MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF MIGRANT YOUTH: AN EXPLORATION OF IDENTITY, FAMILY SEPARATION, AND FUTURE ASPIRATIONS AMONG KOREAN CHINESE MIGRANT YOUTH IN SOUTH KOREA

Background For adolescents, their own migration as well as that of their parents influences their psychosocial development and well-being. The changes in social context following migration shape how youth understand themselves, interact with others, and find their place in the society. Objectives This dissertation aims to examine the impact of migration on adolescent outcomes through observing ethnic and national identity formation, depressive mood, and future aspirations among Korean Chinese migrant youth in South Korea. Methods In-depth interviews with 16 Korean Chinese migrant youth (ages 15-24), nine migrant parents, and eight key informants were conducted from March to December 2021 in Seoul, South Korea. For Manuscript 1, the 16 interviews with migrant youth were analyzed using methods adopted from Ground Theory. Manuscript 2 is a mixed method study that combined quantitative data from the 2018 National Multicultural Family Survey (n=249) and a subset of the qualitative data from migrant youth and parents who participated in the study together (eight youth and eight parents). Manuscript 3 analyzed all interviews from migrant youth, parents, and key informants using methods from Grounded Theory. Results Migration to South Korea prompted Korean Chinese youth to examine their ethnic identity. Their experiences in the South Korean society reinforced the notion that they are different from South Koreans. Children of single migrant parents had increased risk of depressive mood. Migrant parents described how marital and family conflict negatively affected the quality of care arrangements and communication between parents and children during separation. Children’s experience of discrimination after their migration was also related to higher risk of depressive mood. South Korean educational and social environment negatively impacted future aspirations of Korean Chinese migrant youth by restricting their educational and occupational opportunities. Conclusions Programs and policies to promote psychosocial development and well-being among Korean Chinese migrant youth in South Korea must include efforts to address the social and contextual factors that negatively influence youth’s identity, mental health, and future aspirations. Discrimination toward Korean Chinese migrants was reflected across the factors examined in this dissertation

Benefits of personal music listening for family caregivers of critically ill patients during the post-COVID era

ObjectiveThis descriptive study surveyed family caregivers of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) during the COVID-19 pandemic to examine the impact of musical listening on their psychological well-being.MethodThe data collected in this study compared with collected from similar research conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2017. The previous study had 195 participants, and the current study had 92. To measure the participants’ psychological well-being, the Korean version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale were administered. An investigator-constructed questionnaire was also used to collect information related to participants’ engagement in music activities including music listening in their everyday lives and their perceptions of music’s benefits.ResultsA two-way ANOVA showed significant effects for time (e.g., before vs. during COVID-19) and involvement in personal music listening (yes vs. no) on current emotional state, with family caregivers reporting significantly greater negative emotions during COVID-19 than before and personal music listening having a positive effect on perceived emotions. For quality of life there was no significant time effect, while the listening effect was statistically significant, indicating a significantly higher quality of life in the group who engaged in music listening in their everyday lives compared to the group who did not. There were no significant time or listening effects for perceived level of depression.ConclusionGiven the COVID-19 situation and the need to transition to a post-pandemic era, this study suggests that music listening can be an effective option for family caregivers to implement as a resource for attenuating emotional distress and enhancing self-care

The Potential Breakthroughs with ChatGPT in Parasitology

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Autosomal dominant transmission of complicated hereditary spastic paraplegia due to a dominant negative mutation of KIF1A, SPG30 gene.

KIF1A is a brain-specific anterograde motor protein that transports cargoes towards the plus-ends of microtubules. Many variants of the KIF1A gene have been associated with neurodegenerative diseases and developmental delay. Homozygous mutations of KIF1A have been identified in a recessive subtype of hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP), SPG30. In addition, KIF1A mutations have been found in pure HSP with autosomal dominant inheritance. Here we report the first case of familial complicated HSP with a KIF1A mutation transmitted in autosomal dominant inheritance. A heterozygous p.T258M mutation in KIF1A was found in a Korean family through targeted exome sequencing. They displayed phenotypes of mild intellectual disability with language delay, epilepsy, optic nerve atrophy, thinning of corpus callosum, periventricular white matter lesion, and microcephaly. A structural modeling revealed that the p.T258M mutation disrupted the binding of KIF1A motor domain to microtubules and its movement along microtubules. Assays of peripheral accumulation and proximal distribution of KIF1A motor indicated that the KIF1A motor domain with p.T258M mutation has reduced motor activity and exerts a dominant negative effect on wild-type KIF1A. These results suggest that the p.T258M mutation suppresses KIF1A motor activity and induces complicated HSP accompanying intellectual disability transmitted in autosomal dominant inheritance. © The Author(s) 20171

The pattern of bowel dysfunction in patients with rectal cancer following the multimodal treatment: anorectal manometric measurements at before and after chemoradiation therapy, and postoperative 1 year

Purpose Bowel dysfunction commonly occurs in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer treated with a multimodal approach of chemoradiation therapy (CRT) combined with sphincter-preserving rectal resection. This study investigated the decline in anorectal function using sequential anorectal manometric measurements obtained before and after the multimodal treatment as well as at a 1-year follow-up. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study conducted in a single center. The study population consisted of patients with locally advanced mid- to low rectal cancer who received the preoperative CRT followed by sphincter-preserving surgery from 2012 to 2016. The anorectal manometric value measured after each treatment modality was compared to demonstrate the degree of decline in anorectal function. A generalized linear model of repeated measures was performed using the manometric values measured pre- and post-CRT, and at 12 months postoperatively. Results Overall, 100 patients with 3 consecutive manometric data were included in the final analysis. In the overall cohort study, the mean resting and maximal squeezing pressures showed insignificant decrement post-neoadjuvant CRT. At a 1-year postoperative follow-up, the maximal squeezing pressure significantly decreased. The maximal rectal sensory threshold demonstrated significant reduction consecutively after each following treatment (P<0.001). Conclusion The short-term effect of neoadjuvant CRT on the anal sphincters was relatively trivial. The following sphincter-saving surgery resulted in a profound disruption of the anorectal function. Patients with rectal cancer should be consulted on the consequence of multimodal treatment

