PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to understand and describe difficulties and needs experienced by head nurses in the clinical practice education of nursing students. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive method was employed. A convenience sampling method was used to recruit participants from four hospitals in South Korea. Twenty-one head nurses participated in the first interview and 17 of them participated in the second interview. Data were collected through two in-depth interviews and field notes were written. Qualitative content analysis method was utilized for data analysis using ATLAS.ti 6.2 software. RESULTS: Thirty-one codes and twelve categories were identified. Four themes emerged from data analysis, which included ‘too many tasks’, ‘limitations of student education’, ‘many differences’, and ‘lack of support and resources.’ CONCLUSION: This qualitative study described head nurses' many difficulties and needs in the clinical practice education of nursing students. The results of this study provide valuable understanding and knowledge of head nurses' experiences in students' clinical education, which leads to improvement of the quality of clinical education for nursing students.
Education* ; Head* ; Humans ; Korea ; Methods ; Nursing* ; Nursing, Supervisory ; Qualitative Research* ; Statistics as Topic ; Students, Nursing*

The taxonomy of Acanthamoeba spp., an amphizoic amoeba which causes granulomatous amoebic encephalitis and chronic amoebic keratitis, has been revised many times. The taxonomic validity of some species has yet to be assessed. In this paper, we analyzed the morphological characteristics, nuclear 18s rDNA and mitochondrial 16s rDNA sequences and the Mt DNA RFLP of the type strains of four Acanthamoeba species, which had been previously designated as A. divionensis, A. parasidionensis, A. mauritaniensis, and A. rhysodes. The four isolates revealed characteristic group II morphology. They exhibited 18S rDNA sequence differences of 0.2-1.1% with each other, but more than 2% difference from the other compared reference strains. Four isolates formed a different clade from that of A. castellanii Castellani and the other strains in morphological group II on the phylogenetic tree. In light of these results, A. paradivionensis, A. divionensis, and A. mauritaniensis should be regarded as synonyms for A. rhysodes.
Acanthamoeba/*classification/*genetics ; Animals ; DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; DNA, Ribosomal/genetics ; Phylogeny ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; RNA, Ribosomal, 18S/genetics

To examine the relationship between birth characteristics and childhood cancer mortality, a retrospective cohort study of Korean children was conducted using data collected by the national birth register between 1995 and 2006, which were then individually linked to death data. A cohort of 6,479,406 children was followed from birth until their death or until December 31, 2006. Poisson regression analyses were used to calculate rate ratios of childhood cancer deaths according to birth characteristics. A total of 1,469 cancer deaths were noted and the childhood cancer mortality rate was found to be 3.43 per 100,000 person-years in Korea during the period of 1995-2006. The birth characteristics examined in this study (i.e. , birth weight, gestational age, multiple births, parental ages, and number of siblings) were generally found to be not significantly associated with childhood cancer mortality, and the associations did not vary meaningfully with gender nor with cancer sites. However, among children aged 5-11 yr, higher birth weight was associated with elevated childhood cancer mortality (rate ratio = 1.28, 95% confidence interval 1.04-1.58). Our results offer no overall associations between childhood cancer mortality and birth characteristics, but suggest that the association may be specific to age group.
Birth Weight ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cohort Studies ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Multiple Birth Offspring ; Neoplasms/*mortality ; Parents ; Republic of Korea ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Siblings ; Socioeconomic Factors

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the preoperative and postoperative radiologic findings of patients with complete repairs after massive rotator cuff tears along with the incidence of re-tear and the clinical outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study evaluated 33 cases who had open complete repairs for massive rotator cuff tears and these patients were followed up for more than 24 months. The clinical evaluation was performed according to the shoulder joint function test of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES), and the degree of arthritis related to the massive rotator cuff tears was evaluated using the Hamada classification. RESULTS: The ASES scores improved from 37.6 preoperatively to 85.6 postoperatively. The mean preoperative acromio-humeral interval (AHI) score was 6.5 mm, which increased to 9.3 mm immediately after surgery, and there was a decreased to 6.5 mm noted at the last follow up. The lower radiology stages of arthritis according to the classification showed better preoperative and postoperative results. CONCLUSION: An open complete repair as the surgical treatment for a massive rotator cuff tear showed satisfactory results for pain relief and an improvement in the shoulder joint function though re-tear after surgery.
Arthritis ; Elbow ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Rotator Cuff ; Shoulder ; Shoulder Joint

