Small Business and Entrepreneurship in the Shrinking Economy

課題番号：2073017

Withdrawal from Business by Small Enterprises (Japanese)

This paper analyzes the withdrawal from business of small enterprises in Japan, principally using the results of the Fact-finding Survey on the Retirement of Small-Enterprise Entrepreneurs conducted in November 2003. Generally it is difficult to conduct a wide-ranging survey of ex-proprietors to ascertain the circumstances of their withdrawal from business after the fact (especially in cases other than bankruptcy). However, this survey overcame this problem by targeting ex-proprietors who were policyholders in the Mutual Relief System for Small-Scale Enterprises. The results of the survey confirmed that some small business proprietors withdrew from business for economic reasons, while others withdrew for a variety of noneconomic reasons. Applying a probit model to identify the differences in the nature of the two types of withdrawal revealed several tendencies in the characteristics and economic statuses of proprietors to withdraw from business for economic reasons. Concerning the present work status of proprietors who withdrew from business, the study showed that a considerable number started new businesses or took up employment, and especially that those who withdrew for economic reasons were more likely to recommence work, particularly as employees.

Performance of a Whole-Blood Interferon-Gamma Release Assay with Mycobacterium RD1-Specific Antigens among HIV-Infected Persons

Objective. To evaluate the usefulness of one of IGRAs, QuantiFERON-TB Gold (QFT-G), in human immunodeficiency virus- (HIV- ) infected patients with various CD4+ T cell counts. Methods. The QFT-G assay was performed using QFT-G kits among 107 HIV-infected patients including 9 cases with active tuberculosis (TB). Results. In HIV-infected patients with CD4+ > 50/μL, QFT-G positive rate for active TB patients was 5/6 (sensitivity = 83%), and that for those without active disease was 1/69 (specificity = 99%). The frequency of indeterminate QFT-G test was significantly higher in those with CD4+ less than 50/μL (P < .0001). At the same time there was a proportional relationship between CD4+ and interferon-gamma response to mitogen (positive control) in QFT-G test (P = .0001). Conclusions. Our data suggested that QFT-G had high sensitivity and specificity in HIV-infected populations with CD4+ greater than 50/μL. However, QFT-G did not perform well in HIV-positive patients with CD4+ less than 50/μL

Clinical Features of Oral Multiple Primary Carcinomas Compared with Oral Single Primary Carcinoma

[Background] Owing to the increase in the older population and the increased life span, the number of patients with oral multiple primary carcinomas will increase. Predicting the second and third carcinoma clinically is difficult, and the presence of second or third carcinomas is a factor that determines the prognosis of oral carcinoma. In this study, we examined the clinical features of oral multiple primary carcinomas treated in our department. [Methods] We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma who underwent radical treatment at and were followed by the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Tottori University Hospital from January 2003 to October 2017. [Results] This study included 261 patients: 241 patients had oral single primary carcinoma and 20 patients had oral multiple primary carcinomas. Oral multiple primary carcinomas showed female predilection and occurred more frequently in the lower gingiva and significantly less frequently in the tongue (P < 0.01). Oral multiple primary carcinomas showed a significantly higher recurrence rate (P < 0.01). The 5-year overall survival of oral single primary carcinoma patients was 88.0% compared with 95% for oral multiple primary carcinomas, with no significant difference (log rank test, P = 0.54). However, the 15-year survival rate dropped to 28.1% in oral multiple primary carcinomas. The cumulative disease incidence rates of metachronous second primary carcinoma from first carcinoma at 5 years and 10 years were 3.45% and 5.36%, respectively. [Conclusion] Oral multiple primary carcinomas rarely occur in the tongue. The 5-year survival rate showed no difference between single and multiple carcinoma patients, but over longer observation, the prognosis of multiple carcinoma was poor owing to a high recurrence rate. Because of the high recurrence rate and risk of further metachronous carcinoma in oral multiple primary carcinomas, longer-term follow-up is required

On-line Identification of Electro-Conductivity in Electrolytic Solutions

An on-line method is proposed to identify electro-conductivity in electrolytic solutions. The method uses a model of a cell of electrolytic solutions in a micro reactor modeled by an electronic circuit. The circuit consists of a cell part with a resister and a capacitor connected in series and a measurement part having a resister. Then the resistance and the capacitance of the cell part are identified to calculate the electro-conductivity. The identification scheme is the least-square method with a forgetting factor calculated on-line. To avoid the effect of differentiation of measured signals, a filter is added to the identification method. The effectiveness of the proposed control scheme is shown by numerical simulation.</p