OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between oral health professionals' knowledge, attitude, and practice with regard to infectious waste management and to identify related factors influencing it. METHODS: The study comprised of 219 oral health professionals from select dental clinics and public health centers recruited between August 25, 2016 and September 5, 2016, who agreed to participate in the study with full understanding of the study objectives. A self-reported questionnaire was administered, which consisted of 22 items on knowledge of infectious waste management, 9 items on attitude, and 16 items on practice. Data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient and stepwise multiple regression analyses. RESULTS: The age, knowledge, and clinical attitude of oral health professionals significantly correlated with waste management practice. Specifically, infectious waste management practice improved with increasing age, a greater level of knowledge, and a more positive clinical attitude. Additionally, the standardized regression coefficient demonstrated that, of these three factors, clinical attitude more strongly correlated with effective waste management practice, followed by age and level of knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicated that oral health professionals had a low level of knowledge regarding infectious waste management, and a more positive clinical attitude resulted in better practices. Therefore, the development of detailed and active education guidelines and strategies are needed to enhance the attitude, knowledge, and practice of oral health professionals with regard to infectious waste management.
Dental Clinics ; Education ; Oral Health ; Public Health ; Waste Management

Background: Since the supply of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines will be limited worldwide, it is essential to prioritize vaccination based on scientific evidence.Although several frameworks and studies on vaccine distribution have been published, no published systematic review has evaluated the prioritization of the COVID-19 vaccine. Materials and Methods: We searched 4 different databases, PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and EMBASE for articles published between January 2019 and December 31, 2020. Studies were included if they contained the primary search terms “vaccine”, “COVID-19”, and “prioritization”. In addition, we manually included reports from national and international websites. Results: Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria. In these studies, older adults were the most frequently mentioned group, and healthcare workers (HCWs) were mentioned as the 1st priority group. HCWs and patients with comorbidities were the 2nd and 3rd most frequently mentioned groups in the reviewed papers. Reducing severe COVID-19 was the most frequently mentioned goal. Conclusion Since vaccination programs have been initiated in several countries, scientific evidence on vaccination prioritization is needed to increase our knowledge of general vaccine prioritization and improve vaccine acceptance. Our results showed that HCWs and older adults were the most frequently valued in studies.

Background: Since the supply of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines will be limited worldwide, it is essential to prioritize vaccination based on scientific evidence.Although several frameworks and studies on vaccine distribution have been published, no published systematic review has evaluated the prioritization of the COVID-19 vaccine. Materials and Methods: We searched 4 different databases, PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and EMBASE for articles published between January 2019 and December 31, 2020. Studies were included if they contained the primary search terms “vaccine”, “COVID-19”, and “prioritization”. In addition, we manually included reports from national and international websites. Results: Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria. In these studies, older adults were the most frequently mentioned group, and healthcare workers (HCWs) were mentioned as the 1st priority group. HCWs and patients with comorbidities were the 2nd and 3rd most frequently mentioned groups in the reviewed papers. Reducing severe COVID-19 was the most frequently mentioned goal. Conclusion Since vaccination programs have been initiated in several countries, scientific evidence on vaccination prioritization is needed to increase our knowledge of general vaccine prioritization and improve vaccine acceptance. Our results showed that HCWs and older adults were the most frequently valued in studies.

To summarize the epigenetics in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and discuss the potential use of epigenetic modifiersas RCC biomarkers and treatments. Pertinent articles available on PubMed and google scholar database pertainingto kidney cancer and epigenetics were reviewed. Metastatic RCC is one of the most difficult cancers to treat.Although RCC is commonly known to be caused by VHL mutations, it is not enough to understand the completepathophysiology of RCC. Epigenetic factors can play a fundamental role in the pathogenesis of RCC. Epigeneticregulators are classified as epigenetic writers, readers, and erasers according to their role. In this review, wediscuss the potential role of epigenetic regulators as a biomarker for RCC. We also review medications thattarget epigenetic enzymes and are currently tried in RCC therapy.

