This study aimed to investigate whether pre-curing the universal adhesives affect the resin bonding to zirconia ceramic. Two commercial universal adhesives (All-Bond Universal, ABU; Single Bond Universal Adhesive, SBU) were tested in comparison with a conventional zirconia primer (Z-Prime Plus, ZPP). Air-abraded zirconia specimens were divided into six groups, to which different priming agents were applied with or without photo-polymerization. After resin cylinders were built on the primed zirconia surface using a resin cement (Duo-Link), all bonded specimens were stored in water at 37℃ for 24 hours and half of them (n = 12) were additionally thermocycled 5,000 times. A shear bond strength test was performed at a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/minute and failure modes were assessed using an optical microscope at 25× magnification. Before thermocycling, the light-cured specimens of ABU and SBU showed higher bond strengths than the uncured ones of the materials (p<0.05), whereas no significant difference was found between the pre-cured and uncured specimens of ZPP (p > 0.05). After thermal aging, there were significant decreases in the bond strength for all specimens treated with the universal adhesives (p<0.05). However, ZPP produced no significant difference after aging (p > 0.05) and attained higher bond strength values for both the pre-cured and uncured specimens when compared to the two universal adhesives (p<0.05). Adhesive failures were predominant in all test groups and thermocycling resulted in the higher incidences of adhesive failures for the uncured groups, which was not shown in the pre-cured groups.
Adhesives ; Aging ; Ceramics ; Incidence ; Resin Cements ; Water

OBJECTIVE: To assess the role of preoperative and postoperative serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level on the prediction of pregnancy outcomes following ultrasound-indicated cerclage (UIC). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records 44 women who underwent UIC between January 2011 and December 2011. UIC was performed between 14 and 24 weeks of gestation in women with short cervix. We divided UIC patients into two groups according to the gestational age at delivery (34 weeks) and compared the two groups. Group A was defined as patients who delivered ≥34 weeks of gestation, and group B as patients delivered <34 weeks. Correlation and receiver-operating characteristic curves were also analyzed for the prediction of preterm birth after UIC. RESULTS: Thirty women delivered ≥34 weeks (group A) and 14 women delivered <34 weeks (group B). Pre- and post-cerclage CRP were significantly lower in group A (pre-cerclage CRP, 1.1±1.0 vs. 11.4±6.2 mg/dL, P<0.001; post-cerclage CRP, 0.6±0.5 vs. 7.4±7.2 mg/dL, P<0.001). The mean gestational age at delivery in group A was 37.7±1.8 weeks and that in group B was 26.9±4.3 weeks (P<0.001). There were significant negative correlations between pre- and post-cerclage CRP and latency from UIC to delivery (r=-0.82, P<0.001; r=-0.70, P<0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: Both pre- and post-cerclage CRP were useful in predicting the preterm birth following UIC.
C-Reactive Protein* ; Cervix Uteri ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Premature Birth ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVE: Our hospital's policy is to perform history-indicated cerclage (HIC) for pregnant patients with 1 or more second-trimester pregnancy losses. Recently, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) guideline regarding indications for HIC was changed from 3 or more previous second-trimester fetal losses to one or more. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the revised guideline and to investigate the association between previous preterm history and cerclage outcome. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective observational study of cases of HIC in singleton pregnancies performed at our hospital between January 2007 and June 2016. We compared the perioperative complications and incidences of preterm delivery in patients with one previous second-trimester pregnancy loss against those in patients with ≥2 losses. RESULTS: The incidence of preterm delivery (< 32 weeks) was significantly lower in patients with one previous second-trimester pregnancy loss than in those with ≥2 losses (15/194 [8%] vs. 28/205 [14%]). In the 1 loss and ≥2 losses groups, the rates of preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) were 7% and 8%, the rates of PPROM at < 32 weeks 2.1% and 3.4%, and the ratios of neonatal intensive care unit admission 10% and 17%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Comparison of HIC in one previous second-trimester pregnancy loss group with HIC in the 2 or more previous second-trimester pregnancy loss group found no difference in pregnancy outcome. This finding supports the amended ACOG guideline for HIC indications. Based on our results, we also propose development of a new protocol for HIC-related complications.
Cerclage, Cervical ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Membranes ; Observational Study ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Premature Birth ; Retrospective Studies ; Rupture ; Uterine Cervical Incompetence

