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The purpose of the study was to verify, through the use of an experimental method, the assumption that the ‘economic human’ pays more attention to the externality he/she causes as the strength of externality increases. We used a social-experiment design within an undergraduate classroom to test assumptions, using statistical method. A lakeside plant was used as an example. Our results confirmed the following: (1) 66% of subjects behaved altruistically, while the remainder (34%) behaved selfishly, suggesting that the assumption of mainstream economics may not be appropriate; (2) when we compared situations in which the plots with the natural resource (e.g. the plant) to which the economic human had property rights were large or small in number, those who possessed larger plots tended to be more conservative in resource use; and (3) when we compared situations where the economic human’s extent of influence on natural resources was large or small, those with greater influence tended to be more conservative in resource use. Although mainstream economics assumes a rational economic human—who is supposedly selfish—our results suggest that altruistic behaviour dominates selfish behaviour, and that altruistic behavior should be taken into greater consideration when making policy.

Nobutaka Hattori,1 Yoshiko Okada,2 Yayoi Kawata,3 Yoshihiko Furusawa,3 Takumi Imai,4 Hisako Yoshida,4 Mihoko Ota,3 Masaki Arai,3 Ayumi Shintani,4 Jovelle Fernandez3 1Department of Neurology, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan; 2Japan Parkinson Congress, Tokyo, Japan; 3Japan Medical Office, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Tokyo, Japan; 4Department of Medical Statistics, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, JapanCorrespondence: Yoshihiko Furusawa, Japan Medical Office, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, 2 Chome-1-1 Nihonbashihoncho, Chuo City, Tokyo, 103-0023, Japan, Tel +81-3-3278-2111, Fax +81-3-3278-2000, Email yoshihiko.furusawa@takeda.comObjective: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic changed the lives of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and their caregivers. This study aimed to investigate changes in patient behavior and PD symptoms and their effect on caregiver burden resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.Methods: This nationwide, observational, cross-sectional survey included patients with self-reported PD and caregivers (members of the Japan Parkinson’s Disease Association). The primary objective was to evaluate changes in behaviors, self-assessed PD symptoms, and caregiver burden from pre–COVID-19 (February 2020) to post–national state of emergency (August 2020 and February 2021).Results: Responses from 1883 patients and 1382 caregivers from 7610 distributed surveys were analyzed. Mean (standard deviation) age of patients and caregivers was 71.6 (8.2) and 68.5 (11.4) years, respectively; 41.6% of patients had a Hoehn and Yahr (HY) scale of 3. Patients (> 40.0%) reported decreased frequency of going out. Most patients (> 70.0%) reported no change in treatment visit frequency, voluntary training, or rehabilitation and nursing care insurance services. Symptoms worsened for approximately 7– 30% of patients; the proportion with HY scale 4– 5 increased from pre–COVID-19 (25.2%) to February 2021 (40.1%). Aggravated symptoms included bradykinesia, walking, gait speed, depressed mood, fatigue, and apathy. Caregivers’ burden increased because of patients’ worsened symptoms and reduced time going out.Conclusion: Control measures during infectious disease epidemics should consider that patients’ symptoms may worsen; therefore, patient and caregiver support is needed to reduce burden of care.Keywords: Parkinson’s disease, COVID-19, questionnaire design, caregiver burden

Kenichi Goto,1,2 Emiko Ogawa,1,3 Kaoruko Shimizu,4 Hironi Makita,4 Hidenobu Suzuki,5 Yoshiki Kawata,5 Noboru Niki,5 Masaharu Nishimura,4 Yasutaka Nakano1 1Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Shiga, 2Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Takatsuki Red Cross Hospital, Takatsuki, Osaka, 3Health Administration Center, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Shiga, 4First Department of Medicine, Hokkaido University Hospital, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 5Institute of Technology and Science, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Tokushima, Japan Background: Osteoporosis is a well-known comorbidity in COPD. It is associated with poor health status and prognosis. Although the exact pathomechanisms are unclear, osteoporosis is suggested to be either a comorbidity due to shared risk factors with COPD or a systematic effect of COPD with a cause–effect relationship. This study aimed to evaluate whether progression of osteoporosis is synchronized with that of COPD. Materials and methods: Data from 103 patients with COPD included in the Hokkaido COPD cohort study were analyzed. Computed tomography (CT) attenuation values of thoracic vertebrae 4, 7, and 10 were measured using custom software, and the average value (average bone density; ABD4,7,10) was calculated. The percentage of low attenuation volume (LAV%) for each patient was also calculated for evaluation of emphysematous lesions. Annual change in thoracic vertebral CT attenuation, which is strongly correlated with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry-measured bone mineral density, was compared with that in FEV1.0 or emphysematous lesions. Results: In the first CT data set, ABD4,7,10 was significantly correlated with age (ρ=–0.331; p=0.0006), body mass index (BMI; ρ=0.246; p=0.0136), St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) activity score (ρ=–0.248; p=0.0115), eosinophil count (ρ=0.229; p=0.0198), and LAV% (ρ=–0.372; p=0.0001). However, ABD4,7,10 was not associated with FEV1.0. After adjustment for age, BMI, SGRQ activity score, and eosinophil count, no significant relationship was found between ABD4,7,10 and LAV%. Annual change in ABD4,7,10 was not associated with annual change in LAV% or FEV1.0. Conclusion: Progression of osteoporosis and that of COPD are not directly related or synchronized with each other. Keywords: osteoporosis, quantitative CT analysis, FEV1.0, low attenuation volume, automatic analysis, systemic effect

