Record of Grapholita hyalitis (Meyrick) (Tortricidae) from Shimane Prefecture, Honshu, Japan

During the 5-year period from 1980 to 1984, the incidence of subarachnoid hemorrhage due only to rupture of aneurysms was investigated in Izumo City, a small city with a population of 79,026. Additionally, to ascertain the relation of incidence to the size of the geographic area and/or population, a similar analysis was made on a larger area of Shimane Prefecture, including Izumo City, with a total population of 789,712. During this 5-year period, a total of 83 patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage were hospitalized in Izumo City, 548 patients in Shimane Prefecture. Ruptured aneurysms were confirmed in 77 cases (93%) in Izumo City and 466 cases (85%) in Shimane Prefecture. The crude annual incidences of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage for Izumo City and Shimane Prefecture were 21.0 and 13.9 per 100,000 population for all ages, and the age-adjusted annual incidences (adjusted to the 1980 population of Japan) were 18.3 and 11.0 per 100,000 for all ages, respectively. For both Izumo City and Shimane Prefecture, the age-specific annual incidences peaked at the ages of 50-69 years, and the highest incidence was 92.3 per 100,000 men from Izumo City in the eighth decade of life. The annual incidence of subarachnoid hemorrhage for Izumo City is the highest reported to date. If a wider area, such as Shimane Prefecture, were studied many patients in poor condition, particularly elderly patients, would be missed. To determine accurately the incidence of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, it thus might be better to conduct the study in a small city such as Izumo City.

The purpose of this study is to shed light on how the perception of the waters around Dokdo in Shimane Prefecture surrounding the Peace Line was expressed. Based on the theoretical background of the politicization of fishing rights, the discussion will focus on the moments that led Shimane Prefecture to transform the issue of captured fishing boats in waters around Dokdo into a sovereignty issue from the declaration of the peace line in January 1952 to the conclusion of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan in June 1965. Shimane Prefecture regarded the declaration of the peace line as a political measure aimed at cracking down on Japanese fishermen in the waters around Dokdo and the fishing grounds on the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula. Above all, Shimane Prefecture recognized the Peace Line as an unreasonable fishing border and argued that the Korean government's seizure of Japanese fishing boats was an illegal act. Moreover, while the Japanese media was raising the illegality of the peace ship, fabricated reports about the capture of Japanese fishing boats that landed on Dokdo provided an excuse to escalate the Dokdo issue. What is noteworthy is that Shimane Prefecture's self-centered perception of the Peace Ship originated from a distortion of the wrong facts resulting from changes in the Japanese government's fishing policy, rather than from a sense of victimization among fishing boats and fishermen captured by Korea. In other words, Shimane Prefecture's perception of the waters around Dokdo surrounding the Peace Line was expressed through the politicization of fishing rights, where the distorted facts of fishermen entrenched by Japan's fisheries policy infiltrated their real lives and escalated beyond securing the right to survive to a question of sovereignty.

The “Izumo Study” revealed the incidence rate of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture, Japan, from 1980 to 1998. However, no study has been published regarding the incidence of SAH in Shimane Prefecture after 1998. Most studies reporting the incidence of SAH in Japan have been conducted before 2000, although a few have been reported after 2000. This study aimed to assess the estimated age-adjusted incidence rate (AAIR) of SAH in Shimane Prefecture after 1998, following the Izumo Study. A retrospective study was conducted to identify the estimated AAIR of SAH in Shimane Prefecture, using the age-adjusted SAH mortality rate for this population from 1999 to 2017 and assuming that the case-fatality rate of SAH decreased by 0.7% annually from 45% in 1999 to 32.4% in 2017. We used linear regression analysis for trend to the estimated AAIR of SAH. Sensitivity analyses were also conducted by various case-fatality rates of SAH using assuming case-fatality rate based on previous reports. The estimated AAIR of SAH in Shimane Prefecture declined from 33.6 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 29.7-37.9) per 100,000 person-years in 1999, by 26.5%, to 24.7 (95% CI: 21.4-28.5) in 2017 (p < 0.01, r = 0.58). Declining trend of incidence rate of SAH in Shimane Prefecture from 1999 to 2017 was confirmed in this study.

