PURPOSE: This study was done to examine current status of women's health nursing practicum and identify necessary core nursing skills in this practicum area. Moreover, one syllabus and evaluation sheets for women's health nursing clinical practicum at one university were reviewed. METHODS: A survey design was used with 81 educators who were teaching maternity or women's health nursing and its practicum. RESULTS: Most clinical sites for practicum were university hospitals (43.0%), women's hospitals (32.7%), or general hospitals (17.3%); but the majority (77.8%) of educators expressed difficulty in finding appropriate practicum places. Common teaching and learning methods were clinical guides for practicum (44.6%), e-learning content (30.2%), and simulation (23.6%). Core nursing skills for this practicum included assessment of stages of labor, preparation of uterine-fetal monitoring devices and interpretation of results, monitoring uterus and fetal activity, and performing Leopold's maneuver. For postpartum care, the following were included; postpartum fundal massage, assessment of breast engorgement, fundus height, and episiotomy sites, inserting urinary catheter, and teaching the use of patient-controlled analgesia. CONCLUSION: To improve the quality of clinical practicum, development of a clear course syllabus, standardized clinical guidebook, and core nursing skills is required and should be shared with all relevant nurse educators.
Analgesia, Patient-Controlled ; Breast ; Clinical Competence ; Education ; Episiotomy ; Female ; Fetal Movement ; Hospitals, General ; Hospitals, University ; Infant, Newborn ; Learning ; Massage ; Maternal-Child Nursing ; Nursing* ; Postnatal Care ; Postpartum Period ; Pregnancy ; Urinary Catheters ; Uterus ; Women's Health*

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate factors related to mental health of university student offspring according to their parents' drinking behavior. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used in this study. A convenience sample of university students were recruited from three universities in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, Korea. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires with 547 university students. The scales used for this study were the Korean version of the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST-K), Symptom Checklist-90-Revision (SCL-90-R), Rosenberg's Self-esteem Scale, and the Way of Coping Checklist. RESULTS: Participants were classified into three groups; nondrinking-parents group (53.5%), social drinking-parents group (21.8%), and problem drinking-parents group (24.7%). Participants whose parents were problem drinkers had significantly higher scores on all the subcategories of SCL-90-R compared to those of other groups. In the participants group whose parents were problem drinkers, mental health problem had a significant positive correlation to passive coping methods and a negative correlation to self-esteem. There was a significant negative relationship between self-esteem and positive coping methods. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate the mental health of university students may be negatively affected by their parents' drinking behaviors. Special attention and early interventions are needed for university students whose parents have drinking problems.
Adult Children ; Alcohol Drinking ; Alcoholics ; Checklist ; Child ; Drinking ; Drinking Behavior* ; Early Intervention (Education) ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Korea ; Mass Screening ; Mental Health* ; Parents ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Seoul ; Weights and Measures

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to identify predictive factors that influence the perpetrations of violence while dating in university students. METHODS: Self-report questionnaires were used to collect data from university students with dating experiences(N=453) attending 3 regional universities. Data were analyzed using t-test, chi2-test, ANOVA, and logistic regression. RESULTS: Prevalence rates for psychological, physical and sexual perpetration were 50.1%, 32.5%, 5.5%. In adjusted analysis, compared to non-exposed students, students with psychological dating violence perpetration were at increased risk of psychological and physical dating victimization (OR=9.84, p<.001; OR=2.31, p=.001), had experienced emotional child abuse (OR=2.23, p=.001) and depressive feeling (OR=2.09 , p=.012). Compared to non-exposed students, students with physical dating violence perpetration were at increased risk of psychological and physical dating victimization (OR=2.44, p<.001; OR=7.78, p=.001), had experienced physical child abuse (OR=2.04, p=.001), and were female (OR=2.73, p<.001). CONCLUSION: To prevent dating violence, high-risk groups should be detected by surveying variables including experience of dating violence victimization and depressive feeling. Domestic violence could be decreased through parents education and counseling from childhood. Development and implementation of dating violence prevention programs by type of dating violence should be done.
Child ; Child Abuse ; Counseling ; Crime Victims ; Depression ; Domestic Violence ; Education ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Parents ; Prevalence ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Violence*

