Effects of Chewing Frequency on Cerebral Blood Flow and Cognitive Function

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of the frequency of mastication on cerebral activation and task scores for computational tasks. Eleven healthy subjects participated in the present study (nine women, two men). Subjects carried out the Uchida-Kraepelin Test for 15 min before and after chewing tasteless gum for five minutes. The oxygenation of the left prefrontal cortex was monitored by near-infrared spectroscopy during the computational tasks. Task scores did not differ significantly according to chewing frequency (p > 0.05). Conversely, the oxygenation value measured after mastication at a chewing frequency of 110 times/minute (Hz) was significantly higher than that observed before mastication (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, before and after levels of oxygenation did not differ significantly for chewing frequencies of 30 Hz and 70 Hz (p > 0.05 for both). The results of the present study suggest that tasteless mastication does not enhance calculation performance, while a high mastication frequency demonstrates an influence on oxygenation. However, our study indicates that chewing tasteless gum per se does not increase cognitive performance.

Japanese Community Pharmacists’ Practice Research Literacy

Objectives: Lack of basic practice research literacy could be considered a barrier to conducting or participating in practice research. Therefore, we examined pharmacy practice research literacy in Japanese community pharmacists. Methods: Community pharmacists (n = 478) who delivered presentations at three major pharmacy-related conferences in 2012 and 2013 completed the survey. We selected 10 key terms related to practice research and asked participants whether they knew the meaning of. Questionnaires were sent to and returned by pharmacists via mail. Results: Of the 478 pharmacists who received questionnaires, 230 (47.9%) completed the survey. The response rates indicating that participants were familiar with the 10 key terms were approximately 50% or lower. The highest response rate was 67.0% for “bias”, and the lowest was 17.0% for “PICO/PECO: Patient-Intervention-Comparison-Outcome/Patient-Exposure-Comparison-Outcome”. Younger pharmacists tended to know several key terms, such as “p values”, “bias”, and “outcome”. Conclusion: Japanese community pharmacists were not knowledgeable with respect to conducting and participating in pharmacy practice research. Practice research knowledge was superior in younger pharmacists. Education in pharmacy schools and continuing professional development programs is important for community pharmacists’ practice research development.

Japanese Community Pharmacists’ Barriers to Conducting or Participating in Practice Research

Objectives: This study identified barriers to Japanese community pharmacists’ active conduct or participation in practice research. Methods: Community pharmacists (n = 478) who gave presentations at three major pharmacy-related conferences in 2012 and 2013 were questioned about their difficulties of giving presentations, support for better presentations, and barriers to conducting pharmacy practice research in their practical setting. A questionnaire was mailed to and returned by the pharmacists directly. Results: We obtained 230 responses (47.9%). Presentation difficulties included pharmacists’ time constraints and lack of experience organizing the report’s results or discussion. Many thought statistical analysis support was necessary. The barriers were in sufficient time, community pharmacies’ lack of research supervisors, and other community pharmacists’ lack of understanding practice research’s importance. These were comparable to pharmacists’ barriers in other countries, except for money and funds. Conclusions: Japanese community pharmacists should clarify that practice research in their professional roles improves patients’ outcomes. Barriers were similar to pharmacists in other countries. Publication of pharmacists’ practice research results is important to expand their roles. Collaboration between faculties and pharmacists is a challenge for practice research development in the Japanese community setting.