The Dynamic Relationship Between Social Capital and Suicide Rates.

Background: Suicide is an important public health concern worldwide. Among various factors, social capital has been suggested to be an effective factor to prevent and reduce suicide. Aims: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between social capital and suicide rates in Seoul, South Korea, using panel data from 2005 to 2018 at the administrative-district level. Methods: Data for the current study were obtained from Seoul Statistics. The within estimator and the system generalized methods of moments estimator were used. Results: The results showed that there was an inverse association between community facility and suicide rates. This result remained the same even after considering the dynamic relationship between social capital and suicide rates (B = -0.57, 95% CI: -1.10, -0.04) while adjusting for dynamic panel bias. A 10% increase in community facility per 1,000 population was associated with 5.2% reduction in age-standardized suicide rates per 100,000 population. Limitations: In this study, only a structural dimension of social capital was utilized due to the lack of available data. Conclusion: The results indicate that facilitating opportunities for social interactions and community lives has a potential to prevent and reduce suicide.

Evaluation of users' level of satisfaction for an artificial intelligence-based diagnostic program in pediatric rare genetic diseases.

The artificial intelligence (AI)-based genetic diagnostic program has been applied to genome sequencing to facilitate the diagnostic process. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the experience and level of satisfaction of participants using an AI-based diagnostic program for rare pediatric genetic diseases. The patients with neurodevelopmental disorders or hearing impairments, their guardians, and their physicians from 16 tertiary general hospitals were enrolled. The study period was from April 2020 to March 2021. A survey was designed to assess their experience and level of satisfaction. A total of 30 physicians and 243 patients and guardians (199 neurodevelopmental disorders and 44 hearing impairments) completed the survey. DNA samples of the subjects were collected through buccal swabs or blood collection: 211 subjects (86.8%) through buccal swab and 29 subjects (11.9%) through blood collection. Average turnaround time for result receipt was 57.54 ± 32.42 days. For the sampling method, 193 patients and guardians (81.1%) and 28 physicians (93.3%) preferred buccal swab. The level of satisfaction of the 2 groups participating in the AI-based diagnostic program was 8.31 ± 1.71 out of 10 in the patient and guardian group and 8.42 ± 1.23 in the physician group. Clinicians, patients, and guardians are satisfied with the AI-based diagnostic program in general. With an increase in AI-based precision medicine solutions, the evaluation of the user's satisfaction with appropriate provision will help improve personal health care.

Physical activity and self-rated health: role of contexts.

The purpose of this study is to examine how much variance in self-rated health is attributable to household and administrative-area levels. Additionally, the study investigates the association between physical activity and self-rated health while adjusting for various covariates at the individual, household, and district levels in Seoul, South Korea. A cross-sectional study of the 2009 Seoul Welfare Panel Study conducted by Seoul Welfare Foundation was utilized. The final sample included 7,761 individuals within 3,617 households in 25 administrative areas. Three-level random intercept logistic models were fitted. The results showed that a small proportion (3.52%) of variance in self-rated health was attributed to the administrative-area level, while a relatively large proportion (33.78%) was attributed to the household level. This study also found a positive association between physical activity and self-rated health, even after controlling for covariates at multiple levels. The results indicated that public health interventions promoting physical activity may have a beneficial effect on individual health. Additionally, public health interventions for improving individual health may not be efficient if directed only at the administrative-area level, as only a small portion of variance in self-rated health was attributable to this level.

The smoking paradox: exploring why attitudes toward cigarette smoking are a weak predictor of cigarette smoking.

OBJECTIVE: An attitude change perspective represents a central line of research in the smoking literature. This line of research focuses on influencing individuals' attitudes toward smoking in order to alleviate the negative outcomes of smoking and to achieve positive smoking behaviours. This line of research, however, does not explain why attitudes toward cigarette smoking are a weak predictor of cigarette smoking, an indication of a smoking paradox. The current study introduces two domain-general factors to explore this smoking paradox. DESIGN: We used an online survey and collected data from American subjects (n = 328) via a crowdsourcing platform, Amazon Mechanical Turk, in 2018. RESULTS: We found that the association between attitude toward smoking and the likelihood of smoking is significantly weaker when individuals perceive a low probability of risk and/or believe that this probable risk will only occur in the distant future, after many years. These results suggest that smoking may not be consistent with attitude because individuals perceive low probability of risk and/or they temporally discount the occurrence of this probable risk. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that novel strategies that incorporate the concepts of perceived risk probability and temporal discounting of the probable risk are needed for smoking cessation.