PURPOSE: Glomus tumor has known as smaller than 1 cm, hard to palpate, therefore patients often suffer from chronic pain. Based on our experiences about glomus tumors, we would like to evaluate their distributions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study includes 24 cases that underwent surgery for clinically diagnosed glomus tumor from January, 2001 to May, 2009. Clinical symptoms were firstly evaluated and ultrasonography in 8 cases and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in 5 cases were performed for more accurate diagnosis and localization. Complete resection with biopsy was done in all cases. RESULTS: According to pathologic findings, 20 out of 24 cases were reported as glomus tumor, and the other 4 cases were 2 fibrous tumor with chronic inflammation, 1 hemangioma, and 1 neuroma. Twenty glomus tumors at dorsal side under the nail were distributed to proximal radial in 11 cases, proximal ulnar in 6 cases, distal radial in 2 cases and distal ulnar in 1 case. Tumors were more frequently found at proximal in 17 cases(85%) and at radial side in 13 cases(65%). CONCLUSIONS: Glomus tumors tend to occur under nail of proximal and radial part. We think that accurate diagnosis and location of glomus tumors are needed to complete surgical resection.
Biopsy ; Chronic Pain ; Fingers ; Glomus Tumor ; Hemangioma ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Nails ; Neuroma

The human heart is a complex organ in which many complicated congenital defects may happen and some of them require surgical intervention. Due to the vast complexity of varied anatomical presentations, establishing an accurate and consistent nomenclature system is utmost important to facilitate effective communication among pediatric cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons and radiologists. The Van Praagh segmental approach to the complex congenital heart disease (CHD) was developed in the 1960s and has been used widely as the language for describing complex anatomy of CHD over the decades. It utilizes a systematic and sequential method to describe the cardiac segments and connections which in turn allows accurate, comprehensive and unambiguous description of CHD. It can also be applied to multiple imaging modalities such as echocardiogram, cardiac CT and MRI. The Van Praagh notation demonstrates a group of three letters, with each letter representative for a key embryologic region of cardiac anatomy: the atria, ventricles and great vessels. By using a 3-steps approach, we can evaluate complex CHD precisely and have no difficulties in communicating with other medial colleague. This pictorial essay revisits the logical steps of segmental approach, followed by a pictorial illustration of its application.
Congenital Abnormalities ; Heart ; Heart Defects, Congenital* ; Humans ; Logic ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging

OBJECTIVE: Transient receptor potential vanilloid subfamily type 1 (TRPV1), a most specific marker of the nociceptive primary afferent, is expressed in peptidergic and non-pepetidergic primary afferents innervating skin and viscera. However, its expression in sensory fibers to skeletal muscle is not well known. In this study, we studied the neurochemical characteristics of TRPV1-positive primary afferents to skeletal muscles. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with total 20 microliter of 1% fast blue (FB) into the gastrocnemius and erector spinae muscle and animals were perfused 4 days after injection. FB-positive cells were traced in the L4-L5 (for gastrocnemius muscle) and L2-L4 (for erector spinae muscle) dorsal root ganglia. The neurochemical characteristics of the muscle afferents were studied with multiple immunofluorescence with TRPV1, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and P2X(3). To identify spinal neurons responding to noxious stimulus to the skeletal muscle, 10% acetic acids were injected into the gastrocnemius and erector spinae muscles and expression of phospho extracellular signal-regulated kinase (pERK) in spinal cords were identified with immunohistochemical method. RESULTS: TRPV1 was expressed in about 49% of muscle afferents traced from gastrocnemius and 40% of erector spinae. Sixty-five to 60% of TRPV1-positive muscles afferents also expressed CGRP. In contrast, expression of P2X3 immnoreaction in TRPV1-positive muscle afferents were about 20%. TRPV1-positive primary afferents were contacted with spinal neurons expressing pERK after injection of acetic acid into the muscles. CONCLUSION: It is consequently suggested that nociception from skeletal muscles are mediated by TRPV1-positive primary afferents and majority of them are also peptidergic.
Acetates ; Acetic Acid ; Amidines ; Animals ; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Ganglia, Spinal ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Muscles ; Neurons ; Nociception ; Phosphotransferases ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Skin ; Spinal Cord ; Viscera

