Objective: Cognitive reserve has emerged as a concept to explain the variable expression of clinical symptoms in the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The association between years of education, a proxy of cognitive reserve, and resting-state functional connectivity (rFC), a representative intermediate phenotype, has not been explored in the preclinical phase, considering risk factors for AD. We aimed to evaluate whether the relationship between years of education and rFC in cognitively preserved older adults differs depending on amyloid-beta deposition and APOE ε4 carrier status as effect modifiers. Methods: A total of 121 participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging, [ 18F] flutemetamol positron emission tomography-computed tomography, APOE genotyping, and a neuropsychological battery. Potential interactions between years of education and AD risk factors for rFC of AD-vulnerable neural networks were assessed with wholebrain voxel-wise analysis. Results: We found a significant education years-by-APOE ε4 carrier status interaction for the rFC from the seed region of the central executive (CEN) and dorsal attention networks. Moreover, there was a significant interaction of rFC between right superior occipital gyrus and the CEN seed region by APOE ε4 carrier status for memory performances and overall cognitive function. Conclusion In preclinical APOE ε4 carriers, higher years of education were associated with higher rFC of the AD vulnerable network, but this contributed to lower cognitive function. These results contribute to a deeper understanding of the impact of cognitive reserve on sensitive functional intermediate phenotypic markers in the preclinical phase of AD.

Purpose: Trocar-site burns occurring during laparoscopic surgery have been reported in various cases, and several efforts to reduce them are underway. This study aimed to analyze the effect of capacitive coupling on trocar site by observing electrical and histological changes for electrical skin burn injury. Methods: To measure the electrical changes relating to capacitive coupling, the temperature, current, voltage, and impedance around the trocar were measured when an open circuit and a closed circuit were formed using insulation intact instruments and repeated after insulation failure. After the experiment, the tissue around the trocar was collected, and microscopic examination was performed. Results: When open circuits were formed with the intact insulation, the impedance was significantly reduced compared to the cases of closed circuits (142.0 Ω vs. 109.3 Ω, p = 0.040). When the power was 30 W and there was insulation failure, no significant difference was measured between the open circuit and the closed circuit (147.7 Ω vs. 130.7 Ω, p = 0.103). Collagen hyalinization, nuclear fragmentation, and coagulation necrosis suggesting burns were observed in the skin biopsy at the trocar insertion site. Conclusion This study demonstrated that even with a plastic trocar and electrosurgical instruments that have intact insulation, if an open circuit is formed, capacitive coupling increases, and trocar-site burn can occur. When using electrocautery, careful manipulation must be taken to avoid creating an open circuit to prevent capacitive coupling related to electrical skin burn.

Objectives: This study surveyed the quality of psychotherapy training and psychotherapy competencies during residency in Korea. Methods: A questionnaire developed by The Committee of Residency Training of the Korean Neuropsychiatric Association was completed by fourth-year residents of Korean psychiatry (n=120). The questionnaire examined their demographic characteristics, their experience of clinical psychotherapy training, their degree of satisfaction in the quality of psychotherapy training, and self-rated competence regarding the six types of psychotherapies, including supportive psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, group psychotherapy, and family psychotherapy. Results: The degree of satisfaction of the residents with the psychotherapy training was diverse among the types of psychotherapy and contents of training. Across all types of psychotherapies, the satisfaction levels of the quantity and quality of supervision education were low, except for psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Overall, more than 70% of residents were not satisfied with the theoretical education, clinical practice, and supervision education in three types of psychotherapies, including interpersonal psychotherapy, group psychotherapy, and family psychotherapy. A positive correlation was found between the degree of satisfaction with the quality of training experience and self-rated competence of psychotherapy. Specifically, the self-rated competence of psychotherapy was more highly correlated with the experience of clinical cases and supervision than theoretical education Conclusion This study showed the quantitative and qualitative status of psychotherapy training in Korean psychiatry residency programs, and the satisfaction level of psychotherapy education was low except for psychoanalytic psychotherapy. There is a strong need for the improvement of psychotherapy training programs in Korea.

