Japanese Prefecture Research Articles

Replicated association of the single nucleotide polymorphism in PNLIP with marbling in Niigata population of Japanese Black beef cattle

Marbling is regarded as an economically important trait of beef cattle inJapan, and measured as a beef marbling score (BMS). Our previous study reported an association between a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs4164 8172, in the pancreatic lipase (PNLIP) gene and the BMS level, using the Japanese Black beef cattle population of Oita prefecture. Further, we showed that the T allele at the rs41648172 SNP is associated with a high level of the BMS. Thus, we suggested that the rs41648172 SNP seems to be a candidate marker for marker-assisted selection. Our present study was designed to investigate whether this association could be replicated in other independent Japanese Black cattle population and analyze the effect of the SNP genotypes on the carcass traits other than the BMS. We detected the marginally significant effect of the genotypes of the rs41648172 SNP on the BMS level by using the Japanese Black beef cattle population of Niigata prefecture (P = 0.0919), and obtained the result of the T allele associated with an increase in the BMS level, consistent with our previous data. In addition, we showed no significant association of the SNP with the subcutaneous fat thickness, carcass weight, rib eye area, rib thickness and yield estimate in the Japanese Black beef cattle population ofNiigataprefecture. Thus, we concluded that the rs41648172 SNP was useful for effective marker-assisted selection to increase the BMS level in Japanese Black beef cattle, based on the replicated association of the rs41648172 SNP with the BMS level in the other independent Japanese Black beef cattle population and no effect of the SNP genotypes on the carcass traits other than BMS.

Occupation without End: Opposition to the US Military in Okinawa

In the aftermath of the Pacific War, the US military began an occupation of the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa that continues to this day. Although formal sovereignty of the islands was returned to Japan in 1972, the physical and social space of Okinawa remains dominated by a massive network of US military installations. For decades, soldiers and Marines trained in the northern jungles for wars in places like Indochina, Iraq, and Afghanistan; the military airfields and harbors have supported American interests and operations across the Pacific and Indian Oceans. While the Japanese state has been, at best, disinterested and, at worst, complicit in this occupation, there is a long history of Okinawan resistance. Most recently, a dynamic and complex network of groups and individuals has come together to contest plans by the Japanese and US authorities to relocate a Marine airfield to the northeast coast of Okinawa and create new training facilities in the nearby forests.

Occurrence and characteristics of methicillin-resistant and -susceptible Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci from Japanese retail ready-to-eat raw fish

Staphylococci are not part of the normal fish microflora. The presence of staphylococci on fish is an indication of (a) post-harvest contamination due to poor personnel hygiene, or (b) disease in fish. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, molecular genetic characteristics, antibiotic resistance and virulence factors of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (MR-CoNS) isolated from 200 samples of retail ready-to-eat raw fish (sashimi) collected from the Japanese prefecture of Hiroshima. We characterized 180 staphylococcal strains. A majority of the grocery stores surveyed (92%, 23/25) contained fish contaminated with Staphylococcus species. We recovered 175 S. aureus isolates from 174 (87%, 174/200) samples, with 170 isolates of MSSA. For the MRSA and MR-CoNS, 10 isolates were obtained from 10 samples (5%, 10/200) collected from 10 shops (40%, 10/25) belonging to four supermarket chains. SCCmec typing revealed the presence of a type IV.1 SCCmec cassette in S. warneri isolates, a type II.1 SCCmec cassette in S. haemolyticus isolates and a cassette in methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates that could not be typed. Molecular typing of two MRSA isolates by spa sequencing and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) identified t1767 and ST8, respectively. Antibiotic resistance genes that confer resistance to aminoglycosides, tetracyclines, β-lactams, macrolides, lincosamides and streptogramin B (MLSB) antibiotics were detected. Genes encoding one or more of the following virulence factors: staphylococcal enterotoxins (seb, and sed), toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (tst), exfoliative toxin (etaA) were detected in 14.2% (25/175) of S. aureus isolates. The accessory gene regulator (agr) typing of S. aureus isolates revealed that agr type 1 was most prevalent (96.5%, 169/175) followed by type 2 (2.2%, 4/175) and type 3 (1.1%, 2/175). None of the S. aureus isolates carried the Panton–Valentine leucocidin (PVL) encoding genes, lukF-PV and lukS-PV. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to show MRSA and MR-CoNS isolated from retail ready-to-eat food in Japan. Our results showed that sashimi is a likely vehicle for transmission of multidrug-resistant and toxigenic staphylococci.

