Multi-Dimensional Dynamics of Psychological Health Disparities under the COVID-19 in Japan: Fairness/Justice in Socio-Economic and Ethico-Political Factors.

This article addresses citizens' psychological health disparities in pandemic-stricken Japan from the perspective of positive psychology with a collective/political perspective. Our analysis of three internet surveys in 2020 and 2021 in Japan indicates most people's well-being declined continuously during this period, while some people's well-being increased. As previous studies of health inequality proved about physical health, the objective income/assets level has influenced psychological inequality. This paper demonstrated this relation in Japan, although it is often mentioned as an egalitarian country with comparatively better health conditions. Moreover, psychological levels and changes have been associated with biological, natural environmental, cultural, and social factors. Social factors include economic, societal-community, and political factors, such as income/assets, stratification, general trust, and fairness/justice. Accordingly, multi-dimensional disparities are related to psychological health disparity; tackling the disparities along the multi-layered strata is desirable. Furthermore, subjective perception of fairness/justice is significantly associated with the level of psychological health and mitigating its decrease. Thus, fairness and justice are found to be dynamic and protective factors against the decline of psychological health. While relatively little literature on health inequality analyzes fairness/justice philosophically, this paper highlights these together with income/assets by clarifying the significance of multi-dimensional factors: natural environmental, cultural, socioeconomic, and political.

Spatial Control of Charge Doping in n-Type Topological Insulators.

Spatially controlling the Fermi level of topological insulators and keeping their electronic states stable are indispensable processes to put this material into practical use for semiconductor spintronics devices. So far, however, such a method has not been established yet. Here we show a novel method for doping a hole into n-type topological insulators Bi2X3 (X= Se, Te) that overcomes the shortcomings of the previous reported methods. The key of this doping is to adsorb H2O on Bi2X3 decorated with a small amount of carbon, and its trigger is the irradiation of a photon with sufficient energy to excite the core electrons of the outermost layer atoms. This method allows controlling the doping amount by the irradiation time and acts as photolithography. Such a tunable doping makes it possible to design the electronic states at the nanometer scale and, thus, paves a promising avenue toward the realization of novel spintronics devices based on topological insulators.

Nonvortical Rashba Spin Structure on a Surface with C_{1h} Symmetry.

A totally anisotropic peculiar Rashba-Bychkov (RB) splitting of electronic bands was found on the Tl/Si(110)-(1×1) surface with C_{1h} symmetry by angle- and spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy and first-principles theoretical calculation. The constant energy contour of the upper branch of the RB split band has a warped elliptical shape centered at a k point located between Γ[over ¯] and the edge of the surface Brillouin zone, i.e., at a point without time-reversal symmetry. The spin-polarization vector of this state is in-plane and points almost the same direction along the whole elliptic contour. This novel nonvortical RB spin structure is confirmed as a general phenomenon originating from the C_{1h} symmetry of the surface.

Advantages of magnifying narrow-band imaging for diagnosing colorectal cancer coexisting with sessile serrated adenoma/polyp.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: In the present study, we investigated the advantages of narrow-band imaging (NBI) for efficient diagnosis of sessile serrated adenoma/polyp (SSA/P). The main objective of this study was to analyze the characteristic features of cancer coexisting with serrated lesion by carrying out NBI. METHODS: We evaluated 264 non-malignant serrated lesions by using three modalities (conventional white light colonoscopy, magnifying chromoendoscopy, and magnifying NBI). Of the evaluated cancer cases with serrated lesions, 37 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. RESULTS: In diagnosing non-malignant SSA/P, an expanded crypt opening (ECO) under magnifying NBI is a useful sign. One hundred and twenty-five lesions (87%) of observed ECO were, at the same time, detected to have type II open pit pattern, which is known to be a valuable indicator when using magnifying chromoendoscopy. ECO had high sensitivity of 80% for identifying SSA/P, with 62% specificity and 83% positive predictive value (PPV). In detecting the cancer with SSA/P, irregular vessels under magnifying NBI were frequently observed with 100% sensitivity and 99% specificity, 86% PPV and 100% negative predictive value. CONCLUSIONS: A focus on irregular vessels in serrated lesions might be useful for identification of cancer with SSA/P. This is an advantage of carrying out magnifying NBI in addition to being used simultaneously with other modalities by switching, and observations can be made by using wash-in water alone. We can carry out advanced examinations for selected lesions with irregular vessels. To confirm cancerous demarcation and invasion depth, a combination of all three aforementioned modalities should be done.

Extensive 0-IIc (undifferentiated carcinoma) lesion around a gastric adenoma: a case report.

A 73-year-old woman underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) at a local hospital, which revealed a flat elevated lesion, approximately 15 mm in diameter, in the posterior wall of the lower gastric body. At our hospital, a repeat EGD and biopsy led to a diagnosis of moderately dysplastic adenoma. The patient requested endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). Histopathology revealed a gastric adenoma with negativity for tumor at the vertical margin; however, the horizontal margin was positive for cancer with an undifferentiated carcinoma surrounding the adenoma. EGD was repeated, and a discolored area was found around the ESD scar. Biopsy revealed an undifferentiated carcinoma. Laparoscopic distal gastrectomy was performed, and postoperative histopathology also revealed an undifferentiated carcinoma (50 mm in diameter) surrounding the ESD scar; this lesion was an undifferentiated adenocarcinoma that was colocalized with and spread out to surround the original adenoma. This case is important for consideration of the pattern of development and progression of superficial spreading gastric cancer.

Occurrence of ateliosis in Japanese Black calves and their secretory function of growth hormone.

Unthrifty calves occurred sporadically in Japanese Black (beef cattle) in an area in northeastern Japan. The states of unthrifty development, pedigree, clinico-biochemistry and the secretory function of bovine growth hormone (bGH) in pituitary were investigated. The total cholesterol concentration and CK, AST and LDH activities in the serum showed higher values than those of control calves. Basal bGH concentrations in the serum and bGH secretory reactivity in the insulin tolerance test (ITT) were showed to be significantly lower than those of the control calves. Furthermore, sperm donated from a specific bull had been used for these unthrifty calves. This study suggested that the present occurrence of unthrifty calves represented ateliosis possibly caused by congenital hypopituitarism which decreased of bGH secretory function.

Clinical evaluation of growth hormone secretion in cattle using insulin tolerance test.

Growth hormone secretion was evaluated in cattle. Clinically healthy bovine growth hormone (bGH) concentrations were 10.7 +/- 1.6 ng/ml in Holstein and 7.8 +/- 3.9 ng/ml in Japanese black cattle. The bGH concentration alternated at three-hour intervals, and tended to be higher at midnight and lower in the morning and before feeding. Insulin tolerance test (ITT) at an insulin dosage of 0.25 U/kg showed a significant increase of bGH concentration to 331 +/- 153% at 60 to 90 min after injection. In ITT applied to five under-growth calves of Japanese black cattle, the basal bGH concentrations were lower and peak values after insulin injection were shown to be significantly low. The ITT is useful for the clinical examination of bGH secretion in cattle.