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Local anesthesia is administered for most dental treatments. Although the development of disposable needles has decreased the incidence of needle breakage, needle breakage in the oral cavity after local anesthesia is a common complication with the potential to cause serious complications, including injury to vital structures in rare cases. Therefore, the needle should be immediately removed if it breaks during surgery. In this report, we present a case of needle breakage during local anesthesia administered for treatment of a right mandibular third molar lesion that was removed one week later. An image examination just before surgery is essential.

Bereaved families may experience psychological and physical problems increasing their reliance on medical, pharmaceutical, and financial/legal services. Our Japan-wide survey (n = 1078) researched bereaved who showed increased reliance on medical, pharmaceutical, and financial/legal services. Increased use was most evident in the ‘50’s age bracket, and for unemployed widows; it corresponded less with low annual income than with high income declining significantly after bereavement. Increased users showed higher psychological and physical symptoms of grief, and reported their decline in physical health seriously influencing their work and lives, suggesting “presenteeism”—reduced productivity for those continuing to work. Increased users spent 2.7 times more for medical and pharmaceutical services than those reporting continual use, portending 4 to 10 times more Japanese government expense for this group, half of whom considered their own out-of-pocket expenses a financial burden. These findings warrant further research on cost-effectiveness of interventions to reduce declining health of the bereaved.

The present study aims to conduct 2 types of statistical analysis to reveal the impact of the spread of COVID-19 on train delays by comparing the potential contributing factors before, during and after the outbreak of the virus in the metropolitan train lines in Japan. First of all, the result of the present study clearly revealed the changes in contributing factors for train delays caused by the spread of COVID-19. Specifically, the contributing factors for train delays changed due to the decrease of passengers by the effect of the outbreak of the virus. Additionally, though large terminal stations were considered to be a major contributing factor in causing and increasing train delays in the past, this was not the case after the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, under such conditions, it is more effective to make improvements in small to medium stations and tracks rather than terminal stations. Furthermore, as the decrease in passengers also decreased train delays in commuter lines going to the suburbs due to the spread of COVID-19, the contributing factor for such lines is the excessive number of passengers. Therefore, as for countermeasures for train delays after the effects of COVID-19, it is necessary to disperse passengers in order to avoid passengers concentrating in the same time zones and train lines.

The need for environmental education, which incorporates the life cycle concept into the learning program, will become increasingly greater all over the world. In the present study, an e-learning system, which is made up of 3 parts including text-based learning materials, quizzes to review the content of the learning materials and CO2 emission simulation, was designed and developed with the purpose of supporting environmental learning. Targeting a wide range of people, the operation period of this system was 1 month. Based on the results of questionnaire survey for users, it was evident that the quiz function and the simulation function of CO2 emission contributed to the efficiency in environmental learning, and the format of the e-learning system was effective and helpful for environmental learning. Additionally, with the users’ awareness related to environmental conservation before and after using the system, significant changes in awareness were seen in areas such as behavioral intention, sense of urgency and sense of connection. Furthermore, as it was revealed that 62% of the total access numbers were from mobile devices, it was effective to prepare an interface optimized for mobile devices enabling users to use the system from their smartphones and tablet PCs.

The present study aims to propose a method to search for the most appropriate evacuation routes that take calorie consumption required for evacuees to reach evacuation sites into consideration, by focusing on disasters caused by heavy rainfall, and using genetic algorithm (GA) and geographic information system (GIS). Specifically, GA was used to design and develop an evacuation route search algorithm and 4 parameters including the number of generations, mutation rate number of individuals and crossover rate were set by conducting sensitivity analyses. Additionally, GIS was also used to create road network data and contour data for digital maps and calculate the altitude of each crossover point. Based on these, the necessary calorie consumption to reach evacuation sites for each route was calculated, and that made it possible to derive the several evacuation routes with the small values unlike other methods. By using GA and GIS to suggest detailed evacuation routes, which take the necessary calories required to reach evacuation sites into consideration, it can be expected that the present study should contribute to the decision-making of evacuees. Additionally, as the method is based on public information, the method has high spatial and temporal repeatability. Because evacuation routes are proposed based on quantified data, the selected evacuation routes are quantitatively evaluated, and are an effective indicator for deciding on an evacuation route. Additionally, evacuation routes that accurately reflect current conditions can be derived by utilizing detailed information as data.