Current status of Japanese emergency medicine based on a cross‐sectional survey of one prefecture

To ascertain the current status of emergency medicine at certified emergency hospitals in Fukuoka, a Japanese prefecture. Fukuoka prefecture has the 9th largest population volume of the 46 prefectures throughout Japan. Written questionnaire sent to 146 certified emergency hospitals. A total of 132 of 146 (90.4%) emergency hospitals replied. Data were complete from 131. Nineteen of 131 hospitals (14.5%) were qualified by the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine, whereas 85 of 131 (64.9%) were certified by other medical associations. In 32 of 131 hospitals (24.4%), there was an emergency medicine specialist or acute care physician, whereas 117 hospitals (89.3%) had a specialist doctor qualified by another medical association. In 33 of 131 hospitals (25%), there were doctors who undertook training in emergency medicine of surgery-related courses, and 66 (50%) undertook internal medicine-related courses. The current status of emergency medicine practice in the Fukuoka prefecture is poor. Medical associations relevant to emergency medicine should collaborate with each other to share information, as well as provide help to solve problems associated with emergency medicine manpower. This collaboration should occur as a national effort within the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine.

School regulations governing bicycle helmet use and head injuries among Japanese junior high school students

We examined the effectiveness of school regulations concerning bicycle helmet use in reducing head injuries among student bicycle commuters to junior high schools in the Japanese prefecture of Saitama. This was done by comparing the rates of head injuries and the ratios of head injuries to non-head injuries between junior high schools with and without school regulations concerning helmet use. Bicycle injury data were derived from school insurance records. Information relating to numbers of bicycle commuters and demographics was collected for each school. We identified that the head injury rate was significantly higher in schools that had no regulations governing the use of bicycle helmets (rate ratio 2.97, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03–8.56; odds ratio 2.46, 95% CI 0.80–7.60). The observed trend was more prominent in male students than in female students. The actual rate of bicycle injuries did not significantly differ between the schools with and without regulations concerning helmet use. This suggests that students at schools with regulations were no more cautious in riding their bicycles than their counterparts in schools with no regulations, and that there was no significant difference in the traffic environments surrounding each school. Thus implicating that the observed difference in the head injury rate was most accounted for by the presence of school regulations governing helmet use.

Base Motives

The Japanese prefecture of Okinawa has witnessed a great deal of protest activity against the U.S. military bases on the island. Antibase sentiment is regularly expressed by the local press and the local cultural and educational institutions. A brutal 1995 crime committed by U.S. military personnel on the island inflamed public opinion against the bases. Yet the U.S. base presence endures, and the antibase activity of the late 1990s was defused rather quickly into tacit continuing acceptance by Okinawans of the base presence, even as U.S. bases elsewhere in the world closed in response to protest activity. What explains this puzzle? The authors argue that the Japanese government’s unique system of “burden payments” provides incentives to Okinawans both to highlight the negative effects of the U.S. presence and to support the continuation of the bases for economic reasons. The trilateral base-bargaining relationship serves the interests of Washington, Tokyo, and a politically critical majority of Okinawans themselves

Association of μ-Opioid Receptor Gene Polymorphism A118G with Alcohol Dependence in a Japanese Population

Ethanol is considered to activate the brain reward system by increasing the release of an endogenous opioid receptor ligand, β-endorphin. The polymorphism A118G in the µ-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) causes the amino acid change Asn40Asp and has been reported to affect the affinity of the ligand for the receptor. The association of this polymorphism with the vulnerability to alcohol dependence has been studied in many populations, but not yet in Japanese people. In the present study, we compared the frequencies of the polymorphism OPRM1 A118G between patients with alcohol dependence and healthy control subjects living in a Japanese provincial prefecture. We also genotyped a polymorphism, G1510A, in the acetaldehyde dehydrogenase 2 gene (ALDH2), in which the A allele causes poor metabolism of acetaldehyde, a major metabolite of alcohol. Both OPRM1 118G and ALDH2 1510G were significantly associated with alcohol dependence. These results suggest that OPRM1 118G in addition to ALDH2 1510G might be one of the risk factors for alcohol dependence in Japanese people.

