Kyushu Area Research Articles

Typhoon damage analysis of transmission towers in mountainous regions of Kyushu, Japan

In the 1990s, four strong typhoons hit the Kyushu area of Japan and inflicted severe damage on power transmission facilities, houses, and so on. Maximum gust speeds exceeding 60 m/s were recorded in central Kyushu. Although the wind speeds were very high, the gust factors were over 2.0. No meteorological stations are located in mountainous areas, creating a deficiency of meteorological station data in the area where the towers were damaged. Since 1995 the authors have operated a network for wind measurement, NeWMeK, that measures wind speed and direction, covering these mountainous areas, segmenting the Kyushu area into high density arrays. Maximum gusts exceeding 70 m/s were measured at several NeWMeK sites when Typhoon Bart (1999) approached. The gust factors varied widely in southerly winds. The mean wind speeds increased due to effects of the local terrain, thus further increasing gust speeds.

Differences in Facilities' Acceptance of Patients Under Long-Term Care Insurance in Japan

Objectives. In April 2000, Japan launched a public, long-term care insurance (LTCI) plan for elderly people who need support. This study describes how medical support for the elderly is delivered at LTCI care facilities in Japan now and gaps between system goals and current activity. Recommendations are made for enhancing the implementation of LTCI. Methods. We mailed questionnaires to all health service facilities for the elderly (HSF) and special nursing homes for the elderly (SNH) located in the Kyushu area of Japan, asking whether they would accept patients with nine specific conditions. Results. We found that HSFs, which are required to employ a full-time doctor and are reimbursed at a higher rate, accept significantly fewer patients with four conditions that need medical support than are accepted by SNHs, which are not required to employ a full-time doctor. Discussion. In this study, we find discrepancies between system goals and current activities at LTCI care facilities. For the Japanese LTCI system to work well in the limitation of medical resources, we must understand how it really works and to reform the system continuously.

Landslides and debris flows strike Kyushu, Japan

On 20 July 2003, several damaging landslides and debris flows in southern Kyushu, Japan, attracted international attention and resulted in one of the most major natural disasters of recent years. Large amounts of rain fell on 19 and 20 July as a Baiu front passing over the Sea of Japan met a high‐pressure zone moving up from the southeast over the Pacific Ocean. Altogether, 21 lives were lost due to the sediment disasters, and more than 240 homes were either damaged or destroyed by landslides, debris flows, and flooding. Nevertheless, such natural disasters occur frequently in Japan. In summer 1993, 121 people were killed by landslides and debris flows within an area of unwelded pyroclastic flow deposits (known as Shirasu) in the Kagoshima Bay area of Kyushu. Thus, local residents generally acknowledge their potential exposure to these hazards, but risk and vulnerability issues may be clouded by inadequate warnings and scientific knowledge, socio‐economic factors, and the general feeling that local and national governments are overly protective.

Improved survival outcome for hepatoblastoma based on an optimal chemotherapeutic regimen—a report from the study group for pediatric solid malignant tumors in the Kyushu area

