Interdisciplinary Class in Okayama University on the Climate Environment around Japan in Association with the Variety of Seasonal Feeling (with Attention to the Seasonal Cycle of Rainfall in the Warm Season)

The present study is a part of the activity to develop an interdisciplinary class on the climate environment around the Japan Islands in association with the “seasonal feeling”, with attention to the seasonal cycle of the weather systems and the rainfall characteristics during the warm season. Firstly, the school song “Wa-ka-ba” (which means the deep green leaves) was analyzed as a typical song expressing the season just between the spring and the Baiu, for developing study materials for the joint activity of meteorology to music. Next, seasonal difference of the rainfall characteristics around the Japan Islands was reviewed together with the new preliminary analyses, with attention to the contribution of the “heavy rainfall days” to the total precipitation amount. Finally, the joint activity of the art with meteorology for the class at the Faculty of Education, Okayama University was reported, together with the analyses of the students’ works expressing the rainfall event in a specified season by themselves

Family caregiving problems of suspected elderly neglect: A review of forensic autopsy cases in Japan

Background. Elder abuse is a severe violation of human rights, and the most recent domestic violence issue to gain the attention of public and medical communities especially highly aged country like Japan. Methods. To clarify family caregiving problems related to elder neglect in Japan, we reviewed 178 autopsies conducted between 2000 and 2003 at one centre. Results. Of the 178 cases (134 males and 44 females), 53 involved people were 65 years old and over (30%). A careful investigation of these 53 autopsy reports (39 males and 14 females) allowed us to exclude obvious causes of death, such as traffic and other accidents, drowning, poisoning, alcoholism, and clear disease pathology. We were left with nine cases of suspected neglect (three males and six females). The mean age of victims was 82.1 years (range, 68–91). According to the autopsy reports, two were severely starved, two were putrefied or mummified, three had pressure sores, two had dementia and three would have had difficulty in performing the activities of daily living. Each victim had lived with one family member; their sons in five cases, and a grandson, brother, wife or husband in each case. The caregivers’ ages ranged from 27 to 76 years, and five were unemployed; in three cases, the family incomes were very low. Of the caregivers, two were depressed, one was an alcoholic and one had dementia. Conclusions. This investigation indicated that elderly parents living with their sons are a high-risk group for neglect. A family support system is needed to target male caregivers who are likely isolated from social services. Autopsy cases provide valuable information for public health to prevent similar cases in future. Keywords: Elder abuse, Elder neglect, Male caregivers, Family caregiving, Autopsy records

Predictors of volunteerism: A study of older adults in Japan

Volunteerism has risen steadily as a viable activity at old age in Japan for it gives older adults ways to contribute to society as well as enhancing their quality of life. It has also been addressed by the national government and adopted by many local municipalities under the long-term care insurance program as a health promotion and preventive care activity. However, studies examining why older adults volunteer and why some don’t are limited. Using a modified version of Baltes and colleagues’ model of competence, this study examines the predictors of volunteerism among older adults in Japan. Data from a city located northeast of Tokyo was used (n=703). Results indicated that basic competence does not predict volunteerism, but rather competence gained from experiences. To increase the number of older volunteers, the study suggests that civic engagement must start at an earlier age coupled with financial stability. Keywords: volunteerism, older adults, Japan, competence, long-term care insuranc

Evaluation of Urinary Stone Composition and Differentiation between Urinary Stones and Phleboliths Using Single-source Dual-energy Computed Tomography

The aim of this study was to investigate the utility of single-source dual-energy computed tomography (SS-DECT) composition analysis in characterizing different types of urinary stones and differentiating them from phleboliths. This study included 29 patients with urinary stones who were scheduled for surgery. All patients were scanned, first using single-energy computed tomography acquisition and then DECT acquisition on SS-DECT. Dual-energy data were archived to a Gemstone spectral imaging (GSI) viewer (GE Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI, USA). Hounsfield units (HU) and effective atomic numbers (Zeff) were estimated using the GSI viewer. The results of dual-energy analysis were compared with the biochemical constitution of the stones. The chemical analysis determined that the stones included 32 calcium-based, 6 cystine and 1 struvite stone. Both HU and Zeff values were helpful in differentiating calcium-based stones from cystine and struvite stones and phleboliths. The Zeff values of phleboliths were significantly higher than those for struvite and cystine stones, whereas it was difficult to distinguish phleboliths from struvite and cystine stones using the HU values. Composition analysis using SS-DECT is helpful for distinguishing urinary stone types and discriminating phleboliths from urinary stones. Zeff values may be more useful than HU values for differentiating urinary stones from phleboliths

