Search

The present study aims to verify the impact of dynamic aids on learning L2 prepositions in relation to individual learner variables. Situated within the cognitive linguistics (CL) framework and differing from previous research, the present study hypothesizes that dynamic (animated) aids are not equally effective for all learners; rather, their effectiveness differs according to learners' first languages (L1s) (Chinese or Japanese) and information-processing styles (verbalizers or imagers). To verify this hypothesis, we utilized learning materials comprised of static and dynamic images for three English spatial prepositions ("above," "on," "over"). After conducting a Style of Processing questionnaire, we administered three cloze tests (pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest) of target words to Taiwanese and Japanese participants (N = 109), whose L1s differed in terms of their linguistic proximity to English. Although no significant differences were found between the treatment groups in tests for all participants, the results were differentiated by individual factors. In results of a two-way ANOVA, Taiwanese participants showed significantly greater improvement from the pretest to posttest than Japanese participants when the participants used dynamic images, whereas the Japanese group made more learning gains from the posttest to the delayed posttest test. Moreover, imagers obtained more benefits from the visual aids, whether static or dynamic, than verbalizers. Our findings indicate that CL-based visual aids are beneficial and that individual factors, especially learners' L1, may produce different learning effects, especially in multimedia environments.

This study examines the efficacy of a multimodal online bilingual dictionary based on cognitive linguistics in order to explore the advantages and limitations of explicit multimodal L2 vocabulary learning. Previous studies have examined the efficacy of the verbal and visual representation of words while reading L2 texts, concluding that it facilitates incidental word retention. This study explores other potentials of multimodal L2 vocabulary learning: explicit learning with a multimodal dictionary could enhance not only word retention, but also text comprehension; the dictionary could serve not only as a reference tool, but also as a learning tool; and technology-enhanced visual glosses could facilitate deeper text comprehension. To verify these claims, this study investigates the effects of multimodal representations on Japanese students learning L2 locative prepositions by developing two online dictionaries, one with static pictures and one with animations. The findings show the advantage of such dictionaries in explicit learning; however, no significant differences are found between the two types of visual glosses, either in the vocabulary or in the listening tests. This study confirms the effectiveness of multimodal L2 materials, but also emphasizes the need for further research into making technologically enhanced materials more effective.

This study aims to examine the efficacy of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) of English as a foreign or second language (L2) through two perspectives: learning gain and learner autonomy. Previous studies have shown that L2 learning combined with media could activate the learning processes, resulting in an easier recall of the target vocabulary required in L2. In addition, mobileassisted L2 learning could also enhance autonomous learning inasmuch as successful MALL would have to rely mainly on the autonomous learner even in learning contexts where the goal and task are already fixed. Based on this standpoint, the study hypothesizes that the engagement in L2 learning with mobile devices along with a classroom-based writing course could make L2 learners not only achieve the target L2 lexis effectively, leading to better L2 writing performance, but also help them to be more autonomous even in a setting when the task and goal are fixed. To test this hypothesis, both empirical and questionnaire studies were conducted for Japanese undergraduates (n=94). Based on the results of three weeks of L2 academic writing practice between groups learning with and without mobile devices, the findings of our t-test analyses of learners' vocabulary recall and a questionnaire survey about learner autonomy suggested that MALL significantly contributed not only to L2 vocabulary recall in comprehensive and productive tests, but also to enhancing positive attitudes towards autonomous learning.

This study utilized the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule version 2 (WHODAS 2.0) to identify vulnerable students and explore the impact of mental and developmental disorders on disability. A total of 156 undergraduates who visited support service offices at large-scale universities in Japan between April 2018 and March 2020 were included. The 36-item WHODAS 2.0 was administered, and data were gathered regarding mental and developmental disabilities. Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests were conducted. Parents/guardians typically initiated consultation with student support services. Students whose parents had initiated consultation did not have higher scores in any WHODAS domain except "Life Activities." In every WHODAS domain except "Cognition," the "Mental Disorder" group scored significantly higher than the "No Disorder" group. The addition of "Developmental Disorders" significantly increased WHODAS scores, except in "Mobility." The WHODAS is a useful tool for identifying vulnerable students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine factors influencing attitudes toward sexual activity among early adolescents in Japan. A total of 1,551 students aged 12 to 14 years at 4 junior high schools were divided into either a conservative or liberal group. Results of chi-square tests showed that the liberal group had higher percentages of students with drinking, smoking, and sexual activity than the conservative group. The liberal group also had more dating partners and friends with sexual experiences than the conservative group. Unpaired "t" test indicated that the liberal group rated lower than the conservative group in talking to their parents about life and AIDS and teachers listening to their opinions. Furthermore, a multiple regression analysis showed that smoking, experience with sex, talking to parents about AIDS, teachers listening to participants' opinion, older dating partners, and friends with sexual experiences were all significant predictors of attitude toward sexual activity. (Contains 3 tables.)

