Correction: Breaking the spiral of silence: News and social media dynamics on sexual abuse scandal in the Japanese entertainment industry.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Breaking the spiral of silence: News and social media dynamics on sexual abuse scandal in the Japanese entertainment industry.

Highlighting minorities and crime survivors through public discourse is essential for their support and protection. However, advocating for minorities is challenging due to the fear of potential isolation from one's social circles. This reluctance contributes to the societal phenomenon known as the "spiral of silence," significantly impeding efforts to support socially vulnerable individuals.

Visible-light-induced superhydrophilicity of crystallized WO thin films fabricated by using a newly isolated W complex salt of citric acid.

Transparent tungsten trioxide thin films, which demonstrated visible-light (Vis-light)-induced superhydrophilicity, with thicknesses of 100-120 nm, adhesion strengths greater than 49 MPa, bandgap energies of 2.8-2.9 eV, and haze values of 0.

Fabrication of Transparent and Conductive SWCNT/SiO Composite Thin-Film by Photo-Irradiation of Molecular Precursor Films.

A single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT)-silica composite thin film on a quartz glass was formed by ultraviolet irradiation (20-40 °C) onto a spin-coated precursor film. With 7.4 mass% SWCNTs, the electrical resistivity reached 7.

Measuring Public Concern About COVID-19 in Japanese Internet Users Through Search Queries: Infodemiological Study.

Background: COVID-19 has disrupted lives and livelihoods and caused widespread panic worldwide. Emerging reports suggest that people living in rural areas in some countries are more susceptible to COVID-19. However, there is a lack of quantitative evidence that can shed light on whether residents of rural areas are more concerned about COVID-19 than residents of urban areas.

Predicting regional influenza epidemics with uncertainty estimation using commuting data in Japan.

Obtaining an accurate prediction of the number of influenza patients in specific areas is a crucial task undertaken by medical institutions. Infections (such as influenza) spread from person to person, and people are rarely confined to a single area. Therefore, creating a regional influenza prediction model should consider the flow of people between different areas.

Modeling the spread of fake news on Twitter.

Fake news can have a significant negative impact on society because of the growing use of mobile devices and the worldwide increase in Internet access. It is therefore essential to develop a simple mathematical model to understand the online dissemination of fake news. In this study, we propose a point process model of the spread of fake news on Twitter.

Surveillance of early stage COVID-19 clusters using search query logs and mobile device-based location information.

Two clusters of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were confirmed in Hokkaido, Japan, in February 2020. To identify these clusters, this study employed web search query logs of multiple devices and user location information from location-aware mobile devices. We anonymously identified users who used a web search engine (i.

Robust two-stage influenza prediction model considering regular and irregular trends.

Influenza causes numerous deaths worldwide every year. Predicting the number of influenza patients is an important task for medical institutions. Two types of data regarding influenza-like illnesses (ILIs) are often used for flu prediction: (1) historical data and (2) user generated content (UGC) data on the web such as search queries and tweets.

Comparing Medical Term Usage Patterns of Professionals and Search Engine and Community Question Answering Service Users in Japan: Log Analysis.

Background: Despite increasing opportunities for acquiring health information online, discussion of the specific words used in searches has been limited.

Objective: The aim of this study was to clarify the medical information gap between medical professionals and the general public in Japan through health information-seeking activities on the internet.

Methods: Search and posting data were analyzed from one of the most popular domestic search engines in Japan (Yahoo! JAPAN Search) and the most popular Japanese community question answering service (Yahoo! Chiebukuro).

[Caseous Calcification of Mitral Valve Annulus;Report of a Case].

We report a case of an 80-year-old female presenting with a mitral valve tumor. Postoperatively, pathologic diagnosis was caseous calcification of the mitral annulus. In surgery, she successfully underwent a mitral valve replacement with a 20 mm mechanical valve.

Pressure-assisted dissociation and degradation of "proteinase K-resistant" fibrils prepared by seeding with scrapie-infected hamster prion protein.

The crucial step for the fatal neurodegenerative prion diseases involves the conversion of a normal cellular protein, PrP(C), into a fibrous pathogenic form, PrP(Sc), which has an unusual stability against heat and resistance against proteinase K digestion. A successful challenge to reverse the reaction from PrP(Sc) into PrP(C) is considered valuable, as it would give a key to dissolving the complex molecular events into thermodynamic and kinetic analyses and may also provide a means to prevent the formation of PrP(Sc) from PrP(C) eventually in vivo. Here we show that, by applying pressures at kbar range, the "proteinase K-resistant" fibrils (rHaPrP(res)) prepared from hamster prion protein (rHaPrP [23-231]) by seeding with brain homogenate of scrapie-infected hamster, becomes easily digestible.

