OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the anti-caries activity of bamboo salt on Streptococcus mutans. METHODS: The pH of bamboo salt, bay salt, and NaCl were measured at concentrations of 1%, 3%, 5%, and 10%. At 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 h, the growth and acid production of S. mutans was measured using a spectrophotometer and pH meter, respectively. RESULTS: The growth of S. mutans remarkably reduced with the addition of 1% NaCl. Bamboo salt showed effective growth inhibition at concentrations higher than 3%. Bay salt showed effective growth inhibition at concentrations higher than 5% (P<0.01). At salt concentrations of 1%, the pH value of bacterial culture broth reduced to below 5.5 after 12 h. Bamboo salt and NaCl reduced acid production at concentrations higher than 3%. Moreover, bay salt decreased acid production at concentrations higher than 5%. CONCLUSIONS: These results showed that the bamboo salt inhibited growth and acid production of S. mutans. Thus, bamboo salt can be considered a useful material for the prevention of dental caries.
Bays ; Dental Caries ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Streptococcus mutans* ; Streptococcus*

Consumption of liquid digestive medicine has continually grown in recent years. This present study was designed to evaluate the capability of liquid digestive medicine to erode dental enamel, relating the pH and titratable acidity of liquid digestive medicine. Three commercially available liquid digestive medicines were chosen these were Gashwalmyeungsu, Saengrokchun and Wicheongsu. The liquid digestive medicines were evaluated in respect to pH, titratable acidity and concentrations of calcium and phosphate, respectively. This measure was carried out three times for each digestive medicine and was recorded the data as mean (standard deviation). Bovine enamel specimens measured microhardness at base line and then were randomly assigned to 4 groups of 10 each. The specimens were immersed into each liquid digestive medicine for 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, and 30 minutes and then evaluated each time by VHN. All digestive medicines had a pH of less than 3.7. Wicheongsu had the lowest pH 2.93 and Gashwalmyeungsu had highest pH 3.63. In pH 5.5, titratable acidity of Wicheongsu was 1.27 ml. Gashwalmyeungsu was 0.63 ml. Saengrokchun was 0.60 ml. All liquid digestive medicines showed low concentration of calcium and phosphate. The microhardness of specimens after immersion into liquid digestive medicines was continuously reduced in all digestive medicines. After 30-minute treatment in liquid digestive medicines, Wicheongsu containing low pH and high tiratable acidity was shown to be lowest microhardness value (207.80µ15.52). The three liquid digestive medicines caused surface softening of enamel erosion. We conclude that drinks, commonly consumed by functional dyspepsia patient can cause erosion of enamel.
Calcium ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1 ; Dental Enamel* ; Dyspepsia ; Hardness ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Immersion ; Tooth Erosion

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is one of the most prevalent chronic complications of diabetes. The lifetime prevalence of DPN is thought to be >50%, and 15%–25% of patients with diabetes experience neuropathic pain, referred to as “painful DPN.” Appropriate treatment of painful DPN is important because this pain contributes to a poor quality of life by causing sleep disturbance, anxiety, and depression. The basic principle for the management of painful DPN is to control hyperglycemia and other modifiable risk factors, but these may be insufficient for preventing or improving DPN. Because there is no promising diseasemodifying medication for DPN, the pain itself needs to be managed when treating painful DPN. Drugs for neuropathic pain, such as gabapentinoids, serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, alpha-lipoic acid, sodium channel blockers, and topical capsaicin, are used for the management of painful DPN. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved pregabalin, duloxetine, tapentadol, and the 8% capsaicin patch as drugs for the treatment of painful DPN. Recently, spinal cord stimulation using electrical stimulation is approved by the FDA for the treatment for painful DPN. This review describes the currently available pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments for painful DPN.

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) refers to the presence of orthostatic intolerance with a heart rate (HR) increment of 30 beats per minute (bpm) or an absolute HR of 120 bpm or more. There are sporadic reports of the autonomic nervous system dysfunction in migraine and fibromyalgia. We report a case of POTS associated with migraine and fibromyalgia. The patient was managed with multidisciplinary therapies involving medication, education, and exercise which resulted in symptomatic improvement. We also review the literature on the association between POTS, migraine, and fibromyalgia.
Autonomic Nervous System ; Fibromyalgia ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Migraine Disorders ; Mustard Compounds ; Orthostatic Intolerance ; Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine the risk factors for periodontal diseases in Korean adults. METHODS: In this study, raw data obtained from the third year of the 5th National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010-2012) were used. The data were collected from 5,513 Korean adults, aged > or =19 years. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the odds ratio (OR) and confidence interval in order to ascertain the factors influencing periodontal diseases. RESULTS: Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to verify the risk factors responsible for periodontal diseases in Korean adults in 2012. After all factors were adjusted for, the following were identified as the only risk factors for periodontal diseases: sex, age, income level, educational level, occupation, history of smoking and alcohol consumption, usual stress recognition level, diabetes, self-assessed oral health, and daily tooth brushing frequency. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study revealed that sociodemographic characteristics, health behavior and status, self-assessed oral health, and oral health were the factors that affect periodontal diseases.
Adult* ; Alcohol Drinking ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Nutrition Surveys ; Occupations ; Odds Ratio ; Oral Health ; Periodontal Diseases* ; Risk Factors* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Tooth

