Association between childhood adversities and adulthood depressive symptoms in South Korea: Results from a nationally representative longitudinal study

Objective To examine how childhood adversity (ie, parental death, parental divorce, suspension of school education due to financial strain or being raised in a relative\u27s house due to financial strain) is associated with prevalence and incidence of adulthood depressive symptoms and whether this association differs by gender and by age in South Korea. Design Prospective cohort design. Setting Nationally representative longitudinal survey in South Korea. Participants 11 526 participants in South Korea. Outcome measure Prevalence and incidence of adulthood depressive symptoms were assessed as a dichotomous variable using the Centers for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale in 2006 and 2007. Results In the prevalence analysis, each of the four childhood adversities was significantly associated with a higher prevalence of adulthood depressive symptoms. The higher incidence of depressive symptoms was associated with suspension of school education (OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.32 to 1.82) and parental divorce (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.00 to 2.71). In the age-stratified analyses, prevalence of depressive symptoms was associated with all CAs across different adulthoods, except for parental divorce and late adulthood depressive symptoms. After being stratified by gender, the association was significant for parental divorce (OR 3.76, 95% CI 2.34 to 6.03) in the prevalence analysis and for being raised in a relative’s house (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.21 to 2.94) in the incidence analysis only among women. Conclusions This study suggests that childhood adversity may increase prevalence and incidence of adulthood depressive symptoms, and the impact of parental divorce or being raised in a relative\u27s house due to financial strain on adulthood depressive symptoms may differ by gender

Two distinct red giant branch populations in the globular cluster NGC 2419 as tracers of a merger event in the Milky Way

Recent spectroscopic observations of the outer halo globular cluster (GC) NGC 2419 show that it is unique among GCs, in terms of chemical abundance patterns, and some suggest that it was originated in the nucleus of a dwarf galaxy. Here we show, from the Subaru narrow-band photometry employing a calcium filter, that the red giant-branch (RGB) of this GC is split into two distinct subpopulations. Comparison with spectroscopy has confirmed that the redder RGB stars in the $hk$[=(Ca$-b)-(b-y)$] index are enhanced in [Ca/H] by $\sim$0.2 dex compared to the bluer RGB stars. Our population model further indicates that the calcium-rich second generation stars are also enhanced in helium abundance by a large amount ($\Delta$Y = 0.19). Our photometry, together with the results for other massive GCs (e.g., $\omega$ Cen, M22, and NGC 1851), suggests that the discrete distribution of RGB stars in the $hk$ index might be a universal characteristic of this growing group of peculiar GCs. The planned narrow-band calcium photometry for the Local Group dwarf galaxies would help to establish an empirical connection between these GCs and the primordial building blocks in the hierarchical merging paradigm of galaxy formation.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, accepted for the publication in ApJ

Optimal application of compressive palatal stents following mesiodens removal in pediatric patients:a Randomized Controlled Trial

There is no scientific evidence supporting the choice of a palatal stent in patients who underwent removal of an impacted supernumerary tooth. We aimed to investigate the effects of palatal stents in patients who underwent supernumerary tooth removal through a palatal approach and to suggest the optimal stent thickness and material. We recruited 144 patients who underwent extraction of a supernumerary tooth between the maxillary anterior teeth. Subjects were assigned to a control group (CG) or one of four compressive palatal stent groups (CPSGs) classified by the thickness and material of the thermoplastic acrylic stent used. Palatal gingival swelling and objective indices (healing, oral hygiene, gingival, and plaque) were evaluated before surgery and on postoperative days (PODs) 3, 7, and 14; pain/discomfort and the Child Oral Health Impact Profile (COHIP) were assessed as subjective indices of the effects of the stent. The CPSGs showed faster healing than did the CG on PODs 7 (P<0.001) and 14 (P=0.043); swelling was measured by 1.64±0.88 mm and 4.52±0.39 mm, respectively. Although swelling was least in the 4-mm hard group (0.92±0.33 mm), the difference compared with that in the 2-mm hard group (1.01±0.18 mm) was not significant (P=0.077). The CPSGs showed better COHIP (P<0.001-0.036) and pain scores (P<0.001) than did the CG on PODs 1-3. Compressive palatal stents reduce discomfort by decreasing pain and alleviating swelling. Although a stent is effective regardless of its thickness and material, 2-mm hard stents maximized such positive effects with minimal discomfort

Degradation of HER2/neu by ANT2 shRNA suppresses migration and invasiveness of breast cancer cells

