Psychometric evaluation of the Nurse Competence Scale: A cross-sectional study.

Measuring nurses' competence for practice is critical for quality and safety improvement in nursing care and patient outcomes. While the Nurse Competence Scale is a widely used international measure of the generic nursing competence of nurses in various career stages, it has not been used in Thailand. This study involved the forward-backward translation of the scale into Thai and evaluation of its psychometric properties with 571 nurses at one public and one private hospital in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Participants also completed a demographic form. The content validity analysis revealed that the item-level content validity index (I-CVI) was .90, and the scale-level content validity index (S-CVI/Average) was .91. The principal component analysis with varimax rotation demonstrated that the six factor structure accounted for 58.45% of the total variance. The Mann-Whitney U-test showed a significant difference between low and high work experience groups for all six factors, providing further support for the scale's construct validity. The reliability analysis showed an acceptable level of Cronbach's alphas in six factors ranging from .82 to .88. In conclusion, the Thai version demonstrated promising psychometric properties, but requires further testing with nurses in different settings before use in practice.

Relations among dynamic balance tests and a coordination test using center of pressure to pursue a randomly moving target.

The CFP (center of foot pressure) Tracking Test, in which participants pursue a randomly moving target using CFP, is performed in standing position similar to the dynamic balance board and bass dynamic balance tests. The relations among the results of these three tests were examined in 30 young, healthy participants. No significant sex differences were observed between tests. Moderate correlations were observed between the results of the CFP Tracking Test and the balance tests, but not between the two balance tests. The CFP Tracking Test was related to the two balance tests, but evaluates unique abilities other than balance ability.

LOV2-based photoactivatable CaMKII and its application to single synapses: Local Optogenetics.

Optogenetic techniques offer a high spatiotemporal resolution to manipulate cellular activity. For instance, Channelrhodopsin-2 with global light illumination is the most widely used to control neuronal activity at the cellular level. However, the cellular scale is much larger than the diffraction limit of light (<1 µm) and does not fully exploit the features of the "high spatial resolution" of optogenetics. For instance, until recently, there were no optogenetic methods to induce synaptic plasticity at the level of single synapses. To address this, we developed an optogenetic tool named photoactivatable CaMKII (paCaMKII) by fusing a light-sensitive domain (LOV2) to CaMKIIα, which is a protein abundantly expressed in neurons of the cerebrum and hippocampus and essential for synaptic plasticity. Combining photoactivatable CaMKII with two-photon excitation, we successfully activated it in single spines, inducing synaptic plasticity (long-term potentiation) in hippocampal neurons. We refer to this method as "Local Optogenetics", which involves the local activation of molecules and measurement of cellular responses. In this review, we will discuss the characteristics of LOV2, the recent development of its derivatives, and the development and application of paCaMKII.

Health Literacy among Japanese College Students: Association with Healthy Lifestyle and Subjective Health Status.

The improvement of health literacy (HL) is a critical issue for college students who are in the transitional period to adulthood and are establishing their subsequent lifestyles. The present study aimed to evaluate the current state of HL among college students and to explore the factors that influence HL. Moreover, it investigated the relationship between HL and health conditions. For this study, the researchers conducted an online survey of college students. The questionnaire consisted of the Japanese version of the 47-item European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q47), which is a self-assessment tool for HL that covers the major health issues of college students and health-related quality of life. The study analyzed 1049 valid responses. Based on the HLS-EU-Q47 total score, 85% of the participants exhibited problematic or unsatisfactory HL levels. Participants who reported high levels of healthy lifestyles obtained high HL scores. High levels of HL were associated with high levels of subjective health. Results from quantitative text analysis suggested that specific mindsets were correlated with high levels of competency in appraising health information among male students. In the future, educational intervention programs for college students need to be established to improve HL levels.

Comparison of the body-sway characteristics of young adults compared to healthy elderly and elderly with equilibrium disorder.

The study compared body-sway characteristics of 380 young adults, 342 generally healthy elderly without disequilibrium disorders, and a group of 33 elderly with disequilibrium disorders. Center of foot pressure (COP) was measured for 1 min. using an Anima's stabilometer G5500 with a data sampling frequency of 20 Hz. Four high reliability measures were used to evaluate body sway (unit time sway, front-back sway, and a left-right sway, and high frequency band power). Unit time sway, left-right sway, and high frequency band power were significantly larger for the group of elderly with disequilibrium disorders, and smaller for the healthy elderly people and young adults, in that order. Front-back sway was significantly larger in the elderly with disequilibrium disorders and healthy elderly than in young adults. The elderly with disequilibrium disorders had a larger and faster sway than young adults as well as the healthy elderly, particularly in the left-right direction. It appears aging was specifically associated with larger influence on the front-back sway.

Asymmetric Total Synthesis of Biphenylquinolizidine Alkaloids 4″-O-Demethyllythridine and 14-epi-4″-O-Demethyllythridine.

The first asymmetric total synthesis of new biphenylquinolizidine alkaloids 4″-O-demethyllythridine and 14-epi-4″-O-demethyllythridine isolated from Heimia salicifolia was accomplished. The key steps in the synthesis were a copper(I)-catalyzed asymmetric intramolecular aza-Michael reaction to build a chiral 4-arylquinolizidine unit and an intramolecular Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction to construct a macrolactone ring comprising a biphenyl moiety.

Laterality and age-level differences between young women and elderly women in controlled force exertion (CFE).

This study aimed to examine laterality and age-level differences in maximal handgrip strength and CFE using women as subjects. The subjects were 50 young women (mean age 20.9±1.9 years) and 50 elderly women (mean age 72.9±6.6 years). The maximal handgrip strength was measured twice with a 1-min interval, and the larger value was used in this study. In the CFE test, the subjects matched their submaximal grip strengths to the demand values changing at a constant frequency (range=5-25% of the maximal grip strength). The CFE test was performed twice after one practice trial (one trial was 40s). The sum of the percent of differences between the demand value and the grip exertion value was used as an estimate of CFE. CFE was estimated using a mean from two trials, excluding the first 15s of each trial. The elderly were significantly inferior in maximal handgrip strength of the dominant and non-dominant hands to young adults (about 70%), and the non-dominant hand was significantly inferior to the dominant hand. The elderly were significantly inferior in CFE of both hands to young adults (about 50%), and the non-dominant hand was significantly inferior. In conclusion, the age-level differences in maximal handgrip strength and CFE are found in the dominant and non-dominant hands, and laterality is also found in both young adults and the elderly. The CFE relating closely to nerve function may have a larger age-level difference than maximal handgrip strength.

Relationship between the obstacle height cognition and step movement in the elderly.

BACKGROUND: This study examines the effect of obstacle height cognition (OHC) on single-leg forward step (SFS) and Obstacle-SFS. METHODS: In the SFS test, participants stepped 25 cm forward with one leg and returned it to its original position five times as quickly as possible. The Obstacle-SFS added an obstacle to the above condition in the SFS test. The participants were divided into two groups: tripping group, which tripped over an obstacle in the Obstacle-SFS test; and non-tripping group, which did not trip. Parameters were step time (T), the time it took to step forward (F), and the time it took to return to the original position (R). The OHC was determined by the difference between the elevated leg's height and the obstacle height (10 cm), which was set at 60 cm in front of the participant. RESULTS: OHC showed a significant and moderate relationship with all parameters of Obstacle-SFS (OSFS-T, OSFS-F and OSFS-R). The tripping group had significantly larger values in the OHC, OSFS-T and OSFS-F than the non-tripping group. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the differences in obstacle height cognition ability may affect Obstacle-SFS movement.