PURPOSE: We recruited 118 women in their early 20's to examine the relationship between sodium intake and salty taste thresholds and preference. We also examined the association of salty taste preference with sodium-related dietary behaviors and major dishes contributing to sodium intake. METHODS: Daily sodium intake was estimated using a 127-item dish-frequency questionnaire. Salty taste thresholds and preference were measured using rating scales using water solution of NaCl and a self-administered questionnaire based on a Likert scale, respectively. RESULTS: Salty taste preference showed positive correlation with daily sodium intake and sodium intake-increasing behaviors, and inverse association with sodium intake-decreasing behaviors, including salt and soy sauce use at the table, the frequency of eating out and home delivery of foods, broth consumption of soup, stew or noodle soup, the use of ready-to-serve or processed foods, fresh vegetable intake, and the accommodating attitude toward bland food. Intake of sodium-contributing dishes, including ramen, spicy soft-tofu stew, radish kimchi, and dishes containing kimchi, also showed positive association with salty taste preference. Unexpectedly, detection and recognition thresholds of salty taste showed no association with salty taste preference, sodium intake, and sodium-related dietary behaviors. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that salty taste preference could reflect sodium intake of individuals rather than thresholds of saltiness, and may be used as a simple and effective proxy for usual sodium intake.
Eating ; Female ; Humans ; Proxy ; Raphanus ; Sodium* ; Soy Foods ; Taste Threshold ; Vegetables ; Water ; Weights and Measures

BACKGROUND: Bronchial asthma is an inflammatory disease of the airways that is associated with airway remodeling. The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent, multifunctional cytokine that contributes to angiogenesis and inflammation. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is a major proteolytic enzyme that induces bronchial remodeling in asthma. However, there is no data available on the possible role of the VEGF or on the potential relationship between the VEGF and MMP-9 in acute asthma. Therefore, the VEGF was studied to determine whether or not it participates in airway inflammation during acute asthma. An additional aim of this study was to determine whether or not the VEGF levels correlated with the MMP-9 levels in the sputum of acute asthma patients. METHODS: Both the VEGF and MMP-9 levels were measured by an enzyme immunoassay and zymographic analysis in the sputum of patients with either stable asthma or with acute asthma. The VEGF and MMP-9 levels were also evaluated during a spontaneous asthma attack. RESULTS: The VEGF levels were significantly higher in the sputum of acute asthmatic patients than in either the stable patients the control subjects. The VEGF levels in the sputum during asthma exacerbation were significantly higher than those on the remission days, and those levels decreased after decreased after asthma therapy. In acute asthmatic patients, the VEGF levels in the sputum correlated with the number of neutrophils and eosinophils. In addition, a significant correlation was established between the VEGF and MMP-9 levels in the sputum. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that VEGF overproduction is associated with airway inflammation during acute asthma and is related to the MMP-9 function.
Airway Remodeling ; Asthma* ; Eosinophils ; Extracellular Matrix ; Humans ; Immunoenzyme Techniques ; Inflammation ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9* ; Neutrophils ; Sputum ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A*

PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to examine body image satisfaction and perception according to weight status, and to investigate those associations with dietary habits and nutritional status among preadolescent children. METHODS: Body image and dietary habits and intake were assessed in 134 elementary school students in grade 4. Children were categorized according to normal and overweight or obese groups. Figure rating scales were used to assess body image perception (identification of perceived current body size) and dissatisfaction (difference between perceived current body size and ideal body image). RESULTS: There were sex differences in body image perceptions. Normal-weight girls, overweight or obese girls and boys were more likely to desire a leaner body size than their perceived body size compared with normal-weight boys. Body image satisfaction and perception showed an association with weight status. More overweight or obese children indicated dissatisfaction or underestimation of body image than normal-weight children. Children with body image dissatisfaction due to heavier perceived body size than ideal body image showed lower frequencies of consumption of meals and vegetables, compared to those who were satisfied with their body image. Children who underestimated their body image were more likely to have a lower frequency of breakfast and meal regularity and a higher frequency of eating out of home or food deliveries than those with accurate body image perception. In addition, body image underestimation showed an association with lower intakes of protein, dietary fiber and calcium, and the higher percentage of calories derived from fat. CONCLUSION: Body image dissatisfaction as well as underestimation in children before puberty showed an association with overweight or obesity, and was also related to unhealthy dietary habits. These findings highlight the importance of accurate perception and satisfaction with body image in preadolescent children in order to prevent development of obesity in adolescents and adults.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Body Image* ; Body Mass Index* ; Body Size ; Breakfast ; Calcium ; Child ; Dietary Proteins ; Eating ; Female ; Food Habits* ; Humans ; Meals ; Nutritional Status ; Obesity ; Overweight ; Puberty ; Sex Characteristics ; Vegetables ; Weights and Measures

