Objective: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant B.1.1.529 (Omicron) was first detected in Japan in November 2021. In Osaka, public health centres subsequently increased active case finding and encouraged self-isolation. This study investigated the effectiveness of these countermeasures. Methods: Cases targeted for analysis were persons who had neither recently travelled abroad nor had contact with foreign tourists but tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 between 24 November 2021 and 4 January 2022 and were suspected or confirmed to have the Omicron variant. We performed a descriptive analysis and calculated the reproduction number (R) for each generation using the branching process method. Genomic sequencing data were analysed to plot a haplotype network. Results: A total of 251 cases were analysed. The median age was 30 years, and 46% (115/251) were in their 20s or younger. The first Omicron case in Osaka was detected on 21 December 2021. Local public health centres conducted health monitoring and contact tracing. We analysed R, using information from six clusters, including 42 pairs with a clear relationship between the case and the infected contact (infector–infectee pairs); the clusters had 19, 21 and 2 cases in each subsequent generation. The basic R (t = 0) was estimated to be 3.2, and subsequent generations (t = 1, 2) of R decreased to 1.1 and 0.1, respectively. The haplotype network showed that these cases constituted a monophyletic group with others detected around Osaka, indicating that these case-related clusters had been contained and were not involved in the nationwide Omicron waves. Discussion: Active case finding and self-isolation were found to be effective in limiting the spread of an emerging novel variant.

The establishment of enhanced surveillance systems for mass gatherings to detect infectious diseases that may be imported during an event is recommended. The World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific contributed to enhanced event-based surveillance for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games (the Games) by using Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources (EIOS) to detect potential imported diseases and report them to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID), Japan. Daily screening of media articles on global infectious diseases was conducted using EIOS, which were systematically assessed to determine the likelihood of disease importation, spread and significant impact to Japan during the Games. Over 81 days of surveillance, 103 830 articles were screened by EIOS, of which 5441 (5.2%) met the selection criteria for initial assessment, with 587 (0.6%) assessed as signals and reported to NIID. None of the signals were considered to pose a significant risk to the Games based on three risk assessment criteria. While EIOS successfully captured media articles on infectious diseases with a likelihood of importation to and spread in Japan, a significant manual effort was required to assess the articles for duplicates and against the risk assessment criteria. Continued improvement of artificial intelligence is recommended to reduce this effort.

We began providing comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation for congestive heart failure (CHF) in 2014 at our institution, using an original pamphlet and heart failure notebook to provide life guidance for CHF. However, the life guidance rate was lower in 2017 (61%) than it was in 2014 (77%). The objective of this study was to investigate the awareness of life guidance among nurses. We administered a questionnaire survey regarding life guidance to 28 nurses in December 2018. Among the 27 respondents, 26 nurses (96%) had high motivation and 21 (80%) felt a sense of accomplishment. Responses to the “most important point in life guidance” were “understanding living condition” by 14 nurses, “heart failure notebook” by 9 nurses, and “guidance using the pamphlet” by 6 nurses. Fifteen nurses (58%) felt that the guidance had become routine in nature, and 5 nurses (19%) were worried about their instruction. The nurses were motivated to provide life guidance, but they also felt that the guidance had become routine because they had been providing the same guidance for many years. We consider that the factors related to the lower life guidance rate are the routine/repetitive nature of the guidance and concerns about instruction. Going forward, we need to review the content of the guidance and the teaching approach.