Background: To determine the factors associated with gender differences in parent-adolescent relationships that delay first intercourse in Japan. Methods: Japanese high school students aged 15-18 years (female = 632 and male = 636) completed a questionnaire that evaluated the relationship with their parents. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to investigate the parent-adolescent relationship (including the quality of parent-adolescent communication, the frequency of parent-adolescent sexual communication, parental disapproval of the adolescent's sexual behavior, parental monitoring, parental psychological control/autonomy, and satisfaction with the parent-adolescent relationship) and the adolescent's sexual behavior. We explored student gender differences in each of the relationship patterns: mother-female student, mother-male student, father-female student, and father-male student. Results: Parental monitoring was statistically associated with delay of first intercourse in female students. While the same influences were present for male students, they also were influenced by parental disapproval of the adolescent's sexual behavior. Furthermore, more parental communication about acquired immunodeficiency syndrome was related to delaying an adolescent's first intercourse except for the relationship of father-female student. Conclusions: This study suggests that gender differences in parent-adolescent relationships delay first intercourse in Japan. (Contains 3 tables.)

Background: Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) induced by opiate use is common worldwide. Psychiatric drugs are a more common cause of NAS in Japan but infants of mothers taking psychiatric medications do not always develop NAS. The purpose of this study was to develop a practical model for predicting the onset of nonopiate‐induced NAS, using variables available at birth. Methods: In this diagnostic study, prediction models were developed using multivariable logistic regression with retrospective data collected at our hospital between 2010 and 2019. The NAS diagnosis was based on the Isobe score, and maternal medications were converted to dose equivalents. Results: A total of 164 maternal and infant dyads met the inclusion criteria; 91 were included in the analysis, of whom 29 infants (32%) were diagnosed with NAS. Final models were created with and without the drug indices. The model without the drug indices consisted of neonatal head circumference in z‐scores and Apgar scores at 5 min < 9, and the model with the drug indices included these, as well as antipsychotics and hypnotics indices. The C‐statistics were 0.747 (95% CI: 0.638–0.856), and 0.795 (95% CI: 0.683–0.907), respectively, indicating that the models possessed good predictive accuracy for NAS onset. Conclusions: This study developed models that predicted nonopiate‐induced NAS accurately. They may be further improved through the use of drug indices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To date, no interventional trial has assessed the efficacy and safety of vonoprazan and high‐dose (500 mg four times daily, 2000 mg/day) amoxicillin dual therapy in terms of Helicobacter pylori eradication. We explored whether this was an appropriate first‐line treatment. Methods: This prospective, dual‐center, single‐arm interventional study was performed in Japan. Twenty H. pylori‐positive patients lacking any eradication history were treated with vonoprazan 20 mg twice daily and amoxicillin 500 mg four times daily (qid) for 7 days. Eradication was evaluated using a stool H. pylori antigen test. We evaluated safety using patient questionnaires. This study was registered in the jRCT database (jRCT031200128). Results: The intention‐to‐treat and per‐protocol eradication rates were 90% (95% confidence interval [CI] 68.3–98.8%, n = 20) and 94.4% (95% CI 72.7–99.9%, n = 18) respectively. No significant adverse event was recorded. Conclusion: Vonoprazan/high‐dose amoxicillin dual therapy can be a safe standard first‐line therapy. We are now undergoing a randomized controlled trial comparing dual therapy and vonoprazan‐based triple therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To compare the loudness functions (loudness ratings as a function of sound level) obtained from patients diagnosed as having functional hearing loss (FHL) with those for patients with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and healthy volunteers. Loudness functions for a 1000 Hz tone for patients with FHL and SNHL were assessed based on the categorical loudness scaling method. The data were compared with control data obtained in our facilities. 18 patients (33 ears) with FHL and 10 patients (19 ears) with SNHL. For patients with SNHL and healthy volunteers, loudness increased progressively with increasing sound level above the audiometric threshold, with no exceptions. However, for about 70% of the patients with FHL, a different type of loudness function was obtained; the thresholds determined from the loudness function, which were defined as the minimum sound levels at which loudness could be judged, were 10 dB or more lower than the audiometric threshold (>10 dB), and/or the loudness ratings were elevated for a sound at the audiometric threshold. The results support the hypothesis that patients with FHL often make threshold judgments based on a certain loudness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To examine attitudes toward preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT‐A) in patients with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) because it has been performed worldwide in spite of little evidence regarding whether it can improve the live birth rate and prevent miscarriage. There has been no study to examine attitudes toward PGT‐A in patients with RPL. Methods: We conducted a cross‐sectional study that used a questionnaire to examine attitudes toward PGT‐A, the desire for PGT‐A and the factors associated with this desire in 386 patients with RPL between November 2014 and January 2019. Results: Overall, 25.1% of patients desired PGT‐A and 35.2% answered that they knew about it. Regarding the reasons for wanting PGT‐A, 42.3% thought that it would insure a live birth and with complete case analysis, showed that the patients' wish for PGT‐A as a means of giving live birth was affected by their IVF‐ET history (adjusted odds ratio 2.7, 95% CI 1.2–7.2) and whether they had any knowledge of PGT‐A (2.4, 1.1–5.3). Those with a higher total family income (3.5, 1.2–10.1) and a previous IVF‐ET (4.6, 2.0–10.3) tended to want PGT‐A as a means of avoiding miscarriage. Conclusion: The majority had no opinion or a poor knowledge of PGT‐A. More patients who self‐assessed as knowing about PGT‐A or who had undergone