For patients who experience hair loss due to cancer chemotherapy, wigs are a necessary part of life. However, many patients are forced to stop wearing wigs because of the heat and stuffiness felt while wearing them. In this study, we compared and verified the ability of two inner cap materials used when wearing wigs, gauze or dry material (micropolyester material that excels in the diffusion and evaporation of sweat), to reduce heat and stuffiness. A crossover comparison experiment was conducted in 20 healthy subjects. Each inner cap material was evaluated for 30 minutes in an environment experiment chamber set at temperature and humidity levels of midsummer in Japan. The amount of sweat, temperature, and relative humidity in the wigs were measured, and the participant.s body temperature was obtained using thermography. In the two subjects who sweated more, the amount of sweat was less with the dry material than with the gauze. However, there was no difference clearly in the temperature and humidity inside the wig and the subject.sfeeling of heat and stuffiness due to the material of the inner cap. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a wig that can reduce the feeling of heat and stuffiness.

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　As pregnancy progresses, the abdomen increases and pregnant womenss daily activities are expected to change. This study aimed to reproduce the changes in the body shape of pregnant females in third trimester using a maternity-simulation jacket, clarify the changes in movement patterns before and after wearing the jacket, and obtain useful suggestions for health guidance in pregnancy. Seventeen females were asked to put on socks in the sitting position before and after wearing the jacket; the characteristic changes in their movement were observed and evaluated from the recorded video images. Joint positions were estimated using a pose estimation algorithm, and three-dimensional coordinate information was extracted. Joint angles were calculated, and trends in movement patterns were analyzed using principal component analysis. In the end-occupant position, 8 (47.0%) wore socks with their thighs parallel to the mid-plane before wearing the device, and 9 (52.9%) wore socks with their hip joints in abduction and external rotation after wearing the device. The results suggest the necessity of using hip stretching and a sock-wearing self-help device.

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　During in-home healthcare and outpatient visits, most patients are in a head-of-bed elevated position instead of supine position. Therefore, the inferior vena cava (IVC) with echocardiography must be examined in this position. In this study, we clarified (1) the IVC diameter changes after head-of-bed elevation, and (2) the difference in IVC diameters in differing head-of-bed elevation positions in 10 healthy adult males. First, we examined the diameters of the IVC every minute for 10 minutes after elevation of the head of bed from the supine position using a pocket-sized ultrasound device. The maximum diameter of the IVC increased rapidly for 1 minute after elevation of the head of bed and was stable thereafter. Next, we measured the diameter of the IVC in the supine position and head-of-bed elevation of 30°, 45°, 60°, and 75°. In our results, the maximum IVC diameter has increased significantly at the head-of-bed elevation 75°vs. the supine position. The IVC collapsibility index of all elevations was less than 50%, except in the supine position. Thus, when examining a patient in the head-of-bed elevation position, it is better to wait one minute after the change in position, as the diameter of the IVC will expand.

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　The purpose of this study was to clarify the wiping pressure and its variation with cotton towels and disposable towels as basic knowledge for examining wiping techniques using disposable towels. Twelve clinical nurses performed partial wiping using cotton or disposable towels on the medial portions of both forearms of the same healthy skin. To measure the wiping pressure, a pressure measurement film was applied to the wiping area. The pressure area, average pressure, maximum pressure, and load were calculated using a dedicated analysis software. The measurement range was divided into six sections, and the coefficient of variation for wiping pressure among the sections was calculated. The results showed that there was no significant difference between the two conditions, and that the wiping pressure was almost the same for both the materials. These results suggested that clinical nurses used approximately the same pressure for skin wiping with the two towel materials.

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　This study aimed to develop and implement a modified Early Warning System (TEWS) including end-of-life care. The effectiveness of its implementation was evaluated in nursing practice. Twenty-nine nurses and 88 patients with gastric or esophageal cancer who were expected to stay in the hospital for more than one week were enrolled. Nurses scored the vital signs and provided care according to TEWS. The implementation of TEWS was evaluated based on the following outcomes: changes in technical independence and anxiety/difficulty of nurses, and information sharing within the team related to patient deterioration, and unexpected adverse events. The results showed that TEWS significantly improved the degree of technical independence (judgment of deterioration risk, conduct a case conference, suggestion of end-of-life consideration to doctors), anxiety/difficulty (observation of critically ill patients, explanation of exacerbation risk to the patient and family) (p=0.0001 to 0.044), and information sharing within the team. No significant increase in adverse events was observed. In conclusion, the implementation of TEWS effectively improved nursing practice, suggesting that information sharing strengthened team approach. Moreover, it can prevent patient deterioration and improve decision-making in end-of-life care.

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　Aspiration pneumonia (AP), one of the major causes of death in the older people, does not accompany typical symptoms of pneumonia in the early stages of onset. This characteristic makes AP difficult to detect and treat early. We have been engaging in development of biomarkers for the detection and focusing on salivary proteins, which contains various immune-related proteins. Because spitting out saliva is often difficult for older people, in this present study we report the optimized method to collect saliva proteins from buccal mucosa. First, we compared types of oral care products, optimized scrubbing method and number of times to scrub, and tested the effects of moisturizer. Our results showed that the best method was to use a sponge brush and rub the buccal mucosa from the back to the front 10 times. Next, we examined whether our method could collect the immune-related saliva proteins by shotgun proteomics using LC-MS/MS. Of the 2,758 salivary proteins registered in the database, 1,732 were detected including α-amylase and IgA, showing that this method is applicable.

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　Background: Ultraviolet (UV) radiation phototherapy is used for the management of common skin diseases. However, UV radiation phototherapy has side effects and its long-term use may harm children. This study aimed to investigate the effect of UV-free carbon-arc visible-light phototherapy in children with eczema in Japan. Methods: A single-case experimental design involving a 3-year-old child was used. After three weeks of the no-irradiation phase, 30-min of phototherapy was applied three times weekly for five weeks. Outcome measures were mother-reported Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM) and skin condition (transepidermal water loss (TEWL), capacitance, pH, TSLP, IL-4, and IL-13). Results: The patient was a 3-year-old boy with moderate eczema, which continued to relapse for 10 months, even with antiallergic agents and topical emollients. The POEM scores showed a clinically significant decrease during the phototherapy phase compared to those in the no-irradiation phase. The TEWL at eczematous sites also showed a decreasing trend. Conclusions: This finding suggests that UV-free visible phototherapy may alleviate eczema in children by decreasing itching, scratching, and bleeding. Further research with a longer period is warranted to investigate the effect of improving skin barrier function with objective assessment.

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　One method to effectively promote muscle activities is the vocalization of verbal calls during exercise. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the angle of forward trunk tilt (posture) and vocalization. The angle of forward trunk tilt is a factor that influences the sit-to-stand (STS) motion, while the vocalization has been reported to promote muscle activity. The study participants were 20 healthy adult men. Electromyography data were normalized by maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) values and set as %MVC. The magnitude evaluation value was used for the subjective evaluation of standing motion load. The %MVC of each muscle, the magnitude value, and the trunk forward tilt angle were set as dependent variables, and with or without vocalization and three posture conditions (normal STS, STS while leaning the trunk forward as much as possible, and STS while keeping the trunk as vertical as possible) were set as experimental variables. Two-way analysis of variance was then carried out. Vocalizing during STS increased muscle activity in the hip extensors (gluteus maximus and biceps femoris), but subjective assessments showed a reduction in load. The findings suggest that vocalization during STS effectively uses hip extensors and subjectively reduces the load.

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　In this paper, we proposed a measurable oral care simulator that can be easily attached and detached the gum model and measurement sensor. We proposed joint parts that can be attached and detached only by twisting, and designed a model which the gum model and the joint part are integrated. Since the model is designed with the overhang part tilted at 45 degree or more, it can be printed with a general FDM (fused deposition modeling) 3D printer without using support structures. Furthermore, in this paper, we validated the surface processing of the gum model for the training using artificial plaque. We also presented the joint part for a commercial gum model. In the proposed simulator, models can be easily exchanged, therefore, it can practice with gum models that simulated various shapes and diseases gums. It is also possible to share a measurement sensor with multiple persons to practice. The prototype of the proposed simulator was fabricated. It was confirmed that the contact position, normal force, and tangential force of the brush can be measured in real time for various gum models.

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[in Japanese]

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　Neurological patients with severe physical impairment require a means of expressing their intentions. Using a case study, we aimed to examine the discriminative performance of brain states based on optical topography, with the prefrontal cortex as the region of interest. Brain activity in three neurological patients with residual ability to communicate was measured using near-infrared spectroscopy in the resting state and the state of performing mental arithmetic. Statistical-based features were extracted from the acquired physiological signals, and brain states were classified using machine-learning methods. The number of correct predictions by the discriminant model was 30 out of 36 for participant A (p < .01), 18 out of 24 for participant B (p < .05), and 48 out of 60 for participant C (p < .01), all of which were significantly different from the results of the exact binomial test with chance probability. These results suggest that the brain-computer interface can be applied to communication based on brain activity by defining a correspondence between brain state and intention.

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