• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.99-107
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• 2019

Purpose: This study aimed to assess hand hygiene (HH) compliance among visitors at a long-term care hospital in South Korea. Methods: The study was conducted at a 502-bed long-term care hospital located in Gyeonggi-do Province. From July 1 to August 15, 2017, including more than 6 weekends and one holiday, a trained observer covertly assessed visitors' HH at all five units (360 beds in total) of the study hospital building until the completion of 1,000 HH opportunities (i.e., 200 opportunities per unit). The modified World Health Organization (WHO) HH observation form was used. Instead of professional categories and the "before clean/aseptic procedure" moment, the estimated age range for each visitor were recorded in four categories: children (<14 years old), adolescents (14~18), adults (19~64), and the elderly (${\geq}65$). The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0. Results: A total of 1,000 HH opportunities were observed from 766 visitors (an average of 1.31 per visitor) and the overall HH compliance rate was 20.3%. Overall, 53.7% of the HH cases were performed with soap and water. Among the 4 HH moments, the "after body fluid exposure risk" moment showed the highest compliance rate (83.5%); 93.9% used soap and water. The most commonly exposed potential body fluid among visitors was saliva (48.1%). Conclusion: For hospital visitors in long-term care hospitals, HH education programs including HH moments need to be developed and implemented. Further studies are necessary to evaluate visitors' HH compliance in various hospital settings and find the related variables influencing visitors' HH.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.447-452
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• 2019

Purpose: Few studies have reported non-acute long-term morbidity rates in children with intestinal malrotation. The aim of this study was to investigate the rate of constipation in children undergoing Ladd's procedure for isolated intestinal malrotation. Methods: This retrospective study included children aged <15 years who underwent Ladd's procedure for intestinal malrotation between 2001 and 2016. Demographics, presence of volvulus perioperatively, need for bowel resection, short term (<30 days) and long-term complications, including mortality were recorded. Constipation was defined as treatment with laxatives at 1-year follow-up. Results: Of the 43 children included in the study, 49% were boys. The median age at surgery was 28 days (0-5, 293 days). Volvulus occurred in 26 children (60.5%), and bowel resection was required in 4 children (9.3%). Short-term complications categorized as grades II-V according to the Clavien-Dindo classification occurred in 13 children (30.2%). Of these, 5 children (11.6%) required re-operation. Constipation was observed in 9 children (23.7%) at the 1-year follow-up. No difference was observed in the rate of perioperative volvulus between children with and without constipation (44% vs. 65%, p=0.45). Excluding re-operations performed within 30 days after surgery, 3 children (6%) underwent surgery for intestinal obstruction during the study period. Conclusion: Many children undergoing Ladd's procedure require bowel management even at long-term follow-up, probably secondary to constipation. It is important to thoroughly evaluate bowel function at the time of follow-up to verify or exclude constipation, and if treatment of constipation is unsuccessful, these children require evaluation for dysmotility disorders and/or intestinal neuronal dysplasia.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.91-103
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• 2021

Purpose : This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a cognitive enhancement brain yoga program on short-term memory and serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels according to the cognitive state in men aged 20-29 years. Methods : Thirty healthy volunteers aged 20-29 years were divided into four groups: brain yoga group, yoga group, combined exercise group, and control group. Seven people were assigned randomly per group. A single-session intervention was conducted over 50 min and consisted of three parts: warm-up, main exercise (brain yoga, yoga, combined exercise, or non-exercise), and cool-down. Serum BDNF levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and short-term memory was evaluated using the forward number span test before and after the intervention. Results : BDNF levels significantly increased within the brain yoga group after the intervention (from 28874.37±5185.57 to 34074.80±7321.12, p=.003), whereas there were no significant differences pre-and post-intervention in the other groups. The inter-group comparison showed a significant interaction between the brain yoga group and the combined exercise group (p=.036) but no significant interaction between any of the other groups. Forward number span scores were significantly increased in the brain yoga group (from 9.43±9.83 to 23±7.92, p=.012) and theyoga group after the intervention (from 13.43±9.41 to 24.14±8.45, p=.011), whereas there were no significant changes after the intervention in any other groups. Conclusion : Our findings showed that a single-session, 50-minute brain yoga exercise improved short-term memory and increased serum BDNF levels in healthy men aged 20-29 years and that yoga improved only short-term memory in healthy men of this age group.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.77-81
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• 2012

