The Health Post Project in Gang Wha Gun is part of the Yonsei University Medical College's Community Health Teaching Project. Two townships, Son Won Myun and Nae Ga Myun, with a total population of 14,000 are being guided through a planned change process in order to raise health consciousness in the community based education of medical and other health manpower through demonstration of relevant community health principles and provision of entry points for applied teaching. The key to community access is provided through village based Family Health Workers (FHW) who, according to carefully designed selection procedures, functions, service package, training and implementation plan now serve as semi-independent village health representatives. The FHW is supervised by the government employed township health workers who in turn received re-orientation as multi-purpose workers. Their functions were re-designed according to project needs. Thus the government health services in the target area have been extended to the household level through FHW activities in MCH, TB care and Family Planning. The Health Post Project provides a statistically controlled environment with a base line survey and constantly incoming data. It also provides communication channels for reciprocal understanding of the health issues and problems between traditional villagers and city educated faculty and students. Moreover, the Health Post Project provides motivation for the communities to solve their health problems with existing resources to the highest degree possible. Finally, the development of grass-root level services in cooperation with the communities has potential for long term benefits. These include relevant training of health manpower regarding principles and practice of rural community health. It also includes the study and development of health manpower and service packages, streamlining of administrative and evaluation procedures, and information urgently needed for health planning.
Community Health Services* ; Delivery of Health Care* ; Human ; Korea ; Rural Health*

Recent studies recommend pegylated interferon alpha2a as the first choice treatment for chronic hepatitis B, especially when the patient is negative for HBeAg. Pegylated interferon alpha is known to show variable side effects including skin symptoms, with alopecia as the most common dermatologic side effect experienced for 10% up to 36%. pcc) Most alopecia cases related to pegylated interferon alpha were presented with telogen effluvium pattern, but alopecia areata cases are reported rarely. In this case, typically localized alopecia areata was presented with pegylated interferon alpha2a treatment in hepatitis B patient, and the course of alopecia areata seemed to be related with administration and discontinuation of pegylated interferon alpha2a.
Alopecia Areata* ; Alopecia* ; Hepatitis B ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; Hepatitis B, Chronic* ; Hepatitis, Chronic* ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha ; Interferons* ; Skin

Vitiligo universalis is an uncommon variant that is rarely seen. Interestingly, vitiligo universalis often accompanies systemic diseases such as endocrinopathies. A 43-year-old man presented with whole body depigmentation and poliosis affecting most of his scalp and body hair. He had undergone a liver transplant 2 years ago due to liver cirrhosis from a chronic hepatitis B infection and has been treated for diabetes mellitus for several years. Histopathology showed no melanocytes and an absence of epidermal pigmentation on the skin. We herein report a rare case of vitiligo universalis associated with chronic viral hepatitis B.
Adult ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Hair ; Hepatitis B ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; Hepatitis, Chronic ; Humans ; Liver ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Melanocytes ; Pigmentation ; Scalp ; Skin ; Transplants ; Vitiligo

BACKGROUND: Laser therapy for various skin conditions is one of the most common procedures in dermatology. Recently, several articles described the use of 1064 nm Q-switched Nd:YAG lasers for the treatment of benign skin lesions. Such treatment is known to trigger its therapeutic effect through a photoacoustic effect and selective photothermolysis effect. However, only a limited number of articles have dealt with the theoretical base of the photoacoustic effect of the 1064 nm Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. OBJECTIVE: To compare the wound repair process and nonselective tissue heat damage induced by three different laser modalities: the CO2 laser, Er:YAG laser, and 1064 nm Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. METHODS: We irradiated the skin of an albino rat (Sprague Dawley(R), 200~250 g) with CO2, Er:YAG, and 1064 nm Q-switched Nd:YAG lasers. Skin biopsy specimens of the irradiated areas were collected on the first, fifth, and tenth day after laser exposure. For histologic analysis, the specimens were stained with the H&E, Verhoff-Van Gieson, and Masson's trichrome protocols. RESULTS: Compared with other laser modalities, rat skin irradiated by the 1064 nm Q-switched Nd:YAG laser showed the least amount of heat damage and the quickest tissue repair response to the damage. CONCLUSION: A 1064 nm Q-switched Nd:YAG laser with a photoacoustic effect capable of ablating the epidermis and dermis can be a proper treatment modality for the removal of benign skin lesions. The 1064 nm Q-switched Nd:YAG laser may be considered as an alternative treatment option for the treatment of benign skin lesions.
Animals ; Biopsy ; Dermatology ; Dermis ; Epidermis ; Hot Temperature ; Laser Therapy ; Lasers, Gas ; Rats* ; Skin* ; Wounds and Injuries*

