Publications by authors named "Pak T"

Digital financial literacy is an emerging concept that refers to the ability to effectively use digital tools, platforms, and services to manage personal finances. While previous studies have explored the behavioral effects of digital financial literacy, less is known about its broader well-being implications for financial consumers. In this study, we aim to examine the association between digital financial literacy and life satisfaction in a developed country context.

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Korean Americans have one of the highest rates of depression of the Asian subgroups in the United States, and they have culture-related factors that affect their mental health. It is important for health care providers to understand the cultural considerations of Korean Americans to better address their mental health. This review article delves into the pertinent cultural practices of Korean Americans for navigating discussions of mental health.

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Background: Timely antibiotic initiation is critical to sepsis management, but there are limited data on the impact of giving β-lactams first vs vancomycin first amongst patients prescribed both agents.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed all adults admitted to 5 US hospitals from 2015-2022 with suspected sepsis (blood culture collected, antibiotics administered, and organ dysfunction) treated with vancomycin and a broad-spectrum β-lactam within 24h of arrival. We estimated associations between β-lactam vs vancomycin first strategies and in-hospital mortality using inverse probability weighting (IPW) to adjust for potential confounders.

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Article Synopsis
  • The long head of the biceps tendon is often affected in patients with massive rotator cuff tears (MRCTs), which make up about one third of all rotator cuff injuries.
  • Treatment approaches for this issue include options like tenotomy, tenodesis, and innovative techniques like augmentation and superior capsular reconstruction.
  • There is still no consensus or established guidelines on how to effectively manage biceps tendon problems alongside MRCTs.
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Objectives: To characterize associations between race/ethnicity/sex, time-to-antibiotics, and mortality in patients with suspected sepsis or septic shock.

Design: Retrospective cohort study, with race/ethnicity/sex as the exposure, and time-to-antibiotics (relative to emergency department arrival) and in-hospital mortality as the outcome.

Setting: Five Massachusetts hospitals.

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Objectives: Lack of physical activity has a critical effect on the physical and mental health of adolescents. This study examined the influence of family adversities on the longitudinal changes in physical inactivity among adolescents during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Methods: The study used multi-wave data from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey, including 2590 Korean adolescents aged 12-14 years.

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Background: Many hospitals have scaled back measures to prevent nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection given large decreases in the morbidity and mortality of SARS-CoV-2 infections for most people. Little is known, however, about the morbidity and mortality of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infections for hospitalized patients in the Omicron era.

Objective: To estimate the effect of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection on hospitalized patients' outcomes during the pre-Omicron and Omicron periods.

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  • The study investigates the differences in treatment responses among melanoma patients based on tumor characteristics, utilizing radiomic analysis of medical images to identify non-invasive biomarkers.
  • This research involved 291 patients treated with either immune checkpoint inhibitors or BRAF targeted therapy, and 667 tumor lesions were analyzed for treatment outcomes.
  • The findings show significant organ-level differences in treatment response and variability, with specific machine-learning models accurately predicting disease control or progression based on radiomic features, highlighting the potential for personalized treatment strategies.
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  • * A retrospective review of patient data from 2015 to 2021 showed that SaN was present in only 2.9% of cases, with no significant correlations found between patient characteristics or implant positioning and the occurrence of SaN.
  • * Importantly, the study concluded that the presence of SaN did not negatively affect patients' functional outcomes or range of motion in the short-term post-surgery.
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  • The study aimed to determine the Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID) and Patient-Acceptable Symptomatic State (PASS) for patient-reported outcomes in individuals who underwent arthroscopic isolated subscapularis repair (AISR).
  • A retrospective analysis was done on data from 77 patients with an average follow-up of 58.1 months, assessing outcomes using VAS pain score, ASES score, and Subjective Shoulder Value (SSV).
  • Results showed specific MCID values for VAS pain, ASES, and SSV, while PASS values were also identified, though no significant correlations were found between certain patient characteristics and the achievement of these thresholds.
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Background: Optimal glenosphere positioning in a lateralized reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) to maximize functional outcomes has yet to be clearly defined. Center of rotation (COR) measurements have largely relied on anteroposterior radiographs, which allow assessment of lateralization and inferior position, but ignore scapular Y radiographs, which may provide an assessment of the posterior and inferior position relative to the acromion. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the COR in the sagittal plane and assess the effect of glenosphere positioning with functional outcomes using a 135° inlay stem with a lateralized glenoid.

