Evaluation of the effectiveness of X-ray protective aprons in experimental and practical fields

Few practical evaluation studies have been conducted on X-ray protective aprons in workplaces. We examined the effects of exchanging the protective apron type with regard to exposure reduction in experimental and practical fields, and discuss the effectiveness of X-ray protective aprons. Experimental field evaluations were performed by the measurement of the X-ray transmission rates of protective aprons. Practical field evaluations were performed by the estimation of the differences in the transit doses before and after the apron exchange. A 0.50-mm lead-equivalent-thick non-lead apron had the lowest transmission rate among the 7 protective aprons, but weighed 10.9 kg and was too heavy. The 0.25 and 0.35-mm lead-equivalent-thick non-lead aprons differed little in the practical field of interventional radiology. The 0.35-mm lead apron had lower X-ray transmission rates and transit doses than the 0.25-mm lead-equivalent-thick non-lead apron, and each of these differences exceeded 8 % in the experimental field and approximately 0.15 mSv/month in the practical field of computed tomography (p < 0.01). Therefore, we concluded that the 0.25-mm lead-equivalent-thick aprons and 0.35-mm lead apron are effective for interventional radiology operators and computed tomography nurses, respectively

Development of a method to rapidly assess resistance/susceptibility of Micro-Tom tomatoes to Tomato yellow leaf curl virus via agroinoculation of cotyledons

Objective: Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) is one of the pathogens severely damaging tomato crops. Therefore, methods to treat or prevent TYLCV infection need to be developed. For this purpose, a method to conveniently and quickly assess infection of tomatoes by TYLCV is desired. In the present study, we established a quick method to evaluate TYLCV infection using cotyledons of Micro-Tom, a miniature tomato cultivar. Results: First, we constructed a binary plasmid harboring 1.5 copies of the TYLCV genome and transformed Agrobacterium with the plasmid. By injecting agroinoculum from the resulting transformant into the branches of Micro-Tom, we confirmed the susceptibility of Micro-Tom to TYLCV. To shorten the evaluation process of TYLCV infection further, we agroinoculated cotyledons of Micro-Tom 10 days after sowing seeds. We consistently observed typical symptoms of TYLCV infection on true leaves 10 days after agroinoculation. Molecular analysis detected TYLCV progeny DNA in all leaves demonstrating symptoms 6 days after agroinoculation. Therefore, our new protocol enabled assessment of TYLCV infection within 20 days after sowing seeds. Thus, agroinoculation of Micro-Tom cotyledons will accelerate the process of screening TYLCV-resistant Micro-Toms and enable screening of larger numbers of plants more quickly, contributing to the development of TYLCV-resistant tomatoes

Seeking Further Opportunities for Japanese ILO Multi-bilateral Cooperation in the Context of Promoting Decent Work in Lao PDR:A Case Study on Employment Projects for Lao PDR

Promoting decent work (DW) for all, which is a target of the eight goal among the sustainable development goals (SDGs), is regarded as a focal point to be discussed globally. Additionally, each policy making and Official Development Assistance (ODA) is bei ng increasingly developed to address various labour issues. In this context, numerous labour issues, including employment issues, have been highlighted in Lao PDR, which is in a geographically important location of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation s (ASEAN) and has close diplomatic relations with Japan, and the Lao government has set policy goals for promoting DW accordingly. Conversely, the number of foreign direct investments from Japanese companies to the country has increased every year. To inco rporate market growth in Asia, labour issues in the region such as Lao PDR would constitute a serious concern. Hence, the Japanese government has engaged in various efforts towards promoting DW. Given the need for promoting DW in Lao PDR and the requiremen ts for the Japanese government to implement an effective ODA for DW in the country, this article seeks further opportunities for Japanese ILO multi bilateral cooperation in Lao PDR, which is a cooperation method to combine the technical expertise of ILO wi th financial support from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Welfare of Japan, while referring to recent cases of employment projects by ILO nationwide. Specifically, this article focuses on three perspectives (1: whether there are actual needs for such cooperation in the country, 2: whether Japanese ILO multi-bilateral cooperation effectively works in the country, 3: whether Japanese ILO multi bilateral cooperation contributes to being present in international society) to confirm whether Japanese ILO multi bilateral cooperation is possible in Lao PDR.departmental bulletin pape

