In this study, to determine the future direction of nursing, we studied the effect of living with a sibling with a brain disorder using two internet search engines: The Japan Medical Abstracts Society website and the National Institute of Informatics site CiNii. A literature search was conducted by setting the publication time as the period between 1983 and 2015, using “brain disorder”, “nursing”, “siblings” and other terms as keywords. Analysis of 26 articles extracted in our literature search revealed that many of the studies were conducted in the fields of sociology and education and were about stress in the primary caregiver or family members of individuals with a brain disorder. On the other hand, studies focusing on the care of individuals with a brain disorder were about self-care, accidental falls, difficulties and negative feelings felt by nurses who supported individuals with a brain disorder, and caregiver satisfaction or burden scales of family members or the primary caregiver. However, none of the studies investigated siblings of individuals with a brain disorder, who live and age together and whose responsibility is different from that of parents or children, thus requiring different informational and emotional support. Taking into account the special features of individuals with a brain disorder and findings in other academic areas, we believe it is important to establish a system to support the siblings of individuals with a brain disorder, in addition to the direct family members and primary caregivers.

To investigate the effect of acupuncture treatment combined with extreme infra-red rays radiation, we measured both skin surface and deep temperature at the stimulated area and peripheral site. The subjects were seven healthy volunteers with no problems involving the skin or autonomic nervous system. Acupuncture stimulation was performed on the Subject's back in combination with extreme infra-red rays radiation. The skin surface and deep temperature were measured at both the stimulated area and peripheral site (sole of the foot) using a thermistor temperature sensor and deep tissue thermometer during stimulation. We also measured temperature at those sites during extreme infrared rays radiation without acupuncture stimulation as a control study. Acupuncture stimulation combined with extreme infra-red rays radiation on the subject's back increases both surface and deep temperature at both the stimulated area and the peripheral site (sole of the foot), while the radiation alone had no effect on the temperature at the peripheral site. We suggested that acupuncture treatment combined with extreme infra-red rays radiation was useful to increase skin surface and deep temperature not only at the stimulated area but also at the peripheral site.

Objective: By using human liver microsomes (HLM), we analyzed the effects of 14 known components of A.senticosus Harms on the activities of CYP2C9 and CYP3A4.
Methods and Results: Sesamin and quercetin inhibited both enzyme activities, whereas quercitrin strongly inhibited CYP3A4 activity. The 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC₅₀s) of sesamin and quercetin on CYP2C9 activity were approximately 124- and 59-fold higher and the IC₅₀s of sesamin, quercetin, and quercitrin on CYP3A4 activity were approximately 427-, 135-, and 22-fold higher than that of A. senticosus Harms extract (ASE), respectively. All these components inhibited both CYP3A4 and CYP2C9 in a non-competitive manner. However, these components are present in small amounts in ASE.
Conclusion: Therefore, the food-drug interactions caused by A. senticosus Harms are presumed to be due to the additive or synergistic interaction of these components or the other existing components, including their metabolites.

The inhibitory effects of the freeze-dried powder of the aqueous extract of black tea leaf (JAT) on α-glucosidase activity were investigated. We initially examined the effects of JAT addition on yeast α-glucosidase activity. JAT significantly and dose-dependently inhibited α-glucosidase activity and more strongly inhibited the activity than acarbose, the positive control. Then, we examined the effects of oral administration of JAT on sucrose tolerance in type 2 diabetes mellitus model db/db mice. Both JAT and acarbose administered groups showed a dose-dependent decrease in plasma glucose levels after the sucrose loading compared with the control group. Notable was that the plasma glucose levels of the 500 mg/kg JAT administered group exhibited a significant decrease 30 min or longer after the sucrose loading. On the other hand, no significant difference in plasma insulin levels was seen between the JAT administered group and the control group. We also measured small intestinal sucrase activity in db/db mouse at 30 min after JAT oral administration. Compared to control mice, small intestinal sucrase activity was significantly decreased in the 500 mg/kg JAT administered mice. These findings indicate that JAT may be a useful natural material for the prevention and therapy of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

1) For third-year students at Keio University Medical School, 10 lectures are given about why kampo medicine is effective, Fourth-year students receive 8 lectures on kampo medicine and participate in independent study sessions 3 times a week for 4 months.
2) In lectures entitled “Why Is kampo Medicine Effective?”we introduce the functional mechanism of action of kampo medicine and address the skepticism of medical students. In the lecture series entitled “Kampo Medicine, ”we introduce the clinical foundations of kampo practice and provide students with a checklist of the key points of each lecture.
3) In the independent study sessions, several students perform mentored basic-science research into kampo's mechanism of action.

The effect of acupuncture on the autonomic nervous system was analyzed by simultaneous measurement of sympathetic skin response (SSR), sympathetic flow response (SFR) and Palmer emotional sweating evoked with electric stimuli to the forehead at random interval and intensity. The mutual relation of measurements by those parameters was examined electrophysiologically.
The subjects were ten healthy male volunteers. SSR at the left palm and SFR at the fingertip of the left forefinger were measured using laser doppler flowmetry, and emotional sweating at teh right palm was measured with the ventilated capsule method (hydrography). The measurements were performed in two sessions, with and without acupuncture stimulation that was given at L14 with the technique of sparrow picking (1Hz) for 1 minute and retaining the needle for 10 minutes. The amplitude of SSR, the reduction rate of SFR, and the sweat rate were measured before and after acupuncture stimulation, while those were measured before and after resting in the other session as a control study. As a result, habituation in each response was not seen and the correlation coefficient in each index was low, while SSR and Palmar sweating were inhibited significantly in the stimulation group only, and SFR was inhibited in both groups.
These results suggested that acupuncture stimulation might inhibit the activity of the skin sympathetic nerve system.