Objectives: This study surveyed the quality of psychotherapy training and psychotherapy competencies during residency in Korea. Methods: A questionnaire developed by The Committee of Residency Training of the Korean Neuropsychiatric Association was completed by fourth-year residents of Korean psychiatry (n=120). The questionnaire examined their demographic characteristics, their experience of clinical psychotherapy training, their degree of satisfaction in the quality of psychotherapy training, and self-rated competence regarding the six types of psychotherapies, including supportive psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, group psychotherapy, and family psychotherapy. Results: The degree of satisfaction of the residents with the psychotherapy training was diverse among the types of psychotherapy and contents of training. Across all types of psychotherapies, the satisfaction levels of the quantity and quality of supervision education were low, except for psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Overall, more than 70% of residents were not satisfied with the theoretical education, clinical practice, and supervision education in three types of psychotherapies, including interpersonal psychotherapy, group psychotherapy, and family psychotherapy. A positive correlation was found between the degree of satisfaction with the quality of training experience and self-rated competence of psychotherapy. Specifically, the self-rated competence of psychotherapy was more highly correlated with the experience of clinical cases and supervision than theoretical education Conclusion This study showed the quantitative and qualitative status of psychotherapy training in Korean psychiatry residency programs, and the satisfaction level of psychotherapy education was low except for psychoanalytic psychotherapy. There is a strong need for the improvement of psychotherapy training programs in Korea.

Background: To determine the benefit of pelvic floor muscle exercise with visual biofeedback on promoting patient recovery from incontinence, we investigated variables associated with the early restoration of continence for patients who underwent robot-assisted radical prostatectomy. Methods: Of the 83 patients enrolled, 41 consecutive patients completed pelvic floor muscle exercise (the exercise group), and the other 42 consecutive patients just before the pelvic floor muscle exercise program commenced (the control group). The primary outcome was whether pelvic floor muscle exercise engagement was associated with zero pad continence restoration within 3 months of surgery. Results: Continence restoration percentages (defined as zero pads used per day) at 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery were 49.4%, 77.1%, and 94.0%, respectively. The exercise group achieved significantly higher recovery rates at 1 month (p=0.037), 3 months (p<0.001), and 6 months (p=0.023). Cox regression analysis demonstrated that a lower Gleason score (<8; hazard ratio, 2.167), lower prostate specific antigen (<20 ng/dL; hazard ratio, 2.909), and engagement in pelvic floor muscle exercise (hazard ratio, 3.731) were independent predictors of early recovery from postprostatectomy incontinence. Stratification by age showed that those younger than 65 years did not benefit significantly from exercise (log-rank test, p=0.08), but that their elderly counterparts, aged 65–70 years (p=0.007) and >70 years old (p=0.002) benefited significantly. Conclusion This study suggests that postoperative engagement in pelvic floor muscle exercise with biofeedback speeds up the recovery of continence in elderly patients (≥65 years old) that undergo robot-assisted radical prostatectomy.

Objectives: This study surveyed the quality of the residency training program and clinical competence of Korean psychiatry residents and psychiatrists. Methods: Questionnaires regarding the quality of residency training and clinical competence were administered to Korean psychiatry residents (n=102) and psychiatrists (n=157). The authors analyzed the quality of training education according to the training environment and the correlation between the quality of training and the self-assessment competence level. Results: The average score of the quality of training evaluated by the residents (n=102) was 3.57 (±1.00). Groups with more than or equal to three residents (annual) scored higher (3.69±1.03) than the groups with less than or equal to two residents (3.52±0.99). Groups with more than or equal to seven teaching psychiatrists scored higher (3.42±1.03) than the groups with less than or equal to six teaching psychiatrists (3.42±1.03). The quality of training and self-assessment competence showed a significant static correlation in the residents (R2=0.488, p<0.01) and psychiatrists (R2=0.508, p<0.01). Conclusion This study shows that the quality of residency education varies according to the clinical area and the environment. The importance of training education is emphasized by the static correlation between the quality of education and clinical competence.

