Barriers to Outpatient Hospital-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation in Korean Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome

ObjectiveTo investigate factors associated with enrollment and participation in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in Korea.MethodsPatients admitted to four university hospitals with acute coronary syndrome between June 2014 and May 2016 were enrolled. The Cardiac Rehabilitation Barriers Scale (CRBS) made of 21-item questionnaire and divided in four subdomains was administered during admission. CRBS items used a 5-point Likert scale and ≥2.5 was considered as a barrier. Differences between CR non-attender and CR attender, or CR non-enroller and CR enroller in subscale and each items of CRBS were examined using the chi-square test.ResultsThe CR participation rate in four hospitals was 31% (170 of the 552). Logistical factors (odds ratio [OR]=7.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.62–12.55) and comorbidities/functional status (OR=6.60; 95% CI, 3.95–11.01) were identified as a barrier to CR enrollment in the subdomain analysis. Among patients who were enrolled (agreed to participate in CR during admission), only work/time conflict was a significant barrier to CR participation (OR=2.17; 95% CI, 1.29–3.66).ConclusionDiverse barriers to CR participation were identified in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Providing the tailored model for CR according to the individual patient's barrier could improve the CR utilization. Further multicenter study with large sample size including other CR indication is required

Korean Version of the Longer-Term Unmet Needs After Stroke Questionnaire

Objective To translate the 22-item Longer-term Unmet Needs after Stroke (LUNS) questionnaire, validate it in the Korean stroke population, and assess the reliability of face-to-face and telephone surveys. Methods Sixty-six adult patients with stroke from Seoul National University Bundang Hospital and Kangwon National University Hospital were involved in the validation. Participants were interviewed twice using the LUNS Korean version: first, a face-to-face survey for validation, and second, a telephone survey for test-retest reliability. Participants completed the Frenchay Activities Index (FAI) and Short Form 12 (SF-12) Mental and Physical Component Summary (MCS and PCS) scores at the first interview. For concurrent validity, the differences in health status (FAI, SF-12 MCS and PCS) between the groups that reported unmet needs and those that did not were analyzed for each item. Cohen’s kappa and percentage of agreement between the first and second administrations were calculated for each item to determine the test-retest reliability. Results The average age of the participants was 61.2±12.8 years and 74.2% were male. Fifty-seven patients were involved in the second interview. Depending on the unmet needs, SF-12 MCS, PCS, and FAI were significantly different in 12 of 22 items. In the test-retest reliability test, 12 items had a kappa of 0.6 or higher, and two had a kappa of <0.4. Conclusion The LUNS instrument into Korean (LUNS-K) is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing unmet health needs in patients with stroke. In addition, telephone surveys can be considered reliable

Translation, Cultural Adaptation, and Validation of a Korean Version of the Information Needs in Cardiac Rehabilitation Scale

Objective To translate and culturally adapt the Information Needs in Cardiac Rehabilitation (INCR) questionnaire into Korean and perform psychometric validation. Methods The original English version of the INCR, in which patients are asked to rate the importance of 55 topics, was translated into Korean (INCR-K) and culturally adapted. The INCR-K was tested on 101 cardiac rehabilitation (CR) participants at Kangwon National University Hospital and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital in Korea. Structural validity was assessed using principal component analysis, and Cronbach’s alpha of the areas was computed. Criterion validity was assessed by comparing information needs according to CR duration and knowledge sufficiency according to receipt of education. Half of the participants were randomly selected for 1 month of re-testing to assess their responsiveness. Results Following cognitive debriefing, the number of items was reduced to 41 and ratings were added to assess participants’ sufficient knowledge of each item. The INCR-K structure comprised eight areas, each with sufficient internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha>0.7). Criterion validity was supported by significant differences in mean INCR-K scores based on CR duration and knowledge sufficiency ratings according to receipt of education (p<0.05). Information needs and knowledge sufficiency ratings increased after 1 month of CR, thus supporting responsiveness (p<0.05). Conclusion The INCR-K demonstrated adequate face, content, cross-cultural, structural, and criterion validities, internal consistency, and responsiveness. Information needs changed with CR, such that multiple assessments of information needs may be warranted as rehabilitation progresses to facilitate patient-centered education

25th annual computational neuroscience meeting: CNS-2016

The same neuron may play different functional roles in the neural circuits to which it belongs. For example, neurons in the Tritonia pedal ganglia may participate in variable phases of the swim motor rhythms [1]. While such neuronal functional variability is likely to play a major role the delivery of the functionality of neural systems, it is difficult to study it in most nervous systems. We work on the pyloric rhythm network of the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion (STG) [2]. Typically network models of the STG treat neurons of the same functional type as a single model neuron (e.g. PD neurons), assuming the same conductance parameters for these neurons and implying their synchronous firing [3, 4]. However, simultaneous recording of PD neurons shows differences between the timings of spikes of these neurons. This may indicate functional variability of these neurons. Here we modelled separately the two PD neurons of the STG in a multi-neuron model of the pyloric network. Our neuron models comply with known correlations between conductance parameters of ionic currents. Our results reproduce the experimental finding of increasing spike time distance between spikes originating from the two model PD neurons during their synchronised burst phase. The PD neuron with the larger calcium conductance generates its spikes before the other PD neuron. Larger potassium conductance values in the follower neuron imply longer delays between spikes, see Fig. 17.Neuromodulators change the conductance parameters of neurons and maintain the ratios of these parameters [5]. Our results show that such changes may shift the individual contribution of two PD neurons to the PD-phase of the pyloric rhythm altering their functionality within this rhythm. Our work paves the way towards an accessible experimental and computational framework for the analysis of the mechanisms and impact of functional variability of neurons within the neural circuits to which they belong

