Background: Recently launched, the system for granting a medical specialty in Japan raised has concerns about exacerbating the regional maldistribution of medical doctors. The aim of this study is to clarify the characteristics of prefectures that are gathering larger numbers of trainees under this system. Methods: We performed a factor analysis of population structure, medical care and the number of trainees in the system and studied the correlations between the number of trainees and related items. Results: The factor analysis extracted two principal components using Varimax rotation (cumulative ratio of the total variance: 70%). The first principal component suggested an aging society, and the second suggested educational conditions. According to the analysis, the number of trainees was closely related to the educational conditions (1st principal component: -0.19, second principal component: 0.96). In the correlation analysis, the number of trainees closely correlated with the number of doctors in medical school (r=0.80, P<0.001), although it was weakly correlated with urbanization rate (r=0.32, P=0.03). Discussion: This study revealed that the prefectures that are gathering a large number of the trainees are characterized as having a sufficient number of teaching doctors. The trainees might be choosing specific training hospitals to receive relevant specialty training.

HSP70 is a kind of stress protein that takes care of protein through its life, and it has attracted attention as a factor to promote health. This protein is known for its induction route through hyperthermia stimulation. We compared differences between the effects of carbonic warm water bathing and tap warm water bathing, and the report obtained interesting results. The subjects are six healthy adults (average age: 23.8±5.5 years, each three from males and females), applied full immersion bathing at 41°C for 10min in both ca. 1, 000ppm of high concentration CO₂ warm water and tap warm water, and compared HSP70 before the bathing and one day after the bathing. During the observation of 24h, external thermal stimulation such as warm bathing was banned. 3 persons took warm bathing in CO₂ water first and the other 3 persons took tap water first. There was 10 days interval between the bathing in both types of bathing.
The results showed that an increase in precordial temperature measured with a deep-body thermometer was 1.0°C in tap warm water bathing and 2.3°C in CO₂ warm water bathing. The change in HSP70 was 3.31→4.35 (AU/mg protein: p=0.08) in tap warm water bathing and 3.42→5.04 (p<0.05) in CO₂ warm water bathing. Although a slight increase was recognized in tap warm water bathing, a significant increase in HSP70 was recognized in CO₂ warm water bathing.

Ginseng powder was dissolved in the warm water to develop bath salt that contained Ginseng powder (250mg: 1% Ginseng powder, 500mg: 2% Ginseng powder) and it made comparative study of the effects with the tap warm water for seven healthy adults (male 3, female 4, 20.7±0.8 years old). The Ginseng powder of 250mg and 500mg was made so that the bath salt of 25g may become 1% and 2%. The whole body immersion of 15 minutes was done to all subjects under the condition that 1% or 2% cannot be distinguished without tap water bathing.
As a result, the warm water with Ginseng powder increased in the changes of the deep thermometer in front of chest between immersion and after bathing, compared with the tap warm water. But there were not significant change of the surface skin temperature on the arm and the tissue blood flow on thigh skin.
Therefore, the warm water with Ginseng powder was suspected that the thermo effects and the retaining warmth were good compared with the tap warm water.
It seemed that it was possible to use it safely as bath salt for it did not change of the blood pressure, the heart rate, and abnormality of the skin without the case to whom the skin had temporarily flushed, was not additionally recognized.

In view of the present situation of agriculture in which housewives have to handlethe bulk of farm work, a study was made on the health conditions of women engaged in farming in comparison with those of non-farmers.
The study covered a total of 28, 600 females, aged from 40 to 59, who received masshealth screenings conducted between 1978 and 1980 on rural inhabitants in Nagano Prefecture as part of the outreach program by the health service corps of our hospital.
All the examinees live in areas whose principal crops are rice, vegetables and/or fruits.
The data were arranged according to seasons based on the dates of health examination in order to clarify the seasonal variations of morbidity rates and other indices of health.
Another investigation was made into seasonal changes in the length of time used byhousewives in farming, domestic chores, rest and so on with a view to studying correlation between the mode of living and health conditions.
To sum up, our findings are as fllows:
(1) Seasonal variations in the results of various laboratory tests and morbidity rates were notable, depending on the amount of farm work, dietary habits, coldness and the height above sea level.
(2) During summer months, the incidence of anemia was exceedingly high, obesity rates plummeted, and serum cholinesterase values dropped sharply among housewives who are engaged in farm work, compared with those who are not.
(3) In summer, farm housewives worked long hours in the fields, slept less and rested less. They had not enough time to attend to household duties.

 Hot sprigs elements and balneological effects of Tokyo 23 wards, which is not recognized as hot spring region were considered. The density of the hot spring’s source in this region is high compared to other parts of the country. Moreover, a useful element and temperature for the balneological treatment was confirmed by the hot springs with deep digging in a lot of places.  The hot springs in Tokyo can be classified into the NaCl strong salt hot springs, NaHCO3, and the sodium metasilicates. The strong Na-Cl (salt) springs are recognized in hot springs found by deep digging, and exists everywhere in Tokyo. The hot springs of the NaHCO3 are localized in Ohta ward by moderate depth digging. The hot springs including with the rich sodium metasilicates in Ohta ward by shallow digging. If the hot springs in Tokyo are to be used the balneologically, the following effects are expected.  Thermal and warm keeping effects can be expected from the strong Na-Cl (salt) springs. Cleanness and smoothing effects of the skin can be expected of NaHCO3. Hyperkeratosis of the skin can be expected from rich sodium metasilicates.

BACKGROUND: Promotion of oral health in children is recognized as one of the components of health-promoting schools (HPSs). However, few studies have addressed supportive school environments for children's oral health. This study aimed to evaluate the status of dental caries in school children at HPSs, with the objective of examining the impact of a supportive school environment for oral health, considering the lifestyles of individual children and the socioeconomic characteristics of their communities. METHODS: Data of 2043 5th-grade students in 21 elementary schools in Ichikawa city between 2008 and 2013 were analyzed. Children's oral health status was evaluated using the decayed, missing, and filled permanent teeth (DMFT) index. A self-reported lifestyle questionnaire, a survey of the school environment promoting tooth-brushing, and community socioeconomic characteristics derived from the National Census data were included in the analyses. Bivariate analyses were conducted to evaluate the children's DMFT status, and zero-inflated negative binominal (ZINB) regression was used to assess the relationships between DMFT and other variables. RESULTS: Prevalence of dental caries in the permanent teeth of 5th-grade children (aged 10-11 years) was 33.3%, with a mean DMFT score (± SD) of 0.83 ± 1.50. According to multilevel ZINB regression analysis, children from schools with after-lunch tooth-brushing time showed a higher odds ratio (OR) for excess zero DMFT (OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.00-2.15, P = 0.049) as compared to those from schools without it. Neither bivariate analysis nor ZINB model analysis revealed any significant influence of children's gender or use of a toothpaste with fluoride. CONCLUSIONS The school-based environment supportive of oral health was significantly associated with a zero DMFT status in children. School-based efforts considering the socioeconomic characteristics of the area warrant attention even with declining prevalence of dental caries.

BACKGROUND: Excess winter mortality caused by cardiovascular disease is particularly profound in cold houses. Consistent with this, accumulating evidence indicates that low indoor temperatures at home increase blood pressure. However, it remains unclear whether low indoor temperatures affect other cardiovascular biomarkers. In its latest list of priority medical devices for management of cardiovascular diseases, the World Health Organization (WHO) included electrocardiography systems as capital medical devices. We therefore examined the association between indoor temperature and electrocardiogram findings. METHODS: We collected electrocardiogram data from 1480 participants during health checkups. We also measured the indoor temperature in the living room and bedroom for 2 weeks in winter, and divided participants into those living in warm houses (average exposure temperature ≥ 18 °C), slightly cold houses (12-18 °C), and cold houses (< 12 °C) in accordance with guidelines issued by the WHO and United Kingdom. The association between indoor temperature (warm vs. slightly cold vs. cold houses) and electrocardiogram findings was analyzed using multivariate logistic regression models, with adjustment for confounders such as demographics (e.g., age, sex, body mass index, household income), lifestyle (e.g., eating habit, exercise, smoking, alcohol drinking), and region. RESULTS: The average temperature at home was 14.7 °C, and 238, 924, and 318 participants lived in warm, slightly cold, and cold houses, respectively. Electrocardiogram abnormalities were observed in 17.6%, 25.4%, and 30.2% of participants living in warm, slightly cold, and cold houses, respectively (p = 0.003, chi-squared test). Compared to participants living in warm houses, the odds ratio of having electrocardiogram abnormalities was 1.79 (95% confidence interval: 1.14-2.81, p = 0.011) for those living in slightly cold houses and 2.18 (95% confidence interval: 1.27-3.75, p = 0.005) for those living in cold houses. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to blood pressure, living in cold houses may have adverse effects on electrocardiogram. Conversely, keeping the indoor thermal environment within an appropriate range through a combination of living in highly thermal insulated houses and appropriate use of heating devices may contribute to good cardiovascular health. TRIAL REGISTRATION The trial was retrospectively registered on 27 Dec 2017 to the University hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN-CTR, https://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/ , registration identifier number UMIN000030601 ).
Aged ; Cardiovascular Diseases/prevention & control* ; Cold Temperature/adverse effects* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Electrocardiography ; Female ; Housing ; Humans ; Japan/epidemiology* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Temperature