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Aim The purpose of this study was to verify the validity and reliability of the resilience scale for nurses (RSN). Methods 27 preliminary items were extracted from previous research. The subjects were 339 nurses who worked at 2 hospitals in South Korea in 2016. Collected data were analyzed using explanatory factor analysis (EFA). EFA was performed with principal axis factoring with oblimin rotation and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 25.0 version program. Also, data were examined by construct, discriminant, and convergent validity, and internal consistency reliability. Results Resilience scale for nurses showed CFA supported the four-factor structure (Philosophical pattern, Relational pattern, Dispositional pattern, and Situational pattern) of the measure. The 19 items for 4 factors identified that explained 67.329% of the total variance in RSN. A total the internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.938) was stable. Conclusion Psychometric properties of RSN show that it is a useful and reliable scale to assess Resilience in Korean nurses. Based on these results, effective resilience intervention programs for nurses can be developed.

Background The solution to the shortage of nursing staff is to improve the quality of nursing education and training rather than to increase the admission capacity. It is necessary for the university to establish the current level of nursing education and find ways to improve it. The clinical competence of nursing college students is an ability to perform the desired nursing role to solve the nursing needs of the subjects in the clinical field, which is an important aspect of nursing students' practical training. Therefore, to improve the quality of practical training, it is necessary to improve the clinical competence of nursing students. Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating effect of social support and resilience on the relationships of campus life adaptation and clinical competence. Design This study is of a cross-sectional, descriptive correlation design. Methods Characteristics of the respondents, campus life adaptation, social support, resilience, and clinical competence were collected, using self-reported questionnaires, from July 1 to September 10, 2017. Data were analyzed by frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test and ANOVA with Scheffe post hoc, Pearson correlation coefficients, the 3-steps multiple regression statistics of Baron and Kenny. Results Social support and resilience had a partial mediating effect on the relationships of campus life adaptation and clinical competence. In addition, clinical competence increased as more male nursing students enrolled and more students adapted well to the nursing department. Conclusions The result of this study is expected to be used as evidence data for the development of a program to improve the clinical competence of nursing students.

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the disaster perception and satisfaction level of volunteer fire-fighters on the continuity of their volunteering. The 163 subjects in this study were selected from male and female volunteer fire-fighters who resided in urban and rural regions in Gangwon Province. After a this survey was conducted, the collected data were analyzed by a statistical package SPSS WIN 20.0, and frequency analysis, correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were made. The level of statistical significance was all set at p

PURPOSE To evaluate postoperative changes of the intermittent exotropia type as classified by 1-hour monocular occlusion test. DESIGN Institutional, retrospective study. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 179 patients who had undergone surgery for intermittent exotropia with a postoperative follow-up of 6 months or more. We evaluated the exodeviation obtained before and after 1-hour monocular occlusion preoperatively and again at postoperative 1, 3 and 6 months. Intermittent exotropia was divided into 4 types according to Burian's classification. The main outcome measure was the distribution of intermittent exotropia type based on 1-hour monocular occlusion in both pre- and postoperative periods. RESULTS Of the 179 patients, 152 (84.9%) were assigned preoperatively to the basic type, 14 (7.8%) to the pseudo-divergence excess type, and 13 (7.8%) to the convergence insufficiency type. At postoperative 1, 3, and 6 months, the exotropia-type distribution was shifted predominantly to the basic type (p

AIM The purpose of this study was to identify the relationships of mental health and internet use in Korean adolescents. Also, it was intended to provide guidelines for reducing internet overuse based on the influencing factors of internet use. METHODS Participants in this study were convenient sampling, and selected middle and high school students in Incheon metropolitan city, South Korea. Internet use and mental health of adolescents were measured by self-reported instruments. This study was carried out from June to July 2014. 1248 participants were collected overall except for insufficient data. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression. RESULTS There were significant correlations between mental health and internet use. The significant influencing factors of internet use were normal internet use group, mental health, middle school, internet using time on weekends (3 h or more), internet using time at a time (3 h or more), and high school record. These six variables accounted for 38.1% of internet use. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study will be used as guidelines for reducing internet overuse of adolescents.

