The purpose of this study was to obtain some insight into: 1) how to cope with the issues regarding rights and wrongs of restraints' use and 2) what research would be effective to explore the ways to solve those issues. Among the U.S. literatures published in 1990s when restraints were encouraged to be abolished, we selected 48 literatures, which focused on medical and welfare institutions for the elderly, and analyzed them in terms of the purpose, subject and instrument of the study. According to the result, "To clarify awareness, attitude and knowledge of the subjects regarding implementation and abolishment of restraints" and "Approaches and factors for abolishment of the restraints" were raised as purposes of their study in 19 literatures respectively. The subjects in their contexts were mainly nursing staff (33 literatures). Most of them were descriptive designs using a questionnaire in a non-experimental study. Three of them were quasi-experimental studies to compare before and after carrying out the program to abolish restraints or the educational program and to verify the findings. The study indicated the effect of intentional intervention by the researchers on their subjects and the need to conduct further study to define factors that lead to abolish restraints.

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This study used a semi-structured interview of a woman to determine the factors leading her to having and raising four children. It was found that (1) The woman wanted to have a large number of children, which was the same environment in which she had been raised, (2) Her husband and eldest child contributed to the close-at-hand support for child care that was available to her, (3) Her experiences in raising children did not lead her to think that having more children would necessarily result in a proportionately greater burden on her, (4) She did not take a negative view of having little time for herself as a result of child care responsibilities, (5) She considered the economic problems posed by children's needs to be solvable, (6) She made her own selections of where her deliveries took place, (7) All the members of her family were consistently healthy and, (8) Despite the conflicts and hard-ships that raising children entails, she found that having children broadened her human contacts, brought fun and happiness and made life interesting. In the course of time these factors alternated with one another, resulting in a cumulative effect. Notably, factor 2 was constantly effective.

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This paper aims to clarify ethical issues in Home-Care Nursing. The data were collected for 114 subjects (male and female nurses) who usually work in Home-Care Nursing, by using a questionnaire. The results of the research were as follows:(a) In the cases mentioned in 10 items among 19 in the questions, more than half of the subjects reported to have experienced ethical issues. The result suggests that most of the nurses encounter ethical issues in their daily in Home-Care Nursing. (b) About 18 issues out of 19 items raised in the questions, 70% of the subjects reported they were worried about the ethical issues when they experienced them. (c) Among 5 types of classification on ethical issues, many respondents experienced ethical issues in "the situation where nurses are in trouble when there is a gap between the intention of the clients and that of their nurses'" and "the situation where nurses are in trouble when there is a gap between the intention of clients and that of their family's." The results suggest that nurses often encounter ethical issues and many of them are caught in a dilemma. We suggest that nurses need to increase their ability to make ethical decisions and that a problem-solving system for ethical issues is needed.

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[in Japanese]

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An exogenous drug, benzyloxycarbonyl-Leucyl-Leucyl-Leucinal (Z-LLL-H) stimulates neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells. In this study, we observed the localization of a fluorescent peptidylaldehyde (Dns-LLL-H) in the cells by using fluorescence microscopy. Dns-LLL-H induced neurite outgrowth at the concentration of 10nM as well as Z-LLL-H. It was taken up within 10min after treatment and was concentrated spottily at the cell bodies, neurites and growth cones, but not at the nuclei and filopodia. These results suggest that Dns-LLL-H is localized at organelles of PC12 cells such as mitochondria and stimulates neurite outgrowth.

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This study presents an analysis of the characteristics of automobiles considered suitable for and by elderly drivers, including the kind of car to choose with age, and driving support systems for elderly drivers. Data was derived from interviews with the sales staffs of car dealerships, catalogues of automobile makers, the Internet, and the existing literature. As a result of this analysis, we found that senior drivers like small cars displaying a form with four square corners, and that they can easily enter and exit. However, negative reactions were demonstrated toward automotive navigation systems. Finally, we considered the needs for a comprehensive system to evaluate the driving ability of elderly drivers, and organizations to provide long-term support for elderly drivers.

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