IVF‐ET had the above type of misunderstanding. Accurate and up‐to‐date information from facilities different from those in which PGT‐A is performed is necessary before reaching a decision on PGT‐A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Severe combined immunodeficiency ( SCID) is the most severe form of primary immunodeficiency disease, and it is characterized by marked impairment in cellular and humoral immunity. Mutations in several genes cause SCID, one of which is Janus kinase 3 ( JAK3), resulting in autosomal recessive T(-)B(+) NK(-) SCID. Only three patients with JAK3-deficient SCID have been reported in Japan. We herein describe the case of a 6-month-old girl with pneumocystis pneumonia, who was diagnosed with SCID with compound heterozygous JAK3 mutations (c.1568G>A + c.421-10G>A). One of the mutations was previously reported in another Japanese patient. The other mutation was a novel and de novo relatively deep intronic mutation causing aberrant RNA splicing. The patient was successfully treated with bone marrow transplantation from a haploidentical donor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the prevalence of fall from playground equipment particularly the children in Japan. It states that the number of victims of accidents in daily life is greater than those caused by traffic accidents wherein the common cause is fall accidents. It examines the importance to children from fall accidents in playgrounds.

The aim of the present study was to compare risk factors for problematic Internet use (PIU) among Japanese and Chinese university students. A sample of 267 Japanese and 236 Chinese first year university students responded to questionnaires on the severity of PIU, depression, self-image/image of others, and perceived parental child-rearing styles. The results indicated that Japanese participants were more likely to demonstrate PIU than their Chinese counterparts. Compared to Chinese students, Japanese students reported more negative self-image, lower parental care, greater overcontrol, and higher depression scores. The PIU group had a higher depression score compared to the normal Internet use group. Compared with the non-PIU group, the PIU group consisted of more male and Japanese participants. Further, they tended to have more negative self-images, saw their mothers to be less caring, and perceived their mothers and fathers as more overcontrolling. PIU is strongly associated with depression, negative self-image, and parental relations. Finally, mediation analysis revealed that such national differences in PIU between Japanese and Chinese were clarified in depression and perceived mother’s care. This cross-national study indicated that depression and perceived mother’s care were both significant risk factors that were associated with the national difference in PIU between Japanese and Chinese participants. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: This study focused on the role which static shear plays on the large deformation behavior of loose saturated sand during undrained cyclic loading. A series of undrained cyclic torsional shear tests was performed on saturated Toyoura sand specimens up to single amplitude shear strain exceeding 50%. Three types of cyclic loading patterns, i.e., stress reversal, intermediate and non-reversal, were employed by varying the initial static shear level and the cyclic shear stress amplitude. The observed types of failure could be distinguished into liquefaction (cyclic and rapid flow) and residual deformation by comparing both monotonic and cyclic undrained behavior. It was found that the presence of initial static shear does not always lead to an increase in the resistance to liquefaction or strain accumulation; they could either increase or decrease with an increasing initial static shear level depending on the type of loading pattern and failure behavior. In addition, according to the failure behavior which the specimens exhibited, three modes of development of large residual deformation were observed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

CO mitigation and the stable supply of raw materials are two major issues for the steel industry. The Japanese steel industry has promoted short term developments and investments to comply with the Japan Iron and Steel Federation's voluntary action plan in parallel with developing plans for drastic CO mitigation programs toward the post Kyoto protocol period. This paper describes short-term measures in the ironmaking field such as natural gas injection technology to the sintering bed and burden distribution control with coke mixed charging. For mid and long term CO mitigation, the joint project, 'Preparatory research work for the blast furnace based innovative ironmaking technologies' was actively promoted by the New Energy and industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) from FY2006 to FY2008. Based on the enhancement of carbon - CO reaction by close positioning of carbon and iron oxide/metallic iron, the production process and reaction mechanism in a blast furnace were studied for two innovative composites with iron oxide, metallic iron and carbon. For development at a pilot plant scale, a new project, 'Development of innovative ironmaking process using low cost iron ore and coal' started in FY2009. Key technologies of the project are the production process and evaluation in a blast furnace of a hybrid composite of metallic iron and carbon, so called 'Ferro-coke'. This paper describes key technologies and recent developments of the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analysed the epidemiological data and clinical features of patients with prion diseases that had been registered by the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Committee, Japan, over the past 10 years, since 1999. We obtained information on 1685 Japanese patients suspected as having prion diseases and judged that 1222 patients had prion diseases, consisting of definite (n = 180, 14.7%) and probable (n = 1029, 84.2%) cases, except for dura mater graft-associated Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease which also included possible cases (n = 13, 1.1%). They were classified into 922 (75.5%) with sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, 216 (17.7%) with genetic prion diseases, 81 (6.6%) with acquired prion diseases, including 80 cases of dura mater graft-associated Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and one case of variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, and three cases of unclassified Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (0.2%). The annual incidence rate of prion disease ranged from 0.65 in 1999 to 1.10 in 2006, with an average of 0.85, similar to European