Miyazaki Prefectural Nursing University

Mental health deterioration after a disaster is a concern. Individuals' sociability is expected to relate to the risk of this deterioration; however, research focusing on older adults is lacking. We aimed to investigate the relationship between psychological distress and sociability in older adults who survived the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake. We conducted a self-reported questionnaire survey in 2020. Data on 3,588 people aged 65 years and over (2,024 women and 1,564 men, mean age 74.6 ± 7.2, mean ± standard deviation) were analyzed. The overall prevalence of psychological distress (the Kessler psychological distress scale: K6 ≧ 10) was 10.5%; by gender, it was 11.2% in women and 9.5% in men. Logistic regression analysis revealed that, in the total sample, age, gender, public housing, reduction in income resulting from the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, self-rated unhealthy conditions, subjective social isolation, and a lack of awareness of community events were positively associated with psychological distress. For women, a lack of community participation was positively related to psychological distress. For men, not knowing the change in school district after relocation was negatively associated with psychological distress, probably due to men's scarce community participation and reliance on friendships, compared to women's stronger dependence on community. Moreover, having a family member or friend to consult with was associated with a lower risk of psychological distress, regardless of gender. Gender differences were related to different conditions of social participation and types of social relationships. Enhancing community participation and family relationships among women and social contact with friends among men is essential.

We have previously reported that the proanthocyanidin (PAC) fraction of blueberry leaf extract (BB‐PAC) inhibits the proliferation of HTLV‐1‐infected adult T‐cell leukemia (ATL) by inducing apoptosis. In the present study, we further analyzed the structure of BB‐PAC and elucidated the molecular mechanism underlying the inhibitory function of HTLV‐1‐infected and ATL cells. After hot water extraction with fractionation with methanol‐acetone, BB‐PAC was found to be concentrated in fractions 4 to 7 (Fr7). The strongest inhibition of ATL cell growth was observed with Fr7, which contained the highest BB‐PAC polymerization degree of 14. The basic structure of BB‐PAC is mainly B‐type bonds, with A‐type bonds (7.1%) and cinchonain I units as the terminal unit (6.1%). The molecular mechanism of cytotoxicity observed around Fr7 against ATL cells was the degradation of JAK1 to 3 and the dephosphorylation of STAT3/5, which occurs by proteasome‐dependent proteolysis, confirming that PAC directly binds to heat shock protein 90 (HSP90). JAK degradation was caused by proteasome‐dependent proteolysis, and we identified the direct binding of PAC to HSP90. In addition, the binding of cochaperone ATPase homolog 1 (AHA1) to HSP90, which is required for activation of the cofactor HSP90, was inhibited by BB‐PAC treatment. Therefore, BB‐PAC inhibited the formation of the HSP90/AHA1 complex and promoted the degradation of JAK protein due to HSP90 dysfunction. These results suggest that the highly polymerized PAC component from blueberry leaves has great potential as a preventive and therapeutic agent against HTLV‐1‐infected and ATL cells.

目的：立位バランスに必要な足底部の皮膚感覚と足趾力を高めるためのフットマッサージを介護予防の必要な在宅高齢者に行い，効果について検討した．

To evaluate the effect of internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling on the long-term visual outcomes in eyes with diffuse, nontractional diabetic macular edema. One hundred and sixteen eyes of 58 patients with the same degree of diabetic macular edema in both eyes underwent pars plana vitrectomy with the creation of a posterior vitreous detachment in both eyes. Internal limiting membrane peeling was performed in one randomly selected eye (ILM-off group), and ILM peeling was not performed (ILM-on group) in the fellow eye. The postoperative follow-up period ranged from 12 months to 161 months (average, 80.4 months). In the ILM-off group, the mean best-corrected visual acuity in logMAR units (Snellen equivalent) increased from 0.55 ± 0.31 (20/71) before surgery to 0.35 ± 0.35 (20/45) at 1 year (P < 0.0001) and 0.46 ± 0.43 (20/59) at the final visit (P = 0.058). In the ILM-on group, the mean best-corrected visual acuity increased from 0.55 ± 0.41 (20/71) before surgery to 0.43 ± 0.38 (20/54) at 1 year (P = 0.010) and 0.44 ± 0.45 (20/56) at the final visit (P = 0.043). The differences in the best-corrected visual acuity between the two groups were not significant at any time point. Pars plana vitrectomy with or without ILM peeling improves the long-term visual acuity of nontractional diabetic macular edema. Internal limiting membrane peeling does not affect the postoperative best-corrected visual acuity significantly.

As healthcare professionals, nursing educators need to be prepared to manage and deliver care in what are often dangerous conditions. This research aims to determine and compare nursing educators' perceptions of disaster preparedness and response (DP&R) in Istanbul and Miyazaki. An 18 question descriptive questionnaire was used. One hundred and forty-four nursing educators representing two state university nursing schools in Istanbul, Turkey, and one state and two private universities in Miyazaki, Japan were enrolled. Educators had an average age of 40 years and had been educators for 1-15 years. Just over half of the participants had basic knowledge regarding DP&R with most of them considering taking special courses in the future. The majority considered "caregiver" as a role they could undertake in a disaster situation. The existence of major concerns and conflicts in disaster responses were low. The top ranked item was in the area of conflict between family and job responsibilities. Age and academic levels showed significant differences in basic knowledge on DP&R. Regardless of knowledge in this subject area, no statistical significance on personal preparedness or being a volunteer to disaster events was found. Nursing educators were not thinking about what kinds of disasters occur in the areas where they currently teach and were underprepared to deal with disaster situations. To improve the perceptions of the nursing educators on DP&R, mass casualty care and disaster management skills need to be incorporated into formal education and training on disaster preparedness and workplace preparedness.

PurposeTo show a case in which the shape of the fovea changed after an asymptomatic macular posterior vitreous detachment (PVD).MethodsThe foveal shape was determined from the spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) images before and after a spontaneous macular PVD.ResultsA 66-year-old man with a unilateral macular hole in the right eye presented with a perifoveal PVD in the asymptomatic left eye. One year later, the left eye developed a macular PVD, and OCT measurements showed a 16.7% decrease in the central foveal thickness, and increases in the pit depth by 20.5%, foveola diameter by 14.7%, and pit volume by 19.4%. The thicknesses of the macular subfields of the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study were decreased by 13.0% in the central subfield and by 1.4%–6.6% in the other subfields.ConclusionThe deepening and widening of the fovea after a macular PVD indicate that a PVD can alter the shape of the fovea.

Students who wanted to quit smoking were invited to partner with teachers/support persons to identify the meaningful patterns of their lives. The theoretical framework guiding the study was Newman's theory of health as expanding consciousness from the perspective of the unitary-transformative paradigm in nursing science. Student participants shared the meaningful relationships and events of their lives with their supportive partners, and together they reflected on the patterns of the students' lives. Two similarities among the individual patterns were found: a difficult experience in interpersonal relationships at some point in their lives and the initiation of smoking in their search for connectedness with friends. In the dialectic process, students experienced insight regarding their evolving patterns and made transformative changes in their lives, reflecting varying levels of tobacco control.

This paper reports the development and psychometric properties of the Well-Being Picture Scale, a 10-item non-language based pictorial scale that measures general well-being, based on Martha Rogers'view of human beings as energy fields in continual mutual process with their environment. The Well-Being Picture Scale was designed for use with the broadest possible range of adult populations, including persons who are unable to respond to English-based text or lengthy, complex measurement instruments. Psychometric properties were established in a sample of more than 2,000 individuals from the United States, Taiwan, Japan, and Africa. The overall Cronbach's alpha is .8795.