Search

Objective Early detection and proper management of mental illness can help to prevent severe deterioration. However, with limited financial and human resources of community mental health services, it is not practical to carry out all conventional screening tools simultaneously. In this study, we aimed to develop and validate a brief but comprehensive screening questionnaire for four common mental illnesses of the elderly.Methods The brief screening for four mental illnesses of elderly (BS4MI-elderly) is a 14-item binary response questionnaire that covers dementia, depressive disorder, sleep disorder, and hwa-byung. To test validity, we compared conventional scale scores for three groups of participants classified using the BS4MI-elderly. The sensitivity, specificity, predictive value of positive test, likelihood ratio of positive test and internal consistency of the BS4MI-elderly were assessed. Finally, a correlation analysis between the BS4MI-elderly and general mental health scales was conducted.Results A total of 254 participants aged over 65 years were recruited. The BS4MI-elderly showed moderate to high sensitivity for the test that distinguishes the normal group from the risk and disorder groups (dementia: 0.61, depressive disorder: 0.88, sleep disorder: 0.85, hwa-byung: 0.94) and high specificity for the test that distinguishes the disorder group from the normal and risk groups (dementia: 0.91, depressive disorder: 0.93, hwa-byung: 0.84, sleep disorder: 0.84). The BS4MI-elderly also exhibited good internal consistency and significant correlations with general mental health scales.Conclusion The BS4MI-elderly, a brief but comprehensive screening tool, could be a useful instrument for screening the elderly in community mental health services.

Background This study aimed to find out the change in the rate and pattern of suicide attempts during severe acute respiratory syndrome COVID-19 pandemic period. Methods This study was a retrospective analysis of data collected as a part of an emergency room-based post-suicide management program. The data were collected through interviews and from medical records of suicide attempts, maintained in the emergency room, from January 19 to October 31, 2020, during the “COVID-19 period,” and those who attempted suicide from January 19 to October 31, 2019 “pre-COVID-19 period.” We extracted educational background, marital status, occupation, presence of domestic partner, history of mental illness, alcohol consumption, history of previous suicide attempts; suicide attempt method and location (i.e., at home or a place other than home) at the time of attempt, and whether the attempt was a mass suicide. In addition, we compared patient severity between “COVID-19 period” and “pre-COVID-19 period” using the initial KTAS (South Korean triage and acuity scale) level, consciousness level, and systolic blood pressure. In 2012, KTAS was developed through the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s research project to establish triage system in South Korea. Results The analysis of the number of suicide attempts during “pre-COVID-19 period” and “ COVID-19 period” showed that the number of suicide attempts during “COVID-19 period” (n = 440) increased compared to the “pre-COVID-19 period” (n = 400). Moreover, the method of suicide attempts during “COVID-19 period” included overdose of drugs such as hypnotics, antipsychotics, and pesticides that were already possessed by the patient increased compared to the “pre-COVID-19 period” (P Conclusion With the worldwide COVID-19 virus spread, suicide rate and suicide attempts at home have significantly increased. In addition, patient severity was higher in the “COVID-19 period” than that in the “pre-COVID-19 period.” The increasing suicide attempt rate should be controlled by cooperation between the emergency room and regional organizations.

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is different from previous disasters in that it continues to the present and has affected all aspects of family life. During epidemics, psychosocial support is not less important than infection control. During COVID-19-related school closures, prolonged partial closures of schools could have detrimental social and health consequences for children and may increase the burden on the family. Based on a community sample in Korea, this study identified parental concerns, children's media usage, other various factors and examined whether parental stress level or depression were positively associated with problem behaviors, media exposure, and sleep problems of the primary school children during school closure under COVID-19. Methods Participants were 217 parents residing in Suwon, South Korea, who had primary school children and responded to a web-based questionnaire on parental concerns from school closure under COVID-19, subjective stress, depression, whether having received mental health services, and family characteristics; children's sleep patterns, problem behaviors, media usage during the online-only class period, and changes in activity level following the pandemic. Results During school closure, children gained body weight, spent less time in physical activities and more in media usage. Besides online learning content (97.2%), YouTube was highly used content (87.6%), and games followed (78.3%). Parental subjective stress index was highly associated with parental depression (Pearson correlation 0.439, P < 0.001), children's sleep problems (0.283, P < 0.001), tablet time (0.171, P = 0.012) and behavior problems (0.413, P < 0.001). Parental depression was associated with children's sleep problems (0.355, P < 0.001), TV time (0.153, P = 0.024), tablet time (0.159, P = 0.019), and behavior problems (0.524, P < 0.001). Parents who previously received mental services seemed to be more concerned about the problems their children already have getting worse because of COVID-19 than the disease itself. Children's sleep problem was associated with tablet (0.172, P = 0.011) and smartphone time (0.298, P < 0.001), but not its frequency. Conclusion During COVID-19-related school closures, many parents and children had various difficulties relating to mental health. Ongoing monitoring of mental health of high-risk groups and multiple support systems may need to be expanded to cover those parents having difficulty in caring for their children., Graphical Abstract

