Searching for Own Space: Korean Female Graduate Students’ (Re)construction of Their Professional Selves in the U.S. Academia

Taking the transnational feminist approach, the purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions and experiences of Korean female graduate students in the U.S. higher education institution and the host society

The burdens faced by parents of preschoolers with type 1 diabetes mellitus: an integrative review

Purpose This study examined the literature concerning the burdens of parents of preschool-aged children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Methods We employed an integrative review methodology based on Whittemore and Knafl's framework. The literature search was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines across four electronic databases: PubMed, Web of Science, the Cumulative Index to Nursing Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and PsycINFO. Ultimately, 18 articles were included in the review. Results The review yielded four themes: (1) parental burdens, (2) factors related to the burdens, (3) coping strategies, and (4) implications for clinical practice. Parents experienced psychological, physical, and social burdens due to the diabetes care of their children. Several factors influenced burdens, including child-related characteristics such as age, severity of diabetes, and hospitalization experience, as well as parental factors like family income, race, and residential area. Parents initially felt burdened when their child was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, but over time, they often adapted to the situation through support and sharing of responsibilities. Parents desired education and interventions reflecting the unique characteristics of preschoolers. Conclusion This integrative literature review revealed that parents experience numerous burdens when their child is diagnosed with diabetes. Future research should focus on developing interventions to address parents' psychological difficulties, including tracking parental psychological changes over time. Tailored nursing interventions should also be provided to parents of preschool-aged children, as opposed to the more generic nursing interventions traditionally applied across all age groups of children in clinical settings

Physical and psychological late effects on health-related quality of life in long-term survivors of childhood cancer

Advances in cancer treatments have increased the overall five-year survival rate for children and adolescents with cancer to almost 85% (Howlader et al., 2013). However, the use of intensive treatment modalities to improve survival rates has jeopardized health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of survivors of childhood cancer. Survivors of childhood cancers are likely to experience serious or life-threatening late effects (Berk & Meyers, 2015) which can continue into adulthood (Bassal, 2006; Kevin C. Oeffinger et al., 2006). Late effects refer to various health problems in physical, mental, and social domains that occur after completion of cancer treatment (National Cancer Institute, 2016). Several studies of adults with cancer have identified associations between symptom clusters and poor patient outcomes, typically HRQOL (Dodd, Miaskowski, & Paul, 2001; Kim, Barsevick, Beck, & Dudley, 2012; Miaskowski et al., 2006). There are few studies, however, examining the relationship of symptom clusters and HRQOL in survivors of childhood cancer. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of late effects on HRQOL in survivors of childhood cancer. This project investigates the association between subgroup membership based on the impact of late effects on HRQOL using cluster mixture modeling. The revised dynamic symptom model (J. Brant, Dudley, Beck, & Miaskowski, 2016) was used as a theoretical framework, which is focused on the relationship between predictors and symptom experience. St. Jude Lifetime Cohort (SJLIFE) study data were used for this analysis. The study participants were diagnosed with childhood cancer and were treated between 1962 and 2002 at the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital; 3,129 participants were eligible for this study. Using mixture modeling, a person-centered approach was used. The participants were young adult survivors (the mean age at the time of the survey was 31.0 years), were diagnosed with cancer during childhood (mean age of cancer diagnosis was 8.45 years), and were long-term survivors (mean time since cancer diagnosis was 28.10 years). Participants had various types of cancer including leukemia, lymphoma, sarcoma, and central nervous system tumors. Two distinctive subgroups were identified: the “high symptom cluster” group and the “low symptom cluster” group. Among all participants, pain was the most prevalent symptom (75.5%), and disfigurement (55%) and sensation abnormalities (31.1%) were higher. Several variables were associated with the high symptom cluster. Participants who were more than 40 years old at the time of the survey, female, non-Hispanic white, had less education, unmarried, and had lower annual income were more likely to be in the high symptom cluster group. Participants who were in the high symptom cluster group reported lower physical and psychosocial HRQOL compared to those in the low symptom cluster group. Several socioeconomic and clinical variables affected HRQOL among participants in this study. In particular, use of certain types of chemotherapy (e.g., cisplatin, carboplatin, or oxaliplatin) was associated with poorer physical HRQOL and better psychosocial HRQOL. The current study identified symptom cluster groups among young adult survivors of childhood cancers and found meaningful predictors that affect symptom cluster membership and HRQOL outcomes. The findings of this study provide information for health care providers regarding treatment effects and subsequent HRQOL in children with cancer. These findings could be used as a basis for designing an intervention for individuals in the high symptom cluster group. Future research should include children with cancer who are in the various survivorship periods in order to better understand the relationships between symptom clusters and HRQOL across time

