Association of Olfactory and Gustatory Function with Memory among Community-Dwelling Independent Older Adults

Background This study examined the association between memory function and reduced olfactory and gustatory function among independent community-dwelling older adults. Methods This cross-sectional study included 127 older adults (65.4% women). We assessed their memory, odor, and taste identification skills. Open essence (OE) test and taste strips (TS) were used to identify hyposmia (OE test ≤6) and hypogeusia (TS test ≤8), respectively. Results Participants with severe hyposmia had significantly poorer memory functions compared to participants without severe hyposmia. After adjusting for covariates, multivariate logistic regression models revealed a significant association between immediate recognition performance and a decreased likelihood of severe hyposmia (odds ratio=0.65; 95% confidence interval 0.47–0.90). We observed no significant association between taste function and memory. Conclusion Memory function may be associated with olfactory impairment in older adults

Influence of instructional posters on cleanness of the hands after hand washing

本研究の目的は,手洗いポスターの違いによる手洗い消毒後の手洗いミスを比較することである｡調査対象は看護学生82名であった｡対象を41名ずつ2グループに分け,1グループには手洗い順序を示したポスターを,もう1グループには,手洗いミスを起こしやすい部位を図示したポスターを教材として与えた｡学生は,手指と手首に蛍光塗料を塗布後,抗菌石けんと流水による手洗い消毒を実施した｡次に蛍光塗料の残存状況を写真撮影後,画像処理し手洗いミスとして点数化した｡その結果,手洗いミスを起こしやすいポスターを使用したグループの方が,手洗い順序ポスターを用いたグループより手洗いミスが少ない傾向にあった｡なかでも手背側は,手洗いミスのポスターを使ったグループの方が手洗いミスは有意に少なかった(p<0.05)｡日常,手洗い場に掲示されているポスターは,手洗い順序を示したものが多い｡しかし,手洗いミスを起こしやすい部位を図示したポスターでも,手指衛生効果があることが示唆された｡The objective of this study was to compare the cleanness of the hands after following two different posters. The subjects were 82 nursing students. They were divided into 2 groups of 41 each. For instructions one group was given a poster showing the procedures of hand washing, and the other group was given a poster showing areas to be washed carefully. After a fluorescent dye was sprayed on the fingers and the wrists, the testees washed their hands with antimicrobial soap under running water. Then, the state of the remaining fluorescent dye was photographed. The images were processed, and the extent of hand washing was quantified. As a result, hand washing was more effective in the group given the poster showing areas to be washed carefully than in the other group. Particularly, the back of the hand was significantly cleaner in the former than in the latter group (p< 0.05). Many posters at hand-washing sites show the procedure of hand washing. However, a poster showing areas prone to poor hand washing seems to be more effective for ensuring cleanness of the hands

Transient improvement of urticaria induces poor adherence as assessed by Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8.

Poor adherence to medication is a major public health challenge. Here, we aimed to determine the adherence to oral and topical medications and to analyze underlying associated factors using the translated Japanese version of Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 regarding urticaria treatment. Web-based questionnaires were performed for 3096 registered dermatological patients, along with a subanalysis of 751 registered urticaria patients in this study. The adherence to oral medication was significantly associated with the frequency of hospital visits. Variables that affected the adherence to topical medication included age and experience of drug effectiveness. The rate of responses that "It felt like the symptoms had improved" varied significantly among the dermatological diseases treated with oral medications. Dermatologists should be aware that adherence to the treatment of urticaria is quite low. Regular visits and active education for patients with urticaria are mandatory in order to achieve a good therapeutic outcome by increasing the adherence

心室中隔欠損症に対する小児心臓カテーテル検査における麻酔方法と重症合併症の関連

Pediatric cardiac catheterization requires unconsciousness and immobilization through general anesthesia or sedation. This study aimed to compare the occurrence of severe complications in pediatric diagnostic cardiac catheterization for ventricular septal defect between general anesthesia and sedation performed under similar institutional environments. Using the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination database, we retrospectively identified pediatric patients (aged <2 years) who underwent diagnostic cardiac catheterization for ventricular septal defect between July 2010 and March 2019. The composite outcome was the occurrence of severe complications, including catecholamine use and intensive care unit admission, within seven days after catheterization. Overlap weighting based on propensity scores was used to adjust for patient- and hospital-level confounding factors. We identified 3159 patients from 87 hospitals, including 930 under general anesthesia and 2229 under sedation. The patient- and hospital-level baseline characteristics differed between the groups. After adjustment, the proportion of patients with severe complications was significantly higher in the general anesthesia group than in the sedation group (2.4% vs. 0.6%; risk difference, 1.8% [95% confidence interval, 0.93–2.6%]). Severe complications occurred more frequently in the general anesthesia group than in the sedation group. Further research on anesthetic methods is necessary to assess the safety and accuracy of pediatric diagnostic cardiac catheterization.博士（医学）・甲第867号・令和5年3月15

Observation of gigantic spin conversion anisotropy in bismuth

Whilst the g-factor can be anisotropic due to the spin-orbit interaction (SOI), its existence in solids cannot be simply asserted from a band structure, which hinders progress on studies from such the viewpoints. The g-factor in bismuth (Bi) is largely anisotropic; especially for holes at T-point, the g-factor perpendicular to the trigonal axis is negligibly small (< 0.112), whereas the g-factor along the trigonal axis is very large (62.7). We clarified in this work that the large g- factor anisotropy gives rise to the gigantic spin conversion anisotropy in Bi from experimental and theoretical approaches. Spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance was applied to estimate the spin conversion efficiency in rhombohedral (110) Bi to be 17%, which is unlike the negligibly small efficiency in Bi(111). Harmonic Hall measurements supports the large spin conversion efficiency in Bi(110). This is the first observation of gigantic spin conversion anisotropy as the clear manifestation of the g-factor anisotropy. Beyond the emblematic case of Bi, our study unveiled the significance of the g-factor anisotropy in condensed-matter physics and can pave a pathway toward establishing novel spin physics under g-factor control.Comment: 28 pages, 7 figure

