Background: Digital panoramic dental X-ray equipment (PDX) is frequently used by patients and dental workers for diagnosis andexamination in dental institutions; however, infection control has not been properly implemented. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to systematically review the potential risk of cross-infection in the dental environment by investigating the contamination level of general aerobic bacteria and Staphylococcus aureus, which are important in hospital infections, in PDX areas that people mainly contact. Methods: This survey was conducted from March to May 2023 and covered one general hospital, three dental hospitals, and ninedental clinics equipped with PDX. Bacteria samples were collected from the left-handle, right-handle, forehead support, and head side support as the patient’s contact areas, as well as the X-ray exposure switch and left-click mouse button as the dental hygienist’s contact areas of the PDX. The collected bacteria were spread on Petrifilm, and colonies formed after 48 hours of culture were counted. Results: General aerobic bacteria and S. aureus were detected in all areas investigated. Significant differences in bacterial counts between different regions of the PDX were observed in both groups (p＜0.001). The detection rates of general aerobic bacteria (p＜0.001) and S. aureus (p＜0.001) were significantly higher in the contact areas of patients than those of dental hygienists. A positive correlation was observed between the forehead and the temple region in terms of general aerobic bacteria and S. aureus detection (r=1) (p＜0.01). Conclusion Taken together, the presence of many bacteria, including S. aureus, detected in PDX indicates that PDX has a potential cross-infection risk. Our results therefore highlight the need for the development of appropriate disinfection protocols for reusable medical devices such as PDX and periodic infection prevention training for hospital-related workers, including dental hygienists.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence rate of dyslipidemia and the level of related factors in adolescents groups in Seoul and Yangpyong area. METHODS: Design; School based survey during May-Jun 1996 in Seoul and Yangpyong county. Subject; 2,453 boys and girls, aged 13 to 19 years; 1,137 Seoul and 1,316 Yangpyong county. Main Outcome Measures; Prevalence rates of raised serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, decreased HDL-cholesterol, obesity, and levels of energy intake and expenditure RESULTS: Energy intake and fat intake of boys were higher than those of girls and they were higher in Seoul. Energy expenditure per day of boys was bigger than that of girls too. Prevalence rate of obesity was higher in boys of Seoul(15.2%) and girls in Yangpyong county(14.0%). Serum lipid profiles(total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol) were higher among girls and all prevalence rates of dyslipidemia were higher in boys in Seoul and in girls in Yangpyong county. Especially, girls(29.1%) in Yangpyong had raised serum cholesterol level(> or =170 mg/dl). In contrast, boys in Seoul had higher level of decreased HDL-cholesterol(46.8%) compared to Yangpyong(23.6%). The relationships between serum lipid profiles and relative weights and sex are highly significant. And the relationship between triglycerides and energy intake is significant(p=0.038). But, the associations between serum lipid profiles and energy expenditure had borderline significances. CONCLUSIONS: Hypercholesterolemia rates in girls were higher. Obesity prevalence rate was highest in boys of Seoul. Relative weight and sex are significantly related to lipid profiles. Therefore, Korea is in need of preventive strategies for different obesity and gender groups.
Adolescent* ; Cholesterol ; Dyslipidemias ; Energy Intake ; Energy Metabolism ; Female ; Health Expenditures ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Korea ; Obesity ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Prevalence ; Seoul ; Triglycerides ; Weights and Measures

This study was conducted to reveal nutrient intakes and factors affecting the nutritional status of elderly women in a rural area. The data of dietary intakes were obtained using 24hour recall data which were collected from 244 women subjects older than fifty years old. The data from the questionnaire regarding eating habits were obtained through interview. The education level and economic status of the subjects in this study were very low and education level(p<0.001), occupation(p<0.001), marital status(p<0.001), family size(p<0.05) and smoking habit(p<0.05) were significantly different among different age groups. The nutrient intakes of all age groups were not adequate to RDA level-specially, micronutrient intakes were lower in those in their sixties compared to those in their fifties. Important factors associated with variation in nutrient intakes of subjects were beef preference, regular eating habits, and education level. Therefore it is necessary to focus on subjects with low education levels and low income in order to improve the health and nutritional atatus of the elderly in rural areas. It is necessary to prepare a nutritional education program to establish and maintain good eating habits of the elderly in rural areas.
Aged ; Eating ; Education ; Female ; Humans ; Micronutrients ; Nutritional Status ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Fibronectin, a glycoprotein, is present in plasma and extracellular matrix and is responsible for cellular adhesion. Fibronectin was purified from autologous plasma of two persistent corneal epithelial defect patients by affinity chromatogaphy and administered topically 500 micro ml, 2 dropsper time, five times a day for 3 weeks. Reepithelization began three to seven days after initiation of treatment with autologous purified fibronectin eyedrops, and epithelial defects healed nearly completely and subjective symptoms were relieved. No side effects were observed. Over a follow-up period of 4 to 23 wks, no recurrences were noted.
Extracellular Matrix ; Fibronectins* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glycoproteins ; Humans ; Ophthalmic Solutions ; Plasma ; Recurrence

