Insufficient epigenetic reprogramming of donor nuclei is believed to be one of the most important causes of low development efficiency of mammalian somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Previous studies have shown that both the in vitro and in vivo development of mouse SCNT embryos could be increased significantly by treatment with various histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi), including Trichostatin A, Scriptaid, and m-carboxycinnamic acid bishydroxamide (CBHA), in which only the effect of CBHA has not yet been tested in other species. In this paper we examine the effect of CBHA treatment on the development of porcine SCNT embryos. We have discovered the optimum dosage and time for CBHA treatment: incubating SCNT embryos with 2 μmol/L CBHA for 24 h after activation could increase the blastocyst rate from 12.7% to 26.5%. Immunofluorescence results showed that the level of acetylation at histone 3 lysine 9 (AcH3K9), acetylation at histone 3 lysine 18 (AcH3K18), and acetylation at histone 4 lysine 16 (AcH4K16) was raised after CBHA treatment. Meanwhile, CBHA treatment improved the expression of development relating genes such as pou5f1, cdx2, and the imprinted genes like igf2. Despite these promising in vitro results and histone reprogramming, the full term development was not significantly increased after treatment. In conclusion, CBHA improves the in vitro development of pig SCNT embryos, increases the global histone acetylation and corrects the expression of some developmentally important genes at early stages. As in mouse SCNT, we have shown that nuclear epigenetic reprogramming in pig early SCNT embryos can be modified by CBHA treatment.
Acetylation ; Animals ; Blastocyst ; cytology ; Cell Nucleus ; metabolism ; Cinnamates ; pharmacology ; Embryo, Mammalian ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Embryonic Development ; drug effects ; Epigenesis, Genetic ; Female ; Gene Expression ; Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Histones ; metabolism ; Homeodomain Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; In Vitro Techniques ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor II ; genetics ; metabolism ; Nuclear Transfer Techniques ; Octamer Transcription Factor-3 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Swine

Background: Alcohol drinking among college students is socially permissible in Korea. However, this population’s tendency to consume alcohol excessively results in many alcohol-related problems, including psychiatric problems.This study aimed to identify the sociodemographic characteristics and psychiatric comorbidities associated with hazardous alcohol drinking among college students. Methods: In total, 2,571 college students participated in the study. Data were collected using the Korean version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-K), the Mood Disorder Questionnaire, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, a modified Korean version of the 16-item Prodromal Questionnaire, the Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Self-Report Scale-Version 1.1, and a stress-coping scale. Logistic regression analysis was performed on variables significantly correlated with hazardous alcohol drinking. Results: In total, 633 students were grouped into the hazardous alcohol drinking group (AUDIT-K, ≥12). The associ-ated variables were age (odds ratio [OR], 0.95; p<0.05), smoking (OR, 4.00; p<0.001), bipolar disorder (OR, 2.45; p<0.05), depressive disorder (OR, 1.35; p<0.05), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; OR, 1.44; p<0.05), and problem-focused stress coping (OR, 0.97; p<0.05). Conclusion In this study, hazardous alcohol drinking was associated with smoking, mood disorders, and ADHD. We suggest that alcohol use among college students be carefully monitored and managed in terms of its psychiatric comorbidities.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the moderating effects of stress coping strategies on the relationship between occupational stress of national statistical office workers and mental health. METHODS: Subjects were 133 workers at a regional statistics office. Occupational stress, stress coping strategies, and mental health were examined using the Korean Occupational Stress Scale (KOSS), Ways of Coping Checklist, and The Symptom Check-List-90-R. Stress coping strategies were composed of problem-focused coping, social support coping, emotion-focused coping, and wishful thinking coping. RESULTS: Moderated regression indicated that the social support coping and emotion-focused coping style positively moderated the relationship between occupational stress and mental health in national statistical office workers. The social support coping style positively moderated the relationship between interpersonal conflict (KOSS subscale) and mental health in national statistical office workers. The emotion-focused coping style positively moderated the relationship between job insecurity (KOSS subscale) and mental health in national statistical office workers. The emotion-focused coping style negatively moderated the relationship between job demand (KOSS subscale) and mental health in national statistical office workers. CONCLUSION: The implications of this study included that negative results due to high occupational stress can be varied by use of suitable stress coping strategies.
Checklist ; Mental Health* ; Thinking

