Reconstructing Attitudes towards Work from Home during COVID-19: A Survey of South Korean Managers.

This article explores how after almost two years of government-imposed work from home (WFH) for the purpose of curbing the spread of COVID-19, South Korean managers' general attitudes towards WFH may have been reconstructed and if this change influenced their expectations that WFH would persist for the long run. Before COVID-19, WFH was rare, and the country was well known for having one of the most hierarchical and rigid work cultures, with long hours at the office being the norm. The results of this study are based on survey responses from 229 South Korean managers and executives. Using means comparisons and hierarchical linear multiple regression models to answer three research questions, the present study evaluates theorized predictors of WFH take-up, general attitudes towards WFH, and the likelihood that WFH will continue post-COVID-19. The results indicate that forced WFH adoption during COVID-19 had statistically significant positive effects on the attitudes of South Korean managers and their intentions to continue working from home in the future. This study has practical implications for companies and governments that are interested in taking advantage of WFH and implementing it more permanently. It provides interesting findings on how managers from a country with minimal WFH prior to COVID-19 perceive the benefits of WFH and how they respond to its mandated adoption.

Assessing Stability of Crutch Users by Non-Contact Methods.

Enhancing gait stability in people who use crutches is paramount for their health. With the significant difference in gait compared to users who do not require an assistive device, the use of standard gait analysis tools to measure movement for temporary crush users and physically disabled people proves to be more challenging. In this paper, a novel approach based on video analysis is proposed as non-contact low-cost solution to the more expensive alternative with the data collected from processed videos, two values are calculated: the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) of acceleration, and the Signal to Noise Ratio of the jerk (time derivative of acceleration), to assess the user's stability while they walk with crutches. The adopted methodology has been tested on a total of 10 participants. Five are temporary users of assistive devices with one being a long-term user and the other four novice users, and five are disabled participants who use those assistive devices permanently. Preliminary results show differences between novice users, long-term users, and physically disabled users. The approach is promising and could improve the assessment of crutch user stability, allowing for the correction of gait for individuals while using an inexpensive non-contact setup and preventing unnecessary falls.

Does early depressive mood expire following radical retropubic prostatectomy in patients with localized prostate cancer?

In this study, the pattern of depressive mood in patients following radical prostatectomy (RP) for localized prostate cancer (PCa) was determined. A total of 30 patients (aged 68.03±6.1 years) who were diagnosed with localized PCa and underwent RP within 1 month entered the study. Evaluations included body mass index, prostate-specific antigen, testosterone, underlying disease, international prostate symptom score and quality of life (QoL), international index of erectile function as well as Beck depression inventory (BDI), both at the initial stage and 3 months later. Basic demographic data, laboratory results, and questionnaires were analyzed statistically. The BDI score significantly decreased 3 months after the surgery. In correlation analysis, BDI was related with the international prostate symptom score but not with the underlying disease, QoL or international index of erectile function. Body mass index was identified as one of the risk factors to decrease the probability of BDI score (≥3) significantly. Underlying disease increased the probability of BDI score. In the assessment of the correlation between BDI and each subscale, sadness, self-dislike, self-criticalness, and worth-lessness showed high correlation. In the early period, depressive mood was improved at the short-term follow-up in localized PCa patients after RP. Voiding symptoms were only related with the depressive mood, but not with other parameters, including sexual function. The depressive mood had no effect on the QoL in the early stage.

Basic neurourology.

The integrated coordination of the components of the lower urinary tract is mediated by the complex neuromodulatory system of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral ganglia. Therefore, the central nervous system plays a crucial role in the storage and output of urine. The purpose of this review article is to present the key aspects of the structure of the peripheral nervous system and central nervous system related to the lower urinary tract, as well as the mechanisms of action and the control system of innervation regulating the storage and output of urine. Furthermore, this article discusses the clinical significance and directions of neurourological research, concluding with the suggestions for with the neurourological research prospects.

Improving accuracy and usability of growth charts: case study in Rwanda.

OBJECTIVES: We evaluate and compare manually collected paper records against electronic records for monitoring the weights of children under the age of 5. SETTING: Data were collected by 24 community health workers (CHWs) in 2 Rwandan communities, 1 urban and 1 rural. PARTICIPANTS: The same CHWs collected paper and electronic records. Paper data contain weight and age for 320 boys and 380 girls. Electronic data contain weight and age for 922 girls and 886 boys. Electronic data were collected over 9 months; most of the data is cross-sectional, with about 330 children with time-series data. Both data sets are compared with the international standard provided by the WHO growth chart. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The plan was to collect 2000 individual records for the electronic data set--we finally collected 1878 records. Paper data were collected by the same CHWs, but most data were fragmented and hard to read. We transcribed data only from children for whom we were able to obtain the date of birth, to determine the exact age at the time of measurement. RESULTS: Mean absolute error (MAE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) provide a way to quantify the magnitude of the error in using a given model. Comparing a model, log(weight)=a+b log(age), shows that electronic records provide considerable improvements over paper records, with 40% reduction in both performance metrics. Electronic data improve performance over the WHO model by 10% in MAPE and 7% in MAE. Results are statistically significant using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test at p<0.01. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that using modern electronic tools for health data collection is allowing better tracking of health indicators. We have demonstrated that electronic records facilitate development of a country-specific model that is more accurate than the international standard provided by the WHO growth chart.