This paper is a report on the regional structure of city region pattern in Shimane Prefecture, western Honshu. Two indicators have been employed in order to explain the relationships between cities and their surroundings. The indicators are a) main places to purchase shopping goods for the dwellers and b) commuting areas of the dwellers.In Shimane Prefecture, most city regions are small in area. Core cities in some city regions are distributed on the coast of Japan Sea, others scattered inland. Each core city is a service or business center in a rural-urban community. In general, the areal form of a city region is longitudinal extending from north to south. Communication between the city regions is restricted within narrow limits because of imperfect transportation facilities. Functional competition between core cities is only observed in the Izumo area in eastern Shimane. In mountainous areas, towns and villages are comparatively isolated from the main city regions of Shimane, rather they are more or less functionally linked with those of other prefectures such as Hiroshima and Yamaguchi. In the river valley of the Go, no significant core cities are to be found and so the local towns perform central functions instead. In Shimane Prefecture, industrialization recently developing has promoted suburbanization, though very small in scale. Examples are Matsue, Yasugi and Gotsu. Matsue, prefectural capital of Shimane, has been experiencing suburbanization. Market-gardening district in the Tsuda and Nogi areas of its southern suburbs has recently changed to residential sections. Because of the prevalence of narrow and hook-shaped roads in the heart of the city and also of the existence of only two large bridges connecting northern and southern parts of Matsue, intra-city traffic is very congested. In this city, industrialization is not rapid and no large industrial plants employing more than 300 persons are to be seen. Nevertheless, Matsue's central function is by far the largest in this prefecture and its sphere of retail trade and commuting covers an area of 100-minutes distance along the San'in railroad. For the pedlars still found in a large number, Matsue functions as the primary center for their selling and buying. In this paper, some other cities and towns such as Izumo, and Gotsu are also geographically dealt with in a similar fashion. Despite the efforts made to industrialize Shimane Prefecture further, still agriculture dominates among all industries, although it cannot support more people. Out-flow of people from rural parts has been a general tendency of late. Even the tertiary industry is not very prosperous, and many goods must be shipped in from other districts such as San'yo even today. Development through either secondary or tertiary industry would not be quite successful here. And so much emphasis has to be put on agricultural production, so that the people of Shimane could become better off without much development in secondary and tertiary industries. Such a relatively under-developed situation of Shimane Prefecture must be taken into consideration when we deal with the regional development.

The overall outcome of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage was investigated in Izumo City and Shimane Prefecture. Of the patients from Izumo City, the clinical grade on admission was Grade I or II in 41% and Grade IV or V in 31%. Of those from Shimane Prefecture, 49% were graded as Grade I or II and 24% as Grade IV or V. The overall mortality rates 1 year after subarachnoid hemorrhage were 46% for Izumo City and 35% for Shimane Prefecture, while the surgical mortality rates were 18 and 15%, respectively. The mortality rates were particularly high among the elderly over the age of 70 years and among unoperated cases. The leading cause of death in these cases was the effect of aneurysm rupture itself, followed by rebleeding and vasospasm. The 5-year survival probabilities according to life table analysis were 50% for Izumo City and 59% for Shimane Prefecture, and a significant difference was observed in survival curves between Izumo City and Shimane Prefecture. It is concluded that the smaller the community studied, the less favorable the overall outcome, mainly because of poorer clinical conditions on admission.

A significant number of patients are diagnosed with "fevers of unknown origin" (FUO) in Shimane Prefecture in Japan where tick-borne diseases are endemic. We conducted molecular surveys for Babesia microti, Ehrlichia species, and Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis in 62 FUO cases and 62 wild rodents from Shimane Prefecture, Japan. PCR using primers specific for the Babesia 18S small-subunit rRNA (rDNA) gene and Anaplasmataceae groESL amplified products from 45% (28/62) and 25.8% (16/62) of captured mice, respectively. Of the 28 18S rDNA PCR positives, 23 and five samples were positive for Hobetsu- and Kobe-type B. microti, respectively. In contrast, of the 16 groESL PCR positives, eight, one and seven samples were positive for Ehrlichia muris, Ehrlichia sp. HF565 and Candidatus N. mikurensis, respectively. Inoculation of selected blood samples into Golden Syrian hamsters indicated the presence of Hobetsu- and Kobe-type B. microti in four and one sample, respectively. Isolation of the latter strain was considered important as previous studies suggested that the distribution of this type was so far confined to Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture, where the first case of transfusion-associated human babesiosis originated. DNA samples from 62 FUO human cases tested negative for B. microti 18S rDNA gene, Anaplasmataceae groESL gene, Rickettsia japonica 17K genus-common antigen gene and Orientia tsutsugamushi 56K antigen gene by PCRs. We also conducted seroepidemiological surveys on 62 human sera collected in Shimane Prefecture from the FUO patients who were suspected of carrying tick-borne diseases. However, indirect immunofluorescent antibody tests using B. microti- and E. muris-infected cells detected IgG against E. muris in only a single positive sample. This study demonstrates the presence of several potentially important tick-borne pathogens in Shimane Prefecture and suggests the need for further study on the causative agents of FUOs.

