BACKGROUND/AIMS: In order to determine the relationship between the HBV precore mutant and the severity of liver disease in Korea, we performed liver biopsies in patients with HBV related chronic liver disease and compared the types of mutations and histologic findings in the same liver tissue simultaneously. METHODS: HBV DNA in liver tissues was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The precore mutants were detected by PCR-SSCP(single strand conformation polymorphism), cloning the amplified PCR products and direct sequencing for them. RESULTS: 1. HBV DNA was detected in liver tissues of 28 cases among 30 patients with PCR. And with SSCP, the most cases were mixed type infections. 2. The HBV precore mutants were found in 12 cases among the total number of 28 cases(42.9%) and all mutations were G to A change at nucleotide 1896, creating a stop codon at codon 28. However, 10 cases among 12 mutants were associated with simultaneous another mutation at different positions or regions;9 cases at core gene region, 2 cases at nucleotide 1856(C to T change at codon 15), one case at core promoter, and one case with double mutations at nucleotide 1837 and 1846 respectively. Also, all HBV precore mutants were combined with wild type HBV sequence. 3. The relationship between HBV precore mutants and HBeAg status revealed that 4 cases from 13 HBeAg positive(30.8%) and 8 from 15 HBeAg negative or Anti-Hbe positive(53.3 %) were mutants. 4. In analysis of the types of mutants and histopathological findings of liver diseases, 6 among 15 chronic active hepatitis(40.0%), all 3 cases with hepatocellular carcinoma(100,0 %), 2 among 4 asymptomatic carriers with minimal histopathologic changes(50.0%) and a case with chronic lobular heaptitis(100.0%) showed precore region mutation. CONCLUSION: The patterns of HBV precore mutants in Korea could be summarized as followings. Firstly, most of the mutations are composed of G to A change at nucleotide 1896. Secondly, the most of the mutants at nuclmtide 1896 have been associated with simultaneous mutations at core promoter, core gene, and rarely at other positions, and manifested usua'ly mixed type viremic conditions. Thirdly, although precore mutation could be occurred in asymptomatic carrier, this type of mutation might be closely related with chronic or severe liver disease. However, it needs further investigations hereafter.
Biopsy ; Clone Cells ; Cloning, Organism ; Codon ; Codon, Terminator ; DNA ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; Hepatitis B, Chronic* ; Hepatitis, Chronic* ; Humans ; Korea ; Liver Diseases ; Liver* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational

No abstract available.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of gargling with S-solution and gargling with A-solution on salivary pH, coated tongue, and dental plaque index in preschool children. METHODS: Non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used to select the participants. 99 preschool children were divided into three groups. Dependent variables were recorded at baseline, 30 minutes, and 7 days after the first treatment was given. The data were analyzed using chi2-test, ANOVA, and repeated measures of ANOVA. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in dependent variables in pre-test. However, the salivary pH in the S-solution group had significantly increased after 30 minutes (p<.05) and then again 7 days (p<.01) after the first treatment. Also, the S-solution and A-solution groups had greater decrease in dental plaque index after 30 minutes and again 7 days after the first treatment (p<.001) than the control group. With respect to coated tongue, there were no significant differences among the three groups. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that essential oil gargling after brushing is helpful in improving oral health due to auxiliary oral hygiene effects with natural products. Specifically, gargling with S-solution is more effective than A-solution on oral health in preschool children by neutralizing salivary pH and reducing dental plaque index.
Biological Products ; Child ; Child, Preschool* ; Dental Plaque Index ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Oral Health* ; Oral Hygiene ; Tongue

No abstract available.

This experimental study was conducted to evaluate the effect of indomethacin and methylprednisolone on PAN-induced nephrosis in rats. Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 150~200gm were used and divided into controls, group I (PAN intraperitoneally), group II(PAN intraperitoneally, followed by indomethacin peritoneally for 12 days), group III (PAN intraperitoneally, followed by methylprednisolone peritoneally for 12 days) and group IV (PAN intraperitoneally, followed by cyclosporin subcutaneously for 12 days). Twenty four-hour urinary protein excretion was measured on day 0, 5, 10 and 17. On the 17th day, rats were sacrificed for the determination of total serum protein, albumin and cholesterol levels. Foot process widths of glomerular epithelial cells were measured, and anionic sites of lamina rara externa were determined by using PEI as cationic probes. The following results were obtained. Twenty four-hour urinary protein excretion (mg/day) of group I was significantly increased to 455.7+/-188.8 on the 5th day compared to 15.2+/-3.7 on day 0 (p<0.01), and increased gradulally to 525.6+/-203.5 on the 10th day, then decreased to 280.6+/-25.2 on the 17th day. In group III, 24 hr urinary protein excretion on 17 th day (180.7+/-64.5) was significantly lower than that of group I (280.6+/-25.2). Total serum protein of group III was significantly lower than that of group I, and serum albumin and cholesterol did not show any significant difference among Group I, II, III and IV. Foot process widths (nm) of glomerular epithelial cells in group I, II, III and IV were 409.5+/-15.2, 387.8+/-49.2, 279.9+/-36.9 and 398.3+/-38.3, respectively. And the value of group of group III was significantly lower than that of group I (p<0.01). The number of anionic sites per 1micrometer length of glomerular basement membrane in Group I, II, III and IV were 10.3+/-1.3, 10.1+/-1.6, 12.5+/-1.5and 10.2+/-1.5, respectively. And the value of group III was significantly lower than that of group I (P<0.01). In conclusion, cyclosporin and indomethacin did not show any significant effect on PAN nephrosis in rat. However, methylprednisolone reduced the urinary protein excretion and showed significant recovery of foot process widths and number of anionic sites of glomerular basement membrane.
Animals ; Cholesterol ; Cyclosporine* ; Epithelial Cells ; Foot ; Glomerular Basement Membrane ; Indomethacin* ; Methylprednisolone* ; Nephrosis* ; Nephrotic Syndrome ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Serum Albumin

