PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of suicide attempters visiting emergency department in a general hospital located at local city. METHODS: To investigate the characteristics of suicide attempters, the medical records of 201 suicide attempters were reviewed with a structured analytic sheet. Data were analyzed using χ² test, two sample t-test, and oneway ANOVA. RESULTS: Among total of 201 suicide attempters, 114 (56.7%) lived in rural areas. 114 (56.7%) were men and most of them (71, 35.3%) lived in rural areas. 155 (77.5%) was the first trier and the most frequently used method was taking pesticides. There were gender and regional differences in the suicide-related characteristics of suicide attempters. CONCLUSION: The results provide empirical evidences to design and implement strategies at both macro and micro levels to prevent suicide.
Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Male ; Medical Records ; Methods ; Pesticides ; Suicide*

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to investigate the effect of delivery nursing care using essential oils on labor stress response, labor anxiety and postpartum status anxiety for primipara. METHODS: This study used nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. The subjects of this experiment consisted of forty eight primipara with single gestation, full term, & uncomplicated pregnancies. Twenty four primipra were in the experimental and control group each. Their mean age was 27.9 years old, their mean gestation period 279.9 days. As a treatment, delivery nursing care using essential oils was applied by nurses. Data collected epinephrine, norepinephrine, anxiety during labor. In the 24 hours after birth, the data for the postpartum mother's status anxiety was collected. Data was analyzed by t-test, repeated measures ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U test, & Wilcoxon signed ranks test with SPSS Program. RESULTS: Plasma epinephrine, norepinephrine were significantly low in the experimental group (P=0.001, P=0.033, respectively). There was no significant difference between the two groups in anxiety during labor and postpartum mother's status anxiety. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that delivery nursing care using essential oils could be effective in decreasing plasma epinephrine, norepinephrine. But, that could not be verified in decreasing mother's anxiety.
Stress/*prevention & control ; Pregnancy ; Postpartum Period/*psychology ; Oils, Volatile/*therapeutic use ; Norepinephrine/blood ; Labor, Obstetric/*psychology ; Humans ; Female ; Epinephrine/blood ; Delivery, Obstetric/*nursing ; *Aromatherapy ; Anxiety/*prevention & control ; Adult

It is widely accepted that a relatively small proportion of chronic disease can be explained by genetic factors alone. Although information about environmental exposure is important to comprehensively evaluate chronic diseases, this information is not sufficiently or accurately assessed by comparison with genomic factors. To emphasize the importance of more complete evaluation of environmental exposure, the concept of the exposome, which indicates the entirety of environmental exposure from conception onwards, was introduced in 2005. Since the 2010s several epidemiological studies, such as the Human Early-Life Exposome project, have applied the exposome concept. The exposome consists of three overlapping domains: the general external, the specific external, and the internal environments. General external factors include the broader socioeconomic environment, and specific external factors include lifestyles, occupations, and pollutant exposures. Internal factors include biological effects and responses. Because the exposome covers exposures from conception to death, the birth cohort is an important part of the exposome study. Although there is not yet an established consensus in selecting what, when, and where to measure concerning the exposome, the use of omics analyses, especially analysis of the metabolome, should be considered in order to implement the exposome concept in the birth cohort. The exposome needs to be measured repeatedly in certain important phases of life, such as during pregnancy and infancy. To perform exposome-informed epidemiological studies, untargeted data-driven approaches in conjunction with dimension reduction techniques need to be developed and refined. The exposome concept has the potential to make a breakthrough in overcoming some of the limitations of conventional epidemiology. Concerted national and international efforts are required for future exposome studies.
Chronic Disease ; Cohort Studies ; Consensus ; Environmental Exposure ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Epidemiology ; Fertilization ; Humans ; Life Style ; Metabolome ; Occupations ; Parturition ; Pregnancy

