Serial changes in anxiety levels related to corticosteroid use: A single-center prospective study.

Patients with autoimmune diseases treated with corticosteroids sometimes display feelings of anxiety regarding corticosteroid use. In this single-center prospective study, we aimed to evaluate the serial changes in anxiety levels related to corticosteroid use in 18 patients with autoimmune diseases. The degree of anxiety toward corticosteroid use was assessed using the visual analogue scale.

High-Linear Energy Transfer Irradiation in Clinical Carbon-Ion Beam With the Linear Energy Transfer Painting Technique for Patients With Head and Neck Cancer.

Purpose: Dose-averaged linear energy transfer (LET) is one of the important factors in determining clinical outcomes for carbon-ion radiation therapy. Innovative LET painting (LP) has been developed as an advanced form of conventional intensity modulated carbon-ion radiation therapy (IMIT) at the QST Hospital. The study had 2 motivations: to increase the minimum LET (LET) and to improve uniformity of the LET distribution within the gross tumor volume (GTV) by using LP treatment plans for patients with head and neck cancer while maintaining the relative biologic effectiveness (RBE)-weighted dose coverage within the planning tumor volume (PTV) the same as in the conventional IMIT plan.

Blue light exposure enhances oxidative stress, causes DNA damage, and induces apoptosis signaling in B16F1 melanoma cells.

Studies have shown that visible light, specifically blue light, adversely affects cells, tissues, organs, and organisms. We investigated the effect of blue light on apoptosis, DNA integrity, and transcription of apoptotic and melanogenic genes using B16F1 melanoma cells. In this study, cells were irradiated with 2-50 W/m blue light (465 nm) for several time duration.

Association between nursing practice environment and sense of coherence among staff nurses: A cross-sectional study in Japan.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the association between work environment and sense of coherence among staff nurses.

Background: In Antonovsky's salutogenetic theory, factors that causes stress are not always harmful when people's sense of coherence is high. Although the effects of sense of coherence have repeatedly been confirmed, few studies have examined factors that increase sense of coherence.

[The Method for Estimation of Radiation Dose of Eye Lens Covered by Radiation Protection Glasses Using Personal Dosimeter for Trunk of the Body and X-ray Shielding Material].

Purpose: Radiation protection glasses is a useful tool for dose reduction of eye lens. However, the method to evaluate the dose of eye lens, which is covered with radiation protection glasses in actual radiation management situation, has not been established. We invented the easy-to-use procedure to estimate the dose of eye lens inside of radiation protection glasses for occupationally exposed person using an X-ray shielding material and an additional personal dosimeter for trunk of the body.

A concept analysis of psychological safety: Further understanding for application to health care.

Aim: To clarify the concept of psychological safety in a healthcare context and to provide the first theoretical framework for improving interpersonal relationships in the workplace to better patient care.

Design: A Rodgers' concept analysis.

Methods: The concept analysis was conducted using a systematic search strategy on PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Ichushi-Web.

Preliminary Effect and Acceptability of an Intervention to Improve End-of-Life Care in Long-Term-Care Facilities: A Feasibility Study.

The number of deaths of older adults in long-term care settings will increase with the aging population. Nurses and care workers in these settings face various challenges in providing end-of-life care, and interventions for quality end-of-life care may be useful. This feasibility study aims to explore the preliminary effect and acceptability of an intervention named the EOL Care Tool to improve end-of-life care in long-term-care facilities.

Spatial and latent memory data in PS2Tg2576 alzheimer's disease mouse model after memantine treatment.

We herein present behavioral data on whether memantine, an adamantane derivative and medical NMDA-receptor antagonist, improves spatial and latent learning deficits in amyloid precursor protein/presenilin 2 double-transgenic mice (PS2Tg2576 mice). In PS2Tg2576 mice, early amyloid-β protein (Aβ) deposition at 2-3 months of age and progressive accumulation at about 5 months of age has been shown. Thus, PS2Tg2576 mice were subjected to Morris water maze (MWM) test for spatial memory and the water-finding test for latent memory testing at ages 3 and 5-6 months.

Work environment for hospital nurses in Japan: The relationships between nurses' perceptions of their work environment and nursing outcomes.

Aim: To investigate nurses' perceptions of their work environment and to investigate the relationships between variables measuring the work environment (WE) and nursing outcomes (NO ).

Design: A 2-year prospective longitudinal survey (2013-2015).

Method(s): Descriptive statistics of nurse demographics, organizational WE and NOs were calculated by position.

Realization and personalization by facing fatality: A grounded theory of developing the view of dying in people with heart failure.

Aim: To explore how people with heart failure develop and change their views of dying and death.

Design: A Straussian grounded theory approach.

Methods: Purposive and theoretical sampling were used.

The nurses' occupational stress components and outcomes, findings from an integrative review.

Aim: To identify, evaluate and summarize the components, factors and outcomes of nurses' occupational stress published between 2009-2019.

Design: Integrative literature review.

Methods: A literature search was conducted on PubMed, CINAHL and PsycINFO databases for articles published in English, between 2009-2019.

Nurses' educational needs when dealing with aggression from patients and their families: a mixed-methods study.

Objectives: To explore the type of education needed for nurses when dealing with aggression from patients and their families.

Design: A two-phase sequential mixed-methods study.

Setting: This study was conducted in Japan, with phase I from March to November 2016 and phase II in November 2018.

Biological Activities of Z-Lycopenes Contained in Food.

Mono-(5Z)-, -(9Z)-, and -(13Z)-lycopenes are found in food containing processed tomato products, while tetra-Z-(7Z, 9Z, 7'Z, 9'Z)-lycopene (prolycopene) is found in tangerine-strain tomatoes. We prepared pure mono-Z-lycopenes from all-E-lycopene via chemical reaction (heating in CHCl at 80℃ for 1 h) followed by purification using preparative silica gel HPLC, while prolycopene was isolated from tangerine tomatoes by partitioning with n-hexane and 90% MeOH followed by silica gel column chromatography. A simple method of distinguishing the mono-Z-lycopenes using the C NMR chemical shifts of their Z-methyl carbons is proposed.

Consistency of Trans-Abdominal and Water-Immersion Ultrasound Images of Diseased Intestinal Segments in Crohn's Disease.

The aim of this study is to clarify whether trans-abdominal ultrasound (TAUS) can reflect actual intestinal conditions in Crohn's disease (CD) as effectively as water-immersion ultrasound (WIUS) does. This retrospective study enrolled 29 CD patients with 113 intestinal lesions. Five ultrasound (US) parameters (distinct presence/indistinct presence/disappearance of wall stratification in the submucosal and mucosal layers; thickened submucosal layer; irregular mucosal surface; increased fat wrapping around the bowel wall; and fistula signs) that may indicate different states in CD were determined by TAUS and WIUS for the same lesion.

Rebuilding and guiding a care community: A grounded theory of end-of-life nursing care practice in long-term care settings.

Aims: To investigate the end-of-life (EOL) nursing care practice process in long-term care (LTC) settings for older adults in Japan.

Design: A qualitative study based on grounded theory developed by Corbin and Strauss.

Methods: Sampling, interviewing, and analysis were performed cyclically, with results for each stage used as the basis for data collection and next-stage analysis decisions.

Seasonal alternation of the ontogenetic development of the moon jellyfish Aurelia coerulea in Maizuru Bay, Japan.

Outbreaks of moon jellyfish Aurelia spp. are frequently reported from many parts of the world's coastal areas. Aurelia spp.

Traumatic Brain Injury by Weight-Drop Method Causes Transient Amyloid- Deposition and Acute Cognitive Deficits in Mice.

There has been growing awareness of the correlation between an episode of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) later in life. It has been reported that TBI accelerated amyloid- (A) pathology and cognitive decline in the several lines of AD model mice. However, the short-term and long-term effects of TBI by the weight-drop method on amyloid- pathology and cognitive performance are unclear in wild-type (WT) mice.

A purposeful Yet Nonimposing Approach: How Japanese Home Care Nurses Establish Relationships With Older Clients and Their Families.

Relationship development is crucial to nursing practice with families. However, little is known about the process of building relationships with multiple family members in home care settings and in various cultures. The objective of this study was to explore the experiences of home care nurses about how they established relationships with older clients and their families in Japan.

The somatosensory-evoked potential in reaction time is gated and elicited earlier when the motor response to a somatosensory cue is faster.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the somatosensory-evoked potential (SEP) is gated and elicited earlier when a motor response to a somatosensory stimulus is faster. In healthy humans, the left index finger and thumb were pinched in response to a somatosensory stimulus administered over the left median nerve. The SEP elicited by this stimulus when producing a fast motor response was compared with that when producing a slow motor response.

Is nurse managers' leadership style related to Japanese staff nurses' affective commitment to their hospital?

Aim: To determine if nurse managers' leadership style is related to Japanese staff nurses' affective commitment to their hospital.

Background: In Western countries, nurse managers' transformational leadership style has been found to increase staff nurses' affective commitment to their hospital. However, there are few studies examining this relationship in the context of acute care hospitals in Japan.

How nurse managers in Japanese hospital wards manage patient violence toward their staff.

Aim: This study explores nurse managers' experiences in dealing with patient/family violence toward their staff.

Background: Studies and guidelines have emphasised the responsibility of nurse managers to manage violence directed at their staff. Although studies on nursing staff have highlighted the ineffectiveness of strategies used by nurse managers, few have explored their perspectives on dealing with violence.

Molecular characteristics of horse phospholipase C zeta (PLCζ).

A sperm-specific phospholipase C (PLC), PLCzeta (PLCζ), is thought to underlie the initiation of calcium ([Ca(2+) ]i ) oscillations that induce egg activation in mammals. In large domestic species, only bovine, porcine and recently equine PLCζ have been cloned, and the physiological functions of these molecules have not been fully characterized. Here, we evaluated the physiological functions of equine PLCζ (ePLCζ) in mouse oocytes.