Parieto-Occipital Alpha and Low-Beta EEG Power Reflect Sense of Agency

The sense of agency (SoA) is part of psychophysiological modules related to the self. Disturbed SoA is found in several clinical conditions, hence understanding the neural correlates of the SoA is useful for the diagnosis and determining the proper treatment strategies. Although there are several neuroimaging studies on SoA, it is desirable to translate the knowledge to more accessible and inexpensive EEG-based biomarkers for the sake of applicability. However, SoA has not been widely investigated using EEG. To address this issue, we designed an EEG experiment on healthy adults (n = 15) to determine the sensitivity of EEG on the SoA paradigm using hand movement with parametrically delayed visual feedback. We calculated the power spectral density over the traditional EEG frequency bands for ten delay conditions relative to no delay condition. Independent component analysis and equivalent current dipole modeling were applied to address artifact rejection, volume conduction, and source localization to determine the effect of interest. The results revealed that the alpha and low-beta EEG power increased in the parieto-occipital regions in proportion to the reduced SoA reported by the subjects. We conclude that the parieto-occipital alpha and low-beta EEG power reflect the sense of agency

Short-Term Results of Canaloplasty Surgery for Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma in Japanese Patients

Purpose: To report surgical results of canaloplasty surgery for primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) in Japanese patients. Methods: Eleven eyes of 9 POAG patients underwent canaloplasty surgery at Toyama University Hospital. Three eyes of 3 patients underwent canaloplasty alone and 8 eyes of 6 patients underwent canaloplasty combined with cataract surgery. Canaloplasty was performed with a 10-0 polypropylene tensioning suture and an iTrack™ 250A microcatheter. All patients were followed up for 12 months. Changes in intraocular pressure (IOP) and postoperative complications were examined. Results: Mean preoperative IOP was 23.4 ± 5.5 mm Hg. Mean number of antiglaucoma drops was 2.8 ± 0.6 before canaloplasty and decreased to 1.2 ± 0.8 at 12 months after canaloplasty (p Conclusions: Canaloplasty may be an alternative surgery for POAG patients to reduce IOP to a value of approximately 15 mm Hg

老人医療費に関する要因の分析

Purpose: The national medical care expenditure for the olderly has been shown yearly increases, and it is also implied that the medical care expenditure per one elderly person deffers by prefectures. In this paper, we try to present a basic model which is estimated to construct the prefectural differences of medical care expenditure for the elderly. Method: We analyze the factors of prefectural differences of medical care expenditure per one elderly person by the use of Multiple Regression Analysis, which is a technique of Multivariate Analysis. In additions, Direct Comparison Method (DCM) with the prefectural differences indi- cators is applied to extract the particular factors of HOKKAIDO. Results: We evaluate the performances for various types of Multiple Regression Analysis, and it is indicated that Branch and Bound Method is the most useful technique. Following as the results of Multivariate Analysis, a simple model, which designs the structure of prefectural differences of medical care expenditure per one elderly person, is presented. Characteristics of medical care expenditure in HOKKAIDO are the long Length of Stay and high utilizations of medical facilities

北海道におけるSOHO事業者に対する支援策の基本的な考え方(1)

A research group held on the local government, HOKKAIDO, discussed the supporting schemes for SOHO on April 2001. In this paper, we report the basic concept on the promotion programs for SOHO Workplace in this region. As this report has large quantities, it is segmented into two parts, PART 1 and PART 2. The former, PART 1, is made up of 4 chapters, it describes that what task of this research group is (Chapter 1), how SOHO is defined in general workstyle (Chapter 2), what agendum for SOHO are and how the circumstances of these workplaces are (Chapter 3), including of the introduction on the implementations of the promotion programs in the case studies except HOKKAIDO (Chapter 4). The latter, PART 2, is composed of 2 chapters. In Chapter 1 of PART 2, we report the activities of SOHO workers in our region, the basic idea of the supporting schemes and the process of discussions in this group. Chapter 2 of PART 2, last chapter, contains the summary and the perspective on the promotion schemes for SOHO activities cooperating with their community. This paper is subsidized by SAPPORO UNIVERSITY

札幌市における患者動態調査に関するデータ処理ソフトウエアの開発I

In this paper we intermediately report the basic idea on the integrated data processing system for the patient behavior research in Sapporo urban area. This system is constructed by the three hierarchical subsystems. The first is the descriptive statistical data processing subsystem, the second the analytical subsystem for the specific purpose, the last the figure processing one for the analytical results or statistical information given by other subsystems. In second subsystem, we developed the Algorithm on the identifying medical regions using the hierarchical clustering. This improvemental algorithm is performed on M685 hardware (SORD 32bits microcomputer) with C Programming language. In the figure processing subsystem, we mainly explain the processing function and data structure describing the urban area information. Finally, it is showen that the micro computer resources have a high performance in the second and third snbsystem in spite of interface handicap

Retinal Endovascular Surgery with Tissue Plasminogen Activator Injection for Central Retinal Artery Occlusion

Purpose: To report 2 cases of central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) who underwent retinal endovascular surgery with injection of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) into the retinal artery and showed a remarkable improvement in visual acuity and retinal circulation. Methods: Standard 25-G vitrectomy was performed under local anesthesia. Simultaneously, tPA (80,000 units/mL) solution was injected into the retinal artery of the optic disc for 2–3 min using a microneedle. Changes in visual acuity, fundus photography, optical coherence tomography (OCT), fluorescein angiography, and laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG) results were examined. Results: Both cases could be treated within 12 h after the onset of CRAO. Case 1 was a 47-year-old woman. Her visual acuity improved from counting fingers before operation to 0.08 logMAR 1 month after the surgery. However, thinning of the retina at the macula was observed by OCT. Case 2 was a 70-year-old man. His visual acuity improved from counting fingers to 0.1 logMAR 2 months after the surgery. Both fluorescein angiography and LSFG showed improvement in retinal circulation after the surgery in case 2. Conclusions: Retinal endovascular surgery with injection of tPA into the retinal artery was feasible and may be a way to improve visual acuity and retinal circulation when performed in the acute phase of CRAO

北海道における地域医療計画の策定についての考察

In this paper, as a first stage is given an outline of the New Comprehensive Health Care Planning in Hokkaido, which became effective on April in 1988. The basic concept of the Plan is discussed in relation to the Old Comprehensive Health Care Planning which expired in 1987, and performance on the individual target-item of the program is analyzed with a systematical approach. As a results, it is implied that several important tasks must be rapidly improved with the evaluations to the performance of the Old Plan. On the construction of the Secondary level medical region, new idea of medical region, "Sub-Medical Region", is proposed in the following stage. This new type regions are applied to the areas, which cannot supply the medical services by themselves, with observing the distributions of the actual medical resources and investigating the patients-flows. This "reconstruction" must be carefully decided with the understanding of the inhabitants who live in the sub-region. In addition, it is necessary that Main Medical Region, which sub-region depends on the medical services, has many channels on the transportation of the in-patients

医療機関データベース及びGISを用いた医療検索システムのプロトタイプ構築

In this report, we design a prototype system providing the medical facility information. This system is consisted of two subsystems, one is the basic DATABASE, other the retrieval subsystem which medical facility maps are supported by GIS (Geographical Information System) engine. Particularly, because of utilizing the various types of query tools on the latter subsystem, it can flexibly deal with the complicated facility-map inquiries with traveling times. The response time is also reasonable. We evaluate the performance of this system by the partial applications for the medical staff users, try to extend the availability to the practical level and reduce the maximum loading of traffics at the peak point