Evaluation of Road Transport Pollutant Emissions from Transporting Building Materials to the Construction Site by Replacing Old Vehicles.

Since the life cycle of a building spans more than 50 years, studies of the environmental impacts in the construction industry have focused on reducing the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions during the operation and maintenance phase. The products of the construction industry are assembled using various building materials manufactured outside of the construction site. Consequently, it is essential that the manufactured building materials be transported to the construction site using various types of transportation methods. However, there is a lack of studies that assess the pollutant emissions of road transport while executing a construction project. The purpose of this study is to investigate the changes in the road pollutant emissions when the old diesel vehicles for transporting building materials are replaced according to enhanced pollutant emission regulations. In this study, we found that approximately 89, 64, 77, and 64% of NOx, VOC, PM, and CO, respectively, were emitted during transportation of building materials as a proportion of the emissions during the construction of the structure. The analyzed results also show that about 10, 35, 23, and 35% of NOx, VOC, PM, and CO, respectively, were generated from material transportation as a proportion of the emissions from finishing the work. It is expected that a reduction in pollutant emissions from transporting building materials of up to approximately 64, 39, 49, and 27% of NOx, VOC, PM, and CO, respectively, can be achieved when vehicles registered before 2003 are replaced with ones that adhere to the tightened regulations.

Does Organization Matter for Health? The Association Between Workplace Social Capital and Self-Rated Health.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the association between workplace social capital at the individual and government organizational levels, and self-rated health among public employees in South Korea. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of public employees at government organizations in South Korea from June 2018 to December 2018. In total, 815 respondents in 31 government organizations were analyzed. We fitted two-level random intercept logistic regression models. RESULTS: We found that the vertical component of workplace social capital at the individual and organizational levels was positively associated with good self-rated health. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that decision-makers targeting public interventions at the government organizational level to improve employee health are unlikely to observe an appreciable impact since a relatively small proportion of the variation in self-rated health was attributed to this level.

Social capital and perceived stress: The role of social context.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is twofold: to investigate how much variance in individual perceived stress is attributed to household and area levels, respectively, and to examine the association between social capital at the individual, household, and area levels and perceived stress, while adjusting for various cofounders at the individual, household, and area levels. METHODS: This study used data from the 2010 Seoul Welfare Panel Study conducted by the Seoul Welfare Foundation. A total sample of 5881 individuals in 2820 households within 25 areas was used for multilevel analysis. RESULTS: The results showed that a relatively large proportion of variance in perceived stress was attributed to the household level (45.86%) in comparison with the area level (6.96%), which indicates that household or family context is more important in explaining variance in perceived stress than area. This study also found that some components of social capital were negatively associated with perceived stress, and the association between social capital and perceived stress varied depending on levels and types of social capital measures. LIMITATIONS: This study is based on a cross-sectional design, and thus it is not clear about the temporal order between the relationship between social capital and perceived stress. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, this study showed that research on social capital and mental health can be advanced by systematically investigating the role of household social capital, not just geographical social capital.

Multi-laboratory evaluation of 1,3-propane sultone, N-propyl-N-nitrosourea, and mitomycin C in the Pig-a mutation assay in vivo.

