Background: Evaluating the activities of daily living (ADL) is an important factor for diagnosing dementia. The Everyday Cognition (ECog) scale was developed to measure ADL changes that were correlated with specific neuropsychological impairments. A short form of the ECog (ECog-12) was also developed, consisting of 12 items, two from each of the six cognitive domains of the ECog. The Korean full version of ECog (K-ECog) has recently been standardized, but the need for a shortened version has been raised in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to develop a Korean version of ECog-12 (K-ECog-12) and to verify its reliability and validity by comparing those to the full version of K-ECog. Methods: The participants were 267 cognitively normal older adults (CN), 183 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 89 patients with dementia. The Korean-Mini Mental State Examination (K-MMSE), Korean-Montreal Cognitive Assessment (K-MoCA), and Short form of Geriatric Depression Scale (SGDS) were administered to all participants. The K-ECog and Korean-Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (K-IADL) were rated by the informants of patients. Results: K-ECog-12 was newly constructed by replacing one item for the visuospatial function in the original ECog-12 with another one through an item response theory analysis on Korean data. The internal consistencies (Cronbach’s α) of K-ECog-12 and K-ECog were 0.95 and 0.99, respectively. The test–retest reliabilities (Pearson’s r) were 0.67 for K-ECog-12 and 0.73 for K-ECog. The K-ECog-12 was significantly correlated with K-ECog as well as K-IADL, K-MMSE, and K-MoCA. The K-ECog-12 scores differed significantly between the CN, MCI, and dementia groups, as did the K-ECog scores. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses showed that K-ECog-12, like K-ECog, could differentiate MCI and dementia patients from CN as well. Conclusion The K-ECog-12 is as reliable and valid as the K-ECog in assessing ADL.Therefore, K-ECog-12 can be used as an alternative to the K-ECog in clinical and community settings in Korea.

BACKGROUND: Repeated 24 hour recall has been considered as a preferred method for obtaining accurate dietary information while time and cost for coding and data processing have been a major barrier for their use in large studies. This burden can be resolved by automating the interview and data processing. However, there has been no report about a computerized interview system for dietary survey in a free-living population in Korea. METHODS: This study attempts to test the feasibility of a newly-developed web-based dietary assessment program, Diet Evaluation System (DES) for subjects in a mixed region of urban and rural areas via wireless internet. We conducted total of 134 interviews, twice for each of 67 subjects of various age. As another aspect of feasibility, the group discussion among interviewers was done. RESULTS: Success rate of total attempted interviews was about 70%. Major reasons for problem with DES were instability of wireless internet and consequent inefficient booting of laptops in some areas. It took 14 minute 56 seconds on average to complete an interview and data processing conducted automatically. Subjects' age and internet environment influenced the DES interview time. The group discussion revealed that one-stop system with DES is fast and convenient assuming good wireless internet environment. CONCLUSIONS: Web-based dietary assessment was feasible in this community nutrition survey. To confirm the feasibility in large scale, studies with more comprehensive area and subjects are needed with various wireless condition.
Automatic Data Processing ; Clinical Coding ; Diet ; Diet Surveys ; Feasibility Studies ; Internet ; Korea* ; Methods ; Nutrition Surveys*

OBJECTIVES: Although dietary supplements use in Korea has been rapidly increasing and women are more likely to take dietary supplements more than men, only a few studies have been conducted to investigate factors contributing to gender differences in dietary supplement use in the Korean population. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of dietary supplement use and also identify gender-specific key factors that contribute to it using the data of the 4th KNHANES. METHODS: Subjects were divided into user and non-user groups according to the answer given to the question that asked whether they had used any dietary supplement for more than 2 weeks on a regular basis during the previous year. Factors related to dietary supplement use were examined by general characteristics, health behavior and eating behavior. RESULTS: Prevalence of dietary supplement use was 13.6% for men and 20.6% for women. Users were more likely to be middle-aged, have higher income and education, have a spouse, or reside in dong areas in both men and women. Regarding health behaviors, men with desirable lifestyle behavior were more likely to take dietary supplements, while men who smoked were less likely to take dietary supplements. Regarding disease history, both men and women with a current disease had higher odds of taking supplements. With regard to dietary behavior, frequent eating out and nutrition attitude were associated with higher odds of taking supplements in both men and in women. CONCLUSIONS: Health or dietary behavior related factors that were associated with taking supplements differed by gender. These findings can be useful for planning gender-specific dietary education and health programs.
Dietary Supplements* ; Eating ; Education ; Feeding Behavior ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Style ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Prevalence ; Smoke ; Spouses

