OBJECTIVE: This study was carried out to compare the effects of the stepwise exposure treatments on the morphological normality, fertilization and blastocyst formation rate of the frozen-thawed mouse mature oocytes by vitrification or ultra-rapid freezing and to use as a fundamental data for the cryopreservation of human oocytes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The morphological normality and fertilization rates of the vitrified and ultra-rapid frozen mouse mature oocytes after three-stepwise exposure treatments (1step, 3step and 5step) were observed. After choosing the 3step exposure treatment groups, we observed the morphological normality and fertilization, blastocyst formation rate vitrified and ultra-rapid frozen mouse mature oocytes. RESULTS: The morphological normality and fertilization rates of the vitrified mouse mature oocytes after three-stepwise exposure treatments (1step, 3step and 5step) were 75%, 85%, 88% and 58%, 61%, 54% respectively. There were no significant differences among treatments (p>0.05). The morphological normality and fertilization rates of the control was 92% and 65%. There were no significant differences in fertilization rate among control and treatments (p>0.05). The morphological normality and fertilization rates of the ultra-rapid frozen mouse mature oocytes after three-stepwise exposure treatments (1step, 3step and 5step) were 83%, 83%, 84% and 75%, 63%, 56% respectively. There were no significant differences among treatments (p>0.05). The morphological normality and fertilization rate of the control was 95% and 67%. There were no significant differences among control and treatments (p>0.05). The morphological normality and fertilization rate of the vitrified or ultra-rapid frozen mouse mature oocytes after 3step exposure treatment were 69% and 75%, respectively. The blastocyst formation rate was 60% and 57%. The results did not differ significantly between vitrification and ultra-rapid freezing (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: As known in the above results, there were no significant differences in the fertilization and blastocyst formation rate of the frozen-thawed mouse mature oocytes by vitrification or ultra-rapid freezing among the control and treatments. It is suggested that vitrification and ultra-rapid freezing method were effective for the cryopreservation of mouse mature oocytes.
Animals ; Blastocyst ; Cryopreservation ; Fertilization ; Freezing* ; Humans ; Mice* ; Oocytes* ; Vitrification*

The present study was conducted to provide the basis for improvement of clinical nutrition services through development of job standards of clinical dietitian for the clinical nutrition therapy to cancer patients in hospitals. Developing A Curriculum (DACUM) method was used for job analysis and development of job standards for clinical dietitians for cancer care. Based on DACUM analysis, information about duties, tasks, and task elements of clinical dietitians for cancer care was collected. Developed job standards were applied to clinical nutrition care for cancer patients in hospitals for evaluation. Based on DACUM analysis, consultations from professionals, and field application tests, the final job standards were composed of four duties, 18 tasks, and 56 task elements. The duties consisted of nutritional assessment, nutrition diagnosis, nutrition intervention, and nutrition monitoring.evaluation. For cancer nutrition care, 109 work activities were developed. They were composed of 75 basic and 34 recommended work activities. The application of developed job standards for clinical dietitians for cancer care at 10 hospitals showed a performance rate of 72.3%. In conclusion, job standards for clinical dietitians for cancer care developed in this study might be effectively used as guidelines for providing clinical nutrition services for cancer patients in hospitals.
Curriculum ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Nutrition Assessment ; Nutrition Therapy* ; Nutritionists* ; Referral and Consultation

This study was conducted to develop job standards for clinical dietitian administering clinical nutrition therapy to diabetic patients in hospitals. Based on DACUM (Developing A Curriculum) analysis of 17 members including clinical dietitians, professors majoring in clinical nutrition and researchers, information on duties, tasks and task elements of clinical dietitians for diabetes care were derived and applied to diabetes mellitus-specific clinical nutrition care in hospitals for evaluation. The final developed job standards for clinical dietitians for diabetes care included four duties, 19 tasks and 56 task elements. The duties consisted of nutrition assessment, nutrition diagnosis, nutrition intervention, and nutrition monitoring . evaluation. For application of diabetes mellitus-specific job standards in clinical nutrition care, 108 work activities were developed and classified into 90 basic and 18 recommended types. Performance rates of standardized jobs were 80.2% at nutrition assessment, 99.6% at nutrition diagnosis, 78.5% at nutrition intervention, and 32.9% at nutrition monitoring . evaluation. These results can be applied as guidelines to implement jobs for diabetes mellitus-specific clinical nutrition services in clinical settings. In addition, they would be useful for education standards in educational institutions for education and training of clinical dietitian.
Diabetes Mellitus ; Diagnosis ; Education ; Humans ; Job Description ; Nutrition Assessment ; Nutrition Therapy* ; Nutritionists*