BACKGROUND: The Hokkaido Study on Environment and Children's Health is an ongoing study consisting of two birth cohorts of different population sizes: the Sapporo cohort and the Hokkaido cohort. Our primary objectives are to (1) examine the effects that low-level environmental chemical exposures have on birth outcomes, including birth defects and growth retardation; (2) follow the development of allergies, infectious diseases, and neurobehavioral developmental disorders, as well as perform a longitudinal observation of child development; (3) identify high-risk groups based on genetic susceptibility to environmental chemicals; and (4) identify the additive effects of various chemicals, including tobacco. METHODS: The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the progress of the Hokkaido Study, summarize recent results, and suggest future directions. In particular, this report provides the latest details from questionnaire surveys, face-to-face examinations, and a collection of biological specimens from children and measurements of their chemical exposures. RESULTS: The latest findings indicate different risk factors of parental characteristics on birth outcomes and the mediating effect between socioeconomic status and children that are small for the gestational age. Maternal serum folate was not associated with birth defects. Prenatal chemical exposure and smoking were associated with birth size and growth, as well as cord blood biomarkers, such as adiponectin, leptin, thyroid, and reproductive hormones. We also found significant associations between the chemical levels and neuro development, asthma, and allergies. CONCLUSIONS Chemical exposure to children can occur both before and after birth. Longer follow-up for children is crucial in birth cohort studies to reinforce the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease hypothesis. In contrast, considering shifts in the exposure levels due to regulation is also essential, which may also change the association to health outcomes. This study found that individual susceptibility to adverse health effects depends on the genotype. Epigenome modification of DNA methylation was also discovered, indicating the necessity of examining molecular biology perspectives. International collaborations can add a new dimension to the current knowledge and provide novel discoveries in the future.
Biomarkers/blood* ; Child ; Child Health ; Child, Preschool ; Cohort Studies ; Environmental Exposure/adverse effects* ; Environmental Health ; Environmental Pollutants/adverse effects* ; Female ; Fetal Blood/chemistry* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Growth/drug effects* ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity/etiology* ; Infant ; Japan/epidemiology* ; Male ; Neurodevelopmental Disorders/etiology* ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects/etiology* ; Prevalence ; Smoking/adverse effects*

Online databases are crucial infrastructures to facilitate the wide effective and efficient use of mouse mutant resources in life sciences. The number and types of mouse resources have been rapidly growing due to the development of genetic modification technology with associated information of genomic sequence and phenotypes. Therefore, data integration technologies to improve the findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability of mouse strain data becomes essential for mouse strain repositories. In 2020, the RIKEN BioResource Research Center released an integrated database of bioresources including, experimental mouse strains, Arabidopsis thaliana as a laboratory plant, cell lines, microorganisms, and genetic materials using Resource Description Framework-related technologies. The integrated database shows multiple advanced features for the dissemination of bioresource information. The current version of our online catalog of mouse strains which functions as a part of the integrated database of bioresources is available from search bars on the page of the Center (https://brc.riken.jp) and the Experimental Animal Division (https://mus.brc.riken.jp/) websites. The BioResource Research Center also released a genomic variation database of mouse strains established in Japan and Western Europe, MoG+ (https://molossinus.brc.riken.jp/mogplus/), and a database for phenotype-phenotype associations across the mouse phenome using data from the International Mouse Phenotyping Platform. In this review, we describe features of current version of databases related to mouse strain resources in RIKEN BioResource Research Center and discuss future views.

Objective: Regional lymph node (LN) dissection is a standard surgical procedure for endometrial cancer, but there is currently no clear consensus on its therapeutic significance. We aimed to determine the impact of regional LN dissection on the outcome of endometrial cancer. Methods: Study subjects comprised 36,813 patients who were registered in the gynecological tumor registry of the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, had undergone initial surgery for endometrial cancer between 2004 and 2011, and whose clinicopathological factors and prognosis were appropriate for our investigation. The following clinicopathological factors were obtained from the registry: age, surgical stage classification, Union for International Cancer Control tumor, node, metastasis classification, histological type, histological differentiation, presence or absence of LN dissection, and postoperative treatment. We retrospectively analyzed the clinicopathological factors and therapeutic outcomes for patients with endometrial cancer. Results: Analysis of all subjects showed that the group that underwent LN dissection had a significantly better overall survival than the group that did not undergo dissection. Analysis based on stage showed similar results across groups, except for stage Ia. Analysis based on stage and histological type showed similar results across groups, except for stage Ia endometrial carcinoma G1 or Ia G2. Multivariate analysis of prognostic factors indicated that LN dissection is an independent prognostic factor and that it has a greater impact on prognosis than adjuvant chemotherapy. Conclusion Despite the limitations of a retrospective study with some biases, the results suggest that LN dissection in endometrial cancer has a prognostic effect.

Online databases are crucial infrastructures to facilitate the wide effective and efficient use of mouse mutant resources in life sciences. The number and types of mouse resources have been rapidly growing due to the development of genetic modification technology with associated information of genomic sequence and phenotypes. Therefore, data integration technologies to improve the findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability of mouse strain data becomes essential for mouse strain repositories. In 2020, the RIKEN BioResource Research Center released an integrated database of bioresources including, experimental mouse strains, Arabidopsis thaliana as a laboratory plant, cell lines, microorganisms, and genetic materials using Resource Description Framework-related technologies. The integrated database shows multiple advanced features for the dissemination of bioresource information. The current version of our online catalog of mouse strains which functions as a part of the integrated database of bioresources is available from search bars on the page of the Center (https://brc.riken.jp) and the Experimental Animal Division (https://mus.brc.riken.jp/) websites. The BioResource Research Center also released a genomic variation database of mouse strains established in Japan and Western Europe, MoG+ (https://molossinus.brc.riken.jp/mogplus/), and a database for phenotype-phenotype associations across the mouse phenome using data from the International Mouse Phenotyping Platform. In this review, we describe features of current version of databases related to mouse strain resources in RIKEN BioResource Research Center and discuss future views.

