Kashiwa City Research Articles

Collaboration of local government and experts responding to increase in environmental radiation level due to the nuclear disaster: focusing on their activities and latest radiological discussion.

Activities were introduced in Kashiwa city in the Tokyo metropolitan area to correspond to the elevated environmental radiation level after the disaster of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. These were based on a strong cooperation between local governments and experts. Ambient dose rate and radioactivity of foodstuff produced inside of the city have been monitored. Representative ambient dose rates around living environments have almost already become their original levels of the pre-accident because of the decontamination activity, natural washout and effective half-lives of radioactivity. The internal annual dose due to radioactive cesium under the policy of 'Local Production for Local Consumption' is estimated as extremely low comparing the variation range due to natural radioactivity. Systematic survey around a retention basin has been started. All of these latest monitoring data would be one of the core information for the policy making as well as a cost-benefit discussion and risk communication.

千葉県柏市における土壌中放射性セシウムの深度・水平分布に係る実態調査

千葉県柏市における土壌中放射性セシウムの深度・水平分布に係る実態調査

3A21 Development of an integrated public transportation information system based in a railway station(Customer Environment)

As a solution to resolve the problems of the city such as traffic jam, a shift in the usage from privately-owned cars to public transport are pointed out, however the present situation is such that due to the lack of high convenience in using privately-owned cars or the improvement of the overall public transport in terms of convenience has caused few success cases. In light to this problem, with the purpose of convenience improvement of the public transport as a whole, an integrated information system of the railroad and buses was developed in order to provide the users with such information. An efficacy evaluation of the smartphone application with integrated information system was developed and tested in Kashiwa City of Chiba Prefecture from October 2013 to December 2013. The assessment and efficacy evaluation of the user and usage trends of the society during the testing period were obtained and reported.

Metabolic syndrome, sarcopenia and role of sex and age: cross-sectional analysis of Kashiwa cohort study.

Recent epidemiological evidence suggests that effects of cardiovascular risk factors may vary depending on sex and age. In this study, we assessed the associations of metabolic syndrome (MetS) with sarcopenia and its components in older adults, and examined whether the associations vary by sex and age. We also tested if any one of the MetS components could explain the associations. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the baseline data from the cohort study conducted in Kashiwa city, Chiba, Japan in 2012 which included 1971 functionally-independent, community-dwelling Japanese adults aged 65 years or older (977 men, 994 women). Sarcopenia was defined based on appendicular skeletal muscle mass, grip strength and usual gait speed. MetS was defined based on the National Cholesterol Education Program’s Adult Treatment Panel-III criteria. The prevalence of sarcopenia was 14.2% in men and 22.1% in women, while the prevalence of MetS was 43.6% in men and 28.9% in women. After adjustment for potential confounders, MetS was positively associated with sarcopenia in men aged 65 to 74 years (odds ratio 5.5; 95% confidence interval 1.9–15.9) but not in older men or women. Among the sarcopenia components, MetS was associated with lower muscle mass and grip strength, particularly in men aged 65 to 74 years. The associations of MetS with sarcopenia and its components were mainly driven by abdominal obesity regardless of sex or age. In conclusion, MetS is positively associated with sarcopenia in older men. The association is modified by sex and age, but abdominal obesity is the main contributor to the association across sex and age.

Ground beetle community in suburban Satoyama — A case study on wing type and body size under small scale management

A Satoyama landscape is an important reservoir of biodiversity; however, in post-industrial era traditional Satoyama management became economically unfeasible.To maintain Satoyama, labor-saving management styles have begun to be implemented. In contrast to the traditional styles based on labor-intensive practices such as rotational tree clear-cutting, the labor-saving styles consist mainly in tree thinning and ground vegetation cutting within a small spatial range. The consequences of this new approach are unclear, and our study aimed at filling this gap in our knowledge by analyzing the effects of small scale management on ground beetle community in suburban Satoyama (Kashiwa city, central Japan). We applied labor-saving management at limited spatial range, and sampled and analyzed ground beetles both before and after management. Cluster analysis revealed three groups of beetle assemblages, corresponding to three habitats: forest, bamboo stand and grassland. Comparison of wing traits showed that, before management, brachypterous beetles dominated forest plots and macropterous beetles were more prominent in the grassland plot, while in the bamboo stand both types of wing morphology were evenly represented. This trend can be linked to habitat structural stability driven by vegetation regeneration cycles which reflect dominant plant longevity. After management, macroptery increased in all three habitats. Probably, habitat disturbance created by vegetation management gave advantage to macropterous beetles over brachypterous beetles. These results suggest that wing type can be linked to vegetation structural stability. In some species, decline in abundance was accompanied with decline in body size. Our study shows that small scale Satoyama management can have pronounced effects on beetle assemblages.

