To reach the target of ending the dengue epidemic by 2030, all effort shall be made to minimize the dengue transmission across the country through effective, efficient, low-cost and sustainable programs. In Indonesia, the evidence of community empowerment on dengue prevention is insufficient. The objective of this study is to explore the opinion of community and larva monitoring workers (Jumantik cadre) on dengue prevention. A structured free listing interview was conducted in April-May 2019 by targeting two groups: the community and larva workers in one village of Sleman, Yogyakarta. Door to door interviews were done until the quota and saturation were reached. Each group was asked four free listing questions. The analysis was performed in these stages: transcribing, coding, combining by the question, and calculating the salience score. The most salient score about vector control in the larva cadre was not hanging up dirty clothes; in the community it was cleaning the bathtub. Both groups cited themself as the salient motivator in joining the vector control. Protecting the environment and keeping healthy were the reasons for participating in the vector control. The larva cadre stated community refusal as the main challenge. The community cited the importance of larva cadre: to monitor the presence of larva. Community empowerment on dengue vector control has not been effortlessly executed at the bottom level.

Access to water and sanitation remain a challenge in many developing countries, especially in pro-poor urban informal settlements where socioeconomic livelihoods are generally low. The aim of this study was to characterise the water and sanitation facilities in the informal settlements of Kisumu City and to evaluate their effect on community hygiene and health. The study focussed on the five urban informal settlements of Nyalenda A, Nyalenda B, Manyatta A, Manyatta B and Obunga, and the three Peri-urban informal settlements of Kogony, Usoma and Otonglo. Using descriptive techniques, the researcher surveyed 114 water sources and all sanitation facilities within 0-15 m and 15-30 m radii of the water sources. The findings revealed dominance of shallow wells and traditional pit latrines as the primary water sources and sanitation facilities, respectively. Out of the water sources studied, 87.7% (100) were shallow wells (mean depth 1.5 m), 9.6% (11) springs and 2.6% (3) boreholes. Most of these shallow wells (83%) were within the urban informal settlements where uses range from washing and cleaning, cooking, and even drinking (13.5%), despite the majority being unprotected. The analysis of the density of sanitation facilities near the water points showed that 32.3% existed within a 15 m radius of the nearest water sources, in violation of the recommended safe distance of 30 m. With an increased density of toilets near critical water sources and other sanitary practices, public health is highly compromised.

Preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an urgent public health challenge. Although brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) can indicate the risk of arterial stiffness and CVD, findings regarding whether baPWV is associated with smoking are inconsistent. This study considered the influence of smoking on arteriosclerosis, specifically focusing on secondhand smoke (SHS), and aimed to construct a strategy for preventing the worsening of arteriosclerosis. We recruited 295 male employees from five companies who had smoking habits such as being smokers, living with smokers, and exposure to SHS outside the home. We measured body composition and hemodynamics, including blood pressure and baPWV, and found that baPWV had significant positive correlations with age, smoking index, alcohol consumption, body-fat percentage, blood pressure, and heart rate, and significant negative correlations with height, fat-free mass, and lower-limb muscle mass. Moreover, baPWV showed a significant adverse effect on participants who had metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk factors such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes. Multiple regression analysis showed that baPWV had significant positive relationships with age, height, MetS risk factors, cohabitation with smokers, blood pressure, and heart rate, and a significant negative relationship with lower-limb muscle mass. The same results were obtained when adjusting for current smoking status, smoking index, cohabitation with smokers at birth, and frequency of exposure to SHS outside the home. Exposure to tobacco smoke due to cohabitation with smokers increased baPWV regardless of the person’s smoking habits. Thus, to prevent an increase in baPWV in housemates and smokers, it is necessary for smokers to quit smoking.

Radiation recall pneumonitis is a phenomenon in which a recall-triggering drug induces an acute inflammatory reaction in the lungs, corresponding to a previously irradiated area. Radiation recall reactions have been reported to occur following treatments with various cytotoxic anticancer agents and molecular-targeting drugs; however, only a few reports have described immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced radiation recall pneumonitis. We report a case of radiation recall pneumonitis induced by pembrolizumab in a patient with the postoperative local recurrence of non-small cell lung cancer. This case demonstrated that pembrolizumab might cause severe radiation recall pneumonitis, even after typical radiation pneumonitis has been resolved.