BACKGROUND: Korea is expected to become an ultra-aged society, in which the elderly population will account for more than 20% of the total population, after 2025. Thus, the social costs due to osteoporotic fractures are expected to increase. Therefore, this study aimed to measure disability weights (DWs) of osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures in Korea. METHODS: The scenarios were developed to standardize the severity of 6 health statuses: osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures including wrist, hip, post-hip, vertebral, and post-vertebral fracture. The values for these 6 health statuses were sought via a person trade-off (PTO) approach. We measured the value by PTO and we calculated it to DW of 6 health statuses. Three clinical expertise panels of 33 experts were established, and face-to-face interviews were conducted from July to December 2017. RESULTS: The distribution of DW varied by panel. DWs ranged from 0.5 (Osteoporosis) to 0.857 (Hip fracture) for Panel 1, 0.091 (Osteoporosis) to 0.5 (Hip fracture) for Panel 2, and 0.091 (Osteoporosis) to 0.726 (Hip fracture) for Panel 3. The final values for the 6 health statuses obtained by pooling all data from 3 panels ranged from 0.286 (Osteoporosis) to 0.750 (Hip fracture). There was no significant difference in rankings for the 6 health statuses among the 3 panels. CONCLUSIONS: Comparing the DW of osteoporotic fracture in this study with other diseases in previous studies, it is predicted that osteoporotic fractures, especially hip fractures, will have a considerable burden of disease.
Aged ; Hip ; Hip Fractures ; Humans ; Korea ; Osteoporosis ; Osteoporotic Fractures ; Weights and Measures ; Wrist

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Serum YKL-40 has been linked to several human cancers. We investigated the potential role of serum YKL-40 as a marker of hepatobiliary malignancies. METHODS: Archived serum samples of patients undergoing liver transplantation evaluation at the Mayo Clinic Rochester were used to measure YKL-40 levels. Patients were divided into three groups: hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), and end-stage liver disease (ESLD) without malignancies. The Model for ESLD (MELD) score was used to quantify the severity of liver disease. RESULTS: The median serum YKL-40 level was highest in the ESLD group at 296 ng/mL, compared to 259 ng/mL in the HCC group and 80 ng/mL in the CCA group (p<0.01). There was a significant correlation between the MELD score and serum YKL-40 level (r=0.50, p<0.01). In a multivariate analysis, there was no significant difference in serum YKL-40 level between ESLD and HCC. CCA was associated with lower YKL-40 levels, a finding that was attributable to a lower prevalence of cirrhosis. CONCLUSIONS: The serum YKL-40 level has little utility as a cross-sectional screening tool for hepatobiliary malignancies, namely HCC and CCA. The role of YKL-40 as a surveillance marker in the follow-up of individual patients remains to be determined.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cholangiocarcinoma ; End Stage Liver Disease ; Humans ; Liver ; Liver Diseases ; Liver Transplantation ; Mass Screening ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prevalence

Internal myiasis is a rare disease, which has not been reported in Korea, yet. This case report describes a patient with pneumonia associated with internal myiasis. She was 84-year old female who was admitted to the emergency department, Konyang University Hospital as a result of dyspnea and fever and a drowsy mental state. Approximately twenty fly maggots continuously crawled out from the nose at the third hospital day in the intensive care unit. These maggots were almost 7.2mm long and were identified as the genus lucilia belonging to the family Calliphoridae. In addition, a bronchial washing study showed eggs of the dipterous larvae. A lesion of this myiasis case might have been located in the respiratory system of patient. This case is the first internal myiasis of the respiratory system reported in Korea. This cases is discussed with a review of the relevant literature.
Aged, 80 and over ; Diptera ; Dyspnea ; Eggs ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Korea ; Larva ; Myiasis* ; Nose ; Ovum ; Pneumonia* ; Rare Diseases ; Respiratory System