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between platinum-based chemotherapy for gynecologic malignancy and the risk of diabetes mellitus. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We analyzed retrospectively the association between platinum-based chemotherapy and diabetes mellitus. Out of the 449 patients who received the chemotherapy in Severance Hospital from January 2002 to December 2005, 169 patients with serial measurements of fasting blood glucose throughout the chemotherapy period were enrolled in this study. The parameters that were analyzed included age, past history, family history, body mass index (BMI), serum glucose, type of cancer, chemotherapy regimen, dose cycle, time after cycle. We performed binomial test to compare the incidence in our patients with that of general population. RESULTS: In 8 patients (4.8%) diabetes mellitus developed during the treatment period. The median age of patients was 57 years, and the mean BMI was 27.0 kg/m2. All patients received platinum-based chemotherapy and seven of them received cisplatin based regimen and two patient was given carboplatin based regimen. Median cisplatin cumulative dose up until the diabetes mellitus occurred was 252 mg/m2 and that of carboplatin was 812 mg/m2. Median time until the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus after administration of the first chemotherapy cycle was 7 months. The overall incidence of hyperglycemia (4.8%) in patients treated with platinum-based chemotherapy is higher than the incidence of diabetes mellitus in the general population (2.1%). CONCLUSION: We suggest that regular monitoring of serum glucose levels which is not generally included in the pre-chemo lab values in patients receiving chemotherapy with platinum based regimen should be considered.
Blood Glucose ; Body Mass Index ; Carboplatin ; Cisplatin ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Fasting ; Glucose ; Humans ; Hyperglycemia ; Incidence ; Platinum ; Pyridines ; Retrospective Studies ; Thiazoles

Drug Information Centers are responsible for providing updated, relevant drug information on the efficacy, safety and quality of drugs as well as disease status to health-care practitioners and finally to patients. This study was designed to revise the drug information service based on the evaluation to meet the social requirement that is created by the recent "Drug Prescription and Dispensing Law" A retrospective analysis was conducted from April 1997 untill September 2000. To evaluate the trend of service, the evaluated period was divided in 7 6-months intervals. The feedback system was used to measure the satisfaction score as an outcome. Out of 618 total enquiries, 192 (31.0%) was received in the last 6-month period. The method of receiving and providing drug information by Drug Information Research Institute (DIRI) gradually changed from telephone calls to e-mailing system (2.2% vs. 67.2% in question, 2.2% vs. 70.3% in answer). Drug information questions concerning the pharmacology (18.8%), adverse drug reaction (10.5%), availability (10.3%) and drug interaction (5.2%) were asked most frequently. The median time to respond the inquired questions was 24 hours (range: 1 hr-8 days). The reference used most frequently to answer was the tertiary literature (42.0%) followed by the second literature (27%) and primary literature (7%). The evaluable 29 feedbacks showed that DI services provided by DIRI were satisfactory in accuracy and time. On the basis of the analysis and evaluation of this project, DIRI have developed the more specified Q and A Sheet Form, systemic database and on-line Q and A corner accessible through the homepage.
Academies and Institutes ; Drug Information Services* ; Drug Interactions ; Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions ; Electronic Mail ; Humans ; Information Centers* ; Pharmacology ; Prescriptions ; Retrospective Studies ; Telephone

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the regression rate of the mild cervical dysplasia and to examine the factors associated with the regression. METHODS: One hundred and nine women pathologically confirmed with mild cervical dysplasia were recruited into this study. They were followed up by cytology, colposcopy and human papillomavirus DNA test at 3 months and 6 months after the diagnosis. The participants filled out a questionnaire on their demographic characteristics and sexual history. RESULTS: The rate of spontaneous regression for the mild cervical dysplasia was 59.6%(65/109). Multivariate analysis showed that initial ASCUS cytology, negative HPV status, non-smoker, condom user and age under 40 years old were associated with higher regression rate. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of regression for mild cervical dysplasia seen in our study was particularly higher than the result in previous study. Therefore, we recommend that the patients with mild cervical dysplasia can be followed up by cytology and HPV DNA study without any intervention, especially in young patients. Initial ASCUS cytology, negative HPV status, non-smoker, condom user and age under 40 years old were good related factors for regression.
Adult ; Colposcopy ; Condoms ; Diagnosis ; DNA ; Female ; Humans ; Multivariate Analysis ; Surveys and Questionnaire

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma presented as a malignancy of the uterine cervix is exceedingly rare disease and accounts for approximately only 0.12-0.6% of extranodal lymphomas. Most reported cases were B-cell lymphomas and there is no consensus on the management and prognosis of the disease because of its extreme rarity. Primary T/natural killer (NK)-cell lymphoma arising from the uterine cervix is scarcely encountered that, in the review of literature, only 1 case has been reported by Mhawech et al. We encountered a woman with T/NK-cell lymphoma involving the uterine cervix that initially presented with severe vaginal bleeding. Therefore, we report the case with a brief review of literature.
Cervix Uteri* ; Consensus ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphoma* ; Lymphoma, B-Cell ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; Prognosis ; Rare Diseases ; Uterine Hemorrhage