Dyslipidemia has significantly contributed to the increase of death and morbidity rates related to cardiovascular diseases. Clinical nutrition service provided by dietitians has been reported to have a positive effect on relief of medical symptoms or reducing the further medical costs. However, there is a lack of researches to identify key competencies and job standard for clinical dietitians to care patients with dyslipidemia. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the job components of clinical dietitian and develop the standard for professional practice to provide effective nutrition management for dyslipidemia patients. The current status of clinical nutrition therapy for dyslipidemia patients in hospitals with 300 or more beds was studied. After duty tasks and task elements of nutrition care process for dyslipidemia clinical dietitians were developed by developing a curriculum (DACUM) analysis method. The developed job standards were pretested in order to evaluate job performance, difficulty, and job standards. As a result, the job standard included four jobs, 18 tasks, and 53 task elements, and specific job description includes 73 basic services and 26 recommended services. When clinical dietitians managing dyslipidemia patients performed their practice according to this job standard for 30 patients the job performance rate was 68.3%. Therefore, the job standards of clinical dietitians for clinical nutrition service for dyslipidemia patients proposed in this study can be effectively used by hospitals.
Cardiovascular Diseases ; Curriculum ; Dyslipidemias* ; Humans ; Job Description ; Nutrition Therapy* ; Nutritionists ; Professional Practice

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of depression has been steadily increasing. This study aim to identify associations between smoking, drinking and depression in Korean adults. METHODS: The study subjects were 17,871 adults aged 19 or over who participated in the 5th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010-2012). We performed multiple logistic regression to identify whether smoking and drinking were independently significant variables to depression after adjusting for the confounding variables. RESULTS: The proportion of having any depressive episodes was a total of 13.4% with 9.1% of male and 16.6% of female, respectively. Among all of smoking behaviors, higher cigarette consumption was only associated with depression in men. However, for women ever-smoking (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=1.63, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.38-1.92), ex-smoking (aOR=1.38, 95% CI=1.10-1.54), current smoking (aOR=1.89, 95% CI=1.53-2.94) and younger initiation of smoking (aOR=2.34, 95% CI=1.73-3.16) had significantly higher odds for depression. Moreover, and higher cigarette consumption (20 or more per day) showed significantly higher odds ratios for depression both in men (aOR=1.21, 95% CI=1.01-1.54) and women (aOR=2.41, 95% CI=1.32-4.41). For alcoholic drinking behaviors, frequent binge drinking (1 per week: aOR=1.46, 95% CI=1.16-1.85, most everyday: aOR=1.79, 95% CI=1.14-2.80) was an independent risk factor for depressive symptoms in female. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking and drinking behaviors were independently associated with depression especially in female. Smoking and drinking management may benefit depression control as well as health promotion.
Adult* ; Alcohol Drinking ; Alcoholics ; Binge Drinking ; Confounding Factors (Epidemiology) ; Depression* ; Drinking Behavior ; Drinking* ; Female ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Korea* ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Odds Ratio ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Smoke* ; Smoking* ; Tobacco Products

BACKGROUND: Workplace violence was recognized to be social problems that might impact the health status and the job satisfaction of employee in hospitals. This study investigated the current status of violence and job stress among hospital employees working at administration and discharging department. METHODS: The study subjects were 213 administrative employees working at 20 general hospitals. Data were collected by self-administered questionnaire that included information such as demographics, job-related characteristics, experience of violence, and job stress. The violence was classified as verbal violence, physical threat, and physical violence occurred by patients and caregivers. Analysis of variance, t-tests, correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression analysis were performed to examine the associated factors with job stress. RESULTS: The levels of verbal violence, physical threat, and physical violence were 1.64±1.08, 0.54±0.67, and 0.04±0.17, respectively. The score of job stress was 2.74±0.50 and it was associated with age, existence of spouse, drinking frequency, subjective health status, disease history, night-time treatment, and public health administration career in simple analysis. In multiple linear regression analysis, the level of verbal violence experience was significantly associated with job stress (B=0.09, p=0.001). Also physical threats (B=0.18, p<0.001) and physical violence (B=0.48, p=0.008) showed positive association with job stress. CONCLUSION: This study attempted to examine the association between experience of violence and job stress in administrative employees at medical institutions. Levels of violence showed positive correlation with the job stress. Environment improvement to protect employee from violence and management of employees who experienced workplace violence are needed to reduce the job stress.
Caregivers ; Demography ; Drinking ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Job Satisfaction ; Linear Models ; Public Health Administration ; Social Problems ; Spouses ; Violence* ; Workplace Violence

BACKGROUND: Dysphagia is a common complication in stroke patients. This study aimed to investigate the effects of the tongue-holding maneuver over an 8-week period on the swallowing function in stroke patients. METHODS: Twenty-eight stroke patients with dysphagia diagnosed within 1 year were randomly allocated to the experimental or control groups. The experimental (n=15) and control groups (n=13) performed the tongue-holding and Mendelsohn maneuver, respectively. And both groups additionally participated in traditional dysphagia therapy. The maneuvers were conducted for thirty minutes a day, five days a week, for six weeks, totaling forty sessions. Swallowing function with the functional dysphagia scale and swallowing pain with the visual analogue scale between the 2 groups were tested by chi-square tests, Mann-whitney testes, and Wilcoxon signed rank tests. RESULTS: The general characteristics, including age, sex, and disease history, between the two groups did not differ. After 8 weeks of intervention, swallowing function at the oral phase and the pharyngeal phase and the total score was significantly improved in both experimental and control groups. Also, swallowing pain decreased significantly in both groups. However, the change to swallowing function and pain between the groups were not different. CONCLUSIONS: The tongue-holding maneuver practiced over an eight-week period improved the swallowing function in stroke patients.
Deglutition Disorders ; Deglutition* ; Humans ; Occupational Therapy ; Stroke* ; Testis

