PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of prior information about ICU environment on the anxiety and environmental stress of cardiac surgery ICU patients. METHODS: A non-equivalent control group non-synchronized quasi-experimental research design was used. Participants were 60 (control 30, experimental 30) patients who had been admitted to ICU. Prior information about the ICU environment was provided to the experimental group. The anxiety level of subjects was measured by State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the stress level of subjects was measured by the Intensive Care Unit Environmental Stressor Scale (ICUESS). Data were analyzed using a Chi-square test or a Fisher's exact test, independent samples t-test, and paired samples t-test. RESULTS: There was no difference in Anxiety (t=-0.58, p=.563), but there was a significant difference in environmental stress (t=10.46, p<.001). CONCLUSION: Providing prior information would be an effective nursing intervention to reduce environmental stress.
Anxiety* ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units* ; Nursing ; Research Design ; Thoracic Surgery*

A murime monoclonal antibody (mAb) specific for the envelope glycoprotein gp120 of human immunodeficiency virus type-I (HIV-1) was chemically coupled to pokeweed antiviral protein (PAP) from Phytolacca americana. The immunotoxin was purified by FPLC using 5200 colum. The purified immunotoxin efficiently bound to HIV-infected T cells as evidenced by fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis. The immunotoxin selectively killed human T lymphoid lines infected with HIV-lIIIB at less than 250 pM of the immunotoxin cells, while PAP or mAb alone did not have any significant effect on infected cells. The uninfected control T cell lines were not affected. Human cells infected with HIV-2 or other HIV-1 strains were not killed, suggesting that the killing depends completely on the antibody used for coupling. These in vitro results suggest that the PAP-mAb conjugate may be used to selectively remove cells expressing viral antigens from individuals infected with HIV.
Antigens, Viral ; Cell Line ; Glycoproteins ; HIV ; HIV-1 ; HIV-2 ; Homicide ; Humans* ; Immunotoxins ; Phytolacca americana* ; T-Lymphocytes*

Tourniquets were used for adequate hemostasis and good for operative field of the upper and lower extremities surgery. However, hypertension and tachycardia developed in patients undergoing lower limb surgery with the use of a tourniquet under anesthesia. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of intravenous lidocaine for the hemodynamic changes with using a tourniquet under anesthesia. The results were as follows: 1) Heart rate was increased significantly 30 min after the use of tourniquet in all groups except group 4( lidocaine bolus with infusion group) and then in group 4 heart rate was decreased significantly 30 min after the use of tourniquet.(U=53(8,8); p<0.05) 2) Mean arterial pressure was increased in all groups 30 min after the application of the tourniquet. Also there was not any significant difference among the all groups. Blood pressure was returned to control values in 5 min after the deflation of the tourniquet. 3) During spinal anesthesia, heart rate and mean arterial pressure was decreased significantly in 30 min after the application of the tourniquet. (U=63(8,10); p<0.05, U=63(8,10); p<0.005). It is suggested that spinal anesthesia(T10>) is better anesthetic technique than general anesthesia in patients undergoing lower limb surgery with the use of a tourniquet. With the administration of intravenous lidocaine under general anesthesia, hemodynamic changes by inflating tourniquet were depressed.
Anesthesia* ; Anesthesia, General ; Anesthesia, Spinal ; Arterial Pressure ; Blood Pressure ; Heart Rate ; Hemodynamics ; Hemostasis ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Lidocaine* ; Lower Extremity ; Tachycardia ; Tourniquets*

Issues related to the elderly have been recognized in Korea and nursing scholars have tried to study there issues. It is hard to say which the direction we, are going or have to go, since there has been little systemic effort to establish gerontological nursing field yet. Therefore, it is necessary to find out the trend and the guidelines of gerontolotical nursing studies for the future. Dissertation and published articles related to the elderly in the nursing field from 1991 to the February of 1997 were are reviewed. Total 127 studies were analysed in terms of concept, design/methodology, and results, and the nature and issues of the geronotologic nursing studies in Korea were explored. The results are as follows: 1. There was no clear chronological definition of the elderly. 2. The most popular research design was an exploratory/descriptive study. 3. The major concepts studies were physical and mental health. 4. Among those studies using instrument which were developed and modified and /or translated by researchers, the reliability and validity were rarely reported. 5. Theory based studies were rare. We suggest the following issues for future studies : 1. The chronological and other criteria related to the definition of elderly is needed. 2. Physiopsychosocial characteristics of Korean elderly and their managements in terms of intervention studies need to be conducted more synthetically. 3. Social issues from the change of types and function of family such as single elderly family need to be studied. 4. Participation in and collaborate with other disciplines are needed. 5 Development and test of instruments to measure phenomena or concepts is needed. 6. Macroscopic approach such as policy also needed. 7. Theory based studies are needed.
Aged ; Humans ; Korea* ; Mental Health ; Nursing* ; Reproducibility of Results ; Research Design

