OBJECTIVES: Although verbal and social bullying is more common than physical school violence among secondary students, it's harmful influences have been underestimated. It is essential to investigate the risk factors of clinically referred bullied children with school maladjustment and psychiatric symptoms and the protective factors of the non-referred resilient children despite of being bullied for developing the anti-bullying program. METHODS: The questionnaire asking frequency and severity of being bullied socially, Kovacs Children's Depression Scale, and Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale were administered to 128 secondary students in Wonju and 65 secondary students referred for their school maladjustment to psychiatric outpatient clinic. Fifty-five students (boys: 19, girls: 36) of bullied non-clinical group and 42 students(boys: 21, girls: 21) of bullied clinical group were compared with their scores of being bullied, depression and self-concept, and the gender difference in those comparisons was studied. RESULTS: More negative self-concept and poorer relationship with family were noticed in the clinical group, despite of no difference in being-bullied score and depression score between the two. Five subscales of the self-concept, behavior, academic status, appearance, popularity and happiness were more negative in clinical group, but not with anxiety subscale. With coping strategy, there was no difference. Multiple regression analysis showed that depression score was accountable by negative self-concept only in the clinical group, and by appearance and anxiety in non-clinical group. And gender differences were not found in those all variables. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that the risk factor for school maladjustment occurred after being bullied socially is the negative self-concept, and the protective factor for resilient children is the supportive relationship within family.
Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Anxiety ; Bullying ; Child ; Depression ; Female ; Gangwon-do ; Happiness ; Humans ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Risk Factors ; Violence

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OBJECTIVES: The Korean government has enacted two laws, namely, the Personal Information Protection Act and the Bioethics and Safety Act to prevent the unauthorized use of medical information. To protect patients' privacy by complying with governmental regulations and improve the convenience of research, Asan Medical Center has been developing a de-identification system for biomedical research. METHODS: We reviewed Korean regulations to define the scope of the de-identification methods and well-known previous biomedical research platforms to extract the functionalities of the systems. Based on these review results, we implemented necessary programs based on the Asan Medical Center Information System framework which was built using the Microsoft. NET Framework and C#. RESULTS: The developed de-identification system comprises three main components: a de-identification tool, a search tool, and a chart review tool. The de-identification tool can substitute a randomly assigned research ID for a hospital patient ID, remove the identifiers in the structured format, and mask them in the unstructured format, i.e., texts. This tool achieved 98.14% precision and 97.39% recall for 6,520 clinical notes. The search tool can find the number of patients which satisfies given search criteria. The chart review tool can provide de-identified patient's clinical data for review purposes. CONCLUSIONS: We found that a clinical data warehouse was essential for successful implementation of the de-identification system, and this system should be tightly linked to an electronic Institutional Review Board system for easy operation of honest brokers. Additionally, we found that a secure cloud environment could be adopted to protect patients' privacy more thoroughly.
Access to Information ; Bioethics ; Computer Security ; Electronics ; Electrons ; Ethics Committees, Research ; Ethics, Research ; Humans ; Information Systems ; Jurisprudence ; Masks ; Privacy ; Research Design ; Social Control, Formal ; Tertiary Care Centers

Background: Menarche has a significant impact on the progression of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS); however, studies in this area are insufficient. This study used large-scale school screening data to investigate the relationship between menarcheal age and AIS, especially the severity of scoliosis. Methods: Of 2,326,577 students who participated in school screening for scoliosis (SSS) in South Korea from 2001 to 2021, 38,879 girls with AIS, who experienced menarche, were included. Data including the patient’s demographics, such as menarcheal age, Cobb angle, Risser stage, and the interval between menarche and the time of screening were retrieved from the SSS database.Pearson correlation coefficient was used to identify the changes in menarcheal age according to the birth year and to investigate the relationship between menarcheal age and each variable of interest. Results: Based on the birth year, the mean menarcheal ages in girls with AIS from 1988 to 2008 demonstrated a steadily decreasing trend over time (r = –0.857, p < 0.001). Girls with AIS and late menarche demonstrated a higher Cobb angle at the time of screening (r = 0.095, p < 0.001). Other variables did not significantly correlate with menarcheal age. Conclusions Based on the SSS, a large-scale school screening dataset, menarcheal age in girls with AIS demonstrated an ongoing downward trend in the recent 20 years in South Korea. Notably, girls with AIS and late menarche had a higher Cobb angle at screening. Our findings indicate the need for earlier screening of AIS in girls who have not undergone menarche.