OBJECTIVES: Several previous studies have found that healthy behaviors substantially reduce non-communicable disease incidence and mortality. The present study was performed to estimate the prevalence of four modifiable healthy behaviors and a healthy lifestyle among Korean adults according to socio-demographic and regional factors. METHODS: We analyzed data from 199 400 Korean adults aged 19 years and older who participated in the 2010 Korean Community Health Survey. We defined a healthy lifestyle as a combination of four modifiable healthy behaviors: non-smoking, moderate alcohol consumption, regular walking, and a healthy weight. We calculated the prevalence rates and odds ratios of each healthy behavior and healthy lifestyle according to socio-demographic and regional characteristics. RESULTS: The prevalence rates were as follows: non-smoking, 75.0% (53.7% in men, 96.6% in women); moderate alcohol consumption, 88.2% (79.7% in men, 96.9% in women); regular walking, 45.0% (46.2% in men, 43.8% in women); healthy weight, 77.4% (71.3% in men, 73.6% in women); and a healthy lifestyle, 25.5% (16.4% in men, 34.6% in women). The characteristics associated with a low prevalence of healthy lifestyle were male gender, younger age (19 to 44 years of age), low educational attainment, married, living in a rural area, living in the Chungcheong, Youngnam, or Gwangwon-Jeju region, and poorer self-rated health. CONCLUSIONS: Further research should be implemented to explore the explainable factors of disparities for socio-demographic and regional characteristics to engage in the healthy lifestyle among adults.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Alcohol Drinking ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Body Weight ; Demography ; Female ; *Health Surveys ; Humans ; *Life Style ; Male ; Marital Status ; Middle Aged ; Republic of Korea ; Rural Population ; Sex Factors ; Smoking ; Social Class ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the association between social relations, activities of daily living, cognitive functions and depressive symptoms among the Korean elderly. METHODS: Study subjects were 10,260 elderly participated in 2014 Korean National Survey on Older Adults. General characteristics, social relations, activities of daily living, cognitive functions and depressive symptoms were collected by face-to-face interview. Descriptive analyses, chi-square tests and multiple logistic regression analysis were performed using SAS 9.4 statistical program. RESULTS: Total 33.0% of elderly had depressive symptoms. The odds ratios (OR) for depressive symptoms were significantly higher in elderly without housemate [OR=1.30, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.11-1.53], without contact of living children (OR=1.76, 95% CI=1.03-2.99), lower social activity (OR=2.00, 95% CI=1.71-2.35) and without contact of friends (OR=1.47, 95% CI=1.30-1.67). And impaired activity of daily living (ADL) (ADL : OR=1.61, 95% CI=1.18-2.20, instrumental activities of daily living : OR=1.68, 95% CI=1.36-2.06) and cognitive impairment (OR=1.21, 95% CI=1.07-1.38) were also associated the risk of depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: Social support for elderly who lack social relationships and services to improve the daily life of elderly with impaired activities are helpful to decrease depressive symptoms. And it is necessary to investigate and manage the depressive symptoms of elderly with impaired cognitive function.
Activities of Daily Living* ; Adult* ; Aged* ; Child ; Cognition Disorders ; Cognition* ; Depression* ; Friends ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Interpersonal Relations ; Logistic Models ; Odds Ratio ; Sociological Factors

The purpose of this study was to identify the association between health-related behaviors including smoking, alcohol intake, and the practice of a low-salt diet using data from a Community Health Survey conducted in 2008. The study subjects were 129,151 persons (19 years and older) without cardiovascular diseases or diabetes mellitus diagnosis history. An index for evaluating low salinity was created by summing three low salinity-related questions (range: 0~3), and a low-salt diet was defined if the index of low salinity was 3. We examined the levels of smoking and alcohol intake according to the index of low salinity, and conducted multiple logistic regression analysis to examine the odds ratios of low-salt diet practice in relation to smoking and drinking behavior, adjusting for general characteristics. The smoking and drinking status significantly improved as the level of low salinity index increase. Adjusting for general characteristics, those with smoking, alcohol intake, or a combined habit of the two behaviors had significantly lower odds ratios for practice of a low-salt diet. In conclusion, smoking and drinking behavior were negatively associated with the practice of a low-salt diet. Based on these findings, it may be necessary to have comprehensive nutritional education programs that consider the multiple effects of smoking, drinking, and a low-salt diet.
Cardiovascular Diseases ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diet, Sodium-Restricted ; Drinking ; Drinking Behavior ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Odds Ratio ; Salinity ; Smoke ; Smoking