Hibernoma is very rarely encountered and is expressed in the various names including "lipoma of brown fat", "fetal lipoma", and "lipoma of embryonic fat". In our knowledge, only about 50 cases have been reported in the literature of the Western world, and no case reports have been published in Korea. In May 1986, we experienced a case of hibernoma occuring in a 16 old years boy. On physical examination, a relatively well defined nodule was noted on the right scapular region. A total removal of the lesion was done under the clinical diagnosis of epidermal inclusion cyst. On gross examination, the specimen consists of three irregularly shaped portions of yellowish brown soft tissue, measuring up to 0.8 cm in greatest dimension. Microscopically, the tumor showed distinct lobular pattern separated by fibrovascular bands. The lobules were composed of multivacuolated or eosinophilic granular cells showing centrally located small unclei. A brief review of the literature was done.

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to explore the prevalence of and the factors affecting constipation in elementary school students in urban and rural areas. METHODS: Study subjects were 585 grade 5 and 6 students. We conducted self-administered questionnaires during October, 2009. Outcome measure was the prevalence of constipation evaluated by the Rome III Diagnostic criteria for functional constipation. Independent variables were gender, grade, residence, mother's employment status, self-rated health status, number of family members, bowel movement habit, and health behavior (nutrition, exercise, and stress). RESULTS: The multiple logistic regression analysis showed that females, grade 5 students, those with working mothers, and those physically inactive reported having constipation significantly more often. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that the female gender, increasing age, mother's employment status, and physical inactivity were risk factors for constipation in elementary school students. To improve bowel function in children, health education programs and school health promotion programs targeting healthy life habits should be implemented.
Child ; Constipation* ; Employment ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Health Education ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Mothers ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Prevalence* ; Risk Factors ; School Health Services ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the impacts of alternative clinical practice on nursing professionalism in nursing students during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study was used for this study. Data were collected from 178 junior and senior nursing students from December 28, 2022 to January 6, 2023. The nursing students’ characteristics, nursing professionalism, clinical competence, extent of alternative clinical practice, and satisfaction with alternative clinical practice were self-reported through an on-line survey. Multiple linear regressions were conducted to examine the impacts of alternative clinical practice on nursing professionalism along with the confounding variables. Results: The nursing students reported that they performed alternative clinical practice for more than half of their clinical practice throughout 2022. The extent of alternative clinical practice (β=-.11, p=.028), satisfaction with content (β=.14, p=.045), and evaluation of the alternative clinical practice (β=.17, p=.007) were found to have impacted nursing professionalism. These variables explained 55.6% of the variance in nursing professionalism. Conclusion The study results suggest that the alternative nursing practice could impact nursing students’ professionalism. However, it would be possible to develop nursing professionalism if the students’ satisfaction with the alternative clinical practice were increased. Nurse educators need to improve the content and evaluation methods of alternative clinical practice to promote nursing professionalism during the implementation of such alternative clinical practice.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the association between secondhand smoke exposure (SHSE) and mental health problems among Korean adults. METHODS: We analyzed data from the 2011 Korean Community Health Survey. From the total of 229,226 participants aged 19 years or above, we excluded 48,679 current smokers, 36,612 former smokers, 3,036 participants with a history of stroke, 2,264 participants with a history of myocardial infarction, 14,115 participants who experienced at least one day in bed per month due to disability, and 855 participants for whom information regarding SHSE or mental health problems was not available. The final analysis was performed with 22,818 men and 100,847 women. Participants were classified into four groups according to the duration of SHSE: none, <1 hr/d, 1-<3 hr/d, and ≥3 hr/d. The presence of depressive symptoms, diagnosed depression, and high stress were measured by questionnaire. RESULTS: After adjusting for demographic factors, lifestyle, and chronic disease, the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of depressive symptoms with 1-<3 hr/d and ≥3 hr/d SHSE were 1.44 (95% CI, 1.14 to 1.82) and 1.59 (95% CI, 1.46 to 1.74), respectively. However, SHSE ≥3 hr/d had a higher OR of 1.37 (95% CI, 1.20 to 1.58) for diagnosed depression. SHSE was also associated with high stress (1-<3 hr/d: OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.38 to 1.76; ≥3 hr/d: OR, 1.33 95% CI, 1.28 to 1.40). However, the association between SHSE and symptoms of depression and stress did not differ significantly by region. CONCLUSIONS: SHSE may be associated with mental health problems such as depression and stress in Korean adults.
Adult* ; Chronic Disease ; Demography ; Depression ; Female ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Life Style ; Male ; Mental Health* ; Myocardial Infarction ; Odds Ratio ; Stroke ; Tobacco Smoke Pollution*

