REM sleep estimation based on autonomic dynamics using R-R intervals.

Objective: We developed an automatic algorithm to determine rapid eye movement (REM) sleep on the basis of the autonomic activities reflected in heart rate variations.

Approach: The heart rate variability (HRV) parameters were calculated using the R-R intervals from an electrocardiogram (ECG). A major autonomic variation associated with the sleep cycle was extracted from a combination of the obtained parameters.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Using a Mobile Application Synchronizable With Wearable Devices for Insomnia Treatment: A Pilot Study.

Study Objectives: The use of telemedicine with a mobile application (MA) and a wearable device (WD) for the management of sleep disorders has recently received considerable attention. We designed an MA synchronizable with a WD for insomnia treatment. Our pilot study determined the efficacy of simplified group cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) delivered using our MA and assessed participant adherence to and satisfaction with the device.

Apnea-hypopnea index prediction through an assessment of autonomic influence on heart rate in wakefulness.

With the high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea, the issue of developing a practical tool for obstructive sleep apnea screening has been raised. Conventional obstructive sleep apnea screening tools are limited in their ability to help clinicians make rational decisions due to their inability to predict the apnea-hypopnea index. Our study aimed to develop a new prediction model that can provide a reliable apnea-hypopnea index value during wakefulness.

The Association between Self-reported Sleep Duration and Body Mass Index among Korean Adolescents.

Previous research has shown that lack of sleep is related to Body Mass Index (BMI) in adolescence. This study was designed to investigate the association between sleep duration and BMI among Korean adolescents. We conducted a school-based cross-sectional study of 3,785 adolescents (males: 58.

The quality of life of suspected obstructive sleep apnea patients is related to their subjective sleep quality rather than the apnea-hypopnea index.

Purpose: The relationship between the severity of the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and the quality of life (QOL) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been inconsistent in previous studies. This study aimed to identify the core factor associated with the QOL of suspected OSA patients and to compare the QOL of subjects with OSA and simple snoring (SS).

Methods: Two hundred eighty-five subjects who were clinically suspected to have OSA underwent nocturnal polysomnography (PSG) and completed self-report questionnaires including the World Health Organization Quality of Life Short Form (WHOQOL-BREF) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).

Ultrafast Lithium Storage Using Antimony-Doped Tin Oxide Nanoparticles Sandwiched between Carbon Nanofibers and a Carbon Skin.

Metal oxides as anode materials for Li-ion batteries (LIBs) are of significant interest to many potential technologies because of their high theoretical capacity value, low price, and environmentally friendly features. In spite of these considerable benefits and ongoing progress in the field, momentous challenges exist, related with structural disintegration due to volume expansion of electrode materials. This leads to rapid capacity decline and must be resolved in order to progress for realistic utilization of LIBs with ultrafast cycling stability.

New predictors of sleep efficiency.

Sleep efficiency is a commonly and widely used measure to objectively evaluate sleep quality. Monitoring sleep efficiency can provide significant information about health conditions. As an attempt to facilitate less cumbersome monitoring of sleep efficiency, our study aimed to suggest new predictors of sleep efficiency that enable reliable and unconstrained estimation of sleep efficiency during awake resting period.

PPARγ agonists induce adipocyte differentiation by modulating the expression of Lipin-1, which acts as a PPARγ phosphatase.

PPARγ agonists induced obesity in animal models as a side effect. Microarray experiments reveal that PPARγ agonist upregulates the expression of lipin-1 and this upregulation is correlated with the activity of the agonists. Lipin-1 induced by PPARγ agonists decreased the levels of PPARγ and ERK1/2 phosphorylation through direct interaction with these proteins in 3T3-L1 cells.

The impact of recommended percutaneous coronary intervention care on hospital outcomes for interhospital-transferred STEMI patients.

Background: Timely transfer and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with or without thrombolysis are recommended by the American Heart Association (AHA) to care for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients who present first to a non-PCI-capable hospital. This study was to evaluate the impact on in-hospital mortality of the compliance with guidelines regarding to the time of PCI for patients with STEMI who were transferred to a capable PCI hospital.

Methods: We used the CArdioVAscular disease Surveillance data from November 2007 to December 2012 for this study.

G-protein-coupled receptor 81 promotes a malignant phenotype in breast cancer through angiogenic factor secretion.

G-protein-coupled receptor 81 (GPR81) functions as a receptor for lactate and plays an important role in the regulation of anti-lipolytic effects in adipocytes. However, to data, a role for GPR81 in the tumor microenvironment has not been clearly defined. Here, GPR81 expression in breast cancer patients and several breast cancer cell lines was significantly increased compared with normal mammary tissues and cells.

Effects of Psychiatric Symptoms on Attention in North Korean Refugees.

Objective: We investigated the performance of North Korean refugees on attention tasks, and the relationship between that performance and psychiatric symptoms.

Methods: Sustained and divided attention was assessed using the computerized Comprehensive Attention Test in North Korean refugees and in South Koreans. All participants also completed the Beck Depression Inventory, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised and the Dissociative Experiences Scale-II (DES-II).

