OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the pattern of developmental delay of language and to correlate the language with other developmental areas in cerebral palsy children. METHOD: Sequenced Inventory of Communication Development (SICD) was studied in 31 children with cerebral palsy of age ranging from 11 months to 48 months. Korean Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST) was also performed in 18 children simultaneously. RESULTS: On SICD, 10 children (32.3%) showed the receptive language delay and 13 children (41.9%) showed the expressive language delay. Among 15 spastic quadriplegic children, 40% showed the delay of receptive language development, 53.3% showed the delay in expressive language development. Among 10 spastic diplegic children, 30% showed the delay of both receptive and expressive language development. One spastic right hemiplegic child showed a delay of expressive language development, but 4 left hemiplegic children showed the normal language development. One hypotonic cerebral palsy child showed a delay of both receptive and expressive language development. The expressive language was delayed more than the receptive language. SICD correlated highly with the language sector of DDST. And both SICD and DDST language sectors correlated with the other sectors of DDST (personal-social, fine motor-adaptive, gross motor), especially with the fine motor sector (r=0.912, 0.918, 0.976, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: There is a considerably high incidence of developmental delay of language in cerebral palsy children, especially among spastic quadriplegic children. The early evaluation and treatment for the developmental delay of language need to be included in a general rehabilitation program for the cerebral palsy children.
Cerebral Palsy* ; Child* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Language Development ; Language Development Disorders ; Mass Screening ; Muscle Spasticity ; Rehabilitation

PURPOSE: The smoking rates among teenagers in Korea grow gradually since 1980s despite of the numerous programs for youth smoking prevention and cessation have been developed and implemented. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the processes of habituating to smoking among teenagers using the grounded theory methodology. METHOD: Qualitative data was collected via six focus group interviews. A total of 38 people, twelve teachers and 24 middle school students participated in this study. All focus group interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed according to the grounded theory methodology. RESULTS: The overriding theme of the elicited grounded theory was "stepping into a quagmire by a merest chance". The student participants began smoking by a simple chance. The contingent factors to starting smoking were "discord within the family", "family member's smoking", "schoolwork stresses", or "a rebellious spirit". The conditions of smoking included accessibility, going around in group, and the lack of discipline. "Stigmatizing", "involved in mob violence", and "making a poor academic record" coexisted as the covariance of the smoking habituation. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study illustrated the comprehensive and insightful picture of the phenomena under investigation. Nursing implications and further directions for research were discussed.
Adolescent* ; Focus Groups ; Humans ; Korea ; Nursing ; Smoke* ; Smoking* ; Tobacco Products

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the difference in the surface roughness after polishing and to evaluate the difference in color stability after immersion in a dye solution among four types of composite resin materials. Four light-polymerized composite resins (Shade A2) with different sized filler content (a nanofilled, a hybrid, a microfilled, a flowble) were used. Average surface roughness (Ra) was measured with a surface roughness tester (Surftest Formtracer) before and after polishing with aluminum oxide abrasive discs (Super-Snap). Color of specimens before and after staining with 2% methylene blue solution were measured using spectrophotometer (CM-3700d) with SCI geometries. The results of Ra and DeltaE were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), a Scheffe multiple comparison test and Student t-test (p = 0.05). After polishing, Ra values were decreased regardless of type of composite resins. In surface roughness after polishing and color stability after staining, nanofilled composite resin was not different with other composite resins except flowable resins.
Aluminum Oxide ; Composite Resins* ; Humans ; Immersion ; Methylene Blue ; Silicone Elastomers

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the effects of family type and sociodemographic factors on medical treatment, health behavior, and subjective health status in Koreans 60 years and older. METHODS: This study was based on data from the 5th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), a nationwide health interview survey using a rolling sampling design involving complex, stratified, multistage, probability cluster. Our subjects included those > or =60 years of age (n=1,946) participating in the KNHANES 2010. Family type was categorized into 7 groups according to cohabitation: alone, couple cohabitation (living with a spouse), parent(s) cohabitation (couple living with parent(s)), offspring cohabitation (no spouse, living with offspring), couple offspring cohabitation (couple living with offspring), couple offspring parents cohabitation (couple living with parent(s) and offspring), and others. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association of family type and sociodemographic factors with health care. RESULTS: The most common family type was couple cohabitation (38.26+/-1.8%). In this group, the percentage of non-receipt of needed medical care (odds ratio [OR], 0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.42 to 0.87) and current smoking rate (OR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.20 to 0.50) were significantly lower than those living alone. Among the sociodemographic charicteristics, male gender, apartment dwelling, high middle household income, 2 member family, education higher than middle school, and possessing own house were associated with good health care behavior. CONCLUSION: This study shows that couples have better health care behavior than other family types, in particular, limited smoking, appropriate medical treatment, and positive subjective health status. Those living alone visit medical clinics less often and have a negative subjective health status.
Delivery of Health Care ; Family Characteristics ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys ; Parents ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Spouses

