No abstract available.

INTRODUCTION: This study examined the effect of autogenous tooth bone used as a graft material for bone regeneration in an artificial bony defect of minipigs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four healthy minipigs, weighing approximately 35-40 kg, were used. Four standardized artificial two-walled bony defects, 5 mm in length and depth, were made on the bilateral partial edentulous alveolar ridge on the mandible of minipigs, and autogenous tooth bone was augmented in the right side as the experimental group. On the other hand, only alloplastic bone graft material HA was grafted with the same size and manner in the left side as the control group. All minipigs were sacrificed at 4 weeks after a bone graft and evaluated histologically by Haematoxylin-eosin staining. The specimens were also evaluated semi-quantitatively via a histomorphometric study. The percentage of new bone over the total area was evaluated using digital software for an area calculation. RESULTS: All specimens were available but one in the left side (control group) and two in the right side (experimental group) were missing during specimen preparation. The amount of bone formation and remodeling were higher in all experimental groups than the control. The mean percentage area for new bone in the experimental and control groups was 43.74+/-11.96% and 30.79+/-2.93%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Autogenous tooth bone is a good alternative to autogenous bone with the possible clinical feasibility of an autogenous tooth bone graft in the reconstruction of bony defects.
Alveolar Process ; Bone Regeneration ; Hand ; Mandible ; Osteogenesis ; Regeneration ; Swine, Miniature ; Tooth ; Transplants

The purpose of this study was to investigate the food habits, nutrient intake, and disease distribution in the elderly (aged over 65 years). The correlation of diseases with anthropometric measurements and nutrients was investigated. The correlation of blood parameters with anthropometric measurements and nutrient intake was also studied. The results are as follow: 1) Most elderly men (68.6%) and women (81.6%) had more than three diseases. The food habits of the elderly women were worse than those of the men. Their intake of protein, calcium, iron, vitamin A, and vitamin B2 were lower than the RDA for those particular nutrients. 2) The incidence of gastritis (51.2%), fatty liver (46.4%), and hypertension (45.2%) were the highest among elderly men and women. 3) Anemia was negatively correlated with body weight. Hypercholesterolemia was positively correlated with body fat and negatively correlated with intake of calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin B2. Hypertension was negatively correlated with alcohol consumption. 4) Blood total cholesterol concentration was positively correlated with percent ideal body weight (% IBW). Blood hemoglobin level was positively correlated with Body Mass Index (BMI). Systolic and diastolic blood pressure were positively correlated with % IBW and BMI. Blood cholesterol concentration was negatively correlated with the intake of iron, vitamin A, vitamin B2, and cholesterol, and positively correlated with the consumption of alcohol. Blood hemoglobin level was positively correlated with the intake of total calories, carbohydrates, fat, protein, iron, vitamin B2, phosphorus, cholesterol, salt, and alcohol.
Adipose Tissue ; Aged* ; Alcohol Drinking ; Anemia ; Anthropometry ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Calcium ; Carbohydrates ; Cholesterol ; Fatty Liver ; Female ; Food Habits* ; Gastritis ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Hypertension ; Ideal Body Weight ; Incidence ; Iron ; Male ; Phosphorus ; Riboflavin ; Vitamin A