Acute scrotal disorders(ASD) in neonates-especially the torsion of testes- are rare, and the clinical presentations are quite different from those of adolescents or adults. The neonates with ASD are generally afebrile and do not show typical symptoms. Early diagnosis and proper treatment of ASD are very important but the differentiation of torsion and orchitis is not easy in neonates. The enlargement, color changes, induration and loss of transillumination of the scrotum and the absence of cremasteric reflex are clinical indicators of neonatal testicular torsion. But the correct diagnosis of testicular torsion is often delayed until the detection of a symptomatic, irreducible scrotal swelling which doesn't display transillumination. Doppler ultrasonography and testicular scans are important ways to improve the preoperative differential diagnosis of ASD. However, these examinations in neonates are often technically unsatisfactory due to the small size of the testicles. Sometimes immediate surgical exploration is needed for the diagnosis and treatment of neonatal testicular torsion. Here we report three cases of neonatal ASD, which include one case of testicular torsion and two cases of acute orchitis. For instance, a one-day old newborn underwent a surgical procedure. The testicular mass was diagnosed as testicular torsion and a subsequent right orchitectomy was performed. Similarly, right scrotal mass was detected in a 22-day old newborn. The patient underwent emergency exploration and was diagnosed with orchitis. Similarly, testicular torsion was suspected in a one-day old newborn with both testicular swelling of both testicles via ultrasound scanning examination. However, the patient improved following antibiotic therapy, suggesting orchitis. In conclusion, emergency exploration was performed in these two cases, and one case of orchitis was improved after the antibiotic therapy only.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Early Diagnosis ; Emergencies ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn* ; Male ; Orchitis ; Reflex ; Scrotum ; Spermatic Cord Torsion ; Testis ; Transillumination ; Ultrasonography ; Ultrasonography, Doppler

Apert's syndrome(acrocephalosyndactyly) is a rare congenital anomaly that is characterized by the combination of premature fusion of multiple cranial sutures primarily involving the coronal suture and severe symmetrical syndactyly of fingers and toes. Some patients of this syndrome have various abnormalities of the central nervous system. We experienced a case of Apert's syndrome with craniofacial malformations, symmetric syndactyly, occipital encephalocele and hypogenesis of corpus callosum. She had a oxycephalic head with small sized anterior fontanelle, elongated forehead, hypertelorism, down-slanting palpebral fissures, flattened nose, cleft palate, low set ears and short neck. A 5x3 cm sized scalp-covered soft mass protruded in the occipital area through defect of the occipital bone. MRI showed hypogenesis of corpus callosum, occipital encephalocele, dilatation of the lateral and the third ventricles. She also had hands and feet with symmetric syndactyly involved skin and soft tissue but not bones.
Central Nervous System ; Cleft Palate ; Corpus Callosum* ; Cranial Fontanelles ; Cranial Sutures ; Dilatation ; Ear ; Encephalocele* ; Fingers ; Foot ; Forehead ; Hand ; Head ; Humans ; Hypertelorism ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neck ; Nose ; Occipital Bone ; Skin ; Sutures ; Syndactyly ; Third Ventricle ; Toes

A patient with encephalopathy associated with autoimmune thyroid disease (EAATD), which is one of the most important differential diagnoses of treatable dementia, presents with various neurological symptoms, such as repetitive epileptic seizures, altered mental status, and cognitive dysfunction. Steroid treatment is effective for EAATD. The incidence of EAATD increases considerably with age, particularly in female patients. Most patients with EAATD have normal thyroid function test results or mild hypothyroidism. Patients with EAATD with Graves' disease are very rarely reported. Here, we report a case of a 63-year-old woman who complained of declining cognitive ability and ataxia. She was diagnosed with EAATD accompanied by Graves' disease. Her neurological symptoms improved after intravenous steroid administration.
Ataxia ; Brain Diseases ; Dementia ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Epilepsy ; Female ; Graves Disease* ; Humans ; Hypothyroidism ; Incidence ; Middle Aged ; Thyroid Diseases* ; Thyroid Function Tests ; Thyroid Gland*

PURPOSE: This study was to examine the factors affecting prostate cancer screening behavior in Korean men using the health belief model (HBM). METHODS: It was a descriptive cross-sectional survey. A total of 121 participants answered questionnaires which included general characteristics, knowledge, and HBM variables related to prostate cancer and prostate cancer screening tests. RESULTS: Only 18 participants (14.9%) had had a prostate cancer screening test before. Participants who had had a prostate cancer screening test were more likely to perceive lower health status (odds ratio: 0.61 [95% confidence interval: 0.39, 0.93]), higher perceived sensitivity (odds ratio: 3.55 [95% confidence interval: 1.11, 11.36]), and higher self-efficacy (odds ratio: 5.77 [95% confidence interval: 1.51, 22.08]) than participants who had not had a test. CONCLUSION: We recommend developing an educational program which can increase the level of perceived sensitivity and self-efficacy to involve themselves in prostate cancer screening test actively.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Early Detection of Cancer ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Male ; Mass Screening* ; Prostate* ; Prostatic Neoplasms*

