BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although Ling 6 sounds are often used in the rehabilitation process, its acoustic features have not been fully analyzed and represented in cortical responses. Current study was aimed to analyze acoustic features according to gender and emotional statuses of core vowels of Ling 6 sounds, /u/, /a/, and /i/. Cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) were also observed in those vowels. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Vowel sounds /u/, /a/, and /i/ out of Ling 6 sounds representing low, middle and high frequencies were recorded from normal 20 young adults. The participants watched relevant videos for 4-5 minutes in order for them to sympathize emotions with anger (A), happiness (H), and sadness (S) before producing vowels. And without any emotional salience, neutrally production was performed. The recording was extracted for 500 ms to select pure vowel portion of production. For analysis of CAEP, the latencies and amplitudes of P1, N1, P2, N2, N1-P2 were analyzed. RESULTS: Intensities of /u/, /a/, and /i/ were 61.47, 63.38, and 60.55 dB. The intensities of neutral (N), H, A, S were 60.60, 65.43, 64.21, and 55.75 dB for vowel /u/, vowel /a/ were 61.80, 68.98, 66.50, and 56.23 dB, and vowel /i/ were 59.34, 64.90, 61.90, and 56.05 dB. The statistical significances for vowel and emotion were found but not for gender. The fundamental frequency (F0) of vowels for N, A, H, and S were 168.04, 174.93, 182.72, and 149.76 Hz and the first formant were 743.75, 815.59, 823.32, and 667.62 Hz. The statistical significance of F0 was found by vowel, emotion, and gender. The latencies and amplitudes of CAEP components did not show any statistical significance according to vowel. CONCLUSIONS: Ling 6 sounds should be produced consistently in the rehabilitation process for considering their difference of intensities and frequencies according to speaker’s emotions and gender. The vowels seemed to be interpreted as tonal stimuli for CAEP components of this study with similar acoustic features among them. Careful selection of materials is necessary to observe meaningful conclusion of CAEP measurement with vowel stimuli.
Acoustics ; Anger ; Evoked Potentials, Auditory ; Happiness ; Humans ; Rehabilitation ; Young Adult

As the government has a plan to terminate medical internships and to start the New Resident program, postgraduate medical students should encounter the new residency training program without the internship from 2015. To keep pace with this significant change, the Korean Neuropsychiatry association launched the task force team to manage this problem. The task force team has examined the psychiatry residency training programs from major countries, including England, Japan, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and the Unites States. In addition, we conducted a survey for teaching psychiatrists and psychiatry residents who just finished the Psychiatry Board Examination in 2013 using a premade questionnaire on the expected problems that might occur if the internship program were abolished, and some significant issues regarding resident rotation schedule to other departments. In this paper, we summarized the results of our examination and survey. Establishment of a new residency training program based on these surveys would be desirable.
Advisory Committees ; Appointments and Schedules ; Australia ; England ; Germany ; Humans ; Internship and Residency ; Japan ; Korea ; Neuropsychiatry ; New Zealand ; Psychiatry ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Students, Medical

In many circumstances, causing sites of low back pain (LBP) cannot be determined only by anatomical imaging. Combined functional and morphological imaging such as bone scan with single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) may be helpful in identifying active lesions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of bone SPECT/CT in localizing the pain site and the treatment of chronic LBP. One hundred seventy-five patients suffering from chronic LBP who underwent SPECT/CT were included, retrospectively. All of the patients received multiple general treatments according to the symptoms, and some of them underwent additional target-specific treatment based on SPECT/CT. Numerical rating scale (NRS) pain score was used to assess the pain intensity. Of 175 patients, 127 showed good response to the given therapies, while the rest did not. Overall, 79.4% of patients with definite active lesions showed good response. Patients with mild active or no lesions on SPECT/CT had relatively lower response rate of 63.0%. Good response was observed by the treatment with the guidance of active lesions identified on SPECT/CT. SPECT/CT could be useful in identifying active lesions in patients with chronic LBP and guiding the clinicians to use adequate treatment.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Chronic Pain/*diagnosis/*therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Low Back Pain/*diagnosis/*therapy ; Lumbar Vertebrae/radiography/radionuclide imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multimodal Imaging/methods ; Pain Measurement/*methods ; Reproducibility of Results ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon/*methods ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed/*methods ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Body fluid monitoring and management are essential to control dyspnea and prevent re-hospitalization in patients with chronic heart failure (HF). There are several methods to estimate and monitor patient’s volume status, such as symptoms, signs, body weight, and implantable devices. However, these methods might be difficult to use for reasons that are slow to reflect body water change, inaccurate in specific patients’ condition, or invasive. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a novel method for body water monitoring in patients with HF, and the value in prognosis has been proven in previous studies. We aim to determine the efficacy and safety of home BIA body water monitoring-guided HF treatment in patients with chronic HF. This multi-center, open-label, randomized control trial will enroll patients with HF who are taking loop diuretics. The home BIA group patients will be monitored for body water using a home BIA device and receive messages regarding their edema status and direction of additional diuretics usage or behavioral changes through the linked application system once weekly. The control group patients will receive the usual HF management. The primary endpoint is the change in N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide levels from baseline after 12 weeks. This trial will provide crucial evidence for patient management with a novel home BIA body water monitoring system in patients with HF.

