A 62-year-old woman without vascular risk factors presented with left-sided weakness and numbness. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain depicted acute right hemispheric infarcts in the cortical and subcortical white matter. Initial MR angiography (MRA) showed large thrombus at the right carotid bifurcation. Valvular atrial fibrillation (vAF) with severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) was found on two-dimensional echocardiography. Serial follow-up computed tomography angiography (CTA) or MRA at 3, 9, and 15 days after anticoagulation alone showed complete resolution of the thrombus with no neurological deterioration. Our case suggests that prompt institution of anticoagulantion alone may result in radiologic resolution of the thrombus with improvement in patient’s clinical status.
Carotid Arteries

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate if the 7–item Berg balance scale (BBS) 3–point, which is a short form of the BBS (SFBBS), has compatible psychometric properties in comparison with the original BBS, and also to study the concurrent validity using a 10-meter walk test (10mWT) and a timed up and go test (TUG), which are widely used with SFBBS in clinical settings. METHODS: A total of 255 patients who had experienced stroke participated in this cross-sectional study. We used results obtained from 188 patients who completed both 10mWT and TUG. The three levels in the center of the BBS were collapsed to a single level (i.e.,0-2-4) to form the SFBBS. The concurrent validity was assessed by computing the Spearman coefficients for correlation among outcome measures and in between each outcome measure and the SFBBS. As there were four outcomes, the corrected p-value for significant correlation was 0.013 (0.05/4). RESULTS: Spearman coefficients for correlations and evaluation instruments for concurrent validity revealed significantly high validity for both of SFBBS and BBS (r=0.944). 10mWT and TUG were −0.749 and −0.770 respectively, which are in the high margin and are statistically significant (p>0.000). CONCLUSION: SFBBS has sound psychometric properties for evaluating patients with stroke. Thus, we recommend the use of SFBBS in both clinical and research settings.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Humans ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Psychometrics ; Stroke*

Background: This study aimed to identify factors influencing dementia-screening behaviors among community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults using the Korean Community Health Survey data in 2018. Methods: This cross-sectional study included community-dwelling adults aged ≥50 years. We used data related to socio-demographic and health-related factors and subjective cognitive function. We conducted a chi-squared test and multiple logistic regression analysis with weighted analysis. Results: Of 108,050 participants (men, 46.6%; ≥65 years old, 41.5%), only 13.4% (20,404 participants) performed dementia-screening. Using multiple logistic regression, we found that advanced age, female, and unemployed, having a low level of education, low monthly family income, and rural residence, no alcohol intake, no-smoking, hypertension, cognitive dysfunction, and awareness of the dementia helpline service center were positively associated with dementia-screening behaviors. Conclusions This study suggests the application of holistic approaches to improve dementia-screening behaviors among middle-aged and older adults considering their socioeconomic and health related conditions. Our findings highlight that government health programs should consider socio-economic status and awareness of dementia helpline services in designing dementia prevention programs.

BACKGROUND: The objective of the current study was to determine whether there was an association between urinary albumin excretion and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk by estimating the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) in postmenopausal women without diabetes. METHODS: This study was based on data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which was conducted by the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2011 to 2013. Data on 2,316 postmenopausal women from a total of 24,594 participants was included in the analysis. RESULTS: The mean FRS was significantly different in each of the urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (UACR) subgroups, and it increased with UACR. The FRS was 12.69±0.12 in the optimal group, 14.30±0.19 in the intermediate normal group, 14.62±0.26 in the high normal group, and 15.86±0.36 in the microalbuminuria group. After fully adjusting for potential confounding factors, high normal levels and microalbuminuria were significantly associated with the highest tertile of FRS ([odds ratio (OR), 1.642; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.124 to 2.400] and [OR, 3.385; 95% CI, 2.088 to 5.488], respectively) compared with the optimal subgroup. High normal levels and microalbuminuria were also significantly associated with a ≥10% 10-year risk of CVD ([OR, 1.853; 95% CI, 1.122 to 3.060] and [OR, 2.831; 95% CI, 1.327 to 6.037], respectively) after adjusting for potential confounding covariates. CONCLUSION: Urinary albumin excretion reflects CVD risk in postmenopausal women without diabetes, and high normal levels and microalbuminuria were independently associated with a higher risk of CVD.
Cardiovascular Diseases ; Creatinine ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Postmenopause

