Factors Affecting Radiation Protective Behaviors in Perioperative Nurses Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior: Path Analysis

Purpose@#The aim of this study was to identify the factors explaining protective behaviors against radiation exposure in perioperative nurses based on the theory of planned behavior. @*Methods@#This was a cross-sectional study. A total of 229 perioperative nurses participated between October 3 and October 20, 2021. Data were analyzed using SPSS/WIN 23.0 and AMOS 23.0 software. The three exogenous variables (attitude toward radiation protective behaviors, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control) and two endogenous variables (radiation protective intention and radiation protective behaviors) were surveyed. @*Results@#The hypothetical model fit the data (χ2/df = 1.18, SRMR = .02, TLI = .98, CFI = .99, RMSEA = .03). Radiation protective intention (β = .24, p = .001) and attitude toward radiation protective behaviors (β = .32, p = .002) had direct effects on radiation protective behaviors. Subjective norm (β = .43, p = .002) and perceived behavior control (β = .24, p = .003) had direct effects on radiation protective intention, which explained 38.0% of the variance. Subjective norm (β = .10, p = .001) and perceived behavior control (β = .06, p = .002) had indirect effects via radiation protective intention on radiation protective behaviors. Attitude toward radiation protective behaviors, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control were the significant factors explaining 49.0% of the variance in radiation protective behaviors. @*Conclusion@#This study shows that the theory of planned behavior can be used to effectively predict radiation protective behaviors in perioperative nurses. Radiation safety guidelines or education programs to enhance perioperative nurses’ protective behaviors should focus on radiation protective intention, attitude toward radiation protective behaviors, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control.

Evaluation of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness in different high-risk facility types during a period of Delta variant dominance in the Republic of Korea: a crosssectional study

Objectives@#We evaluated the effectiveness of coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination in high-risk facilities in the Republic of Korea during the period when the highly transmissible Delta variant was prevalent. Additionally, we aimed to explore any disparities in vaccine effectiveness (VE) across various types of institutions, specifically distinguishing between non-medical and medical establishments. @*Methods@#We examined 8 outbreak clusters covering 243 cases and 895 contacts from 8 highrisk facilities divided into 2 groups: group A (4 non-medical institutions) and group B (4 medical institutions). These clusters were observed from July 27, 2021 to October 16, 2021 for the attack rate (AR) and VE with respect to disease severity. A generalized linear model with a binomial distribution was used to determine the odds ratio (OR) for disease severity and death. @*Results@#AR was notably lower in group B (medical institutions). Furthermore, VE analysis revealed that group A exhibited higher effectivity for disease severity and death than group B. The OR for disease severity was 0.24 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.03–2.16) for group A and 0.27 (95% CI, 0.12–0.64) for group B, with the OR for death at 0.12 (95% CI, 0.01–1.32) in group A and 0.34 (95% CI, 0.14–0.87) in group B. @*Conclusion@#Although VE may vary across institutions, our findings underscore the importance of implementing vaccinations in high-risk facilities. Customized vaccination programs, tailored response plans, and competent management personnel are essential for effectively addressing and mitigating public health challenges.

Geospatial Analysis of Age-specific SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Patterns in Households, Korea

We constructed an age-to-age infection matrix to characterize the household transmission pattern of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Korea. Among 4,048 household clusters, within-age group infection dominated the overall household transmissions. Transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 was more common from adults to children than from children to adults.

Geospatial Analysis of Age-specific SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Patterns in Households, Korea

We constructed an age-to-age infection matrix to characterize the household transmission pattern of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Korea. Among 4,048 household clusters, within-age group infection dominated the overall household transmissions. Transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 was more common from adults to children than from children to adults.

Early Intervention Reduces the Spread of COVID-19 in Long-Term Care Facilities in the Republic of Korea

This study describes the epidemiological characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) based on reported cases from long-term care facilities. As of April 20th, 2020, 3 long-term care facilities in a metropolitan area of South Korea had reported cases of COVID-19. These facilities’ employees were presumed to be the sources of infection. There were 2 nursing hospitals that did not report any additional cases. One nursing home had a total of 25 cases, with an attack rate of 51.4% (95% CI 35.6–67.0), and a fatality rate of 38.9% (95% CI 20.3–61.4) among residents. The results from this study suggest that early detection and maintenance of infection control minimizes the risk of rapid transmission.

