Remote monitoring of cardiovascular implantable electronic devices in Japan

AbstractThe number of patients with chronically implanted cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) keeps growing, and device clinics of major hospitals may soon be unable to fully accommodate the increasing amount of follow-up activities. Consequently, the remote monitoring (RM) technology introduced in Japan in 2010 has been rapidly gaining widespread application in the management of CIEDs.A modern remote monitor not only acts as an alternative to a device clinic, but also as a security monitor for the device and the patient. A number of papers have confirmed the safety, feasibility, and cost-effectiveness of RM systems. Importantly, remote monitors allow physicians to quickly detect and respond to lead problems, atrial arrhythmias, heart failure, and other adverse events, which may also improve the patients׳ survival rate. Several reports from Japan have demonstrated that RM systems are well accepted by both the patients and physicians.However, there remain limitations and problems of the RM technology to be solved, and rules and guidelines for monitor management should be established to fully utilize the advantages of RM systems

Governance structure and Operating Performance of Japanese Major Banks

近年，銀行の経営破綻が相次ぎ，金融システムの不安定性が高まっている。そのため，銀行のガバナンス構造を明らかにし，銀行経営の効率性を高めることは喫緊の課題である。ところで，非金融企業と異なり預金という特殊な負債を保有する銀行の場合，株主によるガバナンスが重要である。本稿では， 1990年から1998年をサンプル期間として，日本の大手銀行18行のパネル・データを用いて，株式所有構造の変化，株式所有構造と経営効率性および労働分配率との関係を分析した。その結果，①銀行の株式所有構造は経営効率性を重視する株主の保有比率が上昇する傾向にあること，②銀行経営に対して株主は経営効率性を高める方向で影響を与えていること，③株式保有比率が高いほど労働分配率が低下すること，すなわち株主への分配が多くなる傾向があること，の3点が明らかになった。従って，少なくとも1990年代において，銀行のガバナンス構造は株主への利益分配を重視する「新古典派型企業」としての性格を示していると言える

Ultrabright narrow-band telecom two-photon source for long-distance quantum communication

We demonstrate an ultrabright narrow-band two-photon source at the 1.5 -\mu m telecom wavelength for long-distance quantum communication. By utilizing a bow-tie cavity, we obtain a cavity enhancement factor of $4.06\times 10^4$. Our measurement of the second-order correlation function $G^{(2)} ({\tau})$ reveals that the linewidth of $2.4$ MHz has been hitherto unachieved in the 1.5 -\mu m telecom band. This two-photon source is useful for obtaining a high absorption probability close to unity by quantum memories set inside quantum repeater nodes. Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, the observed spectral brightness of $3.94\times 10^5$ pairs/(s$\cdot$MHz$\cdot$mW) is also the highest reported over all wavelengths.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, 2 table