Utility of a Wearable Tracker to Assess Sleep Quality in Nurses and Their Spouses: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Introduction: Sleep disturbances among nurses engaged in night duty and their spouses need to be improved to ensure their ability to provide care and perform daily tasks. Therefore, an objective investigation is needed to establish a sleep improvement strategy.

Objective: To investigate the utility of a sleep tracker to assess sleep quality in nurses and spouses.

Implementation of 2% Chlorhexidine Bathing to Reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections Among Patients in the Intensive Care Unit.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) significantly increase morbidity, mortality, length of hospital stays, and costs, particularly among ICU patients. Despite standard interventions, catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) remain major HAI contributors. This study evaluated the efficacy of daily 2% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) bathing in reducing HAI incidence, specifically CAUTI, CLABSI, and multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), in a 20-bed ICU at a regional hospital.

Association of clinical knowledge with patient care ownership among resident physicians: a nationwide cross-sectional study in Japan.

Purpose: Both clinical knowledge and patient care ownership (PCO) are crucial to the provision of quality patient care and should be acquired during training. However, the association between these two concepts is under-examined. Here, we conducted a nationwide cross-sectional study to investigate the association between clinical knowledge and PCO among resident physicians in Japan.

Spectral study of COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: The dependence of spectral gradient on the population size of the community.

We have carried out spectral analysis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) notifications in all 47 prefectures in Japan. The results confirm that the power spectral densities (PSDs) of the data from each prefecture show exponential characteristics, which are universally observed in the PSDs of time series generated by nonlinear dynamical systems, such as the susceptible/exposed/infectious/recovered (SEIR) epidemic model. The exponential gradient increases with the population size.

Effectiveness of professional-identity-formation and clinical communication-skills programs on medical students' empathy in the COVID-19 context: comparison between pre-pandemic in-person classes and during-pandemic online classes.

Background: Enhancing students' empathy is critical in medical school education. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a shift from in-person to online classes. However, the effectiveness of online classes for enhancing medical students' empathy has not been investigated sufficiently and the evidence is limited.

A mixed-methods study comparing human-led and ChatGPT-driven qualitative analysis in medical education research.

Qualitative research, used to analyse non-numerical data including interview texts, is crucial in understanding medical education processes. However, it is often complex and time-consuming, leading to an interest in technology for streamlining the analysis. This study investigated the applicability of ChatGPT, a large language model, in thematic analysis for medical qualitative research.

A qualitative descriptive study examining the impact of child-raising experience on Japanese family doctors.

Background: The Patient-Centered Clinical Method (PCCM) plays an important role in family doctors' ability to communicate effectively with patients. Although the parenting experiences of healthcare providers can be utilized to communicate with patients, it is unclear how they contribute to family doctors' practice.

Methods: A qualitative descriptive study focusing on the parenting experiences of Japanese family doctors and their perceptions of how these experiences interfaced with their clinical practice of the PCCM was conducted.

Why the gaze behavior of expert physicians and novice medical students differ during a simulated medical interview: A mixed methods study.

Human cognition is reflected in gaze behavior, which involves eye movements to fixate or shift focus between areas. In natural interactions, gaze behavior serves two functions: signal transmission and information gathering. While expert gaze as a tool for gathering information has been studied, its underlying cognitive processes remain insufficiently explored.

Physicians' Social Skills - Conceptualization, Taxonomy, and Behavioral Assessment.

Social skills (e.g., assertiveness, empathy, ability to accept criticism) are essential for the medical profession and therefore also for the selection and development of medical students.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Ambient Mass Spectrometry with Blood Plasma in a Murine Glioma Model Using Machine Learning.

Objective: Malignant glioma progresses rapidly and shows poor prognosis, but clinically applicable blood plasma-based biochemical tumor markers remain lacking. This study aimed to develop a diagnostic system using probe electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (PESI-MS) and a machine-learning logistic regression model to detect plasma changes at various time points in a murine glioma model.

Methods: We used a syngeneic intracranial orthotopic murine model with GL261 glioma cells.

Influence of blood thiosulfate produced by postmortem changes for the diagnosis of hydrogen sulfide poisoning in forensic autopsy.

Background: Thiosulfate concentration in blood is an important indicator for the diagnosis of hydrogen sulfide poisoning. It may also be detected at high levels in postmortem decomposition cases.

Objectives: To determine the effect of postmortem decomposition on blood thiosulfate concentration and define precautions for diagnosing hydrogen sulfide poisoning based on thiosulfate concentration.

Laypeople's Perspective on Physician Work-Hour Restrictions in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The aim of the study was to examine laypeople's perspectives on the impending implementation of physician work-hour restrictions in Japan, which had received limited research attention. We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional study in January 2024. The participants were monitors of an internet survey company who responded to closed questions regarding the expected effect of work-hour regulations, along with an open-ended question regarding their expectations or concerns about these restrictions.

