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BackgroundTo examine the association between individual-level social capital and physical activity.Methodology/Principal FindingsIn February 2009, data were collected in a population-based cross-sectional survey in Okayama city, Japan. A cluster-sampling approach was used to randomly select 4,000 residents from 20 school districts. A total of 2260 questionnaires were returned (response rate: 57.4%). Individual-level social capital was assessed by an item inquiring about perceived trust of others in the community (cognitive dimension of social capital) categorized as low trust (43.0%), mid trust (38.6%), and high trust (17.3%), as well as participation in voluntary groups (structural dimension of social capital), which further distinguished between bonding (8.9%) and bridging (27.1%) social capital. Using logistic regression, we calculated the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for physical inactivity associated with each domain of social capital. Multiple imputation method was employed for missing data. Among total participants, 68.8% were physically active and 28.9% were inactive. Higher trust was associated with a significantly lower odds of physical inactivity (OR = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.42–0.79) compared with low trust. Both bridging and bonding social capital were marginally significantly associated with lower odds of physical inactivity (bridging, OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.62–1.00; bonding, OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.48–1.03) compared with lack of structural social capital.Conclusions/SignificanceLow individual-level social capital, especially lower trust of others in the community, was associated with physical inactivity among Japanese adults.

In this study, we investigated subjective and objective effects of mobile phones using a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA)-like system on human sleep. Subjects were 19 volunteers. Real or sham electromagnetic field (EMF) exposures for 3 h were performed before their usual sleep time on 3 consecutive days. They were exposed to real EMF on the second or third experimental day in a double-blind design. Sleepiness and sleep insufficiency were evaluated the next morning. Polysomnograms were recorded for analyses of the sleep variables and power spectra of electroencephalograms (EEG). No significant differences were observed between the two conditions in subjective feelings. Sleep parameters including sleep stage percentages and EEG power spectra did not differ significantly between real and sham exposures. We conclude that continuous wave EMF exposure for 3 h from a W-CDMA-like system has no detectable effects on human sleep.

To investigate determinants and protective strategies for the resignation of health care workers resulting from patient-derived nuisance in medical institutions, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in the 57 hospitals in Mie Prefecture, Japan. A random sampling of 775 employees (physicians, nurses, administrators, and other health care workers) was provided self-administered questionnaires. Among 480 participants who experienced patient-derived nuisance, 132 participants considered resignation as a result, giving an estimated prevalence of 17.1% (95% CI: 14.4%-19.8%) of all respondents. Nonphysical nuisances such as "demand for an unwarranted apology" (OR: 2.57; 95% CI: 1.61-4.12) had higher ORs for considering resignation than other kinds of nuisance. By contrast, OR for the provision of human support by medical institutions was 0.49 (95% CI: 0.28-0.86). Human support was associated with alleviation of the intention to resign.