It has been reported that safflower seeds have preventive effects against osteoporosis. Recently, safflower buds (SB) were found to have more useful functional ingredients than safflower seeds. In the current study, we evaluated the anti-osteoporosis effects of SB diet in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. The rats were divided into five groups; sham operated group, OVX alone group, OVX plus 17β-estradiol (E2 10 μg/kg, i.p.) and OVX plus SB diet feeding group (0.3% or 1%). Feeding of SB diet (0.3% or 1%) to OVX rats markedly increased bone mineral density (BMD) of femurs, compared to the OVX group. The OVX rats exhibited a marked increase in trabecular separation (Tb.Sp) and this change was inhibited by the feeding of SB diet, similar to that seen with OVX+E2 group. Moreover, feeding of SB diet to OVX rats decreased the markers of bone turnover, including osteocalcin and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). These results suggest that SB extract has a bone sparing effect in OVX-induced trabecular bone loss and prevents deterioration of bone microarchitecture by suppressing the rate of bone turnover. Therefore, SB may be useful for preserving bone mass and structure in estrogen deficient women with a potential role in reducing postmenopausal osteoporosis.

[Purpose] Although the Push-Up Plus is a useful exercise method for shoulder stabilization, few studies have examined its effects at different angles of shoulder rotation. Therefore, the present study investigated the most effective exercise method for shoulder stabilization by analyzing muscle activities of the rotator cuff muscles at different angles of shoulder rotation. [Subjects] Fifteen healthy university students in their 20s were the subjects of this study. [Methods] Changes in muscle EMG related to shoulder stabilization were analyzed by performing the Push-Up Plus in shoulder positions of neutral, internal and external rotation. [Results] The highest muscle activity was found in external rotation, and in internal rotation the pectoralis major and levator scapula showed significantly lower activities than the other positions. [Conclusion] Selectively changing the rotation angle of the shoulder for different purposes of the shoulder exercise would be an effective exercise method.

Background One of the main concerns in orbital blowout fracture repair is a narrow operation field, due mainly to the innate complex three dimensions of the orbit; however, a deep location and extensive area of the fracture and soft tissue edema can also cause concern. Swelling of the orbital contents progresses as the operation continues. Mannitol has been used empirically in glaucoma, cerebral hemorrhage, and orbital compartment syndrome for decompression. The authors adopted mannitol for the control of intraorbital edema and pressure in orbital blowout fracture repair. Methods This prospective study included 108 consecutive patients who were treated for a pure blowout fracture from January 2007 to October 2012. For group I, mannitol was administered during the operation. Under general anesthesia, all patients underwent surgery by open reduction and insertion of an absorbable mesh implant. The authors compared postoperative complications, the reoperation rate, operation time, and surgical field improvement between the two groups. Results In patients who received intraoperative administration of mannitol, the reoperation rate and operation time were decreased; however, the difference was not statistically significant. The total postoperative complication rates did not differ. Panel assessment for the intraoperative surgical field video recordings showed significantly improved vision in group I. Conclusions For six years, mannitol proved itself an effective, reliable, and safe adjunctive drug in the repair of orbital blowout fractures. With its rapid onset and short duration of action, mannitol could be one of the best methods for obtaining a wider surgical field in blowout fracture defects.

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the self- regulation of paramedics on their job satisfaction and turnover intention. The subjects in this study were 300 paramedics who worked at general and larger hospitals. A survey was conducted for about four months from May 6 to August 30, 2012. As for data analysis, the statistical package SPSS WIN 18.0 was employed to make a frequency analysis, and the reliability of the instrument used was checked. A factor analysis was made, and a correlation analysis was carried out to look for connections between the variables, and a multiple regression analysis was utilized. Concerning the general characteristics of the respondents, many of the respondents were female, in their 20s, unmarried and received junior-college or higher education. Self-regulation had a very close correlation to job satisfaction and turnover intention, and self-regulation affected the subfactors of job satisfaction. Self-regulation exerted an influence on job satisfaction and turnover intention. The findings of the study are expected to suggest how to boost the job satisfaction of paramedics to step up the development of the organization that they belong to.

The spread of internet media is accelerating companies to create their own on-line brand community as one of their marketing communication tools because of the advantages in terms of cost-saving and raising their brand loyalty. The purpose of this study was to examine how the consumer`s activities in the customer self-driven on line fashion brand community ultimately affect building a structural relationship between brand attitude and brand loyalty. In order to conduct this study, on-line field survey was conducted including a series of filtering questions measuring respondent`s level of the community participation. SPSS 18.0 and AMOS 18.0 were used for the structure equation modeling. The result of empirical analysis showed that the attachment and the loyalty of online community have significant influences on brand attitude and brand loyalty. Also, brand attitude partly played a role as a mediating variable in the path to influence brand loyalty. Lastly, the mediating effects of brand attitude may depend on participation level of these online fashion brand community relationships.