Background: Menarche has a significant impact on the progression of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS); however, studies in this area are insufficient. This study used large-scale school screening data to investigate the relationship between menarcheal age and AIS, especially the severity of scoliosis. Methods: Of 2,326,577 students who participated in school screening for scoliosis (SSS) in South Korea from 2001 to 2021, 38,879 girls with AIS, who experienced menarche, were included. Data including the patient’s demographics, such as menarcheal age, Cobb angle, Risser stage, and the interval between menarche and the time of screening were retrieved from the SSS database.Pearson correlation coefficient was used to identify the changes in menarcheal age according to the birth year and to investigate the relationship between menarcheal age and each variable of interest. Results: Based on the birth year, the mean menarcheal ages in girls with AIS from 1988 to 2008 demonstrated a steadily decreasing trend over time (r = –0.857, p < 0.001). Girls with AIS and late menarche demonstrated a higher Cobb angle at the time of screening (r = 0.095, p < 0.001). Other variables did not significantly correlate with menarcheal age. Conclusions Based on the SSS, a large-scale school screening dataset, menarcheal age in girls with AIS demonstrated an ongoing downward trend in the recent 20 years in South Korea. Notably, girls with AIS and late menarche had a higher Cobb angle at screening. Our findings indicate the need for earlier screening of AIS in girls who have not undergone menarche.

Background: Menarche has a significant impact on the progression of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS); however, studies in this area are insufficient. This study used large-scale school screening data to investigate the relationship between menarcheal age and AIS, especially the severity of scoliosis. Methods: Of 2,326,577 students who participated in school screening for scoliosis (SSS) in South Korea from 2001 to 2021, 38,879 girls with AIS, who experienced menarche, were included. Data including the patient’s demographics, such as menarcheal age, Cobb angle, Risser stage, and the interval between menarche and the time of screening were retrieved from the SSS database.Pearson correlation coefficient was used to identify the changes in menarcheal age according to the birth year and to investigate the relationship between menarcheal age and each variable of interest. Results: Based on the birth year, the mean menarcheal ages in girls with AIS from 1988 to 2008 demonstrated a steadily decreasing trend over time (r = –0.857, p < 0.001). Girls with AIS and late menarche demonstrated a higher Cobb angle at the time of screening (r = 0.095, p < 0.001). Other variables did not significantly correlate with menarcheal age. Conclusions Based on the SSS, a large-scale school screening dataset, menarcheal age in girls with AIS demonstrated an ongoing downward trend in the recent 20 years in South Korea. Notably, girls with AIS and late menarche had a higher Cobb angle at screening. Our findings indicate the need for earlier screening of AIS in girls who have not undergone menarche.

Background: Menarche has a significant impact on the progression of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS); however, studies in this area are insufficient. This study used large-scale school screening data to investigate the relationship between menarcheal age and AIS, especially the severity of scoliosis. Methods: Of 2,326,577 students who participated in school screening for scoliosis (SSS) in South Korea from 2001 to 2021, 38,879 girls with AIS, who experienced menarche, were included. Data including the patient’s demographics, such as menarcheal age, Cobb angle, Risser stage, and the interval between menarche and the time of screening were retrieved from the SSS database.Pearson correlation coefficient was used to identify the changes in menarcheal age according to the birth year and to investigate the relationship between menarcheal age and each variable of interest. Results: Based on the birth year, the mean menarcheal ages in girls with AIS from 1988 to 2008 demonstrated a steadily decreasing trend over time (r = –0.857, p < 0.001). Girls with AIS and late menarche demonstrated a higher Cobb angle at the time of screening (r = 0.095, p < 0.001). Other variables did not significantly correlate with menarcheal age. Conclusions Based on the SSS, a large-scale school screening dataset, menarcheal age in girls with AIS demonstrated an ongoing downward trend in the recent 20 years in South Korea. Notably, girls with AIS and late menarche had a higher Cobb angle at screening. Our findings indicate the need for earlier screening of AIS in girls who have not undergone menarche.

