Background: Since the late 1980s, the policy of the Japanese government regarding physician manpower has been to decrease the number of medical students. However, the shortage of doctors in Japan has become a social problem in recent years. The aim of this study was to compare the numbers of physicians in Japan between 1996 and 2006 and the trends in distribution of physicians.

Background: Accurate cost estimate and a profit and loss analysis are necessary for health care practice. We performed an actual financial analysis for an intensive care unit (ICU) of a university hospital in Japan, and tried to discuss the health care policy and resource allocation decisions that have an impact on critical intensive care.

Among the clinical stage IA NSCLC patients in whom all four predictors were identified, one third of the patients showed mediastinal nodal metastasis, and thus, those patients should be a target for mediastinal node assessment by invasive modalities, such as mediastinoscopy or endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration.

Segmentectomy should be the surgical procedure of first choice in patients with clinical stage IA NSCLC who are being considered for sublobar resection. Patients having tumors presenting with no suspicious of pleural involvement would be suitable candidates for sublobar resection.

Aim: This study was undertaken 5 months after the 2004 Niigata-Chuetsu earthquake in Japan to assess factors that impacted on psychological distress and its recovery.Methods: Three thousand and twenty-six adult victims who lived in temporary shelter and in seriously damaged areas were evaluated by questionnaire. The questionnaire queried subject profile, degree of house damage, health status, and psychological distress using a 5-point scale before, immediately and 5 months after the earthquake.Results: Immediately after the earthquake, 59.3% of the subjects had psychological distress. At 5 months after the earthquake, however, this percentage decreased to 21.8%. The psychological distress immediately after the earthquake was significantly serious in victims who: (i) were female; (ii) felt stronger fear of the earthquake and the aftershocks; (iii) lived at home or office after the earthquake; and (iv) were injured due to the earthquake or suffered from sickness after the earthquake. In contrast, the factors impairing psychological recovery 5 months after the earthquake were as follows: (i) being with unfamiliar member(s) during the night after the earthquake; (ii) serious house damage; (iii) living in temporary shelter or at a relative's home after the earthquake; and (iv) physical illness after the earthquake. Conclusion:Despite differences between disasters, these results were consistent with those in some previous studies and may be useful for long-term mental care support.

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Similar oncologic outcomes after lobectomy and segmentectomy were indicated among patients with radiologically pure solid small-sized NSCLC.

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