This study aimed to investigate whether (1) depression is associated with cognitive decline in Korean older adults and (2) the relationship between depression and cognitive function varies by gender. Using Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging data of 2006 to 2014, we studied 1787 adults aged 65 years or older who had normal cognitive function at baseline. This study examined the effects of depression on cognitive decline by using an interaction term of baseline depression and time, and compared relationships by gender. Among male participants, K-MMSE (Korean-Mini-Mental Status Examination) scores decreased with age, at an annual rate of approximately 0.465 points. Baseline depression was found to accelerate the decline in cognitive function, by approximately 0.184 points per year. Among female participants, K-MMSE scores decreased with age, at an annual rate of approximately 0.585 points. Baseline depression was not related to the decline in cognitive function. These results suggest the need for community-based programs to increase awareness of mental health problems need to be developed to encourage the use of health services to prevent or delay cognitive decline in older Korean males.

Background Children today are exposed to various media devices, and their usage of these is increasing. Prior studies have outlined forms of harm this can potentially cause. However, there has been little empirical research on the use of media devices among preschool children in Asia. The aim of this study was to examine and analyze longitudinal trends in media device use among Korean preschool children, focusing on the frequency of engagement, time spent with, and ownership of media devices, delineated by sex. Methods Four hundred parents of children aged 2–5 years were invited to enroll. The baseline assessment, Wave 1, was conducted between December 2015 and June 2016, and follow-up assessments, Wave 2 and Wave 3, were conducted annually for the following 2 years. Time of media use, frequency of media use, and ownership of media devices (TV, tablet PCs, and smartphones) were investigated. Results Ownership of tablet PCs increased significantly between Wave 1 and Wave 3 for boys and girls (corrected P < 0.001). Frequency of media use increased significantly between Wave 1 and Wave 3 only in boys' use of tablet PCs (mean difference 0.8 day/wk). Time of media use increased significantly between Wave 1 and Wave 3 for both sexes in all devices, measured by mean difference on weekdays and weekends (TV by 0.6 and 0.7 hr/day, tablet PCs by 0.6 and 0.8 hr/day, and smartphones by 0.4 and 0.4 hr/day). Children spent more time using media devices during weekends than on weekdays. Conclusion This study observed an increase in the tendency of media device use among preschool children in Korea. The patterns of use indicate that paying attention to the types of devices children use is needed, as well as vigilance on weekends., Graphical Abstract

Objective The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of omega-3 and Korean red ginseng on improving attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and cognitive function in children with ADHD. Methods A total of 40 children aged 6 to 12 years diagnosed with ADHD participated in this open-label trial. Participants received daily supplements containing 500 mg of omega-3 (eicosapentaenoic acid, 294 mg; docosahexaenoic acid, 206 mg) and 3 mg of Korean red ginseng extract (combination of ginsenoside Rg1, Rb1, and Rg3) for 12 weeks. No psychotropic drug was allowed during the study period. ADHD symptoms were assessed using the ADHD Rating Scale (ADHD-RS) and Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) scale. Neuropsychological tests on sustained attention, short-term memory, and executive function were also assessed. Results After 12 weeks, participants showed significant improvements on ADHD-RS (31.12 ± 8.82 at baseline, 24.15 ± 11.45 at endpoint; p < 0.001) and CGI-S (3.38 ± 1.18 at baseline, 2.94 ± 1.00 at endpoint; p < 0.001). On the Continuous Performance Test, commission errors significantly decreased, while reaction time significantly increased. Immediate recall and delayed recall on both Auditory Verbal Learning Test and Complex Figure Test showed significant improvements. Scores of Color-Word Task from Stroop Color-Word Test also showed significant improvements after the treatment. The supplement was well tolerated. Conclusion The results of this pilot study suggest that the combination of omega-3 and Korean red ginseng may improve ADHD symptoms and cognitive function including attention, memory, and executive function in children with ADHD. Future randomized placebo-controlled trials with a larger sample is warranted.

