A multilevel analysis of social capital and self-reported health: evidence from Seoul, South Korea

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study aims to resolve two limitations of previous studies. First, as only a few studies examining social capital have been conducted in non-western countries, it is inconclusive that the concept, which has been developed in Western societies, applies similarly to an Asian context. Second, this study considers social capital at the individual-level, area-level and cross-levels of interaction and examines its associations with health while simultaneously controlling for various confounders at both the individual-level and area-level, whereas previous studies only considered one of the two levels. The purpose of this study is therefore to examine the associations between social capital and health by using multilevel analysis after controlling for various confounders both at the individual and area-levels (i.e., concentrated disadvantage) in non-western countries.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a cross-sectional survey from December 2010 to April 2011 in Seoul, South Korea. The target population included respondents aged 25 years and older who have resided in the same administrative area since 2008. The final sample for this study consisted of 4,730 respondents within all 25 of Seoul's administrative areas.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In our final model, individual-level social capital, including network sources (OR = 1.23; 95% CI = 1.11-1.37) and organizational participation (OR = 2.55; 95% CI = 2.11-3.08) was positively associated with good/very good health. Interestingly, the individual × area organizational participation cross-level interaction was negatively associated with good/very good health (OR = 0.40; 95% CI = 0.32-0.50), indicating that in areas with higher organizational participation, individuals with high organizational participation were less likely to report good/very good health when compared to low organizational participation individuals.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study provides evidence that individual-level social capital is associated with self-reported health, even after controlling for both individual and area-level confounders. Although this study did not find significant relationships between area-level organizational participation and self-reported health, this study found the cross-level interaction for social capital. Hence, in areas with lower organizational participation, the probability of reporting good/very good health is higher for individuals with high organizational participation than individuals with low organizational participation. This study, albeit tentatively, suggests that policy makers should focus upon social capital when making policies which aim to enhance one's health.</p

Characterization of Mammalian Selenoprotein O: A Redox-Active Mitochondrial Protein

Selenoproteins exhibit diverse biological functions, most of which are associated with redox control. However, the functions of approximately half of mammalian selenoproteins are not known. One such protein is Selenoprotein O (SelO), the largest mammalian selenoprotein with orthologs found in a wide range of organisms, including bacteria and yeast. Here, we report characterization of mammalian SelO. Expression of this protein could be verified in HEK 293T cells by metabolic labeling of cells with 75Se, and it was abolished when selenocysteine was replaced with serine. A CxxU motif was identified in the C-terminal region of SelO. This protein was reversibly oxidized in a time- and concentration-dependent manner in HEK 293T cells when cells were treated with hydrogen peroxide. This treatment led to the formation of a transient 88 kDa SelO-containing complex. The formation of this complex was enhanced by replacing the CxxU motif with SxxC, but abolished when it was replaced with SxxS, suggesting a redox interaction of SelO with another protein through its Sec residue. SelO was localized to mitochondria and expressed across mouse tissues. Its expression was little affected by selenium deficiency, suggesting it has a high priority for selenium supply. Taken together, these results show that SelO is a redox-active mitochondrial selenoprotein

Impact factor of Korean Journal of Pediatrics on Korean Medical Citation Index and Science Citation Index of Web of Science

PurposeThe total number of times a paper is cited, also known as the impact factor (IF) of a medical journal, is widely implied in evaluating the quality of a research paper. We evaluated the citation index data as an IF of Korean J Pediatr in Korean Medical Citation Index (KoMCI) and JCI of Web of Science.MethodsWe calculated the IF of Korean J Pediatr at KoMCI supervised by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. And we estimated the IF of Korean J Pediatr by the JCI of Web of Science although it was never officially reported.ResultsThe IF of Korean J Pediatr on KoMCI has increased from 0.100 in the year 2000, to 0.205 in 2008, and 0.326 in 2009. Although the IF of Korean J Pediatr was 0.006 in 2005, 0.018 in 2006, 0.028 in 2008, 0.066 in 2009, and 0.018 in 2010 according to the JCI of Web of Science, the number of citations are steadily increasing.ConclusionUnderstanding and realizing the current status will be a stepping stone for further improvement. The next objective of the Korean J Pediatr is to become registered in the SCI or SCIE. Increasing the IF according to the JCI of Web of Science is crucial in order to achieve this goal

2D perovskite stabilized phase-pure formamidinium perovskite solar cells.

