Muscle activation patterns in acceleration-based phases during reach-to-grasp movement.

[Purpose] An earlier study divided reaching activity into characteristic phases based on hand velocity profiles. By synchronizing muscle activities and the acceleration profile, a phasing approach for reaching movement, based on hand acceleration profiles, was attempted in order to elucidate the roles of individual muscle activities in the different phases of the acceleration profile in reaching movements. [Subjects and Methods] Ten healthy volunteer subjects participated in this study.

[Objective and subjective measures of sleep of shift-working nurses].

Objectives: To objectively evaluate sleep quality of shift-working nurses, we used an Actiwatch 2, a watch-like actigraphy device designed to measure sleep and wakefulness based on the amount of movement. Subjective sleep quality was also assessed using the St. Mary's Hospital Sleep Questionnaire.

Changes experienced by and the future values of bereaved family members determined using narratives from bereavement life review therapy.

Objectives: The goals of this study were to investigate the changes experienced by bereaved family members in Japan and to determine what activities they would value in the future based on narratives from a bereavement life review, which is a type of psychotherapy used to treat depression and promote spiritual well-being.

Methods: The participants were 20 bereaved Japanese family members who underwent two sessions of bereavement life review over a period of two weeks.

Results: Using qualitative analysis, we identified four areas of changes ("learning from the deceased's death and self-growth," "healing process," "relating with others," "relating with society," and "performing new family roles") and five categories of valued activities ("continuing grief work," "living with a philosophy," "attaining life roles," "keeping good human relationships," and "enjoying life").

Development and evaluation of a self-care assessment inventory for workers.

Aim: To develop and evaluate a self-care assessment inventory for workers (SCAI-W).

Methods: A study using a self-care assessment inventory for workers consisting of 27 self-care items, the Japanese version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Japanese version of the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology Mood Adjective Checklist (JUMACL) was conducted. These questionnaires were distributed to 2297 workers.

Universality of bereavement life review for spirituality and depression in bereaved families.

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of the Bereavement Life Review on depression and spiritual well-being of bereaved families in a setting that does not specialize in palliative care. The participants were 20 bereaved family members who underwent the Bereavement Life Review over 2 sessions in 2 weeks. Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition scores significantly decreased from 14.

Recognition of asymmetric alterations to pictures of cats: effects of method of alteration and type of change in elderly subjects.

Recognition of environmental changes is essential in everyday life. In this study, recognition of animate objects by elderly people was examined with various methods (introduction, restoration) and types (addition, deletion) of change. For restoration, deletions and additions were produced by eliminating features from pictures and reintroducing the deleted features, respectively.

Use of ambulatory skin conductance recording for monitoring psychophysiological arousal in the elderly staying in care facilities.

To monitor the psychophysiological arousal level in the elderly, 24 h recordings of skin conductance change (SCC) were done during their stay in care facilities. The mean and maximum SCC levels in 17 awake elderly subjects were significantly lower than those of levels in 20 healthy, young control subjects (P < 0.05 and P < 0.