Conceptualizing Blockchain Technology in Utilization of Social Welfare Service for the Disabled

This study analyzed factors influencing acceptance intention for blockchain technology in social welfare services for the disabled. Security and economics were the leading variables related to blockchain technology acceptance. Willingness to pay, fairness, and regulation were the leading variables reflecting characteristics of public services. UTAUT (Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology) was used as a research model, and performance expectations, effort expectations, and social impact were considered. Based on the blockchain-based virtual disabled voucher process, this study utilized prior knowledge based on the use of rehabilitation center. The STATA / SE 12.0 statistical program was used to analyze demographic frequency, factor analysis, reliability, and structural equation modeling (SEM). Pay-out and fairness have the greatest influence on acceptance intention, and economic and regulatory factors are the next influential factors. Only economic performance has been identified as a leading variable influencing the expectations of effort, and security has been shown to affect only social impact. Economic performance influenced performance expectation, effort expectation, and social influence. Expectation of effort did not affect acceptance intention. This study provides useful information for establishing a practical strategy when introducing blockchain technology to the public service called disabled welfare

The mediating effects of parenting style on the relationship between parental stress and behavioral problems in girls with precocious puberty in Korea: a cross-sectional study

Background This study aimed to examine the mediating effects of parenting style on the relationship between parental stress and behavioral problems of girls with precocious puberty. Methods This cross-sectional study analyzed a convenience sample of 200 mothers of girls with precocious puberty at a university hospital located in a metropolitan area. The Parental Stress measurement, Parents as Social Context Questionnaire, and Korean version Child Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL) 6–18 were measured via self-report questionnaires. Descriptive, t-test, Pearson correlation, and bootstrapping analyses were used to analyze the data. Results Negative parenting styles had a full mediating effect on the relationship between parental stress and internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems. Conclusions Care plans for parents of girls with precocious puberty should be designed and applied in health care settings to reduce internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems by decreasing negative parenting styles.This work was supported by the Sungshin Womens University Research Grant of 2020

Adjunctive biomarkers for improving diagnosis of tuberculosis and monitoring therapeutic effects

SummaryObjectivesTo identify host biomarkers associated with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), active tuberculosis (TB), and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) diseases to improve diagnosis and effective anti-TB treatment.MethodsActive TB and NTM patients at diagnosis, recent TB contacts, and normal healthy subjects were recruited. Tuberculin skin tests, QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube tests, and multiplex bead arrays with 17 analytes were performed. TB patients were re-evaluated after 2 and 6 months of treatment.ResultsMycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) antigen-specific IFN-γ, IL-2, and CXCL10 responses were significantly higher in active TB and LTBI compared with controls (P < 0.01). Only serum VEGF levels varied between the active TB and LTBI groups (AUC = 0.7576, P < 0.001). Active TB and NTM diseases were differentiated by serum IL-2, IL-9, IL-13, IL-17, TNF-α and sCD40L levels (P < 0.05). Increased sCD40L and decreased M. tb antigen-specific IFN-γ levels correlated with sputum clearance of M. tb after 2 months of treatment (P < 0.001).ConclusionsSerum IL-2, IL-9, IL-13, IL-17, TNF-α, sCD40L and VEGF-A levels may be adjunctive biomarkers for differential diagnosis of active TB, LTBI, and NTM disease. Assessment of serum sCD40L and M. tb antigen-specific IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-2 levels could help predict successful anti-TB treatment in conjunction with M. tb clearance

Innovation in US metroploitan areas: the role of global connectivity

Managing and leveraging innovation and knowledge generation are key components of value creation by firms in a globally connected world. In this project we analyze innovative activity in the over a 35-year period (1975-2010) to understand the nature and extent of international connectedness of U.S. knowledge networks. Our analysis parses a comprehensive dataset comprising the population of USPTO patents to extract information on inventor co-location. We use this to generate a knowledge map of inventor networks for each of the top 35 Core-Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs), tracking innovative activity and connectedness across geography and over time. We find that in the 1975-90 period, inventor numbers and growth rates tracked overall population numbers, so that the large population centers (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia) accounted for the largest shares. However, in the decades between 1990 and 2010, inventor numbers rose most rapidly in West and South, so that by the end of the period the dominant innovative centers of the country were the Silicon Valley CBSAs of San Francisco and San Jose, Austin, Seattle, Portland and San Diego

Respiratory failure in a diabetic ketoacidosis patient with severe hypophosphatemia

Phosphate is essential in regulating human metabolic processes, and severe hypophosphatemia can induce neurologic and hematological complications and result in respiratory failure and cardiac dysfunction. Therefore, correction of severe hypophosphatemia can be pivotal in the management of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). We report the case of a 14-year-old female who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and referred to our institute for treatment of DKA. Although the patient received fluid and continuous insulin administration according to the current DKA treatment protocol, generalized tonic seizures and cardiac arrest developed. After cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the patient recovered and was stable. Within 16 hours after DKA treatment, the patient developed respiratory failure with severe hypophosphatemia that required mechanical ventilation. Concurrent neurologic evaluation revealed no specific abnormalities. The patient recovered without any complications after correcting the hypophosphatemia. We suggest vigilant monitoring of the phosphate level in DKA patients and active replacement when required

Diagnostic Potential of a PPE Protein Derived from Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing/K Strain.