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed in order to investigate the molecular mechanism regulating nitric oxide synthase(NOS) induced by alpha-quartz in Rat2 fibroblast. METHODS: alpha-quartz-induced nitric oxide(NO) and H2O2 formation and alpha- quartz-induced iNOS protein expression in Rat2 fibroblast were monitored. With iNOS inhibitor(L-N6- (1-iminoethyl)lysine hydrochloride, L-NIL) or antioxidant(catalase), we observed NO and H2O2 formation and iNOS protein expression in Rat2 fibroblast stimulated with alpha-quartz. RESULTS: alpha-quartz stimulated iNOS-induced NO and H2O2 formation in Rat2 fibroblast. L-NIL inhibited H2O2 formation and iNOS protein expression by alpha-quartz in Rat2 fibroblast. Pretreatment with catalase blocked the autoinhibitory pathway of iNOS by iNOSinduced H2O2, therefore H2O2 and NO production and iNOS protein expression were increased in Rat2 fibrobalst stimulated with alpha-quartz CONCLUSIONS: alpha-quartz-induced iNOS stimulated H2O2 formation in Rat2 fibroblast. INOS-induced H2O2 by alpha-quartz plays an important role in the autoinhibition pathway for regulating the iNOS function in Rat2 fibroblast
Catalase ; Fibroblasts* ; Homeostasis* ; Hydrogen Peroxide* ; Hydrogen* ; Nitric Oxide ; Quartz

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus is the most common endocrinopathy encountered in the perioperative period. It is a disease of glucose dysregulation and carbohydrate intolerance frequently associated with acute and long-term systemic consequences, which may significantly impact morbidity and mortality This study was performed to evaluate the effects of diabetes on perioperative patients' status. METHODS: Thirty adults patients, 15 control and 15 diabetic patients, who underwent upper abdominal surgery with general anesthesia were included in this study. We investigated blood glucose levels, arterial blood gas, blood chemistry values, and calculated alveolar- arterial oxygen tension differences. Statistical analyses were performed using the Fisher's exact test, unpaired t-test, paired t-test, and repeated measure ANOVA. Data are expressed as mean +/- SD. RESULTS: The blood glucose levels were significantly higher in the diabetic group than the control group during operation. The postoperative calcium and albumin concentrations were significantly lower in the diabetic patients than the control patients. The alveolar-arterial oxygen tension differences were significantly increased in the diabetic group compared with the control group during operation. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that the blood glucose levels were significantly increased in the diabetic patients compared with the control patients during operation. This finding suggests that blood glucose levels should be monitored and controlled within an adequate range in diabetic patients perioperatively.
Adult ; Anesthesia, General ; Blood Glucose* ; Calcium ; Chemistry ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Glucose ; Humans ; Mortality ; Oxygen ; Perioperative Period

PURPOSE: This study was to analyse the factors affecting youth smoking, especially self-efficacy and perceived social norm, based on the stage of change. METHODS: A self-reported survey was conducted during the period from the 21st of April to the 17th of May, 2008. Data were collected from 10,707 students of 12 middle schools in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do, and Incheon. The data were analysed with SPSS/WIN 15.0. RESULT: The smoking possibility was 2.18 times higher in the male students than in female students, and 1.76 times higher in 8th-grade students and 2.48 times higher in 9th-grade students than in 7th-grade ones. Smoking possibility increased when students had more experience in alcohol, more friends who smoke, or worse relationship with their parents. Also this study showed that high-level self-efficacy and perceived social norm were acting as inhibiting factors of smoking. CONCLUSION: To reduce the youth's smoking rate, smoking prevention programs should provide educational chances to learn knowledge and skills on how to reject smoking temptation. Also, someone significant like parents should make it clear to the youth that they do not want their children to smoke.
Adolescent* ; Child ; Female ; Friends ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Incheon ; Male ; Parents ; Seoul ; Smoke* ; Smoking*