Luteal phase defect (LPD) is an ovulatory disorder of considerable clinical importance that leads to delayed endometrial maturation and inadequate endometrium for blastocyst implantation. This disorder is implicated in infertility and recurrent spontaneous abortion. We analyzed the endometrial histological maturation, and the estrogen receptor(ER) and progesterone receptor(PR) status in patients with unexplained delayed ovulation, and in patients with ovulation induction by clomiphen citrate. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the length of the follicular phase influences the endometrial histological maturation and the hormonal receptor status, and to know the effect of clomiphen citrate on the endometrium. In the delayed ovulation group, the endometrium was characterized by an irregular outpouching and dilated lumina of the glands, a decreased secretory activity and predecidualization, and a decreased number of granulocytes in the stroma. In the clomiphen citrate-ovulation induction group, glandular proliferation was markedly diminished with poorly convoluted and narrow glands, secretory activity was decreased, stroma was undecidualized, and there was an absence of granulocytes. ER expression was increased in the glandular epithelium in the delayed ovulation group, and both ER and PR expressions were markedly decreased in the glandular epithelium and stromal cells in the ovulation induction group. Endometrial maturation and differentiation may be diminished by increased estrogenic and relatively deficient progesterone effects in patients with delayed ovulation. The hormonal receptor status might also be influenced by hormonal changes. Clomiphen citrate successfully induced ovulation in patients with delayed ovulation, however, endometrial proliferation and maturation were markedly suppressed. This might be related to the lower pregnancy rate and higher abortion rate in patients with clomiphen citrate induced ovulation.
Pregnancy ; Female ; Humans

We report three cases of neuroendocrine tumors of the lung characterized by large pleomorphic cell with frequent mitosis, which show neuroendocrine differentiation by both light microscopy or electron microscopy and iminunohistochemistry. These tumors have been categorized as large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma by Travis et al.(1991) in contrast with non-small cell lung cancer with neuroendocrine differentiation. In the latter, neuroendocrine differentiation is not evident by light microscopy and must be demonstrated by imunohistochemstry or by electron microscopy. The prognosis of large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma, together with non-small cell lung cancer with neuroendocrine differentiation, appears to be worse than cancer without neuroendocrine differentiation and intermediate between atypical carcinoid and small cell lung cancer. Larger numbers of patients will be needed to demonstrate significant differences in survival.
Lung Neoplasms

BACKGROUND: Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is an autoimmune disorder presenting low platelet count in peripheral blood without any other abnormalities in other blood cell lineage. There were many studies that investigated the mechanism of ITP and the factors related to its chronicity, but much remains controversial. Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is considered an indicator representing the severity of acute or chronic inflammation. The aim of this study was to assess whether NLR can predict the outcome of ITP and its chronicity.METHODS: Patients who were diagnosed as ITP at Dong-A University Hospital between March 2000 and March 2016 were analyzed retrospectively. NLR results and other medical records at diagnosis and after treatment were analyzed and compared between two groups; patients with single episode and chronic ITP group.RESULTS: Of a total of 67 patients, 39 patients (58.21%) were chronic ITP. Patients with single episode showed low NLR at diagnosis than patients with chronic ITP (1.23±1.38 vs. 1.54±1.15, P=0.42), but NLR after recovery were significantly high (1.58±1.71 vs. 1.31±0.76, P=0.21). However, patients with chronic ITP showed a trend of high NLR at the time of relapse.CONCLUSION: Chronic ITP patients showed higher NLR at the time of diagnosis compared with the patients with single episode. Also, the NLR at the time of relapse showed higher level compared to those at diagnosis. Relationship between NLR and chronic ITP need to be further studied.
Blood Cells ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Lymphocytes ; Medical Records ; Neutrophils ; Platelet Count ; Prognosis ; Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The epidermoid cyst is a common benign disease of the skin caused by inflammation of hair cortex follicles and proliferation of epidermal cells within the dermis or superficial subcutaneous tissue. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of epidermoid cysts of the external auditory canal (EAC) by analyzing the clinical and radiologic features. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The clinical records were retrospectively reviewed for patients diagnosed with epidermoid cyst of the EAC from March 2004 to December 2013. The epidermoid cysts were diagnosed clinically by endoscopy and microscopy examinations and by temporal bone CT images, and were confirmed by histopathologic examination. Characteristics of epidermoid cysts in bony EAC and cartilaginous EAC were compared. RESULTS: Eight patients had an epidermoid cyst in the bony EAC and nine patients had one in the cartilaginous EAC. Swelling and otalgia were common symptoms, but 47% of cysts were found incidentally. The mean age of patients was 49.6 years (age range, 26-67 years) in the bony EAC cases and 26.1 years (age range, 6-57 years) in the cartilaginous EAC cases. The mean size of the epidermoid cyst was 3.50 mm (size range, 2-7 mm) in the bony EAC cases and 9.55 mm (size range, 2-20 mm) in the cartilaginous EAC cases. CONCLUSIONS: Comparison of epidermoid cysts of the bony EAC and the cartilaginous EAC revealed that epidermoid cysts of the bony EAC is usually found incidentally, arose in older patients and had smaller size.
Dermis ; Ear Canal* ; Earache ; Endoscopy ; Epidermal Cyst* ; Hair ; Humans ; Incidental Findings ; Inflammation ; Microscopy ; Retrospective Studies ; Skin ; Subcutaneous Tissue ; Temporal Bone