Factors Contributing to Increases in Prescription Drug Expenditures Borne by National Health Insurance in South Korea

PURPOSE: Rapid growth of prescription drug expenditures is a problem in South Korea. The objective of this study was to assess the contributions of four variables (therapeutic choice, drug-mix, original use, and price changes) to increases in drug expenditures paid by the National Health Insurance (NHI) in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted between January 1, 2008 and June 30, 2012 utilizing data from the NHI Claims Database of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. The number of target drug types for final analysis was 13959. To analyze the growth rates of drug expenditures, this study used Fisher ideal index and the Laspeyres and Paasche indexes. RESULTS: With the exception of 2012, therapeutic choice contributed to about 40-60% of the increase in drug expenditures every year, while drug-mix contributed to another 30-40%. CONCLUSION: The rapid growth in prescription drug expenditure was found to be largely due to drug-mix and therapeutic choice over time. Original use had little impact on drug spending.

Association between parental history of allergic diseases and atopic dermatitis in school aged children

PURPOSE: This study aimed to examine the relationship between parent's history of allergic disease and children's atopic dermatitis. METHODS: Data from the 2011 Research on the Current Status of Atopic Disease with Elementary Schools and Kindergartens in Suwon were used for analysis. Among 20,052 persons consenting to the survey, 18,943 who had answered parent's history were included in the study. RESULTS: The prevalence of father, mother, and parent's allergic disease history were 8.5%, 9.5%, and 2.3%, respective. The children with atopic dermatitis comprised 15.1% of the study population. In multivariate analysis, gender, weight at birth, the practice of breast-feeding, father's educational level, the presence of chemical products in the inside, and the presence of mold were significant risk factors for children's atopic dermatitis. The multivariate-adjusted odds ratio for the occurrence of children's atopic dermatitis was 3.19 (95% confidence interval, 2.57-3.95) when subjects with and without parent's history were compared. CONCLUSION: When fathers have a history of allergic disease, children tend to have atopic dermatitis.

Immunological evaluation of ex vivo expanded umbilical cord blood T lymphocytes / 부인종양

OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were, first to characterize the immunological differences of the T lymphocytes of umbilical cord blood (UCB) compared to those of adult; second to expand the T lymphocytes in ex vivo condition of a short term culture, and to assess the immunological function of the expanded T lymphocytes. METHODS: The immunophenotypic study of 40 UCB and 10 adult peripheral blood (PB) was performed. The fresh UCB mononuclear cells (MNCs) were isolated. The nonadherent MNC fractions were then cultured with the anti-CD3 antibody with or without Loranthus yadoriki (10 microgram/ml). The MNCs were cultured in the anti-CD3 antibody-coated flasks for 4 days, and then transferred to the non-coated flasks, which were added IL-2 175 U/ml and cultured for another 10 days. Proliferative ability of UCB T lymphocytes, cell surface markers, and cytotoxicity assays of the expanded T lymphocytes were performed. RESULTS: Cell surface markers of the UCB T lymphocytes were different from those of adult T cells. The UCB T lymphocytes cultured with the anti-CD3 antibody 100 ng/ml showed a significant increase in the proliferative ability (p<0.05). After culture in the anti-CD3 antibody coated flask with IL-2, expression of the activated T lymphocytes were increased significantly. The cultured cells exhibited substantial killing activity on the SK-OV-3 target cells compared to the fresh UCB lymphocytes. CONCLUSION: The ex vivo combination of the anti-CD3 antibody and IL-2 significantly enhanced proliferation, activation, and maturation of the UCB T lymphocytes. Moreover cytotoxic potential of expanded UCB T cells was observed.

Ex vivo expansion of umbilical cord blood-derived T-lymphocyte with autologous cord blood plasma / 대한산부인과학회지

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to establish a clinically applicable culture system by investigating the use of autologous cord blood plasma (ACBP) instead of fetal bovine serum (FBS) for the ex vivo expansion of umbilical cord blood (UCB) T-lymphocytes. METHODS: Fresh UCB mononuclear cell (MNC) fractions were isolated by Ficoll-Hypaque density centrifugation. The nonadherent MNC fractions were then cultured with the anti-CD3 antibody 5 microgram/mL plus IL-2 175 U/mL in the presence of 10% FBS, 10% ACBP or homologous cord blood plasma (HCBP). On day 8, proliferation rate, cell surface markers, cytotoxic assay of UCB T-lymphocytes according to the medium supplemented with FBS, ACBP or HCBP were evaluated. RESULTS: Proliferation studies demonstrated a significant increase in the proliferative ability of UCB T-lymphocytes incubated in anti- CD3 and IL-2 irrespective of the medium supplemented with FBS or ACBP. In the FBS supplemented medium, expressions of the activated T-lymphocytes were increased significantly after culture: CD3+CD8+, CD3+CD25+, CD3+CD38+, and CD45RO+ (p<0.05). Also in the ACBP supplemented medium, expressions of the activated T-lymphocytes were increased significantly after culture: CD3+ CD8+, CD3+CD25+, and CD45RO+ (p<0.05). In the HCBP supplemented medium, expressions of the activated T-lymphocytes were increased significantly after culture as in the ACBP: CD3+CD8+, CD3+CD25+, and CD45RO+ (p<0.05). Of the activated T-lymphocytes, increase of cytotoxic CD3+CD8+ cells increased significantly in the ACBP and HCBP groups compared to FBS group (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings support the feasibility of ex vivo expansion of umbilical cord blood T-lymphocytes in the medium supplemented with autologous cord blood plasma, instead of fetal bovine serum, for future adoptive cellular immunotherapy.

