In this study, to help basic researches on nondestructive measurement of synthetic and natural polymer materials consisting mainly of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, I confirmed the linearity between density and brightness values of carbon materials as reference materials for dual-energy X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and then determined the equation to derive the carbon equivalent density from the brightness values of various materials. From the X-ray beam dependence of the carbon equivalent density of various materials, I examined whether it is possible to determine the mass ratio of oxygen in the materials. It was shown that the mass ratio of oxygen in various plastic materials has a linear relationship with the carbon equivalent density ratio and that this principle can be applied to the determination of the mass ratio of oxygen in various plastic materials, but it was found that it is difficult to determine the mass ratio of oxygen in wood in the same way. The reason for this was thought to be a problem with the assumption that wood is composed of three elements: carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

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The purpose of this study was to update the future projections of equilibrium moisture content of wood presented in the previous report based on the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. First, the future projections in the previous report were compared with the subsequent actual values, and the validity of the projection method in the previous report was examined. Next, following the forecasting method in the previous report, future projections of the annual average equilibrium moisture content of wood to the year 2100 were conducted based on the latest scenarios. Although the equilibrium moisture content of wood in various regions of Japan fell generally within the range predicted in the previous report during the 22-year period from 2001 to 2022, the slope of the decline was somewhat slower than predicted, suggesting that the method used in the previous report may slightly overestimate the equilibrium moisture content in the future. The equilibrium moisture content of wood will continue to decline at least until mid-century, and unless CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions decrease substantially over the next few decades, equilibrium moisture content will decline by more than 1.5 to 2 percentage points during the 21st century.

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For a previously proposed measurement system for the permeability of wood panels, I have modified the system so that an arbitrary pressure below atmospheric pressure can be applied to both ends of the measurement specimen. The repeatedly measured flow rate of a non-permeable material using this measurement system showed a very small variation under some specific pressure conditions. Assuming that the measurement result of the non-permeable material was the leakage amount of the measurement system, an equation was determined to estimate the leakage amount of the measurement system as a function of the differential pressure between the both ends of the specimen. By subtracting this equation from the measurement results of each sample, I found that the permeability can be determined even for extremely low permeability samples that could not be measured before. This is expected to be useful for research on the gas permeability of wood materials.

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The purpose of this study was to derive the specific heat capacities of several representative wood adhesives as a function of temperature. Phenolic resin adhesives, urea resin adhesives, melamine-urea co-condensation resin adhesives, water-based polymer-isocyanate adhesives, resorcinol resin adhesives, and one-component polyurethane adhesives were prepared and cured as per the manufacturer's recommended instructions to obtain bulk cured products of each adhesive. The specific heat of each adhesive was measured every 10 °C in the range of -20 °C to 60 °C using a differential scanning calorimeter; the temperature range selected was wider than that experienced in day-to-day life.

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[in Japanese]

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With the remarkable progress in computing resources and machine learning methodologies in recent years, expectations for the development of computational toxicology tools have increased further. The expected contributions of these tools to drug safety research include prediction of toxicity (on-target toxicity/off-target toxicity), elucidation of toxicity mechanisms, and improvement of the accuracy of toxicity assessment.

In this presentation, I would like to introduce the

- Computational Toxicology Tools that we have established and discuss the issues that have been identified through these researches.

Acknowledgment

These researches are supported by AMED under Grant Number 19nk0101103h0005 and 21nk0101111h0102.

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In respond to a trend of science policy in Japan, authors' copyrights in journal articles under a background of in science and technology is reported.

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The 'Berlin Declaration' was published in 2003 as a guideline to policy makers to promote the Internet as a functional instrument for a global scientific knowledge base. Because knowledge is derived from data, the principles of the 'Berlin Declaration' should apply to data as well. Today, to scientific data is hampered by structural deficits in the publication process. Data publication needs to offer authors an incentive to publish data through long-term repositories. Data publication also requires an adequate licence model that protects the intellectual property rights of the author while allowing further use of the data by the scientific community.