In 2021, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, undertook enhanced event-based surveillance (EBS) for infectious diseases occurring overseas that have potential for importation (excluding coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]) for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games (the Games). The pre-existing EBS system was enhanced using the World Health Organization Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources system and the BlueDot Epidemic Intelligence platform. The enhanced EBS before and during the Games did not detect any major public health event that would warrant action for the Games. However, information from multiple sources helped us identify events, characterize risk and improve confidence in risk assessment. The collaboration also reduced the surveillance workload of the host country, while ensuring the quality of surveillance, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: There have been inconsistent findings reported on maternal passive smoking during pregnancy and child risk of ADHD. In this study, ADHD symptoms at pre-school age children in association with prenatal passive and active tobacco smoke exposure determined by maternal plasma cotinine levels in the third trimester were investigated. METHODS: This was a follow-up study of the birth cohort: the Hokkaido Study on Environment and Children's Health. Children whose parents answered Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to identify child ADHD symptoms (hyperactivity/inattention and conduct problems) and total difficulties at age 5 years with available maternal plasma cotinine level at the third trimester were included (n = 3216). Cotinine levels were categorized into 4 groups; ≦ 0.21 ng/ml (non-smoker), 0.22-0.51 ng/ml (low-passive smoker), 0.52-11.48 ng/ml (high-passive smoker), and ≧ 11.49 ng/ml (active smoker). RESULTS: Maternal cotinine levels of active smokers were significantly associated with an increased risk of total difficulties (OR = 1.67) and maternal low- and high-passive smoking also increased the risk (OR = 1.11, 1.25, respectively) without statistical significance. Similarly, maternal cotinine levels of active smokers were associated with an increased risk of hyperactivity/inattention (OR = 1.49). Maternal low- and high-passive smoking and active smoking increased the risk of hyperactivity/inattention (OR = 1.45, 1.43, and OR = 1.59, respectively) only in boys. CONCLUSION Our findings suggested that maternal active smoking during pregnancy may contribute to the increased risk of child total difficulties and hyperactivity/inattention at pre-school age. Pregnant women should be encouraged to quit smoking and avoid exposure to tobacco smoke.
Adult ; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity ; epidemiology ; etiology ; physiopathology ; psychology ; Child, Preschool ; Cotinine ; blood ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Japan ; epidemiology ; Male ; Maternal Exposure ; adverse effects ; Mothers ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third ; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Risk ; Sex Factors ; Tobacco Smoking ; adverse effects ; epidemiology

BACKGROUND: Lead is a toxic metal abundant in the environment. Consumption of food contaminated at low levels of lead, especially by small children and pregnant women, raises a health concern. METHODS: Duplicated food portions and drinking water were collected over 3 days from 88 children and 87 pregnant women in Shimotsuke, Tochigi, Japan. Participants were recruited in this study between January 2014 and October 2015. Dust was also collected from their homes. Lead concentrations were measured and consequent oral lead exposure levels were estimated for this population at high risk to environmental toxicants. Lead concentrations of peripheral and cord blood, taken from children and pregnant women, and were also analyzed. RESULTS: Lead concentrations in food, drinking water, and house dust were low in general. Oral lead exposure to lead was higher for children (Mean ± SEM; 5.21 ± 0.30 μg/kg BW/week) than in pregnant women (1.47 ± 0.13 μg/kg BW/week). Food and house dust were main sources of lead contamination, but the contribution of house dust widely varied. Means ± SEM of peripheral and cord blood lead concentrations were 0.69 ± 0.04 μg/dL and 0.54 ± 0.05 μg/dL, respectively for pregnant women and 1.30 ± 0.07 μg/dL (peripheral only) in children. We detect no correlation between smoking situations and blood lead concentration in pregnant women. CONCLUSION We conclude that oral lead exposure levels for Japanese children and pregnant women were generally low, with higher concentrations and exposure for children than for pregnant women. More efforts are necessary to clarify the sources of lead contamination and reduce lead exposure of the population at high risk even in Japan.