Background: This study, examines the applicability of the Lifestyle Evaluation Tool for Patients with Metabolic Syndrome (LET-PMS) questionnaire, originally developed for general population, on psychiatric patients with metabolic syndrome. Methods: The study included 320 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorder (N=190), bipolar spectrum disorder (N=65), and depressive disorder (N=65). They were provided assignments using 36 items from the LETPMS questionnaire and various established scales. The evaluation encompassed psychometric properties of reliability, exploratory factor, and confirmatory factor analysis. Results: We refined the LET-PMS questionnaire by eliminating six items through a reliability test. The resultant questionnaire exhibited six factors. The overall Cronbach’s alpha value was 0.896, with factor-specific reliability coefficients ranging from 0.730 to 0.859. Based on confirmatory factor analysis of the adapted LET-PMS, the root mean square error of approximation was 0.069 (0.05-1.1). Goodness-of-fit and comparative fit indexes were 0.815 and 0.821, respectively. All 30 items met the criteria for suitable configuration. Conclusion The LET-PMS questionnaire demonstrated robust internal consistency and sound structural validity, making it suitable for psychiatric patients with metabolic syndrome.

Background: This study aimed to examine the influence of the coronavirus disease pandemic 2019 (COVID-19) by comparing the incidences of depression, suicidal ideation, and suicidal attempts before and after the outbreak of the pandemic among community-dwelling older adults. Methods: In total, 9,784 older adults were recruited from 22 counties in Jeollanam-do between 2019 and 2022. Selfreported questionnaires, including sociodemographic factors, suicidal ideation, suicidal attempt, and Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form Korean version, were used. Results: The proportion of the depression high-risk group tended to increase since the COVID-19 outbreak, increasing to 16.3%, 23.1%, and 25.7% in 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively; however, decreased to 21.8% in 2022. The incidence of suicidal ideation showed a similar pattern. The incidence of suicidal attempts showed a different pattern, rising to 1.3% and 2.6% in 2019 and 2020, respectively and then falling to 1.1% and 0.8% in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Conclusion This study examined community-dwelling older adults and their mental states during the COVID-19 pandemic, and found that the risk of depression among older adults increased 1.708-fold in 2020, 1.877-fold in 2021, and 1.599-fold in 2022 compared to that in 2019, the year before the pandemic. Similarly, the risk of suicidal ideation increased by 1.582-fold in 2020, 1.913-fold in 2021, and 1.623-fold in 2022 compared with 2019 data. As the pandemic extended, mental health states improved; however, not to prepandemic levels. Suggesting that older people need continued support to alleviate the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: This study explores the impact of the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the mental health of healthcare workers in COVID-19 Screening Centers, focusing on anxiety and depression and their psychophysiological findings. Methods: The research involved 610 healthcare workers in Gwangju and Jeollanam-do, South Korea, from March to November 2022. Self-reported questionnaires and psychophysiological measurements using Neuronicle FX2 (Omnifitmindcare ® ) were employed. Results: Among 610 participants (107 males, 503 females), the high-risk anxiety group (60 individuals, 15 males and 45 females) and high-risk depression group (79 individuals, 19 males and 60 females) showed elevated physical symptoms compared to the normal group. The high-risk anxiety group exhibited lower mean r-r intervals, higher heart rate per minute, greater stress index, and lower vigor index. For electroencephalogram (EEG) measures, the high-risk anxiety group showed higher brain activity, lower alpha asymmetry, reduced total theta power, and higher beta/theta (left, right, total) ratios. The high-risk depression group showed significantly lower alpha asymmetry in EEG. Conclusion This study explored anxiety and depression prevalence among healthcare workers in the Gwangju-Jeonnam region at COVID-19 testing centers. Correlations between mental states and physical symptoms were observed, emphasizing the potential of EEG and heart rate variability as physiological indicators in psychiatric evaluations during the pandemic.

