• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.16
• /
• pp.6721-6726
• /
• 2014

Background: The aim of this preliminary study was to address variations of responses observed with different starting tumor sizes of 10 and 15 mm, and the effects of different doses of tamoxifen (TAM) on experimental rat mammary tumors. Materials and Methods: Thirty-five inbred female Sprague Dawley rats aged 43 days were administered with three weekly doses of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (NMU) intraperitoneally (ip) at 50 mg/kg body weight. Animals were randomized (beginning from 10 mm tumor size) into four TAM-treated (50, 100, 200 and $500{\mu}g/day$) groups of six animals each, and another group (n=6) treated with TAM $100{\mu}g/day$ at starting tumour size of 15 mm. The animals were treated by oral gavage daily for 8 weeks before sacrifice. Results: Serum urea and creatinine, and overall physical tumor burden were significantly modulated in animals treated with variable doses of TAM compared to the untreated controls (n=5). Final body weight and tumor number were significantly different in the 10 mm-treated animals compared to those treated at 15 mm. There were no significant differences in histopathological features among all the groups. Conclusions: Our findings suggest the importance of standardizing tumour size and drug doses before initiation of treatment, particularly in the direct comparison of basic end-tumour physical parameters.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.171-176
• /
• 2012

Objective: The goal of this study was to assess work ability of Korean workers in the shipbuilding industry. Background: Old age is associated with inevitable time-dependent losses in physical capabilities. However the maintenance of physical capabilities is essential for continuing independence in old age. The work ability index(WAI) was constructed to reveal how well a worker is able to perform his or her work. Method: The WAI is a kind of survey methods developed to estimate the work capacity of aged workers by the Finish Institute of Occupational Health(FIOH) in 1998. The difference of the WAI between groups in each category was tested using the Kruskal-Wallis test, and the relationship between the WAI and the workers' ages was tested by the Correlation test. Results: This study surveyed 2,709 persons working in the shipbuilding industry in Korea. The average WAI score for all workers was 40.0 denoting a Good Level. Also, workers in the shipbuilding industry had lower work ability, as compared to the results of other industries. The WAI was analyzed for different age groups(${\leq}29$; 30~34; 35~39; 40~44; 45~49; 50~54; ${\geq}55$). The results of Kruskal-Wallis test showed that significant difference was identified on the effect of aging(p<0.05). Conclusion: Advanced countries like the Finland showed decreasing tendency in good and excellent levels as aged, but there was no decreasing tendency in Korean population. The results may be attributable to the general characteristics of Korean society, such as poor social security and burden caused by role of the patriarch. It may bring forth higher work ability in aged population even their physical condition is getting worse. Application: This finding could be used for developing more accurate assessment tool of work ability for working environment.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.63 no.1
• /
• pp.14-25
• /
• 2020

Proximal flow control achieved with a balloon guide catheter (BGC) during endovascular treatment of acute ischemic stroke is reviewed in this article. In clinical practice, BGCs offer a multi-faceted approach for clot retrieval by creating proximal flow arrest, reducing embolic burden, and shortening procedure time. Evaluation of frontline thrombectomy procedures with BGCs revealed advantages of combined use over the conventional guide catheter (CGC), notably in the significant reduction of distal emboli to both the affected and previously unaffected territories. Recently, new measures of early and complete reperfusion at first thrombectomy pass have been identified as independent predictors of improved outcomes, which were consistently demonstrated with use of BGC as a safe and effective option to minimize number of passes during intervention. Prior randomized controlled trials reported the positive correlation between BGC-treated patients and a lower risk of mortality as well as shortened procedure time. While BGC use is more common in stent retriever-mediated mechanical thrombectomy, preliminary data has shown the potential benefit of device application during contact aspiration thrombectomy to achieve successful recanalization. However, the question of which major endovascular strategy reigns superior as a frontline remains to be answered. Along with clinical case assessments, BGC performance during in-vitro simulation was analyzed to further understand mechanisms for optimization of thrombectomy technique.

• Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.72-77
• /
• 2017

Background and Purpose Although sleep disturbances are common and considered a major burden for patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), the fundamental mechanisms underlying the development and maintenance of sleep disturbance in AD patients have yet to be elucidated. The aim of this study was to examine the correlation between regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and sleep disturbance in AD patients using technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Methods A total of 140 AD patients were included in this cross-sectional study. Seventy patients were assigned to the AD with sleep loss (SL) group and the rest were assigned to the AD without SL group. SL was measured using the sleep subscale of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. A whole-brain voxel-wise analysis of brain SPECT data was conducted to compare the rCBF between the two groups. Results The two groups did not differ in demographic characteristics, severity of dementia, general cognitive function, and neuropsychiatric symptoms, with the exception of sleep disturbances. The SPECT imaging analysis displayed decreased perfusion in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus, bilateral temporal pole, and right precentral gyrus in the AD patients with SL group compared with the AD patients without SL group. It also revealed increased perfusion in the right precuneus, right occipital pole, and left middle occipital gyrus in the AD with SL group compared with the AD without SL group. Conclusions The AD patients who experienced sleep disturbance had notably decreased perfusion in the frontal and temporal lobes and increased rCBF in the parietal and occipital regions. The findings of this study suggest that functional alterations in these brain areas may be the underlying neural correlates of sleep disturbance in AD patients.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.52 no.1
• /
• pp.52-65
• /
• 2022

Purpose: This study was conducted to develop a scale to measure spiritual distress in cancer patients. Methods: A total of 69 preliminary items for the spiritaul distress assessment tool (SDAT) were compiled, based on a literature review, selection of empirically relevant items through concept analysis of hybrid models, confirmation of content validity by experts, cognitive interviews, and a pretest. Self-administered questionnaires were collected between April 1 and July 31, 2018, from 225 cancer patients at four medical institutions and one nursing home. The data were analyzed using item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, convergent and discriminant validity, and Pearson correlation for criterion validity. Reliability was tested by Cronbash's α coefficient. Results: The final version of the SDAT consisted of 20 items. Five-factors, loss of peace, burden of family, avoidance of confronting death, guilt and remorse, regret for not being able to apololgize and forgive were extracted, and showed 62.8% of total variance. The factors were confirmed through convergent and discriminant validity. Criterion validity was confirmed by functional assessment chronic illness therapy spiritual well-being scale 12 (FACIT-Sp12). The overall Cronbach's α was .91, and the coefficients of each subscale ranged from .78~.83. Conclusion: The SDAT for cancer patients is valid and reliable. It is suggested that the tool can be used to measure spiritual distress in cancer patients.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.136-144
• /
• 2011

Assessment of quality of life (QOL) is a new method to investigate the effectiveness of dietary regimen. Particularly, diet-related QOL is the most appropriate method to estimate social and psychological problems originated from dietary regimen practice. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diet-related QOL and the correlation between diet-related QOL and health-related QOL, and dietary regimen practice in online diabetes self-help patients who practice the dietary regimen. Sixty one subjects who intended to practice dietary regimen were recruited from online diabetes self-help community, and instructed to fill-up the self report questionnaires. Contents of questionnaire were comprised of general characteristics, clinical characteristics, dietary compliance, and dietary regimen practice. As a result, the mean score of the 'Dietary impact' among the diet-related QOL sub-scales was the lowest suggesting most of the subjects suffer from burden of dietary regimen practice. The "Dietary impact" was correlated with "Taste", "Convenience" and "Cost" (p < 0.05). "Self-care" and "Satisfaction" were positively associated with well-controlled blood glucose and dietary regimen compliance, but negatively associated with "Dietary impact". Diet-related QOL was significantly correlated with the Health-related QOL, particularly the mental and social component (p < 0.05). Diet-related QOL was negatively associated with BMI, and self monitoring blood glucose was negatively correlated with "Self-care" (p < 0.05). In conclusion, Diet-related QOL might be appropriate to evaluate the effects of dietary regimen or nutrition education. The need for dietary education of cognitive-behavioral strategies and problem-solving ability is required.

• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.138-142
• /
• 2018

The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in the Republic of Korea remains high when compared to the incidence in other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. The prompt diagnosis and effective treatment of latent TB infection (LTBI) are very important in terms of controlling the burden of TB. The tuberculin skin test (TST) has long been the "gold standard" assay for the diagnosis of LTBI. However, it can show false positive results due to Bacille Calmette-$Gu{\acute{e}}rin$ (BCG) vaccination and infection with many environmental nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). The interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) using Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)-specific antigens, was developed for the detection of LTBI. The QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube assay is one of the most commonly used forms of the IGRA. In order to compare the diagnostic efficacy of the TST and IGRA in relation to LTBI among BCG-vaccinated healthy donors, whole blood samples were collected from 51 participants, and the results of the TST and IGRA were compared. Of the 51 cases, 18 cases (35.3%) were positive and 33 cases (64.7%) were negative when using the TST, while four cases (7.8%) were positive and 47 cases (92.2%) negative when using the IGRA. There was no correlation between the size of the induration in the TST and the $IFN-{\gamma}$ protein level. In conclusion, the TST showed higher cross-reactivity among the BCG-vaccinated healthy participants, therefore, the IGRA might be the most suitable assay for the rapid screening of LTBI in BCG-vaccinated healthy population, or for TB contact investigation.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
• /
• v.17 no.5
• /
• pp.732-742
• /
• 2005

