Trajectories of Problem Behaviors and Information Technology Use Among Adolescents: A Latent Growth Model Using the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey.

We investigated the association between computer and mobile phone online activities and adolescents' problem behaviors (e.g., depressive symptoms, withdrawal, somatic complaints, attention deficit, and aggression) using data from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey and latent growth model analysis. The results demonstrated that text-related activities lowered withdrawal and attention deficit. Higher use of online communities or personal websites was associated with higher depressive symptoms, withdrawal, somatic symptoms, and aggression. Online gaming increased both attention deficit' initial value and its decrease rate. Taking photos decreased withdrawal. Watching videos increased depressive symptoms, withdrawal, and attention deficit. Listening to music lowered attention deficit' initial value and somatic symptoms' decrease rate. Accessing adult websites increased attention deficit and aggression. Educational information searches reduced attention deficit and aggression. Online transactions increased somatic symptoms. This study indicates that adolescents' problem behaviors may appear differently depending on the type of information technology use.

COVID-19 and depressive symptoms among older adults in South Korea.

This study analyzed the effects of COVID-19 and gender differences in depressive symptoms in older adults using data from the 7th (2018) and 8th (2020) surveys of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging. A panel two-way-fixed effects model was used to control for individual fixed effects and time effects. A 0.1% point increase in the intensity of COVID-19 was associated with an average increase of 1.5 points out of 10 on the Center of Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, 10-item version (CES-D10) among older adults. The increase in depression was greater among women. Depressive factors due to COVID-19 among older adults are more likely to be related to negative emotions or interpersonal relationships than to physical and behavioral decline. Depression prevention policies for older adults should be informed by these gender differences. While older men require assistance with instrumental activities of daily living such as housework, meal preparation, etc., older women should be provided with online socialization opportunities to interact with others.

A Hierarchy of Stigma Associated with Mental Disorders.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have produced social distance rankings to identify differences in the intensity of stigma associated with various general medical and mental health conditions. All of these studies, however, treat "mental illness" as a single homogeneous condition, when in reality different diagnoses of mental illness may elicit different levels of stigma. AIMS OF THE STUDY: Within our samples, we aim to: (i) determine if there are significant differences in the intensity of stigma associated with different mental/behavior disorders; (ii) compare the intensity of stigma associated with mental/behavior disorders vs. physical/sensory disorders; and (iii) analyze the effect of familiarity with a person who has a mental/behavior disorder on the stigma associated with that disorder. METHODS: College students in the U.S. (n=213) and Republic of Korea (n=354) completed a survey of community attitudes toward persons with disabilities. Students were asked to rank 22 health conditions, including 10 mental/behavior disorders, according to the level of acceptance most usually accorded to persons with that condition in their society. Students also indicated, for each condition, whether they had close contact with a person who had that condition. RESULTS: Students in both countries indicated a lower mean level of acceptance for the group of mental/behavior disorders than for the group of physical or sensory disorders. Nevertheless, there were significant differences in the acceptability of different types of mental/behavior disorders, with schizophrenia and substance use disorders eliciting the most negative attitudes in both samples. Familiarity is correlated with greater acceptance for most, but not all, mental/behavior disorders. DISCUSSION: Mental illness-related stigma imposes costs on society in the form of productivity losses and increased rates of dependency. Reducing these costs requires an understanding of the negative stereotypes that are the source of stigma, and an appreciation of differences in the nature and intensity of stigma associated with different mental disorders. Limitations of the study include: lack of generalizability of the results; terminology which may have generated negative associations for some survey items; possibility of missing variables or data measured with error. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH POLICIES: The findings with respect to familiarity underscore the importance of inclusive policies to combat mental illness-related stigma. Anti-stigma policies must, however, account for differences in attitudes toward different diagnoses of mental illness. Strategies that may be effective in reducing stigma for some disorders may be counterproductive for others. IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Many social distance studies rely on non-random samples, limiting generalizability of the results. Future research may be able to exploit web-based survey methods to obtain larger, more representative samples. Studies should include multiple diagnoses of mental/behavior disorders, instead of a single category of mental illness, and explore the ways in which familiarity affects intensity of stigma for different mental disorders.

The Effect of Child Abuse and Neglect on Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms and Aggression in Korean Adolescents: Exploring Gender Differences.

We analyzed gender differences in the effects of child abuse and neglect experienced during adolescence on depressive symptoms and aggression in Korean adolescents using a representative sample of participants over a three-year period. We applied a latent growth model to a sample of 1797 adolescents aged 14-16 from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey. Our findings revealed that abuse increased depressive symptoms in early adolescence, while lowering the rate of increase in depressive symptoms over time. Neglect adversely affected depressive symptoms in boys, but not in girls. Abuse increased the initial value of aggression in girls more than in boys, but reduced the increase rate of aggression over time in girls. Neglect increased the initial value of aggression only in boys. Consequently, abuse and neglect experienced during adolescence can affect depressive symptoms and aggression in the individual differently, depending on gender. This study suggests that, in order to reduce depressive symptoms and aggression in adolescents, work should be undertaken to solve the problems of abuse and neglect, and different approaches should be taken according to the gender of the individual.

