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Abstract Objectives Rural–urban healthcare disparities exist globally. Various countries have used a rurality index for evaluating the disparities. Although Japan has many remote islands and rural areas, no rurality index exists. This study aimed to develop and validate a Rurality Index for Japan (RIJ) for healthcare research.

Sheri Madigan and colleagues'1 systematic review evaluates whether the COVID-19 pandemic has affected paediatric emergency department visits for attempted suicide, self-harm, and suicidal ideation. They report that the combined rate of emergency department visits for attempted suicide and suicidal ideation increased among girls (rate ratio 1·39, 90% CI 1·04–1·88), whereas there was no significant change among boys (1·06, 0·92–1·24).1 We were interested in this difference between the sexes because the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have had a greater impact on the behaviour of girls than boys in Japan. Therefore, we decided to analyse cases of death by suicide among adolescents and young adults in Japan.

Heterosis contributes greatly to the worldwide agricultural yield. However, the molecular mechanism underlying heterosis remains unclear. This study took advantage of Arabidopsis intraspecific hybrids to identify heterosis-related metabolites. Forty-six intraspecific hybrids were used to examine parental effects on seed area and germination time.

Background Circulatory failure is classified into four types of shock (obstructive, cardiogenic, distributive, and hypovolemic) that must be distinguished as each requires a different treatment. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is widely used in clinical practice for acute conditions, and several diagnostic protocols using POCUS for shock have been developed. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of POCUS in identifying the etiology of shock.