Psychosocial changes in Medical Students Before and After COVID-19 Social Distancing / 의료커뮤니케이션

Purpose@#: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a far-reaching impact on society. Understanding the changes perceived by medical students is meaningful in that it can suggest the direction of future changes in medical education. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of COVID-19 social distancing on psychosocial changes in medical students. @*Methods@#: Anxiety and depression caused by COVID-19, changes in fatigue caused by social distancing, areas where significant changes occurred, and changes in social activity participation and media use behavior among medical students who have experienced the COVID-19 pandemic for more than two years by an online survey. Two hundred twenty-one who are 1st and 2nd-year medical students responded, and we analyzed the results by frequency analysis, independent t-test, paired-sample t-test, and ANOVA. Also, we analyzed Post hoc tests with Tamhane T2, which does not assume equal variance. @*Results@#: The second year of medical school showed higher anxiety and depression than the first. The students who experienced COVID-19 showed lower anxiety, and the more severe the degree of corona blue experience, the higher the anxiety and depression. And the fatigue felt by medical students is higher now than during COVID-19. Areas where the changes due to COVID-19 were seen a lot, were lifestyle attitudes, learning methods, and human relationships. And also, social activities and media medical students use increased after social distancing. @*Conclusion@#: Before and After COVID-19 Social Distancing, medical students have experienced many psychosocial changes.

Development and Verification of Nested PCR Assay for Detection of Tobacco rattle virus in Plant Quarantine

Tobacco rattle virus (TRV) is a plant pathogen belonging to the Group IV positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses. TRV causes disease in various plants (e.g., potato, tomato and tobacco), for which it was classified as a controlled quarantine virus in Korea. This study aimed to develop specific primer sets for the rapid detection of TRV. Two RT-PCR primer sets were developed for specific detection of TRV. Furthermore, nested primer sets were also developed, which is required for high sensitivity detection in plant quarantine. The RT-PCR and nested PCR products had the following sizes: set 5 (1,096-->540 bp), and set 7 (878-->756 bp), respectively. In addition, a modified positive-control plasmid was also developed for use as a positive control in TRV quarantine. The diagnostic system for TRV detection was verified using samples from Korean quarantine sites for the last five years (2009-2014). A total of 83 cases were detected among various import crops. This system for detection of TRV will continuously contribute to plant quarantine in the future.

Cervical Fibrous Dysplasia Presenting as a Pathologic Fracture in an Older Patient

Vertebral involvement of fibrous dysplasia (FD) is rare, especially in the cervical spine. Moreover, cervical FD presenting as a pathologic fracture in older patients is extremely rare. We report a case of symptomatic cervical FD associated with pathologic fracture in a 63-year-old man. The patient presented with progressive weakness of the left arm and pain in the shoulder and arm. Radiologic studies revealed a collapsed and typical 'ground glass' radiolucency of C4. Multiple lytic lesions involved the odontoid process of C2 and the body, left pedicle, and posterior elements of C4. Combined anterior and posterior decompression and reconstruction were performed. Post-operatively, the histopathologic examination confirmed FD. On the post-operative follow-up examination, the neurologic deficits had completely resolved.

Bisected Vertebral Body Fracture Trapping Cauda Equina: A Case Report

In most thoracolumbar burst fractures, the spinal cord or cauda equina is compressed and displaced posteriorly by the retropulsed bone fragments in the spinal canal. We report a rare case of an L3 burst fracture in which the cauda equina was trapped in the crack of a bisected vertebral body with anterior displacement. To decompress the neural elements, we attempted a total laminectomy and facetecomy with manipulation of the retropulsed bone fragment and indirect instrumental reduction, but failed to relieve the cauda equina. Finally, we were able to relieve the cauda equina via a discectomy and bilateral removal of the bony portion that was entrapping the cauda equina. One month after the first surgical procedure, an anterior corpectomy of L3 and interbody fusion with a mesh cage and allograft to support the anterior column were performed.

Occurrence of Fuligo gyrosa Causing Slime Mold of Oriental Melon

Recently, a severe slime mold infestation affected oriental melon plants in fields in Chilgok county, Gyeongbuk province, Korea. Specimens were collected from the fields and examined for identification. A species of Myxomycetes, Fuligo gyrosa, was identified based on its morphological characteristics. This is the first report that F. gyrosa causes slime mold of oriental melon.