Who Is Responsible for Causing and Solving the Problem? Responsibility Attribution of Medical Disputes in Chinese Print Media.

This study provides an insight into medical journalism practice by examining how news media have framed who is responsible for causing and solving the growing problem of medical disputes in Mainland China. We identified responsibility-attribution information presented in 490 news articles about medical disputes published in the and between 2012 and 2017. Our data reveal that, mentions of personal causes have significantly outnumbered those of societal causes.

Nationwide survey of 780 Japanese patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: their status and expectations from brain-machine interfaces.

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that causes eventual death through respiratory failure unless mechanical ventilation is provided. Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) may provide brain control supports for communication and motor function. We investigated the interests and expectations of patients with ALS concerning BMIs based on a large-scale anonymous questionnaire survey supported by the Japan Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association.

A report that Fukushima residents are concerned about radiation from Land, Food and Radon.

The Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster occurred on 11 March 2011, which caused the leakage of radioactive materials into the environment. In this study, we report public concerns about radiation in Fukushima and Tokyo almost one year after the nuclear disaster. We examined the public concerns by analyzing the data from 1022 participants, 555 in Fukushima and 467 in Tokyo.

External effective radiation dose to workers in the restricted area of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant during the third year after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Since the Great East Japan Earthquake on 11 March 2011, Iitate Village has continued to be classified as a deliberate evacuation area, in which residents are estimated to receive an annual additional effective radiation dose of >20 mSv. Some companies still operate in Iitate Village, with a special permit from the Cabinet Office Team in Charge of Assisting the Lives of Disaster Victims. In this study, we measured the annual effective radiation dose to workers in Iitate Village from 15 January to 13 December 2013.

Severely affected ALS patients have broad and high expectations for brain-machine interfaces.

Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) may provide new communication channels and motor function to individuals with severe neurodegenerative diseases, but little is known about their interests in such devices. We investigated the interests of severely affected ALS patients in BMIs, and examined factors that might influence these interests. We conducted an anonymous, mail-back questionnaire survey of severely disabled ALS patients diagnosed using the revised El Escorial criteria.

Incidental findings of brain magnetic resonance imaging study in a pediatric cohort in Japan and recommendation for a model management protocol.

Background: The increasing use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in brain researches has led to growing concern over incidental findings (IFs). To establish a practical management protocol for IFs, it is useful to know the actual prevalence and problems of IF management. In the present study, we report the prevalence proportion and some handling problems of IFs in healthy Japanese children, and suggest a management protocol from ethical and practical standpoints.

[Introduction of neuroethics: out of clinic, beyond academia in human brain research].

Higher cognitive function in human brain is one of well-developed fields of neuroscience research in the 21st century. Especially functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and near infrared recording system have brought so many non-clinical researchers whose background is such as cognitive psychology, economics, politics, pedagogy, and so on, to the human brain mapping study. Authors have introduced the ethical issues related to incidental findings during the fMRI recording for non-clinical purpose, which is a typical problem derived from such expanded human brain research under non clinical condition, that is, neuroethics.

[Neuroethics in Japan--current view and future visions].

Neuroethics was originated in 2002 in the United States. In 2004, the Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society (RISTEX), a subsection of Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), launched a neuroethics research group as the first research group to focus on the academic study and public engagement in neuroethics in Japan. In this article, the authors summarize the activities of RISTEX, JST during the brief history of neuroethics in Japan, and subsequently compare their current activities in neuroethics to those in other Western countries.

The neuroscience of primate intellectual evolution: natural selection and passive and intentional niche construction.

We trained Japanese macaque monkeys to use tools, an advanced cognitive function monkeys do not exhibit in the wild, and then examined their brains for signs of modification. Following tool-use training, we observed neurophysiological, molecular genetic and morphological changes within the monkey brain. Despite being 'artificially' induced, these novel behaviours and neural connectivity patterns reveal overlap with those of humans.

Water systems and urban sanitation: a historical comparison of Tokyo and Singapore.

The importance of a water supply and sewage treatment for urban sanitation is recognized in the modern world. Their contributions to public health have not, however, been well demonstrated by historical data, especially in Asian cities. In this research, we focused on the Asian cities of Tokyo and Singapore, which both developed significantly in the 20th century.

Ethical considerations of neuroscience research: the perspectives on neuroethics in Japan.

Recent technologies and developments in neuroscience have contributed to remarkable scientific discoveries, and have also raised many new philosophical, ethical, legal, and social issues. Research in "neuroethics" has identified various ethical issues, which will be difficult for current biomedical ethics to resolve from both an experimental and a social perspective, such as criminal applications of brain scans, incidental findings during non-clinical brain imaging, and cognitive enhancement. Although American and European neuroscience societies have demonstrated immediate, concrete reactions to these ethical issues, including academic conferences, study programs, and publications, Japanese neuroscientists have so far produced little response.