Toward a test of the “Law of Crime Concentration” in Japanese cities: a geographical crime analysis in Tokyo and Osaka

This brief report aims to reveal crime concentration at the district level in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, two cities characterized by low crime rates. Eight types of property crimes that occurred between 2008 and 2017 in Tokyo and Osaka and had been aggregated by the census enumeration district were analyzed using the Gini coefficient based on the Poisson-Gamma method. The results indicated three patterns. First, crime concentration was identified. Second, the degree of concentration depended upon crime type. Commercial burglary was the most concentrated crime type, and theft from vehicle and theft from vending machine were the most dispersed. Third, crime concentration patterns either remained stable or became more concentrated over time. Additionally, while theft of bicycle was found to display stable concentration levels over time, the concentration level of purse snatching was fluid. On the basis of the results, this report discusses the possibility of establishing the “Law of Crime Concentration” (LCC) in two Japanese cities

Designing an Open Space for Social Inclusion: An Intercultural Garden Project at the University of Tsukuba

International Conference of Asian-Pacific Planning Societies 2017 Place: Nagoya Congress Center, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan Schedule: August 24(Thu)- 26(Sat), 2017 Main Theme: Creating Livable Cities for Al

Designing an Open Space for Social Inclusion: An Intercultural Garden Project at the University of Tsukuba

International Conference of Asian-Pacific Planning Societies 2017 Place: Nagoya Congress Center, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan Schedule: August 24(Thu)- 26(Sat), 2017 Main Theme: Creating Livable Cities for Al

Analysis of the Complete Open Reading Frame of Genotype 2b Hepatitis C Virus in Association with the Response to Peginterferon and Ribavirin Therapy

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Patients infected with genotype 2b hepatitis C virus (HCV) generally can achieve favorable responses to pegylated-interferon plus ribavirin therapy (PEG-IFN/RBV). However, a proportion of patients show poorer responses and the correlation between viral sequence variation and treatment outcome remains unclear. METHODS: The pretreatment complete open reading frame (ORF) sequences of genotype 2b HCV determined by direct sequencing were investigated for correlation with the final outcome in a total of 60 patients. RESULTS: In this study group, 87.5% (14/16) of non-sustained virological response (non-SVR) patients (n = 16) were relapsers. Compared to sustained virological response (SVR) patients (n = 44), non-SVR patients were older and could not achieve prompt viral clearance after the therapy induction. Comparing each viral protein between the two groups, viral sequences were more diverse in SVR patients and that diversity was found primarily in the E1, p7, and NS5A proteins. In searching for specific viral regions associated with the final outcome, several regions in E2, p7, NS2, NS5A, and NS5B were extracted. Among these regions, part of the interferon sensitivity determining region (ISDR) was included. In these regions, amino acid substitutions were associated with the final outcome in an incremental manner, depending upon the number of substitutions. CONCLUSIONS: Viral sequences are more diverse in SVR patients than non-SVR patients receiving PEG-IFN/RBV therapy for genotype-2b HCV infection. Through systematic comparison of viral sequences, several specific regions, including part of the ISDR, were extracted as having significant correlation with the final outcome

Enhanced grain boundary embrittlement of an Fe grain boundary segregated by hydrogen (H)

First-principles fully relaxed tensile and shear test simulations were performed on Σ3(111)/[110] tilt Fe grain-boundaries (GBs) with and without hydrogen (H) segregation, to investigate the mechanisms of GB embrittlement enhanced by H segregation. Premature fracture was found in the H-segregated GB, compared with the clean GB, in the tensile test simulations. The Fe–H bond showed covalent-like and ion-like characteristics. The covalent-like characteristics reinforced the Fe–Fe bonds, but the ion-like characteristics weakened the Fe–Fe bonds as a result of charge transfer. The effect of the latter increased with increasing strain, and prevailed over the former, resulting in GB embrittlement. In the shear test simulations, variation in the GB energy for the H-segregated GB was almost the same as that for the clean GB. This is because bond-breaking and rebonding occur concurrently in GB shearing and the variations in charge transfer during shear straining are less than those during tensile straining

小地域時系列犯罪統計に基づく「防犯まちづくり」の効果検証と評価目録の作成

科学研究費助成事業 研究成果報告書：若手研究(B)2014-2016課題番号 : 2682025

The History and future directions of greenways in Japanese New Towns

A number of societal changes such as an ageing population and a lack of economic prosperity mean that Japanese greenway planners will be faced with a number of new challenges in the coming decades. These societal changes will be particularly dramatic in the Japanese New Towns, which were constructed in the late 1950s. Some of these New Towns marked a departure for Japanese planning by including a network of greenways, which were planned to provide pleasant corridors for pedestrians and bikers. Around 30 years have passed since these areas were developed; today the greenways in these New Towns have become corridors with dense and rich greenery. Such matured greenways, which were supposed to provide an amenity for local residents, have increasingly come to be regarded as a cause of fear of crime. To try and mitigate this, trees and shrubs along the greenways are now closely trimmed or even removed. However, such mature vegetation along the greenways may be regarded as a feature that maintains the history of the town. Such vegetation is also expected to provide ecological corridors that accommodate wildlife species which were abundant in the rural areas surrounding these New Towns. Within the context of proposing an optimum management scheme for Japanese greenways, the following study aims to explain and discuss how the fear of crime on greenways can be prevented whilst maintaining their ecological and historical functions.13 page(s