BACKGROUND: This study investigated whether there is any difference in drinking amount associated with abnormal expression of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), one of the biological markers of excessive drinking, between flushing and non-flushing women after drinking METHODS: The subjects were 797 women aged 20-59 years old who visited health promotion center of Chungnam National University Hospital between January, 2013 and July, 2014. Facial flushing status after drinking, amount of alcohol consumed per drinking episode, and the number of drinking days per week were assessed using a questionnaire. Age, abnormal GGT expression, smoking status, menopauase status, and body mass index (BMI) were obtained from the health screening data. The weekly drinking amount were categorized into <4 drinks; > or =4, <8 drinks; and > or =8 drinks. The association of abnormal GGT expression with weekly drinking amount was analyzed using multivariate logistic regression after controlling for confounding variables including age, smoking status, menopauase status, and BMI. RESULTS: Compared to nondrinkers, the abnormal GGT expression in the non-flushing group was significantly increased when the weekly drinking amount was > or =4 drinks (> or =4, <8 drinks: adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 37.568; 95% confidence interval [CI], 9.793-144.116; > or =8 drinks: aOR, 20.350; 95% CI, 20.350-305.138). On the other hand, the abnormal GGT expression in the flushing group was significantly increased in every weekly drinking amount range (<4 drinks: aOR, 4.120; 95% CI, 1.603-10.585; > or =4, <8 drinks: aOR, 79.206; 95% CI, 24.034-261.031; > or =8 drinks: aOR, 111.342; 95% CI, 30.987-400.079). For each weekly drinking amount range, the flushing group showed significantly higher abnormal GGT expression than the non-flushing group (<4 drinks: aOR, 3.867; 95% CI, 1.786-8.374; > or =4, <8 drinks: aOR, 57.277; 95% CI, 24.430-134.285; > or =8 drinks: aOR, 104.871; 95% CI, 42.945-256.091). CONCLUSION: This study showed that abnormal GGT expression in the flushing female drinkers was induced by smaller amounts of alcohol than in the non-flushing female drinkers.
Biomarkers ; Body Mass Index ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Confounding Factors (Epidemiology) ; Drinking* ; Female ; Flushing ; gamma-Glutamyltransferase* ; Hand ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Mass Screening ; Odds Ratio ; Smoke ; Smoking

BACKGROUND: This study was performed to examine the relationship between alcohol consumption and obesity according to facial flushing in Korean males. METHODS: The 1,198 men in this study were divided into four groups according to the amount of alcohol they consumed: non-drinkers (ND), lower moderate drinkers (LM, < or =7 standard drinks per week), higher moderate drinkers (HM, 7 to 14 drinks per week), and heavy drinkers (HD, >14 drinks per week). They were also separated into two groups according to facial flushing: non-flushers and flushers. Obesity and abdominal obesity were defined as body mass index of 25 kg/m2 or higher and waist circumference of 90 cm or higher, respectively. RESULTS: In LM and HM groups without flushing, the risks of obesity and abdominal obesity were not significantly increased compared to those of non-drinkers. However, in the HD group without flushing, those risks were significantly increased [OR, 1.55; confidence interval (CI), 1.01 to 2.40, and OR 1.63; CI 1.02 to 2.58, respectively]. In the LM group with flushing, those risks were not significantly increased. However, in HM and HD groups with flushing, the risks of obesity and abdominal obesity were significantly increased (OR, 2.10; CI, 1.07 to 4.16, and OR, 2.06; CI, 1.05 to 4.06, respectively, in HM; and OR, 2.16; CI, 1.08 to 4.34, and OR, 2.50; CI, 1.26 to 4.98, respectively, in HD). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the risk of obesity is increased in moderate flushing drinkers compared to non-drinkers and in heavy non-flushing drinkers.
Alcohol Drinking ; Body Mass Index ; Flushing ; Humans ; Male ; Obesity ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Waist Circumference

No abstract available.
Anesthesia* ; Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy*

