Suchergebnisse

IntroductionSince 2008, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have performed nationwide survey, Korea Community Health Survey(K-CHS) annually, to collect information on pervalences of smoking, drinking, physical activity, obesity, diet, oral health, and other health-related activities among randomly selected community-dwelling residents aged 19 years or over in ~250 administrative districts(Si-gun-gu).
Objectives and ApproachThis study aims to build comprehensive data library through leakage of area-based data collected from K-CHS and other community contextual health indicators from various government databases. For this purpose, we reviewed other databanks on community status health indicators comprehensively and tried to search linkage information from the related national public database.
ResultsWe reviewed the community health model, which is theoretically and empirically proven in other studies and tried to propose health determinants of community health through population health perspectives. We collected information on health outcomes of each community, measured by overall mortality and self-rated health. We also assessed health determinants, measured in five domains including social network, health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment. Childhood environment was dealt briefly. Geo-coded data on selected core indicators were collected for each domain and the validity, reliability, sensitivity, and robustness of these measures was evaluated. We constructed comprehensive databases through linkage of health outcomes and health determinants. We also suggested summary sheet template, comprizing comprehensive community health status indicators.
Conclusion/ImplicationsIn conclusion, we anticipate evidence-based community health intervention and evaluation of its performance through utilizing comprehensive databases on community health.

Aus südkoreanischer Sicht

SummaryOver the past century, the population of Korea has aged rapidly as a result of decreasing fertility and mortality. Furthermore, the percentage of the population aged 65 and older is expected to double from 7% to 14% within 18 years, a much shorter doubling period than in most other developed countries. As Korean society ages, interest in healthy and successful ageing has increased. However, although previous studies have examined various determinants of successful ageing, such as socioeconomic status, gender differences have been neglected. This study investigated gender differences as factors in successful ageing among elderly men and women. Successful ageing has been defined as having high levels of physical and social functioning. Physical functioning includes having no difficulties with activities of daily living (ADL) or instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Social functioning is defined as participation in at least one of the following social activities: paid work, religious gatherings or volunteer service. Data for this study were obtained from a representative sample of 761 community-living individuals aged 65–84 years (340 males, 421 females); the respondents were interviewed face-to-face as part of the third wave of the Hallym Ageing Study (2007). Socioeconomic status appears to have a greater gender-specific effect on physical functioning than on social functioning. Especially for elderly men, a higher monthly individual income was significantly related to a higher level of physical functioning. Among elderly women, a higher level of education was associated with a higher level of physical functioning. In a major metropolis, elderly men had low social functioning and elderly women had low physical functioning. As Korea's population ages, successful ageing has received much attention. This study shows that policies promoting successful ageing must consider gender differences and associated socioeconomic factors.

SummaryThis study sought to determine which factors among the indicators of socioeconomic status have the most influence on physical, mental and social functions, and on subjective well-being, all of which are components of successful ageing. A representative random sample of 1825 persons aged 65 years or older was surveyed by face-to-face interview. Socioeconomic status was measured by educational level, family household income, personal income and property ownership. The factors measured were chronic diseases, activities of daily living (ADL) for physical functioning, history of mental disease, Mini-Mental Status Examination questionnaire (MMSE) scores for mental functioning, social activity participation per week for social functioning, and the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale (PGCMS) for subjective well-being. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed. Education level was the most important factor in physical and mental functioning, whereas personal income was the most important in social functioning. Educational level, household income and personal income were significantly associated with subjective well-being as assessed by PGCMS scores. Subjects who demonstrated successful ageing were more likely to have a higher education and higher personal income. The results point to the importance of focusing on disparities in each component of successful ageing, which may point to appropriate health-promotion strategies for eliminating inequality in successful ageing.

We have investigated the effect of surface roughness on the sensitivity of conventional and nanowire-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensors. The theoretical research was conducted using rigorous coupledwave analysis with Gaussian surface profiles of gold films determined by atomic force microscopy. The results suggest that, when surface roughness ranges near 1 nm, the sensitivity of a conventional SPR system is not significantly affected regardless of the correlation length. For a nanowire-based SPR biosensor, however, we have found that the sensitivity degrades substantially with decreasing correlation length. In particular, at a correlation length smaller than 100 nm, a random rough surface may induce destructive coupling between excited localized surface plasmons, which can lead to prominent reduction of sensitivity enhancement. ; This work was supported by the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF) through the National Core Research Center for Nanomedical Technology (R15-2004- 024-00000-0) and also by the Korea Research Foundation (KRF) grant funded by the Korean Government, the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (MOEHRD), under KRF-2005-205-D00051. K. M. Byun and S. J. Kim acknowledge support by the Engineering Research Center (ERC) program of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST)/KOSEF (R11-2000-075- 01001-1). We appreciate Hyun Seok Lee and Professor Kyung Hwa Yoo for kindly providing assistance for the AFM measurements.

Cordyceps militaris is an entomopathogenic ascomycete, known primarily for infecting lepidopteran larval (caterpillars) and pupal hosts. Cordycepin, a secondary metabolite produced by this fungus has anti-inflammatory properties and other pharmacological activities. However, little is known about the biological role of this adenosine derivate and its stabilising compound pentostatin in the context of insect infection the life cycle of C. militaris. During repeated subcultivation under laboratory conditions a degeneration of C. militaris marked by decreasing levels of cordycepin production can occur. Here, using degenerated and parental control strains of an isolate of C. militaris, we found that lower cordycepin production coincides with the decline in the production of various other metabolites as well as the reduced expression of genes related to sexual development. Additionally, infection of Galleria mellonella (greater wax moth) caterpillars indicated that cordycepin inhibits the immune response in host haemocytes. Accordingly, the pathogenic response to the degenerated strain was reduced. These data indicate that there are simultaneous changes in sexual reproduction, secondary metabolite production, insect immunity and infection by C. militaris. This study may have implications for biological control of insect crop pests by fungi.

Cordycepsmilitaris is an entomopathogenic ascomycete, known primarily for infecting lepidopteran larval (caterpillars) and pupal hosts. Cordycepin, a secondary metabolite produced by this fungus has anti-inflammatory properties and other pharmacological activities. However, little is known about the biological role of this adenosine derivate and its stabilising compound pentostatin in the context of insect infection the life cycle of C. militaris. During repeated subcultivation under laboratory conditions a degeneration of C. militaris marked by decreasing levels of cordycepin production can occur. Here, using degenerated and parental control strains of an isolate of C. militaris, we found that lower cordycepin production coincides with the decline in the production of various other metabolites as well as the reduced expression of genes related to sexual development. Additionally, infection of Galleria mellonella (greater wax moth) caterpillars indicated that cordycepin inhibits the immune response in host haemocytes. Accordingly, the pathogenic response to the degenerated strain was reduced. These data indicate that there are simultaneous changes in sexual reproduction, secondary metabolite production, insect immunity and infection by C. militaris. This study may have implications for biological control of insect crop pests by fungi.