PURPOSE: In the present study, the volume of hard exudates (HEs) was quantitatively measured using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and the agreement and correlation with area of HEs in fundus photography were analyzed. METHODS: The medical records of patients with diabetic macular edema who underwent focal laser treatment and were followed up more than 3 months were retrospectively evaluated. An automated customized program designed for measuring HE volume was used. The HEs in each OCT B-scan binary image were measured using 512 × 128 pixels, 6 mm × 6 mm OCT cube scans. The volume was measured by summing the segmented HEs in each 128 B-scan image. The area was measured in 6 mm x 6 mm fundus photography. The volume and area were measured before and 3 months after the treatment. The agreement of increase and decrease in HEs, and the correlation of volume and area of HEs were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 35 patients (39 eyes) were included in the study. The volume was significantly reduced from 0.07978 to 0.02565 mm³ at 3 months (p < 0.001). The area was also significantly reduced from 15.35 to 8.60 mm² at 3 months (p < 0.001). The volume was decreased in 34 eyes and increased in 5 eyes. The area was decreased in 37 eyes and increased in 2 eyes. A significant correlation between volume and area was found (p < 0.001) as well as agreement between increase and decrease in volume and area. CONCLUSIONS: In the 3-dimensional quantitative volumetric analysis, the volume and area of HEs were correlated and the direction of increase and decrease was concordant. Considering the distribution of HEs in multiple layers of the retina, volumetric analysis could be considered a substitute for the analysis of HE area.
Exudates and Transudates ; Humans ; Macular Edema ; Medical Records ; Methods ; Photography ; Retina ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, Optical Coherence

Purpose: This study examined the effects of nutritional education related to sugar in elementary school children on nutritional knowledge, attitude, and dietary behavior. Methods: A questionnaire survey on the knowledge, attitudes, and intake related to sugar was conducted on 572 students in grades 4–5, who were attending five elementary schools in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do. Results: Among the survey subjects, 270 (49.8%) were cognitive in education, and 302 (50.2%) were non-cognitive. The sugar-related knowledge score was 3.67 points in the cognitive education group, which was significantly higher than the 3.55 points in the non-cognitive group. The rate of checking the sugar content in the nutrition label was 31.2% in the cognitive education group, which was significantly higher than in the non-cognitive group, 15.4%. The cognitive education group had a higher intake frequency of unsweetened candy, jelly, and raw fruits, and higher sugar intake of unsweetened bread, white milk, and raw fruits than the non-cognitive group. In the case of the cognitive education group, the total knowledge score showed a positive correlation with the food behavior scores, and a negative correlation with the frequency of purchasing snacks after school, and the average sugar intake per day. In the cognitive education group only, the education of nutrition teachers was analyzed as a factor to reduce the total sugar intake. The cognitive group of sugar education tried to eat foods with a lower sugar content than the non-cognitive group, and nutrition education was an important factor affecting the sugar intake. Conclusion To reduce the sugar intake of elementary school students, it will be necessary to practice oriented-nutrition education by nutrition teachers continuously. In addition, it is important to develop and disseminate various types of nutrition education materials related to sugar that can be utilized easily by nutrition teachers.

Up to 1937, 357 cases of tongue tuberculosis had been reported. However, Since potent antituberculosis drugs had been introduced, the incidence of oral tuberculosis lesions has been dramatically decreased. This might be related to the marked vascularity of the tongue which enables a high concentration of the drug to be reached to the lesion. Both the primary and secondary types of tuberculosis can be revealed in the oral cavity. In the primary type, the causative organisms are directly inoculated in the oral mucosa of a person who has never been tuberculosis earlier and who has not acquired an immunity to the disease, In the secondary type, tuberculosis of the oral cavity is coexistent with pulmonary disease. We report a case of tongue tuberculosis with pulmonary tuberculosis, with a review of literature.
Humans ; Incidence ; Lung Diseases ; Mouth ; Mouth Mucosa ; Tongue* ; Tuberculosis* ; Tuberculosis, Oral ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary*

