The digit exchanges in the beta expansion of algebraic numbers

In this article, we investigate the $\beta$-expansions of real algebraic numbers. In particular, we give new lower bounds for the number of digit exchanges in the case where $\beta$ is a Pisot or Salem number. Moreover, we define a new class of algebraic numbers, quasi-Pisot numbers and quasi-Salem numbers, which gives a generalization of Pisot numbers and Salem numbers. Our method for the number of digit exchanges is also applicable to more general representations of complex algebraic numbers $\xi$ by infinite series $\xi=\sum_{n=1}^{\infty} t_n \beta^{-n}$, where $\bold{t}=(t_n)_{n\ge 1}\in \Z^{\N}$ is a bounded sequence of integers and $\beta$ is a quasi-Pisot or quasi-Salem number.Comment: 12 page

The ecology of medical care on an isolated island in Okinawa, Japan: a retrospective open cohort study

Abstract Background We aimed to describe the ecology of medical care on an isolated island with limited access to secondary care, and to evaluate the gatekeeping function of the island’s primary care clinic through comparison with a previous nationwide survey. Methods We conducted this retrospective, open cohort study on Iheya, an isolated island in Okinawa Prefecture that has one primary care clinic. We considered Iheya as unique location in which to examine the role of primary care in Japan. Participants were patients who visited the island’s clinic between February 1, 2013 and January 31, 2014. We calculated the number of visits to the clinic and referrals to off-island medical facilities using electronic medical records. We also compared data for Iheya with a nationwide survey conducted in 2003. Results Iheya had 1314 inhabitants in 2013. Of the 5682 visits to the clinic in the 1-year study period, 290 people were referred to off-island medical institutions. There were 64 referrals to emergency departments; of these, 57 people were admitted to hospital. The rate of visits to the clinic per month per 1000 inhabitants was 360.4 visits (95% confidence interval: 351.0–369.7). Of these, 18.4 (16.3–20.5) were referred off-island, with 4.1 (3.1–5.1) referrals to emergency departments and 3.6 (2.6–4.6) hospitalizations. Despite the high incidence of visits to the primary care clinic, the rates of hospital-based outpatient clinic visits, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations were lower than rates reported in a previous Japanese study. Conclusions This suggests that several dimensions of primary care, its gatekeeping function in particular, are likely to play important roles in this geographical setting

The ecology of medical care on an isolated island in Okinawa, Japan: a retrospective open cohort study.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to describe the ecology of medical care on an isolated island with limited access to secondary care, and to evaluate the gatekeeping function of the island's primary care clinic through comparison with a previous nationwide survey. METHODS: We conducted this retrospective, open cohort study on Iheya, an isolated island in Okinawa Prefecture that has one primary care clinic. We considered Iheya as unique location in which to examine the role of primary care in Japan. Participants were patients who visited the island's clinic between February 1, 2013 and January 31, 2014. We calculated the number of visits to the clinic and referrals to off-island medical facilities using electronic medical records. We also compared data for Iheya with a nationwide survey conducted in 2003. RESULTS: Iheya had 1314 inhabitants in 2013. Of the 5682 visits to the clinic in the 1-year study period, 290 people were referred to off-island medical institutions. There were 64 referrals to emergency departments; of these, 57 people were admitted to hospital. The rate of visits to the clinic per month per 1000 inhabitants was 360.4 visits (95% confidence interval: 351.0-369.7). Of these, 18.4 (16.3-20.5) were referred off-island, with 4.1 (3.1-5.1) referrals to emergency departments and 3.6 (2.6-4.6) hospitalizations. Despite the high incidence of visits to the primary care clinic, the rates of hospital-based outpatient clinic visits, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations were lower than rates reported in a previous Japanese study. CONCLUSIONS: This suggests that several dimensions of primary care, its gatekeeping function in particular, are likely to play important roles in this geographical setting

Diverses fonctions discursives d’une phrase averbale en japonais formée par la séquence < proposition subordonnée + syntagme nominal >

