• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.103-113
• /
• 2012

Objectives: This study aims to identify the effects of environmental characteristics of the community on adults' drinking problems with held constant effects of characteristics of drinkers themselves. Methods: A multi-level regression analysis was employed to differentiate the variances accounted for by measurements both at individual and group levels. Data on individual demographic, behavioral, and mental health status were obtained from the Community Health Survey conducted in 2009 in the province of Kyunggido, which include 41,376 respondents aged 19 and over. This study included 28,335 adults who were classified as drinkers. They were from 45 communities(si, gun, or gu) for which data on contextual characteristics were collected by secondary data available on local government websites and KOSIS(Korea Statistical Information System). Results: Multi-level analyses showed that the variance of the dependent variable, harmful use of alcohol measured by alcohol use disorder identification test was independently accounted for by variance of independent variables at group level, including number of on-premises alcohol outlet per inhabitant and divorce rate, with held other independent variables of the model controlled. Conclusions: This study confirms that in order to prevent and reduce harms caused by harmful use of alcohol requires restricting physical availability of alcohol in the community where the drinker lives.

• Genomics & Informatics
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.20-28
• /
• 2016

Internet addiction (IA) has become a widespread and problematic phenomenon as smart devices pervade society. Moreover, internet gaming disorder leads to increases in social expenditures for both individuals and nations alike. Although the prevention and treatment of IA are getting more important, the diagnosis of IA remains problematic. Understanding the neurobiological mechanism of behavioral addictions is essential for the development of specific and effective treatments. Although there are many databases related to other addictions, a database for IA has not been developed yet. In addition, bioinformatics databases, especially genetic databases, require a high level of security and should be designed based on medical information standards. In this respect, our study proposes the OAuth standard protocol for database access authorization. The proposed IA Bioinformatics (IABio) database system is based on internet user authentication, which is a guideline for medical information standards, and uses OAuth 2.0 for access control technology. This study designed and developed the system requirements and configuration. The OAuth 2.0 protocol is expected to establish the security of personal medical information and be applied to genomic research on IA.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.289-302
• /
• 1997

The main purpose of this study was to identify the effects of integrated stress management program on the stress symptoms of psychophysiological patients. especially patients with peptic ulcer. The study employed a quasi-experimental design using two different experimental groups. The samples in the integrated stress management program participated in autogenic training with biofeedback. discussions on effective coping method. cognitive. behavioral, and emotional management. They were also provided with an educational booklet on stress management and an tape on progressive muscie relaxation. Each session lasted one hour and the program consisted of seven sessions over four weeks. The other group was only given an tape on progressive muscle relaxation. The data were collected from May 20 to september 25, 1996. A total 47 patients from one university hospital located in Seoul participated, experiment group 1(integrated stress management training) had 23 subjects and experiment group 2(progressive muscle relaxation training) had 24 subjects. The effects of these programs were measured by the stress symptom scale developed by Kogan(1991) which was translated by Lee(1992) and the healing status of the ulcer evaluated by a physician. The data were analyzed using Chi-square test, t- test, ANOVA, repeated measure ANOVA. The result are as follows : 1. The integrated stress management group reported a significantly lower stress symptom score than the group given the progressive muscle relaxation only. 2. The integrated stress management group showed a significantly improved ulcer status as compared to the group given a progressive muscle relaxation only. In conclusion, it was found that the integrated stress management program was more effective in decreasing self-reported stress and physiological symptoms among patients with peptic ulcer as compared to the progressive muscle relaxation group. Based on this finding, the following suggestions can be made. 1. It is necessary to broaden the scope of nursing practice for psychophysiological patients so nurses can include stress management as part of patient care. 2. It is necessary to develop stress management program for other patients whose symptoms are known to be related to stress. 3. It is necessary to replicated this study with a larger sample in different settings.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Inherited Metabolic disease
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.60-65
• /
• 2014

Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS) is an autosomal recessive disease caused by a defect in cholesterol biosynthesis. This mutation encodes 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase (DHCR7), which is located on chromosome 11q13. It is characterized by typical facial appearances, microcephaly, small up-turned nose, cleft palate, syndactyly, and is correlated with cardiac, gastrointestinal and genital malformations. There may also be mental retardation, behavioral problems and growth retardation. It causes a broad spectrum of effects, ranging from a mild disorder of learning and behavior to a lethal malformation. There are four reports of Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome in Korean children. Here, we describe a two months old female with microcephaly, toe syndactyly and a cleft soft palate who was diagnosed as SLOS with c. 1054 C>T (p.R352W) and c.907G>A (p. G303R) mutations.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.77-88
• /
• 2004