Background/purpose The survival outcome for patients with hepatoblastoma normally depends on the resectability of the tumor. In Japan, the pre and/or postoperative chemotherapy protocol using a combination of cisplatin (CDDP) and tetrahydropyranyl-Adriamycin (THP-ADR) has been the standard treatment since 1991. This study aims to assess exactly what influence the establishment of this chemotherapy protocol has had on both the tumor resectability and the outcome of patients with hepatoblastoma. Methods From 1982 to 1997, 60 patients with hepatoblatoma were treated in the Kyushu area, Japan. Based on the pretreatment extent of disease (PRETEXT), the outcome and tumor resectability were compared between group A (1982 to 1990, n = 27, PRETEXT I:5, II:8, III:6, IV:8) and group B (1991 to 1997, n = 33, PRETEXT I:9, II:9, III:5, IV:10). Results The 5-year survival rates (group A and group B) were 33% and 73% for all cases ( P < .01), 100% and 89% for PRETEXT I, 38% and 89% for II ( P < .05), 17% and 80% for III ( P < .01), and 0% and 40% for IV ( P < .01), respectively. The 5-year survival rates for patients with metastases were 0% for group A (n = 5) and 57% for group B (n = 7; P < .01). The rates of a complete resection of primary tumor were 48% for group A and 67% for group B. In particular, a significant difference was found regarding the complete resection rate between groups A and B in the patients with PRETEXT III (17% for group A and 80% for group B; P < .01). In the patients with an incomplete tumor resection (14 for group A, 11 for group B), the 5-year survival rates were 0% for group A and 45% for group B ( P < .01). Conclusions The optimal chemotherapeutic regimen of CDDP and THP-ADR was thus found to greatly contribute to the improved survival rate of hepatoblastoma patients. Preoperative chemotherapy resulted in an increased resectability of the tumor, whereas postoperative chemotherapy played an important role in the increased cure rate of cases with either an incomplete tumor resection or metastasis. However, refractory cases with PRETEXT IV or metastasis may still require the development of an even more effective treatment modality, including the use of blood stem cell transplantation.

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Diaphorina citri adults collected from Ishigaki Island (southern Ryukyus), Okinawa Island (central Ryukyus) and Amami Island (northern Ryukyus) were reared on Citrus unshiu and Murraya paniculata leaves under the late autumn to spring temperature conditions of 3 areas of Kyushu (south to north: Makurazaki, Akune, Kuchinotsu) located north of their natural habitat. About 60% of adults of Ishigaki population survived until late April at Makurazaki temperatures, at which time the survival rates of Okinawa and Amami populations had decreased below 14%. At temperatures in Akune, 35% of the Ishigaki population on M. paniculata and 10% on C. unshiu survived until late April, but the Okinawa and Amami populations died out before March. Under the conditions at Kuchinotsu with a minimum temperature of −3.3°C, only 4% of the Ishigaki population survived on M. paniculata and 6% on C. unshiu. Ishigaki adults reared on M. paniculata and Citrus limon trees at Makurazaki temperatures oviposited and progeny developed to the nymphal stage by the end of April. These results suggest that winter temperature conditions in parts of Kyushu are not destructive factors for D. citri populations.

Metrical and nonmetrical analyses of modern female crania in the northwestern Kyushu area

In the northwestern Kyushu area, at the southwestern region of the mainland of Japan, a native people of Jomon lineage lived during the Aeneolithic Yayoi period, and differed morphologically from the immigrant people of continental lineage of the northern Kyushu area. In this study, the metric and nonmetric characteristics of 204 modern female crania from northwestern Kyushu were examined in order to investigate their morphological characteristics and lineage relationships by comparing them with several modern Japanese, Ryukyuan, Hokkaido Ainu, Korean, Chinese, and northern and northwestern Kyushu Yayoi and Jomon cranial series. The craniometric characteristics of the northwestern Kyushu Japanese females were found to be similar to those of the mainland Japanese, as well as to those of Koreans, Chinese, and the northern Kyushu Yayoi, but differed somewhat from the Ryukyuan and Hokkaido Ainu conditions, and distinctly diverged from the northwestern Kyushu Yayoi and Jomon conditions. The results of multivariate analyses of nonmetric traits coincided generally with those of the craniometrical analyses; however, the northwestern Kyushu Japanese was found to be relatively close to the Ryukyuans, and markedly remote from the Hokkaido Ainu. These findings suggest that the northwestern Kyushu Japanese possess morphological traits in common with other mainland Japanese populations due to genetic influences of the continental lineage during or after the protohistoric Kofun period.

