Time for Change: The State of Emergency Medical Services in South Korea

Trauma is the leading cause of death among people younger than 40 years of age in South Korea. This demographic represents the productive members of Korean society, yet little is being done to correct this growing problem. The preventable death rate in Korea is estimated to be approximately 60%, which is unacceptable given Korea's growing economy and available resources

Polarization fields in nitride nanostructures: ten points to think about

Macroscopic polarization, both of intrinsic and piezoelectric nature, is unusually strong in III-V nitrides, and the built in electric fields in the layers of nitride-based nanostructures, stemming from polarization changes at heterointerfaces, have a major impact on the properties of single and multiple quantum wells, high mobility transistors, and thin films. The concepts involved in the theory and applications of polarization in nitrides have encountered some resistance in the field. Here we discuss critically ten ``propositions'' aimed at clarifying the main controversial issues.Comment: RevTeX 5 pages, 2 embedded figure

Secure eHealth-Care Service on Self-Organizing Software Platform

There are several applications connected to IT health devices on the self-organizing software platform (SoSp) that allow patients or elderly users to be cared for remotely by their family doctors under normal circumstances or during emergencies. An evaluation of the SoSp applied through PAAR watch/self-organizing software platform router was conducted targeting a simple user interface for aging users, without the existence of extrasettings based on patient movement. On the other hand, like normal medical records, the access to, and transmission of, health information via PAAR watch/self-organizing software platform requires privacy protection. This paper proposes a security framework for health information management of the SoSp. The proposed framework was designed to ensure easy detection of identification information for typical users. In addition, it provides powerful protection of the user’s health information

Management of Traumatic Duodenal Injuries: A Report from a Single-Center

Purpose Traumatic duodenal injury is uncommon and due to its difficult diagnosis and accessibility there is an increased risk of mortality and morbidity. Methods Electronic medical records of a single center were reviewed retrospectively from March 2008 to December 2020 and a total of 7 cases of traumatic duodenal injury were managed by surgical exploration. The site of duodenal perforation, injury mechanisms, operation method, and postoperative outcomes were assessed. Results The mean age was 55.72 years (range, 34–78), and there were 5 men in the study. The most common mechanism was in-car traffic accident (4 cases), and 1 case each of pedestrian accident, accident during work, and self-injured stab wound. The most common site of injury was between the 3rd and 4th portion (3 cases), followed by the bulb and 1st portion (2 cases), and 2nd portion (2 cases). Segmental resection of the duodenum and primary anastomosis was performed in the 3rd and 4th portion perforation. In cases of 1st and 2nd portion, injury was managed by primary repair or pylorus preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy. Complications developed in 4 patients, and the most common complication was a problem with the wound; wound seromas developed in 4 cases, entero-cutaneous fistula in 1, and biliary complications in 2 cases. Two patients suffered from intraperitoneal abscess or fluid collection managed by percutaneous drainage. The mean duration of hospital stay was 34 days, and postoperative mortality did not develop. Conclusion Favorable clinical outcomes were observed in patients with traumatic duodenal injury managed by various surgical approaches

Newborn Mice Vaccination with BCG.HIVA222 + MVA.HIVA Enhances HIV-1-Specific Immune Responses: Influence of Age and Immunization Routes

We have evaluated the influence of age and immunization routes for induction of HIV-1- and M. tuberculosis-specific immune responses after neonatal (7 days old) and adult (7 weeks old) BALB/c mice immunization with BCG.HIVA222 prime and MVA.HIVA boost. The specific HIV-1 cellular immune responses were analyzed in spleen cells. The body weight of the newborn mice was weekly recorded. The frequencies of HIV-specific CD8+ T cells producing IFN-γ were higher in adult mice vaccinated intradermally and lower in adult and newborn mice vaccinated subcutaneously. In all cases the IFN-γ production was significantly higher when mice were primed with BCG.HIVA222 compared with BCGwt. When the HIV-specific CTL activity was assessed, the frequencies of specific killing were higher in newborn mice than in adults. The prime-boost vaccination regimen which includes BCG.HIVA222 and MVA.HIVA was safe when inoculated to newborn mice. The administration of BCG.HIVA222 to newborn mice is safe and immunogenic and increased the HIV-specific responses induced by MVA.HIVA vaccine. It might be a good model for infant HIV and Tuberculosis bivalent vaccine