The ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM) proteins are a family of membrane-associated proteins known to play roles in cell-shape determination as well as in signaling pathways. We have previously shown that amphetamine decreases phosphorylation levels of these proteins in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), an important neuronal substrate mediating rewarding effects of drugs of abuse. In the present study, we further examined what molecular pathways may be involved in this process. By direct microinjection of LY294002, a PI3 kinase inhibitor, or of S9 peptide, a proposed GSK3β activator, into the NAcc core, we found that phosphorylation levels of ERM as well as of GSK3β in this site are simultaneously decreased. These results indicate that ERM proteins are under the regulation of Akt-GSK3β signaling pathway in the NAcc core. The present findings have a significant implication to a novel signal pathway possibly leading to structural plasticity in relation with drug addiction.
Amphetamine ; Animals ; Glycogen Synthase Kinases ; Humans ; Membrane Proteins ; Microinjections ; Negotiating ; Neurons ; Nucleus Accumbens ; Phosphorylation ; Phosphotransferases ; Plastics ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; Rats ; Reward ; Signal Transduction ; Street Drugs ; Substance-Related Disorders

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the ability of readout-segmented echo-planar imaging (rs-EPI)-based diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in assessing the microstructural change of extraocular muscles (EOMs) and optic nerves in patients with thyroid-associated orbitopathy (TAO) as well as in evaluating disease activity.MATERIALS AND METHODS: We enrolled 35 TAO patients and 22 healthy controls (HCs) who underwent pre-treatment rs-EPI-based DTI. Mean, axial, and radial diffusivity (MD, AD, and RD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) of the medial and lateral EOMs and optic nerve for each orbit were calculated and compared between TAO and HC groups and between active and inactive TAO groups. Factors such as age, sex, disease duration, mediation, and smoking history between groups were also compared. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the predictive value of significant variables for disease activity.RESULTS: Disease duration was significantly shorter in active TAOs than in inactive ones (p < 0.001). TAO patients showed significantly lower FA and higher MD, AD, and RD than HCs for both medial and lateral EOMs (p < 0.001), but not the AD value of lateral EOMs (p = 0.619). Active patients had significantly higher FA, MD, and AD than inactive patients for medial EOMs (p < 0.005), whereas only FA differed significantly in the lateral EOMs (p = 0.018). The MD, AD, and RD of optic nerves were significantly lower in TAO patients than HCs (p < 0.05), except for FA (p = 0.129). Multivariate analysis showed that the MD of medial EOMs and disease duration were significant predictors for disease activity. The combination of these two parameters showed optimal diagnostic efficiency for disease activity (area under the curve, 0.855; sensitivity, 68.4%; specificity, 96.9%).CONCLUSION: rs-EPI-based DTI is promising in assessing microstructural changes of EOMs and optic nerves and can help to indicate the disease activity of TAO, especially through the MD of medial EOMs.
Anisotropy ; Diffusion Tensor Imaging ; Diffusion ; Echo-Planar Imaging ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Multivariate Analysis ; Muscles ; Negotiating ; Optic Nerve ; Orbit ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Troleandomycin

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to construct and test a structural equation model on nursing work outcomes based on Youssef and Luthans' positive psychological capital and integrated conceptual framework of work performance.METHODS: This study used a structured questionnaire administered to 340 nurses. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.RESULTS: Positive psychological capital showed indirect and direct effects on job satisfaction, retention intention, organizational citizenship behavior, and nursing performance. While, the nursing work environment had direct and indirect effects on job satisfaction and nursing performance, it only had indirect effects on intention to work and organizational citizenship behavior. Additionally, a mediating effect on retention intention and organizational citizenship behavior was found between job satisfaction and nursing performance variables.CONCLUSION: The nursing organization needs to build a supportive work environment and reinforce positive psychological capital to improve nursing performance. Additionally, it needs to actively manage the necessary parameters involved in the stages of job satisfaction, retention intention, nursing performance, and organizational citizenship behavior of nurses. The findings propose the continuous management of nursing personnel based on nurses' attitude outcome, behavioral intention, behavioral outcome, and stage of role performance.
Attitude of Health Personnel ; Intention ; Job Satisfaction ; Negotiating ; Nursing ; Psychology, Industrial ; Task Performance and Analysis ; Work Performance

