A Bayesian Network-Based Browsing Model for Patients Seeking Radiology-Related Information on Hospital Websites: Development and Usability Study.

Background: An increasing number of people are visiting hospital websites to seek better services and treatments compared to the past. It is therefore important for hospitals to develop websites to meet the needs of their patients. However, few studies have investigated whether and how the current hospital websites meet the patient's needs.

Projecting supply and demand for pharmacists in pharmacies based on the number of prescriptions and system dynamics modeling.

Background: Pharmacists play an important role in promoting people's health in Japan, which has an aging population. Hence, it is necessary that the distribution of pharmacists meets the population's needs in each region. This study projects the future supply and demand for pharmacists in pharmacies to consider an optimal distribution of pharmacists.

Characteristics of Type-2 Diabetics Who are Prone to High-Cost Medical Care Expenses by Bayesian Network.

: This study aims to determine the characteristics of Type 2 diabetic patients who are more likely to cause high-cost medical expenses using the Bayesian network model. : The 2011-2015 receipt data of Iwamizawa city, Japan were collected from the National Health Insurance Database. From the record, we identified patients with Type 2 diabetes with the following items: age, gender, area, number of days provided medical services, number of diseases, number of medical examinations, annual healthcare expenditures, and the presence or absence of hospitalization.

[Assessing Visual Attention of Mammography Positioning Using Eye Tracking System: A Comparison between Experts and Novices].

A common cause for image retakes in mammography is lack of proper positioning. Image retake is a potential hazard of increased radiation exposure to patient, patient discomfort and pain. Therefore, a mammographer has to provide fast exams with fewer retakes.

Factors associated with medication adherence among people with diabetes mellitus in poor urban areas of Cambodia: A cross-sectional study.

Background: In Cambodia, the age-standardized prevalence of diabetes mellitus has increased in both men and women. The main objective of this study was to identify factors associated with diabetes medication adherence among people with diabetes mellitus in poor urban areas of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2017 using a structured questionnaire for face-to-face interviews by trained interviewers.

Cost comparison between open radical cystectomy, laparoscopic radical cystectomy, and robot-assisted radical cystectomy for patients with bladder cancer: a systematic review of segmental costs.

Background: Robot-assisted radical cystectomy is becoming a common treatment for bladder carcinoma. However, in comparison with open radical cystectomy, its cost-effectiveness has not been confirmed. Although few published reviews have compared total costs between the two surgical procedures, no study has compared segmental costs and explained their impact on total costs.

Road traffic crashes and fatalities in Japan 2000-2010 with special reference to the elderly road user.

Objective: To investigate comparative road user crash and fatality rates in Japan between 2000 and 2010 in the elderly and young.

Methods: Data from the Japan Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare Vital Statistics Database and the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis were used to calculate crash rates by age group, vehicle, and license category.

Results: Fatal crash rates per 100,000 licensed drivers for 4-wheeled motor vehicle drivers decreased by 53, 56, and 42 percent among the 65-69, 70-74, and ≥75 age groups between 2000 and 2010, respectively, compared to 66 and 60 percent among the 16-19 and 20-24 age groups, respectively.

Genetic diversity of Theileria orientalis in tick vectors detected in Hokkaido and Okinawa, Japan.

In the present study, we investigated the possible tick vectors that can transmit Theileria orientalis in eastern Hokkaido, Japan. Questing ticks collected from three different districts, Taiki, Otofuke, and Shin-Hidaka, of Hokkaido included Ixodes persulcatus, Haemaphysalis megaspinosa, Haemaphysalis douglasi, and Ixodes ovatus, while all the ticks collected from Yonaguni island of Okinawa were identified as Haemaphysalis longicornis. When the ticks were screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for T.

Knowledge, attitude and practice assessment of construction workers for HIV/AIDS in Sri Lanka.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence is relatively lower in Sri Lanka than in other Asian countries; however, the number of HIV-infected persons has rapidly increased in recent years.

Methodology: A baseline study on HIV, acquired immunodeficiency virus (AIDS), and sexually transmitted infections (STI) knowledge, attitude, and practice was conducted at two construction sites in Sri Lanka from January to February 2007 to design an effective intervention strategy for the construction workers.

Results: Among 611 respondents (mostly males, mean age 32.

A pilot study on the usefulness of information and education campaign materials in enhancing the knowledge, attitude and practice on rabies in rural Sri Lanka.

Background: Rabies remains endemic in Sri Lanka despite a strong government patronized anti-rabies campaign. Personal, cultural or religious beliefs have been thought to influence health practices that could render rabies prevalent in the country.

Methodology: The knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of 580 household heads/members from Nuwara Eliya District, Sri Lanka, regarding rabies were explored through a structured questionnaire.

Epidemiological survey of Theileria orientalis infection in grazing cattle in the eastern part of Hokkaido, Japan.

Theileria orientalis is one of the benign species of Theileria that is widely distributed in Japan and is sometimes responsible for serious economic losses in the livestock industry. In the present study, we surveyed the current status of T. orientalis infection in grazing cattle in the eastern areas of Hokkaido (Taiki, Otofuke, Shintoku, and Shin-Hidaka districts) using molecular methods, as well as traditional methods, of diagnosis.