countries. Although methionine homozygosity at codon 129 polymorphism of the prion protein gene was reported to be very common (93%) in the general Japanese population, sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in Japan was significantly associated with codon 129 homozygosity (97.5%), as reported in western countries. In sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, MM1 type (Parchi’s classification) is the most common, as in western countries. Among atypical sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease cases, the MM2 type appeared most common, probably related to the very high proportion of methionine allele in the Japanese population. As for iatrogenic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, only dura mater graft-associated Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease cases were reported in Japan and, combined with the data from previous surveillance systems, the total number of dura mater graft-associated Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease was 138, comprising the majority of worldwide dura mater graft-associated Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease patients. Regarding genetic prion diseases, the most common mutation of prion protein gene was V180I (41.2%), followed by P102L (18.1%), E200K (17.1%) and M232R (15.3%), and this distribution was quite different from that in Europe. In particular, V180I and M232R were quite rare mutations worldwide. Patients with V180I or M232R mutations rarely had a family history of prion diseases, indicating that a genetic test for sporadic cases is necessary to distinguish these from sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. In conclusion, our prospective 10-year surveillance revealed a frequent occurrence of dura mater graft-associated Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, and unique phenotypes of sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and genetic prion diseases related to the characteristic distribution of prion protein gene mutations and polymorphisms in Japan, compared with those in western countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There have been more than 400 patients who contracted Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) via a medical procedure, that is, through the use of neurosurgical instruments, intracerebral electroencephalographic electrodes (EEG), human pituitary hormone, dura mater grafts, corneal transplant, and blood transfusion. The number of new patients with iatrogenic CJD has decreased; however, cases of variant CJD that was transmitted via blood transfusion have been reported since 2004. Clearly, iatrogenic transmission of CJD remains a serious problem. Recently, we investigated medical procedures (any surgery, neurosurgery, ophthalmic surgery, and blood transfusion) performed on patients registered by the CJD Surveillance Committee in Japan during a recent 9-year period. In a case-control study comprising 753 sporadic CJD (sCJD) patients and 210 control subjects, we found no evidence that prion disease was transmitted via the investigated medical procedures before onset of sCJD. In a review of previously reported case-control studies, blood transfusion was never shown to be a significant risk factor for CJD; our study yielded the same result. Some case-control studies reported that surgery was a significant risk factor for sCJD. However, when surgical procedures were categorized by type of surgery, the results were conflicting, which suggests that there is little possibility of prion transmission via surgical procedures. In our study, 4.5% of sCJD patients underwent surgery after onset of sCJD, including neurosurgeries in 0.8% and ophthalmic surgeries in 1.9%. The fact that some patients underwent surgery, including neurosurgery, even after the onset of sCJD indicates that we cannot exclude the possibility of prion transmission via medical procedures. We must remain vigilant against prion diseases to reduce the risk of iatrogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Up to February 2008, a total of 132 patients with dura mater graft-associated Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (dCJD) have been identified in Japan, accounting for a majority of the world's patients with dCJD. The patients received dura mater grafts from 1978 to 1993. Lyodura® (B. Braun, Melsungen, Germany) was used for all the patients in whom the brand name of the dura mater could be identified. After the incubation period of 1 to 25 years (mean, 11.8 years), CJD appeared from 1985 through to 2006. We analyzed clinical, pathological, and molecular features in 74 patients with dCJD who had been prospectively registered by the CJD Surveillance Committee. The cases of dCJD could be classified into two distinct clinicopathological phenotypes: a non-plaque type, showing typical features identical with those of classic CJD, and a plaque type, characterized by atypical features, including slow progression, lack of or late occurrence of periodic sharp wave complexes on EEG, and plaque formation in the brain. The plaque type accounted for one-third of the pathologically confirmed or clinically diagnosed cases of dCJD. The non-plaque type was associated with methionine homozygosity at codon 129 (129M/M) of the PrP gene in all patients, except for in one patient with the 129M/valine (V) genotype and type 1 protease-resistant PrP (PrPres), whereas the plaque type was always associated with the 129M/M genotype and the intermediate type between types 1 and 2 of PrPres in all cases. Thus, the clinicopathological and molecular features of the plaque type are distinct from those of the non-plaque type, suggesting contamination of the dura mater grafts with different prion strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To elucidate the association between medical procedures and sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), we analyzed medical procedures (any surgical procedure, neurosurgery, ophthalmic surgery, and blood transfusion) for patients registered by the CJD Surveillance Committee in Japan during 1999-2008. We conducted an age-stratified case-control study with 753 sCJD patients and 210 controls and a study of patients who underwent neurosurgical or ophthalmic surgical procedures at the same hospital. Although the control group was relatively small, no evidence was found that prion disease was transmitted through the investigated medical procedures before onset of sCJD. After onset of sCJD, 4.5% of the sCJD patients underwent operations, including neurosurgical for 0.8% and ophthalmic for 1.9%; no special precautions against transmission of prion diseases were taken. Fortunately, we have not identified patients with prion disease attributed to these