BACKGROUND: Primary human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during pregnancy is a major cause of congenital malformation. We detected primary CMV infection in pregnant Korean women by using an algorithm that comprises CMV IgG, IgM, and IgG avidity tests. METHODS: During a 2-month period, 744 pregnant women who were at 10-19 weeks of gestation were consecutively enrolled in this study. Human anti-CMV IgG and IgM levels in their sera were determined by chemiluminescence immunoassays. Serum samples from the women who were positive for CMV IgG and IgM were assayed by the ARCHITECT CMV IgG avidity test in order to distinguish primary from non-primary CMV infection. Gross examination of the neonates of the women who were positive for CMV IgM was conducted. RESULTS: The seroprevalence of CMV IgG and IgM was estimated to be 98.1% and 1.7%, respectively. The samples from all the women who were positive for CMV IgM or with grey zone results contained high avidity CMV IgG. Seven women with positive CMV IgG and IgM results who completed follow-up up to delivery showed no gross evidence of in utero CMV transmission. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal primary CMV infection was not detected in any of the pregnant women included in this study cohort. CMV IgG avidity test enabled the identification of women who were at a low risk of transmitting CMV infection and provided informative for subsequent pregnancy outcomes. Compared to previous studies, the seroprevalence of CMV IgG antibody across pregnant Korean women remained unchanged.
Adult ; Antibodies, Viral/*blood ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Chemiluminescent Measurements ; Cytomegalovirus/*immunology ; Cytomegalovirus Infections/*diagnosis/epidemiology ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G/*blood ; Immunoglobulin M/blood ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/*diagnosis/epidemiology ; Republic of Korea ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to evaluate the nutrition quotient (NQ) by mother's parenting style which may influence the NQ in preschool children. METHODS: Subjects were 310 mothers and their 4-6 year old children. The questionnaire composed of demographic characteristics, mother's parenting style at meal time and eating behavior as measured by NQ questions. The NQ questions consisted of 19 food behavior checklist items and all items were grouped into 5 factors: balance, diversity, moderation, regularity, and practice. Mother's parenting style was classified by using words for nutrition education at meal time. All data were statistically analyzed by SPSS program (Ver. 23) and the statistical differences in variables were evaluated by Student's t-test, χ²-test, One-way ANOVA. RESULTS: We observed that in children whose mothers use the parenting style at meal time of ‘explanation’ and ‘compliment & cheer up’ had high dietary regularity, diversity, practice. The children of mothers who use the parenting style at meal time of ‘persuasion’ and ‘reward’ were found to have a lower degree of balance, diversity, and practice. Especially, children of ‘reward’ style mothers had lower moderation of dietary life. On the other hand, among the parenting style at meal time of ‘comparison & demand’, ‘treating’ and ‘faire’, there was no significant difference in the NQ factor by each group. NQ grade was higher among those who used more explanation (p < 0.001) and persuasion (p < 0.01) and with use of less persuasion (p < 0.01) and reward (p < 0.01). The positive association observed between the frequency of dietary education of mothers and higher NQ grade indicated the degree of dietary practices of those children. On the other hand, the children of mothers who rarely practice the dietary education at home had lower NQ grade (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In order to promote children's proper dietary behaviors, it is important to provide nutrition education to children as well as provide guidance on parenting style at meal time.
Checklist ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Education ; Feeding Behavior ; Hand ; Humans ; Meals* ; Mothers ; Parenting* ; Parents* ; Persuasive Communication ; Reward

