Search

With reference to the quality standard, ISO/IEC 17025, we conducted on-site assessments of and comparisons between test and inspection institutions in Korea and the UK. The diversity of evaluation methods used ‘in the field’ within the UK is greater than the range in Korea. Nevertheless, when assessing on-site processes in both countries, it is clear that many aspects of the quality assessment, including the roles of the evaluation committee members, the preparation of documents for evaluation, the opening meeting, the evaluation process in the field, and the closing meeting, occur in a similar order in the UK as in Korea. However, one important difference between the on-site evaluations in Korea and the UK was noted; particularly, in the UK, the level of excellence achieved by the evaluated institution is highlighted during the closing meeting.

Study Objectives Insomnia Disorder diagnoses require persistent sleep complaints despite “adequate sleep opportunity.” Significant Perinatal Sleep Disruption makes this diagnosis challenging. This longitudinal study distinguished between Insomnia Disorder and Perinatal Sleep Disruption and their sleep and mental health correlates. Methods One hundred sixty-three nulliparous females (age M ± SD = 33.35 ± 3.42) participating in a randomized controlled trial repeated the Insomnia Disorder module of the Duke Structured Interview for Sleep Disorders and Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System measures for sleep and mental health at 30- and 35-weeks’ gestation, and 1.5, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months postpartum (944 interviews, 1009 questionnaires completed). We compared clinical features when Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) Insomnia Disorder criteria (without the Duration criterion) were: (1) met (Insomnia Disorder), (2) not met only because of the sleep opportunity criteria (Perinatal Sleep Disruption), and (3) not met due to other criteria (Low Complaint). Results Proportions of Insomnia Disorder were 16.0% and 19.8% during early and late third trimester, and ranged 5.3%–11.7% postpartum. If the sleep opportunity criteria were not considered, rates of Insomnia would be 2–4 times higher (21.4%–40.4%) across time-points. Mixed-effects models adjusting for covariates showed that compared to Low Complaint, both Insomnia Disorder and Perinatal Sleep Disruption scored significantly higher on insomnia and sleep disturbance scales, sleep effort, and sleep-related impairments (p values < .01), but depression and anxiety were comparable (p values > .12). Conclusion Assessing sleep complaints without considering sleep opportunities can result in over-diagnosis of Insomnia Disorder in the perinatal periods. Insomnia Disorder and Perinatal Sleep Disruption were both associated with adverse sleep and mood outcomes, and need to be carefully differentiated and appropriately addressed. Clinical Trial Registration: The SEED Project (Sleep, Eat, Emotions, and Development): A randomized controlled pilot study of a perinatal sleep intervention on sleep and wellbeing in mothers and infants. https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=371634, Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12616001462471.

Introduction Regional cancer patients face various barriers in accessing specialist cancer services. Teletrials are a new model of care that utilise communications technologies to enable access to and participation in clinical trials close to home. The present study aimed to explore the experiences of regional cancer patients and their carers while participating in a teletrial, and those of regional patients who travelled to a metropolitan centre for trial participation. Methods A concurrent, mixed methods study design was used to address the study aim. Patient quality of life data were gathered for both groups and an audio-recorded semi-structured interview undertaken to explore patients’ and carers’ experiences of the two modes of trial participation. Greater weighting was given to the qualitative data. Results Participants described teletrials as an acceptable and valuable initiative that reduced overall burden of trial participation. Irrespective of mode of delivery, patients and carers identified access to trials and specialist cancer services as an important equity issue for regional cancer patients. Discussion From the perspective of regional cancer patients and carers, a teletrial offers convenient, acceptable access to a clinical trial. Although not all patients may want to engage in a teletrial, patients and carers agree that it offers equity of opportunity for trial participation, irrespective of where people live.

