Microbiological analysis concerning the antibacterial effect of atomized Ionless® hypochlorous acid water in a nursery school environment.

Introduction: In daycare centers, infants come in close contact with each other, and contact, droplet, and mouth-to-mouth infections may occur owing to sharing of toys. Additional effective disinfection methods should be considered aside from wiping with disinfectants-including alcohol or sodium hypochlorite solution-for environmental disinfection of daycare centers. We aimed to examine the usefulness of hypochlorous acid water atomization in the effective disinfection of the classroom environment and toys at a nursery school.

Relationship Between Delirium Development and Its Causative Factors in the Intensive Care Unit After Cardiac Surgery.

Background: Delirium is a clinical symptom that can have serious side effects in patients, and it develops acutely and shows reversibility. Postoperative delirium is an important neuropsychological complication after surgery that directly or indirectly affects patients.

Unlabelled: Cardiac surgery increases the risk of delirium due to the complexity of surgical procedures, use of intraoperative and postoperative anesthetics and other pharmacologic agents, and possible postoperative complications.

Hand Hygiene Adherence Among Health Care Workers at Japanese Hospitals: A Multicenter Observational Study in Japan.

Background: Although proper hand hygiene among health care workers is an important component of efforts to prevent health care-associated infection, there are few data available on adherence to hand hygiene practices in Japan.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine hand hygiene adherence at teaching hospitals in Japan.

Methods: An observational study was conducted from July to November 2011 in 4 units (internal medicine, surgery, intensive care, and/or emergency department) in 4 geographically diverse hospitals (1 university hospital and 3 community teaching hospitals) in Japan.

SWAP70 functions as a Rac/Rop guanine nucleotide-exchange factor in rice.

Rho family small GTPases are involved in diverse signaling processes including immunity, growth, and development. The activity of Rho GTPases is regulated by cycling between guanosine diphosphate (GDP)-bound inactive and guanosine triphosphate (GTP)-bound active forms, in which guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) predominantly function to promote activation of the GTPases. In animals, most Rho GEFs possess a Dbl (diffuse B-cell lymphoma) homology (DH) domain which functions as a GEF-catalytic domain.

Menstrual disorders and their influence on low back pain among Japanese nurses.

An increasing body of evidence now suggests that menstrual disorders may influence the development of Low Back Pain (LBP) among women of reproductive age. To investigate this issue in Japan, we conducted a large cross-sectional survey of female nurses from a university teaching hospital during 2008. Nurses reported a wide range of symptoms both prior to and during menstruation, including breast tenderness, stomach pain, light headedness and fatigue.

Temperature imaging for thermal fluid flow in microchannels with luminescent polymer nanosheets.

The paper describes microscopic temperature imaging with luminescent polymer nanosheets. Europium complexes were incorporated in ultrathin polymer film prepared by the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique for temperature sensing in microchannels. Straight and T-shaped microchannels were fabricated so that the bottom surface of the microchannels served as the temperature sensing plane.

Organizational climate and its relationship with needlestick and sharps injuries among Japanese nurses.

Background: Although certain aspects of organizational climate have been shown to influence needlestick and sharps injuries (NSI) among nurses, this issue has not been adequately investigated in Japan.

Methods: Our study involved a modified version of the Hospital Safety Climate Scale, which was distributed to a large cross section of nurses in a Japanese teaching hospital.

Results: Various aspects of safety climate were associated with a reduced NSI risk, such as being involved in health and safety matters (odds ratio [OR], 0.

Predictive factors of psychological disorder development during recovery following SARS outbreak.

Objective: To investigate strategies for broad mass isolation during outbreaks of infectious diseases.

Design: A survey using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted on 300 printing company workers in Beijing, China, which was under mass isolation following the 2003 SARS outbreak, in the 7-8 months after the isolation was lifted.

Main Outcome Measures: Individuals with psychological disorders were classified on the basis of scores on the 30-item General Health Questionnaire during the recovery period.

Tobacco smoking habits among a cross-section of rural Japanese nurses.

Background: Despite a high community smoking rate, few investigations of tobacco usage among Japanese nurses have been conducted in rural areas, particularly those in the southern islands.

Aim: The aim of this research was to investigate the epidemiology of tobacco smoking among a previously understudied group of rural Japanese nurses.

Design: A self-reporting questionnaire was adapted from previous investigations and distributed to a complete cross-section of 1162 nurses from a large teaching hospital in southern Japan (response rate: 74.

Epidemiology of needlestick and sharps injuries among nurses in a Japanese teaching hospital.

The epidemiology of needlestick and sharps injuries (NSIs) was investigated among a complete cross-section of 1,162 nurses from a large hospital in southern Japan (response rate 74.0%). Forty-six percent had experienced an NSI in the previous year.

Hand dermatitis risk factors among clinical nurses in Japan.

The purpose of this study was to establish hand dermatitis (HD) risk factors among Japanese nurses. A questionnaire was administered to 1,162 clinical nurses, from whom 860 replies were received (response rate of 74.0%).

A detailed analysis of musculoskeletal disorder risk factors among Japanese nurses.

Introduction: Although Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) represent a common occupational problem, few epidemiological studies have investigated MSD risk factors among Asian nurses, particularly those in Japan.

Method: We administered a modified Japanese-language version of the Standardized Nordic Questionnaire to 1,162 nurses from a large teaching hospital. MSD categories focused on the neck, shoulder, upper back, and lower back regions.

[Effects of shift work on quality of sleep among retired workers].

To examine the relationship between shiftwork experience and quality of sleep after retirement, we carried out a self-reported questionnaire survey on 777 retired workers of a manufacturing company. Questionnaire items included past illness, current health status, dietary habit, alcohol drinking, smoking, regular exercise, sleep, working condition (job, shift work experience, shift work periods and side job), current working status, social activity, educational background, sex, age and number of years since retirement. Present health status (adjusted odds ratio 4.

Clastogenic activity of sodium fluoride to rat vertebral body-derived cells in culture.

The US National Toxicology Program has shown equivocal evidence of carcinogenic activity of sodium fluoride (NaF) in male F344/N rats based on the occurrence of five osteosarcomas in treated animals. In the study the osteosarcomas developed mainly in the rat vertebrae. To provide a possible mechanistic basis for the observed tumors, the genotoxic effects of NaF on the possible target organ of NaF carcinogenesis were examined.