An Analysis on the Structure of Evaluating Street Landscape Through Semantic Differential Technique

The structure on the evaluation of street landscape by men is analyzed through semantic differential technique. Some characteristic streets in Okayama and Kurashiki cities are selected for the analysis and they are evaluated by many subjects using their photographs. The results are outlined on their profile curves. Then, they are analyzed through factor analysis and some communal factors are induced. It is explained what these communal factors mean. Finally, it is considered how to make beautiful and comfortable street landscape

Two cases of intraoperative hemodynamic instability during combined thoracoscopic-laparoscopic surgery for esophagogastric junction carcinoma

Background Intraoperative complications during combined thoracoscopic-laparoscopic surgery for esophagogastric junction (EGJ) carcinoma have not been reported as compared to those during surgery for esophageal carcinoma. We present two cases which had surgery-related hemodynamic instability during laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy and intra-mediastinal valvuloplastic esophagogastrostomy (vEG) with thoracoscopic mediastinal lymphadenectomy for EGJ carcinoma. Case presentation In case 1, the patient fell into hypotension with hypoxemia during laparoscopic vEG due to pneumothorax caused by entry of intraabdominal carbon dioxide. In case 2, ventricular arrythmia and ST elevation occurred during laparoscopic vEG. Pericardium retraction to secure surgical field during reconstruction compressed the coronary artery, which caused coronary malperfusion. These two events were induced by the surgical procedure, characterized by the following: (1) connection of the thoracic and abdominal cavities and (2) cardiac displacement during vEG. Conclusion These cases indicated tension pneumothorax and coronary ischemia are possible intraoperative complications specific to combined thoracoscopic-laparoscopic surgery for EGJ carcinoma

Oil-in-water emulsion lotion providing controlled release using 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine n-butyl methacrylate copolymer as emulsifier

AbstractLotion is a useful vehicle for active ingredients used to treat skin disease because it can be applied to the scalp, can cover large areas of skin, and it is easy to spread due to low viscosity. An emulsion lotion (EL) containing 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine n-butyl methacrylate copolymer (PMB) as an emulsifier that provides controlled-release was developed. Diphenhydramine (DPH) was used as a model drug. Formulation with 5% DPH, 5% soybean oil, and 4% PMB in water was emulsified using a high-pressure homogenizer. Polysorbate 80 (TO) was used instead of PMB for comparison. They were applied in vitro to Yucatan micropig intact or stripped skin at a practical dose (2μL/cm2). For stripped skin, penetration of DPH from 4% PMB EL was slower than that from 1% TO EL; results for intact skin were similar. The same phenomenon was observed with application to rabbit skin in vivo. When 4% PMB EL dried on the skin, it made a thin film matrix incorporating the oil phase, which controlled the release of DPH. The release rate could be controlled by the ratio of oil phase to PMB. The EL with PMB shows promise as a vehicle for long-acting treatment of skin diseases

Quality of life and physical/psychosocial factors in children and adolescents with orthostatic intolerance

Background　Orthostatic intolerance (OI), which is common in children and adolescents, negatively impacts their quality of life (QOL) due to physical symptoms that limit work, school, and daily activities. The purpose of this study is to explore the association of physical and psychosocial factors with QOL scores in children and adolescents with OI. Methods　A cross sectional observational study was conducted. The study participants included 95 Japanese pediatric patients of age 9-15 years who were diagnosed with OI from April 2010 to March 2020. The QOL scores and the QOL T-scores of children with OI assessed using the KINDL-R questionnaire at the initial visit were compared with conventional normative data. The associations of physical and psychosocial factors with the QOL T-scores were examined using multiple linear regression. Results　Pediatric patients with OI had significantly lower QOL scores than healthy children in both elementary (50.7 +/- 13.5 vs. 67.9 +/- 13.4, p Conclusions　These results suggest that the assessment of QOL, including both physical and psychosocial aspects, especially school factors, needs to be implemented earlier in children and adolescents with OI

Investigation of the feasibility of a simple method for verifying the motion of a binary multileaf collimator synchronized with the rotation of the gantry for helical tomotherapy

In this paper, we suggest a new method for verifying the motion of a binary multileaf collimator (MLC) in helical tomotherapy. For this we used a combination of a cylindrical scintillator and a general-purpose camcorder. The camcorder records the light from the scintillator following photon irradiation, which we use to track the motion of the binary MLC. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of this method as a binary MLC quality assurance (QA) tool. First, the verification was performed using a simple binary MLC pattern with a constant leaf open time; secondly, verification using the binary MLC pattern used in a clinical setting was also performed. Sinograms of simple binary MLC patterns, in which leaves that were open were detected as "open" from the measured light, define the sensitivity which, in this case, was 1.000. On the other hand, the specificity, which gives the fraction of closed leaves detected as "closed", was 0.919. The leaf open error identified by our method was -1.3 +/- 7.5%. The 68.6% of observed leaves were performed within +/- 3% relative error. The leaf open error was expressed by the relative errors calculated on the sinogram. In the clinical binary MLC pattern, the sensitivity and specificity were 0.994 and 0.997, respectively. The measurement could be performed with -3.4 +/- 8.0% leaf open error. The 77.5% of observed leaves were performed within +/- 3% relative error. With this method, we can easily verify the motion of the binary MLC, and the measurement unit developed was found to be an effective QA tool.ArticleJOURNAL OF APPLIED CLINICAL MEDICAL PHYSICS. 13(1):27-43 (2012)journal articl

レジリエンス ノ ケイセイ カテイ : カイソウ サレタ リョウシンゾウ ニ チュウモク シテ

This study investigates the developmental process of resilience, focusing on the role played by parents’ nurturing and disciplinary attitudes. For this purpose, 258 undergraduate and graduate students were administered three questionnaires, assessing their parents’ nurturing attitude and disciplinary attitude and their own resilience. Results showed that mothers’ resilience had positive effect on resilience in male students, that a blaming attitude on the part of mothers had negative effect on resilience in male students, and that an accepting and supporting attitude on the part of mothers had a positive effect on female students, while worrying on the part of fathers had a negative effect on them. In terms of discipline, praise from mothers and praise and criticism from fathers had positive and negative effects on male students respectively. We conclude that children’s resilience can be fostered by supportive and massive attitudes on the part of mothers and fathers, respectively. Further, the developmental process of resilience differs between male and female students and male students are more affected by their parents than female students are

感情特性と情動への評価の関連性について

本研究は,特定の感情経験のもちやすさである「感情特性」と,自己が経験した情動に対する肯定・否定の価値づけである「情動への評価」との関連を検討したものである。一般大学生115名を対象に,感情特性尺度と情動への評価尺度を実施した。その結果,まず情動への評価は「喜び」因子ついては天井効果・フロア効果がみられたため,分析を断念した。また感情特性をもとに調査対象者をグループ分けしたところ,ポジティブ感情については違いがなく,ネガティブ感情と敵意感情をより感じやすい「ネガティブ特性群」と,より感じにくい「ポジティブ特性群」の2つに分かれた。この2つの特性群で感情への評価を比較したところ,「悲しみ」の他者懸念因子のみネガティブ特性群が高かったが,それ以外に有意差は認められなかった。情動への評価は特性によってあまり影響を受けないが,「悲しみ」については特性によって異なるため,特殊な感情であることが推測された