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movement is a hot issue in a recent Library and Information Science. This article analyzed 'the Budapest Initiative (BOAI),' which triggered the movement. First, this article introduced the foundation, 'the Society Institute (OSI),' which has proposed and supported BOAI, and its founder, George Soros. We also surveyed their philosophical basis, the concept of ' Society' -Karl R. Popper advocated. In addition, we revealed that BOAI was affected by the concept of ' Society'. Second, we revealed how people accepted the concept of ' Society' by quantitative analysis of literatures about . As a result, it was revealed that while OSI participated to the movements to achieve the concept of ' Society' people in movement have not referred to OSI's intention.

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This paper investigates effects of trade liberalization and policies on deforestation.The analysis is conducted by extending a small economy model with - renewable resources developed by Brander and Taylor (1997a, b, 1998).This paper endogenizes the carrying capacity of the renewable resource by linking it to the “base resource, ” e.g., land.Contribution of land to the growth of terrestrial renewable resources has also been recognized in the literature on biodiversity (Swanson, 1993;Schulz, 1996;Barbier and Schulz, 1997).In my model, the resource extraction sector competes for the base resource as well as for another factor, i.e., labour, with the other sector (agriculture).This changes some of the key implications of the Brander-Taylor model.In the original Brander-Taylor model, trade liberalization causes the resource stock in the resource abundant country to decrease and it in the resource scarce country to increase.In my model, by contrast, trade liberalization may increase the forest stock in the resource abundant country and may decrease the forest stock in the resource scarce country.It is also shown that policies primarily aimed at protecting the forest stock, such as import restrictions by importing countries and forest certification for well-managed forest, may have perverse effects on the forest stock.

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This article introduces the portal site for the (OA) movement of Japan. The foundation, contents and usage of the Japan, along with actual data are described. OA has been changing rapidly in the world; thus, the Japanese medical library community must cooperate with Japan to deal with this movement.

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This article discusses a 7-year (2017–2023) collaborative project aimed at pathology capacity development in Cambodia, where the pathology workforce is limited due to historical and infrastructural challenges. Cambodia's increasing cancer burden necessitates the expansion of pathology services; however, the country has only a small number of health professionals related to pathological services. Since 2017, the project, funded by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, has involved Japanese pathologists providing lectures and technical advice and Cambodian pathologists gaining training in Japan. Over time, the project expanded to support both pathologists and pathology technologists, focusing on capacity building, through a residency program for pathologists and a bridging course for laboratory technologists. The project faced several challenges, including maintaining the quality and sustainability of education, improving practical training environments, and addressing the international migration of a trained workforce. Despite these obstacles, the program trained several residents and led to the development of educational materials. The project also highlighted opportunities to mobilize Cambodian pathologists working abroad and incorporate digital technology into the education system. The article concludes that strengthening the local pathology workforce requires systemic changes, including developing the capacity of Cambodian pathologists to take on leadership roles in teaching and supporting the education system, as well as utilizing Cambodian pathologists abroad as a resource for education and service delivery.

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End-of-life decision making regarding invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) for patients with severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is challenging. We aimed to explore the factors associated with the withholding of IMV in patients with COVID-19. This retrospective study included patients registered in a nationwide COVID-19 Registry Japan. We enrolled patients with COVID-19 admitted between January 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021, and died during hospitalization. The enrolled patients were divided into two groups: those who received IMV (IMV group) and those who did not (non-IMV group). To identify the factors associated with withholding of IMV among patients with COVID-19 who died during hospitalization, we conducted a multivariate logistic regression analysis. A total of 2,401 patients were enrolled. Of these, 588 (24.5%) were in the IMV group and 1813 (75.5%) in the non-IMV group. Withholding IMV was positively associated with older age (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.82–0.88, p < 0.0001), dementia (95% CI: 0.81–0.91, p < 0.0001), chronic lung disease (95% CI: 0.88–1.00, p = 0.036), and malignancy (95% CI: 0.82–0.94, p < 0.0004) although inversely associated with male sex (95% CI: 1.04–1.15, p = 0.0008), body mass index (95% CI: 1.01–1.02, p < 0.0001), and National Early Warning Score (95% CI: 1.01–1.03, p < 0.0001). We subsequently analyzed these results to inform preparedness for future emerging infectious disease pandemics by retrospectively examining the decision-making processes during the COVID-19 crisis, with particular attention to the role of multidisciplinary collaboration. Based on this study, it will be essential in future pandemics to assess decisions concerning life-sustaining treatments, including IMV, from both scientific and ethical perspectives.