Objectives : The purpose of this research was to examine the oriental medical term 'Yukjin(in chinese, liuchen)' i.e. 'good long-term storage of the six oriental medicinal herbs'. Yukjin has meant the six sorts of drugs which were well known for the older they stored, the better efficacious they were. This research was carried out to obtain more conclusive information about the time and the reason of the giving a naming Yukjin, and to arrange Yukjin's properties, toxicities and processes. Methods : We investigated the documents recorded in the medical classics of Yukjin and did the current issues and recent experimental researches of these medicines. Results : 1. The properties and flavors of Yukjin are pungent and bitter. When they were stored for a long time after gathering, their toxicities and stimuli were growing thinner, regarded as positive clinically with age and they should be used after processing. 2. The efficacies of Yukjin are not always in proportion to storage period. In case, they are stored too long, their efficacies and qualities may be deteriorated though volatility or pungent flavors are enfeebled. Conclusions : Consequently, toxicities and strong flavors of Yukjin can be reduced in various processes. So the traditional theory of long-term preservation is not necessarily retained. It may be desirable to store them for 1 to 3 years after harvest, to safen their toxicities and adverse reactions in the way of processing. If we use them properly according to oriental medicine method, it will be effective on treating and preventing the various diseases.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.561-573
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• 2023

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the long-term functional and patient-reported outcomes between intra-corporeal delta-shaped gastroduodenostomy and gastrojejunostomy after laparoscopic distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed clinicopathological data from 616 patients who had undergone laparoscopic distal gastrectomy for stage I gastric cancer between January 2015 and September 2020. Among them, 232 patients who had undergone delta-shaped anastomosis and another 232 who had undergone Billroth II anastomosis were matched using propensity scores. Confounding variables included age, sex, body mass index, physical status classification, tumor location, and T classification. Postoperative complications, nutritional outcomes, endoscopic findings, and quality of life (QoL) were compared between the 2 groups. Results: No significant differences in postoperative complications or nutritional parameters between the two groups were observed. Annual endoscopic findings revealed more residual food and less bile reflux in the delta group (P<0.001) than in the Billroth II group. Changes of QoL were significantly different regarding emotional function, insomnia, diarrhea, reflux symptoms, and dry mouth (P=0.007, P=0.002, P=0.013, P=0.001, and P=0.03, respectively). Among them, the delta group had worse insomnia, reflux symptoms, and dry mouth within three months postoperatively. Conclusions: Long-term nutritional outcomes and QoL were comparable between the delta and Billroth II groups. However, more residual food and worse short-term QoL regarding insomnia, reflux symptoms, and dry mouth were observed in the delta group. Longer fasting time before endoscopic evaluation and short-term symptom management would have been helpful for the delta group.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.35
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• pp.51.1-51.15
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• 2023

Background: Recently, there has been increasing worldwide concern about outdoor air pollution, especially particulate matter (PM), which has been extensively researched for its harmful effects on the respiratory system. However, sufficient research on its effects on cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertension, remains lacking. In this study, we examine the associations between PM levels and hypertension and hypothesize that higher PM concentrations are associated with elevated blood pressure. Methods: A total of 133,935 adults aged ≥ 40 years who participated in the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study were analyzed. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to investigate the short- (1-14 days), medium- (1 and 3 months), and long-term (1 and 2 years) impacts of PM on blood pressure. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the medium- and long-term effects of PM on blood pressure elevation after adjusting for sex, age, body mass index, health-related lifestyle behaviors, and geographic areas. Results: Using multiple linear regression analyses, both crude and adjusted models generated positive estimates, indicating an association with increased blood pressure, with all results being statistically significant, with the exception of PM levels over the long-term period (1 and 2 years) in non-hypertensive participants. In the logistic regression analyses on non-hypertensive participants, moderate PM₁₀ (particulate matter with diameters < 10 ㎛) and PM_2.5 (particulate matter with diameters < 2.5 ㎛) levels over the long-term period and all high PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 levels were statistically significant after adjusting for various covariates. Notably, high PM_2.5 levels of the 1 year exhibited the highest odds ratio of 1.23 (95% confidence interval: 1.19-1.28) after adjustment. Conclusions: These findings suggest that both short- and long-term exposure to PM is associated with blood pressure elevation.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.79-87
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• 2004

