PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to identify Korean high school students' health behaviors and perceived stress and to examine effects of their health behaviors on their stress perception. METHODS: The subjects were 33,744 high school students who participated in the 11th Korea youth risk behavior web-based survey 2015 in Korea. Data were analyzed using complex samples analysis with the PASW 18.0 program. The questionnaire utilized in this study is designed to find the subjects' general characteristics, health behaviors, and perceived stress. RESULTS: The prevalence of subjects with high level stress was 38.9%(n=13,137) in this study. There were significant differences in the general characteristics and stress perception among the Korean high school students in terms of gender, grade, school achievement, family's affluence, mother's education, perceived happiness, perceived health status, and stressor. The variables of health behaviors of Korean high school students were significantly different from stress perception. Under complex samples logistic regression, predictive factors of stress for the high school students include gender, grade, father's education, family's affluence, living arrangement, perceived health status, perceived happiness, current smoking, current alcohol experience, and enough sleep. CONCLUSION: The study suggests multilateral efforts are needed to help high school students' stress management including health behaviors for high school students.
Adolescent ; Education ; Happiness ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Prevalence ; Residence Characteristics ; Risk-Taking ; Smoke ; Smoking

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate factors influencing clinical competence in nursing students. METHOD: The participants were 125 nursing students and data were collected from October 8 to December 18, 2010 using questionnaires with. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient and stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS: There were significant correlations for creativity, problem-solving ability, self-directed learning ability, and clinical competence. The factor influencing clinical competence the most was creativity, followed by problem-solving ability, self-directed learning ability, and grade point average score. The regression model explained 37% of variance in clinical competence. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that for improvement in the clinical competence of nursing students, it is necessary to develop strategies and education programs to enhance creativity, problem-solving ability, and self-directed learning ability.
Clinical Competence* ; Creativity ; Education ; Humans ; Learning ; Nursing* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Students, Nursing*

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of brain-wave biofeedback training nursing intervention (NFT) upon enhancing self-regulation response in adolescence with emotional behavior problems in school. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was conducted. The participants were assigned to the experimental group (n=24) or the control group (n=24). The experimental group additionally received NFT. The NFT was conducted 10 sessions for 30 minutes per session with the band reward and inhibit training which matched their Quantitative Electroencephalography (QEEG), participant’s demand and chief complaint. Data were collected with QEEG and heart rate variability (HRV) in physiological response, self-efficacy in cognitive response, depression in emotional response, impulsivity and delay gratification in behavioral response of self-regulation. Results: The general characteristics and the pre-test scores of two groups were all homogeneous. The experimental group was reported to be significantly higher in QEEG homeostasis, HRV homeostasis, self-efficacy, and delay gratification than the control group. The experimental group was reported to be significantly lower in depression and impulsivity. Conclusion The results indicate that NFT using brain cognitive neuroscience approach is effective in enhancing self-regulation response. Therefore, this nursing intervention using brain cognitive neuroscience approach can be applied as an effective self-regulation nursing intervention for adolescents with emotional behavior problems in communities for adaptive life.

Chronic liver disease causes hemodynamic changes in the body depending on the degree of progression. These hemodynamic changes begin with splanchnic vasodilation, with complications beginning to appear as the hyperdynamic changes occur. As chronic liver disease progresses, increased splanchnic vasodilation and hyperdynamic changes worsen portal hypertension and help cause or worsen chronic liver disease complications, such as ascites. Ultimately, the effective plasma volume and blood pressure decrease in the terminal stage.

Purpose: This study investigated the relationship of the partnership between nurses and parents of hospitalized children with the quality of pediatric nursing care as perceived by pediatric nurses. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 90 nurses. The data collected were analyzed using the independent t-test and the Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: The level of partnership between nurses and parents showed significant differences by nurses’ age (t=2.22, p=.029) and marital status (t=2.54, p=.013). The quality of pediatric nursing care was found to significantly differ by the nurses’ age (t=2.62, p=.013), marital status (t=4.17, p<.001), whether nurses had children (t=2.53, p=.020), pediatric ward work experience (t=2.43, p=.020), and total work experience (t=2.51, p=.016). The level of partnership between nurses and parents was positively correlated with the quality of pediatric nursing care (r=.48, p<.001). Conclusion To improve the quality of nursing care for hospitalized children and their parents, it is important to consider the specific characteristics of pediatric nurses, whose clinical skills should be improved.