Background: and Purpose: Everyday Cognition (ECog) has been widely used to differentiate individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia from normal elderly individuals. It has also been used to assess subjective cognitive decline (SCD). This study investigated the feasibility of using ECog as a screening measure for SCD in communitydwelling elderly individuals. Methods: The participants included 84 older adults with and 93 without SCD living in the community. These 2 groups were classified based on their response (“yes” or “no”) to the question “Do you perceive memory or cognitive difficulties?” All participants were evaluated using the Korean-Mini Mental State Examination (K-MMSE), Short form of the Geriatric Depression Scale (SGDS), and the Korean version of Everyday Cognition (K-ECog). Results: The scores of all participants were within the normal range on the K-MMSE and SGDS. The total K-MMSE score did not differ significantly between the 2 groups after controlling for age, education, and depression. The scores of SCD group were significantly higher than those of the non-SCD group for memory, language, and executive function:planning domains, as well as K-ECog total score. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that the K-ECog total score was effective in moderately differentiating between subjects with and without SCD (area under the curve: 0.73). Conclusions ECog is a feasible and useful screening measure for SCD in older adults living in the community, and can be used to assess the full spectrum of cognitive and functional deficits, ranging from SCD to MCI and dementia.

Background: and Purpose: The Mini Mental State Examination, 2nd edition: Expanded version (MMSE-2: EV) involves an immediate recall (IR) of story memory (SM). A full version of SM has been developed and standardized; it includes delayed recall (DR) and recognition tests in addition to IR to increase its clinical utility as an independent story recall test. This study was conducted to provide norms for the full version of SM in the Korean version of MMSE-2: EV for clinical use. Methods: A total of 1,168 participants (496 males and 672 females) were included in the study. The ages ranged from 19 to 90 years, and the education level ranged from illiterate to post-graduate. Regression analysis was used to evaluate the relative contributions of demographic variables (age, education, and sex) on the SM measures. Results: We stratified age into 11 groups, and categorized the education level into 6 groups.It was found that the IR, DR, and recognition scores of SM were affected by age, education level, and sex. We provided corrected means and standard deviations of the IR, DR, and recognition scores of the SM for the demographic variables. Conclusions The results indicate the importance of considering demographic variables in interpreting the full version of SM measures. The normative data we have provided in this study should be useful in clinical and research settings for detecting the impairment in verbal memory.

The nucleolus is the largest, membrane-less organelle within the nucleus of eukaryotic cell that plays a critical role in rRNA transcription and assembly of ribosomes. Recently, the nucle olus has been shown to be implicated in an array of processes including the formation of sig nal recognition particles and response to cellular stress. Such diverse functions of nucleolus are mediated by nucleolar proteins. In this study, we characterized a gene coding a putative protein containing a nucleolar localization sequence (NoLS) in the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae. Phylogenetic and domain analysis suggested that the protein is ortholo gous to Rrp8 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. MoRRP8-GFP (translational fusion of MoRRP8 with green fluorescence protein) co-localizes with a nucleolar marker protein, MoNOP1 fused to red fluorescence protein (RFP), indicating that MoRRP8 is a nucleolar protein. Deletion of the MoRRP8 gene caused a reduction in vegetative growth and impinged largely on asexual sporulation. Although the asexual spores of ΔMorrp8 were morphologically indistinguishable from those of wild-type, they showed delay in germination and reduction in appressorium formation. Our pathogenicity assay revealed that the MoRRP8 is required for full virulence and growth within host plants. Taken together, these results suggest that nucleolar processes mediated by MoRRP8 is pivotal for fungal development and pathogenesis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: An increase in intracellular calcium concentration due to loss of Ca2+ homeostasis triggers arrhythmia or cardiac cell death in the heart. Paracrine factors released from stem cells have beneficial cardioprotective effects. However, the mechanism of modulation of Ca2+ homeostasis by paracrine factors in ischemic myocardium remains unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We isolated rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and prepared paracrine media (PM) from MSCs under hypoxic or normoxic conditions (hypoxic PM and normoxic PM). We induced rat myocardial infarction by left anterior descending ligation for 1 hour, and treated PM into the border region of infarcted myocardium (n=6/group) to identify the alteration in calcium-regulated proteins. We isolated and stained the heart tissue with specific calcium-related antibodies after 11 days. RESULTS: The hypoxic PM treatment increased Ca2+-related proteins such as L-type Ca2+ channel, sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase, Na+/K+ ATPase, and calmodulin, whereas the normoxic PM treatment increased those proteins only slightly. The sodium-calcium exchanger was significantly reduced by hypoxic PM treatment, compared to moderate suppression by the normoxic PM treatment. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that hypoxic PM was significantly associated with the positive regulation of Ca2+ homeostasis in infarcted myocardium.
Adenosine Triphosphatases ; Animals ; Antibodies ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Calcium ; Calcium-Transporting ATPases ; Calmodulin ; Cell Death ; Heart ; Homeostasis ; Ligation ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; Myocardial Infarction ; Myocardium* ; Paracrine Communication ; Rats* ; Sarcoplasmic Reticulum ; Sodium-Calcium Exchanger ; Stem Cells

