Child well-being in Korea

Thesis(Doctoral) --KDI School:Ph.D in Development Policy,2019This dissertation evaluates the effect of policies for children in South Korea focusing on the case of teenagers. This dissertation consists of three chapters. The first chapter evaluates the impact of a school counseling program called Wee Class by using Difference-in-Differences analysis. The second chapter tries to find the correlation between air pollution and teenager’s subjective well-being within the Two-Stage Least Squares, and discusses policy implication. Lastly, the third chapter measures multicultural children’s subjective well-being affected by Korea’s multicultural policy within the individual fixed effect. These studies found the positive impact of school counseling program on students’ school adaptation, the negative effect of air pollution on teenager’s subjective well-being, and the positive impact of multicultural policy on multicultural children’s subjective well-being in elementary school.1 The Impact of School Counseling Program on Students’ School Adaptation 2 Does Air Pollution Affect Teenagers’ Subjective Well-being? 3 The Effect of Multicultural Policy on Multicultural Children’s Subjective Well beingdoctoralpublishedKyoung Mi PARK

middle school students on youth activities

Thesis(Master) --KDI School:Master of Development Policy,2014OutstandingmasterpublishedPark, Kyoung Mi

Influence of Job-seeking Stress on Perimenstrual Symptoms of Female College Students in Health and Non-health related Majors: Mediating Effects of Stress Coping Styles

PURPOSE: To determine effects of job-seeking stress on perimenstrual symptoms of female college students with health and non-health related majors and mediating effects of stress coping styles. METHODS: Data were collected from 189 female college students who were juniors or seniors. This study was conducted using questionnaires on job-seeking stress, perimenstrual symptoms, and stress coping styles. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis using SPSS, version 23.0. Mediation analysis was performed according to the Baron and Kenny method and Sobel test. RESULTS: Job-seeking stress was significantly and positively correlated with perimenstrual symptoms in non-health college students. Passive stress coping styles demonstrated a complete mediating effect on the relationship between job-seeking stress and perimenstrual symptoms of those with non-health related majors (β=0.31, p=.002). Such effect was significant (Sobel test; Z=2.06, p=.039). CONCLUSION: Effects of job-seeking stress on perimenstrual symptoms were mediated by passive stress coping styles of non-health related major students. Based on findings of this study, effective stress cope strategies should be developed considering characteristics of majors to manage perimenstrual symptoms of female college students with high job-seeking stress

Susceptibility to Oxidative Stress is Greater in Korean Patients with Coronary Artery Disease than Healthy Subjects

There are some evidences that the increased oxidative stress and thus increased oxidizability of lipoproteins and DNA can contribute to the development of certain human diseases, such as cardiovascular disease. To confirm the association of DNA damage with cardiovascular disease, we investigated susceptibility of DNA to oxidation in lymphocytes and oxidative stress related parameters in blood of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Subjects were consisted of 42 patients (27 men, 15 women) with documented CAD and 49 apparently healthy subjects (33 men, 16 women) as controls. Cellular DNA damage induced by 100 µM H2O2 was measured using Comet assay and quantified by TL. There were no differences in age (61.4 ± 1.7 years vs 62.0 ± 2.2 years) between the two groups. All the findings were shown to be independent of either sex or smoking habit. The patients showed significantly higher TL (87.3 ± 1.6 µm) compared to the control (79.3 ± 1.7 µm, p<0.01). Plasma TRAP, vitamin C, γ-tocopherol, and α-carotene levels in patients group were lower than those of control groups, while erythrocytic catalase activity increased in patients group. In conclusion, we observed that reduced overall antioxidant status was closely connected to higher susceptibility of DNA damage in CAD patients

Increased interleukin-17 production via a phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt and nuclear factor κB-dependent pathway in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Inflammatory mediators have been recognized as being important in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Interleukin (IL)-17 is an important regulator of immune and inflammatory responses, including the induction of proinflammatory cytokines and osteoclastic bone resorption. Evidence for the expression and proinflammatory activity of IL-17 has been demonstrated in RA synovium and in animal models of RA. Although some cytokines (IL-15 and IL-23) have been reported to regulate IL-17 production, the intracellular signaling pathways that regulate IL-17 production remain unknown. In the present study, we investigated the role of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway in the regulation of IL-17 production in RA. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients with RA (n = 24) were separated, then stimulated with various agents including anti-CD3, anti-CD28, phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and several inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. IL-17 levels were determined by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction. The production of IL-17 was significantly increased in cells treated with anti-CD3 antibody with or without anti-CD28 and PHA (P < 0.05). Among tested cytokines and chemokines, IL-15, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and IL-6 upregulated IL-17 production (P < 0.05), whereas tumor necrosis factor-α, IL-1β, IL-18 or transforming growth factor-β did not. IL-17 was also detected in the PBMC of patients with osteoarthritis, but their expression levels were much lower than those of RA PBMC. Anti-CD3 antibody activated the PI3K/Akt pathway; activation of this pathway resulted in a pronounced augmentation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) DNA-binding activity. IL-17 production by activated RA PBMC is completely or partly blocked in the presence of the NF-κB inhibitor pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate and the PI3K/Akt inhibitor wortmannin and LY294002, respectively. However, inhibition of activator protein-1 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 did not affect IL-17 production. These results suggest that signal transduction pathways dependent on PI3K/Akt and NF-κB are involved in the overproduction of the key inflammatory cytokine IL-17 in RA

