Kansai Area Of Japan Research Articles

The Development of the Psychological Determinants of Exercise Questionnaire for Japanese Older Adults: A Questionnaire Based Upon the Theoretical Domains Framework.

Japan has become a super-aged society. To overcome the negative implications of this, practitioners are increasingly using exercise-based interventions to reduce the requirement for long-term care among Japanese older adults. However, no comprehensive means of assessing the wide range of exercise behavioral determinants exists for this population. Thus, the principle aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire based upon the theoretical domains framework-a framework that has synthesized a wide range of behavior change theories. Completed responses were received from 1,000 Japanese older adults who resided in the Kansai area of Japan. Findings were suggestive of good reliability and validity for seven unique psychological determinants of exercise. This study was the first to provide a measurement tool related to a distinct range of psychological determinants of exercise among Japanese older adults.

Analysis of Changes in Physical Strength over Time in Recent School-Age Students: Proposal for Multi-year Span Evaluation Chart with the O Model

For school-age children to lead healthy lives, they need suitable physical abilities for those lives. Together with this, measurements of physical strength and motor ability to assess those abilities could be considered essential. The physical strength of children has declined in recent years, and City O in the Kansai area of Japan has implemented an action plan to address the problem. This action plan was developed from a survey continued over seven years of the physique, physical strength, and motor abilities of fifth grade elementary school students and second year junior high school (seventh grade) students. To assess the efficacy of City O’s action plan, this study analyzed trends in strength and motor ability over seven years to examine whether trends were rising or falling. The method adopted for this plan was to measure the same items as those in the strength and motor ability survey conducted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The wavelet interpolation model was applied to the multi-year trends in the results obtained over seven years to examine whether they were improving or declining. An improving trend was seen with time in the physical strength and motor ability of second-year junior high school girls. One may infer that behind the improving trend over time were the effects from City O’s action plan. The background for the improving trend seen over the years seen in second year junior high school girls but not boys may include that girls were originally less active than boys and but were encouraged to be active by the action plan. Because the second year of junior high school is the period of late puberty for girls, and is a time when they are approaching their developmental peak in physical strength, it may be inferred that the increase in physical strength was affected by factors in the action plan. In this study, a new evaluation chart that considers trends over years was established using the wavelet interpolation model, and the efficacy of the multi-year span evaluation chart for physical strength is presented as the O model.

A comparison of focused and unfocused corrective feedback in Japanese EFL writing classes

Abstract Though corrective feedback (CF) has generally been accepted as an effective means for improving student writing, some debate still exists as to whether focused (narrow) or unfocused (broad) CF is more effective in improving student writing in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. A comparative study was undertaken of two groups of high-proficiency Japanese and international students of English at one private university in the Kansai area of Japan. A third control group who did not partake in any corrective feedback were also used for comparison. Both groups of students wrote argumentative essays on a subject of their choosing over the course of eight weeks. The first group, Treatment Group A, was comprised of seven Japanese and non-Japanese university students (n = 7) who were trained in giving meta-linguistic (error coded), computer-mediated unfocused peer CF. The second group, Treatment Group B, was comprised of seven Japanese university students (n = 7) who were trained in giving meta-linguistic, computer-mediated focused feedback on five errors identified as being the most common in an initial diagnostic writing sample done in the first week. The initial draft, post-peer CF draft, post-teacher CF draft, and final draft were then analyzed. Students’ ability to correctly resolve errors, and the number of errors per 100 words that emerged in each draft were then examined. The results suggest that unfocused peer and teacher CF may be a more effective means of reducing student errors in writing, possibly because it provides more overall learning opportunities.

Exercise Therapy Interventions in Patients With Hip Osteoarthritis: Comparison of the Effects of DVD and Website-Based Interventions.

