Rethinking India’s Nuclear Policy:Credible Minimum Nuclear Deterrence as a Dynamic Transformation of Nuclear Option Open

After its 1998 nuclear test, India’s nuclear doctrine was described as ‘credible minimum nuclear deterrence’. India’s nuclear doctrine and policy are often characterized, in the academic discourse, as if the country pursues an assertive military doctrine and policy. Has the Indian National Congress (INC)-led government that has been in place since 2004 altered the nuclear policy formulated by the former Bharatiya Jhanata Party (BJP)-led government? Although the BJP-led government led India towards nuclearization in 1998, in practice, it appears to have maintained a posture of restraint. To clarify India’s nuclear policy under the INC-led government that has been in power since 2004, this paper analyzes continuities and discontinuities between the two governments. It argues that the present government has endorsed a nuclear policy that resembles the 1999 Draft on Nuclear Doctrine, reflecting a traditional policy called ‘nuclear option open

Towards a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World: How Can the World Resolve the Disharmony Between the UNSC and UNGA?

Global momentum towards a "Nuclear-Weapon-Free World" (NWFW) has been growing since the end of the Cold War. Nevertheless, in the international community, it is still difficult to discern a unified voice about how to approach a NWFW, utilising international law. This is possibly because of ongoing disagreement between nuclear weapon States (NWS) and non-nuclear weapon States (NNWS), particularly the non-aligned countries. The issue revolves around the understanding of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), especially art 6 of that treaty which sets out the contracting parties' nuclear disarmament obligations. Reflecting the discord between the NWS and NNWS, this article sheds light on the gap between the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)'s perceptions of, and actions taken towards, the realisation of a NWFW. The article calls for the minimisation of disharmony by reinvestigating the roles of the United Nations system and the NPT in establishing a NWFW, and through observing the UNGA's current position

最大クリーク問題の多項式時間的可解性に関する研究

いわゆる“最大クリーク問題”は典型的なNP 完全問題であり, 多項式時間的に本問題を解くことはほぼ不可能であると強く予測されている．従って, 少なくともどのような条件下ならばこのNP 完全問題を多項式時間的に解くことが出来るかを明らかにすることは重要な課題である．これに対し, 平面グラフ, コーダルグラフ等いくつかの特殊グラフに対しては多項式時間的可解性が成立することが示されている. しかし一般グラフにおいては, 最大クリーク問題が多項式時間的可解となる条件について, これまでにおいて有意義な定量的結果は発表されていなかった. そこで本研究では, 先ず極大クリーク全列挙アルゴリズムCLIQUES (E. Tomita, A. Tanaka, H. Takahashi: Theoretical Computer Science, 2006) を基にして, 基本的な最大クリーク抽出の深さ優先探索アルゴリズムを確立した. この基本的アルゴリズムに対して探索領域限定操作をより強力化し, 対応したより詳細な場合分けを伴った解析を行うことにより, アルゴリズムが多項式時間的に終端する条件を逐次緩和し, 次の定量的な多項式時間的可解性条件を与えた． 即ち, 先ず一般グラフにおいてグラフの最大次数Δ のみを条件とした, 最大クリーク問題に対する以下の多項式時間的可解性の成立を示した. 「節点数n のグラフG = (V,E) の最大次数Δ が,Δ_0:定数) なる条件を満たすとき, 最大クリーク問題はO(n1+d) なる多項式時間で可解である. 」さらに本研究においては, 全節点に対する前記条件をより緩和した, 次の拡張結果も与えた. 「サイズn0>_2 なる任意の連結な誘導部分グラフG(C)( C⊆V ) に対して, C 中の最小次数節点v が, deg(v)_0:定数) を満たすとき, 最大クリーク問題はO(nmax(2,1+d)) の多項式時間で可解である. 」これは, サイズn0 である連結な誘導部分グラフのうち, 次数最小の節点を除き全く無条件としたもので, 制限条件の大きい緩和である. 以上本論文では, 最大クリーク問題の多項式時間的可解性について, 新しい枠組みを与えた.電気通信大学201

Evidence Mining Using Course Schedule

Creating evidence from learning big data has become increasingly important as we can use eLearning infrastructure and store learning log digitally. On the other hand, we need to time and effort to create evidence because it is manual. In this paper, we proposed the method to make evidence easier. Especially, we focus on procedure to automatically select the duration of intervention and comparison data based on the course schedule information. We simulated the procedure and confirmed the making a case based on course schedule information. In the discussion part, we mentioned the points that should be further improved for practical use in the future. Through our method, we will democratize the evidence-based practice to all the teachers in schools

Terrestrial ages of Antarctic meteorites measured by thermoluminescence of the fusion crust

The acquired doses of 14 Antarctic meteorites were measured using the thermoluminescent (TL) intensity of the fusion crust. It was found that there is a good correlation between the acquired TL doses and the terrestrial ages, which were previously measured by the cosmogenic radionuclide abundance

