Two hundred and four cases of injuries in agricultural accidents that were entered in the insurance documents of agricultural cooperative associations in Ehime prefecture from April 1987 to March 1988 were analyzed. Eighty-three percent were males and 17 % were females. Three cases died from the accidents. Sixty-four percent of the male cases were in their fifties or sixties and 59 % of the female cases were in their forties or fifties. The agricultural machines which were being used when the accidents occurred were bush-cutters (29 %), mounted-type monorails for conveyance (14 %), combine harvesters (10 %), riding-type tractors (9 %), walking-type tractors (5%), etc. These types of agricultural machine reflect the dominance of citrus fruits production characteristic of Ehime prefecture. The annual incidence rate is highest in mounted-type monorails (1.92/1, 000 units), followed by tillers (1.63) and combine harvesters (1.48). The greater part of the accidents happened from May to December, from 9: 00 to 12: 00 and from 14: 00 to 17: 00. The distributions by month and time of occurrence were considered to have a close bearing on the frequency of machine operation. Sundays, Fridays and national holidays had a relatively larger number of accident occurrences. The possible reasons are increased fatigue of operators on weekends and increased amount of farm-work on holidays by part-time farmers who have additional jobs outside farming; however, further studies are needed.

The eight subjective symptoms (shoulder stiffness, lumbago, urinary frequency at night, numbness of extremities, shortness of breath, sleep disturbance, dizziness and abdominal distension) were checked at the screening of circulatory diseases performed in a rural district in Ehime prefecture.
1. The complaint rates of the eight subjective symptoms were higher in female than those in male. The influence of aging was observed in urinary frequency at night and sleep disturbance. The higher complaint rates in the agricultural workers were not evident in the subjective symptoms except lumbago.
2. Factor analysis indicated that the eight subjective symptoms were constituted by (1) fatigue of circulatory system, (2) fatigue of musculoskeletal system and (3) aging effect.
3. The higher complaint rates were observed in these diagnosed as circulatory diseases, musculoskeletal diseases or gynecological diseases. The correlations between the eight subjective symptoms and the laboratory findings were not apparent. The result of path analysis indicated that the eight subjective symptoms were independently referable to the presence of illness.
4. The eight subjective symtoms were considered considered to be to evaluate health status of inhabitants in rural district.

Small bowel ileus due to the parasitic infection caused by omophagia of freshwater fish is relatively rare. We present a case of small bowel ileus possibly caused by inflammatory change associated with Gnathostoma doloresi infection. A 62-year-old man underwent partial resection of the small bowel under a diagnosis of ileus due to complete obstruction of the small bowel. He had eaten a few slices of raw freshwater fish four weeks before abdominal pain appeared, and he contracted creeping disease with several welts on the abdominal wall. Chronic inflammatory change suggestive of parasite infection was observed in the resected specimen. An immunoserodiagnostic study using microenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay led to a diagnosis of Gnathostoma doloresi infection. The postoperative course was favorable, and the patient was discharged 12 days after surgery. Only two cases of ileus due to Gnathostoma doloresi infection have ever been reported.

Periodontal tissue has a unique structure in that the human periodontal ligament (hPDL) lies between the hard tissues of cementum and alveolar bone. Although the role of cytokines in hPDL function is not clearly understood, we investigated the effect of mechanical stress as hydrostatic pressure (HP) on cytokine expression in hPDL cells.The hPDL cells were obtained from a healthy maxillary third molar. After the 3rd to 4th passage, the cells were exposed to HP ranging from 1 MPa to 6 MPa as previously described. The expression of cytokine mRNA was determined by RT-PCR and cytokines in the culture supernatants were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).The exposure to 6 MPa of HP caused no morphological changes of hPDL cells, and did not affect cellular viability. No expression of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, RANK, RANKL or OPG mRNA was observed in the control cells under atmospheric pressure, whereas in hPDL cells treated with HP, enhancement of IL-6, IL-8, RANKL and OPG mRNA expression was observed between 10 and 60 minutes after the exposure to HP. After the exposure to HP, the production of IL-6 and TNF-α were induced significantly in hPDL cells, but IL-1β and IL-8 were not produced.These results suggest that hPDL cells may play a role in the production of cytokines in response to mechanical stress in vivo.

Objective: Self-sampled human papillomavirus (HPV) testing is a potential option for cervical cancer screening, but research is scarce in Cambodia. We evaluated the feasibility, accuracy, and acceptability of self-sampled HPV testing using careHPV. Methods: A cross-sectional study including women aged 20–49 years attending 2 national hospitals in the capital city was conducted. Women underwent both self-sampling and clinician-sampling of specimens, and were then asked to complete an acceptability questionnaire. The paired samples were analyzed for high-risk HPV by careHPV and genotyped by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: A total of 375 women were eligible for inclusion. Based on PCR, 78.9% were negative for HPV in both self and clinician-samples, 9.9% had a complete HPV type match, and 6.1% had all HPV types in clinician-samples also detected in self-samples. In 5.1%, one or more HPV types identified in the clinician-samples were missed in self-samples. When using careHPV, the overall agreement between the 2 sampling methods was 95.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]=95.8–95.6) with good concordance (κ=0.66, 95% CI=0.56–0.76). Nearly 90% of the women preferred clinician-sampling over self-sampling, citing greater comfort, ease, and speed. Conclusion Self-sampled HPV testing using careHPV could be an option for cervical cancer screening in Cambodia; however, it requires periodic quality control of handling procedures.In addition, women’s health education regarding the accuracy of self-sampled HPV testing and the importance of follow-up in cases of positive results is needed.

