Dentists attitudes toward patient-centered care and its predictors: a cross-sectional study in South Korea

Background Patient-centered care (PCC) has been one of medical practices most frequently discussed principles. However, attitudes toward PCC among dentists remain underexplored. This study focuses on examining dentists patient-centered attitudes and investigating their predictors. Methods The Patient–Practitioner Orientation Scale which consists of Sharing and Caring subscales was used to assess patient-centered attitudes. The statistical analysis included 217 dentists from South Korea. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was performed to examine the predictors such as sociodemographic aspects, academic factors, work-related factors, and empathy. Results A patient-centered attitude of Caring subscale (M = 4.29, SD = 0.56) emerged, but the provider-centered attitude was higher in Sharing subscale (M = 3.40, SD = 0.48). Work year, academic track, and empathy were associated significantly with an overall caring aspect of patient-centered attitude, while the gender effect remained insignificant. Empathy had a critical and significant impact on the patient-centered attitude. Conclusions Efforts to enhance patient-centeredness in Sharing are needed; post-graduate education and transition to a more patient-centered health system are recommended. Moreover, empathy still matters as it was found to be a significant predictor of patient-centered attitudes. The findings of this study support the need for efforts to enhance patient-centered attitudes among dentists, which will help generate discussion on improving the curriculum of post-graduate education and health system reform

Effect of Regular Plyometric Training on Growth-related Factors in Obesity Female Teenager

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to investigate the effect of regular plyometric training on growth-related factors in obese female teenager. METHODS The subjects of the study consisted of elementary school students group (EG, n=5) and middle school students group(MG, n=6), and overweight or obese experimenters were selected based on the ‘2017 Child and Adolescent Growth Chart Age Body Mass’ index. Exercise was conducted for 12 weeks. All measurements were carried out before and after exercise. The data processing was verified using the SPSS 26.0 statistical program to verify the correlation between paired t-test and Pearson in the 12-week pretraining and post-training groups. RESULTS After 12 weeks of plyometric training, there were significant differences in height(p=.002), ASIS(p=.003), body fat percentage(p=.018), and muscle mass(p=.014) among body composition of EG. There was a significant difference in height(p=.015) in body composition of MG. In the evaluation of muscle function, in muscle strength(60°/sec), (R)-FLE PT/bw(p=.011), (L)-FLE PT/bw(p=.017) in EG and muscle power(180°/sec), (R)-FLE PT/bw(p=.024), (L)-EXT PT/bw(p=.001), (R)-FLE TW/bw(p=.004) and (L)-EXT TW/bw(p=.012) showed a statistically significant difference. In terms of correlation, significant relationships were found between EG body fat mass and IGF-1(p<.05), and between body fat mass and IGF-1/IGF-BP3(p<.05). CONCLUSIONS Regular plyometric training had a positive effect on growth-related factors in obese female teenager

A Korean Family of Familial Medullary Thyroid Cancer with Cys618Ser RET Germline Mutation

Familial medullary thyroid carcinoma (FMTC) is caused by autosomal dominant gain-of-function mutations in the RET proto-oncogene. An identifiable RET mutation can be detected in about 85% of FMTC families. The majority of germline mutations in FMTC have been found in exons 10 and 11 of the RET proto-oncogene, specifically within the cysteine codons 609, 611, 618, 620, and 634. We screened members of a large Korean family that had a history of FMTC by genetic analyses, and propose a therapeutic approach for managing the disorder. We report a RET mutation in exon10, codon 618 that causes substitution of a cysteine by a serine in the cysteine-rich domain of the RET receptor in a three-generation FMTC family composed of 30 members with 11 carriers. Nine of the gene carriers were clinically affected. The FMTC with cysteine RET mutations found in the Korean population is consistent with the clinical pattern reported worldwide; to date there have been no ethnic differences identified for FMTC. Our results suggest that this genetic profile might be associated with usually aggressive clinical course with regional lymph node metastasis but late onset of MTC

Spatially Varying Relationships between Alien Plant Distributions and Environmental Factors in South Korea

Invasive alien plants can severely threaten biodiversity and cause economic losses in the agricultural industry; therefore, identifying the critical environmental factors related to the distribution of alien plants plays a crucial role in ecosystem management. In this study, we applied partial least squares regression (PLSR) and geographically weighted regression (GWR) to estimate the important environmental factors affecting the spread of two invasive and expansive plants, Lactuca scariola L. and Aster pilosus Willd., across South Korea. GWR provides more accurate predictions than ordinary least squares regression, and the local coefficients of GWR allow for the determination of the spatial relationships between alien plant distributions and environmental variables. Based on the model’s results, the distributions of these alien species were significantly associated with anthropogenic effects, such as human population density, residential area, and road density. Furthermore, the two alien species can establish themselves in habitats where native plants cannot thrive, owing to their broad tolerance to temperature and drought conditions. This study suggests that urban development and expansion can facilitate the invasion of these species in metropolitan cities

Psychometric validation of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy‐Endometrial among endometrial cancer patients

