Background: This study aimed to determine the occurrence of nosocomial infections (NIs), including infection rates, main infection sites, and common microorganisms. Patients included in the study were taken from a newborn intensive care unit (NICU), in a hospital in South Korea.

The present study was to examine the effect of a meditation-based exercise program on the motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods: Sixty three PD patients who were recruited from a university hospital were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n ¼ 33) and to the control group (n ¼ 30). Participants completed an 8-week Mindfulness Meditation-based Complex Exercise Program (MMBCEP) that included 6 sessions. Before and after the intervention, the Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT), elastic band pull, chair stand test, and 2.45-meter walk test were administered for the motor symptoms and the Korean Version of Geriatric Depression Scale, The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Korean-Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale (PDSS), Activities of Daily Living (ADL), and the Quality of Life of Patients with Parkinson's Disease (PDQL) were administered for non-motor symptoms.Results: Significant improvements in the motor symptoms (i.e., muscle strength (lower and upper extremity), balance, and muscle endurance) and in the non-motor symptoms (i.e., anxiety, depression, cognitive functions, sleep disturbance, quality of life, and activities of daily living) were observed. Conclusions: MMBCEP, a complex exercise program-based on mindfulness meditation, is associated with increased motor symptoms, decreased emotional disturbances (anxiety and depression) and sleep disturbance, and improved cognitive functions, quality of life, and activities of daily living. Future research should test the effects of MMBCEP with more representative PD patients.

The purpose of this study was to examine the urban-rural differences in the prevalence and associated factors with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Korean adults. A total of 1,060 adults >30 yr of age from urban (189 males and 331 females) and rural districts (219 males and 321 females) were recruited. Anthropometric measures, blood pressure, lipid profiles, and fasting and 2-hr after 75-g oral glucose load blood glucose were obtained. The crude- and age-standardized prevalence of T2DM was 15.4% and 14.5%, and 11.7% and 8.6% in urban and rural districts, respectively. Diabetic subjects were older and obese, and had a higher triglyceride level, and systolic blood pressure compared to non-diabetes in both population. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that older age, high triglyceride levels, central obesity, and hypertension were significantly associated with T2DM in both areas. Low monthly incomes were significantly associated with T2DM in urban population, while a family history of T2DM was significantly associated with T2DM in rural area. T2DM is more prevalent in urban than in rural population, and low economic status or genetic factor is differently associated with T2DM in both population, respectively.

We investigated the effect of hydroxyethyl cellulose ͑HEC͒ concentration in the alkaline slurry on the surface qualities of polished silicon wafers after touch polishing, such as the number of remaining particles and the haze level. They significantly decreased and saturated over the addition of a 0.2 wt % HEC. We attributed these surface quality enhancements to a formation of nanometersized passivation layers onto the silicon wafer and colloidal silica surfaces during touch polishing. The formation of passivation layers were shown by the results of investigations with an average particle size, the zeta potential of abrasives, the contact angle, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements.Chemical mechanical polishing ͑CMP͒ using the alkaline slurry added with nanoscale colloidal silica abrasives is a key silicon wafer manufacturing process to planarize the surface topography on silicon wafers, i.e., stock polishing and touch polishing. The aim of stock polishing is to planarize the silicon wafer surface topography in the wavelength of approximately several tens of millimeters, while that of touch polishing is to planarize the silicon wafer surface topography in the wavelength between several micrometers and millimeters. 1-3 In general, touch polishing is done after stock removal. As the design rule of memory devices has decreased, the degree of surface roughness and the number of remaining particles on the silicon wafer need to be controlled more tightly. 4 To satisfy this restriction, the touch polishing of the silicon wafer has become increasingly important during the silicon manufacturing process because it is the final process that determines the surface qualities of the silicon wafer, such as surface roughness and remaining particles.Although many experiments on silicon wafer polishing have been done on electrochemical behavior, the removal rate, and the reduction in surface roughness, 1-3,5-7 there have been few reports on how to reduce the remaining particles on the silicon wafer. In our experiments, first of all, we developed the alkaline slurry added with colloidal silica abrasives, hydroxyethyl cellulose ͑HEC͒, and tetramethylammonium hydroxide ͑TMAH͒ for touch polishing. We selected HEC as a nonionic organic additive in the alkaline slurry because it reduces the silicon wafer surface topography via producing a nanoscale passivation on the silicon wafer surface during touch polishing. 2 Then, we investigated the effect of the HEC concentration in the alkaline slurries on the number of remaining particles and surface roughness of the polished silicon wafers after touch polishing.We used nanometer-sized colloidal silica ͑PL-3, Fuso Chemical Inc., Japan͒. The solid content of colloidal silica in each of the alkaline slurries was 10 wt %, and pH adjustment was carried out by adding TMAH. We then added HEC ͑Mw = 1,000,000͒ to each of the alkaline slurries from none to 0.4 wt %. The HEC chemical structure is shown in Fig. 1a. To estimate the slurry characteristics such as pH, conductivity, viscosity, c...

