Pneumococcal vaccination coverage and vaccination-related factors among older adults in Japan: LIFE Study.

PURPOSE: To investigate individual and environmental vaccination-related factors among the older adults in Japan, using administrative data. METHODS: We conducted a cohort study and included people who reached the relevant age (≥65 years) for routine pneumococcal vaccination of older adults between April 2015 and March 2020. Monthly data of residents in the two municipalities from April 2014 to March 2020 and vaccination records from April 2015 to March 2020 were used. We defined five cohorts according to the year in which routine vaccinations were available. Each cohort was followed for a total of two years, with the first year being the "baseline period" and second year being the "vaccine follow-up period." Pneumococcal vaccination data was extracted from vaccination records at "first dose." Age, sex, socioeconomic status, comorbidities, hospital visit history, hospitalization history, Specific Health Check-ups participation, and information on contracted hospitals for pneumococcal vaccination were used as covariates. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to investigate the relationship between pneumococcal vaccination and vaccination-related factors. Odds ratios (OR) and 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CI) were calculated. RESULTS: Analysis included 17,991 patients. Vaccination coverage was 33.6 % for all subjects. Multivariate analysis found the following as significant vaccination-related factors: female (OR: 1.18, 95 % CI: 1.11-1.26), not low income (1.76, 1.17-2.76), hospital visits: ≥once/month (1.27, 1.19-1.35), and Specific Health Check-ups participation (2.10, 1.95-2.27). No significant results were found for hospitals that contracted pneumococcal vaccination. CONCLUSIONS: Individual factors, such as sex and Specific Health Check-ups participation, were found to be important factors affecting pneumococcal vaccination among older adults in Japan. Environmental factors, such as the characteristics of residential areas, should be evaluated in further investigations.

Frequency of working at home, body mass index, and productivity in Japanese office workers: A cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people working at home has grown significantly. OBJECTIVE: This cohort study aimed to investigate whether the frequency of working at home was associated with changes in body mass index (BMI) and productivity from 2018 to 2020. METHOD: Frequency of working at home was self-reported. Participants were classified into three groups based on mean frequency of working at home per week (no working at home: ≦ 0.5 days, low frequency: 0.5 to 2.5 days, and high frequency: >2.5 days). Productivity was measured using a numerical rating scale, and BMI was calculated using height and weight. Changes in BMI and productivity were calculated by subtracting 2018 data from 2020 data. Linear regression analysis was performed by considering BMI and productivity change as outcomes and frequency of working at home as explanatory variable. RESULTS: BMI change in the high frequency group was significantly smaller than in the group that did not work at home (crude; coefficient: -0.27; 95% CI: -0.55--0.01, adjusted; coefficient: -0.30; 95% CI: -0.60--0.01). Frequency of working at home was not associated with productivity change. CONCLUSION: Working at home may be a solution for preventing BMI from increasing significantly.

Association Between Workplace Social Capital and Neck Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Workers.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the association between workplace social capital (WSC) and presence of neck pain (NP) among workers. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 595 workers. Presence of NP was assessed using Numerical Rating scale. WSC (overall, bonding, bridging, and linking) was divided into three categories (low, middle, and high) based on tertile distributions. We used logistic regression analysis to investigate the association between WSC and presence of NP. RESULTS: Low overall, bonding, and linking social capital were significantly associated with presence of NP in comparison with each high social capital (overall: adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.76, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.14 to 2.73; bonding: aOR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.19 to 2.67, linking: aOR = 2.18, 95% CI = 1.32 to 3.63). CONCLUSION: Lower WSC had an association with higher prevalence of NP among workers.

Association Between Abrupt Change to Teleworking and Physical Symptoms During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Emergency Declaration in Japan.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the association between telework frequency and the presence of non-COVID-19-related physical symptoms during the COVID-19 emergency declaration among workers in Japan. METHODS: Data were collected from 1648 workers via web-based self-reported questionnaires. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to investigate the association between telework frequency per week (0, 1-2, 3-4, and ≥5 days/week) and the presence of stiff shoulders, eyestrain, and low back pain. RESULTS: Among 917 participants, telework frequency was significantly associated with stiff shoulders (≥5 days: adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.37-7.06), eyestrain (≥5 days: aOR 5.31, 95% CI 2.09-13.44), and low back pain (≥5 days: aOR 5.57, 95% CI 2.22-14.00), compared with non-teleworkers. CONCLUSIONS: Workers who abruptly began telework experienced more physical symptoms than non-teleworkers during the emergency declaration.

