This study examines the legality and appropriateness of keeping the multiple-choice question items of the Korean Medical Licensing Examination (KMLE) confidential. Through an analysis of cases from the United States, Canada, and Australia, where medical licensing exams are conducted using item banks and computer-based testing, we found that exam items are kept confidential to ensure fairness and prevent cheating. In Korea, the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute (KHPLEI) has been disclosing KMLE questions despite concerns over exam integrity. Korean courts have consistently ruled that multiple-choice question items prepared by public institutions are non-public information under Article 9(1)(v) of the Korea Official Information Disclosure Act (KOIDA), which exempts disclosure if it significantly hinders the fairness of exams or research and development. The Constitutional Court of Korea has upheld this provision. Given the time and cost involved in developing high-quality items and the need to accurately assess examinees’ abilities, there are compelling reasons to keep KMLE items confidential. As a public institution responsible for selecting qualified medical practitioners, KHPLEI should establish its disclosure policy based on a balanced assessment of public interest, without influence from specific groups. We conclude that KMLE questions qualify as non-public information under KOIDA, and KHPLEI may choose to maintain their confidentiality to ensure exam fairness and efficiency.

This study examines the legality and appropriateness of keeping the multiple-choice question items of the Korean Medical Licensing Examination (KMLE) confidential. Through an analysis of cases from the United States, Canada, and Australia, where medical licensing exams are conducted using item banks and computer-based testing, we found that exam items are kept confidential to ensure fairness and prevent cheating. In Korea, the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute (KHPLEI) has been disclosing KMLE questions despite concerns over exam integrity. Korean courts have consistently ruled that multiple-choice question items prepared by public institutions are non-public information under Article 9(1)(v) of the Korea Official Information Disclosure Act (KOIDA), which exempts disclosure if it significantly hinders the fairness of exams or research and development. The Constitutional Court of Korea has upheld this provision. Given the time and cost involved in developing high-quality items and the need to accurately assess examinees’ abilities, there are compelling reasons to keep KMLE items confidential. As a public institution responsible for selecting qualified medical practitioners, KHPLEI should establish its disclosure policy based on a balanced assessment of public interest, without influence from specific groups. We conclude that KMLE questions qualify as non-public information under KOIDA, and KHPLEI may choose to maintain their confidentiality to ensure exam fairness and efficiency.

This study examines the legality and appropriateness of keeping the multiple-choice question items of the Korean Medical Licensing Examination (KMLE) confidential. Through an analysis of cases from the United States, Canada, and Australia, where medical licensing exams are conducted using item banks and computer-based testing, we found that exam items are kept confidential to ensure fairness and prevent cheating. In Korea, the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute (KHPLEI) has been disclosing KMLE questions despite concerns over exam integrity. Korean courts have consistently ruled that multiple-choice question items prepared by public institutions are non-public information under Article 9(1)(v) of the Korea Official Information Disclosure Act (KOIDA), which exempts disclosure if it significantly hinders the fairness of exams or research and development. The Constitutional Court of Korea has upheld this provision. Given the time and cost involved in developing high-quality items and the need to accurately assess examinees’ abilities, there are compelling reasons to keep KMLE items confidential. As a public institution responsible for selecting qualified medical practitioners, KHPLEI should establish its disclosure policy based on a balanced assessment of public interest, without influence from specific groups. We conclude that KMLE questions qualify as non-public information under KOIDA, and KHPLEI may choose to maintain their confidentiality to ensure exam fairness and efficiency.

PURPOSE: Recent studies have revealed recurrent alterations in the cell adhesion gene FAT4, a candidate tumor suppressor gene, in cancer. FAT atypical cadherin 4 (FAT4) is a transmembrane receptor involved in the Hippo signaling pathway, which is involved in the control of organ size. Here, we investigated the loss of FAT4 expression and its association with clinicopathological risk factors in gastric cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We assessed the expression of FAT4 by using immunohistochemistry on three tissue microarrays containing samples from 136 gastric cancer cases, radically resected in the Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital between July 2006 and June 2008. Cytoplasmic immunoexpression of FAT4 was semi-quantitatively scored using the H-score system. An H-score of > or =10 was considered positive for FAT4 expression. RESULTS: Variable cytoplasmic expressions of FAT4 were observed in gastric cancers, with 33 cases (24.3%) showing loss of expression (H-score <10). Loss of FAT4 expression was associated with an increased rate of perineural invasion (H-score <10 vs. > or =10, 36.4% vs. 16.5%, P=0.015), high pathologic T stage (P=0.015), high tumor-node-metastasis stage (P=0.017), and reduced disease-free survival time (H-score <10 vs. > or =10, mean survival 62.7+/-7.3 months vs. 79.1+/-3.1 months, P=0.025). However, no association was found between the loss of FAT4 expression and tumor size, gross type, histologic subtype, Lauren classification, lymphovascular invasion, or overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: Loss of FAT4 expression appears to be associated with invasiveness in gastric cancer.
Cell Adhesion ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Classification ; Cytoplasm ; Disease-Free Survival ; Genes, Tumor Suppressor ; Immunohistochemistry ; Organ Size ; Risk Factors ; Stomach Neoplasms*

