Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the intrauterine insemination (IUI) success rate and to define the variables for predicting success. Methods: The secondary data analysis was used with data collected from infertile females who underwent IUI in Fertility and IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) clinics, who benefited from the ‘National Medical-aid Program for ART (assisted reproductive technology) in 2016’, in which the data of 34,920 IUI cases were retrospectively reviewed. The primary outcome measure was the clinical pregnancy rate in elderly and young infertile females. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, χ2 test and logistic regression. Results: The pregnancy rate was 12.1% (2,095 cases) in elderly infertile females and 15.6% in young infertile females (2,758 cases) (χ2 = 87.90, p < .001). Using the logistic regression analysis, clinical pregnancy was positively associated with the ovulatory factor (OR= 1.48, p< .001) and male factor (OR= 1.19, p< .05) in elderly infertile females. It was positively associated with the ovulatory factor (OR= 1.30, p= .001) and the peritoneal cavity factor (OR= 0.58, p< .05) in young infertile females. Conclusion Our results indicate that the pregnancy rate in young infertile females was higher than that in old infertile females, and the IUI is the effective option in pregnancies in all ages with infertility due to the ovulatory factor. Additionally, further studies are necessary to fully describe pregnancy experiences for all the infertile females.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: With the outbreak of infectious diseases, such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), public interest in health and safety has increased, and consequently, interests in food safety have been heightened too. The purpose of this study was to compare and analyze the involvement of various categories of consumers in food safety, the subjective evaluation of food safety in Korea, and the willingness of the consumers to pay extra for safe food according to their demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.MATERIALS/METHODS: This study used data from the 2020 Consumer Behavior Survey for Food provided by the Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI). The subjects were 6,355 adult household members aged 19 to 75 years old. The survey was conducted from June 10th to August 21st, 2020. The data for the study were subjected to statistical analyses, including descriptive statistics, complex sample general linear model, k-means cluster, and multiple regression analyses. RESULTS: The factors affecting the willingness to pay extra for safe food were education level, occupation, monthly household income, presence of a young (teenager) household member, and the subjects’ involvement in food safety. the significant factors affecting the willingness to pay extra for safe food were sex, age, and income level for the group exhibiting a low level of involvement in food safety, while education level and presence of a young household member were the statistically significant factors for the group exhibiting a high level of involvement in food safety. CONCLUSION This study verified the differences in the factors associated with the willingness to pay extra for safe food according to the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, involvement in food safety, subjective evaluation of food safety. This study offers practical implications to the industry and government that would help in directing strategies to strengthen safe food management.

No abstract available.

Background: Cross-sex hormone therapy (CHT) changes the physical characteristics of transgender women to match their gender identity and expression. This study aimed to determine the effects of feminizing cross-sex hormones on body composition, bone mineral density (BMD) and muscle strength in transgender women. Methods: A prospective observational study assessed 11 participants who underwent feminizing CHT. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and handgrip strength were measured before CHT and after 6-months of CHT. Fat mass, lean body mass (LBM), and BMD were measured by DXA and handgrip strength was measured by hand-dynamometer. Results: Regional body fat in the trunk, legs, and gynoid region increased by 18%, 27.4%, and 27.2%, respectively after 6 months of CHT. Total body fat increased by 16.2%, while the fat mass ratio decreased by 7.2%. Although body fat increased, the android/gynoid fat ratio decreased; BMD in the lumbar spine significantly increased by 3.9% (P=0.0051), but changes in the femoral neck (P=0.1969) and total femur (P=0.4769) were not significant. Changes in LBM ranged from -3% (trunk) to -8% (arm region). Right-hand grip strength also significantly decreased by 7.7% (P=0.0467). Conclusions After 6 months of CHT, transgender women showed a general increase in fat mass and a decreased in overall LBM and handgrip strength. Increase in fat mass percentage were more remarkable in gynoid region, leading to a more “female” body fat distribution.

The activation of neurotrophic signaling pathways following the upregulation of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), a member of the transforming growth factor-β family, has a potential neuroprotective effect in the adult brain. Herein, we report that hippocampal transduction of adeno-associated virus serotype 1 (AAV1) with a constitutively active form of ras homolog enriched in brain [Rheb(S16H)], which can stimulate the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in hippocampal neurons, induces the increases in expression of GDNF and GDNF family receptor α-1 (GFRα-1), in neurons and astrocytes in the hippocampus of rat brain in vivo . Moreover, upregulation of GDNF and GFRα-1 contributes to neuroprotection against thrombin-induced neurotoxicity in the hippocampus. These results suggest that AAV1-Rheb(S16H) transduction of hippocampal neurons, resulting in neurotrophic interactions between neurons and astrocytes, may be useful for neuroprotection in the adult hippocampus.

No abstract available.
Neck ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroidectomy

No abstract available.
Animals ; Lichen Sclerosus et Atrophicus* ; Lichens* ; Paraphimosis*

Ichthyosis follicularis, atrichia, and photophobia (IFAP) syndrome is a rare genetic disorder caused by mutations in the MBTPS2 gene. It is characterized by ichthyosis and alopecia from birth. Photophobia may be present in infancy or early childhood. Its mode of inheritance is X-linked recessive; thus, it mostly affects male. The disease severity varies, ranging from mild cases limited to the skin to the severe variant involving multiple extracutaneous features. A 7-year-old boy presented with scanty hair on scalp and eyebrows at birth. On physical examination, scaly patches were observed on the whole body and spiky follicular hyperkeratotic papules were observed on the face and trunk. He also suffered from severe photophobia. Histopathological examination of the scalp showed miniaturized hair follicles without perifollicular fibrosis. Genetic analysis revealed a novel mutation in the MBTPS2 gene which was a homozygous missense mutation of c.245T>C leading to an amino-acid substitution from phenylalanine to serine (p.Phe82Ser). We diagnosed this patient with IFAP syndrome. To date, 25 pathogenic MBTPS2 gene mutations have been identified. To our knowledge, c.245T>C is a novel homozygous missense mutation in the MBTPS2 gene, which has not been reported in Human Gene Mutation Database, ClinVar Database, and Leiden Open Variation Database. Previous reports suggested genotype-phenotype correlations in the MBTPS2 gene mutations. Supported by a previous notion that genotype correlates with phenotype, this novel mutation can be a predictive factor for the mild form of IFAP syndrome, restricted to the classic symptom triad.

Cutaneous Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) is a rare, benign condition mainly affecting the lymph nodes and sometimes involving the skin. RDD is notorious for its poor response to medication, and surgery is often the preferred treatment option for limited lesions. Herein, we present a case of cutaneous RDD in a 49-year-old woman with multiple facial nodules that showed minimal response to treatment with steroids, isotretinoin, and methotrexate.The diagnosis of cutaneous RDD was confirmed based on histopathological examination. The patient showed minimal response to medication; however, electrosurgery resulted in a relatively good cosmetic response. The present case demonstrates that electrosurgery can be an effective treatment option for cutaneous RDD, especially in case of patients with multiple lesions. The rarity of this disease and the limited reports on its management highlights the need for further research on the efficacy of different surgical modalities for cutaneous RDD.