New parents are vulnerable to fatigue and depressive symptoms. Many studies have reported significant positive correlations between the two in postpartum parents, but the size of correlations varies considerably between studies. The relationship between postpartum fatigue and depression is yet to be systematically synthesized and meta-analyzed.A PROSPERO registered systematic review and meta-analysis (CRD42017065240) was conducted on the correlation between fatigue and depression within the first two years postpartum in parents. Moderation analysis was used to examine the influence of demographic and measurement factors on the effect sizes.Thirty-five eligible papers were identified (34 on mothers, 1 on fathers). The meta-analytic summary effect size for simultaneously measured fatigue and depressive symptoms among women in the postpartum period was r = 0.52, 95% CI [0.45, 0.59], p .001. There was a high degree of heterogeneity in the strength of the correlation between studies. This heterogeneity was not accounted for by demographic (e.g., infant age, maternal age, population type) or methodology (e.g., measurement) related moderators.Studies not reporting or providing correlation between fatigue and depression were not included. Unable to assess some moderators due to limited sample size.There is a strong correlation between fatigue and depressive symptoms among women in the first two years after child-birth, but a high degree of heterogeneity in correlation strength exists between studies. Careful assessment of both fatigue and depression when either symptom is reported could facilitate accurate differential diagnosis and prioritizing treatment in postpartum women. Further implications for assessment, treatment, and future research are discussed.

autosomal recessive, X-linked, and mitochondrial SCAs according to the mode of inheritance. Among these, autosomal dominant SCAs is the most common subtype, and more than 30 autosomal dominant SCAs have been identified to date. The causative genes associated with SCAs include SCA1 (ATXN1), SCA2 (ATXN2), SCA3 (ATXN3), SCA5 (SPTBN), SCA6 (CACNA1A), SCA7 (ATXN7), SCA8 Analysis of trinucleotide repetitive sequences for Korean patients with spinocerebellar ataxia types 8, 12, and 17

In intestinal helminth infections, Th2 immune respones are generally associated with mucin secretion for worm expulsion from the host intestine. In particular, IL-4 and IL-13 are the important cytokines related with intestinal mucus production via STAT6 signalling in nematode infections. However, this perspective has never been studied in Gymnophalloides seoi infection. The present study aimed to observe the STAT6 signalling and cytokine responses in C57BL/6 mice, a mouse strain resistant to infection with this trematode. The results showed that worm expulsion occurred actively during days 1-2 post-infection (PI), when goblet cells began to proliferate in the small intestine. The STAT6 gene expression in the mouse spleen became remarkable from day 2 PI. Moreover, G. seoi infection induced a significant increase of IL-13 from day 4 PI in the spleen of infected mice. Our results suggested that goblet cell hyperplasia and worm expulsion in G. seoi-infected mice should be induced by STAT6 signalling, in which IL-13 may be involved as a dominant triggering cytokine.

Cholesterol and cholesterol oxidation products (COPs) may accumulate in foods of animal origin during processing or storage. An effective and sensitive analytical method was developed by increasing the UV absorption of compounds through derivatization by attaching a chromophore to the functional groups of cholesterols (cholesterol, 20-hydroxycholesterol, 7-ketocholesterol, cholestane-3β-5α-6β-triol, 25-hydroxycholesterol, and 5,6α-epoxycholesterol). The influences of the reaction time, volume of reaction solvent, amounts of derivatizing reagent, and extraction solvents were investigated, as they may influence the reaction and extraction yield. The derivatized COPs were analyzed simultaneously on a C18 column (2.1 mm i.d. × 100 mm length, 3.5 μm particle size) using a gradient elution with water and acetonitrile. The derivatized COPs showed increased sensitivity and selectivity in HPLC/UV-Vis. The LOD and LOQ were in the concentration ranges of 0.018-0.55 mg/kg and 0.059-1.84 mg/kg from the powdered milk. And the accuracy and precision were 78.1-116.7% and 1.1-9.9%, respectively.