This study evaluated the effects of four over-the-counter (OTC) bleaching products on the properties of enamel. Extracted human molars were randomly assigned into four groups (n = 5): PD: Poladay (SDI), WG: White Teeth Global (White Teeth Global), CW: Crest3DWhite (Procter & Gamble), and HS: HiSmile (HiSmile). The hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) content in each product was analyzed via titration. Twenty teeth were sectioned into quarters, embedded in epoxy resin, and polished. Each quarter-tooth surface was treated with one of the four beaching times: T0: control/no-bleaching, T14: 14 days, T28: 28 days, and T56: 56 days. Materials were applied to enamel surfaces as recommended. Enamel surfaces were examined for ultramicrohardness (UMH), elastic modulus (EM), superficial roughness (Sa), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Ten additional teeth were used to evaluate color and degree of demineralization (DD) (n = 5). Data were statistically tested by two-way ANOVA and Tukey's tests (α = 5%). Enamel surfaces treated with PD and WG presented UMH values significantly lower than the controls (p

Background Recently, the gut microbiota has been shown to play an important role in the response and resistance to chemotherapy. Although there is much knowledge about chemotherapy-induced changes in the gut microbiota, chemotherapy-associated changes in the oral microbiota remain unclear. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the changes in oral microbiota associated with the initiation of chemotherapy in patients with malignant hematopoietic tumors. Methods Oral samples were collected before and 8–20 days after the start of chemotherapy from 50 patients with malignant hematopoietic tumors who were starting chemotherapy for the first time. The 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing of bacterial DNA extracted from oral samples was performed to compare the oral microbiota before and after the initiation of chemotherapy. Results The richness or evenness of diversity in the ‘after start of chemotherapy’ group decreased significantly, compared with the ‘before start of chemotherapy’ group (alpha-diversity; observed operational taxonomic units (OTUs) index, p p p = 0.001; and weighted UniFrac distances, p = 0.003). Linear discriminant analysis effect size analysis demonstrated an increased abundance of species of certain genera, such as Staphylococcus, and decreased abundance of species of some genera, such as Streptococcus and Neisseria, in the ‘after-chemotherapy’ group, compared with those in the ‘before-chemotherapy’ group. The amounts and trends of change in the oral microbiota before and after the start of chemotherapy differed among the subjects. Of the 25 bacterial genera whose prevalence changed significantly before and after the start of chemotherapy, the proportion of oral commensals such as Streptococcus and Neisseria decreased in many subjects. In contrast, Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas were detected only in a few subjects, but their relative abundance increased significantly after the start of chemotherapy. Conclusions The oral microbiota of patients with hematopoietic tumors changed markedly after the initiation of chemotherapy. Our findings are expected to aid the elucidation of the pathogenesis of oral mucositis, which is an adverse event of chemotherapy, and the development of treatment methods for this condition.

We have encountered a rare case in which the subject underwent maxillary sinus floor elevation at another hospital, and a screw to fix the grafted bone substitute was forced into the maxillary sinus and intruded into the bone. Various different foreign bodies have been reported as being forced into the maxillary sinus due to dental treatment, and these foreign bodies are often retained on the maxillary sinus mucous membrane. However, no reports have described a screw forced in and intruded into the peculiar position in the bone, as seen in the present case, which we report here with additional discussion.

