This paper reports our saccess in improving an apron used by a hemiplegic man when eating to protect clothes in a geriatric health services facility. The improved apron is useful at home, and helpful for caregivers. He needed assistance during meals and spilled food so frequently that clothes had to be changed after each meal. Frequent changes of clothes meant big burden for persons who looked after him at his home. His wife said, “Changing clothes after every meal will be very troubles some”, Sowe triedto improve the apron by use of cheap and easily available material. After trial and error we succeeded in making the apron that pleased both him and his family.

Diagnosis is difficult in patients who complain of slight fever without objective abnormalities. It is not rare that patients without signs of typical Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) infection have a delayed TB diagnosis. It has been reported that the QuantiFERON TB-2G test is useful for diagnosing latent TB infection. We report a patient who suffered from sweating, body weight loss, and a fever of less than 37.5C without abnormalities in routine tests. Except for his complaints, only QuantiFERON TB-2G testing suggested his illness, after which he was successfully treated with isoniazid administration. QuantiFERON TB-2G testing might be useful to diagnose patients with slight fever when TB is suspected but a conventional workup is not diagnostic.

BACKGROUND: Pyrethroid (PYR) insecticides are widely used for controlling various pests. There are two types that differ in terms of usage: agricultural-purpose PYR (agriculture-PYR) and hygiene purpose PYR (hygiene-PYRs). Few studies exist on the exposure to these chemicals in small children. In this study, we conducted biomonitoring of urinary pyrethroid metabolites in 1.5-year-old children throughout the year. METHODS: Study subjects were 1075 children participating in an Aichi regional sub-cohort of the Japan Environment and Children's Study as of 18-month health check-up. The concentrations of four specific hygiene-PYR metabolites including 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-1,4-benzenedimethanol (HOCH₂-FB-Al), and five common metabolites of hygiene- and agriculture-PYRs including 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3PBA) and cis- and trans-3-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (DCCA), were measured in urine samples extracted from soiled diapers using a triple quadrupole gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer. RESULTS: The highest detection frequencies were for 3PBA, followed by DCCA, 1R-trans-chrysanthemum dicarboxylic acid, and HOCH₂-FB-Al. Among the six metabolites, urinary concentrations were seasonally varied. However, this variation was not observed in the most studied PYR metabolite, 3PBA. Spearman's correlation analysis demonstrated a significant positive correlation between FB-Al and DCCA (r = 0.56) and HOCH₂-FB-Al and 4-methoxymethyl-2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzyl alcohol (r = 0.60). CONCLUSIONS This biomonitoring survey found widespread and seasonally specific exposure to multiple hygiene- and agriculture-PYRs in 1.5-year-old Japanese children.
Agriculture ; Child, Preschool ; Environmental Exposure/analysis* ; Humans ; Infant ; Insecticides ; Japan ; Mass Spectrometry ; Pyrethrins/urine*