Purpose: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a leading cause of death with a prevalence rate of 12.4% in South Korea. Self-management is crucial for patients with DM, because many studies have reported that self-management intervention based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) is effective. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current state of HBM based intervention studies and the components and effects of the theories used in the study for diabetes patients. Methods: A systematic review was conducted using the Pubmed, Cochrane Library and Embase databases from January 2009 to May 2019. We reviewed characteristics of intervention based on the HBM in randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs), quasi-experimental study intervention. Results: Eight studies published in English between 2009 and 2019 were included in this review. The key components of the health behavior promotion program applied to the DM patients were perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers and self-efficacy. The intervention based on these components has reported to significantly increase the health behavior change, likelihood of taking health action and improve physiological indicators (HbA1c, and fasting blood sugar etc.). Conclusion This study highlighted the importance of intervention programs based on the HBM for DM patients.

In Korea, all domestic made test systems for detecting antibodies in HIV-1 contain the antigens from human immunodeficiency type 1 (HIV-1) subtype B. However, because HIV-1 subtype O is significantly different in amino acid sequences from all other subtypes of HIV-1, there has been a need for developing a test for detecting antibodies in subtype O. For this purpose, the entire nucleotide sequence corresponding to the extracellular domain of the transmembrane glycoprotein of HIV-1 subtype O was synthesized with consideration of Escherichia coli cordon usage. Various regions of the extracellular domain were cloned into E. coli expression vectors and tested for levels of protein production. The nucleotide sequence, named ECTM, that can encode a 129 amino acid-long peptide, was found to be expressed at a high level in E. coli. The protein of approximately 17 kDa specifically reacted with sera from individuals infected with HIV-1 subtype O. The ECTM protein was purified to near homogeneity by the CM-T gel chromatography, using concentrated, denatured inclusion bodies. In Western blot analysis, the purified viral antigen reacted with sera from individuals infected with subtype O more efficiently than subtype B. The enzyme linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA) system was developed using the subtype O viral protein and compared with the commercially available kit lacking the antigens from subtype O. The ELISA kit containing the subtype O antigen ECTM alone efficiently reacted with sera from individuals infected with subtype O. The subtype O antigen-containing kit produced a positive absorbence even when sera were diluted 512-fold, suggesting a high sensitivity. The commercially available kit also reacted with subtype O sera, but produced a negative result at a dilution of 8-fold. Our results suggest that the currently available kit may not be able to efficiently detect subtype O sera and that the viral protein developed in this study may be added to the current system to maximize the detection of sera from individuals infected with subtype O.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Antibodies ; Base Sequence ; Blotting, Western ; Chromatography, Gel ; Clone Cells ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Escherichia coli ; Glycoproteins ; HIV* ; HIV-1* ; Humans* ; Inclusion Bodies ; Korea ; O Antigens

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to identify needs and barriers that cancer patients experience with returning to work (RTW) by analyzing posts of the patients on the Internet. METHODS: Posts of online communities of the cancer patients related to RTW were collected using key words from Jan. 2004 to Dec. 2017. PFNet and NodeXL were utilized to visualize intellectual interchanges of the keywords. Additional content analysis of the posts was then conducted to specify informational needs related to RTW. RESULTS: There were 996 posts and 6394 responses related to RTW. A total of 163 and 129 keywords were found for posts and responses respectively. Posts were categorized into four groups by network analysis: 1) cancer diagnosis and treatment; 2) changing working status after cancer diagnosis; 3) concerns about RTW during cancer treatment; 4) balance of work and life after cancer. Responses were grouped into similar themes but most of them were empathetic or encouraging messages. CONCLUSION: Cancer patients posted various concerns and needs in relation to RTW on the online communities. At the same time, they expressed difficulties to obtain information and resources about RTW both on and off line. Further studies would be necessary to develop appropriate intervention for helping cancer patients to return to work.
Diagnosis ; Humans ; Internet ; Return to Work ; Social Networking ; Survivors

Mammary tuberculosis is a rare entity. The incidence of the disease varies from 0.025% to 4.5% of all surgically treated breast diseases. The surgical resection is required for diagnosis of mammary tuberculosis, since the clinician may confuse tuberculosis mastitis with either carcinoma or breast abscess. Treatment is the combination of resection and chemotherapy. We report a case of mammary tuberculosis diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration and biopsy (FNAB), along with a review of literature.
Abscess ; Biopsy ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Breast ; Breast Diseases ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Incidence ; Mastitis ; Tuberculosis*