In tourist areas, it is necessary to prepare a method that supports tourists’ activities by providing information concerning disaster support facilities during normal times, in addition to sightseeing spots and tourism-related facilities, because there is a risk of confusion during disasters, as tourists are not aware of the locations of disaster support facilities. The present study aims to develop a navigation system that supports the activities of users during both normal times and disasters by integrating augmented reality (AR) and web geographic information systems (Web-GISs), as well as by using pictograms. The system can not only effectively provide users with information concerning sightseeing spots and tourism-related facilities but also information concerning disaster support facilities. The system was operated over a period of 6 weeks in Chofu City, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. Based on the results of a questionnaire survey for 60 users, the system was highly evaluated for its originality in terms of displays and functions using pictograms, navigation using AR, and obtaining information during disasters. Additionally, based on the results of access log analysis, the system was continuously utilized by users during the operation period. Therefore, by continuously operating the system, it can be expected that users will further utilize each function of the system.

The present study designed, developed and operated a web portal to support remote island for sightseeing and disaster management. The web portal is developed adopting web-geographic information systems (Web-GIS), and connecting with external Social Networking Services (SNS) and the watch over system. The web portal is operated in Tashirojima Island that is a small island in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture in the eastern part of Japan.

Though tourists can search for necessary information on the internet while sightseeing, it is inconvenient to obtain available information concerning specific sightseeing spots among the large amount of information online. The present study developed a sightseeing support system with augmented reality (AR) and no language barriers for all parts of Japan, integrating location-based AR as well as web-geographic information system (Web-GIS) and recommendation system, and using nonlinguistic information as a solution to the limitations of information just using linguistic communication. The evaluation results of the system performance revealed that location and route information can be promptly obtained, even if an area is far removed from the center of Tokyo Metropolis. Additionally, regarding the evaluation results based on the web questionnaire survey for users, it received high scores for the items related to the system characteristics and the whole system. Therefore, future utilization of the system for sightseeing can be anticipated.

Grief has been shown to weaken bereaved persons' health, but measurements of their lost time and medical expense remain rare. Funerals traditionally managed and assuaged grief through ritual expression, approval, and social support. Research suggests that satisfying funeral participation reduces grief, while poverty exacerbates it. We hypothesized that: (1) psycho-physical symptoms of grief, (2) abbreviation/dissatisfaction in the funeral, and (3) poverty, correlate with decreased productivity and increased medical and social services use. We collected data from 165 mourning families about their grief, funerals, and subsequent medical conditions. (1) Deeper grief after bereavement in Japan correlated with more physical problems, more down time, and more medical dependency. (2) Low satisfaction with funerals correlated with higher hospital, pharmacy, and counseling costs. (3) Low income families lost more time, while declining incomes showed increased pharmaceutical costs. This suggests that satisfying funerals and income safeguards may reduce costs of low productivity and increased public services dependency., 死別による生産性の低下・疾病・医療福祉依存の実態を調査 --死別悲嘆のコストに、いかに対応できるか--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2020-09-28., Reducing the high social cost of death. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2020-10-06.

International audience; Since the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011, we have been working on how possibly IT could be used for disaster response and recovery in Japan. From this perspective, we implemented a system, Recovery Watcher, which was designed for sharing information on the recovery process with people inside as well as outside the disaster area. We also applied the system for barrier-free support in a university environment. This paper discusses the further possibilities to use the system for the first responders at disaster as well as inclusive support. We look into the original definition of situation awareness as well as trust issues. Finally, we present our plan to use the system in an island for elderly care as well as tourism in future.

This study aimed to determine the efficacy of preoperative administration of Jidabokuippo (JDI), a Kampo medicine, in treating postoperative pain after tooth extraction with mandible bone removal.This single-blind, randomized controlled study was conducted among two groups of adult patients who were scheduled to undergo tooth extraction with mandible bone removal under general anesthesia. Patients were randomly assigned to either the JDI or control group.Before surgery, the JDI group received JDI (7.5 g), whereas the control group did not receive any treatment. Patients and the evaluator were blinded to the treatment status. At 0, 1, 3, and 24 h after anesthesia recovery, an investigator recorded the severity of postoperative pain and nausea using a numeric rating scale (0, no pain or nausea; 10, worst imaginable pain or nausea). The number of patients who requested nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and that of additional NSAID administration within 24 h from anesthesia recovery, and the time to the first NSAID request from anesthesia recovery was also measured.The severity of postoperative pain was significantly lower in the JDI group compared with the control group at 3 and 24 h after anesthesia recovery (p 0.001 each). Both the number of patients requesting NSAID and additional NSAID administration after anesthesia recovery were significantly smaller in the JDI group than in the control group (p = 0.006, p 0.001). The time to first NSAID request from anesthesia recovery was significantly longer in the JDI group compared with control group (p 0.001). The severity of nausea did not differ significantly between the groups. No significant side effects related to JDI were noted during the trial.JDI administration before general anesthesia effectively decreased the severity of postoperative pain after anesthesia recovery in patients who underwent tooth extraction with mandible bone removal.