Purpose: This study was conducted to compare self-rated health, health status, and health promotion behaviors between non-low income and low income elderly women in the urban setting. Method: The subjects of this study consisted of 668 Korean elderly women over 65years. The data was analyzed by the SAS(ver.8.02) computer program, and it included descriptive statistics, ${\chi}^2-test$, analysis of covariance, pearson correlation coefficient and multivariate logistic regression. Results: 1) The non-low income elderly women had significantly higher scores(self-rated health, health status, and health promotion behavior) than the low income elderly women. 2) In low income elderly women, age, number of children were the main effect factors of health status, and level of education, burden of medical expense were the main effect factors of health promotion behaviors. In non-low income elderly women, number of children was the main effect factors of health status, and level of education, level of pocket money were the main effect factors of health promotion behaviors. Conclusion: This study showed that the establishment of a health care system for elderly according to their social-economic level is very important for providing productive care apposite to the situation of elderly.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Sensory Integration
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.1-20
• /
• 2007

Objective : The purposes of this study were two-fold; First it investigated self-esteem, stress and coping behaviors of mothers with handicapped children as a function of their and their children's characteristics; Second it examined the relationship among these variables. Method : The subjects were 294 mothers of handicapped children who were receiving treatment in one of the sixteen special therapy institutions in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do, and Gangwon-do. Rosenberg's(1965) Self-Esteem Scale translated by Jeon Byung-Jea(1974) was used to measure the degree of mothers' self-esteem. Mothers' stress was assessed using the Support Burden Scale revised by Seong Jong-sook(2000) and their coping behavior was examined using Folkman's(1986) Coping Scale translated by Jeon Sung-hye. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA and Pearson's Correlation. Result : The major results of this study were as follows; First, working mothers of handicapped children showed higher self-esteem and problem solving coping behavior more than non-working mothers. Self-esteem was found higher with high-income mothers than with low-income ones. Stress was shown more intense to low- and middle-income mothers than to high-income ones. Problem solving coping behavior was preferred more by high-and middle-income mothers than by low-income ones. Second, mothers with the mild-handicap children showed higher self-esteem than those with the first-degree handicap ones. Mothers of children with first-, second- and third-degree handicap perceived more stress than those with mild handicap. Coping behavior was significantly different depending on the severity of children's handicap, but no significant difference was found among the groups. Third, the higher the self-esteem of mothers was, the less they perceived stress and used more of problem solving coping behavior. When mothers perceived a great deal of stress, they used more of emotion-oriented coping behaviors.

• Genomics & Informatics
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.40.1-40.11
• /
• 2021

Mutation signatures represent unique sequence footprints of somatic mutations resulting from specific DNA mutagenic and repair processes. However, their causal associations and the potential utility for genome research remain largely unknown. In this study, we performed PanCancer-scale correlative analyses to identify the genomic features associated with tumor mutation burdens (TMB) and individual mutation signatures. We observed that TMB was correlated with tumor purity, ploidy, and the level of aneuploidy, as well as with the expression of cell proliferation-related genes representing genomic covariates in evaluating TMB. Correlative analyses of mutation signature levels with genes belonging to specific DNA damage-repair processes revealed that deficiencies of NHEJ1 and ALKBH3 may contribute to mutations in the settings of APOBEC cytidine deaminase activation and DNA mismatch repair deficiency, respectively. We further employed a strategy to identify feature-driven, de novo mutation signatures and demonstrated that mutation signatures can be reconstructed using known causal features. Using the strategy, we further identified tumor hypoxia-related mutation signatures similar to the APOBEC-related mutation signatures, suggesting that APOBEC activity mediates hypoxia-related mutational consequences in cancer genomes. Our study advances the mechanistic insights into the TMB and signature-based DNA mutagenic and repair processes in cancer genomes. We also propose that feature-driven mutation signature analysis can further extend the categories of cancer-relevant mutation signatures and their causal relationships.