BACKGROUND: Exercise has shown to slow down the progression from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to dementia. In particular, not only resistance exercise has been verified to improve physical performance and muscle strength, leading to the prevention of fall-related injuries in the frail elderly, but also cognitive function. In this study, we investigated how high-speed elastic band training, applied using a high-speed power training protocol, affects cognition, physical performance and muscle strength of female elderly individuals with MCI. METHODS: Thirty-nine subjects diagnosed with MCI from one senior college using a Korean version of mini-mental state examination (MMSE-K) and a Korean version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-K) were randomly divided into exercise group (n=20) and control group (n=19). The exercise group completed a 12-week high-speed resistance elastic band exercise program and was encouraged to exercise at home as well during the intervention period. RESULTS: The results showed significant increases in cognitive function, physical performance and muscle strength assessed by digit span forward test (P<0.001), digit span backward test (P=0.003), the Stroop test B (P=0.031), SPPB scores (P=0.010), right knee 60degrees extensor peak torque (P=0.004), 60degrees flexor peak torque (P=0.001), 180degrees extensor peak torque (P=0.020) and grip strength (P=0.025). CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that participants with MCI who continued the high-speed elastic band training program for 12 weeks showed improvements in cognitive function, physical performance and muscle strength.
Aged ; Cognition ; Dementia ; Education ; Female ; Frail Elderly ; Hand Strength ; Humans ; Knee ; Mild Cognitive Impairment* ; Muscle Strength* ; Resistance Training ; Stroop Test ; Torque

This study aims to correct the Chinese characters of 普救女館 (Po Goo Nyo Goan) and its Korean pronunciation by re-examining the circumstances around the establishment of this hospital, and to discover its naming principle which is associated with the Confucian political philosophy of the Joseon Dynasty. Although 普救女館 is the first modern women's hospital in Korea, most historical studies of this institute have been conducted on limited documents and records. Many published studies use the incorrect names in many ways, so the correct name of the hospital is still in confusion.普救女館, however, was named with four or five of the Chinese characters given by the Joseon government (King Gojong (高宗)) at the time of its establishment. The Joseon government gave the name of Seonnyeoboguwon (善女普救院) to the first modern women's hospital established by Mary Scranton, the name of which was changed to 普救女館.Some records left by the female missionary doctors who worked in 普救女館 show the romanization and meaning of the name of the hospital. The romanization of 普救女館 clarified the Korean pronunciation of “女 (nyeo)” at that time. English translation name of the hospital has always shown that the place provided “extensive” medical treatment to women. It proves the fact that the first Chinese character of the name is “普”, not “保” which is expressed in many documents today.The hospital was named according to Confucian ideals just like the other modern hospitals established around the same time, such as Jejungwon (濟衆院), Gwangjewon (廣濟院), Gwanghyeyeowon (廣惠女院). The Joseon government commonly used similar Chinese characters during the naming of these hospitals, characters that imply the ideal of the good Confucian king's favor for many people of Joseon. 普救女館 was unique in having the character “館(gwan)” in its name, not “院(won)” as in other hospitals. It seems to stem from the characteristic of “women's hospital.” Po Gu Nyo Goan, the unprecedented women's hospital, was probably imagined as a hospitable accommodation where women provided kindness to people in need. This may have been the reason why “館”, which has the meaning of accommodation, was chosen instead of “院” that primarily meant medical facilities.Correcting the name of 普救女館 helps to eliminate the confusion in current historiography and to promote the understanding of the historical significance of this hospital.

To optimize the most efficient method for porcine in vitro maturation (IVM), we compared the effects of supplementing extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from porcine follicular fluid (pFF). The cumulus oocyte complexes were grouped into 4 groups with different supplementations as following: pFF (G1), pFF-depleted EVs (G2), EVs (G3) and control (G4) groups. After IVM with different supplementations, maturation rates and the developmental competences of porcine oocytes and blastocyst development were investigated. Additionally, glutathione (GSH) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were measured in mature oocytes. The EVs were isolated and characterized with cryo-TEM and nanoparticle tracking analysis. The pFF significantly affected the maturation rate, whereas the presence of EVs did not show notable difference in the maturation rates. Although there were numerical increases in the measured parameters in EV and pFF-depleted EVs groups, no significant differences were observed between them. The EV group showed similar oocyte maturation rate for both positive and negative control groups. The GSH was not different among the groups, but ROS levels were significantly lower in pFF-supplemented group when compared with other groups with the highest level in the control group. G2 group wasn’t significantly different G1 and G3 group. G3 group wasn’t significantly different from G2 and G4 group. This suggests that EVs in IVM medium which probably effected partially to protect against oxidative stress and potentially enhance the quality of oocytes. This study indicates that the EVs in pFF play a significant role in improving the efficiency of oocyte maturation in porcine.