PURPOSE: This study was done to examine the relationship between sexual permissiveness, family function and parent-adolescent communication among adolescents. METHOD: A descriptive correlation approach was used and the participants were 956 male and female students. Data were collected by questionnaire survey using convenience sampling. The instruments were the Family APGAR Questionnaire by Smilkstein(1978), PAC by Olson and Barnes(1982), and the Premarital Sexual Permissiveness Questionnaire by Reiss(1967). Data were analyzed using the SPSS 10.0 program with descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients, t-test, and ANOVA. RESULTS: Family function was significant according to school record, economic status, living arrangement of parent. Parent-Adolescent Communication was significant according to religion, economic status, having a boy/girl friend, and experience of sexual intercourse. Sexual permissiveness was significant for all except economic status. Correlation among the variables showed that parent-adolescent communication was negatively correlated to sexual permissiveness(r=-.127, p=.000) and positively to family function(r=.368, p=.000). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that parent-adolescent communication and family function are associated with sexual permissiveness, and the findings of this study are expected to make a contribution to creating an ideal sexual culture for youth.
Adolescent* ; Coitus ; Female ; Friends ; Humans ; Male ; Parents ; Permissiveness* ; Residence Characteristics ; Child Health ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The subjects of this study were 100 elderly people who were over 60 years of age and had chronic pain. The study examined the matter of quality of life and self-efficacy of elderly patients with chronic pain including the influence of related factors on these variables. Also, by examining their relation, it provides basic data for the development of efficient nursing interventions for the elderly patients with chronic pain. The tools were the general self-efficacy scale by Sherer & Maddux(1982) and a specific self-efficacy Scale(Lorig et al, 1989) modified to better suit the subjects of this study. The quality of life scale by You-Ja Ro(1988) modified to better suit the subjects of this study was used. The data were collected from August to October 1999. Four researchers and two research assistants developed a data collection protocol subjected to a pilot study for confirmation of validity. In this study, the research assistants read the questionaire to the subjects and recorded the responses themselves. The interviews lasted 40-50 minutes on an average. The data thus collected were analyzed in terms of t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, using the SAS PC program. The major findings are as follows: 1) For self-efficacy it was found that males had higher self-efficacy than females for specific self-efficacy. But for general efficacy, males and females showed similar results. The the quality of life was found to be higher for males than females. 2) A positive correlation was identified between the specific self-efficacy, general self-efficacy and quality of life. 3) The general characteristics affecting the self-efficacy of elderly patients with chronic pain were employment, age, level of education, spouse, economic status and income. Self-efficacy was higher among those who were employed, aged between 66-70, well-educated, married and rich or having their own income. 4) The general characteristics affecting the quality of life of elderly patients with chronic pain were lodging with children, religion, level of education and economic status. The quality of life was higher among those who lived with their children and were Buddhists, were well-educated and rich.
Aged* ; Child ; Chronic Pain* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Education ; Employment ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Nursing ; Pilot Projects ; Quality of Life* ; Spouses

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the important factors affecting survival and pregnancy rate in frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycles. METHODS: we performed reprospective analysis in 738 cycles of frozen-thawed embryo transfers, in relation to the insemination methods, the freezing stage of embryo, patient's age, infertility factors and the origin of injected sperm in ICSI cycles. After conventional IVF or ICSI, the supernumerary PN stage zygotes or multicellular embryos were cryopreserved by slow freezing protocol with 1,2-propandiol (PROH) as a cryoprotectant. RESULTS: The survival rates of thawed embryos were 69.3% (1585/2287) in conventional IVF group and 71.7&% (1645/2295) in ICSI group. After frozen-thawed embryo transfers, 27.0% (92/341) and 32.0% (109/341) of pregnancy rates were achieved in conventional IVF and ICSI group, respectively. There were no significant difference in the survival and pregnancy rates according to the insemination methods, the freezing stage and patient's age. However, the pregnancy rate (36.2%) of male factor infertility (22.9%). In ICSI group, the origin of injected sperm did not affect the outcome of frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycles. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates that acceptable clinical outcomes can be achieved after the transfer of frozen-thawed embryos regardless of the stage of embryos for freezing, the patient's age and the origin of injected sperm.
Embryo Transfer* ; Embryonic Structures* ; Freezing ; Humans ; Infertility ; Insemination ; Male ; Pregnancy Rate* ; Pregnancy* ; Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic ; Spermatozoa ; Survival Rate ; Zygote

