Effect of Apartment Community Garden Program on Sense of Community and Stress.

Apartment housing has become a dominant form of urban residence. High dwelling density in apartment complexes causes frequent conflicts and disputes. To counter this, it is necessary to promote a sense of community among residents with programs such as a customized horticultural program for the introduction of a community garden in an apartment complex. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of a community garden program in an apartment complex in fostering residents' sense of community and reducing stress. Experiments were performed in three groups: a group participating in the program based on the sense of community theory (SCG; n = 11), a group participating with a focus on horticultural education (HEG; n = 11), and a non-participation group (NPG; n = 10). The experimental results revealed that the sense of community was significantly higher in the SCG than in the HEG and NPG. The results suggest that the SCG positively affected the sense of community, overall energy, ratio between sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, and stress resistance. Considering these results, community garden programs with appropriate interventions to promote a sense of community are more effective in improving community life and reducing stress than programs based on horticultural education.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the National PPM Tuberculosis Control Project in Korea: the Korean PPM Monitoring Database between July 2019 and June 2020

Background@#The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused disruptions to healthcare systems and endangered the control and prevention of tuberculosis (TB). We investigated the nationwide effects of COVID-19 on the national Public-Private Mix (PPM) TB control project in Korea, using monitoring indicators from the Korean PPM monitoring database. @*Methods@#The Korean PPM monitoring database includes data from patients registered at PPM hospitals throughout the country. Data of six monitoring indicators for active TB cases updated between July 2019 and June 2020 were collected. The data of each cohort throughout the country and in Daegu-Gyeongbuk, Seoul Metropolitan Area, and Jeonnam-Jeonbuk were collated to provide nationwide data. The data were compared using the χ 2 test for trend to evaluate quarterly trends of each monitoring indicator at the national level and in the prespecified regions. @*Results@#Test coverages of sputum smear (P = 0.622) and culture (P = 0.815), drug susceptibility test (P = 0.750), and adherence rate to initial standard treatment (P = 0.901) at the national level were not significantly different during the study period. The rate of loss to follow-up among TB cases at the national level was not significantly different (P = 0.088) however, the treatment success rate among the smear-positive drug-susceptible pulmonary TB cohort at the national level significantly decreased, from 90.6% to 84.1% (P < 0.001). Treatment success rate in the Seoul metropolitan area also significantly decreased during the study period, from 89.4% to 84.5% (P = 0.006). @*Conclusion@#Our study showed that initial TB management during the COVID-19 pandemic was properly administered under the PPM project in Korea. However, our study cannot confirm or conclude a decreased treatment success rate after the COVID-19 pandemic due to limited data.

Anti-allergic effects of fermented Ixeris sonchifolia and its constituent in mice.

To evaluate the antiallergic effect of fermented Ixeris sonchifolia (IS, family Compositae), we prepared IS Kimchi, isolated Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from it, fermented IS with these LAB, and investigated their antiallergic effects. IS Kimchi more potently inhibited the passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) reaction induced by an IgE-antigen complex as well as the scratching behavior induced by compound 48/80 or histamine than IS. When IS was fermented with LAB isolated from IS Kimchi, its antiallergic effects was also increased. Of LAB used for fermentation, Lactobacillus brevis more potently increased the antiallergic effects. Its main constituents, chlorogenic acid and luteolin potently inhibited PCA reaction induced by IgE-antigen complex as well as pruritus induced by compound 48/80 or histamine. These constituents inhibited the expression of proinflammatory and allergic cytokines, TNF-alpha and IL-4, and transcription factor, NF-kappaB, activation induced by IgE-antigen complex in RBL-2H3 cells, as well as the degranulation of RBL-2H3 cells induced by an IgE-antigen complex. Luteolin more potently inhibited these allergic reactions than chlorogenic acid. These findings suggest that antiallergic effect of IS can be increased by LAB fermentation and fermented IS might improve allergic reactions, such as pruritus, anaphylaxis, and inflammation.

An Analysis of Blood Usage and Blood Wastage in Korea Hospitals in 2008 / 대한수혈학회지

BACKGROUND: Investigating the blood usage and blood wastage in Korea hospitals national wide, and including all types of medical institutes, has not been sufficient with the only study having been carried out by the KCDC thorough an Academic Research Contract in 2007. Yet that study was limited due to lack of participation from hospitals. Our study tried to establish a fundamental database for blood transfusion management by investigating the current status of blood products usage, under the KCDC's supervision, to improve participation from medical institutes. METHODS: From January to December in 2008, the Blood Bank, Red Cross of the Republic of Korea looked into the blood product supply of all the medical institutes and we conducted a national survey using questionnaires distributed via the local public health centers on the blood use, blood waste, the reasons for waste and the inventory of the remaining blood. The supply, as compared to the actual use of blood products in the same period, was analyzed by the Korean Red Cross. RESULTS: The total amount of blood products distributed by the Korean Red Cross to medical institutes in 2008 increased by 13.8% for platelets, 11.5% for RBC products, 8.4% for apheresis products and 2% for FFPs, as compared with that of 2006. A total of 2,500 institutions participated in the questionnaire and 60.7% (1,517 out of 2,500 institutes) of the institutes sent feed-back. The total amount of blood use was 3,483,636 units and 52% of the consumption was focused in metropolitan areas like Seoul, Geong-Ki and Busan. The total wastage rate for blood was 1.2% and it was 4.8% for institutes with admitting capacities of 100 beds or less, with expiration of the storage date being the main reason for wastage, while the wastage rate was 1.1% for general hospitals with admitting capacities of 500 beds or more, with an improving patient status or death being the main reason. CONCLUSION: The results of this study were similar to those of 2007, but the participation rate from medical institutes was much increased. Establishment of an investigational system for the use of blood products in medical institutes on a national level is needed to secure data for dealing with the increased projected demand of blood/blood products in the future.

Lactic acid bacterial fermentation increases the antiallergic effects of Ixeris dentata.

Ixeris dentata (ID, family Asteraceae), called Seumbakuy in Korea, was fermented with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and their antiallergic activities were investigated. Fermentation of ID with Bifidobacterium breve or Lactobacillus acidophilus increased its inhibition of degranulation in RBL-2H3 cells induced by the IgE-antigen complex. Oral administration of these extracts to mice inhibited the passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) reaction induced by the IgE-antigen complex and scratching behaviors induced by compound 48/80. The fermented ID more potently inhibited the PCA reaction and scratching behaviors than the non-fermented one. These extracts also inhibited mRNA expression of TNF-alpha and IL-4, as well as NF-kappaB activation in RBL-2H3 cells induced by the IgE-antigen complex. These findings suggest that LAB fermentation improves ID-mediated inhibition of IgE-induced allergic diseases such as rhinitis and asthma, and that ID works by inhibiting degranulation and NF-kB activation in mast cells and basophils.