Petrochemistry of Volcanic Rocks in the Hishikari Mining Area of Southern Japan, with Implications for the Relative Contribution of Lower Crust and Mantle‐derived Basalt

Abstract. This study presents the petrographical, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics of Late Pliocene‐Pleistocene volcanic rocks distributed in the Hishikari gold mining area of southern Kyushu, Japan, and discusses their origin and evolution. The Hishikari volcanic rocks (HVR), on the basis of age and chemical compositions, are divided into the Kurosonsan (2.4–1.0 Ma) and Shishimano (1.7–0.5 Ma) Groups, which occur in the northern and southern part of the area, respectively. Each group is composed of three andesites and one rhyodacite. HVR are characterized by high concentrations of incompatible elements compared with other volcanic rocks in southern Kyushu, and have low Sr/Nd and high Th/U, Th/Pb, and U/Pb ratios compared with typical subduction‐related arc volcanic rocks.Modal and whole‐rock compositions of the HVR change systematically with the age of the rocks. Mafic mineral and augite/hypersthene ratios of the andesites decrease with decreasing age in the Kurosonsan Group, whereas in the Shishimano Group, these ratios are higher in the youngest andesite. Similarly, major and trace element compositions of the younger andesites in the former group are enriched in felsic components, whereas in the latter group the youngest andesite is more mafic than older andesites. Moreover, the crystallization temperature of phenocryst minerals decreases with younger age in the former group, whereas the opposite trend is seen in the latter group. Another significant feature is that rhyodacite in the Shishimano Group is enriched in felsic minerals and incompatible elements, and exhibits higher crystallization temperatures of phenocryst minerals than the rhyodacite of the Kurosonsan Group.Geochemical attributes of the HVR and other volcanic rocks in southern Kyushu indicate that a lower subcontinental crust, characterized by so‐called EMI‐type Sr‐Nd and DUPAL anomaly‐like Pb isotopic compositions, is distributed beneath the upper to middle crust of the Shimanto Supergroup. The HVR would be more enriched in felsic materials derived from the lower crust by high‐alumina basaltic magma from the mantle than volcanic rocks in other areas of southern Kyushu. The Kurosonsan Group advanced the degree of the lower crust contribution with decreasing age from 51 %, through 61 and 66 % to 77 %. In the Shishimano Group, the younger rhyodacite and andesite are derived from hotter magmas with smaller amounts of lower crust component (58 and 57 %) than the older two andesites (65 % and 68 %). We suggest that the Shishimano rhyodacite, which is considered to be responsible for gold mineralization, was formed by large degree of fractional crystallization of hot basaltic andesite magma with less lower crustal component.

2003年7月九州地域豪雨災害調査報告 (速報):水俣土砂災害

2003年7月九州地域豪雨災害調査報告 (速報):水俣土砂災害

Relationship between burnout and communication skill training among Japanese hospital nurses: a pilot study.

We investigated the relationship between burnout and communication skill training among Japanese hospital nurses to improve the mental health of human service workers. The subjects were forty-five registered nurses referred to a self-expression skill intervention program by their section superiors, with each superior choosing from two to five nurses. The hospital was located in the Kyushu area and staffed by about four hundred nurses. The subjects were divided into an intervention group (19 nurses) and a reference group (26 nurses). The intervention group received the communication skill training in July and August, 2001. The communication skill training was carried out in accordance with the assertiveness training (AsT) precepts of Anne Dickson. In June, 2001, we delivered a set of questionnaires including age, gender, working years, a burnout scale, and a communication skill check-list as a baseline survey. The baseline questionnaires were returned at the end of June, 2001. In January, 2002, we delivered the same questionnaire again to the two groups and collected them at the end of the month. Excluding the only male and insufficient answers, twenty-six nurses (58%) returned complete answers in the initial and subsequent surveys. We found that the personal accomplishment and the two communication skills such as "accepting valid criticisms" and "negotiation" of the intervention group had improved significantly five months after the training as compared with that of the reference. Our results implied that communication skill training might have a favorable effect on burnout among Japanese hospital nurses.