Methylation-specific (MS) multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) at two differentially methylated regions (DMRs) at chromosome 11p15, H19-DMR and LIT1-DMR, and microsatellite analysis for uniparental disomy (UPD) at chromosome 7 or 11, have been recommended for the genetic diagnosis of the Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) and the Silver-Russell syndrome (SRS). In this study, the efficacy of the MS pyrosequencing method at H19-DMR and LIT1-DMR at 11p15 and SGCE-DMR at 7q21 was evaluated for the genetic diagnosis of BWS (n=18) and SRS (n=20) patients. Epigenetic alterations or UPD were detected in 83% of BWS and 50% of SRS individuals by MS-MLPA, but the detection rate increased to 95% of BWS and 70% of SRS by MS pyrosequencing. Thirteen BWS patients (72%) harbored loss-of-methylation (LOM) at LIT1-DMR and two patients (11%) harbored gain-of-methylation (GOM) at H19-DMR, whereas two patients (11%) had both LOM at LIT1-DMR and GOM at H19-DMR, reflecting paternal UPD 11. Thirteen SRS patients (65%) harbored LOM at H19-DMR, whereas one patient (5%) had GOM at SGCE-DMR, reflecting maternal UPD 7. Birth anthropometric profiles were significantly correlated to methylation scores at either H19-DMR or LIT1-DMR. In conclusion, MS pyrosequencing enhanced the detection rate of molecular defects in BWS and SRS. Moreover, it indicates that methylation status at 11p15.5 might have an important role in fetal growth.

This paper investigates how a robot that can produce contingent listener response, i.e., backchannel, can deeply engage children as a storyteller. We propose a backchannel opportunity prediction (BOP) model trained from a dataset of children's dyad storytelling and listening activities. Using this dataset, we gain better understanding of what speaker cues children can decode to find backchannel timing, and what type of nonverbal behaviors they produce to indicate engagement status as a listener. Applying our BOP model, we conducted two studies, within- and between-subjects, using our social robot platform, Tega. Behavioral and self-reported analyses from the two studies consistently suggest that children are more engaged with a contingent backchanneling robot listener. Children perceived the contingent robot as more attentive and more interested in their story compared to a non-contingent robot. We find that children significantly gaze more at the contingent robot while storytelling and speak more with higher energy to a contingent robot.

In this video, we provide an overview of the analyses, design, and evaluation of a backchannel opportunity prediction (BOP) model for a social robot listener.

Because trusting strangers can entail high risk, an ability to infer a potential partner’s trustworthiness would be highly advantageous. To date, however, little evidence indicates that humans are able to accurately assess the cooperative intentions of novel partners by using nonverbal signals. In two studies involving human-human and human-robot interactions, we found that accuracy in judging the trustworthiness of novel partners is heightened through exposure to nonverbal cues and identified a specific set of cues that are predictive of economic behavior. Employing the precision offered by robotics technology to model and control humanlike movements, we demonstrated not only that experimental manipulation of the identified cues directly affects perceptions of trustworthiness and subsequent exchange behavior, but also that the human mind will utilize such cues to ascribe social intentions to technological entities.

The egg morphology of minute intestinal flukes (MIF) that can occur as human infections in the Republic of Korea, i.e., Metagonimus yokogawai, M. miyatai, M. takahashii, Heterophyes nocens, Heterophyopsis continua, Stellantchasmus falcatus, Stictodora fuscata, Pygidiopsis summa, and Gymnophalloides seoi, was studied in comparison with Clonorchis sinensis. The adult worms were obtained from residents of endemic areas, and their intrauterine eggs were studied and measured using light microscopy; the length, width, length-width ratio (LWR), and Faust-Meleney index (FMI). Several specimens were processed for scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and before gold-coating, the uterine portion of each fluke was etched with a sharp pin in order to expose the eggs. The MIF eggs were ovoid, pyriform, or elliptical with a size range of 21-35×12-21 µm. S. fuscata eggs revealed the highest FMI (largest in the area) and lowest LWR, whereas P. summa eggs showed the lowest FMI and medium LWR. SEM revealed that G. seoi and S. fuscata had remarkably clean shell surface lacking the muskmelon-like structure which is prominent in C. sinensis eggs. In Metagonimus spp., H. continua, H. nocens, and S. falcatus eggs, minute surface ridges were recognizable though less prominent compared with C. sinensis. On the surface of P. summa eggs, thread-like curly structures were characteristically seen. The results revealed that important differential keys for MIF eggs include the length, width, area (FMI), shape of the eggs, and the extent of the muskmelon-like structure or ridges on their shell surface and operculum.