A Study of Premenstrual Syndrome(PMS) and the Nutritional Intake of College Women Residing in Busan Metropolitan City / 대한지역사회영양학회지

This study was designed to identify premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and to investigate the correlation between premenstrual syndrome and nutritional intakes. The subjects of this study were 138 college women residing in Busan Metropolitan City. The subjects were asked to complete Menstrual Discomfort Questionnaire (MDQ) regarding PMS, food intake frequencies and nutritional intake. We studied the correlation between PMS symptoms and nutritional intake. The average height and weight of anemic subjects were 161.42 +/- 3.50 cm and 51.87 +/-5.42 kg. The average BMI (body mass index, kg/m2) was 19.92 +/-2.14 and PIBW (percent ideal body weight) were 93.02 +/-9.75%. Except for phosphorous, vitamin A and vitamin C intakes, the intake levels of all other nutrients were below the Korean RDA. The average calorie intake of the subjects was 1645.65 +/-352.63 kcal (82.2% of the Korean RDA) and iron intake of the subject was 11.06 +/-4.03 mg (69.1% of the Korean RDA). The calcium and vitamin B6 intakes were 512.26 +/-183.12 mg (73.1% of the Korean RDA) and 1.12 +/-0.14 mg (80.0% of the Korean RDA), respectively. With regard to their menstrual state, 45.9% subjects responded that their menstrual cycles were 'irregular'. The frequency of PMS of the subjects was 30.2% (over 3 points) on 5 point scale (1 : no. 5 : severe). The common symptoms of PMS of the subjects were pain (2.32 +/-1.01), negative effects (2.27 +/-0.87), behavioral changes (2.26 +/-0.85), water retention (2.07 +/-0.78), arousal (1.79 +/-0.84), autonomic reactions (1.77 +/-0.87), lack of control (1.69 +/-0.75) and decreased concentration (1.68 +/-0.75). There was significant correlation between all the PMS symptoms and calcium (p < 0.01), vitamin E (p < 0.05), carbohydrate (p < 0.05). This suggests that PMS represents the clinical manifestation of nutrient deficiency states especially calcium. Therefore we concluded that calcium supplementation is likely to be of benefit in relieving PMS symptoms.

A Clinical Study of Sex-Cord Stromal Tumors of the Ovary / 대한산부인과학회잡지

Sex-cord stromal tumors of ovary account for 5~8% of all ovarian malignancies. This group of ovarian neoplasms is derived from the sex cords and the ovarian stroma or mesenchyme. Although they can occur in women of all ages, they tend to have peak incidence in those over age50. So they should be surgically managd with hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. The purpose of this study is to report the experience at Asan Medical Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, in 24 patients with ovarian sex-cord stromal tumortreated between May, 1989 and April, 1995. We analyzed the effect of histologic subtype, FIGO stage, age and management. The results were as follows: 1. In histologic subtypes, fibrothecoma(66.7%), granulosa cell tumor(20.8%), Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor(8.3%), others(4.0%) were counted in order. 2. The mean age of sex cord-stromal tumor was 44.0 years and 8 cases(33.4%) of tumors over the age of 50.0 years, 13 cases(54.2%) over the age of 40.0 years. 3. Main initial symptoms were abdominal pain(37.5%), asymptomatic cases(25.0%), abdominal mass palpation(16.6%), irregular menstruation(12.5%) in order. 4. Management was surgery only(91.7%), surgery and chemotherapy(8.3%). 5. The mean disease free survival was 30.6 months.