Extreme Nature of Four Blue-excess Dust-obscured Galaxies Revealed by Optical Spectroscopy

We report optical spectroscopic observations of four blue-excess dust-obscured galaxies (BluDOGs) identified by the Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam. BluDOGs are a subclass of dust-obscured galaxies (DOGs; defined with the extremely red color (i − [22])AB ≥ 7.0; Toba et al., showing a significant flux excess in the optical g and r bands over the power-law fits to the fluxes at the longer wavelengths. Noboriguchi et al. have suggested that BluDOGs may correspond to the blowing-out phase involved in a gas-rich major-merger scenario. However, the detailed properties of BluDOGs are not understood because of the lack of spectroscopic information. In this work, we carry out deep optical spectroscopic observations of four BluDOGs using Subaru/FOCAS and VLT/FORS2. The obtained spectra show broad emission lines with extremely large equivalent widths, and a blue wing in the C iv line profile. The redshifts are between 2.2 and 3.3. The averaged rest-frame equivalent widths of the C iv lines are 160 \ub1 33 \uc5, ∼7 times higher than the average of a typical type 1 quasar. The FWHMs of their velocity profiles are between 1990 and 4470 km s−1, and their asymmetric parameters are 0.05 and 0.25. Such strong C iv lines significantly affect the broadband magnitudes, which are partly the origin of the blue excess seen in the spectral energy distribution of BluDOGs. Their estimated supermassive black hole masses are 1.1 7 108 < M BH/M ⊙ <5.5 7 108. The inferred Eddington ratios of the BluDOGs are higher than 1 (1.1 < λ Edd < 3.8), suggesting that the BluDOGs are in a rapidly evolving phase of supermassive black holes

Subaru High-z Exploration of Low-Luminosity Quasars (SHELLQs). IX. Identification of Two Red Quasars at z > 5.6

We present the first discovery of dust-reddened quasars (red quasars) in the high-z universe (z >5.6). This is a result from the Subaru High-z Exploration of Low-Luminosity Quasars (SHELLQs) project, which is based on the sensitive multi-band optical imaging data produced by the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) Subaru Strategic Program survey. We identified four red quasar candidates from the spectroscopically confirmed 93 high-z quasars in the SHELLQs sample, based on detections in the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) data at 3.4 and 4.6 um (rest-frame ~5000-6500 A). The amount of dust reddening was estimated with spectral energy distribution (SED) fits over optical and mid-infrared wavelengths. Two of the four candidates were found to be red quasars with dust reddening of E(B-V) > 0.1. The remaining SHELLQs quasars without individual WISE detections are significantly fainter in the WISE bands and bluer than the red quasars, although we did detect them in the W1 band in a stacked image. We also conducted the same SED fits for high-z optically-luminous quasars, but no red quasar was found. This demonstrates the power of Subaru HSC to discover high-z red quasars, which are fainter than the limiting magnitudes of past surveys in the rest-frame ultraviolet, due to dust extinction.Comment: Accepted for publication in PAS

Discovery of the First Low-Luminosity Quasar at z > 7

We report the discovery of a quasar at z = 7.07, which was selected from the deep multi-band imaging data collected by the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) Subaru Strategic Program survey. This quasar, HSC J124353.93+010038.5, has an order of magnitude lower luminosity than do the other known quasars at z > 7. The rest-frame ultraviolet absolute magnitude is M1450 = -24.13 +/- 0.08 mag and the bolometric luminosity is Lbol = (1.4 +/- 0.1) x 10^{46} erg/s. Its spectrum in the optical to near-infrared shows strong emission lines, and shows evidence for a fast gas outflow, as the C IV line is blueshifted and there is indication of broad absorption lines. The Mg II-based black hole mass is Mbh = (3.3 +/- 2.0) x 10^8 Msun, thus indicating a moderate mass accretion rate with an Eddington ratio 0.34 +/- 0.20. It is the first z > 7 quasar with sub-Eddington accretion, besides being the third most distant quasar, known to date. The luminosity and black hole mass are comparable to, or even lower than, those measured for the majority of low-z quasars discovered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and thus this quasar likely represents a z > 7 counterpart to quasars commonly observed in the low-z universe.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Optical IFU Observations of GOALS Sample with KOOLS-IFU on Seimei Telescope: Initial results of 9 U/LIRGs at z<z < 0.04

