In chronic illness patients, promotion and self-care are important strategies for maintaining and improving health. Self-care behavior of hypertensive patient are affected by various variables. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between three cognitive-perceptual resources-self efficacy, hardiness and perceived barriers and self-care in hypertensive patients. The subjects for the study were 102 patients who admitted to K medical center or visited to out-patient ward. The instruments used for this study included a survey of general characteristic. self-care, self efficacy, health related hardiness and perceived barriers. Analysis of data was done by use of mean, t-test, ANOVA, Person correlation coefficient and multiple regression The results of this study are summarized as follows: 1)The average score for the self-care was 56.18, for the hardiness was 120.90, for the self efficacy was 59.46 and for the perceived barriers was 34.60. 2)The relationships between the variables of self-care and cognitive-perceptual resource-self efficacy, hardiness, perceived barriers were significant. Self-care was significantly related to hardiness(r=.47, p<.001), suggesting that the person with high hardiness got higher self care scores. Self-care was significantly related to perceived barriers(r=-.41, p<.001), suggesting that the person with high perceived barriers got higher self care scores. A slight but significant correlation was also found between self-care and self efficacy(r=.26, p<.01). 3)In the relationships between general characteristics variables and self-care there were significant differences in gender(t=2.46, p<.05), job(t=3.72, p<.05), duration of illness(t=4.92, p<.05). 4)Stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between self-care and independent variables(self-efficacy, hardiness, perceived barriers) and selected general characteristics variables-job, duration of illness. These variables accounted for 36% of the variance in self-care score(F=13.34, p<.000). The hardiness was the most predictive factor(R2=19%) followed by job and perceived barriers. The finding of this study have implications for education of hypertensive patients and health care providers. For chronically ill patients adhere to self-care, we should focus on determining their personal resources such as hardiness and perceived barriers.
Chronic Disease ; Education ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Hypertension* ; Outpatients ; Self Care* ; Self Efficacy

No abstract available.
Bromodeoxyuridine* ; Cervix Uteri* ; Drug Therapy* ; Female

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to a quire the supplemental information needed by the general public. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Subjects of the study, totalling 1576, were from the three major cities of Taegu, Kwang-joo, Pusan and their surrounding districts. The subjects recruited were between the ages of study were developed by these researchers based on literature review and professional experience. The data were analysed by computing frequencies, percentages and testing ANCOVA in SAS program. RESULTS: It was noted that the knowledge level of cancer prevention and early detection for the most common cancers in Korea(stomach, lung, liver, cervical, and breast cancer) was low. Knowledge that the subjects had was correct or extremely limited. Subjects had a positive attitude about engaging in cancer prevention and early detection. They were motivated to earn more about it once they recognized cancer as being a fatal disease. Another finding is that is would be necessary to encourage an improvement in subject health habits. the percentage of subjects who had screening tests for cancer was very low. Regular screening test's rate for the five major cancers were very rare. The majority of subjects had not undergone any diagnostic tests. CONCLUSION: the results of this survey could be used as a framework for the developmental strategies of an educational program for the general population. The response of subjects was favorable, as they were willing to take preventative action independently.
Breast ; Busan ; Daegu ; Diagnostic Tests, Routine ; Korea* ; Liver ; Lung ; Mass Screening

Atherosclerotic heart disease is a major source of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in adult populations. To assess the prevalence of anatomical and functional abnormalities of the heart in such patients, we studied total 50 subjects with atherosclerotic heart disease by echocardiography and compared with 27 control subjects. We found significant change(p<0.05) of aortic root dimension, left ventricular mass, mitral valve E-F slope, E-point septal separation, and functional measurements show significant change in ejection fraction and fractional shortening of left ventricle. Characteristically, abnormal septal movement reveals in 70% of patients including paradoxical, flat & diminished, hyperactive motion, and among them paradoxical movement is the most frequent. Also left ventricular posterior wall movement is abnormal in 30% of the patient group. The prevalence of echocardiographic abnormalities is 80 percentile of total, which include 30 percentile subjects with only echocardiographic abnormalities without abnormality in 12-lead ECG, chest X-ray and laboratory findings. And these abnormalities can be detected well by echocardiography before they were otherwise apparent.
Adult ; Echocardiography* ; Electrocardiography ; Heart Diseases* ; Heart Ventricles ; Heart* ; Humans ; Mitral Valve ; Mortality ; Prevalence ; Thorax