The mutagenic potencies of 1,3-propane sultone (PS), N-propyl-N-nitrosourea (PNU), and mitomycin C (MMC) were investigated in three independent laboratories in Korea using the Pig-a assay in vivo. Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with vehicle or test substance on three consecutive days. Blood samples were collected for measuring Pig-a mutant phenotypes (CD59-deficient erythrocytes, RBCCD59-; CD59-deficient reticulocytes, RETCD59-) on days -1, 15, and 29 after the first treatment. In some studies, blood was collected for determining DNA damage (comet assay) on day 3 and measuring micronucleated reticulocytes (MN-RET) on day 4. Treatment with the alkylating agents PS and PNU induced dose-dependent increases in the frequency of RBCCD59- on days 15 and 29, and caused maximum elevations in the frequency of RETCD59- on day 15. Inter-laboratory comparison of the day 29 Pig-a assay data confirmed the mutagenic potencies of PS and PNU, and showed good agreement among the test sites. Treatment with the DNA cross-linker MMC induced increases in the frequencies of RBCCD59- and RETCD59- on days 15 and 29 (all three laboratories). MN-RETs increased significantly in animals treated with PS, PNU, or MMC, but biologically significant increases in DNA damage were observed only with PS and PNU, and not with MMC. The results of this study indicate that the Pig-a assay is a sensitive, reproducible method for evaluating the in vivo mutagenicity of various test substances, in particular, DNA cross-linkers and alkylating agents. Our limited data on integrating the Pig-a assay with the comet and micronucleus assays indicate that a short-term treatment protocol evaluating these three endpoints in a single set of animals may be a robust strategy for evaluating in vivo genotoxicity.

A Delta Neutrophil Index for the Prediction of Contrast-Induced Nephropathy in Patients With St-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Followed By Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

PURPOSE: We assessed the usefulness of the delta neutrophil index (DNI), reflecting immature granulocytes, to stratify risk for developing contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in a clinical setting. METHODS: This study retrospectively analyzed prospective data of eligible adult patients admitted to the emergency department (ED) with STEMI followed by PCI. We determined DNI at multiple time points and analyzed the development of CIN and in-hospital mortality according to CIN incidence. RESULTS: Overall, 564 patients with STEMI followed by PCI were included. Of these, 58 patients (10.3%) had CIN. Areas under the curve for predictability of CIN using the DNI within 2 h after PCI (I) and 24 h on ED admission (24) among patients with CIN were 0.775 (P < 0.001) and 0.751 (P < 0.001), respectively. Multivariable logistic regression demonstrated that increased DNI values at time I (odds ratio [OR], 1.632; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.357-1.964; P < 0.001) and time 24 (OR, 1.503; 95% CI, 1.272-1.777; P < 0.001) were strong independent factors for predicting CIN among patients with STEMI who underwent PCI. Increasing predictability of CIN was closely associated with DNI more than 1.8% on ED admission (OR, 12.494; 95% CI, 6.540-23.87; P < 0.001) and more than 1.9% at time 24 (OR, 10.45; 95% CI, 5.769-18.928; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The DNI is easily obtained as part of the complete blood count measurement without requiring additional cost or time. High DNI independently predicts the development of CIN in patients with acute STEMI followed by PCI.

The impact of extracurricular activities participation on youth delinquent behaviors: An instrumental variables approach.

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between extracurricular activities (EA) participation and youth delinquency while tackling an endogeneity problem of EA participation. Using survey data of 12th graders in South Korea (n = 1943), this study employed an instrumental variables approach to address the self-selection problem of EA participation as the data for this study was based on an observational study design. We found a positive association between EA participation and youth delinquency based on conventional regression analysis. By contrast, we found a negative association between EA participation and youth delinquency based on an instrumental variables approach. These results indicate that caution should be exercised when we interpret the effect of EA participation on youth delinquency based on observational study designs.

Association between perfluorinated compound concentrations in cord serum and birth weight using multiple regression models.

The effects of exposure to the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) on birth weight have been examined in several studies, but other PFASs have not been considered. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of newborns in Seoul, South Korea, collecting 118 serum samples, for 85 of which we had a full range of information. We conducted multiple regression analyses to examine the association between nine PFAS concentrations in cord serum and birth weight. Seven PFASs were found in cord serum, PFOA and PFOS being dominant, with mean concentrations of 1.11 and 0.87ng/mL, respectively. The adjusted birth weight changes (natural log) were -0.14 (95% confidence interval -0.33-0.03) for PFOS and -0.03 (95% confidence interval -0.25-0.18) for PFOA. None of the PFASs were statistically associated with birth weight in this population.

Longitudinal association between social capital and self-esteem: a matter of context.