Introduction Hearing loss is a common chronic disorder characterized by decline of auditory function. The global population have suffered from deafness and the transplantation of stem cells is regarded as a therapeutic strategy for this disease. Methods We collected placenta from a total of 13 samples of full term pregnant women and isolated MSCs derived from human placenta and transplanted MSCs on deaf animal model. The normal group and the sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) group and the experimental (transplanted MSCs) group were compared and estimated hearing level using auditory brainstem response (ABR) recordings and the otoacoustic emission (OAE) test. Results ABR threshold value and DPOAE level showed that MSCs transplantation groups was improved than the SNHL group. And the number of spiral ganglion neurons were increased in all turn of the cochlea. And there was no evidence of acute immunological rejection and inflammation response was not observed. Discussion This study is to evaluate regenerative efficacy of hearing loss by transplanting mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) derived from human placenta (amnion and chorion) in deaf animal model. We identified that MSCs transplantation restored auditory impairment and promoted cell regeneration. We hope to overcome sensorineural hearing loss by transplanting stem cells such as mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) from easily accessible adult stem cell source in placenta.

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are multipotent progenitor cells in adult tissues. Current challenges for the clinical application of MSCs include donor site morbidity, which underscores the need to identify alternative sources of MSCs. This study aimed to explore potential new sources of multipotent MSCs for use in tissue regeneration and the functional restoration of organs.Mixed methods research.Tertiary care center.The authors isolated MSCs from human inferior turbinate tissues discarded during turbinate surgery of 10 patients for nasal obstruction. The expression of surface markers for MSCs was assessed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. The differentiation potential of human turbinate mesenchymal stromal cells (hTMSCs) was analyzed by immunohistochemistry, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and Western blot analysis.Surface epitope analysis revealed that hTMSCs were negative for CD14, CD19, CD34, and HLA-DR and positive for CD29, CD73, and CD90, representing a characteristic phenotype of MSCs. Extracellular matrices with characteristics of cartilage, bone, and adipose tissue were produced by inducing the chondrogenic, osteogenic, and adipogenic differentiation of hTMSCs, respectively. The expression of neuron-specific markers in hTMSCs was confirmed immunocytochemically.The hTMSCs represent a new source of multipotent MSCs that are potentially applicable to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. The availability of differentiated adult cells will allow the development of an effective tissue regeneration method.

The purpose of this study is to analyze medical expenses by decedents in their last year of life and compare them with those by survivors during the year 2008. This study is conducted firstly in Korea, except some studies focusing on medical cost of decedents from specific diseases. To study this, national health insurance(NHI) claims data was used with medicaid claims data. The study group(decedents) was selected from the insurance entitlement file who were dropped out from January to December of 2008. The control group(survivors) was selected from the entitlement file by stratified sampling with keeping age-sex composition of the study group. The medical expenses of decedents during one year before death were measured and compared with those of survivors by sex and age. And the medical expenses were analyzed by causes of death, and also the expenses were examined by each item of medical services. On average, the medical expense amounted to 11 million Korean Won per decedent during their last year of life in 2008. The medical expense per decedent was 9.3 higher than that of survivor. The death-related expense of under the age 35 was about 16 million Won, compared with 4 million Won in the case of over the age 95, in average. The death-related expense is higher in younger ages. This means that more medical resources are put in to save life in younger ages. Total death-related expenditure took 8.3 percent in total NHI expenditures. Of the death-related medical expenses, the largest one was injection-related cost which shares twenty five percent, and the second largest one was hospitalization charges, and then the third one was surgery cost. The results of this study suggested that we should pay attention to the medical expenses in the last of year of life when we study health care expenditure in Korea. In addition, we have to deliberate health care policy to cope with medical expenditures before death in more efficient way.

The major aim of this study was to find out that the relation between consumers value and experience quality toward purchase intention in addition to the influence of the consumers value and experience quality on the effects of scarcity message types collaboration using limited edition in global SPA brand. As a result of an empirical analysis, it shows that consumers value and experience quality are co-related to the intention of purchase, especially, brand familiarity and reputation influenced scarcity valuation in the affirmative and both emotional value and epistemic value influenced the intention of purchase under scarcity message. The moderating effect of consumers value and experience quality however, turns out to be not significant although its effect is directionally supported that is purchase intention was high when scarcity message is shown. Moreover, emotional epistemic group was influenced by scarcity message so we found that consumers value is changed to emotional with subjective. This result indicates that we need the scarcity message type reflecting the characteristics of consumers value and experience quality to increase customer's purchase intention.