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Pyogenic spondylitis can be life-threatening; however, its diagnosis remains challenging because of the initial presentation of nonspecific symptoms. Given the vulnerability of the infected site, patients are highly at risk for severe complications, such as epidural abscesses or bacterial meningitis, which can considerably worsen the prognosis. Herein, we report a case of lumbar pyogenic spondylitis initially identified through methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia, which subsequently progressed to an epidural abscess. The abscess rapidly ascended to the cervical region, causing bacterial meningitis and ultimately, a fatal outcome. The strain (JARB-OU3818) was positive for the virulence factor genes of the enterotoxin gene cluster (seg, sei, sem, sen, and seo) but negative for the Panton-Valentine leucocidin (PVL) and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) coding genes. Additionally, JARB-OU3818 was ST9378 belonging to the clonal complex 45 lineage. Clinicians should recognize that pyogenic spondylitis may follow an aggressively progressive clinical course, as demonstrated by this case.

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The Academic Research Organizations (ARO) Alliance for Southeast and East Asia (ARISE), established in 2021, is a network of academic research organizations in Southeast and East Asia. Its founding vision was focused on conducting effective, high-quality clinical research and providing timely

to new medicinal products during health crises. Through its focused efforts, ARISE has fostered regional cooperation and contributed to implementing clinical trials of medical products in its network. In response to global health challenges, the Government of Japan is establishing a new organization, the Japan Institute for Health Security, with functions encompassing infectious disease control and pandemic preparedness. As ARISE continues to fulfill its mission of addressing emerging infectious diseases, the ongoing changes in its founding organization will significantly impact its operations. With this article, we aim to highlight ARISE’s achievements in its first two years and to explain how its strategy has been adapted to the new organizational structure and evolving global health landscape. ARISE strives to strengthen its network collaboration and further enhance the ability of member organizations to respond rapidly and effectively to future health emergencies.

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Understanding the evaluation framework for assessing the outcomes of projects following complex technology transfer processes is limited. Therefore, we conducted a study to develop and investigate the validity of performance indicators of the technology transfer process. The performance indicators, consisting of ten indicators each for "health technology" and "health products", were developed using the Delphi method and a relationship diagram was generated. To examine validity, correlations between indicators were analyzed using a questionnaire regarding the essential factors influencing health technology and product transfer. A mutual contributory relationship between indicators related to health technology and products may exist. One of the factors promoting technology transfer was projects lasting three or more years, although no significant correlation was detected between other public support utilization and performance indicators. However, the indicators do not fully cover the technology transfer process, such as the pathway to procurement of "health products." Future research is necessary to improve performance indicators through on-site investigations.

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This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a health education intervention on women's cervical cancer screening uptake. It was conducted using data from the collaborative project by the Cambodian Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics and the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology to improve cervical cancer services in Cambodia. A prospective observational study was conducted from August 2022 to May 2023, involving 1,538 female teachers from 80 public primary schools in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A total of 815 participants (intervention group [n = 355] and control group [n = 460]) were eligible for analysis. The intervention group received a tailored health education program and an invitation to register for free cervical cancer screening, while the control group only received the invitation to screening. The intervention group demonstrated a significantly higher screening registration (32.1% vs. 18.8%, p < 0.001) and uptake (24.1% vs. 12.7%, p < 0.001) than the control group. When comparing changes in knowledge and attitude between baseline and endline assessments, the intervention group showed a notable improvement in knowledge regarding the causes, symptoms, prevention, and benefits of early detection of cervical cancer. For instance, the proportion of women who recognized human papillomavirus as the cause of cervical cancer significantly increased in the intervention group (baseline: 23.7%, endline: 57.5%, p < 0.001), while no significant change was observed in the control group (baseline: 24.4%, endline: 29.1%, p = 0.101). In conclusion, the health education program effectively increased cervical cancer screening uptake, knowledge and attitude on cervical cancer. Further improvements in screening uptake may require educational interventions that influence individual health behaviors and systematic encouragement for screening participation.

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