Background: This study aimed to determine the effect of ramen sauce on tooth tone changes over time, after selecting three different ramen colors from the ramens sold in the market, and applying the sauce to bovine teeth. Methods: Healthy bovine teeth were selected, and cutting discs were used to produce 60 specimens (5×5×3 mm), with 15 specimens distributed per county. Three types of ramen (buldak, chacharoni black bean sauce, and ottogi curry noodle) were used as the experimental group, and water was used as the negative control group. Tooth tone measurement was performed using a spectrophotometer (CM-700d) to measure the color before and after 1 (3 h 44 min), 2 (7 h 28 min), 3 (11 h 12 min), and 4 weeks (14 h 56 min). Analysis of the color tone change was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 28. Results: In the experimental group, there was a significant color tone change before and after immersion. L* indicated the largest change in black bean sauce ramen, a* indicated buldak ramen, and b* indicated the largest change in curry ramen. The amount of color change (ΔE*) was the largest in curry ramen, followed by buldak and black bean sauce ramens. The results of the post-hoc analysis showed significant differences between all groups except buldak and black bean sauce ramens. Conclusion All three types of ramen revealed significant color change before and after immersion, and curry ramen showed the largest amount of color change among them.

PURPOSE: MMP-2, 72 kDa-type IV collagenase, plays a major role in the migration and growth of tumor cells, a process that requires the disintegration of basement membrane. Activation of MMP-2 is correlated with the invasiveness of various tumors. The aim of this study was to determine the sequence-specific phosphorothioated oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) inhibiting the translation of MMP-2 mRNA and the subsequent invasiveness of tumor cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eight types of antisense ODNs were designed and each (8micro gram/ml) were transfected into HT1080 cells. The effects of these antisense ODNs on MMP expression were examined by gelatin zymography, Western blot, Northern blot and matrigel assay. RESULTS: Antisense-5 (+904~923), antisense-6 (+1274~+1293) and antisense-7 (+1646~+1665) reduced the MMP-2 activity of the culture supernatant in HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells. Treatment with antisense-6 showed inhibition of MMP-2 mRNA and protein, and in vitro invasion in a dose-dependent manner. CONCLUSION: Antisense-6 might be one of the therapeutic candidates for tumor invasion and metastasis.
Basement Membrane ; Blotting, Northern ; Blotting, Western ; Collagenases ; Fibrosarcoma* ; Gelatin ; Humans* ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 2* ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Oligodeoxyribonucleotides ; RNA, Messenger

PURPOSE: Little is known about the clinical features of advanced gastric cancer (AGC) combined with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). The main objective of this study was to determine the clinical outcome of patients with AGC complicated by DIC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of 68 AGC patients diagnosed with DIC at four tertiary medical centers between January 1995 and June 2010. RESULTS: Sixty eight patients were included. The median age was 55 years (range, 25 to 78 years). Nineteen patients received chemotherapy, whereas 49 patients received only best supportive care (BSC). The median overall survival (OS) of the 68 patients was 16 days (95% confidence interval [CI], 11 to 21 days). Significantly prolonged OS was observed in the chemotherapy group, with a median survival of 61 days compared to 9 days in the BSC group (p<0.001, log-rank test). Age and previous chemotherapy were another significant factors that were associated with OS in univariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, age (> or =65 vs. <65; hazard ratio [HR], 0.38; 95% CI, 0.18 to 0.78; p<0.001), chemotherapy (BSC vs. chemotherapy; HR 0.31; 95% CI, 0.15 to 0.63; p<0.001), and previous chemotherapy (yes or no; HR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.25 to 0.98; p<0.045) were consistently independent prognostic factors that impacted OS. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that patients with AGC complicated by DIC had very poor OS, and suggested that chemotherapy might improve OS of these patients.
Dacarbazine ; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation* ; Drug Therapy* ; Humans ; Multivariate Analysis ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms*

PURPOSE: Paraffin-embedded tissue samples from the gastrointestinal tract, which had been diagnosed as tumors of a mesenchymal origin, were reviewed by an immunohistochemical staining method. The prognostic significances of the immunohistochemical subtypes and anatomical locations were also investigated. GIST, as a new grading system, was compared with the pre-existing system for its useful prognostic significance. METHODS: 122 cases were evaluated and classified by immunohistochemical staining for KIT, CD34, actin, desmin, vimentin, S-100 protein and NSE. RESULTS: Positivity for both KIT and CD34 of 92.6 and 73.8%, respectively, indicated that KIT was more effective for the diagnosis of GISTs. The stomach (62.3%) and small bowel (23.7%) were most common organs of GIST. There was no difference in the prognosis between these two organs. Immunophenotypically, the uncommitted, myoid, combined and neural types were 37.7, 23.7, 20.2 and 7%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the prognosis between these types. The old grading system showed no difference between the borderline and malignant groups (P=0.14), whereas, the new grading system showed a significant difference between the intermediate and high risk groups (P=0.01). CONCLUSION: KIT is more useful for the diagnosis of GOSTs. The immunophenotypical classification and anatomical location showed no prognostic significance in GISTs. Therefore, the new grading system might be more useful than older system.
Actins ; Classification ; Desmin ; Diagnosis* ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors* ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Immunohistochemistry* ; Prognosis ; S100 Proteins ; Stomach ; Vimentin