(1) Shimane Prefecture is an agricultural area in which the inhabitants engage, for the most part, in the primary industry. According to the post-war elections of Members of the House of Representatives in this agricultural electoral district, the voting rate is high and the votes go largely to the conservative camp in comparison with the reformist group. Moreover this polling pattern in the nine post-war elections has not undergone as large a change as in metropolitan districts, but the reformist votes have been increasing gradually and this tendency became clear especially after the organization of the Ikeda Cabinet. This paper proposes to make these objective facts clear, based on the materials obtained in the five inquiries for the last five years.(2) When we classify the degrees of voters' interest in political affairs into three categories of ‘positive interest’, ‘passive interest’ and ‘indifference’, the possessors of positive interest constitute the 50-60 per cent of voters in any place, and those of passive interest and those who are politically indifferent forming the rest. Those latter are also mobilized to the polls, and thus the high voting rate of almost 85 per cent is usual in the Elections of Members of the House of Representatives.(3) In rural districts where the sense of communal life is still strong, those who belong to the latter categories are compelled to conform with the political opinions and behaviors of the leading persons (‘bosses’) and, when the so-called cross-pressures are extended, are inclined to yield to these pressures even by deliberately dividing the family votes. The bosses are those who dominate local government and economy, and the order of a local self-governing body which is organized by them tends to control political awareness and behavior of those who belong to the two categories of passive interest and indifference. This very fact stimulates politically indifferent people to vote for specific candidates (generally conservatives) whom the bosses support. And it can be said that this voting behavior of these electorates helps to bring about the high voting rate and the high polling score of the conservative party. At the same time the campaign conducted by the Election Administration Committee for the prevention of abstention from voting is operating to raise the voting rate side by side with the psychological pressures from bosses on these electorates.(4) Nearly half of those who take a positive interest in politics cast their votes for the reformist group even in Shimane Prefecture, and the votes of those who have belonged to the categories of passive interest and indifference go mostly to the conservative camp. But, the growing poverty of farming families accompanied by the recent high rate of growth of Japan's national economy and the following out of the rural population from Shimane Prefecture into other industrial districts, are now bringing about the disturbance of the traditional order in rural districts and the decrease of the authority of the bosses. Then those who have belonged to the classes of passive interest and indifference are now being freed from the solid conservative supremacy through the influence of mass media (television, in particular) and of the activities of some labour union members. Thus their votes are becoming more and more floating votes, and it is a serious problem for every Japanese political party whether these votes will eventually become fixed as votes for the conservative party or for the reformist group.

BackgroundZoonotic infections with Onchocerca species are uncommon, and to date only 25 clinical cases have been reported worldwide. In Japan, five previous zoonotic infections were concentrated in Oita, Kyushu (the southern island), with one previous case in Hiroshima in the western part of Honshu (the main island). The causative agent in Japan was identified as Onchocerca dewittei japonica Uni, Bain & Takaoka, 2001 from Japanese wild boars (Sus scrofa leucomystax Temminck, 1842). Here we report two infections caused by a female and male O. dewittei japonica, respectively, among residents of Hiroshima and Shimane Prefectures in the western part of Honshu.MethodsIn both cases, nodules were surgically removed. The parasites in nodules were identified on the basis of their histopathological characteristics. Identification was confirmed by sequencing the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene from worms in the tissues used in the histological preparations.ResultsCase 1 was a 61-year-old woman from Hiroshima Prefecture who complained of a painful subcutaneous nodule on the back of her right hand. The causative agent was identified as a female O. dewittei japonica owing to transverse ridges on the cuticle and molecular analysis. Case 2 was a 78-year-old woman from Shimane Prefecture who had a painful nodule in the left temporal region. Histopathological characteristics and cox1 sequencing of the worm indicated that the causative agent was a male O. dewittei japonica.ConclusionsFor Cases 1 and 2, we diagnosed the causative agents as a female and male O. dewittei japonica, respectively. These findings indicate the spread of a zoonosis caused by O. dewittei japonica in the western part of Honshu, where wild boars have recently extended their habitats because of decreased annual snowfall, unused rice fields and a decline in the number of hunters in Japan. The O. dewittei japonica infection rate among wild boars was reported as 78% in Shimane Prefecture, in the western part of Honshu. Therefore, in the near future, zoonotic onchocercosis is likely to occur in Honshu as well as Kyushu, where wild boars, blackfly vectors and humans share the same habitat.

