No Abstract Available.
Chondrocytes* ; Phenotype*

The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes of the position of the mental foramen according to age by using panorama of children with mixed and early permanent dentition. 180 panorama of 6 to 13-year-old boys and girls were analyzed and PiView(Infinitt, Korea) program was used.The horizontal position of the mental foramen was evaluated by the relative position of the teeth. The vertical position of the mental foramen was evaluated by the ratios between the distance from the center of the mental foramen to the inferior border of the mandible and the distance from to the alveolar crest to the inferior border of the mandible.The mental foramen was horizontally located in the anterior aspect of the second primary molar(premolar), and vertically slight below the half of mandibular body. As the age increased, it moved to the posterior and the downward and showed a significant correlation with age.
Adolescent ; Child ; Dentition, Permanent ; Female ; Humans ; Mandible ; Tooth

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to identify and compare perception of importance and satisfaction regarding communication needs among patients and nurses in emergency centers.METHODS: This study used a cross sectional design and included 64 of patients and 37 of nurses in emergency centers of university hospitals located in Daejeon. Data were collected with a self-administered questionnaire between April 2017 and June in 2017. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics.RESULTS: Regarding importance of communication needs, both groups of the patients and the nurses significantly recognized the importance of providing information such as performed tests and treatments and visiting time of charged physicians. Meanwhile, emotional supports and concern about social or cultural needs was recognized as less important communication needs among the patients and nurses. Regarding satisfaction of communication needs, patients were less satisfied with the needs they regarded as the most important and nurses showed moderate levels of satisfaction. This indicates that patients and nurses differ in the standards and expectations for communication performance.CONCLUSION: It is important that emergency room nurses should recognize the current situation in which the patients' desired communication needs are not being met and they should start to focus improvement effort and new directions of emergency room care systems to meet the communication needs.
Emergencies ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Statistics as Topic

The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the skeletal and dental maturity according to the vertical facial type and sex in Korean children in the developmental stage.
In total, 184 participants aged 8 - 14 years were selected and divided into three groups based on the mandibular plane angle. For the comparison between the sexes, the three groups were each divided into male and female subgroups. The skeletal and dental maturity were assessed using lateral cephalograms, hand-wrist radiographs and panoramic radiographs.
The vertical growth group showed significantly greater cervical vertebral and hand-wrist maturity than that in the horizontal growth group. Dental maturity was the highest in the vertical growth group. Girls showed greater skeletal maturity than boys, and no distinct difference was observed between the dental maturity of the sexes.
Analysis of the vertical facial type in children can provide ancillary indicators that may help determine the optimal timing for orthodontic treatment initiation. Earlier initiation of orthodontic treatment may be considered for patients with vertical facial growth patterns.

PURPOSE: Bone and cartilage were manufactured by using tissue engineering of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) which can differentiate into variety of cell types. MATERIAL AND METHOD: MSC was isolated and cultured from the rabbit weighing 500g, and it was seeded into PGA mesh and pre-cultured for 1 week with different TGF- beta 3 treated conditions. It was implanted into nude mice and tissues generated were recovered from 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 ,and 12 weeks respectively. Degree of bone and cartilage formation was analyzed with histology and immunohistochemistry assay. RESULT: Pre-culture condition with TGF- beta 3 treatment showed early start of chondrogenic differentiation, and degree of bone and cartilage formation was promoted as time passed. But both of the cases differentiated into complete bone after 12 weeks. CONCLUSION: The results show that pretreatment of TGF- beta 3 promotes the differentiation process in vivo condition under the in vivo system where MSC differentiate into bone via cartilage formation.
Animals ; Cartilage ; Immunohistochemistry ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells* ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Tissue Engineering

The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the influence of gestational age at exposure on the prenatal effects of gamma-radiation. Pregnant ICR mice were exposed to a single dose of 2.0 Gy gamma-radiation at a gestational 2.5 to 15.5 days post-coitus (p.c.). The animals were sacrificed on day 18 of gestation and the fetuses were examined for mortality, growth retardation, change in head size and any other morphological abnormalities. The only demonstrable effect of irradiation during the preimplantation period was an increase in prenatal mortality. Resorptions were maximal on post-exposure day 2.5 after conception. The pre-implantation irradiated embryos which survived did not show any major fetal abnormalities. Small head, growth retardation, cleft palate, dilatation of the cerebral ventricle, dilatation of the renal pelvis and abnormalities of the extremities and tail were prominent after exposure during the organogenesis period, especially on day 11.5 of gestation. Our results indicate that the late period of organogenesis in the mouse is a particularly sensitive phase in terms of the development of the brain, skull and extremities.
Abnormalities, Radiation-Induced/*pathology ; Animals ; Bone and Bones/abnormalities/radiation effects ; Female ; Fetal Death ; *Gamma Rays ; *Gestational Age ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Animal/*radiation effects ; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects

Background: The association between serum cholesterol levels and depression has been studied extensively; however, results are inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate the association between low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels and depressive symptoms among Korean adults. Methods: This cross-sectional study used data obtained from the 2007–2015 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. In total, 40,904 adults were included in the final analysis. Participants were categorized into five groups according to their LDL-C levels, using the Korean guidelines for dyslipidemia. Symptoms of depression were evaluated using a self-reported questionnaire. Weighted logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between LDL-C levels and self-reported depressive symptoms. Results: Compared with the intermediate category, the lowest (<70 mg/dL) and highest (≥160 mg/dL) LDL-C categories were associated with depressive symptoms, after adjusting for potential confounding factors (odds ratio [OR], 1.191; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.008–1.409; OR, 1.241; 95% CI, 1.073–1.435, respectively). The highest LDL-C category was positively associated with depressive symptoms in those who were middle-aged, female, had a low body mass index, and taking or not taking dyslipidemia medications. Conclusion A U-shaped association was identified between LDL-C categories and self-reported depressive symptoms. Our findings suggest that LDL-C levels that are too low or too high are associated with self-reported depressive symptoms. Further prospective studies are needed to determine the causal relationship of this association.

Unicornuate uterus with a rudimentary horn hematometra and bicornuate uterus with unilateral hematometra is rare congenital anatomic anomalys of the female genital system. these patients present with dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, pelvic mass, urinary tract anomalies and pelvic endometriosis. We have experienced a case of rudimentary uterine horn hematometra with agenesis of ipsilateral kidney and pelvic endometriosis in a 18 years old girl and a case of bicornuate uterus with unilateral hematometra associated with agenesis of ipsilateral kidney and pelvic endometriosis in a 14 years old girl. and we treated by laparoscopic management. So we report two cases with a brief review of literatures.
Adolescent ; Animals ; Dysmenorrhea ; Dyspareunia ; Endometriosis* ; Female ; Hematometra ; Horns ; Humans ; Kidney* ; Urinary Tract ; Uterus

PURPOSE: To determine the means, medians and reference intervals for TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) and fT4 (free thyroxine) for each month of gestation and for three trimesters in Korean pregnant women. METHODS: Serum samples were collected from 265 pregnant women with singleton gestation. Levels of TSH, fT4 were measured by immunoassay. After exclusion of subjects with positive antimicrosomal autoantibodies, the means, medians and reference intervals based on 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles for TSH, fT4 were determined. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 94 women in first trimester, 49 women in second trimester, and 122 women in third trimester. The trimester-specific reference intervals were: TSH (1st trimester: 0.03~2.72, 2nd: 0.27~2.29, and 3rd: 0.03~2.88 mIU/L), fT4 (1st trimester 4.50~19.75, 2nd: 4.70~12.98 and 3rd: 5.07~11.84 pg/mL). fT4 levels were significantly lower in the second and third trimesters. TSH levels were lower in the first trimester than second and third trimester, with gradual elevation in the second and third trimester. CONCLUSION: Levels of TSH, fT4 during pregnancy differ from those in non-pregnant women. Gestational age specific reference intervals will play a cental role in screening and diagnosis of thyroid disorders. Further studies for normal reference ranges during pregnancy are needed to create reference intervals in Korean pregnant women.
Autoantibodies ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Immunoassay ; Mass Screening ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimester, First ; Pregnancy Trimester, Second ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third ; Pregnant Women ; Reference Values ; Thyroid Function Tests ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyrotropin

Nitric oxide (NO) has been considered as an important mediator in inflammatory phases and in loss of cartilage. In inflammatory arthritis, NO levels are correlated with disease activity and articular cartilage is able to produce large amounts of NO with the appropriate inducing factor such as cytokines. The old animals are shown to have a greater sensitivity to NO than young animals. This study evaluated the basal production of NO in normal and OA-affected chondroyctes from young and old patients and compared the levels of NO formation in response to IL-1beta. The results showed that the basal levels were 7-fold higher in old chondrocytes than those of young cells. However, the IL-1beta induced NO production was seen to decrease with age. Aminoguianidine (AG), a competitive inhibitor of iNOS, inhibited NO formation completely in both chondrocytes from young and old individuals. However, at the same concentration of AG it caused partial inhibition of NO and iNOS formation in chondrocytes from OA-affected individuals. In addition, although the IL-1beta induced NO production was much lesser than that of young chondrocytes, the inhibition of collagen production by IL-1beta was prominent in old chondrocytes and OA-affected chondrocytes. These results suggest that age-related differences in the regulation of NO production and collagen production, which may affect the ageing cells and osteoarthritic changes in some way.
Aging/*physiology ; Cartilage, Articular/*physiopathology ; Cells, Cultured ; Chondrocytes/*metabolism ; Collagen Type II/metabolism ; Enzyme Inhibitors/pharmacology ; Guanidines/pharmacology ; Human ; Interleukin-1/pharmacology ; Nitric Oxide/*biosynthesis ; Osteoarthritis/*metabolism