Elsevier BV Acta Medica Okayama 0969-806X 238 2026 Bone-enhanced high contrast X-ray images derived from attenuation estimation related to ultra-low energy X-rays – An application of an energy-resolving photon-counting detector (ERPCD) 113243 EN Rina Nishigami Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa University Natsumi Kimoto Department of Radiological Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Junshin Gakuen University Takashi Asahara Faculty of Health Sciences, Okayama University Tatsuya Maeda Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa University Daiki Kobayashi Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa University Sota Goto Faculty of Health Sciences, Kobe Tokiwa University Tomonobu Haba Faculty of Radiological Technology, School of Medical Science, Fujita Health University Yuki Kanazawa Faculty of Life Science, Kumamoto University Shuichiro Yamamoto JOB CORPORATION Hiroaki Hayashi College of Transdisciplinary Sciences for Innovation, Kanazawa University Purpose: X-ray diagnosis in medicine is often used for bone diagnosis based on qualitative observation analysis. However, there are often cases where the contrast of bones is reduced because of the existence of soft-tissues, making it difficult to accurately diagnose the bone conditions. Although the algorithm for bone extraction images was proposed using an energy-resolving photon-counting detector (ERPCD), this algorithm can depict “one” bone material (such as hydroxyapatite under the assumption), and it is difficult to adequately depict other components. The purpose of this study is to develop an algorithm for bone-enhanced high-contrast images that can be virtually represented by the attenuation of extremely low-energy X-rays without making any special assumptions. Methods: High-contrast images were virtually generated based on the attenuation rate of ultra-low energy X-rays. It was determined by fitting the mass attenuation coefficient (μ/ρ) curve to the X-ray attenuation values (μt values) measured at middle (30–40 keV) and high (40–60 keV) energy windows, and extrapolating the μt values to those for the low energy region (E = 5–20 keV). When performing the extrapolation, the effective atomic number (Zeff ) of the object was taken into consideration. The methodology was validated by simulating X-ray projections using a digital human body phantom. The frequency of correspondence between the pixel values in the high-contrast image and the Zeff image was analyzed for each pixel. Results: We succeeded in creating virtual high-contrast X-ray images that reflect the image contrast of monochromatic X-rays of 5–20 keV. It was confirmed that the pixel values in the high-contrast image corresponding to an Zeff = 7.5 (soft-tissue) were completely separated from those corresponding to an Zeff = 9 (bone). The optimization of the energy related to the high contrast images was performed based on the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) analysis. The high contrast image with 10 keV showed a good CNR value. Conclusions: Based on the analysis of the attenuation information of middle and high-energy X-rays measured by ERPCDs, we succeeded in creating a novel algorithm that can generate a virtual monochromatic image with high contrast. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

MDPI Acta Medica Okayama 1999-4893 15 10 2022 A Static Assignment Algorithm of Uniform Jobs to Workers in a User-PC Computing System Using Simultaneous Linear Equations 369 EN Xudong Zhou Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Nobuo Funabiki Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Hein Htet Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Ariel Kamoyedji Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Irin Tri Anggraini Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Yuanzhi Huo Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Yan Watequlis Syaifudin Information Technology Department, State Polytechnic of Malang Currently, the User-PC computingsystem (UPC) has been studied as a low-cost and high-performance distributed computing platform. It uses idling resources of personal computers (PCs) in a group. The job-worker assignment for minimizing makespan is critical to determine the performance of the UPC system. Some applications need to execute a lot of uniform jobs that use the identical program but with slightly different data, where they take the similar CPU time on a PC. Then, the total CPU time of a worker is almost linear to the number of assigned jobs. In this paper, we propose a static assignment algorithm of uniform jobs to workers in the UPC system, using simultaneous linear equations to find the lower bound on makespan, where every worker requires the same CPU time to complete the assigned jobs. For the evaluations of the proposal, we consider the uniform jobs in three applications. In OpenPose, the CNN-based keypoint estimation program runs with various images of human bodies. In OpenFOAM, the physics simulation program runs with various parameter sets. In code testing, two open-source programs run with various source codes from students for the Android programming learning assistance system (APLAS). Using the proposal, we assigned the jobs to six workers in the testbed UPC system and measured the CPU time. The results show that makespan was reduced by 10% on average, which confirms the effectiveness of the proposal. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学経済学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0386-3069 28 2 1996 中国人留学生の日本での就職意志 23 37 EN Masumi Oka Hiromi Fukada 10.18926/OER/41623 The present study examines the difference of consciousness between the two groups of Chinese students. The first group consists of the students who want to go back to China after their studies in Japan and to obtain employment in their own country. The second group is formed by the students who want to have a job in Japan when their studies are completed. We try to make a comparison between the consciouness of the two groups so that we can clarify the influencial factors on their decision to stay in Japan in order to obtain employment in Japanese enterprises. This paper has revealed that the following factors are remarkable among the second group: 1) experience of longer period of stay in Japan, 2) life under comparatively affluent circumstances, and 3) "friendly" feelings towards the Japanese society. Their wish to work in Japan seems to be closely related with their hope to keep on living in Japan. The former study, Oka & Fukada[1994a], supports the results of this study as far as the above factors 1) and 2) are concerned. The former study has no data on 3). As for "sex", one of the factors, the results of the two studies are contradictory. That is, the former study shows that "sex" is an influencial factor, while the present study says it is not. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 62 2 2008 Job strain and smoking cessation among Japanese male employees: a two-year follow-up study 83 91 EN Etsuko Fukuoka Kumi Hirokawa Norito Kawakami Masao Tsuchiya Takashi Haratani Fumio Kobayashi Shunichi Araki Hiroyuki Doi Original Article 10.18926/AMO/30959 The purpose of the present study was to assess the association between job strain and smoking cessation among Japanese male employees. In 1997, a baseline questionnaire was given to 2,625 (2,113 males and 512 females) employees of an electronics firm in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. The self-administered questionnaire was a set of questions on smoking habits and consisted of items on socio-demographic variables and smoking habits, including the Japanese version of the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ). The JCQ consists of scales of job control, job demand, supervisory support, coworker support, job insecurity, physical demands, and isometric load. A total of 733 male smokers were then followed for 2 years, with 446 completing a follow-up questionnaire in 1999 (follow-up rate, 61%). Logistic regression analyses were performed to examine associations between job strain and smoking cessation. Among the 446 participants, 38 had quit smoking. After adjusting for age ((odds ratio: OR) = 0.38, 95% (contidence interval: CI) = 0.15-0.94), men with a high level of physical demands at baseline showed a lower smoking cessation rate at follow-up than did those with a low level. However, when adjustments were made for age and other socio-demographic variables, the odds ratio of smoking cessation showed marginal significance (OR = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.16-1.29). There was no significant association between other job strain variables and smoking cessation at the 2-year follow-up. No significant association was found between job strain and change in the number of smoked cigarettes per day. The present study did not support the hypothesis that higher levels of job stressors are associated with a lower rate of smoking cessation among men. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2007 Supervisors’ attitudes and skills for active listening with regard to job stress and psychological stress reactions among subordinate workers EN Sachiko Mineyama We investigated whether supervisors' listening attitudes and skills were related to working conditions and psychological stress reactions among their subordinates. The subjects included 41 male supervisors and their immediate subordinates (n=203). The supervisors completed a short version of the Active Listening Attitude Scale (ALAS) consisting of two subscales: Listening Attitude and Listening Skill for Active Listening. The subordinates rated working conditions and their psychological stress reactions using selected scales of the Job Content Questionnaire and the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire. Those subordinates who worked under supervisors with a higher score of Listening Attitude and Listening Skill reported a more favorable psychological stress reaction than those who worked under supervisors with a lower score of Listening Attitude and Listening Skill. Those subordinates who worked under supervisors with a higher score of Listening Skill reported higher worksite support than those who worked under supervisors with a lower score of Listening Skill. Those subordinates who worked under supervisors with a higher score of Listening Attitude reported higher job control than those who worked under supervisors with a lower score of Listening Attitude. A supervisor's listening attitude and skill appeared to affect psychological stress reactions predominantly among male subordinates than among female subordinates. Psychological stress reactions were lower among younger subordinates who worked under supervisors with high listening skill, while no statistically difference was observed among older subordinates. These findings suggest that a supervisor's listening attitude and skill have an effect on working conditions and psychological stress reactions among subordinates and that the effects vary according to the subordinates' sex and age. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.