Muscle activation patterns in acceleration-based phases during reach-to-grasp movement.

[Purpose] An earlier study divided reaching activity into characteristic phases based on hand velocity profiles. By synchronizing muscle activities and the acceleration profile, a phasing approach for reaching movement, based on hand acceleration profiles, was attempted in order to elucidate the roles of individual muscle activities in the different phases of the acceleration profile in reaching movements. [Subjects and Methods] Ten healthy volunteer subjects participated in this study. The aim was to electromyographically evaluate muscles around the shoulder, the upper trapezius, the anterior deltoid, the biceps brachii, and the triceps brachii, most of which have been used to evaluate arm motion, as well as the acceleration of the upper limb during simple reaching movement in the reach-to-grasp task. [Results] Analysis showed the kinematic trajectories of the acceleration during a simple biphasic profile of the reaching movement could be divided into four phases: increasing acceleration (IA), decreasing acceleration (DA), increasing deceleration (ID), and decreasing deceleration (DD). Muscles around the shoulder showed different activity patterns, which were closely associated with these acceleration phases. [Conclusion] These results suggest the important role of the four phases, derived from the acceleration trajectory, in the elucidation of the muscular mechanisms which regulate and coordinate the muscles around the shoulder in reaching movements.

Changes experienced by and the future values of bereaved family members determined using narratives from bereavement life review therapy.

OBJECTIVES: The goals of this study were to investigate the changes experienced by bereaved family members in Japan and to determine what activities they would value in the future based on narratives from a bereavement life review, which is a type of psychotherapy used to treat depression and promote spiritual well-being. METHODS: The participants were 20 bereaved Japanese family members who underwent two sessions of bereavement life review over a period of two weeks. RESULTS: Using qualitative analysis, we identified four areas of changes ("learning from the deceased's death and self-growth," "healing process," "relating with others," "relating with society," and "performing new family roles") and five categories of valued activities ("continuing grief work," "living with a philosophy," "attaining life roles," "keeping good human relationships," and "enjoying life"). SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: "Learning from the deceased's death and self-growth" and "relating with others" are common in Japan and Western countries, whereas "relating with society," "healing process," and "performing new family roles" are more characteristic of Japan. The strength of bonding with the deceased may influence the values of bereaved family members. We concluded that bereavement life review therapy can contribute positively to their grief work.

[Objective and subjective measures of sleep of shift-working nurses].

OBJECTIVES: To objectively evaluate sleep quality of shift-working nurses, we used an Actiwatch 2, a watch-like actigraphy device designed to measure sleep and wakefulness based on the amount of movement. Subjective sleep quality was also assessed using the St. Mary's Hospital Sleep Questionnaire. METHODS: Nineteen shift-working nurses wore the Actiwatch 2 for 5 days. The monitoring began with 2 days of the morning shift, which were followed by a 16-hour night shift and a rest day. Sleep recordings were obtained four times: night sleep after the second morning shift ("sleep 1"), napping on the night shift ("nap 1"), daytime napping after the night shift ("nap 2") and night sleep after the night shift ("sleep 2"). Actiwatch 2 sleep measures include sleep onset latency, snooze time, sleep efficiency, and percent sleep. In addition, the perceived quality of sleep was obtained using five questions of the St. Mary's Hospital Sleep Questionnaire. Objective and subjective sleep quality were compared between different sleep/nap times: sleep 1 vs. sleep 2, and nap 1 vs. nap 2. RESULTS: Percent sleep of sleep 2 was higher than that of sleep 1. In almost all responses to the St. Mary's Hospital Sleep Questionnaire, the perceived quality of sleep on sleep 2 was better than those of sleep 1, and that of nap 2 was better than nap 1. A significant negative correlation was found between the perceived sleep quality of nap 2 and the characteristics of participants (age, number of children, and length of career). There were positive correlations between the perceived sleep quality of sleep and percent sleep, and between the perceived sleep quality of nap and sleep efficiency. Moreover, the perceived sleep quality of nap 2 tended to decrease in participants whose bedtime deviated from the mean value on morning shift days and the rest day. CONCLUSIONS: We found that perceived sleep quality is related to percent sleep, and that the perceived sleep quality of nap is related to sleep efficiency. The results suggest that improving the sleep quality of daytime napping after the night shift is necessary for nurses with children, and that keeping a regular bedtime is necessary to improve the sleep quality of napping on the night shift.