Background Childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is found to be a risk factor for substance use in adolescence, but literature has suggested that the observed influence of ADHD may be driven by the comorbid conduct disorder (CD) or oppositional defiance disorder (ODD). We examine whether childhood ADHD and CD influence lifetime use of substances, independent of other comorbid mental problems and familial risk factors. Methods A total of 712 sibling pairs from a nationally representative US longitudinal survey were followed from 1997 to 2015. The Behavior Problems Index (BPI) was used to measure mental disorders in children. The hyperactive, antisocial, headstrong, anxious/depressed subscales of the BPI for ADHD, CD, ODD, anxiety/depression of children were assessed by their biological mothers who were the primary caregiver. Lifetime substance use by age 18 was measured by self-reports. A within-family design was used to minimize confounding. Results After controlling for mother fixed effects and comorbid mental disorders, symptoms of ADHD were not associated with lifetime substance use in adolescence except for regular smoking, while those of CD were positively and significantly associated with heightened risk for lifetime use of cannabis, regular smoking, cocaine, barbiturates, tranquilizers, hallucinogens, and inhalants in adolescence. Conclusions The results suggest that the association observed between childhood ADHD and substance use in adolescence may be driven by comorbid CD whose influences are robust to other mental disorders or unobserved familial factors.

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to provide an appropriate direc tion for an effective field practice program by analyzing the factors related to practical procedures in the ambulance ride practice of paramedic students in Korea.Methods : Questionnaires were answered by 202 paramedic students from M arch 28 to April 15, 2014. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS WIN 18.0 program.Results : The general level of procedural exposure during ambulance rid e practice was 59.0% on average. Considering the practice of specific areas, vital sign checking , patient assessment, and oxygen supply showed relatively high percentages of 92.3%, 77.4% and 72.6%, r espectively, whereas the areas of fluid and drug, airway, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation recorded re latively low percentage of 25.8%, 24.1% and 50.2%, respectively. The level of direct practice was signi ficantly high in the group that included the largest number of paramedics.Conclusion : For an effective field practice, the place of practice needs to have various cases of patients to ensure a wide experience of procedures during the practice, and ambulance workers with a high level of expertise should be selected to ride with students. Keywords : Paramedic student, Ambulance ride practice, Procedure Received October 20, 2015 Revised December 5, 2015 Accepted December 21, 2015

In the LED lighting industry, the dimming function in the LED lamp is required by demands of many consumers. To drive this LED lighting, various types of power converters have been applied. Among them, an LLC resonant converter could be applied for high power LED lighting because of its high efficiency and high power density, etc. The function of power factor correction (PFC) might be added to it. In this paper, a dimmable single-stage asymmetrical LLC resonant converter is proposed. The proposed converter performs both input-current harmonics reduction and PFC using the discontinuous conduction mode (DCM). Also, the lower voltage stress across switching devices as well as the zero voltage switching (ZVS) in switching devices is realized by the proposed topology. It can reduce cost and has high efficiency of the driver. In addition, the regulation of the output power by variable switching frequency can vary the brightness of a light. In the proposed converter, one of the attractive advantages doesn’t need any extra control circuits for the dimming function. To verify the performance of the proposed converter, simulation and experimental results from a 300W prototype are provided.