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the effect of first nocturnal ejaculation timing on risk and sexual behaviors of Korean male adolescents. METHODS: We analyzed data from the 10th edition of the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based survey that was conducted with male high school adolescents in grades 10–12. The survey included 17,907 adolescents, and 10,326 responded their experience of first nocturnal ejaculation. Of these, 595 had their first nocturnal ejaculation in ≤grade 4 (“early puberty”) and 9,731 had their first nocturnal ejaculation in ≥grade 5 (“normal puberty”). We analyzed differences between these 2 groups in risk and sexual behaviors. RESULTS: Early first nocturnal ejaculation showed a positive association with sexual intercourse (odds ratio [OR], 3.27; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.56–4.17), sexual debut at elementary school age (OR, 7.45; 95% CI, 5.00–11.10), and having had a sexually transmitted disease (OR, 6.60; 95% CI, 3.94–11.08). After a multiple logistic regression to adjust for socio-demographic variables, early first nocturnal ejaculation was still positively associated with sexual intercourse (OR, 2.73; 95% CI, 2.03–3.69), sexual debut at elementary school age (OR, 5.96; 95% CI, 3.47–10.22), and having had a sexually transmitted disease (OR, 5.17; 95% CI, 2.52–10.20). Early first nocturnal ejaculation was positively associated with alcohol consumption, smoking, and substance use. However, this was not statistically significant after adjusting for several socio-demographic variables. CONCLUSION: There is a positive association between early nocturnal ejaculation and sexual behaviors in male adolescents. Proactive education about sexual behaviors is required for adolescents who reach sexual maturity early.
Adolescent* ; Alcohol Drinking ; Coitus ; Education ; Ejaculation* ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Male* ; Puberty ; Risk-Taking ; Sexual Behavior* ; Sexually Transmitted Diseases ; Smoke ; Smoking

A sudden hearing loss with vertigo may originate from vascular insufficiency and sometimes presents as an initial manifestation of posterior brain circulation infarction. However, it is unusual that sudden hearing loss and vertigo present as a prodrome of transient ischemic attack. Here we describe the case of a 54-year-old male patient with hypertension who presented with a sudden onset of hearing loss in his right ear and recurrent severe, whirling type dizziness without associated neurological signs or symptoms. The diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was normal on initial presentation. Ten days later, however, the patient developed dysarthria. A follow-up MRI including the diffusion-weighted images was normal but cerebral angiography showed severe narrowing of right vertebral artery. Transient ischemic attack caused by vertebrobasilar artery stenosis should be considered in sudden hearing loss and vertigo, especially patients with vascular risk factors, even though images of brain MRI are normal.
Arteries ; Brain ; Cerebral Angiography ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Dizziness ; Dysarthria ; Ear ; Ear, Inner* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing Loss, Sudden ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Infarction ; Ischemic Attack, Transient* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors ; Vertebral Artery* ; Vertebrobasilar Insufficiency* ; Vertigo

The ethical statement was omitted unintentionally.

Based on the rDNA ITS sequences data, specific primer set for PCR detection of wood-decaying fungus Phellinus linteus was designed. The length of PCR products using designed primer set(SHF and SHR) was about 540 bp. Among 11 species, 17 isolates of Phellinus spp. including Phellinus linteus, P. pomaceus, P. spiculosus, P. baumi, P. pini, P. igniarius, P. gilvus, P. biscuspidatus, P. weirii, P. johnsonianus, P. robutus, and P. igniarius, seven isolates of Phellinus linteus showed about 540 bp-sized single band. This molecular technique could offer a useful tool for detecting and identifying Phellinus linteus.
DNA, Ribosomal* ; Fungi* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction

URP primers of 20 mer derived from repetitive sequence of rice were used to assess genetic variation of oyster mushroom consisting of 10 cultivars of Pleurotus ostreatus, two cultivars of P. florida and two cultivars of P. sajor-caju which were registered in Korea. URP2F and URP38F primers produced cultivar-specific PCR polymorphic bands in the Pleurotus species. UPGMA cluster analysis using the URP-PCR data showed that 14 Pleurotus cultivars are genetically clustered into large three groups. The URP-PCR data provided important information for more efficient breeding strategies of Pleurotus cultivars.
Breeding ; Dermatoglyphics* ; Florida ; Genetic Variation ; Korea* ; Ostreidae* ; Pleurotus* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid

Background: Patients with stable psoriasis showing clearear-clear response can consider extending the dosing interval of biologics. However, few studies have reported the treatment outcomes following irregular dosing intervals of biologics in patients with psoriasis. Objective: We compared treatment outcomes after regular and irregular dosing intervals of biologics in patients with psoriasis. Methods: This single-center, retrospective observational study included patients who received biologics for treatment of plaque psoriasis between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2019. We compared patient demographics, clinical characteristics, biologics administered, and treatment outcomes based on the regularity of the dosing interval. Results: Among 95 patients investigated, 63 (66.3%) received biologics at regular dosing intervals. We observed no significant intergroup differences in the final Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) scores (1.2 vs. 1.8, p=0.16) and in the percentage improvement in PASI scores from baseline levels (−89.8% vs. −90.8%, p=0.68). The rate at which biologics were switched was higher in the irregular-dosing group than in the regular-dosing group; however, the difference was statistically nonsignificant (28.1% vs. 12.7%, p=0.06). We observed a significant intergroup difference in patients who were administered guselkumab at baseline (12 [21.8%] vs. 0 [0.0%], p=0.01). Conclusion This study showed that compared with regular dosing intervals, irregular dosing intervals of biologics were associated with high rates of switching of these agents, although we observed no statistically significant differences with regard to PASI scores. Therefore, it is important to adhere to the standard dosing schedule prescribed for biologics, and guselkumab may improve patient compliance.