully intact ecosystems have been decreasing rapidly worldwide. This study evaluates the functions of semi-natural land, namely, paddy fields, which is one of the typical agricultural land uses of monsoon Asia to reduce the societal damages of natural disasters. As semi-natural land is sometimes located close to or is similar to the original intact habitat, it could play a role in reducing flood disasters. In particular, paddy fields could be seen to be similar to intact wetland habitats, most of which have disappeared in recent decades due to development. To test this idea, the relationships between flood disasters and paddy fields with location condition in inland regions of central Japan were evaluated. We used flow accumulation value (FAV) as an index of intact wetland habitat; particularly, we considered that high FAV area might be previously natural wetland. Thus, paddy field located at high FAV values are considered similar to intact wetland habitats. Results showed that paddy fields located in high FAV areas were able to significantly reduce flood frequencies, occurrences of landslides, and debris floods. These results suggested that semi-natural land close to or on their natural habitats could function as intact ecosystems and provide Eco-DRR function as ecosystem services. These types of semi-natural land could be employed as green infrastructure to provide several extensive ecosystem services.

In recent years, greenhouse gas emission controls that incorporate the supply chains of products and services, thereby emphasizing the role of consumers rather than producers, have been drawing increasing attention. A country's consumption-based emissions, including those due to global supply chains, reflect the total emissions on which the national economy relies. To design effective emissions control strategies there is therefore an urgent need for countries to elucidate the structural relationship between their domestic economy and emissions occurring through global supply chains. Here we consider the structural characteristics of consumption-based emissions in Japan, which in 2005 totaled 1675 Mt CO(2)eq. Outside the country the Japanese economy generated global emissions of 541 Mt CO(2)eq, 35.7% of which were UNFCCC Annex I emissions and 64.3% were non-Annex I and other emissions. This figure of 64.3% reveals that Japan is actually relying to a considerable degree on emissions that are subject to no international obligations. We identify key economic contributors to consumption-based emissions at the commodity level and specify items of household expenditure that are effective options for both financial savings and emissions reduction. We then discuss the importance of emissions control for evolving toward a "carbon-debt-free country".

Abstract The first draft scenario toward net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 for the material cycles and waste management sector was presented by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan in August 2021. The details of the future GHG emission estimation used to create the draft scenario are described in this document. For multiple scenarios where more aggressive measures, such as carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), were included in addition to business-as-usual and the current policy continuity scenario, future GHG emissions were estimated as the sum of the products of activities and emission factors indicating changes in measures between scenarios. The estimation outcomes demonstrated that future GHG emissions from the solid waste management sector could be anticipated to be zero or even negative when material conversion to biomass, primarily for plastics, recycling to raw materials, and installation of CCUS at incineration facilities are assumed. Extensions of prior plans are not enough to reach the goal of net zero emissions, according to the measures necessary and the volume and pace of their implementation suggested in this study. Stakeholders should collaborate with great ambition.

Abstract In the early 2000s, asylum seekers went primarily to destinations their countries had historical relationships, including former colonial ties, common languages and ethnic networks. Since the mid‐2000s, there has been a shift towards asylum seekers arriving in destinations without such relationships. In this study, we apply spatial interaction models to understand the factors contributing to recent asylum migration from developing countries to developed countries from 2001 to 2015. We find that the push factors of political terror, civil rights violation and poverty do not result in increased asylum migration to developed countries. Instead, they act to reduce the number of asylum seekers. We also find that interactions between a range of push factors are important for understanding the movements and that immigration policies can have considerable effects on the destination choices of asylum seekers.

The prototype model previously developed by the authors was improved in order to simulate the behavior of fire spread in an earthquake‐affected urban area. In the new model, seismic motion and heating by fire are both considered as the causes of damage to building components. The damage affects the burning behavior of a fire‐involved building, as well as the behavior of building‐to‐building fire spread. For validation of the new model, a simulation of the fire spread that followed 1995 Kobe earthquake was conducted. The behavior of the fire spread obtained by the numerical simulation was compared with the observed data. Reasonable agreement was obtained with regard to the number of burned buildings.