No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans

BACKGROUND: Experimental studies have shown that ischemic postconditioning can reduce neuronal injury in the setting of cerebral ischemia, but the mechanisms are not yet clearly elucidated. This study was conducted to determine whether ischemic postconditioning can alter expression of heat shock protein 70 and reduce acute phase neuronal injury in rats subjected to transient focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion. METHODS: Focal cerebral ischemia was induced by intraluminal middle cerebral artery occlusion for 60 min in twenty male Sprague-Dawley rats (250-300 g). Rats were randomized into control group and an ischemic postconditioning group (10 rats per group). The animals of control group had no intervention either before or after MCA occlusion. Ischemic postconditioning was elicited by 3 cycles of 30 s reperfusion interspersed by 10 s ischemia immediately after onset of reperfusion. The infarct ratios, brain edema ratios and motor behavior deficits were analyzed 24 hrs after ischemic insult. Caspase-3 reactive cells and cells showing heat shock protein 70 activity were counted in the caudoputamen and frontoparietal cortex. RESULTS: Ischemic postconditiong did not reduce infarct size and brain edema ratios compared to control group. Neurologic scores were not significantly different between groups. The number of caspase-3 reactive cells in the ischemic postconditioning group was not significantly different than the value of the control group in the caudoputamen and frontoparietal cortex. The number of cells showing heat shock protein 70 activity was not significantly different than the control group, as well. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that ischemic postconditioning may not influence the early brain damage induced by focal cerebral ischemia in rats.
Animals ; Brain ; Brain Edema ; Brain Injuries ; Brain Ischemia ; Caspase 3 ; HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins ; Humans ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery ; Ischemia ; Ischemic Postconditioning ; Male ; Neurons ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reperfusion

BACKGROUND: Experimental studies have shown that ischemic postconditioning can reduce neuronal injury in the setting of cerebral ischemia, but the mechanisms are not yet clearly elucidated. This study was conducted to determine whether ischemic postconditioning can alter expression of heat shock protein 70 and reduce acute phase neuronal injury in rats subjected to transient focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion. METHODS: Focal cerebral ischemia was induced by intraluminal middle cerebral artery occlusion for 60 min in twenty male Sprague-Dawley rats (250-300 g). Rats were randomized into control group and an ischemic postconditioning group (10 rats per group). The animals of control group had no intervention either before or after MCA occlusion. Ischemic postconditioning was elicited by 3 cycles of 30 s reperfusion interspersed by 10 s ischemia immediately after onset of reperfusion. The infarct ratios, brain edema ratios and motor behavior deficits were analyzed 24 hrs after ischemic insult. Caspase-3 reactive cells and cells showing heat shock protein 70 activity were counted in the caudoputamen and frontoparietal cortex. RESULTS: Ischemic postconditiong did not reduce infarct size and brain edema ratios compared to control group. Neurologic scores were not significantly different between groups. The number of caspase-3 reactive cells in the ischemic postconditioning group was not significantly different than the value of the control group in the caudoputamen and frontoparietal cortex. The number of cells showing heat shock protein 70 activity was not significantly different than the control group, as well. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that ischemic postconditioning may not influence the early brain damage induced by focal cerebral ischemia in rats.
Animals ; Brain ; Brain Edema ; Brain Injuries ; Brain Ischemia ; Caspase 3 ; HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins ; Humans ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery ; Ischemia ; Ischemic Postconditioning ; Male ; Neurons ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reperfusion