The emergent disaster of antimicrobial resistance developed by virulent bacteria has highlighted the need to investigate substitutes for the presently existing antibiotics. Antibacterial peptides (ABPs) have arisen as promising substitutes because of their unique killing effect on bacteria: bacterial resistance toward ABPs is negligible. ABPs have many beneficial subsidiary effects, such as protection of labile bioactive compounds, and they can be covalently connected to different materials to enhance their antibacterial effect. Many researchers have investigated many applications of these peptides recently, such as in a variety of pharmaceutical dosage forms and wastewater treatment.

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Positional instillation of contrast (PIC) cystography is effective for detecting occult vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), which can not be revealed by standard voiding cystourethrography (VCUG). We experienced two cases of young female patients; one had repeated urinary tract infection with a negative VUR on standard VCUG, and the other had findings suggestive of reflux hydronephrosis and intolerance of standard VCUG. They underwent PIC cystography, and occult VUR was detected in both cases. Both were successfully treated with simultaneous endoscopic injection therapy with dextranomer/hyaluronic acid. PIC cystography is useful for detecting occult VUR in children with negative VUR findings on standard VCUG or who are unable to tolerate standard VCUG.

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The implementation of medical home care requires the fulfillment of discharge coordination and planning, but some hospital nurses face difficulties due to differences in perception between nurses and patients/families. Visiting nurses involved immediately after hospital discharge also have difficulties in providing at-home care and struggle with differences in perception. This study clarifies the differences between visiting nurses and patients/families in their perception of discharge immediately after hospital discharge and suggests a way to resolve those differences. We also examine an ideal approach to discharge coordination and planning. We conducted a survey of 100 visiting nurses, and the results from 81 responses (validity rate: 81.0%) showed that the differences in perception were “different for all: visiting nurses, patients, and family members,” with “need for care content” and “perception of prognosis” being the most frequent responses. Methods of resolving differences were categorized as “respect for intentions,” “explanation,” “intervention during hospitalization,” “coordination with patients/families,” and “service coordination”. To resolve the differences in perception among nurses, it is important to start interventions by visiting nurses during hospitalization through collaboration between hospital and visiting nurses. Seamless support until after discharge, respecting the wishes of patients/families, careful explanation of the patient’s condition, including prognosis, and the step-by-step planning of discharge coordination by the team are also important.

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An open-ended questionnaire was administered to the participants of a six-part lecture series on self-controlled management of chemical substances regarding the support those participants would need when transitioning to that system, and the required elements of support were examined using a text-mining tool (KH Coder Ver. 3). The subjects were 59 persons who attended the lectures on an overview of self-controlled management of chemical substances and answered a questionnaire after the course. The lectures were organized by the Graduate School of Occupational Health, University of Occupational and Environmental Health from January-February 2022. The participants themselves indicated that they needed knowledge and up-to-date information on the revised law, as well as education about chemical substances. As for the support needed for individuals, the following were considered necessary: to provide support for education; management; information; the latest information; and education about the toxicity and dangers of chemical substances, which are necessary for education and chemical substance management in accordance with the revised law. As for the support needed for organizations, it was considered necessary to support the understanding of top management and the securing of necessary human resources.

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We conducted a questionnaire survey of psychiatric nurses to clarify the relationship between their self-evaluation of their technical skills and support from others. We obtained valid responses from 578 of these nurses. Factor analysis was used to extract support factors for five types of professionals: supervisors, seniors, peers, juniors, and other professionals in the workplace. The results demonstrated that even in a psychiatric nursing field consisting of nurses of various ages, the structure of support was similar to that in a previous study of young and mid-career employees in the workplace in Japanese companies. The results also showed that the self-evaluation of technical skills was higher for those who received psychological support from their seniors and work support from other professions. The results also revealed that the self-evaluation of technical skills was lower for those who received psychological support from their peers.

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