In order to assess changes in the activity of immunecompetency present in Crassostrea gigas infected with Marteilioides chungmuensis (Protozoa), the total hemocyte counts (THC), hemocyte populations, hemocyte viability, and phagocytosis rate were measured in oysters using flow cytometry. THC were increased significantly in oysters infected with M. chungmuensis relative to the healthy appearing oysters (HAO) (P<0.05). Among the total hemocyte composition, granulocyte levels were significantly increased in infected oysters as compared with HAO (P<0.05). In addition, the hyalinocyte was reduced significantly (P<0.05). The hemocyte viability did not differ between infected oysters and HAO. However, the phagocytosis rate was significantly higher in infected oysters relative to HAO (P<0.05). The measurement of alterations in the activity of immunecompetency in oysters, which was conducted via flow cytometry in this study, might be a useful biomarker of the defense system for evaluating the effects of ovarian parasites of C. gigas.
Animals ; Cell Count ; Cell Survival ; Cercozoa/*immunology/*pathogenicity ; Crassostrea/*immunology ; Flow Cytometry ; Granulocytes/immunology ; Hemocytes/immunology ; Phagocytosis

This study evaluated the association of periurethral calcification (PUC) with uroflowmetric parameters and symptom severity in male patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The data were collected from a prospectively maintained database of 1321 men with LUTS of BPH who visited Chonnam National University Hospital (Gwang-ju, Korea) from January 2015 to December 2019. PUC severity and location were evaluated on the midsagittal plane during transrectal ultrasonography. Relationships among age, prostate-related parameters, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), and uroflowmetric parameters were assessed. Among the 1321 patients in this study, 530 (40.1%) had PUC. Patients with PUC had significantly higher IPSS (mean ± standard deviation [s.d.]: 15.1 ± 8.7 vs 13.1 ± 7.9; P < 0.001) and lower peak flow rate (Qmax; mean ± s.d.: 12.4 ± 6.6 ml s^-1 vs 14.7 ± 13.3 ml s^-1; P < 0.001), compared with patients who did not have PUC. Analyses according to PUC severity revealed that patients with severe PUC had higher prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level (P = 0.009), higher total IPSS (P < 0.001), lower Qmax (P = 0.002), and smaller prostate volume (P < 0.001), compared with patients who had non-severe (mild or moderate) PUC. Multivariate analysis showed that distal PUC was independently associated with high total IPSS (P = 0.02), voiding symptom score (P = 0.04), and storage symptom score (P = 0.023), and low Qmax (P = 0.015). In conclusion, PUC was significantly associated with worse LUTS parameters in terms of IPSS and Qmax. Furthermore, distally located PUC was independently associated with worse LUTS of BPH in men.
Humans ; Male ; Prostatic Hyperplasia/diagnostic imaging* ; Prostate/diagnostic imaging* ; Clinical Relevance ; Hyperplasia ; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms/complications* ; Calcinosis/diagnostic imaging*

Background: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common type of adult leukemia in Western countries but is rare in the East Asian countries. Due to its rarity and the lack of feasible novel agents and laboratory prognostic tools, there are limited data on the clinical outcomes of this disease in Asia. To clarify the current treatment status, we performed a multicenter retrospective analysis of patients with CLL in Korea. Methods: The medical records of 192 eligible patients between 2008 and 2019 were reviewed for clinical characteristics, treatment courses, and outcomes. The first-line treatment regimens of the patients included in this analysis were as follows: fludarabine/cyclophosphamide/rituximab (FCR) (N=117, 52.7%), obinutuzumab plus chlorambucil (GC) (N=30, 13.5%), and chlorambucil monotherapy (N=24, 10.8%). Results: The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 55.6 months, and the average 2-year PFS rate was 80.3%. PFS was not significantly different between the patients receiving FCR and those receiving GC; however, chlorambucil treatment was associated with significantly inferior PFS (P ＜0.001). The median overall survival was 136.3 months, and the average 5- and 10-year OS rates were 82.0% and 57.4%, respectively. Conclusion This is one of the largest studies involving Korean patients with CLL. Although the patients had been treated with less favored treatment regimens, the outcomes were not different from those reported in Western studies.