An analytical method for the simultaneous determination of veterinary medicines (amprolium and decoquinate) in cattle and chicken's muscle by HPLC/UV-vis was established. Samples were extracted by a HLB (Hydrophilic-Liphophilic Balance) cartridge with acetonitrile and methanol. Prior to HPLC injection, a mixture solvent (Water:MeOH, 1:1) was utilized as a reconstitution solvent. Chromatographic separation was achieved with a C18 column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) using gradient elution with 20 mM HFBA and MeOH:ACN (1:1.8). The calibration curves from the spiked blank matrix showed good linearity (above r 2 =0.997) in the concentration range of 0.13-12.0 mg kg �1 . The relative recovery (accuracy) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) were in the range of 78.5-107.1% and 0.13-0.42 mg kg �1 , respectively. The developed method can be used to determine under the MRL (Maximum Residue Limits) levels of veterinary medicines in animal tissues.

An experimental study has been carried out to investigate the dehumidification characteristics for several operating conditions of a compact desiccant rotor. This problem is of particular interest in the design of a desiccant type of dehumidifier. Room temperature, room humidity, regeneration temperature, revolution speed and frontal air velocity of desiccant rotor are varied as operating conditions. The results obtained indicate that dehumidification rate is increased with an increase in the room humidity while dehumidification effectiveness is not changed much. It is also found that the optimal rotor speed and optimal regeneration temperature exist for maximum dehumidification rate and dehumidification effectiveness.

Phoxim, which is one of veterinary drugs, is a well-known antiparasitic agent in wide use. In this paper, phoxim was extracted from cattle and pig tissue using solid-phase extraction (SPE) employing a silica cartridge with acetonitrile. Liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS/MS) for the analysis of phoxim from animal tissue was presented. Phoxim was detected on a column (, ) using a mobile phase of 0.1% formic acid in water and acetonitrile. A linear correlation observed in the calibration curves for cattle (0.0048~2.0 mg/kg) and pig (0.0055~2.0 mg/kg) showed above =0.995. Accuracy measured at concentrations ranging from 0.0048 to 0.2 mg/kg was the range of 68.2~106.9%. Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) were the range of 0.0014~0.0017 mg/kg and 0.0048~0.0055 mg/kg, respectively. The precision (RSD%) was below 11.2%.

Introduction and aims: Wide phenotypic and genotypic heterogeneities in Wilson's disease (WD) have been reported, hampering the study of their correlations. The goal of this study was to identify the factors related to these diversities. Methods: Clinical courses and molecular genetic characteristics were analysed in 237 unrelated Korean WD families. The average follow-up period was 8.2 ± 5.8 years. Results: Presenting phenotypes were classified as H1 (12.2%), H2 (42.4%), N1 (21.6%), N2 (0.4%), NX (0.4%), presymptomatic (22.4%) and other (0.4%), modifying the guidelines by Ferenci and colleagues. Age at presentation was youngest and cirrhosis was rarest in the presymptomatic group. Decompensated cirrhosis was the highest in the H1 group. Favourable outcome was rarest in the N1 group. Forty-seven (11 novel) ATP7B mutations were identified in 85% of the 474 alleles. Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification assays in ATP7B and analyses of ATOX1 and COMMD1 genes identified no additional mutations. Yeast complementation assays demonstrated functional perturbation of the seven novel missense mutants. Five major mutations, p.Arg778Leu, p.Ala874Val, p.Asn1270Ser, p.Lys838SerfsX35 and p.Leu1083Phe, accounted for 63% of the alleles. H1 was more common, age at presentation was younger and N1+N2+NX tended to be less common in patients with nonsense, frame shifting or splicing mutations than in those with missense mutations alone. Patients with both mutations in the transduction (Td) or the ATP hinge domain showed presymptomatic or hepatic manifestations but no neurological manifestation. Conclusions: The presenting phenotype strongly affects the clinical outcome of WD, and is related to the ATP7B mutation type and location, providing an evidence for genotype–phenotype correlations in WD.