As new luxury brands are becoming more popular, recent new luxury consumers are showing different tendencies of consumption. The purpose of this study is to investigates the specific bond between the product benefits for new luxury fashion brand and the consumer-brand relationship. Specifically this study conceptualizes the dual path which leads to brand loyalty and brand commitment. 300 data from on-line survey were collected from middle class women who had trading up needs and respondents were asked to select their favorable new luxury fashion brand. As a result of an exploratory factor analysis to identify the structural dimensions of product benefit for new luxury brand groups, four factors were extracted; psychological/emotional benefits, social/symbolic benefits, self-expressive benefits, and product functional benefit. Additional results show that brand attitude had more positive effect on brand loyalty and brand attachment had more positive effect on brand commitment. The findings of this study contribute to provide practical implication on market segmentation for new luxury brands.

Consumer expectations for ethical businesses have become increasingly high in recent years; the fashion industry is working to implement greater corporate social responsibility (CSR). This study establishes the effects of the evaluation for participation in fashion brand CSR on perceived purchase values. In particular, the process for the evaluation for participation that affect the perceived purchase value through consumer-brand identifications (personal/social) was verified and how the consumer regulatory focuses would influence this process was identified. For this study, an on-line survey was conducted that included a series of filtering questions that measured the level of social concern of respondents. Valid data from 505 female consumers were analyzed for the structure equation modeling. The empirical results suggested that the evaluation for participation in fashion brand CSR positively affected the two dimensions of consumer-brand identification; personal identification and social identification. In addition, consumer-brand identification played a role as a mediating variable in the path to influence the perceived purchase values of CSR brands. Lastly, there were differences in reactions to CSR activities by consumer groups with different regulatory focuses. The effect of the evaluation for participation in fashion brand CSR was shown to be higher for consumers with promotion focuses than on consumers with prevention focuses. The results of this study will help fashion companies understand the importance of the consumer participation in CSR by having consumers participate in ethical consumption.

The Internet has the potential to create new channels that might be beneficial to fashion consumers. This study examines the effects of consumer involvement and Internet behavior in on-going Internet information searches through the young female generation. For the practical research, the survey was conducted from June to July 2009. Data was collected in a total of 368 questionnaires from female university students in their 20`s and analyzed 300 questionnaires with SPSS 12.0. The results were as follows. First, clothing involvement, fashion involvement, internet involvement, and Internet shopping interest had been considered as antecedents of on-going Internet information search behavior. Second, clothing involvement and Internet involvement significantly affected Internet shopping interest. However, fashion involvement and Internet involvement showed direct paths to on-going Internet information searches. Third, there were significant effects in Internet shopping interest and on-going Internet information searches. Forth, the respondents were segmented by two groups according to the level of ongoing information searches. These segmented two groups were different in regard to clothing shopping behaviors and impulse purchase behaviors.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the perceived motivations of the corporate social marketing to fashion brand and the process of consumer-brand relationship building. In this study, we proposed the hypotheses on the relationships among six focal variables. The collected data were analyzed by frequency analysis, reliability analysis, factor analysis and covariance structure analysis with SPSS 12.0 program and AMOS 7.0. 519 complete responses were obtained from core female adults consumers in fashion market. The results were as follows. First, philanthropic motivation significantly affected both benevolence and expert-based trust, but economic motivation significantly affected expert-based trust only. Second, there were significant effects in consumer trust and brand emotion. Third, the brand emotion had a strong influence on brand commitment. The results of this study will help fashion corporations to understand the relative importance of the two different motivations of CSR activities in building consumer-brand relationships.