The reciprocal relationship between mobile phone dependence and school adaptation in Korean adolescents: Autoregressive cross-lagged modeling.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the reciprocal longitudinal effects between mobile phone dependence and school adaptation among Korean adolescents, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. An autoregressive cross-lagged model was applied to a data set from a sample of 1659 adolescents from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute. We found that the positive autoregressive effects of mobile phone dependence and school adaptation were statistically significant over the study period. Results from the cross-lagged analyses demonstrated a unidirectional relationship between two variables: Superior school adaptation decreased mobile phone dependence, but mobile phone dependence did not affect school adaptation. Thus, we identified the causal direction and reciprocal relationship between mobile phone dependence and school adaptation. Girls were found to have a higher level of mobile phone dependence than boys did. Furthermore, the higher the household income, the better adolescents adapted to school. Child abuse and neglect played a role in increasing mobile phone dependence and negatively affected school adaptation.

Longitudinal Cross-Lagged Analysis Between Mobile Phone Dependence, Friendships, and Depressive Symptoms Among Korean Adolescents.

This study examined reciprocal longitudinal effects between mobile phone dependence, friendships, and depressive symptoms using 3-year longitudinal data from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey. An autoregressive cross-lagged model was applied to a sample of 1,737 adolescents. Results suggested that unidirectional relationships exist between the three variables: friendships reduce mobile phone dependence (B = -0.068, p = 0.058; B = -0.118, p < 0.001) and depressive symptoms increase mobile phone dependence (B = 0.082, p = 0.001; B = 0.128, p < 0.001); however, mobile phone dependence does not affect friendships and depressive symptoms. In addition, this study provided evidence of the negative bidirectional relationship between friendships and depressive symptoms. We suggest that, to prevent or treat adolescents' mobile phone dependence, a practical approach regarding friendships and depressive symptoms is needed.

Gender differences in job satisfaction among disabled workers.

This paper explores the association between job satisfaction and gender for workers with disabilities, using data from the Panel Survey of Employment for the Disabled, which interviews officially registered persons with disabilities in Korea. To take full advantage of the longitudinal data, we apply random-effects ordered probit models to investigate the underlying factors that affect gender differentials in job satisfaction. Our findings reveal that merely different work values between women and men do not account for the significantly higher job satisfaction among women. We suggest that workers' expectations play a role in explaining why female workers are happier in the workplace than their male counterparts; that is, holding other factors constant, women's expectations from jobs are lower than men's. This hypothesis is partially supported by the empirical analyses that gender differentials diminish among the highly educated workers, for whom there is less likely to be a gender gap in terms of job expectations.

The medicinal mushroom Auricularia auricula-judae (Bull.) extract has antioxidant activity and promotes procollagen biosynthesis in HaCaT cells.

In this study, Auricularia auricula-judae (Bull.) extract (AAE) had potent antioxidant activity in vitro and promoted the biosynthesis of procollagen, a precursor of collagen in HaCaT cells. In addition, the expression of HAS-3 (hyaluronic acid synthase), which is a moisturizing factor, was increased in HaCaT cells in response to AAE. Therefore, this work suggests that AAE has the potential to exhibit antioxidant activity and promote procollagen biosynthesis in HaCaT cells.

Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein A2B1 Exerts a Regulatory Role in Lipopolysaccharide-stimulated 38B9 B Cell Activation.

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules, which are recognized for their primary function of presenting an antigen to the T cell receptor, are involved in various signaling pathways in B cell activation. We identified heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) A2B1 as an MHC class II molecule-associated protein involved in MHC class II-mediated signal transduction in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated 38B9 B cells. Although the function of hnRNP A2B1 in the nucleus is primarily known, the level of hnRNP A2B1 in the cytoplasm was increased in LPS-stimulated 38B9 cells, while it was not detected in the cytoplasm of non-treated 38B9 cells. The silencing of hnRNP A2B1 expression using siRNA disturbed B cell maturation by regulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling, NF-κB activation, and protein kinase B activation. These results suggest that hnRNP A2B1 is associated with MHC class II molecules and is involved in B cell activation signaling pathways in LPS-stimulated 38B9 cells.

Transmembrane protein 173 inhibits RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation.