BACKGROUND: The TRUE test is a commercially available ready-to-apply patch test widely used in many countries, but no large-scale study is available on the TRUE test in Korea. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to analyze the type, frequency, and changes in the common contact allergens in Korea using the TRUE test. METHODS: From January 2009 to March 2010, TRUE tests were performed on patients with contact dermatitis at the Departments of Dermatology of 15 hospitals. The epidemiological findings of patients, and the results of the patch tests were analyzed. RESULTS: In total, 795 patch tested cases (246 males, 549 females) were compiled and analyzed. The oldest age distribution was the third decade in both males and females, and housewives and office-workers were the most common jobs, comprising 29.7% and 19.8% of the occupations, respectively. Overall, 65.1% of patients had at least one positive reaction, and the most common allergens were nickel sulfate (34.1%), thimerosal (12.6%), cobalt chloride (11.1%), and p-phenylenediamine (8.4%), in order of frequency. A univariate analysis of multiple variables including age, gender, occupation, and affected sites was conducted and a comparison with a previous multicenter study was also analyzed. CONCLUSION: These results provide the basis for use of the TRUE test in patients with contact dermatitis in Korea.
Age Distribution ; Allergens ; Cobalt ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Dermatology ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Nickel ; Occupations ; Patch Tests ; Phenylenediamines ; Thimerosal

Human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUCB-MSCs) may be a promising modality for treating medial temporal lobe epilepsy. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) is a noninvasive method for monitoring in vivo glucose metabolism. We evaluated the efficacy of hUCB-MSCs transplantation in chronic epileptic rats using FDG-PET. Rats with recurrent seizures were randomly assigned into three groups: the stem cell treatment (SCT) group received hUCB-MSCs transplantation into the right hippocampus, the sham control (ShC) group received same procedure with saline, and the positive control (PC) group consisted of treatment-negative epileptic rats. Normal rats received hUCB-MSCs transplantation acted as the negative control (NC). FDG-PET was performed at pre-treatment baseline and 1- and 8-week posttreatment. Hippocampal volume was evaluated and histological examination was done. In the SCT group, bilateral hippocampi at 8-week after transplantation showed significantly higher glucose metabolism (0.990 +/- 0.032) than the ShC (0.873 +/- 0.087; P < 0.001) and PC groups (0.858 +/- 0.093; P < 0.001). Histological examination resulted that the transplanted hUCB-MSCs survived in the ipsilateral hippocampus and migrated to the contralateral hippocampus but did not differentiate. In spite of successful engraftment, seizure frequency among the groups was not significantly different. Transplanted hUCB-MSCs can engraft and migrate, thereby partially restoring bilateral hippocampal glucose metabolism. The results suggest encouraging effect of hUCB-MSCs on restoring epileptic networks.
Animals ; Chronic Disease ; Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation/*methods ; Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe/*metabolism/pathology/*therapy ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18/*pharmacokinetics ; Hippocampus/*metabolism/*pathology/surgery ; Male ; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation/methods ; Radiopharmaceuticals/pharmacokinetics ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tissue Distribution ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUND: Hand eczema is one of the most common skin disorders and negatively affects quality of life. However, a large-scale multicenter study investigating the clinical features of patients with hand eczema has not yet been conducted in Korea. OBJECTIVE: To identify the prevalence of various hand diseases, which is defined as all cutaneous disease occurring in hands, and to investigate the clinical features of patients with hand eczema and the awareness about hand eczema in the general population and to compare the prevalence of hand eczema between health care providers and non-health care providers. METHODS: To estimate the prevalence of hand diseases, we analyzed the medical records of patients from 24 medical centers. Patients were assessed by online and offline questionnaires. A 1,000 from general population and 913 hand eczema patients answered the questionnaire, for a total of 1,913 subjects. RESULTS: The most common hand disease was irritant contact dermatitis. In an online survey, the lifetime prevalence of hand eczema was 31.2%. Hand eczema was more likely to occur in females (66.0%) and younger (20~39 years, 53.9%). Health care providers and housewives were the occupations most frequently associated with hand eczema. Winter (33.6%) was the most common season which people experienced aggravation. The 63.0% and 67.0% answered that hand eczema hinders their personal relationship and negatively affects daily living activities, respectively. CONCLUSION: Hand eczema is a very common disease and hinders the quality of life. The appropriate identification of hand eczema is necessary to implement effective and efficient treatment.
Activities of Daily Living ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Eczema* ; Female ; Hand* ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Korea* ; Medical Records ; Occupations ; Prevalence ; Quality of Life ; Seasons ; Skin ; Surveys and Questionnaires