Simulating the decoupling world under Russia\u27s invasion of Ukraine: an application of IDE-GSM

The world appears to be divided into three blocs: the Chinese–Russian bloc, the Western alliance, and the rest of the world that remains neutral in the conflict between the former camps. This study estimates the economic impacts of “decoupling” scenarios on each country and region using a computable general equilibrium (CGE)-type simulation model called the geographical simulation model developed by the Institute of Developing Economies (IDE-GSM). Simulation results indicate that 1) the decoupling of Russia will not have a significant impact on the global economy, except i n the mining sector, and 2) if China joins the Russian camp, the impact will be s ignificant on the world economy, especially for Asian countries

Risk factors for incisional hernia according to different wound sites after open hepatectomy using combinations of vertical and horizontal incisions: A multicenter cohort study.

Background:Although several risk factors for incisional hernia after hepatectomy have been reported, their relationship to different wound sites has not been investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the risk factors for incisional hernia according to various wound sites after hepatectomy.Methods:Patients from the Osaka Liver Surgery Study Group who underwent open hepatectomy using combinations of vertical and horizontal incisions (J-shaped incision, reversed L-shaped incision, reversed T-shaped incision, Mercedes incision) between January 2012 and December 2015 were included. Incisional hernia was defined as a hernia occurring within 3 y after surgery. Abdominal incisional hernia was classified into midline incisional hernia and transverse incisional hernia. The risk factors for each posthepatectomy incisional hernia type were identified.Results:A total of 1057 patients met the inclusion criteria. The overall posthepatectomy incisional hernia incidence rate was 5.9% (62 patients). In the multivariate analysis, the presence of diabetes mellitus and albumin levels <3.5 g/dL were identified as independent risk factors. Moreover, incidence rates of midline and transverse incisional hernias were 2.4% (25 patients), and 2.3% (24 patients), respectively. In multivariate analysis, the independent risk factor for transverse incisional hernia was the occurrence of superficial or deep incisional surgical site infection, and interrupted suturing for midline incisional hernia.Conclusions:Risk factors for incisional hernia after hepatectomy depend on the wound site. To prevent incisional hernia, running suture use might be better for midline wound closure. The prevention of postoperative wound infection is important for transverse wounds, under the presumption of preoperative nutrition and normoglycemia

New Hepatic Resection Criteria for Intermediate-Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma Can Improve Long-Term Survival: A Retrospective, Multicenter Collaborative Study.

Background:Hepatic resection (HR) is not recommended for intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer criteria. We examined the prognostic factors of HR for intermediate-stage HCC and developed new HR criteria for intermediate-stage HCC.Methods:A total of 110 patients who underwent HR without any prior treatment for intermediate-stage HCC between January 2007 and December 2012 were enrolled at eight university hospitals. The outcomes and prognostic factors of HR were evaluated to develop new HR criteria.Results:In terms of tumor size and number, the most significant prognostic factors were within the up-to-seven criteria. Furthermore, serum albumin level ≥35 g/L and serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level

Understanding island residents’ anxiety about impacts caused by climate change using Best–Worst Scaling: a case study of Amami islands, Japan

Climate change poses significant risk to island communities; however, there has been limited quantitative investigation into local people’s perception toward the risk. This study applied Best–Worst Scaling (BWS) to understand residents’ anxieties about potential incidents caused by climate change in Amami islands, Japan. Through an interview with stakeholders, we selected five potential incidents for our BWS attributes: damage caused by typhoon and heavy rain (typhoon), damage caused by flood and a landslide (flood), damage from a drought (drought), damage from ciguatera fish poisoning (ciguatera), and incident caused by jellyfish (jellyfish). Changes in frequencies of the abovementioned incidents have already been observed in Japan. In 2016, we conducted a questionnaire survey of residents in Amami islands and received over 700 valid responses to BWS questions. Results showed that the average respondent was most anxious about the risk of typhoon, followed by flood, drought, ciguatera, and jellyfish. Furthermore, a comparative analysis did not find large variations among the islands in the residents’ anxiety ranking concerning the incidents, but the degrees of their anxieties were different. The Amami-Oshima residents, for example, had relatively higher anxieties about flood, whereas the Okinoerabujima residents showed higher anxiety about drought. These findings support that their risk perceptions are determined by their experience and surrounding environments. Understanding the sensitivity of residents to climate change risk will encourage stakeholders to communicate and enhance climate change adaptation in local communities