operations. Our findings indicate that surgical procedures or blood transfusion had little effect on the incidence of sCJD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this survey was to assess the accuracy of a family physician's diagnosis of depression and alcoholism. Methods: Consecutive new adult patients attending a family practice in Japan between April 2004 and August 2006 were enrolled. Excluded were those with dementia or visual disturbance, and emergency cases. Participants completed a questionnaire regarding their complaints and socio- demographics. A research nurse conducted the Japanese version of the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (J-MINI) in the interview room. The doctor independently performed usual practice and recorded his own clinical diagnoses. A researcher listed the clinical diagnoses and complaints, including J-MINI or clinically-diagnosed alcoholism and depression, using the International Classifications for Primary Care, Second Edition (ICPC-2) and calculated kappa statistics between the J-MINI and clinical diagnoses. Results: Of the 120 adult first-visit patients attending the clinics, 112 patients consented to participate in the survey and were enrolled. Fifty-one subjects were male and 61 female, and the average age was 40.7 ± 13.2 years. Eight alcohol-related disorders and five major depressions were diagnosed using the J-MINI, whereas no cases of alcoholism and eight depressions were diagnosed by the physician. Clinically overlooked patients tended to have acute illnesses like a common cold. Concordance between the clinical and research diagnosis was achieved only for three episodes of Major depression, resulting in a kappa statistic of 0.43. Conclusion: Although almost half of the major depressions were identified, all alcoholism was missed. A mental health screening instrument might be beneficial in family practice, especially to detect alcoholism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Tsushima Basin is located in the southwestern Japan Sea, which is a back-arc basin in the northwestern Pacific. Although some geophysical surveys had been conducted to investigate the formation process of the Tsushima Basin, it remains unclear. In 2000, to clarify the formation process of the Tsushima Basin, the seismic velocity structure survey with ocean bottom seismometers and airguns was carried out at the southeastern Tsushima Basin and its margin, which are presumed to be the transition zone of the crustal structure of the southwestern Japan Island Arc. The crustal thickness under the southeastern Tsushima Basin is about 17 km including a 5 km thick sedimentary layer, and 20 km including a 1.5 km thick sedimentary layer under its margin. The whole crustal thickness and thickness of the upper part of the crust increase towards the southwestern Japan Island Arc. On the other hand, thickness of the lower part of the crust seems more uniform than that of the upper part. The crust in the southeastern Tsushima Basin has about 6 km/s layer with the large velocity gradient. Shallow structures of the continental bank show that the accumulation of the sediments started from lower Miocene in the southeastern Tsushima Basin. The crustal structure in southeastern Tsushima Basin is not the oceanic crust, which is formed ocean floor spreading or affected by mantle plume, but the rifted/extended island arc crust because magnitudes of the whole crustal and the upper part of the crustal thickening are larger than that of the lower part of the crustal thickening towards the southwestern Japan Island Arc. In the margin of the southeastern Tsushima Basin, high velocity material does not exist in the lowermost crust. For that reason, the margin is inferred to be a non-volcanic rifted margin. The asymmetric structure in the both margins of the southeastern and Korean Peninsula of the Tsushima Basin indicates that the formation process of the Tsushima Basin may be simple shear style rather than pure shear style. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract Abnormal illness behavior, such as hypochondriacal attitude and inappropriate treatment-seeking, has been associated with various psychiatric disorders in which patients tend to abuse medical services and seek inappropriate treatment in general practice clinics rather than psychiatric clinics. However, the relationship between illness behavior and psychiatric disorders in Japan is yet to be elucidated. We examined the abnormal illness behavior of 243 patients who visited the outpatient department of psychiatry at Saga Medical School Hospital, Saga, Japan, using a Japanese version of the Illness Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ). Multivariate analysis indicated significant association between some of the IBQ scale scores and age, sex and employment status. Patients with anxiety disorder scored higher on five of the seven IBQ scales compared with patients with another major disorder (mood disorder, schizophrenia or somatoform disorder). When compared with the IBQ scale scores reported in Australian patients in a psychiatric hospital, most of the IBQ scale scores differed significantly in our patients; a higher score among Japanese patients on the general hypochondriasis scale was most prominent. A similar trend in IBQ scale scores was also noted among Japanese patients visiting the hospital's general medicine clinic in comparison with Australian patients visiting a general practice clinic. Japanese patients with anxiety disorder may display the most salient abnormal illness behaviors among patients with psychiatric disorders. Sociocultural background may contribute to the characteristic abnormal illness behaviors of Japanese patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of 'cultural studies' has had a major impact in Japan, where many of the seminal English-language texts have been translated and discussed. Even before the Second World War and immediately after, however, Japan had its own intellectual background which set the foundations for this development. This essay looks at that background - through the writings of Tosaka Jun, Nakai Masakazu, Tsurumi Shunsuke and Katô Shûichi. It then examines how British cultural studies made its way to Japan and how it was received there, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s. Finally, it points to the research areas in which Japanese cultural studies has found fertile soil and why. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presets information on a study on a coupled water quantity/quality model developed and applied to estimate ground water recharge and stimulate tracer concentrations in the Ibi River Basin of Japan. Hydrologic data of the river; Information on the model; Parameter calibration.

