PURPOSE: The present study investigated the validity of personality classification using four pillars theory, a tradition in China and northeastern Asia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four pillars analyses were performed for 148 adults on the basis of their birth year, month, day, and hour. Participants completed two personality tests, the Korean version of Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised-Short Version (TCI) and the Korean Inventory of Interpersonal Problems; scores were correlated with four pillars classification elements. Mean difference tests (e.g., t-test, ANOVA) were compared with groups classified by four pillars index. RESULTS: There were no significant correlations between personality scale scores and total yin/yang number (i.e., the 8 heavenly or earthly stems), and no significant between-groups results for classifications by yin/yang day stem and the five elements. There were significant but weak (r=0.18-0.29) correlations between the five elements and personality scale scores. For the six gods and personality scales, there were significant but weak (r=0.18-0.25) correlations. Features predicted by four pillars theory were most consistent when participants were grouped according to the yin/yang of the day stem and dominance of yin/yang numbers in the eight heavenly or earthly stems. CONCLUSION: Although the major criteria of four pillars theory were not independently correlated with personality scale scores, correlations emerged when participants were grouped according to the composite yin/yang variable. Our results suggest the utility of four pillars theory (beyond fortune telling or astrology) for classifying personality traits and making behavioral predictions.
Adolescent ; Adult ; *Character ; China ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Personality/*classification ; Personality Inventory/*statistics & numerical data ; Reproducibility of Results ; Republic of Korea ; *Temperament ; Young Adult

No abstract available.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid* ; Humans ; Neuroma*

The objectives of this study were to: (a) examine the overall operating conditions of both government-dominant and non-governmental food bank programs, (b) understand the operational management attributes on the target based on IPA (importance performance analysis)(c) analyze the present status of donating management, and (d) suggest a direction based on the analysis of advantages and disadvantages of food banks in each part. The random samples of 120 food bank operators were selected by a proportionate stratified random sampling method. A total of 60 government-dominant food banks and 25 non-governmental food banks were analyzed. The main results of this study were as follows: According to the Importance-Performance Analysis of operational management, "assistance for operating funds" and "deployment of experience staff" were placed at "Focus Here". There was a great shortage of experienced staff with food bank-specific knowledge. The average number of the government-dominant and non-governmental food bank program employees was 0.29 and 0.30 respectively, while the ratios of employees with other jobs were 0.96 and 0.83 respectively. Shortages of refrigeration facilities were an area that needs to be addressed. While 51.6% of donated food required cold storage, only 45% of government-dominant and 60% of non-governmental food bank programs had refrigeration facilities. Most of food bank operators (96.3%) were required to visit the donators' locations to pick up the donated foods. And the foods were distributed to the people in need, especially to the livelihood protectee.
Refrigeration

The purpose of this study was to examine the donators' characteristics and donative foods of both government-dominant and non-governmental food bank program, to understand the problems and benefits of food bank program, and to find the solutions to activate food bank program. The questionnaires were distributed to 120 food bank operators and 3 donators were selected from each food bank for the survey from April 2002 to May 2002. 118 sheets (32.8%) from government-dominant food bank and 53 sheets (20.1%) from non-governmental food bank were collected. The main results of this study were as follows: The largest donators to either government-dominant or non-governmental food bank programs were bakery and confectionery companies 31.4% and 45.3% respectively. The majority of donated foods were "goods in stock" (55.6%) and frequency of donation were largely on a daily basis (27.1% for government-dominant and 22.6% for non-governmental). Some of the donators who had more donative food did not donate, and the reasons were closeness to expiration date of food (67.3%), lack of legal protection in the event of food poisoning (54.5%), and poor public image of food related accidents (52.3%).
Foodborne Diseases