BackgroundPrevalence of developmental hip dysplasia is high in Japan. Exercise therapy has been proven effective to treat certain aspects of hip osteoarthritis. Moreover, therapy provided via digital video discs (DVDs) and websites allows patients to exercise in the comfort of their own homes. However, no studies have evaluated the effectiveness of visual instructions in patients with hip disorders.ObjectiveThis study aimed to compare the effectiveness of exercise therapy administered via DVD and that administered via a website.MethodsWe developed a six-step progressive exercise therapy program for patients with hip osteoarthritis, which included three kinds each of open kinetic chain and closed kinetic chain exercises. Once the program was developed, exercise DVDs were produced. In addition to the six-step exercise program, our website was enabled to count the number of exercises performed by each patient and was accessible via the Internet at any time. Patients with hip osteoarthritis for whom surgery was not advised were enrolled by one university hospital in the Kansai area in Japan. Clinical symptoms and hip function were quantified using the Japanese Orthopedic Association Hip Disease Evaluation Questionnaire (JHEQ) and the Oxford Hip Score (OHS). Quality of life was measured using the SF-8 Health Survey, and self-efficacy for continued exercise was measured using the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES). Questionnaires were completed preintervention and after 6 months.ResultsAt 6-month follow-up, 10 DVD users (1 male, 9 female; mean age 51.3, SD 16.1 years) and 18 website users (2 male, 16 female; mean age 52.4, SD 10.4 years) were reachable. The change in each parameter could not be confirmed a significant improvement. However, most items tended to reflect overall improvement during the 6 months of intervention (P=.05-.94; paired t test). Regarding effect size, we considered a small effect to be greater than 0.2. Little effect was observed for JHEQ pain, SF-8 physical component summary (PCS), and SF-8 mental component summary in the DVD group, as well as OHS, SF-8 (PCS), and GSES in the website group.ConclusionsWhen comparing the effectiveness of exercise therapy between our DVD and website, we found that although both groups tended to improve in physical function, only the website group showed tendency of enhanced self-efficacy.

Factor Analysis of Acute Ward Nurses’ Concepts of Life and Death

Background: The Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications announced that the proportion of elderly people aged 65 or over in the total population of Japan reached a record high of 26.7% in the present Japan. Aims: This paper aimed to clarify from acute ward nurses’ concepts of life and death in Japan. Methods: Questionnaires were distributed to 720 nurses working in acute care hospital A in the Kansai area in Japan. Distribution destinations were all wards except for operating rooms and outpatient clinics. We initially classified the 27 items from Hirai et al.’s death and life scale into the initial seven factors (via promax rotation). Operational Definition: In my analysis, I relied considerably on the seven-point Likert scale of the Concept of life and death. Ethical Considerations: The present study was approved by the Tottori University Ethics Review Committee (1603 A 156). Results: The initial factor analysis revealed that 10 of the 27 items were inadequate. Thus, a second analysis was conducted on the remaining 17 items. The KMO analysis produced a value of 0.8. A Bartlett’s test produced a significant result (p < 0.001), and Cronbach’s α was 0.8, which was the result obtained during initial scale validity checks. The present analysis led to the extraction of 4 factors with eigenvalues greater than 1, with a cumulative contribution rate of 62.8%. Consideration: The first factor comprised all subscales except for the “death avoidance” subscale, which fit better within the fourth factor. These factors included “A comprehensive view of life and death” “Sharing the fate of death and liberation” “Death fear, anxiety, and avoidance”, and “Liberation from life and a world after death”.

Development and Commercialization of New Residential SOFC CHP System

Osaka Gas began selling the new version residential SOFC CHP system “ENE-FARM type S” in April 2016, which is developed in collaboration with Osaka Gas, Aisin Seiki, Kyocera and Noritz. Kyocera manufactures SOFC stacks, Aisin Seiki manufactures power generation units, and Noritz manufactures boiler and remote-control units. The electrical efficiency is 52% (net AC, LHV), whereas that of the previous model was 46.5%.The previous system comprised two units: a power generation unit and a heat recovery unit. The latter unit contained the hot-water storage tank and the boiler. The new power generation unit contains the hot-water storage tank. This tank is configured for connection to a normal household boiler. The system size is minimized to facilitate its use as a residential CHP system. Moreover, it is possible to install the new system in a housing complex, where the available space is limited. This feature expands the market for this system because the previous model could only be installed in a single-family house. To achieve the high electrical efficiency of 52% (net AC, LHV) and the cost reduction, three technical issues were addressed. The first was the improvement of the fuel cell performance, the second was the optimization of the fuel utilization rate, and the third was the improvement in durability. Kyocera reduced the internal electrical resistance of the fuel cell stack. In addition, a new coating technology, i.e., electropainting, which is developed by Osaka Gas and Kyocera, was used for current collectors. Consequently, both an increase in power density (reducing the number of cells) and an improvement in the electrical efficiency have been achieved. Current collectors are oxidized at a high temperature because they comprise stainless steel. Their durability has been considerably improved by the electropainting coating technology. Aisin Seiki optimized the system controls, resulting in enhanced electrical efficiency. Osaka Gas conducted field tests in the Kansai area in Japan. We installed the systems in the houses of several employees for evaluating the system behavior. The results made it possible to accelerate product development. In accordance with the liberalization of the power market in Japan in April 2016, if customers use natural gas provided by Osaka Gas, the electrical power from the unit can be sold back to Osaka Gas. We consider that 2016 is a transition period for residential CHP from the market introduction stage to the autonomous market spread stage. We are currently focusing on achieving further developments in the technology, which will enable cost reduction and higher power generation efficiency in order to maximize the target market.