Overhydration measured by bioimpedance analysis and the survival of patients on maintenance hemodialysis: a single-center study

AbstractBackgroundBioimpedance analysis (BIA) helps measuring the constituents of the body noninvasively. Prior studies suggest that BIA-guided fluid assessment helps to predict survival in dialysis patients. We aimed to evaluate the clinical usefulness of BIA for predicting the survival rate of hemodialysis patients in Korea.MethodsWe conducted a single-center retrospective study. All patients were diagnosed with end-stage renal disorder and started maintenance hemodialysis between June 2009 and April 2014. BIA was performed within the 1st week from the start of hemodialysis. The patients were classified into 2 groups based on volume status measured by the body composition monitor (BCM; Fresenius): an overhydrated group [OG; overhydration/extracellular water (OH/ECW) >15%] and a nonoverhydrated group (NOG; OH/ECW ≤15%).ResultsA total of 344 patients met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 252 patients (73.3%) were categorized into the OG and 92 patients (26.7%) into the NOG. Age- and sex-matching patients were selected with a rate of 2:1. Finally, 160 overhydrated patients and 80 nonoverhydrated patients were analyzed. Initial levels of hemoglobin and serum albumin were significantly lower in the OG. During follow-up, 43 patients from the OG and 7 patients from the NOG died (median follow-up duration, 24.0 months). The multivariate-adjusted all-cause mortality was significantly increased in the OG (odds ratio, 2.569; P = 0.033) and older patients (odds ratio, 1.072/y; P < 0.001). No significant difference of all-cause or disease-specific admission rate was observed between the 2 groups.ConclusionThe ratio of OH/ECW volume measured with body composition monitor is related to the overall survival of end-stage renal disorder patients who started maintenance hemodialysis

A case of acute necrotizing encephalopathy associated with parainfluenza virus infection

Acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE) may be suspected when a young child presents with abrupt onset of altered mental status, seizures, or both. Definitive clinical diagnosis is based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results. ANE is associated with influenza virus infections. Preliminary data suggests that up to 25% of ANE patients die, and up to 25% of ANE survivors develop substantial neurologic sequelae. Here, we describe a case of a comatose 22-month-old girl who was admitted to our hospital because of febrile illness and seizures. On day 13 of her illness, she died from ANE associated with infection from parainfluenza virus. Brain MRI results indicated diffuse bilateral symmetric signal changes in both basal ganglia, thalami, periventricular white matter, pons, and cerebral white matter, as well as generalized swelling of the brain

Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the liver: a case report

Primary squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the liver is very rare, and few cases have been reported in Korea. Primary SCC of the liver is known to be associated with hepatic cysts and intrahepatic stones. A 71-year-old male was admitted to our hospital, and a abdominal computed tomography scan revealed a 10 × 6 cm mass in the liver. Analysis of a biopsy sample suggested SCC, and so our team performed a thorough workup to find the primary lesion, which was revealed hepatoma as a pure primary SCC of the liver with multiple distant metastases. The patient was treated with one cycle of radiotherapy, transferred to another hospital for hospice care, and then died 1 month after discharge

Diffuse Interstitial Infiltrative Lung Metastasis of Malignant Melanoma: a Case Report

A diffuse interstitial infiltrative pattern of lung metastasis in a patient with malignant melanoma is rare and can be confused with benign conditions such as pulmonary edema or drug-induced pneumonitis. We experienced a case of diffuse interstitial infiltrative lung metastasis in malignant melanoma in a 37-year-old man. This case was confirmed by a transbronchial lung biopsy. We herein describe the findings on CT and positron emission tomography scan

A 3D flexible neural interface based on a microfluidic interconnection cable capable of chemical delivery

The demand for multifunctional neural interfaces has grown due to the need to provide a better understanding of biological mechanisms related to neurological diseases and neural networks. Direct intracerebral drug injection using microfluidic neural interfaces is an effective way to deliver drugs to the brain, and it expands the utility of drugs by bypassing the blood–brain barrier (BBB). In addition, uses of implantable neural interfacing devices have been challenging due to inevitable acute and chronic tissue responses around the electrodes, pointing to a critical issue still to be overcome. Although neural interfaces comprised of a collection of microneedles in an array have been used for various applications, it has been challenging to integrate microfluidic channels with them due to their characteristic three-dimensional structures, which differ from two-dimensionally fabricated shank-type neural probes. Here we present a method to provide such three-dimensional needle-type arrays with chemical delivery functionality. We fabricated a microfluidic interconnection cable (µFIC) and integrated it with a flexible penetrating microelectrode array (FPMA) that has a 3-dimensional structure comprised of silicon microneedle electrodes supported by a flexible array base. We successfully demonstrated chemical delivery through the developed device by recording neural signals acutely from in vivo brains before and after KCl injection. This suggests the potential of the developed microfluidic neural interface to contribute to neuroscience research by providing simultaneous signal recording and chemical delivery capabilities. © 2021, The Author(s).1