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Background This study aimed to develop a simplified version of the 25-item Ganbatta Scale (i.e., Ganbatta Scale-Short Form to objectively assess behaviors associated with “ganbatta” (“I did my best/I pushed myself/I tried hard”) in children aged 3–7 years who undergo blood sampling and vaccination. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1143 nurses working in pediatric or outpatient clinics using a questionnaire with 11 items on the respondents' demographics and 25 items on behaviors associated with the “ganbatta” concept in children undergoing needle procedures. Data factor analysis was performed using the principal factor extraction method with promax rotation. Results Overall, 3 factors containing 16 items were extracted from the survey results. The three factors were a “Sense of relief and joy after needle removal” (seven items), “Proactive participation” (six items), and “Negative emotional expression” (three items). Reliability analysis revealed coefficients of 0.927 for all 16 items and 0.904, 0.893, and 0.912 for Factors 1, 2, and 3, respectively. We compared the “ganbatta” concept to the three factors; it encompassed various meanings, such as children’s post-procedure sense of joy associated with their successful efforts, as characterized by Factor 1. The children's positive behavior aimed to overcome their existing condition through a change of attitude, as characterized by Factor 2, and their behavior highlighted “perseverance” as a prerequisite skill associated with the “ganbatta” concept, as characterized by Factor 3. Conclusions This simplified version of the scale can be used in clinical practice owing to its reduced number of items (16). Trial registration: Not applicable

This study was conducted to determine how skilled nurses perceive the independence of children with congenital heart disease. A questionnaire survey was administered to elicit responses to questions such as whether the skilled nurses noticed problems with the independence of children with congenital heart disease, and whether they thought that support from adults close to the children was needed to foster independence. More than 60% of the 84 nurses perceived problems regarding the independence of children with congenital heart disease. Situations in which skilled nurses noticed problems, in addition to difficulties and limitations in understanding of the disease, included instances of family members making decisions and answering questions and of the child being unable to communicate easily. Nearly all of the skilled nurses felt that support from adults close to children with congenital heart disease was needed to foster their independence.

GANBATTA ("Well done!") is a term used frequently in Japan to praise children in medical settings when they have worked hard or made a courageous attempt. Therefore, the aim of this study was to clarify the factor structure of behaviors associated with ganbatta in young children (age 3-7 years) undergoing blood sampling or vaccine injection. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was carried out on 150 selected pediatric nursing educators holding a nursing license (age ≥20 years). An exploratory factor analysis was then conducted using the principal factor method with promax rotation to confirm the construct validity. Cronbach's α coefficients were calculated for each identified factor to verify the internal consistency of the item. The mean (standard deviation) lengths of pediatric nursing and pediatric nursing education experience were 7.8 (4.7) and 9.9 (8.1) years, respectively. The cumulative contribution rate was 70.4%. The KMO measure of sampling adequacy was 0.927. The p value of Bartlett's test of sphericity was

Tricholoma bakamatsutake, which forms its fruit body in oak forests, is similar to T. matsutake in shape and odor; therefore, it is expected to have a high economic value similar to T. matsutake. Recently, the fruit bodies of T. bakamatsutake were produced after planting of a Quercus phillyraeoides sapling with a pure culture of the fungal mycelia. This fungus forms pigmented thick-walled spores (chlamydospores [CSs]) terminally on the hyphae in culture and in the field settings. Abundant CS production in vitro seems to be advantageous for cultivating mycorrhizal trees inoculated with T. bakamatsutake CSs. We investigated the effects of adding 16 different nitrogen (N) compounds (three inorganic and 13 organic) to a culture medium on vegetative hyphal growth and CS formation. The growth of T. bakamatsutake was reduced by many of the N sources used. Conversely, the rate of CS formation was improved by the addition of valine or glutamine.

An important factor controlling tree species diversity is conspecific density dependence (CDD). Adult trees associated with arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) and ectomycorrhiza (ECM) can exhibit negative and positive CDD effects on conspecific recruitment, respectively. However, the extent to which these mycorrhizal associations affect spatial distributions of individual trees and their relative abundances within forests through CDD remains uncertain. We analysed changes in spatial correlations between adults and conspecific juveniles at different growth stages of five hardwood species in a 6-ha plot of an old-growth forest using a point pattern analysis. The clump sizes of large individuals were also evaluated using the Iδ index (a measure of individual dispersion) in 24 species. In two AM-associated species, juveniles were distributed at greater distances with increasing size or were always distributed at a distance from adults, resulting in small clumps of adults. In contrast, juveniles of two ECM-associated species were distributed close to adults during early or late growth stage, resulting in large clumps of adults. Juveniles of an ECM-associated species disappeared with increasing size, probably due to shade intolerance. In 24 tree species with large numbers of individuals within a plot, the relative basal area was related to both mycorrhizal type and maximum diameter, suggesting that the relative abundance of a species is largely related to its mycorrhizal associations and maximum plant size. This study strongly demonstrated that mycorrhizal associations play an important role in determining the spatial distribution patterns and community structure of tree species through CDD.

Conspecific negative distance dependent seedling mortality and negative density-dependent seedling survival (CNDD) are among the most important mechanisms of species diversity maintenance. Recent research has demonstrated that CNDD is greater for species with abundant seeds, due mainly to attack by density-dependent pathogens. If seed number were correlated negatively with seed size, species with smaller seeds would exhibit much greater negative CNDD. We explored whether CNDD is affected by seed size. We evaluated the strength of CNDD as a log response ratio of the probability of mortality among seedlings at conspecific and heterospecific sites and at high and low densities as functions of distance and density, respectively, in a seed-sowing experiment using eight hardwood species in a temperate forest in northern Japan. As a function of distance, CNDD attributable to pathogens was correlated positively with seed mass at low density, but not at high density, whereas seed mass was not correlated with CNDD attributable to invertebrate or vertebrate herbivores. As a function of density, seed mass was not correlated with CNDD attributable to pathogens or invertebrate or vertebrate herbivores. The ability of large-seeded species to better tolerate CNDD suggests a novel mechanism through which seed size may contribute to CNDD variation and promote species coexistence due to distance-dependent attack by pathogens, particularly those bearing leaf diseases.