[Stochastic Considerations on the Upper and Lower Limits of Colony Counts on Agar Plate for Microbial Count Calculation].

The upper and lower limits of microbial colony count on agar plate are essential for microbial cell calculation of food samples. In the present study, the limits presented by the three standards of Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare of Japan, Food and Drug Administration of US (FDA), and Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) were studied from the stochastic point of view. Here colony counts per plate were assumed to follow the Poisson distribution from our previous studies.

Laypeople's Perspective on Physician Work-Hour Restrictions in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The aim of the study was to examine laypeople's perspectives on the impending implementation of physician work-hour restrictions in Japan, which had received limited research attention. We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional study in January 2024. The participants were monitors of an internet survey company who responded to closed questions regarding the expected effect of work-hour regulations, along with an open-ended question regarding their expectations or concerns about these restrictions.

Competencies related to generalism for Japanese medical undergraduates: Essential skills for comprehensive care.

Objective: To identify generalism-related competencies that medical students in Japan should acquire in order to provide comprehensive care for patients.

Methods: The team responsible for developing the new 'Generalism' section of the 2022 revision of the Model Core Curriculum for Medical Education in Japan (MCC) consisted of nine members from diverse medical backgrounds across Japan. We adopted pragmatism paradigm and analyzed to identify decision-making processes using a qualitative document analysis.

Long-term clinical and endoscopic outcomes of ustekinumab in pediatric Crohn's disease with anti-tumor necrosis factor failure.

Background And Aim: Only a few studies have reported the long-term effects of ustekinumab on pediatric Crohn's disease. Therefore, this study aimed to describe the long-term clinical and endoscopic outcomes of ustekinumab and its safety profile in pediatric-onset Crohn's disease with anti-tumor necrosis factor failure.

Methods: Medical records of patients with pediatric-onset Crohn's disease in whom anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy failed and ustekinumab treatment was initiated from 2017 to 2022 at a Japanese tertiary children's hospital were retrospectively reviewed.

Prolonged Peritoneal Attack: A Rare but Crucial Clinical Presentation of Familial Mediterranean Fever.

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) presents with various symptoms. Episodic abdominal pain is one of the most prevalent clinical characteristics of FMF and usually improves within 24-48 hours. We encountered a 50-year-old male patient from Japan who experienced recurrent episodes (several episodes occurring per year) of abdominal pain with fever since his late 20s.

Associations between workplace social capital, well-being, and work engagement in medical residents: a multicenter cross-sectional study.

Background: Workplace social capital (WSC), a social resource available within work or occupational environments, has been identified as an important factor for employees' health in fields other than medical education. However, little is known about whether WSC is associated with well-being and work engagement among medical residents. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between WSC, well-being, and work engagement specifically among medical residents.

Integrating psychiatry into basic clinical skills: A three-year nationwide quantitative assessment of postgraduate training programs.

Aim: The aim of this study was to develop quantitative outcome indicators for psychiatric training programs integrated into the General Medicine In-Training Examination (GM-ITE) and to investigate which characteristics correlate with high scores in psychiatry.

Methods: A nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted over 3 fiscal years (2021-2023). An anonymous online questionnaire was distributed to postgraduate year 1 and 2 residents who completed the GM-ITE.

Positive perspectives of primary care professionals towards patients in complex and challenging social situations in Japan: An educational opportunity.

Introduction: Although primary care professionals often encounter difficulties when attending to patients in complex and challenging social situations (CCSS), little is known about how professionals cultivate an optimistic approach to caring for patients in CCSS. This study aims to recruit professionals who exhibit a passion for seeing patients in CCSS, to gain insights into their positive attitude.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative study in Japan of 30 primary care professionals: 15 physicians and 15 non-physician professionals (nurses, medical social workers and medical clerks).

Type 1 diabetes mellitus following COVID-19 vaccination: a report of two cases and review of literature.

Unlabelled: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) infection, which led to the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, has promoted the development of novel therapeutic agents and vaccines to combat the global spread of the virus. While the COVID-19 vaccines approved thus far have proven to be effective in clinical settings, there have been reports of autoimmune diseases occurring following vaccination, including autoimmune/inflammatory syndrome induced by adjuvant syndrome. We herein report two cases of type 1 diabetes mellitus that occurred following COVID-19 vaccination and provide a literature review.

Lactic Acidosis Induced by Excessive Use of a Long-Acting Beta Agonist.