Objectives: Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to influence the development of some cardiovascular disease. In this study, the association between the existence of coronary artery plaque and vitamin D was examined among participants who were not previously diagnosed with coronary artery disease. Methods: A total of 339 participants (246 men and 93 women) who visited a health examination center for check-up including blood test for serum vitamin D level and coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) were selected for this study. Results: Among the total 339 participants, 106 displayed coronary artery plaques. The serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) level of the group with plaque was lower than that of the group without (17.7 ± 7.72 ng/mL vs. 19.6 ± 7.12 ng/mL, P = 0.0316). The group with plaque had higher incidence rates of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and dyslipidemia than that without (P = 0.0078, P = 0.0065, and P = 0.0174, respectively). The former displayed higher serum glucose and glycated hemoglobin levels than the latter (P = 0.0055 and P = 0.0137, respectively). The group with plaque showed higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure than that without (P

Background The neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is often used as an inflammatory marker in chronic diseases such as cancer or cardiovascular diseases. However, there are few studies about the association between the NLR and diabetes mellitus (DM) or impaired fasting glucose (IFG) patients in Korea. This study investigated the association between the fasting plasma glucose (FPG) level and NLR in Koreans. Methods This cross-sectional retrospective study included 3,219 healthy subjects who visited Konyang University Hospital in South Korea for regular health examinations. Participants with a history of insulin administration, anti-diabetic drugs, anti-inflammatory drugs, or underlying diseases related to inflammation were excluded. Results All statistical evaluation was performed by dividing participants into males and females. Based on FPG levels, the subjects were classified into three groups, with normal fasting glucose (n=1,969), IFG (n=1,138), and DM (n=122). The NLR had no significant mean differences among these groups for both sexes. Multiple linear regression analysis between FPG level and NLR showed an independent and significantly negative association (β±standard error, -0.67±0.24; P=0.006) in normal subjects after adjustment. Log(serum C-reactive protein [S-CRP]) showed an independently and significantly positive association with FPG in male IFG/DM patients. Total leukocyte (white blood cell [WBC]) showed an independently and significantly positive association with FPG in female IFG/DM patients. Conclusion In normal subjects, NLR shows an independently and significantly negative association with FPG. In IFG/DM patients, NLR was not significantly related to FPG. WBC count in female patients and S-CRP level in male patients were significantly positively associated with FPG only in IFG/DM.

A light emitting diodes(LED) lighting has been increasingly used due to its low power consumption, long life time, high efficiency, and environment friendly characteristics. Also various power converters has been applied to drive these LED lighting. Among many power converters, a LLC resonant converter could be applied for LED lighting because of its high efficiency and high power density. Furthermore, the function of power factor correction(PFC) might be added. In this paper, 1-stage asymmetrical LLC resonant converter is proposed. The proposed converter performs both input-current harmonics reduction and PFC using the discontinuous conduction mode(DCM). The proposed 1-stage LLC resonant converter approach has the lower voltage stress across switching devices and achieve the zero voltage switching(ZVS) in switching devices. To verify the performance of the proposed converter, simulation and experimental results from a 300[W] prototype are provided.

In this paper, we propose an efficient motion estimation algorithm for MPEG-4 video coding in real-time application. The proposed algorithm first estimates initial motion vector using motion vector information in the previous frame. Based on the sum of absolute difference of the initial motion vector, it selects appropriate motion estimation algorithm. The proposed method shows similar performance with the full-search block matching algorithm (FSBMA), while reduces computational complexity greatly. We implemented and simulated the proposed algorithm on embedded DSP system. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm shows superior performance with smaller computational complexity compared to previous fast search motion estimation algorithms.