The silkworm rearing and growth parameters of 63 multivoltine silkworm accessions under extended period of egg preservation at 5$^{\circ}C$ from 30 days to 45 days were studied. The results indicate that, nine accessions did not respond to extended period of egg preservation at low temperature and the remaining 54 accessions responded to the treatment and three rearings were conducted for comparision with the control; to estimate the effect of prolonged egg preservation at low temperature. The non-parametric tests statistics (Wilcoxon tests) was adopted for comparing the mean performance of treated batches (45 days) over the control (30 days). Highly significant variability was found among the accessions for all the parameters under study. The genetically controlled morphological characters were not altered in the treated batches, which were found to be on par with that of control. However, the total larval duration varied significantly over the control in 51 accessions. Similarly, the fifth age larval duration of 27 accessions showed decreasing trend compared to control. Altogether 41 accessions were found to be tolerant to long-term cold preservation upto 45 days, without showing any significant variation for morphological as well as essential quantitative traits. These accessions may be recommended for long-term egg preservation schedule up to 45 days, which will reduce the cost of conservation of these silkworm germplasm.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.140-144
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• 2001

Backgrounds & Objectives : Prolonged hearing loss was considered as one of the factors which have the potential to cause vocal changes. However, the analysis of quality of phonation in hearing loss patients has not been achieved enough. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the difference in objective acoustic parameters between long-term hearing impaired patients and normal control group. Material & Methods : The material of this investigation comprised a group of 20 patients (M : F=10 : 10) with moderate or profound hearing loss(over 50dB). The duration of all hearing loss was over 1 year. All of them underwent the acoustic examinations comprising electroglottography, multidimensional voice program and formant analysis during phonation of the bowels /a/ with free confortable tone and /i/ with voluntary high tone. The results of the acoustic examinations were compared with those of a control group, composed of 20 sex- and age-matched normal hearing subjects. Results : In the male hearing loss subjects, the significant increase was detected in pitch and shimmer during phonation of /a/ and in pitch during phonation of /i/. In addition, this group was characterized by decreased fundamental frequency during phonation of /i/. In female, there was no difference between hearing loss group and normal control group except a decreased formant 1 frequency. Conclusion : Long-term moderate and profound sensorineural hearing loss could affect the objective voice parameters.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.212-222
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• 1984

A total of and consecutive 291 patients underwent isolated mitral valve replacement using the Ionescu-Shiley bovine pericardial xenograft valve during the 5-year period between October 1978 and June 1983. Thirty-two patients were the children under 15 years of age. There were 15 deaths within 30 days after surgery [operative mortality, 5.2%]. All early survivors except 6 children were placed on the long-term oral anticoagulation longer than postoperative 3 months. A total follow-up period extended for 398.2 patient-years, and 12 patients died [late mortality, 4.1%, or 3.0%/patient- year]. Ten patients experienced the thromboembolic complication [2.51%/patient-year], occurring in 8 patients within the first 3 postoperative months, and 4 died. Three patients had the late prosthetic valve endocarditis [0.75%/patient-year] and 2 died. The incidence of overall valve failure according to the criteria was 3.01%/patient-year, or 12 patients, and 2 had replacement of the failed bioprostheses [primary tissue failure, 0.5%/patient-year]. The long-term survival rate was 87.8%\ulcorner2.6% at 5 years postoperatively, and 84% of the late survivors were in NYHA Class I at the end of the follow- up. The probability remaining free from thromboembolism and overall valve failure was 89.8%\ulcorner6.3% and 81.2%\ulcorner.8% at 5 years respectively. These clinical results confirm the safety of mitral valve replacement. The only remaining clinical problem is the structural and functional durability of the bovine pericardial xenograft valve, and its use in young patients may be stopped in preference to the mechanical prosthetic valves.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.54 no.7
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• pp.277-281
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• 2011

Failure to thrive (FTT) is a term generally used to describe an infant or child whose current weight or rate of weight gains is significantly below that expected of similar children of the same age, sex and ethnicity. It usually describes infants in whom linear growth and head circumference are either not affected, or are affected to a lesser degree than weight. FTT is a common problem, usually recognized within the first 1-2 years of life, but may present at any time in childhood. Most cases of failure to thrive involve inadequate caloric intake caused by behavioral or psychosocial issues. The most important part of the outpatient evaluation is obtaining an accurate account of a child's eating habits and caloric intake. Routine laboratory testing rarely identifies a cause and is not generally recommended. FTT, its evaluation, and its therapeutic interventions are best approached by a multi-disciplinary team includes a nutritionist, a physical therapist, a psychologist and a gastroenterologist. Long term sequelae involving all areas of growth, behavior and development may be seen in children suffering from FTT. Early detection and early intervention by a multidisciplinary team will minimize its long term disadvantage. Appropriate nutritional counseling and anticipatory guidance at each well child visit may help prevent some cause of FTT.