The outcome of an action often occurs after a delay. One solution for learning appropriate actions from delayed outcomes is to rely on a chain of state transitions. Another solution, which does not rest on state transitions, is to use an eligibility trace (ET) that directly bridges a current outcome and multiple past actions via transient memories. Previous studies revealed that humans (Homo sapiens) learned appropriate actions in a behavioral task in which solutions based on the ET were effective but transition-based solutions were ineffective. This suggests that ET may be used in human learning systems. However, no studies have examined nonhuman animals with an equivalent behavioral task. We designed a task for nonhuman animals following a previous human study. In each trial, participants chose one of two stimuli that were randomly selected from three stimulus types: a stimulus associated with a food reward delivered immediately, a stimulus associated with a reward delivered after a few trials, and a stimulus associated with no reward. The presented stimuli did not vary according to the participants' choices. To maximize the total reward, participants had to learn the value of the stimulus associated with a delayed reward. Five chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) performed the task using a touchscreen. Two chimpanzees were able to learn successfully, indicating that learning mechanisms that do not depend on state transitions were involved in the learning processes. The current study extends previous ET research by proposing a behavioral task and providing empirical data from chimpanzees.

This study aimed to investigate the appropriate subgroups for surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and nodal metastases. We retrospectively reviewed 210 patients with NSCLC and nodal metastases who underwent surgery and examined the risk factors for poor overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free probability (RFP) using multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis. Pathological N1 and N2 were observed in 114 (52.4%) and 96 (47.6%) patients, respectively. A single positive node was identified in 102 patients (48.6%), and multiple nodes were identified in 108 (51.4%). Multivariate analysis revealed that vital capacity < 80% (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.678, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.483–4.837), radiological usual interstitial pneumonia pattern (HR: 2.321, 95% CI: 1.506–3.576), tumor size > 4.0 cm (HR: 1.534, 95% CI: 1.035–2.133), and multiple-node metastases (HR: 2.283, 95% CI: 1.517–3.955) were significant independent risk factors for poor OS. Tumor size > 4.0 cm (HR: 1.780, 95% CI: 1.237–2.562), lymphatic permeation (HR: 1.525, 95% CI: 1.053–2.207), and multiple lymph node metastases (HR: 2.858, 95% CI: 1.933–4.226) were significant independent risk factors for recurrence. In patients with squamous cell carcinoma (n = 93), there were no significant differences in OS or RFP between those who received platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy (n = 25) and those who did not (n = 68), at p = 0.690 and p = 0.292, respectively. Multiple-node metastases were independent predictors of poor OS and recurrence. Patients with NSCLC and single-node metastases should be considered for surgery despite N2 disease. Additional treatment with platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy may be expected, especially in patients with squamous cell carcinoma.

18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) has been widely used for preoperative staging of lung adenocarcinomas. The aim of this study was to determine whether a high maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) could correlate with pathological characteristics in those patients. We retrospectively reviewed patients with clinical stage 0-IA lung adenocarcinoma who underwent preoperative 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography followed by curative anatomical resection. To identify more advanced disease and high-risk features, representing visceral pleural involvement, pulmonary metastasis, lymph node involvement, and lymphovascular involvement in resected surgical specimens, univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. The optimal cutoff point for the SUVmax was determined by receiver operating characteristic analysis. In 2 groups divided according to the cutoff point, the disease-free survivals were calculated and compared using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. More advanced disease and high-risk features were identified in 55 (18.9%) of the 291 patients. SUVmax was significantly correlated with more advanced disease and high-risk features, as did the consolidation/tumor ratio on computed tomography. Only 2 (1.2%) of the 169 patients with a SUVmax <3.20 showed more advanced disease and high-risk features, compared with 43.4% of patients with a SUVmax ≥3.20. The disease-free survival was significantly higher in patients with a SUVmax <3.20 than in those with a SUVmax ≥3.20 (P=0.002). A high SUVmax correlates with more advanced disease and high-risk features in patients with clinical stage 0-IA lung adenocarcinoma. The SUVmax should be considered when deciding treatment strategy in early-stage lung adenocarcinoma.

In some instances, existing methods for decomposing a time series into several components cannot capture cyclical components that contain long-period cycles. We propose a systematic methodology to overcome this problem. In the proposed hyper-trend method, we assume that part of the cyclical variation is included in the estimate of the trend component. We then capture the remainder of the cyclical variation by re-decomposing the estimate of the trend component. The average coefficient of determination is introduced to evaluate the decomposed results. An overall procedure for applying the proposed approach is developed, and the performance of the proposed approach is demonstrated by analysing 20 commercial sales time series and 30 business cycle time series.