Effect of distance and population size on patient trips in a prefecture of Japan: Application of a transportation distribution model to the demand for and supply of health services

The gravity model, a method for analyzing transportation distribution in transportation engineering, was used to explain patient trips between ten health service regions in a Japanese prefecture. The OD (Origin-Destination) tables were constructed with zoning by regions, distinguishing between out- and inpatients. The observed trips were determined from the data of a survey conducted in 1992 that reported the locations of patient residences and chosen medical facilities.The base values used in the model calculations were the population size of each region and the road distance between the centers of regions. Problems of intrazonal trip were avoided by setting a mean intrazonal movement distance.This model was calibrated by the linear regression method with simultaneous validation by the index of correlation coefficients. The model was found to accurately simulate the effect of distance on the choice of medical facilities and the differences between the characteristics of in- and out-patients. The population value in use showed the relation not only with demand but also the supply of clinical services. It was suggested that the model presented here was useful in the allocation of medical resources and would help explain the relationship between suppliers and consumers of medical services.

Relationship of Prostate-Specific Antigen Levels to Prostate Volume and Age in Mass Screening Subjects

To evaluate the relationship between prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and prostate volume and age in a mass screening for prostatic disease, a total of 1,162 examinees from one Japanese prefecture who were over 45 years of age underwent a mass screening for prostatic disease that used the Hybritech (Tandem^®RIA) kit, and the prostate volume was estimated by transabdominal ultrasonography. Differences among several groups of men according to prostate volume and age were examined by multiple comparisons using ranks. When some subjects visited several times, the data of the first visit were adopted only. The total number of individual subjects in this study was 589 men. The multiple comparisons using ranks and 10-year age brackets revealed that the levels of PSA showed significant differences between only two pairs of groups stratified by age. In contrast, the levels of PSA showed significant differences among seven pairs of groups stratified by the prostate volume according to 10-ml brackets. When a logarithmic transformation of the serum levels of PSA was used, the results showed the same tendencies. From the results of the present study, it can be said that the PSA reference range calculated with stratified prostate volume might be more useful in the detection of prostate cancer than that calculated with stratified age.

An analysis on a relationship between perinatal mortality and live births of low birthweight, in Kumamoto Prefecture, 1968-1994

The aims of this investigation were to describe the relationship between perinatal mortality rates and the proportions of live births among low birth weight (LBW) infants from 1968 to 1994, and to determine risk factors in infants of low birth weight. Using vital statistics from 1968 to 1994 of the Japanese government and the Kumamoto Prefecture and Maternal and Child Health Statistics of Japan from 1968 to 1995, perinatal deaths and live births of infants of low birth weight were studied according to national statistics criteria. In Japanese and Kumamoto Prefecture, there was an association between perinatal deaths and live births of LBW. The significant decline of perinatal mortality rates from 1968 to 1976, of which the fetal death ratio at 28 weeks and over mostly declined, was closely related to the decline of live births of LBW. In this period, the improvement of socioeconomic conditions and the comprehensive health care provided by the government contributed in improving perinatal mortality rates. From 1977 to 1988, the annual variation of Kumamoto was different from that of all Japan. Both perinatal mortality rates continued to decline due to a general decrease in early neonatal mortality rates. The number of Live births of LBW infants in Kumamoto prefecture increased in 1977 and once again started to decline in 1982. In 1977, the insufficient maternal-child health care and the increase of female workers contributed to increasing rates of live births of LBW. Advances in neonatal medicine contributed to the increase in survival rates of infants of LBW. Although, after 1982, the improvement of maternal-child health care and the perinatal care system contributed to the declining rates of live births of LBW. On the other hand, those rates in all Japan continued to gradually increase from 1977 to 1988. After 1989, perinatal mortality rates continued to decline, and live births of LBW continued to increase in both Kumamoto prefecture and all Japan. These results were contrary to the above results from 1968 to 1976. It was considered that medical advances in the care of pregnant women and neonates increased survival rates of the LBW. In future, the perinatal mortality rates will appear to approach a minimum constant, that is, a minimum of fetal death rates. It is important to reduce the number of LBW infants, particularly birthweight of 2000 g-2499 g, with maternal-child health care.