Health effects of immediate telework introduction during the COVID-19 era in Japan: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Telework has been widely discussed in several fields; however, there is a lack of research on the health aspects of teleworking. The current study was conducted to determine the health effects of teleworking during an emergency statement as evidence for future policy development. METHOD: This was a cross-sectional study in which we administered an online questionnaire to 5,214 general workers (response rate = 36.4%) from June 2020 to August 2020. Based on working methods during the pandemic, workers were categorized into the office group (n = 86) and telework group (n = 1597), and we characterized their demographics, changes in lifestyle, telework status, physical symptoms, and mental health. RESULTS: The results showed that the workers' residence, marital status, management positions, and employee status affected the choice of the work method. During the emergency, teleworkers experienced more changes in their habits than office workers. In terms of exercise habits, 67.0% of the individuals belonging to the office-telework (OT) group exercised less. Approximately half of the teleworkers were satisfied with their telework, and those in the OT group were less satisfied with their telework than those in the telework-telework (TT) group, and they reported an increase in both working hours and meeting hours. Work-family conflict was more pronounced in the TT group than in the two other groups. Only 13.2% of individuals did not experience any stress in the past 30 days, and all three groups showed varying degrees of anxiety and depressive tendencies. In addition, all teleworkers experienced adverse physical symptoms before and after the emergency. CONCLUSION: Health issues associated with teleworking should be given adequate attention.

Vorticity in lower urinary tract can be assessed and associates with urinary tract morphology in men.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to develop a method to evaluate the fluid dynamics of urine flow in the lower urinary tract (LUT), especially that of vorticity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This investigation included three sub-studies to demonstrate urine flow in the entire LUT. First, we attempted to observe vorticity generation in the urinary bladder during spontaneous voiding using transabdominal color Doppler ultrasonography (CDUS). Second, we performed transrectal CDUS to evaluate the vorticity of urine flow in the prostatic urethra. Patients with prostate cancer were enrolled before robotic surgery and divided into the vorticity and non-vorticity groups based on CDUS findings for comparisons of longitudinal urethral diameter and prostatic urethral angle. Third, the vorticity of the voided urine stream was observed using a high-speed video-camera. Micturition was done in a standing position while synchronously monitored for urine flow using uroflowmetry. RESULTS: Vorticity formation could be dynamically demonstrated in the urinary bladder and prostatic urethra using CDUS. The prostatic urethral angle of the vorticity group was more than that of the non-vorticity group. High-speed video recording could clearly capture vorticity and spiral shape generation in voided urine. The distance from the external urethral orifice to the first twist changed in accordance with urine flow rate. CONCLUSIONS: In a series of sub-studies, this investigation proved vorticity generation in the LUT and voided urine. Vorticity was detectable in the LUT and in voided urine using CDUS and a high-speed video-camera. Vorticity generation might be associated with urethral morphology.

Severe necrosis of the glans penis associated with calciphylaxis treated by partial penectomy.

INTRODUCTION: Calciphylaxis is characterized by marked vascular calcification and painful skin ulcers, and it has a poor prognosis. CASE PRESENTATION: The patient was a 72-year-old male. He was referred for penile pain. He had a 4-year history of dialysis therapy under a diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy. Black and yellow necrosis was observed involving the entire glans, accompanying severe pain. Computed tomography revealed marked calcification involving the thoracoabdominal aorta to iliac arteries, the dorsal artery of the penis and the corpus cavernosum, leading to a diagnosis of calciphylaxis. Penile pain gradually exacerbated and partial penectomy was performed. After surgery, penile pain promptly subsided. Pathological examination confirmed marked calcification of the microvascular wall and narrowing of the lumen. CONCLUSION: We reviewed 15 Japanese patients with calciphylaxis who had undergone penile surgery. Surgical treatment was considered to be effective at relieving penile pain, but the prognosis remained poor.

Design of molecularly ordered framework of mesoporous silica with squared one-dimensional channels.

Mesoporous silica with squared one-dimensional channels (KSW-2-type mesoporous silica), possessing a molecularly ordered framework arising from a starting layered polysilicate kanemite, was obtained through silylation of a surfactant (hexadecyltrimethylammonium, C16TMA)-containing mesostructured precursor with octoxytrichlorosilane (C8H17OSiCl3) and octylmethyldichlorosilane (C8H17(CH3)SiCl2). The presence of the molecular ordering in the silicate framework was confirmed by XRD and TEM. Octoxy groups grafted on KSW-2 can be eliminated by subsequent hydrolysis under very mild condition, and pure mesoporous silica was obtained with the retention of the kanemite-based framework. The framework is structurally stabilized by the attachment of additional SiO4 units to the framework, and the mesostructural ordering hardly changed under the presence of water vapor. A large number of silanol groups remained at the mesopore surfaces because C16TMA ions and octoxy groups can be removed without calcination. Octylmethylsilyl groups are regularly arranged at the mesopore surface due to the molecular ordering in the silicate framework. The molecularly ordered structural periodicity originating from kanemite is retained even after calcination at 550 degrees C, while that in the precursor without silylation disappeared. The synthetic strategy is quite useful for the design of the silicate framework of mesostructured and mesoporous materials with and without surface functional organic groups.