Understanding spatial-temporal changes in ecosystem services using mobile phone network data

Climate change is predicted to have substantial impacts on ecosystem services [1]. In particular, seasonal outdoor recreation at coastal and mountain areas can be degraded and threatened. So far, many valuation studies have assessed recreational services over the world; however, the spatial and temporal limits of data prevented estimation of the reliable values of seasonal recreation services. Recently, to resolve these challenges in the context of ecosystem services, there is a growing body of literature on applications of social media data and the platforms, such as Twitter, Instagram, and Flickr [2, 3]; although few studies have evaluated the services in monetary terms. The travel cost model, which is one of the traditional valuation methods, using mobile phone network data was applied to understand recreational ecosystem services at coastal and mountain areas in Japan. The data, which called Mobile Spatial Statistics (MSS), is derived from operational data of a mobile phone network on an hourly basis and non-self reported. Thus, to protect the mobile phone users&#039; privacy, mesh aggregation has been implemented on the data by the company. Our findings from the travel cost model with the unique mobile phone data demonstrated the ecosystem service values at coastal and mountain areas. We found the spatial-temporal differences in the estimated values; especially, the change on a daily basis in each recreational site implied the seasonal changes of ecosystem services associated with changes in temporal environmental conditions and qualities. Although our unique data enabled us to estimate the value by 500m grid cell, still it was difficult to identify what kinds of recreational activities were performed and whether or not the activities have negative impacts on biodiversity. Further studies are recommended to integrate other social media data with photos and texts into our approach to remedy these issues. Development of applications of new technologies and data sources into conservation science will enhance understanding ecosystem services and nature-human relationships and help decision making under climate change. References [1] Mooney, H., Larigauderie, A., Cesario, M., Elmquist, T., Hoegh-Guldberg, O., Lavorel, S., Mace, G.M., Palmer, M., Scholes, R., Yahara, T., 2009. Biodiversity, climate change, and ecosystem services. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 1, 46-54. [2] Tenkanen, H., Di Minin, E., Heikinheimo, V., Hausmann, A., Herbst, M., Kajala, L., Toivonen, T., 2017. Instagram, Flickr, or Twitter: Assessing the usability of social media data for visitor monitoring in protected areas. Sci Rep 7, 17615. [3] van Zanten, B.T., Van Berkel, D.B., Meentemeyer, R.K., Smith, J.W., Tieskens, K.F., Verburg, P.H., 2016. Continental-scale quantification of landscape values using social media data. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 113, 12974-12979.peerReviewe

Introduction of Air-Segmentation Approach to Flow Titration by Feedback-based and Subsequent Fixed Triangular Wave-controlled Flow Ratiometry

An air-segmentation approach has been introduced to a feedback-based and subsequent fixed triangular wave-controlled flow ratiometry to suppress axial dispersion in flow titration. The flow rate of a base solution containing an indicator is linearly varied with a control signal, Vc, supplied by a computer. The solution is merged with an acid solution under a constant total flow rate. Air is introduced to the merged solution in order to segment the solution with air bubbles. Both phases are led to a UV/Vis detector without phase separation. Air signals are removed by signal processing. The effect of the lag time between the merging of solutions upstream and the sensing of the corresponding signal downstream is offset by feedback-based upward and downward Vc scans, and thus the Vc that gives the equivalence composition is determined. Subsequently, fixed triangular wave control is applied to a narrower Vc range with a higher scan rate to enhance the throughput rate (maximally 11.8 titrations/min). Air-segmentation has been found to be effective to reduce axial dispersion and to preserve the titrand/titrant composition upon their just being merged. Consequently, the applicable range is extended especially to lower titrand concentration. The proposed method has been successfully applied to various acid-base titrations, including the nonaqueous titration of the Japanese Pharmacopoeia drug