Abstract Objective Ethnic, social and cultural factors contribute to axis I comorbid conditions in bipolar disorder (BPD). Korea has strict laws against illicit drugs and a relatively permissive ...prevailing attitude toward alcohol. The present study aimed to explore the lifetime axis I comorbidity rate in patients with BPD in Korea. Methods Clinically stable patients with bipolar I ( n =222) and bipolar II ( n =194) disorders were recruited from four tertiary medical centers in Korea. The subjects׳ diagnoses and axis I comorbid conditions were evaluated using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID) and the Korean version of the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies (K-DIGS). The lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders, substance use disorders and eating disorders was explored. The prevalence of these axis I comorbid conditions was compared with data from prior studies in other countries and to data concerning the general Korean population. Results A total of 45.1% of all subjects had at least one axis I comorbid condition. Anxiety disorders (30.2%) were the most common comorbidity, followed by alcohol use disorders (16.8%). Males with BPD showed a higher rate of alcohol dependence compared to the general male population and females with BPD showed a greater risk of having alcohol use disorder compared to the general female population. The rate of drug use disorder was extremely low (1.7%), and only one subject had an illicit-drug-related problem. Limitation Cross-sectional studies. Conclusion Comorbid conditions of Korean patients with BPD showed a distinct pattern, which is associated with the ethnic, social and cultural characteristics in Korea.
Objectives:
Subsyndromal depression is prevalent and associated with poor outcomes in late life, but its effect on the risk of dementia has barely been investigated. This study is aimed to ...investigate the effect of subsyndromal depression on dementia risk in cognitively normal older adults and patients with mild cognitive impairment.
Methods:
Data were collected from a nationwide, population-based, prospective cohort study on a randomly sampled Korean elderly population aged 60 years or older, which has been followed every 2 years. Using 6-year follow-up data of 4456 non-demented elderly, the authors examined the risk of dementia associated with late-onset subsyndromal depression using multivariate Cox proportional hazard models. After standardized diagnostic interviews, subsyndromal depression and dementia were diagnosed by the operational diagnostic criteria and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition criteria, respectively.
Results:
Subsyndromal depression tripled the risk of dementia in non-demented elderly individuals (hazard ratio = 3.02, 95% confidence interval = 1.56, 5.85, p < 0.001). In subgroup analyses, subsyndromal depression was associated with the risk of dementia in cognitively normal participants only (hazard ratio = 4.59, 95% confidence interval = 1.20, 17.54, p = 0.026); chronic/recurrent subsyndromal depression with increasing severity during the follow-up period was associated with the risk of dementia (hazard ratio = 15.34, 95% confidence interval = 4.19, 56.18, p < 0.001).
Conclusion:
Late-onset subsyndromal depression is a potential predictor of incident dementia when it is chronic or recurrent with increasing severity in cognitively normal older adults.
To assess prosthetic use by upper extremity amputees, and their difficulties with prostheses in activities of daily living and occupations.
This study is based on a survey of 307 subjects, who were ...using prostheses manufactured in the Center of Prosthetics and Orthotics. The survey questionnaire included items about general demographic characteristics, side and level of amputation, type of prosthesis and its use, and difficulties in the activities of daily living, employment and driving.
The most common type of prosthesis was the cosmetic hand type (80.2%). There were no statistically significant correlations between satisfaction with prosthesis and the amputation level or type of prosthesis. The most common difficulties in daily living activities experienced by amputees were lacing shoes, removing bottle-tops with a bottle opener, and using scissors. Only 7.3% of amputees received rehabilitation services. Less than half of the amputees (44.7%) used their prostheses for eight or more hours a day, and 76.9% used their prostheses for regular or irregular cosmetic purposes. After amputation, most of the respondents (69.0%) became unemployed or changed workplaces.
In our study, respondents preferred cosmetic usage to functional usage. Only 30.0% of respondents reported satisfaction with their prostheses. Many of the amputees had difficulties in complex tasks and either changed jobs or became unemployed. Clerical workers were the occupation group, which was most likely to return to work. The development of a more functional prosthetic hand and additional rehabilitation services are required.
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In this study, the effects of activation parameters in the steam activation of polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fibers on pore formation properties were investigated. The activation ...temperature was used as a primary parameter, and the activation time was adjusted for each condition to obtain similar levels of activation yields. Based on the activation yield of activated carbon fibers (ACFs), the activation energy was calculated as 142.2kJ/mole. As a result of BET analysis, it was confirmed that the specific surface area and pore volume of ACFs were improved as the activation temperature was increased. The sample treated at 850̊ during 45min showed a high specific surface area (1041.9m2/g) and a pore volume (0.49cm3/g). This developed pore structures improved the gas adsorption properties of ACFs.
► A single-step sample preparation without cleanup procedure was developed. ► The results were fully adequate. ► The developed method proved capable of quantifying concentrations below MRL.
In this ...study, we describe a newly developed and simple analytical method using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD) for the determination of enrofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and danofloxacin in porcine plasma. A single-step sample preparation, including extraction with acidic acetonitrile, coagulation with ammonium acetate, and centrifugation made possible the direct analysis of plasma samples without the need for any further cleanup procedure. The developed method was validated with specificity, linearity, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantitation (LOQ), accuracy, and precision. All results were fully adequate. In the study using porcine plasma incurring enrofloxacin, the developed method proved capable of quantifying concentrations below its maximum residue limit, and its time-course residues were excreted within the 10-day withdrawal time.
