Conflicts Experienced by the Nurses in Hospital Nursing Organizations / 간호행정학회지

PURPOSE: The present research was done to examine the fundamental significance and structure of conflict experience of nurses in hospital nursing organizations.METHODS: This qualitative research was conducted by analyzing data collected through in-depth interviews based on Colaizzi's (1978) method of analysis, one of the phenomenological methods of analysis.RESULTS: Statements from the 12 study participants demonstrate two key topics “accumulation of conflicts” and “manifestation of new conflicts” as well as seven sub-topics including “being forced to comply”, “Lack of respect and consideration”, “unsatisfactory conflict management by the leaders”, “continuous and overwhelming vicious cycle”, “prevalence of self-defensive egotism”, “difficult to accept differences”, and “incapable of responding to the structural changes of nursing workforce”.CONCLUSION: Resolving the dysfunctional conflicts in hospital nursing organizations requires not only improvement in the organizational culture of individuals and nursing organizations, but also legal and institutional measures in addition to new attempts to integrate education and research findings from relevant fields of studies.

Taxonomic Characterization, Evaluation of Toxigenicity, and Saccharification Capability of Aspergillus Section Flavi Isolates from Korean Traditional Wheat-Based Fermentation Starter Nuruk

The most economically important species used in a wide range of fermentation industries throughout Asia belong to Aspergillus section Flavi, which are morphologically and phylogenetically indistinguishable, with a few being toxigenic and therefore a major concern. They are frequently isolated from Korean fermentation starters, such as nuruk and meju. The growing popularity of traditional Korean alcoholic beverages has led to a demand for their quality enhancement, therefore requiring selection of efficient non-toxigenic strains to assist effective fermentation. This study was performed to classify the most efficient strains of Aspergillus section Flavi isolated from various types of traditional wheat nuruk, based on a polyphasic approach involving molecular and biochemical evaluation. A total of 69 strains were isolated based on colony morphology and identified as Aspergillus oryzae/flavus based on internal transcribed spacer and calmodulin gene sequencing. Interestingly, none were toxigenic based on PCR amplification of intergenic regions of the aflatoxin cluster genes norB-cypA and the absence of aflatoxin in the culture supernatants by thin-layer chromatography analysis. Saccharification capability of the isolates, assessed through α-amylase and glucoamylase activities, revealed that two isolates, TNA24 and TNA15, showed the highest levels of activity. Although the degrees of variation in α-amylase and glucoamylase activities among the isolates were higher, there were only slight differences in acid protease activity among the isolates with two, TNA28 and TNA36, showing the highest activities. Furthermore, statistical analyses showed that α-amylase activity was positively correlated with glucoamylase activity (p < 0.001), and therefore screening for either was sufficient to predict the saccharifying capacity of the Aspergillus strain.

Difference in hemoglobin between smokers and non-smokers

BACKGROUND: The hemoglobin is a basic tool in diagnosing anemia. Not many studies compared hemoglobin between non-smokers and smokers in Korea and they did not differentiate hemoglobin between males and females. This study was conducted to show the difference of hemoglobin between non-smokers and smokers in male population and factors affecting hemoglobin. METHODS: We gathered 313 men who underwent periodic health examination from May to July 2001 in a general hospital. The relationship between cigarette smoking and hemoglobin concentration was examined by comparing the means of hemoglobin between two groups and through multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: The mean of hemoglobin was significantly higher in smokers than in non -smokers, especially in smokers with more than 1 pack per day. The factors that influence the hemoglobin level were age, the amount per day, and the total amount they smoked in the past (pack -year). Daily cigarette smoking seemed to cause a general upward shift of hemoglobin distribution curve, while age and pack - year on the opposite. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that hemoglobin cutoff values should be adjusted for smoke and one must consider the patient's age to compensate for masking effect of smoking and aging on detection of anemia.