Background: Right ventricular (RV) systolic dysfunction is an established prognostic factor in patients with severe tri‑ cuspid regurgitation (TR). However, accurate assessment of RV systolic function using conventional echocardiography remains challenging. We investigated the accuracy of strain measurement using speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) for evaluating RV systolic function in patients with severe TR. Methods: We included consecutive patients with severe TR who underwent echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) within 30 days between 2011 and 2023. Two-dimensional STE was used to measure RV free wall longitudinal strain (RVFWLS) and global longitudinal strain (RVGLS). These values were compared with the RV ejection fraction (RVEF) from CMR. RV systolic dysfunction was defined as a CMR-derived RVEF < 35%. Results: A total of 87 patients with severe TR were identified during the study period. Among echocardiographic RV strain measurements, RVFWLS was the best correlate of CMR-derived RVEF (r = –0.37, P < 0.001), followed by RVGLS (r = –0.27, P = 0.012). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that RVFWLS provided better dis‑ crimination of RV systolic dysfunction, yielding an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.770 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.696–0.800) than RV fractional area change (AUC, 0.615; 95% CI, 0.500–0.859). Conclusions In patients with severe TR, STE-derived RVFWLS showed the best correlation with RVEF on CMR and dis‑ played superior discrimination of RV systolic dysfunction compared with the RV fractional area change. This study suggests the potential usefulness of STE in assessing RV systolic function in this population.

Body fluid monitoring and management are essential to control dyspnea and prevent re-hospitalization in patients with chronic heart failure (HF). There are several methods to estimate and monitor patient’s volume status, such as symptoms, signs, body weight, and implantable devices. However, these methods might be difficult to use for reasons that are slow to reflect body water change, inaccurate in specific patients’ condition, or invasive. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a novel method for body water monitoring in patients with HF, and the value in prognosis has been proven in previous studies. We aim to determine the efficacy and safety of home BIA body water monitoring-guided HF treatment in patients with chronic HF. This multi-center, open-label, randomized control trial will enroll patients with HF who are taking loop diuretics. The home BIA group patients will be monitored for body water using a home BIA device and receive messages regarding their edema status and direction of additional diuretics usage or behavioral changes through the linked application system once weekly. The control group patients will receive the usual HF management. The primary endpoint is the change in N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide levels from baseline after 12 weeks. This trial will provide crucial evidence for patient management with a novel home BIA body water monitoring system in patients with HF.