International immigration into Japan is increasing. It would make sense that investigating the health status of immigrants would be associated with improvements in their health and would be beneficial in building a complete social security system in which minorities can live safely and securely. The objective of this study is to describe the health status of immigrants in Japan and to explore the association between self-rated health status and employment status. As a result, half of those surveyed had some health problem, particularly a lot of mental stress. We did not find a significant relationship between self-rated health status and employment status, but it seems that people who stay in Japan 5 years or more tend to have poor self-rated health status. The factors associated with poor self-rated mental health status were being a non-employee, and having visited a hospital 1 time or more during the past 12 months. A system of mental stress care would be the most necessary health care for international students in Japan.

The Japan Environment Health and Childrenʼs Study (JECS) is an ongoing cohort study designed to evaluate the impact of various environmental factors on children’s health. In this study, more than 100,000 pregnant women were recruited in 15 regional centers throughout Japan. Within the University of Occupational and Environmental Health, the departments of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Environmental Health, and the School of Health Sciences collaborate with the JECS University of Occupational and Environmental Health Subunit Center in advancing research in this study. Several original articles based on JECS and written by our unit members were published in recent years. The aim of this review is to summarize these studies by JECS and University of Occupational and Environmental Health Subunit Center based on the data from JECS. We introduce research articles covering the following categories; environmental health, occupational health, and maternal and child health. Studies found associations between concentrations of metals and maternal health, such as premature birth, placenta previa and placenta accrete, associations between metals and IgE, dietary differences among occupational groups, associations between work-related factors and dietary behaviors, associations between job changes and pregnancy/delivery, mental and physical stress among pregnant women and influence on work, associations between sleep and gestational diabetes, and associations between an ability to push up in the prone position and infant development. This review may promote the development of new research, such as collaborative research projects, including clinical and social medicine, epidemiological studies and laboratory investigations.

The purpose of this study is to investigate and clarify the relationships between occupational stress, personal factors, buffer factors and stress responses of newly graduated nurses, based on the NIOSH model. A questionnaire survey was conducted on 320 newly graduated nurses working at university hospitals where research cooperation was obtained. Data from 107 people was collected by mail (the response rate of 33.4%). In the results of the analysis, the GHQ-12 scores of the nurses on the three-shift system (23.5 ± 7.04) were found to be higher than those on the two-shift system (18.88 ± 6.03) (P = 0.007). The GHQ-12 score was significantly higher in the high stressor group (24.1 ± 6.20), who had higher job demand and lower work ratings than the low stressor group (18.93 ± 6.14) (P = 0.001, t = -3.44). The results of a multiple logistic regression analysis using high/low GHQ groups defined by a cut-off point of 4 in the GHQ-12 (GHQ method) as the dependent variables and the associated variables as the independent variables showed that the basic role identity and colleague support were found to have a significant relationship. The results of a Hosmer-Lemeshow test were P = 0.643, and the coefficient of determination was as high as 81.0%. This study was conducted approximately 6 months after the nurses entered employment, which is in the middle of the critical transition period from a student to a working member of society and can be assumed to be the most exhausting state of the year both physically and mentally. The results of this study suggest that various stressors might cause serious stress reactions. Also, as shown in previous literature, newly graduated nurses tend not to seek support from their bosses or preceptors throughout the year. Their main sources of support are family members, friends, and colleagues. Taken together, it became clear from our study that support from colleagues in the workplace is the most powerful buffer against stress and an indispensable resource to overcome the “reality shock” of working life.

We report a case of a 77-year-old male who had been diagnosed with normal-flow high-pressure gradient severe aortic stenosis (AS) two years previously. In accordance with his wishes, it was decided not to perform surgery. He visited our hospital with anorexia and weight loss and was diagnosed with gastric cancer. Echocardiography showed a change to paradoxical low-flow low-pressure gradient severe AS (PLFLPG AS). A decrease in stroke volume is typically associated with a smaller LV size, but the reason for a smaller LV size in PLFLPG AS remains unclear. In this case, the change to PLFLPG AS was thought to be due to a decrease in whole body oxygen consumption, and this may help to understand the pathology.