Association of Regular Cervical Cancer Screening with Socioeconomic, COVID-19 Infection and Vaccine Status Among Japanese Population: Cohort Observational Study

Purpose: Among the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, Japan has one of the lowest cervical cancer screening coverages. Cancer screening coverage has worsened due to the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study investigated the relationship between socioeconomic background, COVID-19 infection history and vaccine status, and regular cervical cancer screening (CCS) during the two years of the COVID-19 era in Japan. Patients and Methods: We used data from the Japan COVID-19 and Society Internet Survey, a nationwide, Internet-based, selfreport cohort observational study conducted in 2022. The outcome variable was identified by asking whether the participants had undergone CCS within the last two years. Cervical cytology was performed in Japan by brushing the external cervical os. This study used multivariate log-binomial regression models to evaluate inequalities during regular checkups for CCS. Adjusted prevalence ratios (APRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated to incorporate the socioeconomic background variables. Results: Of the 12,066 participants, 5597 (46.4%) had undergone regular CCS for over two years. The prevalence ratio (PR) of patients who underwent CCS was 0.70 for those in their 20s and 0.78 for those in their 60s, compared to those in their 40s. Socioeconomic inequities were found in the following groups: unemployed/student, unmarried, high school graduate or lower, and household income below 4 million Yen. Our final multivariate analysis revealed that participants who were in their 20s or 60s, had a household income below 4 million Yen, were unmarried, had no annual health check-ups, and were unvaccinated with COVID-19 were at a higher risk of not undergoing CCS. Conclusion: The relationship between socioeconomic inequality and CCS hesitancy is prevalent among younger participants. The CCS coverage in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic year (2020-2022) was not low compared with the pre-pandemic era

Non-Invasive Prenatal Genetic Testing (NIPT) Leading to Prenatal Diagnosis of Trisomy 21 Mosaicism and 18q Deletion Syndrome: Two Cases

NIPT is non-definitive testing to estimate the possibility that fetuses have trisomy 21, trisomy 18, or trisomy 13. However, in NIPT-positive and indeterminate cases, rare chromosomal disease may become apparent, requiring advanced genetic considerations and counseling skills. We experienced two such cases, a trisomy 21 mosaicism case triggered by NIPT-positive status and 18q deletion syndrome triggered by NIPT-indeterminate status. These cases have two clinical implications for NIPT. First, it was revealed that trisomy mosaicism might be found in NIPT-positive cases that have lower Z-Scores than those inferred from the fraction of fetal cfDNA in the case of standard trisomy. Second, it is possible that microdeletion syndrome could be the reason for an indeterminate NIPT result. Today’s genetic counseling requires more expertise in ethics and communication as well as genetic science because NIPT can lead to totally unexpected results

Association of Regular Cervical Cancer Screening with Socioeconomic, COVID-19 Infection and Vaccine Status Among Japanese Population: Cohort Observational Study

Purpose: Among the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, Japan has one of the lowest cervical cancer screening coverages. Cancer screening coverage has worsened due to the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study investigated the relationship between socioeconomic background, COVID-19 infection history and vaccine status, and regular cervical cancer screening (CCS) during the two years of the COVID-19 era in Japan. Patients and Methods: We used data from the Japan COVID-19 and Society Internet Survey, a nationwide, Internet-based, selfreport cohort observational study conducted in 2022. The outcome variable was identified by asking whether the participants had undergone CCS within the last two years. Cervical cytology was performed in Japan by brushing the external cervical os. This study used multivariate log-binomial regression models to evaluate inequalities during regular checkups for CCS. Adjusted prevalence ratios (APRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated to incorporate the socioeconomic background variables. Results: Of the 12,066 participants, 5597 (46.4%) had undergone regular CCS for over two years. The prevalence ratio (PR) of patients who underwent CCS was 0.70 for those in their 20s and 0.78 for those in their 60s, compared to those in their 40s. Socioeconomic inequities were found in the following groups: unemployed/student, unmarried, high school graduate or lower, and household income below 4 million Yen. Our final multivariate analysis revealed that participants who were in their 20s or 60s, had a household income below 4 million Yen, were unmarried, had no annual health check-ups, and were unvaccinated with COVID-19 were at a higher risk of not undergoing CCS. Conclusion: The relationship between socioeconomic inequality and CCS hesitancy is prevalent among younger participants. The CCS coverage in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic year (2020-2022) was not low compared with the pre-pandemic era