PIXE analysis of magnetic spherules in Paleozoic-Mesozoic bedded chert

Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) was applied to the elemental characterization of magnetic microspherules collected from the Paleozoic and Mesozoic bedded chert in Southwest Japan. Comparison of the titanium and chromium contents of the spherules with the magnetic components of meteorites and volcanic ash showed that this technique offers promising potential as a new method for distinguishing between spherules of terrestrial and extraterrestrial origin

Feasibility of Narrow-Spectrum Antimicrobial Agents for Post-Operative Intra-Abdominal Infections After Gastrectomy

Introduction: Recently, antimicrobial resistance has received considerable attention. Broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents are recommended as the initial therapy for post-operative intra-abdominal infections. However, at our institution, we have adopted a tactic of initially treating post-operative intra-abdominal complications with relatively narrow-spectrum antimicrobial agents, such as second-generation cephalosporins. In the present study, we aimed to retrospectively analyze the use of antimicrobial agents and the resulting treatment outcomes in patients with intra-abdominal complications after gastrectomy at our facility. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study of patients treated with antibiotic agents for intra-abdominal infectious complications after gastrectomy between 2011 and 2021. We determined the proportion of "initial treatment failures" associated with the initial administration of antibiotic agents for post-operative intra-abdominal complications. Results: Post-operative intra-abdominal infections were observed in 29 patients. Broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents were not administered. We successfully treated 19 patients. Initial treatment failure was observed in 10 patients, of whom five experienced failure due to bacterial resistance to the initial antimicrobial agent. All 10 patients who experienced initial treatment failure were discharged after drainage procedures or other treatments. There were no deaths due to post-operative complications. Cefmetazole was used as the initial antimicrobial agent in 27 of the 29 patients. Conclusions: Considering that all patients with post-gastrectomy intra-abdominal infections were successfully treated using relatively narrow-spectrum antimicrobial agents, and initial treatment failure due to antimicrobial-resistant pathogens was 17.2%, the use of narrow-range antimicrobial agents for intra-abdominal infections after gastrectomy can be deemed appropriate

Development of an Okinawa panel for biogeographic inference of Okinawans

BACKGROUND: The Precision ID Ancestry Panel with 165 SNP markers was unable to differentiate between mainland Japanese and Okinawa Japanese or to distinguish either of them from other East Asian populations.AIM: An Okinawa panel was developed with the aim of further separating Okinawa Japanese individuals from mainland Japanese and other Asian groups. Seventy-five SNPs were selected using the most informative markers from the literature. Further, 22 SNPs were selected to separate Okinawa Japanese at minimum SNPs.SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Samples were collected from 48 unrelated individuals from mainland Japan and 46 unrelated residents of the Okinawa prefecture. Data were evaluated by STRUCTURE, principal component, and GenoGeographer analyses.RESULTS: The 22 SNP set had similar levels of differentiation in STRUCTURE and PCA analyses as the 75 SNP set. GenoGeographer analysis showed that, out of the 46 Okinawa Japanese individuals, the 75 SNP and 22 SNP sets correctly assigned the Okinawan population as the most likely population of origin for 32 and 31 individuals, respectively.CONCLUSION: Neither SNP set could completely differentiate between Okinawa Japanese and other Asian groups, however, these sets should be useful for crime investigation, when the sample, cost and time are limited.</p

Role of clinical research coordinators in promoting clinical trials of drugs for surgical patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Clinical trials play a central role in the establishment of clinical evidence, and the important role of clinical research coordinators (CRCs) in various processes of clinical trials is now widely recognized. In Japan, many CRCs work under the discretion of their hospital and support clinical trials in various areas. Modification of CRC activity pursuant to the types of clinical trials may make roles of the CRC more effective and meaningful. In the present study, we examine the dedicated role of the CRC considering the specialty of a registration trial of a drug for surgical patients used during the operation period.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In 2006, we had a chance to support a registration trial of a drug for surgical patients used during the operation period. Regarding the mental and emotional status of possible participants in the present registration trial, we collected data from the perspective of CRCs by focus group interviews involving four CRCs working under the discretion of Tokushima University Hospital. The four CRCs were all nurses and had 7, 4.5, 1, or 0.5 years experience as CRCs, respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In contrast to clinical trials of drugs for chronic diseases, these often anxious patients must decide whether or not to enter the trial simultaneously with the decision to undergo surgery itself, and all in a relatively limited time after receiving explanation of the trial. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the mental and emotional status of possible participants. Additionally, the cooperation of the relatively large surgical and nursing staff becomes important. In such situations, the following contributions of CRCs were considered to be useful for the harmonious procedure of clinical trials: 1) providing a precise explanation of the trial to the participant and key persons, 2) understanding the needs of the investigators and appropriately assigning themselves roles, and 3) communicating between the investigators and surgical and nursing staff.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Further study is warranted to evaluate the benefit of the intervention provided by dedicated CRCs in running high quality clinical trials involving surgical patients.</p