The study was designed to evaluate the effects of sertraline on l% sucrose intake and weight change in rats with chronic unpredictable mild stress and normal controls. We applied 11 types of stress regimens and identified depressive behaviours in 18 Spraque-Dawley rats for 8 weeks. After 4 weeks of chronic unpredictable mild stress procedure, those 18 rats were stratified into a sertraline-treated subgroup and a saline subgroup. Also nonstressed 18 rats were stratified into the sertraline-treated subgroup and the saline subgroup and were started intraperitoneal injections of sertraline(4.29mg/Kg) or saline for rest of 4 weeks. The 1% sucrose intake and the body weight were checked on the 4th day of every week, over the 8 weeks of experiment. The results were as follows: 1) The sertraline-treated subgroup of chronic unpredictable mild stressed rats showed significant increase of 1% sucrose intake between the 1st week and the 2nd, the 3rd and 4th week, while the sertraline-treated subgroup of non-stressed rats showed decreasing trend for 1% sucrose intake. 2) The sertraline-treated subgroup of chronic unpredictable mild-stressed rats showed a sustained decrease of body weight, while the sertraline-treated subgroup of non-stressed rats showed a non-significant increase of body weight. 3) In the group subjected to chronic unpredictable mild stress, there were no significant correlations between 1% sucrose intake and body weight and also no correlations in the nonstressed group. In summary, sertraline had an effect on restoring the decreased 1% sucrose intake to normal condition but no effect on regaining the body weight in the chronic unpredictable mild stresstreated rats. Sertraline resulted in a decrease of l% sucrose intake and no effect on body weight in the non-stressed rats.
Animals ; Body Weight* ; Injections, Intraperitoneal ; Rats* ; Sertraline* ; Sucrose*

BACKGROUND: There are two variations in the attention subitem of the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE): 'serial 7's subtraction and "sam-chun-ri-gang-san" backward. At a scale of one to five, they can be used interchangeably, which inevitably brings a considerable difference in results. Thus, we compared the scores of the 'serial 7's subtraction' and the "sam-chun-ri-gang-san" backward and analyzed the influence of sociodemographic factors on the differences. METHODS: We administered the Korean MMSE including the two types of attention item: serial 7's and "sam-chun-rigang-san" backward to 239 community-dwelling elderly people aged 65 or older in Kyung Hee University Medical Center and four Seoul senior centers and analyzed the difference from June 2012 to July 2012. RESULTS: The score for "sam-chun-ri-gang-san" backward (2.5+/-2.1) was lower than that of the serial 7's (3.4+/-1.7) by a mean point of 0.9+/-1.9. The score of "sam-chun-ri-gang-san" backward was zero in 31.4% of the subjects. However, only 9.6% scored zero on the serial 7's. The ratio of the same scores between two tasks was 36.0%. Education was the primary source of variance on difference score, followed by the number of family. There was no significant effect of age or gender when the score of difference was analyzed by multiple regression. CONCLUSION: In this study, subjects tended to outperform the serial 7's in general. Upon administering "sam-chun-rigang-san" backward instead of serial 7's due to the preference of the patient, we should take into account that the score of "sam-chun-ri-gang-san" backward was 0.9 point (mean value) lower than serial 7's to ensure appropriate interpretation of MMSE score.
Academic Medical Centers ; Aged ; Education ; Humans ; Senior Centers ; Seoul

BACKGROUND: The type of blood collection tubes is an important pre-analytical factor that may affect test results. We compared the test results of the Improvacuter EDTA tube (Improve Medical, China) with those of the currently used BD Vacutainer EDTA tube (Becton Dickinson, USA) and investigated the effects of K₂ and K₃ EDTA additives. METHODS: Peripheral blood samples from 100 outpatients were collected into the aforementioned tubes. The samples were evaluated for 17 hematological analytes, hemoglobin A1c, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). The results were analysed using the paired t-test for comparison. Bland-Altman plots and Passing-Bablok regressions were used for analytes with statistically significant differences in the comparison. If the differences were not within total allowable error, they were defined as clinically significant. For stability testing, the initial results were compared against those from samples preserved for 72 hours. White blood cell count, red blood cell count, platelet count, and mean corpuscular volume from both tubes were compared to ascertain the differences between K₂ and K₃ EDTA additives. RESULTS: Hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, and ESR showed statistically significant differences (P<0.05) between two tubes. However, these differences were not considered clinically significant. Most of the analytes presented statistically significant differences in stability test; however, they were not clinically significant either. Additionally, the differences in the hematological parameters shown in the outcome were not clinically significant, depending on the type of the EDTA additives. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that Improvacuter EDTA tubes showed satisfactory performance. We conclude that the tubes are suitable for common clinical hematological use.
Blood Sedimentation ; Edetic Acid* ; Erythrocyte Count ; Erythrocyte Indices ; Hematocrit ; Humans ; Leukocyte Count ; Outpatients ; Platelet Count