Purpose: Quality of life (QOL) has become important in the trend of emphasizing patient satisfaction. This study aimed to evaluate the QOL in patients who underwent laparoscopic or robotic gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Methods: A prospective trial was performed involving patients who underwent laparoscopic or robotic gastrectomy for primary gastric cancer at 11 hospitals in Korea. Within this comparative trial, QOL, postoperative pain, and long-term complications were exanimated. The quality-of-life questionnaire (QLQ)-C30 and QLQ-STO22 developed by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer were used for the QOL survey. We compared the data after dividing it into several types of characteristics as follows; device (robotic or laparoscopic), operation type, pathological stage, and sex.Biased components were extracted by logistic regression analysis. Propensity score matching was applied to the data set with the biased components. Results: In total, 434 patients (211 for laparoscopic surgery and 223 for robotic surgery) were enrolled, out of which 321 patients who responded to both preoperative and postoperative surveys were selected for analysis. Robotic gastrectomy was not different from laparoscopic gastrectomy with respect to postoperative QOL. Distal gastrectomy showed better scores than total gastrectomy in terms of role functioning, social functioning, fatigue, nausea/vomiting, pain, dyspnea, constipation, financial difficulties, dysphagia, eating restrictions, anxiety, taste, and body image. Male patients showed better scores on the 19 scales compared to female patients. Conclusion Robotic and laparoscopic approaches for gastric cancer surgery did not differ from each other with respect to QOL. Distal gastrectomy resulted in better QOL than total gastrectomy.

BACKGROUND: Enhancement and maintenance of the stemness of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is one of the most important factors contributing to the successful in vivo therapeutic application of these cells. In this regard, three-dimensional (3D) spheroid formation has been developed as reliable method for increasing the pluripotency of MSCs. Moreover, using a new protocol, we have previously shown that dental tissues of extracted wisdom teeth can be effectively cryopreserved for subsequent use as a source of autologous stem cells. The main purpose of this study is to analyze the stemness and in vitro osteogenic differentiation potential of 3D spheroid dental MSCs compared with conventional monolayer cultured MSCs. METHODS: In this study, MSC-characterized stem cells were isolated and cultured from long-term cryopreserved dental follicles (hDFSCs), and then 2D hDFSCs were cultured under 3D spheroid-forming conditions using a newly designed microchip dish. The spheroids (3D hDFSCs) thus produced were investigated and characterized with respect to stemness, MSC marker expression, apoptosis, cell cycle analysis, extracellular matrix (ECM) production, and osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation properties. RESULTS: In terms of MSC and senescence markers, spheroid cells showed no difference when compared with 2D hDFSCs; however, 3D hDFSCs were observed to have a higher proportion of cell cycle arrest and a larger number of apoptotic cells. Moreover, spheroids showed substantially increased levels of pluripotency marker (early transcription factors) and ECM protein expression. Compared with 2D hDFSCs, there was also a notable enhancement in the osteogenic induction potential of spheroids, although no differences were observed with respect to in vitro adipogenesis. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate the application of a spheroid culture system for dental follicle-derived stem cells using a microchip dish. Although further studies are needed, including in vivo transplantation, the results obtained in this study indicate that spheroid hDFSCs derived from cryopreserved dental follicle tissues could be used as a valuable source of autologous stem cells for bone tissue regeneration.
Adipogenesis ; Aging ; Apoptosis ; Bone and Bones ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Cycle Checkpoints ; Dental Sac ; Extracellular Matrix ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; Methods ; Molar, Third ; Osteogenesis ; Regeneration ; Stem Cells

Psychiatry residency training in South Korea currently has many limits in developing proper competencies of residents. To address this problem, the Korean Neuropsychiatric Association has been developing a new competency-based training program since 2015, using the educational systems of advanced countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia as references. It was found that within the referenced countries' residency training systems, objectives based on competencies are stated in detail by psychiatric topics as well as various assessment methods and feedback about the resident's competency level. In addition, we surveyed psychiatric resident training hospitals, and found that more than 80% of the respondents answered positively in reference to the new training program. This paper briefly reviews competency-based residency training systems of advanced countries and compares them to the current training program in South Korea. Many resources are needed to run a new competency-based training program, and governmental supports are essential to improve the quality of the residency training system.
Australia ; Canada ; Competency-Based Education ; Curriculum ; Education ; Great Britain ; Internship and Residency ; Korea ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; United States