PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to identify the correlation that exists between quality of life and self-efficacy of schizophrenic patients, focusing on the influence of related factors on these varables. METHOD: The subjects of this study were 151 schizophrenic patients. The data were collected using questionnaires. The instruments used for this study were the general self-efficacy scale developed by Sherer & Maddex (1982), the specific self-efficacy scale modified and complemented by these co-researchers on the basis of the past studies and modified SIP by Voruganti (1996). The period of data collection was from July. 2000 to Jan. 2001. Data analysis was done by SPSS, t-test, ANOVA and the Pearson Correlation Coefficient. RESULT: 1. The level of self-efficacy showed a mean score of 60.0 and the level of quality of life, a mean score of 47.0. 2. The general characteristics affecting the self-efficacy of schizophrenic patients were staying with family (p=0.05) and employment (p=0.00). 3. The general characteristics affecting the quality of life of schizophrenic patients were staying with family (p=0.04), employment (p=0.05) and duration of illness (0.03). 4. A positive correlation was identified between self-efficacy and quality of life (r=-0.469, p=0.000). CONCLUSION: The study suggests that nursing intervention strategy should be worked out to develop a psychiatric rehabilitation program that can promote self-efficacy and thus enhance the quality of life of schizophrenic patients.
Complement System Proteins ; Data Collection ; Employment ; Humans ; Nursing ; Quality of Life* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Rehabilitation ; Schizophrenia ; Statistics as Topic

PURPOSE: To evaluate differential points of clustered microcalcification in malignant and benign lesions on histopathology and correlate with mammographic findings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Authors evaluated differential points of malignant and benign calcifications in histopathologically confirmed 24 cases. In two patients, mapping studies and paraffin block mammographic examinations were done to correlate calcification on mammography with histopathologic morphology. RESULT: On histopathology, malignant calcifications were located in ductal lumen, while benign ones were usually located in ductal epithelium(p<0.05). However, associated three benign lesions of the 10 malignant lesions showed still benign calcifications adjacent to proven cancer. The typical malignant calcifications were the shape of lamination, while benign calcifications showed granular and salty on light microscope. In 2 mapping studies, malignant-looking calcifications within the area of predominant benign calcifications yielded atypical ductal hyperplasia. Mammographic pepper, granular, punctate, salty and S-shaped calcifications were correlated with granular and salty calcification on light microscope. Mammographic linear, branching, comma, tadpole and wormiform calcifications were correlated with histopathologic laminated calcification. CONCLUSION: Authors have recognized about characteristics of malignant Vs. benign clustered microcalcifications on histopathology. Authors concluded that if malignant-looking calcification such as linear, branching, comma, tadpole and wormiform are present in an are a of predominant benign calcifications, specimen radiographic correlation and mapping study will be necessary for better demonstration of the atypical ductal hyperplasia, hidden or associated breast cancer.
Breast Neoplasms ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Larva ; Mammography* ; Paraffin

No abstract available.
Endometrium* ; Female ; Humans

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Oxidative stress is a major effector of various diseases; accordingly, antioxidants are frequently ingested in order to prevent or alleviate disease symptoms. Kimchi contains various natural antioxidants, and it is known that the functional activity varies depending on the ingredients and fermentation state. Black raspberries (BR) contain various bioactive compounds with antioxidant effects. This study investigated the antioxidant and liver-protection effects of kimchi supplemented with black raspberry juice powder (BJP). MATERIALS/METHODS: BJP-added kimchi (BAK; at 0.5%, 1%, and 2% concentrations of BJP) and control (without BJP) were prepared and fermented at 4℃ for 4 weeks. Changes in the antioxidant effects of BAK during fermentation were investigated. In addition, the protective activity of BAK against oxidative stress was investigated in a liver cirrhosis-induced animal model in vivo. RESULTS: BAK groups showed the acidity and pH of optimally ripened (OR) kimchi at 2 weeks of fermentation along with the highest lactic acid bacterial counts. Additionally, BAK groups displayed a higher content of phenolic compounds and elevated antioxidant activities relative to the control, with the highest antioxidant effect observed at 2 weeks of fermentation of OR 1% BAK. After feeding the OR 1% BAK to thioacetamide-induced liver cirrhosis rats, we observed decreased glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase and glutamate pyruvate transaminase activities and elevated superoxide dismutase activity. CONCLUSIONS: These findings showed that the antioxidant effects of OR BAK and feeding of OR 1% BAK resulted in liver-protective effects against oxidative stress.
Animals ; Antioxidants ; Bacterial Load ; Fermentation ; Glutamic Acid ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Lactic Acid ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Liver ; Models, Animal ; Oxaloacetic Acid ; Oxidative Stress ; Phenol ; Pyruvic Acid ; Rats ; Rubus ; Superoxide Dismutase

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Bloating is common bothersome symptoms and most studies conducted in the Western countries found that bloating was frequently associated with lower gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms but many patients complaint bloating as upper GI symptoms in the clinical setting. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of bloating, and to identify symptom grouping and finally document the impact of bloating in the diagnosis of functional GI disorders. METHODS: Participants in a comprehensive health-screening cohort were enrolled. They were asked about demographic, medical, and social history and upper and lower GI symptoms by using a validated questionnaire. Factor analysis with principal component analysis method with varimax rotation was used. RESULTS: Among the total of 1050 subjects (mean age, 44.6 ± 10.2 years; females, 46.4%), significant bloating symptoms were found in 282 (26.9%); the prevalence of functional bloating was 6.9%. Factor analysis revealed a 5-component structure with upper GI symptoms, constipation, diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), constipation-predominant IBS, and fecal incontinence. Abdominal bloating loaded on both the upper GI symptoms (0.51 of loadings) and constipation (0.40). On logistic regression analysis, bloating was more predictable for IBS (OR, 7.5; P < 0.001) than functional dyspepsia (FD; OR, 3.7; P = 0.002). Bloating was more frequently combined with IBS according to their severity, but this association was not detected in patients with FD. CONCLUSIONS: Abdominal bloating is common symptom in about a quarter of patients and appears as upper as well as lower GI symptoms. However, abdominal bloating is more predictable for IBS, especially constipation-predominant IBS, than FD.
Cohort Studies ; Constipation ; Diagnosis ; Dyspepsia ; Epidemiology ; Fecal Incontinence ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Diseases* ; Humans ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome ; Logistic Models ; Methods ; Prevalence ; Principal Component Analysis