BACKGROUND: We previously demonstrated remarkable differences in the expression of IL-8/CXCL8 in aortic tissues and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) compared to VSMC from normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). In the present study, we investigated the direct effect of IL-8/CXCL8 on expression of 12-lipoxygenase (LO), a hypertensive modulator, in SHR VSMC. METHODS: Cultured aortic VSMC from SHR and WKY were used. Expression of 12-LO mRNA was determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Phosphorlyation of ERK1/2 and production of 12-LO and angiotensin II subtype 1 (AT1) receptor were assessed by Western blots. IL-8/CXCL8-stimulated DNA synthesis was determined by measuring incorporation of [3H]-thymidine. And effect of IL-8/CXCL8 on vascular tone was determined by phenylephrine-induced contraction of thoracic aortic rings. RESULTS: Treatment with IL-8/CXCL8 greatly increased 12-LO mRNA expression and protein production compared to treatment with angiotensin II. IL-8/CXCL8 also increased the expression of the AT1 receptor. The increase in 12-LO induced by IL-8/CXCL8 was inhibited by treatment with an AT1 receptor antagonist. The induction of 12-LO mRNA production and the proliferation of SHR VSMC by IL-8/CXCL8 was mediated by the ERK pathway. The proliferation of SHR VSMC and the vascular contraction in the thoracic aortic ring, both of which were induced by IL-8/CXCL8, were inhibited by baicalein, a 12-LO inhibitor. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the potential role of IL-8/CXCL8 in hypertensive processes is likely mediated through the 12-LO pathway.
Angiotensin II ; Animals ; Arachidonate 12-Lipoxygenase ; Blotting, Western ; Contracts ; DNA ; Flavanones ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; Rats ; Rats, Inbred SHR ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Messenger

CCL5, a proinflammatory chemokine, has been shown to attenuate angiotensin (Ang) II-induced expression of hypertensive mediators as well as Ang II-induced inhibition of anti-hypertensive mediator expression in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). In the present study, functional roles of CCL5 on hypertension were examined in developing hypertension state SHR (DHSHR). DHSHR at an age of 8 weeks were injected CCL5 (1.5 microg/kg) subcutaneously twice a day for 3 weeks (SHRi, n=5). Control groups consisted of normal age-matched saline-treated SHR (SHRc, n=5) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY, n=5). Effect of CCL5 on blood pressure was measured before treatment, weekly during treatment, and 1 day after the final injection. After injecting for 3 weeks, effects of CCL5 on expression of hypertensive mediators were examined in thoracic aorta tissues and VSMCs. Blood pressure in SHRi was maintained without any elevation during the treatment period, whereas blood pressure in SHRc progressively increased with age. Expression of Ang II subtype I receptor was reduced in SHRi thoracic aorta tissues and VSMCs compared to those in SHRc. In addition, expression levels of hypertensive mediators were significantly reduced in SHRi thoracic aorta tissues and VSMCs compared to those in SHRc. In contrast, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity and interleukin-10 (IL-10) expression were elevated in SHRi thoracic aorta tissues and VSMCs compared to levels in SHRc. These results suggest that reduction of hypertensive mediators and elevation of anti-hypertensive mediators by CCL5 treatment promotes maintenance of blood pressure in DHSHR.
AMP-Activated Protein Kinases ; Angiotensins ; Animals ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Blood Pressure* ; Hypertension* ; Interleukin-10 ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; Rats ; Rats, Inbred SHR*

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed at identifying the difference in the risk of microalbuminuria among individuals with various obesity phenotypes in terms of metabolic health and obesity. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 15,268 individuals and used data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey conducted from 2011 to 2014. Obesity was defined as body mass index ≥25 kg/m2. Metabolically unhealthy was defined as meeting two or more of the following criteria: systolic and diastolic blood pressure ≥130/85 mm Hg or current use of hypertensive drugs; triglyceride level ≥150 mg/dL; high-density lipoprotein level < 40/50 mg/dL (in both men and women); and fasting blood glucose level ≥100 mg/dL or current use of oral antidiabetic medications. The participants were further classified into four subgroups: metabolically healthy non-obese (MHNO), metabolically healthy obese (MHO), metabolically unhealthy non-obese (MUNO), and metabolically unhealthy obese (MUO). RESULTS: A significant difference was observed in the microalbuminuria ratio among the four groups. The MHNO group was considered as the reference group, and the MHO, MUNO, and MUO groups were at an increased risk for microalbuminuria by 1.42 fold (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.03–1.96), 2.02 fold (95% CI, 1.61–2.53), and 3.40 fold (95% CI, 2.70–4.26), respectively, after adjusting confounding factors. CONCLUSION: The MUNO group had a higher risk of developing microalbuminuria than the MHNO group. Thus, based on this result, differences were observed in the risk of developing microalbuminuria among individuals with various obesity subtypes.
Albuminuria ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Creatinine ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Fasting ; Humans ; Lipoproteins ; Male ; Metabolic Diseases ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Obesity* ; Phenotype* ; Triglycerides