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to understand and describe the hospital workers' experience related to the hospital evaluation program implemented in Korea between 2004 and 2009. METHODS: During 2010, data were collected using focus group interviews. Four focus group interviews were held with a total of 28 hospital workers participating. All interviews were recorded and transcribed as they were spoken, and data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: Nine themes emerged from the analysis: 1) Positive change in the necessity of the evaluation; 2) Improvement in the hospital system, facilities, and human resources; 3) Unity through cooperation among departments; 4) Nursing work overload; 5) Lack of physicians' awareness and responsibilities; 6) Unfair and unrealistic evaluation items; 7) Lack of credibility of the outcome; 8) Shifting responsibility for negative outcomes to the workers; 9) Lack of pragmatic utility. CONCLUSION: The results of the study demonstrate that the hospital evaluation program played a key role in improving some work environments and communication among departments. At the same time, they show various negative themes resulting from the context of very authoritarian hospital systems and a connection-oriented society in Korea.
Adult ; Attitude of Health Personnel ; Female ; Focus Groups ; Hospitals/*standards/*statistics & numerical data ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nursing Staff, Hospital/*statistics & numerical data ; Qualitative Research ; Tape Recording

BACKGROUND: The point-of-care (POC) troponin T assay has been used in various clinical settings. Recently, a POC troponin T assay with an extended measurable range (40 ng/L-2,000 ng/L) was introduced. We aimed to evaluate the analytical performance of the Roche Cardiac POC Troponin T assay (POC TnT, Roche Diagnostics, Switzerland) using the cobas h 232 POC system. METHODS: The repeatability and within-laboratory imprecision of the POC TnT assay were evaluated using the Roche Cardiac POC Troponin T level 2 control. Repeatability was also assessed using patient samples. Linearity of the POC TnT assay was evaluated using patient samples containing five different concentrations of troponin T. Performance of the Elecsys Troponin T high sensitivity assay (hs-TnT) was compared with that of the POC TnT assay using 40 patient samples. RESULTS: The repeatability (%CV), and within-laboratory imprecision (%CV) using the level 2 control solution (mean troponin T, 441.6 ng/L) were 8.5% and 8.6%, respectively. The repeatability of patient samples containing 88.7 ng/L and 454.6 ng/L TnT was 7.5% and 7.2%, respectively. The POC TnT assay was confirmed to produce linear data between 54.0 ng/L and 1,347.7 ng/L. Relative to the hs-TnT assay, the Passing-Bablok linear regression equation (correlation coefficient) was y=0.8933x+6.24 (r=0.988). At a troponin T concentration of 40 ng/L, the estimated bias of the POC TnT assay was 1.972 ng/L (4.93%). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that the Roche Cardiac POC Troponin T assay is reliable in cases where POC troponin T testing is required.
Bias (Epidemiology) ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Point-of-Care Systems* ; Trinitrotoluene ; Troponin T* ; Troponin*

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the correlation of the cross-sectional areas (CSA) of paraspinal muscles (back extensors and psoas muscles) and full range-of-motion isometric lumbar extension strength in the individuals with low back pain. METHOD: Twenty four subjects (14 men and 10 women) with low back pain completed a maximum isometric lumbar extension strength test at seven angles through a 72degrees range of motion (0, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72 degrees of lumbar flexion). CSA of back extensors and psoas muscles were measured from standardized transaxial view by CT scanner. RESULTS: CSA of lumbar extensor and psoas were correlated with isometric lumbar extension strength from full flexion to extension in the low back pain patients. The greater the lumbar flexion angle, the greater the coefficient of determination (R2). The correlation coefficients of psoas muscles were greater than those of lumbar extensors. CONCLUSION: Both back extensors and psoas muscles do their important role during isometric lumbar extension. Isometric lumbar extension strength of full lumbar flexion is well correlated with CSA of paraspinal muscles.
Humans ; Low Back Pain ; Male ; Paraspinal Muscles* ; Psoas Muscles ; Range of Motion, Articular

We report a case of clinically occult diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) of the middle turbinate (MT) identified by ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT) in a 71-year-old man along with imaging findings. DLBCL was presented with a hypermetabolic right MT [maximum standardized uptake values (SUV(max)) = 8.8 gm/dL] on ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT, while rhinologic examination was normal. CT showed nothing but slightly more intense enhancement of the right MT compared with the opposite side. The disease progressed during next 7 months until follow-up CT demonstrated solidly enhancing mass occupying entire right nasal cavity which was intensely hypermetabolic (SUV(max) = 12.8 gm/dL). Surgical biopsy confirmed the diagnosis. Follow-up CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT performed after chemotherapy demonstrated complete resolution of DLBCL of the right nasal cavity including the right MT. This is thought to be the first case report in the literature concerning clinically occult DLBCL presenting as a hypermetabolic MT on ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT.