In this study, the genetic parameters of major visceral diseases were estimated using the postmortem inspection records of 9057 fattening Japanese Black cattle in Shimane Prefecture, Japan, and the genetic correlation between visceral diseases and carcass traits was analyzed. There were six visceral diseases with a prevalence of 5% or higher, namely, pleurisy, pneumonia, bovine abdominal fat necrosis (BFN), rumenitis, hemorrhagic hepatitis, and perihepatitis. Variance components were estimated using the Gibbs sampling method, and the heritability of the visceral disease ranged from 0.07 to 0.49 for perihepatitis and BFN, respectively. Significant negative genetic correlations were identified between pleurisy and rib thickness (-0.32), BFN and carcass weight (-0.29), and BFN and rib eye area (-0.22). No significant genetic correlation was observed among the visceral diseases. The least squares analysis of variance suggested that some visceral diseases decrease the value of carcass traits. In particular, carcass weight and rib eye area in individuals with BFN were 11.7kg and 1.87 cm2 lower than those of healthy cattle, respectively. Thus, it was inferred that genetic factors were involved in the visceral diseases of fattening Japanese Black cattle in Shimane Prefecture.

To demonstrate the transmission cycle of Shimokoshi-type Orientia tsutsugamushi in Shimane Prefecture, field rodents were captured from areas where four human infections caused by the pathogen have been reported. The rodents were investigated for the transmission cycle of the pathogen based on the pathogen's genome, antibodies against the pathogen, and the vector of the pathogen (Leptotrombidium palpale). In addition, the vector was captured from the soil in the study area. A total of 44 rodents were captured. No O. tsutsugamushi DNA was detected in the blood or spleen samples by real-time polymerase chain reaction. However, a specific antibody against the pathogen was detected in 2 out of 44 (4.5%) rodents using the indirect immunoperoxidase method, indicating the presence of the pathogen in the study area. Although 29 L. palpale were identified, DNA detection was not performed because of the insufficient number of vectors, based on the DNA detection rate in previous studies. However, the identification of the vector, as well as the specific antibody in rodents, suggests the presence of the transmission cycle of Shimokoshi-type O. tsutsugamushi in Shimane Prefecture.

Object: This study aimed to assess the relationships between trend of mortality rate from subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and blood pressure and smoking prevalence among about 700,000 residents of Shimane prefecture, Japan. Methods: A retrospective review was performed to identify the age-adjusted mortality rate from SAH calculated using the standard population of Japan in 2010 and changes in population of Shimane prefecture used the date based on government statistics during 1999 through 2017. Blood pressure dates were extracted from Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare during 2008 through 2015, and smoking prevalence from Cancer Registry and Statistics. Cancer Information Service, National Cancer Center, Japan every 3 years since 2001. Result: Age-adjusted mortality rate from SAH in Shimane prefecture tended to decline by 3.6% between 1999 through 2017 regardless of gender, as 14.86 (95%CI:14.65-15.07) per 100,000 person-year in 1999 to 7.96 (95%CI:7.81-8.11) in 2017. The Population of Shimane prefecture, where one of the most aging region in Japan, was decreased by 10.4% since 764,291 in 1999 to 684,668 in 2017. Blood pressure was invariable during 2008 through 2015, while smoking prevalence decreased since 2001 to 2016, as 25.0% to 18.0%. Conclusion: Age-adjusted mortality rate from SAH in Shimane prefecture have declined since 1999 to 2017, regardless of decrease of population and advancement of aging region. The factor of decline might be not only development of treatment and management, but decrease of incidence of SAH in Japan accompanied by improvement of smoking prevalence or lifestyle habitation.

Changes in ischemic findings in ECG, obesity and serum lipids and the relations among them were investigated in Sada Town, a typical agricultural and mountaineous area in Shimane Prefecture, where the mortality rate from ischemic heart disease had increased. Compared with 1983, the percentage of ischemic findings in ECG in 1990 increased, and a marked elevation of total serum cholesterol level, and relative and absolute lowering of HDL cholesterol level were observed in 1990. By observing the relations of total serum cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and the atherosclerotic index to the ischemic findings in electrocardiograms (ECG), it was found that males showed a significantly lower HDL cholesterol level and higher atherosclerotic index than the control group. In males, a relation between obesity and ischemic findings in ECG was observed. In females, a relation between obesity and the atherosclerotic index was observed; however, no relations were observed between ischemic findings and obesity. These results support the hypothesis that a marked elevation of the total serum cholesterol level, relative and absolute lowering of the HDL cholesterol level and obesity have an effect on the recent increase of male deaths due to ischemic heart disease in Sada Town, Shimane Prefecture.

