This study aimed to replicate findings on sensitivity groups, their proportions, and cut-off scores in a South Korean population. Uniquely, it extended the age range to include participants up to 80 years old, representing the first attempt to validate these constructs across such a broad age spectrum in this cultural context. A total of 1773 South Koreans in their 20s to 80s participated in the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS) questionnaire survey, conducted to establish a cut-off score to be used more conveniently in real-world scenarios.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe potential impact of mask-wearing specifically on early-childhood speech and language development in classrooms has not been widely reported yet, although face masks are compulsory even in educational settings during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigated the combined effects of face-mask usage (no mask, surgical and KF94 masks) and room acoustics (RT 0.6 s and 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
November 2022
In Korea, wearing masks in public places has become the norm during the prolonged coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This cross-sectional study investigated the mask-wearing behavior of Koreans ( = 433) via online mode living in Seoul and Gwangju after wearing a mask in public spaces for two years due to COVID-19. The respondents selected their face masks based on season, gender, age, occupation, mask-wearing hours, mask filter performance, mask shape, and mask color.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
September 2022
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, wearing a mask has become a daily routine in Korea over the last two years. This study aims to investigate the mask-wearing perception of preschoolers (ages 4-6). The questionnaire comprised 17 yes-no closed-ended questions and two open-ended questions, and interviews of the children were conducted from January to February 2022, 15 months after mandatory mask wearing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSevere infectious diseases, such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), can induce hypercytokinemia and multiple organ failure. In spite of the growing demand for peptide therapeutics against infectious diseases, current small molecule-based strategies still require frequent administration due to limited half-life and enzymatic digestion in blood. To overcome this challenge, a strategy to continuously express multi-level therapeutic peptide drugs on the surface of immune cells, is established.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChimeric antigen receptor-T (CAR-T) cell immunotherapy has shown impressive clinical outcomes for hematologic malignancies. However, its broader applications are challenged due to its complex ex vivo cell-manufacturing procedures and low therapeutic efficacy against solid tumors. The limited therapeutic effects are partially due to limited CAR-T cell infiltration to solid tumors and inactivation of CAR-T cells by the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.
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