Usefulness of meta-[123I]iodobenzylguanidine myocardial scintigraphy for predicting cardiac events in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy who receive long-term beta blocker treatment.

Objective: Large-scale clinical trials have demonstrated that beta blocker therapy improves the prognosis of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), but cardiac events sometimes occur even in patients showing favourable response to the therapy. In this study, the usefulness of meta-iodobenzyguanidine (MIBG) in predicting cardiac events was investigated in DCM patients successfully receiving long-term treatment with beta blockers.

Methods: The subjects were 53 patients with DCM (including 10 women; mean age, 56.

Usefulness of 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine myocardial scintigraphy in the prediction of cardiac events in patients with cardiomyopathy showing stabilization of symptoms or preserved cardiac function.

Objective: It is not rare for patients with cardiomyopathy to be asymptomatic for long periods or to show improved cardiac function following various medical interventions. Conversely, cardiac events sometimes occur in those patients, requiring close observation. We assessed the usefulness of 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine myocardial scintigraphy (MIBG) to predict the occurrence of cardiac events in patients with stable cardiomyopathy.

Rapid sexing of bovine preimplantation embryos using loop-mediated isothermal amplification.

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a novel DNA amplification method that amplifies a target sequence specifically under isothermal conditions. The product of LAMP is detected by the turbidity of the reaction mixture without electrophoresis. The objective of this study was to develop a rapid sexing method for bovine preimplantation embryos using LAMP.

Usefulness of 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine myocardial scintigraphy for predicting the effectiveness of beta-blockers in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy from the standpoint of long-term prognosis.

Purpose: The usefulness of 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) myocardial scintigraphy in predicting the effectiveness of beta-blocker therapy in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) was investigated from the standpoint of long-term prognosis.

Methods: The subjects were 53 DCM patients in whom beta-blockers had been successfully introduced and used for 6 months or longer. When symptoms were stable before the introduction of beta-blockers and for up to 1 year thereafter, MIBG myocardial single-photon emission computed tomography was performed and the images analysed to obtain the extent score (EXT), severity score (SEV) and washout rate (WR).

Interpretive Structural Modeling for introducing of image information system at the middle-scale hospitals.

We extract and analyze the decision factors of introducing image information system by ISM (Interpretive Structural Modeling) method to determine the criteria and structure for system selection. As a result, 15 factors were extracted, and the structure and relation among factors became clear.

Clinical application of three-dimensional myocardial imaging: evaluation of efficacy of medical treatment on myocardial perfusion.

To investigate the clinical applicability of the three-dimensional (3D) myocardial imaging using a newly developed system (the Application Visualization System-Medical Viewer), thallium-201 myocardial single photon emission computed tomography was performed in 19 patients with previous myocardial infarction before and after treatment with nisoldipine. We have developed a new method for automatically reconstructing 3D imaging for the stereoscopic evaluation of myocardial perfusion. The left ventricular myocardial volume with a radioisotope count > or = 50% of maximum was calculated by using the conventional surface rendering method.

Effects of quality and developmental stage on the survival of IVF-derived bovine blastocysts cultured in vitro after freezing and thawing.

Factors affecting viability of IVF-derived bovine blastocysts after freezing and thawing were investigated. A total of 1,101 ova matured and fertilized in vitro were cultured under 2 different conditions, 1) in TCM-199 on granulosa cell monolayers at 5% CO(2) in air and 2) in synthetic oviduct fluid (SOF) medium without somatic cell support at 5% CO(2), 5% O(2), 90% N(2). All blastocysts that developed from the 2 different culture systems were individually classified into 4 grades of embryo quality and were then frozen by conventional slow freezing.

[Clinical meaning of 123I-MIBG myocardial SPeCT in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy].

MIBG-myocardial SPECT was performed on patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) undergoing treatment with beta blocker (Nipradilol). The findings of MIBG-myocardial SPECT were compared with the changes in cardiac function obtained by echocardiograms. The patients enrolled in the study were seven males who has been diagnosed as definitely suffering from DCM according to diagnostic guidelines provided by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Effect of human leukemia inhibitory factor on in vitro development of parthenogenetic bovine morulae.

The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of human leukemia inhibitory factor (hLIF) addition to synthetic oviduct fluid medium (SOFM) supplemented with human serum (HS) on the development of in vitro matured and parthenogenetically activated bovine oocytes. The oocytes matured for 30 h were exposured to ethanol (7%, 7 min) and cytochalasin B (5 mug/ml, 5 to 6 h). The treated oocytes were cultured for 5 d in SOFM supplemented with HS, and Day-5 morulae were cultured for 2 d in SOFM supplemented with HS and with or without hLIF (5000 U/ml) to investigate the subsequent in vitro development to the blastocyst stage.

[Evaluation of biodistribution and imaging of atherosclerotic lesions using 111In-labeled low-density lipoprotein].

111In-labeled low-density lipoprotein (LDL) was administered to Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbits (WHHL group) and control rabbits (control group) to evaluate its biodistribution and scintigraphic images by gamma-camera and radioactivity of each organ. With external imaging, the heart, liver, kidney, bone and spleen of each rabbit were observed. By setting the region of interest, the liver/heart ratio of the WHHL group was significantly lower than that of the control group (p < 0.