A situational analysis of ear and hearing care in South Korea using WHO ear and Hearing Care Situation Analysis tool

ObjectivesThe WHO emphasizes lifelong management of hearing diseases such as hearing loss and advocates for prevention. The Ear and Hearing Care Situation Analysis (EHCSA) tool was designed by the WHO for assessment and quality improvement of state-led management of hearing loss prevention and management programs. The purpose of this study was to use the EHCSA to assess the ear and hearing management program in Korea and to establish goals consistent with best practices for improving policies and services related to ear and hearing care.MethodsThe EHCSA was used as a need assessment of the ear and hearing management services in the country. The EHCSA consists of two sections. Section 1 consists of 41 questions to evaluate health policies and support services. Section 2 consists of 203 questions to evaluate human resources and services of the ear and hearing management sector.ResultsThere are an estimated 800,000 people with hearing loss in Korea. Policies such as hearing aid support are in place, and outreach services such as free hearing tests are also being actively conducted. In all medical institutions, ear and hearing management treatment and medication prescriptions could be received without barriers. Workers in the fields of ear and hearing management, such as audiologists, language therapists, special education teachers, and sign language interpreters, are specialized and have well-established guidelines for training.ConclusionOverall, the domestic ear and hearing management sector has confirmed that policies and services are well-prepared in comparison with advanced countries such as the United States, Iran, and China. The use of the EHCSA was functional in collecting data on the current state of domestic ear and hearing management policies and services in Korea, can be used for continuous quality improvement and expansion of medical services, and can be used as a reporting mechanism to the WHO

Does Herpes Virus Reactivation Affect Prognosis in Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss?

Objectives Several etiologies have been proposed to underlie idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL), including viral infection, vascular disturbance, and immune-mediated mechanisms. However, none of these mechanisms are conclusive. Should ISSNHL be caused by reactivation of a viral infection, antiviral treatment would be an important option. Thus, in this study, we reported the prognosis according to serologic test results of herpes viruses in patients with ISSNHL. We also evaluated treatment response with acyclovir and corticosteroids versus corticosteroids alone in herpes simplex virus (HSV) seropositive ISSNHL patients. Methods We compared hematologic examinations and the results of audiometry testing in 232 patients with ISSNHL. Statistical analyses for initial hearing impairment, progression of hearing impairment, recovery of hearing loss, and laboratory results were performed in all patients. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software. Results The 232 ISSNHL patients were divided into two subgroups according to HSV immunoglobulin M (IgM) serologic results (seropositive or seronegative). When the seropositive group was compared to the seronegative group, age, gender, body mass index (BMI), white blood cell, absolute neutrophil count, absolute monocyte count, and platelet count were not significantly different. Initial hearing level, final recovery hearing level, and recovery time were also not significantly different between the two groups (P>0.05). Though there were no significant differences in age, gender, BMI, or viral HSV IgM titer, the two groups had similar initial hearing level, final recovery hearing level, and recovery time. The difference in hearing threshold before and after treatment was larger (18.7±37.1) in the group receiving antiviral medication than in the corticosteroids group (11.0±44.5), but this difference was not significant (P=0.619). Conclusion There was no significant difference of prognosis between the patients with and without reactivation of HSV. In addition, there seems to be no benefit for the treatment of acyclovir combined with the corticosteroids in the patients with ISSNHL

Age-related differences in ocular biometry in adult Korean population

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.Abstract Background To evaluate the relationship between age, axial length (AL), anterior chamber depth (ACD) and corneal steepness (K) in patients with cataract. Methods In this retrospective study, medical records of 800 patients (800 eyes) who were diagnosed with cataract and received preoperative ophthalmologic examination were reviewed. Data including age, gender and ocular biometric data including AL, ACD and K were collected and analyzed using univariate and multivariate analyses. Results Univariate analysis showed increased age has significant correlation with shorter AL (P < 0.001), shallower ACD (P < 0.001) and steeper K (P < 0.001). K value has a negative correlation with AL (P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, increasing age has a significant association with shorter AL (P < 0.001) and ACD (P < 0.001), although the association between age and K was not significant (P = 0.398). Negative correlation between AL and K remained significant in multivariate analysis (P < 0.001). Conclusion In patients with cataract, older age had significant association with shorter AL and ACD. AL and K had negative correlation

Silicon@porous nitrogen-doped carbon spheres through a bottom-up approach are highly robust lithium-ion battery anodes