Sleep Quality and Attention May Correlate With Hand Grip Strength: FARM Study

Objective To determine the socio-demographic, psychologic, hematologic, or other relevant factors associated with hand grip strength in Korean farmers. Methods A total of 528 healthy Korean farmers were enrolled. Hand grip strength was measured in both hands using a hydraulic dynamometer. Socio-demographic characteristics were assessed and anthropometric measurements were obtained. Psycho-cognitive measurements such as sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) and Go/No-Go test response time were conducted. In addition to physical measurements, serologic parameters including insulin-like growth factor 1 were measured. The factors associated with hand grip strength were analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis after adjusting for age, height, and weight. Results The mean hand grip strength was associated with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index total score (β=-0.12, p=0.01), the Go/No-Go test response time (β=-0.18, p=0.001), vitamin D (β=0.12, p=0.02), and insulin-like growth factor 1 levels (β=0.1, p=0.045). In female farmers, hand grip strength was only associated with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index total score (β=-0.32, p<0.001). Conclusion The results of this study demonstrate that hand grip strength was associated with sleep quality and attention in Korean farmers

The Most Widely Disseminated COVID-19-Related Scientific Publications in Online Media: A Bibliometric Analysis of the Top 100 Articles with the Highest Altmetric Attention Scores

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic. This study’s aim was to identify and characterize the top 100 COVID-19-related scientific publications, which had received the highest Altmetric Attention Scores (AASs). Hence, we searched Altmetric Explorer using search terms such as “COVID” or “COVID-19” or “Coronavirus” or “SARS-CoV-2” or “nCoV” and then selected the top 100 articles with the highest AASs. For each article identified, we extracted the following information: the overall AAS, publishing journal, journal impact factor (IF), date of publication, language, country of origin, document type, main topic, and accessibility. The top 100 articles most frequently were published in journals with high (&gt;10.0) IF (n = 67), were published between March and July 2020 (n = 67), were written in English (n = 100), originated in the United States (n = 45), were original articles (n = 59), dealt with treatment and clinical manifestations (n = 33), and had open access (n = 98). Our study provides important information pertaining to the dissemination of scientific knowledge about COVID-19 in online media

The Most Widely Disseminated COVID-19-Related Scientific Publications in Online Media: A Bibliometric Analysis of the Top 100 Articles with the Highest Altmetric Attention Scores

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic. This study’s aim was to identify and characterize the top 100 COVID-19-related scientific publications, which had received the highest Altmetric Attention Scores (AASs). Hence, we searched Altmetric Explorer using search terms such as “COVID” or “COVID-19” or “Coronavirus” or “SARS-CoV-2” or “nCoV” and then selected the top 100 articles with the highest AASs. For each article identified, we extracted the following information: the overall AAS, publishing journal, journal impact factor (IF), date of publication, language, country of origin, document type, main topic, and accessibility. The top 100 articles most frequently were published in journals with high (>10.0) IF (n = 67), were published between March and July 2020 (n = 67), were written in English (n = 100), originated in the United States (n = 45), were original articles (n = 59), dealt with treatment and clinical manifestations (n = 33), and had open access (n = 98). Our study provides important information pertaining to the dissemination of scientific knowledge about COVID-19 in online media

Characteristics of the Most Cited, Most Downloaded, and Most Mentioned Articles in General Medical Journals: A Comparative Bibliometric Analysis

We compared the characteristics of the most cited, most downloaded, and most mentioned (the highest Altmetric Attention Score) articles published in general medical journals. We identified the 640 most frequently cited, 662 most frequently downloaded, and 652 most mentioned articles from 48 general medical journals. A comparison was made of the following characteristics of articles in the most cited, most downloaded, and most mentioned articles: medical specialty, publication type, country of origin, year of publication, and accessibility. There was only a 2.5% overlap in these three groups. Original articles were the more frequent among the most mentioned articles, whereas reviews, case reports, and guidelines/consensus statements were more frequent among the most downloaded articles. The most cited articles were more frequently published in 2010 and before, whereas the most downloaded articles were published in 2017&minus;2018. The most mentioned articles were more frequently open-access articles, compared to the most downloaded articles. The most cited were more frequently older, the most downloaded were more frequently recent and educational, and the most mentioned were more frequently original and open-access articles. The results of our study may provide insights into various measures of article impact