PURPOSE: The prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) and the status of M. bovis BCG vaccination may affect host immune responses to M. tb antigens. Understanding of the predominant local M. tb strain and immune signatures induced by its strain-specific antigens may contribute to an improved diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). The aim of this study was to determine immune responses to M. tb antigen which was identified from the hyper-virulent Beijing/K strain in South Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pulmonary TB patients (n=52) and healthy subjects (n=92) including individuals with latent TB infection (n=31) were recruited, and QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube tests were performed. The Beijing/K-antigen specific immune signatures were examined by diluted whole blood assays and multiplex bead arrays in a setting where nationwide BCG vaccination is employed. RESULTS: Statistical analyses demonstrated that three [C-X-C motif chemokine (CXCL10), interleukin (IL)-6, interferon (IFN)-?] of 17 cytokines/chemokines distinguished active cases from healthy controls following stimulation with the Beijing/K-specific antigen. IFN-? also differentiated between active diseases and latent TB infection (p<0.01), and the detection rate of TB was dramatically increased in combination with IL-6 and CXCL10 at the highest levels of specificity (95-100%). CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that immune signatures to the M. tb Beijing/K-specific antigen can provide useful information for improved TB diagnostics. The antigen may be developed as a diagnostic marker or a vaccine candidate, particularly in regions where the M. tb Beijing/K strain is endemic

Long-term follow-up result of antithyroid drug treatment of Graves’ hyperthyroidism in a large cohort

Objective: This study evaluated the efficacy of antithyroid drugs (ATDs) and risk factors associated with the recurrence of Graves’ hyperthyroidism using a comprehensive retrospective cohort. Methods: We included 1829 patients newly diagnosed with Graves’ hyperthyroidism, with sufficient follow-up data. Clinical outcomes of the patients and risk factors associated with recurrence-free survival, including the changes in thyrotropin receptor antibody, were evaluated. Results: The median age of the patients was 44.5 years, and 69% were female. Among the patients, 1235 had a chance to withdraw ATD after a median of 23 (interquartile range (IQR) 17.0–35.5) months of treatment. The first remission rate was 55.6% during a median of 72.7 months of follow-up. After the first recurrence, 95% of patients underwent the second course of ATD treatment for a median of 21 .1 (IQR 14.8–31.7) months, and the remission rate was 54.1%. During a median of 67 months of follow-up, 7.7% of patients underwent surgery, and 10.5% underwent radioac tive iodine therapy. Approximately 30% were still on ATD therapy for recurrent disease or prolonged lowdose maintenance. Younger age (<45 years), male sex, and fluctua ting or smoldering of TRAb levels were independent risk factors of the first recurrenc e after ATD treatment. Conclusions: ATD treatment is an acceptable option for the initial treatment of Graves’ hyperthyroidism as well as for recurrent disease. The optimal treatment period for ATD treatment needs to be determined using the individual risk factors of recurrence

Screening for Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection Using Beijing/K Strain-Specific Peptides in a School Outbreak Cohort.

Background: The Beijing strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) has been most frequently isolated from TB patients in South Korea, and the hyper-virulent Beijing/K genotype is associated with TB outbreaks. To examine the diagnostic potential of Beijing/K-specific peptides, we performed IFN-γ release assays (IGRA) using a MTBK antigen tube containing Beijing/K MTBK_24800, ESAT-6, and CFP-10 peptides in a cohort studied during a school TB outbreak. Methods: A total of 758 contacts were investigated for M. tb infection, and 43 contacts with latent TB infection (LTBI) and 25 active TB patients were enrolled based on serial screening with QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube tests followed by clinical examinations. Blood collected in MTBK antigen tubes was utilized for IGRA and multiplex cytokine bead arrays. Immune responses were retested in 24 patients after TB treatment, and disease progression was investigated in subjects with LTBI. Results: Total proportions of active disease and LTBI during the outbreak were 3.7% (28/758) and 9.2% (70/758), respectively. All clinical isolates had a Beijing/K M. tb genotype. IFN-γ responses to the MTBK antigen identified M. tb infection and distinguished between active disease and LTBI. After anti-TB treatment, IFN-γ responses to the MTBK antigen were significantly reduced, and strong TNF-α responses at diagnosis were dramatically decreased. Conclusions: MTBK antigen-specific IFN-γ has diagnostic potential for differentiating M. tb infection from healthy controls, and between active TB and LTBI as well. In addition, TNF-α is a promising marker for monitoring therapeutic responses. These data provide informative readouts for TB diagnostics and vaccine studies in regions where the Beijing/K strain is endemic