Results: The 12 BWS patients had normal karyotypes. Abnormal methylation patterns in the BWSIC2 (LIT1) region were identified in seven patients (58.3%) using the MS-PCR RFLP method. Conclusions: The MS-PCR RFLP method is a simple, economical genetic test. It detected genetic abnormalities in 50-60% of BWS patients, suggesting that it can be used as a screening test. A more precise method is required, however, to enhance the detection rate of genetic abnormalities, especially in BWSIC1 region.

Wilson's disease (WD), an autosomal recessive disorder of copper transport, is one of the most common inherited metabolic disorders in Korea. Despite its frequency, the incidence and carrier frequency of WD has not yet been estimated in the Korean population. We therefore screened for four major missense mutations (p.Arg778Leu, p.Ala874Val, p.Leu1083Phe, and p.Asn1270Ser) of the ATP7B gene in 476 newborn filter papers by real-time multiplex PCR and melting curve analysis using the SYBR Green intercalator method based on the amplification refractory mutation system test. Newborn filter papers with abnormal melting curves were subjected to subsequent sequence analysis. Three mutated alleles, one p.Arg778Leu and two p.Ala874Val, were detected among the 476 newborn filter papers (952 alleles). The carrier frequency and incidence of WD in the Korean population were determined as 1 in 88.2 and 30,778, respectively, by reversely calculating based on the Hardy-Weinberg law.

Objective: To evaluate the role of chemotherapy and/or rituximab for treatment of posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) in solid organ transplantation. Data Sources: A MEDLINE search (1966–May 2007) was conducted using the key words posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder, solid organ transplantation, chemotherapy, and rituximab. References of relevant articles and abstracts from recent hematology, oncology, and transplantation scientific meetings (2004–May 2007) were also reviewed. Study Selection and Data Extraction: Prospective and retrospective studies identified from the data sources were evaluated, and all information deemed relevant was included for this review. Data Synthesis: Overall response rates ranged from 53% to 68%, 25% to 83%, and 74% to 100% for rituximab monotherapy, chemotherapy, and chemotherapy plus rituximab, respectively. Positive response to treatment was influenced by prognostic factors, including presence of Epstein-Barr virus in tumor cells, normal lactate dehydrogenase levels, good performance status, early disease onset after transplantation, and early disease stages. These factors in study patients likely contribute to the variability in response rates seen between treatment options. Severe adverse effects, ranging from grade 3 neutropenia to infection resulting in death, occurred more frequently in patients receiving chemotherapy than in patients receiving only rituximab. Conclusions: Although reduction in immunosuppressive medications remains the first-line therapy for PTLD treatment, many cases do not respond to this treatment alone, especially monomorphic or more aggressive cases of lymphoma. Therefore, it is reasonable to begin active treatment including rituximab and/or chemotherapy initially, along with reduction in immunosuppression in many cases. Further prospective, comparative studies are urgently needed to confirm the efficacy of these treatment strategies as well as to clarify which subset of patients may benefit most from them.

—Photochemical reaction of variously substituted p-toluenesulfonanilides was studied. The reaction gives rearranged products, o-and p-amino-substituted diaryl sulfones with the combined yields of 38–72%: the p-isomer is more favored over the o-isomer with theselectivity ratio of 1.1–4.3 depending on the substituents. N-Alkylation of the sulfonanilides increases the yields of the rearranged products,and e-withdrawing substituents on the N-phenyl ring does not lower the yields drastically. This study provides simple methodology for thesynthesis of o- and p-aminoaryl sulfones which are otherwise not easily accessible.q 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. IntroductionAminoaryl sulfone derivatives are important class ofcompounds since they show interesting biological andpharmacological properties such as inhibitory effect onEscherichia coli dihydropteroate synthase and anti-inflammatory activity. 1–6 The aminoaryl sulfones haveusually been prepared by reduction of the correspondingnitroaryl sulfones.