A lab-on-a-disc platform enables serial monitoring of individual CTCs associated with tumor progression during EGFR-targeted therapy for patients with NSCLC

Rationale: Unlike traditional biopsy, liquid biopsy, which is a largely non-invasive diagnostic and monitoring tool, can be performed more frequently to better track tumors and mutations over time and to validate the efficiency of a cancer treatment. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are considered promising liquid biopsy biomarkers; however, their use in clinical settings is limited by high costs and a low throughput of standard platforms for CTC enumeration and analysis. In this study, we used a label-free, high-throughput method for CTC isolation directly from whole blood of patients using a standalone, clinical setting-friendly platform. Methods: A CTC-based liquid biopsy approach was used to examine the efficacy of therapy and emergent drug resistance via longitudinal monitoring of CTC counts, DNA mutations, and single-cell-level gene expression in a prospective cohort of 40 patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant non-small cell lung cancer. Results: The change ratio of the CTC counts was associated with tumor response, detected by CT scan, while the baseline CTC counts did not show association with progression-free survival or overall survival. We achieved a 100% concordance rate for the detection of EGFR mutation, including emergence of T790M, between tumor tissue and CTCs. More importantly, our data revealed the importance of the analysis of the epithelial/mesenchymal signature of individual pretreatment CTCs to predict drug responsiveness in patients. Conclusion: The fluid-assisted separation technology disc platform enables serial monitoring of CTC counts, DNA mutations, as well as unbiased molecular characterization of individual CTCs associated with tumor progression during targeted therapy

Correlation of the Rates of Solvolysis of i-Butyl Fluoroformate and a Consideration of Leaving-Group Effects

The specific rates of solvolysis of isobutyl fluoroformate (1) have been measured at 40.0 °C in 22 pure and binary solvents. These results correlated well with the extended Grunwald-Winstein (G-W) equation, which incorporated the NT solvent nucleophilicity scale and the YCl solvent ionizing power scale. The sensitivities (l and m-values) to changes in solvent nucleophilicity and solvent ionizing power, and the kF/kCl values are very similar to those observed previously for solvolyses of n-octyl fluoroformate, consistent with the additional step of an addition-elimination pathway being rate-determining. The solvent deuterium isotope effect value (kMeOH/kMeOD) for methanolysis of 1 was determined, and for solvolyses in ethanol, methanol, 80% ethanol, and 70% TFE, the values of the enthalpy and the entropy of activation for the solvolysis of 1 were also determined. The results are compared with those reported earlier for isobutyl chloroformate (2) and other alkyl haloformate esters and mechanistic conclusions are drawn

Mediastinal lymphoma in a young Turkish Angora cat

An 8-month old intact male Turkish Angora cat was referred to the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH), Seoul National University, for an evaluation of anorexia and severe dyspnea. The thoracic radiographs revealed significant pleural effusion. A cytology evaluation of the pleural fluid strongly suggested a lymphoma containing variable sized lymphocytes with frequent mitotic figures and prominent nucleoli. The feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus tests were negative. The cat was euthanized at his owner's request and a necropsy was performed. A mass was detected on the mediastinum and lung lobes. A histopathology evaluation confirmed the mass to be a lymphoma. Immunohistochemistry revealed the mass to be CD3 positive. In conclusion, the cat was diagnosed as a T-cell mediastinal lymphoma

[Translation] Die Gegenwart und Zukunft der Mängelhaftung im Kaufvertrag

原著 : 朴信昱訳 : 朴美

Comparison of standard-setting methods for the Korean Radiological Technologist Licensing Examination: Angoff, Ebel, bookmark, and Hofstee

Purpose This study aimed to compare the possible standard-setting methods for the Korean Radiological Technologist Licensing Examination, which has a fixed cut score, and to suggest the most appropriate method. Methods Six radiological technology professors set standards for 250 items on the Korean Radiological Technologist Licensing Examination administered in December 2016 using the Angoff, Ebel, bookmark, and Hofstee methods. Results With a maximum percentile score of 100, the cut score for the examination was 71.27 using the Angoff method, 62.2 using the Ebel method, 64.49 using the bookmark method, and 62 using the Hofstee method. Based on the Hofstee method, an acceptable cut score for the examination would be between 52.83 and 70, but the cut score was 71.27 using the Angoff method. Conclusion The above results suggest that the best standard-setting method to determine the cut score would be a panel discussion with the modified Angoff or Ebel method, with verification of the rated results by the Hofstee method. Since no standard-setting method has yet been adopted for the Korean Radiological Technologist Licensing Examination, this study will be able to provide practical guidance for introducing a standard-setting process