Retrospective Analysis Of The Recent Treatment Strategies For The Patients With Myeloma-Related Diseases Registered In Kansai Myeloma Forum

Retrospective Analysis Of The Recent Treatment Strategies For The Patients With Myeloma-Related Diseases Registered In Kansai Myeloma Forum

An analysis methodology for integrating renewable and nuclear energy into future smart electricity systems

Both renewable energy and nuclear energy are expected to be increasingly and rapidly integrated into future electricity systems in some countries; however, there are still many bottlenecks for their penetration from technological and systematic perspectives. On the other hand, one of the most crucial elements of future electricity systems will be the capability for ‘smart’ controls on both the supply and demand sides to perform under real-time dynamics. Therefore, a methodology was proposed in the present study to analyze the penetration of renewable and nuclear energy into future electricity systems with new added electric devices such as batteries, electric vehicles and heat pumps operated under smart control strategies. The methodology was based on a set of models organized into an input–output framework and actualized using an hour-by-hour computer simulation to achieve a real-time supply–demand balance. The methodology has been developed as a flexible software platform and applied to the Kansai area in Japan. The interactions between the integration of renewable and nuclear energy and operation patterns of new controllable devices were obtained and compared in different scenarios. The feasibility of the proposed methodology has been demonstrated through the scenario analysis. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Differences in travel objectives between first‐time and repeat tourists: An empirical analysis for the Kansai area in Japan

AbstractThis study investigates the differences in travel objectives between first‐time and repeat tourists. We conduct a questionnaire survey of travel agencies, which asked about specific tour plan for target tourists, their experiences and travel objectives in the Kansai area in Japan. We estimate a logit model for the relationship between travel objectives and visiting experiences. The results indicate that the first‐time tourists' main objective is to enjoy looking around sightseeing spots, while the repeat tourists' objective is simply to enjoy the stay, including the hotel visit and participating in events. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Lighting Culture to Leave, and its Succession(&lt;Special Issue&gt;Kansai Branch: Their Transmission of Lighting Culture in Kansai Area of Japan)

This article discusses about preservation of lighting culture and illuminations in modern architecture that should be conserved for the coming generations. This article also introduces preservation and renovation case studies of facilities in the old residence of the Nishios and the Ikoma Building. Illuminations and electrical facilities in the old residence of the Nishios were installed in the era in which incandescent lamps were becoming widespread. Ikoma Building used to have a very innovative exterior taking advantage of the corner location on the Sakai-Suji, which used to be one of the main streets in the city of Osaka at that time.

Midosuji Illumination(&lt;Special Issue&gt;Kansai Branch: Their Transmission of Lighting Culture in Kansai Area of Japan)

Midosuji Illumination(&lt;Special Issue&gt;Kansai Branch: Their Transmission of Lighting Culture in Kansai Area of Japan)

Upon Editing the Special Issue of Kansai Branch(&lt;Special Issue&gt;Kansai Branch: Their Transmission of Lighting Culture in Kansai Area of Japan)

2006 annual conference was held in Kansai University. 2010 annual conference will be held in Osaka City University. Because only four years from this time passed, we adopted the form of the sequel. The representative contents are as follows. (1) New illumination event in Kansai district, (2) Lighting Culture to Leave, and its Succession and (3) Railway station LED and Famous sports Lighting facility.