Purpose To determine whether the inferior oblique (IO) muscle weakening procedure combined with exotropia surgery affects the surgical correction of exotropia. Design Institutional, retrospective study. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 310 patients who had undergone exotropia-correcting surgery combined with IO weakening (group A, 64 patients) or without IO weakening (group B, 246) with a postoperative follow-up of 6 months or more. The main outcome measures were the postoperative mean angle of horizontal deviation, the success rate, and the overcorrection rate. Surgical success was defined as an alignment between 10 prism diopters (PD) of exodeviation and 5 PD of esodeviation. Results The postoperative mean angles of exodeviation, throughout the follow-up period, did not significantly differ between the groups. Although the surgical success rate was higher in group B at postoperative 1 month (p = 0.035), there was no statistical difference between the 2 groups from postoperative 6 months.: The final success rates were 56.3 and 51.6% (p = 0.509). The overcorrection rate was significantly higher in group A at postoperative 1, 6 and 24 months (p = 0.017, p = 0.028, p = 0.030, respectively); however, at the final follow-up, there was no overcorrection in either group. Conclusion The overcorrection rate was higher in group A until postoperative 2 years, even though the mean angles of exodeviation and the success rates did not significantly differ between the 2 groups. Surgeons should be mindful of overcorrection when planning exotropia surgery combined with the IO weakening procedure.

In this paper, we propose a detection method of reduced computational complexity aimed at separating the moving objects from the background in a generic video sequence. In generally, indoor environments, it is difficult to accurately detect the object because environmental factors, such as lighting changes, shadows, reflections on the floor. First, the background image to detect an object is created. If an object exists in video, on a previously created background images for similarity comparison between the current input image and to detect objects through several operations to generate a mixture image. Mixed-use video and video inputs to detect objects. To complement the objects detected through the labeling process to remove noise components and then apply the technique of morphology complements the object area. Environment variable such as, lighting changes and shadows, to the strength of the object is detected. In this paper, we proposed that environmental factors, such as lighting changes, shadows, reflections on the floor, including the system uses mixture images. Therefore, the existing system more effectively than the object region is detected.

Objectives Many factors influence the outcome of endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR). One of the most important prognostic factors is the level of obstruction in the lacrimal drainage system. The main objective of this report is to evaluate both the frequency of obstruction by anatomical region of the lacrimal drainage system on dacryocystography (DCG) and the surgical outcome of endoscopic DCR according to the obstruction level. Methods A retrospective series of 48 patients (60 eyes) who had undergone endoscopic DCR from January 2005 to November 2007 were enrolled. Preoperative evaluation consisted of a standard examination which included lacrimal irrigation, probing, DCG and osteomeatal unit (OMU) computed tomography. Patients were classified into four groups according to the obstruction level on DCG. Surgical outcome was evaluated postoperatively by subjective improvement of epiphora and patent rhinostomy opening on nasal endoscopic exam. Results Of 60 eyes, the levels of obstruction were the common canaliculus in 14 eyes (23.3%), the lacrimal sac in 13 eyes (21.7%), the duct-sac junction in 13 eyes (21.7%) and the nasolacrimal duct (NLD) in 20 eyes (33.3%). The ductsac junction obstruction was treated most successfully (100%), followed by NLD obstruction (90%), common canaliculus obstruction (78.6%) and saccal obstruction (69.2%). Conclusion In patients with lacrimal drainage system obstruction, preoperative evaluation of obstruction level using DCG may be helpful for predicting the surgical outcome of endoscopic DCR. The saccal obstruction may have a worse prognosis than the other obstruction levels.

To examine the possibility of luteolin as a whitening agent, we measured antioxidant activity using DPPH assay, NBT/XO assay and intracellular ROS scavengning assay and depigmenting activity using tyrosinase assay, alpha-MSH-induced melanin production in B-16 cells. Luteolin showed dose-dependent anti-oxidant activity in DPPH, NBT/XO and intracellular ROS assay. Also, luteolin directly inhibited xanthine oxidase activity in a dose-dependent manner. Although luteolin did not directly inhibit tyrosinase activity, it dose-dependently inhibited both tyrosinase activity and melanin production in B16 melanoma cells stimulated by 1 microM alpha-MSH. Luteolin dose-dependently inhibited cAMP levels in B16 melanoma cells stimulated by 1 microM alpha-MSH and 1 microM forskolin, which suggest that luteolin directly inhibits adenyl cyclase in B16 melanoma cells. Therefore, these results suggest that whitening activity of luteolin may be due to the inhibition of adenyl cyclase involved in the signal pathway of alpha-MSH in B16 melanoma cells.

