In the neurovascular unit, the neuronal and vascular systems communicate with each other. O2 and nutrients, reaching endothelial cells (ECs) through the blood stream, spread into neighboring cells, such as neural stem cells, and neurons. The proper function of neural circuits in adults requires sufficient O2 and glucose for their metabolic demands through angiogenesis. In a central nervous system (CNS) injury, such as glioma, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease, damaged ECs can contribute to tissue hypoxia and to the consequent disruption of neuronal functions and accelerated neurodegeneration. This review discusses the current evidence regarding the contribution of oxygen deprivation to CNS injury, with an emphasis on hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-mediated pathways and Notch signaling. Additionally, it focuses on adult neurological functions and angiogenesis, as well as pathological conditions in the CNS. Furthermore, the functional interplay between HIFs and Notch is demonstrated in pathophysiological conditions.

Background: Dentists make various efforts to reduce patients' anxiety and fear associated with dental treatment. Dental sedation is an advanced method that dentists can perform to reduce patients' anxiety and fear and provide effective dental treatment. However, dental sedation is different from general dental treatment and requires separate learning, and if done incorrectly, can lead to serious complications. Therefore, sedation is performed by a limited number of dentists who have received specific training. This study aimed to investigate the proportion of dentists who practice sedation and the main sedatives they use in the context of the Republic of Korea. Methods: We used the customized health information data provided by the Korean National Health Insurance. We investigated the number of dental hospitals or clinics that claimed insurance for eight main sedatives commonly used in dental sedation from January, 2007 to September, 2019 at the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. We also identified the changes in the number of dental medical institutions by region and year and analyzed the number and proportion of dental medical institutions prescribing each sedative. Results: In 2007, 302 dental hospitals prescribed sedatives, and the number increased to 613 in 2019. In 2007, approximately 2.18% of the total 13,796 dental institutions prescribed sedatives, increasing to 3.31% in 2019. In 2007, 168 institutions (55.6%) prescribed N2O alone, and in 2019, 510 institutions (83.1%) made claims for it. In 2007, 76 (25.1%) hospitals made claims for chloral hydrate, but the number gradually decreased, with only 29 hospitals (4.7%) prescribing it in 2019. Hospitals that prescribed a combination of N2O, chloral hydrate, and hydroxyzine increased from 27 (8.9%) in 2007 to 51 (9%) in 2017 but decreased to 38 (6.1%) in 2019. The use of a combination of N2O and midazolam increased from 20 hospitals (6.6%) in 2007 to 51 hospitals (8.3%) in 2019. Conclusion While there is a critical limitation to the investigation of dental hospitals performing sedation using insurance claims data, namely exclusion of dental clinics providing non-insured treatments, we found that in 2019, approximately 3.31% of the dental clinics were practicing sedation and that N2O was the most commonly prescribed sedative.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify factors influencing nursing professionalism among outpatient nurses. Methods: Data were collected through a self-evaluation survey of 157 nurses from general and tertiary hospitals in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, Korea. Data were analyzed using independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Importance-Performance Analysis, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis. Results: The mean scores were as follows: importance, 3.29 out of 5; performance, 2.50 out of 4; role conflict, 3.23 out of 5; and nursing professionalism, 3.23 out of 5. There were statistically significant positive correlations between the importance (r=.32, p<.001) and performance (r=.38, p<.001) of nursing activities and professionalism. There were statistically significant negative correlations between role conflict and nursing professionalism (r=-.20, p=.014). Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that the importance of nursing activities, performance of nursing activities, role conflict, working department, and sex explained 33.0% of outpatient nurses’ professionalism (F=8.66, p<.001). Conclusion The findings indicate educational system about important and highly accomplished tasks would be useful to improve nursing professionalism of outpatient nurses. Furthermore, reducing role conflicts by clearly distinguishing tasks is necessary to increase nursing professionalism.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify factors influencing nursing professionalism among outpatient nurses. Methods: Data were collected through a self-evaluation survey of 157 nurses from general and tertiary hospitals in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, Korea. Data were analyzed using independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Importance-Performance Analysis, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis. Results: The mean scores were as follows: importance, 3.29 out of 5; performance, 2.50 out of 4; role conflict, 3.23 out of 5; and nursing professionalism, 3.23 out of 5. There were statistically significant positive correlations between the importance (r=.32, p<.001) and performance (r=.38, p<.001) of nursing activities and professionalism. There were statistically significant negative correlations between role conflict and nursing professionalism (r=-.20, p=.014). Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that the importance of nursing activities, performance of nursing activities, role conflict, working department, and sex explained 33.0% of outpatient nurses’ professionalism (F=8.66, p<.001). Conclusion The findings indicate educational system about important and highly accomplished tasks would be useful to improve nursing professionalism of outpatient nurses. Furthermore, reducing role conflicts by clearly distinguishing tasks is necessary to increase nursing professionalism.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify factors influencing nursing professionalism among outpatient nurses. Methods: Data were collected through a self-evaluation survey of 157 nurses from general and tertiary hospitals in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, Korea. Data were analyzed using independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Importance-Performance Analysis, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis. Results: The mean scores were as follows: importance, 3.29 out of 5; performance, 2.50 out of 4; role conflict, 3.23 out of 5; and nursing professionalism, 3.23 out of 5. There were statistically significant positive correlations between the importance (r=.32, p<.001) and performance (r=.38, p<.001) of nursing activities and professionalism. There were statistically significant negative correlations between role conflict and nursing professionalism (r=-.20, p=.014). Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that the importance of nursing activities, performance of nursing activities, role conflict, working department, and sex explained 33.0% of outpatient nurses’ professionalism (F=8.66, p<.001). Conclusion The findings indicate educational system about important and highly accomplished tasks would be useful to improve nursing professionalism of outpatient nurses. Furthermore, reducing role conflicts by clearly distinguishing tasks is necessary to increase nursing professionalism.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify factors influencing nursing professionalism among outpatient nurses. Methods: Data were collected through a self-evaluation survey of 157 nurses from general and tertiary hospitals in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, Korea. Data were analyzed using independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Importance-Performance Analysis, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis. Results: The mean scores were as follows: importance, 3.29 out of 5; performance, 2.50 out of 4; role conflict, 3.23 out of 5; and nursing professionalism, 3.23 out of 5. There were statistically significant positive correlations between the importance (r=.32, p<.001) and performance (r=.38, p<.001) of nursing activities and professionalism. There were statistically significant negative correlations between role conflict and nursing professionalism (r=-.20, p=.014). Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that the importance of nursing activities, performance of nursing activities, role conflict, working department, and sex explained 33.0% of outpatient nurses’ professionalism (F=8.66, p<.001). Conclusion The findings indicate educational system about important and highly accomplished tasks would be useful to improve nursing professionalism of outpatient nurses. Furthermore, reducing role conflicts by clearly distinguishing tasks is necessary to increase nursing professionalism.

