BACKGROUND: Coal workers' pneumoconiosis is a fibrotic lung disease resulting from chronic inhalation of coal dust. The precise mechanism of lung fibrosis in coal workers' pneumoconiosis is uncertain. However, a relationship between the stimulation of fibroblast proliferation and collagen production by mediators released from inflammatory and resident lung cells is thought to be a major factor. The transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β), a multifunctional cytokine and growth factor, plays a key role in the scarring and fibrotic processes due to its ability to induce extracellular matrix proteins and modulate the growth and immune function of many cell types. To determine the involvement of TGF-βin the development of lung fibrosis in coal workers' pneumoconiosis, the TGF-β1 level in plasma was measured in patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis. METHODS: Plasma was collected from 40 patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis (20 with simple coal workers' pneumoconiosis and 20 with complicated coal workers' pneumoconiosis) and from 10 normal controls. The ELISA method was used to measure the plasma TGF-β1 concentration. RESULTS: Compared to the control group (0.63±0.18 ng/mL), there was no significant difference in the plasma TGF-β1 level in patients with simple coal workers' pneumoconiosis (0.64±0.17 ng/mL) (p>.05). However, in patients with complicated coal workers' pneumoconiosis the plasma TGF-β1 level (0.79±0.18 ng/mL) was significantly higher than in patients with simple coal workers' pneumoconiosis and control group (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The data suggests that TGF-β1 has some influence in the development of lung fibrosis in coal workers' pneumoconiosis.
Cicatrix ; Coal* ; Collagen ; Dust ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Extracellular Matrix Proteins ; Fibroblasts ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Inhalation ; Lung ; Lung Diseases ; Plasma* ; Pneumoconiosis* ; Pulmonary Fibrosis

No abstract available.
Dislocations* ; Knee*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) often requires patients to devote their time to complete the questionnaire than they expect. Given that it limits the effectiveness of THI in a busy clinical practice that desires a quick and easy assessment of tinnitus handicap, this study evaluated clinical usefulness of a Simplified version of Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI-S) in measuring the severity of tinnitus handicap as well as predicting the psychological distress associated with tinnitus. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 129 outpatients suffering from tinnitus (61 with normal hearing and 68 with hearing loss) participated in this study. The responses of THI-S (10 items) and THI (25 items) were evaluated to quantify the subjective handicap of tinnitus. The self-perceived level of stress, anxiety, and depression of all participants was measured with a series of self-report questionnaires such as Korean version of Brief Encounter Psychosocial Instrument (BEPSI), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), respectively. All the questionnaire responses were analyzed using non-parametric analyses to examine the convergence, comparability, internal consistency reliability and validity of THI-S. RESULTS: The severity of tinnitus handicap and the relevant psychological distress greatly varied across individuals. The THI-S responses were comparable to original THI responses, regardless of hearing status of patients. The internal consistency of THI-S responses was found to be good for total score (Cronbach's alpha=0.83-0.91), with moderately high consistency for the emotional, functional, and catastrophic subscales. Significant (p<0.01) correlations of the THI-S with the THI (r(s)=0.95) as well as with the BEPSI, STAI, BDI questionnaires (r(s)=0.40-0.45) suggest that the THI-S questionnaire appeared to be useful to provide objective data of subjective tinnitus handicap as well as predict psychological distress. Three factors were extracted through factor analysis, which explained 73% of the total variance. CONCLUSIONS: Despite reducing the length of 25 items of THI to 10 items, the THI-S can be used as s a simple but reliable and valid tool for evaluating severity of tinnitus handicap as well as detecting its negative impact on psychological functioning.
Anxiety ; Depression ; Hearing ; Humans ; Outpatients ; Reproducibility of Results ; Tinnitus*

No abstract available.