Background: In breast cancer, the HER2/neu oncoprotein, which belongs to the epidermal growth factor receptor family, may trigger activation of the phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway, which controls cell proliferation, survival, migration, and invasion. In this study, we examined the question of whether or not adenine nucleotide translocase 2 (ANT2) short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-mediated down-regulation of HER2/neu and inhibitory effects on the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway suppressed migration and invasiveness of breast cancer cells. Methods: We utilized an ANT2 vector-based RNA interference approach to inhibition of ANT2 expression, and the HER2/neu-overexpressing human breast cancer cell line, SK-BR3, was used throughout the study. Results: In this study, ANT2 shRNA decreased HER2/neu protein levels by promoting degradation of HER2/neu protein through dissociation from heat shock protein 90 (HSP90). As a result, ANT2 shRNA induced inhibitory effects on the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Inhibition of PI3K/Akt signaling by ANT2 shRNA caused down-regulation of membrane-type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression, decreased matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) and MMP9 activity, and suppressed migration and invasion of breast cancer cells. Conclusions: These results indicate that knock-down of ANT2 by shRNA down-regulates HER2/neu through suppression of HSP90`s function and inhibits the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, resulting ultimately in suppressed migration and invasion of breast cancer cells.Wang S, 2009, MOL CANCER, V8, DOI 10.1186/1476-4598-8-81MAHMUT Y, 2009, CANC METASTASIS REV, V28, P15Jang JY, 2008, BREAST CANCER RES, V10, DOI 10.1186/bcr1857Ono M, 2006, CLIN CANCER RES, V12, P7242, DOI 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-06-0646Stirling PC, 2006, NAT STRUCT MOL BIOL, V13, P865, DOI 10.1038/nsmb1153Le Bras M, 2006, CANCER RES, V66, P9143, DOI 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-05-4407Scaltriti M, 2006, CLIN CANCER RES, V12, P5268, DOI 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-06-1554ERIC I, 2006, AM J PHYSIOL-CELL PH, V291, P579Romond EH, 2005, NEW ENGL J MED, V353, P1673Piccart-Gebhart MJ, 2005, NEW ENGL J MED, V353, P1659Chevrollier A, 2005, J BIOENERG BIOMEMBR, V37, P307, DOI 10.1007/s10863-005-8642-5Meares GP, 2004, FEBS LETT, V574, P181, DOI 10.1016/j.febslet.2004.08.026Sreedhar AS, 2004, FEBS LETT, V562, P11Citri A, 2004, CELL CYCLE, V3, P51Luciakova K, 2003, J BIOL CHEM, V278, P30624, DOI 10.1074/jbc.M303530200Rao JS, 2003, NAT REV CANCER, V3, P489, DOI 10.1038/nrc1121Val JFF, 2002, CANCER GENET CYTOGEN, V138, P69GARCIARUIZ C, 2002, J BIOL CHEM, V277, P16396Slamon DJ, 2001, NEW ENGL J MED, V344, P783Prenzel N, 2001, ENDOCR-RELAT CANCER, V8, P11Braun S, 2001, CANCER RES, V61, P1890Xu WP, 2001, J BIOL CHEM, V276, P3702Sternlicht MD, 2001, ANNU REV CELL DEV BI, V17, P463Greenlee RT, 2001, CA-CANCER J CLIN, V51, P15Fang JM, 2000, P NATL ACAD SCI USA, V97, P3884Clynes RA, 2000, NAT MED, V6, P443Zhou BP, 2000, J BIOL CHEM, V275, P8027Menard S, 2000, J CELL PHYSIOL, V182, P150Cobleigh MA, 1999, J CLIN ONCOL, V17, P2639Pegram MD, 1998, J CLIN ONCOL, V16, P2659Fiore C, 1998, BIOCHIMIE, V80, P137WOLFGANG HS, 1998, J CELL BIOL, V143, P901Werb Z, 1997, CELL, V91, P439Baselga J, 1996, J CLIN ONCOL, V14, P737CORNELIUS LA, 1995, J INVEST DERMATOL, V105, P170HANEMAAIJER R, 1993, BIOCHEM J, V296, P803UNEMORI EN, 1990, J BIOL CHEM, V265, P445MIGNATTI P, 1989, J CELL BIOL, V108, P671SLAMON DJ, 1987, SCIENCE, V235, P177

Standardization of Terminology in Laboratory Medicine II

Standardization of medical terminology is essential in data transmission between health care institutes and in maximizing the benefits of information technology. The purpose of this study was to standardize medical terms for laboratory observations. During the second year of the study, a standard database of concept names for laboratory terms that covered those used in tertiary health care institutes and reference laboratories was developed. The laboratory terms in the Logical Observation Identifier Names and Codes (LOINC) database were adopted and matched with the electronic data interchange (EDI) codes in Korea. A public hearing and a workshop for clinical pathologists were held to collect the opinions of experts. The Korean standard laboratory terminology database containing six axial concept names, components, property, time aspect, system (specimen), scale type, and method type, was established for 29,340 test observations. Short names and mapping tables for EDI codes and UMLS were added. Synonym tables were prepared to help match concept names to common terms used in the fields. We herein described the Korean standard laboratory terminology database for test names, result description terms, and result units encompassing most of the laboratory tests in Korea