Objectives: Assessing the risks of youth suicide in educational and clinical settings is crucial.Therefore, this study developed a machine learning model to predict suicide attempts using the Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBWS). Methods: KYRBWS is conducted annually on Korean middle and high school students to assess their health-related behaviors. The KYRBWS data for 2021, which showed 1206 adolescents reporting suicide attempts out of 54848, was split into the training (n=43878) and test (n=10970) datasets. Thirty-nine features were selected from the KYRBWS questionnaire. The balanced accuracy of the model was employed as a metric to select the best model. Independent validations were conducted with the test dataset of 2021 KYRBWS (n=10970) and the external dataset of 2020 KYRBWS (n=54948). The clinical implication of the prediction by the selected model was measured for sensitivity, specificity, true prediction rate (TPR), and false prediction rate (FPR). Results: Balanced bag of histogram gradient boosting model has shown the best performance (balanced accuracy=0.803). This model shows 76.23% sensitivity, 83.08% specificity, 10.03% TPR, and 99.30% FPR for the test dataset as well as 77.25% sensitivity, 84.62% specificity, 9.31% TPR, and 99.45% FPR for the external dataset, respectively. Conclusion These results suggest that a specific machine learning model can predict suicide attempts among adolescents with high accuracy.

Among the currently available brain tumor imaging, advanced MR imaging techniques, such as diffusion-weighted MR imaging and perfusion MR imaging, have been used for solving diagnostic challenges associated with conventional imaging and for monitoring the brain tumor treatment response. Further development of advanced MR imaging techniques and postprocessing methods may contribute to predicting the treatment response to a specific therapeutic regimen, particularly using multi-modality and multiparametric imaging. Over the next few years, new imaging techniques, such as amide proton transfer imaging, will be studied regarding their potential use in quantitative brain tumor imaging. In this review, the pathophysiologic considerations and clinical validations of these promising techniques are discussed in the context of brain tumor characterization and treatment response.
Brain Neoplasms* ; Brain* ; Chemoradiotherapy ; Diffusion ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Perfusion ; Protons