Influence of Herbal Complexes Containing Licorice on Potassium Levels: A Retrospective Study

To observe the influence of these complexes on potassium levels in a clinical setting, we investigated the influence of herbal complexes containing licorice on potassium levels. We retrospectively examined the medical records of patients treated with herbal complexes containing licorice from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2010. We recorded the changes in the levels of potassium, creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen and examined the differences between before and after herbal complexes intake using a paired t-test. In addition, we investigated the prevalence of hypokalemia among these patients and reviewed such patients. We identified 360 patients who did not show significant changes in the levels of potassium and creatinine (P=0.815, 0.289). We observed hypokalemia in 6 patients. However, in 5 patients, the hypokalemia did not appear to be related to the licorice. Thus, we could suggest that herbal complexes containing licorice do not significantly influence the potassium levels in routine clinical herbal therapies. However, we propose that follow-up examination for potassium levels is required to prevent any unpredictable side effects of administration of licorice in routine herbal medicine care

Lectin histochemistry of Kudoa septempunctata genotype ST3-infected muscle of olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus)

The localization of carbohydrate terminals in Kudoa septempunctata ST3-infected muscle of olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) was investigated using lectin histochemistry to determine the types of carbohydrate sugar residues expressed in Kudoa spores. Twenty-one lectins were examined, i.e., N-acetylglucosamine (s-WGA, WGA, DSL-II, DSL, LEL, STL), mannose (Con A, LCA, PSA), galactose/N-acetylgalactosamine (RCA12, BSL-I, VVA, DBA, SBA, SJA, Jacalin, PNA, ECL), complex type N-glycans (PHA-E and PHA-L), and fucose (UEA-I). Spores encased by a plasmodial membrane were labeled for the majority of these lectins, with the exception of LCA, PSA, PNA, and PHA-L. Four lectins (RCA 120, BSL-I, DBA, and SJA) belonging to the galactose/N-acetylgalactosamine group, only labeled spores, but not the plasmodial membrane. This is the first confirmation that various sugar residues are present in spores and plasmodial membranes of K. septempunctata ST3

Insomnia and Neuroticism are Related with Depressive Symptoms of Medical Students

Background and Objective Insomnia is very common in depression and especially medical students are easy to experience sleep disturbance because of their studies. Also depressive symptoms are closely related to stress. Stress is an interaction between an individual and the environment, involving subjective perception and assessment of stressors, thus constituting a highly personalized process. Different personality traits can create different levels of stress. In this study, we tried to explore the relationship between insomnia and depressive symptoms or stress of medical students, and whether their personality may play a role on this relationship or not. Methods We enrolled 154 medical students from University of Ulsan College of Medicine. We used the Medical Stress Scale, the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Academic Motivation Scale, the Insomnia Severity Index, and The revised NEO Personality Inventory (PI). Results Insomnia severity, amotivation, medical stress, mental health index and neuroticism traits of NEO-PI significantly correlated with depressive symptom severity (p < 0.001). And stepwise linear regression analysis indicated insomnia, amotivation and neuroticism traits of NEO-PI are expecting factors for students’ depressive symptoms is related to (p < 0.001). Conclusions Student who tend to be perfect feel more academic stress. The high level of depressive symptom is associated with insomnia, amotivation, academic stress in medical student. Moreover, personality trait also can influence their depressive symptoms

The Effectiveness of Prolonged-Release Melatonin in Primary Insomnia Patients with a Regular Sleep-Wake Cycle

Background and Objective Prolonged-release melatonin (PRM) might effectively increase patient satisfaction when administered to individuals older than 55 years old with primary insomnia who were not satisfied with their sleep even after their sleep-wake cycle schedule was set. We investigated patients’ satisfaction rate with PRM when they took it after their sleep-wake cycle was set. Methods Among 87 patients who were prescribed PRM at the sleep clinic, 44 patients with primary insomnia who complained of poor sleep quality even after adopting a set 7-hour sleep-wake schedule or taking sleeping pills 7 hours before wake-up time were selected their medical records were reviewed. We explored patients’ satisfaction rates with PRM after 3–4 weeks. Results Among the 35 subjects who completed follow-up, 23 (66%) reported an improvement in insomnia symptoms after taking PRM. Five subjects reported daytime sleepiness as treatment-emergent adverse events. Of the 25 subjects taking other sleeping pills at baseline and followed up, 11 (44%) reduced their sleeping pill dosage by at least 50%. Five subjects completely discontinued their previous sleeping pills after starting PRM. Conclusions We observed a high satisfaction rate with PRM when prescribed to patients with a regular sleep-wake cycle. We believe that the results of this study will help to optimize hypnotic prescription to insomnia patients

Lectin histochemistry of

The localization of carbohydrate terminals in Kudoa septempunctata ST3-infected muscle of olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) was investigated using lectin histochemistry to determine the types of carbohydrate sugar residues expressed in Kudoa spores. Twenty-one lectins were examined, i.e., N-acetylglucosamine (s-WGA, WGA, DSL-II, DSL, LEL, STL), mannose (Con A, LCA, PSA), galactose/N-acetylgalactosamine (RCA12, BSL-I, VVA, DBA, SBA, SJA, Jacalin, PNA, ECL), complex type N-glycans (PHA-E and PHA-L), and fucose (UEA-I). Spores encased by a plasmodial membrane were labeled for the majority of these lectins, with the exception of LCA, PSA, PNA, and PHA-L. Four lectins (RCA 120, BSL-I, DBA, and SJA) belonging to the galactose/N-acetylgalactosamine group, only labeled spores, but not the plasmodial membrane. This is the first confirmation that various sugar residues are present in spores and plasmodial membranes of K. septempunctata ST3

