Acute effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency transportation due to acute alcoholic intoxication: a retrospective observational study

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has caused changes in people’s drinking habits and the emergency management system for various diseases. However, no studies have investigated the pandemic’s impact on emergency transportation for acute alcoholic intoxication. This study examines the effect of the pandemic on emergency transportation due to acute alcoholic intoxication in Kochi Prefecture, Japan, a region with high alcohol consumption. Methods A retrospective observational study was conducted using data of 180,747 patients from the Kochi-Iryo-Net database, Kochi Prefecture’s emergency medical and wide-area disaster information system. Chi-squared tests and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed. The association between emergency transportation and alcoholic intoxication was examined. The differences between the number of transportations during the voluntary isolation period in Japan (March and April 2020) and the same period for 2016–2019 were measured. Results In 2020, emergency transportations due to acute alcoholic intoxication declined by 0.2%, compared with previous years. Emergency transportation due to acute alcoholic intoxication decreased significantly between March and April 2020, compared with the same period in 2016–2019, even after adjusting for confounding factors (adjusted odds ratio 0.67; 95% confidence interval 0.47–0.96). Conclusions This study showed that lifestyle changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic affected the number of emergency transportations; in particular, those due to acute alcoholic intoxication decreased significantly.

Development of a parent-reported screening tool for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID): Initial validation and prevalence in a Japanese birth cohort

The prevalence of Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) in the general child population is still largely unknown and validated screening instruments are lacking. The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of children screening positive for ARFID in a Japanese birth cohort using a newly developed parent-reported screening tool, and to provide preliminary evidence for the validity of the new screening tool. Data were collected from 3,728 4-7-year-old children born in Kochi prefecture (response rate was 56.5%), Japan, between 2011 and 2014; a sub-sample of the Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS). Parents completed a questionnaire including the ARFID screener and several other measures to assess convergent validity. The point prevalence of children screening positive for ARFID was 1.3%; half of them met criteria for ARFID based on psychosocial impairment alone, while the other half met diagnostic criteria relating to physical impairment (and additional psychosocial impairment in many cases). Sensory sensitivity to food characteristics (63%) and/or lack of interest in eating (51%) were the most prevalent drivers of food avoidance. Children screening positive for ARFID were lighter in weight and shorter in height, they showed more problem behaviors related to mealtimes and nutritional intake, and they were more often selective eaters and more responsive to satiety, providing preliminary support for the validity of the new screening tool. This is the largest screening study to date of ARFID in children up to 7 years. Future studies should examine the diagnostic validity of the new ARFID screener using clinically ascertained cases. Further research on ARFID prevalence in the general population is needed.

RADIOCARBON DATING OF PRECIOUS CORALS OFF THE SOUTHWEST COAST OF KOCHI PREFECTURE, SOUTHWEST JAPAN

ABSTRACT Radiocarbon (14C) dating was performed for various types of precious coral colony fragments collected from the Ashizuri fishing field, around 100–200 m deep, off the southwest coast of Kochi Prefecture, Japan, to understand the historical background of one of the largest precious coral fishing fields in Japan. The 14C ages of the 55 specimens range from ~7500 years ago to the modern. Most of the measured samples were older than 1871, when fishing activities of precious corals began in Kochi Prefecture. These results suggest that most of the deaths of the precious coral colonies were due to natural causes, such as natural mortality, predation, or various forms of environmental degradation, and not strictly related to destructive fishing practices. Additionally, precious corals started inhabiting the study area at least ~7500 years ago, when the marine condition became similar to that of today after the Last Glacial Period. This study is the first to focus on the age of dead precious coral fragments and has revealed that they might be an important fossil resource that could lengthen the timespan of precious coral fishery. This additional time may enable us to establish reasonable and effective regulations for sustainable fishery.

Uncertainty quantification of tsunami inundation in Kuroshio, Kochi Prefecture, Japan, using the Nankai–Tonankai megathrust rupture scenarios

Nankai–Tonankai megathrust earthquakes and tsunamis pose significant risks to coastal communities in western and central Japan. Historically, this seismic region hosted many major earthquakes, and the current national tsunami hazard assessments in Japan consider megathrust events as those having moment magnitudes between 9.0 and 9.1. In responding to the lack of rigorous uncertainty analysis, this study presents an extensive tsunami hazard assessment for the Nankai–Tonankai Trough events, focusing on the southwestern Pacific region of Japan. A set of 1000 kinematic earthquake rupture models is generated via stochastic source modelling approaches, and Monte Carlo tsunami simulations are carried out by considering high-resolution grid data of 10 m and coastal defence structures. Significant advantages of the stochastic tsunami simulation methods include the enhanced capabilities to quantify the uncertainty associated with tsunami hazard assessments and to effectively visualize the results in an integrated manner. The results from the stochastic tsunami simulations can inform regional and local tsunami risk reduction actions in light of inevitable uncertainty associated with such tsunami hazard assessments and complement conventional deterministic tsunami scenarios and their hazard predictions, such as those developed by the Central Disaster Management Council of the Japanese Cabinet Office.