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The current study examined (1) cross-cultural variations in mothers' reports of how they would react to their children's positive and negative emotions as triggered by different interpersonal situations and (2) their relations to children's emotion regulation competence in Nepal, Korea, and Germany. Participants were 305 mothers whose children were first graders in elementary school. Mothers reported their reactions to children's positive and negative emotions in hypothetical social scenarios and evaluated their children's emotion regulation using a standardized measure. Research Findings: German mothers reported higher levels of emotion encouragement, while Nepali mothers reported higher levels of punitive and distress reactions. Korean mothers reported higher levels of distress reactions. Mothers' encouragement of children's pride expression was associated differently with children's emotion regulation in each culture -- negatively related in Nepal, unrelated in Korea, and positively related in Germany, whereas mothers' distress in response to children's shyness was related to children's poorer emotion regulation in all cultures. Practice or Policy: These findings highlight the importance of contexts -- in terms of both culture and specific emotions children express -- in interpreting the meanings of emotion socialization practices. This research suggests considering cultural influences in designing parenting interventions to promote children's emotional competence aligning with cultural expectations.

This study advances the cross-cultural temperament literature by comparing temperament ratings of toddlers from 14 nations. Multilevel modeling (MLM) procedures were utilized to regress negative emotionality (NE) and component subscales on Hofstede's cultural value dimensions while controlling for age and gender. More individualistic values were associated with lower NE, and component discomfort, fear, motor activity, perceptual sensitivity, and soothability scales. The discomfort subscale was negatively associated with power distance and positively associated with masculine cultural values. Higher ratings of shyness were related to a more long-term cultural orientation. Results illustrate the feasibility of an MLM approach to cross-cultural research and provide a new perspective on the intersection of culture and temperament development. Limitations and future implications are discussed.

Maternal control is a major dimension of parenting and has different meanings, practices, and potential consequences across cultures. The present study aimed to identify and compare mothers' conceptualizations of parenting control across four cultures to reveal a more nuanced understanding regarding the meaning and practices of control: European American, Chinese immigrant, Korean immigrant, and Turkish. Using a semistructured open-ended interview, 100 European American, 102 U.S. Chinese immigrant, 103 U.S. Korean immigrant, and 109 Turkish mothers of preschool-aged children reported the ratings of importance, specific reasons, and strategies for exerting control over their children in daily life. Results revealed both shared and unique conceptualizations of maternal control across four cultures. Specifically, all mothers reported that it is important to express maternal control over their children in order to set behavioral norms/standards, maintain child safety, support social relations and respect for others, provide guidance, and guide moral development. Moreover, mothers discussed utilizing nonphysical punishment, setting and maintaining rules, reasoning/negotiating, consistency, physical punishment and verbal control, showing parents' serious/stern attitude, correction, and psychological control forms of control. However, the levels at which mothers emphasize the different reasons and strategies varied across cultures, reflecting culturally emphasized values. The findings of the present study further enrich our understanding of the complexities of maternal control across cultures.

Background Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging tick-borne disease caused by Bandavirus dabieense (SFTS virus [SFTSV]). Recently, at least 6 different genotypes of SFTSV have been identified, with genotypes A, D, and F dominant in China and B dominant in Japan and Korea. This study investigated the effect of SFTSV genotypes circulating in South Korea on disease severity, viral load, and cytokine profile. Methods We prospectively enrolled 70 patients with SFTS from July 2015 to June 2022. Serial plasma samples were obtained during hospitalization and analyzed. Viral load was measured by real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Partial sequences of the viral genome were analyzed for genotyping. Plasma concentrations of 17 cytokines were measured by multiplex-bead immunoassay. Results Of 70 samples, 51 could be genotyped. Genotype B was predominant (80.4%) and other genotypes were uncommon. Intensive care unit admission rates (51.2% vs 50.0%) and mortality rates (26.8% vs 40.0%) did not show any significant differences between genotype B and non-B genotypes. The initial viral load did not show any significant differences (3.59 vs 3.64 log copies/μL), whereas viral load measured at hospital day 3–4 tended to be higher in genotype B than non-B genotypes (3.83 vs 1.83 log copies/μL, P =.07). Additionally, the plasma concentrations of interferon-α, interleukin 10, and interferon-γ–induced protein 10, which are closely related to mortality in cases of SFTS, did not show any significant differences. Conclusions SFTSV genotype B was the prevalent genotype in South Korea, with no genotype-specific difference in clinical outcomes, initial viral load, or cytokine profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasmodium vivax is the only form of malaria indigenous to South Korea (1); combination chloroquine and primaquine therapy has been the mainstay of vivax malaria treatment. After P. vivax reemerged [...]

In the present study, we prepared an ethanol extract from the flowers of Styphnolobium japonicum L. (SJFE) and found that it contains rutin as a major constituent as well as quercetin kaempferol and isorhamnetin as minor components. In lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages, we observed that SJFE significantly inhibited the production of nitric oxide and the expression of major inflammatory biomarkers such as inducible NO synthase, cyclooxygenase-2, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-1β significantly. Based on these in vitro results, we investigated the anti-inflammatory properties of SJFE on osteoarthritis (OA) of the left hind knee joints induced by monosodium iodoacetate in rats. SJFE was orally administered to the rats with arthritis for 4 weeks, and the following results were obtained. The rats treated with SJFE exhibited a 24% improvement in the weight-bearing index of their affected legs, as well as reductions of 31.5% and 23.2% in serum levels of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein and C-terminal telopeptide 2, respectively. Additionally, Mankin's score, an indicator used to assess the severity of joint cartilage damage, decreased by 2.75 points compared to the control with no treatment. These findings suggest that SJFE possesses anti-inflammatory properties and can alleviate symptoms of OA, indicating its potential to offer relief to individuals suffering from arthritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent research on psychologically controlling parenting, debate has arisen about the cross-cultural relevance of this construct, with some scholars arguing that the developmental outcomes of psychological control are culture-bound and others arguing that the detrimental effects of psychological control generalize across cultures. This study aimed to add to this debate by examining the relevance of a distinction between two domain-specific expressions of psychological control (i.e., dependency-oriented and achievement-oriented) in Belgian (N = 290) and South-Korean (N = 321) adolescents. Multi-group path analyses showed that associations between the domains of psychological control, depressive personality, and depressive symptoms were similar between the two samples. Overall, the findings are in line with the notion that the effects of psychological control generalize across culture. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)