OBJECTIVES: This study was intended to investigate the differences of job stressors between managers and low level employees among white-collar workers. Another objective of this study was to examine whether the effects of job stressors on mental health differ between the two groups. METHODS: Data was obtained from 204 managers and 251 low level employees who were employed in white-collar jobs. Fourteen job stressors and seven job stress variables were measured. RESULTS: Among the 14 job stressors, role overload, job insecurity, and work-family conflict were higher job stressors for the manager group whereas role conflict, work-aptitude incongruity, participation in decision making, and promotion problems were higher job stressors for the low level of employees. There were no differences in job stress scores between the two groups. However, differences in the effects of job stressors on job stress were found between the two groups. For the manager group, job insecurity, work-aptitude incongruity, and work-family conflict significantly affected in explanation of job stress whereas for the low level employees, role underload, peer satisfaction, and environmental problems significantly explaining the job stress variables. CONCLUSIONS: There were significant differences in job stressors between managers and low level employees among white-collar workers. Additionally there were differences in the effects of job stressors on job stress between the two groups.
Decision Making ; Mental Health

An age-dependent cellular change of DNA contents in the testis of Sprague-Dawley rats was investigated by flow-cytometric method. Testicular cell suspensions at the age of 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 16 and 26 weeks were prepared and stained with propidium iodide. The relative proportions in the number of mature and immature haploid (1n), diploid (2n), S-phase and tetraploid (4n) cells were calculated. The proportion in the number of mature haploid cells was sharply increased to the age of 10 weeks (about 38%), thereafter increased slightly to the level of 42% at the age of 26 weeks. The proportion of immature haploid cells was dramatically increased to the age of 6 weeks, then maintained at the level of 20 to 30% thereafter. The proportion of diploid cells was 64% at the age of 4 weeks, then decreased gradually through the age of 26 weeks. The proportion of S-phase cells was increased to the age of 4 weeks, then maintained at a plateau level to the age of 26 weeks. The proportion of tetraploid cells were about 26% at the age of 4 weeks, then decreased gradually to the age of 26 weeks. These results suggest that the proportions of testicular cells may depend on the age of the rat and that the flow cytometric method may be useful in the evaluation of the spermatogenic status with regard to accuracy and sensitivity.
Animals ; DNA/*analysis/genetics ; Diploidy ; Flow Cytometry/methods/veterinary ; Haploidy ; Male ; Rats ; Spermatogenesis ; Testis/chemistry/*growth & development

Aim To explore the mechanism of Buyang huanwu decoction attenuating cerebral ischemia-reper- fusion injury in rats by regulating autophagv through AMPK/mTOR/ULKl signaling pathway.Methods Left eerebral ischemia model in rats was established by modified thread ocelusion method, then the rats in each group were given medieine onee every 24 hours for 3 times.After 72 hours of reperfusion, the nerve injury and the changes of cerebral infarction volume were observed; the morphology, number and apoptosis of nerve cells were observed by Nissl staining and TUNEL staining; the expression of autophagy protein and AMPK/mTOR/LJLKl autophagy signaling pathway related proteins were detected by Western blot.Results Buyang huanwu decoction could improve the neurological deficit of rats, reduce the volume of cere bral infarction and neuronal apoptosis, reduce the pathological injury of brain tissues, inhibit the phosphorylation activation of AMPK, relieve the inhibition of AMPK on downstream mTOR and LJLK1 , promote the phosphorylation activation of both, and inhibit autophagy.AMPK agonist metformin increased the level of autophagy and reversed the protective effect of Buyang huanwu decoction on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats.Conclusion Buyang huanwu decoction mediates AMPK/mTOR/ULKl autophagy signaling pathway to play a neuroprotective effect on cerebral is- chemia-reperfusion injury in rats.

PURPOSE: Acute pyelonephritis (APN) is a serious bacterial infection that can cause renal scarring in children. Early identification of APN is critical to improve treatment outcomes. The neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a prognostic marker of many diseases, but it has not yet been established in urinary tract infection (UTI). The aim of this study was to determine whether NLR is a useful marker to predict APN or vesicoureteral reflux (VUR). METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 298 pediatric patients (age≤36 months) with febrile UTI from January 2010 to December 2014. Conventional infection markers (white blood cell [WBC] count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate [ESR], C-reactive protein [CRP]), and NLR were measured. RESULTS: WBC, CRP, ESR, and NLR were higher in APN than in lower UTI (P<0.001). Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that NLR was a predictive factor for positive dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) defects (P<0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was high for NLR (P<0.001) as well as CRP (P<0.001) for prediction of DMSA defects. NLR showed the highest area under the ROC curve for diagnosis of VUR (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: NLR can be used as a diagnostic marker of APN with DMSA defect, showing better results than those of conventional markers for VUR prediction.
Bacterial Infections ; Blood Cells ; C-Reactive Protein ; Child* ; Cicatrix ; Diagnosis ; Erythrocyte Count ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Pyelonephritis ; Retrospective Studies ; ROC Curve ; Succimer ; Urinary Tract Infections* ; Urinary Tract* ; Vesico-Ureteral Reflux