In recent Japan, as there has been an increase of dual-income households and the demand for childcare facilities has especially increased especially in urban areas, childcare facilities and workers are lacking and it leads to the serious issue of children on waiting lists. Based on the background mentioned above, using statistical method, geographical information system (GIS) and public open data, scenario analysis to select transportation, the present study aimed to propose a method to quantitatively evaluate the current location of childcare facilities in Japanese urban areas. In the present study, the model of the p-median problem used to obtain the optimal location of facilities was modified, and a method to evaluate the current situation concerning the shortage or overage of childcare facilities by district was proposed. As evaluations are conducted using quantitative data such as the specialization coefficient of person trip for transportation and the distance between childcare facilities and districts, the evaluation results are also quantitative, making it an effective indicator for evaluating the locations of childcare facilities. Additionally, the specialization coefficient of person trip for transportation and the distance between childcare facilities and districts were calculated based on public open data. Therefore, the evaluation method in the present study has a high temporal reproducibility as well as spatial reproducibility.

The present study aimed to design, develop, operate and evaluate a sightseeing navigation system in order to support foreign tourists’ efficient acquisition of sightseeing spot information in Japanese urban tourist areas, about which a variety of information is transmitted, by enabling information to be accumulated, shared and recommended. The system was developed by integrating Web-GIS (Geographic Information Systems), SNS (Social Networking Services) as well as the recommendation system into a single system. The system used the non-language information such as signs, marks and pictograms in addition to English information, and displayed sightseeing spot information and conduct navigation on 2D and 3D digital maps of the Web-GIS. Additionally, the system was operated for two weeks in the central part of Yokohama city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, and the total number of users was 54. Based on the results of the web questionnaire survey, all of the specific functions are highly evaluated, and the usefulness of the system when sightseeing was excellent. From the results of the access analysis of users’ log data, it is evident that it can be said that the system was mainly used before sightseeing and users confirm their favorite sightseeing spots and made their tour planning in advance, using 2D and 3D digital maps.

The present study aimed to design, develop, operate and evaluate a sightseeing navigation system in order to support foreign tourists’ efficient acquisition of sightseeing spot information in Japanese urban tourist areas, about which a variety of information is transmitted, by enabling information to be accumulated, shared, and recommended. The system was developed by integrating web geographic information systems (Web-GIS), social networking service (SNS) as well as recommendation system into a single system. The system used the non-language information such as signs, marks and pictograms in addition to English information, and displayed sightseeing spot information and conduct navigation on 2D and 3D digital maps of the Web-GIS. The system was operated for two weeks in the central part of Yokohama City in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, and the total number of users was 54. Based on the results of the web questionnaire survey, all of the specific functions are highly evaluated, and the usefulness of the system when sightseeing was excellent. From the results of the access analysis of users’ log data, it is evident that the system was mainly used before sightseeing and users confirmed their favorite sightseeing spots and made their tour planning in advance, using 2D and 3D digital maps.

The study aims to develop and test a method to evaluate the location of aged care facilities from the viewpoint of whether they are equitably located for users, using the improved Median Share Ratio (MSR). By evaluating the current location of aged care facilities, it is possible to extract the districts which are short of facilities. The evaluation method was applied to Chofu City in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan, and the evaluation result of weighting and that of not weighting by elderly population were compared and discussed. Consequently, adopting the evaluation method with weighting by elderly population, it is possible to adequately examine the districts where new aged care facilities should be constructed. From this evidence, it is significant to evaluate the location of aged care facilities, using the improved MSR with weighting by elderly population in the study.