Development of the Nowcast Traffic Simulation System for Road Traffic in Urban Areas

This paper describes the development of an on-line traffic simulation system called the “Nowcast Traffic Simulation System” for road traffic in urban areas. The system can reproduce the traffic situation based on various types of traffic data provided in real time such as floating car data and traffic sensor data. The output data is used for several traffic information services, including CO₂ monitoring. In this paper, the authors explain the concept of the Nowcast Traffic Simulation System and its theoretical framework followed by an example of a demonstration experiment in Kashiwa City in Japan.

Development of the Multi-mobility Sharing Service Management System

ABSTRACT Existing car-sharing systems have difficulty meeting the demands of one-way trips and connecting to other sharing systems. Therefore, in this study, a multi-mobility sharing service management system that was able to meet the demands of the one-way and round-way trips and shared diverse transportation modes such as cars (electric car/gasoline car), electric motorcycles and bicycles was developed, and a field study was conducted in Kashiwa-no-ha, Kashiwa City and Nagareyama City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As a result of the field test, it was confirmed that this system supplied the one-way demands for 54.9% of total car trips and 43.9% of the user used multiple transportation modes by the common interface. In addition, this system contributed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by sharing vehicles and using eco-friendly vehicles. The developed sharing system is expected to improve mobility by meeting more various types of traffic demand than existing car sharing systems.Key words : common interface, eco-friendly vehicle, electric vehicle, integrated database, multi-mobility sharing service†본 연구의 모의실험은 2010년도 일본 총무성 지역 ICT 이·활용광역연계사업과 2012년도 일본 내각부 환경미래도시 선도적 모델사업의 재정지원을 받아 수행하였습니다. * 주저자 : 일본 도쿄대학 신영역창성과학연구과 박사과정 ** 공저자 : 일본 Yahoo! JAPAN 연구소 전임연구원** 공저자 및 교신저자 : 일본 도쿄대학 신영역창성과학연구과 교수†논문접수일 : 2013년 11월 21일†논문심사일 : 2014년 02월 06일†게재확정일 : 2014년 02월 13일

Development of a simple screening test for sarcopenia in older adults

To develop a simple screening test to identify older adults at high risk for sarcopenia. We studied 1971 functionally independent, community-dwelling adults aged 65 years or older randomly selected from the resident register of Kashiwa city, Chiba, Japan. Data collection was carried out between September and November 2012. Sarcopenia was defined based on low muscle mass measured by bioimpedance analysis and either low muscle strength characterized by handgrip or low physical performance characterized by slow gait speed. The prevalence of sarcopenia was 14.2% in men and 22.1% in women. After the variable selection procedure, the final model to estimate the probability of sarcopenia included three variables: age, grip strength and calf circumference. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, a measure of discrimination, of the final model was 0.939 with 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.918-0.958 for men, and 0.909 with 95% CI of 0.887-0.931 for women. We created a score chart for each sex based on the final model. When the sum of sensitivity and specificity was maximized, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for sarcopenia were 84.9%, 88.2%, 54.4%, and 97.2% for men, 75.5%, 92.0%, 72.8%, and 93.0% for women, respectively. The presence of sarcopenia could be detected using three easily obtainable variables with high accuracy. The screening test we developed could help identify functionally independent older adults with sarcopenia who are good candidates for intervention.

A Study on the Factors to Change the Administrative Organization to Realize the Mayor's Local Manifesto : Based on the results of the longitudinal study of organizational change in Kashiwa City

A Study on the Factors to Change the Administrative Organization to Realize the Mayor's Local Manifesto : Based on the results of the longitudinal study of organizational change in Kashiwa City

Cooperation between Local Government and Private Sectors in Decontamination Activities in Kashiwa City

Cooperation between Local Government and Private Sectors in Decontamination Activities in Kashiwa City

当院における女性特有のがん検診(乳がん検診)の一考察

女性特有のがん検診推進事業も今年度で5年目を迎えた。当院がこれまで4年間，柏市乳がん検診指定医療機関の1つとして参画した女性特有の(乳)がん検診推進事業の有効性と柏市乳がん検診事業の問題点を検討した。柏市の全乳がん検診クーポン券利用率は平均27.1%であり，クーポン券利用の市検診未登録者の使用率は平均15.1%と低調であった。当院におけるクーポン券利用受診者もこの4年間で増加傾向を認めず，前回のクーポン券利用をきっかけに市検診登録をして当院で一次検診を受診した，いわゆるリターン受診率も低く，特有検診をきっかけにした検診の継続にも結び付いていない。また特有検診期間末の駆け込み受診の著増は，検診を希望しても受診できないケースを生んでいる。以上より，女性特有のがん検診推進事業はこれまでの4年間に限ってみれば，乳がん検診受診の動機づけ，啓蒙にさほど寄与していないと思われた。また乳がん検診事業において，市民の積極的受診への意識向上を図るためにはさらなる啓蒙活動が必要であり，検診を希望しても受診できない検診難民を生まないために検診事業の機能的・構造的問題を改善する必要があると思われた。

