Development of nationally representative exposure factor database for children's products in Korea.

BACKGROUND: Children may be exposed to harmful chemicals from their products. Accurate exposure factors are critical for exposure assessment of children's products. Product usage pattern parameters are relatively limited compared with the chemical concentration, children's physiological and behavioral parameters. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine nationally representative Korean exposure factors for the usage patterns of children's products by sex, age, and season. METHODS: Using proportional quota sampling, a survey of 10,000 households with children aged 0-12 years was conducted twice, once in summer and winter. The children's ages were divided into four groups: infant (0-2 years old), toddler (3-6), lower-grade elementary student (7-9), and higher-grade elementary student (10-12). Data on exposure factors such as use rate, use frequency, and use duration of 57 children's products were collected. RESULTS: The 57 products were classified into five categories: baby products (13), toys (12), daily products (10), sporting goods (8), and stationery (14). The use rates of products in the daily products and stationery category were >90% in both seasons. Two of the 57 products showed significant sex differences in all three exposure factors (p < 0.001). Twenty-five of the 44 non-baby products showed significant age differences for all three exposure factors. Twenty-three of the 57 products varied significantly with season for all three exposure factors. IMPACT: This study generated a nationally representative exposure factor database for the usage patterns of children's products in Korea. The exposure factors for 57 children's products were investigated through twice survey with quota sampling with each 10,000 children nationwide. Sex, age, and seasonal differences for children's products were identified. These accurate exposure factors by sex, age, and season can be used as input parameters for refined exposure assessment.

Evaluating the effectiveness of online Continuing medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: The study determined the effects of online continuing medical education (CME) on the clinical competency, performance, and patient outcomes of physicians and other healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic regarding the topics of COVID-19 and back pain. METHODS: Survey studies on six online CME activities were conducted from April 2020 to February 2021 at a South Korean hospital. Surveys were conducted immediately after and three months after the CME activity to measure the effectiveness of the CME activity regarding professional competence and performance, as well as patient outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 624 individuals participated in the six CME activities. Of the 2007 post-activity responses, a total of 1135 out of 1332 (85.21%) participants indicated that they were satisfied with the online education activities, and a total of 1752 out of 2007 (87.29%) participants responded that the content would influence their clinical practice. Upon a three-month follow-up, 477 out of 611 (78.07%) respondents indicated that they had made actual changes to their clinical practice. CONCLUSIONS: The online delivery method is effective for delivering CME. The results suggest that online CME ultimately influences physicians' clinical competency and performance, which leads to enforcing change in clinical practice.

Correction to: Resilience and grit predict fewer academic and career concerns among first-year undergraduate students during COVID-19.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1007/s11218-022-09741-3.].

Resilience and grit predict fewer academic and career concerns among first-year undergraduate students during COVID-19.

Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly disrupted higher education in the United States (U.S.). During the first wave of infection and hospitalization, many universities and colleges transitioned classroom instruction to online or a hybrid format. In September 2021, classes largely returned to in-person after the COVID-19 vaccine was widely available and, in some cases, mandated on university and college campuses across the U.S. In the current research, first-year undergraduate students answered a series of questions about their resilience, grit, and perceived academic and career impacts from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Spring (February/March - May) 2021 and 2022. Findings from a series of regression analyses showed that grit and resilience seemed to protect students and help them stay on track, even in the face of the global pandemic. Undergraduate students who reported higher levels of grit and resilience were less likely to worry about job opportunities shrinking as well as less likely to report changing their academic goals, career goals, and proposed major. Future directions and implications are discussed.

Memories off the top of your head.

Cortical layer 1 has a special role in long-term memory.

Perirhinal input to neocortical layer 1 controls learning.

Hippocampal output influences memory formation in the neocortex, but this process is poorly understood because the precise anatomical location and the underlying cellular mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we show that perirhinal input, predominantly to sensory cortical layer 1 (L1), controls hippocampal-dependent associative learning in rodents. This process was marked by the emergence of distinct firing responses in defined subpopulations of layer 5 (L5) pyramidal neurons whose tuft dendrites receive perirhinal inputs in L1. Learning correlated with burst firing and the enhancement of dendritic excitability, and it was suppressed by disruption of dendritic activity. Furthermore, bursts, but not regular spike trains, were sufficient to retrieve learned behavior. We conclude that hippocampal information arriving at L5 tuft dendrites in neocortical L1 mediates memory formation in the neocortex.