Abstract Objective To evaluate a psychometric validation of the endometrial cancer subscales (EnCS) in the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy‐Endometrial (FACT‐EN) among patients with endometrial cancer. Methods This cross‐sectional study was conducted at a tertiary university‐based hospital in South Korea between April and October 2022. Participants completed a survey questionnaire that included the FACT‐EN. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA, CFA) and the reliability were measured using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) under a two‐way mixed model. Pearson's correlations were used to evaluate the validity. We also tested known‐group validity. Results In total, 240 patients with endometrial cancer participated in the survey. In EFA, we found EnCS included four domains. In CFA, four‐factor solution model was good: CFI = 0.659; SRMR = 0.066, and RMSEA = 0.073. The mean (SD) of total score of FACT‐EN was 122.84 (23.58). The floor and ceiling effects were 0.4% and 0.4%, respectively. Cronbach's α coefficients for the five scales of the EnCS ranged from 0.78 to 0.91. The ICC of EnCS was 0.76. The convergent and discriminant validity of EnCS was acceptable. In the group analysis, older age and lower ECOG performance scores were associated with higher EnCS scores. The stomach and vaginal domains in EnCS were higher in patients who had completed treatment for more than 1 year compared to those who were still undergoing treatment. Conclusions FACT‐EN has demonstrated its validity as an assessment tool with significant implications for capturing various symptoms in patients with endometrial cancer

Graphical user interface design to improve understanding of the patient-reported outcome symptom response.

BackgroundSymptom monitoring application (SMA) has clinical benefits to cancer patients but patients experience difficulties in using it. Few studies have identified which types of graphical user interface (GUI) are preferred by cancer patients for using the SMA.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study aimed to identify preferred GUI among cancer patients to use SMA. Total of 199 patients were asked to evaluate 8 types of GUIs combining text, icon, illustration, and colors using mixed-methods. Subgroup analyses were performed according to age and gender.ResultsThe mean age of the patients was 57 and 42.5% was male. The most preferred GUI was "Text + Icon + Color" (mean = 4.43), followed by "Text + Icon" (mean = 4.39). Older patients (≥ 60 years) preferred "Text + Icon" than younger patients (p for interaction ConclusionSimple and intuitive text and icons were the most useful GUI for cancer patients to use the SMA. Researchers need to be careful when applying realistic face drawings to cancer symptom monitoring applications because they can recall negative images of cancer

Impact of Renal Replacement Therapy on Mortality and Renal Outcomes in Critically Ill Patients with Acute Kidney Injury: A Population-Based Cohort Study in Korea between 2008 and 2015

The outcomes depending on the type of renal replacement therapy (RRT) or pre-existing kidney disease in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) have not been fully elucidated. All adult intensive care unit patients with AKI in Korea from 2008 to 2015 were screened. A total of 124,182 patients, including 21,165 patients with pre-existing kidney disease, were divided into three groups: control (no RRT), dialysis, and continuous RRT (CRRT). In-hospital mortality and progression to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) were analyzed according to the presence of pre-existing kidney disease. The CRRT group had a higher risk of in-hospital mortality. Among the patients with pre-existing kidney disease, the dialysis group had a lower risk of in-hospital mortality compared to other groups. The risk of ESKD was higher in the dialysis and CRRT groups compared to the control group. In the CRRT group, the risk of ESKD was even higher in patients without pre-existing kidney disease. Although both dialysis and CRRT groups showed a higher incidence of ESKD, in-hospital mortality was lower in the dialysis group, especially in patients with pre-existing kidney disease. Our study supports that RRT and pre-existing kidney disease may be important prognostic factors for overall and renal outcomes in patients with AKI

Overexpression of Replication-Dependent Histone Signifies a Subset of Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma with Increased Aggressiveness

Liposarcoma (LPS) is an adult soft tissue malignancy that arises from fat tissue, where well-differentiated (WD) and dedifferentiated (DD) forms are the most common. DDLPS represents the progression of WDLPS into a more aggressive high-grade and metastatic form. Although a few DNA copy-number amplifications are known to be specifically found in WD- or DDLPS, systematic genetic differences that signify subtype determination between WDLPS and DDLPS remain unclear. Here, we profiled the genome and transcriptome of 38 LPS tumors to uncover the genetic signatures of subtype differences. Replication-dependent histone (RD-HIST) mRNAs were highly elevated and their regulation was disrupted in a subset of DDLPS, increasing cellular histone molecule levels, as measured using RNA-seq (the averaged fold change of 53 RD-HIST genes between the DD and WD samples was 10.9) and immunohistochemistry. The change was not observed in normal tissues. Integrated whole-exome sequencing, RNA-seq, and methylation analyses revealed that the overexpressed HMGA2 (the fold change between DD and WD samples was 7.3) was responsible for the increased RD-HIST level, leading to aberrant cell proliferation. Therefore, HMGA2-mediated elevation of RD-HISTs were crucial events in determining the aggressiveness of DDLPS, which may serve as a biomarker for prognosis prediction for liposarcoma patients

Prediction of Insulin Resistance by Modified Triglyceride Glucose Indices in Youth

The triglyceride glucose (TyG) index, derived from a combination of fasting glucose and triglycerides, has been suggested as a useful marker for insulin resistance (IR), in addition to modified TyG indices that combine obesity parameters. This study investigated the association and utility of TyG and modified TyG indices for IR prediction in youth. Based on the Korea National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey, the data of 3728 youth aged 10–19 years were analyzed. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of tertiles 2 and 3 for each parameter were calculated and compared with tertile 1 as a reference. To compare the parameters for identifying IR, receiver operating characteristic curves were plotted and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated. The ORs and 95% CIs for insulin resistance (IR) progressively increased across tertiles of each parameter. Overall, all modified TyG indices presented higher ORs and AUC than the TyG index. The TyG-body mass index standard deviation score showed the largest AUC for IR detection in all subjects. In conclusion, TyG and modified TyG indices could be used as valuable markers for the prediction of IR in youth. Moreover, modified TyG indices had better diagnostic accuracy than the TyG index