Irish Music and the Experience of Nostalgia in Japan

The year 2002 saw the first Saint Patrick's Day parade in Kyoto. It coincided with many other such parades around the world, including ones in Tokyo, in Seoul, and in Singapore. Japan has dozens of Irish pubs with names such as Murphy's, Ryan's, or Paddy's, and many of them feature Japanese musicians playing live Irish music in weekly seisiains. In October of 2003 the current incarnation of the Riverdance stage show appeared on its third tour in Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo, Sendai, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka. Japanese enthusiasts of Irish culture might have been able to catch Riverdance if they weren't already tied up by a harp festival, Irish traditional music camps, set dancing classes, productions of plays by Irish dramatists in Japanese and English, poetry readings in Irish and English with and without Japanese translation, or visits to the 250seat Finnegan's Bar and Grill at Universal Studios JapanTM in Osaka. Staying in contact with each other by means of the internet, posters, and performances, Japan's Irish music enthusiasts have ample opportunities to experience a type of Irish culture in diasporic relocation. Consumers of Irish music and those interested in Irish culture generally might be surprised to find Irish music in Japan, or - in particular - to find Japanese people deeply drawn toward Irish music, culture, and notions of identity. Yet the rules of citizenship for the Irish are so generous, compared to many nations, that anyone - including a Japanese person - may be an Irish citizen provided that one grandparent was born in Ireland. This would extend citizenship to the likes of Che Guevara, Muhammad Ali, Tony Blair, Alex Haley, or Alfred Hitchcock. This article focuses primarily on Japanese consumers of Irish music, acknowledging, though, that the peripatetic Irish have established lively diasporic communities across the globe. I was a professor-in-residence at a branch campus of Kobe University in the Kansai area of Japan, teaching American music history.' Prior to my arrival I had sent messages by e-mail to the Japan branch of Comhaltas Ceolt6iri Eireann, the international association of Irish music enthusiasts. Within a few

Fracture of Reinforcing Steels in Concrete Structures Damaged by Alkali-Silica Reaction-Field Survey, Mechanism and Maintenance-

Instances of reinforcing steel fracture in concrete structures damaged by the alkali-silica reaction (ASR) have been discovered recently in Japan. As long as reinforcing steels are not broken due to ASR-caused expansion, the safety of a structure is considered not to be seriously compromised. However, the safety of a structure becomes questionable when the confinement of concrete becomes degraded due to the fracture of reinforcing steel bars. Therefore, it is important to clarify the mechanism of the fracture of reinforcing steel bars and develop methods for detecting steel bar fractures and strengthening concrete structures damaged by ASR.This paper describes the fracture of reinforcing steels in the case of concrete structures damaged by ASR in the Kansai area in Japan. It then introduces the results of investigation on the fracture mechanism, nondestructive testing methods, and repair and strengthening methods for damaged concrete structures.

Relationship between catheter care and catheter-associated urinary tract infection at Japanese acute care hospitals

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Few epidemiologic studies have been conducted to identify risk factors for catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) in Japan. We conducted surveillance at acute care hospitals in the Kansai area of Japan, focusing on risk factors associated with catheter use. METHODS: Five hospitals with nine units participated in the CAUTI surveillance. The eligibility criterion for the study was an adult patient being catheterized for >3 days between January and December 2004. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) definition of CAUTI was used for this study. The researcher visited the hospitals twice a week to observe catheter care and collect clinical data. Relative risks for CAUTI with 95% confidence intervals were calculated, and statistical significance was determined with Kaplan-Meier tests. RESULTS: For the 555 subjects (338 women, 217 men), the mean duration of catheterization was 25 days. The catheters were changed every 2 to 4 weeks in most cases. The major reasons for catheterization were output monitoring (32%), bed rest (14%), and urinary incontinence (10%). The CAUTI rate was 3.91 per 1000 device days, with the rate varying considerably from a low of 0.57 to a high of 7.15. The greatest risk factor was fecal incontinence (RR = 2.7). Improper catheter care — use of a common urine collection container (RR = 1.4) or of multidose lubricant (RR = 1.5) — was associated with an increased risk of infection due to cross-infection. Other factors were the use of larger size catheter (>18Fr, RR = 2.4) and incorrect volume of water for the balloon (RR = 1.4). Risk factors directly related to catheter care were lack of daily meatal care (RR = 1.5), disconnecting the closed system (RR = 1.2), and catheters not being taped to the body (RR = 1.3). Although these risk factors did not reach statistical significance due to the relatively small number of infections, they are similar to those reported in Western studies. Of special note is that the hospital with the lowest CAUTI had the best catheter care. CONCLUSIONS: CAUTI rates varied greatly among the five hospitals included in this study. Risk factors for CAUTI were fecal incontinence, incorrect catheter size, incorrect volume of water for the balloon, and insufficient catheter care. Implementation of the correct choice and use of catheters combined with good catheter care would reduce risk of CAUTI in Japanese hospitals.