OBJECTIVE: Resilience and impulsivity have opposite effects on depression in stressful situations. This study aimed to investigate the association among resilience, impulsivity, and depression in young males. METHODS: The participants consisted of 429 conscripts who underwent military training over 5 weeks. The surveys included the Connors- Davidson Resilience Scale-Korean version, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11-Revised, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies- Depression Scale. The surveys were administered both before and after training. RESULTS: When simultaneously considering impulsivity and resilience, resilience was not associated with depression. Impulsivity had a complete negative mediating effect on resilience and depressive symptoms. Impulsivity is a significant negative mediating factor for the protective effect of resilience on depression. CONCLUSION: This study recommends considering impulsivity when evaluating the protective role of resilience against depression.
Depression ; Humans ; Impulsive Behavior ; Male ; Military Personnel ; Negotiating

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the parallel multiple mediators of depressive symptoms and sleep quality in the relations between stress and physical health-related quality of life (PHQOL)/mental health-related quality of life (MHQOL) among the women in late pregnancy. METHODS: Of 1120 pregnant women participated in the cross-sectional study which consisted of Perceived Stress Scale, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and MOS 12-item Short Form Health Survey. Parallel multiple mediator models were used to analyze the relations between stress, depressive symptoms, sleep quality and PHQOL/MHQOL. RESULTS: The effect of perceived stress on PHQOL was partially through the indirect path of sleep quality (β=-0.061). But in the model for MHQOL, depressive symptoms and sleep quality played parallel mediators, and the indirect path effect of depressive symptoms (β=-0.179) was higher than sleep quality (β=-0.029). CONCLUSION: The findings contributed to the understanding about the influential mechanism of stress on PHQOL/MHQOL. And it reminded the importance of sleep quality and depressive symptoms for improving QOL in late pregnancy.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Depression ; Depression, Postpartum ; Female ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Negotiating ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Quality of Life

Depression leads the higher personal and socio-economical burden within psychiatric disorders. Despite the fact that over 40 antidepressants (ADs) are available, suboptimal response still poses a major challenge and is thought to be partially a result of genetic variation. Pharmacogenetics studies the effects of genetic variants on treatment outcomes with the aim of providing tailored treatments, thereby maximizing efficacy and tolerability. After two decades of pharmacogenetic research, variants in genes coding for the cytochromes involved in ADs metabolism (CYP2D6 and CYP2C19) are now considered biomarkers with sufficient scientific support for clinical application, despite the lack of conclusive cost/effectiveness evidence. The effect of variants in genes modulating ADs mechanisms of action (pharmacodynamics) is still controversial, because of the much higher complexity of ADs pharmacodynamics compared to ADs metabolism. Considerable progress has been made since the era of candidate gene studies: the genomic revolution has made possible to assess genetic variance on an unprecedented scale, throughout the whole genome, and to analyze the cumulative effect of different variants. The results have revealed key information on the biological mechanisms mediating ADs effect and identified hypothetical new pharmacological targets. They also paved the way for future availability of polygenic pharmacogenetic panels to predict treatment outcome, which are expected to explain much higher variance in ADs response compared to CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 only. As the demand and availability of AD pharmacogenetic testing is projected to increase, it is important for clinicians to keep abreast of this evolving area to facilitate informed discussions with their patients.
Antidepressive Agents ; Biomarkers ; Clinical Coding ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP2C19 ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP2D6 ; Cytochromes ; Depression ; Genetic Variation ; Genome ; Humans ; Metabolism ; Negotiating ; Pharmacogenetics ; Precision Medicine ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVES: In recent decades, due to the high prevalence of divorce in numerous countries and the detrimental aftermath thereof, it has become increasingly important to study the components of marital stability. The current study explored fundamental protective factors in long-term marriage through a systematic review. METHODS: Searches for relevant publications were conducted in Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Magiran, and Scientific Information Database from their inception through January 30, 2019. Through the keyword search, 1,706 articles were found, of which 25 articles remained after screening based on the eligibility criteria. RESULTS: The extracted protective factors associated with marital stability in long-term marriage were classified as interpersonal and intrapersonal. Notable extracted factors included spirituality and religion, commitment, sexual relationship, communication, children, love and attachment, intimacy, and conflict resolution approach. These findings show that some aspects of relationships, such as commitment, act to preserve the pillars of marriage in critical situations, while other aspects, such as intimacy, help to construct marital identity and satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: The identified components of marital stability are structures that enhance a couple’s identity and sense of togetherness. Identifying the specific aspects of marital relationships that contribute to marital stability may help specialists and researchers to target specific types of marital interaction that may enhance the happiness and longevity of relationships, thereby preventing avoidable divorces.
Child ; Divorce ; Happiness ; Humans ; Longevity ; Love ; Marriage ; Mass Screening ; Negotiating ; Prevalence ; Protective Factors ; Specialization ; Spirituality