Tmem173 was identified as a growth inhibitor associated with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II and a potential stimulator for IFN-ß, an innate immune inducer and a negative feedback controller for RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation of monocytic macrophage cells. In this study, we confirmed that transmembrane protein 173 (Tmem173) overexpression inhibited the expression of osteoclast-specific genes, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), cathepsin K, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), as well as bone resorption pit formation in RANKL-treated RAW 264.7 cells. Activation of osteoclast-specific transcription factors, c-Fos and nuclear factor of activated T cells cytoplasmic-1 (NFATc1), and RANKL-induced activation of ERK were also down-regulated by Tmem173 overexpression. Collectively, these results suggest that Tmem173 plays a regulatory role in RANKL-RANK-mediated signaling in osteoclastogenesis.

Differential gene expression activity among species-specific polypyrimidine/polypurine motifs in mu opioid receptor gene promoters.

The mu opioid receptor (MOR) is the principle molecular target of opioid analgesics. An appropriate understanding of MOR gene expression across species is critical for understanding its analgesic functions in humans. Here, we undertake a cross-species analysis of the polymorphic polypyrimidine/polypurine (PPy/u) motif, a key enhancer of MOR gene expression. The mouse PPy/u motif is highly homologous to those of rat (67%) and human (83%), but drives reporter gene expression tenfold and fivefold more effectively than those of rat and human, respectively. Circular dichroism profiles of PPy/u oligonucleotides from different species showed that they are primarily different in structure. Conformational studies of reporter plasmids using confocal Raman spectra, S1 nuclease and restriction enzymes demonstrated that the structural difference is the result of changes in the phosphodiester backbone. Furthermore, these conformational disparities produce differences in torsional stress, as shown by topoisomerase II relaxation and activation of different levels of gene expression under hypertonic conditions. This study demonstrates that homologous PPy/u motifs adopt unique species-specific conformations with different mechanisms and activities for gene expression. We further discuss how structural aspects of transcription regulatory elements, rather than the sequence itself, are significant when studying functional gene expression regulatory elements.

The polypyrimidine/polypurine motif in the mouse mu opioid receptor gene promoter is a supercoiling-regulatory element.

The mu opioid receptor (MOR) is the principle molecular target of opioid analgesics. The polypyrimidine/polypurine (PPy/u) motif enhances the activity of the MOR gene promoter by adopting a non-B DNA conformation. Here, we report that the PPy/u motif regulates the processivity of torsional stress, which is important for endogenous MOR gene expression. Analysis by topoisomerase assays, S1 nuclease digests, and atomic force microscopy showed that, unlike homologous PPy/u motifs, the position- and orientation-induced structural strains to the mouse PPy/u element affect its ability to perturb the relaxation activity of topoisomerase, resulting in polypurine strand-nicked and catenated DNA conformations. Raman spectrum microscopy confirmed that mouse PPy/u containing-plasmid DNA molecules under the different structural strains have a different configuration of ring bases as well as altered Hoogsteen hydrogen bonds. The mouse MOR PPy/u motif drives reporter gene expression fortyfold more effectively in the sense orientation than in the antisense orientation. Furthermore, mouse neuronal cells activate MOR gene expression in response to the perturbations of topology by topoisomerase inhibitors, whereas human cells do not. These results suggest that, interestingly among homologous PPy/u motifs, the mouse MOR PPy/u motif dynamically responds to torsional stress and consequently regulates MOR gene expression in vivo.

Dietary Korean mistletoe enhances cellular non-specific immune responses and survival of Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica).

The present study was performed to investigate the immunostimulatory effects of Korean mistletoe extract (KM-110; Viscum album Coloratum) on the non-specific immune response and protection against Aeromonas hydrophila infection in Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica). Eels were fed under 4 regimes, 0%, 0.1%, 0.5% and 1.0% KM-110 mixed diet. On day 14 after feeding, 15 fish from each group were injected i.p. with live A. hydrophila (3 x 10(6)CFU) and the remaining unchallenged fish from each group were used to study the innate immune response. On 14 days post-infection, the total survival rates were 26.6% in control, and 33.3%, 66.6% and 80% in 0.1%, 0.5% and 1% KM-110-treated groups, respectively. The maximum lysozyme activity was observed in the 1% KM-110-treated group. There was no significant difference of lysozyme activity between 0.1% and 0.5% KM-110 group. Superoxide anion (O(2)(-)) production was significantly (p<0.05) augmented in the 0.5% and 1% KM-110 groups compared to the control and 0.1% KM-110 group. No significant difference of (O(2)(-) production was found between 0.5% and 1% KM-110 group. Likewise, there was a significant increase in phagocytic activity in the 0.5% KM-110 group compared with the 0.1% group (p<0.05), but no significant difference between the 0.5% and the 1% KM-110 group indicating that 0.5% KM-110 concentration is suitable for stimulating maximum phagocytic activity resulting in a high amount of ROI production. Considering the present results, KM-110 could be utilized as a promising immunostimulating substance for a diet in aquaculture.