Suppression of CH4 Emission by Rice Straw Removal and Application of Bio‐Ethanol Production Residue in a Paddy Field in Akita, Japan

To elucidate the effects of rice straw removal and rice straw‐based bio‐ethanol production residue application on rice growth and methane (CH4) emission from a paddy field, a lysimeter experiment with three treatments (application of rice straw after harvesting (the rice‐straw plot); removal of rice straw and the application of bio‐ethanol production residue (the Et‐residue plot); removal of rice straw (the no‐application plot)) was conducted over three years. Though the grain yields in the Et‐residue and no‐application plots tended to be slightly higher than that in the ricestraw plot, there were no significant differences among the plots (530–546 g∙m−2). Suppression of CH4 emission by the treatments was found clearly in the early part of the growing season. The total CH4 emissions during the rice‐growing season (unit: g∙C∙m−2∙period−1) followed the order of the noapplication plot (11.9) < the Et‐residue plot (14.6) < the rice‐straw plot (25.4), and a significant difference was found between the no‐application and rice‐straw plots. Consequently, bio‐ethanol production from rice straw and a following application of its residue to paddy fields is considered to be a promising technology which can obtain new sustainable energy and suppress CH4 emission without any inhibition on rice growth

Cross-basin differences in the nutrient assimilation characteristics of induced phytoplankton blooms in the subtropical Pacific waters

To better understand the nutrient assimilation characteristics of subtropical phytoplankton, deep-water addition incubation experiments were carried out on surface waters collected at seven stations across the subtropical North and South Pacific Ocean. These deep-water additions induced phytoplankton blooms with nutrient drawdown at all stations. The drawdown ratios of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) to phosphate (PO4) varied from 14.1 to 30.7 at the PO4-replete stations in the central North Pacific (CNP) and eastern South Pacific (ESP). These ratios were similar to the range represented by the canonical Redfield ratio (16) through to typical particulate N:P ratios in the surface subtropical ocean (28). In contrast, lower DIN:PO4 drawdown ratios (7.7–13.3) were observed in induced blooms at the PO4-depleted stations in the western North Pacific (WNP). The DIN:PO4 drawdown ratios in the PO4-replete ESP were associated with eukaryote-dominated blooms, while those in the PO4-depleted WNP were associated with eukaryotic and cyanobacterial blooms. The surplus PO4 assimilation, relative to DIN, by phytoplankton in the WNP was not expected based on their typical cellular N:P ratio and was likely due to the high PO4 uptake capability as induced by low-PO4-adapted phytoplankton. The low- and high-P* (=PO4− DIN/16) regimes geographically corresponded to the low and high DIN:PO4 drawdown ratios in the WNP and the CNP or ESP, respectively. The basin-wide P* distribution in the oligotrophic Pacific surface waters showed a clear regional trend from low in the WNP (100 nM). These results suggest that the subtropical phytoplankton blooms as observed in our experiments could be an important factor controlling P* as well as the commonly recognized dinitrogen fixation and denitrification characteristics

Successful management of aberrant right hepatic duct during laparoscopic cholecystectomy: a rare case report

Abstract Background Anatomic variants of the biliary tree present challenges to surgical management during laparoscopic cholecystectomy and affect perioperative outcomes. An aberrant right hepatic duct connecting into the cystic duct is a practically important variation because of the susceptibility to serious postoperative refractory bile leakage. We report a successful case of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the aberrant right hepatic duct of a patient diagnosed with chronic cystitis. Case presentation A 49-year-old man was referred to our department for treatment of chronic cholecystitis. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography indicated that the cystic duct branched from the common bile duct and an aberrant bile duct connected to the cystic duct. Intraoperative cholangiography revealed that the bile duct was not confluent to the major right branch of the intrahepatic bile duct and drained a narrow area. Preoperative magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography had diagnostic value. Furthermore, intraoperative cholangiography with the Critical View of Safety method was paramount to achieving safe cholecystectomy based on confirmation of the biliary anatomy and the drainage area of the aberrant right hepatic duct. Conclusion We encountered a rare but clinically significant case of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This case suggests that precise understanding of the anatomy and drainage area of the aberrant right hepatic duct preoperatively and intraoperatively can lead to safe cholecystectomy

Biogeochemical controls of particulate phosphorus distribution across the oligotrophic subtropical Pacific Ocean [data]

このデータセットを利用した論文はこちら: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GB00666