No abstract available.
Urinary Incontinence*

No abstract available.
Esophageal Atresia*

BACKGROUND: Smoking is the single most important factor for the prevention of diseases and the promotion of health. The objectives of this study are to compare the health related quality of life and other factors between the adult male smokers and nonsmokers. METHODS: Study subjects were selected from the parents of students of three schools; one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school in Suwon city, Kyungki Do. Among 2,308 respondents to the questionnaire, 1,127 were analyzed. The questionnaire consisted of questions of general socioeconomic status, health related quality of life questionnaire, Fagerstrom nicotine tolerance questionnaire, and the Why test. RESULTS: There were no significant socioeconomic differences between the smokers and nonsmokers except religion(p=0.000). The smoking rate of the subjects was 66.2%, the average amount of smoking was 18.28 cigarettes per day, and the mean nicotine dependence score was 3.99+/-2.33. Smokers ranked lower scores in all scales of the health related quality of life than nonsmokers. The health related quality of life of the group of high nicotine dependence was low in comparison with the group of low nicotine dependence. The most common reason of smoking was to relieve tension. CONCLUSION: Smokers ranked lower scores in all scales of the health related quality of life than nonsmokers.
Adult* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Gyeonggi-do* ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Male* ; Nicotine ; Parents ; Quality of Life* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Social Class ; Tobacco Products ; Tobacco Use Disorder ; Weights and Measures

PURPOSE: This study was performed to evaluate shear bond strength (SBS) between three dual-cured resin cements and silica coated zirconia, before and after thermocycling treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty specimens were cut in 15 x 2.75 mm discs using zirconia. After air blasting of 50 microm alumina, samples were prepared by tribochemical silica coating with Rocatec(TM) plus. The specimens were divided into three groups according to the dual-cure resin cement used: (1) Calibra silane+Calibra(R), (2) Monobond S+Multilink(R) N and (3) ESPN sil+RelyX(TM) Unicem Clicker. After the resin cement was bonded to the zirconia using a Teflon mold, photopolymerization was carried out. Only 10 specimens in each group were thermocycled 6,000 times. Depending on thermocycling treatment, each group was divided into two subgroups (n=10) and SBS was measured by applying force at the speed of 1 mm/min using a universal testing machine. To find out the differences in SBS according to the types of cements and thermocycling using the SPSS, two-way ANOVA was conducted and post-hoc analysis was performed by Turkey's test. RESULTS: In non-thermal aged groups, SBS of Multilink group (M1) was higher than that of Calibra (C1) and Unicem (U1) group (P<.05). Moreover, even after thermocycling treatment, SBS of Multilink group (M2) was higher than the other groups (C2 and U2). All three cements showed lower SBS after the thermocycling than before the treatments. But Multilink and Unicem had a significant difference (P<.05). CONCLUSION: In this experiment, Multilink showed the highest SBS before and after thermocycling. Also, bond strengths of all three cements decreased after thermocycling.
Aluminum Oxide ; Ceramics* ; Fungi ; Polytetrafluoroethylene ; Resin Cements* ; Silicon Dioxide

Numerous studies have aimed to develop novel advanced vaccines, in part because traditional vaccines have been unsuccessful in preventing rapidly emerging and reemerging viral and bacterial infections. There is a need for an advanced vaccine delivery system to ensure the successful induction of humoral and cellular immune responses. In particular, the ability of nanovaccines to modulate intracellular antigen delivery by inducing exogenous antigens (loaded onto major histocompatibility complex class 1 molecules) in CD8+ T cells, the so-called cross-presentation pathway, has attracted a great deal of attention. Protection against viral and intracellular bacterial infections relies on cross-presentation.This review discusses the advantages, requirements, and preparation of nanovaccines, the cross-presentation mechanism, the several parameters affecting cross-presentation by nanovaccines, and future perspectives.