A pregnane steroid, 3α-hydroxy-pregn-7-ene-6,20-dione (1), was isolated from a Hydractinia-associated Cladosporium sphaerospermum SW67 by repetitive column chromatographic separation and highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC) purification. The planar structure of 1 was elucidated from the analysis of the spectroscopic data (1D and 2D NMR spectra) and LC-MS data. The absolute configuration of 1 was determined by interpretation of ROESY spectrum of 1, together with the comparison of reported spectroscopic values in previous studies. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the identification of the pregnane scaffold from C. sphaerospermum, a natural source. Compound 1 was evaluated for its effects on lipid metabolism and adipogenesis during adipocyte maturation and showed that compound 1 substantially inhibited lipid accumulation compared to the control. Consistently, the expression of the adipocyte marker gene (Adipsin) was reduced upon incubation with 1. Further, we evaluated the effects of 1 on lipid metabolism by measuring the transcription of lipolytic and lipogenic genes. The expression of the lipolytic gene ATGL was significantly elevated upon exposure to 1 during adipogenesis, whereas the expression of lipogenic genes FASN and SREBP1 was significantly reduced upon treatment with 1. Thus, our findings provide experimental evidence that the steroid derived from Hydractinia-associated C. sphaerospermum SW67 is a potential therapeutic agent for obesity.

Background/Aims: To determine whether metformin, which is considered a host-directed therapy for tuberculosis (TB), is effective in improving the prognosis of patients with TB and diabetes mellitus (DM), who have higher mortality than those without DM. Methods: This cohort study included patients who were registered as having TB in the National Tuberculosis Surveillance System. The medical and death records of matched patients were obtained from the National Health Information Database and Statistics Korea, respectively, and data from 2011 to 2017 were collected retrospectively. We classified patients according to metformin use among participants who used diabetes drugs for more than 28 days. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality during TB treatment. Double propensity score adjustment was applied to reduce the effects of confounding and multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: The all-cause mortality rate during TB treatment was lower (9.5% vs. 12.4%, p < 0.01) in the metformin user group. The hazard of death due to all causes after double propensity score adjustment was also lower in the metformin user group (aHR 0.76, 95% CI 0.67–0.86, p < 0.01). There was no significant difference in mortality between metformin users and non-users for TB-related deaths (p = 0.22); however, there was a significant difference in the non-TB-related deaths (p < 0.01). Conclusions Metformin use in patients with TB–DM co-prevalence is associated with reduced all-cause mortality, suggesting the potential for metformin adjuvant therapy in these patients.

Transglutaminase 2 (TGase 2) plays a key role in p53 regulation, depleting p53 tumor suppressor through autophagy in renal cell carcinoma. We found that microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B-light chain 3 (LC3), a hallmark of autophagy, were tightly associated with the level of TGase 2 in cancer cells. TGase 2 overexpression increased LC3 levels, and TGase 2 knockdown decreased LC3 levels in cancer cells. Transcript abundance of LC3 was inversely correlated with level of wild type p53. TGase 2 knockdown using siRNA, or TGase 2 inhibition using GK921 significantly reduced autophagy through reduction of LC3 transcription, which was followed by restoration of p53 levels in cancer cells. TGase 2 overexpression promoted the autophagy process by LC3 induction, which was correlated with p53 depletion in cancer cells. Rapamycin-resistant cancer cells also showed higher expression of LC3 compared to the rapamycin-sensitive cancer cells, which was tightly correlated with TGase 2 levels. TGase 2 knockdown or TGase 2 inhibition sensitized rapamycin-resistant cancer cells to drug treatment. In summary, TGase 2 induces drug resistance by potentiating autophagy through LC3 induction via p53 regulation in cancer.
Autophagy* ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; Drug Resistance ; RNA, Small Interfering