Species richness in sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. DON) plantations in southeastern Kyushu, Japan: the effects of stand type and age on understory trees and shrubs

The species richness of trees, shrubs and climbing plants was investigated in 41 sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) plantations of different stand age and area in southern Kyushu, southwestern Japan. Altogether 174 species were found, of which 145 infrequent species were selected for analysis. Two groups were extracted from the species list according to their occurrence in older (49spp.) or younger (28spp.) stands, the latter containing a higher percentage of climbing plants and species with wind-dispersed seeds. In contrast, the older stand group contained major tree components typical of seminatural, evergreen broadleaved forests in the region and was more heavily dependent on stand age, especially for species with gravity- and frugivore-dispersed seeds, showing a gradual increase up to 60 years old. The species richness was less correlated with edge perimeter facing seminatural forests and the years after latest thinning. The juxtaposition of plantation compartments with stands of seminatural forest or other plantations, as well as the compartment's origin as former plantation site or a seminatural stand, had relatively little influence on species richness. However, topographic variation was important in determining the species composition, with valley stands having higher species richness and containing many plants typical of the regional seminatural forests. These results suggest that (1) the major trend of species richness is determined by the presence of old stand type species, (2) topographic variation of species richness remains even after establishment of plantations, and (3) the normal rotation period of sugi plantations (35–40 years) may therefore be too short to conserve the maximum potential species diversity within the working forest.

The Application of Planned Adjustment System for Milk Production and the Reorganization of Dairy Farming Areas in Kyushu, Japan

The Application of Planned Adjustment System for Milk Production and the Reorganization of Dairy Farming Areas in Kyushu, Japan

日本語版Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS)の作成と信頼性・妥当性の検討

The present study investigated the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS) preparatory to study the relationship between self-expression skills and mental health status of employees at a Japanese worksite. Assertiveness is one of self-expression skills and defined as standing up for one's own rights as well as for others. RAS that the most widely used was developed by Rathus in the U.S.A. and consists of 30 items. We developed the Japanese version of RAS (J-RAS) along with a back-translation. The subjects were 173 participants of a 2-day assertiveness training course from July to December, 2001 and 364 workers in a manufacturing company in the Kyushu area. We sent the J-RAS to the 173 participants before they commenced the course, and of them 170 participants returned sufficient answers for analysis. During the course their trainers completed the objective evaluations on assertive self-expression. We compared their answers with the trainers' evaluations by the Pearson's correlation to certify the J-RAS's validity. We also mailed the J-RAS to the manufacturing workers in June, 2001. Of them, 266 workers returned sufficient answers by the end of the month. We calculated the Cronbach's alpha coefficient by them to certify the internal consistency reliability of the J-RAS. In August, 2001, we mailed the J-RAS again to 98 workers who agreed to retake the test. We studied the Pearson's correlation between the initial answers and the following ones to certify the test-retest reliability of the J-RAS, using the 98 answers of the workers who agreed to be retested. Our results found that 19 item sets, excluding Q3--7, 9, 13, 19, 20, 25, 28, had significantly positive correlation with the objective evaluations. The sum of the 19 items of the J-RAS (19-item J-RAS) had significantly higher correlations with the objective evaluation than that of 30 items of the J-RAS (30-item J-RAS). The internal consistency reliability of the 19-item or 30-item J-RAS was high, because their Cronbach's alpha coefficient was more than 0.80. Their test-retest reliability was also high, because the Pearson's correlation coefficient between the initial test and the subsequent test was more than 0.84 (ps < 0.001). Our results implied that the validity and reliability of the J-RAS was could be considered as acceptable and that the 19-item J-RAS measured the assertiveness of Japanese people more exactly than the 30-item J-RAS.