Decursinol chloroacrylates useful as fungicides

Natural products decursin and decursinol angelate were recently reported as benign fungicides for controlling rice blast. Inspired by the structural similarity of the cumarin compounds and gained hint from the skeletal motifs, we designed and prepared synthetic compounds to increase the natural product efficacy and evaluated their antifungal activities against various plant disease pathogens in vitro. Synthetically prepared compound 4 and 5 indeed suppressed the mycelial growth of B. cinerea, F. oxysporum, P. italicum, and R. quercus-mongolicae. Additionally, compound 5 effectively prevents the growth of C. coccodes and C. parasitica. Furthermore, both 4 and 5 possess better inhibitory activities on spore germination of F. oxysporum and M. oryzae than the natural product decursin and commercial pesticide Iprodione. These results suggest that the effect of the lead compound for plant disease protection can be improved by tuning the structure of the original natural product and decursinol chloroacrylates 4 and 5 are candidates for the control of F. oxysporum and M. oryzae.This work was supported by Research Resettlement Fund for the new faculty of Seoul National University (to Y. Kwon). Also, Rural Development Administration Republic of Korea supported this research (Project No. PJ016243022021 to H. Son)

Attenuating the EGFR-ERK-SOX9 axis promotes liver progenitor cell‐mediated liver regeneration in zebrafish

The liver is a highly regenerative organ, but its regenerative capacity is compromised in severe liver injury settings. In chronic liver diseases, the number of liver progenitor cells (LPCs) correlates proportionally to disease severity, implying that their inefficient differentiation into hepatocytes exacerbates the disease. Moreover, LPCs secrete pro‐inflammatory cytokines; thus, their prolonged presence worsens inflammation and induces fibrosis. Promoting LPC‐to‐hepatocyte differentiation in patients with advanced liver disease, for whom liver transplantation is currently the only therapeutic option, may be a feasible clinical approach since such promotion generates more functional hepatocytes and concomitantly reduces inflammation and fibrosis. Here, using zebrafish models of LPC‐mediated liver regeneration, we present a proof‐of‐principle of such therapeutics by demonstrating a role for the EGFR signaling pathway in differentiation of LPCs into hepatocytes. We found that suppression of EGFR signaling promoted LPC‐to‐hepatocyte differentiation via the MEK‐ERK‐SOX9 cascade. Pharmacological inhibition of EGFR or MEK/ERK promoted LPC‐to‐hepatocyte differentiation as well as genetic suppression of the EGFR‐ERK‐SOX9 axis. Moreover, Sox9b overexpression in LPCs blocked their differentiation into hepatocytes. In the zebrafish liver injury model, both hepatocytes and biliary epithelial cells contributed to LPCs. EGFR inhibition promoted the differentiation of LPCs regardless of their origin. Notably, short‐term treatment with EGFR inhibitors resulted in better liver recovery over the long term. Conclusion: The EGFR‐ERK‐SOX9 axis suppresses LPC‐to‐hepatocyte differentiation during LPC‐mediated liver regeneration. We suggest EGFR inhibitors as a pro‐regenerative therapeutic drug for patients with advanced liver disease

Clinical relevance of ground glass opacity in 105 patients with miliary tuberculosis

SummaryBackgroundAfter the application of chest computed tomography (CT), ground glass opacity (GGO) was introduced as one of major accompanying findings of miliary tuberculosis (MT) in addition to miliary nodules. However, little is known about whether GGO is associated with the clinical manifestations and outcomes of MT. Therefore, the present study examined the clinical relevance of GGO in patients with MT.MethodsChest radiographs and CT scans of MT patients were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical manifestations and outcomes were compared in terms of the extent of GGO revealed by chest CT.ResultsConfirmed 105 MT patients were included. GGO was observed in 70 (67%) patients. MT patients with an extent of GGO >50% (n = 21) had symptoms of shorter duration, more frequent dyspnea, and more pronounced changes in the levels of acute phase reactants. Miliary nodules were less discernible on CT in those with an extent of GGO >50%. MT patients with an extent of GGO >50% were significantly associated with a longer hospital stay (p = 0.02) and with acute respiratory failure (p < 0.001) than those with an extent of GGO ≤50%. However, mortality among MT patients was not associated with the extent of GGO.ConclusionMT patients with an extent of GGO >50% had more rapidly progressive manifestations and a greater potential for delayed diagnosis and poorer prognosis. Nevertheless, mortality was not higher in confirmed MT patients with an extent of GGO >50% than in those with an extent of GGO ≤50%

