The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) is a brief self-rating questionnaire for measuring resilience. The aims of the present study were to describe the development of a Korean version of the CD-RISC (K-CD-RISC) and to more firmly establish its psychometric properties in terms of reliability and validity. The participants consisted of a general population sample (n=194) and psychiatric outpatients (n=127) with non-psychotic mood or anxiety disorders. The K-CD-RISC score means (standard deviation) were 65.9 (13.6) in the general population and 50.4 (20.5) in the psychiatric outpatients. The mean score of the general population was significantly higher than that of the psychiatric outpatients. Exploratory factor analysis revealed five factors, and the obtained factor structure was verified through confirmatory factor analysis. In the general population, the Cronbach's α coefficient of the K-CD-RISC was found to be 0.92. Greater resilience was found to be associated with less perceived stress, anxiety and depression and with higher levels of positive affect and purpose in life. Taken together, our findings suggest that the K-CD-RISC has good psychometric properties and is a valid and reliable tool for assessing resilience.

This study was conducted to examine lymphocyte subset counts and mood states in panic disorder patients. Twenty patients with panic disorder and 20 age- and gender-matched normal healthy subjects were recruited for the study. We used the Spielberger State (STAIS) & Trait (STAIT) Anxiety Inventory, Hamilton Depression Rating scale (HAMD) and Hamilton Anxiety Rating scale (HAMA) to measure mood states in all subjects. Lymphocyte subsets counts were made by flow cytometry. Panic patients showed significantly higher scores for anxiety and depression than normal subjects. Panic patients showed no differences in terms of the numbers of immune cells, as compared with normal healthy subjects, other than a lower proportion of T suppressor cells and a higher T helper cell/T suppressor cell ratio. HAMA and STAIS scores were common factors that could predict T cell numbers and proportions, T helper cell numbers, and natural killer cell proportions in panic disorder patients. We suggest that anxiety levels are related to the T-cell population in panic disorder patients and that quantitative immune differences may reflect altered immunity in this disorder.

Many studies showed abnormal serotonin transporter (5-HTT) function and heart rate variability (HRV) in panic disorder patients. The present study investigated the relationship between HRV power spectral analysis findings and platelet serotonin uptake in panic disorder patients. Short-term HRV over 5 min and platelet serotonin transporter uptake parameters (Vmax and Km) were measured both in 45 patients with panic disorder and in 30 age-matched normal healthy control subjects. Low frequency power (LF) normalized unit (nu) and LF/high frequency power (HF) were significantly higher, whereas HF and HF nu were lower in the patient group than in the control group. Vmax and Km were all significantly lower (i.e., reflects decreased 5-HTT function) in patients with panic disorder than in normal controls. In the patient group, Km was negatively correlated with LF/HF and LF nu whereas no such correlations between them were found in the control group. By multivariate analysis based on multiple hierarchical linear regression, a low Km independently predicted an increased LF nu even after controlling for age, sex, and body mass index in the patient group. These results suggest that impaired 5-HTT function is closely related to dysregulation of autonomic nervous system in panic disorder.

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Adhesion strength between epoxy resin and carbon fiber was analyzed using various microbond types adhered onto a single carbon fiber. Experimental pull-out tests were performed for a quasi-disk type, a hemispherical type and a droplet type microbond specimen. The quasi-disk type microbond specimen showed high regression coefficient and low standard deviation in the measurement of interfacial shear strength data as compared with the droplet and hemispherical ones. Average value of interfacial shear strength for quasi-disk type was about 55% as large as those for the other types. Finite element analysis showed that the stress distributions along the interface in the quasi-disk type specimen did not have such drastic stress concentrations susceptible to variations in the specimen geometry as revealed in the cases of droplet and hemispherical types. The experimental data were different according to the kinds of loading device such as the microvise-tip and the pin-holed plate. The use of a pin-holed steel section was useful for testing the quasi-disk type microbond specimens to give low scattering in the measurement of strength data.

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