Blood pressure (BP) measurement plays a pivotal role in veterinary medicine for diagnosing cardiovascular disorders and monitoring anesthesia of animals. Although indirect BP measurement has been widely applied to monitor BP because of its convenience and non-invasiveness, it is still unclear whether indirect BP measurement is compatible with direct BP measurement in minipigs. In addition, the effect of animal posture during BP measurement is not well understood in minipigs despite its importance to cardiovascular performance. Therefore, both systolic and diastolic arterial BPs in minipigs were measured via femoral artery catheterization for direct BP measurement and using a compressive cuff as an indirect BP measurement under the dorsal or right lateral recumbent postures. Numerical values were processed by the Bland-Altman method to calculate the bias ± SD and the limits of agreement (LOA). In accordance with the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine guidelines, the results between direct and indirect BP measurements were determined as apparent disagreements in both systolic and diastolic arterial BPs under all postures because of large bias ± SD and wide LOA. The results of the present will help prevent misinterpretation of the anesthetized patient's condition during monitoring of BP by indirect measurement.

This study investigated the healthcare status of South Korea and member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). By employing the position value for relative comparison index, healthcare status was measured through the following components: demand, supply, accessibility, quality, and cost. Statistical analysis was conducted through the Mann-Kendall test from analyzing trends from 2000 onwards. Results showed that while Korea, on average, scores higher than the OECD average in most of the investigated components, it is below average in certain indexes including primary care and mental health care. Considering the various health issues that have been raised about these indexes, it is important these components be improved upon by policy-makers.
Delivery of Health Care ; Health Policy ; Korea ; Mental Health ; Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development ; Primary Health Care

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate partnerships with nurses, social support and readiness for discharge among mothers of premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and to examine the factors associated with readiness for discharge.METHODS: A survey was conducted among 85 mothers of premature infants hospitalized in a NICU in Seoul, Korea. The collected data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, the t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson' correlation coefficients, and multiple linear regression using SPSS version 25.0.RESULTS: The results of the regression analysis showed that partnerships with nurses (β=.32, p=.011) and parenting experience (β=.32, p=.001) were significantly associated with readiness for discharge.CONCLUSION: To improve the readiness for discharge among mothers of premature infants, developing strategies to strengthen their partnership with nurses and to provide family-centered care will be needed.
Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Korea ; Linear Models ; Mothers ; Parenting ; Parents ; Patient Discharge ; Seoul

Blood pressure (BP) measurement plays a pivotal role in veterinary medicine for diagnosing cardiovascular disorders and monitoring anesthesia of animals. Although indirect BP measurement has been widely applied to monitor BP because of its convenience and non-invasiveness, it is still unclear whether indirect BP measurement is compatible with direct BP measurement in minipigs. In addition, the effect of animal posture during BP measurement is not well understood in minipigs despite its importance to cardiovascular performance. Therefore, both systolic and diastolic arterial BPs in minipigs were measured via femoral artery catheterization for direct BP measurement and using a compressive cuff as an indirect BP measurement under the dorsal or right lateral recumbent postures. Numerical values were processed by the Bland-Altman method to calculate the bias ± SD and the limits of agreement (LOA). In accordance with the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine guidelines, the results between direct and indirect BP measurements were determined as apparent disagreements in both systolic and diastolic arterial BPs under all postures because of large bias ± SD and wide LOA. The results of the present will help prevent misinterpretation of the anesthetized patient's condition during monitoring of BP by indirect measurement.
Anesthesia ; Animals ; Bias (Epidemiology) ; Blood Pressure ; Catheterization ; Catheters ; Diagnosis ; Femoral Artery ; Internal Medicine ; Loa ; Methods ; Posture ; Swine, Miniature ; Veterinary Medicine

Croup is a common upper airway infection characterized by a barking cough, stridor, and hoarseness. It is usually caused by viral infection. A small number of croup caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been reported in children before the omicron variant surge. Previously reported cases indicated that croup caused by COVID-19 can be treated in the same manner as those with other viral causes. We describe two cases (9-monthold girl and 11-month-old boy) of previously healthy infants who presented with a barking cough and chest retraction and required endotracheal intubation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Despite receiving dexamethasone and nebulized racemic epinephrine (NRE) treatment for croup in the emergency department, these patients still developed acute respiratory failure. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of nasopharyngeal samples revealed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) omicron BA.2 variant (Stealth omicron) and no other common respiratory viral pathogens. Both patients were treated with mechanical ventilation, dexamethasone, and NRE in the pediatric intensive care unit. The duration of intubation was 112 hours and 80 hours, respectively. Both patients were discharged without complications. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of life-threatening croup produced by the omicron BA.2 variant and confirmed by RT-PCR. We suggest that this SARS-CoV-2 variant may cause severe croup that may not improve with conventional treatment, even in children without underlying diseases.

