The purposes of this study were to clarify the characteristics of gazes of expert nurses (who have sharp observational skills) by comparing them with those of novice nurses. Participants were 11 expert and 10 novice nurses. We used original still picture of the bedside including the fall cause, and measured eye movement during observations of patient rooms. When not limiting the duration of observation, there was no difference between expert and novice nurses in observation time, gaze time, or gaze count, but there were differences in the number of gaze items and distribution of gaze count, with 0.1-0.2 second gazes making up the highest proportion of expert nurses gazes. Furthermore, for the first 5 seconds of the observation period, there were no differences between expert and novice nurses with respect to the number of gaze items, gaze count, and distribution of gaze count. However, there were significant relation between gaze count at potential dangers and expert or novice nurses for instant gazes of 0.1-0.2 seconds. These results suggest that expert nurses are able to prioritize and focus on potential dangers with instant gazes immediately after the beginning of the observation period.

　According to previous studies, up to 50% of women in Japan suffer from“hiesho,”a common condition characterized by persistent coldness in the extremities ; however, the pathophysiology of hiesho remains unclear. The purpose of this study is to clarify the physiological mechanism of hiesho by measuring circulatory and autonomic nervous activities between individuals reporting hiesho versus those that do not. 20 apparently healthy women, 12 reporting hiesho and 8 without, were including in this prospective study from October 2012 to January 2013. Physiological parameters measured included heart rate (HR), blood pressure, skin surface temperature, skin blood flow, tympanic membrane temperature, thermography, and plethysmography. Autonomic nervous activity was measured via frequency of heart rate variability, with 0.04-0.15 Hz defined as low frequency (LF) and 0.15-0.5Hz defined as high frequency (HF). HF is an index of parasympathetic nerve activity, while LF/HF is an index of sympathetic nerve activity. Compared to controls (mean age, 20.1±0.5), the hiesho group (mean age, 22.0±0.8) had significantly different skin blood flow (6.3±0.7 vs 9.3±1.0 ; P=0.019). HR (64.9±2.7 vs 58.8±1.2 ; P=0.06), LF/HF (1.2±0.2 vs 0.7±0.1 ; P=0.076), and HF variability (1224.2±310.9 vs 1678.0±852.1 ; n.s.) showed a trend toward difference. Hiesho individuals have lower parasympathetic nervous activity and higher sympathetic nervous activity, as well as decreased blood flow and lower skin temperature in peripheral circulation, compared to controls. Our data suggest that hiesho may result from both decreased parasympathetic nervous activity and peripheral circulation due to chronic vasoconstriction from increased sympathetic nervous system activity.

　The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of hot pack and massage for pain in face-down posture, which is the assumed posture following vitrectomy.
　This experiment was conducted on two groups : hot pack group (12 healthy adult volunteers, 67.3±3.3 years old) and the massage group (12 healthy adult volunteers, 66.5±4.0 years old). The hot pack group had two conditions : only face-down posture and face-down posture plus hot pack. The massage group had two conditions : only face-down posture and face-down posture plus massage. The subjects maintained a face-down posture for 90 minutes. A hot pack with a temperature of about 42 degrees centigrade was applied for 30 minutes beginning 45 minutes after the start of the posture. The massage was performed from the shoulders to the lower back for 10 minutes beginning 45 minutes after start of the posture. Evaluation included a profile of mood states, subjective pain, heart rate, autonomic nerve activity index, and skin temperature.
　This study suggests that hot pack and massage reduced temporary subjective pain in maintenance of face-down posture. Furthermore, hot pack prevented increase of heart rate and blood pressure. Massage also had the effect of reducing heart rate and blood pressure. Hot pack significantly raised the temperature of the shoulder region, which was observed to decrease in maintenance of face-down posture. However, massage did not show an effect similar to that of the hot pack.
　Moreover, this study has shown that the subjective sense and physical response of subjects is highly individual. Therefore, it was suggested that nurses are required to care for the anticipated physical burden of elderly patients in face-down posture following vitrectomy in any case.