Sensory processing, autonomic nervous function, and social participation in people with mental illnesses

Introduction: This study investigated the relationship between sensory processing, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and social participation in people with psychiatric disorders. Method: This study recruited 30 participants, primarily women, from a psychiatric university hospital with a mental health diagnosis listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (mean age: 37.7 ± 16.0 years). Sensory processing, autonomic nervous function, and social participation were measured using the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile®, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule, respectively. Through mediation analysis, a model wherein sensory processing mediated the relationship between respiratory sinus arrhythmia and social participation was developed. Results: Social participation was moderately to highly correlated with Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile® quadrants (excluding sensory seeking) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia. Furthermore, the mediation analysis revealed that sensory avoiding mediated the relationship between respiratory sinus arrhythmia and social participation, consequently counteracting the direct relationship. Conclusion: A mediation model was constructed, which indicated that individuals with psychiatric disorders and low parasympathetic nervous system activity expressed higher sensory processing quadrant of sensory avoiding. Ultimately, this was associated with reduced social participation

MNISQ: A Large-Scale Quantum Circuit Dataset for Machine Learning on/for Quantum Computers in the NISQ era

We introduce the first large-scale dataset, MNISQ, for both the Quantum and the Classical Machine Learning community during the Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum era. MNISQ consists of 4,950,000 data points organized in 9 subdatasets. Building our dataset from the quantum encoding of classical information (e.g., MNIST dataset), we deliver a dataset in a dual form: in quantum form, as circuits, and in classical form, as quantum circuit descriptions (quantum programming language, QASM). In fact, also the Machine Learning research related to quantum computers undertakes a dual challenge: enhancing machine learning exploiting the power of quantum computers, while also leveraging state-of-the-art classical machine learning methodologies to help the advancement of quantum computing. Therefore, we perform circuit classification on our dataset, tackling the task with both quantum and classical models. In the quantum endeavor, we test our circuit dataset with Quantum Kernel methods, and we show excellent results up to $97\%$ accuracy. In the classical world, the underlying quantum mechanical structures within the quantum circuit data are not trivial. Nevertheless, we test our dataset on three classical models: Structured State Space sequence model (S4), Transformer and LSTM. In particular, the S4 model applied on the tokenized QASM sequences reaches an impressive $77\%$ accuracy. These findings illustrate that quantum circuit-related datasets are likely to be quantum advantageous, but also that state-of-the-art machine learning methodologies can competently classify and recognize quantum circuits. We finally entrust the quantum and classical machine learning community the fundamental challenge to build more quantum-classical datasets like ours and to build future benchmarks from our experiments. The dataset is accessible on GitHub and its circuits are easily run in qulacs or qiskit.Comment: Preprint. Under revie

A novel removable shield attached to C-arm units against scattered X-rays from a patient\u27s side

Objectives We invented a drape-like shield against scattered X-rays that can safely come into contact with medical equipment or people during fluoroscopically guided procedures. The shield can be easily removed from a C-arm unit using one hand. We evaluated the use of the novel removable shield during the endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedure. Methods We measured the dose rate of scattered X-rays around endoscopists with and without this removable shield and surveyed the occupational doses to the ERCP staff. We also examined the endurance of the shield. Results The removable shield reduced the dose rate of scattered X-rays to one-tenth and reduced the monthly dose to an endoscopist by at least two-fifths. For 2.5 years, there was no damage to the shield and no loosening of the seam. The bonding of the hook-and-loop fasteners did not weaken, although the powerful double-sided tapes made especially for plastic did. Conclusions The removable shield can reduce radiation exposure to the ERCP staff and may contribute to reducing the exposure to the eye lenses of operators. It would also be possible to expand its use to other fluoroscopically guided procedures besides ERCP because it is a light, simple, and useful device. Key Points • We invented a shield that can be removed from C-arm units with one hand.• The removable shield reduces the dose rate of X-rays to one-tenth.• The removable shield reduces operator exposure by two-fifths.• The removable shield is durable, lasting for several years.• The drape-like removable shield is light, simple, and useful. © 2014 European Society of Radiology

