Superficial brachial artery continuing as the common interosseous artery

金沢大学大学院医学系研究科臨床実践看護学The superficial artery of the arm with a course anterior to the median nerve is found at an incidence of [approximate]13%, and it continues as the radial artery twice as frequently than as the ulnar artery; less frequently it continues as both arteries (Bergman et al. 1988). We report a rare case in which the superficial brachial artery continued as the common interosseous artery only and the deep brachial artery continued as the radial and superficial ulnar arteries in the cubital fossa

Subjective intelligibility of speech sounds enhanced by ideal ratio mask via crowdsourced remote experiments with effective data screening

It is essential to perform speech intelligibility (SI) experiments with human listeners to evaluate the effectiveness of objective intelligibility measures. Recently crowdsourced remote testing has become popular to collect a massive amount and variety of data with relatively small cost and in short time. However, careful data screening is essential for attaining reliable SI data. We compared the results of laboratory and crowdsourced remote experiments to establish an effective data screening technique. We evaluated the SI of noisy speech sounds enhanced by a single-channel ideal ratio mask (IRM) and multi-channel mask-based beamformers. The results demonstrated that the SI scores were improved by these enhancement methods. In particular, the IRM-enhanced sounds were much better than the unprocessed and other enhanced sounds, indicating IRM enhancement may give the upper limit of speech enhancement performance. Moreover, tone pip tests, for which participants were asked to report the number of audible tone pips, reduced the variability of crowdsourced remote results so that the laboratory results became similar. Tone pip tests could be useful for future crowdsourced experiments because of their simplicity and effectiveness for data screening.Comment: This paper was submitted to Interspeech 2022 (http://www.interspeech2022.org

Odor of ar-turmerone, α-curcumene, and limonene derivatives depending on their chirality

The combination of many kinds of odor molecules produces the characteristic aromas of natural odor materials. We found that the odors of such materials were expressed by a set of constituents with similar structures by the investigations of the aroma profiles of several incenses [1]. Recent studies about the olfactory mechanism show that several olfactory receptors interact with one odorant molecule with different intensities and one olfactory receptor responds to different odorant molecules with similar structures. The consequences of this mechanism are that the interactions of several constituents with similar structures are important for the aroma profile. We investigated the relationship between odorant structure and the aroma characteristics of odor molecules focusing on their chirality.                Stereoisomers of ar-turmerone, α-curcumene, and limonene (Fig. 1) have been reported to have different odors. We synthesized a series of derivatives of these compounds to get insight into their structural similarities, especially those relating to the chirality and its interaction with olfactory receptors. We investigated the structure-odor relationships and found important structural factors (molecular skeleton, groups containing oxygen, isoprene moiety) for the onset of specific odors

Relationship between lymphangiogenesis and exudates during the wound-healing process of mouse skin full-thickness wound

金沢大学医薬保健研究域保健学系We considered the relationship among exudate, wound area, angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis, and reepithelialization during wound healing. Full-thickness wounds were made on the dorsum of mice. The weight of exudate absorbed into the dressing as well as the wound area was determined daily. Sections of the wounds were stained with anti-LYVE-1 and CD31 antibodies. Indian ink was injected into the wound for observing the movement of the exudate on days 3, 5, and 7 after wounding. New epithelium completely covered the wound on day 11. The quantity of exudate peaked on day 1, and then rapidly decreased until it was undetectable on day 11. Most of the Indian ink injected into the wound was retained within the wound and did not flow into the surrounding tissue. New blood vessels showed a uniform distribution in the granulation tissue on day 5. New lymphatics appeared in the granulation tissue approximately 2 days later than the blood vessels and they were distributed toward the center of the granulation tissue on day 11. Thus, reduction of exudate from the wound appears to be related to blood vessels, not lymphatics. However, increasing lymphatics may play a role in the late phase of the wound-healing process. © 2009 by the Wound Healing Society

Effectiveness of Indonesian Honey on the Acceleration of Cutaneous Wound Healing: An Experimental Study in Mice