Factors associated with extremely poor visual outcomes in patients with central retinal vein occlusion

Here, we examined prognostic factors for extremely poor visual outcomes in patients with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) in actual practices. We included 150 consecutive eyes with treatment-naïve acute CRVO from four different facilities and observed them for over 24 months. Macular edema (ME) was treated with one or three monthly anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections (1 or 3 + pro re nata). According to the final Snellen visual acuity (VA), we divided the patients into very poor VA (< 20/200) and control (≥ 20/200) groups and examined risk factors for poor final visual outcomes. The baseline Snellen VA was hand motion to 20/13. The mean number of anti-VEGF injections for ME was 5.3 ± 3.7 during the follow-up period. In total, 49 (32.7%) patients exhibited a very poor final VA; this group comprised significantly older patients with a significantly poorer baseline VA (P < 0.01 for both) than the control group. Comorbid internal carotid artery disease and diabetic retinopathy were significantly associated with a poor final VA. In actual clinical practice, visual outcomes may be extremely poor despite ME treatment in certain patients with CRVO, with advanced age, poor baseline VA, and comorbid internal carotid artery disease and diabetic retinopathy being significant risk factors

MEU FAMILIAR TEM O OLHAR NO VAZIO, A DEMÊNCIA SE FEZ PRESENTE: SENTIDOS NO DISCURSO DO CUIDADOR A PARTIR DA FENOMENOLOGIA

Esta pesquisa apresenta sentidos e compreensões dos significados no discurso de cuidadores familiares responsáveis por pacientes acometidos por demência, sob a ótica da psicologia fenomenológica no âmbito da pesquisa em psicologia. Baseado em dados estimativos, em 2025 o índice de adultos acima de 65 anos poderá atingir uma marca de 25 milhões de pessoas no Brasil, tornando-se fundamental o papel de profissionais especializados em cuidados familiares. Deste modo, foram considerados cinco participantes na condição de cuidadores de idosos com demência de Alzheimer, selecionados por conveniência, sob o conhecimento da pesquisadora. A obtenção dos dados ocorreu através de entrevista individual utilizando entrevista áudio gravada, que partiu de uma questão norteadora. A partir dos resultados obtidos emergiram três categorias de Compreensão no sentido do cuidado: Sob a égide da doença, as relações passam por transformações: temporalizo nossa história, A vivência do cuidar: agora é minha vez de cuidar de quem me cuidou e Ser-cuidador: a vivência em seus paradoxos e suas subcategorias. Diante das compreensões obtidas, se torna fundamental que sejam desenvolvidas às discussões sobre o tema, a fim de propiciar mais informação, suporte e apoio para aqueles que cuidam. O ser –ai- cuidador demanda compreensão e suporte para sua trajetória existencial.&nbsp

Inverse association between soy food consumption, especially fermented soy products intake and soy isoflavone, and arterial stiffness in Japanese men

Studies on the associations between soy food consumption and arterial stiffness are rare. The aim of the present study was to evaluate their associations in Japanese men. A total of 652 eligible men, aged 35–69 years, who underwent the measurement of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) as an index of arterial stiffness were evaluated in this cross-sectional study. Information on their lifestyle characteristics, including dietary behavior, was obtained from a structured self-administered questionnaire. The frequency of total soy products as well as fermented and non-fermented soy products intakes was calculated, and the amounts of soy protein and soy isoflavone intakes were also estimated; these were then divided into tertiles and their associations with baPWV values were evaluated using general linear models. Higher frequency of fermented soy products intake was associated with decreased baPWV after adjusting for the multivariable covariates (P value for trend was 0.002, in Model 3). This association did not alter after further adjustment with a biomarker of systemic inflammation (serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP)) (P value for trend was 0.001, in Model 4). Total soy isoflavone consumption was also inversely associated with baPWV even after adjusting for multivariable covariates including serum hs-CRP (P value for trend was 0.043, in Model 4); however total soy protein consumption was not. These results demonstrated that greater consumption of soy food, especially fermented soy products and soy isoflavone was associated with reduced arterial stiffness, independent of systemic inflammation, in Japanese men

CtBP1/BARS is an activator of phospholipase D1 necessary for agonist-induced macropinocytosis

Vesicular trafficking such as macropinocytosis is a dynamic process that requires coordinated interactions between specialized proteins and lipids. A recent report suggests the involvement of CtBP1/BARS in epidermal growth factor (EGF)-induced macropinocytosis. Detailed mechanisms as to how lipid remodelling is regulated during macropinocytosis are still undefined. Here, we show that CtBP1/BARS is a physiological activator of PLD1 required in agonist-induced macropinocytosis. EGF-induced macropinocytosis was specifically blocked by 1-butanol but not by 2-butanol. In addition, stimulation of cells by serum or EGF resulted in the association of CtBP1/BARS with PLD1. Finally, CtBP1/BARS activated PLD1 in a synergistic manner with other PLD activators, including ADP-ribosylation factors as demonstrated by in vitro and intact cell systems. The present results shed light on the molecular basis of how the ‘fission protein' CtBP1/BARS controls vesicular trafficking events including macropinocytosis