This study was carried out to establish the optimal preparation conditions of yoghurt made from goat milk with reduced goaty flavor by adding citrus concentrate and flavor. A central composite design was applied to investigate the effects of citrus concentrate ratio (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5%), citrus flavor ratio (0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05%) and fructose ratio (3, 4, 5, 6, 7%). The physico-chemical and sensory characteristics of the sixteen yoghurt samples were compared. The addition of citrus concentrate had a significant (p values. Regarding organoleptic properties, the addition of citrus concentrate had a significant (p

Music education does not exist independently, but is influenced by changes in society. Music educators must be responsive to those influences. By relating music education to political, economic, social, cultural and educational developments in the Republic of Korea during the period from 1945 to 2005, this article aims to put that education in a historical and social context. During those 60 years, Korean school music education has changed considerably in response to the development of government, economy, culture and general education in Korean society. Music curricula and textbooks have been transformed seven times in response to changes in Korean public life. The most substantial changes may be summarized as follows: (1) as the political influence on music education lessened, educators deemphasized moral development and stressed the development of aesthetic perception and sensitivity; (2) the nation's economic growth contributed to the provision of adequate music programs; (3) as music education became more receptive to social changes, songs from continents and cultures other than Europe and the USA were included and the use of music technology in the classroom was encouraged; and (4) continuous efforts to encourage reverence for Korean traditions led to a significant increase in the percentage of traditional Korean music included in the curriculum.

Employing microfluorometric system and patch clamp technique in rabbit basilar arterial myocytes, regulation mechanisms of vascular excitability were investigated by applying intracellular pH (pH(i)) changers such as sodium acetate (SA) and NH(4)Cl. Applications of caffeine produced transient phasic contractions in a reversible manner. These caffeine-induced contractions were significantly enhanced by SA and suppressed by NH(4)Cl. Intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) was monitored in a single isolated myocyte and based the ratio of fluorescence using Fura-2 AM (R (340/380)). SA (20 mM) increased and NH(4)Cl (20 mM) decreased R (340/380) by 0.2 +/- 0.03 and 0.1 +/- 0.02, respectively, in a reversible manner. Caffeine (10 mM) transiently increased R (340/380) by 0.9 +/- 0.07, and the ratio increment was significantly enhanced by SA and suppressed by NH(4)Cl, implying that SA and NH(4)Cl may affect [Ca(2+)](i) (p < 0.05). Accordingly, we studied the effects of SA and NH(4)Cl on Ca(2+)-activated K(+) current (IK(Ca)) under patch clamp technique. Caffeine produced transient outward current at holding potential (V (h)) of 0 mV, caffeine induced transient outward K(+) current, and the spontaneous transient outward currents were significantly enhanced by SA and suppressed by NH(4)Cl. In addition, IK(Ca) was significantly increased by acidotic condition when pH(i) was lowered by altering the NH(4)Cl gradient across the cell membrane. Finally, the effects of SA and NH(4)Cl on the membrane excitability and basal tension were studied: Under current clamp mode, resting membrane potential (RMP) was -28 +/- 2.3 mV in a single cell level and was depolarized by 13 +/- 2.4 mV with 2 mM tetraethylammonium (TEA). SA hyperpolarized and NH(4)Cl depolarized RMP by 10 +/- 1.9 and 16 +/- 4.7 mV, respectively. SA-induced hyperpolarization and relaxation of basal tension was significantly inhibited by TEA. These results suggest that SA and NH(4)Cl might regulate vascular tone by altering membrane excitability through modulation of [Ca(2+)](i) and Ca(2+)-activated K channels in rabbit basilar artery.

Fungicides including keroxym-methyl (strobilurin fungicide), fenarimol and trifulmizole (DMI, boscalid (anilide) and metrafenone (benzophenone) were evaluated for preventive and curative efficacies against powdery mildew on oriental melon. The fungicides were applied preventatively at 7 days, 3 days and 3 hours before inoculation. Curative applications were made by applying fungicides three times at the interval of one week when infected leaves by powdery mildew were about 16% or 30%. Then preventative and curative efficacies were evaluated one week after inoculation and final application, respectively. Boscalid and metrafenone showed preventive efficacies of 74.3 and 68.3% against powdery mildew development respectively, when treated at 7 days before inoculation. They showed 89.4 and 87.2% efficacies when treated at 3 days before iniculation and 98.5 and 93.2% at 3 hours before inoculation respectively. However, there were no preventive efficacies in kresoxym-methyl, triflumizole and femarimol (DMI fungicides) when trebled at both 7 and 3 days before inoculation. At the preventive treatment 3 hours before inoculation, they indicated 59.0, 42.5, and 37.2% efficacies, respectively. When leaves were infected about 30% by powdery mildew, curative application of boscalid and metrafenone showed 85.9 and 74.0% of efficacies, respectively. Curative efficacies of kresoxym-methyl, tiflumizole and fernarimol were 5.5, 23.0 and 46.7% respectively. When leaves were infected about 16%, curative application of boscalid and metrafenone showed 100 and 97.5% of efficacies, respectively. However, the triflumizole and fernarimol showed relatively low curative efficacies of 30.8 and 51.6%, respectively. Microscopic observation of mycelial growth and conidia formation after detection of powdery mildew disease indicated lysis of mycelium and these lysis suppression of conidia formation showed tendency in accordance with curative efficacies of fungicides.

