OBJECTIVE: Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein that synthesizes TTAGGG repeats onto chromosome ends. The expression of telomerase is thought to be required for cellular immortality and carcinogenesis. This study was conducted to examine the telomerase activation occurs in cervical carcinogenesis. METHODS: The standard telomeric repeat amplification protocol(TRAP) was used to examine telomerase activity in tissues of 10 normal cervix, 10 carcinoma in situ, and 21 invasive cervical carcinoma. RESULTS: Telomerase activity was detected in tissues of 16/21(76.2%) invasive carcinoma, in 5/10(50.0%) carcinoma in situ, and in 3/10(30.0%) normal cervix. But the degree of telomerase activity in normal cervix was weak. There was significant difference in 3 groups(p<0.05). The results of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in 10 invasive cervical carcinoma were as follows. In 8 cases of which tumor size decreased more than 50%, 5 were positive for telomerase. In 2 cases that didn't respond to chemotherapy by tumor size, 1 was positive for telomerase. There was no significant difference between 2 groups. All of the 5 cases that had pelvic lymph node metastasis revealed positive telomerase activity, and the 11 cases of 16 cases that didn't have pelvic lymph node metastasis were positive for telomerase, but there was no significant difference in 2 groups. The positivity of telomerase activity in clinical stage of invasive cervical carcinoma was 73.3% in stage I(11/15), 75.0% in stage II(3/4), 100% in stage III(1/1), and 100% in stage IV(1/1), but there was no significant difference in each stages. CONCLUSION: Telomerase seems to be uniquely associated with malignant transformation of cervix and can be used as a tumor marker. Additional studies are needed to better clarify the biological significance of telomerase expression in cervical tumorigenesis.
Carcinogenesis ; Carcinoma in Situ ; Cervix Uteri ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Ribonucleoproteins ; Telomerase* ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms*

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of recombinant human leukemia inhibitory factor on in vitro development of 1-cell ICR mouse embryo. MATERIALS AND METHOD: ICR mice were superovulated with PMSG/hCG and 1-cell stage mouse embryos were recruited. 1-cell mouse embryo were cocultured on human oviductal cells in a CO2 incubator (coculture group) and were cultured on 0.4% BSA+HTF media (control group). And anti-hLIF Ab was added the cocultured group in a different concentration (1pg, 10pg, 100pg, 1ng) and developmental rate was compaired to the control group, and rhLIF was added to the preincubated 0.4% BSA+HTF media in a different concentration (2000U, 1000U, 100U, 10U) and its developmental rate was compaired to group which was cultured on 0.4% BSA+HTF media only. RESULT: 1. The cleavage rate of 2-cell mouse embryo co-cultured with human tubal epithelial cell was significantly higher than that of cultured with media alone (HTF with 0.4% BSA) (p<0.05). 2. When LIF antibody was added to the medium with human tubal epitherlial cell, the mouse embryo could not cleave more than 2-cell in 1 ng of LIF antibody, and less than 1 ng, the cleavage rate was lower than cultured without LIF antibody group(p<0.05). 3. Two cell blocked ICR mouse embryos were developed into four cells under LIF(p<0.05), but no further development was observed. CONCLUSIONS: These results shows that LIF enhances the development of preimplantation embryo, and when rhLIF is applicated in vitro, it has positive effects on the development of early mouse embryo and can help overcoming the two-cell block.
Animals ; Blastocyst* ; Coculture Techniques* ; Embryonic Structures ; Epithelial Cells ; Humans ; Incubators ; Leukemia Inhibitory Factor* ; Leukemia* ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Oviducts

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the value of phosphorylated tau with epitopes threonine 181(p-tau181) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for the differential diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease typed dementia from other type of dementia. METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed to identify studies on p-tau181. Two evaluators independently evaluated the quality of the ten studies using the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) tool. The literature review covered from October 27, 1946 to October 22, 2013, and eight domestic databases including KoreaMed and international databases including Ovid-MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library were used. Tau concentrations were compared to healthy controls and to subjects with Alzheimer's disease (AD) using random effect meta-analysis. Outcome measures were Cohen's delta, sensitivity and specificity. RESULTS: Finally, 8 studies (8 diagnostic evaluation studies) were identified to evaluate CSF p-tau181. The effectiveness of this test was evaluated based on diagnostic accuracy. The diagnostic accuracy for identifying AD by ELISA was high which revealed pooled sensitivity as 0.843 (95% CI 0.818-0.867), pooled specificity as 0.799(95% CI 0.768-0.828) and summary receiver operating characteristic area under the curve 0.9082+/-0.0236. CONCLUSIONS: CSF p-tau181 concentrations in other type of dementia are intermediate between controls and AD patients. Overlap between both controls and AD patients results in insufficient diagnostic accuracy, and the development of more specific biomarkers for these disorders is needed.
Alzheimer Disease* ; Biomarkers ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Dementia ; Diagnosis, Differential* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Epitopes ; Humans ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; tau Proteins ; Threonine