PURPOSE: A descriptive study was conducted to examine the levels of distress, state anxiety, and physiologic responses in postoperative patients under patient controlled analgesia (PCA), and to determine correlations among the variables. METHOD: The study sample included women who underwent an elective hysterectomy procedure or other gynecologic surgeries (N=100). Subjective distress was assessed by visual analog scales around 8 hours postoperatively. Trained nurses collected objective distress data through observation of subject's behavior and vital signs. Data were analyzed with frequencies, percentages, means, Pearson correlation coefficients, ANOVA, and the Scheffe post test using SPSS/PC 11.0. RESULT: Subjective distress, objective distress, and state anxiety scores were relatively low, except pain scores (5.31 out of 10.0) among sub-scales of subjective distress. Women who had a total abdominal hysterectomy showed significantly higher levels of both subjective distress and state anxiety than those after a minor gynecologic surgery. In relationships among variables, subjective distress correlated positively with postoperative state anxiety, but not with the amount of analgesic medication, verified by further analysis on sub-scales of subjective and objective distress. The higher the levels of state anxiety, the higher the levels of tension, dyspnea, facial change, and systolic blood pressure observed. CONCLUSION: Regardless of effective pain management, most postoperatively experienced distress in gynecological patients was derived from surgery associated anxiety and pain. Specific psychological strategies should be established as well for those with high levels of state anxiety to facilitate prompt recovery.
Analgesia, Patient-Controlled ; Anxiety* ; Blood Pressure ; Dyspnea ; Female ; Gynecologic Surgical Procedures ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Pain Management ; Passive Cutaneous Anaphylaxis* ; Visual Analog Scale ; Vital Signs

PURPOSE: A descriptive study was conducted to identify the change patterns on the level of perceived distress during the early postoperative period with regard to state anxiety in patients using patient controlled analgesia. METHOD: One hundred women who underwent elective hysterectomy procedures or other gynecologic surgeries completed a series of questionnaires measuring state anxiety, and subjective distress assessed by visual analog scales at 8, 24, & 48 hours postoperatively. Data were analyzed with frequencies, percentages, means, ANOVA, Repeated Measures ANCOVA, and Scheff post test utilizing SPSS WIN 11.0. RESULT: There was a gradual decrease in levels of total distress and pain over the three points in time after surgery regardless the levels of state anxiety. However, women with higher levels of anxiety their pain curve rose at 48 hours post-op. In addition, over the first two points in time, women in the higher anxiety group showed higher levels of distress than those in the lower anxiety group, but no such group differences were observed in the levels of pain, revealing higher pain levels only at 8 hours post-op in both groups. CONCLUSION: Irrespective of effective pain management modality, most postoperatively experienced distress in gynecological patients was derived from anxiety and pain. These findings have implications for pain management, especially in patients with emotionally charged surgeries like hysterectomy.
Analgesia, Patient-Controlled ; Anxiety* ; Female ; Gynecologic Surgical Procedures ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Pain Management ; Postoperative Period ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Visual Analog Scale

No abstract available.

Met protein is a transmembrane 190 kD heterodimer with tyrosine kinase activity, encoded by c-Met oncogene. It serves as a high affinity receptor for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/scatter factor (SF), a cytokine which stimulates cell proliferation, motility, and invasion. In this study, we immunohistochemically evaluated the expression of Met/hepatocyte growth factor receptor in colorectal cancers. Met protein was expressed in 31 of 72 patients (43.1%). The staining pattern was cytoplasmic in nature, present throughout the tumor, and showed variable intensity from case to case. The relationship between the expression rate and intensity, and age and sex of patients, tumor size (p=0.645), tumor site (p=0.902) and tumor differentiation (p=0.844) was not statistically significant. The expression rate and intensity were significantly correlated with lymphovascular invasion (p=0.001), lymph node metastasis (p=0.010), depth of invasion (0.019), and stage (p=0.023). Cytoplasmic accumulation of Met protein was not associated with enhanced PCNA index of tumor cells (p=0.052). These results suggest that Met protein may play an important role in the invasion and metastasis of colorectal cancer cells.
Cell Proliferation ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Cytoplasm ; Hepatocyte Growth Factor ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Oncogenes ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases

In order to evaluate antitumor rnechanisms of interleukin (IL)-12/IL-2 that has been shown significant tumor suppressive activity on established primary and metastatic Renca tumor, we studied chemokine gene expression induced by direct action of IL- 12/IL-2 or cytokine cascade. IL-12/IL-2 induced gene expression of interferon gamma (IFN-r) and granulocyte monocyte-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in splenocytes, and it induced gene expression of monokine induced by IFN-r (Mig), interferon inducible protein 10 (IP- 10), SDF-1, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1a, MIP-1B, MIP-2, monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1, and Rantes in tumor mass. However IL-12/IL-2 could not induce these chemokines in tumor mass of GKO mice and Renca cell in vitro. IL- 12 also did not increased chemokine gene expression in Renca cell in vitro, but IFN-r induced gene expression of Mig, IP-10, MCP-1 in Renca cell in vitro. In the chemotaxis assay, culture supernatant of Renca cell stimulated with IFN-r increased splenocyte migration in vitro. All these data suggest IL-12/IL-2 can induce IFN-r-chemokine cascade in tumor mass, and Mig, IP-10, MCP-1 produced from tumor cell may play an important role for initial immune cell migration into tumor mass.
Animals ; Cell Movement ; Chemokine CCL5 ; Chemokine CXCL10 ; Chemokines ; Chemotaxis ; Gene Expression* ; Granulocytes ; Interferons ; Interleukins ; Macrophages ; Mice ; Monocytes

Malignant rhabdoid tumor (MRT) is a rare and highly aggressive neoplasm of infancy and childhood. Although it was originally described and most frequently reported in the kidney, it may occur in various extra-renal sites such as the liver, thymus, and soft tissue. In the last decade primary central nervous system (CNS) MRTs have been reported in both the supra- and infratentorial compartments. Patients with CNS MRT were generally below the age of two and reports in adults are extremely rare. This is a case of primary cerebellar MRT in a 24-year-old woman, who had presented with intermittent headache, vocal cord palsy, and cerebellar dysfunctions such as abnormal finger to nose test and tandem gait. By magnetic resonance imaging scan, a well-enhancing solid mass was demonstrated at the posterior fossa filling the 4th ventricle, which extended into the medulla and cervical cord via the foramen of Magendie. Histologically, the monotonous polygonal tumor cells were arranged in diffuse sheet with occasional hemorrhagic necrosis. The nuclei were vesicular and eccentrically located due to eosinophilic, PAS-positive, intracytoplasmic inclusions with prominent nucleoli. They were diffusely or focally immunoreactive for vimentin, neurofilament, cytokeratin, GFAP, synaptophysin, and smooth muscle actin, while epithelial membrane antigen and desmin were negative. Ultrastructurally, the polyhedral tumor cells were densely packed with primitive intercellular junctions. Scanty fibrillar intermediate filaments were intermingled with cellular organelles. Postoperatively, craniospinal irradiation and systemic chemotherapy have been done and she has been free of tumor recurrence during the 13 months' follow-up periods.
Actins ; Adult* ; Central Nervous System ; Cerebellar Diseases ; Cerebellum* ; Craniospinal Irradiation ; Desmin ; Drug Therapy ; Eosinophils ; Female ; Fingers ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gait ; Headache ; Humans ; Intercellular Junctions ; Intermediate Filaments ; Keratins ; Kidney ; Liver ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mucin-1 ; Muscle, Smooth ; Necrosis ; Nose ; Organelles ; Recurrence ; Rhabdoid Tumor* ; Synaptophysin ; Thymus Gland ; Vimentin ; Vocal Cord Paralysis ; Young Adult