Background Synovial mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation improved clinical outcomes in knees with cartilage defects and after repairs of degenerative torn menisci. For these, nucleated cells were cultured with 10% autologous serum for 14 days. Importantly, nucleated cell number and serum volume practically varied by patient, and initial cell density and dish number affected yield/donor. Our purpose was to examine the effect of plating density within range in clinical studies on fold increase and to estimate the MSC yield/donor, which are affected by the nucleated cell number and serum volume.Methods We obtained the data of the autologous serum volume, nucleated cell number, and initial plating cell density from 10 patients who participated in our previous clinical studies. Experimentally, synovial nucleated cells harvested from three patients with osteoarthritis during total knee arthroplasty were cultured with 10% mixed allogenic human serum for 14 days to examine the effect of initial cell density on fold increase. We used both our previous clinical data and our current experimental data to predict the yields of synovial MSCs in nine cases within the range of clinical studies.Results In the clinical studies, collected serum ranged between 87 and 186 ml, harvested nucleated cells ranged between 6.2 and 23 million, and the top five total MSC yields were obtained from donors when the initial plating cell density ranged from 919 to 1905 cells/cm2. Experimentally, fold increase significantly decreased between 700 and 1,900 cells/cm2. In cases where the cell number was low and the serum volume was high, the estimated yield/donor decreased along with the initial density, while in cases where the cell number was high and the serum volume was low, the estimated yield/donor increased along with the initial density. In cases both where some nucleated cells were discarded at low density and no cells were discarded at high density, the maximum yield/donor were obtained when the initial density was the lowest density that does not discard cells.Conclusions There was an optimal initial density that yields the highest number of primary MSCs in a clinical setting when cell numbers and human serum volumes are limited.
Parents of infants with autistic behaviors frequently face difficulties in childrearing owing to their infants’ behavioral traits. This study aimed to clarify the characteristics of parent-infant interaction, parental depressive symptoms, and parenting stress in the context of infants’ autistic behaviors. We employed a cross-sectional, case-control observational design with a case group of 52 parents and a control group of 56 parents. We measured parent-infant interaction using the Japanese version of the Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale, and parental depressive symptoms and parenting stress with the Japanese version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and the Japanese Parenting Stress Index Short Form, respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding parent-infant interaction. Mothers in the case group had significantly higher depressive symptoms than those in the control group (p < .05). Both fathers (p < .05) and mothers (p < .01) in the case group scored significantly higher than the control group on parenting stress. Thus, parents of infants with autistic behaviors have greater mental health problems right from infancy. We suggest that nurses should provide families with appropriate support to promote adaptive parent-infant interaction and prevent the aggravation of parental mental health problems irrespective of Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnoses.
For effectively using blood products from a limited donor population, the promotion of apheresis donation should be emphasized more often. This study assessed the demographic data of apheresis applicants using blood donor data from the Japanese Red Cross Society. We analyzed blood donor data (253,039 samples) to compare apheresis applicants and subjects who applied for and made whole-blood donations. There were significant differences between both groups, and among apheresis applicants, females were more numerous, as were “public servants” and “blood centers.” In terms of each fixed facility’s characteristics, the rate of applications was the highest for the “Tokai Hokuriku” region. Due to the differences among facilities, we considered the possibility of facility-specific promotional activities. Such practices are helpful for continuous blood donation for those who may be deferred from donation.
Introduction: Cough variant asthma (CVA) and asthma account for a large proportion of patients with chronic cough. We used hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) to characterize the phenotypes of patients with cough, mainly those with CVA, who showed a rapid response to asthma therapy, and sought to identify simple diagnostic markers. Methods: Patients who initially presented with cough as the main symptom were retrospectively enrolled. Those who were clinically diagnosed with asthma/CVA were selected and analyzed. HCA was performed and the patients were classified by phenotype. Results: HCA identified the five following phenotypes among the 221 participants: highly eosinophilic bronchitis [high fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) , n = 28]; atopic [high total serum IgE , n = 23]; non-atopic and non-eosinophilic [n = 104]; distal airway narrowing [low FEF75 (V ・ 25), n = 21] and severely atopic [extremely high total serum IgE and/or extreme high FeNO, n = 45]. No significant differences in long-term prognosis were found among the phenotypes. Discussion: Five phenotypes were identified among patients with cough who showed a rapid response to asthma treatment. Wheezing was observed in about 24% of patients, and abnormal FeNO or V ・ 25 levels in about 30%.
This study examined nurses’ self-evaluation of their nursing work, determined whether there were variations in these self-evaluations, and explored how work environment factors influence them. Data were collected using a large-scale survey (31,657 objects). We extracted the essential principal components from the data on self-evaluation of nursing work and identified differences in principal component scores among workplace classifications and age groups. We also evaluated the relationships between scores for selfevaluation of nursing work and work environment factors using multiple regression models. Work environment factors significantly affected nurses’ intention to separate from employment (adjusted R2 = 0.230) but exerted weaker effects on adequate nursing provision (adjusted R2 = 0.028) and sense of fulfillment in nursing work (adjusted R2 = 0.042). Both individual work environments (external factors) and nurses’ personal attributes (internal factors) should be considered major targets in implementing countermeasures for nurse turnover. Among the external factors, reduction of workload and organizational eradication of power harassment specifically demonstrated relationships with a sense of fulfillment in nursing work, and may act as additional countermeasures for nurse turnover.
