The load applied to the neck-and-shoulder area of vineyard workers engaged in training and pruning is regarded as a cheif factor in developing the musculoskeletal disorders of the superior limbs. This study was designed to make some contribution toward developing a program to lighten the burden of vinedressers by investigating their workload and risk factors. For this purpose, vineyard workers were recruited. Operational analyses of posture measurements were performed by the use of video clips while they (=12) were at work. Another set of methods involved interviews and questionnaires (47 man-days) which asked about their physical tiredness and which part of the body was most tired. The questionnaire survey was conducted from May to June 2009. The results revealed that the backward bending of the neck, which was forcefully sustatined for a long time and repeated frequently (82% of the working hours), and the sustained elevation of the upper limbs (the left elbow joint raised above the shoulder:56% of the working hours) were a heavy load responsible for the systemic fatigue and the muscle fatigue in the neck-and-shoulder region. Especially, the tasks that went hard with the workers included leveling young vines up to the pergola, while holding the postures with cervical retrocession or raised upper limbs at the highest place in the vineyard, and treating gibberelin, the soulutions of which were a heavy load on the upper limbs. Pruning was the most difficult operation and took a lot of time, as the workers had not recovered from fatigue with the second round of gibberlin treatment. As the measures to be taken to reduce the work loads, we though it necessary to lower the level of workplace (use of improved vine training systems and better foodholds), utilize devices to support the head and upper limbs, and to use the limbs differently (alternate use of left and right arms and hands).

With the aim of clarifying issues related to the prevention of agricultural machineinduced injuries in Shiga Prefecture, we investigated, based on insurance reports, the yearly occurrence of injuries caused by agricultural machines for the period from 1982 to 1991.
During this period, there were 914 cases of agricultural machine-induced injuries involving men and 288 cases involving women. The greatest number of cases, occurred in 1983 with 144, after which the number leveled off at about 100 annually. The main types of agricultural machinery linked to injuries were combines, mowers, tractors and tillers. Injuries caused by combines, tractors and tillers decreased in number or remained the same, while those by tillers increased. From 1989 to 1991, the proportion of victims in the over-60 age group was the highest of any age group. Moreover, to be noted is the fact that this was higher than the proportion of the over-60 age group among those engaged in agriculture in Shiga Prefecture. Injuries due to the handling and operating of combines and tractors decreased but there was no decrease in the number of injuries during threshing and tilling operations. The increase in injuries involving mowers is thought to be partially attributable to the increased number of mowers in use and their increased frequency of use in expanding border levees on slopes. To prevent injuries due to mowers, it will be necessary both to improve the machines and work environment, and introduce protective devices.

  Because changes in the Medical Practitioners’ Act in 2001 allowed persons with impaired hearing to obtain a physician’s license, medical education for hearing–impaired students has become necessary.
  The Shiga University of Medical Science provided learning support for a student with severely impaired hearing who entered our university in 2001.
  For class sessions, consideration was given to seating location, devices for taking notes, and distributed educational materials. However, difficulties often occurred in small–group sessions. Clinical training was made possible by taking measures in advance to compensate for the hearing impairment. Classmates viewed positively their learning with a severely hearing–impaired student.
  We believe that a good understanding of hearing impairment by teachers and classmates and the selection of communication tools compensating for the impairment are essential for the medical education of hearing–impaired students.

A questionnaire survey and patch testing on skin disorders were conducted on 20 chrysanthemum growers (15 males and 5 females) in the Kohoku district of Shiga Prefecture in order to clarify the etiology and make a plan for prevention. The results were as follows;
1) Thirteen subjects suffered from skin disorders and 8 of them had contacted dermatitis since they started the cultivation of chrysanthemum.
2) It was suggested that the skin disorders might be associated with such types of work as “lower -leaves pruning, ” “harvesting” and “shipping, ” during which they were closely in contact with chrysanthemum. However, our survey found that most the subjects paid less attention to chrysanthemum than pesticides to prevent skin disorders.
3) The patch test found 10 out of the 13 subjects who had suffered from skin disorders manifested sensitization reactions to chrysanthemum or pesticides and 7 of them to both.
Dermatologically, the disorders were diagnosed as allergic contact dermatitis caused by chrythanthemum or pesticides, but it was difficult to clarify which was the main factor of contact dermatitis.
4) In order to prevent contact dermatitis among chrythanthemum growers, hygienic education on the sensitizing activity of chrysanthemum and guidance on effective protection against chrysanthemum and pesticides are needed.