Background: Several recent epidemiological investigations have shown that the rate of vascular dementia (VD) has decreased and the rate of senile dementia of the Alzheimer type has increased in Japan. In our previous neuropathological examination, such a trend but no significant differences were shown in nursing home residents in Shimane Prefecture, Japan. Objective: The aim of this study was to clarify whether or not the frequency of cerebral infarctions (CI) and the ratio of CI [large infarction type (LI) and small multiple infarction (MI)] types changed between the first half of this study and the second half, corresponding to the decreasing trend of the rate of VD. Methods: Three hundred and ten aged nursing home residents (146 men and 164 women) were evaluated neuropathologically in Shimane prefecture, Japan. All subjects died between 1976 and 1992. The average age ± standard deviation at death was 79.1 ± 8.7 years for men, 83.4 ± 7.8 for women, and 81.4 ± 8.5 overall. They were placed into the first or second study group and compared. Results: (1) The incidence of hypertension (HT) decreased significantly from the first half of the study to the second half in both men and women. (2) The frequencies of CI and CI with HT were not significantly different between the first and second half (both men and women). (3) There was a decreasing trend in the ratio of LI to MI from the first to the second period in men. Conclusion: There may be no effect of the incidence of HT on CI frequency and some effects on CI types. The incidence of CI in total lifespan (both men and women) has not changed in our study. The recent decreasing trend in LI in men may have contributed to the decreasing tendency in the prevalence of vascular dementia.

This chapter examines the municipal power of prefectures in western Japan whose population-sustaining power has been devastated for some time. Two prefectures studied, in particular are, Shimane in the Sannindo, and Kochi in Nankaido. Shimane Prefecture is in the Sannindo of the Goki-Shichido. However, we must remember the socio-cultural divisions of the three provinces in Shimane Prefecture, namely Izumo, Iwami, and Oki. Our investigations identified clear variations in municipal power through provincial differences. It is widely acknowledged that the Izumo region holds northeastern socio-cultural orientation while the Iwami region carries a southwestern socio-cultural orientation, and the Oki region is independent. This assumption has been validated in the current study by measuring municipal power in Shimane Prefecture. Furthermore, we inspected closely the municipal power of Ama-cho on Oki Islands. Under the slogan of “There is nothing that is not here,” Ama-cho seems to have modified its defensive administrative attitudes to challenges, as exemplified in the increase in employment and the Dozen High School programs. The number of I-turns between 2004 and 2015 amount to some 300 households and 400 people, of whom 70 people are in their 20s and 30s. These demographic changes tell that Ama-cho has been changing for the better in recent years. We should remember, however, the population of Ama-cho once was 7,000 in 1950, and it has been on the declining trend continuously to less than 2,400 by the year 2015, of which 40% are older adults. It is true, therefore, that the population crisis of Ama-cho has not been solved but continues to exist. What is important for the revitalization of a local remote community on an island such as Ama-cho is its determination to make decisions for pursuing the projects that they set up. Each municipality is encouraged to take its own initiative and challenge on one hand, but at the same time its seriousness and determination to revitalize the community is expected. Another prefecture suffering from population deterioration in the southwestern part of Japan is Kochi of Tosa Province, in the Nankaido. First, we analyzed municipal power across 34 municipalities within Kochi Prefecture, and found little noticeable variations within the prefecture. This is, perhaps, because Kochi Prefecture had existed as Tosa Province solely. Then, we examined Otoyo-cho, one of the most seriously depopulated municipalities in Kochi Prefecture. It is the inevitable reality that population decline in Otoyo-cho has been developing rapidly; the population today has been reduced to less than one-sixth (3,611 in 2019) from the time when Otoyo-cho was established in 1955 (22,386). At the same time, we know that now is the time to preserve the superb natural environment surrounding Otoyo-cho. Thus, taking advantage of positive aspects of the municipal power and social capital of Otoyo-cho it is imperative to work on countermeasures for this imminent situation. For this reason, we considered three programs that have been adopted in Otoyo-cho in recent years. They are the very programs that could be pursued by the mountain rural area of Otoyo-cho, but no other place. These programs are the Otoyo Peony Society (Otoyo Shakuyaku no Kai), Otoyo Delivery Service (Otoyo Takuhai Service), and Welcome to Otoyo Immigration Project (Oideyo Otoyo Ijyu Keikaku). We discuss each project in the current chapter. Accumulation of these small but steady efforts will surely contribute to the revitalization of Otoyo-cho.

Changing trends in Japanese spotted fever epidemiology in Shimane, Japan: A two-decade retrospective study with emphasis on the COVID-19 pandemic era