OBJECTIVE: Placental oxidative stress is known to be a factor that contributes to pregnancy failure. The aim of this study was to determine whether selenium could induce antioxidant gene expression and regulate invasive activity and mitochondrial activity in trophoblasts, which are a major cell type of the placenta. METHODS: To understand the effects of selenium on trophoblast cells exposed to hypoxia, the viability and invasive activity of trophoblasts were analyzed. The expression of antioxidant enzymes was assessed by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. In addition, the effects of selenium treatment on mitochondrial activity were evaluated in terms of adenosine triphosphate production, mitochondrial membrane potential, and reactive oxygen species levels. RESULTS: Selenium showed positive effects on the viability and migration activity of trophoblast cells when exposed to hypoxia. Interestingly, the increased heme oxygenase 1 expression under hypoxic conditions was decreased by selenium treatment, whereas superoxide dismutase expression was increased in trophoblast cells by selenium treatment for 72 hours, regardless of hypoxia. Selenium-treated trophoblast cells showed increased mitochondrial membrane potential and decreased reactive oxygen species levels under hypoxic conditions for 72 hours. CONCLUSION: These results will be used as basic data for understanding the mechanism of how trophoblast cells respond to oxidative stress and how selenium promotes the upregulation of related genes and improves the survival rate and invasive ability of trophoblasts through regulating mitochondrial activity. These results suggest that selenium may be used in reproductive medicine for purposes including infertility treatment.
Adenosine Triphosphate ; Anoxia ; Antioxidants ; Gene Expression ; Heme Oxygenase-1 ; Infertility ; Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial ; Mitochondria ; Oxidative Stress ; Placenta ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Pregnancy ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Reproductive Medicine ; Selenium* ; Superoxide Dismutase ; Survival Rate ; Trophoblasts* ; Up-Regulation

OBJECTIVES: Alcohol drinking, obesity, and reduced physical activity are commonly related to oxidative stress, which induces plasma membrane-bound protein damage in hepatic cells and elevates serum gamma-GTP. We have a hypothesis that a long commuting time may induce oxidative stress. This study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between commuting time and serum gamma-GTP level. METHODS: Questionnaires were administered to 717 male workers who had worked at Kimpo airport until the year 2000,and had then moved to Incheon airport and were working there in 2002. The questionnaire included items concerning commuting time, sleeping time and alcohol consumption. Physical examination and laboratory data were also collected. RESULTS: Serum gamma-GTP level was significantly and positively correlated with commuting time, body mass index, systolic blood pressure,diastolic blood pressure, hemoglobin, glucose, total cholesterol, AST, ALT and alcohol consumption. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that serum gamma-GTP level is significantly associated with commuting time, after considering the other covariates. CONCLUSIONS: Commuting time is one of the factors that affects serum gamma-GTP level in male workers.
Airports ; Alcohol Drinking ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Cholesterol ; gamma-Glutamyltransferase* ; Glucose ; Gyeonggi-do ; Hepatocytes ; Humans ; Incheon ; Male* ; Motor Activity ; Obesity ; Oxidative Stress ; Physical Examination ; Plasma ; Questionnaires ; Transportation*

A 69-year-old man presented with a black irregular patch on his left cheek. Skin biopsy revealed lentigo maligna melanoma in situ. He was treated via partial excision of the melanoma, followed by the application of 5% imiquimod cream every other night for 6 to 8 hours. The patient experienced severe local inflammation accompanied by burning, edema, and erythema, as well as oozing and crusting. The patient discontinued using the imiquimod cream after 15 applications because of the inflammation. Depigmentation was noted in the treated area 3 months after the initiation of treatment with imiquimod cream. Histological examination using Melan-A staining of the depigmented area revealed an absence of melanocytes, which is consistent with vitiligo. The depigmented lesions improved considerably after a 5-year follow-up, and there was no recurrence of melanoma.
Aged ; Biopsy ; Burns ; Cheek ; Edema ; Erythema ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hutchinson's Melanotic Freckle* ; Inflammation ; Lentigo* ; MART-1 Antigen ; Melanocytes ; Melanoma* ; Recurrence ; Skin ; Toll-Like Receptors ; Vitiligo

Purpose: This study aims to examine the performance of early warning scoring systems regarding adverse events of unanticipated clinical deterioration in complementary and alternative medicine hospitals. Methods: A medical record review of 500 patients from 5-year patient data in two traditional Korean medicine hospitals was conducted. Unanticipated clinical deterioration events included unexpected in-hospital mortality, cardiac arrest, and unplanned transfers to acute-care conventional medicine hospitals. Scores of the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS), National Early Warning Score (NEWS), and National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) were calculated. Their performance was evaluated by calculating areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curve for the event occurrence. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the factors associated with event occurrence. Results: The incidence of unanticipated clinical deterioration events was 1.1% (225/21101). The area under the curve of MEWS, NEWS, and NEWS2 was .68, .72, and .72 at 24 hours before the events, respectively. NEWS and NEWS2, with almost the same performance, were superior to MEWS (p = .009). After adjusting for other variables, patients at low-medium risk (OR = 3.28; 95% CI = 1.02–10.55) and those at medium and high risk (OR = 25.03; 95% CI = 2.78–225.46) on NEWS2 scores were more likely to experience unanticipated clinical deterioration than those at low risk. Other factors associated with the event occurrence included frailty risk scores, clinical worry scores, primary medical diagnosis, prescribed medicine administration, acupuncture treatment, and clinical department. Conclusions The three early warning scores demonstrated moderate-to-fair performance for clinical deterioration events. NEWS2 can be used for early identification of patients at high risk of deterioration in complementary and alternative medicine hospitals. Additionally, patient, care, and system factors need to be considered to improve patient safety.

Teratomas of the fallopian tubes are very rarely encountered in the western literature, and not a single case has been documented in Korea. The authors experienced two cases of tubal teratomas. Both patients developed a teratoma in an ampullary portion of the right fallopian tubes. One case occured as an incidental finding, and the other case was presented with a tubal mass. The gross and light microscopic features of these teratomas were described, and a brief review of the literature on the tubal teratomas is made.