OBJECTIVE: To obtain information on the growth inhibition effect of arsenic compounds and gene expression profiles using cDNA microarray technique in SiHa cell lines. METHODS: We cultured 103 SiHa cell in 96 well plate and we investigated growth inhibition effects using MTT assay and also we performed gene expression profile experiment using 384 cDNA chip in SiHa cell after exposure of arsenics (As2O3, As4O6 - 1 (micro)M) for 48 hrs. RESULTS: Arsenics (As2O3, As4O6) inhibit the growth of SiHa cells (As2O3: 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (micro)M - 9.2, 56, 89, 93, 96, 96%, As4O6: 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (micro)M- 54, 84, 84, 85, 85, 87%) in 4 days culture. As2O3 and As4O6 induced apoptosis in SiHa cells. After exposure of As2O3, 47 genes were changed more than 2 times (eg, thymidylate synthetase, cyclin B1, CDC 20). In case of As4O6, 78 genes were changed more than 2 times (eg, CDC 20, cyclin B1, primase, proliferating cell nuclear antigen). CONCLUSION: we observed arsenic compound (As2O3, As4O6) inhibit the growth of SiHa cell. In gene expression profiling experiment, 78 genes was changed the expression level 2 times more than that of reference RNA after treatment of As4O6 and 47 genes after treatment of As2O3. Through these result, we thought more study need in functional genomics after arsenic treated cervical cancer cells.
Apoptosis ; Arsenic* ; Arsenicals ; Cell Line ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Cyclin B1 ; DNA Primase ; DNA, Complementary* ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression* ; Genomics ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis* ; RNA ; Thymidylate Synthase ; Transcriptome* ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the stress distribution on the orthodontic mini-implant (OMI) surface and periodontal ligament of the maxillary first and second molars as well as the tooth displacement according to the OMI position in the dragon helix appliance during scissors-bite correction. METHODS: OMIs were placed at two maxillary positions, between the first and the second premolars (group 1) and between the second premolar and the first molar (group 2). The stress distribution area (SDA) was analyzed by three-dimensional finite element analysis. RESULTS: The maximal SDA of the OMI did not differ between the groups. It was located at the cervical area and palatal root apex of the maxillary first molar in groups 1 and 2, respectively, indicating less tipping in group 2. The minimal SDA was located at the root and furcation area of the maxillary second molar in groups 1 and 2, respectively, indicating greater palatal crown displacement in group 2. CONCLUSIONS: Placement of the OMI between the maxillary second premolar and the maxillary first molar to serve as an indirect anchor in the dragon helix appliance minimizes anchorage loss while maximizing the effect on scissors-bite correction.
Bicuspid ; Crowns ; Displacement (Psychology) ; Finite Element Analysis ; Molar ; Periodontal Ligament ; Tooth

Fresh mushrooms were collected during survey field trips to the southern areas of Songnisan National Park for 24 days from April to November in 2002. Through this investigation, a total of 682 fungal collections were obtained and taxonomically amounted to 5 classes, 14 orders, 44 families and 202 species. Among them, six genera Diplomitoporus, Heterochaete, Hydnochaete, Loweporus, Scytinostroma and Tomentellina, and twelve species, Asterostroma cervicolor, Diplomitoporus crustulinus, Fomitopsts cajanderi, Heterochaete delicate, Hydnochaete tabacinoides, Hyphodontia sambuci, Hypoxylon deustum, Lopharia cinerascens, Loweporus roseoalbus, Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Scytinostroma odoratum and Tomentellina fibrosa were confirmed as new to Korea and registered here with descriptions.
Agaricales ; Fungi* ; Humans ; Korea ; Phanerochaete

