Objective: To assess the effectiveness of preferred colored light on psychosomatic state.
Methods: Preferred color light and other colored light were projected on a screen and shown to experimental and control subjects. To determine the effect of such light, mood adjective scores as determined by the Multiple Mood Scale (MMS) were measured as an emotional parameter, and levels of salivary chromogranin A (CgA) and salivary immune globulin A were measured as biochemical parameters. This study was performed in a randomized, crossover design. These data were analyzed statistically and a p value less than 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: After being exposed to preferred colored lights, mean MMS scores indicating positive moods, such as well-being increased significantly (p = 0.025), and scores indicating negative moods, such as depression and boredom decreased significantly (p = 0.005, p = 0.041). Mean value of salivary CgA also decreased and was significantly different between experimental and control group (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Preferred colored light may be effective in promoting a calm positive state.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of color images as mood stimulants by using an image selection system.
Methods: Color images of flowers and seascapes, each mainly comprising of 5 colors, were arranged into a set of 50 images (10 images for each of 5 colors) on a personal computer and shown to 40 university students on stressful days during (i) an examination period and (ii) a non-examination period. The students selected color images according to their individual preferences by using an image selection system. To determine the effect of viewing the color images, mood adjective scores as determined by the Multiple Mood Scale (MMS) were measured as an emotional parameter, and the levels of salivary chromogranin A (CgA) and salivary cortisol were measured as biochemical parameters. These data were analyzed statistically and a p value less than 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: After viewing the color images, mean MMS scores indicating positive moods, such as well-being and friendliness increased significantly (p<0.05), and scores indicating negative moods, such as depression, boredom and hostility decreased significantly(p<0.05). The mean value of salivary CgA also decreased significantly after viewing the images (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Color images could possibly be used to induce a parasympathetically dominant state.

Information on daily physical activity is essential for determining daily nutritional demands and devising physical conditioning programs. In order to obtain reliable information on daily physical activity, it is necessary to record the activity in some way. Up to now, however, such data have been collected using retrospective questionnaires and observation, and by measurement of heart rate over extensive periods. These methods are too cumbersome and expensive.
The purpose of the present study was to develop a new device for recording physical activity in the form of an actogram. A pedometer was used to record the physical activity, and a microswitch was set inside the pedometer to convert the pedometer count into an electric signal, since it is advantageous to process the data by computer. The pedometer count was recorded in the IC memory of a computer with a 32-kbyte. The memorized pedometer count was fed into the personal computer through an interface, and after processing it was displayed as an actogram representing the activity pattern and the amount of physical activity.
The new device developed in this study could serve as a practical tool for recording the quantity and time course of physical activity during daily life, since it is small (110mm×70 mm×30 mm) and light (170g), less expensive and also convenient to handle.

The purposes of this study were to compare the response distribution of the result of using “nurse’s difficulty scale with cancer care” to nurses engaged in cancer nursing with 2010 survey at Tohoku University Hospital. Self-reported questionnaires were distributed to 512 nurses in 2010 and to 524 nurses in 2016. Responses from 356 (70%) nurses in 2010 and from 332 (63%) nurses in 2016 were analyzed. As a result of comparing the surveys of 2010 and 2016, the rate of correct answer in each items of the knowledge scale rose significantly (all p<0.05). From the items regarding their own knowledge and skills, difficulty in collaboration with the community, and end-of-life care decreased (both p<0.05). Despite the increase in the correct answer rate of the knowledge scale, the difficulty has become high. This may reflect the complexity in cancer care due to development of treatment.

BACKGROUND: Age-related musculoskeletal diseases are becoming increasingly burdensome in terms of both individual quality of life and medical cost. We intended to establish a large population-based cohort study to determine environmental, lifestyle, and genetic risk factors of musculoskeletal and other age-related diseases, and to clarify the association between vitamin D status and such diseases. METHODS: We targeted 34,802 residents aged 40-74 years living in areas of northern Niigata Prefecture, including Sekikawa Village, Awashimaura Village, and Murakami City (Murakami region). The baseline questionnaire survey, conducted between 2011 and 2013, queried respondents on their lifestyle and environmental factors (predictors), and self-reported outcomes. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) concentration, an indicator of vitamin D status, was determined with the Liaison® 25OH Vitamin D Total Assay. The primary outcome of this study was osteoporotic fracture; other outcomes included age-related diseases including knee osteoarthritis, perception of chronic pain, dementia, and long-term care insurance use. Mean ages of men and women were 59.2 (SD = 9.3, N = 6907) and 59.0 (SD = 9.3, N = 7457) years, respectively. From the blood samples provided by 3710 men and 4787 women, mean 25(OH)D concentrations were 56.5 (SD = 18.4) nmol/L (22.6 ng/mL) and 45.4 (SD = 16.5) nmol/L (18.2 ng/mL), respectively. DISCUSSION Follow-up surveys are planned every 5 years for 15 years, and incident cases of our targeted diseases will be followed at hospitals and clinics in and nearby the cohort area. We anticipate that we will be able to clarify the association between vitamin D status and multiple disease outcomes in a Japanese population.
Aged ; Aging ; Cohort Studies ; Epidemiologic Research Design ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Japan ; epidemiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Musculoskeletal Diseases ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Quality of Life ; Risk Factors ; Vitamin D ; analogs & derivatives ; blood