Coronary artery spasm is an uncommon, but well recognized, etiology for acute myocardial infarction. However, cardiogenic shock with myocardial infarction resulting from simultaneous multiple coronary artery spasm has been rarely reported, and not in Korea. Recently, we experienced such a case in a 50-year-old Korean man without previous diagnosis of variant angina. The patient, hospitalized for blood sugar control, developed severe chest pain accompanying ST-segment elevation in multiple leads. The patient immediately received cardiac catheterization because of cardiogenic shock. Coronary angiogram revealed the severe and simultaneous spasm of three major epicardial arteries, which was promptly relieved by an intracoronary administration of isosorbide dinitrate. This case highlights the need to rule out the potential mechanism of coronary spasm even in the most severe episodes of acute coronary syndrome.
Acute Coronary Syndrome ; Arteries ; Blood Glucose ; Cardiac Catheterization ; Cardiac Catheters ; Chest Pain ; Coronary Vasospasm ; Coronary Vessels ; Humans ; Isosorbide Dinitrate ; Korea ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Shock, Cardiogenic ; Spasm

Enlargement of left atrium (LA) is not infrequently observed in patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis. We recently met a patient who had a giant LA associated with severe mitral stenosis. The right ventricle had almost collapsed due to compression by the LA. Mitral valve surgery was performed for mitral stenosis and the postoperative course was uneventful. Thus, we suggest that clinicians should not delay corrective surgery for severe mitral stenosis solely on account of a huge LA.
Heart Atria ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mitral Valve ; Mitral Valve Stenosis

Recent neuroimaging studies indicate that learning a novel motor skill induces plastic changes in the brain structures of both gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) that are associated with a specific practice. We previously reported an increased volume of vermian lobules VI-VII (declive, folium, and tuber) in elite basketball athletes who require coordination for dribbling and shooting a ball, which awakened the central role of the cerebellum in motor coordination. However, the precise factor contributing to the increased volume was not determined. In the present study, we compared the volumes of the GM and WM in the sub-regions of the cerebellar vermis based on manual voxel analysis with the ImageJ program. We found significantly larger WM volumes of vermian lobules VI-VII (declive, folium, and tuber) in elite basketball athletes in response to long-term intensive motor learning. We suggest that the larger WM volumes of this region in elite basketball athletes represent a motor learning-induced plastic change, and that the WM of this region likely plays a critical role in coordination. This finding will contribute to gaining a deeper understanding of motor learning-evoked WM plasticity.
Athletes* ; Basketball* ; Brain ; Cerebellum* ; Humans ; Learning ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Motor Skills ; Neuroimaging ; Plastics*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Cardiac troponins are associated with increased mortality, even among patients with no coronary artery disease. Elevated cardiac troponin levels are frequently observed in patients without significant coronary lesions, although the mechanism underlying this finding is unclear. The aim of our study was to evaluate the association between the levels of cardiac troponin and coronary flow reserve (CFR). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We evaluated serum cardiac troponin-I in 19 patients (9 female; age 61.9+/-10.9 year-old). All patients had an ejection fraction >40% and angiographically normal coronary arteries. Simultaneous measurements of fractional flow reserve (FFR), the index of microcirculatory resistance (IMR), and CFR measurements using an intracoronary temperature- and pressure-sensing guidewire under basal conditions and during maximal hyperemia were performed in three vessels: the left anterior descending artery (LAD), left circumflex artery (LCX) and right coronary artery (RCA). RESULTS: All patients were followed for a median of 13 months. FFR, IMR, and CFR measurements were performed successfully in all subjects. Mean CFRs of LAD, LCX, and RCA were 1.98+/-1.20, 2.75+/-2.11, and 4.44+/-2.51, respectively. Mean IMRs of LAD, LCX and RCA were 33.28+/-18.78, 29.11+/-26.70, and 30.55+/-23.65, respectively. There was a poor correlation between CFR and troponin-I values in each vessel. In selecting the lowest value of CFR in each patient as the corresponding value, the lowest CFR was not associated with troponin-I levels (r=-0.219, p=0.367). CONCLUSION: In patients without significant coronary lesions, the correlation between CFR and troponin-I level was not significant using a thermodilution technique. Further study of a larger population with longer-term follow-up may be needed to more fully understand microvascular dysfunction.
Arteries ; Coronary Artery Disease* ; Coronary Vessels ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hyperemia ; Microvessels ; Mortality ; Thermodilution* ; Troponin I ; Troponin* ; Vascular Resistance

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Left ventricular (LV) midwall fractional shortening (FSmw) reflects systolic function more accurately than LV endocardial fractional shortening (eFS) in patients with increased LV wall thickness. Although the normal reference ranges of LV-FSmw have been suggested in Western population studies, its reference values and age-related physiological changes in Eastern populations remain unknown. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Conventional echocardiographic parameters, LV-FSmw, and stress-corrected LV-FSmw were assessed in 160 healthy and clinically normal subjects with a mean age of 45 (range, 11-72 years; 104 males, 56 women), all of whom were confirmed to be free of disease, based on laboratory investigations, clinical and physical examination findings and computed tomographic coronary angiographic examinations. RESULTS: LV-FSmw was higher in women compared to men. However, the differences were without statistical significance (18.2+/-1.5% for male gender and 19.4+/-2.5% for female gender, p=0.07). In contrast to LV-eFS that progressively increased with age (p=0.001), LV-FSmw and stress-corrected LV-FSmw was not influenced by changes in age (p=0.88 and 0.29, respectively). The results remained unchanged when analyses were performed adjusting for gender. CONCLUSION: The results of this study provide normal reference values for LV-FSmw and stress-corrected LV-FSmw and their natural physiological changes with advancing age. These measures can be used as reference standards for research on LV systolic function in the setting of pressure or volume overload.
Echocardiography ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Physical Examination ; Reference Values ; Systole ; Ventricular Function, Left