Lacrimal Hypofunction as a New Mechanism of Dry Eye in Visual Display Terminal Users

BACKGROUND: Dry eye has shown a marked increase due to visual display terminal (VDT) use. It remains unclear whether reduced blinking while focusing can have a direct deleterious impact on the lacrimal gland function. To address this issue that potentially affects the life quality, we conducted a large-scale epidemiological study of VDT users and an animal study. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Cross sectional survey carried out in Japan. A total of 1025 office workers who use VDT were enrolled. The association between VDT work duration and changes in tear film status, precorneal tear stability, lipid layer status and tear secretion were analyzed. For the animal model study, the rat VDT user model, placing rats onto a balance swing in combination with exposure to an evaporative environment was used to analyze lacrimal gland function. There was no positive relationship between VDT working duration and change in tear film stability and lipid layer status. The odds ratio for decrease in Schirmer score, index of tear secretion, were significantly increased with VDT working year (P = 0.012) and time (P = 0.005). The rat VDT user model, showed chronic reduction of tear secretion and was accompanied by an impairment of the lacrimal gland function and morphology. This dysfunction was recovered when rats were moved to resting conditions without the swing. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These data suggest that lacrimal gland hypofunction is associated with VDT use and may be a critical mechanism for VDT-associated dry eye. We believe this to be the first mechanistic link to the pathogenesis of dry eye in office workers

看護学生の霊安室に対するイメージ

医療技術の進歩による在宅死の減少に伴い,病院死の割合は著しく増加している.自らの終末期の迎え方についての感心が以前に比べ高まってきている現代において,人が最期を迎える場所としての霊安室は,グリーフケアにおける重要な役割を持つ.これまで,看護師の霊安室に対するイメージを調査している研究は見られるが,看護学生のイメージについての研究は見当たらない.一般に,霊安室については否定的イメージが強く,冷たい印象を持たれていることが多い.そこで,看護学生は,霊安室に対してどのようなイメージを持っているのかを明らかにすることを目的とし,短期大学看護学科の新入生92名,2年生100名,3年生78名,卒業生73名,総計343名に自記式質問紙調査票を配付し調査した.その結果,否定的イメージの強い霊安室であるが,看護学生は霊安室に対しては,安らかで明るいという肯定的で,感覚的な印象を持っていることが明らかになった.また,霊安室は生から死への準備室の空間と想像し,生と死を分離する場で,悲しみや思いを表現できると考えていることが明らかになった.以上により,看護学生への死の準備教育への示唆の一助を得ることができた.With the decrease in in-hospital mortality rate due to advance in medical technology, out-of-hospital mortality rate has been significantly increased. In comparison with past days, people have shown great interest in end of life issues (how they prepare themselves to have peaceful end of life) at the present days. Accordingly, a mortuary plays important role in the grieving care process. The studies on mortuary images of nurses are available, but no study has been conducted on the image of nursing students. Generally, most people have strong negative image and cold impression on mortuaries. Therefore, we conducted this survey aim at clarifying how nursing students picture mortuaries. Self-questionnaire sheets were distributed to total 343 subjects of 92 freshmen, 100 sophomores, 78 seniors and 73 alumni belonging to nursing department of junior college. From the survey, it has become clear that the subjects have positive and sensuous image (peaceful and clear) on a mortuary, although a mortuary gives strong negative image. The survey also indicate that the subjects imagine mortuaries as the transition state from life to death and as the boundary of life and death in which grieves, feelings and considerations can be expressed. The result of this survey suggests the importance of providing death preparatory education for nursing students

Restoration of Tear Secretion in a Murine Dry Eye Model by Oral Administration of Palmitoleic Acid

Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides)–derived products have traditionally been used as food and medicinal ingredients in Eastern countries. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of oral intake of sea buckthorn oil products on tear secretion using a murine dry eye model. Orally administered sea buckthorn pulp oil (not seed oil) restored aqueous tear secretion to its normal value under a dry eye condition. Palmitoleate (C16:1), a fatty acid present in sea buckthorn pulp oil, preserved tear secretion and suppressed inflammatory cytokines in the lacrimal gland to the same extent as that by pulp oil. These results suggest that an oral intake of sea buckthorn pulp oil has a potency to preserve tear secretion capacity in the dry eye state and palmitoleate, its main constituent fatty acid, is an active component of the oil. This effect may enable a potent diet-based treatment for the prevention of dry eye

短期大学看護学生における死に対する態度 : 学年別による比較

看護学生が死をどのように認識しているか,また,さまざまな要因が死に対する態度とどのような関連をもっているか,学年別に明らかにすることを目的とし,短期大学看護学生343名に対しアンケート調査を実施した.死への態度を明らかにするためにGesserらが開発し,河合が作成した死に対する態度尺度を用いた.新入生は,中立的受容が有意に低く,卒業生は回避的受容が有意に高かった.この結果から,新入生は死を人間の死と捉えにくく,自然の出来事として受け入れにくい.卒業生は学年の進行により,死の受け止め方や考えが変わってくると示唆された.We conducted research on how students perceived, and how various factors impact on their attitudes toward death to identify their perspectives from each grade level with using attitude scale. The data showed extremely low score in neutral acceptance toward death by freshmen, and extremely high score in negative acceptance by post graduate students. From the finding, it is suggested that freshmen do not tend to define death as human death and to post graduate students toward death alters as their grade in college advanced