We studied the effects of electro acupuncture stimulation of Baxie on local tolerance as an index of cold induced vasodilation (CIVD). The subjects consisted of 22 healthy adult volunteers. The skin temperature and skin blood flow in the middle finger were simultaneously examined before, during, and after immersion of the finger in cold water. Electroacupuncture stimulation at 1 Hz with a 66 to 100V intensity was performed for 5 minutes. Experiments of no stimulation and electroacupuncture stimulation were conducted on the same subject on different days.
The results revealed the following:
1. CIVD was caused by rapid increase of skin blood flow during immersion of the finger in cold water.
2. The minimum skin temperature, minimum skin blood flow, maximum skin blood flow, mean skin temperature in the rising phase of skin temperature, and the index of resistance to frostbite of the electroacupuncture stimulated group were higher than those of the unstilmulated group, and rates of skin temperature increase and decrease during immersion of the finger in cold water in the electroacupuncture stimulated group were significantly higher. These results show that electroacupuncture stimulation increases local cold tolerance in the finger.

We studied the effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) of Baxie on local cold tolerance as an index of cold induced vasodilatation (CIVD). The subjects consisted of 22 healthy adult volunteers.
The skin temperature and skin blood flow in the middle finger were measured simultaneously before, during, and after immersing the finger in cold water. TENS at 1Hz with 100-V intensity was applied for 5 minutes before immersion of the finger.
Experiments were conducted with no stimulation and with TENS on the same subjects on different days.
The results revealed the following:
1. The minimum skin temperature and minimum skin blood flow during immersion of the finger in cold water were higher in the TENS group than in the control (no stimulation) group.
2. The maximum skin temperature, mean skin temperature, and increase and decrease of skin blood flow rate during immersion of the finger in cold water and in the rising phase of skin temperature were higher in the TENS group than in the control group.
3. The index of resistance to frostbite was higher in the TENS group than in the control group.
4. The number of fluctuations in skin temperature during immersion of the finger in cold water was significantly higher in the TENS group than in the control group.
5. The incidence of abnormal perception during immersion of the finger in cold water was lower in the TENS group than in the control group.
These results suggest that TENS enhances the local cold tolerance of fingers by suppressing SSA in the initial falling phase on skin temperature and increasing the motion of skin blood vessels in the rising phase of skin temperature.

The objectives of this study were to determine the actual assistance provided by municipal public health nurses to individuals with higher brain dysfunction and their families and to discuss the future direction of their assistance so that those individuals wishing to live at home and their families can live with sense of security. Literature published between 1983 and 2021 was searched in Ichushi Web using the keyword combination of “higher brain dysfunction”, “family”, “community”, and “assistance”. In total, 16 articles that met our objectives were analyzed with particular attention to the study objectives of “family” and “assistance”. Many studies of family caregivers of individuals with higher brain dysfunction concerned the inadequacy of the social security system and the importance of cooperation between relevant organizations and professionals. Studies by nurses concerned the assistance provided and the difficulties they faced on recovery wards, efforts to improve patient self-care, feelings of burden among family members involved in home-based care, and the need to establish assistance after the main caregiver had died. Looking to the future, when municipal public health nurses assist individuals with higher brain dysfunction and their families, they should have a full view of the support system and help the system function according to the situation, by acting as an approachable point of contact when there are concerns about daily living (e.g., anxiety after the death of a family caregiver), making regular home visits to address these concerns and anxiety early, and acting as a coordinator to establish cooperation and collaboration between relevant professionals.

STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of healthy volunteers. PURPOSE: We aimed to investigate the variation in the lumbar facet joint orientation in an adult Asian population. The relationship between the facet joint orientation and muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) of multifidus and erector spinae was also clarified. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Several studies have reported that lumbar pathologies, such as lumbar spondylolysis and degenerative spondylolisthesis, were related to the horizontally shaped lumbar facet joint orientation at the lower lumbar level. However, data regarding variations in the facet joint orientation in asymptomatic subjects have not been well documented. METHODS: In 31 healthy male adult Asian volunteers, the facet joint orientation and CSA of multifidus and erector spinae were measured using magnetic resonance imaging at the L4–5 and L5–S1 levels. Variation in the facet joint orientation was examined using coefficients of variation (CV). Pearson's product-moment coefficient was used to investigate the relationship between the facet joint orientation and CSA of multifidus and erector spinae. RESULTS: Lumbar facet joint orientation had a wider range of variation at L5–S1 (CV=0.30) than at L4–5 (CV=0.18). The L4–5 facet joint orientation had a weak but significant correlation with the CSA of erector spinae (r=0.40; p=0.031). The CSA of the multifidus had no relationship with the facet joint orientation at the L4–5 (r=0.19; p=0.314) and the L5–S1 level (r=0.19; p=0.312). CONCLUSIONS: The lumbar facet joint orientation was found to have a wide variation, particularly at the L5–S1 in the Asian adult population, and the facet joint orientation had a relationship with the CSA of the erector spinae at the L4–5.
Adult* ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Paraspinal Muscles* ; Pathology ; Spondylolisthesis ; Spondylolysis ; Volunteers ; Zygapophyseal Joint*