Universality of bereavement life review for spirituality and depression in bereaved families.

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of the Bereavement Life Review on depression and spiritual well-being of bereaved families in a setting that does not specialize in palliative care. The participants were 20 bereaved family members who underwent the Bereavement Life Review over 2 sessions in 2 weeks. Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition scores significantly decreased from 14.4 ± 9.2 to 11.6 ± 7.4 (t = 2.15, P = .045) and Functional Assessment Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual scores increased from 24.3 ± 10.1 to 25.9 ± 11 (t = -1.0, P = .341) from pre- to postintervention. These results show that the Bereavement Life Review can decrease depression and improve spiritual well-being of bereaved families after the death of a family member in a setting without specialized palliative care. The results also suggest the universality of this therapy.

Development and evaluation of a self-care assessment inventory for workers.

AIM: To develop and evaluate a self-care assessment inventory for workers (SCAI-W). METHODS: A study using a self-care assessment inventory for workers consisting of 27 self-care items, the Japanese version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Japanese version of the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology Mood Adjective Checklist (JUMACL) was conducted. These questionnaires were distributed to 2297 workers. There were 893 valid responses (39.9%, 584 men and 309 women, mean age 37.2±10.2 years). RESULTS: Three primary and eight secondary factors were established for the conceptual structure of self-care and validated by structural equation modeling. "Positive attitude" comprised the secondary factors, "hope" and "sense of fulfillment", and was influenced by another secondary factor, "social support". "Positive attitude" contributed to "attitude toward health". "Attitude toward health" comprised the secondary factors, "care about one's health" and "correction of bad habits". "Attitude toward health" influenced a primary factor, "everyday behavior", comprised of "wakefulness", "eating in moderation", and "lack of self-control". The primary factors "positive attitude" and "everyday behavior" influenced the BDI scores. A multiple regression analysis indicated that JUMACL subscale scores (energetic arousal and tense arousal), demographic data (living alone, sex, and age) and health-related data (exercise, smoking, body mass index, drinking more than three alcoholic drinks/day, and gambling) predicted the scores of the self-care assessment inventory for workers. CONCLUSION: This assessment inventory could be a useful measure of workers' self-care because it establishes a relationship between psychological and behavioral concepts that are important for health promotion.

Recognition of asymmetric alterations to pictures of cats: effects of method of alteration and type of change in elderly subjects.

Recognition of environmental changes is essential in everyday life. In this study, recognition of animate objects by elderly people was examined with various methods (introduction, restoration) and types (addition, deletion) of change. For restoration, deletions and additions were produced by eliminating features from pictures and reintroducing the deleted features, respectively. In introduction, additions and deletions were produced by adding and deleting features from original pictures. 37 subjects (M age = 74 yr.) viewed each card for 10 sec. (learning phase) and were then asked (test phase) whether they had viewed the card in the learning phase and to rate their confidence in their answer. Percentage correct rejection and confidence ratings were higher for introductions compared to restorations and for deletions compared to additions. Findings are similar to those in young adults and children, which indicates developmental robustness of asymmetric effects in recognition of animate objects.

Use of ambulatory skin conductance recording for monitoring psychophysiological arousal in the elderly staying in care facilities.

To monitor the psychophysiological arousal level in the elderly, 24 h recordings of skin conductance change (SCC) were done during their stay in care facilities. The mean and maximum SCC levels in 17 awake elderly subjects were significantly lower than those of levels in 20 healthy, young control subjects (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001, respectively). The mean SCC levels during sleep did not differ between groups. The SCC trend graph reflected a degree of daily activity. The daytime SCC profile of elderly individuals who could walk independently was comparable to that of healthy young subjects. In contrast, the SCC profile of the bedridden elderly were generally flattened with poor SCC responses that were evoked only by nursing procedures.