Korea is located within the East Asian-Australian flyway of wild migratory birds during the fall and winter seasons. Consequently, the likelihood of introduction of numerous subtypes and pathotypes of the Avian influenza (AI) virus to Korea has been thought to be very high. In the current study, we surveyed wild bird feces for the presence of AI virus that had been introduced to Korea between September 2017 and February 2018. To identify and characterize the AI virus, we employed commonly used methods, namely, virus isolation (VI) via egg inoculation, real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR), conventional RT-PCR (cRT-PCR) and a newly developed next generation sequencing (NGS) approach. In this study, 124 out of 11,145 fresh samples of wild migratory birds tested were rRT-PCR positive; only 52.0% of VI positive samples were determined as positive by rRT-PCR from fecal supernatant. Fifty AI virus specimens were isolated from fresh fecal samples and typed. The cRT-PCR subtyping results mostly coincided with the NGS results, although NGS detected the presence of 11 HA genes and four NA genes that were not detected by cRT-PCR. NGS analysis confirmed that 12% of the identified viruses were mixed-subtypes which were not detected by cRT-PCR. Prevention of the occurrence of AI virus requires a workflow for rapid and accurate virus detection and verification. However, conventional methods of detection have some limitations. Therefore, different methods should be combined for optimal surveillance, and further studies are needed in aspect of the introduction and application of new methods such as NGS.
Animals ; Birds ; Feces ; Influenza in Birds ; Korea ; Methods ; Ovum ; Seasons

Objective: It is unknown whether artificial intelligence-based computer-aided detection (AI-CAD) can enhance the accuracy of chest radiograph (CR) interpretation in real-world clinical practice. We aimed to compare the accuracy of CR interpretation assisted by AI-CAD to that of conventional interpretation in patients who presented to the emergency department (ED) with acute respiratory symptoms using a pragmatic randomized controlled trial. Materials and Methods: Patients who underwent CRs for acute respiratory symptoms at the ED of a tertiary referral institution were randomly assigned to intervention group (with assistance from an AI-CAD for CR interpretation) or control group (without AI assistance). Using a commercial AI-CAD system (Lunit INSIGHT CXR, version 2.0.2.0; Lunit Inc.). Other clinical practices were consistent with standard procedures. Sensitivity and false-positive rates of CR interpretation by duty trainee radiologists for identifying acute thoracic diseases were the primary and secondary outcomes, respectively. The reference standards for acute thoracic disease were established based on a review of the patient’s medical record at least 30 days after the ED visit. Results: We randomly assigned 3576 participants to either the intervention group (1761 participants; mean age ± standard deviation, 65 ± 17 years; 978 males; acute thoracic disease in 472 participants) or the control group (1815 participants; 64 ± 17 years; 988 males; acute thoracic disease in 491 participants). The sensitivity (67.2% [317/472] in the intervention group vs. 66.0% [324/491] in the control group; odds ratio, 1.02 [95% confidence interval, 0.70–1.49]; P = 0.917) and false-positive rate (19.3% [249/1289] vs. 18.5% [245/1324]; odds ratio, 1.00 [95% confidence interval, 0.79–1.26]; P = 0.985) of CR interpretation by duty radiologists were not associated with the use of AI-CAD. Conclusion AI-CAD did not improve the sensitivity and false-positive rate of CR interpretation for diagnosing acute thoracic disease in patients with acute respiratory symptoms who presented to the ED.

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the clinical and radiological results after reinforcement of the weakened medial joint capsule using Internal Brace (Arthrex) for treating severe hallux valgus. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study reviewed 56 cases of 50 patients that were followed-up postoperatively for at least 12 months, from September 2017 until August 2018. An extended distal chevron osteotomy combined with a distal soft-tissue release was performed by a single surgeon to treat severe hallux valgus. Internal Brace was applied in 12 cases (group A) who had weakened medial joint capsules, and capsulorrhaphy was performed in 44 cases (group B), and these two groups were compared postoperatively for the clinical and radiological results. The postoperative complications were also investigated. RESULTS: No significant differences at 1-year follow-up on the Manchester-Oxford Foot Questionnaire and the patients' satisfaction scores were found between the two groups (p=0.905 and p=0.668, respectively). For the radiology, the changes of the values between before surgery and at 1-year follow-up according to the group showed no significant differences in the hallux valgus angle, intermetatarsal angle, and the hallux interphalangeal angle (p=0.986, p=0.516, p=0.754, respectively). Recurrence of hallux valgus was reported in two cases in group A, and in three cases in group B. Transfer metatarsalgia occurred in 4 cases in group B. CONCLUSION Based on these results, we recommend the capsule reinforcing technique using Internal Brace as a successful operative option for treating a weakened medial capsule in patients with severe hallux valgus.