PURPOSE: This study was designed to determine the relationship between binocular function and the surgical outcome of intermittent exotropia. METHODS: The surgical outcome and binocular function were retrospectively investigated in 44 patients who had undergone surgery for intermittent exotropia with at least 6 months of post-operative follow-up. We evaluated visual acuity, age at operation, angle of exodeviation, fusional status with Worth-4-dot test and stereoacuity with Titmus test before and after surgery. RESULTS: A 'surgical success' defined as a final alignment of orthophoria, esotropia less than 5PD or exotropia less than 10PD at far primary position, was achieved in 31 patients (70%). The surgical outcome according to preoperative stereopsis and fusional status was not statistically significant. Whereas, there was a tendency toward more surgical success in patients with central fusion and the first postoperative day diplopia but statistically indifferent. There was an improvement of stereoacuity in 34 out of 44 patients after surgery. The fusional status was improved in 9 patients out of 44 patients. There was an improvement of postoperative binocular function regardless the surgical outcome. But the achievement of fine stereopsis below 100 seconds of arc and central fusion increased only in success group. CONCLUSIONS: The preoperative binocular function did not contribute significantly to the surgical outcome (p>0.05) and postoperative binocular function could be improved by surgical correction in both surgical success and failure group. But the better binocular function was achieved by successful surgical alignment.
Depth Perception ; Diplopia ; Esotropia ; Exotropia* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Telescopes* ; Visual Acuity

No abstract available.
Child* ; Heart Diseases* ; Heart* ; Humans ; Mass Screening*

PURPOSE: The remarkable progress in information and communication technology has had a great effect on the healthcare delivery system. The development of smart phone applications is a new field. The aim of our research was to provide assistance in developing smart phone applications for community health nursing. METHODS: Based on an informative approach, this study developed persona and site maps, followed by a storyboard as a way of analyzing users' requirements and designing responses in the context of smart phone application development methodology. RESULTS: We developed persona, user interface and database design successfully, and then seven nurses selected four nursing problems (income, residence, pain, and digestion hydration). The search time in seconds for the 2005 English OMAHA guidelines to find three nursing interventions for these problems was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the smart phone application. The results showed that smart phone applications' search was 21 times faster on the average than book guidelines. CONCLUSION: An English version of the OMAHA system application was developed for the Android smart phone market. It is hoped that smart phone applications such as this will be used internationally for nursing education.
Community Health Nursing ; Delivery of Health Care ; Digestion ; Education ; Education, Nursing ; Hope ; Nursing ; Nursing Informatics ; Smartphone

No abstract available.
Leukemia, Hairy Cell*

PURPOSE: Metabolic syndrome (MS), characterized by obesity and insulin resistance, elicits risk factors such as hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and glucose intolerance with additive effects on atherosclerosis, leading to cardiovascular diseases. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of MS among overweight and obese adolescents and to investigate the impact of obesity on the cardiovascular system. METHODS: tal cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density-lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, high-density-lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were measured in the patients with a BMI of >85 percentile. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (BaPWV) and ankle brachial index were measured using Vascular Profiler (VP)-1000. RESULTS: MS was confirmed in 19.5% of the overweight and obese adolescents and 50.8% of the obese adolescents. The systolic and diastolic blood pressure, height, weight, fat mass, %fat, BMI, obesity index, and waist circumference were higher in the overweight and obese adolescents with MS. Moreover, the triglyceride, AST, ALT, and hs-CRP levels were higher, whereas HDL-cholesterol level was significantly lower in this group. The overweight and obese adolescents with MS showed shorter diastolic and systolic times, higher heart rate and BaPWV, and longer E-wave deceleration time by echocardiography. CONCLUSION: Overweight and obese adolescents showed characteristic MS features such as hypertension and hyperlipidemia. Thus, obese adolescents predisposed to MS should be provided early treatment for obesity.
Adolescent ; Alanine Transaminase ; Ankle Brachial Index ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Atherosclerosis ; Blood Pressure ; C-Reactive Protein ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cardiovascular System ; Cholesterol ; Deceleration ; Glucose Intolerance ; Heart Diseases ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; Hypertension ; Insulin Resistance ; Obesity ; Overweight ; Prevalence ; Pulse Wave Analysis ; Risk Factors ; Waist Circumference