Background: Hypertrophic scarring represents an aberrant response to wounds in certain individuals, manifesting with symptoms such as itching, tenderness, pain, and pigmentation. This study aimed to investigate the impact of a silicone-based gel on the healing of hypertrophic scars, particularly those originating from deep tissue wounds. Methods: A rat model of wound healing and scarring was established, and 12 rats were randomly assigned to three groups: Dermatix Ultra group, SFG-100 silicone-gel group, and non-treated group. Rats in the treated groups (Dermatix Ultra and SFG-100 silicone-gel) received twice-daily applications for 8 weeks. Histologic analysis, including biopsy, was conducted to evaluate the scar elevation index, epidermis thickness, and the number of granulation veins. Results: Overall, both the Dermatix Ultra and SFG-100 silicone-gel groups exhibited improvements in hypertrophic scar healing, accompanied by a significant reduction in skin pigmentation. Histopathologically, scars in both treated groups displayed a notable decrease in scar elevation index, epithelial thickness, and collagen disorganization compared to the non-treated group. However, no significant difference was observed between the Dermatix Ultra and SFG-100 silicone-gel groups. Conclusion The results suggest that SFG-100 silicone-gel is an effective therapeutic agent for hypertrophic scars. Further research is warranted to elucidate the mechanisms underlying its efficacy and to optimize its application for clinical use.

Purpose: Rapid changes have occurred in the educational environment of colleges since the outbreak of COVID-19. This study was conducted to determine the factors influencing college life adaptation for nursing students. Methods: The participants included 124 nursing students. A self-administered online questionnaire, available from March 30 to April 10, 2022, was used for data collection. The online questionnaires included COVID-19 stress, interpersonal relations, information literacy, and college life adaptation. Statistical analysis was performed using t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression analysis. Results: The average score for adapting to college life was 3.32±0.58. Significant differences in college life adaptation were found based on the number of exercise days per week (F=3.62, p=.015), regular daily routine (t=-3.41, p<.001), amount of sleep (t=-3.61, p<.001), sleep quality (t=-3.90, p<.001), and diagnostic self evaluation (F=19.55, p<.001). Factors that influenced college life adaptation included interpersonal relations (β=.36, p<.001), diagnostic self evaluation (good) (β=.48, p<.001), diagnostic self evaluation (fair) (β=.38, p=.005), and COVID-19 stress (β=-.11, p=.027), which explained 38.0% of the college life adaptation. Conclusion Development of a program that integrates interpersonal relations, diagnostic self- evaluation, and COVID-19 stress for nursing students is recommended to improve college life adaptation.

Thyroid hormone plays an important role in the process of implantation of a fertilized egg in the endometrium, as well as in the division and development of the fertilized egg. In addition, maternal thyroid hormone is essential for the formation and development of the fetal brain, nervous system, and bones. Therefore, when maternal thyroid hormone is insufficient, complications such as miscarriage, stillbirth, low birth weight and preeclampsia increase. Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy were established and published by the American Endocrine Society, the American Thyroid Association, and the European Thyroid Society. The Korean Thyroid Society also published recommendations for diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disease during pregnancy and postpartum in 2014. However, since the revised guidelines of the American Thyroid Association were published in 2017, many studies, including large-scale randomized controlled trials, have been published in relation to thyroid and pregnancy, and the need to revise the existing recommendations has emerged in Korea.The main revisions of this recommendation are changes in the normal range of TSH during pregnancy, detailed description of treatment policies according to pregnant women’s autoantibodies and thyroid function status. Also, a description of the effect of thyroid autoantibodies on assisted reproductive procedures has been added.

No abstract available.
Carcinoma, Renal Cell* ; Everolimus ; Humans ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis* ; Mycobacterium*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy can result in many complications for both mother and infant. Due to the physiologic changes in thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level during early pregnancy, it is recommend to use trimester-specific reference ranges for every population. We obtained the reference range of TSH during the first trimester in Korean women according to gestational week. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study population consisted of pregnant women who had undergone a TSH screening during the first trimester of pregnancy (n=8365) and nonpregnant women (n=1835). RESULTS: Median concentration of serum TSH decreased significantly from the 5th to 8th week of gestation (median TSH concentration: 2.00 mIU/L for 5 weeks; 1.70 mIU/L for 6 weeks; 1.40 mIU/L for 7 weeks; 1.05 mIU/L for 8 weeks). However, there was no significant difference in median concentration of serum TSH from the 8th to 12th weeks of gestation. Using the fixed cut-off value of TSH >3.66 mIU/L, the diagnosis rate of subclinical hypothyroidism was 15.0% for 5 weeks, 10.0% for 6 weeks, 5.9% for 7 weeks, and 3.6% for 8-12 weeks. CONCLUSION: When interpreting the TSH test for pregnancy (maternal thyroid function), we should consider that the TSH level decreases significantly during the early first trimester.
Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Hypothyroidism ; Infant ; Mass Screening ; Mothers ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimester, First* ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnant Women ; Reference Values ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyrotropin

BACKGROUND: When patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) are first referred to a hospital from primary health care clinics, physicians have to decide whether to administer an oral hypoglycemic agent (OHA) immediately or postpone a medication change in favor of diabetes education regarding diet or exercise. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of diabetes education alone (without alterations in diabetes medication) on blood glucose levels. METHODS: The study was conducted between January 2009 and December 2013 and included patients with DM. The glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels were evaluated at the first visit and after 3 months. During the first medical examination, a designated doctor also conducted a diabetes education session that mainly covered dietary management. RESULTS: Patients were divided into those who received no diabetic medications (n=66) and those who received an OHA (n=124). Education resulted in a marked decrease in HbA1c levels in the OHA group among patients who had DM for <1 year (from 7.0%±1.3% to 6.6%±0.9%, P=0.0092) and for 1 to 5 years (from 7.5%±1.8% to 6.9%±1.1%, P=0.0091). Those with DM >10 years showed a slightly lower HbA1c target achievement rate of <6.5% (odds ratio, 0.089; P=0.0024). CONCLUSION: For patients who had DM for more than 5 years, higher doses or changes in medication were more effective than intensive active education. Therefore, individualized and customized education are needed for these patients. For patients with a shorter duration of DM, it may be more effective to provide initial intensive education for diabetes before prescribing medicines, such as OHAs.
Blood Glucose ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diet ; Education* ; Health Educators ; Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated ; Humans ; Primary Health Care

PURPOSE: Helicopter parenting is emerging in parenting as a way of rearing adolescents and adult children. The aims of this study were to develop a Korean version of the Helicopter Parenting and Autonomy Supportive Behaviors Scale (HPASB). METHODS: The HPASB questionnaire items were translated into Korean and reviewed by experts and Content Validity Index (CVI) in a preliminary study with 10 university students. During September and October, 2014 data were collected from 229 nursing students from five different universities in different locations. For data analysis, SPSS 21.0 statistics which included exploratory factor analysis, t-test, one-way ANOVA were utilized. RESULTS: Content validity was over CVI .8. The 6 factors of K-HPASB were extracted and accounted for 59.30% of variance. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was .71 indicating high reliability. CONCLUSION: The Korean version of the HPASB was identified as a scale with a high degree of validity and reliability. The results of this study provide a valuable scale which can be useful in the study of parenting as a way of rearing adolescents and adult children in Korea. To enhance the positive aspect of helicopter parenting, we suggest the development of intervention programs on parenting.
Adolescent ; Adult Children ; Aircraft* ; Humans ; Korea ; Parenting* ; Parents* ; Reproducibility of Results* ; Statistics as Topic ; Students, Nursing

BACKGROUND: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants are associated with maintenance of cellular function and metabolism. Nuclear factor-E2-related factor 1 (NFE2L1, Nrf1) is known to regulate the expression of a number of genes involved in oxidative stress and inflammation. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of NFE2L1 on the response to oxidative stress in osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells. METHODS: The murine calvaria-derived MC3T3-E1 cell line was exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for oxidative stress induction. NFE2L1 effects were evaluated using small interfering RNA (siRNA) for NFE2L1 mRNA. ROS generation and the levels of known antioxidant enzyme genes were assayed. RESULTS: NFE2L1 expression was significantly increased 2.4-fold compared to the control group at 10 µg/mL LPS in MC3T3-E1 cells (P<0.05). LPS increased formation of intracellular ROS in MC3T3-E1 cells. NFE2L1 knockdown led to an additional increase of ROS (20%) in the group transfected with NFE2L1 siRNA compared with the control group under LPS stimulation (P<0.05). RNA interference of NFE2L1 suppressed the expression of antioxidant genes including metallothionein 2, glutamatecysteine ligase catalytic subunit, and glutathione peroxidase 1 in LPS-treated MC3T3-E1 cells. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that NFE2L1 may have a distinct role in the regulation of antioxidant enzymes under inflammation-induced oxidative stress in MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells.
Antioxidants ; Catalytic Domain ; Cell Line ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; Inflammation ; Metabolism ; Metallothionein ; NF-E2-Related Factor 1 ; Osteoblasts* ; Oxidative Stress* ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; RNA Interference ; RNA, Messenger ; RNA, Small Interfering

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to observe the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy and the effects of maternal 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25-[OH]D) levels on fetal bone growth. METHODS: Five hundred twenty-three Korean pregnant women were randomly recruited and serum 25-(OH)D level was measured. During pregnancy, fetal ultrasonography and serum 25-(OH)D measurements were carried out 3 times in 275 of 523 pregnant women. Fetal biparietal and occipitofrontal diameter, head and abdominal circumference, and femur and humerus length were measured through fetal ultrasonography. RESULTS: The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (25-[OH]D<20 ng/mL) based on the 1st serum measurement of 25-(OH)D was 88.9%. There was no association between maternal serum 25-(OH)D level and fetal bone growth. In 275 pregnant women who completed study design, the mean value of 25-(OH)D was 12.97+/-5.93, 19.12+/-9.82, and 19.60+/-9.98 ng/mL at 12 to 14, 20 to 22, and 32 to 34 weeks of pregnancy, respectively and there was an association between the difference of serum 25-(OH)D level between 12 to 14 and 20 to 22 weeks and growth velocity of fetal biparietal diameter between 20 to 22 and 32 to 34 weeks of pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Korean pregnant women and the change of serum 25-(OH)D levels is related with the growth of fetal biparietal diameter, however other parameters are not associated with serum 25-(OH)D levels.
Bone Development* ; Female ; Femur ; Fetal Development ; Head ; Humans ; Humerus ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnant Women ; Prevalence ; Ultrasonography ; Ultrasonography, Prenatal ; Vitamin D ; Vitamin D Deficiency

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a strong predictor of postpartum prediabetes and transition to overt type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Although many reports indicate that low magnesium is correlated with deteriorated glucose tolerance, the association between postpartum serum magnesium level and the risk for T2DM in women with a history of GDM has not been evaluated. We analyzed postpartum serum magnesium levels and development of prediabetes and T2DM in women with prior GDM according to American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria using the Korean National Diabetes Program (KNDP) GDM cohort. During a mean follow-up of 15.6+/-2.0 months after screening, 116 women were divided into three groups according to glucose tolerance status. Ultimately, eight patients (6.9%) were diagnosed with T2DM, 59 patients (50.9%) with prediabetes, and 49 patients (42.2%) with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) after follow-up. The T2DM group had the lowest serum magnesium level (0.65 [0.63-0.68] mM/L) in the postpartum period, but there was no significant difference between the prediabetes group (0.70 [0.65-0.70] mM/L) and the NGT group (0.70 [0.65-0.70] mM/L) (P=0.073) Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that postpartum HOMA-IR was a significant predictor of both prediabetes and T2DM. Moreover, we found that postpartum serum magnesium level was also a possible predictor for T2DM development. Serum magnesium level in the postpartum period may be a possible predictor for T2DM development in women with a history of GDM.
Adult ; Blood Glucose ; Cohort Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/*blood/diagnosis ; Diabetes, Gestational/*blood ; Female ; Glucose Intolerance/*blood ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; Magnesium/*blood ; Postpartum Period/*blood ; Prediabetic State/diagnosis ; Pregnancy ; Prospective Studies ; Republic of Korea ; Risk Factors