Regulatory/Scientific Supports for Micro-, Small-, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) With Medicinal Products Provided by the PMDA and EMA.

Micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been considered as key players who can bring innovative medicinal products and/or technologies into the field. However, they may need much regulatory/scientific supports to provide their products, technologies, or services to the market in a timely way. Both the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), regulatory authorities for medicinal products in Japan and the EU, respectively, have prepared supportive measures for SMEs from the early phase of product/technology development to the postmarketing phase.

[Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from wood furniture--estimation of emission rate by passive flux sampler].

The aim of this study was to evaluate aldehydes and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emission from furniture, which may cause hazardous influence on human being such as sick building/sick house syndrome. In this study, VOCs emitted from six kinds of wood furniture, including three set of dining tables and three beds, were analyzed by large chamber test method (JIS A 1911). Based on the emission rates of total VOCs (TVOC), the impacts on the indoor TVOC was estimated by the simulation model with volume of 20 m3 and ventilation frequency of 0.

[Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from large furniture].

Indoor air pollution by volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which may cause a hazardous influence on human being such as sick building (sick house) syndrome, has become a serious problem. In this study, VOCs emitted from nine pieces of home furniture, three sets of dining tables, three sets of chest of drawers and three sofas, were analyzed as potential sources of indoor air pollution by large chamber test method (JIS A 1911). Based on the emission rates of total VOC (TVOC), the impacts on the indoor TVOC was estimated by the sample model with a volume of 20 m3 and ventilation frequency of 0.

Archiving of food samples from restaurants and caterers--quantitative profiling of outbreaks of foodborne salmonellosis in Japan.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (former MHW) of Japan issued a Directive in 1997 advising restaurants and caterers to freeze portions of both raw food and cooked dishes for at least 2 weeks. This system has been useful for determining vehicle foods at outbreaks. Enumeration of bacteria in samples of stored food provide data about pathogen concentrations in the implicated food.