BACKGROUND: Users of cosmetics and skin care products often report adverse reactions ranging from itching, stinging and dryness to intense inflammatory responses such as erythema, wheals and rashes. Sensitive skin has been described as a skin type showing higher reactivity than normal skin, and it develops exaggerated reactions when exposed to internal stimulants and external irritants. The alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), naturally occurring organic acids which include lactic acid, glycolic acid, citric acid, malic acid and tartaric acid are all kinds of noncorrosive irritants. The lactic acid sting test is widely accepted as a marker of sensitive skin and is employed for the selection of subjects experiencing invisible sensory irritation. OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to compare the results of sting tests conducted on the sensitive and nonsensitive skin group which had been exposed to various kinds of AHAs. METHOD: A total of 50 individuals (25 individuals with a sensitive skin group and 25 individuals with a nonsensitive skin group) were selected by the method of self-assessment questionnaires relating to sensitive skin. The subjects were tested on the face with 2 variables of 5 AHA types ( with or without Hilltop chamber occlusion), at 2 weeks intervals, for a total of 10 times. RESULTS: The positive response rate of stinging in the sensitive skin group was higher than that in the nonsensitive skin group for all tests except the glycolic acid sting test using Hilltop chamber (p<0.05). The mean value of sting scores in the sensitive skin group was higher than that in the nonsensitive skin group for all tests (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Sting tests using various kinds of AHAs are a useful method in determining sensitive skin.
Bites and Stings* ; Citric Acid ; Dental Calculus ; Erythema ; Exanthema ; Hydroxy Acids* ; Irritants ; Lactic Acid ; Patient Selection ; Pruritus ; Self-Assessment ; Skin Care ; Skin* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: The inflammatory nodules on the legs are often difficult to distinguish because of clinical variations and similarity of histopathologic features. Both erythema nodosum and erythema induratum are known to be associated with various conditions, especially tuberculosis. In Korea where tuberculosis is still a major health problem, it may be a cause for the inflammatory nodules on the legs. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to establish the correlation with Mantoux test and inflammatory nodule and evaluate the efficacy of antitubercular therapy in Korea. METHODS: We performed the prospective study of 26 patients with inflammatory nodules on the legs. All patients preformed Mantoux test and skin biopsy. The patients who had strongly positive Mantoux reaction were treated with antitubercular therapy. RESULTS: The ages of the 26 patients (Male 4:Female 22) ranged from 12 to 76 years. All patients had recurrent painful, tender subcutaneous nodules on the legs. Fourteen patients of total 26 patients had a strongly postive Mantoux reaction (induration > or = 20 mm). They were treated with combination antitubercular therapy. After antitubercular therapy, skin lesions subsided in 12 patients within 2 months and in the remaining 2 patients, subsided within 4 months. The therapy was well tolerated except for flu-like symptom in one patient and drug induced hepatitis in the other patient. CONCLUSION: We suggest that antitubercular therapy is effective in the management of patients with a strongly positive Mantoux reaction with chronic recurrent inflammatory nodules on the legs in Korea.
Biopsy ; Erythema Induratum ; Erythema Nodosum ; Hepatitis ; Humans ; Korea ; Leg* ; Prospective Studies ; Skin ; Tuberculosis