BACKGROUND: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic recurrent gastrointestinal disorder that may deteriorate life quality significantly. There is no specific way of curing IBS but to rely on symptomatic and supportive treatment as well as changes in lifestyle. Previous studies have suggested that physical exercise might be effective for improving IBS symptoms. However, evidence does not exist for Korean population. This study was performed to evaluate the association of physical activity with IBS. METHODS: A total of 706 women nurses with shift work in a university affiliated tertiary hospital were surveyed with a self-administered questionnaire asking IBS symptoms (Rome III criteria), depression (Zung's Self-rating Depression Scale), anxiety (Goldberg's Short Screening Scale for Anxiety, GAS), stress (Brief Encounter Psychosocial Instrument), demographic characteristics, and health behavior. The association between IBS and physical activity was examined using chi-square test and multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Prevalence of IBS was 37.5% and the most common subtype of IBS was mixed constipation and diarrhea (70.6%). Neither physical activity nor regular exercise was not associated with IBS. IBS was independently associated with higher level of anxiety (GAS score > or = 5), tolerable dysmenorrhea, and troublesome dysmenorrhea with odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of 2.10 (1.37-3.22), 2.83 (1.39-5.75), and 2.56 (1.21-5.40), respectively. CONCLUSION: In Korean women nurses with shift work, IBS was not associated with physical activity. However, the higher level of anxiety and dysmenorrhea were independently associated with increased risk of IBS.
Anxiety ; Constipation ; Depression ; Diarrhea ; Dysmenorrhea ; Exercise ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome ; Life Style ; Logistic Models ; Mass Screening ; Motor Activity ; Odds Ratio ; Physical Exertion ; Prevalence ; Quality of Life ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Dental linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) is probably one of the most widely used developmental stress indicators among all known skeletal stress indicators. This research examined LEH on the permanent anterior teeth of 160 human skeletal remains from the Joseon Dynasty period. The purpose of this investigation is to understand the characteristics of the developmental stresses experienced by the people of the Joseon period by analyzing the patterns of LEH incidences. The skeletal remains analyzed for this research were excavated during an archaeological investigation at a construction site in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Eunpyeong site is estimated to date from the late 15th century to the late 19th century based on the burial type and goods discovered within the graves. Of all the skeletal remains found at this site, 160 individual specimens with at least one of the permanent anterior teeth constituted the sample of the study. Information regarding each individual specimen's sex, age at death, and burial type was collected by the standardized methods. The prevalence and number of LEH by tooth type, and the number of LEH by sex, by burial type, and by age at death were analyzed. Mandibular canines were the most frequently affected teeth, maxillary canines coming next in the occurrence of LEH, and the third turned out to be the maxillary incisors. This result generally agrees with the findings from previous studies. When number of LEH by sex was compared, there was no consistent difference by sex which also agrees with the findings of previous studies. Although specimens from lime-mortar burials tended to have less number of LEH then those from earth-pit burials, a probable indication of the socioeconomic status effect on the formation of LEH, the result was not very pronounced. No obvious association between the number of LEH and age at death was found, either. Finally the results from this study were compared with those reported by other researches on LEH worldwide. Although preliminary in its level of analysis, this study is the first report of the patterns of LEH of a skeletal population of Korea. With more studies of human skeletal remains from the past, it is hoped, physical anthropology can contribute to the understanding of the past life of the Korean people.
Anthropology, Physical ; Burial ; Dental Enamel ; Dental Enamel Hypoplasia ; Humans ; Incisor ; Korea ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea ; Sex Characteristics ; Social Class ; Tooth

The adsorption of proteins on the surface of glass slides is essential for construction of protein chips. Previously, we prepared a nickel-coated plate by the spin-coating method for immobilization of His-tagged proteins. In order to know whether the structural factor is responsible for the immobilization of His-tagged proteins to the nickel-coated glass slide, we executed a series of experiments. First we purified a His-tagged protein after expressing the vector in E. coli BL21 (DE3). Then we obtained the unfolding curve for the His-tagged protein by using guanidine hydrochloride. Fractions unfolded were monitored by internal fluorescence spectroscopy. The delta G(H20) for unfolding was 2.27 kcalmol +/- 0.52. Then we tested if unfolded His-tagged proteins can be adsorbed to the nickel-coated plate, comparing with Ni2+ -NTA (nitrilotriacetic acid) beads. Whereas unfolded His-tagged proteins were adsorbed to Ni2+ -NTA beads, they did not bind to the nickel-coated plate. In conclusion, a structural factor is likely to be an important factor for constructing the protein chips, when His-tagged proteins will immobilize to the nickel-coated slides.
Adsorption ; Fibrinogen ; Glass* ; Guanidine ; Immobilization ; Protein Array Analysis ; Spectrometry, Fluorescence