Questionnaire Survey from the 1st Kurume University Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center Educational Lecture.

Introduction: The number of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients is increasing steadily in Japan, and it is expected that patient groups and patient education will improve the quality of life of patients and IBD care. The 1st Kurume University IBD Center educational lecture was held and a questionnaire survey was administered at this lecture.

Methods: We asked 78 participants to answer a questionnaire survey on the occasion of the 1st Kurume University IBD Center educational lecture.

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.

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.

A novel glucosylation enzyme: molecular cloning, expression, and characterization of Trichoderma viride JCM22452 alpha-amylase and enzymatic synthesis of some flavonoid monoglucosides and oligoglucosides.

It was found that commercial cellulase preparations from Trichoderma viride showed transglucosylation activity toward (+)-catechin and (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) using dextrin as a glucosyl donor. To isolate the enzyme exhibiting transglucosylation activity toward (+)-catechin and EGCG, the present study isolated the cDNA encoding the T. viride JCM22452 alpha-amylase homologue (TRa2), which showed high amino acid sequence identity to functionally uncharacterized alpha-amylase homologues from other ascomycetes, which also produced some (+)-catechin and EGCG glucosides.

Quality of life from the viewpoint of patients with dementia in Japan: nurturing through an acceptance of dementia by patients, their families and care professionals.

The quality of life (QoL) of patients with dementia was investigated from the patient's viewpoint, and the role of an acceptance of dementia in maintaining important and distinctive elements of QoL was analysed by questionnaire and interview methods. The subjects of the present study were 18 patients, 21 family members and eight members of staff at a day-care facility in Japan. Patients with dementia hoped to maintain an 'ordinary' way of life.