The genus Goniothalamus comprises about 160 species of shrubs and trees growing in tropical and subtropical Asia. 1) Many of these species are used for timber, as fiber sources, as mosquito repellant, and most interestingly in folk medicine in several countries. 2,3) Phytochemical studies of Goniothalamus species have led to the isolation and characterization of a large number of styryl-lactones. These can be classified into several main subtypes: styryl-pyrones, furano-pyrones, furano-furones, and pyrano-pyrones. 4) Styryl-lactones possess significant cytotoxic activity against several human tumor cell lines such as A-549 (lung carcinoma), HT-29 (colon adenocarcinoma), MCF-7 (breast carcinoma), RPMI (melanoma), U251 (brain carcinoma), 3,5) and to induce apoptosis in HL-60 leukemic cell. 6) Some of styryl-lactones have been synthesized via total synthesis. 3,7-10) Goniopypyrone, the first pyrano-pyrone compound, was first isolated in 1990 from G. giganteus. 11,12) It was high bioactive, showing ED 50 values of ca. 0.67 mg/ml in the cytotoxicity of human tumor cell lines (A-549, MCF-7, HT-29), high toxicity to the brine shrimp (BS), and significant inhibition of the formation of crown gall tumors on potato discs (PD). Typically, up to date, pyrano-pyrone compounds are found in some Goniothalamus species.The formation of bone involves a complex series of events, including the proliferation and differentiation of osteoprogenitor cells. Eventually, this results in the formation of a mineralized extracellular matrix. Most effective osteoporosis therapies reduce bone loss but do not restore lost bone mass and strength. Therefore, it is desirable to discover bone-building (anabolic) agents that stimulate new bone formation and correct the imbalance of microarchitecture characteristic of established osteoporosis. 13) As new bone formation is primarily a function of the osteoblasts, agents that regulate bone formation act either by increasing the proliferation of cells in the osteoblastic lineage or inducing osteoblast differentiation. 13,14) Early intervention is now possible with the help of some effective medications, which may reduce the risk of first and recurrent fractures.In our investigation of phytochemistry of the leaves of G. tamirensis, 9-deoxygoniopypyrone (2) and a new pyranopyrone, (ϩ)-8-epi-9-deoxygoniopypyrone (1), were isolated and identified using spectral methods. To investigate whether these compounds could stimulate the function of osteoblasts, their effects on cell growth, collagen content, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and calcium deposition were assessed in the pre-osteoblastic target cell line, MC3T3-E1, which is a well-characterized in vitro model of osteoblast differentiation. 15) Results and DiscussionCompound 1 Science and Technology; 18 Hoang Quoc Viet St., Caugiay, Hanoi, Vietnam: and c Faculty of Chemistry, Hanoi University of Science; 19 Le Thanh Tong St., Hoankiem, Hanoi, Vietnam. Received November 24, 2009; accepted January 8, 2010; published online January 19, 2010 The n...