BACKGROUND: The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) has been commonly used to measure cognitive change over time. The aim of present study was to investigate the normative rates of change for the MMSE across test-retest intervals. METHODS: We administered the Korean MMSE (K-MMSE) to 1055 community-dwelling middle aged and older adults three times over 6 years. Based on the Christensen's health screening criteria (1991), 234 middle-aged healthy adults (104 men, 130 women; mean age 55.95+/-6.20 years; age range 45-64 years; mean education 7.63+/-4.06 years) and 505 healthy elderly (200 men, 305 women; mean age 71.00+/-4.62 years; age range 65-79 years; mean education 5.61+/-5.12 years) were selected for the statistical analysis. Reliable change indices were computed using two different statistical methods, the Reliable Change Index adjusted for practice effects (RCIPE; Chelune et al., 1993) and the Standardized Regression-Based Change Index (SRBCI; McSweeny et al., 1993). RESULTS: For the middle-aged healthy adult group, the 90% confidence intervals of the RCIPE and SRBCI were the same such as +/-4 in 2-year, +/-5 in 4-year, and +/-6 in 6-year test-retest intervals. For the healthy elderly group, the 90% confidence intervals of the RCIPE were -5 and +4 in 2-year interval and -7 and +5 in 4- & 6-year intervals. The 90% confidence intervals of the SRB change index were +/-4 in 2-year interval and +/-6 in 4- & 6-year intervals. CONCLUSIONS: The result provides the normative data of the reliable change scores for the K-MMSE for the middle-aged and older adults. It shows that the reliable change indices were varied across different age groups as well as test-retest intervals.
Adult ; Aged ; Humans ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Middle Aged

Background: and Purpose: The Korean-Color Word Stroop Test: Color Reading (K-CWST:CR) included in the Seoul Neuropsychological Screening Battery, 2nd Edition (SNSB-II) examines inhibitory control deficit. It provides normative data for both 60- and 120-second conditions, but the validity of the 60-second condition has not yet been proven. This study examined the validity of the 60-second condition by observing concordance between the performances in cognitively normal, MCI, and mild dementia groups. Methods: There were 1,336 patients performed the SNSB-II, including the K-CWST: CR.Based on the cognitive test results, activities of daily living, and clinical interview, the patients were assigned to normal cognition (n=104), MCI (n=884), or mild dementia (n=348) groups. Abnormal performance on the K-CWST: CR was operationally defined as 1SD below the normative mean. The receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were conducted to compare the discriminability between the 60- and 120-second conditions. Results: The percentages of abnormal performance in the MCI group were 41.5% and 42.3%, and those in the mild dementia group were 82.7% and 82.4% for the 60- and 120-second conditions, respectively. The areas under the curve for the 60- and 120-seconds were as follows; 0.80 and 0.81 in differentiating normal from MCI; 0.95 and 0.96 in normal from mild dementia; and 0.77 and 0.77 in MCI from mild dementia. Conclusions The 60-second condition of the K-CWST showed very similar results, not statistically different from the 120-second condition. Therefore, the 60-second condition could be used interchangeably with the 120-second condition in a clinical setting.

Background: Postoperative pain occurring after cytoreductive surgery (CRS) with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is difficult to control because of extensive surgical injuries and long incisions. We assessed whether the addition of a four-quadrant transabdominal plane (4Q-TAP) block could help in analgesic control. Methods: Seventy-two patients scheduled to undergo elective CRS with HIPEC and intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV PCA) were enrolled. The patients received 4Q-TAP blocks in a 10 ml mixture of 2% lidocaine and 0.75% ropivacaine per site (4Q-TAP group, n = 36) or normal saline (control group, n = 33). Oxycodone in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) and pethidine or tramadol in the ward were used as rescue analgesics. The primary outcome was less than 3 times of rescue analgesic administration (%) in the ward for 5 postoperative days. Secondary endpoints included oxycodone requirement in PACU, fentanyl doses of IV PCA, morphine milligram equivalent (MME) of total opioid use, hospital stay, and postoperative complications. Results: During 5 postoperative days, there was no difference in pain scores and total rescue analgesic administration between two groups. However, the use of oxycodone in PACU (P = 0.011), fentanyl requirement in IV PCA (P = 0.029), and MME/kg of total opioid use (median, 2.35 vs. 3.21 mg/kg, P = 0.009) were significantly smaller in the 4Q-TAP group. Hospital stay and incidence of postoperative morbidity were similar in both groups. Conclusions The 4Q-TAP block enhanced multimodal analgesia and decreased opioid requirements in patients with CRS with HIPEC, but did not change postoperative recovery outcomes.