Abstract: A multi-purpose seismic experiment named the 2002 integrated seismic experiment Southwest Japan was conducted in 2002 along a more-than-240-km-long line across southwest Japan from the Pacific coast to the Japan Sea coast. Its profile provides the first crustal-scale cross section across the Japanese island arc, which highlights a number of significant points related to the structural development of the arc. Major outstanding points are that the Japanese island arc is composed of two completely different crusts juxtaposed by the Median Tectonic Line (MTL), and that the MTL started its activity associated with lower crustal thinning and formation of an upper crustal-scale half-graben in Late Cretaceous. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Large earthquakes have repeatedly occurred in the area off southeastern Hokkaido Island, Japan, as the Pacific Plate subducts beneath the island, which is on the North American Plate. The most recent large earthquake in this area, the 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake (Mw=8.0), occurred on September 26, 2003. In order to investigate aftershock activity in the rupture area, 47 Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBSs) were quickly deployed after the main shock. In the present study, we simultaneously estimate the hypocenters and 3-D seismic velocity models from the P- and S-wave arrivals of the aftershocks recorded by OBSs. The subducting plate is clearly imaged as a northwest dipping zone in which Vp is greater than 7 km/s, and the relocated hypocenters also show the subducting Pacific Plate. The aftershock distribution reveals that the dip angle of the plate boundary increases abruptly around 90 km from the Kuril Trench. The bending of the subducting plate corresponds to the southeastern edge of the rupture area. The island arc crust on the overriding plate has P-wave velocities of 6–7 km/s and a Vp/Vs of 1.73. A region of Vp/Vs greater than 1.88 was found north of the epicenter of the main shock. The depth of the high Vp/Vs region extends about 10 km upward from the plate interface. The plate boundary just below the high Vp/Vs region has the largest slip at the main rupture. A high Vp anomaly (~7.5 km/s) is found in the island arc crust in northeast part of the study area, which we interpret as a structural boundary related to the arc–arc collisional tectonics of the Hokkaido region, as the rupture of the main shock terminated at this high Vp region. We suggest that the plate interface geometry and the trench-parallel velocity heterogeneity in the landward plate are principal factors in controlling the rupture area of the main shock. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

With the aim of obtaining information to establish an import risk assessment on African swine fever (ASF) and other transboundary animal diseases (TADs) into Japan, a questionnaire survey was conducted between 1 August and 20 September 2019 on air travellers arriving into Japan from China. There were 248 responses with 2.8 % of respondents illegally importing pork products. The quantity imported per traveller varied between 250 g and 2 kg. Concerning the travellers' perception in regard to the difficulty of importing a pork product in their luggage, 32 respondents (12.9 %) considered it very easy or rather easy and 216 (87.1 %) very difficult or rather difficult. In regard to the recognition of respondents of the illegality of importing pork products into Japan, seven respondents (2.8 %) did not consider this practice to be illegal whilst 241 (97.2 %) had some idea of the illegal nature of this behaviour. The regression analysis revealed that the practice of illegal importation of pork products was significantly affected by the level of difficulty perception held by the traveller (P < 0.001) and that the difficulty perception is significantly affected by the level of recognition of illegality by the traveller (P < 0.001). The result of this study will not only provide useful data in developing a model to assess the probability of introduction of ASF and other TADs into Japan and other countries, but also in monitoring the effect of measures taken by the government to reduce the illegal importation of meat and meat products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been no reports comparing neonatal external genitalia of 5α-reductase deficiency (5αRD) with those of other 46,XY differences of sex differentiation (DSD). This study enrolled 31 Japanese cases of 46,XY DSD whose external genitalia was examined during the neonatal period; four were diagnosed as 5αRD and 15 were defined as non-5αRD by genetic analysis of SRD5A2 or urinary steroid metabolites. We compared the following characteristics between 5αRD and non-5αRD groups, adjusting the severity of undermasculinization of the external genitalia: stretched penile length (SPL), glans width, location of the external urethral opening, and proportion of undescended testis. The external genitalia of all the 5αRD cases were Quigley classification grade 2 or 3. We compared the phenotypes between the four 5αRD cases and 11 non-5αRD cases with grade 2 or 3. The median (range) of SPL in the 5αRD group (14 mm [11-16]) was significantly lower than that in the non-5αRD group (22 mm [15-29]) (p = 0.003). An SPL cut-off value of <15 mm yielded a sensitivity of 50% (95% confidence interval [CI]; 7-93%) and specificity of 100% (95% CI, 72-100%) for discriminating between the groups. The median glans width, location of the external urethral opening, and proportion of undescended testis were not significantly different between the groups. The SPL of 5αRD in Quigley classification grade 2 or 3 was significantly shorter than that of other 46,XY DSDs with the equivalent grade.

