Association of risk factors with musculoskeletal disorders among male commercial bus drivers in Malaysia

A national study in Malaysia was conducted with the main objective being to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and the association between risk factors and MSDs among Malaysian bus drivers. Cross-sectional data were collected from 1,181 male commercial bus drivers in Malaysia using questionnaires to determine demographic, working characteristics and a translated Nordic questionnaire to determine MSD complaints. A Human Vibration Meter was used to measure whole body vibration (WBV) exposure, and postural analysis was used to evaluate awkward working posture. To assess psychological factors, the validated Profile of Mood States (POMS) was used. The overall prevalence of MSD was 81.8% and, by body parts, low back pain was reported to be the highest complaint of lifetime MSD (58.5%) compared to other body parts. The levels of WBV acceleration magnitude A(8) exceed the European Union Directive (0.54 m/s2 root-mean-square [r.m.s.] acceleration), and only 1.2% of the bus drivers adopt more than 40% of awkward postures while driving. Logistic regression analysis, controlling for age, income, education level, and work activities, revealed that factors such as lack of seat adjustability, uncomfortable seat, seat's material, seat contour and design, WBV exposure, smoking, frequency of daily trips, duration of daily driving, prolonged sitting, working part time, and psychological factors (namely, feeling stress, feeling worried, feeling fatigued) were important risk factors of MSDs among Malaysian bus drivers. As a conclusion, bus drivers are exposed to a combination of risk factors that may lead to an increased risk of developing MSDs

Demand for CAM Practice at Hospitals in Japan: A Population Survey in Mie Prefecture

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies have been provided at hospitals along with conventional medicine in industrialized nations. Previous studies conducted in Japan revealed high proportion of Japanese had experience of using CAM, but failed to discuss how it should be provided. The present study aims to clarify the demand for CAM practice at hospitals in Japan. A questionnaire consisting of 41 questions was mailed to 10 000 adults randomly selected from the electoral roll of Mie prefecture, Japan in January 2007. The questionnaire asked the subjects about demand for CAM practice at hospitals, types of CAM therapy to be provided and associated reasons. Sociodemographic characteristics, perceived health status, experience and purpose of CAM use, and information resource for CAM were also surveyed. Completed answers were collected from 2824 (28.6%) respondents. Two thousand and nineteen (71.5%) of the respondents demanded CAM practice at hospitals with the most likely reason of “patients can receive treatment under the guidance of a physicians". The three most popular CAM therapies were Kampo, acupressure/massage/Shiatsu and acupuncture/moxibustion. The demand was positively associated with gender, ages of 40–59 years, annual household incomes of 5–7 million yen, occupation of specialist and technical workers and sales workers and poor health status. Higher demand was observed among those who used both CAM and conventional medical therapies for curative purposes. In conclusion, Japanese show a high demand for CAM practice, hoping to use CAM for curative purposes with monitoring by physicians at hospitals

Essential anatomy for lateral lymph node dissection

In Western countries, the gold-standard therapeutic strategy for rectal cancer is preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) following total mesorectal excision (TME), without lateral lymph node dissection (LLND). However, preoperative CRT has recently been reported to be insufficient to control lateral lymph node recurrence in cases of enlarged lateral lymph nodes before CRT, and LLND is considered necessary in such cases. We performed a literature review on aspects of pelvic anatomy associated with rectal surgery and LLND, and then combined this information with our experience and knowledge of pelvic anatomy. In this review, drawing upon research using a 3-dimensional anatomical model and actual operative views, we aimed to clarify the essential anatomy for LLND. The LLND procedure was developed in Asian countries and can now be safely performed in terms of functional preservation. Nonetheless, the longer operative time, hemorrhage, and higher complication rates with TME accompanied by LLND than with TME alone indicate that LLND is still a challenging procedure. Laparoscopic or robotic LLND has been shown to be useful and is widely performed; however, without a sufficient understanding of anatomical landmarks, misrecognition of vessels and nerves often occurs. To perform safe and accurate LLND, understanding the landmarks of LLND is essential

Establishment of a Method tao Culture a Washed and Cloned Green Paramecium (Paramecium bursaria)

The green paramecium, Paramecium bursaria , widely distributed in freshwater habitats around the world, has hundreds of symbiotic green algae in its cytoplasm. P. bursaria is classified as a paramecium, a species of ciliate. Symbiotic algae cannot exist inside paramecia other than P. bursaria , like as P. tetraurelia or P. caudatum . Much interest has been accumulating in elucidating the symbiotic mechanism of symbiotic algae that can exist only inside P. bursaria . However, the basic properties related to P. bursaria and symbiotic algae have not yet been fully elucidated. Are the species of symbiotic algae in P. bursaria uniform or diverse? Are the symbiotic microorganisms in P. bursaria symbiotic algae only? Does each individual P. bursaria show physiologically similar properties regarding the rate and frequency of cell division and also in terms of longevity? Actually, many things described above still remain unanswered. In this study, after isolating, washing and cloning P. bursaria , the rate of proliferation was measured for individual cells. Although each cloned strain should have the same genetic background, we obtained interesting results showing that the proliferation rates were significantly varied among the strains.Full-Length PaperBy a grant from Research Institute for Integrated Science, Kanagawa Universit

Mortality and life expectancy of Yokkaichi Asthma patients, Japan: Late effects of air pollution in 1960–70s

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bronchial asthma began increasing in early 1960s in the population of Yokkaichi-city (Mie Prefecture, Japan). The cause of the disease was sulfur oxide air pollution, and it is known as Yokkaichi Asthma. The pollution markedly decreased by the end of 1970s; no new cases have been reported since 1988. This study aimed at examining the late effects of air pollution on the health of Yokkaichi Asthma patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Mortality rate and life expectancy of patients, registered between 1965 and 1988, were investigated from 1975 through 2000.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mortality rates for COPD and asthma in patients from Yokkaichi-city were significantly higher than in the whole population of Mie Prefecture. For all ages (except for males between 80 and 84 years in 1985), the life expectancy of both males and females were significantly reduced in patients from Yokkaichi-city as compared with the whole population of Mie Prefecture. The potential gains in life expectancy excluding the mortality for respiratory diseases including COPD and asthma were larger for all ages in patients from Yokkaichi-city.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Mortality and life expectancy were adversely affected in patients from Yokkaichi-city, despite the fact that the air pollution problem has been already solved.</p