Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the current status of nutrition education via a free learning semester program (NE). The understanding of the program, the potential difficulties, and future initiatives for NE improvement were also investigated. Methods: A total number of 161 nutrition teachers from Gwangju and Jeonnam filled in a questionnaire and participated in this survey, which was performed from July to August 2019. Results: Our results showed that 8.1% of the nutrition teachers had taught nutrition education in free learning semester programs. The most frequently implemented model was subject selection, followed by club activities. Most of the nutrition teachers comprehended the purpose of NE. The attitude of nutrition teachers to NE differed by the understanding of its purpose. Positive attitude was evident due to a better understanding of the purpose by nutrition teachers. Nutrition teachers reported the most common difficulties of NE were the lack of preparation due to the heavy workload and the lack of a standard running program.The most effective method of NE was the activity classes. The experience of practicing NE influenced the choice of contents for each operating model. Nutrition teachers that were experienced in NE conducted via free learning semester programs preferred the selected topics model, but those without experience chose the career search model. Conclusions Although some obstacles exist, nutrition teachers had a positive attitude and perceived well the importance of NE. Therefore, the awareness for the significance of NE of nutrition teachers needs to be improved. For better NE practice, it is necessary to reduce/ manage the workload of general food service. Furthermore, the development of standard running and promotion programs, and teacher training programs should be ensured.

PURPOSE: The degree of radiation-induced lung fibrosis (RILF) can be measured quantitatively by fibrosis volume (VF) on chest computed tomography (CT) scan. The purpose of this study was to investigate the interobserver and intraobserver variability in CT-based measurement of VF. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We selected 10 non-small cell lung cancer patients developed with RILF after postoperative radiation therapy (PORT) and delineated VF on the follow-up chest CT scanned at more than 6 months after radiotherapy. Three radiation oncologists independently delineated VF to investigate the interobserver variability. Three times of delineation of VF was performed by two radiation oncologists for the analysis of intraobserver variability. We analysed the concordance index (CI) and inter/intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: The median CI was 0.61 (range, 0.44 to 0.68) for interobserver variability and the median CIs for intraobserver variability were 0.69 (range, 0.65 to 0.79) and 0.61(range, 0.55 to 0.65) by two observers. The ICC for interobserver variability was 0.974 (p < 0.001) and ICCs for intraobserver variability were 0.996 (p < 0.001) and 0.991 (p < 0.001), respectively. CONCLUSION: CT-based measurement of VF with patients who received PORT was a highly consistent and reproducible quantitative method between and within observers.
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; Evaluation Studies as Topic* ; Fibrosis* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lung* ; Observer Variation* ; Radiotherapy ; Thorax ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Cancer-induced bone pain (CIBP) is one of the most common pains in patients with advanced neoplasms. Because of treatment-associated side effects, more than half of cancer patients are reported to have inadequate and undermanaged pain control. New mechanism-based therapies must be developed to reduce cancer pain. Quetiapine is a commonly used atypical antipsychotic drug. We report a study of the potential analgesic effects of quetiapine in a mouse model of CIBP and examine the mechanism of bone pain by analyzing the expression of various nociceptors. METHODS: Fifteen male C3H/HeN mice were arbitrarily divided into five groups: control and, CIBP with no treatment, quetiapine treatment, opioid treatment, and melatonin treatment. The mice were tested for mechanical hyperalgesia by determining the nociceptive hind paw withdrawal pressure threshold. Tissues from tibia were removed and subjected to quantitative and qualitative evaluations of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), TRPV4, acid-sensing ion channel 1 (ASIC1), ASIC2, and ASIC3 expression. RESULTS: Paw withdrawal pressure threshold was improved in the quetiapine treatment group compared with the CIBP group. Expression of TRPV1, TRPV4, ASIC1, ASIC2, and ASIC3 in the CIBP with quetiapine treatment group was significantly lower than that in the CIBP group. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest an analgesic effect of quetiapine in the CIBP animal model and implicate TRPV and ASICs as potential targets for cancer pain management.
Animals ; Evaluation Studies as Topic ; Humans ; Hyperalgesia ; Ion Channels ; Male ; Melatonin ; Mice* ; Models, Animal ; Nociceptors ; Pain Management ; Quetiapine Fumarate* ; Tibia