This study was carried out to clarify the vegetation decline due to air pollutants emitted in the process of industrial activities and the passive restoration of the vegetation due to socioeconomic ...changes after economic growth. To achieve this goal, we investigated the spatial distribution of vegetation, differences in species composition and diversity among vegetation types different in damage degree, vegetation dynamics, the age structure and annual ring growth of two dominant plant species, and the landscape change that occurred in this area over the last 50 years. Plant communities tended to be spatially distributed in the order of grassland, shrubland (dominated by Styrax japonicus Siebold and Zucc. community), and forests (dominated by Pinus thunbergii Parl. and Pinus densiflora Siebold and Zucc. communities), with increasing distance from the pollution source. The result of stand ordination based on vegetation data reflected the trend of such a spatial distribution. Species richness evaluated based on the species rank dominance curve was the highest in shrubland and the lowest in grassland; species richness in forests was intermediate. The size class distribution of woody plant species in four plant communities composing three vegetation types showed the possibility of them being replaced by forest in the late successional stage. However, the density of successor trees was relatively low, whereas the density of shrubby plants, which are resilient to air pollution, was very high. The age class distribution of a dominant species forming shrubland and pine forest showed that most of them were recruited after industrialization in this area. The period when young individuals in both vegetation types were recruited corresponded to the period when the annual ring growth of the pine trees that survived air pollution was reduced. An analysis of the landscape change in this area indicated that coniferous forest and agricultural field decreased greatly, whereas industrial area, residential area, mixed forest, and broadleaved forest showed increasing trends since construction of the industrial complex. As a result, the decrease in coniferous forest is usually due to vegetation decline and partially to succession, as the pine trees dominating the forest are not only sensitive to air pollution but are also shade-intolerant. The increase in mixed and broadleaved forests reflects vegetation decline or succession. Vegetation decline progressed for about 30 years after the construction of the industrial complex; it has begun to be restored passively since then, although the change has been slow. These results are in line with the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis that environmental degradation increases in the early stages of economic growth to a certain point, and, after a turning point, economic development leads to environmental improvements—thus, there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation.
The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled: “Electrochemical characterization of Raney nickel electrodes prepared by atmospheric plasma spraying for alkaline ...water electrolysis” (Kim et al., 2018). This article describes the characterization of raw Ni-Al alloy and Raney Ni powders via X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and presents the EDS data of the prepared electrodes.
A precise control of the size, density, and distribution of metal nanoparticles dispersed on functional oxide supports is critical for promoting catalytic activity and stability in renewable energy ...and catalysis devices. Here, we measure the growth kinetics of individual Co particles ex-solved on SrTi
Co
O
polycrystalline thin films under a high vacuum, and at various temperatures and grain sizes using in situ transmission electron microscopy. The ex-solution preferentially occurs at grain boundaries and corners which appear essential for controlling particle density and distribution, and enabling low temperature ex-solution. The particle reaches a saturated size after a few minutes, and the size depends on temperature. Quantitative measurements with a kinetic model determine the rate limiting step, vacancy formation enthalpy, ex-solution enthalpy, and activation energy for particle growth. The ex-solved particles are tightly socketed, preventing interactions among them over 800 °C. Furthermore, we obtain the first direct clarification of the active reaction site for CO oxidation-the Co-oxide interface, agreeing well with density functional theory calculations.
During embryonic development, cells undergo changes in gene expression, signaling pathway activation/inactivation, metabolism, and intracellular organelle structures, which are mediated by ...mitochondria. Mitochondria continuously switch their morphology between elongated tubular and fragmented globular via mitochondrial fusion and fission. Mitochondrial fusion is mediated by proteins encoded by Mfn1, Mfn2, and Opa1, whereas mitochondrial fission is mediated by proteins encoded by Fis1 and Dnm1L. Here, we investigated the expression patterns of mitochondria-related genes during the differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Pluripotent ESCs maintain stemness in the presence of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) via the JAK-STAT3 pathway but lose pluripotency and differentiate in response to the withdrawal of LIF. We analyzed the expression levels of mitochondrial fusion- and fission-related genes during the differentiation of ESCs. We hypothesized that mitochondrial fusion genes would be overexpressed while the fission genes would be downregulated during the differentiation of ESCs. Though the mitochondria exhibited an elongated morphology in ESCs differentiating in response to LIF withdrawal, only the expression of Mfn2 was increased and that of Dnm1L was decreased as expected, the other exceptions being Mfn1, Opa1, and Fis1. Next, by comparing gene expression and mitochondrial morphology, we proposed an index that could precisely represent mitochondrial changes during the differentiation of pluripotent stem cells by analyzing the expression ratios of three fusion- and two fission-elated genes. Surprisingly, increased Mfn2/Dnm1L ratio was correlated with elongation of mitochondria during the differentiation of ESCs. Moreover, application of this index to other specialized cell types revealed that neural stems cells (NSCs) and mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) showed increased Mfn2/Dnm1L ratio compared to ESCs. Thus, we suggest that the Mfn2/Dnm1L ratio could reflect changes in mitochondrial morphology according to the extent of differentiation.
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