Objectives: This study analyzed the perceptions and emotions of Korean and Japanese citizens regarding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It examined the frequency of words used in Korean and Japanese tweets regarding COVID-19 and the corresponding changes in their interests. Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed Twitter posts (Tweets) from February 1, 2020 to April 30, 2020 to determine public opinion of the COVID-19 pandemic in Korea and Japan. We collected data from Twitter (https://twitter.com/), a major social media platform in Korea and Japan. Python 3.7 Library was used for data collection. Data analysis included KR-WordRank and frequency analyses in Korea and Japan, respectively. Heat diagrams, word clouds, and rank flowcharts were also used. Results: Overall, 1,470,673 and 4,195,457 tweets were collected from Korea and Japan, respectively. The word trend in Korea and Japan was analyzed every 5 days. The word cloud analysis revealed “COVID-19”, “Shinchonji”, “Mask”, “Daegu”, and “Travel” as frequently used words in Korea. While in Japan, “COVID-19”, “Mask”, “Test”, “Impact”, and “China” were identified as high-frequency words. They were divided into four categories: social distancing, prevention, issue, and emotion for the rank flowcharts. Concerning emotion, “Overcome” and “Support” increased from February in Korea, while “Worry” and “Anxiety” decreased in Japan from April 1. Conclusions As a result of the trend, people’s interests in the economy were high in both countries, indicating their reservations on the economic downturn. Therefore, focusing policies toward economic stability is essential. Although the interest in prevention increased since April in both countries, the general public’s relaxation regarding COVID-19 was also observed.

To investigate effect of fatigue and anticipation on lower extremity joint load during a side-cutting maneuver in female collegiate soccer players, thirteen female collegiate soccer players whose right leg dominant participated in this study. Three dimensional motion analysis system and a force plate were used to record the 45degrees side cutting maneuver. In the first, anticipated and unanticipated cutting were measured in the pre-fatigue condition. Second, participations performed the fatigue protocol by the squat exercise with weight lifting. And then, two different type of cutting task were measured again after fatigue condition. The cutting direction let known before start their running in case of the anticipated cutting, the random signal of cutting direction were presented in the unanticipated condition. In the results, the most influential variable was anticipation factor. Lower limb angles represented significantly flexed posture during unanticipated cutting than anticipated condition. Maximum knee flexion moment represented significantly higher in unanticipated cutting than anticipated cutting. Adduction and internal rotation moment of lower limb joint decreased in unanticipated cutting. Fatigue factor was influenced by the initial contact angles of the ankle joint. Lower limb angles at the initial ground contact indicated more erect posture in post-fatigue condition. The unanticipation factor had more effect on locomotors ability of lower limb in this study. Therefore, the sensory-motor training to adapt to unanticipated situation should be considered for the injury prevention training program.
Ankle Joint ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament ; Fatigue ; Female ; Humans ; Joints ; Knee ; Leg ; Linear Energy Transfer ; Lower Extremity ; Posture ; Running ; Soccer ; Weight Lifting

PURPOSE: Erectile dysfunction (ED) remains a major complication from cavernous nerve injury during radical prostatectomy. Recently, stem cell treatment for ED has been widely reported. This study was conducted to investigate the availability, differentiation into functional cells, and potential of human muscle-derived stem cells (hMDSCs) and human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) for ED treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We compared the neural differentiation of hMDSCs and hADSCs. Human muscle and adipose tissues were digested with collagenase, followed by filtering and centrifugation. For neural induction, isolated hMDSCs and hADSCs were incubated in neurobasal media containing forskolin, laminin, basic-fibroblast growth factor, and epidermal growth factor for 5 days. Following neural induction, hMDSCs and hADSCs were differentiated into neural cells, including neurons and glia, in vitro. RESULTS: In neural differentiated hMDSCs (d-hMDSCs) and differentiated hADSCs (d-hADSCs), neural stem cell marker (nestin) showed a significant decrease by immunocytochemistry, and neuronal marker (beta-tubulin III) and glial marker (GFAP) showed a significant increase, compared with primary hMDSCs and hADSCs. Real-time chain reaction analysis and Western blotting demonstrated significantly elevated levels of mRNA and protein of beta-tubulin III and GFAP in d-hADSCs compared with d-hMDSCs. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that hMDSCs and hADSCs can be induced to undergo phenotypic and molecular changes consistent with neurons. The neural differentiation capacity of hADSCs was better than that of hMDSCs.
Adipose Tissue ; Blotting, Western ; Caves ; Cell Differentiation ; Centrifugation ; Collagenases ; Epidermal Growth Factor ; Erectile Dysfunction ; Forskolin ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Laminin ; Male ; Muscles ; Neural Stem Cells ; Neuroglia ; Neurons ; Prostatectomy ; RNA, Messenger ; Stem Cells ; Tubulin