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This research was conducted to compare lecture-and experience-based methods of nutritional education as well as provide fundamental data for developing an effective nutritional education program in elementary schools. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A total of 110 students in three elementary schools in Jeollanam-do were recruited and randomly distributed in lecture-and experience-based groups. The effects of education on students' dietary knowledge, dietary behaviors, and dietary habits were analyzed using a pre/post-test. RESULTS: Lecture-and experience-based methods did not significantly alter total scores for dietary knowledge in any group, although lecture-based method led to improvement for some detailed questions. In the experience-based group, subjects showed significant alteration of dietary behaviors, whereas lecture-based method showed alteration of dietary habits. CONCLUSIONS: These outcomes suggest that lecture-and experience-based methods led to differential improvement of students' dietary habits, behaviors, and knowledge. To obtain better nutritional education results, both lectures and experiential activities need to be considered.
Education* ; Food Habits ; Humans ; Jeollanam-do ; Learning* ; Lectures

PURPOSE: This study was performed to investigate the present condition of drug abuse and its association with depression, self-rated health and health behaviors by job status in Korean adults. METHODS: Data were derived from the study on four addiction problem and suicide in 2014. Multiple logistic regression was used to analyze patterns of drug abuse according to depression, self-rated health and health behaviors. RESULTS: The prevalence of drug abuse during the past year was 17.1% of the 4,018 subjects. About 3.3 times risk for drug abuse was found among individuals who had high depression scores. The risk of drug abuse was higher among those who were smoking (OR:1.46, 95% CI:1.17~1.83), drinking more frequently (OR:1.30, 95% CI:1.07~1.58), sleeping insufficiently (OR:1.31, 95% CI:1.03~1.67), eating irregularly (OR:1.45, 95% CI:1.19~1.76). Drug abuse problem was detected more seriously among employed than unemployed adults. CONCLUSION: Health-related behaviors, such as smoking, drinking, sleeping, eating should be considered simultaneously when designing strategies to deal with drug abuse problem, and it is important to understand the interaction between drug abuse and mental health. Furthermore, workplace based intervention can be effective in solving drug abuse problem.
Adult ; Depression* ; Drinking ; Eating ; Health Behavior* ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Mental Health ; Prevalence ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Substance-Related Disorders* ; Suicide

BACKGROUND: Rescently, the immunotherapy against infectious disease and cancer is being actively studied, and high yield of pure CD14+ monocytes is a key of concern. In this study, we optimized the percoll gradient method to increase the purity and yield of monocytes from peripheral mononuclear cells. METHODS: We separated mononuclear cells (MNC) from healthy donors, and monocytes from MNC were separated with the various density of percoll gradient. After centrifugation, we determined the most efficient density of the percoll gradient to get the highest yield and purity of monocytes. We also obtained monocytes by the plastic absorption method. Monocytes were differentiated into dendritic cells (DC) and the efficacy of differentiation to DC is confirmed and compared by morphological characteristics and using a flowcytometer. RESULTS: The purity of monocytes was 51.3+/-8.3% by the 35% percoll gradient method and the purity was improved to 82.9+/-4.2% with 100% of yield by repeating the same method. Therefore, the yield of mature dendritic cells was 3.6+/-0.9% of the total input MNC by the 35% percoll repetition method, which was 1.7 times higher than the plastic adherent method (2.1+/-0.5%). CONCLUSION: This study shows a cost-effective method to isolate CD14+ monocytes and these cells demonstrate high differentiation rate to DC. This process will be valuable for obtaining a sufficient number of DC.
Absorption ; Centrifugation ; Communicable Diseases ; Dendritic Cells ; Humans ; Immunotherapy ; Monocytes ; Plastics ; Povidone ; Silicon Dioxide ; Tissue Donors

PURPOSE: Parotid gland can be considered as a risk organ in whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the parotid gland sparing effect of computed tomography (CT)-based WBRT compared to 2-dimensional plan with conventional field margin. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 2008 to April 2011, 53 patients underwent WBRT using CT-based simulation. Bilateral two-field arrangement was used and the prescribed dose was 30 Gy in 10 fractions. We compared the parotid dose between 2 radiotherapy plans using different lower field margins: conventional field to the lower level of the atlas (CF) and modified field fitted to the brain tissue (MF). RESULTS: Averages of mean parotid dose of the 2 protocols with CF and MF were 17.4 Gy and 8.7 Gy, respectively (p < 0.001). Mean parotid dose of both glands > or =20 Gy were observed in 15 (28.3%) for CF and in 0 (0.0%) for MF. The whole brain percentage volumes receiving >98% of prescribed dose were 99.7% for CF and 99.5% for MF. CONCLUSION: Compared to WBRT with CF, CT-based lower field margin modification is a simple and effective technique for sparing the parotid gland, while providing similar dose coverage of the whole brain.
Brain ; Humans ; Parotid Gland ; Xerostomia

