Although it is very important in view of public health to understand the mosquito breeding sites and key reservoirs existing around residential areas, such information is lacking in temporary housing sites constructed after the serious tsunami strikes on 26 December 2004 in Sri Lanka. This study clarified the situation regarding mosquito breeding 14 months after the tsunami in Sri Lanka by surveying temporary housing and non-damaged village areas, and also by examining people‘s knowledge related to mosquito breeding sites and mosquito-borne diseases. The relative frequency of mosquito larvae in wastewater pools was significantly higher in temporary housing than in village areas. The prevalence of storage containers at temporary housing and village areas was not significantly different. It was found that wastewater pools in temporary housing sites were the main breeding site of Culex quinquefasciatus Say, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus Giles, and Aedes albopictus Skuse whereas storage containers in village areas were the main breeding site of Cx. quinquefasciatus and Ae. albopictus. No mosquitoes bred in storage containers in the temporary housing but some Ae. albopictus did so in village areas. The questionnaires indicated a significant difference between residents of temporary housing and villages in response to the question: Do you know where mosquitoes breed? The proportion of the “wastewater pools” response was higher among temporary housing residents than among village residents. This knowledge among temporary housing residents may relate to the fact that wastewater pools are latent breeding sites for mosquitoes in temporary housing sites. Although residents in the temporary housing sites put salt and abluent into storage containers to prevent mosquitoes from breeding, wastewater pools receiving a constant supply of wastewater provided the best breeding site for mosquitoes.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a major extraintestinal manifestation in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), regarded as an independent risk factor for VTE according to reports from Western countries. However, the incidence and risk factors of VTE in Asian IBD patients are not fully understood. We aimed to reveal the incidence and risk factors of VTE in Japanese IBD inpatients. METHODS: The incidence of VTE in inpatients with IBD (n=340), gastrointestinal cancers (n=557), and other gastrointestinal diseases (n=569) treated at our hospital from 2009 to 2013 was retrospectively investigated. The characteristics and laboratory data of IBD inpatients with and without VTE were compared in univariate and multivariate analyses. Clinical courses of VTE in IBD were surveyed. RESULTS: VTE was detected in 7.1% of IBD inpatients, significantly higher than in gastrointestinal cancer inpatients (2.5%) and inpatients with other gastrointestinal diseases (0.88%). The incidence of VTE in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients (16.7%) was much higher than that in those with Crohn's disease (3.6%). In the univariate analysis, the risk factors were an older age, central venous catheter, prednisolone, surgery, low serum albumin, high serum C-reactive protein and D-dimer. According to a multivariate analysis, >50 years of age and surgery were the only risk factors. The in-hospital mortality rate of IBD inpatients with VTE was 4.2%. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of VTE with IBD, especially UC, was found to be high compared with other digestive disease, which was almost equivalent to that of Western countries. The efficacy of prophylaxis needs to be investigated in Asian IBD patients.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; C-Reactive Protein ; Central Venous Catheters ; Cohort Studies* ; Colitis, Ulcerative ; Crohn Disease ; Gastrointestinal Diseases ; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases* ; Inpatients* ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prednisolone ; Retrospective Studies* ; Risk Factors* ; Serum Albumin ; Venous Thromboembolism*

Gastric adenocarcinoma of the fundic gland mucosa type (GA-FGM) was proposed as a new variant of gastric adenocarcinoma of the fundic gland type (GA-FG). However, at present, the influence of Helicobacter pylori and the speed of progression and degree of malignancy in GA-FGM remain unclear. Herein, we report the first case of intramucosal GA-FGM that was endoscopically observed before and after H. pylori eradication over 15 years. The lesion showed the same tumor size with no submucosal invasion and a low MIB-1 labeling index 15 years after its detection using endoscopy. The endoscopic morphology changed from 0-IIa before H. pylori eradication to 0-IIa+IIc and then 0-I after H. pylori eradication. These findings suggest that the unaltered tumor size reflects low-grade malignancy and slow growth, and that the endoscopic morphology is influenced by H. pylori eradication.

In 2015, the Japan Council for Kampo Medical Education was established to create a basic curriculum for Kampo medical education that could be implemented in medical schools nationwide. After conducting a needs assessment, we decided on a lecture time of 240 minutes. To set learning objectives, we formed groups for “history,” “examination methods and patterns,” “effects of Kampo medicine,” “clinical cases,” “acupuncture and moxibustion,” and “evaluation.” The teaching contents were incorporated. Then, model slides and lecture guides containing these teaching contents were created, and textbooks based on these contents were published in 2020. In 2021, these overall efforts and contents were made public nationwide, providing an opportunity for the introduction of this curriculum at each university.