Cette étude a pour but d’examiner les diverses fonctions discursives remplies en japonais par une phrase averbale du type . Les travaux antérieurs ont caractérisé cette construction au moyen de trois valeurs : i) expression d’un événement directement perçu comme formant un bloc sémantique, sans la dichotomie entre sujet et prédicat ; ii) ancrage de l’événement dans le moment de la perception ; iii) transfert du plan énonciatif. Dans cette optique, elle a été mise en parallèle avec une phrase averbale du type « Le lavabo qui déborde ! » en français. En se basant sur des exemples tirés de la presse, et en profitant des analyses antérieures sur la phrase averbale dans d’autres langues, la présente étude soutient qu’il faut distinguer, à côté du premier type déictique, trois autres types : i) celui qui présente une situation comme formant un bloc sémantique et introduit un nouveau plan énonciatif, mais n’effectue pas l’ancrage dans le moment de la perception. Ce type établit, avec les phrases précédentes ou suivantes, diverses relations de discours, Arrière-plan, Élaboration ou Contraste ; ii) celui qui introduit un plan énonciatif déplacé, mais ne met pas en relief la situation dénotée, et fait du référent du syntagme nominal un topique discursif ou un cadre spatio-temporel ; iii) celui qui ne présente aucune caractéristique du premier type et se trouve réservé à la mise en relief d’un topique discursif portant sur le texte entier.This study aims at examining various discourse functions of the Japanese averbal sentence formed by the sequence . Previous studies have characterized this construction in terms of three aspects : i) expression of a directly perceived event as forming a semantic unit with no distinction between subject and predicate ; ii) anchoring of the event in the moment of perception ; iii) introduction of a new utterance level. From this perspective, the Japanese averbal sentence has been compared with a type of averbal sentence in French, like “Le lavabo qui déborde !”. On the other hand, based on examples taken from newspapers, and former works about averbal sentences in other languages, this study claims that, besides the first type extensively discussed, other three types should be distinguished : i) one which expresses a situation as forming a semantic unit and introduces a displaced utterance level, but with no anchoring in the utterance moment. This type establishes various discourse relations, like Background, Elaboration, Contrast with surrounding sentences ; ii) one which introduces a new utterance level, but does not focus on any unitary event, but to make a prominent topic or a spatial or temporal frame of the referent of the noun phrase ; iii) one which shares no characteristics of the first type and is specialized in focusing on a discourse topic whose scope amounts to the whole text

Improvement of Touch Sensitivity by Pressing

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Extending the Period of High Feed Value in Italian Ryegrass (\u3cem\u3eLolium multiflorum\u3c/em\u3e Lam.) for Grazing in the Warm Temperate Zone of Japan

Japan has widely diverse climate conditions, from subtropical in the south to boreal in the north. In warm regions of the temperate zone in the south-west, such as low-lying areas of Kyushu Island, temperate grasses only barely survive during the summer (Area V in Fig. 1). Therefore, for year-round grazing, tropical grasses and temperate grasses have been used, respectively, for summer and winter (Fig. 2). Throughout Japan, grazing is limited for cows and their calves and fattening takes place in barns. Recently, as consumer preference for meat has diversified, the demand for lean meat with less fat from grazing cattle has been increasing. As the improved marbling and growth of Wagyu breeding demands high-value feed for fattening, grazing fattening of Wagyu also requires high-value feed. Currently, Italian ryegrass (IR; Lolium multiflorum Lam.) is used as high-value feed grass in the Southwest warm region in winter. IR presents the critical problem that feed value declines along with its ear emergence. Furthermore, the feed value of tropical grasses grown in summer is less than that of IR. Grazing cattle need more energy to cope with high temperatures of summer than they do for winter. Be-cause of these factors, intake of energy and weight gain rate decline in summer. To resolve these problems, a new pasture system is proposed to maintain high feed value throughout the year (Fig. 2): a group of cultivars of IR that grows well in winter should be sown in autumn. Then a type of winter habitat IR should be sown in early spring. In such cases, winter habitat IR sown after winter will not flower because it has not been vernalised by low temperatures. This IR exhibits superior re-growth and heat resistance. Therefore, this new system can help prevent a decline of feed value associated with ear emergence and also prolong the available period of IR. This study investigated the effectiveness of the new system for extending the period of high feed value in IR

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Group Intervention Approach for Nurses Exposed to Violent Speech or Violence Caused by Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a group intervention approach aimed at improving the mental health of psychiatric nurses exposed to violent speech/violence. Sixty-two nurses having experienced serious episodes of violent speech/violence were enrolled in this study. A group intervention approach was used in the intervention group. For both the intervention and the control groups, evaluations were conducted at three time points. Evaluations were conducted using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and Profile of Mood States (POMS). The results showed that changes in the flashback, hyper-arousal, avoidance behavior, and total scores on the IES-R and anxiety and depression scores on the POMS differed significantly between the two groups. These results suggest that a group intervention approach can lessen the psychological burden of nurses exposed to violence and reduce their mental stress