OBJECTIVE: Dopamine transporter is member of family of Na/Cl dependent neurotransmitter transporter, 12 transmembrane domain that has high substrate specificity, affinity. It is related with dopamine reuptake in presynaptic vesicle. DAT has a VNTR in its 3'-untranslated region(UTR), 3'-UTR VNTR polymorphism is related with modification of dopamine transmission. The association between with VNTR polymorphism and neuropsychiatric disorders such as alcohol dependence, and low activity ALDH has been studied but their relationship is unclear. We study about association of 3'-UTR VNTR of DAT gene and G2319A and alcohol dependence. METHOD: Group of Korea subjects were studied with alcohol dependence(n=49 male) compared to mentally healthy controls(n=53 male). The peripheral blood sample was acquired. and Polymerase Chain Reaction(PCR) amplification, Mspl procedure was done. RESULT: There was a significant difference between alcohol dependence group and normal control(genotype frequency p<0.05 allele frequency p<0.05) Allele A frequency and genotype(GG,GA) frequency was a significant difference between alcohol dependence group and normal control(p<0.05) CONCLUSION: Our study showed that genetic polymorphism of DAT1 G2319A had relation with alcohol dependence.
Alcoholism* ; Alleles ; Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins ; Dopamine* ; Gene Frequency ; Humans ; Korea ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; Polymorphism, Genetic* ; Substrate Specificity

PURPOSE: The AT-rich interactive domain 1A (ARID1A) gene encodes BRG1-associated factor 250a, a component of the SWItch/Sucrose NonFermentable chromatin remodeling complex, which is considered a tumor suppressor in many tumors. We aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of ARID1A expression in gastric cancers and explore its relationship with clinicopathologic parameters such as mismatch repair protein expression. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four tissue microarrays were constructed from 191 resected specimens obtained at Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital from 2006 to 2008. Nuclear expression of ARID1A was semiquantitatively assessed and binarized into retained and lost expression. RESULTS: Loss of ARID1A expression was observed in 62 cases (32.5%). This was associated with more frequent vascular invasion (P=0.019) and location in the upper third of the stomach (P=0.001), and trended toward more poorly differentiated subtypes (P=0.054). ARID1A loss was significantly associated with the mismatch repair-deficient phenotype (P=0.003). ARID1A loss showed a statistically significant correlation with loss of MLH1 (P=0.001) but not MSH2 expression (P=1.000). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed no statistically significant difference in overall survival; however, patients with retained ARID1A expression tended to have better overall survival than those with loss of ARID1A expression (P=0.053). In both mismatch repair-deficient and mismatch repair-proficient groups, survival analysis showed no differences related to ARID1A expression status. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated that loss of ARID1A expression is closely associated with the mismatch repair-deficient phenotype, especially in sporadic microsatellite instability-high gastric cancers.
Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly ; Chungcheongnam-do ; DNA Mismatch Repair* ; Humans ; Microsatellite Instability ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Phenotype ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms*

A glomus tumor in the mediastinum is very uncommon, and only five cases have been reported in the English literature. We recently encountered a 21-year-old woman with an asymptomatic mediastinal mass that measured 5.3 x 4.0 cm. Surgical excision was performed, and the tumor was finally diagnosed as mediastinal glomus tumor with an uncertain malignant potential. After reviewing this case and previous reports, we analyzed the clinicopathologic features associated with progression of such a tumor.
Female ; Glomus Tumor* ; Humans ; Mediastinum ; Young Adult

Pyoderma-pyostomatitis vegetans (PD-PSV) is a rare, benign, eosinophilic pustular and vegetating mucocutaneous disease characterized by skin lesions which typically involve the axillary and genital regions, the face and the scalp. PD-PSV was at first regarded as a subtype of bullous disease. However, due to the lack of abnormality under a immunofluorescent microscope, it could be diffentiated from bullous disease. A 48-year woman presented with a 6-month history of sharply-outlined, exudative, papillomatous and vesiculopustular vegetating plaques on the perioral, umbilicus and nasal mucosa, tips of her fingers and toes and perianal region. A skin biopsy taken from the lip and umbilicus showed papillary dermal edema and focal inflammatory cell infiltration composed of many eosinophils, intraepithelial microabscesses, focal spongiosis, and exocytosis. No abnormalities were found during an immunofluorescence study. The lesions were almost cleared with 20 mg of triamcinolone and 200 mg of cyclosporin medication during a 3-month treatment period.
Biopsy ; Cyclosporine ; Edema ; Eosinophils ; Exocytosis ; Female ; Fingers ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Humans ; Lip ; Nasal Mucosa ; Scalp ; Skin ; Toes ; Triamcinolone ; Umbilicus