Background: Right ventricular (RV) systolic dysfunction is an established prognostic factor in patients with severe tri‑ cuspid regurgitation (TR). However, accurate assessment of RV systolic function using conventional echocardiography remains challenging. We investigated the accuracy of strain measurement using speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) for evaluating RV systolic function in patients with severe TR. Methods: We included consecutive patients with severe TR who underwent echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) within 30 days between 2011 and 2023. Two-dimensional STE was used to measure RV free wall longitudinal strain (RVFWLS) and global longitudinal strain (RVGLS). These values were compared with the RV ejection fraction (RVEF) from CMR. RV systolic dysfunction was defined as a CMR-derived RVEF < 35%. Results: A total of 87 patients with severe TR were identified during the study period. Among echocardiographic RV strain measurements, RVFWLS was the best correlate of CMR-derived RVEF (r = –0.37, P < 0.001), followed by RVGLS (r = –0.27, P = 0.012). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that RVFWLS provided better dis‑ crimination of RV systolic dysfunction, yielding an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.770 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.696–0.800) than RV fractional area change (AUC, 0.615; 95% CI, 0.500–0.859). Conclusions In patients with severe TR, STE-derived RVFWLS showed the best correlation with RVEF on CMR and dis‑ played superior discrimination of RV systolic dysfunction compared with the RV fractional area change. This study suggests the potential usefulness of STE in assessing RV systolic function in this population.

Body fluid monitoring and management are essential to control dyspnea and prevent re-hospitalization in patients with chronic heart failure (HF). There are several methods to estimate and monitor patient’s volume status, such as symptoms, signs, body weight, and implantable devices. However, these methods might be difficult to use for reasons that are slow to reflect body water change, inaccurate in specific patients’ condition, or invasive. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a novel method for body water monitoring in patients with HF, and the value in prognosis has been proven in previous studies. We aim to determine the efficacy and safety of home BIA body water monitoring-guided HF treatment in patients with chronic HF. This multi-center, open-label, randomized control trial will enroll patients with HF who are taking loop diuretics. The home BIA group patients will be monitored for body water using a home BIA device and receive messages regarding their edema status and direction of additional diuretics usage or behavioral changes through the linked application system once weekly. The control group patients will receive the usual HF management. The primary endpoint is the change in N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide levels from baseline after 12 weeks. This trial will provide crucial evidence for patient management with a novel home BIA body water monitoring system in patients with HF.

Background: Right ventricular (RV) systolic dysfunction is an established prognostic factor in patients with severe tri‑ cuspid regurgitation (TR). However, accurate assessment of RV systolic function using conventional echocardiography remains challenging. We investigated the accuracy of strain measurement using speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) for evaluating RV systolic function in patients with severe TR. Methods: We included consecutive patients with severe TR who underwent echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) within 30 days between 2011 and 2023. Two-dimensional STE was used to measure RV free wall longitudinal strain (RVFWLS) and global longitudinal strain (RVGLS). These values were compared with the RV ejection fraction (RVEF) from CMR. RV systolic dysfunction was defined as a CMR-derived RVEF < 35%. Results: A total of 87 patients with severe TR were identified during the study period. Among echocardiographic RV strain measurements, RVFWLS was the best correlate of CMR-derived RVEF (r = –0.37, P < 0.001), followed by RVGLS (r = –0.27, P = 0.012). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that RVFWLS provided better dis‑ crimination of RV systolic dysfunction, yielding an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.770 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.696–0.800) than RV fractional area change (AUC, 0.615; 95% CI, 0.500–0.859). Conclusions In patients with severe TR, STE-derived RVFWLS showed the best correlation with RVEF on CMR and dis‑ played superior discrimination of RV systolic dysfunction compared with the RV fractional area change. This study suggests the potential usefulness of STE in assessing RV systolic function in this population.

Body fluid monitoring and management are essential to control dyspnea and prevent re-hospitalization in patients with chronic heart failure (HF). There are several methods to estimate and monitor patient’s volume status, such as symptoms, signs, body weight, and implantable devices. However, these methods might be difficult to use for reasons that are slow to reflect body water change, inaccurate in specific patients’ condition, or invasive. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a novel method for body water monitoring in patients with HF, and the value in prognosis has been proven in previous studies. We aim to determine the efficacy and safety of home BIA body water monitoring-guided HF treatment in patients with chronic HF. This multi-center, open-label, randomized control trial will enroll patients with HF who are taking loop diuretics. The home BIA group patients will be monitored for body water using a home BIA device and receive messages regarding their edema status and direction of additional diuretics usage or behavioral changes through the linked application system once weekly. The control group patients will receive the usual HF management. The primary endpoint is the change in N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide levels from baseline after 12 weeks. This trial will provide crucial evidence for patient management with a novel home BIA body water monitoring system in patients with HF.