This paper intends to show four practical steps for content analysis; one of the most common data reduction approaches in qualitative analysis for applied linguistics. Although content analysis can help to draw conclusions from textual data by interpreting them effectively, the available literature lacks detail on how to conduct content analyses, especially in the context of study abroad research. In this paper, each of the four steps of content analysis (segmenting data, formulating codes, developing categories, and identifying main themes) is explained by utilizing actual sample data related to studying abroad; the sample study investigated a single participant’s perceptions of a general English language course in the United Kingdom. 本文は、応用言語学の質的研究で最も普及しているデータ削減手法の一つである、 内容分析の実践的な方法について示すものである。内容分析は、テキストデータを 効果的に解釈し、結論の導出に役立つ一方、特に海外留学研究において、内容分析 の方法に関する詳細を説く文献は限られている。そこで本文では、内容分析の 4 段 階（データの分割、コードの作成、カテゴリー化、そしてメインテーマの見極め） について、留学に関連する実際のサンプルデータを活用して説明を行う。尚、サン プル研究は、イギリスでの英語研修に関する一人の参加者の見解を調査したもので ある。

At disaster response, it is essential to grab whole picture of damage situation quickly and early after disaster occurrence in order to make disaster response effective and efficient. However, it takes much time to understand damage situation because there is not enough information about it. Against this issue, we proposed implementation of CyborgCrowd for situation awareness in disaster response. In order to validate its possibility, we planned the first international disaster drill in October, 2019. In this drill, we simulated to detect flooded area by West Japan Flood occurred in 2018 from aerial photos by collaboration between crowdsourcing and AIs following Human-in-the-Loop process. Especially, in this drill, AIs were also crowdsourced. In this research, we validated the transition of the efforts from crowdsourcing and AIs to detecting flooded area, and verified the accuracy of result by comparing with the actual flooded area published by Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. Furthermore, we found some suggestion about features of detection results by humans and AIs. For example, some humans detected flooded area roughly, however AIs detected it much closely. Based on those features, we proposed the way to decrease the difference between results by humans and AIs. This was essential for local responders to understand the whole picture of damage situation after disaster occurrence urgently. In this paper, we introduced the framework of international disaster drill, clarified the result of validation, and mentioned the possibility of effective collaboration between crowdsourcing and AIs for quick situation awareness in disaster response.

This study aimed to translate and culturally adapt the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center Overuse Injury Questionnaire (OSTRC-O) and the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center Questionnaire on Health Problems (OSTRC-H) into the Japanese context. The validity and reliability of these translated questionnaires examining overuse injuries and health problems among Japanese university athletes were also examined. The translation was performed following an internationally recognized methodology. A total of 145 athletes were tracked over 10 consecutive weeks and four questions were added in the 10th week to examine the questionnaires’ content validity. Test-retest analysis for reliability was performed 24–72 hours after the 10th week of registration. Internal consistency was determined by calculating Cronbach’s a during the cohort study. No major disagreements were found in the translation process. The translated questionnaires had high acceptance and compliance, with an average response rate of over 80% throughout the 10-week cohort study. Most participants reported that the questionnaires were not difficult to complete, there were no items they wanted to change or add, and that the web-based technique worked effectively. Good test-retest reliability and high internal consistency was observed in the translated questionnaires. The translated questionnaires were found to be valid, reliable, and acceptable for medically monitoring Japanese athletes.

Although lobectomy is the standard surgical procedure for small-sized non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), segmentectomy has been performed for various reasons. The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of and risk factors for recurrence in early-stage NSCLC patients undergoing segmentectomy. We retrospectively reviewed 179 patients with clinical stage I NSCLC who underwent segmentectomy. Preoperative factors were analyzed using the log-rank test for univariate analyses. Multivariate analyses were performed using a Cox proportional hazards regression model to identify independent risk factors for recurrence. For the significant factors, optimal cutoff points were determined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. During the follow-up period of 51months, 18 patients developed recurrence; 5 had locoregional (including 2 with margin recurrences only), 9 had distant, and 4 had both locoregional and distant recurrence. Multivariate and ROC analysis identified radiologic solid tumor size with a cutoff point of 1.5cm as an independent risk factor for recurrence. Three patients in the solid size < 1.5cm group (n = 119) developed recurrence, 2 of whom had surgical margin recurrence, compared to 15 patients in the solid size ≥ 1.5cm group (n = 60). The indication for segmentectomy should be decided upon with caution, and the segments to be resected should be carefully considered to secure an appropriate surgical margin in this low-risk subgroup of patients because they may have a relatively higher risk of surgical margin recurrence, despite being at decreased risk.