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Approaching mental health issues in the Vietnamese community is challenging due to the distinct cultural practices, the stigma of mental illness, and the language barrier. These complexities are compounded by additional stressors experienced by many Vietnamese Americans stemming from war trauma and the demands of immigration. In this article, the authors discuss the implications that Vietnamese cultural practices have on the perception of mental health in Vietnamese American communities.

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In the Brazilian state of São Paulo, contaminated sites (CSs) constitute threats to health, environment and socioeconomic situation of populations. Over the past two decades, the Environmental Agency of São Paulo (CETESB) has monitored these known CSs. This paper discusses the produced dataset through digitising the CETESB reports and making them accessible to the public in English.

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  • A study evaluating clinical outcomes and tendon healing rates after arthroscopic isolated subscapularis (SSC) repair (AISR) found that AISR results in significant improvements in shoulder function and pain relief over a midterm follow-up period.
  • Out of 77 patients analyzed, 87.5% exhibited complete tendon healing post-surgery, although larger tear sizes and increased muscle atrophy were associated with lower healing rates.
  • The findings suggest that while tear size and muscle atrophy negatively impact tendon healing, they do not affect the overall clinical outcomes experienced by patients.
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Background: Glenoid-sided lateralization in reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) decreases bony impingement and improves rotational range of motion, but has been theorized to increase the risk of acromial or scapular spine fractures (ASFs). The purpose of this study was to assess if glenoid-sided lateralization even up to 8 mm increases the risk for stress fracture following RSA with a 135° inlay humeral component.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed from a multicenter prospectively collected database on patients who underwent primary RSA from 2015 to 2021.

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Cyanotoxins pose a health threat when present in the drinking water supply since conventional water treatment processes are not effective in removing extracellular metabolites hence, advanced treatment techniques are usually applied. Powdered activated carbon (PAC) is an effective adsorbent for removing toxins. However, since a high volume is necessary, alternative adsorbents have been investigated.

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Background: Sugammadex is not advised for patients with severe renal impairment, but has been shown in a variety of other populations to be superior to neostigmine for reversal of neuromuscular blockade. The objective of this study was to determine if reversal of rocuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade with sugammadex versus reversal of cisatracurium-induced neuromuscular blockade with neostigmine results in a faster return to a train-of-four ratio (TOFR) ≥90% in patients with severe renal impairment.

Methods: We conducted a prospective, randomized, blinded, controlled trial at a large county hospital.

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Aging in women is accompanied by a dramatic change in circulating sex steroid hormones. Specifically, the primary circulating estrogen, 17β-estradiol (E), is nearly undetectable in post-menopausal women. This decline is associated with a variety of cognitive and mood disorders, yet hormone replacement therapy is only effective within a narrow window of time surrounding the menopausal transition.

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Purpose: To compare radiologist and surgeon magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) interpretations of subscapularis (SSC) tears against intraoperative arthroscopic examination.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of prospectively maintained data on patients who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair with and without SSC tears between 2011 and 2022. The radiologists' assessments of SSC integrity were extracted from the MRI reports.

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Purpose: To investigate the performance of the bear hug (BH) and belly press (BP) tests in diagnosing tears of the subscapularis (SSC).

Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on prospectively maintained data on patients who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR) of SSC tears between 2011 and 2021. A control group also was obtained of ARCRs with an intact SSC tendon.

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Background: The optimal management of primary glenohumeral arthritis (GHOA) in the elderly is an ongoing topic of debate. The purpose of this study was to compare functional outcomes and complications in patients aged 75 years or older treated with anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) or reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) for primary GHOA with an intact rotator cuff.

Methods: A retrospective study was performed on a prospectively maintained database which was queried for patients 75 years of age or older who underwent TSA or RSA for primary GHOA with an intact rotator cuff at a single institution between 2012 and 2021 with minimum 2-year follow-up.

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