Nanocomposites based on thermoplastic elastomeric polyurethane (TPU) and layered silicate clay were prepared by in situ synthesis. The properties of nanocomposites of TPU with unmodified clay were compared with that of organically modified clay. The nanocomposites of the TPU and organomodified clay showed better dispersion and exhibited superior properties. Exfoliation of the clay layers was observed at low organoclay contents, whereas an intercalated morphology was observed at higher clay contents. As one of major purposes of this study, the effect of the silicate layers in the nanocomposites on the order–disorder transition temperature (TODT) of the TPU was evaluated from the intensity change of the hydrogen-bonded and free carbonyl stretching peaks and from the peak position change of the NH bending peak. The presence of the organoclay increased TODT by approximately 10°C, which indicated improved stability in the phase-separated domain structure. The layered silicate clay caused a tremendous improvement in the stiffness of the TPU; meanwhile, a reduction in the ultimate elongation was observed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 3048–3055, 2006

Silicon is known to accumulate in plants and results in greater resistance to diseases and insect pests. In this study, we investigated the effect of silicate fertilizer applied in soil on the development of powdery mildew of oriental melon. Oriental melon seedlings of four-leaf stage were transplanted and grown in a plastic film house. Silicate fertilizer was applied to maintain soil available level of 200 mg/kg one week before transplanting. Fungicide triflumizol was sprayed three times; one, two, and three weeks after transplanting. Sphaerotheca fuliginea was inoculated 2 weeks after transplanting. The number of infected leaf and the number of fungal colony in leaves were measured one, two, and three weeks after the inoculation. Three weeks after the fungal inoculation, in the treatment of fungicide triflumizol. infected leaf numbers and number of colony per leaf were reduced by 10 and 58%, respectively. In the silicate fertilizer treatment, infected leaf numbers and numbers of colony per infected leaf were suppressed only by 6 and 16%, respectively, and the efficacy was lower than that of the fungicide triflumizol. The combined treatment of silicate fertilizer and the fungicide suppressed powdery mildew more effectively, and infected leaf numbers and numbers of colony per leaf were reduced by 31 and 80%, respectively. These results indicate that although silicate fertilizer itself is not much effective in the suppression of powdery mildew, it can significantly enhance the efficacy of the fungicide.

A lactic acid bacterium showing antimicrobial activity against fish pathogen was isolated from gastrointestinal tract of flounder for the purpose of use as an aquaculture probiotics. From the analysis of morphological and physiological characteristics, the isolated strain was named as Lactococcus sp. HM58. Antimicrobial substance (AMS) from Lactococcus sp. HM58 showed strong growth inhibitory activity against Streptococcus sp., which is a fish pathogenic bacterium. AMS was presumed a proteinaceous compound with stability in heat and wide pH range from 2 to 10. It was started to produce in exponential growth phase and was not produced any more in stationary phase. It showed comparatively broad antimicrobial spectrum against most of gram positive bacteria used for this study. About of Lactococcus sp. HM58 was able to survive in the artificial gastric juice though it was low to the extent in the artificial bile juice. In the sensitivity test for various antibiotics, this strain was highly sensitive for doxycycline, erythromycin, amoxicillin clavu1anic acid and ampicillin.

