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Hye Jung Park,1 Soyoung Jeon,2 Hye Sun Lee,2 Bo Yeon Kim,3 Yu Jin Chae,3 Gui Ok Kim,3 Jung-Won Park,4,5 Jae-Hyun Lee4,5 1Department of Internal Medicine, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 2Biostatistics Collaboration Unit, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 3Healthcare Insurance Review & Assessment Service, Wonju, Republic of Korea; 4Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 5Institute of Allergy, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of KoreaCorrespondence: Jae-Hyun Lee, Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, Institute of Allergy, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea, Tel +82-2-2228-1977, Fax +82-2-393-6884, Email jhleemd@yuhs.acBackground: Although a wide variety of asthma medications have been developed and are used in clinical practice, there is limited evidence of their comparative effects on asthma exacerbations.Methods: We used claims data provided by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. We selected subjects commencing asthma treatment between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018, with no change in drug regimen. The primary outcome was asthma exacerbation requiring systemic corticosteroids. Cox regression analysis was used to assess outcomes considering the exacerbation-free period.Results: Of the 254,951 asthma subjects, 107,694 subjects (42.2%) experienced asthma exacerbation. Inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) (hazard ratio [HR], 0.378– 0.508), ICS-long-acting β2-agonist (LABAs) (HR, 0.284– 0.479), long-acting muscarine antagonists (LAMAs) (HR, 0.432– 0.572), leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRAs) (HR, 0.371– 0.419), and xanthines (HR, 0.326– 0.482) significantly reduced the rate of first and second exacerbation of asthma (all P-values, < 0.001). The clinical effectiveness of asthma medications varied according to the active ingredient (HR 0.164– 0.670) and was significant for all active ingredients (all P-values, < 0.001). The effectiveness of combination treatment using ICS-LABA and LTRA varied (HR, 0.159– 0.670); however, all combination treatment options evaluated were effective in preventing asthma exacerbations (all P-values, < 0.001). Long-term use of ICS-LABA (HR, 0.278– 0.653), LTRA (HR, 0.259– 0.628), and xanthines (HR, 0.351– 0.783) showed consistent effectiveness (all P-values, < 0.001).Conclusion: This real-world study showed that the effectiveness of asthma medications varied according to drug type, active ingredient, combination, and period of use, although effectiveness was significant in all cases studied.Keywords: asthma, medication, exacerbation, real-world data, drug, combination

We developed inverted red quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) with ZnO nanoparticles synthesized in open and closed systems. Wurtzite-structured ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized using potassium hydroxide and zinc acetate dihydrate at various temperatures in the open and closed systems. The particle size increases with increasing synthesis temperature. The ZnO nanoparticles synthesized at 50, 60, and 70 °C in the closed system have an average particle size of 3.2, 4.0, and 5.4 nm, respectively. The particle size is larger in the open system compared to the closed system as the methanol solvent evaporates during the synthesis process. The surface defect-induced emission in ZnO nanoparticles shifts to a longer wavelength and the emission intensity decreases as the synthesis temperature increases. The inverted red QLEDs were fabricated with a synthesized ZnO nanoparticle electron transport layer. The driving voltage of the inverted QLEDs decreases as the synthesis temperature increases. The current efficiency is higher in the inverted red QLEDs with the ZnO nanoparticles synthesized in the closed system compared to the devices with the nanoparticles synthesized in the open system. The device with the ZnO nanoparticles synthesized at 60 °C in the closed system exhibits the maximum current efficiency of 5.8 cd/A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study examines the utility of Pearlin's caregiving stress model for understanding the caregiving satisfaction of elderly mothers of adult children with intellectual disability. Methods: Mothers living in Seoul, Kyonggi, and Incheon who were 55 years of age or older and providing care for adult children with intellectual disability aged 18 or above were selected purposively from community rehabilitation centre users. A total of 392 participants responded to the survey. The structural equation modelling method was used to evaluate the suitability of the stress process model and to test the hypotheses. Results: The stress model proved to be a good fit to the data. The results showed that a mediating variable--a problem-centred coping strategy--transmitted the effect of stress variables such as recognition of ageing, establishment of permanency planning, and worries about the future on caregiving satisfaction. The relationship of adult children with intellectual disability also transmitted the effect of establishment of permanency planning on caregiving satisfaction. However, an indirect effect of an emotion-centred coping strategy was not shown. Conclusions: The findings of this study shed light on the development of intervention strategies for elderly mothers who provide care permanently to adult children with intellectual disabilities.

Abstract Background The Knee Outcome Survey – Activities of Daily Living Scale (KOS-ADLS) is a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) developed to assess symptoms and functional limitations in patients with various knee disorders. The aim of this study was to translate and culturally adapt the KOS-ADLS to Danish and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Danish version (KOS-ADLS-DK) in patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Methods The KOS-ADLS was translated and culturally adapted to Danish in accordance with recommended guidelines. To evaluate psychometric properties in a test-retest design 115 Danish patients with ACL injury completed KOS-ADLS-DK and other knee specific PROMs at baseline and after 14 days. A sub-population of 79 patients completed the KOS-ADLS-DK before and after 3 months of rehabilitation. Structural validity (factor analysis), Internal consistency (Cronbach`s alpha), construct validity (hypothesis testing), test-retest reliability (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient [ICC]), test-retest agreement (Bland-Altman plots with 95% Limits of Agreement), Standard Error of Measurement (SEM), Smallest Detectable Chance (SDC), responsiveness (construct approach with hypothesis testing) and floor/ceiling effects were assessed. Results No major problems were revealed in the cross-cultural adaptation process. The KOS-ADLS-DK was uni-dimensional and showed a high internal consistency (Chronbach’s alpha = 0.90). Construct validity was not perfect as only five of seven hypotheses were confirmed, but there was a good reliability (ICC = 0.88) and test-retest agreement showed equal distribution of measurement error across the scale and the SEM was 4.9% and SDC was 13.6%. However, hypotheses testing on change scores revealed the KOS-ADLS-DK to be responsive and there were no floor/ceiling effects. Conclusion Overall, the Danish version of KOS-ADLS is considered a valid, reliable and responsive PROM for assessing symptoms and functional limitations in patients with ACL injury but may show some limitations in its construct validity.

This study presents the results of a quasi-experiment to assess the effects of viewing a strategically manipulated portion of a 2020 Democratic Primary debate. Our aim was to assess the polarizing potential of primary debates on both ingroup (Democratic) and outgroup (Republican) viewers. Viewing the primary debate resulted in less perceived closeness with members of the opposing political party, greater feelings of social distance, and more attribution of malevolent intentions. These effects were consistent regardless of whether the viewer was a member of the political ingroup (Democrats) or outgroup (Republicans). Conversely, there was no effect of debate viewing on evaluations of outparty candidates (with respect to negative trait attributions or lower feeling thermometer evaluations)., nor did support for political compromise change as a result of viewing the debate. Both Democrats and independents reported improved evaluations of participating candidates, though Republican evaluations did not change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]