A Rapid-Response Curricular Approach to Teaching Politically Charged Topics.

Residency education in the United States faces challenges from evolving external influence on evidence-based reproductive and gender-affirming health care (R/GAHC). Curricula must incorporate information and resources to assist residents in navigating changes. To illustrate a process for expeditiously adapting curriculum in response to changing laws affecting R/GAHC.

Utility of Orthosis in the Conservative Treatment of Proximal Phalanx Fractures: A Preliminary Study in Healthy Participants.

Background: The standard treatment for the conservative management of a proximal phalanx fracture of the little finger involves immobilizing the fracture site with a cast. However, cast immobilization presents challenges in maintaining hygiene during treatment and restricts the fine motor movements of the fingers. In this study, we developed a removable orthosis that immobilizes only the ring and little fingers.

Serum 5-S-cysteinyldopa as a predictive biomarker for stem cell transplantation-related complications in children and young adults.

Diffuse hyperpigmentation is common in patients who undergo chemotherapy or stem cell transplantation (SCT). However, only a few studies have reported the relation between skin reactions and SCT-related complications. Serum 5-S-cysteinyldopa (5SCD), a pheomelanin precursor, is elevated in individuals with hyperpigmentation.

Association Between Food Insecurity and Inability to Obtain Provider-Recommended Medications, Multidisciplinary Services, and Technology in Youth and Young Adults With Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: We assessed if food insecurity (FI) is associated with not obtaining recommended diabetes medications, technology, and multidisciplinary services, and explored the most common reasons for not obtaining recommended treatments in youth and young adults (YYA) with diabetes.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, among 911 YYA with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and 144 with type 2 diabetes (T2D) from the SEARCH Food Security Cohort Study Follow-up 1 (2018-2021), FI (≥ 3 items affirmed from the 18-item Household Food Security Survey module), and inability to obtain recommended treatments were self-reported.

Results: Almost 30% of YYA with T1D and FI and 20% of YYA with T2D and FI did not obtain 1 or more recommended treatments.

Neurobiological stress markers in educational research: A systematic review of physiological insights in health science education.

Background: Traditional self-reported measures in health science education often overlook the physiological processes underlying cognitive and emotional responses.

Purpose: This review aims to analyze the frequency, sensitivity, and utility of physiological markers in understanding cognitive and emotional dynamics in learning environments.

Methods: A systematic PubMed search identified 156 records, with 13 studies meeting inclusion criteria.

Tumor-Infiltrating B Cells and Tissue-Resident Memory T Cells as Prognostic Indicators in Brain Metastases Derived from Gastrointestinal Cancers.

Background/objectives: Tumor-infiltrating B cells (TIBs) and tissue-resident memory T cells (TRMs) play significant roles in antitumor immunity. However, their prognostic relevance in brain metastases (BMs) derived from gastrointestinal (GI) cancers remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of TIBs and TRMs in GI cancer-derived BMs (GIBMs).

Prenatal glucocorticoid exposure and congenital abdominal wall defects: Involvement of CXCR4 - SDF-1 signaling.

Developmental defects of the ventral abdominal wall, such as gastroschisis, have been associated with prenatal stress exposure. To investigate this further, dexamethasone (DEX), a synthetic glucocorticoid, was administered to fertilized chicken eggs on day 1 of incubation to simulate stress, and embryonic development was subsequently analyzed through in-situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry, and histological methods. Significant developmental abnormalities were displayed by DEX-treated embryos, including open abdomens, reduced MYOG expression in the abdominal wall, and disrupted muscle fiber formation, as indicated by altered Myosin heavy chain patterns.

GLP-1 receptor signaling restores aquaporin 4 subcellular polarization in reactive astrocytes and promotes amyloid β clearance in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

The physiological actions of a gut hormone, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain remain poorly understood, although GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) expression in this organ has been shown in several experimental studies. Therefore, we explored whether the GLP-1R signaling promotes the clearance of amyloid β (Aβ) (1-42) which is a core pathological hallmark of AD, focusing on the water channel protein aquaporin 4 (AQP4) localized to astrocyte endfeet perivascular membranes in intact brain. First, we confirmed that Glp1r mRNA is predominantly expressed at perivascular site of astrocytes in normal mouse cerebral cortex through in situ hybridization analysis.

Occipital neuralgia as an initial manifestation of atypical Lemierre syndrome: A case report.

Lemierre syndrome is a life-threatening but treatable septic thrombosis of the internal jugular vein (IJV) derived from a craniocervical bacterial infection. Metastatic septic embolization is common. However, diagnostic delay and poor prognosis remain a problem, largely due to the diverse clinical presentations and unclear symptomatology of Lemierre syndrome.