OBJECTIVES: We assessed the public acceptance of a health information exchange (HIE) and examined factors that influenced the acceptance and associations among constructs of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). METHODS: We collected data from a survey of 1,000 individuals in Korea, which was administered through a structured questionnaire. We assessed the validity and reliability of the survey instrument with exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha coefficients. We computed descriptive statistics to assess the acceptance and performed regression analyses with a structural equation model to estimate the magnitude and significance of influences among constructs of TAM. RESULTS: Eighty-seven percent of the respondents were willing to use the technology, and the average level of agreement with the need for the technology was 4.16 on a 5-point Likert scale. The perception of ease of use of the technology significantly influenced perceptions of usefulness and attitudes about the need for HIE. Perceptions of usefulness influenced attitude and behavioral intention to use HIE, and attitude influenced intention. Age showed a wide range of influences throughout the model, and experience with offline-based information exchange and health status also showed noteworthy influences. CONCLUSIONS: The public acceptance of HIE was high, and influences posited by TAM were mostly confirmed by the study results. The study findings indicated a need for an education and communication strategy tailored by population age, health status, and prior experience with offline-based exchange to gain public buy-in for a successful introduction of the technology.
Diffusion of Innovation ; Education ; Health Information Exchange* ; Intention ; Korea* ; Public Opinion ; Reproducibility of Results ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Purpose: We aimed to investigate the visual recovery time in patients with ethambutol-induced toxic optic neuropathy (EON) and identify the factors associated with the visual recovery time. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we reviewed the medical records of 35 eyes from 35 patients with EON. Visual recovery was defined as a gain of three or more lines from the nadir. Results: Patients were observed following discontinuation of ethambutol (EMB), with the mean follow-up period of 21.0 ± 16.0 months. The visual acuity at nadir was logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution 1.4 ± 0.4, and the final visual acuity was logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution 0.6 ± 0.5. Twenty-seven eyes (77.1%) showed significant visual recovery. In Kaplan-Meier survival, the mean estimated time for visual recovery was 15.2 ± 3.0 months, and 50% of the patients experienced visual recovery at 8.3 ± 2.2 months following EMB discontinuation. Multivariate Cox regression analysis identified several significant risk factors for delayed visual recovery, including duration of EMB medication ≤6 months, period from symptom onset to EMB discontinuation >14 days, and baseline peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness >98 μm. Conclusions Our study indicated a mean time of visual recovery of 15 months for EON cases. Therefore, patients diagnosed with EON should be followed up for more than 1 to 2 years to evaluate their visual recovery. Delayed EMB discontinuation, short duration of EMB use, and initial peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickening were associated with delayed visual recovery. Therefore, patients taking EMB should be followed up regularly for early detection of EON and immediate discontinuation of EMB to prevent severe damage to the optic nerve.

To determine allele frequency of GABARB1 Jcus in Korean, first, we sequenced each allele, which was amplified with primers that published before. We found mismatching between allele number and size of each allele when 'GATA' repeats are counted. The sequence revealed new 'GATA' repeat. So we had made new allele designation with total number of in 176 Korean people. The heterozygosity this locus was 0.716 and mean exclusion chance (MEC) and power of discrimination (PD) were 0.433 and 0.845, respectively. In this study, we emphasized necessity of sequencing of 2-3 alleles, which have same size before setting up allelic ladder.
Alleles* ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Gene Frequency*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In the immunological and functional aspects, freshly isolated human hepatocytes are better than animal hepatocytes from other species such as the pig and hepatocytes from human tumor cell lines. Human liver tissue for hepatocyte isolation can be obtained either from surgical specimens of patients with liver disease, such as hepatocellular carcinoma or from donor livers that are not suitable for transplantation. In the latter case, the liver may be preserved in 4 degrees C UW solution. Therefore, studies of the limit on the preservation time to get clinically applicable hepatocytes, and proper isolation techniques improving cell viability are needed. In this study, the authors isolated hepatocytes from a few kinds of the liver with different UW preservation times and different isolation techniques. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 200g-250g were used. The hepatocytes were isolated from unpreserved livers(control), livers preserved for 24 hours in UW solution, and livers preserved for 48 hour in UW solution, with a modified Seglen's two step method. To improve cell viability, 5mM glycin was added to the EDTA solution in one group and in another, the pH of the EDTA solution was slowly changed from 6.5 to 7.25. RESULTS: The control group showed 80.0% of cell viability. 53.8% of isolated hepatocytes were viable even after 24 hours of preservation. The cell viability decreased to 36.1% and severe cellular damage was observed after 48 hours preservation. The glycin and pH change showed no protective effect on the isolation of hepatocytes from UW preserved livers. CONCLUSION: After 24 hours preservation in UW solution, many clinically useful hepatocytes were isolated with a modified Seglen's two step method. Further studies concerning the preservation of functions of hepatocytes isolated from UW preserved livers and on the technique of cell culture and cryopreservation are needed.
Animals ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cell Culture Techniques ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Survival ; Cryopreservation ; Edetic Acid ; Hepatocytes* ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Liver Diseases ; Liver* ; Male ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Tissue Donors