The purpose to investigate the effectiveness of Indonesian honey in wound healing in comparison with Tegaderm hydrocolloid dressing and Manuka honey. Three groups of male mice were treated to produce two circular full-thickness skin wounds on the dorsum. They were then randomly allocated to receive daily Indonesian honey, Manuka honey or hydrocolloid as a control for treatment application. Macroscopic findings were observed from day 0 to 14 after wounding. Microscopic findings on days 3, 7, 11 and 14 after wounding were obtained. The ratios of wound areas for honey groups on day 3 were smaller than those of the control group. Wound areas of honey groups gradually decreased to almost the same wound area as the control group on day 14, while the wound area of the control group peaked on day 5 and rapidly decreased until day 14. On day 3, myofibroblasts and new blood capillaries in wound tissue of honey groups were observed, but not in the control group. After day 7, microscopic findings were almost the same among all groups. These results indicate that Indonesian honey is almost as effective for wound healing as Manuka honey and Tegaderm hydrocolloid dressing

17β-Estradiol on Cutaneous Wound Healing in Protein-Malnourished Ovariectomized Female Mouse Model

Cutaneous wound healing is delayed by protein malnutrition (PM). On the other hand, estrogen promotes cutaneous wound healing by its anti-inflammatory and cell proliferation effects. Therefore, we hypothesized that estrogen administration in protein-malnourished ovariectomized (OVX) female mice might improve the inflammatory response and promote cutaneous wound healing as well as normal nutrition. To test this hypothesis, we used full-thickness excisional wounds in Control SHAM, PM SHAM, PM OVX and PM OVX+17β-estradiol mice. The Control diet included 200 g/kg protein and the PM diet included 30 g/kg protein. The ratio of wound area in the Control SHAM group was significantly smaller than those in the three PM groups. In addition, microscopic findings also showed that the ratio of collagen fibers, the ratio of myofibroblasts and the number of new blood vessels in the Control SHAM group were significantly greater than those in the three PM groups. However, the number of Ym1-positive cells as an anti-inflammatory M2-like macrophage marker in the PM OVX+17β-estradiol group was significantly higher than those in the other three groups. These results indicate that the appearance of anti-inflammatory M2-like macrophages was promoted by estrogen administration; however, it could not promote cutaneous wound healing upon a low-protein diet. Therefore, it may be confirmed that nutrition is more important for promoting cutaneous wound healing than estrogen administration

Cognition, Training, and Education of Nurses in Oral Feeding Assistance for Hospitalized Patients: A Comparative Study among Nurses in China and Japan

This study compared cognition, training, and education regarding oral feeding assistance provided to hospitalized patients among nurses in China and Japan. The participants included 401 nurses from two general hospitals (China, 141; Japan, 260). The survey items included demographic characteristics, cognition about who should assist with oral feeding, the need for professional knowledge and skills, supporting patients with particular needs, essential steps in oral feeding assistance, and evaluation of training and relevant education. In total, 107 Chinese (75.9%) and 184 Japanese (70.8%) nurses returned completed questionnaires. Compared to Japanese nurses, a larger proportion of Chinese nurses (5.6% vs. 42.1%, p < 0.001) responded that a “family member” should assist with oral feeding. Most (92.5% of Chinese and 98.9% of Japanese, p < 0.01) nurses recognized the need for professional knowledge and skills. In both groups, cognition was high for eating environment and aspects of patients’ physical condition, such as dysfunction and position, but inadequate for aspects of patients’ psychological conditions, such as emotional state and appetite. Limited learning experiences, such as attending lectures, undergoing training, and exposure to literature, were observed among Chinese nurses compared to Japanese nurses. Compared to Japanese nurses, Chinese nurses showed inadequate cognition concerning the role of nurses in oral feeding assistance. The degree of cognition regarding this assistance may be associated with relevant learning experiences. To improve the quality of oral feeding assistance and execution of related nursing duties, greater emphasis on oral feeding assistance is necessary in the Chinese nursing curriculum