Fenestration using a scoring balloon Scoreflex® as troubleshooting for acute vessel closure due to intramural hematoma complication in percutaneous coronary intervention.

This case report demonstrated the usefulness of scoring balloon when luminal narrowing occurred after balloon angioplasty in the left circumflex artery due to coronary intramural hematoma. Although a stent was placed, coronary flow was not improved. We intended to make a fenestra between the true lumen and the hematoma using a scoring balloon (Scoreflex® 2.

Quality of coronary arterial 320-slice computed tomography images in subjects with chronic atrial fibrillation compared with normal sinus rhythm.

Purpose: To evaluate coronary arterial image quality on 320-slice CT in subjects with chronic atrial fibrillation (CAf) vs. normal sinus rhythm (NSR).

Materials And Methods: In 92 consecutive subjects, 46 each with CAf (male:female ratio 2.

Left atrial wall thickness in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation by multislice-CT is initial marker of structural remodeling and predictor of transition from paroxysmal to chronic form.

Purpose: We used ECG-gated MSCT to evaluate alterations in the LA wall in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) (PAF) and compared with chronic AF (CAF) and normal sinus rhythm (NSR).

Materials And Methods: We enrolled 3 groups, each consisting of 62 patients with either recurrent PAF (48 males, 65 ± 11 years), CAF (43 males, 69 ± 9 years), or NSR without any history of AF (40 males, 64 ± 11 years) for a total of 186 study patients. In CT, the absolute LA wall thickness (LAT) and LA volumes were calculated.

Positive influence of aging on the occurrence of fat replacement in the right ventricular myocardium determined by multislice-CT in subjects with atherosclerosis.

Purpose: We evaluated predictors of fat replacement (FR) in the right-ventricular-myocardium (RVM) determined by MSCT in atherosclerotics not receiving anti-arrhythmia drugs and evaluated the relationship between the presence of FR in the RVM and the occurrence of ventricular premature beats (VPB).

Materials And Methods: 120-consecutive-atherosclerotics (101-males, 11-85 years) not receiving anti-arrhythmia drugs for VPB, who underwent MSCT for evaluating atherosclerosis and Holter-ECG within one-month, were retrospectively analyzed for FR in the RVM and its relationship with age, body mass index (BMI), and occurrence of VPB.

Results: 31-subjects had FR in RVM (18-males; median 67 years), and 89 did not (53-males, median 56 years).

New classification of aortic dissection during the cardiac cycle as pulsating type and static type evaluated by electrocardiogram-gated multislice CT.

Purpose: In some four-dimensional images acquired by electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated multislice computed tomography (MSCT) of thoracic aortic dissection (AD), true lumen (TL) gets larger (pulsating-type), whereas in others, TL and false lumen (FL) do not change (static-type) in a cardiac cycle. We have characterized these types.

Materials And Methods: Twenty subjects (10 with a double-barrel type thoracic descending AD and 10-controls) were enrolled.

Acute effect of oral flavonoid-rich dark chocolate intake on coronary circulation, as compared with non-flavonoid white chocolate, by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography in healthy adults.

Purpose: To assess the effects of the oral intake of flavonoid-rich dark chocolate on coronary circulation, we measured coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) by noninvasive transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (TTDE) in healthy adult subjects.

Materials And Methods: The study was a randomized, single-blind design conducted for 2 weeks in 39 healthy men (mean age 29.7+/-3.

Hemangioma located just above the left main coronary artery, in a subject who had cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation, led to a diagnosis of Brugada syndrome.

We report the case of a 38-year-old Asian man with a pericardial hemangioma on the left main coronary artery. The patient presented initially at our hospital after cardiopulmonary resuscitation following an episode of ventricular fibrillation (VF). Because of spontaneous coved-type ST segment elevation on the higher intercostal space V1 to V2 in a 12-lead electrocardiogram, documented VF in the absence of structural heart disease, and a family history of sudden death, he was diagnosed with Brugada syndrome.

Pulmonary thromboembolism associated with air travel in Japan.

Background: A link between venous thromboembolism (VTE) and air travel has been recently discussed, so the present study aimed to clarify the characteristics of acute pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) associated with air travel in Japan.

Methods And Results: The study group comprised 36 patients with acute PTE associated with air travel. Patients' characteristics, clinical risk factors for VTE and coagulation abnormalities were investigated, and compared with a group of PTE not associated with travel.