Studies suggest that mouth rinse containing zinc chloride is effective to reduce oral malodor. The purpose of this double-blind, cross-over study was to examine the effects of spray containing zinc chloride on oral malodor. Eight male healthy subjects, aged 20 to 30 years old, prohibited oral cleaning, eating and drinking were participated. Concentration of hydrogen sulfide in morning breath odor was measured by Oral Chroma, a compact and simple gas chromatograph equipped with an indium oxide semiconductor gas sensor. The first study compared the effects of spray with and without 0.1% zinc chloride on suppression of hydrogen sulfide concentration in mouth air. The second study examined the effects of the number of application by spray on reduction of hydrogen sulfide concentration immediately after application and after 30 min, 60 min, 90 min and 120 min. The concentration of hydrogen sulfide was significantly reduced by spray containing zinc chloride. The concentration of hydrogen sulfide was significantly reduced by using spray containing zinc chloride from immediately after application to 30 min; however, the change of the reduction rate from 30 min to 120 min was slight. The 7-time-application by spray containing zinc chloride appeared to be more effective to reduce concentration of hydrogen sulfide after 120 min from application than single application. These results suggest that zinc chloride spray is effective to manage oral malodor. The strength and duration of the effects depend on the number of application.

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The purpose of this study was to describe the experience of mothers in caregiving roles of adult children with chronic schizophrenia by exploring the mothers' narratives. Twelve mothers participating as caregivers for at least 10 years participated in this study. We used a semi-structured interview which focused on the symptoms and everyday life of their schizophrenic child, how mothers feel about their affected child, and how they cope with their child's behavior. This study was conducted with the permission of the faculty ethical committee of the University of Yamanashi. Informed consent was obtained from all subjects. Through a qualitative analysis, the data was classified into 5 themes : mothers' life, face to face contact with their child, illness and medicine, relationship with various people and support and anxiety matters. Many mothers made up their mind to share their child's life as a lifelong partner. They felt they were a liability as a parent, felt mercy toward their child, and were considerate to other family members. Psychiatric nursing professionals need to accept all mothers' experiences as worthy and meaningful. Future research is necessary to develop community-based nursing therapeutic intervention for empowering mothers of patients with schizophrenia.

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The current status of elderly college students' communication with friends in the same age group was investigated to characterize learning in the elderly. The results revealed that : 1) there were significant differences in "learning", "visiting", and "hospital visit/care" regarding the communication details between elderly college students and their friends outside the college, 2) their communication with friends was intended to maintain their health and enrich their social lives while considering how to communicate, and 3) learning in the elderly means deepening their thoughts on the basis of others' views through discussions as well as knowledge from elderly college classes, and developing life skills to enhance their daily lives. It was also suggested that they were learning how to better communicate with friends.

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The purpose of this study is to present a rating scale on spirituality for the elderly and examine its reliability and validity. Building on spirituality concept and structure of the elderly, semi-structured interviews to 16 persons living in an elderly community were conducted as a preceding study. Then a "three-dimensional (i.e. past to future, transcendence and oneself, and others) 5-category conceptual model for the elderly" was produced with special reference to Reed and others, that they'd light on. Forty two questions in 5 categories were used in a pilot questionnaire survey, which led to selecting 29 final questions. A 5-factor second-order model with "spirituality" as second factor was assumed. Data was collected by questionnaire of five-affair method to 358 people who are users of a welfare center for the elderly. The number of effective answers was 310 (male 76, female 231, ; average age 77.8±4.1). A confirmative factor analysis of this model showed that the 5-factor second-order model with 16 items was found to fit the statistical criteria well and to satisfy construct validity. The reliability of this scale model was examined to have high consistency by the a coefficient method of Cronbach. These results suggested that this model had construct validity and reliability to be used as a spirituality rating scale for the elderly. These 5 primary factors were renamed "review of own life", "relation with others", "interest in the transcendent", "pursuing own being" and "composing mind to the future". In addition, the correlation analysis between three another similar rating models suggested little correlation and the originality of this presented scale model was supported.

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Honey is produced by honey bees from flower nectar of different plants. The honey bee changes sucrose in flower nectar into glucose and fructose by the action of enzymes in its own body. Honey contains abundant vitamins, minerals and amino acids which are necessary for human health. Also, one study has reported that honey prevents infectious diseases in the medical field, and this has resulted in increased demand for honey as a health food. Currently, most honey products which are distributed in Japan are imported and the quantity of honey produced in Japan is extremely few. In recent years, many honey products have emphasized the kind of flower nectar they contain and their place of origin. Quality and safety have also been emphasized. In honey, trace elements may differ remarkably according to the variety of flower nectar. Moreover, it can be expected that differences in the soil in which the nectar-producing flowers grow can reflect the trace element content, even in honeys that use the same kind of flower nectar. In this paper, we focus on acacia honey from different areas of Japan, and characterize these honeys by area.

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