The repeating dislodgement of an ASO device

Transcatheter closure with an Amplatzer Septal Occluder (ASO) has become the standard treatment for secundum atrial septal defect (ASD). However, this procedure is associated with complications, such as device dislodgement. A 52-year-old woman was admitted with exertional dyspnea. Transesophageal echocardiography showed an ASD involving a 29 mm defect. Calculated Qp/Qs was 5.6 and all the rims were > 5 mm, with the exception of the posterior rim, which was 3 mm. Transcatheter ASD closure with an ASO was performed under general anesthesia. During emergence from anesthesia, tachycardia developed and the ASO device became dislodged. Hemodynamic changes associated with the end of anesthetic administration were believed to have led to device dislodgement. In a second transcatheter ASD closure, a low dose of propofol and remifentanil was maintained during emergence from anesthesia to reduce hemodynamic changes. However, device dislodgement occurred with nonsustained ventricular tachycardia. Finally, surgical ASD closure was performed. The large defect size, high Qp/Qs, and rim deficiency may have predisposed to device dislodgement after transcatheter ASD closure with ASO. The risk of device dislodgement should be considered in advance of surgery and, in high-risk cases, the patient's cardiovascular status should be closely monitored

Cross-cultural validity of a dietary questionnaire for studies of dental caries risk in Japanese

Background: Diet is a major modifiable contributing factor in the etiology of dental caries. The purpose of this paper is to examine the reliability and cross-cultural validity of the Japanese version of the Food Frequency Questionnaire to assess dietary intake in relation to dental caries risk in Japanese. Methods: The 38-item Food Frequency Questionnaire, in which Japanese food items were added to increase content validity, was translated into Japanese, and administered to two samples. The first sample comprised 355 pregnant women with mean age of 29.2 +/- 4.2 years for the internal consistency and criterion validity analyses. Factor analysis (principal components with Varimax rotation) was used to determine dimensionality. The dietary cariogenicity score was calculated from the Food Frequency Questionnaire and used for the analyses. Salivary mutans streptococci level was used as a semi-quantitative assessment of dental caries risk and measured by Dentocult SM. Dentocult SM scores were compared with the dietary cariogenicity score computed from the Food Frequency Questionnaire to examine criterion validity, and assessed by Spearman's correlation coefficient (r(s)) and Kruskal-Wallis test. Test-retest reliability of the Food Frequency Questionnaire was assessed with a second sample of 25 adults with mean age of 34.0 +/- 3.0 years by using the intraclass correlation coefficient analysis. Results: The Japanese language version of the Food Frequency Questionnaire showed high test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.70) and good criterion validity assessed by relationship with salivary mutans streptococci levels (r(s) = 0.22; p < 0.001). Factor analysis revealed four subscales that construct the questionnaire (solid sugars, solid and starchy sugars, liquid and semisolid sugars, sticky and slowly dissolving sugars). Internal consistency were low to acceptable (Cronbach's alpha = 0.67 for the total scale, 0.46-0.61 for each subscale). Mean dietary cariogenicity scores were 50.8 +/- 19.5 in the first sample, 47.4 +/- 14.1, and 40.6 +/- 11.3 for the first and second administrations in the second sample. The distribution of Dentocult SM score was 6.8% (score = 0), 34.4% (score = 1), 39.4% (score = 2), and 19.4% (score = 3). Participants with higher scores were more likely to have higher dietary cariogenicity scores (p < 0.001; Kruskal-Wallis test). Conclusions: These results provide the preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of the Japanese language Food Frequency Questionnaire

Exclusivity in romantic relationships as a function of past parental relationship among female adolescents.

The present study examined the effects of past relationship experiences with parents on romantic relationship exclusivity. The Past Relationship Experiences with Parents Scale (developed by Moroi et al. (2010)) and the Exclusivity in the Romantic Relationship Scale (developed by the authors) were administrated to female undergraduates (N=262). The factor analysis (the principal factor method with promax rotations) of the Exclusivity Scale yielded two factors, labeled as "displeasure with sexuality" and "displeasure with communication." The correlational analyses indicated that past control experiences with the father enhanced exclusivity feelings in the romantic relationships. Several problems with this research method were discussed.論文 (Article

Enhanced Auditory Brainstem Response and Parental Bonding Style in Children with Gastrointestinal Symptoms

The electrophysiological properties of the brain and influence of parental bonding in childhood irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are unclear. We hypothesized that children with chronic gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms like IBS may show exaggerated brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) responses and receive more inadequate parental bonding. = 0.024). Multiple regression analysis in females also supported these findings.It is suggested that children with chronic GI symptoms have exaggerated brainstem responses to environmental stimuli and inadequate parental behaviors aggravate these symptoms

Nursing Care Time for Newborns during Hospitalization in a Mixed Hospital Ward with an Obstetrics Department

Purpose: This study aimed to better understand the nursing care time spent with healthy term newborns from birth to discharge, giving insight into neonatal nursing staff management. Method: In total, 30 healthy term newborns in a mixed hospital ward with an Obstetrics Department participated in this study. To measure care time, they had a wireless beacon attached to their cots. This measured how much time the nurses stayed in front of the cot from the time of birth until discharge, 24 hours/day. Collected data were tabulated every 24 hours after birth. Results: Seventeen newborns had their data analyzed. The average length of hospital stay for the newborns was 8231.3 minutes. The average nursing care time for the newborns was 533.8 minutes. Nurses provided the highest care time during the first 24 hours after birth (157.6 minutes/24hr). After the first 24, the average nursing care time gradually decreased. The average nursing care time during the first 24 hours after birth was longer than the nursing care time for any other 24-hour periods, with a significant difference (p = 0.001 to 0.046). Conclusion: The nursing care time for healthy newborns gradually decreased with the passage of time after birth. Healthy newborns should be treated as individuals, and the number of nursing staff should be adjusted according to the number of newborns in the ward to ensure nursing care quality and to prevent life-threatening events during the first 24 hours after birth

Edwardsiella tarda の赤血球凝集活性に及ぼす培地塩分濃度の影響

モルモット赤血球を用いてE. tarda の血球凝集活性を調べた。供試した55株中52株で, NaClを添加しない培地での培養 (0% NaCl培養) に比べ, NaClを3%添加した場合 (3% NaCl培養) にその凝集活性が上昇した。この血球凝集活性とE. tarda の線毛タンパク質 (19.3kDa) の発現との間には相関性が認められた。ヒラメに対する経口感染実験において, 3% NaCl培養菌の方が0% NaCl培養に比べ比較的強い病原性を示した。The hemagglutinating activity (HA) of Edwardsiella tarda, which had been isolated from cultured fish and culture environments, was investigated in relation to NaCl concentration of the growth medium. E. tarda cells were cultured in a peptone-yeast extract broth supplemented with 3% NaCl (3%-NaCl culture) and without NaCl (0%-NaCl culture). Hemagglutination assays with guinea pig erythrocytes classified the strains into three HA patterns. Seventeen strains exhibited HA only with the 3%-NaCl culture (type A). A more frequent type (35 strains) displayed HA in both 0%- and 3%- NaCl cultures but the 3%-NaCl culture showed higher HA activity than the 0%-NaCl culture (type B). No HA was detected in both cultures of the other three strains (type C). The NaCl-induced HA was well correlated with the expression of a 19.3 kDa protein, a fimbrial major subunit (FimA). Infection experiments with a selected strain (type A) of E. tarda revealed that the 3%-NaCl culture was more virulent to Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus than the 0%-NaCl culture, when fish were challenged by an oral route. This induction of the fimbrial protein under higher NaCl concentration may play an important role in the virulence of E. tarda in marine environments