We have investigated new photoresist materials based on modified cycloolefin-maleic anhydride resin for 193nm lithography. Compared to COMA resin, the new resin offers several good properties such as UV transmittance, taper in pattern profile, PED stability and storage stability. The resist using the new resin showed good lithographic performances on ArF exposure tool. So, we obtained good hole patterns below 90nm with condition of exposure: PAS 5500/900 full field scanner, resist thickness: 320nm, development: 2.38% TMAH, for 40sec., Illumination: 0.61NA, conventional SOB: 110 degree(s)C/90sec, PEB:130 degree(s)C/90sec, on BARC. In this paper we will report on the properties of new polymer and will show the contact hole pattern that demonstrate progress in these areas.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is known as the causal agent of cervical cancer. The Papanicolaou smear is the most popular screening tool for cervical cancer. Some cytological low grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSILs) are in the developmental stage of high grade intraepithelial lesions (HSILs) and cervical cancer metaphases. Our purpose is to disclose the significance of high risk type (HRT) HPV in LSIL. Methods Documentation of 200 cases of cone biopsy at Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital from February 2006 to February 2008 was reviewed retrospectively. HPV typing with DNA microarray results were found in 20 of the LSIL patients. Chi-square and student-t tests were used in the statistical analysis. Results In the cytological LSIL patients, HRT-HPV positive patients were 16/20 (80%) and one low risk type (LRT) HPV positive patient was 1/20 (5%). In the cytological LSIL patients, postoperative pathological diagnoses were cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 1 (CIN 1) 16/26 (61.5%), CIN2 2/26 (7.7%), CIN3 5/26 (19.2%), carcinoma in situ 1/26 (3.8%). Among the 16 HRT-HPV positive patients, there were six that were above HSIL 6/16 (37.5%) in pathologic diagnoses. In the HRT-HPV negative 10 cytologic LSIL patients, there were two that were above HSIL 2/10 (20%) in pathologic diagnoses. HRT-HPV prevalences were not significantly different between LSIL and HSIL. Conclusion In HRT-HPV positive LSIL, the risk of HSIL or cancer of the cervix seems to be increasing. The HPV test is helpful in LSIL patient strategies and should be done in LSIL patients in order to discriminate between the nature and prognosis of cytological LSIL.

Purpose: We reviewed the records of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients with brain metastases, analyzed about survival and prognosis after several palliative management. Materials and Methods: Between June 1998 and January 2008, 22 patients diagnosed to have brain metastases from RCC. We retrospectively reviewed their medical records, and analyzed clinical properties. Results: Of 278 patients with RCC, 22 patients (7.9%) diagnosed to have brain metastases. The pathological T stages and Fuhrman nuclear grade of RCC at the time of initial diagnosis were various (T1: 1 patient, T2: 5, T3: 8, T4: 3, Fuhrman grade 1: 0, 2: 4, 3: 10, 4: 6, unknown: 2). Most of RCC was clear cell carcinoma (17/22). Most symptoms suggesting brain metastases were neurologic. Median cancer specific survival (CSS) of WBRT, radiosurgery, or surgery group (13/22) was 4 months, conservative management group (9/22) was 1.5 months and CSS of the former group was significantly better. Median duration of development of brain metastasis after diagnosis of RCC was 28 month (1-120). There was no difference in CSS between patients with brain metastasis developed before and after 28 month (p=0.361). Conclusions: Brain metastases of RCC have poor prognostic course. Development interval of brain metastases did not affect survival. WBRT, radiosurgery or surgery group showed better survival. Active intervention may improve survival. (Korean J Urol 2009;50:224-228) 󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏

Purpose: The surgical treatment of gastric cancer that invades adjacent organs is a radical gastrectomy with combined resection including the adjacent organs or a palliative operation by performing either a gastrojejunostomy or gastrectomy. However, since it is impossible to determine the exact stage of the cancer, either T or N, in the case of palliative surgery, it is inappropriate to predict patient prognosis. This study analyzes the prognoses for patients whose final TNM stages are determined by a combined resection performed due to macroscopical infiltration into the adjacent organs. Materials and Methods: Of 2,452 patients that underwent surgery for gastric cancer at our hospital from 1983 to 2002, we evaluated 102 patients where a combined resection was performed because direct infiltration into the adjacent organs was discovered. Results: Univariate analysis showed that the survival rate differed by the depth of invasion into the gastric walls, the degree of lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, pathological TNM stage, surgical curability, the location of tumor, and histological differentiation. By multivariate analysis, it was found that the surgical curability, the location of the tumor and the degree of lymph node metastasis were independent prognostic factors. Conclusion: It is suggested that even when infiltration into adjacent organs is suspected, radical surgery should be performed as to allow a prediction of prognosis through an exact determination of disease stage, and to improve the survival rate.