A 3-year-old boy presented to our emergency department with a 3-week history of pain in the bilateral hip and abdomen that had persisted through antibiotic therapy based on diagnosis of acute osteomyelitis. At presentation, he had fever, anemia, and increased concentration of lactate dehydrogenase. After the identification of a left adrenal mass indicating neuroblastoma on computed tomography scan, he was admitted to the hospital by a pediatric oncologist. Subsequently, positron emission tomography and bone scintigraphy showed disseminated metastasis to the bone and bone marrow, and neuroblastoma was pathologically confirmed. This case highlights the importance of differential diagnosis of non-traumatic hip pain in toddlers considering the protean manifestations of neuroblastoma.
Abdomen* ; Anemia ; Bone Marrow ; Child ; Child, Preschool* ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Emergencies ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Fever ; Hip* ; Humans ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; Male* ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neuroblastoma* ; Osteomyelitis ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Radionuclide Imaging

Retrobulbar block is commonly performed under monitored anesthesia prior to cataract surgery. Known complications associated with retrobulbar block include cranial nerve palsies, seizures, and cardiorespiratory arrest. We report a case of severe shivering following a retrobulbar block. Two minutes after the block was administered, the patient experienced severe shivering, which subsided after injection of pethidine 25 mg. The likely etiology of the shivering was inadvertent dural puncture of the optic nerve sheath and local anesthetic spread into the cerebrospinal fluid space. Shivering may be a warning sign of brain stem anesthesia, and in such a scenario the clinician should direct special attention to possible life-threatening complications.
Anesthesia ; Brain Stem ; Cataract ; Cranial Nerve Diseases ; Humans ; Meperidine ; Nerve Block ; Optic Nerve ; Punctures ; Seizures ; Shivering

No abstract available.
Breech Presentation* ; Female ; Fetus* ; Pregnancy

Ixeris sonchifolia Hance (Godulbaegi), Oenanthe javanica (Dolminari), Fagopyrum esculentum Moench (Buckwheat), Hizikia fusiforme (Seaweed Fusiforme) and Zingiber officinale Roscoe (Ginger) have been used respectively as one of folk remedies as well as food materials. However, reportedly few studies on their immunomodulating effects have been made, although it has been known from other preceding studies that the ex vivo supplementation of each Ish, Oj, Fem, Hf, Zor water extracts tends to enhance the proliferation of splenocyte in comparison to the control group. This study on the combined immunomodulative effect of water extract mixture of these five food materials (Ish + Oj + Fem + Hf + Zor) lasted covering seven or eight weeks. The old mice (balb/c) was fed ad libitum on chow diet, and the water extract of plant mixture was orally administrated every other day for four weeks at two different concentrations (50 and 500 mg/kg B.W). After preparing the single cell suspension, the proliferation of splenocyte was determined by MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-y]-2,5- diphenyl terazolium bromide) assay. The production of cytokine (IL-1beta, IL-6, and TNF-alpha) which was secreted by macrophages stimulated with LPS or not was detected by ELISA assay using the cytokine kit. After the 48 hours of incubation with the mitogen (ConA or LPS) stimulation, the proliferation of the mice splenocyt in the experimental group statisticaly increased at both of two different concentrations in comparison to the control group. The cytokines production was more significantly enhanced at the lower supplementation (50 mg/kg B.W.) group than at the higher concentration (500 mg/kg B.W.). The result of this study may suggest that the supplementation of water extract of plant mixture can regulate and enhance the immune function by increasing the splenocyte proliferation and regulating the cytokine production capacity by the activated macrophages in mice.
Animals ; Asteraceae ; Biphenyl Compounds ; Cytokines ; Diet ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Fagopyrum ; Ginger ; Interleukin-6 ; Macrophages ; Medicine, Traditional ; Mice ; Oenanthe ; Plants ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Water

As in type 1 diabetes, the loss of pancreatic β-cells leads to insulin deficiency and the subsequent development of hyperglycemia. Exercise has been proposed as a viable remedy for hyperglycemia. Lithium, which has been used as a treatment for bipolar disorder, has also been shown to improve glucose homeostasis under the conditions of obesity and type 2 diabetes by enhancing the effects of exercise on the skeletal muscles. In this study, we demonstrated that unlike in obesity and type 2 diabetic conditions, under the condition of insulin-deficient type 1 diabetes, lithium administration attenuated pancreatic a-cell mass without altering insulin-secreting β-cell mass, implying a selective impact on glucagon production.Additionally, we also documented that lithium downregulated the hepatic gluconeogenic program by decreasing G6Pase protein levels and upregulating AMPK activity.These findings suggest that lithium’s effect on glucose metabolism in type 1 diabetes is mediated through a different mechanism than those associated with exerciseinduced metabolic changes in the muscle. Therefore, our research presents the novel therapeutic potential of lithium in the treatment of type 1 diabetes, which can be utilized along with insulin and independently of exercise.