Interaction between Liprin-α and GIT1 Is Required for AMPA Receptor Targeting

Liprin-alpha is a multidomain protein that interacts with the LAR family of receptor protein tyrosine phosphatases and the GRIP/ABP family of AMPA receptor-interacting proteins. Previous studies have indicated that liprin-alpha regulates the development of presynaptic active zones and that the association of liprin-alpha with GRIP is required for postsynaptic targeting of AMPA receptors. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are not well understood. Here we report that liprin-alpha directly interacts with GIT1, a multidomain protein with GTPase-activating protein activity for the ADP-ribosylation factor family of small GTPases known to regulate protein trafficking and the actin cytoskeleton. Electron microscopic analysis indicates that GIT1 distributes to the region of postsynaptic density (PSD) as well as presynaptic active zones. GIT1 is enriched in PSD fractions and forms a complex with liprin-alpha, GRIP, and AMPA receptors in brain. Expression of dominant-negative constructs interfering with the GIT1-liprin-alpha interaction leads to a selective and marked reduction in the dendritic and surface clustering of AMPA receptors in cultured neurons. These results suggest that the GIT1-liprin-alpha interaction is required for AMPA receptor targeting and that GIT1 may play an important role in the organization of presynaptic and postsynaptic multiprotein complexes

Brain structural correlates of subjective sleepiness and insomnia symptoms in shift workers

BackgroundStudies on the brain structures of shift workers are limited; thus, this cross-sectional study aimed to compare the brain structures and the brain structural correlates of subjective sleepiness and insomnia symptoms between shift workers and non-shift workers.MethodsShift workers (n = 63) and non-shift workers (n = 58) completed questionnaires assessing subjective sleepiness and insomnia symptoms. Cortical thickness, cortical surface area, and subcortical volumes were measured by magnetic resonance imaging. The brain morphometric measures were compared between the groups, and interaction analyses using the brain morphometric measures as the dependent variable were performed to test the interactions between the study group and measures of sleep disturbance (i.e., subjective sleepiness and insomnia symptoms).ResultsNo differences in cortical thickness, cortical surface area, or subcortical volumes were detected between shift workers and non-shift workers. A single cluster in the left motor cortex showed a significant interaction between the study group and subjective sleepiness in the cortical surface area. The correlation between the left motor cortex surface area and the subjective sleepiness level was negative in shift workers and positive in non-shift workers. Significant interaction between the study group and insomnia symptoms was present for the left/right putamen volumes. The correlation between the left/right putamen volumes and insomnia symptom levels was positive in shift workers and negative in non-shift workers.ConclusionLeft motor cortex surface area and bilateral putamen volumes were unique structural correlates of subjective sleepiness and insomnia symptoms in shift workers, respectively

Association of the Kinesin Motor KIF1A with the Multimodular Protein Liprin-α

Liprin-alpha/SYD-2 is a multimodular scaffolding protein important for presynaptic differentiation and postsynaptic targeting of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazoleproprionic acid glutamate receptors. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these functions remain largely unknown. Here we report that liprin-alpha interacts with the neuron-specific kinesin motor KIF1A. KIF1A colocalizes with liprin-alpha in various subcellular regions of neurons. KIF1A coaccumulates with liprin-alpha in ligated sciatic nerves. KIF1A cofractionates and coimmunopreciptates with liprin-alpha and various liprin-alpha-associated membrane, signaling, and scaffolding proteins including alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazoleproprionic acid receptors, GRIP/ABP, RIM, GIT1, and beta PIX. These results suggest that liprin-alpha functions as a KIF1A receptor, linking KIF1A to various liprin-alpha-associated proteins for their transport in neurons