BACKGROUND: Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) exert immunomodulatory effects in the treatment of transplant rejection. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of ADSCs on the skin graft survival in a human-to-rat xenograft transplantation model and to compare single and multiple injections of ADSCs. METHODS: Full-thickness human skin xenografts were transplanted into the backs of Sprague–Dawley rats. The rats were injected subcutaneously on postoperative days 0, 3, and 5. The injections were as follows: triple injections of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS group), a single injection of ADSCs and double injections of PBS (ADSC 9 1 group), and triple injections of ADSCs (ADSC 9 3 group). The immunomodulatory effects of ADSCs on human skin xenografts were assessed. RESULTS: Triple injections of ADSCs considerably delayed cell-mediated xenograft rejection compared with the PBS and ADSC 9 1 groups. The vascularization and collagen type 1–3 ratios in the ADSC 9 3 group were significantly higher than those in the other groups. In addition, intragraft infiltration of CD3-, CD4-, CD8-, and CD68-positive cells was reduced in the ADSC 9 3 group. Furthermore, in the ADSC 9 3 group, the expression levels of proinflammatory cytokine interferon-gamma (IFN-c) were decreased and immunosuppressive prostaglandin E synthase (PGES) was increased in the xenograft and lymph node samples. CONCLUSION This study presented that triple injections of ADSCs appeared to be superior to a single injection in suppressing cell-mediated xenograft rejection. The immunomodulatory effects of ADSCs are associated with the downregulation of IFN-c and upregulation of PGES in skin xenografts and lymph nodes.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Identification of patients at high risk for perioperative cardiac events (POCE) is clinically important. This study aimed to determine whether preoperative measurement of plasma N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) could predict POCE, and compared its predictive value with that of conventional cardiac risk factors and stress thallium scans in patients undergoing vascular surgery. METHODS: Patients scheduled for non-cardiac vascular surgery were prospectively enrolled. Clinical risk factors were identified, and NT-proBNP levels and stress thallium scans were obtained. POCE was the composite of acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure including acute pulmonary edema, and primary cardiac death within 5 days after surgery. A modified Revised Cardiac Risk Index (RCRI) was proposed and compared with NT-proBNP; a positive result for ischemia and a significant perfusion defect (> or = 3 walls, moderate to severely decreased, reversible perfusion defect) on the thallium scan were added to the RCRI. RESULTS: A total of 365 patients (91% males) with a mean age of 67 years had a median NT-proBNP level of 105.1 pg/mL (range of quartile, 50.9 to 301.9). POCE occurred in 49 (13.4%) patients. After adjustment for confounders, an NT-proBNP level of > 302 pg/mL (odds ratio [OR], 5.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.1 to 10.3; p < 0.001) and a high risk by the modified RCRI (OR, 3.9; 95% CI, 1.6 to 9.3; p = 0.002) were independent predictors for POCE. Comparison of the area under the curves for predicting POCE showed no statistical differences between NT-proBNP and RCRI. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative measurement of NT-proBNP provides information useful for prediction of POCE as a single parameter in high-risk patients undergoing noncardiac vascular surgery.
Aged ; Biological Markers/blood ; Chi-Square Distribution ; Female ; Heart Diseases/blood/*etiology/mortality ; Heart Failure/etiology ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Myocardial Infarction/etiology ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain/*blood ; Odds Ratio ; Peptide Fragments/*blood ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Preoperative Period ; Prospective Studies ; ROC Curve ; Risk Assessment ; Risk Factors ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Surgical Procedures, Elective ; Time Factors ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon ; Treatment Outcome ; Vascular Diseases/blood/mortality/radionuclide imaging/*surgery ; Vascular Surgical Procedures/*adverse effects/mortality

Even though perilla is one of the most commonly consumed grain in Asia including Korea, perilla allergy is rare. A 2 year-old boy had erythematous popular urticaria on his whole body, as well as vomiting and diarrhea after ingestion of boiled perilla. On the second day of admission, old blood clots in the vomitus and blood tinged stool were shown. He underwent an esophago gastro duodenoscopy which showed a large duonenal ulcer. After treatment, his general condition improved. We report a case of perilla allergy with brief review of related literature.
Asia ; Edible Grain ; Child ; Diarrhea ; Duodenoscopy ; Eating ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Korea ; Perilla ; Preschool Child ; Tolnaftate ; Ulcer ; Urticaria ; Vomiting