National Diet Library

The National Diet Library (NDL) (国立国会図書館, Kokuritsu Kokkai Toshokan) is the only national library in Japan. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the National Diet of Japan (国会, Kokkai) in researching matters of public policy. The library is similar in purpose and scope to the United States Library of Congress.

The National Diet Library (NDL) consists of two main facilities in Tokyo and Kyoto, and several other branch libraries throughout Japan.

History

The National Diet Library is the successor of three separate libraries: the library of the House of Peers, the library of the House of Representatives, both of which were established at the creation of Japan's Imperial Diet in 1890; and the Imperial Library, which had been established in 1872 under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education.

The Diet's power in prewar Japan was limited, and its need for information was "correspondingly small." The original Diet libraries "never developed either the collections or the services which might have made them vital adjuncts of genuinely responsible legislative activity." Until Japan's defeat, moreover, the executive had controlled all political documents, depriving the people and the Diet of access to vital information. The U.S. occupation forces under General Douglas MacArthur deemed reform of the Diet library system to be an important part of the democratization of Japan after its defeat in World War II.

Infectious disease (medical specialty)

Infectious medicine or infectious disease medicine also known as Infectiology, is a medical specialty dealing with the diagnosis, control and treatment of infections. An infectious disease (ID) specialist's practice may consist largely of managing nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infections, or it may be out-patient based, in which case it focuses more on community-acquired infections.

Scope

ID specialists typically serve as consultants to other physicians in cases of complex infections or immunologic issues, and often manage patients with HIV/AIDS and other forms of immunodeficiency. Although many common infections are treated by physicians without formal expertise in ID, the ID specialist may be consulted for cases where an infection is difficult to diagnose, is accompanied with a high fever, or does not respond to treatment. They may also be asked to help determine the cause of a fever of unknown origin. Patients with chronic infections (e.g. HIV) who require treatment monitoring may also be referred to ID specialists for long-term care.

Infectious disease (athletes)

Those involved in the care of athletes should be alert to the possibility of infectious disease for the following reasons:

However, in many cases, the chance of infection can be reduced by relatively simple measures.

Herpes gladiatorum

Wrestlers use mats which are abrasive and the potential for a true contagion (Latin contagion-, contagio, from contingere to have contact with) is very real. The herpes simplex virus, type I, is very infectious and large outbreaks have been documented. A major epidemic threatened the 2007 Minnesota high school wrestling season, but was largely contained by instituting an eight-day isolation period during which time competition was suspended. Practices, such as 'weight cutting', which can at least theoretically reduce immunity, might potentiate the risk. In non-epidemic circumstances, herpes gladiatorum affects about 3% of high school wrestlers and 8% of collegiate wrestlers. There is the potential for prevention of infection, or at least containment, with antiviral agents which are effective in reducing the spread to other athletes when given to those who are herpes positive, or who have recurrent herpes gladiatorum.