From our experience the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 to help out the people in the affected area in terms of IT support such as internetworking and providing PCs, we came across an interesting issue concerning collaboration with people including supporters as well as the victims. We call this problem disaster communications. We also came to know the needs for disaster information processing as there was no such systems to manage shelters, goods distribution and volunteers. On the other hand such systems have been researched in the United States of America and Europe in terms of information processing for emergency management to a great extent. While we have had many natural disasters in Japan, only a very few of the researchers in computer science and information systems have been working on this issue. From this perspective, we try to identify the information required at disaster in this research. In particular, we explored the needs and seeds for disaster information processing in Iwate, Japan. We interviewed some supporters at Iwate in March 2011 such as local government officials, doctors and university administrators and found the situation awareness was required desperately in the beginning of the disaster. This paper reports our project of interviewing people who worked on disaster relief during the emergency response as well as our trial of a system for situation awareness based on the results from our interviews.

The present study aimed to describe the utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a digital infrastructure concerning disaster countermeasures in Japan. Specifically, the study introduced development cases of the systems integrating social media and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and presented the utilization potential as a digital infrastructure. Additionally, taking up Twitter as a familiar digital infrastructure, the study also presented its utilization potential based on the case of the heavy-rain disaster in Western Japan in 2018. As a result, due to the close relationship between the reality and virtual spaces, the issue is how to make the information circulating in the virtual space efficiently and effectively aid in the rescue and support activities in the reality space. The above systems are effective in order to solve such an issue, because these can efficiently consolidate the essential information on the digital map of Web-GIS. Additionally, it is necessary to set rules for the utilization of social media, and sift through information and share only the necessary information to the affected local governments and those involved in the rescue and support activities. Furthermore, various information communication methods including verbal calls in addition to ICT are necessary especially for people who are vulnerable to information.

At the time of the Heavy Rain Disaster in Western Japan in July, 2018, it was possible to gather and accumulate a variety of disaster information using the function of social media mapping included in our spatiotemporal information system. Considering these circumstances and taking up the above social media mapping, the present study described the issues related to the development and utilization of digital infrastructures as one of the measures for disaster prevention and reduction. As the results of the present study, it is possible to rescue and support victims, and cause excessive information and confusion, due to the close relationship between the real and virtual space in the super smart society of Japan. Additionally, it is essential to effectively utilize the information included in the virtual space at the time of disaster. Specifically, it is an important issue to make use of the information on social media for rescue in the real space. Furthermore, it is necessary to take the measures for the people vulnerable to disaster who require the disaster information most. For this, it is necessary to prepare a variety of ICT in addition to oral communication.

International audience; Since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995 as well as the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, we have been aware of the needs for information processing for disaster response and recovery in Japan. This area of research has been led by researchers in the United States of America and Europe in terms of information processing for emergency management to a great extent. While we have had many natural disasters in Japan, only a few of the researchers in information processing have been working on this issue. From this perspective, we try to use our IT knowledge to implement systems to be used in disaster response and recovery so that we could see what could be usable. Moreover, we explored the needs and seeds for disaster information processing in Iwate, Japan. We interviewed local government officials, doctors and university administrators and found the needs for situation awareness for rescue. In this paper, we introduce our work on recovery watcher, designed primarily for reporting how recovery goes from disaster area, and its use for situation awareness in emergency response. Moreover, we show that those systems are usable for a support of barrier-free as well in terms of information provision.