Cranial capacity was measured in Korean adult skulls. The cavity was filled with rice seeds and the volume of the seeds were measured in a graduated cylinder. The results were 1470 +/- 107 (mean +/- standard deviation) in male and 1317 +/- 117 cc in female skulls. These values were in good accordance with those previously reported. In addition, regression formulae were obtained with the product of the length, breadth, and height of the skull as an independent parameter and the measured capacity as a dependent one. With known external measurements, the expected cranial capacity was as follows: when using baso-bregmatic height, male: capacity = 307.5 + 333 x 10(-6) x (length.breadth.baso-bregmatic height) female: capacity = -12.0 + 435 x 10(-6) x (length.breadth.baso-bregmatic height) and, when using auriculo-bregmatic height, male: capacity = 214.6 + 429 x 10(-6) x (length.breadth.auriculo-bregmatic height) female: capacity = 131.6 + 461 x 10(-6) x (length.breadth.auriculo-bregmatic height).
Adult ; Aged ; Brain/*anatomy & histology ; Female ; Human ; Male ; Middle Age ; Sex Factors ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Metric dimensions of skull of Korean adults were measured and the indices of each dimension were calculated to identify the morphological characteristics of neurocrania of Koreans in 97 cases. The results were as follows. The maximal anteroposterior length was 171.6±8.4 (149.0~191.0)mm and the maximal lateral length (maximal breadth) was 142.4±5.4 (128.0~155.0)mm. The horizontal cranial index was 83.3±5.0 and therefore the neurocrania of Koreans were classified to brachycranic type (rounded cranium). The auriculo-bregmatic height was 119.3±5.1mm and basio-bregmatic height was 140.5±4.9mm. The height-breadth index on the basis of the auriculo-bregmatic height was 98.5±3.6, and belong to medium skull. The height-length index was 81.8±3.8, therefore they belonged to high skull. Height-breadth index on the basis of auliculo-bregmatic height was 85.4±5.7, and belonged to medium skull, and the height-length index was 70.5±5.4 and belonged to high skull. In the case of mean height index, the auriculo-bregmatic height was 77.2±5.0 (high skull), basio-bregmatic height was 87.6±2.6 (high skull).
Adult* ; Humans ; Skull

No abstract available.
Renal Artery* ; Ureter* ; Veins*

No abstract available.
Arteries* ; Laryngeal Nerves* ; Thyroid Gland*

We studied the variations in the ventral rami of 152 brachial plexuses in 77 Korean adults. Brachial plexus were composed mostly of the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth cervical nerves and the first thoracic nerve (77.0%). In 21.7% of the cases examined, the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth cervical and the first thoracic nerves contributed to the plexus. A plexus composed of the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth cervical and the first and second thoracic nerves, and a plexus composed of the fifth, sixth, seventh eighth cervical nerves were also observed. The plexuses were classified into three groups according to cephalic limitation, and the plexus of group 2 in which the whole fifth cervical nerve enters the plexus, were observed the most frequent. The average diameter of the sixth and the seventh cervical ventral rami of the plexus was greatest and that of the fifth cervical was smallest. The largest nerve entering the plexus was the sixth or the seventh cervical nerve in about 79% of cases. The dorsal scapular nerve originated from the fifth cervical ventral ramus in 110 cases (75.8%). The long thoracic nerve was formed by joining of roots from the fifth, sixth, and seventh cervical nerves in 76.0% of cases. Also, a branch to the phrenic nerve, the suprascapular nerve, a nerve to the pectoralis major muscle and a nerve to the subscapular muscle arising from the ventral rami of the plexus were observed.
Brachial Plexus/*anatomy & histology ; Cervical Plexus/anatomy & histology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Thoracic Nerves/*anatomy & histology

The muscular branches of the ophthalmic artery have been described as the superior muscular artery and the inferior muscular artery. However, the definition of the muscluar arteries and their distribution has not been clarified. Therefore, the muscular branches of the ophthalmic artery in 80 orbits of Korean adults were observed under the surgical microscope. The inferior muscular artery was observed in 87.5% of the materials and the superior muscular artery was observed in 32.5%. The commen muscular branch distributing to the adjacent two muscles was observed more frequently(81.3%). The superior muscular artery and the common muscular branches were similar in their distribution according to their site of origin. Therefore, they were classified into the superolateral and superomedial arteries. The superolateral muscular artery was observed in 58.6%. and the superomedial muscular artery was observed in 71.3%. This study suggests that the ocular muscular arteries are better classified into 3 groups, namely inferior, superolateral, and superomedial muscular arteries.
Adult ; Arteries* ; Humans ; Muscles ; Ophthalmic Artery ; Orbit

The anatomy of the arteries distributing to the ocular rectus muscles has not been well known inspite of their importance during opertions. Eighty orbits of Koreans were dissected under the surgical microscope to find out the entering point and its distribution of each rectus artery. The average numbers of the branches of the artery that piercing the supenor, lateral, medial, and inferior recti were 4, 7, 7 and 6 respectively. The supenor rectus artery tended to pierce the posterior middle one third of the muscle; the medial and lateral rectus arteries tended to pierce the posterior two thirds of the muscles; and the inferior rectus artery tended to pierce the medial two tbrds of the muscle. The arterial branches piercing the anterior one third of the superior rectus were less than 1%, and those of the lateral, medial, and inferior recti were 5%, 10% and 15% respectively. The relationships between the artery and nerve differed in each muscle.
Arteries* ; Muscles* ; Orbit