[COVID-19, health literacy, children, education, prejudice, discrimination.]

In Japanese medical issues, the use of terms “Western medicine” and “Eastern medicine” seem to divide the category “medicine” into two twin concepts, based on the area. However, it can be said that “Eastern/Oriental medicine” is given a greatly different definition―that of a derived context―whereas Western medicine is often given a coherent definition―“new medicine transmitted to Japan from the outside” through a historic process. Consequently, the term Oriental/Eastern medicine has been given a strong characteristic of the polysemic word. The term Western/Oriental medicine has been used by medical institutions in Japan. In this field, the background as a polysemic word has been shared, and the state that the treatment accepted various contexts has been maintained so far. Nevertheless, given its newer context,―Oriental/Eastern medicine―has spreads in recent years, and there is a tendency toward the use of the new definition, passing over the conventional polysemic word. It is possible that a discrepancy between the background and context of the conventional polysemic word may occur. There is also concern regarding the confusion around the meaning of the term Eastern/Oriental medicine. This paper intend to rearrange the transition of the relationship between the concepts under the historic context and the meaning of Eastern/Oriental medicine as a polysemic word.

Distinct Regulation of U-ACE2 and P-ACE2 (Urinary and Plasma Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2) in a Japanese General Population.

[Figure: see text].

Dilemma of physician-mothers faced with an increased home burden and clinical duties in the hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PURPOSE: Since December 2019, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread rapidly across the world. During the pandemic, physicians in our hospital have had to respond both to the issue of treating the patients and the increasing domestic burden associated with social disruption. The purpose of this study was to assess how much the burden on our doctors, especially female doctors, was increasing. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The Physicians' Career Support Committee in Sapporo Medical University conducted a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire inquired about a wide range of subjects with regard to working style and family life during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, and was sent to all medical/dental physicians working in Sapporo Medical University. RESULTS: A total of 266 (42.7%) physicians in our hospital responded to our questionnaire and the data for 264 data were analyzed. The total numbers of males, females, and others, including those who did not want to specify, were 178 (67.4%), 82 (31.0%), and 4 (1.5%), respectively. Among them, 62 (23.5%) and 23 (8.7%) answered that their domestic burden was slightly or markedly increased. The increase in the domestic burden showed a significant difference between genders (p = 0.04). Even after correction for background differences using multivariate analysis, being female (p<0.001), having child dependents (p<0.001), and treating COVID-19 patients (p = 0.03) were significantly related to an increased domestic burden. Regarding family style, 58.1% of the physician-fathers were from two-income families (i.e., families with both parents in employment), and they answered that their partner mainly cared for the children. In contrast, 97.3% of physician-mothers were from two-income families, and 94.6% of the physician-mothers had to take care of children by themselves. CONCLUSION: Physician-mothers are caught in a dilemma between an increased home burden and clinical duties in the hospital, with a significantly higher ratio than physician-fathers during the pandemic. As we showed, female doctors could have not continued their careers and take responsible positions in the same way as male doctors. This is a social risk in the timing of a crisis, such as a pandemic.