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activities of bamboo salt. METHODS: Cytotoxicity of bamboo salt and bay salt (0.01%, 0.1%, and 1%) was evaluated using MTT assay. In addition, secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1beta and IL-6 from human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) was measured after application of 0.01% and 0.1% concentrations by using real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Bamboo salt and bay salt at 1% concentration were cytotoxic to HGFs at 24 h; however, no such effect was observed at 0.01% or 0.1%. Bamboo salt showed a relatively low inhibitory effect. IL-1beta secretion was inhibited by a 0.1% solution of bamboo salt. IL-6 secretion was inhibited by both bamboo salt and bay salt at 0.1% concentration. CONCLUSIONS: The above results suggest that bamboo salt inhibits the release of IL-1beta and IL-6 from HGFs. Thus, bamboo salt may be a useful material for gingival inflammation.
Bays ; Cytokines ; Fibroblasts* ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-6 ; Interleukins ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

Angiodysplasia is an important vascular lesion of the gastointestinal tract , located at the site of ectasia of intestinal submucosal veins and overlying mucosal capillaries. It is a major cause of morbidity from gastrointestinal bleeding in old age, but rather rare in children. Its cause is still unknown, though is mostly considered to be acquired as a result of a degenerative process associated with aging. We experienced a case of colonic angiodysplasia in 14-year old boy, diagnosed by colonoscopy. The patient had a history of repeated hematochezia for a year. This report summarized our case and reviewed the literature.
Aging ; Angiodysplasia ; Capillaries ; Child ; Colon ; Colonoscopy ; Dilatation, Pathologic ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Male ; Veins

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze end-of-life care practices in lung disease patients with physician orders for life-sustaining treatment (POLSTs). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from medical records regarding the end-of-life care practices of POLST decisions for patients with lung disease hospitalized at a tertiary hospital in Seoul, South Korea. Data were collected from January 1 to June 30, 2021. Results Of 300 total patients, 198 had lung cancer (66.0%) and 102 had non-malignant lung diseases (34.0%). A POLST was written for 187 patients (62.3%), and an advance directive was written for 20 patients (6.7%). Subsequent treatments were hemodialysis in 13 patients (4.3%), surgery in 3 patients (1.0%), and cardiopulmonary cerebral resuscitation in 1 patient (0.3%). Among cancer patients, chemotherapy was performed in 11 patients (3.7%), targeted therapy in 11 patients (3.7%), immunotherapy in 6 patients (2.0%), and radiation therapy in 13 patients (4.3%). Depending on the type of lung disease, types of treatment differed, including hemodialysis, ventilators, bilevel positive airway pressure, high-flow nasal cannulas, nebulizers, enteral nutrition, central line, inotropic agents, and opioids. onclusion: Although the goals of hospice care are the same whether a patient has lung cancer or a nonmalignant lung disease, because the characteristics of the respective diseases differ, end-oflife care practices and hospice approaches must be considered differently.

BACKGROUND: Dental caries is one of several prevalent oral diseases caused by dental plaque biofilms. This study evaluated the anti-cariogenic effects of a bamboo salt (BS) and sodium fluoride (NaF) mixture on oral bacteria.METHODS: The effects of several mixtures of NaF and BS on acid production, growth, and adhesion to glass beads of Streptococcus mutans, and their anti-cariogenic properties were investigated. The growth of S. mutans was measured according to optical density at 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, and 24 hours after treatment using spectrophotometry at a wavelength of 600 nm, while pH was measured using a pH meter. Adhesion of S. mutans was measured according to the weight of glass beads from each group before and after incubation. Gene expression was measured using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Acid production and growth patterns of S. mutans were compared using repeated measures analysis of variance, followed by Scheffe's post-hoc test. The Kruskal–Wallis test was used to compare adhesion, followed by the Mann–Whitney test. Gene expression in the experimental and control samples was compared using the Student's t-test.RESULTS: Growth, acid production, and adhesion of S. mutans were inhibited in all experimental groups. Expression of gft and fructosyltransferase in S. mutans was inhibited in all groups. A mixture of NaF and BS significantly reduced growth, acid production, adhesion, and gene expression of S. mutans compared with the other groups.CONCLUSION: Results of the present study demonstrated that a mixture of NaF and BS was useful as a mouth rinse in preventing dental caries.
Bacteria ; Biofilms ; Dental Caries ; Dental Plaque ; Gene Expression ; Glass ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Mouth ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sodium Fluoride ; Sodium ; Spectrophotometry ; Streptococcus mutans

Ambient air monitoring(environmental monitoring) and biological monitoring of mixed organic solvents exposure have been used in exposure assessment of these compounds in the work environment. Environmental monitoring is more useful when assessing low level exposure to these compounds. The specific objectives of this study were to measure air organic solvent levels in the work environment, to test the agreement of items measured in this study with items which have been reported to the administrative agency, and finally to evaluate the appropriateness of environmental monitoring items. The study subjects were 13 small companies in which less than 300 employees were working and presumably exposed to mixed organic solvents(e.g. automotive repair and painting, 6; textile dyeing, 2; printing, 2; electronics, etc, 3). Personal air samplings were performed by the flow-lite sampling pump(MSA) and the 600mg charcoal tube with air velocity of 100ml/min for qualitative analysis and 2l/min for quantitative analysis. Samples were analysed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry(Hewlett-Packard 5890/5970). High levels of toluene, n-hexane, and MIBK were detected in most study companies and low levels of ethylbenzene, xylene, n-butylacetate were also detected. When these measured items were compared with those of reported items, only 6 of 13 companies showed relatively good agreement between them. Two companies failed to report items exceeding the limit value. In conclusion, qualitative analysis of ambient air organic solvents seemed to be as important as quantitative analysis of these compounds and a periodic evaluation of monitoring items reported to the administrative agency should be required.
Charcoal ; Environmental Monitoring* ; Humans ; Mass Spectrometry ; Paint ; Paintings ; Solvents* ; Textiles ; Toluene ; Workplace* ; Xylenes