This study aims to evaluate measures against the Urban Heat Island (UHI) regarding artificial exhaust heat of road traffic using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the Tokyo Ward Area where the degree of UHI is particularly strong. We developed a GIS database that reflected road traffic conditions, and calculated the volume of artificial exhaust heat of road traffic to evaluate measures against the UHI. The findings of this study can be summarized in the following three points. 1) Artificial exhaust heat volume for moving targets was remarkably higher than that of stationary targets and, in particular, artificial exhaust heat volume was high on roads with remarkable numbers of vehicles and running speeds such as expressways and ring roads. 2) In UHI- related policy for moving targets, the suppression of waste heat through choice of fuel burned, improvement of traffic flow by securing space for cyclists and pedestrians, development of bypasses, and upgrading signal control managed to reduce artificial exhaust heat volume, even though there were differences in degree of reduction. 3) In UHI-related policy for stationary targets, special road surfaces and the increase in efficiency of energy consumption equipment achieved a reduction ratio of around 30% in artificial exhaust heat volume, more than moving targets as well as making it possible to expect a reduction in artificial exhaust heat volume on a wide scale.

The present study aimed to design, develop, operate and evaluate a sightseeing spot recommendation system for urban sightseeing spots in order to support individual, as well as group sightseeing activities while taking into consideration the user’s needs, which can change according to the circumstances (each user’s important conditions and sightseeing unit). The system was developed by integrating Web-GIS (Geographic Information Systems), the pairing system, the evaluation system, as well as the recommendation system into a single system, and it was also connected with external SNS (Social Networking Services: Twitter and Facebook). Additionally, the system was operated for four weeks in the central part of Yokohama City in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, and the total number of users was 52. Based on the results of the web questionnaire survey, the usefulness of the system when sightseeing was high, and the recommendation function of sightseeing spots, which is an original function, has received mainly good ratings. From the results of the access analysis of users’ log data, it is evident that the system has been used by different types of devices, just as it was designed for, and that the system has been used according to the purpose of the present study, which is to support the sightseeing activities of users.

This study treats the determination of routes for evacuation on foot in earthquake disasters as a multi-objective optimization problem, and aims to propose a searching method for the optimal evacuation routes to emergency evacuation areas using a multi-objective genetic algorithm (multi-objective GA) and GIS (Geographic Information Systems). The conclusions can be summarized in the following two points. (1) A GA was used to design and create an evacuation route search algorithm which solves the problem of the optimization of earthquake disaster evacuation routes by treating it as an optimization problem with multiple objectives, such as evacuation distance and evacuation time. (2) In this method, goodness of fit is set by using a Pareto ranking method to determine the ranking of individuals based on their relative superiorities and inferiorities.

This study aims to evaluate measures for the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from automobile traffic in the 23-ward district of Tokyo (central Tokyo), Japan, using the methods of spatial analysis by Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and statistical analysis. All of the measures to prevent global warming in Japan were first investigated to extract nine measures to reduce CO2 emissions and then classified into the three groups. Secondly, using the GIS functions for database creation and information analysis, a digital map databases reflecting the real situation of automobile traffic in the study area was created. Using this database, the reduction of CO2 emissions was calculated before and after the implementation of the above nine measures (2005 and 2011) in each road unit. Furthermore, in order to evaluate these measures, the situation of the reduction of CO2 emissions was visualized in each road unit on the digital maps using GIS, and the CO2 emissions before and after the implementation effects of the above nine measures were grasped by t-tests using R language. Based on the evaluation results, it was clear that CO2 emissions are the highest on the main roads in the city center, while the roads with a high reduction of CO2 emissions differed according to each measure. It was also found that all the above nine measures were effective, except for the promotion of eco-drive for small-size automobile. This is because, in the case of small-size automobiles, the diffusion rate of eco-drive did not increase greatly, the reduction effect of CO2 emission was small, and the reduction of CO2 emissions by fuel consumption was low.