BACKGROUND: Koreans eat rice, which is usually served in a rice bowl. We investigated the effect of a meal plan using small rice bowls on the total energy intake (TEI) and the marcronutrient intake in Korean men with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: A total of 62 men with type 2 diabetes were divided by body mass index (BMI) (normal weight [NW], BMI<23 kg/m2; overweight [OW], 23< or =BMI<25 kg/m2; obese [OB], BMI> or =25 kg/m2) and proportions of carbohydrate intake to TEI (PCI) (low carbohydrate intake [LC], <55%; recommended carbohydrate intake [RC], > or =55% and < or =60%; high carbohydrate intake [HC], >60%). The 3-day dietary records were analyzed for TEI and proportions of macronutrients, before and 2 weeks after a small-sized (300 mL) rice bowl based education was given. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the age and BMI within the sub-groups by BMI and PCI groups. In baseline, the ratio of TEI to recommended total energy intake (RTR) of OW and OB were higher than that of NW. The PCI of HC was higher than that of LC and alcohol intake of HC was lower than that of LC. After education, the reduction of RTREI in OB was higher than that in OW and NW. The reduction of PCI in HC was higher than that of LC. CONCLUSION: A small rice bowl based meal plan was effective for the reduction of energy intake and control of marcronutrient intake in Korean obese men with type 2 diabetes consuming a high carbohydrate diet.
Body Mass Index ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Diet, Diabetic ; Diet ; Diet Records ; Energy Intake ; Humans ; Male ; Meals ; Overweight ; Pilot Projects

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to measure accessibility and to examine distribution of restaurants in the local community. METHODS: The target area of this study was two urban areas and a rural area in a city. We collected location information on all restaurants in target areas and classified all restaurants according to Korean food restaurants and Non-Korean food restaurants. We measured restaurant density per 100 m from the residences of the study population and calculated the distance of the nearest restaurant from the residences of the subjects using the Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis method. We compared the accessibility and distribution of restaurants in urban areas with that of the rural area, and compared the accessibility and distribution of Korean restaurants with that of Non-Korean restaurants. RESULTS: Restaurants in urban areas were more dense than those in the rural area, and, in urban areas, restaurants were intensively distributed around the subjects' residence. Also, there were more Non-Korean food restaurants than Korean food restaurants in urban areas, and it was opposite in the rural area. CONCLUSION: It is important that we understood the current state of the restaurant environment in the local community using GIS analysis for the first time in the field of food environment. Further research is necessary on the association of restaurant environments and the dietary life of the population.
Geographic Information Systems ; Restaurants*

OBJECTIVE: Throughout the past several years, there have been a number of entertainment celebrity suicides in South Korea. The aim of this study was to investigate the clustering of suicides following celebrities' suicides in South Korea from 2005 to 2008, particularly according to certain characteristics. METHODS: Seven celebrity suicides were examined and defined using the Korean Integrated Newspaper Database System (KINDS) and from these, we considered four affected periods occurring 28 days after each celebrity's suicide. A Poisson time-series autoregression model was used to estimate the relative risk of the total suicide number for each affected period from 2005 to 2008. Logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate whether there were specific increases in the numbers of suicides in subgroups matching each celebrity. RESULTS: There were significant increases in the risk of suicide during the affected periods. Remarkable increases were found in the subgroups matching each celebrity, especially in the group in which all factors (sex, age, and method) were similar. CONCLUSION: This study provides confirmation that a significant copycat effect was induced by these celebrities' suicides, especially among people who identified more with the celebrities. This implies that countermeasures for upright media coverage of celebrity suicides should be discussed and practiced properly in South Korea.
Imitative Behavior ; Korea* ; Logistic Models ; Mass Media ; Periodicals ; Republic of Korea ; Risk Factors ; Suicide*

BACKGROUND: In general, higher resistance rates are observed among intensive care unit (ICU) isolates than non-ICU isolates. In this study, resistance rates of isolates from ICUs and non-ICUs were compared using the data generated from 20 hospitals in Korea. METHODS: Susceptibility data were collected from 20 hospitals participating in the Korean Nationwide Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance (KONSAR) program. Duplicate isolates were excluded from the analysis. The resistance rates did not include intermediate susceptibility. RESULTS: The most prevalent bacteria in the ICUs were Staphylococcus aureus (21%) and Acinetobacter spp. (19%), and those in non-ICU were Escherichia coli (27%) and S. aureus (14%). The resistance rates were higher in ICUs than in non-ICUs at 84% and 58% for methicillin-resistant S. aureus, 86% and 70% for methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylcoccus (CNS), 34% and 19% for vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, 38% and 19% for cefotaxime-resistant E. coli, 45% and 25% for cefotaxime-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, 42% and 24% for ceftazidime-resistant Enterobacter cloacae, 29% and 11% for ceftazidime-resistant Serattia marcescens, 83% and 44% for imipenem-resistant Acinetobacter spp., and 32% and 17% for imipenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, respectively. CONCLUSION: The most prevalent bacteria in ICUs were S. aureus, CNS, and Acinetobacter spp., and high multi-drug resistance rates were observed in the Acinetobacter isolates. Therefore, infection control should be practiced in ICUs to prevent infections caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria.
Acinetobacter ; Bacteria ; Drug Resistance, Multiple ; Enterobacter cloacae ; Enterococcus faecium ; Escherichia coli ; Infection Control ; Intensive Care Units* ; Klebsiella pneumoniae ; Korea ; Methicillin Resistance ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; Staphylococcus aureus