This study aimed to enhance the physicochemical properties of sodium iodide-based root filling materials, particularly solubility. In earlier developmental stages, the iodoformcontaining paste exhibited high antibacterial efficacy but failed to meet only the solubility requirement among the ISO 6876 criteria. Therefore, this study focused on enhancing the physicochemical properties of the paste under development, particularly centering on reducing its solubility. Four experimental groups were established, including three control group. The previously developed D30 paste was named the Oil 33 group, and the control group was named the Vitapex® group. The Oil 50 group, in which the oil content was increased, and the Oil 45L group, in which lanolin was incorporated. The physical properties (solubility, pH, flowability, and film thickness) of the four pastes were evaluated according to the ISO 6876 standards. No significant differences were observed between the Oil 45L and Vitapex® groups in any of the physical property evaluations. While the Oil 33 and Oil 50 groups met the ISO 6876 standards for flowability and film thickness, the Oil 45L group met all the physical properties. However, reducing the overall oil content may be necessary to enhance the antimicrobial properties. The result of the physicochemical experiments showed that the Oil 45L group with the newly formulated composition and incorporated lanolin exhibited low solubility meeting the ISO 6876 standard of ≤ 3%. We were able to develop a paste with more stable solubility than previous iodide-based root-filling materials. Therefore, the oil content must be further adjusted to improve its antimicrobial properties. If other physical properties also meet the ISO 6876 standards and demonstrate excellent results in cytotoxicity tests, this root filling material could potentially replace existing options.

PURPOSE: Even though the importance of micrometastases (MMS) and isolated tumor cells (ITC) has been brought up by many physicians, its impact on the prognosis in stage II colorectal cancer is uncertain. In this research, we tried to investigate the clinical features of MMS and ITC and to prove any correlation with prognosis. METHODS: The research pool was 124 colorectal cancer patients who underwent a curative resection from April 2005 to November 2009. A total of 2,379 lymph nodes (LNs) were examined, and all retrieved LNs were evaluated by immunohistochemical staining with anti-cytokeratin antibody panel. Clinicopathologic parameters and survival rates were compared based on the presence of MMS or ITC and on the micrometastatic lymph node ratio (mmLNR), which is defined as the number of micrometastatic LNs divided by the number of retrieved LNs. RESULTS: Out of 124 patients (26.6%) 33 were found to have MMS or ITC. There were no significant differences in clinicopathologic features, such as gender, tumor location and size, depth of invasion, histologic grade, except for age (P = 0.04). The three-year disease-free survival rate for the MMS or ITC positive group was 85.7%, and that for MMS and ITC negative group was 92.8% (P = 0.209). The three-year disease-free survival rate for the mmLNR > 0.25 group was 73.3%, and that for the mmLNR < or = 0.25 group was 92.9% (P = 0.03). CONCLUSION: The presence of MMS or ITC was not closely correlated to the prognosis. However, mmLNR is thought to be a valuable marker of prognosis in cases of stage II colorectal cancer.
Colorectal Neoplasms ; Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Micrometastasis ; Prognosis ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVES: Metabolic syndrome components, insulin resistance and central obesity cause type 2 diabetes and hypertension. This will increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Women after menopause are at increased risk of metabolic syndrome. Several researchers studied that in menopause, metabolic syndrome increased cardiovascular mortality. We studied the impact on cardiovascular mortality of postmenopausal women with metabolic syndrome in the Republic of Korea. METHODS: Twenty four thousand nine hundred forty nine postmenopausal women aged 40 years or older were enrolled at health promotion centers of national university hospital located in 18 regions during 1994-2004. Age, weights, height, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fasting blood glucose (FBG), cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein were evaluated and history taking about alcohol consumption, smoking, and exercise was performed. In addition, subjects who died of cardiac disease were analyzed from January 1995 to December 2009. RESULTS: Metabolic syndrome was higher in postmenopausal women with increased in age, BMI, blood pressure (BP), FBG, cholesterol, TG. Thirty cardiac deaths occurred during the observation period. Factors affecting cardiac death were age, smoking, FBG and when age and smoking were controlled. FBG was an important factor affecting cardiovascular mortality in our study. When controlling age, smoking, and alcohol consumption, metabolic syndrome caused an increased relative risk of cardiovascular mortality. Survival rate was much lower in postmenopausal women with metabolic syndrome than those without metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSION: Metabolic syndrome in Korean postmenopausal women increased cardiovascular mortality.
Aged ; Alcohol Drinking ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Body Height ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cholesterol ; Death ; Fasting ; Female ; Health Promotion ; Heart Diseases ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Insulin Resistance ; Lipoproteins ; Menopause ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Postmenopause ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Survival Rate ; Weights and Measures