The neuroprotective effect of staurosporine on mouse retinal ganglion cells after optic nerve injury.

This study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective properity of staurosporine (STS) and identify the neuroprotective mechanism of staurosporine in mouse retina ganglion cell after optic nerve injured. Mice (C57BL/6) were anaesthetised with a mixture of 5 mg/kg xylazine hydrochloride and 40 mg/kg tiletamine/zolazepam (Zoletil®). Optic nerves of the mice were crushed (Templeton JP et al., 2012). With micro-forceps, the bulbar conjunctiva was grasped and retracted, rotating the globe nasally. The exposed optic nerve was grasped approximately 1-3 mm from the globe with Dumont #N7 cross-action forceps for 10 s. One day after crushing, intravitreal injections of STS (500 nM) were administered using a Narishige IM-300 air pressure regulator. For analysing the change in ganglion cell number, the mice were allowed to live for 30 days, after which they were killed and the ganglion cell survival was assessed. A significant and marked loss of fluorescent spots was found after 30 days, with fewer 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI)-expressing retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) remaining in the injured and phosphate buffered saline (PBS)-injected group than those in non-injured PBS-injected controls. However, RGC cell numbers dramatically increased in the STS intravitreal injection group. Moreover, degradation of nerve fibre (NF) was markedly reduced in the STS injection group compared with the injured and PBS-injected group by inducing astrocyte expression of Bcl-2. Our data suggested that injection of STS into the vitreous may have a potential therapeutic effect in retinal diseases such as glaucoma.

Reducing implicit racial preferences: II. Intervention effectiveness across time.

Implicit preferences are malleable, but does that change last? We tested 9 interventions (8 real and 1 sham) to reduce implicit racial preferences over time. In 2 studies with a total of 6,321 participants, all 9 interventions immediately reduced implicit preferences. However, none were effective after a delay of several hours to several days. We also found that these interventions did not change explicit racial preferences and were not reliably moderated by motivations to respond without prejudice. Short-term malleability in implicit preferences does not necessarily lead to long-term change, raising new questions about the flexibility and stability of implicit preferences. (PsycINFO Database Record

Reducing implicit racial preferences: I. A comparative investigation of 17 interventions.

Many methods for reducing implicit prejudice have been identified, but little is known about their relative effectiveness. We held a research contest to experimentally compare interventions for reducing the expression of implicit racial prejudice. Teams submitted 17 interventions that were tested an average of 3.70 times each in 4 studies (total N = 17,021), with rules for revising interventions between studies. Eight of 17 interventions were effective at reducing implicit preferences for Whites compared with Blacks, particularly ones that provided experience with counterstereotypical exemplars, used evaluative conditioning methods, and provided strategies to override biases. The other 9 interventions were ineffective, particularly ones that engaged participants with others' perspectives, asked participants to consider egalitarian values, or induced a positive emotion. The most potent interventions were ones that invoked high self-involvement or linked Black people with positivity and White people with negativity. No intervention consistently reduced explicit racial preferences. Furthermore, intervention effectiveness only weakly extended to implicit preferences for Asians and Hispanics.

Heart sounds analysis via esophageal stethoscope system in beagles.

Esophageal stethoscope is less invasive and easy to handling. And it gives a lot of information. The purpose of this study is to investigate the correlation of blood pressure and heart sound as measured by esophageal stethoscope. Four male beagles weighing 10 to 12 kg were selected as experimental subjects. After general anesthesia, the esophageal stethoscope was inserted. After connecting the microphone, the heart sounds were visualized and recorded through a self-developed equipment and program. The amplitudes of S1 and S2 were monitored real-time to examine changes as the blood pressure increased and decreased. The relationship between the ratios of S1 to S2 (S1/S2) and changes in blood pressure due to ephedrine was evaluated. The same experiment was performed with different concentration of isoflurane. From S1 and S2 in the inotropics experiment, a high correlation appeared with change in blood pressure in S1. The relationship between S1/S2 and change in blood pressure showed a positive correlation in each experimental subject. In the volatile anesthetics experiment, the heart sounds decreased as MAC increased. Heart sounds were analyzed successfully with the esophageal stethoscope through the self-developed program and equipment. A proportional change in heart sounds was confirmed when blood pressure was changed using inotropics or volatile anesthetics. The esophageal stethoscope can achieve the closest proximity to the heart to hear sounds in a non-invasive manner.