No abstract available.
Endometrium* ; Female ; Humans

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality. It is well known that androgen and sex hormone-binding globulin(SHBG) in women were associated with risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as obesity, central fat accumulation and atherogenic lipid profile. High resolution B-mode ultrasonography can visualize directly both luminal and vessel wall characteristics, and ultrasonic measurement of carotid intima-medial thickness(IMT) can be used to investigate the atherosclerosis of coronary, cerebral and peripheral arteries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate(DHEA-S) and SHBG, and body fat distribution pattern, cardiovascular risk factor and carotid atherosclerosis in women. METHODS: Blood pressure, fasting serum glucose, insulin, lipid profile, SHBG and DHEA-S were measured. Body fat distribution pattern was assessed by waist to hip ratio, waist to thigh ratio and subscapular to triceps skin fold thickness ratio, faf mass measured by bioelectric impedance analyzer, subcutaneous fat area, visceral fat area, and visceral to subcutaneous fat area ratio(VSR) at the level of umbilicus using the computed tomography. The IMT of the carotid artery was measured by high resolution B mode ultrasound as a marker of atherosclerosis. RESULTS: 1) There was no significant difference of age-adjusted values of carotid IMT among subjects with NGT(0.426+/-0.09mm), IGT(0.46+/-10.09mm) and NIDDM(0.453+/-0.11mm). 2) In postrnenopausal women, carotid IMT was greater(0.484+/-0.11mm, p=0.05) than premenopausal women(0.426+/-0.08mm), but it was not significant after age adjustment. Serum SHBG and DHEA-S levels in postmenopausal women were significantly lower(p<0.05) than premenopausal women, but they were not significant after age adjustment. 3) Carotid IMT was significantly correlated with age(r=0.37, p<0.01), fasting serum glucose (r=0.32, p<0.01), total cholesterol(r= 0.25, p<0.05), LDL-cholesterol(r=0.26, p<0.05), visceral fat area(r=0.35, p<0.01) and VSR(r=0.31, p<0.05). 4) By the stepwise multiple regression analysis, carotid IMT was positively and significantly associated with age(p<0.01) and serum DHEA-S concentration(p<0.05) in dent of age, body mass index, waist to hip ratio, fasting serum glucose. CONCLUSION: Carotid IMT was associated with age and serum DHEA-S concentration in women without cardiovascular disease. Therefore, serum DHEA-S may be one of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in women. However, we could not conclude its cause-result relationship because of cross sectional nature of our study, and prospective study will be needed.
Arteries ; Atherosclerosis ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Body Fat Distribution ; Body Mass Index ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Carotid Arteries ; Carotid Artery Diseases* ; Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate* ; Dehydroepiandrosterone* ; Electric Impedance ; Fasting ; Female ; Humans ; Insulin ; Intra-Abdominal Fat ; Mortality ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Phenobarbital ; Risk Factors ; Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin* ; Skin ; Subcutaneous Fat ; Thigh ; Ultrasonics ; Ultrasonography ; Umbilicus ; Waist-Hip Ratio

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of foot reflexzone massage on state - anxiety and discomfort of ovarian cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. METHOD: A quasi experimental design with a non equivalent control group and non synchronized design was used. The experiment was conducted from October 1, 2003 to September 30, 2004. The subjects consisted of 40 patients admitted to C University Hospital. Twenty subjects were assigned to the experimental group and received foot reflexzone massage everyday for 3 days. The other 20 subjects were in the control group and received routine care. Foot reflexzone massage was done on both feet of the subjects for 30 minutes for 3 days using standard protocol. The 'State-Anxiety Inventory' developed by Spielberger was used to measure the degree of state-anxiety. Discomfort was assessed using the 'Symptom Distress Scale' of McCorkle and Young. Data was analyzed by a SAS program using t-test, Wilcoxon signed rank sum test and Wilcoxon rank sum test. RESULTS: State-anxiety and discomfort of subjects receiving foot reflexzone massage were significantly lower than those of the control group. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that foot reflexzone massage could be an effective nursing intervention for relieving state-anxiety and discomfort in ovarian cancer patients.
Anxiety ; Drug Therapy* ; Foot* ; Humans ; Massage* ; Nursing ; Ovarian Neoplasms* ; Research Design

Inflammatory pseudotumors of the bronchus have been reported infrequently. Histologic diagnosis remains difficult because of their Polymorphic histologic characteristics and confusing terminology, which are also the problems in the diagnosis of intrapulmonary pseudotumors. We report a case of inflammatory pseudotumor in the left main bronchus which occurred in a 37-year-old man. Histologically, the main portion of the tumor was composed of pale eosinophilic spindle shaped cells covered by respiratory epithelium with squamous metaplasia. Mononuclear inflammatory cells, including plasma cells but acute inflammatory cells were also present in the superficial portion.

Adenomatoid tumor of the uterus is a rare benign neoplasm which has been known as mesothelial origin. Characteristically, it appears as a small nodular lesion less than 2.0cm in the myometrium of subserosal region. We describe a case of giant adenomatoid tumor of the uterus having multicystic gross appearance. A 49-year-old woman complained of vaginal bleeding. The tumor was an intramural mass with maximum diameter of 10 cm and located at posterior wall of the uterus. Histologically, the tumor was composed of multiple cystic cavities of variable size lined by flattened cells, lying among thin septa of connective tissue. Immunohistochemically, the cells are positive for low molecular weight cytokeratin(CAM 5.2) and are negative for factor VIII.
Female ; Humans

Increased and inappropriate production of aldosterone from the adrenal gland is known as primary aldosteronism and leads to sodium retention with hypertension, suppression of plasma renin, and hypokalemia and its manifestations. It is due mainly to a solitary adenoma, bilateral hyperplasia, or rarely an adrenal carcinoms. Primary aldosteronism due to an adenoma is usually treated by surgical excision. Preoper-ative managements include the correction of hypokalemia, volume derangement, and metabolic alkalosis with spironolactone and the trestment of existing hypertension. The authors report a case of unilateral adrenalectomy and anesthetic considerations during perioperative periods.
Adenoma* ; Adrenal Glands ; Adrenalectomy ; Aldosterone ; Alkalosis ; Humans ; Hyperaldosteronism* ; Hyperplasia ; Hypertension ; Hypokalemia ; Perioperative Period ; Plasma ; Renin ; Sodium ; Spironolactone

No abstract available.
Esophageal Atresia* ; Tracheoesophageal Fistula*