Biallelic pathogenic variants in RMRP, the gene encoding the RNA component of RNase mitochondrial RNA processing enzyme complex, have been reported in individuals with cartilage hair hypoplasia (CHH). CHH is prevalent in Finnish and Amish populations due to a founder pathogenic variant, n.71A > G. Based on the manifestations in the Finnish and Amish individuals, the hallmarks of CHH are prenatal-onset growth failure, metaphyseal dysplasia, hair hypoplasia, immunodeficiency, and other extraskeletal manifestations. Herein, we report six Japanese individuals with CHH from four families. All probands presented with moderate short stature with mild metaphyseal dysplasia or brachydactyly. One of them had hair hypoplasia and the other immunodeficiency. By contrast, the affected siblings of two families showed only mild short stature. We also reviewed all previously reported 13 Japanese individuals. No n.71A > G allele was detected. The proportions of Japanese versus Finnish individuals were 0% versus 70% for birth length < -2.0 SD, 84% versus 100% for metaphyseal dysplasia and 26% versus 88% for hair hypoplasia. Milder manifestations in the Japanese individuals may be related to the difference of genotypes. The mildest form of CHH phenotypes is mild short stature without overt skeletal alteration or extraskeletal manifestation and can be termed "RMRP-related short stature"., (© 2024 The Authors. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to clarify the natural history of unruptured visceral artery aneurysms due to segmental arterial mediolysis and the efficacy of transcatheter arterial embolization. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Patients with a pathologic or clinical diagnosis of visceral artery aneurysms due to segmental arterial mediolysis between 2005 and 2015 were enrolled. For patients with clinical diagnoses, images were collected and assessed by central radiologic review. To clarify the natural history of unruptured aneurysms, the morphologic changes were assessed. The efficacy and safety of transcatheter arterial embolization for aneurysms due to segmental arterial mediolysis were evaluated. RESULTS. Forty-five patients with 123 aneurysms due to segmental arterial mediolysis were enrolled. Among the 123 aneurysms, 70 unruptured aneurysms were evaluated for natural history. Forty-five of the 70 (64%) aneurysms had no change in morphology. Among the other 25 aneurysms, nine (13% of the 70) were reduced in size, 13 (19%) disappeared, and three (4%) were newly found at follow-up. Aneurysms of the middle colic artery were ruptured in 10 of 11 (91%) cases. Transcatheter arterial embolization was performed on 45 aneurysms and was successful in all cases but caused slight arterial injury in three cases (6.7%). CONCLUSION. At initial diagnosis, unruptured aneurysms due to segmental arterial mediolysis are likely to be stable or to resolve, but the risk of rupture of aneurysms of the middle colic artery appears high. Transcatheter arterial embolization is a useful treatment, but careful manipulation is necessary.

Miscarriage is the greatest complication of pregnancy, and 70-80% of early miscarriages are mostly due to chromosomal abnormalities in the embryo. There is no evidence that stress is a direct cause of miscarriage. Despite these findings, in a national US survey on the causes of miscarriage, many Americans mistakenly attributed miscarriage to the mental state or behavior of the women. We conducted a survey to assess public attitudes and perceptions regarding the cause and prevalence of miscarriage in Japan. We sent out a questionnaire consisting of 17 questions. The 5000 recipients consisted of men and women (1:1 ratio) aged 18-69 who resided in Aichi Prefecture. A total of 1257 recipients (25%) responded to the questionnaire and 1219 valid respondents (24%) were included in the analyses. Of these, 62% considered a genetic abnormality of the fetus as the cause of miscarriage. Participants who were female, highly educated, married and healthy gave significantly more correct responses. On the other hand, the majority wrongly assumed that a stressful event (65%) and long-standing stress (75%) to be causes of miscarriage. Participants who had no history of miscarriage as well as males answered significantly more incorrectly. Sixty-five percent of respondents thought that miscarriage occurred less than 15% of all pregnancies. Among respondents who had experienced miscarriage personally, 53 and 36% felt guilty and lonely, respectively. Many respondents blamed the woman for the miscarriage either in terms of her behavior or mental stress and considered the frequency of miscarriage to be lower than it actually is.