Prostate-specific antigen levels from a mass screening program using highly sensitive RIA kits.

This study was designed to evaluate the distribution of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels of men in a mass screening program for prostatic disease. A total of 763 men over 40 years of age underwent mass screening for prostatic disease in a Japanese prefecture using the highly sensitive Eiken kit and the Hybritech (Tandem-R) kit. The screening tests consisted of serum PSA determination, digital rectal examination, a questionnaire on symptoms, evaluation of prostate volume, and determination of the obesity rate. Serum PSA levels of all subjects were measured with both kits. The correlation between the values obtained by the Eiken kit and those of the Tandem-R kit was high (r = 0.990), but the values of the former were slightly higher than those of the latter. Serum PSA weakly correlated with age, however, when estimated within decade age brackets, the levels of PSA showed significant differences among only 1 pair of groups stratified by age. In contrast, the levels of PSA showed significant differences among 9 pairs of groups stratified by prostate volume. A highly sensitive assay kit is useful to evaluate both the distribution of PSA levels and the relationship of PSA values to age and prostate volume of men in mass screening programs for prostatic disease, since approximately 40% of the subjects who underwent the present mass screening showed PSA values under 1.0 ng/mL, which have been the the lower limit of detection of many PSA kits.

Methane emission from rice paddy fields in all of Japanese prefecture

Field measurements of CH4 emission from rice paddy field during cultivation periods were performed at all of 47 Japanese prefectures under the project of ‘Research for evaluation of CH4 and N2O emissions from agricultural land, and improvement methods of soil, water and fertilizer management’ conducted by Agricultural Production Bureau, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Although this project was carried out at 159 fields, the data of 132 fields were used for this report because other 27 fields had not enough data to be suitable for the statistics analyses.

兵庫県における被災ため池の特色—地形・地質,池の構造および老朽度・改修歴との関連を中心にして—

There are many farm ponds in the western part of Japan and they play important and essential roles in rice field agriculture. Hyogo Prefecture has 51, 679 farm ponds, the most of any Japanese prefecture. Of the farm ponds in Hyogo Prefecture, 1, 372 were damaged by the Southern Hyogo Prefectural Earthquake on January 17, 1995. The author attempted to clarify the geographical features of those damaged farm ponds. First research was conducted on relationships between damaged farm ponds in Hyogo Prefecture, excluding Awaji Island, and their topography, geology and structure. Damaged farm ponds are located on valley plains, terraces, small fans and boundaries between two topographies, for example, terrace and valley plain, terrace and back marsh, etc. The subsurface geology of damaged farm ponds are Holocene deposits, terrace deposits (Pleistocene deposits), Osaka Group (Pleistocene deposits), Kobe Group (Pleistocene deposits) and Arima Group (Miocene deposits). Furthermore, they are classified by structure as valley closed ponds (tani-ike in Japanese) that enclose valley plains with embankments and flat ponds (sara-ike) that are surrounded by large embankments on an almost fiat surface. Farm ponds located on valley plains of which the subsurface geology is Holocene deposits are very easily damaged during an earthquake, because their bottom gradients are steep and their grounds are weak or unstable. Next, the author conducted research for owners of damaged farm ponds to clarify their superannuation and history of repair. It was found that most severely damaged farm ponds were old and had not been repaired for many years. Few of the old ponds were only slightly damaged or undamaged. Farm ponds that were built more than 200 years ago and have not been repaired in the past 50 years are very susceptible to earthquake damage.

Random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis of clinically and environmentally isolated Cryptococcus neoformans in Nagasaki.