OBJECTIVES: Although smoking is associated with both low socioeconomic status and blood cadmium (Cd) levels, the association between socioeconomic status and Cd levels remains unclear. Therefore, our study aimed to examine this association and to clarify whether smoking is a confounding or mediating variable in this relationship. METHODS: Data (n=7,734) were drawn from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES, 2008- 2011), including years that contained data on blood Cd and urinary cotinine levels. We investigated the associations of income, education, and occupation with blood Cd levels. Smoking was investigated by categorizing participants by smoking status (never, former, and current) and pack-years into quartiles. The weekly frequency of rice and barley intake was analyzed to gain insights into participants’ dietary patterns. Additionally, urinary cotinine levels were used to ensure the validity of the smoking variables. RESULTS: Participants earning a low income and with less formal education had higher blood Cd levels. After controlling for smoking, the association between income and Cd levels substantially weakened. Further controlling for education, the association between income and Cd levels disappeared. However, there was a strong negative association between education and Cd levels, even after controlling for smoking history, pack-years, and urinary cotinine levels. CONCLUSIONS: In cross-sectional data from the KNHANES, blood Cd levels were significantly higher among those with a low income and less formal education. Smoking history contributed to, but did not fully explain, these associations.
Cadmium ; Cotinine ; Education ; Hordeum ; Korea ; Negotiating ; Nutrition Surveys ; Occupations ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Social Class

BACKGROUND: This study purposed to compare the difference on medical utilization and health expenditure of baby boomer generation by depression between gender. METHODS: Korea Welfare Panel Survey 2016, provided by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, was used for the analysis. For the research, we used the two-part model, yes or no of use (part 1), and frequency of use (part 2) for medical utilization. The dependent variables are the whether or not to use of hospitalization services, outpatient services, length of stay, outpatient service visits, and health expenditure. And the independent variables are used as the predisposing (education, spouse presence), enabling (insurance type, private insurance, economic activity, income), and need (chronic disease, self-rated health, disability) factors in the Andersen behavior model. Depression was used as intervening variables. Structural equation model and multiple group analysis by gender were used. RESULTS: There were differences in the medical care usage and cost between men and women in baby boomer. For men, mediating effects of depression were present at the hospitalization (yes/no), length of stay, and health expenditure. On the other hand, for women, the mediating effect of depression was found only at the outpatient visits. Specially, depression was working at the medical services by the different way between gender. The size of effect (multiple group analysis) was affected by significant differences between men and women. CONCLUSION: This study found that the mediating effect of depression is increased medical usage and health expenditure and the effect factors are different by gender. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a medical care policy considering the socio-economic characteristics of baby boomers.
Depression ; Female ; Hand ; Health Expenditures ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Insurance ; Korea ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Negotiating ; Outpatients ; Population Growth ; Sex Characteristics ; Spouses

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of impartiality in providing public health services on subjective health happiness and the mediated effects of public health service quality. Based on this, this study intends to present policy implications to improve public health services. METHODS: The research method is multiple linear regression analysis. The analysis of the mediating effects is performed by Baron & Kenny's test, Sobel-Goodman's test, and Bootstrap. RESULTS: The impartiality of public health services and the quality of public health services are shown to have a statistically significant effect on subjective health happiness. Quality of public health service appears to be mediating the relationship between impartiality in providing public health care and subjective health happiness. CONCLUSION: To promote people's subjective health happiness, it is necessary to secure impartiality in providing public health services in the first place and improve the quality of public health services.
Diagnostic Self Evaluation ; Happiness ; Linear Models ; Methods ; Negotiating ; Public Health ; United States Public Health Service