Microcephalic osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type II (MOPD-II) is a rare disease with characteristic skeletal abnormalities and severe comorbidities related to cerebrovascular diseases. It is frequently associated with early onset cerebrovascular diseases due to its predisposition to intracranial arteriopathies such as aneurysms and moyamoya syndrome. Herein, we report cases of two siblings presenting with multiple cerebral aneurysms and moyamoya syndrome. Two brothers with short stature were genetically diagnosed with MOPD-II at the age of 18 years and 9 years. Magnetic resonance angiography of the brother at the age of 20 years demonstrated a ruptured left A2 aneurysm with multiple variable-sized aneurysms in intracerebral arteries. The younger brother underwent brain imaging for screening at the age of 12 years which revealed a sizable basilar top aneurysm, multiple tiny aneurysms, and steno-occlusive changes in the left A1 and M1. In conclusion, cerebrovascular arteriopathy was diagnosed using brain magnetic resonance imaging in a pediatric patient with MOPD-II. Cerebrovascular comorbidities can occur at any point in life. It can lead to disability or death. Therefore, routine screening for cerebrovascular comorbidities in patients with MOPD-II who have reached adolescence is recommended.

Purpose: To identify characteristic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features to differentiate between Krabbe disease and metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) in young children. Materials and Methods: We collected all confirmed cases of Krabbe disease and MLD between October 2004 and September 2020 at Seoul National University Children's Hospital. Patients with initial MRI available were included. Their initial MRIs were retrospectively reviewed for the following: 1) presence of white matter signal abnormality involving the periventricular and deep white matter, subcortical white matter, internal capsule, brainstem, and cerebellum; 2) presence of volume decrease and signal alteration in the corpus callosum and thalamus; 3) presence of the tigroid sign; 4) presence of optic nerve hypertrophy; and 5) presence of enhancement or diffusion restriction. Results: Eleven children with Krabbe disease and 12 children with MLD were included in this study. There was no significant difference in age or symptoms at onset.Periventricular and deep white matter signal alterations sparing the subcortical white matter were present in almost all patients of the two groups. More patients with Krabbe disease had T2 hyperintensities in the internal capsule and brainstem than patients with MLDs. In contrast, more patients with MLD had T2 hyperintensities in the splenium and genu of the corpus callosum. No patient with Krabbe disease showed T2 hyperintensity in the corpus callosal genu. A decrease in volume in the corpus callosum and thalamus was more frequently observed in patients with Krabbe disease than in those with MLD. Other MRI findings including the tigroid sign and optic nerve hypertrophy were not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion Signal abnormalities in the internal capsule and brainstem, decreased thalamic volume, decreased splenial volume accompanied by signal changes, and absence of signal changes in the callosal genu portion were MRI findings suggestive of Krabbe disease rather than MLD based on initial MRI. Other MRI findings such as the tigroid sign could not help differentiate between these two diseases.

Objective: To assess the role of arterial spin-labeling (ASL) perfusion MRI in identifying cerebral perfusion changes after indirect revascularization in children with moyamoya disease. Materials and Methods: We included pre- and postoperative perfusion MRI data of 30 children with moyamoya disease (13 boys and 17 girls; mean age ± standard deviation, 6.3 ± 3.0 years) who underwent indirect revascularization between June 2016 and August 2017. Relative cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and qualitative perfusion scores for arterial transit time (ATT) effects were evaluated in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory on ASL perfusion MRI. The rCBF and relative time-topeak (rTTP) values were also measured using dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) perfusion MRI. Each perfusion change on ASL and DSC perfusion MRI was analyzed using the paired t test. We analyzed the correlation between perfusion changes on ASL and DSC images using Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Results: The ASL rCBF values improved at both the ganglionic and supraganglionic levels of the MCA territory after surgery (p = 0.040 and p = 0.003, respectively). The ATT perfusion scores also improved at both levels (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). The rCBF and rTTP values on DSC MRI showed significant improvement at both levels of the MCA territory of the operated side (all p < 0.05). There was no significant correlation between the improvements in rCBF values on the two perfusion images (r = 0.195, p = 0.303); however, there was a correlation between the change in perfusion scores on ASL and rTTP on DSC MRI (r = 0.701, p < 0.001). Conclusion Recognizing the effects of ATT on ASL perfusion MRI may help monitor cerebral perfusion changes and complement quantitative rCBF assessment using ASL perfusion MRI in patients with moyamoya disease after indirect revascularization.