Background: We aimed to examine the prevalence of burnout among imaging cardiologists in Korea and to identify its associated factors. Methods: An online survey of imaging cardiologists affiliated with university hospitals in Korea was conducted using SurveyMonkey ® in November 2023. The validated Korean version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Service Survey was used to assess burnout across three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment. Data on demographics, work environment factors, and job satisfaction were collected using structured questionnaires. Results: A total of 128 imaging cardiologists (46.1% men; 76.6% aged ≤ 50 years) participated in the survey. Regarding workload, 74.2% of the respondents interpreted over 50 echocardiographic examinations daily, and 53.2% allocated > 5 of 10 working sessions per week to echocardiographic laboratory duties. Burnout levels were high, with a significant proportion of participants experiencing emotional exhaustion (28.1%), depersonalization (63.3%), and a lack of personal accomplishment (92.2%). Younger age (< 50 years) was correlated with higher emotional exhaustion risk, while more research time was protective against burnout in the depersonalization domain. Factors, such as being single, living with family, and specific job satisfaction facets, including uncontrollable workload and value mismatch, were associated with varying levels of burnout risk across different dimensions Conclusion Our study underscores the high burnout rates among Korean imaging cardiologists, attributed to factors such as the subjective environment and job satisfaction.Hence, evaluating and supporting cardiologists in terms of individual values and subjective factors are important to effectively prevent burnout..

Background: We aimed to examine the prevalence of burnout among imaging cardiologists in Korea and to identify its associated factors. Methods: An online survey of imaging cardiologists affiliated with university hospitals in Korea was conducted using SurveyMonkey ® in November 2023. The validated Korean version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Service Survey was used to assess burnout across three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment. Data on demographics, work environment factors, and job satisfaction were collected using structured questionnaires. Results: A total of 128 imaging cardiologists (46.1% men; 76.6% aged ≤ 50 years) participated in the survey. Regarding workload, 74.2% of the respondents interpreted over 50 echocardiographic examinations daily, and 53.2% allocated > 5 of 10 working sessions per week to echocardiographic laboratory duties. Burnout levels were high, with a significant proportion of participants experiencing emotional exhaustion (28.1%), depersonalization (63.3%), and a lack of personal accomplishment (92.2%). Younger age (< 50 years) was correlated with higher emotional exhaustion risk, while more research time was protective against burnout in the depersonalization domain. Factors, such as being single, living with family, and specific job satisfaction facets, including uncontrollable workload and value mismatch, were associated with varying levels of burnout risk across different dimensions Conclusion Our study underscores the high burnout rates among Korean imaging cardiologists, attributed to factors such as the subjective environment and job satisfaction.Hence, evaluating and supporting cardiologists in terms of individual values and subjective factors are important to effectively prevent burnout..

Background: We aimed to examine the prevalence of burnout among imaging cardiologists in Korea and to identify its associated factors. Methods: An online survey of imaging cardiologists affiliated with university hospitals in Korea was conducted using SurveyMonkey ® in November 2023. The validated Korean version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Service Survey was used to assess burnout across three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment. Data on demographics, work environment factors, and job satisfaction were collected using structured questionnaires. Results: A total of 128 imaging cardiologists (46.1% men; 76.6% aged ≤ 50 years) participated in the survey. Regarding workload, 74.2% of the respondents interpreted over 50 echocardiographic examinations daily, and 53.2% allocated > 5 of 10 working sessions per week to echocardiographic laboratory duties. Burnout levels were high, with a significant proportion of participants experiencing emotional exhaustion (28.1%), depersonalization (63.3%), and a lack of personal accomplishment (92.2%). Younger age (< 50 years) was correlated with higher emotional exhaustion risk, while more research time was protective against burnout in the depersonalization domain. Factors, such as being single, living with family, and specific job satisfaction facets, including uncontrollable workload and value mismatch, were associated with varying levels of burnout risk across different dimensions Conclusion Our study underscores the high burnout rates among Korean imaging cardiologists, attributed to factors such as the subjective environment and job satisfaction.Hence, evaluating and supporting cardiologists in terms of individual values and subjective factors are important to effectively prevent burnout..

Background: We aimed to examine the prevalence of burnout among imaging cardiologists in Korea and to identify its associated factors. Methods: An online survey of imaging cardiologists affiliated with university hospitals in Korea was conducted using SurveyMonkey ® in November 2023. The validated Korean version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Service Survey was used to assess burnout across three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment. Data on demographics, work environment factors, and job satisfaction were collected using structured questionnaires. Results: A total of 128 imaging cardiologists (46.1% men; 76.6% aged ≤ 50 years) participated in the survey. Regarding workload, 74.2% of the respondents interpreted over 50 echocardiographic examinations daily, and 53.2% allocated > 5 of 10 working sessions per week to echocardiographic laboratory duties. Burnout levels were high, with a significant proportion of participants experiencing emotional exhaustion (28.1%), depersonalization (63.3%), and a lack of personal accomplishment (92.2%). Younger age (< 50 years) was correlated with higher emotional exhaustion risk, while more research time was protective against burnout in the depersonalization domain. Factors, such as being single, living with family, and specific job satisfaction facets, including uncontrollable workload and value mismatch, were associated with varying levels of burnout risk across different dimensions Conclusion Our study underscores the high burnout rates among Korean imaging cardiologists, attributed to factors such as the subjective environment and job satisfaction.Hence, evaluating and supporting cardiologists in terms of individual values and subjective factors are important to effectively prevent burnout..

Objective: While the association between depression and frailty in the elderly population has been investigated, the psychological factors that mediate such a relationship remain unknown. The identification of psychological factors in interventions for depression treatment in the elderly may assist in the treatment and care. We aimed to explore the mediating effects of anger, anxiety, and resilience on the link between frailty and depression symptoms in patients with late-life depression. Methods: A sample of 203 older adults completed questionnaires that assessed depression, anger, resilience, and anxiety.To measure frailty, participants were evaluated using a self-rated health questionnaire, weight-adjusted waist index related to sarcopenia, and weight-adjusted handgrip strength to evaluate weakness. A mediation model was tested, hypothesizing that anger, anxiety, and resilience would partially mediate the strength of the frailty-depression link in the elderly. Results: Only self-rated health showed a significant association with depressive symptoms in late-life depression. Our study demonstrated that frailty has both direct and indirect associations with depression, mediated by anger, resilience, and anxiety. Conclusion Given that anger, resilience, and anxiety influence the link between self-rated health and depression, interventions that lead to increased resilience and decreased anger and anxiety may be promising to reduce depressive symptoms in older adults with depression.

Background: Alpha-toxin (AT), a major virulence factor of Staphylococcus aureus, is an important immunotherapeutic target to prevent or treat invasive S. aureus infections. Previous studies have suggested that anti-AT antibodies (Abs) may have a protective role against S. aureus bacteremia (SAB), but their function remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association between serum anti-AT Ab levels and clinical outcomes of SAB. Methods: Patients from a prospective SAB cohort at a tertiary-care medical center (n = 51) were enrolled in the study from July 2016 to January 2019. Patients without symptoms or signs of infection were enrolled as controls (n = 100). Blood samples were collected before the onset of SAB and at 2- and 4-weeks post-bacteremia. Anti-AT immunoglobin G (IgG) levels were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. All clinical S. aureus isolates were tested for the presence of hla using polymerase chain reaction. Results: Anti-AT IgG levels in patients with SAB before the onset of bacteremia did not differ significantly from those in non-infectious controls. Pre-bacteremic anti-AT IgG levels tended to be lower in patients with worse clinical outcomes (7-day mortality, persistent bacteremia, metastatic infection, septic shock), although the differences were not statistically significant. Patients who needed intensive care unit care had significantly lower anti-AT IgG levels at 2 weeks post-bacteremia (P = 0.020). Conclusion The study findings suggest that lower anti-AT Ab responses before and during SAB, reflective of immune dysfunction, are associated with more severe clinical presentations of infection.

Tumor peptides associated with MHC class I molecules or their synthetic variants have attracted great attention for their potential use as vaccines to induce tumor-specific CTLs. However, the outcome of clinical trials of peptide-based tumor vaccines has been disappointing. There are various reasons for this lack of success, such as difficulties in delivering the peptides specifically to professional Ag-presenting cells, short peptide halflife in vivo, and limited peptide immunogenicity. We report here a novel peptide vaccination strategy that efficiently induces peptide-specific CTLs. Nanoparticles (NPs) were fabricated from a biodegradable polymer, poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid), attached to H-2Kb molecules, and then the natural peptide epitopes associated with the H-2K b molecules were exchanged with a model tumor peptide, SIINFEKL (OVA 257-268 ). These NPs were efficiently phagocytosed by immature dendritic cells (DCs), inducing DC maturation and activation. In addition, the DCs that phagocytosed SIINFEKL-pulsed NPs potently activated SIINFEKL-H-2K b complex-specific CD8 + T cells via cross-presentation of SIINFEKL. In vivo studies showed that intravenous administration of SIINFEKL-pulsed NPs effectively generated SIINFEKLspecific CD8 + T cells in both normal and tumor-bearing mice. Furthermore, intravenous administration of SIINFEKL-pulsed NPs into EG7.OVA tumor-bearing mice almost completely inhibited the tumor growth. These results demonstrate that vaccination with polymeric NPs coated with tumor peptide-MHC-I complexes is a novel strategy for efficient induction of tumor-specific CTLs.

BACKGROUND: Several factors contribute to differences in Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype distribution. We investigated the serotype distribution and antimicrobial resistance of S. pneumoniae isolated between 2014 and 2016 in Korea. METHODS: We collected a total of 1,855 S. pneumoniae isolates from 44 hospitals between May 2014 and May 2016, and analyzed the serotypes by sequential multiplex PCR. We investigated the distribution of each serotype by patient age, source of the clinical specimen, and antimicrobial resistance pattern. RESULTS: The most common serotypes were 11A (10.1%), followed by 19A (8.8%), 3 (8.5%), 34 (8.1%), 23A (7.3%), and 35B (6.2%). The major invasive serotypes were 3 (12.6%), 19A (7.8%), 34 (7.8%), 10A (6.8%), and 11A (6.8%). Serotypes 10A, 15B, 19A, and 12F were more common in patients ≤5 years old, while serotype 3 was more common in patients ≥65 years old compared with the other age groups. The coverage rates of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV)7, PCV10, PCV13, and pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine 23 were 11.8%, 12.12%, 33.3%, and 53.6%, respectively. Of the 1,855 isolates, 857 (46.2%) were multi-drug resistant (MDR), with serotypes 11A and 19A predominant among the MDR strains. The resistance rates against penicillin, cefotaxime, and levofloxacin were 22.8%, 12.5%, and 9.4%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: There were significant changes in the major S. pneumoniae serotypes in the community. Non-PCV13 serotypes increased in patients ≤5 years old following the introduction of national immunization programs with the 10- and 13-polyvalent vaccines.
Cefotaxime ; Humans ; Immunization Programs ; Korea ; Levofloxacin ; Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Penicillins ; Pneumococcal Vaccines ; Pneumonia ; Serogroup ; Streptococcus pneumoniae ; Streptococcus ; Vaccines

The active form of vitamin D3, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ (aVD₃), is known to exert beneficial effects in the treatment of autoimmune diseases because of its immunosuppressive effects. However, clinical application of aVD₃ remains limited because of the potential side effects, particularly hypercalcemia. Encapsulation of aVD₃ within biodegradable nanoparticles (NPs) would enhance the delivery of aVD₃ to antigen presenting cells, while preventing the potential systemic side effects of aVD₃. In the present study, polymeric NPs containing ovalbumin (OVA) and aVD₃ (NP[OVA+aVD₃]) were prepared via the water-in-oil-in-water double emulsion solvent evaporation method, after which their immunomodulatory effects were examined. Bone marrow-derived immature dendritic cells (DCs) treated with NP(OVA+aVD₃) did not mature into immunogenic DCs but were converted into tolerogenic DCs, which express low levels of co-stimulatory molecules and MHC class II molecules, produce lower levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines while increasing the production of IL-10 and TGF-β, and induce the generation of Tregs. Intravenous injection with NP(OVA+aVD₃) markedly suppressed the generation of OVA-specific CTLs in mice. Furthermore, OVA-specific immune tolerance was induced in mice orally administered with NP(OVA+aVD₃). These results show that biodegradable NPs encapsulating both antigen and aVD₃ can effectively induce antigen-specific immune suppression.
Animals ; Antigen-Presenting Cells ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Cholecalciferol ; Cytokines ; Dendritic Cells ; Hypercalcemia ; Immune Tolerance ; Injections, Intravenous ; Interleukin-10 ; Methods ; Mice ; Nanoparticles ; Ovalbumin ; Polymers ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; Vitamins

OBJECTIVE: The objective of present study is to analyze the prevalence of depression and anxiety following breast cancer surgery and to assess the factors that affect postoperative psychological symptoms. METHODS: The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Body Image Scale (BIS), and Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (RSES) were used to assess the psychological states of patients who had been diagnosed with and had undergone surgery for breast cancer. Blood concentrations of the stress markers adrenocorticotropic hormone, cortisol, arginine-vasopressin, and angiotensin-converting enzyme were measured. Pearson’s correlation analysis and multilinear regression analysis were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: At least mild depressive symptoms were noted in 50.5% of patients, while 42.4% of patients exhibited at least mild anxiety symptoms. HAM-D score was positively correlated with HAM-A (r=0.83, p < 0.001) and BIS (r=0.29, p < 0.001) scores and negatively correlated with RSES score (r=-0.41, p < 0.001). HAM-A score was positively correlated with BIS score (r=0.32, p < 0.001) and negatively correlated with RSES score (r=-0.27, p < 0.001). There were no statistically significant associations between stress markers and depression/anxiety. CONCLUSION: Patients with breast cancer frequently exhibit postoperative depression and anxiety, which are related to low levels of self-esteem and distorted body image.
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone ; Anxiety ; Body Image ; Breast Neoplasms ; Breast ; Depression ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone ; Plasma ; Prevalence ; Self Concept