BACKGROUND: Microbial screening tests of umbilical cord blood (UCB) are essential for stem cell transplantation. We analyzed the microbial contamination rate and distribution of isolated microorganisms over 10 years of samples from the MEDIPOST Cord Blood Bank. In addition, we studied the influence of inoculum volume microorganism culture and compared the yield and speed of microorganism detection. METHODS: Microbial screening tests were performed using a manual method, which includes using an inoculum of 2 mL of plasma, a byproduct of UCB processing from pediatric culture bottles. When positive blood culture was detected, each set was once again inoculated with 2 mL and 4 mL of plasma. RESULTS: From 2004 to 2013, a total of 133,610 UCB units were screened, of which 1,311 (0.9%) tested positive for contamination. The most frequently identified microorganism was Escherichia coli (34.6%), followed by Bacillus spp. (12.8%), Enterococcus faecalis (5.3%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (4.4%). The total yield rate increased by 0.2% over this time period, although the yield rate of Bacillus spp. increased by 8.3%. CONCLUSION: The results of this study could be used in many ways with both domestic and international data regarding cord blood contamination. Also, other microbiology laboratories using culture conditions similar to ours could refer this study when preparing guidelines. Finally, by detecting low levels of bacteria, we have contributed to cord blood safety.
Bacillus ; Bacteria ; Enterococcus faecalis ; Escherichia coli ; Fetal Blood* ; Klebsiella pneumoniae ; Mass Screening ; Plasma ; Stem Cell Transplantation ; Umbilical Cord*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate individual pretreatment serum human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) cutoff value for medical treatment success with single-dose and multi-dose regimen of methotrexate in tubal ectopic pregnancy. METHODS: Eighty-five women who received methotrexate for the treatment of tubal ectopic pregnancy during 2003 to 2015 were selected. Fifty-three women received a single-dose regimen and 32 women received a multi-dose regimen. Medical treatment failure was defined as necessity of surgical treatment. The medical treatment success rate was estimated in both regimens and the pretreatment serum hCG titer to predict the success was assessed by receiver operating characteristics curve analysis. RESULTS: Pretreatment clinical and laboratory parameters were similar between group of single-dose regimen and multi-dose regimen. Treatment success rate was 64.2% in the single-dose regimen group and 71.9% in the multi-dose regimen group (P>0.05). Pretreatment serum hCG titer was an independent prognostic factor for treatment success in each regimen. Serum hCG cutoff value to predict the treatment success was 3,026 IU/L in single-dose regimen group and 3,711 IU/L in multi-dose regimen group. CONCLUSION: We recommend use of single-dose regimen when pretreatment serum hCG <3,026 IU/L but multi-dose regimen may be favored when initial serum hCG level between 3,026 and 3,711 IU/L.
Chorionic Gonadotropin* ; Female ; Humans* ; Methotrexate* ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Ectopic* ; Pregnancy, Tubal ; ROC Curve ; Treatment Failure

Anatomy is an essential subject for dental hygienists. As such, in order to form academic systems for dental hygiene program, we cannot ignore research related to basic dental hygiene, which is related to the main competency of a dental hygienist. This research focused on the operation status of the curriculum related to gross anatomy of the head and neck led by the department of dental hygiene and was performed in order to propose a new direction regarding academics. This research analyzed the offering status of the anatomy curriculum using shared information, released by both the Association of Korean Dental Hygienist and the homepage website of the national dental hygiene, as a foundation. In addition, we conducted a survey of 21 (25.6%) professors out of 82 dental hygiene institutions in the nation. The fill-in survey was composed in order to obtain knowledge on each department's offering and operation system of the anatomy curriculum, general characteristics of professor and demand for the anatomy education. The SPSS 20.0 Program was used to analyze all of the materials with the exception of operation statuses of anatomic curriculums constructed via open questions. Nationally, the subject related to the gross anatomy was opened in Semester 2 during the first year 56.2% of the time, and the oral anatomy class recorded the highest percentage of 45.3%. The general trend of the professors who participated in this research was the highest recording of 85.0% for holders of dental hygiene license. Those who acquired doctoral degrees were found to be 17 individuals (85.0%) and 45.0% majored in health science. The operation methods of anatomic practices were revealed to be models, drawings, and audiovisuals while external practices failed to meet even the half-point of the study. The consensus opinion has indicated the need for a integrated education with clinical subjects, cadaver practices, developments of educational media, and standardization of anatomic terminology. Standardization of educational contents and systemization of practices are necessary for the improvement of anatomic studies of students studying dental hygiene. Cultivating anatomy specialists and sharing activities between academia are required for long-term development. We expect this research to contribute to overall quality improvement and the dental hygiene profession through the establishment of majors.
Cadaver ; Consensus ; Curriculum ; Dental Hygienists ; Education* ; Head ; Humans ; Licensure ; Neck ; Oral Hygiene* ; Quality Improvement ; Specialization

Severe bark decay disease was observed on oak logs at a shiitake cultivation farm in Geochang-gun, Gyeongnam province. The symptoms observed were fruiting bodies that had developed on the top and side surface of oak logs. As a result, the bark came off easily exposing the sapwood. Slime mold specimens collected from oak logs showed developing fruiting bodies comprising of stalks, hypothallus, capillitium, and columella, and the causal agent of bark decay disease was identified as Stemonitis splendens on the basis of morphological characteristics. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Stemonitis splendens causing bark decay of oak logs used for shiitake mushroom cultivation in Korea.
Fruit ; Fungi ; Korea ; Shiitake Mushrooms

Clinicians and healthcare decision-makers conduct their clinical practice based on the results of clinical trials. However, some health problems remain unresolved; in such cases, further research is required. To ensure reliable research results, it is important to understand the study design and conduct well-designed clinical trials. Many study designs can be chosen within the two broad categories of observational and interventional. Clinical studies have a variety of designs, including case series, case-control, cross-sectional, and prospective and retrospective cohort studies. Well-designed clinical studies can clarify important differences between treatment options and provide data on long-term drug efficacy and safety. Interpreting the results of clinical trials can be difficult because weaknesses in research design, data collection methods, analytic methods, and reporting can compromise their value and usefulness. However, although randomized controlled trials are limited owing to ethical and practical issues, they are optimal for investigating the effects of therapy and establishing causality. Here we present an overview of different clinical research designs and review their advantages and limitations.

The aims of this study were to clarify the topography and variations stylopharyngeus (STP) and superior constrictor (SC) muscles, and to examine what role they play in the pharyngeal movement. Forty-four specimens (22 right and 22 left sides) from embalmed Korean adult cadavers (13 males, 9 females; age range, 46–89 years; mean age, 69.2 years) were used in this study. The accessory bundle of STP and petropharyngeus was found in 18.2% (8/44) and 25.0% (11/44) of cases, respectively. A variation of the STP, in which it ran transversely and merged with the SC muscle, was found in 2.3% (1/44) of cases while a variation of the SC muscle, in which it ran longitudinally and merged with the contralateral constrictors, was found in 11.4% (5/44). The variant muscle bundles play their own role in pharyngeal movement according to their morphology. These results provide information that will help a comprehensive understanding of the effects of pharyngeal muscles on movement.