The present study aims to conduct a quantitative evaluation of evacuation route safety using the Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm for risk management in central Tokyo. Firstly, the similarity in safety was focused on while taking into consideration road blockage probability. Then, by classifying roads by means of the hierarchical cluster analysis, the congestion rates of evacuation routes using ACO simulations were estimated. Based on these results, the multiple evacuation routes extracted were visualized on digital maps by means of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and their safety was evaluated. Furthermore, the selection of safe evacuation routes between evacuation sites for cases when the possibility of large-scale evacuation after an earthquake disaster is high is made possible. As the evaluation method is based on public information, by obtaining the same geographic information as the present study, it is effective in other areas, regardless of whether the information is from the past or future. Therefore, in addition to spatial reproducibility, the evaluation method also has high temporal reproducibility. Because safety evaluations are conducted on evacuation routes based on quantified data, the selected highly safe evacuation routes have been quantitatively evaluated, and thus serve as an effective indicator when selecting evacuation routes.

The present study aimed to design, develop, operate and evaluate a system that considers dynamic real-time situations to provide effective support for tourist activities both in normal conditions and in the event of disasters. The system was developed by integrating Web-GIS (Geographic Information Systems) , social media, recommendation systems and AR (Augmented Reality) terminals (smart glasses) into a single system, and operated in the center part of Yokohama City in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The web-based system was operated for eight weeks, and the total number of users was 86. Additionally, a system using smart glasses was also operated for two days, and the total number of users was 34. Evaluation results clarified that it was possible to support user behavior both in normal conditions and in the event of disasters, and to efficiently and safety conduct navigation using smart glasses. Operation assuming disaster conditions showed that users who accessed the system via mobile information terminals increased, and actively used functions requiring location information.

This study aims to develop an economic evaluation method for installing photovoltaic power generation in ordinary homes using GIS (Geographic Information Systems). The conclusions can be summarized in the following three points: 1) This method determines the profit and loss and payback period in order to evaluate the installation of photovoltaic power generation, taking into account the price of equipment, solar battery module conversion efficiency, subsidy, electricity purchase price, service life and rate for selling electricity. 2) The proposed evaluation method was applied to Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan, providing plural scenarios. Using a solar battery module conversion efficiency of more than 15%, it is possible to make the payback period shorter than the 20-year service life and anticipate a profit in almost the whole area. 3) The areas suitable for photovoltaic power generation are Kawasaki City and Ninomiya-machi. It is necessary to adopt measures to increase the subsidy and install photovoltaic power generating systems in specific places in areas where subsidies are not provided in enough amounts.

Though tourists can search for necessary information on the internet while sightseeing, it takes effort and is inconvenient to obtain available information related to specific sightseeing spots among the copious amount of information online. Targeting urban tourist areas in Japan, the present study aims to develop a system that can provide guidance and information concerning sightseeing spots by integrating location-based augmented reality (AR) and object-recognition AR and by using pictograms. The system enables users to efficiently obtain the directions to sightseeing spots and nearby facilities within urban tourist areas and sightseeing spot information. Additionally, the city of Chofu in the metropolis of Tokyo was selected as the operation target area. The operation of the system was conducted for 1 month, targeting those inside and outside the operation target area, and a web questionnaire survey was conducted with a total number of 50 users. From the evaluation results of the web questionnaire survey, the usefulness of the original functions of integrating location-based AR and object-recognition AR and by using pictograms, as well as of the entire system, was analyzed. From the results of the access analysis of users&rsquo, log data, it is expected that users will further utilize each function. Additionally, it is evident that location-based AR was used more often than was object-recognition AR.

This study aims to develop a method for evaluating the environmental risk of harmful chemical substances released from specific sources, using two atmospheric dispersion models and GIS (Geographic Information Systems). In the first stage of evaluation, ADMER was used to conduct a wide-area evaluation which covered the entire area of the evaluation target region. In the second stage, METI-LIS was used to conduct a detailed limited-area evaluation which targeted the vicinity of sources. In this study, incinerators were selected as sources and dioxins were selected as harmful chemical substances. The area selected for evaluation was the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan, and the evaluation method proposed in this study was used to evaluate environmental risk. Through the use of atmospheric dispersion models and GIS, the behavior of dioxins emitted into the atmosphere from incinerators was estimated. By superimposing atmospheric levels and population data, the amounts of dioxins that humans exposed to were found. Additionally, by superimposing deposition amounts and land use data, the amounts of dioxins accumulated in each land environment were found. Conducting these steps enabled the impact of dioxins on humans and the environment to be grasped quantitatively and visually, and the risk that dioxins emitted from incinerators pose to the environment to be evaluated.