This study examined all the research published in Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing (JKAN) for last 30 years, from its beginning year to year 1999, based on an objective frame of evaluation. The purpose of this study is to reflect the trend of nursing research in Korea to date, and to provide an optimal direction for future research. The total number of 959 studies were analyzed with the following results. 1. Since 1990s, the number of non-degree based research has been larger than that of degree-based research compared to 1970s and 1980s. Both collaborative and funded research has been particularly increased in a gradual rate. 2. Research on nurses or nursing students has decreased while research on more diverse populations such as patients, patient families, or community-dwelling healthy clients has increased. 3. While essential nursing concepts such as human, nursing, and health have been consistently dealt as main research topics, research related to the concept of environ- ment has been insufficiently conducted. 4. It was remarkable that the quality of nursing research has been improved due to the acknowledgement of the importance of the empirical research method within the nursing community. 5. Qualitative research has appeared in the journal since the late 1990s, but it is still regarded to be in its novice stage. 6. Although the utilization of research findings for expanding the nursing body of knowledge has been wide in diverse specialties, most studies are limited to focus on concept development or evolution yet. also, in some of these research finding are utilization already considerably as to develop nursing interventions. Based on these findings, conclusions are extended to the following discussions: For the last 30 years, nursing research in Korea has shown an acute methodological development in both quantity and quality. However, there has been a lack of research on theory development although it is one of the ultimate goals in nursing. Further research should be empirical enough to be utilized in an actual nursing care context, and thus to be basis of developing culturally competent nursing theories in Korea.
Empirical Research ; Financial Management ; Humans ; Korea ; Nursing Care ; Nursing Research* ; Nursing Theory ; Nursing* ; Qualitative Research ; Students, Nursing

Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) is caused by the yeast-like fungus Pneumocystis jirovecii, which is specific to humans. PCP could be a source of opportunistic infection in adults that are immunosuppressed and children with prematurity or malnutrition. The diagnosis should be confirmed by identification of the causative organism, by analysis of the sputum, a bronchoalveolar lavage or a tissue biopsy. In both histologic and cytologic specimens, the cysts are contained within frothy exudates, which form aggregated clumps. The cysts often collapse forming crescent-shaped bodies that resemble ping-pong balls. We recently diagnosed nine cases of PCP using an immunohistochemical stain for Pneumocystis. The patients consisted of five human immunodeficiency virus positive individuals, two renal transplant recipients, and two patients with a malignant disease. All nine patients were infected with P. jirovecii, which was positive for monoclonal antibody 3F6. In conclusion, the immunohistochemical stain used in this report is a new technique for the detection of P. jirovecii infection.
Adult ; Biopsy ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage ; Child ; Exudates and Transudates ; Fungi ; HIV ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Malnutrition ; Opportunistic Infections ; Pneumocystis ; Pneumocystis jirovecii ; Pneumonia, Pneumocystis ; Sputum

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics of doctoral dissertations in nursing science submitted since 2000. METHOD: Three-hundred and five dissertations of six schools of nursing published from 2000 to 2006 in Korea were analyzed with the categories of philosophy, method, body of knowledge, research design, and nursing domain. RESULT: In philosophy, 82% of all dissertations were identified as scientific realism, 15% were relativism, and 3% were practicism. Two-hundred and fifty dissertations (82%) were divided into a quantitative methodology and 55 dissertations (18%) were qualitative methodology. Specifically, 45% were experimental, 23% methodological, 13% survey and 17% qualitative designed researches. Prescriptive knowledge was created in 47% of dissertations, explanatory knowledge in 29%, and descriptive knowledge in 24%. Over 50% of all research was studied with a community-based population. In the nursing domain, dissertations of the practice domain were highest (48.2%). CONCLUSION: Dissertations since 2000 were markedly different from the characteristics of the previous studies (1982-1999) in the increase of situation-related, prescriptive and community-based population studies. A picture of current nursing science identified in this study may provide a future guideline for the doctoral education for nursing.
*Dissertations, Academic as Topic ; Education, Nursing, Graduate/*trends ; Humans ; Korea ; Nursing Research/*trends ; Nursing Theory ; Philosophy, Nursing ; Qualitative Research ; Research Design