Objective: This study was carried out to establish a basis for understanding and correcting the problems of the emergency physicians (EP) in Korea by examining the current status through the 2020 emergency physician survey conducted by the Korean Society of Emergency Medicine (KSEM). Methods: An online survey was conducted from January 15 to February 26, 2021, through a website and mobile application. The final questionnaire was classified into three types based on the clinical work in the emergency department (ED), current position, and the year of board certification. The contents of the questionnaire were organized into eight themes, and a subcommittee was put in charge of each. Results: Of the 400 emergency medical institutions surveyed, 295 hospitals (74.2%) had board-certified EPs, and 1,453 EPs (72.5%) out of 2,000 were working in the ED. Of these, on average, 7.2 EPs worked together, and they worked 11.6 days/153.1 hours per month and did night shifts 5.9 days per month. 30.7% showed excessive sleepiness during the day, and only 9.6% said that they could adhere to mealtimes. 27.1% responded that they suffered from depression. The level of satisfaction was 3.2 points, and 43.0% responded that they would choose emergency medicine (EM) again as their major. The most important factor in choosing EM was the availability of adequate free time. Their responses indicated that the retirement age was 59.7 years, and the upper age limit for the night shift was 54.3 years. Conclusion Though there have been improvements since the first survey in 2010, there was no notable increase in EP satisfaction. Therefore, appropriate future policies should be formulated and implemented based on these survey results.

A new species and 2 new records of lichen genus Buellia were discovered from Chuja-do Island in Jeju Province during a recent floristic survey: B. chujana X. Y. Wang, S. Y. Kondr., L. Lőkös & J.-S. Hur sp. nov., B. halonia (Ach.) Tuck., and B. mamillana (Tuck.) W. A. Weber. The new species is characterized by a brown, areolate thallus, the presence of perlatolic acid, and a saxicolous habitat. Together with previously recorded species, 10 Buellia species were confirmed from Jeju-do Island. Among these species, 3 growing in the exposed rocky area contained xanthone (yellowish lichen thallus, UV + orange), indicating that production of xanthone in this genus might be a defense strategy against the harm of UV light. Although the genus Buellia has been thoroughly studied in Korea before, novel species have been discovered continuously, and large species diversity has been found in this crustose genus, even from a small rocky island. This study indicates that the coastal area harbors a vast number of crustose lichen species, and there is great potential to discover unknown lichens in the coastal rocky area in Korea.
Classification ; Ecosystem ; Jeju-do ; Korea* ; Lichens ; Ultraviolet Rays

PURPOSE: Alpha1 (alpha1)-adrenoceptor antagonists are widely used to treat lower urinary tract symptoms. These drugs not only act on peripheral tissues, but also cross the blood-brain barrier and affect the central nervous system. Therefore, alpha1-adrenoceptor antagonists may enhance brain functions. In the present study, we investigated the effects of tamsulosin, an alpha1-adrenoceptor antagonist, on short-term memory, as well as spatial learning and memory, in rats. METHODS: The step-down avoidance test was used to evaluate short-term memory, and an eight-arm radial maze test was used to evaluate spatial learning and memory. TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling) staining was performed in order to evaluate the effect of tamsulosin on apoptosis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus. Patch clamp recordings were used to evaluate the effect of tamsulosin on ionotropic glutamate receptors, such as N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate (AMPA), and kainate receptors, in hippocampal CA1 neurons. RESULTS: Tamsulosin treatment improved short-term memory, as well as spatial learning and memory, without altering apoptosis. The amplitudes of NMDA-induced ion currents were dose-dependently increased by tamsulosin. However, the amplitudes of AMPA- and kainate-induced ion currents were not affected by tamsulosin. CONCLUSIONS: Tamsulosin enhanced memory function by activating NMDA receptor-mediated ion currents in the hippocampus without initiating apoptosis. The present study suggests the possibility of using tamsulosin to enhance memory under normal conditions, in addition to its use in treating overactive bladder.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Blood-Brain Barrier ; Brain ; Central Nervous System ; Dentate Gyrus ; Hippocampus* ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Learning ; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms ; Memory* ; Memory, Short-Term ; N-Methylaspartate ; Neurons ; Patch-Clamp Techniques ; Rats* ; Receptors, Ionotropic Glutamate ; Receptors, Kainic Acid ; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate ; Urinary Bladder, Overactive

