Thoracic aorta injury caused by blunt chest trauma is often fatal. A 26-year-old male with bilateral pneumohemothorax and disruption of the thoracic descending aorta due to a traffic accident was referred to our hospital. The chest X-ray film and CT scanning showed neither mediastinal widening nor periaortic hematoma. Three weeks after admission, aortography revealed flap formation at the aortic isthmus. Two months after trauma, we replaced the injured aorta with a vascular prosthesis using a centrifugal pump. Pathological examination showed separation of a medial layer of the aorta. His postoperative course was uneventful.

A 58-year-old woman, had received a transvenous permanent pacemaker was the subject of this study. Cervical phlegmon, induced by gastroduodenoscopy infected the tract of the transvenous pacemaker lead inserted into the left subclavian vein by the puncture method. Local management was unsuccessful, and consequently, microbial endocarditis developed with tricuspid valve vegetation. Removal of the entire system under cardiopulmonary bypass successfully eliminated the infection. It is neccesary that pacemaker patients undergoing procedures that may be associated with infections receive prophylactic antibiotics before such procedures. Patients with pacemaker infections should undergo aggressive total removal of the pacemaker system at an early stage of infection, particularly in cases with bacteremia.

Since students who would like to study Kampo medicine more have no opportunity to communicate each other in Northern Japanese Universities, we newly started joint study conferences held by medical students in 2013. The objectives of this paper are to report on these annually held student-based Kampo study conferences in the Hokkaido and Tohoku areas, and the ways each university studies Kampo medicine. In the conference, the students reported on their club activities. Then they studied the history of Kampo medicine and simulation of abdominal diagnosis, and performed group work on case reports together. The number of student participants in these conferences has tripled over 3 years from 18 to 58 (for a total of 111 participants). All members were satisfied with the content. And this reflects medical students' need for a wider perception of Kampo medicine, rather than a limited one gained in their university club activities. We hope this conference will play a major role in other nationwide student-based Kampo study conferences in the years to come.

This study examined the relationship between meeting the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for the Early Years and motor skills and cognitive function in preschool children. Participants were 4-year-old boys and girls in urban and rural areas (n=69). Physical activity was measured using a triaxial accelerometer (ActiGraph GT3X). Screen time and sleep duration were assessed via self-report by guardians. Meeting the 24-h movement guidelines was defined as: 10 to 13 h/night and nap of sleep, ≤1 h/day of sedentary screen time, and at least 180 min/day more than 1.5 METs. Motor skills were evaluated by the Ages & Stages Questionnaires, Third Edition (ASQ-3). Executive functions (shifting, visual-spatial working memory and inhibition) were evaluated by the Early Years Toolbox (Japanese translation). The prevalence of children meeting all three recommendations was 7.2% and 7.2% met none of the three recommendations. Children meeting physical activity recommendation had a better inhibition score compared to children meeting none of the recommendation (p=0.005). While, children not meeting the sleep recommendation had a better inhibition score compared to children meeting of the recommendation (p=0.042). In conclusion, meeting the physical activity or sleep recommendations were positively or negatively associated with the inhibition score. On the other hand, meeting none of the sedentary behaviour and the 3 recommendations was not associated with motor skills or cognitive function.