Compositional engineering has been used to overcome difficulties in fabricating high-quality phase-pure formamidinium perovskite films together with its ambient instability. However, this comes alongside an undesirable increase in bandgap that sacrifices the device photocurrent. Here we report the fabrication of phase-pure formamidinium-lead tri-iodide perovskite films with excellent optoelectronic quality and stability. Incorporation of 1.67 mol% of 2D phenylethylammonium lead iodide into the precursor solution enables the formation of phase-pure formamidinium perovskite with an order of magnitude enhanced photoluminescence lifetime. The 2D perovskite spontaneously forms at grain boundaries to protect the formamidinium perovskite from moisture and suppress ion migration. A stabilized power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 20.64% (certified stabilized PCE of 19.77%) is achieved with a short-circuit current density exceeding 24 mA cm-2 and an open-circuit voltage of 1.130 V, corresponding to a loss-in-potential of 0.35 V, and significantly enhanced operational stability

Factors Influencing Academic Self-efficacy among Nursing Students during COVID-19: A Path Analysis

Introduction: The shift to online learning owing to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is posing an additional challenge to academic success, particularly for students who speak English as a Second Language (ESL). This study aimed to examine the factors that contribute to academic self-efficacy among ESL nursing students. Method: This was a cross-sectional study using path analysis with 113 undergraduate ESL nursing students in New York City. Data were collected online using self-report measures of the study variables: academic self-efficacy, perfectionistic concerns, acculturative stress, and e-learning stress. A hypothetical path model was tested using AMOS 26.0. Results: Perfectionistic concerns and acculturative stress directly affected academic self-efficacy. Furthermore, perfectionistic concerns and e-learning stress indirectly affected academic self-efficacy via the acculturative stress path. Discussion: Results indicate the importance of developing a multifaceted intervention that considers diverse cultural and psychological factors to help ESL nursing students enhance their academic self-efficacy in e-learning environments

Development of fluorescent semi-conductor nanocrystal conjugates for in vitro and in vivo imaging applications

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemistry, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references.Semiconductor nanocrystals, also known as quantum dots (QDs), are promising imaging probes with characteristic optical properties: tunable bandgap from visible to infrared, narrow and symmetric emission features, broad absorption, high quantum yield (QY), excellent photostability, and a large two-photon absorption cross section. However, unlike other imaging probes, the surface ligands determine the solubility, stability, quantum yield (QY), biocompatibility, and derivatizability of QDs. Therefore, to use QDs for in vitro and in vivo imaging, QD ligands need to be elaborately engineered for each experiment. Single cell labeling in vivo requires extremely strict criteria for the QD conjugates to be used such as minimal nonspecific cell/serum binding, maintenance of high QY in complex in vivo environments, and compact size. The focus of this thesis is the synthesis of high quality QD conjugates that can be used for single molecule imaging in vivo and in vivo imaging studies that demonstrate the broad and powerful applicability of our new methods. We incorporated novel conjugation methods employing highly strained cycloolefins and a serum stable tetrazine derivative into newly developed polymeric imidazole ligands (PILs) to efficiently couple biomolecules on QDs. Unlike traditional conjugation methods, tetrazine-norbornene cycloaddition benefits from the non-interacting properties of the functional groups to the QD surface, and yields the high conjugation efficiencies on QDs. In addition, the rapid kinetics, absence of catalyst, and bio-orthogonality of the cycloaddition allowed us to achieve in situ conjugation of the norbornene-bearing QDs to tetrazine-bearing epidermal growth factor (EGF) proteins on the HeLa cell surface. On the in vivo front, we accomplished single endogenous cell imaging in live mice. The ability to target single cells using multiple biomarkers and track them for the extended periods of time allowed us to study the microenvironment of the endogenous hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which was not possible using conventional techniques engaging dye conjugated antibodies. Lastly, a new class of QD ligands containing betaine moieties was developed to reduce the size of QD conjugates, which we expect will be greatly beneficial for in vitro and in vivo targeting in dense environments. We successfully demonstrated functionalization of the sulfonate betaine poly imidazole ligands (SBPILs) with biomolecules, and the biocompatibility of SBPIL QDs both in vitro and in vivo.by Hee-Sun Han.Ph.D