Malignant germ cell tumors: Clinical characteristics, treatment, and outcome. A report from the study group for Pediatric Solid Malignant Tumors in the Kyushu Area, Japan

Purpose: This study aims to assess the prognostic factors and optimal treatments for malignant germ cell tumors (MGCT) in childhood. Methods: Among 117 MGCT, the clinical features were analyzed. Regarding the histology, there were 89 embryonal carcinomas, 13 dysgerminomas, 4 choriocarcinomas, and 11 others. The prognostic factors and treatments were assessed based on the 5-year survival rate. Results: (1) Stage: 100% for stage I (n = 54), 75.0% for stage II (n = 4), 67.3% for stage III (n = 14), and 54.8% for stage IV (n = 33); Unknown: n = 12. (2) Primary site: 93.4% for the testis (n = 52), 86.7% for the ovary (n = 31), 56.9% for the sacrococcygeal (n = 21), and 60.6% for others (n = 12); unknown: n = 1. (3) Surgical intervention for primary tumor: 100% for stage I with a complete resection (n = 53), 78.4% for stage III, IV with a complete resection (n = 26), and 33.3% for stage III, IV with an incomplete resection (n = 21). (4) Type of chemotherapy for the stage III and IV: 83.9% for the PVB (cisplatin, vinblastin, bleomycin; n = 13), 66.7% for the VAC (vincristine, actinomycin D, cyclophosphamide; n = 6), and 47.1% for other regimens (n = 25). Conclusions: An early stage, a diagnosis under 1 year of age and a primary site in the gonads were favorable prognosis factors, whereas histologic findings of choriocarcinoma and liver or lung metastasis were unfavorable. Radical complete resection alone is a sufficient treatment for localized MGCT. The PVB regimen is optimal chemotherapy for advanced MGCT; however, high-risk cases still may require more aggressive treatment. J Pediatr Surg 37:1703-1706. Copyright 2002, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.

Mass screening for neuroblastoma in Japan: Lessons learned and future directions

Background/Purpose: Since 1985, a nationwide mass screening program (MS) for neuroblastoma has been conducted for 6-month-old infants throughout Japan, resulting in the detection of more than 1,900 cases of neuroblastoma. The outcome of these patients has been excellent: more than 97% of them are alive. Yet, several reports suggest that the number of advanced-stage neuroblastoma patients over 1 year of age has not changed substantially. The current report focuses on the 15-year experience with MS of the Kyushu Pediatric Oncology Study Group. Methods: The clinical and biological features of neuroblastoms detected (n = 320) and not detected by MS (n = 245) were compared. Regional and national statistics for neuroblastoma before and after 1985 were analyzed using standard epidemiologic measures for the occurrence of disease. Results: The majority of the MS-positive cases were biologically favorable and had an excellent outcome. In contrast, the majority of non-MS patients in whom neuroblastoma later developed had advanced-stage, unfavorable-prognosis tumors. The overall mortality rate of neuroblastoma in the Kyushu area was not improved by MS. Conclusions: The optimal time for screening is the point at which neuroblastomas regressing spontaneously can no longer be detected, but more aggressive disease can be found. A birth cohort study could determine the optimal timing for a second screening. Identification of other new prognostic factors may be required. J Pediatr Surg 37:949-954. Copyright 2002, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.

Changes in nitrate N content in different soil layers after the application of livestock waste compost pellets in a sweet corn field

Changes in the nitrate content in different soil layers (0–15 cm, 15–30 cm, 30–45 cm, and below 45 cm) were investigated after the application of livestock waste compost pellets in a sweet corn field located at the National Agricultural Center for Kyushu Okinawa Region. Results indicated that livestock waste composts could lead to a high nitrate content in deeper soil layers of the early stage after the application of compost pellets, and increase the risk of nitrate pollution to underground water through leaching in summer in a rainy area. The dairy cattle (DW), swine (SW), and poultry waste (PW) compost pellets released about 31.5, 41.6, and 51.3% of N in about 3 months, respectively. However, N use efficiency by sweet corn was only 20.5, 20.6, and 28.8%, respectively. In order to enhance the N use efficiency by crops and decrease nitrate leaching to deeper soil layers in the Kyushu area, a large amount of application of animal waste compost pellets at one time should be avoided in summer. The PW compost pellets led to the highest dry matter content in sweet corn in this experiment. Chemical fertilizer treatment led to the highest total water-soluble sugar content in sweet corn seed, but there were no significant differences between the treatments.

