ABSTRACT
Purpose@#The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a Korean version of the Self-Care for Aspiration Pneumonia Prevention(SCAPP-K) scale in older adults at risk of dysphasia. @*Methods@#The Hertz and Baas model of scale development and validation was used. Inthe development stage, items were generated via literature review and interviews with medical experts, older adults, and caregivers. Tenexperts assessed the items for content validity. Subsequently, 12 older adults participated in a pilot test to determine the comprehensibilityand appropriateness of the SCAPP-K scale. The validation stage involved a cross-sectional survey with 203 older adults for exploratoryfactor analysis (EFA) and 200 older adults for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and to determine convergent and discriminant validity. Totest the validity and reliability of the scale, EFA using principal component analysis with varimax rotation and CFA were conducted, andconvergent and discriminant validity as well as internal consistency reliability were determined. @*Results@#As a result of EFA, three self-carefactors (knowledge, resources, behaviors) with 21 items were validated. The CFA and convergent and discriminant validity indicated theapplicability of the three-factor self-care scale. The reliability of the SCAPP-K scale was acceptable, with Cronbach’s a=.87~.91. @*Conclusion@#The SCAPP-K scale has acceptable validity and reliability and can contribute to clinical practice, research, and education to improveself-care for the prevention of aspiration pneumonia in older adults at risk of dysphasia.
ABSTRACT
We live in a world where daily exposure to environmental chemicals is inevitable. Many studies point to environmental chemicals a major cause of neurological diseases. Properly intervening in and managing the exposure requires up-to-date information about neurotoxic chemicals that may lead to neurological disorders. The recent literature on the neurotoxic effects of environmental chemicals was reviewed, including both animal and human studies. Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and autism are closely associated with environmental chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenys (PCBs), dioxins, polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDE), and perfluoroalkyls. There is strong evidence linking environmental chemical exposure to neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases. In particular, it is important to pay close attention to a high risk-age group where the window of exposure is critical to causing neurological disease.
Subject(s)
Animals , Humans , Alzheimer Disease , Autistic Disorder , Dioxins , Endocrine Disruptors , Ether , Ethers , Nervous System Diseases , Neurodegenerative Diseases , Parkinson DiseaseABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This study was examined the quality of the sexual life among married women in terms of the factor structure of Sexual Quality of Life(SQOL) and evaluated the predictive value of 11 variables for SQOL. METHOD: Two hundred and ninety-three married women completed the Korean version SQOL scale with information on age, education, length of marriage, family income, health, sexual knowledge, coital frequency, harmony with family members, levels of affection, and general and sexual communication. Data were analysed with principal components and regression analyses. RESULT: The SQOL scale had two clearly defined factors, Negative Quality of Sexual Life and Positive Quality of Sexual Life, on which all scale items were significantly loaded, accounting for 54.3% of the total variance. Independent regression analysis showed all variables except education to be significant predictors of SQOL with interpersonal variables (general and sexual communication, affection and harmony with family members) being the most powerful predictors. However when the 11 variables were combined together in stepwise analysis, only 6 variables (general communication, age, affection, coital frequency, sexual knowledge and health) were significant, accounting for 39% of the total variance. CONCLUSION: The Korean version SQOL scale is a good measure to tackle SQOL in married women. To enhance SQOL, strengthening interpersonal interaction focusing on general/sexual communication, affection and harmony with family members seems to be more important than sexual activities and personal characteristics.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Coitus , Education , Marriage , Reproductive Health , Sexual Behavior , SexualityABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Immediate implant placement has become an acceptable treatment for the edentulous area. The advantages of the immediate implant placement include considerable decrease in time from tooth extraction to placement of the finial prosthesis, fewer surgical procedures, and better acceptance of the overall treatment plans. But the success is dependent on the quantity and quality of the extraction socket. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the success of the immediate implant placement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-one sites in 16 patients were selected for the evaluation of the immediate implant placement. All of the cases were followed using clinical and radiographic examinations. Criteria of success were the absence of peri-implant radiolucency, mobility, and persistent pain or sign of infection. RESULTS: Of the 21 implants, 13 implants have been succeeded. Of the 13 implants, 10 implants were replaced for the periodontal disease and 3 implants were replaced for the trauma. CONCLUSION: The criteria of the success in immediate implant placement are as follows. 1) Implants placed into fresh extraction sockets have a high rate of survival. 2) Implant should be placed as close as possible to the alveolar crest. 3) Implant placed into available bone beyond the apex have a high success rate.
Subject(s)
Humans , Periodontal Diseases , Prostheses and Implants , Tooth Extraction , ToothABSTRACT
Gradual attrition of telomere to a critical short length elicits successive cellular response of cellular senescence and crisis. Cancer cells evade this process by maintaining functional telomeres via one of two known mechanisms of telomere maintenance. The first and most frequent mechanism involves reactivation of enzyme activity of telomerase, a ribonucleoprotein complex mainly via transcriptional up-regulation of TERT, a catalytic subunit of telomerase complex. The second mechanism utilizes telomerase-independent way termed ALT (for Alternative Lengthening of Telomere), which possibly involves recombination pathways. Thus master key for cellular immortalization is supposed to possess adequate telomere reserves. Indeed, telomerase can alone induce the immortalization under culture on feeder cell layers without generally known inactivation mechanism of tumor suppressor genes. Including this phenomena, this review will focus on telomerase and telomere-associated proteins, thereby implication of these proteins for cellular immortalization processes.