A Clinical Study of Sex-Cord Stromal Tumors of the Ovary / 대한산부인과학회잡지

Sex-cord stromal tumors of ovary account for 5~8% of all ovarian malignancies. This group of ovarian neoplasms is derived from the sex cords and the ovarian stroma or mesenchyme. Although they can occur in women of all ages, they tend to have peak incidence in those over age50. So they should be surgically managd with hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. The purpose of this study is to report the experience at Asan Medical Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, in 24 patients with ovarian sex-cord stromal tumortreated between May, 1989 and April, 1995. We analyzed the effect of histologic subtype, FIGO stage, age and management. The results were as follows: 1. In histologic subtypes, fibrothecoma(66.7%), granulosa cell tumor(20.8%), Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor(8.3%), others(4.0%) were counted in order. 2. The mean age of sex cord-stromal tumor was 44.0 years and 8 cases(33.4%) of tumors over the age of 50.0 years, 13 cases(54.2%) over the age of 40.0 years. 3. Main initial symptoms were abdominal pain(37.5%), asymptomatic cases(25.0%), abdominal mass palpation(16.6%), irregular menstruation(12.5%) in order. 4. Management was surgery only(91.7%), surgery and chemotherapy(8.3%). 5. The mean disease free survival was 30.6 months.

The Influence of Deep Breathing and Encouraged Cough on the Arterial Oxygen Saturation in Patients Following Upper Abdominal Surgery / 대한마취과학회지

To investigate the effect of deep breathing and encouraged coughing on the arterial oxygenation in patients following upper abdominal surgery under general anesthesia, 80 patients were chosen and divided into 4 groups according to the therapy modalities given during the recovery mom care ; group 1: spontaneous recovery, group 2: oxygen, group 3: cough with deep breathing, and group 4: oxygen plus cough with deep breathing. Oxygen saturation (SpO2 by pulse oximeter) was monitored before anesthesia (control) and over a 24 hour period after operation. S values decreased on arrival in the recovery room after anesthesia in all groups (p<0.05). As patients awakened from anesthesia in the recovery room, SpO2 values were progressively increased to near preanesthetic values in the non-oxygen groups (Group 1, 3) and increased even above preanesthtic values in the oxygen groups (Group 2, 4) SpO2 values at 24-hours after operation were 97.0% in Group 1, 96.9% in Group 2, 97.8% in Group 3, and 97.5% in GRoup 4; therefore Group 3 had the highest value of SpO2 (p<0.05), In conclusion, deep breathing with cough encouragement in the recovery room seemed to be associated with better oxygenation 24 hours postanesthetically than supplemental oxygen or natural recovery groups.

A Case of Orbital Liposarcoma

Liposarcoma is extremely rare malignant tumor which develops primary in the orbit. Here, we report a case of primary orbital liposarcoma in 17 year old female patient. She visited our hospital due to decreased visual acuity and protrusion of Rt. eyeball. Malignant tumor was suspected by many examination. So exenteration was performed and tumor mass was confirmed as liposarcoma by pathologic examination. She was received cobalt 60 radiation therapy, but recurrent tumor mass appeared at the orbital apex 1 year after operation.

A Case of Congenital Optic Pit

Optic pits are congenital craterlike holes or indentation in the surface of the optic disc. They are oval in shape and located in the inferior temporal quadrant of the optic disc. The authors experienced a case of congenital optic pit of the left eye of 18 year old male-patient. Fluorescein angiography showed hypofluorescence of the pit in early arteriovenous phase, becomming hyperfluorescence in the late phase. Ophthalmoscopic view of the diseased eye showed no abnormality of macular area. There was no visual field defect except the enlarged physiologic blind spot. Here we briefly report a case of congenital optic pit. referring the literature relating to the optic pit.

Gronblad-Strandberg Syndrome in Three Consecutive Brother and Sisters

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum is an inherited disease with degenerative changes in elastic tissue of human body. Skin lesion in pseudoxanthoma elasticum is easily understood and histopathologic finding of skin lesion is chracteristic in diagnosis of pseudoxanthoma elasticum. Pseudoxanthoma elasticum combined with the both dermatologic and ocular manifestations is called Gronblad-Strandberg syndrome. Angioid streak appears ophthalmoscopically as a network of red or dark brown streaks mainly around optic disc and may occur alone or in association with various systemic diseases involving pseudoxanthoma elasticum. Fluorescein angiography of fundus is evaluated as a means of detecting early angioid streak or some other ocular manifestations of pseudoxanthoma elasticum which may be observable only by this method and not previously described. To our knowledge, this is the first three cases of Gronblad-Strandberg syndrome in Korean consecutive siblings which are presented with pathologic and fluorescein angiographic studies.