Dyspnea Is a Better Predictor of 5-Year Survival Than Airway Obstruction in Patients With COPD

FEV(1) is regarded as the most significant correlate of survival in COPD and is used as a measure of disease severity in the staging of COPD. Recently, however, the categorization of patients with COPD on the basis of the level of dyspnea has similarly been reported to be useful in the prediction of health-related quality of life and improvement in exercise performance after pulmonary rehabilitation. We compared the effects of the level of dyspnea and disease severity, as evaluated by airway obstruction, on the 5-year survival rate of patients with COPD. A total of 227 patients with COPD were enrolled in a 5-year, prospective, multicenter study in the Kansai area of Japan, involving 20 divisions of respiratory medicine from various university and city hospitals. After 5 years, 183 patients were available for the follow-up examination (follow-up rate, 81%). The 5-year cumulative survival rate among patients with COPD was 73%. The effect of disease staging, based on the American Thoracic Society (ATS) guideline as evaluated by the percentage of predicted FEV(1), on the 5-year survival rate was not significant (p = 0.08). However, the level of dyspnea was significantly correlated to the 5-year survival rate (p < 0.001). The Cox proportional hazards model revealed that the level of dyspnea had a more significant effect on survival than disease severity based on FEV(1). The categorization of patients with COPD on the basis of the level of dyspnea was more discriminating than staging of disease severity using the ATS guideline with respect to 5-year survival. Dyspnea should be included as one of the variables, in addition to airway obstruction, for evaluating patients with COPD in terms of mortality.

Activities of the Cleft Lip and Palate Association in the Kansai Area of Japan

Activities of the Cleft Lip and Palate Association in the Kansai Area of Japan

Search for the origin of iron manufacturing at Kansai area in Japan by PIXE analysis

A lot of iron slag was excavated from ancient remains in Kansai area of southwest Japan. These samples provide useful information for archaeologists about the source of material and the place of origin. The roots of iron manufacturing of ancient Japan is a riddle in archaeology. In this study, we analysed iron slag using PIXE technique. Preliminary results which open up the possibility of estimation of source materials from minor elements are reported.

Fuzzy mathematical programming for traffic safety planning on an urban expressway

Traffic safety planning has received increased attention because a number of accidents still occur on urban area transportation networks. The optimization approach, using budget constraints, is applicable to many problems of infrastructure planning that must be carried out under these circumstances. The problems of choosing which traffic safety facilities to construct on urban expressways are investigated in this study. This type of economic problem is formulated as an optimization of combinations problem. Incremental benefit‐cost analysis and Dynamic Programming using fuzzy budget constraints are introduced. Particularly, the standard algorithm normally used to solve this problem is modified, because the fuzzy goal is defined as a step function in this type of problem. In addition, the shapes of the membership functions of fuzzy constraints are also discussed. The facts from a case study of the Hanshin Expressway (in the Kansai area of Japan) will be presented to illustrate how fuzzy theory improves the theoretical congruence with reality and adds robustness to actual traffic safety planning.

東京およびその周辺地域のヒトロタウイルスの流行疫学について

Epidemiology of rotavirus infection was studied from 1981 to 1988 mainly in three hospitals around Tokyo area. Major serotypes of rotaviruses in the three places were different from those in two hospitals around Kansai area in Japan (Ref. 6, 13), while, major serotypes were same among three hospitals. Both of serotypes 1 and 4 in group A were mostly found around Tokyo area. Frequencies of type 2, 3, and 9 in group A were low, although the frequencies were various among periods. Detail examinations of rotavirus RNA electropherotypes showed the results as follows; different electropherotypes were found during one winter season and at one hospital, the identical electropherotype was found cross a year and cross a hospital. We could not find the identical electropherotype which belong to two serotypes so far. Seven group C rotaviruses were found since 1987 in three hospitals. It would be important to examine RNA electropherotypes and serotypes for long period not only for epidemiological studies but also for development of vaccine.