We present ionized gas properties of 9 local ultra/luminous infrared galaxies (U/LIRGs) at $z <$ 0.04 through IFU observations with KOOLS-IFU on Seimei Telescope. The observed targets are drawn from the Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS), covering a wide range of merger stages. We successfully detect emission lines such as H$\beta$, [OIII]$\lambda$5007, H$\alpha$, [NII]$\lambda\lambda$6549,6583, and [SII]$\lambda\lambda$6717,6731 with a spectral resolution of $R$ = 1500-2000, which provides (i) spatially-resolved ($\sim$200-700 pc) moment map of ionized gas and (ii) diagnostics for active galactic nucleus (AGN) within the central $\sim$3--11 kpc in diameter for our sample. We find that [OIII] outflow that is expected to be driven by AGN tends to be stronger (i) towards the galactic center and (ii) as a sequence of merger stage. In particular, the outflow strength in the late-stage (stage D) mergers is about 1.5 times stronger than that in the early-state (stage B) mergers, which indicates that galaxy mergers could induce AGN-driven outflow and play an important role in the co-evolution of galaxies and supermassive black holes.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, and 2 tables, accepted for publication in PAS

Building the hospital event-based surveillance system in Viet Nam: a qualitative study to identify potential facilitators and barriers for event reporting

Introduction: Hospitals are a key source of information for the early identification of emerging disease outbreaks and acute public health events for risk assessment, decision-making, and public health response. The objectives of this study were to identify potential facilitators and barriers for reporting of unusual events from the curative sector to the preventive medicine system in Viet Nam. Methods: In 2016, we conducted 18 semi-structured in-depth interviews and 9 focus group discussions with representatives from the curative and preventive medicine sectors in four provinces. We transcribed the interviews and focus group discussions and conducted a thematic analysis of the factors that appeared to affect public health event reporting. Results: We identified five major themes. Firstly, the lack of a legal framework to guide reporting meant there was an over-reliance on internal procedures. Secondly, participants reported the importance of an enabling environment to facilitate reporting such as leadership support and having focal points for reporting. Thirdly, potential benefits for reporting were seen such as support during outbreaks and receiving feedback. Fourthly, some challenges prohibited timely reporting such as not perceiving reporting to be the task of the curative sector and hesitancy to report without laboratory confirmation. Finally, the limited resources and specialist capacities in remote areas hindered timely detection and reporting of unusual events. Discussion: This study identified potential opportunities to promote the detection and reporting of unusual events from health care workers to the public health sector, and thus improving the overall health security system in Viet Nam and beyond

Relationship between home care service use and changes in the care needs level of Japanese elderly

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>With the introduction of long-term care insurance (LTCI) in Japan, more home care services are available for the community-dwelling elderly. To deliver effective home care services, it is important to know the effects of service use. In this study, as the first step to determine this, we sought to describe different home service use in the sustained/improved group and deteriorated group in their care needs levels, and to report the relationship between the use of home care services and changes in care needs levels.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The participants included 624 of a total of 1,474 users of LTCI services in one city in Japan. Home care service users were stratified into a 'lower care needs level subgroup' and a 'higher care needs level subgroup' based on the baseline care needs level. Simple statistical comparison and multiple logistic regression analyses in which the change in care needs level was set as a dependent variable were performed. Gender, age, and baseline care needs level were designated as control variables. Home based services were treated as independent variables. In this study, home care services consisted of home help, home bathing services, a visiting nurse, home rehabilitation, nursing home daycare, health daycare, loan of medical devices, respite stay in a nursing home, respite stay in a health care facility, respite stay in a sanatorium-type medical care facility, and medical management by a physician.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the lower care needs level subgroup, age (OR = 1.04, CI, 1.01-1.08), use of respite stay in a nursing home (OR = 2.55; CI, 1.43-4.56), and the number of types of long-term care services (OR = 1.33; CI, 1.02-1.74) used during an 11 month period were significantly related to a deterioration of the user's care needs level. In the higher care needs level subgroup, use of medical management by a physician (OR = 6.99; CI, 1.42-41.25) was significantly related to a deterioration of the user's care needs level. There were no home based services significantly related to sustaining or improving the user's care needs level.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There were different home service use in two groups (the sustained/improved group and the deteriorated group). Respite stay in a nursing home service use and more types of service use were related to experiencing a deterioration of care needs level in lower care needs level community-dwelling elderly persons in Japan. Further, medical management by a physician service was related to experiencing a deterioration of care needs level in higher care needs level community-dwelling elderly persons.</p