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The occurrence of brain metastasis (BM) has increased due to improved overall survival (OS) in uterine cervical cancer. However, research about prognostic factors and therapeutic guidelines for BM in uterine cervical cancer remains scarce due to the rarity of BM in this type of cancer. The present study evaluated the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors influencing OS in patients with BM from uterine cervical cancer. METHODS: A total of 19 BM patients of uterine cervical cancer were analyzed retrospectively from January 1995 to December 2016. RESULTS: The median and mean OS of all patients was 9.6 and 15.4 months. Treatment (vs. palliative care, p < 0.001), fewer than three regimens of chemotherapy before BM (vs. ≥ 3, p < 0.013), and chemotherapy after BM (vs. absence, p < 0.001) significantly increased the OS time. The Karnofsky performance status ≥ 70 (vs. < 70, p = 0.213), single BM (vs. multiple BM, p = 0.157), and small cell carcinoma (vs. others, p = 0.351) had numerically higher OS than others. Dual therapy (vs. single therapy, p = 0.182; vs. no therapy, p = 0.076) were associated with a longer OS time, but the difference did not reach statistical significance. In addition, the graded prognostic assessment (GPA) appeared to be a better prognostic tool than the recursive partitioning analysis. CONCLUSIONS The results of the present study suggest active multimodal treatment including neurosurgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy for BM of uterine cervical cancer with single BM, good performance status, histology of small cell carcinoma, and a better GPA.

Background/Aims: Multiple myeloma (MM) predominantly affects elderly individuals, but studies on older patients with MM are limited. The clinical characteristics and survival outcomes of patients with MM aged 80 years or over were retrospectively analyzed. Methods: This retrospective multicenter study was conducted to investigate the clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, and survival outcomes of patients aged 80 years or over who were newly diagnosed with MM at five academic hospitals in Daegu, Korea, between 2010 and 2019. Results: A total of 127 patients with a median age of 83 years (range, 80–93 yr) were enrolled: 52 (40.9%) with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS) > 2, 84 (66.1%) with International Staging System (ISS) stage III disease, and 93 (73.2%) with a Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) > 4. Chemotherapy was administered to 86 patients (67.7%). The median overall survival was 9.3 months. Overall survival was significantly associated with ECOG PS > 2 (HR 2.26, 95% CI 1.43–3.59), ISS stage III (HR 1.99, 95% CI 1.18–3.34), and chemotherapy (HR 0.34, 95% CI 0.21–0.55). There was no statistically significant difference in event-free survival according to the type of anti-myeloma chemotherapy administered. The early mortality (EM) rate was 28.3%. Conclusions Even in patients with MM aged 80 years or over, chemotherapy can result in better survival outcomes than supportive care. Patients aged ≥ 80 years should not be excluded from chemotherapy based on age alone. However, reducing EM in elderly patients with newly diagnosed MM remains challenging.

Background/Aims: Multiple myeloma (MM) predominantly affects elderly individuals, but studies on older patients with MM are limited. The clinical characteristics and survival outcomes of patients with MM aged 80 years or over were retrospectively analyzed. Methods: This retrospective multicenter study was conducted to investigate the clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, and survival outcomes of patients aged 80 years or over who were newly diagnosed with MM at five academic hospitals in Daegu, Korea, between 2010 and 2019. Results: A total of 127 patients with a median age of 83 years (range, 80–93 yr) were enrolled: 52 (40.9%) with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS) > 2, 84 (66.1%) with International Staging System (ISS) stage III disease, and 93 (73.2%) with a Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) > 4. Chemotherapy was administered to 86 patients (67.7%). The median overall survival was 9.3 months. Overall survival was significantly associated with ECOG PS > 2 (HR 2.26, 95% CI 1.43–3.59), ISS stage III (HR 1.99, 95% CI 1.18–3.34), and chemotherapy (HR 0.34, 95% CI 0.21–0.55). There was no statistically significant difference in event-free survival according to the type of anti-myeloma chemotherapy administered. The early mortality (EM) rate was 28.3%. Conclusions Even in patients with MM aged 80 years or over, chemotherapy can result in better survival outcomes than supportive care. Patients aged ≥ 80 years should not be excluded from chemotherapy based on age alone. However, reducing EM in elderly patients with newly diagnosed MM remains challenging.