The pulmonary organs have a very complicated structure which consists of the bronchus, the pulmonary artery, and the pulmonary vein. So it is difficult for a medical doctor to understand the spatial relationships among a tumor and the pulmonary organs. Here, we present a 3D image analysis method of the pulmonary organs based on thin-section CT images. First, we extract the regions of interest using Gaussian curvature and mean curvature of lung field, then we classify the bronchus and the blood vessels, and we conclude with the identification of the pulmonary artery and the pulmonary vein. We use this method to support a differential diagnosis of lung cancer by making quantitative analysis of abnormal nodules.

Characterization of pulmonary nodules plays a significant role in the differential diagnosis of lung cancer. This paper presents a method to quantify surface characteristics of small pulmonary nodules with well-defined surfaces based on thin-section CT images. The segmentation of the three-dimensional(3-D) nodule images are obtained by a 3-D deformable surfaces approach. The feature extraction algorithms are designed to quantify the surface characteristic parameters from 3-D nodule images by using surface curvatures and ridge lines. Experimental results of our method, applied to patients 3-D nodule images, demonstrate its performance.

A transmission differential phase-contrast microscope with a split detector is used as a readout system for a multilayered three-dimensional optical memory. The system is applicable to data recorded as refractive-index changes. The system is compact and easy to use. The three-dimensional optical transfer function for the system is derived. This shows that the spatial bandwidth of the system is the same as that of a conventional microscope with incoherent illumination but with much improved contrast. Six layers of information are recorded in a photopolymer and are read out with little cross talk and high contrast. Key words: Optical memory, photorefractive, differential phase-contrast microscope, three-dimensional optics, nonlinear optics, holographic memory.

We analyze the three-dimensional refractive-index distribution that is induced locally when a laser beam is focused onto a very small region in a photorefractive crystal. The formation of the index distribution is deduced from the temporal behavior of the electron density distribution in the crystal under non-steady-state conditions. The density distribution is computed by the use of a set of the recurrence relations that was derived from Kukhtarev's equations, which describe the transport of electrons in time. In particular, we calculated the index distribution formed in Fe-doped LiNb[O.sub.3] crystals. To verify the validity of our analysis, we read, by using a phase-contrast microscope, refractive-index dots that were recorded in Fe-doped LiNb[O.sub.3] crystals. A good agreement was obtained between experimental results and the calculated phase-contrast images when the characteristics of the imaging system are taken into account. We also found that the induced index change is largest when the c axis of the LiNb[O.sub.3] crystal is oriented parallel to the polarization direction of the reading beam. Under this optimal condition, we succeeded in recording up to 10 layers of readable data in a LiNb[O.sub.3] crystal.

A technique of speckle-noise reduction for an image amplified by two-wave coupling with a photorefractive crystal is proposed. The spatial coherence for the axis along the fringe formed in the photorefractive crystal is reduced to remove the speckle, but the spatial coherence for the axis vertical to the fringe is unaltered. This is obtained by rotating a mirror to deflect the illumination beams one dimensionally for both the signal and reference patterns during the exposure of the hologram. Because of the image-holography configuration, the images of the signal and the reference do not move on the photorefractive crystal as the two beams deflect. The beam deflection can be faster than the response of the photorefractive crystal. Some experimental results for the image amplification with the technique developed are presented, and they are compared with results obtained without speckle-noise reduction. Fringe deformation caused by deflection of the signal and reference beams is analyzed.