　The aim of this study was to clarify the effects of thermal stimulation to the back on brain activity by examining cerebral hemodynamics using near-infrared spectroscopy. Study subjects included twenty-eight males. Hot packs heated to temperatures of 16℃, 33℃ and 42℃ were placed between the shoulder blades on the backs for 420 seconds. Cerebral hemodynamics in the left prefrontal cortex were then measured and was the comfort/discomfort from the thermal stimulation subjectively evaluated. For the analysis, cerebral blood flow was rendered as a Z score and the changes in cerebral blood flow in each time period and the changes in cerebral hemodynamics was calculated. Cerebral blood flow volume at 16℃ of thermal stimulation was reduced than at 33℃ and 42℃ after 60seconds and at 33℃ after 90seconds (P＜0.05). As for the level of comfort/discomfort with thermal stimulation, only 42℃ of thermal stimulation had a smaller change in cerebral hemodynamics with subjective comfort than with subjective discomfort (P＜0.05). This demonstrates that thermal stimulation of 16℃ to the back facilitated a greater temporary decrease in cerebral blood flow than temperatures of 33℃ and 42℃, and that the change in cerebral hemodynamics with subjective comfort/discomfort from thermal stimulation to the back differs with the stimulation temperature.

　The purpose of this study was to clarify the effect wearing gloves has on preventing neonates from healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), based on literature reviews. The literatures as far back as the 1970s were retrieved using the keywords “gloves” and “neonates”, “nosocomial infections” or “healthcare-associated infections” with the literature search engine such as Igaku Chuo Zasshi (Ver.5), PubMed, and CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Fifty-eight literatures were retrieved and analyzed. The research literatures from the 1970s to the 1990s were mainly reports of outbreaks of infection at hospitals, and in the 2000s, research on verification of the effects of wearing gloves increased. As a result of research of the Pearson's correlation coefficient between MRSA colonization rate and the amount of gloves used, based on literatures showing amount of gloves used, a strong negative correlation between MRSA colonization rate and the amount of gloves used, r＝－0.873, was found. The risk ratio of MRSA colonization rate depending on the use or non-use of gloves was 2.24 (95％Cl : 1.79－2.79). From this result, it can be said that MRSA can be prevented from infection by wearing gloves. However, in some cases, the effects of wearing gloves could not be fully exerted and it was found to be difficult to control the transmission of infection.

　The objective of this study is to investigate the introduction process for the “Sitting without Back Support” Nursing Care Program, which supports the early ambulation for patients with acute cerebrovascular disease, in two hospitals where the program was introduced and to discuss the measures for diffusion of the program based on the promotion and inhibition factors identified for the diffusion. Promotion factors included the following : effectively playing a role of the developer who instructed the introduction of sitting without back support program as a change agent, activities of the change champions who played a central role in the practice, cooperation of the family and various professionals such as nursing managers and doctors, culture in wards, high relative superiority. Inhibition factors included the following : personnel changes or resignation of the nurses, presence of those who rejected the introduction of the program, lack of educational materials, high complexity, and poor observability. The study suggested the necessities for the creation of educational program for the opinion leaders and utilization of the nurses who can longitudinally work, regardless of the personnel changes.

　The present study aimed to determine whether the left-right knot or the triangular fold method of bed making is more effective at restricting dislodgement of waterproof mattress covers. To compare these method, both were used for waterproof and breathable covers and dislodgement was measured at the head, foot, and left and right sides of a mattresses.
　For waterproof covers, the left-right knot method resulted in significantly less dislodgement than the triangular fold method at both the head and foot of the mattress. Furthermore, the extent of dislodgement on the left and right sides did not differ significantly between the two bed-making methods when a waterproof cover was used. For breathable covers, the left-right knot method resulted in significantly less dislodgement than the triangular fold method at both the head and right of the mattress. Furthermore, the extent of dislodgement on the foot and left sides did not differ significantly between the two bed-making methods when a waterproof cover was used.
　Our findings suggest that the left-right knot method restricts dislodgement better than the triangular fold method when a waterproof cover is used.

　Cold (20℃) compresses are applied as part of nursing care for relief of inflammatory symptoms induced by infusion phlebitis. However, the most appropriate length of time for which compresses should be applied has not been investigated scientifically. Therefore, using a rat model, the present study was conducted to clarify the most appropriate length of time for which a cold compress should be applied in order to inhibit the inflammatory reactions induced by infusion phlebitis. After creation of experimental phlebitis on the tail of rats, cold compresses were applied to the tail lesions for 10 minutes and 30 minutes. Control rats received no compresses, and were investigated for gross findings including skin swelling, as well as being subjected to microscopic examinations. Clear differences in the sizes of skin swellings were demonstrated between the two cold compress groups. The most effective compress application time for inhibition of inflammatory reactions was 30 minutes.