Background: In this study, the relationship between depression and stress-coping strategies among public enterprise workers whose workplaces were relocated to a newly-built innovation city was investigated. Methods: This study included a total of 922 public enterprise workers living in Naju Innovation City. Along with their sociodemographic data, each subject was assessed concerning depression, occupational stress, and stress-coping strategies using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale(CES-D), Korean Occupational Stress Scale (KOSS), and stress-coping scale (SCS), respectively. Logistic regression was performed to investigate the impact of the relevant factors on depressive symptoms. Results: The overall prevalence of depressive symptoms was 14%. Some sociodemographic variables, the total scores of the KOSS, and four subscales of the SCS revealed significant differences between the depressed and normal groups. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that the KOSS (odds ratio [OR], 1.17; p<0.001) and SCS, such as problem-solving-focused (OR, 0.75; p<0.001), emotion-focused (OR, 1.15; p<0.05), and wishful-thinking-focused (OR, 1.10; p<0.05), were significantly associated with depression. Conclusion The results indicated that depressive symptoms were highly prevalent among workers whose workplaces were relocated. In addition, these symptoms were found to be related with occupational stress and stress-coping strategies. Our findings also suggest that promoting healthy stress-coping strategies and reducing occupational stress may help in preventing the occurrence of depression and managing depressed workers.

Background: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of hospital-based case management for patients with severe mental illness. Methods: A total of 106 patients were included. To evaluate the effectiveness of hospital-based case management, the number of hospitalizations, cumulative length of hospitalization, and hospital days/year as well as functioning were compared before and after the hospital-based case management intervention. Cox regression was performed to identify variables that may influence readmission rates other than patients’ hospital-based case management interventions. Results: The number of hospitalizations decreased from 1.4±0.9 to 0.5±1.0 (p<0.001), cumulative length of hospitalization from 73.0±62.3 to 28.1±57.2 days (p<0.001), and hospital days/year from 20.0±17.1 to 7.7±15.7 days (p<0.001). The changes in Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) Scale were 35.3±15.7 points at case management intervention, 43.7±13.9 points after 1 month of case management (p<0.001), 51.2±14.1 points after 3 months (p<0.001), and 53.1±17.6 points after 6 months (p<0.001). Demographic and clinical characteristics that influenced readmissions were GAF at admission (p=0.017), duration (p=0.042), diagnosis (p=0.019), and type of admission (p=0.001). Conclusion Hospital-based case management significantly improved readmission rates and functioning in patients with severe mental illness, supporting its continued implementation and expansion.

Background: Employees with depression have complex and serious health consequences, not only for them, including reduced quality of life, but also for businesses and society, leading to social costs such as reduced productivity. This study investigated the prevalence of depressive symptoms and related factors among public enterprise employees in Naju Innovation City, Korea. Methods: We investigated the sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics of 1,061 public enterprise employees. Depression, anxiety, and occupational burnout were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, and Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey, respectively. Furthermore, the impact of factors on depressive symptoms was examined using a logistic regression model. Results: The prevalence of overall depressive symptoms was 11.9%. High anxiety (odds ratio [OR]=12.19; 95% confidence interval [CI]=7.17-20.76; p<0.001) and exhaustion (OR=2.79; 95% CI=1.81-4.40; p<0.001) levels were significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Conclusion Anxiety symptoms and exhaustion were the most important factors related to depressive symptoms among the public enterprise employees. Hence, when providing an employee assistance program, the psychosocial vulnerability factors of workers with depressive symptoms should be thoroughly addressed.2

Background: This study aimed to identify factors that influence the maintenance of long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAI) for over a year in patients with schizophrenia. Methods: Seventy patients from Naju National Hospital were divided into two groups: those who maintained LAI for over a year (maintaining group, n=39) and those who discontinued (dropout group, n=31). Sociodemographic and clinical factors were compared using medical records and assessments, including the Birchwood Insight Scale (BIS), Drug Attitude Inventory-10 (DAI-10), and World Health Organization Quality of Life assessment instrument. Results: The number of rehospitalizations was significantly lower in the maintaining group (p=0.030). The highest previous Global Assessment of Functioning Scale score within a year of starting LAI was significantly higher in the maintaining group (p=0.002), with a higher number of individuals being employed in this group (p=0.029). The mean BIS (p=0.010) and DAI-10 (p=0.003) scores were higher in the maintaining group. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the DAI-10 (B=0.148, p=0.014) had a significant impact on maintaining LAI. Conclusion Our study suggests that a positive drug attitude is one of the key factors in maintaining LAI treatment, preventing relapses and supporting long-term stabilization in schizophrenia.