Aphasia, result from damage of language-dominant area of the brain, usually accompanied hemiparesis due to proximity of language centers and motor control areas. So, global aphasia without hemiparesis is a rare stroke syndrome. We report a case of right handed man with language disturbance after stroke. He showed global aphasia without hemiparesis. We use diffusion tensor image tractography (DTT) for evaluation of global aphasia without hemiparesis. DTT demonstrated that preservation of the corticospinal tract. After speech therapy, he showed improvement of language profile on K-WAB.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the difference in micronutrient levels between oral feeding and enteral feeding in chronic stroke patients to assess the risks of enteral feeding. METHODS: Patients with chronic stroke who were admitted to the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine between January 2011 and June 2012 were enrolled. The serum concentrations of iron, copper, zinc, folate, and vitamin B12, as well as the absolute CD4 and CD8 lymphocyte counts, were assessed. RESULTS: Of the 73 patients enrolled in this study, 50 were fed orally, while the other 23 were fed through a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) or nasogastric (NG) tube. The serum concentrations of vitamin B12 and folate were significantly higher in the enteral feeding group than in the oral feeding group. However, the serum concentration of zinc was significantly lower in the enteral feeding group. CONCLUSION: There is little difference between enteral feeding and oral feeding in terms of micronutrient provision except that the serum concentration of zinc in the enteral feeding group was significantly lower than that in the oral feeding group. Clinicians should recognize that chronic stroke patients who require tube feeding have a risk of micronutrient deficiency. Early detection of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency is important for providing the necessary nutrients.
Copper ; Enteral Nutrition* ; Folic Acid ; Gastrostomy ; Humans ; Iron ; Lymphocyte Count ; Malnutrition ; Micronutrients* ; Rehabilitation ; Stroke* ; Vitamin B 12 ; Zinc

No Abstract available.
Infection Control*

PURPOSE: Many different scoring systems have been proposed for assessing the severity of atopic dermatitis. The SCORAD (SCORing Atopic Dermatitis) is one of the best validated systems, but is too complicated and time-consuming for routine clinical use. The aim of this study is to evaluate the Three Item Severity (TIS) score in routine clinical practice and to investigate the correlation with SCORAD and quality of life. METHODS: The study was done on 69 cases of atopic dermatitis randomly selected by SCORAD severity in Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital pediatric allergy clinic from March 2003 to August 2003. Patients were from three months old to 15 years old. A trained pediatrician assessed the TIS score and simultaneous 10 item questionnaire about quality of life (QOL) was checked. RESULTS: According to the SCORAD, there were 21 (30.4%) mild cases, 26 (37.7%) moderate cases and 22 (31.9%) severe cases out of total 69 patients. According to the TIS score, 21 (30.4%) cases were 0-2 point, 16 (23.2%) were 3 point, 11 (16.0%) were 4-5 point and include 21 (30.3%) were 6-9 point. In QOL score, 21-30 points were most common (36.2%). There was significant positive correlation between TIS score and SCORAD (Spearman's rs= 0.86, P< 0.01). There was significant positive correlation between TIS score and QOL (Spearman's rs=0.89, P< 0.01). CONCLUSION: The TIS score is a reliable and simple scoring system for atopic dermatitis. It is particularly suitable in general practice, for routine clinical use.
Adolescent ; Child* ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; General Practice ; Heart ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires

As elderly population is growing rapidly, the number of patients with arthritis is also increasing. Because of the prolonged lifetime, arthritic patients become to have more chances to undergo surgical procedures. Many of these patients chronically receive medications such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroid, and various disease-modifying anti-rheumatic disease (DMARDs) including biologic agents. Decisions regarding withholding or modifying the regimens of these medications may be critical in the perioperative period to optimize surgical outcome. Consultation with a rheumatologist is recommended, but the surgeon also should be aware of these medications. This review article suggests a balanced perioperative medication management to minimize potential surgical complications and maintain disease control in arthritic patients.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated, inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. The coexistence of multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis is very rare. This rare association is interesting due to the overlapping pathophysiological similarities of T-cells and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in both diseases. We report a case of a Korean 10 year old girl with multiple sclerosis, who after 3 years developed a clinical and serological manifestation of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
Arthritis, Juvenile Rheumatoid ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Central Nervous System ; Demyelinating Diseases ; Humans ; Multiple Sclerosis ; Sclerosis ; T-Lymphocytes ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha