Patient affect and caregiver burden in dementia

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies focusing on the burden of caregivers of dementia patients have been published. However, there have been few studies focusing on positive affect as an important factor affecting the caregiver burden, and only a few studies comparing the caregiver burden between different dementia diseases have been reported. METHODS: Three hundred and thirty-seven consecutive caregivers of people with dementia participated in this study. The caregiver burden was evaluated by the short version of the Japanese version of the Zarit Burden Interview. RESULTS: Positive affect scores had a significant relationship with the scores of the short version of the Zarit Burden Interview. Caregivers for patients with dementia with Lewy bodies or frontotemporal dementia suffered from a greater burden than those for patients with Alzheimer's disease dementia. CONCLUSIONS: The caregiver burden differed between people caring for patients with different dementia diseases. Positive affect of dementia patients has a significant relationship with caregiver burden, independently from neuropsychiatric symptoms of patients

Evolution of superconductivity in isovalent Te-substituted KxFe2-ySe2 crystals

We report the evolution of superconductivity and the phase diagram of the KxFe2-ySe2-zTez (z=0-0.6) crystals grown by a simple one-step synthesis. No structural transition is observed in any crystals, while lattice parameters exhibit a systematic expansion with Te content. The Tc exhibits a gradual decrease with increasing Te content from Tconset = 32.9 K at z = 0 to Tconset = 27.9 K at z = 0.5, followed by a sudden suppression of superconductivity at z = 0.6. Upon approaching a Te concentration of 0.6, the shielding volume fraction decreases and eventually drops to zero. Simultaneously, hump positions in r-T curve shift to lower temperatures. These results suggest that isovalent substitution of Te for Se in KxFe2-ySe2 crystals suppresses the superconductivity in this system.Comment: 10 pages, 1 table, 8 figure

Basal metabolic rate and body composition of elite Japanese male athletes

The estimated energy requirement is important for adequate nutritional management in athletes. The energy requirement can be estimated from the basal metabolic rate (BMR). However, there is little data regarding the BMR of Japanese athletes. This study measured the BMR and body composition of 81 elite Japanese male athletes in different sports categories : endurance (E), strength, power and sprint (S) and ball game (B). The factors influencing the BMR were also investigated. The BMR and body composition were measured by indirect calorimetry and an air-displacement plentysmograph device (the BOD POD), respectively. The BMR per lean body mass (LBM) differed significantly among the three groups. The BMR was significantly correlated with the body weight (BW) and LBM in all groups. A multiple-regression analysis showed that the LBM was the most powerful predictor in the E and S groups, whereas the BW was the most powerful predictor in the B group. The BW appears to become an important predictor as the BW of athletes increases. Additionally, height was the second explanatory variable in the S and B groups, thus suggesting that height needs to be considered for the BMR in these groups. Therefore, the BMR in elite athletes needs to be estimated according to their body composition

都市広場の構成原理の提案

This report is the study about the theory on space of city square. The city square is composed by facilities, space, edge and symbol. This theory is derived from our experiences of 10 times of Researches of City Square in Over-sea Area. This theory will be made sure from the process of explaining each city squares

看護遠隔授業の効果的運用方法

島根県立看護短期大学と島根県立石見高等看護学院との間をISDN回線で接続し、テレビ会議システムにより島根県立看護短期大学の公開講座における講演を、遠隔授業の運用方法を確立することと併せて地域貢献を目的に中継した。2回の中継の結果から、授業対象校側での映像は鮮明であり実用に耐えることがわかった。音声の聞き取り易さについては、複数のスピーカーの配置で実用できることがわかった。また、臨場感の出る授業とするためには、教師は何回か学生たちと直接会った上で遠隔授業をする必要がある。公開講座の内容を遠隔地にテレビ会議システムで中継することにより、その地域に対して学術的・文化的な面で貢献することができた

Biosynthesis of highly branched gold nanoparticles through structural engineering of fatty acids

Summary: Biomimetic approaches have been used to develop inorganic nanomaterials with complex morphologies and functions. Fatty acids are among the most important and decomposable biomolecules in nature. However, the controlled synthesis of branched gold nanoparticles using these biomolecules has not been reported. Herein, we demonstrate a strategy to produce highly branched gold nanoparticles through structural engineering of fatty acids. Furthermore, we developed a method for tailoring fatty acid molecules by altering their aliphatic chains to facilitate the morphological evolution of gold nanoparticles from spherical to branched shape. It is found that the growth of the nanoparticles is sensitive to characteristics of fatty acids, such as saturation degrees. The growth of the nanoparticle is visualized by high-speed atomic force microscopy. The reaction mechanisms and growth processes of branched gold nanoparticles are proposed. This work may serve as a cornerstone to the design in a biomimetic fashion for the controllable synthesis of metallic nanomaterials

Genomically integrated transgenes are stably and conditionally expressed in neural crest cell-specific lineages

AbstractNeural crest cells (NCCs) are a transient embryonic structure that gives rise to a variety of cells including peripheral nervous system, melanocytes, and Schwann cells. To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying NCC development, a gene manipulation of NCCs by in ovo electroporation technique is a powerful tool, particularly in chicken embryos, the model animal that has long been used for the NCC research. However, since expression of introduced genes by the conventional electroporation method is transient, the mechanisms of late development of NCCs remain unexplored. We here report novel methods by which late-developing NCCs are successfully manipulated with electroporated genes. Introduced genes can be stably and/or conditionally expressed in a NCC-specific manner by combining 4 different techniques: Tol2 transposon-mediated genomic integration (Sato et al., 2007), a NCC-specific enhancer of the Sox10 gene (identified in this study), Cre/loxP system, and tet-on inducible expression (Watanabe et al., 2007). This is the first demonstration that late-developing NCCs in chickens are gene-manipulated specifically and conditionally. These methods have further allowed us to obtain ex vivo live-images of individual Schwann cells that are associated in axon bundles in peripheral tissues. Cellular activity and morphology dynamically change as development proceeds. This study has opened a new way to understand at the molecular and cellular levels how late NCCs develop in association with other tissues during embryogenesis