In the present study, the frequency of research misconduct in Korean medical papers was analyzed using the similarity check software iThenticate®. All Korean papers written in English that were published in 2009 and 2014 in KoreaMed Synapse were identified. In total, 23,848 papers were extracted. 4,050 original articles of them were randomly selected for similarity analysis. The average Similarity Index of the 4,050 papers decreased over time, particularly in 2013: in 2009 and 2014, it was 10.15% and 5.62%, respectively. And 357 (8.8%) had a Similarity Index of ≥ 20%. Authors considered a Similarity Index of ≥ 20% as suspected research misconduct. It was found that iThenticate® cannot functionally process citations without double quotation marks. Papers with a Similarity Index of ≥ 20% were thus individually checked for detecting such text-matching errors to accurately identify papers with suspected research misconduct. After correcting text-matching errors, 142 (3.5% of the 4,050 papers) were suspected of research misconduct. The annual frequency of these papers decreased over time, particularly in 2013: in 2009 and 2014, it was 5.2% and 1.7%, respectively. The decrease was associated with the introduction of CrossCheck by KoreaMed and the frequent use of similarity check software. The majority (81%) had Similarity Indices between 20% and 40%. The fact suggested that low Similarity index does not necessarily mean low possibility of research misconduct. It should be noted that, although iThenticate® provides a fundamental basis for detecting research misconduct, the final judgment should be made by experts.
Duplicate Publication as Topic ; Editorial Policies ; Ethics* ; Judgment ; Periodicals as Topic ; Plagiarism ; Publications* ; Scientific Misconduct ; Synapses

BACKGROUND: The histologic characteristics of atopic dermatitis (AD) include perivascular edema and dilated tortuous vessels in the papillary dermis. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the fms-related tyrosine kinase 4 (FLT4) gene is associated with AD. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the associations between podoplanin (PDPN) gene SNPs and AD. METHODS: We genotyped 9 SNPs from 5 genes of 1,119 subjects (646 AD patients and 473 controls). We determined the promoter activity of 1 SNP (rs355022) by luciferase assay; this SNP was further investigated using 1,133 independent samples (441 AD patients and 692 controls). RESULTS: The rs355022 and rs425187 SNPs and the C-A haplotype in the PDPN gene were significantly associated with intrinsic AD in the initial experiment. The rs355022 SNP significantly affected promoter activity in the luciferase assay. However, these results were not replicated in the replication study. CONCLUSION: Two SNPs and the C-A haplotype in the PDPN gene are significantly associated with intrinsic AD; although, the results were confirmed by luciferase assay, they could not be replicated with independent samples. Nevertheless, further replication experiments should be performed in future studies.
Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Dermis ; Edema ; Haplotypes ; Humans ; Luciferases ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases

Increased oxidative stress contributes to the progression of atherosclerosis. We measured serum antioxidant mineral concentrations, capacities of serum antioxidant enzymes and fasting lipid profile in 97 male patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and 21 male controls. Nutrient intake was assessed by the semi-quantitative food frequency method. CAD patients were divided into single-vessel disease (SVD, n = 66) and multi-vessel disease (MVD, n = 31) groups on the coronary angiography. The ratio of serum LDL- to HDL-cholesterol elevated with an increasing number of diseased vessels compared to the control (control < SVD Atherosclerosis ; Cholesterol ; Copper ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Artery Disease* ; Coronary Vessels* ; Fasting ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; Humans ; Lipoprotein(a) ; Male* ; Minerals* ; Oxidative Stress ; Risk Factors ; Superoxide Dismutase ; Vitamins ; Zinc

A 44-year-old male presented with symptoms of spinal cord compression secondary to metastatic prostate cancer. An urgent decompression at the cervical-thoracic region was performed, and there were no complications intraoperatively. Three hours postoperatively, the patient developed acute bilateral lower-limb paralysis (motor grade 0). Clinically, he was in class 3 hypovolemic shock. An urgent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed, showing no epidural hematoma. He was managed aggressively with medical therapy to improve his spinal cord perfusion. The patient improved significantly, and after one week, he was able to regain most of his motor functions. Although not commonly reported, spinal cord ischemia post-surgery should be recognized early, especially in the presence of hypovolemic shock. MRI should be performed to exclude other potential causes of compression. Spinal cord ischemia needs to be managed aggressively with medical treatment to improve spinal cord perfusion. The prognosis depends on the severity of deficits, and is usually favorable.
Adult ; Decompression ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Paralysis ; Perfusion ; Prognosis ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Shock* ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Cord Compression ; Spinal Cord Ischemia*