Acupuncture has been shown to have therapeutic effects on many mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse in human and animal studies. Maternal separation (MS) is a risk factor in the development of mood-related disorders such as depression. This study investigated the effects of acupuncture during MS by evaluating locomotion as behavioral markers of depression and by observing changes in c-Fos expression in the limbic system (hippocampus, amygdala and cingulate cortex) to elucidate the mechanism of the therapeutic effect. The employed acupoint, Shinmun (HT7), has been clinically used to treat mental disorders. MS for 7 days beginning on postnatal day 14 induced a significant decrease in locomotion, while acupuncture treatment at acupoint HT7 resulted in a significant increase in locomotion. c-Fos immunoreactive cells in area dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus were increased in the MS group, but significantly decreased in the acupuncture group. These findings suggest that acupuncture has an effect on the depression-like disorder caused by MS, possibly by modulating c-Fos expression in DC of the hippocampus.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
• /
• v.3 no.3
• /
• pp.133-140
• /
• 2011

Muscle misuse dysphonia (MMD) is defined as a behavioral voice disorder resulting from inappropriate contractions of intrinsic and/or extrinsic laryngeal muscles. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of motor learning guided laryngeal motor control therapy (MLG-LMCT) which is designed to improve an existing LMT and further the effective voice treatment on people with muscle misuse dysphonia. Forty-six people with MMD (M:F=16:30) participated in this study. The voice samples of the participants were recorded to investigate the effect of MLG-LMCT before and after the voice therapy. Voice samples were analyzed via electro-glotto-graph (EGG). Contact quotient (CQ), speed quotient (SQ), and waveform were reported. In addition, perceptual and acoustical evaluation were conducted to determine the change of voice improvement after treatment. The experimenter massaged the tensioned muscles around the neck. In order to find more proper phonation the experimenter showed the subjects their EGG wave forms as to whether or not they are moving the vocal folds to the appropriate position. Therefore, the EGG wave forms were used as a type of visual feedback. With the wave form, the experimenter helped subjects move the vocal folds and laryngeal muscles to find more proper voice production. The sensory stimuli from the experimenter gradually faded out. A paired dependent t- test revealed that there was significant differences in CQ between pre- and post-therapy. Perceptually, overall, rough, breathy, strain, and transition were significantly reduced. Acoustically, there were significant differences in Fo, jitter, shimmer, and NHR. After using MLG-LMCT, most of the subjects showed improvements in voice quality. The results from this study led us to the following conclusions: Motor learning guided laryngeal motor control therapy (MLG-LMCT) has reduces muscle misuse dysphonia. These results may occur because a visual feedback from EGG wave form can maintain the effect of the muscle tension reduction from laryngeal manual therapy. In case of people with MMD who reduced muscle tension from the therapy (LMT) but, not appropriately manipulating the location of larynx or adducting the vocal folds, MLG-LMCT might be an alternative therapy approach.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.7-15
• /
• 2012

Background: Neuropathic pain is a chronic pain due to disorder in the peripheral or central nervous system with different pathophysiological mechanisms. Current treatments are not effective. Analgesic drugs combined can reduce pain intensity and side effects. Here, we studied the analgesic effect of nimesulide, nefopam, and morphine with different mechanisms of action alone and in combination with other drugs in chronic constriction injury (CCI) model of neuropathic pain. Methods: Male Wistar rats (n = 8) weighing 150-200 g were divided into 3 different groups: 1- Saline-treated CCI group, 2- Saline-treated sham group, and 3- Drug-treated CCI groups. Nimesulide (1.25, 2.5, and 5 mg/kg), nefopam (10, 20, and 30 mg/kg), and morphine (1, 3, and 5 mg/kg) were injected 30 minutes before surgery and continued daily to day 14 post-ligation. In the combination strategy, a nonanalgesic dose of drugs was used in combination such as nefopam + morphine, nefopam + nimesulide, and nimesulide + morphine. Von Frey filaments for mechanical allodynia and acetone test for cold allodynia were, respectively, used as pain behavioral tests. Experiments were performed on day 0 (before surgery) and days 1, 3, 5, 7,10, and 14 post injury. Results: Nefopam (30 mg/kg) and nimesulide (5 mg/kg) blocked mechanical and thermal allodynia; the analgesic effects of morphine (5 mg/kg) lasted for 7 days. Allodynia was completely inhibited in combination with nonanalgesic doses of nefopam (10 mg/kg), nimesulide (1.25 mg/kg), and morphine (3 mg/kg). Conclusions: It seems that analgesic drugs used in combination, could effectively reduce pain behavior with reduced adverse effects.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.119-128
• /
• 2000