A multicentre observational study of inter-hospital transfer for post-resuscitation care after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Aim: To provide therapeutic hypothermia (TH) to survivors after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), inter-hospital transfers (IHT) are frequently required. The safety of IHT remains controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the effect of TH on brain recovery after OHCA differs between IHT and direct arrival groups.

Effect of Dispatcher-Assisted Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Program and Location of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest on Survival and Neurologic Outcome.

Study Objective: We study the effect of a nationwide dispatcher-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) program on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest outcomes by arrest location (public and private settings).

Methods: All emergency medical services (EMS)-treated adults in Korea with out-of-hospital cardiac arrests of cardiac cause were enrolled between 2012 and 2013, excluding cases witnessed by EMS providers and those with unknown outcomes. Exposure was bystander CPR categorized into 3 groups: bystander CPR with dispatcher assistance, bystander CPR without dispatcher assistance, and no bystander CPR.

Increased Mortality in Relation to Insomnia and Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Korean Patients Studied with Nocturnal Polysomnography.

Study Objectives: To elucidate the links between the two most prevalent sleep disorders, insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and mortality.

Methods: We studied 4,225 subjects who were referred to the Center for Sleep and Chronobiology, Seoul National University Hospital, from January 1994 to December 2008. We divided the subjects into five groups: mild OSA (5 ≤ AHI < 15), moderate OSA (15 ≤ AHI < 30), severe OSA (AHI ≥ 30), insomnia, and a no-sleep-disorder group consisting of subjects without sleep disorders.

Association between morningness and resilience in Korean college students.

Circadian typology and sleep quality may be essential factors associated with the promotion of resilience. However, previous studies investigating the association between circadian typology and resilience did not analyze the effects of sleep quality on resilience. Thus, the present study evaluated the association between circadian typology and resilience in Korean college students after controlling for sleep quality.

Oxygen Desaturation Index Estimation through Unconstrained Cardiac Sympathetic Activity Assessment Using Three Ballistocardiographic Systems.

Background: Nocturnal hypoxemia, characterized by abnormally low oxygen saturation levels in arterial blood during sleep, is a significant feature of various pathological conditions. The oxygen desaturation index, commonly used to evaluate the nocturnal hypoxemia severity, is acquired using nocturnal pulse oximetry that requires the overnight wear of a pulse oximeter probe.

Objectives: This study aimed to suggest a method for the unconstrained estimation of the oxygen desaturation index.

Timosaponin AIII inhibits migration and invasion of A549 human non-small-cell lung cancer cells via attenuations of MMP-2 and MMP-9 by inhibitions of ERK1/2, Src/FAK and β-catenin signaling pathways.

Timosaponin AIII (TAIII) is a type of steroidal saponins isolated from Anemarrhena asphodeloides. It was known to improve learning and memory deficits through anti-inflammatory effects. TAIII was also reported to induce autophagy preceding mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in HeLa cancer cells and inhibit the growth of human colorectal cancer cells, thus regarded as a potential candidate for anti-cancer agent.

Relationship between drowning location and outcome after drowning-associated out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: nationwide study.

Purpose: Accidental drowning can cause out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). We investigated the effect of drowning location on outcomes of individuals who experienced drowning-OHCA.

Methods: All cases of emergency medical service-treated drowning-OHCA in South Korea from January 2006 to December 2013 were analyzed.

Building operative care capacity in a resource limited setting: The Mongolian model of the expansion of sustainable laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Background: The benefits of laparoscopic cholecystectomy, including rapid recovery and fewer infections, have been largely unavailable to the majority of people in developing countries. Compared to other countries, Mongolia has an extremely high incidence of gallbladder disease. In 2005, only 2% of cholecystectomies were performed laparoscopically.

The imaging of osteomyelitis.

Osteomyelitis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in children and adults. Imaging plays a crucial role in establishing a timely diagnosis and guiding early management, with the aim of reducing long-term complications. Recognition of the imaging features of osteomyelitis requires a good understanding of its pathogenesis.

Risk of Diabetes Mellitus on Incidence of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests: A Case-Control Study.

Background: This study aimed to determine the risk of diabetes mellitus (DM) on incidence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and to investigate whether difference in effects of DM between therapeutic methods was observed.

Methods: This study was a case-control study using the Cardiac Arrest Pursuit Trial with Unique Registration and Epidemiologic Surveillance (CAPTURES) project database and 2013 Korean Community Health Survey (CHS). Cases were defined as EMS-treated adult (18 year old and older) OHCA patients with presumed cardiac etiology collected at 27 emergency departments from January to December 2014.

Apnea-Hypopnea Index Prediction Using Electrocardiogram Acquired During the Sleep-Onset Period.

The most widely used methods for predicting obstructive sleep apnea are based on clinical or anatomico-functional features. To improve exactitude in obstructive sleep apnea screening, this study aimed to devise a new predictor of apnea-hypopnea index. We hypothesized that less irregular respiration cycles would be observed in the patients with more severe obstructive sleep apnea during the sleep-onset period.