Primary carcinoma of the fallopian tube is an extremely rare malignancy of the female genital tract. We have experienced two cases of primary carcinoma in the fallopian tube. One case with huge mass which was diagnosed incidentally on the basis of the biopsy findings, and the other case of the 3 years follow-up. We reported the cases with a brief review of the concemed literatures.
Biopsy ; Fallopian Tubes* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans

PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to analyze visitors' food needs and identify the Push-Pull factor in Jeonju Hanok Village. METHODS: A questionnaire was developed based on previous research to survey Korean adults who visited Jeonju city. A total of 580 questionnaires were used for the analysis. RESULTS: Most of the subjects who visited Jeonju Hanok Village had food purchase experiences in Jeonju Hanok Village (96.4%). ‘Traditional Korean food (26.5%)’ was the most purchased food, followed by ‘foreign food (25.8%)’ and ‘Korean food combined with foreign food (16.8%)’. Satisfaction of food purchases (3.35 points) was higher than average. The primary reason for satisfaction was ‘the food is delicious (23.0%)’, and the reason for dissatisfaction was ‘the food is expensive (48.1%)’. In the push and pull factor analysis for identifying visit motivation, ‘local food seeking’, ‘experience seeking’, ‘relaxation seeking’, and ‘friendship seeking’ were push factors while ‘traditional culture’, ‘facility convenience’, ‘experience activity’, and ‘food experience’ were pull factors. There was a significant correlation between the push and pull factors. Regression analysis showed that all push factors influenced satisfaction. However, among pull factors, only ‘food experience’ and ‘traditional culture’ influenced satisfaction. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, this study indicates that food-related factors are destination characteristics (Pull factor) influencing intrinsic visit motivation (Push factor) and satisfaction. It is necessary to develop various food tourism products to satisfy visitors' needs and continuous visits in Jeonju Hanok Village. This study suggests the importance of research on food factors and provides useful basic data to establish positioning strategies for food cultural development in Jeonju Hanok Village.
Adult ; Humans ; Jeollabuk-do* ; Motivation

The original version of this article contained an error in Methods section under Developing Survey Instruments. The publisher would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused.
Jeollabuk-do* ; Methods*

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the injection rate affects the spread of spinal anesthesia in cesarean sections. METHODS: Spinal anesthesia was performed on 45 parturients in a cesaren section. Dural puncture was performed in the sitting position with a 27-gauge Whitacre needle. All patients received a mixture of 10 mg hyperbaric bupivacaine and 15 microgram fentanyl. Twenty five (Group I) patients received rapid injections (about 0.2-0.3 ml/sec) and twenty (Group II) received slow injections (about 0.1 ml/sec). Anesthetic levels, time to T4 sensory block, maximal height sensory block and incidence of hypotension were measured. RESULTS: There was significantly rapid T4 sensory block in group I but no differences in maximal height of sensory block and incidence of hypotension between the two groups. CONCLSIONS: We conclude that injection rate (about 0.1-0.3 ml/sec) has a statistically insignificant influence on the maximal height sensory block and incidence of hypotension.
Anesthesia, Spinal* ; Bupivacaine* ; Cesarean Section* ; Female ; Fentanyl ; Humans ; Hypotension ; Incidence ; Needles ; Pregnancy ; Punctures

Alveolar Bone Loss ; Humans ; Maxilla ; Maxillary Sinus ; Prognosis ; Transplantation, Heterologous ; Transplants

Objective: Using microRNA (miR) as a biomarker has been a new way for diagnosing many diseases. Although many studies on miR-biomarker have been published, researches on miR-biomarker in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) are limited. Therefore, the objective of this study was to valiate a candidate serum miR as a novel disease-specific novel miR for AS. Methods: Total RNAs were extracted from sera samples of patients with AS (n=57), patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (n=37), or healthy controls (HC) (n=19). Through serum miR screening by microarray, differential levels of miR were subsequently validated by real time PCR. At the time of serum sampling, clinical values such as sex, age, disease duration, AS-disease activity score, uveitis, peripheral arthritis, enthesitis, human leukocyte antigen-B27 presence, and recent medication were evaluated. Results: We found that the expression level of serum miR-3620-3p in AS was notably lower than that in RA or HC. The receiver–operator characteristics curve for determining the diagnostic accuracy showed an area under the curve of 0.919 (p＜0.001) with a sensitivity of 87.1% and a specificity of 86.0%. Correlation studies showed that the expression level of miR-3620-3p was only associated with the development of uveitis (p＜0.05). Conclusion Serum miR-3620-3p can be as a new biomarker for diagnosing AS.