Suicide is a leading cause of death among adolescents globally, and body weight is also a recognized reason for adolescent suicide. Therefore, we investigated the association between weight control behaviors (WCB) and suicide ideation and attempt, focusing on inappropriate weight control measures. We used data from the 2014 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey, representing a total of 35,224 boys and 34,361 girls aged 12 to 18 years. Adolescents were classified into groups based on WCB: appropriate WCB, inappropriate WCB, and no WCB. We performed logistic regression models to examine associations between WCB and suicide ideation and attempt, controlling for covariates. Both boys and girls with inappropriate WCB were more likely to report suicide ideation and attempt. Underweight and normal weight boys with inappropriate WCB were more likely to think or attempt suicide, and underweight girls with inappropriate WCB were also more likely to attempt suicide. Among five common WCB combinations, the combination of "regular exercise, fasting, eating less" was highly associated with suicide ideation and attempt. We confirmed that inappropriate WCB is associated with suicide ideation and attempt among Korean adolescents. Given the high incidence rate of suicide among adolescents and the adverse effect of inappropriate WCB, encouraging adolescents to control their weight in healthy ways is imperative.
Adolescent* ; Body Weight ; Body Weight Changes ; Cause of Death ; Eating ; Fasting ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Risk-Taking ; Suicide* ; Thinness ; Weight Perception

Emergence and spread of low-level mupirocin resistance in staphylococci have been increasingly reported in recent years. The aim of this study was to characterize missense mutations within the chromosomal isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase gene (ileS) among clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with low-level mupirocin resistance. A total of 20 isolates of MRSA with low-level mupirocin resistance (minimal inhibitory concentration, 16-64 microgram/mL) were collected from 79 patients in intensive care units for six months. The isolates were analyzed for isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase (IleS) mutations that might affect the binding of mupirocin to the three-dimensional structure of the S. aureus IleS enzyme. All isolates with low-level mupirocin resistance contained the known V588F mutation affecting the Rossman fold, and some of them additionally had previously unidentified mutations such as P187F, K226T, F227L, Q612H, or V767D. Interestingly, Q612H was a novel mutation that was involved in stabilizing the conformation of the catalytic loop containing the KMSKS motif. In conclusion, this study confirms that molecular heterogeneity in ileS gene is common among clinical MRSA isolates with low-level mupirocin resistance, and further study on clinical mutants is needed to understand the structural basis of low-level mupirocin resistance.
Staphylococcus aureus/drug effects/*genetics ; *Mutation, Missense ; Mupirocin/*pharmacology ; Methicillin Resistance ; Isoleucine-tRNA Ligase/*genetics ; Intensive Care Units ; Humans ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial

OBJECTIVES: To compared the effect of different levels of moisture of root canal on the sealing ability after filling with four different types of sealer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Single-rooted teeth (n = 90) instrumented to and apical size of 0.06 / 45 were randomly assigned to 12 experimental groups (n = 7 per group), positive/negative control groups (n = 3 per group). The teeth of the experimental groups (a. DRY; b. PAPER POINT DRY; c. WET) were obturated with sealer (Group 1-3: Sealapex; Group 4-6: AH plus; Group 7-9: Tubuli-seal; Group 10-12: EndoRez) and warm vertical compaction method. After 7 days in 37degrees C, 100% humidity, the coronal-to-apical microleakage was evaluated quantitatively using a glucose leakage model. The leaked glucose concentration was measured with spectrophotometer at 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, and 30 days. Data were recorded ad mmol/L and statistically analysed with the two-way ANOVA and Duncan test (p = 0.05). RESULTS: Throughout the experimental period Tubuli-seal/WET (Group 9) showed the highest mean cumulative glucose penetration (178.75 mmol/L), whereas AH plus/DRY (Group 4) had the least (20.78 mmol/L). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrated that the moisture condition of root canals at the time of obturation and the type of sealer that was used had a significant effect on leakage and sealing ability. Thus drying procedure according to sealer types is a critical step and should not be missed in endodontic treatment.
Calcium Hydroxide ; Composite Resins ; Dental Pulp Cavity ; Epoxy Resins ; Glucose ; Humidity ; Root Canal Filling Materials ; Salicylates ; Tooth