Evaluation of the effectiveness of X-ray protective aprons in experimental and practical fields

Few practical evaluation studies have been conducted on X-ray protective aprons in workplaces. We examined the effects of exchanging the protective apron type with regard to exposure reduction in experimental and practical fields, and discuss the effectiveness of X-ray protective aprons. Experimental field evaluations were performed by the measurement of the X-ray transmission rates of protective aprons. Practical field evaluations were performed by the estimation of the differences in the transit doses before and after the apron exchange. A 0.50-mm lead-equivalent-thick non-lead apron had the lowest transmission rate among the 7 protective aprons, but weighed 10.9 kg and was too heavy. The 0.25 and 0.35-mm lead-equivalent-thick non-lead aprons differed little in the practical field of interventional radiology. The 0.35-mm lead apron had lower X-ray transmission rates and transit doses than the 0.25-mm lead-equivalent- thick non-lead apron, and each of these differences exceeded 8% in the experimental field and approximately 0.15 mSv/month in the practical field of computed tomography (p <0.01). Therefore, we concluded that the 0.25-mm lead-equivalent-thick aprons and 0.35-mm lead apron are effective for interventional radiology operators and computed tomography nurses, respectively. © The Author(s) 2013

Histidine-rich glycoprotein as a prognostic biomarker for sepsis

Various biomarkers have been proposed for sepsis; however, only a few become the standard. We previously reported that plasma histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRG) levels decreased in septic mice, and supplemental infusion of HRG improved survival in mice model of sepsis. Moreover, our previous clinical study demonstrated that HRG levels in septic patients were lower than those in noninfective systemic inflammatory response syndrome patients, and it could be a biomarker for sepsis. In this study, we focused on septic patients and assessed the differences in HRG levels between the non-survivors and survivors. We studied ICU patients newly diagnosed with sepsis. Blood samples were collected within 24 h of ICU admission, and HRG levels were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Ninety-nine septic patients from 11 institutes in Japan were included. HRG levels were significantly lower in non-survivors (n=16) than in survivors (n=83) (median, 15.1 [interquartile ranges, 12.7-16.6] vs. 30.6 [22.1-39.6] mu g/ml; p<0.01). Survival analysis revealed that HRG levels were associated with mortality (hazard ratio 0.79, p<0.01), and the Harrell C-index (predictive power) for HRG was 0.90. These results suggested that HRG could be a novel prognostic biomarker for sepsis

Sociodemographic factors affecting not receiving COVID-19 vaccine in Japan among people who originally intended to vaccinate: a prospective cohort study

ObjectiveVaccine hesitancy is a major issue for acquiring herd immunity. However, some individuals may go unvaccinated owing to inhibitory factors other than vaccine hesitancy. If there is even a small number of such people, support is needed for equitable vaccine distribution and acquiring herd immunity. We investigated sociodemographic factors that affected not undergoing COVID-19 vaccination in Japan among individuals who had strong intention to vaccinate before beginning the vaccination.MethodsWe conducted this prospective cohort study on workers aged 20–65 years from December 2020 (baseline), to December 2021 using a self-administered questionnaire survey. There were 27,036 participants at baseline and 18,560 at follow-up. We included 6,955 participants who answered yes to this question at baseline: “Would you like to receive a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it becomes available?” We applied multilevel logistic regression analyses to examine the association between sociodemographic factors and being unvaccinated at follow-up.ResultsIn all, 289 participants (4.2%) went unvaccinated. The odds ratios (ORs) for being unvaccinated were significantly higher for participants aged 30–39 and 40–49 than those aged 60–65 years. Being divorced, widowed, or single, having low income, and having COVID-19 infection experience also had higher ORs.DiscussionWe found that some participants who initially had strong intention to vaccinate may have gone unvaccinated owing to vaccine side effects and the financial impact of absenteeism due to side effects. It is necessary to provide information repeatedly about the need for vaccination as well as social support to ensure that those who intend to vaccinate are able to do so when aiming for acquiring herd immunity through vaccination against COVID-19 as well as other potential infection pandemics in the future