PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe the essential structure of the lived experience of working mothers' parenting burden in Korea. METHODS: Eight working mothers with young children were interviewed. The Colaizzi analysis of phenomenological research was applied. RESULTS: Seven theme clusters were extracted: a life with constant conflict, sense of guilt, feeling anxious because of lack of information about education for their children, social stigma as a deficient mother, family relationship becoming distant, a life being exhausted, day to day struggle. CONCLUSION: These results provide an opportunity to have a better understanding of the experiences of working mothers related to parenting their young children. It would also serve as a medium for the formulation of appropriate nursing intervention relevant to burdens of parenthood.
Child ; Family Relations ; Guilt ; Humans ; Korea ; Mothers ; Parenting ; Parents ; Social Stigma

The purpose of this study was to assess students' preference on set menus served in school foodservice. Questionnaires were distributed to 4,050 students enrolled in 34 middle and high schools located in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Gyeongnam provinces. The students were asked to assess their preferences on 78 set menus using a 5-point Likert-type scale(1 : very dislike - 5 : very like). Excluding responses with significant missing data, usable responses were 3,433. Data were analyzed with descriptive analysis, t-test, and one-way analysis of variance. There was no difference between middle and high school students in terms of set menu preferences. On the other hand, there was significant difference between boys' and girls' set menu preferences. Among the seven given set menu groups(rice and soup with side dishes, tangs, rice with toppings, fried rice, western foods, noodles . ddeokguk . dumpling soups, and bibimbaps), boys had higher preference scores for the rice and soup with side dishes, tangs, rice with toppings, and fried rice than that of girls. Fried rice set menus were chosen to be boys' favorite menus while western food set menus were most preferred by the girls. Rice and soup with side dishes set menus were least preferred by both boys and girls.
Analysis of Variance ; Female ; Gyeonggi-do ; Hand ; Humans ; Questionnaires ; Seoul

Remarkable developments in immuno-oncology have changed the landscape of gastric cancer (GC) treatment. Because immunotherapy intervenes with tumor immune response rather than directly targeting tumor cells, it is important to develop a greater understanding of tumor immunity. This review paper summarizes the tumor immune reaction and immune escape mechanisms while focusing on the role of T cells and their co-inhibitory signals, such as the immune checkpoint molecules programmed death-1 and programmed deathligand 1 (PD-L1). This paper also describes past clinical trials of immunotherapy for patients with GC and details their clinical implications. Strong predictive markers are essential to improve response to immunotherapy. Microsatellite instability, Epstein-Barr virus, PD-L1 expression, and tumor mutational burden are now regarded as potent predictive markers for immunotherapy in patients with GC. Novel immunotherapy and combination therapy targeting new immune checkpoint molecules such as lymphocyte-activation gene 3, T cell immunoglobulin, and mucin domain containing-3, and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase have been suggested, and trials are ongoing to evaluate their safety and efficacy. Immunotherapy is an important treatment option for patients with GC and has great potential for improving patient outcome, and further research in immuno-oncology should be carried out.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary infection with nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is increasing in South Korea. Since treatment strategy differs by NTM species, accurate identification is necessary. In this study, using Mycobacterium pulmonary isolates recently recovered from a general hospital in Seoul, the prevalence of NTM isolates was investigated. METHODS: A total of 483 Mycobacterium pulmonary strains isolated between May and November 2018 from an 814-bed general hospital in South Korea were analyzed. Bacterial species were identified based on nucleotide sequences of the 16S–23S rDNA internal transcribed spacer and the rpoB gene. RESULTS: From a total of 1,209 pulmonary specimens from patients suspected to be infected with mycobacteria, 324 deduplicate strains were isolated, comprising 90 Mycobacterium tuberculosis and 229 NTM strains. Among the NTM isolates, 61.5% (n=144) were Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), including 92 M. avium and 52 Mycobacterium intracellulare, while 8.1% (n=19) represented Mycobacterium abscessus, including 10 M. abscessus subsp. abscessus and 9 M. abscessus subsp. massiliense. In addition, 12 (5.1%) Mycobacterium lentiflavum, 12 (5.1%) Mycobacterium gordonae, 6 (2.6%) Mycobacterium kansasii, and 5 (2.1%) Mycobacterium fortuitum were identified. In addition, Mycobacterium mucogenicum (n=2), Mycobacterium septicum (n=1), Mycobacterium colombiens (n=1), Mycobacterium asiaticum (n=1), and Mycobacterium celatum (n=1) were identified. CONCLUSION: Among the recently recovered Mycobacterium pulmonary strains, more than half were identified as NTM, and MAC was the most prevalent NTM, followed by M. abcessuss.
Base Sequence ; DNA, Ribosomal ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Korea ; Mycobacterium ; Mycobacterium avium Complex ; Mycobacterium fortuitum ; Mycobacterium kansasii ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Nontuberculous Mycobacteria ; Prevalence ; Seoul ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Tertiary Healthcare

There are several reports suggesting Helicobacter pylori can initiate and perpetuate idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) and eradication of H. pylori can increase the platelet counts, however, the prevalence of H. pylori infection in patients with ITP is similar to that found in the general population and a recovery of thrombocytopenia after H. pylori eradication therapy has not been identified reliably. We report three different cases of H. pylori infected patients with ITP who recovered completely after eradication of H. pylori. The first case was refractory, the second was recurred after conventional treatment for ITP, and the third was treated with H. pylori eradication on first line treatment. We believe that the eradication of H. pylori is useful in some patients with ITP in Korea and well controlled randomized study is necessary for further identification of such population.
Helicobacter ; Helicobacter pylori ; Humans ; Korea ; Platelet Count ; Prevalence ; Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic ; Thrombocytopenia

OBJECTIVE: The etiology and pathogenesis of moyamoya disease remain unclear. Furthermore, the definitive diagnostic protein-biomarkers for moyamoya disease are still unknown. The present study analyzed serum proteomes from normal controls and moyamoya patients to identify novel serological biomarkers for diagnosing moyamoya disease. METHODS: We compared the two-dimensional electrophoresis patterns of sera from moyamoya disease patients and normal controls and identified the differentially-expressed spots by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of flight mass spectrometry and electrospray ionization quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry. RESULTS: We found and analyzed 22 differently-expressed proteomes. Two proteins were up-regulated. Twenty proteins were down-regulated. Complement C1 inhibitor protein and apolipoprotein C-III showed predominantly changed expressions (complement C1 inhibitor protein averaged a 7.23-fold expression in moyamoya patients as compared to controls, while apolipoprotein C-III averaged a 0.066-fold expression). CONCLUSION: Although our study had a small sample size, our proteomic data provide serologic clue proteins for understanding moyamoya disease.
Apolipoprotein C-III ; Biomarkers ; Complement C1 Inhibitor Protein ; Electrophoresis ; Humans ; Mass Spectrometry ; Moyamoya Disease ; Proteins ; Proteome ; Sample Size

The purposes of this study were to investigate recipients' handling and consumption of home-delivered meals at home and to assess their perceptions on home-delivered meal services for older adults. A total of 312 elderly people who received home-delivered foodservice were surveyed using an individual interview technique. A statistical data analysis was completed using SPSS (ver. 14.0). It was found that 90.2% (n = 166) of the lunch box recipients received services for six days per week, and 76.6% (n = 95) of the side-dish recipients got services once per week. More than half of the clients reported that they cooked meals by themselves on days when meals were not delivered. The two hundred thirty-two (75.3%) ate their meals as soon as they were delivered. It was found that 66.8% of the lunch box recipients and 7.3% of the side-dish recipients left delivered meals on the counter (at room temperatures) before eating. Only 11.4% of the lunch box recipients and 48.4% of the side-dish recipients kept delivered meals in the refrigerator before eating. Less than half of the lunch box recipients consumed all foods they were served at once. The reasons the recipients did not eat their all meals delivered at once were "saving for next meals" and "big portion size". Of those clients who left delivered meals, 19% of the lunch box recipients and 9.7% of the side-dish recipients ate leftovers without reheating. An average score of quality of delivered meal services was 3.5 out of 5 points. The results suggest that the clients of the home-delivered meal service should be provided information on proper handling and consumption practices with delivered meals at home. The findings of the study will be used to develop nutrition and food safety management guidelines for senior foodservice.
Adult ; Aged ; Data Interpretation, Statistical ; Eating ; Food Handling ; Food Safety ; Handling (Psychology) ; Humans ; Lunch ; Meals ; Organothiophosphorus Compounds

Several noninfectious pulmonary complications can be associated with chronic graft versus host disease (GVHD). Obstructive airway disease can be a clinical feature of chronic GVHD and the histopathology reveals characteristic lesions of bronchiolitis obliterans. Bronchiolitis obliterans is an obstructive pulmonary disorder affecting the small airways, and it was first described as a late complication of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Spontaneous pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema can occur in the setting of severe bronchiolitis obliterans and only rarely are they the first sign of such disease. We describe here a case of a 27-year old woman who developed recurrent pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema that were secondary to the bronchiolitis obliterans that complicated chronic GVHD after allogeneic BMT.
Adult ; Bone Marrow Transplantation* ; Bone Marrow* ; Bronchiolitis Obliterans ; Female ; Graft vs Host Disease* ; Humans ; Mediastinal Emphysema* ; Subcutaneous Emphysema* ; Transplants*