Polybutylene succinate (PBS) is an eco-friendly green plastic. However, PBS was shown as being non-biodegradable in marine environments, and up until now, only a limited number of PBS-degrading marine microbes have been discovered. We first set up in vitro PBS- and PBSA (polybutylene succinate adipate)-plastispheres to characterize novel PBS-degrading marine microbes. Microbial growth and oxygen consumption were observed in both PBS- and PBSA-plastispheres enriched with natural seawater collected from Usujiri, Hokkaido, Japan, and Vibrionaceae and Pseudoalteromonadaceae were significantly enriched on these films. Further gene identification indicated that vibrios belonging to the Gazogenes clade possess genes related to a PBS degrading enzyme (PBSase). The PBS degradation assay for six Gazogenes clade vibrios identified Vibrio ruber, Vibrio rhizosphaerae, and Vibrio spartinae as being capable of degrading PBS. We further identified the gene responsible for PBSase from the type strain of V. ruber, and the purified recombinant vibrio PBSase was found to have low-temperature adaptation and was active under high NaCl concentrations. We also provided docking models between the vibrio PBSase and PBS and PBSA units to show how vibrio PBSase interacts with each substrate compared to the Acidovorax PBSase. These results could contribute to a more sustainable society through further utilization of PBS in marine environments and plastic recycling.

Methane and N2O emissions were measured simultaneously in three types of decentralized wastewater treatment facilities to develop new emission factors (EFs) in Japan. Considering the ratio of the actual load to designed load and elapsed time from last desludging, 24 sites for Johkasou treating domestic wastewater, 6 sites for Johkasou treating night soil only, and 30 sites for vault toilet were selected. Gas samples were collected in the morning, afternoon, and evening for every Johkasou site. The investigation was conducted in summer and winter to estimate the annual average EFs. The EFs of CH4 and N2O of both Johkasou were higher than that used in the national greenhouse gas inventory in 2012, whereas the CH4 and N2O EFs of vault toilet were lower. Especially, N2O EF was only 1% of the national inventory in 2012, and almost zero. According to the results of these three types of decentralized wastewater treatment facilities, the emissions of CO2eq in FY2010 were 1.77 times higher than the national inventory.

Abstract Two methods exist to address the degree to which past extreme events and associated disasters will be intensified due to climate change: storyline approaches and risk-based approaches. However, the risk-based approach applied to weather similar to the target event (typhoons, a stationary weather front,…etc) becomes theoretically similar to the storyline approach. We examine this theory for the climate change impact of a real event, Typhoon Hagibis, which caused devastating flood damage to eastern Japan in 2019, while focusing on basin-averaged accumulated rainfall (BAAR) in major eastern river basins. A risk-based approach was conducted to determine the future change of BAAR by calculating the quantile change corresponding to Hagibis from the probability distribution of typhoon-induced events in a large ensemble climate simulation dataset database for Policy Decision-making for Future climate change (past, +2K and +4K future climates). A storyline approach for Typhoon Hagibis was realized using a pseudo global warming (PGW) experiment with a 5 km non-hydrostatic model. The projected BAAR in the two approaches were consistent for all target basins, supporting the robustness of the calculated changes in extreme catchment precipitation. This presents an important practical benefit: one can assess future climate change impact on a past symbolic event using either PGW experiments or large ensemble climate projections for the target weather.