Since the amount of information submitted and made public about tourist spots in urban areas is very large compared to that for regional tourist spots, it is difficult for people who do not have much knowledge of or acquaintance with the places concerned to efficiently obtain information necessary for taking tourist trips. This study aims to develop a social recommendation media GIS (Geographic Information Systems) specially tailored to recommend tourist spots in urban areas. The conclusions of this study are summarized in the following three points. (1) Social recommendation GIS, an information system which integrates a Web-GIS, an SNS (Social Networking Service) and a recommendation system into a single system, was operated in the central part of Yokohama City in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The social recommendation GIS uses a design to make it possible to redesign systems in accordance with target cases. (2) The social recommendation GIS was operated for two months for members of the general public who are more than 18 years old. The total numbers of users was 98, and the number of pieces of information submitted was 232. (3) The web questionnaire to users showed the usefulness of the integration of a Web-GIS, an SNS and a recommendation systems, because the functions of reference and recommendation can be expected to support tourists' excursion behavior. Since the access survey of log data showed that about 35% of accesses were from mobile information terminals, it can be said that the preparation of an optimal interface for such terminals was effective.

Many studies have, in a general sense, paid a great deal of attention to university spin-offs in biotechnology or information technology. However, little attention has been given to university spin-offs in chemistry and chemical engineering. The present study discusses the business relationships between university spin-offs and manufacturers. Questionnaires were sent to the inventors of university spin-offs. The 82 replies were classified into four fields, (1) Chemistry, (2) Electronics, Machinery and Others, (3) Biotechnology and (4) Information Technology. Two university spin-offs were interviewed. The results show that there are differences between the spin-offs in Chemistry and those in other fields. University spin-offs in Chemistry tend not to receive investment from manufacturers, but do have joint funding with manufacturers. They also tend to support research and development (R&D) of their partner manufacturers and may not be as attractive as spin-offs in other fields to outside investors, such as venture capitalists. However, the open tendency of university spin-offs in Chemistry is essential to advance the R&D of many industries in Japan.

The importance of providing drug information has increased with the expansion of pharmaceutical care.In order to provide appropriate drug information to healthcare professionals,pharmacists have to understand their needs in this respect and be familiar with the procedure for answering typical questions.In the present study,we analyzed all of the questions (9,999)recorded by the drug information center of Kyushu University Hospital and the answers to them in the period from 2001 to 2007.The questions were from doctors (59.3%),pharmacists (21.5%),nurses (15.4%),and others (3.9%).The most frequent questions were on compatibility and stability of injections (18.8%),selecting drugs (13.2%),and dosage and administration (9.8%).We therefore made information on the compatibility and stability of injections available to other pharmacists via our intranet.We felt it was useful to clarify healthcare professionals’needs for drug information and develop a system enabling drug information to be used more easily.

This study aims to introduce an example of the visualization of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) analytic for open big data in environmental science. This study focuses on the issue that although higher temperatures should be mitigated by sea breezes flowing into inland areas, sea breeze flows are being obstructed by forests of high-rise buildings in coastal areas. Further, using a weather simulation model in addition to GIS, this study quantitatively analyzes the influence which the obstruction of sea breezes by clusters of high-rise buildings has on the urban heat island effect. In weather simulations which use the WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) model, a group of open big data such as land cover data, constructed from land use data and landform data and weather data, such as atmospheric data and sea surface temperature, are necessary. Therefore, in this study, as weather data and landform data, the WRF default data, that is, FNL (Global Final Analyses) and USGS (the U. S. Geological Survey) data, were used, and as land use data, urban area land use subdivided mesh data for 2009 from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan was used. Analysis was conducted in two stages, and Shiodome of Minato City in the Tokyo Metropolis was selected as the region for analysis.