Background and Objectives: The directed differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into motor neurons is critical for the development of disease modelling and therapeutics to intervene degenerative motor neuron diseases. Cell surface receptor Cdo functions as a coreceptor for Sonic hedgehog (Shh) with Boc and Gas1 in the patterning of ventral spinal cord neurons including motor neurons. However, the discrete function of Cdo is not fully understood. Methods: and Results: In this study, we examined the role of Cdo in motor neuron generation by utilizing in vitro differentiation of Cdo＋/＋ and Cdo−/− embryonic stem cells (ESCs). In response to Shh, Cdo−/− ESCs exhibited impaired expression of motor neuron specification markers while dorsal interneuron specification markers were significantly increased, compared to Cdo＋/＋ ESCs. Reactivation of Shh signalling pathway with Smoothened (Smo) agonist (SAG) restored motor neuron specification in Cdo−/− ESCs. In addition, electrophysiological analysis revealed the immature electrical features of Cdo−/− ESCs-derived neurons which was restored by SAG. Conclusions Taken together, these data suggest that Cdo as a Shh coreceptor is required for the induction of motor neuron generation by fully activating Shh signalling pathway and provide additional insights into the biology of motor neuron development.

From January 1998 to December 2002, 3,259 cases of uterine myoma were treated at the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chunbuk National University Hospital. A clinico-stastical study of uterine myoma was perfomed to analyse the clinical characteristics. The results were as follows. 1. The incidence of uterine myoma was 9.8%. 2. The most frequent age group was 40 to 49 years, and the mean age was 44.6 years. 3. The average parity was 2.29, the infertility was 163 cases (5.0%), while the primary infertility, 2.4%, the secondary, 2.6% respectively. 4. The most frequent chief complaint was pain which was observed in 2,648 cases (81.2%), abnormal bleeding in 1,775 cases (53.8%). dizziness in 270 cases (8.3%). 5. The corporeal myomas were observed in 2,879 cases (95.9%). Intramural type was observed in 1,687 cases (58.2%), subserous in 529 cases (18.2%), submucous in 191 cases (6.5%), mixed type in 483 cases (17.0%). 6. The mean value of preoperative hemoglobin was 11.1 gm/dL, and the anemia (Hb<10.0 gm/dL) was observed in 481 cases (11.7%). Transfusion was necessary in 215 cases (6.5%). 7. The mean weight of the uterine myoma operated was 335.0 gm. 8. The secondary change of myoma was found in 54 cases (1.7%) and hyaline degeneration was the most common (0.7%). 9. The most common associated condition was chronic cervicitis, which was observed in 784 cases (24.1%). 10. The gynecologic surgery were performed in 1,456 cases (44.7%), medical therapy in 25 cases (0.8%), observation in 1,792 cases (55.0%). 11. Total abdominal hysterectomy was performed in 607 cases (41.7%), total abdominal hysterectomy with unilateral adnexectomy in 115 cases (7.9%), total abdominal hysterectomy with both adnexectomy in 164 cases (11.3%), subtotal hysterectomy in 304 cases (20.9%), myomectomy in 153 cases (10.5%), total laparoscopic hysterectomy in 103 cases (7.0%), laparoscopy assisted vaginal hysterectomy in 8 cases (0.5%), diagnostic laparoscopy in 2 cases (0.1%) respectively. 12. The postoperative complication were found in 113 cases (3.5%) and the wound infection was the most common (1.6%). 13. The mean period of hospitalization was 8 days, and the period less than 10 days in 1,177 cases (80.9%).
Anemia ; Dizziness ; Female ; Gynecologic Surgical Procedures ; Gynecology ; Hemorrhage ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Hyalin ; Hysterectomy ; Hysterectomy, Vaginal ; Incidence ; Infertility ; Laparoscopy ; Leiomyoma* ; Myoma ; Obstetrics ; Parity ; Postoperative Complications ; Uterine Cervicitis ; Wound Infection