We examined clinical (pulmonary cryptococcosis and cryptococcal meningitis) and environmental (pigeon excreta) isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans (serotype A) in the southern Japanese prefecture of Nagasaki. The random amplified polymorphic DNA profiles obtained by using three primers revealed six patterns among 21 clinical isolates and three patterns among 8 environmental isolates. Pattern I was the most common (18 of 29 isolates) and was found among isolates obtained throughout the entire Nagasaki Prefecture. Patterns I, III, and IV were found among both clinical and environmental isolates. Patterns I and IV had a characteristic distribution, and in particular, pattern IV was isolated exclusively (five of six isolates) from isolates from Nagasaki City. Two environmental isolates from two locations associated strongly with two patients revealed identical random amplified polymorphic DNA patterns (patterns I and IV) for isolates from each patient. Our results suggest that clinical and environmental isolates belong to the same pool of C. neoformans isolates and that these isolates have certain geographic locations, although the number of isolated strains was limited.

Intermediate Administrative Areas and Planning Regions within a Japanese Prefecture

Intermediate Administrative Areas and Planning Regions within a Japanese Prefecture

Influence of Urbanization on Maximum Growth Age in Height for Each Prefecture in Japan

This is a report of how the acceleration of growth correlates with urbanization for each Japanese prefecture. The secular trend in the age of maximum growth in height (MGA-H) was taken as an indicator of the acceleration of growth, and the ratio of workers in primary industries to the total number of workers (WPI-ratio) as an indicator of urbanization in general.The results were as follows:1) The greatest regional difference, an MGA-H of 1.59 years for boys and 0.87 years for girls, was observed for those born between 1947 and 1949. The regional difference may be due to the fact that the acceleration of growth has been shown greater in urban than in rural areas.2) With boys, as the result of comparing the inflexion point computed out in each MGA-H curve, large regional differences were found between boys born in 1934 in Aichi, an urban prefecture, and boys born in 1957 in both Ehime and Miyazaki, typically rural prefectures.3) The WPI-ratio has decreased yearly in relation to urbanization since World War II. In 1975, regional difference in ratios ranged from 0.7% in Tokyo to 34.9% in Iwate prefecture.4) There were statistically significant positive correlations between the MGA-H of the same population plotted, for example, in 1934-41 (see Fig. 4) and the WPI-ratio of the same population 10 years later, except for the years immediately after World War II.5) In analyzing the correlation coefficients between the WPI-ratio in 1955 and the MGA-H of each population by the year of birth, it became clear that the highest correlations were for boys born in 1941-43 (ages 12-14 in 1955) and for girls born in 1946-48 (ages 7-9 in 1955).6) In some prefectures during the decade from 1955 to 1965, the greater the speed of industrialization, the greater the decline of MGA-H.Judging from the fact that there are regional differences in MGA-H in some degree for each prefecture, it may be concluded that changes in the Japanese way of life along with urbanization are the main factors causing the acceleration of growth.

Recent Elections in a Japanese Prefecture

in Toyko have offered plenty of fascinating material and have seemed to contain the essence of Japanese politics. Before, and also during the occupation, Tokyo was the seat of omnipotent authority, both material and ideological. With respect to certain ends, the validity of emphasis on central government may now be questioned. From a practical standpoint, the need for knowledge of local government and politics became very evident in connection with the administrative field problems encountered by the occupation forces.1 An equally clear present need stems from the alterations made in governmental arrangements since 1945. Power, it was hoped, could be shifted away from the central groups with direct access to the seat of authority and could be established in a representative Diet. To the extent that this may have happened, elections become an important unit of observation in the political processes of postwar Japan. More than that, they may provide a clue to the extent, if any, to which power may have been relocated. Even though fragmentary, material on local elections may be useful for combination and comparison with other studies of related problems in other social sciences. It is in the local community that authority and power, the essentially political relationships, are not completely absorbed into the apparatus of the state. Here the tensions and accommodations among many institutions can be seen in the matrix of interactions out of which emerges the differentiation of government and society. These are determining relationships, and they are often obscure and unrevealed in the study of central governments. II

Recent Elections in a Japanese Prefecture

Recent Elections in a Japanese Prefecture