PURPOSE: Acute pyelonephritis (APN) is a serious bacterial infection that can cause renal scarring in children. Early identification of APN is critical to improve treatment outcomes. The neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a prognostic marker of many diseases, but it has not yet been established in urinary tract infection (UTI). The aim of this study was to determine whether NLR is a useful marker to predict APN or vesicoureteral reflux (VUR). METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 298 pediatric patients (age≤36 months) with febrile UTI from January 2010 to December 2014. Conventional infection markers (white blood cell [WBC] count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate [ESR], C-reactive protein [CRP]), and NLR were measured. RESULTS: WBC, CRP, ESR, and NLR were higher in APN than in lower UTI (P<0.001). Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that NLR was a predictive factor for positive dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) defects (P<0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was high for NLR (P<0.001) as well as CRP (P<0.001) for prediction of DMSA defects. NLR showed the highest area under the ROC curve for diagnosis of VUR (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: NLR can be used as a diagnostic marker of APN with DMSA defect, showing better results than those of conventional markers for VUR prediction.
Bacterial Infections ; Blood Cells ; C-Reactive Protein ; Child* ; Cicatrix ; Diagnosis ; Erythrocyte Count ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Pyelonephritis ; Retrospective Studies ; ROC Curve ; Succimer ; Urinary Tract Infections* ; Urinary Tract* ; Vesico-Ureteral Reflux

Osteopontin (OPN) is a secretory protein that plays an important role in urinary stone formation. Hydration status is associated with the development of urolithiasis. This study was conducted to examine the effects of dehydration and hydration on OPN expression in the rat kidney. Animals were divided into three groups, control, dehydrated, and hydrated. Kidney tissues were processed for light and electron microscope immunocytochemistry, in situ hybridization, and immunoblot analysis. Dehydration induced a significant increase in OPN protein expression, whereas increased fluid intake induced a decrease in protein expression. Under control conditions, OPN protein and mRNA expression were only detected in the descending thin limb (DTL). Dehydration induced increased expression in the DTL and the development of detectable expression in the thick ascending limb (TAL). In contrast, OPN expression levels declined to less than the controls in the DTL after hydration, while no expression of either protein or mRNA was detectable in the TAL. Immunoelectron microscopy demonstrated that hydration status altered tubular ultrastructure and intracellular OPN expression in the Golgi apparatus and secretory cytoplasmic vesicles. These data confirm that changes in oral fluid intake can regulate renal tubular epithelial cell OPN expression.
Animals ; Control Groups ; Cytoplasmic Vesicles ; Dehydration ; Epithelial Cells ; Extremities ; Golgi Apparatus ; Immunohistochemistry ; In Situ Hybridization ; Kidney* ; Microscopy, Immunoelectron ; Osteopontin* ; Rats* ; RNA, Messenger ; Urinary Calculi ; Urolithiasis

OBJECTIVE: Anxious depression has a distinct neurobiology, clinical course and treatment response from non-anxious depression. Role of inflammation in anxious depression has not been examined. As an exploratory study to characterize the role of inflammation on a development of anxious depression, we aimed to determine the relationship between white blood cell (WBC) subset counts and anxiety in individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD). METHODS: A total of 709 patients who were newly diagnosed with MDD were recruited. Anxiety levels of participants were evaluated using the Anxiety/ Somatization subitem of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. The association between WBC subset fraction and anxiety was evaluated. RESULTS: Basophil and eosinophil sub-fractions showed significant negative correlations with HAM-D anxiety/somatization factor scores (basophils: r=-0.092, p=0.014 and eosinophils: r=-0.075, p=0.046). When an anxiety score (a sum of somatic and psychic anxiety) was entered as a dependent variable, only basophils showed significant negative association with the anxiety scores after adjusting for all other WBC subset counts and demographic factors (t=-2.57, p=0.010). CONCLUSION: This study showed that anxious depression had a decreased basophil subfraction, which might be associated with involvement of inflammation in development of anxious depression.
Anxiety ; Basophils* ; Demography ; Depression* ; Depressive Disorder, Major* ; Eosinophils ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Leukocytes ; Neurobiology