The aim of this study is to investigate the longitudinal association between indicators of different components of social capital at the individual, household, and area levels and self-esteem while adjusting for various confounders at multiple levels. Respondents participating in Wave 1 (2009) and 2 (2010) of the Seoul Welfare Panel Study were used in the analysis. The final sample for the current study includes a total of 5127 participants in 2738 households within 25 administrative areas. This study shows that only a small amount of variance in self-esteem was attributed to the area level (7.6%). On the other hand, a relatively large amount of variance in self-esteem was attributed to the household level (52.5%). It has also shown that all individual-level social capital indicators including perceived helpfulness, organizational participation, and volunteer work were positively associated with self-esteem. Among household-level indicators of social capital, only organizational participation was associated with self-esteem. However, none of the area-level social capital indicators were associated with self-esteem. The main finding of the current study suggested that the association between social capital and self-esteem varied depending on both dimensions and levels of social capital indicators.

Social capital and depression: does household context matter?

The purpose of this study is 2-fold: (1) to examine how much variance of depression is attributed to the household level and (2) to examine the relationships between individual- and household-level social capital and depression using multilevel analysis from the Korean Welfare Panel Study data. Results show that more than 30% of variance in depression is derived from household-level differences. Results also show that individual level of trust and satisfaction with relationships in the family and household level of satisfaction with relationships among family members was related to depression. The results imply that forming and increasing household or family-level social capital along with individual-level social capital may contribute to preventing depression.

Discovery of vinyl sulfones as a novel class of neuroprotective agents toward Parkinson's disease therapy.

Although the etiology of Parkinson's disease (PD) remains elusive, recent studies suggest that oxidative stress contributes to the cascade leading to dopaminergic (DAergic) neurodegeneration. The Nrf2 signaling is the main pathway responsible for cellular defense system against oxidative stress. Nrf2 is a transcription factor that regulates environmental stress response by inducing expression of antioxidant enzyme genes. We have synthesized novel vinyl sulfone derivatives. They exhibited a broad range of activities in inducing HO-1, whose gene expression is under the control of Nrf2. Among them, compound 12g was confirmed to activate Nrf2 and induce expression of the Nrf2-dependent antioxidant enzymes NQO1, GCLC, GLCM, and HO-1, at both mRNA and protein levels in DAergic neuronal cells. This was accompanied by protection of DAergic neurons in both in vitro and MPTP-induced in vivo models of PD. In addition, compound 12g effectively resulted in attenuation of the PD-associated behavioral deficits in the mouse model.

Compositional and contextual associations of social capital and self-rated health in Seoul, South Korea: a multilevel analysis of longitudinal evidence.

This study aims to examine the association between social capital at the individual and administrative-area levels and individual self-rated health while adjusting for various confounders at multiple levels using a multilevel analysis with longitudinal data from Seoul, South Korea. Respondents participating in Wave 1 (2009) and 2 (2010) of the Seoul Welfare Panel Study who have full information on the independent and dependent variables were used in the final analysis. This yielded a total of 5482 participants in 2742 households, which were in turn found within 25 administrative areas in Seoul, South Korea. The results of a three level random intercept logistic regression analysis showed that an individual level perceived helpfulness and organizational participation were associated with a higher likelihood of reporting good health after controlling for individual, household, administrative-area level variables, and baseline self-rated health. However, neither administrative-area level social capital variables were associated with self-rated health. The results suggest that individual level social capital plays an important role in enhancing individual health. The results also suggest that the relatively large size of the administrative-area used in this study may be one reason which may hinder detecting any significant associations at this level. Further research is also needed to seek more relevant contexts where contextual social capital would be operating.

Factors associated with suicidal ideation: the role of context.