PURPOSE: We evaluated the efficacy and safety of transdermal 1% testosterone gel in Korean men with late-onset hypogonadism from Aug. 2004 to Dec. 2005 in a prospective, fixed-dose, placebo-uncontrolled, open label, multicenter study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From the 5 urological centers in Korea, a total of 87 male patients older than 40 years who were diagnosed with late-onset hypogonadism with serum testosterone lower than 350 ng/dl or serum free testosterone lower than 73.5 pg/ml were enrolled. Among the 87 enrolled 68 patients completed the daily application of 1% testosterone gel according to the standard consumer guidelines for the full 12-week period. We compared the data at baseline and at 4, 8, and 12 weeks follow-up using the Aging Males' Symptoms (AMS) scale, the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF)-15, the International Prostate Symptoms Score (IPSS), and the serum levels of total and free testosterone and prostate specific antigen (PSA). RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 56.5+/-12.7 years. The total scores for the AMS scores at baseline, 4, 8, and 12 weeks were 43.5+/-12.2, 36.6+/-12.3, 33.8+/-11.2, and 34.2+/-11.0, respectively (p<0.0001 vs. baseline). Total and free testosterone levels at baseline were 259.8+/-119.4 ng/dl and 50.5+/-24.7 pg/ml, and at 12 weeks were 594.5+/-376.6 ng/dl and 139.5+/-110.7 pg/ml, respectively (p<0.0001 vs. baseline). IIEF scores increased from 34.7+/-8.5 at baseline to 43.2+/-8.7 at 12 weeks (p<0.0001). There were no significant changes in serum PSA levels. The most commonly reported adverse events were acne and itching at the site of application. The majority of adverse events were mild, reversible, and short in duration. CONCLUSIONS: Testogel(R) showed highly effective clinical and biochemical recovery with good tolerance in Korean men with late-onset hypogonadism.
Acne Vulgaris ; Aging ; Andropause ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hypogonadism* ; Korea ; Male ; Prospective Studies* ; Prostate ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; Pruritus ; Testosterone*

In order to evaluate the effect of cardiac rhythm on hemodynamic changes and pulmonary arterial atrial natriuretic peptide(ANP) levels after percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty(PMV), we measured and analyzed the correlations between hemodynamic parameters and pulmonary arterial ANP levels in 65 patients with mitral stenosis before, 20 minutes, and 24 hours after PMV. The results are as follows: 1) Normal sinus rhythm was present in 49 patients(group1), whereas the other sixteen (group 2) had chronic atrial fibrillation. 2)PMV decreased mean left atrial pressure(LAP) in both groups(p<0.001). Left atrial volume was also reduced after PMV in group 1(p<0.0001), whereas it was not decreased significantly in group 2. 3) Pulmonary arterial ANP levels at 24 hours after PMV decreased significantly in group 1(p<0.001), compared to those prior to PMV. However there was no significantl changes in group 2. 4) In group 1, there was a significant linear relationship between extents of drop in pulmonary arterial ANP levels and LAP, measured 24hours after PMV. These results suggest that ANP secretion might be influenced not only by hemodynamic changes of the left atrium, but also by possible structural changes of left atrial wall induced by chronic atrial fibrillation.
Atrial Fibrillation ; Atrial Natriuretic Factor ; Heart Atria ; Hemodynamics* ; Humans ; Mitral Valve Stenosis