Background: Previous studies have reported that oxidative stress contributes to obesity characterized by adipocyte hypertrophy. However, mechanism has not been studied extensively. In the current study, we evaluated role of extracellular vimentin secreted by oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) in energy metabolism in adipocytes. Methods: We treated 3T3-L1-derived adipocytes with oxLDL and measured vimentin which was secreted in the media. We evaluated changes in uptake of glucose and free fatty acid, expression of molecules functioning in energy metabolism, synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and lactate, markers for endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and autophagy in adipocytes treated with recombinant vimentin. Results: Adipocytes secreted vimentin in response to oxLDL. Microscopic evaluation revealed that vimentin treatment induced increase in adipocyte size and increase in sizes of intracellular lipid droplets with increased intracellular triglyceride. Adipocytes treated with vimentin showed increased uptake of glucose and free fatty acid with increased expression of plasma membrane glucose transporter type 1 (GLUT1), GLUT4, and CD36. Vimentin treatment increased transcription of GLUT1 and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (Hif-1α) but decreased GLUT4 transcription. Adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP1), diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) and 2 were decreased by vimentin treatment. Markers for ER stress were increased and autophagy was impaired in vimentin-treated adipocytes. No change was observed in synthesis of ATP and lactate in the adipocytes treated with vimentin. Conclusion We concluded that extracellular vimentin regulates expression of molecules in energy metabolism and promotes adipocyte hypertrophy. Our results show that vimentin functions in the interplay between oxidative stress and metabolism, suggesting a mechanism by which adipocyte hypertrophy is induced in oxidative stress.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the demographic, clinical, and criminal characteristics and legal judgments of criminal cases, in which psychiatric evaluation was requested, and to identify factors affecting criminal responsibility judgments. Methods: The medical records of 100 subjects that committed crimes and the judgment records of 51 subjects admitted to Yongin Mental Hospital from February 2005 to February 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. Psychiatric disorder groups were compared with respect to demographic, clinical, criminal characteristics, and legal judgments. Factors affecting criminal responsibility judgments were identified by comparing legal judgment groups. Results: Psychiatric history, criminal motivation, and criminal history differed significantly between psychiatric disorder groups. Differences between the opinions of the appraiser and courts regarding criminal responsibility were significantly dependent on psychiatric disorder type, and there was a consistent tendency according to the psychiatric disorders, but there was a difference of opinion between the two groups. Conclusion The findings of the current study suggest psychiatric diagnoses and symptoms such as psychotic symptoms and cognitive impairments that provoke crime can influence criminal responsibility judgments.

Arterial calcification, characterized by calcium phosphate deposition in the arteries, can be divided into intimal calcification and medial calcification. The former is the predominant form of calcification in coronary artery plaques; the latter mostly affects peripheral arteries and aortas. Both forms of arterial calcification have strong correlations with adverse cardiovascular events. Intimal microcalcification is associated with increased risk of plaque disruption while the degree of burden of coronary calcification, measured by coronary calcium score, is a marker of overall plaque burden. Continuous research on vascular calcification has been performed during the past few decades, and several cellular and molecular mechanisms and therapeutic targets were identified. However, despite clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy of drug therapies to treat vascular calcification, none have been shown to have efficacy until the present. Therefore, more extensive research is necessary to develop appropriate therapeutic strategies based on a thorough understanding of vascular calcification. In this review, we mainly focus on intimal calcification, namely the pathobiology of arterial calcification, and its clinical implications.