PURPOSE: Results of the Korea National Health Screening Program for Infants and Children, which was launched in November 2007, were evaluated for future research and policy development. METHODS: Data from a total of 2,729,340 cases were analyzed. Five visiting ages, such as 4, 9, 18, 30, and 60 months, were included. Several parameters such as stunting, obesity, and positive rate of developmental screening were also analyzed. Telephone survey was performed in 1,035 users. For the provider survey, 262 doctors participated in our study. RESULTS: The overall participation rate of users was 35.3%. This participation rate showed a decrement tendency to old age and low income. Only 6.9% of users participated in oral screening. Health screening was performed mainly in private clinics (82.6%). The recall rate of 4 months program users at the age of 9 months was 57.3%. The positive rate of screening was 3.1%, and was higher in the low-income group. By telephone survey, users reported that questionnaires were not difficult (94%) and overall satisfaction was good (73%). Longer duration of counseling was related with more satisfied users. Counseling and health education were helpful to users (73.2%). Doctors agreed that this program was helpful to children (98.5%). CONCLUSION: Korea National Health Screening Program for Infants and Children was launched successfully. Participation rate should be improved, and a quality control program needs to be developed. More intensive support following this program for children of low-income families may lead to effective interventions in controlling health inequality. Periodic update of guidelines is also needed.
Child ; Counseling ; Health Education ; Humans ; Infant ; Korea ; Mass Screening ; Obesity ; Policy Making ; Quality Control ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Telephone

This study aims to develop a translator for coexistence of VAN EDI and XML EDI methods in an e-Commerce system. The electronic documents are translated in two steps. At the first step, the translation is performed in the conceptual level. The EDI standard is translated to XML schema. The stage includes the class diagram modelling of EDI standard using the extended mechanism of UML and the following translation to XML schema. And, at second step, the definitive translation is performed. The contents of documents are translated each other for EDI and XML documents. In this step, the information necessary for contents translation is extracted from the XML schema created in the first step, and then the mapping table is constructed using the information. The document translation is completed by this mapping table. A translator developed by this study is superior to the existing flat file mapping method, in terms of maintenance and expansion.

This study aims to develop a translator for coexistence of VAN EDI and XML EDI methods in an e-Commerce system. The electronic documents are translated in two steps. At the first step, the translation is performed in the conceptual level. The EDI standard is translated to XML schema. The stage includes the class diagram modelling of EDI standard using the extended mechanism of UML and the following translation to XML schema. And, at second step, the definitive translation is performed. The contents of documents are translated each other for EDI and XML documents. In this step, the information necessary for contents translation is extracted from the XML schema created in the first step, and then the mapping table is constructed using the information. The document translation is completed by this mapping table. A translator developed by this study is superior to the existing flat file mapping method, in terms of maintenance and expansion.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the results and the usefulness of the external fixator for the treatment of the lower limb fractures in children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used 22 children fractures of lower limb treated with external fixator. There were 14 isolated femur or tibia fractures, 2 both femur and tibia fractures, 1 bilateral tibial fractures, 5 fractures associated with others, and were 10 open and 16 closed fracture. We assessed the axial alignment and leg-length discrepancy, and the range of motion of the joints and complications. RESULTS: The average union and fixation time were 8.1 and 9.5 weeks. Average of 2.4 degrees of varus or valgus and 3.8 degrees of anterior or posterior angulation were obtained. At follow-up, the range of LLD was -1.3 to +1.5cm. CONCLUSION: External fixator in lower limb fractures of children is useful to open fractures, multiple fractures, and unstable fractures to minimize complications.
Child* ; External Fixators ; Femur ; Follow-Up Studies ; Fractures, Closed ; Fractures, Open ; Humans ; Joints ; Lower Extremity* ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Tibia ; Tibial Fractures

