• Title/Summary/Keyword: Pandemic disease

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Physical activities due to the social distancing could change the serum lipid levels between the pre-and post-COVID-19 pandemic on Jeju Island

  • Oh-Sung Kwon;Young-Kyu Kim
    • Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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    • v.29 no.3
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    • pp.147-154
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    • 2024
  • The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed physical activities due to social distancing to prevent the spread of infectious disease. The restriction could affect physical activities and serum lipid levels. The purpose of this study is to investigate changes of serum lipid levels and physical activities due to the social distancing between the pre-and-post COVID-19 pandemic on Jeju Island. A total of 5,373 subjects who underwent medical examination at a medical center located on Jeju Island. between May 2018 and December 2021 was enrolled. They were divided into two groups (the pre-COVID-19 vs. the post-COVID-19) based on their medical checkup dates and analyzed about clinical variables between them. Among the clinical variables, the mean age (P<0.014) and the mean levels of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (P=0.001), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (P=0.039) and total-cholesterol (P<0.001) and the proportions of subjects with abdominal obesity (P<0.001), aerobic exercise (P=0.003) and physical activity (P=0.008) were significantly higher in the post-COVID pandemic than those in the pre-COVID-19 pandemic. Even though the proportions of subjects with physical activity and aerobic exercise were statistically greater in the post-COVID-19 pandemic, those with central obesity and dyslipidemia were significantly higher in the period than before on Jeju Island.

Development and Characterization of Monoclonal Antibodies against Nucleoprotein for Diagnosis of Influenza A Virus

  • Nguyen, Hong Phuong;Kwak, Chaewon;Heo, Chang-Kyu;Cho, Eun Wie;Yang, Jihyun;Poo, Haryoung
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.28 no.5
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    • pp.809-815
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    • 2018
  • Influenza, which is a highly contagious disease caused by the influenza A virus, continues to be a major health concern worldwide. Although the accurate and early diagnosis of influenza virus infection is important for controlling the spread of this disease and rapidly initiating antiviral therapy, the current influenza diagnostic kits are limited by their low sensitivity. In this study, we developed several new influenza nucleoprotein (NP)-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and compared their sensitivity and specificity of those with commercially available anti-NP mAbs. Three mAbs, designated M24.11, M34.3, and M34.33, exhibited higher reactivities to recombinant NPs and A/Puerto Rico/8/1934 (H1N1) viral lysates compared with the commercial mAbs, as assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. M34.3 and M34.33 showed higher reactivities with A/California/04/09 (pandemic H1N1) and A/Philippines/2/82 (H3N2) viral lysates than the commercial mAbs. In contrast, M24.11 had marked reactivity with H3N2 but not with pandemic H1N1. Immunofluorescent confocal microscopy showed that the three mAbs effectively detected the presence of influenza virus in lung tissues of mice infected with A/Puerto Rico/8/1934. These results indicate that the newly developed M34.3 and M34.33 mAbs could be useful for the development of influenza diagnostics.

Infection, Disease, and Christian Spirituality (전염병, Covid-19, 그리고 기독교 영성)

  • Kwon, Jingu
    • Journal of Christian Education in Korea
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    • v.63
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    • pp.65-89
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    • 2020
  • Humankind has experienced various changes in the pandemic of the Covid-19 for some months from the winter of 2019. The Church and Christians also have witnessed the changes and results of the pandemic in their Christian life and meetings such as worship, Bible study, prayer meeting, personal spiritual activities, and so on. Humans have encountered different kinds of pandemics throughout history. 1918-Influenza is an example, and the Pest(the Black Death) of the 14th century is another. What did the Christian Church do in the pandemics? This study focuses especially on the spiritual matters of each case and era. This study explores the well-known cases of pandemics in history and reflects on the Christian spiritual responses and its lessons. The three points this study raises are the life and attitude of the spiritual figures, the practice of silence, and the social aspect of the Christian spirituality in this time of the pandemic.

Effects of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic on Outcomes among Patients with Polytrauma at a Single Regional Trauma Center in South Korea

  • Kim, Sun Hyun;Ryu, Dongyeon;Kim, Hohyun;Lee, Kangho;Jeon, Chang Ho;Choi, Hyuk Jin;Jang, Jae Hoon;Kim, Jae Hun;Yeom, Seok Ran
    • Journal of Trauma and Injury
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    • v.34 no.3
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    • pp.155-161
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    • 2021
  • Purpose: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has necessitated a redistribution of resources to meet hospitals' service needs. This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on a regional trauma center in South Korea. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed cases of polytrauma at a single regional trauma center in South Korea between January 20 and September 30, 2020 (the COVID-19 period) and compared them to cases reported during the same time frame (January 20 to September 30) between 2016 and 2019 (the pre-COVID-19 period). The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality, and secondary outcomes included the number of daily admissions, hospital length of stay (LOS), and intensive care unit (ICU) LOS. Results: The mean number of daily admissions decreased by 15% during the COVID-19 period (4.0±2.0 vs. 4.7±2.2, p=0.010). There was no difference in mechanisms of injury between the two periods. For patients admitted during the COVID-19 period, the hospital LOS was significantly shorter (10 days [interquartile range (IQR) 4-19 days] vs. 16 days [IQR 8-28 days], p<0.001); however, no significant differences in ICU LOS and mortality were found. Conclusions: The observations at Regional Trauma Center, Pusan National University Hospital corroborate anecdotal reports that there has been a decline in the number of patients admitted to hospitals during the COVID-19 period. In addition, patients admitted during the COVID-19 pandemic had a significantly shorter hospital LOS than those admitted before the COVID-19 pandemic. These preliminary data warrant validation in larger, multi-center studies.

Mental Health of Physical Therapy Students in Clinical Practice during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-sectional Survey in Gwangju and Jeollanam-do, South Korea

  • Park, Se Ju;Yeo, Seong Geun;Kim, Byeong Geun
    • The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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    • v.33 no.3
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    • pp.131-135
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    • 2021
  • Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the mental health of physical therapy students in clinical practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted during the pandemic and was completed by 100 physical therapy students in two universities in Gwangju and Jeollanam-do, South Korea. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) were used to evaluate their anxiety and depression status. A Chi-square test was conducted to evaluate the association of participant characteristics with the risk of having anxiety and depression. Logistic regression models were used to identify the general characteristic factors related to anxiety or depression. Results: Anxiety was found in 28 (28%) of the participants, and depression in 24 (24%). The risk of anxiety and depression in male physical therapy students was 0.189 and 0.211 times lower, respectively, than those female students (p<0.05). The risk of anxiety and depression in physical therapy students with a history of disease was 11.721 and 7.056 times higher, respectively, than those with a history of disease (p<0.05). The risk of anxiety in physical therapy students in clinical practice was 11.721 times higher than that in students who were not in clinical practice (p<0.05). Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a high risk of anxiety and depression among many physical therapy students. More attention and improvements are needed so that physical therapy students can study in a safe environment.

Nursing students' experiences of adapting to clinical practice in the COVID-19 pandemic (COVID-19 감염병 시대, 간호대학생의 임상실습 적응 경험)

  • Kwon, Suhye;Kim, Youngkyoung;Bang, Miseon;Ryu, Min
    • The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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    • v.28 no.1
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    • pp.57-69
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    • 2022
  • Purpose: This study was performed to explore and describe the overall clinical practice adaptation experiences among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This qualitative study applied the grounded theory method by Corbin and Strauss. Data were collected from May to August 2021 through individual in-depth interviews with 14 nursing students from three universities in B metropolitan city. Results: From open coding, 20 sub-categories and 10 categories were identified. Analysis revealed that the core category was the process of "keeping the place of learning while adhering to the restrictions of the era of pandemic" and that it consisted of four phases: confusion, withdrawal, adjustment, and growth. Through this process, participants utilized various action/interactional strategies such as "shifting to positive thinking," "building a shield to protect oneself," and "focusing on learning." The consequences of these strategies were "adapting to the reality of the infectious disease situation" and "strengthening a foothold to grow as a future nurse." Conclusion: An in-depth understanding of nursing students' experiences of adapting to clinical practice during the COVID-19 pandemic will guide nursing educators to promote effective teaching strategies to better support nursing students in a time of infectious disease crisis.

Who has experienced better or worse health conditions since the outbreak of COVID-19?: results from a representative cross-sectional survey in Seoul

  • Eunbin Jo;Hyelim Yoo;Kirang Kim;Sunup Kim;Chul-Kyoo Kim;Haeyoen Lee;Jinsook Jeong;Sohyun Park
    • Nutrition Research and Practice
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    • v.17 no.1
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    • pp.103-121
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    • 2023
  • BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the entire world population in many ways. This study aimed to analyze the patterns of changes in eating, food purchasing and preparation, physical activity, and subjective health after COVID-19 outbreak by various sociodemographic factors and to understand the factors associated with changes in subjective health. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A cross-sectional survey using a representative sample from Seoul was used for the analysis. The data collection was conducted from September to October 2020. A total of 3,833 citizens aged more than 18 years old participated in the Seoul Food Survey. Descriptive statistics and generalized ordinal logistic regression models were used to understand the changes in health behaviors, health indicators, and subjective general health by various socioeconomic status. RESULTS: It was shown that the changes in household income, food expenditure, food consumption and physical activities differed significantly by age, education, occupation, income, weight, and food security status. Low-income and food-insecure households were affected more severely by the pandemic. Older age, household food insecurity, income reduction, increased home cooking and frequency of having instant foods, decreased physical activity and weight gain were significant factors explaining worse perceived health during the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that focusing on older populations and low-income families with food insecurity should be prioritized during infectious disease outbreaks. In addition, the role of physical activities and instant food consumption in explaining perceived health should be investigated further in this prolonged battle with the pandemic situation.