We evaluated effect of horizontal rectus surgery on sub-A or sub-V pattern intermittent exotropia. We enrolled patients with sub-A or sub-V pattern intermittent exotropia. The sub-A pattern was diagnosed when the eyes diverged less than 10 prism diopters (PD) from upgaze to downgaze, and sub-V pattern when the divergence was 14 PD or less from downgaze to upgaze. Patients had undergone horizontal rectus surgery without vertical transposition of horizontal rectus muscle or oblique muscle weakening. The patients were divided into two groups: sub-A pattern (group A) and sub-V pattern (group V). The outcome measures were change of amount of pattern and rate of collapse of pattern postoperatively. The amount of pattern (vertical incomitance) was amount of difference in exodeviation between upgaze and downgaze. Collapse of pattern was defined as disappearance of difference in exodeviation between upgaze and downgaze. In groups A and V, preoperative amounts of pattern were 4.9 PD and 6.8 PD, respectively. A significant reduction in amount of pattern was observed in both groups throughout the follow-up period (p

As pediatric nurses must make decisions on a regular basis when caring for hospitalized children, clinical decision-making abilities are necessary in this profession. In the present study, we explored clinical decision-making patterns and their association with self-efficacy and nursing professionalism in pediatric nurses. We surveyed 173 pediatric nurses and analyzed the relationships between their clinical decision-making patterns and self-efficacy and nursing professionalism. Factor analysis identified 5 clinical decision-making patterns: patient–family–nurse collaborative (PNC), individual patient-oriented (IP), nurse model-oriented (NM), pattern-oriented intuitive (PI), and nursing knowledge-oriented (NK). The most frequently observed clinical decision-making pattern was the PNC. The self-efficacy and nursing professionalism were found to be higher in pediatric nurses using the IP and NM, and were lower for those using the PNC. Thus, the present results suggest that pediatric nurses' clinical decision-making patterns are influenced by nursing professionalism and self-efficacy. Therefore, intervention programs focusing on these variables might improve clinical decision-making in pediatric nurses.

Socio-cultural attitudes on obesity differently influence on formation of individual person's body image, attitudes, and appearance management and involvement. Recently consumer market research on young female plus-size consumers clearly shows the increasing population of obesity and the changing social perception on the plus-size market from being negative to being somewhat positive.

Objective and Background: Strabismus and anisometropia early in life frequently causes monocular amblyopia. Activation of the visual cortex is compared between the two types of amblyopia to elucidate differences in the pathogenetic mechanism of the disease. Methods: Using an EPI gradient echo sequence in 1.5T MRI, calcarine activation by monocular viewing of checkerboard patterns with reversal was examined in terms of binocularity of the activation and dependence on the spatial frequency of the stimuli. Results: First, the proportion of voxels activated by both normal and amblyopic eye monocular stimulations is lower in the strabismic group than in the anisometropic group. Second, the activation by higher-spatial-frequency stimuli is reduced in the anisometropic group, but not in the strabismic group. Conclusions: These findings from the human visual cortex are consistent with the view proposed based on animal research that the loss of binocular interaction and the undersampling of high-spatial-frequency components of visual stimuli are each one of the underlying changes in strabismic and anisometropic amblyopia, respectively.

BACKGROUND/AIMS—In search of a way to prevent postoperative adhesion after strabismus surgery, an animal study was performed to assess the effect of a gel consisting of a polyglycan ester in a gelatin matrix (ADCON-L). METHODS—Bilateral recessions of superior rectus muscle (SR) were performed on 16 rabbits. ADCON-L was applied beneath and over the SR in the right eyes of all rabbits, while the operative fields in the left eyes were irrigated with a balanced salt solution (BSS). The adjustment was performed on each SR at 4 and 7 days postoperatively on the same eye. The length and force of the adjustment and the degree of adhesion were recorded. At 3 weeks postoperatively, disinsertional force was measured in several of the eyes, and the other eyes were enucleated. RESULTS—The length of the adjustment was longer and the force of the adjustment was less in the ADCON-L group than in the BSS treated group at 4 and 7 days postoperatively (p=0.00). A significant reduction (p=0.00) in the degree of adhesion was noted in eyes treated with ADCON-L. There was no significant difference in disinsertional force between the two groups. Histopathological evaluation of the muscle revealed decreased fibrosis of perimuscular connective tissue in eyes treated with ADCON-L at 3 weeks postoperatively. CONCLUSION—This study suggests that ADCON-L helps to prevent postoperative adhesion in rabbits and enables adjustment twice within 7 days postoperatively without complications.

We performed this study to determine whether positron emission tomography (PET) would play a useful role in the investigation of cortical visual impairment (CVI). Eight children with CVI and 12 normal volunteers were examined using F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose PET. PET images were spatially transformed on standard templates and normalized with global counts. By using statistical parametric mapping 96 software, PET images of the CVI patients were compared with those of the normal group to display pixels with significantly decreased metabolism (p