Online vs. face-to-face interactive communication education using video materials among healthcare college students: a pilot non-randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to examine whether online interactive communication education using video materials was as effective as face-to-face education among healthcare college students. METHODS: The participants were healthcare college students who were enrolled in study programs to obtain national medical licenses. They participated in lectures and exercises on healthcare communication, both online (n = 139) and face-to-face (n = 132). Listening skills, understanding, and confidence in healthcare communication were assessed using a self-assessed tool. RESULTS: From the two-way ANOVA result, the interaction effects between group (online, face-to-face) and time (Time 1, Time 2, Time 3) were not statistically significant. The main effect of time increased significantly from Time1 to Time 3 on understanding of communication with patients (Hedges'g = 0.51, 95%CI 0.27-0.75), confidence in communication with patients (g = 0.40, 95%CI 0.16-0.64), and confidence in clinical practice (g = 0.49, 95%CI 0.25, 0.73), while the score of listening skills had no significant change (Hedges'g = 0.09, 95%CI - 0.03 to 0.45). CONCLUSIONS: The results show that online communication education with video materials and active exercises is as effective in improving students' confidence as face-to-face. It will be necessary to modify the content of this educational program to improve skills as well as confidence in communication. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not Applicable.

Health and Productivity Management in Hospital Organizations and Work Engagement of Nurses.

Objective: In Japan, there is an urgent need to strengthen efforts to retain nurses and prevent high turnover. The Japan Nurses Association has set the goal of creating a supportive work environment for nurses to work with peace of mind and improve outcomes throughout their lives. Against this background, we examined the relationship between nurses' health and productivity management and their work engagement (WE) in Japanese hospital organizations. Design: A cross-sectional design was used. Methods: A web-based survey was administered to full-time employed nurses working in Japanese hospitals with 100 or more beds. Results: Total WE scores were analyzed as the objective variable; WE crude odds ratios (ORs) were significantly higher in the high group than in the low group for all indicator items related to a healthy workplace culture. For adjusted ORs, propensity scores were calculated from gender, age, years of service, years of experience, job title, marital status, work shift, frequency of exercise per week, and hours worked per week and used as moderator variables. The results showed that the adjusted ORs for the high group were significantly higher than the adjusted ORs for the low group for all items except "participation of the person in charge from the planning stage of the initiative" and "reflection of the person in charge's opinion in the planning of the initiative." Conclusions: This study suggests that health and productivity management initiatives in hospital organizations may positively impact nurses' WE. Furthermore, it suggests that these initiatives may contribute to improving nurse retention and preventing turnover.

Rare Case of BCOR::CCNB3 Sarcoma of Bone.

BACKGROUND BCOR: CCNB3 sarcoma is a rare mesenchymal tumor that was formerly included in the undifferentiated/unclassified sarcoma group and was recently reclassified as one of undifferentiated small round cell sarcomas with a genetically distinct subtype in the WHO 2020 classification. Because of its rarity, still not much is known, especially about its clinical features. CASE REPORT A 15-year-old boy presented with almost 1-year intermittent thigh pain. On the first visit, a pathologic fracture of the femur and a big mass expanding through the femoral cortex with lobular shape and homogenous appearance were recognized on radiography and magnetic resonance imaging. Plain radiography, which was taken 6 months before at a local clinic, showed an expansion and thickening of the right proximal femoral shaft. Biopsy specimen of the lesion revealed a proliferation of round to spindle tumor cells with diffuse and strong immunohistochemical nuclear positivity for BCOR and CCNB3. Under the diagnosis of BCOR::CCNB3 sarcoma of the femur, a chemotherapy based on a protocol of Ewing sarcoma, followed by a wide resection and total femoral replacement surgery, were conducted. The effect of chemotherapy was favorable, showing no microscopic residual tumor. Although postoperative chemotherapy was not completed because of a minor infection detected on the surgical site, the patient was doing well, without any recurrence, for 26 months. CONCLUSIONS BCOR: CCNB3 sarcoma of the bone is a quite rare tumor with much lower incidence than Ewing sarcoma. Notable clinical characteristics of the current case were a 1-year-long symptomatic period and homogenous appearance on MRI.

Workplace Social Support and Reduced Psychological Distress: A 1-Year Occupational Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: There is little evidence that workplace social support can relieve workers' mental health problems. Therefore, we examined whether social support from coworkers and supervisors was associated with reduced serious psychological distress among employees. METHODS: We used two-wave panel data from 13 Japanese companies. The baseline survey was conducted in 2011, and the follow-up survey 1 year later. From 9889 respondents, we selected 759 who had psychological distress at baseline, defined as ≥13 on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6). RESULTS: Increased coworker support was significantly associated with employees' reduced psychological distress (odds ratio, 3.51; 95% confidence interval, 2.17 to 5.68). The association between increased supervisor support and reduced psychological distress was nonsignificant (odds ratio, 1.32, 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 2.04). CONCLUSION: Encouraging coworker support may contribute to the secondary prevention of mental health problems among employees.

Nutrient adequacy of Japanese schoolchildren on days with and without a school lunch by household income.