Study Question: Can preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) improve the live birth rate and reduce the miscarriage rate in patients with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) caused by an abnormal embryonic karyotype and recurrent implantation failure (RIF)?, Summary Answer: PGT-A could not improve the live births per patient nor reduce the rate of miscarriage, in both groups., What Is Known Already: PGT-A use has steadily increased worldwide. However, only a few limited studies have shown that it improves the live birth rate in selected populations in that the prognosis has been good. Such studies have excluded patients with RPL and RIF. In addition, several studies have failed to demonstrate any benefit at all. PGT-A was reported to be without advantage in patients with unexplained RPL whose embryonic karyotype had not been analysed. The efficacy of PGT-A should be examined by focusing on patients whose previous products of conception (POC) have been aneuploid, because the frequencies of abnormal and normal embryonic karyotypes have been reported as 40-50% and 5-25% in patients with RPL, respectively., Study Design, Size, Duration: A multi-centre, prospective pilot study was conducted from January 2017 to June 2018. A total of 171 patients were recruited for the study: an RPL group, including 41 and 38 patients treated respectively with and without PGT-A, and an RIF group, including 42 and 50 patients treated respectively with and without PGT-A. At least 10 women in each age group (35-36, 37-38, 39-40 or 41-42 years) were selected for PGT-A groups., Participants/materials, Setting, Methods: All patients and controls had received IVF-ET for infertility. Patients in the RPL group had had two or more miscarriages, and at least one case of aneuploidy had been ascertained through prior POC testing. No pregnancies had occurred in the RIF group, even after at least three embryo transfers. Trophectoderm biopsy and array comparative genomic hybridisation (aCGH) were used for PGT-A. The live birth rate of PGT-A and non-PGT-A patients was compared after the development of blastocysts from up to two oocyte retrievals and a single blastocyst transfer. The miscarriage rate and the frequency of euploidy, trisomy and monosomy in the blastocysts were noted., Main Result and the Role of Chance: There were no significant differences in the live birth rates per patient given or not given PGT-A: 26.8 versus 21.1% in the RPL group and 35.7 versus 26.0% in the RIF group, respectively. There were also no differences in the miscarriage rates per clinical pregnancies given or not given PGT-A: 14.3 versus 20.0% in the RPL group and 11.8 versus 0% in the RIF group, respectively. However, PGT-A improved the live birth rate per embryo transfer procedure in both the RPL (52.4 vs 21.6%, adjusted OR 3.89; 95% CI 1.16-13.1) and RIF groups (62.5 vs 31.7%, adjusted OR 3.75; 95% CI 1.28-10.95). Additionally, PGT-A was shown to reduce biochemical pregnancy loss per biochemical pregnancy: 12.5 and 45.0%, adjusted OR 0.14; 95% CI 0.02-0.85 in the RPL group and 10.5 and 40.9%, adjusted OR 0.17; 95% CI 0.03-0.92 in the RIF group. There was no difference in the distribution of genetic abnormalities between RPL and RIF patients, although double trisomy tended to be more frequent in RPL patients., Limitations, Reasons for Caution: The sample size was too small to find any significant advantage for improving the live birth rate and reducing the clinical miscarriage rate per patient. Further study is necessary., Wider Implication of the Findings: A large portion of pregnancy losses in the RPL group might be due to aneuploidy, since PGT-A reduced the overall incidence of pregnancy loss in these patients. Although PGT-A did not improve the live birth rate per patient, it did have the advantage of reducing the number of embryo transfers required to achieve a similar number live births compared with those not undergoing PGT-A., Study Funding/competing Interest(s): This study was supported by the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology and grants from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology. There are no conflicts of interest to declare., Trial Registration Number: N/A., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permission@oup.com.)

Although acromegaly has been reported in patients with Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), these cases have not been associated with growth hormone (GH)-producing somatotroph adenoma, but with optic pathway glioma. A 68 year-old Japanese woman, who had been clinically diagnosed with NF1, was referred to our hospital due to a thyroid tumor and hypercalcemia. Acromegaly was suspected due to her facial features, and subsequent examinations revealed the presence of GH excess with a pituitary tumor, leading to the diagnosis of acromegaly. Histological and immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated an eosinophilic pituitary adenoma with diffuse positivity for GH, indicating typical somatotroph adenoma. In addition, her thyroid tumor was diagnosed histologically as follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). To investigate the pathogenesis of this untypical multiple endocrine tumor case of NF1, genetic analysis was performed using peripheral leukocytes and tissue of resected tumors. A heterozygous novel germline nonsense mutation (p.Arg1534*) in exon 35 of the NF1 gene was detected from peripheral leukocytes, which results in a truncated protein lacking the critical domain for GTPase activity, strongly suggesting its causal role in NF1. The loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in exon 35 of the NF1 gene was not detected in the somatotroph adenoma, parathyroid adenoma, and FTC. Although any mutations of the following genes; MEN1, CDKN1B, and PAX8-PPARγ were not detected, a heterozygous GNAS R201C mutation was detected in the somatotroph adenoma. To our knowledge, this is the first rare MEN1-like case of genetically diagnosed NF1 complicated with acromegaly caused by a somatotroph adenoma.