OBJECTIVES: It is suggested that frequency of low turnover bone disease is much higher in diabetic renal osteodystrophy. We tried to find out whether bone scan images show less 99mTc-MDP uptake in diabetic renal ostwdystrophy. METHODS: We compared bone scan images of renal failure patients with and without diabetes. The number of patients studied was 134 (43 patients had diabetes and 91 patients did not). Two experienced nuclear physicians read Tc-99m-MDP bone scan twice separately and gave the score either 1 or 0 on 6 areas; axial skeleton, long bone, skull and mandible, periarticular areas, costochondral junction and sternum. The means of summed scores were compared using Students t-test. To exclude the effects of sex, age and serum creatinine concentration, we analysed these factors together with the effect of diabetes using analysis of covariance. We also interpreted on bone scan images, as classical renal osteodystrophy, renal failure and normal. RESULTS: The intra- and interobserver variations were very low. Patients of diabetes group showed significantly lower mean of summed score(2.0+/-0.95) compared to patients of non-DM group(3.3+/-1.2). Analysis of covariance revealed that lower score of diabetes group was independent of sex, age and serum creatinine level. of diabetes group, 2 nuclear physicians interpreted bone scans as classical renal osteodystrophy in 60% and 56%, However, they interpreted bone scans of non-DM group in 80%, 88%(between-observer k: 0.74). Chi-square test showed that this difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Bone scan image of diabetic renal osteodystrophy showed less 99mTc-MDP uptake, which meant low osteoblastic activity. This influence of diabetes upon bone uptake was significant after considering other confounding factors.
Bone Diseases ; Creatinine ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic* ; Mandible ; Observer Variation ; Osteoblasts ; Renal Insufficiency ; Renal Osteodystrophy* ; Skeleton ; Skull ; Sternum ; Technetium Tc 99m Medronate

We performed 1st day Tc-99m-sestamibi gated SPECT with dipyridamole/rest T1-201 SPECT and 2nd day 24 hour delay T1-201 SPECT/rest Tc-99m-sestamibi gated SPECT in 27 patients with coronary artery disease(24) or having chest pain(3). Stress and rest Tc-99m- sestamibi gated SPECT was acquired at 60min post-injection. A 4-point scoring system(0 to 3 for normal to absent tracer uptake) for 17 segments was used. Wall motion was scored on another 4 point scale(0 to 3 for normal to dyskinesia) in the lst day post-stress gated and the 2nd day rest gated SPECT. Post-stress gated SPECT showed wall motion abnormality in 94 segments(20%). Fifty-five segments among these 94 showed the same wall motion between post-stress and rest gated SPECT:i.e. 1-1: 23 segments, 2-2: 29 segments, 3-3: 3 segments. Re-maining 39 segments (41.5%) showed different wall motion between post-stress and rest Tc-99m-sestamibi gated SFECT. Twenty one segments with wall motion abnormality had normal perfusion(rest:15 segments, 24 hour delay: 6 segments) at either rest or 24 hour delay. Fifteen among these 21 segments showed persistent post-stress and the 2nd day rest wall motion abnormality(persistent stunning). However, in 6 segments with prolonged (1 hour after stress) stunning, abnormal wall motion did improve in the 2nd day rest Tc-99m-sestamibi gated SPECT(transient prolonged stunning). These 6 segments had normal perfusion at rest(n=4) or at 24 hour delay(n=2). Post stress wall motions showed significantly higher scores in persistent stunning than in prolonged transient stunning(P value<0.05). It was concluded that we could find stunned myocardium with gated Tc-99m-sestamibi SPECT at either post-stress or rest and that some myocardial walls of post-stress 1 hour gated SPECT did not show truly rest wall motion. So, we should be cautious if we use post-stress Tc-99m-sestamibi wall motion to assess rest wall motion.
Coronary Vessels ; Dipyridamole* ; Humans ; Myocardial Stunning ; Perfusion ; Thorax ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon*