Purpose: This study was designed to identify the influence of stress and anxiety on depression in Central Asian Koreans living in Korea. Methods: We used a cross-sectional, descriptive correlational study design, to survey 159 Central Asian Koreans between July 2 and Dec 17, 2019. To analyze the data, we used descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA with the Scheffétest, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and hierarchical multiple regression using the SPSS/WIN 23.0 program. Results: Multiple-regression analysis revealed that how long the subjects had been living in Korea (β=.07, p=.034), their active problem- solving skills (β=-.47, p=.031), and their anxiety levels (β=1.54, p<.001) were significant factors that explained approximately 44% of the variance in depression. Conclusion We concluded that long-term residence and the skills to face and cope with, anxiety and stress can help lower the rates of depression of Central Asians living in Korea.

Ischemia can cause decreased cerebral neurovascular coupling, leading to a failure in the autoregulation of cerebral blood flow. This study aims to investigate the effect of varying degrees of ischemia on cerebral hemodynamic reactivity using in vivo real-time optical imaging. We utilized direct cortical stimulation to elicit hyper-excitable neuronal activation, which leads to induced hemodynamic changes in both the normal and middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) ischemic stroke groups. Hemodynamic measurements from optical imaging accurately predict the severity of occlusion in mild and severe MCAO animals. There is neither an increase in cerebral blood volume nor in vessel reactivity in the ipsilateral hemisphere (I.H) of animals with severe MCAO. The pial artery in the contralateral hemisphere (C.H) of the severe MCAO group reacted more slowly than both hemispheres in the normal and mild MCAO groups. In addition, the arterial reactivity of the I.H in the mild MCAO animals was faster than the normal animals. Furthermore, artery reactivity is tightly correlated with histological and behavioral results in the MCAO ischemic group. Thus, in vivo optical imaging may offer a simple and useful tool to assess the degree of ischemia and to understand how cerebral hemodynamics and vascular reactivity are affected by ischemia.
Animals ; Arteries ; Blood Volume ; Cerebrovascular Circulation ; Hemodynamics* ; Homeostasis ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery* ; Ischemia ; Middle Cerebral Artery* ; Neurons ; Neurovascular Coupling ; Optical Imaging ; Rodentia* ; Stroke

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the therapeutic effects of rosiglitazone with serial micro-CT findings before and after rosiglitazone administration in a lung fibrosis mouse model induced with bleomycin. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We instilled the bleomycin solution directly into the trachea in twenty mice (female, C57BL/6 mice). After the instillation with bleomycin, mice were closely observed for 3 weeks and then all mice were scanned using micro-CT without sacrifice. At 3 weeks, the mice were treated with rosiglitazone on days 21 to 27 if they had abnormal CT findings (n = 9, 45%). For the mice treated with rosiglitazone, we performed micro-CT with mouse sacrifice 2 weeks after the rosiglitazone treatment completion. We assessed the abnormal CT findings (ground glass attenuation, consolidation, bronchiectasis, reticular opacity, and honeycombing) using a five-point scale at 3 and 6 weeks using Wilcoxon-signed ranked test. The micro-CT findings were correlated with the histopathologic results. RESULTS: One out of nine (11.1%) mice improved completely. In terms of consolidation, all mice (100%) showed marked decrease from 3.1 +/- 1.4 at 3 weeks to 0.9 +/- 0.9 at 6 weeks (p = 0.006). At 6 weeks, mild bronchiectasis (n = 6, 66.7%), mild reticular opacity (n = 7, 77.8%) and mild honeycomb patterns (n = 3, 33.3%) appeared. CONCLUSION: A serial micro-CT enables the evaluation of drug effects in a lung fibrosis mouse model.
Animals ; Bleomycin ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Observer Variation ; Pulmonary Fibrosis/chemically induced/*drug therapy/*radiography ; Thiazolidinediones/*therapeutic use ; *X-Ray Microtomography

PURPOSE: This study analyzed QTc prolongation in patients intoxicated from over the counter (OTC) hypnotics compared with prescription hypnotics. METHODS: The medical records of intoxicated patients presented to four emergency centers from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. The records of hypnotics overdose patients were selected and investigated for several features: general characteristics, vital signs, past history, ECG findings, treatment methods, ED stay time, drug category and amount, and final results. RESULTS: There were 134 patient cases of OTC hypnotic intoxication (36.9+/-15.1yrs, M:F=37:97), and 270 patient cases of prescription hypnotic intoxication (47.9+/-18.1yrs, M:F=58:212). The ECG QTc upon emergency center admission was 468.4+/-34.8 msec in the OTC hypnotic intoxication group and 449.48+/-26.2 msec in the prescription hypnotic intoxication group (p<0.05). QTc prolongation was noted in 81.3% of patients in the OTC hypnotic intoxication group and 64.1% of patients in the prescription hypnotic intoxication group (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: ECG QTc prolongation was more common from OTC hypnotic intoxication than prescription hypnotics. Close monitoring is therefore recommended for patients who have ingested and overdosed from OTC hypnotics to prevent potentially lethal cardiac toxicity.
Electrocardiography ; Emergencies ; Humans ; Hypnotics and Sedatives* ; Medical Records ; Methods ; Nonprescription Drugs ; Prescriptions* ; Retrospective Studies ; Vital Signs

PURPOSE: Dispatcher-assisted telephone instruction during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) improves the quality of CPR performed by laypersons. However, in Korea, CPR instruction guidelines for bystanders have not made. We therefore studied the effects of verbal instruction on the quality of chest compression. METHODS: Data from two randomized, double-blinded, controlled trials using identical methodology were combined to obtain 175 records for analysis. Subjects were randomized into either a "push as hard as you can and fast" (n=87) or "push down 5~6 cm, 100~120 rate/min" (n=88), verbal instructions in the 2011 Korea Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC). Data were recorded via a Resusci(R) Anne SkillReporter(TM), Laerdal Medical mannequin. Primary outcome measures included chest compression depth and chest compression rate per minute. RESULTS: The average compression depth and speed of chest compressions did not significantly differ between the two verbal instructions. CONCLUSION: The verbal istructions provided by telephone based on the 2011 Korean Guidelines for CPR and ECC are not effective. The instructions for high quality CPR of layperson should therefore be studied.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation* ; Emergencies ; Heart Massage ; Korea ; Manikins ; Methods ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Telephone* ; Thorax ; Verbal Learning

BACKGROUND: In surgeries involving the upper extremities and breast, the blood pressure is frequently measured at the ankles. As the blood pressure is used as a pain indicator in the full surgical anesthesia, the ankle blood pressure higher than the brachial blood pressure may be misinterpreted by the anesthesiologist, in determining the depth of the anesthesia. This paper investigated whether the ankle blood pressure is significantly higher than the brachial blood pressure before the anesthesia induction, during induction, and after tracheal intubation. METHODS: Two hundred seventeen patients requiring general anesthesia for elective surgery were included in this study. Ankle and brachial blood pressure were simultaneously measured before the anesthesia induction, during induction, and after tracheal intubation. RESULTS: The ankle blood pressure was higher than the brachial blood pressure before induction, during induction, and after tracheal intubation. Ankle-brachial blood pressure differences were significantly higher before induction and after intubation as compared to that during induction. The correlation coefficient between the systolic ankle-brachial blood pressure difference before induction and that after tracheal intubation was 0.623. In 33 child patients with an ankle-brachial blood pressure index > or =1 before induction, there were no significant differences in the ankle-brachial blood pressure during induction. The brachial systolic blood pressure could be predicted by simple and multiple regression equations (R2 = 0.349-0.828). CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study suggest that the anesthesiologists need to consider the ankle-brachial blood pressure differences in monitoring the anesthesia, in cases where the brachial blood pressure cannot be measured during surgery.
Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, General ; Animals ; Ankle ; Blood Pressure ; Breast ; Child ; Humans ; Intubation ; Upper Extremity

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to provide direction to improvement of advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS) training in Korea. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the questionnaire written by 55 instructors of the 31 institutions registered in the Korean Association of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (KACPR) from 2009 and 2010. The contents of the questionnaire consisted of an evaluation of the ACLS curriculum, modification of the ACLS curriculum, problems of ACLS training, and other open-ended answers. RESULTS: In this questionnaire, the result for assessment of the lecture on acute coronary syndrome was intermediate, that answer was given by the majority, 40.0%. The result for assessment of the lecture on stroke was intermediate, that answer was given by the majority, 40.0%. In addition, the result for the necessity of the lecture on acute coronary syndrome was intermediate, 25.5%, which was the most common response. The result for the necessity of the lecture on stroke was intermediate, 27.3%, which was the most common response. In the ACLS curriculum, 14.5% of respondents responded that simulation curriculum should be strengthened; 20.0% of participants responded that training on equipment and medical technique should be enhanced. CONCLUSION: Lecture without practice should be avoided and simulation-oriented education should be strengthened in the ACLS course.
Acute Coronary Syndrome ; Advanced Cardiac Life Support ; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ; Curriculum ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Korea ; Retrospective Studies ; Stroke

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the prioritization of research topics by Korean oncology nurses. METHODS: A descriptive and cross-sectional survey was conducted via the website of the Korean Oncology Nursing Society, with participation sought by email from all of its members. RESULTS: Overall, 'pain' and 'quality of life' were the most important among the 74 topics, 'cancer prevention' was ranked 47th, while 'informatics' and 'telehealth' were ranked 62nd and 72nd, respectively. Korean oncology nursing research needs to be expanded to include community-based cancer prevention. In addition, research on informatics and telehealth in the oncology nursing area is necessary given the current dramatic changes in the implementation of information technology in medical services. CONCLUSION: These findings may contribute toward the development of a Korean oncology nursing research agenda and the provision of information to funding agencies with respect to setting the priorities of oncology nursing research.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Electronic Mail ; Financial Management ; Informatics ; Korea ; Nursing ; Nursing Research ; Oncologic Nursing ; Quality of Life ; Societies, Nursing ; Telemedicine

PURPOSE: This study was done to analyze the job of clinical research coordinators (CRCs). METHODS: Through the "developing a curriculum (DACUM)" workshop, the definition of CRCs' role was described and CRCs' duties and tasks were identified. Finally, the developed duties and tasks were validated for importance, difficulty, and frequency. RESULTS: A CRC is defined as the one who coordinates and performs tasks related to clinical research/trials among investigators, participants, and sponsors according to the Good Clinical Practice at institutions conducting clinical trials. Twelve duties and 78 tasks were identified on the DACUM chart which represented the importance, difficulty, and frequency of tasks represented as A, B, and C respectively. Based on determinant coefficient (DC) of the task, the highest ranked task was confirming the eligibility of participants for research (DC=8.03) and the lowest was inventory management for clinical study materials (3.95). CONCLUSION: In this study, the job of a CRC was analyzed through the DACUM process and it was found that CRCs were doing various duties and tasks. Based on these results, it is suggested that it is necessary to develop CRC education programs considering the career ladder of CRCs.
Biomedical Research ; Curriculum ; Humans ; *Job Description ; Research Personnel/*standards ; Task Performance and Analysis

This study was initiated in order to investigate the anticancer and immunomodulating activities of crude polysaccharides extracted in methanol, neutral saline, and hot water (hereinafter referred to as Fr. MeOH, Fr. NaCl, and Fr. HW, respectively) from the fruiting bodies of Panellus serotinus. Content of beta-glucan and protein in Fr. MeOH, Fr. NaCl, and Fr. HW extracts of P. serotinus ranged from 22.92~28.52 g/100 g and 3.24~3.68 g/100 g, respectively. In vitro cytotoxicity tests, none of the various fractions of crude polysaccharides were cytotoxic against sarcoma 180, HT-29, NIH3T3, and RAW 264.7 cell lines at the tested concentration. Intraperitoneal injection with crude polysaccharides resulted in a life prolongation effect of 23.53~44.71% in mice previously inoculated with sarcoma 180. Treatment with Fr. HW resulted in an increase in the numbers of spleen cells by 1.3 fold at the concentration of 50 microg/mL compared with control. Treatment with Fr. NaCl resulted in improvement of the immuno-potentiating activity of B lymphocytes by increasing the alkaline phosphatase activity by 1.4 fold, compared with control, at the concentration of 200 microg/mL. Among the three fractions, maximum nitric oxide (13.48 microM) was recorded at 500 microg/mL in Fr. HW. Production of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-1beta, and interleukin-6 was significantly higher, compared to the positive control, concanavalin A, at the tested concentration. Therefore, treatment with crude polysaccharides extracted from the fruiting body of P. serotinus could result in improvement of antitumor activity.
Alkaline Phosphatase ; Animals ; B-Lymphocytes ; Cell Line ; Concanavalin A ; Fruit ; Injections, Intraperitoneal ; Interleukin-1beta ; Interleukin-6 ; Life Support Care ; Methanol ; Mice ; Nitric Oxide ; Polysaccharides ; Sarcoma 180 ; Spleen ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Water