Tokyo University of Social Welfare

Neurotechnology has the potential to provide high-performance products and services to humans, with its miniaturization and minimally invasiveness of devices, coupled with the development of artificial intelligence (AI) for processing, analyzing, and generating commands based on neural activities. On the other hand, various ethical concerns have been addressed, including the ownership and privacy protection of neural data derived from the brain-machine interface, a fundamental technology to realize the neurotechnology products/services, prevention of misuse, malicious use and unauthorized use. Indeed, various international organizations, national governments and public bodies are advancing the development and publication of recommendations and/or working papers in recent years, with a focus on the impact of neurotechnology on human rights. This study reviews recommendations and their implication effort by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and analyzes the trends in international rulemaking. We also examine necessary regulatory frameworks at the national level, based on international rules, as countermeasures to address ethical concerns arising from the societal implementation of neurotechnology.

Abstract In this chapter, we describe the fundamental features of surface tension from both thermodynamic and molecular perspectives. In the first section, we briefly introduce the fundamentals of the thermodynamics, such as the Gibbs and Helmholtz free energy, and then discuss their increments with respect to changes in surface area, which causes the surface tension. In the second section, first a brief history of the research on the surface tension is introduced, and then we provide the microscopic understanding of the surface tension, which needs basic knowledge of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics as well as continuum mechanics. By introducing the intermolecular interaction potential and temperature definition, and by showing conceptual pictures including some results obtained by molecular dynamics simulations, the authors hope that the target readers of undergraduate level students would find fascinating aspects of surface tension as the boundary of macroscopic and microscopic physics.

四半世紀にわたってリハビリテーション治療を行ってきた外傷性脳損傷者 4 名について, 経過と神経心理学的検査結果の推移を示し, 筆者が各症例から (a) 10 年前までに学んだことと, (b) この10 年で新たに学んだことを述べた。【症例 1】受傷時 10 歳代前半, 記憶障害と見当識障害が目立ったびまん性軸索損傷例から (a) 回復期の困惑, (b) 知能の長期経過を学んだ。【症例 2】受傷時 20 歳代, 記憶障害が目立った両側側頭葉 (広汎) 損傷例から (a) 障害の受け入れの葛藤, (b) 社会参加とはなにかを, 【症例 3】受傷時 20 歳代, 情動障害が目立った両側前頭葉 (前頭前野眼窩野) 挫傷例から (a) 易怒性の基盤にあるもの, (b) 家族の力を, 【症例 4】受傷時 40 歳代前半, 遂行機能障害が目立った前頭葉 (広汎) 挫傷例から (a) 諦めない就労支援, (b) メインテナンスを学んだ。症例ごとに, 医療者・支援者の立場から, 若干の考察を述べた。

新型コロナウイルス感染症(COVID-19)の世界的流行は, 多くの人々の生活様式に変容を強いることになり, 中国東北地方の最大都市・遼寧省瀋陽市においても同様であった。本研究の目的は, 新型コロナウイルス感染症の流行により, 市民の生活習慣や環境意識がどのように変化したかを明らかにすることである。そこで, 2020年1月, 2020年7月および2021年1月に, SNSを通じて公募した瀋陽市に居住する100名に対してアンケート調査を実施した。対象者は3回の調査を通じて同一であり, 情報通信技術(ICT)リテラシーを有する50歳以上の人が主体であった。調査の結果を解析した結果, 新型コロナウイルス感染症の流行は, 市民の交通手段の選択, 調理時のマスクの着用などの生活習慣に影響した。一方, 感染症流行に伴う経済活動等の縮小によって瀋陽市の大気環境が改善され, 居住地の大気環境状況に関する不満は軽減されていた。環境汚染の原因として「環境保護への民衆の参加不足」や「環境に関する教育の不足」を指摘する人が増え, 環境保護に関する市民の意識が未だ不十分であるとの認識が浮き彫りにされた。

The effects of alcohol consumption and tobacco smoking on renal cell carcinoma (RCC) incidence have not been well‐investigated in Asian populations. Here, we evaluated these effects in a large Japanese prospective cohort. We collected data on eligible participants in the Japan Public Health Center‐based Prospective Study, and undertook multivariable‐adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of RCC incidence. We identified 340 cases (230 men and 110 women) among the 105 663 eligible participants (50 262 men and 55 741 women), who were followed for an average of 19.1 years, with a cumulative total of 2 020 364 person‐years. A slightly inverse but nonsignificant association was observed between alcohol drinking and RCC incidence. In contrast, the risk of RCC was increased in those with heavy smoking (≥40 pack‐years) when men and women were combined (HR 1.50; 95% CI, 1.01‐2.25). We identified no significant association between alcohol consumption and RCC incidence. In contrast, heavy smoking (≥40 pack‐years) was associated with a significant increase in incidence.

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the role of teaching materials focusing on the “Emergence of Symbolic Functioning” and latent behaviour issues. First, a literature review is performed on the behaviour issues associated with intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Three kinds of assessment tools used in this study are described with underlying developmental meanings. Especially, one of those tools, a teaching device named “Tamahimo” is introduced as a practical assessment tool to visualize participants' cognitive conditions. Three cases, two adolescents and one young adult with ID, are discussed, with their autism-like behaviours and characteristic cognitive profiles evaluated using the assessment tools. All cognitive development is judged as corresponding to the “Emergence of Symbolic Functioning,” that is, the qualitative transition phase from non-symbolic to the explicit existence of a symbolic functioning stage. Factors preventing social adaptation are discussed as they relate to unstable cognitive conditions.

The primary aim of this study was to examine the impact of age, gender and the stage of dementia on the results of an assistive technology intervention that make use of communication robots (com-robots). The intervention was designed to improve the social participation and interactions of nursing home residents. While our previous study showed that the overall effects of com-robot intervention were positive, it was unknown what impact age, gender and the stage of dementia of participants had on such an intervention. This was a non-randomized, multicenter quasi-experimental intervention study conducted in residential care homes in Japan. Two types of com-robots were introduced for 8 weeks after baseline evaluation. The World Health Organization's ICF was used for evaluating any changes present after the 8-week intervention. In total, 78 residents (68 women, 10 men, 86.5 ± 7.7 years old) participated in the study. The Degree of Daily Life Independence Score for People with Dementia (DDLIS-PD) was employed for measuring the stage of dementia. The results showed that the older participants aged ≥80 benefited more from the intervention than the younger cohort did (P < 0.05). A greater improvement was shown among those with a more advanced stage of dementia than those at a less advanced stage (P < 0.05), when using DDLIS-PD. The overall findings support the use of com-robots within the context of a care team for older people with moderate dementia, and those who are aged ≥80 years. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2020; 20: 373-378.