This article examines the REDD+ engagement types preferred by Japanese private firms at the project level including their motivation and rationale for the engagement and explores the challenges and opportunities in relation to their participation. We analyzed 148 responses to a survey questionnaire mailed to participants across Japan and the responses from in-depth face-to-face interviews with representatives from 11 selected firms. 42 firms (28%) stated that they are interested in engaging in REDD+-related activities in the future. Of these, 33 firms aim to enhance their corporate values, while the other nine aim to increase profits. The most popular engagement types were providing support, as a form of corporate social responsibility (CSR), to third parties such as NGOs that are engaged in REDD+ projects (21 firms) and purchasing REDD+ carbon credits derived from REDD+ projects to offset the greenhouse gases emitted by the firm (or carbon-neutral CSR) (18 firms). The firms would be willing to participate in REDD+ in some form in the future if some of the current challenges are addressed. These challenges included: few opportunities for firms seeking attractive “stories” in forest conservation to pair with local partners that can help to realize the firms' “stories” or desires; difficulties in gaining understanding and trust from host countries' governments/communities; and the lack of a consortium to implement REDD+-related activities by bundling firms that find it difficult to work alone. It was also confirmed that some firms seeking profits from REDD+ carbon credit development and trading activities continue to face barriers commonly identified in earlier studies such as market uncertainty, unclear regulatory frameworks, and the costs of measuring, reporting, and verifying the carbon credits. However, the present study did not support the findings of earlier studies that the cost of CSR activities is considered to be relatively high because CSR budgeting is often based on time horizons of less than 5 years. We propose some policy initiatives designed to increase private sector participation in REDD+ that will contribute to achieving the host countries' mitigation targets in relation to both REDD+ and nationally determined contributions.

For effective REDD+ implementation with multiple readiness activities, agents and drivers of deforestation and forest degradation needs to be identified appropriately. This study examined how such identification can be utilized for instituting REDD+ activities design. We examined this question by using satellite imagery analysis and socioeconomic surveying around Gunung Palung National Park in Indonesia. After recognizing the deforestation rate in the area, the characteristics of agents and drivers of deforestation were explored by using statistical analysis. Several canonical discriminant analyses revealed that the agents and drivers could be classified effectively by using socioeconomic type rather than ethnic groups or geographical location. A principal component analysis and the associated scatter diagrams showed that various agents and drivers exist in a given area within the study region. Finally, these efforts led to the suggestion of options for REDD+ readiness activities based on the diverse features and underlying causes.

A physics-based model for post-earthquake fire spread was developed by modifying the prototype model previously proposed by the authors. In the new model, seismic motion and heating of fire are both considered as the causes of damage upon building components. The damage affects burning behavior of a fire involved building as well as behavior of building-to-building fire spread. For validation of the new model, simulation of fire spread which followed 1995 Kobe earthquake was conducted. Behavior of fire spread obtained by the numerical simulation was compared with the observed data. Reasonable agreement was obtained with regard to the number of burnt buildings.

The discrete logarithm problem (DLP) is the basis for several cryptographic primitives. Since Shor&#x2019;s work, it has been known that the DLP can be solved by combining a polynomial-size quantum circuit and a polynomial-time classical post-processing algorithm. The theoretical result corresponds the situation where a quantum device working with a medium number of qubits of very small errors can solve DLP. However, all the quantum devices that we can use have a limited number of noisy qubits, as of the noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) era. Thus, evaluating the instance size that the latest quantum device can solve, and give a future prediction of the size along the progress of quantum devices are emerging research topics. This paper contains two proposal to discuss the performance of quantum devices against DLP in the NISQ era. (1) A quantitative measure based on the success probability of the post-processing algorithm to determine whether an experiment on a quantum device (or a classical simulator) succeeded. (2) A procedure to modify bit strings observed from a Shor&#x2019;s circuit to increase the success probability of a lattice-based post-processing algorithm. We conducted our experiments with the <monospace>ibm_kawasaki</monospace> device and discovered that the simplest circuit (7 qubits) from a 2-bit DLP instance achieves a sufficiently high success probability to proclaim the experiment successful. Experiments on another circuit from a slightly harder 2-bit DLP instance, on the other hand, did not succeed, and we determined that reducing the noise level by half is required to achieve a successful experiment. Finally, we give a near-term prediction based on required noise levels to solve some selected small DLP and integer factoring instances.