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The c-met proto-oncogene encodes the tyrosine kinase receptor for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), a potent mitogen and motogen for epithelial cells. Because of its profound effects on cell growth and motility, HGF may be important in the development of cancer metastases in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We examined the expression of the c-met proto-oncogene product (c-Met) in the patients with HCCs to determine the relationship between the level of expression of c-Met and clinicopathological features, and patient outcome following hepatectomy. METHODS: Fifty patients with surgically resected hepatocellular carcinoma at Seoul National University Hospital from January 1997 to December 1998 were included in this study. Western blotting was used to examine the c-Met expression of tumor and surrounding tissues. The clinicopathologic features and treatment results of the patients were analyzed by medical records. Patients were divided into two groups, low c-met HCC and high c-met HCC. RESULTS: c-Met was not overexpressed in HCC compared to surrounding tissue. The expression of c- Met in tumor tissue was correlated with well-differentiated HCCs, and adversely correlated with tumor necrosis by transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE). There was no correlation between c-Met expression and intrahepatic recurrence. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, these results indicate that c-Met expression in HCC is not correlated with intrahepatic recurrence, and tumor necrosis by TACE reduces c-Met expression in tumor tissue. More large-scaled study is needed for exact relation between c-Met expression and clinicopathologic features of HCCs.
Blotting, Western ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Epithelial Cells ; Hepatectomy ; Hepatocyte Growth Factor ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Necrosis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; Proto-Oncogenes ; Recurrence ; Seoul

Congenital nasolacrimal duct cyst is an uncommon anomaly of nasolacrimal duct obstruction in the newborn. It is cystic dilation of the lower end of the unperforated nasolacrimal duct with intranasal extension. In such cases, the bluish-gray cyst arises beneath the inferior turbinate on nasal endoscopy. A large nasolacrimal duct cyst can fill the nasal cavity and lead to nasal obstruction. Neonates are obligate nasal breathers at birth and require several weeks to learn to breathe through the mouth. Consequently this nasal obstruction can cause significant respiratory distress. We experienced a case of bilateral nasolacrimal duct cyst presenting as neonatal respiratory distress. Diagnosis was confirmed by nasal endoscopy and CT scan. After endoscopic marsupialization of the cysts , symptom and sign of respiratory distress were rapidly resolved.
Diagnosis ; Endoscopy ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Mouth ; Nasal Cavity ; Nasal Obstruction ; Nasolacrimal Duct* ; Parturition ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Turbinates

BACKGROUND/AIMS: There are many reports in which perioperative transfusion was closely related to the survival of cancer. The long-term survival rate of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing hepatectomy has improved, and it may be related to the reduction of intraoperative transfusion. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of intraoperative transfusion on the prognosis in the hepatectomized hepatocellular carcinoma patients and the relationship between the survival improvement and reduction of intraoperative transfusion. METHODS: From 1988 Jan. to 1995 Dec., 507 cases in which the amount of intraoperative transfusion was known were reviewed. Operative transfusion of whole blood or packed red cells was included in this study. The clinical, operative, and pathological factors were analyzed to identify factors that affected long-term survival and disease free survival. RESULTS: By multivariate analysis, Child classification, the extent of resection, portal vein invasion, and blood transfusion(more than 7 units) were shown to be independent factors in overall survival. Child classification, the number of tumors, portal vein invasion, and blood transfusion(more than 7 units) were shown to be independent factors in disease free survival. CONCLUSION: Operative blood transfusion affects the long-term survival and the disease free survival. Therefore, the intraoperative transfusion should be reduced if possible. Through the improvement of surgical technique and instrument, surgeon can reduce the intraoperative bleeding, and this reduction of intraoperative bleeding may contribute the improvement of survival through the reduction of intraoperative transfusion.
Blood Transfusion ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Child ; Classification ; Disease-Free Survival ; Hemorrhage ; Hepatectomy ; Humans ; Multivariate Analysis ; Portal Vein ; Prognosis* ; Survival Rate