Varietal Differences of Rutin, Protein and Oil Content of Common Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) Grains in Kyushu Area.

九州で栽培されたソバ遺伝資源の子実の化学成分の特徴を明らかにするため,九州の在来種を含む内外の遺伝資源を2年間栽培し,ルチン,粗蛋白および粗脂肪の含量について調査した.ルチン含量の品種間の変異幅は粗蛋白および粗脂肪の含量と比較して大きかった.ルチンおよび粗脂肪の含量は品種間差異よりも年次間差異が大きかった.ネパールの品種にはルチン含量の高い品種が認められたが,ネパール以外では原産地別の品種の特徴が明らかでなかった.一方,ルチンの蓄積には環境要因として登熟期間中の温度が高いと有利であることが示唆された.子実重とルチン含量の間には両年とも有意な負の相関が,粗蛋白含量と粗脂肪含量の間には両年とも有意な正の相関が認められたが,千粒重や製粉歩留等と各成分含量との関係は明らかでなかった.

Peopling of Western Japan, Focusing on Kyushu, Shikoku, and Ryukyu Archipelago

The discovery of the Iwajuku site in Japan is the beginning of the study of the first Paleolithic cultures in the region. In this paper we examine the timing of the earliest colonization of southern Japan, especially focusing on the areas of Kyushu, Shikoku, and the Ryukyu archipelago. Osteological studies have proposed the ultimate origin of these western Japanese Paleolithic populations in Southeast Asia. If this hypothesis is correct, Native Americans may be remotely related to the populations of this region. Greater attention to data from areas such as Japan is necessary to understand the timing and nature of New World colonization.

九州地域に設置された住宅用太陽光発電システムの計測・解析結果 : 太陽光発電システムの住宅への応用に関する研究 その3

This paper presents the results of survey on 276 grid-connected PV generation systems and measurement of 7 systems in Kyushu area. The electricity generated for a year was in average 925.9kWh/kWp/year. It was found that the system with panels on one side of roof generates more electricity than the system with panels on plural side of roof. The electricity generated by the system with panels on one side of roof was approximately 10% more than that with panels on three sides of roofs. The amount of electricity generation from PV system is in general affected by the local solar radiation condition and the system efficiency. The relation between decrease in power generation and the shadow on the panel or the unbalanced solar radiation between panels was simulated using the data acquired by the experiment.

福岡県I &amp;amp; A委員会の活動状況

The Fukuoka Committee for Inspection and Accreditation (I & A) Program on Blood Transfusion Practice in Hospitals was founded in May 2000 as a subgroup of the Kyushu I & A committee to create the basis of actual I & A procedures. The committee consists of four medical doctors and sixteen medical technologists who are working at the blood transfusion unit of each hospital, and two medical representatives of Fukuoka Red Cross Blood Center. This committee has met six times to discuss the methods of the I & A program. Since then we have inspected four hospitals, and have been able to improve the standard manual of the I & A program and the I & A report form. Furthermore, several defects identified by the inspectors in the four inspected hospitals have been improved in accordance with the respective inspection reports. For example, one of the four hospitals that had no committee to supervise blood transfusion therapy has newly established this committee in the hospital. In the near future, we will develop an I & A program for the whole Kyushu area. Furthermore, the I & A program should be established as a routine system for appropriate blood transfusion practice throughout Japan. For this purpose, it is necessary to standardize the I & A program and improve the inspection ability of inspectors.

Restructuring of the Broiler Meat Production Area in South Kyushu with the Increase in Imported Chickens

Restructuring of the Broiler Meat Production Area in South Kyushu with the Increase in Imported Chickens