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The attraction of the melon thrips, Thrips palmi Karny, to two types of traps combined with a colored sticky board and an LED array was investigated in 2010 in an eggplant greenhouse. The colors of the sticky boards were blue, yellow and white, and the peak wavelengths of the LED arrays were 470 nm (blue) and 375 nm (ultraviolet). The "direct type" of traps was designed to directly illuminate the plants with an LED array and set along the upper edge of the board whose sticky surface was directed to the plants. In the" reflective type" of traps, the LED array was set close to the plants and directed toward the sticky boards. As a result, the number of adult thrips caught was significantly larger in the reflective type of trap with combination of the blue sticky board and the blue LED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study compared the Fictional Narrative abilities of 26 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) with the abilities of 32 typical children. Participants (ages 7 -19 years) were asked to narrate a story while looking at the images in a wordless picture book. Group differences were detected in children's use of "settings" and "endings" as story structure components. Children with ASD were less likely than normal children to identify the causes of a character's mental state and emotions. In addition, it was more difficult for ASD children to construct a story from the character's point of view. In contrast to findings from previous studies, there were no significant group differences in the use of referential devices, and gaze behavior at the listener was observed here in many ASD children in elementary school. Additional research is needed to determine how ASD children regulate and adjust their narratives according to the status and knowledge of the listener. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of eggplants illuminated by red LED (Light Emitting Diode) on the population density of the melon thrips, Thrips palmi Karny, were investigated in June and October of 2013 in a greenhouse. The peak wavelengths of the red LED arrays were 635 nm and 660 nm. The LED array was placed on the upper part of the eggplants, directly illuminating the plants. As a result, the density of thrips was significantly lower on eggplants with red LED illumination than on eggplants without LED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted sleep education for 53 pregnant women participating in a class for parents and examined its effects on sleep habits, sleep satisfaction level and depression during pregnancy. We used educational material and instructed participants about responses to the physical effects of pregnancy, and provided information on biological rhythms of the newborn, as well as the importance of regulating biological rhythms. After sleep education, we explained sleep promotion activities resulting in high-quality sleep for pregnant women. Then, we set target activities for two weeks. After two weeks, we analyzed questionnaire entries of 10 women whose informed consent was obtained before the study. The results demonstrated that their sleep debt decreased and sleep satisfaction increased after sleep education. However, there was no significant improvement in depression during pregnancy. These results suggest that sleep education for pregnant women is effective for improving their sleep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bullying is a major problem in schools. Many studies conducted in the U.S. and Europe have indicated relationships between parenting behaviors and bullying and peer victimization. However, only a few studies in Japan have investigated these relationships. Therefore, the study examined associations between parenting behaviors and experiences of bullying and victimization in all elementary and junior-high schools students in a suburban Japanese city. Parents assessed their parenting behaviors and the degree of their children's experience of bullying behaviors or victimization in the last year using parent-reported measures. Multinomial logistic regression analysis indicated that parental involvement and monitoring was associated with experiences of victimization at school. Furthermore, negative parenting behaviors, especially rigid discipline, was related to all experiences of bullying, including the bully, the victim, and the bully-victim. These findings suggest that the improvement of parenting behaviors could prevent children and adolescents from bullying other students or being victimized at schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report two cases of candidal onychomycosis with severe nail deformities. Case 1: The patient was an 81-year-old man who complained of onycholysis and nail deformity of the right forefinger nail which had occurred over a period of a year. He had no obvious previous illness. Case 2: The patient was an 81-year-old woman who complained of nail deformity with pen- ungual erythema which had occurred over a period of several months. She had been treated with oral corticosteroid for bronchial asthma and with Ca blocker for hypertension for a long period. The initial KOH-prepared direct microscopy in each case failed to detect any spores or pseudohyphae. Therefore, an incisional biopsy was performed in both cases. Histopathological findings demonstrated numerous fungal elements with similar appearance of dermatophytes in the middle to lower level of the horny cell layer by PAS and Grocott staining in each case. Candida albicans was isolated and identified by cultivation on ATG agar. In case 1, oral itraconazole (100 mg/day) was administered for 14 weeks, which was effective clinically and mycologically. In case 2, however, a coadministered drug (Ca blocker), oral terbinafine (125 mg/day) was not effective mycologically. Therefore, after having changed the antihypertensive agent, oral itraconazole (100 mg/day) was administered for 16 weeks, which was effective clinically and mycologically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]