Lactic acidosis is associated with poorer clinical outcomes in critical care. The causes of this condition are divided into two groups: type A (tissue hypoxia) and type B (metabolic abnormalities). Of these, drug-induced lactic acidosis is categorized as type B and is often overlooked due to clinicians' poor awareness.

Reliability and Validity of the Japanese Version of the Fatigue Assessment Scale.

Objective General fatigue is one of the most frequent chief complaints in primary care, and an accurate assessment of fatigue has a direct impact on a patient's quality of life and treatment decisions. The Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS), a measure of general fatigue, is useful for assessing fatigue in diverse cultures and diseases. However, there has been no study showing the reliability and validity of the scale in the Japanese context.

Translating, adapting, and validating the medical student version of the patient care ownership scale for use in Japan.

Background: Patient care ownership (PCO) among medical students is a growing area in the field of medical education. While PCO has received increasing attention, there are no instruments to assess PCO in the context of Japanese undergraduate medical education. This study aimed to translate, culturally adapt, and validate the PCO Scale - Medical students (PCOS-S) in the Japanese context.

Associations of clinical context-specific ambiguity tolerance with burnout and work engagement among Japanese physicians: a nationwide cross-sectional study.

Purpose: Ambiguity tolerance specific to the clinical context - in contrast to ambiguity tolerance as a personality trait - may vary with experience and has received considerable attention. Although this tolerance appears to be related to burnout and work engagement, few studies have examined this association among physicians. Thus, we aimed to examine the relationships between clinical context-specific ambiguity tolerance, burnout, and work engagement among physicians in Japan.

Comparison of Survival Between ypStage and pStage in Gastric Cancer.

Background/aim: In East Asia, the standard treatment for resectable advanced gastric cancer involves gastrectomy and postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy; nevertheless, neoadjuvant chemotherapy is also expected to improve survival rates. However, it remains unclear whether the same criteria can be used to select adjuvant chemotherapy for patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, or how survival varies between post-chemotherapy pathological Stage (ypStage) and pathological Stage without chemotherapy (pStage). This study evaluated the long-term outcomes of ypStage and pStage in gastric cancers and investigated the optimal intensity of adjuvant chemotherapy for patients who have received preoperative chemotherapy.

An Autopsy Case of Reversible Cerebral Vasoconstriction Syndrome After a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Vaccination.

A 73-year-old man with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease received the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mRNA vaccine. The following day, the patient developed a headache, followed by a tonic-clonic seizure and decreased consciousness. Magnetic resonance imaging of the head revealed no signs of stroke but multiple vasoconstrictions.

Residents' learning and behavior about tool-guided clinical assessment of social determinants of health.

Background: The specific dimensions of learners that have been impacted by educational programs related to social determinants of health (SDoH) remain unknown. This study aims to elucidate how learners are affected by postgraduate education (a single 90-min educational session) regarding tool-guided clinical assessment of patients' social backgrounds.

Methods: A pretest-posttest design was utilized in which residents (postgraduate year (PGY) 1 or 2) and fellows in family medicine (PGY over 3) were recruited.

A Case of Focal Seizures Presented With Recurrent Sweating and Chills.

Focal seizures, characterized by excessive electrical excitation in a brain region, present diagnostic challenges due to diverse manifestations, particularly with non-motor symptoms. Here, we present a 69-year-old Japanese woman experiencing unexplained recurrent episodes of sweating, chills, and shivering. Despite exhaustive investigations that identified no abnormalities, her symptoms remained unalleviated by symptomatic treatments.

Combination of oligo-fractionated irradiation with nivolumab can induce immune modulation in gastric cancer.

Background: Tumor-associated antigen (TAA)-specific CD8(+) T cells are essential for nivolumab therapy, and irradiation has been reported to have the potential to generate and activate TAA-specific CD8(+) T cells. However, mechanistic insights of T-cell response during combinatorial immunotherapy using radiotherapy and nivolumab are still largely unknown.

Methods: Twenty patients included in this study were registered in the CIRCUIT trial (ClinicalTrials.

T Intratracheal Therapy Alleviates Pulmonary Pathology in an Elastase-Induced Emphysema-Dominant COPD Mouse Model.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a complex pulmonary condition characterized by bronchitis, emphysema, and mucus stasis. Due to the variability in symptoms among patients, traditional approaches to treating COPD as a singular disease are limited. This led us to focus on phenotype/endotype classifications.