Due to its excellent capacity, around 4000 mA h g(-1), silicon has been recognized as one of the most promising lithium-ion battery anodes, especially for future large-scale applications including electrical vehicles and utility power grids. Nevertheless, Si suffers from a short cycle life as well as limitations for scalable electrode fabrication. Herein, we report a novel design for highly robust and scalable Si anodes: Si nanoparticles embedded in porous nitrogen-doped carbon spheres (NCSs). The porous nature of NCSs buffers the volume changes of Si nanoparticles and thus resolves critical issues of Si anode operations, such as pulverization, vulnerable contacts between Si and carbon conductors, and an unstable solid-electrolyte interphase. The unique electrode structure exhibits outstanding performance with a gravimetric capacity as high as 1579 mA h g(-1) at a C/10 rate based on the mass of both Si and C, a cycle life of 300 cycles with 94% capacity retention, as well as a discharge rate capability of 6 min while retaining a capacity of 702 mA h g(-1). Significantly, the coulombic efficiencies of this structure reach 99.99%. The assembled structure suggests a design principle for high capacity alloying electrodes that suffer from volume changes during battery operations.

Familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease with V180I Mutation

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is an uncommon neurodegenerative disorder with an incidence of 1 per 1000,000 per year typically characterized by rapidly progressive dementia, ataxia, myoclonus and behavioral changes. Genetic prion diseases, which develop due to a mutations in the prion protein gene (PRNP), account for an estimated 10 to 15% of all CJD cases. We report a 75-yr-old woman with familial CJD carrying a V180I mutation which features late onset, slow progression, no periodic sharp wave complexes on electroencephalography, and extensive cortical ribboning with spared the cerebellum and the medial occipital lobes posterior to the parieto-occipital sulcus on MRI. To our knowledge, this is the first documented case of a point mutation at codon 180 in South Korea

Genetic Traceability of Black Pig Meats Using Microsatellite Markers

Pork from Jeju black pig (population J) and Berkshire (population B) has a unique market share in Korea because of their high meat quality. Due to the high demand of this pork, traceability of the pork to its origin is becoming an important part of the consumer demand. To examine the feasibility of such a system, we aim to provide basic genetic information of the two black pig populations and assess the possibility of genetically distinguishing between the two breeds. Muscle samples were collected from slaughter houses in Jeju Island and Namwon, Chonbuk province, Korea, for populations J and B, respectively. In total 800 Jeju black pigs and 351 Berkshires were genotyped at thirteen microsatellite (MS) markers. Analyses on the genetic diversity of the two populations were carried out in the programs MS toolkit and FSTAT. The population structure of the two breeds was determined by a Bayesian clustering method implemented in structure and by a phylogenetic analysis in Phylip. Population J exhibited higher mean number of alleles, expected heterozygosity and observed heterozygosity value, and polymorphism information content, compared to population B. The FIS values of population J and population B were 0.03 and −0.005, respectively, indicating that little or no inbreeding has occurred. In addition, genetic structure analysis revealed the possibility of gene flow from population B to population J. The expected probability of identify value of the 13 MS markers was 9.87×10−14 in population J, 3.17×10−9 in population B, and 1.03×10−12 in the two populations. The results of this study are useful in distinguishing between the two black pig breeds and can be used as a foundation for further development of DNA markers

Hemo-metabolic impairment in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: Data from the INTERSTELLAR registry

Background: Not only hemo-dynamic (HD) factors but also hemo-metabolic (HM) risk factors reflecting multi-organ injuries are considered as important prognostic factors in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, studies regarding HM risk factors in STEMI patients are currently limited. Method: Under analysis were 1,524 patients with STEMI who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention in the INTERSTELLAR registry. Patients were divided into HM (≥ 2 risk factors) and non-HM impairment groups. The primary outcome was in-hospital all-cause mortality, and the secondary outcome was 1-year all-cause mortality. Results: Of 1,524 patients, 214 (14.0%) and 1,310 (86.0%) patients were in the HM and non-HM impairment groups, respectively. Patients with HM impairment had a higher incidence of in-hospital mortality than those without (24.3% vs. 2.7%, p &lt; 0.001). After adjusting for confounders, HM impairment was independently associated with in-hospital mortality (inverse probability of treatment weighting [IPTW]-adjusted odds ratio: 1.81, 95% confidence interval: 1.08–3.14). In the third door-to-balloon (DTB) time tertile (≥ 82 min), HM impairment was strongly associated with in-hospital mortality. In the first DTB time tertile ( &lt; 62 min), indicating relatively rapid revascularization, HM impairment was consistently associated with increased in-hospital mortality. Conclusions: Hemo-metabolic impairment is significantly associated with increased risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality in patients with STEMI. It remains a significant prognostic factor, regardless of DTB time