The Sleeping Pill Prescription Rate for Inpatients at a General Hospital

Background and Objective Hospitalized patients often suffer from sleep disturbance. Impaired sleep for inpatients is a multifactorial phenomenon, comprised of medical, environmental, and behavioral influences imposed by hospitalization. In such situation, inpatients are frequently prescribed sleeping pills. The aim of this study was to explore the pattern of sleeping pill prescription for hospitalized patients in a general hospital. Methods Located in Seoul, Korea, Asan Medical Center is a general hospital that oversees about 2100 to 2300 inpatients per day. We estimated the proportion of patients who were prescribed sleeping pills at admission and discharge from the hospital, excluding pediatric care units. In addition, we quantified the number of patients taking prescribed sleeping pills on the first day of each month of 2014. Results Among 118475 patients admitted to Asan Medical Center in 2014, 4205 (3.54%) were taking sleeping pills at the time of admission. In addition, 4652 (3.93%) patients were prescribed sleeping pills as a discharge medication, of which 2256 (1.90%) initiated hypnotics intake during hospital stay. Surveyed on the first day of every month of 2014, 7.3% to 10.0% of inpatients were observed to be taking sleeping pills. Conclusions The number of prescriptions of sleeping pills was found to increase with hospital stay. A palpable need for sleep hygiene education and the implementation of a hypnotics reduction program for inpatients is warranted

Pathogenicity of a novel classical swine fever LOM vaccine‐derived virus isolated on Jeju Island, South Korea

Abstract Background Reemergent local outbreaks of classical swine fever (CSF) occurred simultaneously in multiple pig farms on CSF‐free Jeju Island, South Korea, in 2014 because of inadvertent injection of a commercial CSF (LOM) vaccine into pregnant sows. The LOM virus has since spread across the island and has become endemic in Jeju herds, raising concern about possible reversion to the virulence of the LOM vaccine. We previously isolated LOM‐derived field CSF virus (CSFV) strains with unique insertion‐deletion (INDEL) mutations in the 3′‐untranslated region (UTR), designated LOM‐derived Jeju 3′‐UTR INDEL variants, from CSF‐recurrent swine farms on Jeju Island in 2019. Methods The present study conducted animal experiments to investigate whether a 2019 emergent LOM 3′‐UTR INDEL variant, KNU‐1905, has reverted to a pathogenic form in conventional pigs (n = 10). Results Experimental animal infection showed that pigs inoculated with the commercial LOM vaccine strain developed no adverse effects compared to the sham‐infected pigs. However, KNU‐1905 displayed pathogenic characteristics in pigs, including clinical symptoms (e.g., lethargy, conjunctivitis, nasal discharge, and diarrhoea), weight loss, and gross lesions. Moreover, viremia, virus shedding in faeces and nasal fluids, and viral loads in various tissues of all the KNU‐1905‐infected pigs were highly significant, in contrast to those of the LOM‐infected group in which CSFV RNA was detected only in the serum, nasal, and tonsil samples of one identical pig. Conclusions Overall, the LOM‐derived field isolate with molecular variations induced clinical adverse events in pigs, which commonly shed considerable amounts of CSFV. This study provides evidence that the genetic evolution of the LOM‐derived CSFV circulating on Jeju Island might have allowed the LOM vaccine to recover its primary prototype and that these variants might have induced chronic or persistent infection in pigs that can shed CSFV in field farms leading to a risk of transmission among pigs or farms in this former CSF‐free region

Applicability and Psychometric Comparison of the General-Population Viral Anxiety Rating Scales among Healthcare Workers in the COVID-19 Pandemic

We aimed to explore the reliability and validity of viral anxiety rating scales (developed for the general population) among healthcare workers. In addition, we compared the psychometric properties of rating scales in accordance with the Generalized Anxiety Scale-7 items (GAD-7) during this COVID-19 pandemic. The viral anxiety of 330 healthcare workers was measured with Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics&mdash;9 items (SAVE-9), SAVE-6, Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), and COVID-19 Anxiety Scale (CAS-7). Factor analyses, item response theory, and Rasch model analyses were conducted to confirm the construct validities of the scales and compare the psychometric properties of rating scales. The receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis examined the cutoff scores of rating scales in accordance with a mild degree of generalized anxiety. The SAVE-9, SAVE-6, CAS, FCV-19S, and CAS-7 scales showed good reliability of internal consistency among healthcare workers. Their construct validity and convergent validity of each scale were similarly good. Furthermore, in comparing the psychometric properties of rating scales, we observed that the CAS scale was the most discriminating and difficult among the scales. The CAS and FCV-19S provided more information and were more efficient than the SAVE-9, SAVE-6, and CAS-7 scales when they were used to measure healthcare workers&rsquo; viral anxiety. Viral anxiety rating scales can be applied to healthcare workers with good reliability and validity