Psychological experiences of Korean missionary “kids” (MKs): A qualitative inquiry

The present study is a qualitative investigation of the psychological experiences of children of Korean missionaries, through the eyes of Korean missionary kids (MKs) and missionary workers. A semi-structured interview was conducted with 11 MKs and MK workers, and data were analysed using the Consensual Qualitative Research method. Several domains emerged: challenges associated with the MK experience, resiliency of MKs, intrapersonal and interpersonal coping skills, mental health concerns, religion and spirituality, a complex cultural identity, preparation for college transition, and hopes for MKs and their missionary parents. Categories corresponding to the domains are highlighted. The present study addresses a need for more attention paid to the non-American MK experience, and it presents some implications for the church and higher educational institutions

Higher-Order Hermite-Fejér Interpolation for Stieltjes Polynomials

Let ( ) := (1− 2 ) −1/2 and , be the ultraspherical polynomials with respect to ( ). Then, we denote the Stieltjes polynomials . In this paper, we consider the higher-order Hermite-Fejér interpolation operator +1, based on the zeros of , +1 and the higher order extended Hermite-Fejér interpolation operator H 2 +1, based on the zeros of , +1 , . When m is even, we show that Lebesgue constants of these interpolation operators are ( max{(1− ) −2,0} )(0 < < 1) and ( max{(1−2 ) −2,0} )(0 < < 1/2), respectively; that is, ‖H 2 +1, ‖ = ( max{(1−2 ) −2,0} )(0 < < 1) and ‖ +1, ‖ = ( max{(1− ) −2,0} )(0 < < 1/2). In the case of the Hermite-Fejér interpolation polynomials H 2 +1, [⋅] for 1/2 ≤ < 1, we can prove the weighted uniform convergence. In addition, when m is odd, we will show that these interpolations diverge for a certain continuous function on [−1, 1], proving that Lebesgue constants of these interpolation operators are similar or greater than log n

Developing Parenting Stress Scale for International Marriage Immigrant Women in South Korea: Focused on Vietnamese and Filipino Marriage Immigrant Women

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop a scale to evaluate parenting stress of international marriage immigrant women from Vietnam and the Philippines. METHODS: The concept of parenting stress of international marriage immigrant women was analysed with a hybrid model. Data were collected from 273 international marriage immigrant women from Vietnam and the Philippines who were raising their children aged 1 to 6 years. These collected data were subjected to exploratory factor analysis, multitrait/multi-item matrix assessment, Pearson correlation coefficient analysis, and Cronbach's alpha internal consistency measurement. RESULTS: The final instrument consisted of 28 items. The following six factors were extracted by exploratory factor analysis: ‘insufficiency of parenting support system’, ‘role burden of mothers’, ‘maladjustment of children’, ‘confusion of parenting methods due to cultural differences’, ‘unskilled Korean communication’, and ‘ordinary difficulties’. Construct validity (factor analysis, convergent validity, and discriminant validity) and criterion-related validity were confirmed. Cronbach's α value of total items was .92(95% CI .91-.94). Cronbach's α of values for these factors ranged from .76 to .85. CONCLUSION: The parenting stress scale for international marriage immigrant women is a valid and reliable tool

Increased Immunoendocrine Cells in Intestinal Mucosa of Postinfectious Irritable Bowel Syndrome Patients 3 Years after Acute Shigella Infection - An Observation in a Small Case Control Study

PURPOSE: Postinfectiously irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS) develops in 3-30% of individuals with bacterial gastroenteritis. Recent studies demonstrated increases in inflammatory components in gut mucosa of PI-IBS patients even after complete resolution of infection. We aimed to investigate histological changes in colon and rectum of PI-IBS subjects after long term period of infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We recruited PI-IBS subjects who had been diagnosed IBS after complete resolution of enteritis caused by shigellosis outbreak 3 years earlier. We compared unmatched four groups, PI-IBS (n = 4), non PI-IBS (n = 7), D-IBS (n = 7, diarrhea predominant type) and healthy controls (n = 10). All of them underwent colonoscopic biopsy at three areas, including descending colon (DC), sigmoid colon (SC) and rectum, which were assessed for 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)/peptide YY (PYY)-containing enterochromaffin (EC) cell, intraepithelial (IEL) and lamina propria T lymphocyte (CD3), CD8 lymphocytes, mast cells and CD68/calprotectin+ macrophages. RESULTS: All subjects had no structural or gross abnormalities at colonoscopy. In PI-IBS, 5-HT containing EC cells, PYY containing EC cells, IELs, CD3 lymphocytes, CD8 lymphocytes, mast cells, and CD68 + macrophages were increased compared to control (p < 0.05). In D-IBS, PYY containing EC cells, IELs, and CD3 lymphocytes were increased compared to control (p < 0.05). In PI-IBS, 5-HT containing EC cells tended to increase and PYY containing EC cells, CD8 lymphocytes, mast cells, and CD68+ macrophages were increased compared to non PI-IBS (p < 0.05). Calprotectin + marcrophages were decreased in PI-IBS, non PI-IBS and IBS compared to control. CONCLUSION: The immunoendocrine cells were sporadically increased in PI-IBS, non PI-IBS and D-IBS compared with control. Our findings in a very small number of patients suggest that mucosal inflammation may play a role in long-term PI-IBS, and that other sub-groups of IBS and larger scale studies are needed to confirm this observation.ope

Elastography Can Effectively Decrease the Number of Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsies in Patients with Calcified Thyroid Nodules

AbstractWhen calcification, frequently found in both benign and malignant nodules, is present in thyroid nodules, non-invasive differentiation with ultrasound becomes challenging. The goal of this study was to evaluate the utility of elastography in differentiating calcified thyroid nodules. Consecutive patients (165 patients with 196 nodules) referred for fine-needle aspiration who had undergone both ultrasound elastography and B-mode examinations were analyzed retrospectively. Calcification was present in 45 benign and 20 malignant nodules. On 65 calcified nodules, elastography had 95% sensitivity, 51.1% specificity, 46.3% positive predictive value and 95.8% negative predictive value in detecting malignancy. Twenty-three of 45 benign calcified nodules were correctly diagnosed with elastography compared with 4 of 45 by B-mode ultrasound. Although it is difficult to differentiate benign and malignant calcified thyroid nodules solely with B-mode ultrasound, elastography has the potential to reduce the number of fine-needle aspiration biopsies performed on calcified nodules

Notch1 intracellular domain suppresses APP intracellular domain—Tip60–Fe65 complex mediated signaling through physical interaction

AbstractThe amyloid beta-precursor protein (APP) and the Notch receptor are both type 1 integral transmembrane proteins, and both are cleaved by presenilin-dependent gamma-secretase activity. In this study, we have demonstrated that the Notch intracellular domain (Notch1-IC) suppresses APP-intracellular domain (AICD)-mediated ROS generation and cell death after being processed by gamma secretase. Notch1-IC physically interacts with AICD, Fe65, and Tip60, thereby disrupting the association of the AICD–Fe65–Tip60 trimeric transcription activator complex in AICD signaling. AICD–Fe65–Tip60 mediated reactive oxygen species generation was found to be suppressed by Notch1-IC. Furthermore, AICD–Fe65–Tip60 was shown to mediate cell death in human neuroblastoma cells, and the overexpression of Notch1-IC inhibited cell death induced by AICD–Fe65–Tip60. Collectively, our findings indicate that Notch1-IC plays the role of a negative regulator in AICD signaling via the disruption of the AICD–Fe65–Tip60 trimeric complex