Constraint on pulsar wind properties from induced Compton scattering off radio pulses

Constraint on pulsar wind properties from induced Compton scattering off radio pulses Shuta J. Tanaka1,∗ and Fumio Takahara2 1Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwa-no-ha, Kashiwa City, Chiba 277-8582, Japan 2Department of Earth and Space Science, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, 1-1 Machikaneyama-cho, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-0043, Japan ∗E-mail: sjtanaka@icrr.u-tokyo.ac.jp

A comparison of fungal endophytic community diversity in tree leaves of rural and urban temperate forests of Kanto district, eastern Japan

To clarify the effects of forest fragmentation and a change in tree species composition following urbanization on endophytic fungal communities, we isolated fungal endophytes from the foliage of nine tree species in suburban (Kashiwa City, Chiba) and rural (Mt. Wagakuni, Ibaraki; Mt. Takao, Tokyo) forests and compared the fungal communities between sites and host tree species. Host specificity was evaluated using the index of host specificity (Si), and the number of isolated species, total isolation frequency, and the diversity index were calculated. From just one to several host-specific species were recognized in all host tree species at all sites. The total isolation frequency of all fungal species on Quercus myrsinaefolia, Quercus serrata, and Chamaecyparis obtusa and the total isolation frequency of host-specific species on Q. myrsinaefolia, Q. serrata, and Eurya japonica were significantly lower in Kashiwa than in the rural forests. The similarity indices (nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMS) and CMH) of endophytic communities among different tree species were higher in Kashiwa, as many tree species shared the same fungal species in the suburban forest. Endophytic fungi with a broad host range were grouped into four clusters suggesting their preference for conifer/broadleaves and evergreen/deciduous trees. Forest fragmentation and isolation by urbanization have been shown to cause the decline of host-specific fungal species and a decrease in β diversity of endophytic communities, i.e., endophytic communities associated with tree leaves in suburban forests were found to be depauperate.

Measurement of fallout with rain in Hiroshima and several sites in Japan from the Fukushima reactor accident

Fallout with rain from the Fukushima reactor accident was monitored for about two months in Higashi-Hiroshima City, Hiroshima, Japan, from March 20 to May 23, 2011. Gamma-ray (γ-ray) spectra measured using a low background HPGe spectrometer showed clear evidence of fission products—131I, 137Cs, and 134Cs. The 131I was observed on March 27 and April 8, while 137Cs and 134Cs were observed on March 27, April 18, and April 22. The 131I, 137Cs, and 134Cs activity concentrations in rainwater collected in Hiroshima reached 0.44 ± 0.09 on April 8, 0.17 ± 0.01 on April 18, and 0.15 ± 0.01 Bq/L on April 18, 2011, respectively. These activity levels were compared with global results collected from the Northern Hemisphere. Several samples of rainwater that were collected in Chiba (Kashiwa) on March 21, April 11, and May 12; Tokyo (Nerima) on March 21 and April 11; Osaka (Hirano) on April 8; Nara (Kitakatsuragi) on April 9; and Fukushima (Fukushima) on April 19, were also measured by our spectrometer and compared. Among these samples of rainwater collected at different locations in Japan, the one collected at Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture, on March 21 showed the highest activity concentrations of 6072 ± 1, 632 ± 4, 766 ± 3, 637 ± 1, 97.6 ± 0.8, and 752 ± 2 Bq/L for 131I, 132I, 132Te, 134Cs, 136Cs, and 137Cs, respectively. The health risks due to these high activity levels were considered in terms of several regulations. The ratio of the activites for the isotopes 131I to 137Cs and 134Cs to 137Cs were compared with the other measurements and discussed.