Objective: Self-sampled human papillomavirus (HPV) testing is a potential option for cervical cancer screening, but research is scarce in Cambodia. We evaluated the feasibility, accuracy, and acceptability of self-sampled HPV testing using careHPV. Methods: A cross-sectional study including women aged 20–49 years attending 2 national hospitals in the capital city was conducted. Women underwent both self-sampling and clinician-sampling of specimens, and were then asked to complete an acceptability questionnaire. The paired samples were analyzed for high-risk HPV by careHPV and genotyped by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: A total of 375 women were eligible for inclusion. Based on PCR, 78.9% were negative for HPV in both self and clinician-samples, 9.9% had a complete HPV type match, and 6.1% had all HPV types in clinician-samples also detected in self-samples. In 5.1%, one or more HPV types identified in the clinician-samples were missed in self-samples. When using careHPV, the overall agreement between the 2 sampling methods was 95.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]=95.8–95.6) with good concordance (κ=0.66, 95% CI=0.56–0.76). Nearly 90% of the women preferred clinician-sampling over self-sampling, citing greater comfort, ease, and speed. Conclusion Self-sampled HPV testing using careHPV could be an option for cervical cancer screening in Cambodia; however, it requires periodic quality control of handling procedures.In addition, women’s health education regarding the accuracy of self-sampled HPV testing and the importance of follow-up in cases of positive results is needed.

Objective: Self-sampled human papillomavirus (HPV) testing is a potential option for cervical cancer screening, but research is scarce in Cambodia. We evaluated the feasibility, accuracy, and acceptability of self-sampled HPV testing using careHPV. Methods: A cross-sectional study including women aged 20–49 years attending 2 national hospitals in the capital city was conducted. Women underwent both self-sampling and clinician-sampling of specimens, and were then asked to complete an acceptability questionnaire. The paired samples were analyzed for high-risk HPV by careHPV and genotyped by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: A total of 375 women were eligible for inclusion. Based on PCR, 78.9% were negative for HPV in both self and clinician-samples, 9.9% had a complete HPV type match, and 6.1% had all HPV types in clinician-samples also detected in self-samples. In 5.1%, one or more HPV types identified in the clinician-samples were missed in self-samples. When using careHPV, the overall agreement between the 2 sampling methods was 95.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]=95.8–95.6) with good concordance (κ=0.66, 95% CI=0.56–0.76). Nearly 90% of the women preferred clinician-sampling over self-sampling, citing greater comfort, ease, and speed. Conclusion Self-sampled HPV testing using careHPV could be an option for cervical cancer screening in Cambodia; however, it requires periodic quality control of handling procedures.In addition, women’s health education regarding the accuracy of self-sampled HPV testing and the importance of follow-up in cases of positive results is needed.

We present the case of a 76-year-old man who underwent preoperative endoscopic ultrasound-guided hepaticogastrostomy (EUS-HGS) for obstructive jaundice caused by pancreatic head cancer. The patient had obstructive jaundice and cholangitis during neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Transpapillary biliary drainage using endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography was attempted; however, it was unsuccessful because of duodenal tumor invasion. Therefore, EUS-HGS was performed. Jaundice and cholangitis improved promptly after EUS-HGS, and stent obstruction and migration were not observed before surgery. The stent was safely removed during surgery, and no postoperative complications occurred. Most studies of EUS-HGS for preoperative biliary drainage have been small and retrospective, and few have examined the safety of intraoperative stent removal. The fistula in our patient was promptly identified and the stent was safely removed despite the relatively limited field of view during robot-assisted laparoscopy.The promising findings of our case report can be used to inform EUS-based surgical strategies for biliary drainage with obstructive jaundice.

We present the case of a 76-year-old man who underwent preoperative endoscopic ultrasound-guided hepaticogastrostomy (EUS-HGS) for obstructive jaundice caused by pancreatic head cancer. The patient had obstructive jaundice and cholangitis during neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Transpapillary biliary drainage using endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography was attempted; however, it was unsuccessful because of duodenal tumor invasion. Therefore, EUS-HGS was performed. Jaundice and cholangitis improved promptly after EUS-HGS, and stent obstruction and migration were not observed before surgery. The stent was safely removed during surgery, and no postoperative complications occurred. Most studies of EUS-HGS for preoperative biliary drainage have been small and retrospective, and few have examined the safety of intraoperative stent removal. The fistula in our patient was promptly identified and the stent was safely removed despite the relatively limited field of view during robot-assisted laparoscopy.The promising findings of our case report can be used to inform EUS-based surgical strategies for biliary drainage with obstructive jaundice.