High levels of negative ions have been detected in the air in forests, at spas, near waterfalls, and so forth, and there have been reported that they have a favorable effect on human beings' feeling of comfort and their feeling of fatigue. In this study we prepared an experimental room in which it was possible to maintain temperature constant at 25°C and constant humidity, and turn the supply of negative ions on and off, and in addition to assessing comfort level and fatigue level subjectively, we assessed them by means of the -wave component of the EEG, which indicates the degree of relaxation, and by auditory evoked potential P300, which reflects attentiveness and degree of fatigue.
Methods: The subjects were 15 healthy physicians and nurses. The experiment was conducted in a room maintained at a constant temperature of 25°C and a constant humidity of 50% during a 2-hour period on different days without informing the subjects of whether the air was loaded with negative ions or not. Constant temperature and humidity were maintained, and the level of negative ions was adjusted by using a shinki genertor (Geochto Ltd.). The parameters measured were determined with a flicker test and P300 (auditory evoked) test, and the α-wave ratio was calculated from the 60-minute closed-eye resting EEG.
Results: A higher percentage of subjects reported subjective comfort when the air was loaded with neagtive ions (6/15, 40%) than when it was not (4/15, 27%).
Significant difference was not observed in the P300 tests, but the α₂ (10-13Hz) ratio of the EEG and flicker test tended to be higher with negative ion-air than without nagative ion-air.

Objective: Adequate periconceptional folic acid intake decreases the risk of neural tube defects in infants.  The present study aimed to investigate the awareness of pharmacy students regarding the importance of folic acid intake for the prevention of neural tube defects.
Design: Questionnaire survey.
Methods: A self-administered questionnaire regarding the importance of folic acid intake for the prevention of neural tube defects was distributed to 750 pharmacy students at Tohoku and Ohu Universities.
Results: Among the 685 respondents (response rate; 91.3%), 74 (10.8%) were aware that folic acid intake decreases the risk of neural tube defects.  In multivariate logistic regression analysis, awareness of the importance of folic acid intake was evident among 5th- and 6th-year pharmacy students (odds ratio=3.352, 95% confidence interval=1.797-6.253) and among those who used dietary supplements (2.275, 1.306-3.966).  Among the 74 pharmacy students who recognized the importance of folic acid intake, 17 (23.0%) and 3 (4.1%) were aware that women should begin taking a folic acid supplement before conception and should take about 400 μg per day during pregnancy, respectively.
Conclusion: Only about 10% of the pharmacy students in this study recognized that folic acid intake decreases the risk of neural tube defects, and many were unaware of the recommended intake amount.  Therefore, awareness of the importance of folic acid intake must be more aggressively promoted among pharmacy students.

Objective: Adequate periconceptional intake of folic acid decreases the risk of neural tube defects of infant. The present study aimed to investigate the awareness of nursing students about the importance of folic acid intake for the prevention of neural tube defects.Design: Questionnaire survey.Methods: A self-administered questionnaire regarding the importance of folic acid intake for the prevention of neural tube defects was distributed to 423 nursing students of Tohoku University and Tohoku Fukushi University.Results: Among the 408 respondents (response rate; 96.5%), 129 (31.6%) nursing students were aware that folic acid intake decreases the risk of neural tube defects. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, grade 3-4 (odds ratio = 11.779, 95% confident interval = 5.739-24.177) were associated with the awareness of the importance of folic acid intake among nursing students. Of 129 nursing students who recognized the importance of folic acid intake, 52 (40.3%) and 11 (8.5%) recognized that women should begin folic acid intake before conception and should take about 400μg of folic acid per day during pregnancy respectively.Conclusion: About 30% of nursing students recognized that folic acid intake decreases the risk of neural tube defects and many did not know the details of the effective intake for the prevention of neural tube defects. Therefore, more aggressive promotion of the awareness of the importance of folic acid intake among nursing students is warranted.

Bed rest for pregnant women recovering from threatened abortion and premature labor to prevent abortion can cause deconditioning syndrome, but it is not clear what kind of physical exercise should be provided for these patients. To better provide appropriate rehabilitation for threatened abortion and premature labor patients, we investigated patient clinical records retrospectively. In 11 patients who were provided rehabilitation within the past three years, eight delivered during hospitalization and three became independent in ADLs and were discharged while still pregnant. All patients who delivered during their hospitalization became independent in ADLs immediately after delivery, and as a result, the maternal prognosis was good. Choosing an appropriate rehabilitation approach for patients with threatened premature labor may help alleviate their deconditioning during pregnancy without any adverse impact.

Children's hospitals and related institutions, along with habilitation/rehabilitation facilities for children with disabilities, practice pediatric rehabilitation medicine. However, the status of rehabilitation medical services at children's hospitals has not been examined. To help improve pediatric rehabilitation medicine, we aimed to clarify it with this study. We performed a nationwide survey targeting the Japanese Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions. The median numbers of full-time rehabilitation doctors, board-certified rehabilitation doctors, and board-certified instructors per institution were one, zero, and zero, respectively. The median numbers of full-time physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language-hearing therapists, and clinical psychologists were nine, five, three, and two, respectively. Demand for increasing the number of rehabilitation staff members was high across all specialties. Only about half the institutions surveyed were certified as training facilities by the Japanese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine. Some institutions did not meet the health insurance system's higher-level criteria for rehabilitation facilities. The construction of an appropriate medical service framework and an increase in hospital services, including staff assignment, will be needed to improve pediatric rehabilitation and to expand research and education in this field.

Spina bifida is a disease that requires cross-disciplinary treatment for each life stage from the neonatal period to adulthood. Various rehabilitation therapies are required depending on the life stage of patients. In this study, we aimed to clarify the current status of rehabilitation services at children's hospitals in order to improve quality of rehabilitation care for children with spina bifida. We performed a survey targeted at the Japanese Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions. The framework of the cross-disciplinary co-operation of medical treatments for spina bifida existed in 67% of children's hospitals surveyed. In most of these hospitals, the departments of rehabilitation medicine participated in these frameworks. In the medical treatment for children with spina bifida, acute phase rehabilitation after orthopaedic surgery was adequately provided in children's hospitals. However, convalescent and community-based phase rehabilitation therapies, and the co-operation with education institutions or habilitation/rehabilitation facilities for children were determined to be inadequate. Regarding general paediatric rehabilitation, convalescent and community-based phase rehabilitation therapies were mainly provided outside children's hospitals：habilitation/rehabilitation facilities for children mainly provided convalescent and community-based phase rehabilitation therapies and were considered to be the desirable setting for such therapies. To improve paediatric rehabilitation, including the rehabilitation for children with spina bifida, several factors need to be considered. These include the construction of appropriate frameworks for medical services (such as personnel training and the recruitment of rehabilitation doctors, therapists, and related staff), and co-operation with regional education institutions or habilitation/rehabilitation facilities for children.

Children's hospitals and related institutions, along with habilitation/rehabilitation facilities for children with disabilities, practice pediatric rehabilitation medicine. However, the status of rehabilitation medical services at children's hospitals has not been examined. To help improve pediatric rehabilitation medicine, we aimed to clarify it with this study. We performed a nationwide survey targeting the Japanese Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions. The median numbers of full-time rehabilitation doctors, board-certified rehabilitation doctors, and board-certified instructors per institution were one, zero, and zero, respectively. The median numbers of full-time physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language-hearing therapists, and clinical psychologists were nine, five, three, and two, respectively. Demand for increasing the number of rehabilitation staff members was high across all specialties. Only about half the institutions surveyed were certified as training facilities by the Japanese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine. Some institutions did not meet the health insurance system's higher-level criteria for rehabilitation facilities. The construction of an appropriate medical service framework and an increase in hospital services, including staff assignment, will be needed to improve pediatric rehabilitation and to expand research and education in this field.