BACKGROUND: Beta-adrenergic receptor Kinase 1(betaARK1) is a serine/threonine kinase attached, which inhibits the coupling of beta-adrenergic receptor with G-protein. Myocardial betaARK1 level is usually elevated in heart failure and hypertrophy, but it is not known whether the circulating betaARK1 level is related with the degree of cardiac hypertrophy. This study was performed to evaluate the association of the betaARK1 level in circulating mononuclear leukocytes(MNL) in untreated hypertension with left ventricular mass in hypertensive patients. Method: Nineteen non-treated hypertensive patients were included for this study. High blood pressure was confirmed when systolic BP is over 150 mmHg or diastoli BP is over 95 mmHg. Echocardiography was performed to evaluate the degree of hypertrophy by measuring the left ventricular mass index(LVMI) and relative wall thickness(RWT), and test the LV function by measuring the ejection fraction(EF) according to ASE guideline. At the same time, blood was collected from each patient and MNL were isolated by gradient centrifuge with Ficoll-400. Total RNA was purified from MNL and semi-quantitative RT-PCR was performed. After reverse transcription, PCR was done with primers for human betaARK1 and GAPDH as external control. betaARK1 levels were expressed by ratio to GAPDH level and estimated the relations with clinical and Echocardiographic parameters. Result: We studied confirmed 19 hypertensive patients(10 men and 9 women, mean age of 50.6 years). Echocardiographically measured indices(mean+/-SD) were as follows; LVMI(137.3+/-30.6g/m2), PWT(0.53+/-0.09) and EF(54.6+/-8.5%). Ratio of betaARK1 levels to GAPDH was from 0.10 to 0.96 (0.62+/-0.25). betaARK1 levels were correlated with LVMI(correlation coefficient: r=.502, p=.029) and RWT(r=.627, p=.004). But Systolic BP(r=0.009, p=.93), diastolic BP(r=.07, p=.85) or EF(r=.045, p=.84) were not related to level of betaARK1. CONCLUSIONS: The betaARK1 level of circulating MNL was correlated well with the degree of the cardiac hypertrophy estimated by LVMI and RWT. This data suggests that activation of sympatho-adrenal system would exert a major role in developing cardiac hypertrophy and we can expect the decreased responsiveness to catecholamine in the heart of hypertensive patients. betaARK1 in circulating MNL might be used as a predictor or marker for LV hypertrophy in hypertensive patients.
beta-Adrenergic Receptor Kinases ; Cardiomegaly ; Echocardiography ; Female ; GTP-Binding Proteins ; Heart ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypertrophy ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear* ; Male ; Phosphotransferases ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Reverse Transcription ; RNA

No abstract available.
Polymerase Chain Reaction*

To evaluate the clinical significance of atrioventricular blocks in acute inferior myocardial infarction, we reviewed the clinical recordes of 75 patients who were diagnosed as acute inferior myocardial infarction with or without associated atrioventricular conduction blocks and compared the difference in clinical observation and laboratory data including coronary angiography between these two groups of patients. We also followed the clinical courses of atrioventrticualr block during admission among the patients with blocks. 1) 40% of 75 patients had atrioventricualr block associated with acute inferior myocardial infarction and there were 7 first-degree, 8 second-degree and 15 third-degree atrioventricular blocks. 2) There was no statistically significant differences between two groups in mean age ; Killip classification : incidence of previous prodromal angina ; incidende of associated initial symptoms such as dyspnea, nausea, and syncope ; risk factors such as smoking, hypertension and previous muocardial infarction and incidence of complication such as ventricular arrhythmias and heart faliure. 3) The peak serum CK(1,442.9+/-1,703.6 vs. 1,942.8+/-2,022.9IU/L, P<0.01)and LDH(1,014.7+/-429.7 vs. 1,579.2+/-1,544.9 IU/L, P<0.01) levels were significantly higher in the patients group with atrioventricualr blocks than in the patient grouop without blocks. 4) Left ventricualr resting ejection fraction obtained by radinuclide geted blood pool heart scan was significantly less in the patient group with atrioventricular blocks than in the patient group without blocks. 5) The prevalence of multivessel disease and that of associated left anterior descending artery lesion showe no differences between two patient groups. 6) Hospatal mortality of two patient groups were 9.8% and 16.6% respectively and had no statistical significance. 7) Among the patients who had associated atrioventricualr blocks, 70% of patients showed temporary course of block for mean 4.8days, and 6.7% developed permanent first degree block.
Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Arteries ; Atrioventricular Block ; Classification ; Coronary Angiography ; Dyspnea ; Heart ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Incidence ; Infarction ; Inferior Wall Myocardial Infarction* ; Mortality ; Nausea ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Syncope