BACKGROUND: No previous study could be found that examined the longitudinal association between suicidal ideation and the factors associated with it and that considered both individual and contextual characteristics simultaneously. This study examined whether variation in suicidal ideation is attributable to the administrative-area level and examined suicidal ideation and the factors associated with it at multiple levels, especially focusing on social capital. METHODS: Longitudinal data of 5222 individuals and 2741 households in 25 administrative areas from the Wave 1 and Wave 2 of the Seoul Welfare Panel Study were used. RESULTS: In the study, 2.7% of variation in suicidal ideation was attributable to the administrative area. The results also suggested that perceived helpfulness at individual level (odds ratio (OR) = 0.60; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.43, 0.83) and organizational participation at administrative-area level were associated with suicidal ideation (OR = 0.73; 95% CI = 0.53, 0.99). CONCLUSIONS: Policy makers should consider laying down policies aimed at preventing suicide at administrative-area level as suicidal ideation of individuals is different between administrative areas. However, it should also be recognized that directing attention solely at administrative-area level is not efficient, as only small variations in suicidal ideation are attributable to this level. Decision makers need to consider policies promoting social capital, as it may play a role in reducing suicide risk.

Individual, household and administrative area levels of social capital and their associations with mental health: a multi-level analysis of cross-sectional evidence.

BACKGROUND: Research has seldom considered social capital at the individual, household and administrative area level simultaneously and examined its association with mental health. AIM: The main purpose of this study was to examine the association between social capital and mental health while controlling for various confounders at multiple levels using multi-level analysis and operationalizing social capital at the individual, household and administrative area level. METHODS: This study used cross-sectional data from the 2010 Seoul Welfare Panel Study conducted by the Seoul Welfare Foundation (participation rates for the household and household members were 87.6% and 87.5%, respectively). RESULTS: and conclusions: The main finding of this study was that organizational participation (B = 0.132, p < .001) and perceived helpfulness (B = 0.129, p < .001) were positively associated with mental health. This study also found that perceived helpfulness was positively associated with mental health (B = 0.070, p < .001). However, it did not find a significant association between the contextual level of social capital and mental health. The results indicate that the different dimensions of social capital may act differently to mental health depending on the level.

Human MutY homolog induces apoptosis in etoposide-treated HEK293 cells.

Etoposide (ETP) treatment of ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and Rad3-related protein (ATR)-, topoisomerase-binding protein-1 (TopBP1) and human MutY homolog (hMYH)-depleted cells results in a significant reduction in apoptotic signaling. The association between ATR or TopBP1 and hMYH increased following ETP treatment. In hMYH knockdown cells, the interaction between ATR and TopBP1 decreased following ETP treatment. We suggest that hMYH functions as a sensor of ETP-induced apoptosis. The results suggest that in the absence of hMYH, cells are unable to recognize the damage signal and the ATR pathway is not activated.

A multilevel analysis of social capital and self-reported health: evidence from Seoul, South Korea.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to resolve two limitations of previous studies. First, as only a few studies examining social capital have been conducted in non-western countries, it is inconclusive that the concept, which has been developed in Western societies, applies similarly to an Asian context. Second, this study considers social capital at the individual-level, area-level and cross-levels of interaction and examines its associations with health while simultaneously controlling for various confounders at both the individual-level and area-level, whereas previous studies only considered one of the two levels. The purpose of this study is therefore to examine the associations between social capital and health by using multilevel analysis after controlling for various confounders both at the individual and area-levels (i.e., concentrated disadvantage) in non-western countries. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey from December 2010 to April 2011 in Seoul, South Korea. The target population included respondents aged 25 years and older who have resided in the same administrative area since 2008. The final sample for this study consisted of 4,730 respondents within all 25 of Seoul's administrative areas. RESULTS: In our final model, individual-level social capital, including network sources (OR = 1.23; 95% CI = 1.11-1.37) and organizational participation (OR = 2.55; 95% CI = 2.11-3.08) was positively associated with good/very good health. Interestingly, the individual × area organizational participation cross-level interaction was negatively associated with good/very good health (OR = 0.40; 95% CI = 0.32-0.50), indicating that in areas with higher organizational participation, individuals with high organizational participation were less likely to report good/very good health when compared to low organizational participation individuals. CONCLUSION: Our study provides evidence that individual-level social capital is associated with self-reported health, even after controlling for both individual and area-level confounders. Although this study did not find significant relationships between area-level organizational participation and self-reported health, this study found the cross-level interaction for social capital. Hence, in areas with lower organizational participation, the probability of reporting good/very good health is higher for individuals with high organizational participation than individuals with low organizational participation. This study, albeit tentatively, suggests that policy makers should focus upon social capital when making policies which aim to enhance one's health.