Radiocesium contamination in suburban forests in Kashiwa city, Chiba Prefecture

Radiocesium contamination in suburban forests in Kashiwa city, Chiba Prefecture

Radionuclide Analysis on Bamboos following the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

In response to contamination from the recent Fukushima nuclear accident, we conducted radionuclide analysis on bamboos sampled from six sites within a 25 to 980 km radius of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Maximum activity concentrations of radiocesium 134Cs and 137Cs in samples from Fukushima city, 65 km away from the Fukushima Daiichi plant, were in excess of 71 and 79 kBq/kg, dry weight (DW), respectively. In Kashiwa city, 195 km away from the Fukushima Daiichi, the sample concentrations were in excess of 3.4 and 4.3 kBq/kg DW, respectively. In Toyohashi city, 440 km away from the Fukushima Daiichi, the concentrations were below the measurable limits of up to 4.5 Bq/kg DW. In the radiocesium contaminated samples, the radiocesium activity was higher in mature and fallen leaves than in young leaves, branches and culms.

1．何が求められているのか？ 千葉県柏市・健康長寿都市計画から：～『Aging in Place』を目指して～

1．何が求められているのか？ 千葉県柏市・健康長寿都市計画から：～『Aging in Place』を目指して～

暫定利用を前提とした緑地の管理・運営スキームに関する研究

In general, planners have conceptualized open spaces as permanent fixtures of the urban landscape. At present, however, the number of provisional open spaces--sites such as vacant lots that can be utilized temporarily--is rapidly increasing. In response to the proliferation of provisional open spaces, the city of Kashiwa, a commuter town east of Tokyo in Chiba Prefecture, established the kashiniwa scheme in 2010. This scheme aims to utilize provisional open spaces as sites for activities by citizen groups. This study identified the characteristics of kashiniwa and the problems in the advanced citizen activity supported by kashiniwa through document analysis and group interviews. An important characteristic of the kashiniwa scheme is that Kashiwa city supports citizen groups by offering subsidies without any strict regulation of group activities, permitting groups to develop various distinct and innovative activities, such as agriculture, not seen in more conventional parks and green spaces. However, issues of soil preparation for agro-activities and insufficient consensus building were identified as key problems. This study concludes that kashiniwa has potential to make provisional open spaces more attractive, if solutions to the problems identified in this study can be identified.

2A1-C08 地域における複数人の生活行動解析のためのセンサデータ群検索・可視化システム(人間機械協調)

This paper describes development of search and visualization system that deals with heterogeneous time-series activity sensor data in distributed databases. We have collected different types of activity data from living enviroments of elderly people in south area of Kashiwa city: walking data by pedometers, indoor actions by pyroelectric sensors and transportation utility data by on-demand bus reservation. Different search methods are prepared for all databases and these methods extract activity history data in a unified form. This mechanism enables the search system to deal with the heterogeneous activity databases uniformly. In addition, the system provides the method for extracting person group by statistics of extracted activity history. The system facilitates activity analysis through searching action history data from diffrent data sources and visualizing these data comprehensibly. Two experiments showed that the system enables cross-sectional search from heterogeneous time-series activity databases: 1) Identification of the same person from different activity databases and 2) Extraction of person group from activity history data.

Effect of Obesity on Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes Declines with Age Among Japanese Women

The present study sought to investigate whether the effect of obesity on the incidence of type 2 diabetes varies with age among Japanese. Employing two independent cohorts, one in Chiba City from 1994 to 2005 and the other in Kashiwa City from 2002 to 2006, the combined effect of body mass index (BMI) and age on the incidence of type 2 diabetes was evaluated by Cox regression analysis. A total of 37,564 and 26,959 subjects were enrolled in the cohorts and the follow-up rate was 94.7% and 93.3%, respectively. In the Chiba cohort, the hazard ratio for incidence of type 2 diabetes was significantly higher in obese subjects (25.0 kg/m(2) < or = BMI) than in normal weight subjects (18.5 kg/m(2) < or = BMI < 25.0 kg/m(2)) across all age groups, with the highest hazard ratio observed in the youngest group aged 40-59 years. In the Kashiwa cohort, the hazard ratio was also significantly higher in obese subjects than in normal weight subjects in men aged 40-59 and 70-79 years and in women aged 40-59 years. Analysis for the interaction between age groups and obese subjects versus normal weight subjects revealed significant weakening of the effect of obesity in women in both cohorts in subjects aged 60-69 and 70-79 years compared to younger subjects aged 40-59 years. In men, however, a significant weakening of the effect was observed only in subjects aged 60-69 years in the Chiba cohort. The interaction between four BMI categories including an extremely obese group (30.0 kg/m(2) < or = BMI) and age category was significant in women (P < 0.001) but not in men (P = 0.113) in the Chiba cohort. Based on data from the two independent cohorts, the effect of obesity on the incidence of type 2 diabetes was found to decline with age in Japanese women but not in men.