Lifestyle and dietary behavior intervention as the primary prevention of lipid disorder seems safe and compatible with other treatments of cardiovascular diseases. Cross-sectional associations between lifestyle factors and dietary behavioral factors with plasma lipid and lipoprotein levels were analyzed in 189 middle-aged men in Suwon, Korea. Overnight fasting plasma levels of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein(HDL)-cholesterol, triacylglycerol and glucose were analyzed. Blood pressure and anthropometric data were also measured. Lifestyle factors such as smoking status, alcohol consumption and frequency of physical exercise were evaluated by a self-administered questionnaire. Questions regarding dietary behavior were also asked. The subjects were 43.8%${\pm}$7.9 years old, and 23.8%${\pm}$2.6kg/m$^2$. From stepwise regression analyses, significant correlates with total cholesterol level were body mass index(BMI), alcohol intake(negative), age and coffee drinking(model R$^2$=14.3%). BMI, breakfast-skipping, age, and sleeping hours were significant for triacylglycerol level(model R$^2$=15.8%). BMI, alcohol drinking(negative), age, and coffee drinking were significant for low-density lipoprotein(LDL)(model R$^2$=11.7%). Age(negative), BMI(negative), alcohol drinking, stress level(negative), physical exercise, and cigarette smoking(negative) were significant for high-density lipoprotein(HDL)(model R$^2$=12.1%). From stepwise regression analyses, excluding BMI and age as factors in the model, alcohol intake(negative) and coffee drinking were significantly correlated with total cholesterol level(model R$^2$=4.4%) : breakfast-skipping with triacylglycerol(model R$^2$=3.2%) : alcohol intake (negative) with LDL level(model R$^2$=3.4%) : alcohol intake, physical exercise and stress level(negative) with HDL level(model R$^2$=6.3%). The findings suggest that a healthy daily lifestyle and dietary behavior may have an anti-atherogenic effect by altering plasma lipid and lipoprotein levels in middle-aged Korean men. (J Community Nutrition 2(2) : 119∼128, 2000)

• Journal of the Korean society of biological therapies in psychiatry
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.129-141
• /
• 2018

Suicide is a behavior that is intended to cause death by itself and requires medical treatment, resulting in suicidal attempt or completion. Suicide causes loss of life, damages the body, costs a lot of medical expenses, and causes families to fall into sorrow and suffering therefore this suicide is a huge loss to family and society. There have been attempts to reduce and prevent suicide by understanding the mechanism of suicide. The mechanism of suicide can be thought of as psychological mechanism and biological mechanism. In the past, if we considered the psychological and biological mechanisms separately, the development of neuroscience now connects and integrates these two. Psychological factors affect biological factors and biological temperaments also affect perception or thinking about the situation and increase psychological vulnerability. Distant factors in suicidal behavior-such as childhood adversity and family and genetic predisposition-increase the lifetime risk of suicide. They alter the response to stress and other processes through changes in gene expression and regulation of emotional and behavioral characteristics. Distant factors affect the biological system and consequently changes in these systems can increase the risk of suicide. In other words, the distal factor does not directly induce suicidal behavior but rather acts indirectly through developmental or mediating factors. These mediating factors are impulsive aggressive and anxious trait, and chronic use of substances. The mechanism of this disorder is the abnormality of the serotonin system and the abnormality of the lipid level. Proximal factors are associated with the onset of suicide events and include changes in the major neurotransmitter systems, inflammatory changes, and dysfunction of glial cells in the brain. A series of studies, including a variety of research methods and postmortem and in-vivo imaging studies, show the impairment of the serotonergic neurotransmitter system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis stress response system for suicidal behavior. These disorders lead to suicidal behavior due to difficulty in cognitive control of mood, pessimism, reactive aggression, abnormality in problem solving abilities, excessive response to negative social signals, severe emotional distress, and cognitive dysregulation of suicidal ideation.

• Natural Product Sciences
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.193-200
• /
• 2021

Sophora flavescens Ait. (Fabaceae) is a medicinal plant widely founded in Northeast Asia, and its dried root (Kushen) has been used as a traditional Chinese herbal medicine. The therapeutic effects of Kushen in micturition disorder was not investigated comprehensively yet. In the present study, we examined and compared the efficacy of three batches of Kushen extract using different ethanol content through an in vitro cell-based assay. Among them, we chose the batch with the highest efficacy and augmented the volume of extract for industrial purpose. The bulk extract was examined in its efficacy in the in vitro cell-based assay, and the therapeutic effects through an in vivo behavioral assay of OAB rats. The main components of the extracts were analyzed by liquid chromatography. Cytotoxicity of the extracts was investigated by MTT assay. The overall efficacy of the extract was as much as, or more than, kurarinone, a potent BK_Ca channel activator. Thus, the extract was a potent relaxant of urinary smooth muscle by upregulating the activity of BK_Ca channel. The Kushen extract could be explored as an alternative medicine against overactive bladder patients indicating severe dysfunction of BK_Ca channel.