BACKGROUND: Evidence for whether the nutrient intakes of Japanese schoolchildren differ according to household income is sparse. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the role of school lunches for nutrient adequacy among Japanese primary school children using dietary reference intakes in a cross-sectional survey. DESIGN: Participants were 10- to 11-year-old (5th grade) children from 19 public primary schools in four prefectures of East Japan, and 836 children were analyzed. The participants completed 24-h dietary records with photographs of their meals for 4 consecutive days, composed of 2 days with and 2 days without a school lunch. -Children's household income was obtained from questionnaires that were completed by the participants' guardians and divided into the following three categories: low (0.2236-2.2361 million yen; n = 319), middle (2.3333-2.8868 million yen; n = 194), and high (3.1305-6.3640 million yen; n = 323). Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the odds ratios for whether participants had poor nutrient intakes, with adjustment for confounders. RESULTS: On days without a school lunch, the prevalence of nutrient shortages was significantly higher compared with those on days with a school lunch for most macro- and micronutrients among all three levels of household income. Children from low-income households had higher rates of nutrient shortages for vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, K, Mg, P, Fe, and Zn than those from middle-income households on days without a school lunch (P = 0.004, 0.001, 0.001, 0.006, 0.037, <0.001, and 0.015, respectively), but those differences were not significant on days with a school lunch. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that school lunches are important for achieving adequate nutrient intakes in schoolchildren and reduce disparities of adequate nutrient intake by household income levels.

Association between parents' work hours and nutrient inadequacy in Japanese schoolchildren on weekdays and weekends.

OBJECTIVES: Evidence is sparse concerning whether the nutrient intake in schoolchildren differs according to parents' work hours. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between parents' work hours and nutrient inadequacy among Japanese primary schoolchildren using dietary reference intakes on days with and without a school lunch. METHODS: Participants included 10- to 11-y-old children in grade 5 from 19 public primary schools in four prefectures of east Japan. Data for 699 children were analyzed. Participants completed 24-h dietary records with photographs of their meals for 4 d consecutively, which included of 2 d of weekdays and 2 d of weekends. Their mothers' and fathers' work hours were obtained from questionnaires that were completed by the participants' guardians. Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the odds ratios for whether participants had poor nutrient intake, with adjustment for confounders. RESULTS: Children whose mothers worked ≥40 h/wk had significantly higher rates of nutrient shortages for vitamins A, E, K, and B6, pantothenic acid, potassium, magnesium, and iron (P = 0.007, 0.003, 0.007, 0.023, 0.021, 0.045, 0.004, and 0.009, respectively) than those in the 0 h/wk group. These differences were not significant based on fathers' working hours, with the exception of vitamin A (≥40 versus 0-39 h/wk, P = 0.032). Additionally, nutrient shortages for children were more pronounced on weekdays than on weekends. CONCLUSIONS: This evidence revealed the necessity to improve nutrition intake in children whose mothers work more than statutory working hours, which would enable children to have adequate nutrient intake, especially on weekdays.

Household income is associated with food and nutrient intake in Japanese schoolchildren, especially on days without school lunch.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to examine the association between household income and the intake of foods and nutrients by Japanese schoolchildren, and any differences between days with and without school lunch. DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study. Children, with the support of their parents, kept dietary records with photographs for 4 d (2 d with school lunch and 2 d without). The socio-economic status of each family was obtained from a questionnaire completed by the parents. SETTING: Japan. SUBJECTS: All students in 5th grade (10-11 years old) at nineteen schools in four prefectures and their parents (1447 pairs of students and parents) were invited to take part in the study; 836 pairs of complete data sets were analysed. RESULTS: The average results of four days of dietary records showed that lower income level was associated with a lower intake of fish/shellfish, green vegetables and sugar at the food group level, a lower intake of protein and several micronutrients, and a higher energy intake from carbohydrates at the nutrient level among the children. These associations between income and food/nutrient intake were not significant on days with school lunches, but were significant on days without school lunch. CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirmed an association between household income and the amount of foods and nutrients consumed by Japanese schoolchildren, and suggested that school lunches play a role in reducing disparities in the diets of children from households with various incomes.

Reduction in the soles of graduated compression stockings prevents falls without reducing the preventive effect for venous stasis.

INTRODUCTION: Graduated compression stockings (GCS) are widely used to prevent venous thromboembolism; however, GCS are slippery and a fall hazard owing to the synthetic fibers. Therefore, we investigated whether changing the sole's shape decreased slipping. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We designed four GCS types with varying sole shapes and normal slipperiness to compare with normal GCS and a barefoot model without GCS (control). A mannequin foot with a GCS type or the control was placed on a ramp at 0°, and the angle was slowly increased. When the mannequin foot had moved ≥100% from the original position, the angle of slide-out (AS) was measured, and the forward and backward AS values were compared. Next, we investigated whether sole modification influenced the effectiveness of the normal GCS for preventing venous stasis. The same GCS type (Torenka) was given to 30 healthy volunteers. Peak systolic velocities (PSV) of the popliteal vein prior to wearing GCS and 20 and 40min after wearing GCS were measured using Doppler ultrasound, and the changes were compared with those of the normal GCS. RESULTS: Only the AS of the GCS type with the smallest sole area (Torenka) was not significantly different from the control's AS, which was significantly larger than the normal GCS' AS. Normal and Torenka GCS resulted in significantly increased PSV after 20 and 40min compared with no GCS, with no significant difference between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Torenka-type GCS were the least slippery but were as effective as normal GCS for venous stasis.

Identification and determination of alpha-dicarbonyl compounds formed in the degradation of sugars.

The alpha-dicarbonyl compounds formed in the degradation of glucose and fructose were analyzed by HPLC using 2,3-diaminonaphthalene as derivatizing reagent, and identified as glucosone (GLUCO), 3-deoxyglucosone (3DG), 3-deoxyxylosone (3DX), tetrosone (TSO), triosone (TRIO), 3-deoxytetrosone (3DT), glyoxal (GO), and methylglyoxal (MGO). The results suggest that alpha-dicarbonyl compounds were formed from glucose via non-oxidative 3-deoxyglucosone formation and oxidative glucosone formation in glucose degradation. In addition, TRIO, GO, and MGO were also formed from glyceraldehyde as intermediate. The alpha-dicarbonyl compounds might be formed from glucose via these pathways in diabetes.