PURPOSE: An outbreak of influenza virus is uncommon in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The clinical presentation of influenza virus infection in neonates is diverse. This study was aimed to report an outbreak of influenza A in a NICU and to investigate the clinical characteristics of influenza virus infection in neonates especially preterm infants during the 2011-2012 influenza season in Korea. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 29 patients who were evaluated by respiratory virus multiplex reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) at NICU of Kosin University Gospel Hospital during the 2011-2012 seasonal influenza outbreak in Korea. RESULTS: Eleven patients (37.9%) were influenza A virus RT-PCR positive during the survey periods. They were all preterm infants and three of them had no symptoms. Eight patients had symptoms and it was fever (18%, 2/11), respiratory difficulty (72.7%, 8/11) without symptoms of upper respiratory infection, and gastrointestinal symptoms (27.3%, 3/11). The median duration of symptom was 5 days. There were differences of duration of admission at the test of respiratory RT-PCR, Clinical Risk Index for Babies (CRIB) score, use of mechanical ventilation, and use of dexamethasone before infection between influenza A virus RT-PCR positive and negative group. All 11 patients with influenza A were discharged without any complications. CONCLUSIONS: The symptoms of influenza A virus infection in the preterm infants is nonspecific. Influenza A virus should be considered as a possible cause of infection in NICU during the influenza season in the community.
Dexamethasone ; Fever ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Influenza A virus ; Influenza, Human* ; Intensive Care Units ; Intensive Care, Neonatal* ; Korea* ; Medical Records ; Orthomyxoviridae ; Respiration, Artificial ; Seasons*

The Korean Society of Nuclear Medicine (KSNM) is celebrating its 60th anniversary in honor of the nuclear medicine professionals who have dedicated their efforts towards research, academics, and the more comprehensive clinical applications and uses of nuclear imaging modalities. Nuclear cardiology in Korea was at its prime time in the 1990s, but its growth was interrupted by a long pause. Despite the academic and practical challenges, nuclear cardiology in Korea now meets the second leap, attributed to the growth in molecular imaging tailored for many non-coronary diseases and the genuine values of nuclear myocardial perfusion imaging. In this review, we describe the trends, achievements, challenges, and perspectives of nuclear cardiology throughout the 60-year history of the KSNM.

This study compared the effectiveness of self-propelling diatom microbubblers to clean dental appliances with commercial denture cleaning agents according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s guidelines. The microbubbler is made by doping diatoms with MnO2 nanosheets that can decompose hydrogen peroxide to generate oxygen bubbles. Artificial saliva is prepared in accordance with the criteria presented by the American Dental Association, dispensed, and dried in 96 well plates. Experimental groups include 10-15% NaOCl (positive control), distilled water (negative control), diatom microbubbler A (Aulacoseira, MnO2-polydopamine (PDA)-A), diatom microbubbler M (Melosira nummuloids, MnO2-sugar (S)-M), Polident (GlaxoSmithKline, Dungarvan, Ireland), Dentfix-forte (Helago-Phama GmbH&Co, Parchim, Germany). After washing, absorbance (OD 600) was measured. If the absorbance was 70% or higher, the condition was determined to have “cleaning power potency,”Statistical significance was evaluated by one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni correction to compare cleaning effects among groups (p<0.05).The average cleaning rates were 93.8±1.0% in NaOCl (positive control) and 79.1±1.5% in distilled water (negative control).With the diatom microbubbler A, the average cleaning rate was 79.8±4.5% in the 3% H 2O 2 2 mg/mL, 64.7±5.5% in 6% H 2O 2 2 mg/mL, and 81.9±7.9% in 6% H 2O 2 4 mg/mL. The diatom microbubbler M group showed average cleaning rates of 88.5±3.6% in 3% H2O2 2 mg/mL, 75.8±4.0% in 6% H2O2 2 mg/mL, and 84.5±4.5% in 6% H2O2 4 mg/mL. Finally, conventional denture cleaning agents showed average cleaning rates of 88.2±1.2% in Polident and 83.3±3.0% in Dentfix-forte. The positive control group had significant differences from all experimental groups, but the negative control group showed significant differences only in A2 and A3, M1 and M2, M3, Polident, and Dentfix-forte (F=190.141, p<0.001). Among all groups except the positive control group, MnO2 -S-M mixed with 3% H2O2 2 mg/mL showed the highest cleaning rate. As the results of this study show, diatom complexes exhibit cleaning effects compatible with conventional denture cleaning agents. Further studies need to be conducted to narrow down the specific optimal conditions of diatom microbubblers and maximize the cleaning effect.