Primary dissection of the renal artery is rare. Spontaneous renal artery dissection can be associated with diseases such as medial degeneration, neurofibromatosis, syphilitic arteritis, tuberculosis, polyarteritis nodosa, Marfan syndrome, fibromuscular dysplasia, or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS). Among these causes, EDS related renal artery dissection is very rare worldwide and has not been previously reported in Korea. EDS are a group of heritable connective tissue disorders characterized by fragility of the skin and hypermobility of the joints. We describe the case history of a young man who presented with left side flank pain, hypermobility of the hand joints and showed left renal artery dissection on computed tomography and angiography that turned out to be the first complication of vascular type EDS.
Angiography ; Arteritis ; Connective Tissue ; Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome* ; Fibromuscular Dysplasia ; Flank Pain ; Hand Joints ; Joints ; Korea ; Marfan Syndrome ; Neurofibromatoses ; Polyarteritis Nodosa ; Renal Artery* ; Skin ; Tuberculosis

BACKGROUND: During arterial line sampling, 2 to 3 times of deadspace volume (from sampling port to catheter tip) are discarded to obtain accurate arterial blood gas variables. In this study, minimal discard volume was determined to decrease unnecessary blood loss. METHODS: Eighty patients scheduled for elective cardiac surgery were included. Two consecutive studies were conducted, in which the radial arterial line was placed with 20-gauge catheter. Once patients had stable hemodynamics, 5.5 times the deadspace of 1.5 ml was discarded before the sampling to obtain control value. In first study (n = 50), deadspace volume was fixed to 1.5 ml. After that, 1, 1.5, 2 and 2.5 times the deadspace were discarded in random before the sampling. In second study (n = 30), discard volume was fixed to 2 times the deadspace. The deadspace volumes were 1.5, 3.5 and 5.5 ml. Samples were analyzed for pH, PaCO2, PaO2, HCO3-, Na+, K+, Ca++ and hematocrit. RESULTS: In first study of fixed deadspace, there was no statistical difference in blood gas variables between discard volume of 2.5 ml and control value. In second study of fixed discard volume, the difference in blood gas variables was statistically significant only between deadspace volume of 1.5 ml and control value. CONCLUSIONS: The optimal discard volume was 2.5 times the deadspace to obtain accurate blood gas variables while decreasing unnecessary blood loss during arterial line sampling. On the other hand, when deadspace was larger than 3.5 ml, discard volume of 2 times the deadspace was sufficient.
Catheters ; Hand ; Hematocrit ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Thoracic Surgery ; Vascular Access Devices

BACKGROUNDPatients with congenital scoliosis often also have intraspinal abnormalities and other organ defects, and few studies of the effects of congenital scoliosis on cardiac function and structure have been published.

METHODSA total of 215 adolescent patients with congenital scoliosis (average age, 13.58 years) underwent preoperative echocardiography and were then assigned to subgroups according to apex vertebral rotation, side of convexity, curvature severity in the coronal and sagittal planes, type of deformity, and sex. Differences between the subgroups were compared by independent-samples t test or a one-factor analysis of variance.

RESULTSWe observed statistically significant differences between patients with right-sided scoliosis curvature and those with left-sided scoliosis curvature, respectively, in left ventricular inner diameter at end-diastole ((39.39 +/- 4.66) mm vs (41.74 +/- 4.90) mm), left ventricular inner diameter at end-systole ((24.80 +/- 3.45) mm vs (25.92 +/- 3.07) mm), interventricular septum thickness at end-diastole ((5.66 +/- 0.98) mm vs (5.98 +/- 1.03) mm), and posterior wall of left ventricle at end-diastole ((5.61 +/- 0.98) mm vs (6.06 +/- 1.20) mm). When the patients were evaluated by coronal plane Cobb angle, significant differences were found between those with Cobb angle of 40 degrees - 80 degrees and of > 80 degrees in left ventricular inner diameter at end-diastole ((40.97 +/- 5.06) mm vs (38.98 +/- 4.45) mm) and left ventricular inner diameter at end-systole ((25.53 +/- 3.39) mm vs (24.36 +/- 3.14) mm), respectively. When the patients were evaluated by sagittal plane Cobb angle (< 20 degrees, group 1; 20 degrees - 40 degrees, group 2; > 40 degrees, group 3), significant differences were found in right ventricular diameter between those with Cobb angle of < 20 degrees and of 20 degrees - 40 degrees ((18.27 +/- 3.66) mm vs (16.54 +/- 3.57) mm) and in diameter of aortic root between those with Cobb angle of 20 degrees - 40 degrees and of > 40 degrees ((23.83 +/- 3.39) mm vs (24.90 +/- 3.30) mm), respectively. No significant differences were found in ejection fraction and fractional shortening between patients according to apex vertebral rotation, side of convexity, coronal plane and sagittal plane Cobb angles, type of deformity, or sex.

CONCLUSIONSCongenital scoliosis influences cardiac structure, but not function.

Adolescent ; Child ; Congenital Abnormalities ; physiopathology ; Echocardiography ; methods ; Female ; Heart ; anatomy & histology ; diagnostic imaging ; physiology ; Humans ; Male ; Radiography ; Retrospective Studies ; Scoliosis ; physiopathology ; Young Adult