Myoepithelial carcinoma with contralateral invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the breast

Adenomyoepithelioma (AME) is a rare benign tumor composed of myoepithelial cells (MECs) which are located beneath the epithelial cells of exocrine glands, especially in breast and salivary glands. These tumor cells show biphasic proliferation of epithelial and MECs. Malignant AME is characterized by distant metastasis, local recurrence, cytologic atypia, high mitotic activity and infiltrating tumor margins. A 51-year-old woman presented with an 8 months growth in the left breast. She underwent core-needle biopsy and consecutively mammotome assisted biopsy at a local clinic. After resection, she complained about re-growing remnant lesion and a newly developed solid mass in the right breast. Finally, the remnant mass in the left breast was diagnosed with myoepithelial carcinoma. Concurrently, contralateral breast mass was diagnosed with invasive micropapillary carcinoma. Herein we report an unusual case of synchronous myoepithelial carcinoma and invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the breast with a review of literatures

Heating temperature prediction of concrete structure damaged by fire using a Bayesian approach

A fire that occurs in a reinforced concrete (RC) structure accompanies a heating temperature, and this negatively affects the concrete material properties, such as the compressive strength, the bond between cement paste and aggregate, and the cracking and spalling of concrete. To appropriately measure the reduced structural performance and durability of fire-damaged RC structures, it is important to accurately estimate the heating temperature of the structure. However, studies in the literature on RC structures damaged by fire have focused mostly on structural member tests at elevated temperatures to ensure the fire resistance or fire protection material development; studies on estimating the heating temperature are very limited except for the very few existing models. Therefore, in this study, a heating temperature estimation model for a reinforced concrete (RC) structure damaged by fire was developed using a statistical Bayesian parameter estimation approach. For the model development, a total of 77 concrete test specimens were utilized; based on them, a statistically highly accurate model has been developed. The usage of the proposed method in the framework of the 500 ◦C isotherm method in Eurocode 2 has been illustrated through an RC column resistance estimation application

Empirical Validation of Heat Transfer Performance Simulation of Graphite/PCM Concrete Materials for Thermally Activated Building System

To increase the heat capacity in lightweight construction materials, a phase change material (PCM) can be introduced to building elements. A thermally activated building system (TABS) with graphite/PCM concrete hollow core slab is suggested as an energy-efficient technology to shift and reduce the peak thermal load in buildings. An evaluation of heat storage and dissipation characteristics of TABS in graphite/PCM concrete has been conducted using dynamic simulations, but empirical validation is necessary to acceptably predict the thermal behavior of graphite/PCM concrete. This study aimed to validate the thermal behavior of graphite/PCM concrete through a three-dimensional transient heat transfer simulation. The simulation results were compared to experimental results from previous studies of concrete and graphite/PCM concrete. The overall thermal behavior for both materials was found to be similar to experiment results. Limitations in the simulation modeling, which included determination of the indoor heat transfer coefficient, assumption of constant thermal conductivity with temperature, and assumption of specimen homogeneity, led to slight differences between the measured and simulated results