STUDY DESIGN: Experimental investigation in vitro. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relationship between the degeneration of intervertebral disc cells, and low back pain induced by degeneration of intervertebral disc cells and increases in use of proinflammatory mediators via nicotine stimulation. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: Smoking is a leading cause of degeneration of intervertebral disc cells and low back pain. According to the existing literature, nicotine, one of the main ingredients in cigarettes, causes the degeneration of intervertebral disk cells including decrease of glycoprotein through generation of carboxy-hemoglobin, vasoconstriction, and disability of fibrinolysis and changes of metabolism of nucleus pulposus cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Annulus fibrosus of intervertebral disc and knee joint cartilage were collected from pigs; these cells were acquired by gradual enzyme decomposition. Using Trypan blue, concentration and survival rate of cells were examined; cells were inserted on alginate beads for tertiary cultivation. Nicotine was then applied at 0, 50, 100, 200 and 300 nM, respectively, and the samples were cultivated for three, six and nine days, respectively. After collecting culture fluid, it was measured for interleukin(IL)-1beta, IL-6 and IL-8 with the ELISA Test. DNA of cells used for cultivation was quantitated and the amount of the resulting proinflammatory mediator was normalized. The results were then compared with the result of same study on cartilage of porcine knee joints. RESULTS: For changes of the inflammatory mediator based on the concentration of nicotine, in nicotine stimulation with low concentration of 50 nM and the control group, there was no significant change, while transient increases of inflammatory mediator showed in nicotine stimulation with concentrations of 100, 200 nM, respectively. There was not a significant increase of IL-1beta observed in all nicotine stimulation groups; these were the same results in porcine cartilage study. The level of IL-6 in 200, 300 nM nicotine concentration showed significant increases, respectively. The level of IL-8 in high dose nicotine stimulation groups also showed significant increases of DNA on the sixth day. And in porcine cartilage study group, significant changes were observed in 200, 300 nM, but the absolute value was lower than that of annulus fibrous cells group. CONCLUSION: Inflammatory mediators such as IL-6 and IL-8 increased as the result of tertiary cultivation of annulus fibrosus cells of porcine intervertebral disk and nicotine stimulation. It is believed that the cells of the disc annulus are more sensitive than articular chondrocytes to nicotine stimulation. This may be the focus of future long-term studies effects of nicotine other inflammatory cytokines.
Cartilage ; Chondrocytes ; Cytokines ; DNA ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Fibrinolysis ; Glycoproteins ; Interleukin-6 ; Interleukin-8 ; Intervertebral Disc* ; Knee Joint ; Low Back Pain ; Metabolism ; Nicotine* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Survival Rate ; Swine ; Tobacco Products ; Trypan Blue ; Vasoconstriction

Periogen is a new caries activity test using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The aim of this study was to assess the validity of Periogen by evaluating the correlation with dmft, dmfts indices and comparing with Cariview and caries risk assessment tool (CAT).83 children under 6 participated in this study. Dmft, dmfts indices and CAT were collected through an examination of oral health status. Plaque samples for Periogen and Cariview were collected and manipulated according to the manufactures' instructions.The correlation coefficient of Periogen, Cariview and CAT with the dmfts index were 0.38, 0.56 and 0.66 in each (p < 0.01). The sensitivity of Periogen, Cariview and CAT were 43%, 76% and 95% and specificity were 80%, 72% and 74% respectively. Area under curve under the receiver operating characteristic curves in each method indicated 0.69, 0.81 and 0.85.CAT and Cariview were more effective in evaluation the risk of dental caries than Periogen so far. To be used Periogen clinically, more improvements for higher validity were needed.
Animals ; Area Under Curve ; Cats ; Child ; Dental Caries ; Humans ; Methods ; Oral Health ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Risk Assessment ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity

OBJECTIVE: The Hypomania Checklist - 32 (HCL-32) is a self-assessment instrument developed by Angst et al. (2005) to identify bipolarity in the general population, as well as patients with unipolar depression. The principal objective of this study was to assess the factor structure of the Korean version of the HCL-32 for mood disorder patients, via exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). METHODS: The Korean version of HCL-32 were evaluated in a sample of 608 mood disorder patients, including 210 bipolar disorder patients and 398 unipolar disorder patients, all of whom were diagnosed in accordance with either the Structured Clinical Interview of DSM-IV or Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview They were divided randomly into two groups, and then the EFA was administered to group 1 and the CFA was administered to group 2. RESULTS: A 3-factor structure for the HCL-32 was generated, which explained 44% of the total variance from EFA. Factor 1, comprising 18 items, was designated as 'elated mood/increased energy'; factor 2, comprising 8 items, was designated as 'risk-taking behavior/irritability'; and factor 3, comprising 2 items, was designated as 'increased sexual activity'. Researchers confirmed the 3-factor solution derived from group 1 by the CFA. CONCLUSION: The primary findings of this study were the replication and confirmation of the 3-factor structure in Korean mood disorder patients; our results were consistent with previous EFAs.
Bipolar Disorder ; Checklist ; Depressive Disorder ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Humans ; Mood Disorders ; Self-Assessment

Purpose: Albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score is a well-known prognostic factor for various diseases, including colorectal cancer (CRC). However, little is known about the significance of postoperative ALBI score changes in patients with CRC. Materials and Methods: A total of 723 patients who underwent surgery were enrolled. Preoperative ALBI (ALBI-pre) and postoperative ALBI (ALBI-post) scores were divided into low and high score groups. ALBI-trend was defined as a combination of four groups comprising the low and high ALBI-pre and ALBI-post score groups. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to compare the overall survival (OS) between the different ALBI groups. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to examine the independent relevant factors of OS. Stratification performance was compared between the different ALBI groupings using Harrell’s concordance index (C-index). Results: ALBI-pre, ALBI-post, and ALBI-trend score groups were significant prognostic factors of OS in the univariable analysis. However, multivariable analysis showed that ALBI-trend was an independent prognostic factor while ALBI-pre and ALBI-post were not. The C-index of ALBI-trend (0.622; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.587 to 0.655) was higher than that of ALBI-pre (0.589; 95% CI, 0.557 to 0.621; bootstrap mean difference, 0.033; 95% CI, 0.013 to 0.057) and ALBI-post (0.575; 95% CI, 0.545 to 0.605; bootstrap mean difference, 0.047; 95% CI, 0.024 to 0.074). Conclusion Combining ALBI-pre and ALBI-post scores is an independent prognostic factor of OS and shows superior predictive power compared to ALBI-pre or ALBI-post alone in patients with CRC.