Many of early findings regarding intestinal stem cells (ISCs) and their niche in the human intestine have relied on colorectal cancer cell lines and labor-intensive and time-consuming mouse models. However, these models cannot accurately recapitulate the physiologically relevant aspects of human ISCs. In this study, we demonstrate a reliable and robust culture method for 3D expanding intestinal spheroids (InSexp ) mainly comprising ISCs and progenitors, which can be derived from 3D human intestinal organoids (HIOs). We did functional chararcterization of InSexp derived from 3D HIOs, differentiated from human pluripotent stem cells, and optimization culture methods. Our results indicate that InSexp can be rapidly expanded and easily passaged, and show enhanced growth rates via WNT pathway activation. InSexp are capable of exponential cell expansion and cryopreservation. Furthermore, in vitro-matured HIO-derived InSexp proliferate faster than immature HIO-derived InSexp with preservation of the parental HIO characteristics. These findings may facilitate the development of scalable culture systems for the long-term maintenance of human ISCs and provide an alternative platform for studying ISC biology.

Amelanotic maliganat melanoma is a comparatively rare disease. It accounts for 1.8~8.1% of all malignant melanoma. It is sometime difficult to diagnose amelanotic malignant melanoma because there is no pigmentation, clinically. Polypoid melanoma is a variant of nodular melanoma, which in depth seldom reaches the reticular dermis. The main part of the tumor is located above the nearby epidermis, raised in the form resembling cauliflower. We report a rare case of amelanotic malignant melanoma with polypoid feature in a 78-year-old woman who presented a single bright red nodule on the left thigh.
Aged ; Brassica ; Dermis ; Epidermis ; Female ; Humans ; Melanoma ; Melanoma, Amelanotic ; Pigmentation ; Rare Diseases ; Thigh

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Although iodine is essential for thyroid hormone production and controls many metabolic processes, there are few reports on the iodine intake of the population because of the scarcity of information on the iodine content in food. This study estimated the iodine intake of Koreans from brown seaweed, the major source of iodine in nature. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The dietary intake data from the recent Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016–2021) and the iodine content in brown seaweed were used for the estimation. Nationwide brown seaweed samples were collected and prepared using the representative preparation/cooking methods in the Koreans’ diet before iodine analysis by alkaline digestion followed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. RESULTS: The mean (± SE) iodine intake from sea mustard was 96.01 ± 2.36 µg/day in the Korean population. Although the iodine content in kelp was approximately seven times higher than that in sea mustard, the mean iodine intake from kelp (except broth) was similar to that of sea mustard, 115.58 ± 7.71 µg/day, whereas that from kelp broth was 347.57 ± 10.03 µg/day. The overall mean iodine intake from brown seaweed was 559.16 ± 13.15 µg/day, well over the Recommended Nutrient Intake of iodine for Koreans. Nevertheless, the median intake was zero because only 37.6% of the population consumed brown seaweed on the survey date, suggesting that Koreans do not consume brown seaweed daily. CONCLUSION The distribution of the usual intake of iodine from brown seaweed in Koreans would be much tighter, resulting in a lower proportion of people exceeding the tolerable upper intake levels and possibly a lower mean intake than this study presented. Further study evaluating the iodine nutriture of Koreans based on the usual intake is warranted.Nevertheless, this study adds to the few reports on the iodine nutriture of Koreans.

Clinical suggestion for the limitation of application time of NaOCl solution is needed to avoid large reductions in resin-dentin bond strength. The aim of this study was to measure the change of micro-tensile bond strength after the various application time of 5.25% NaOCl solution to pulp chamber dentin in endodontic access cavity, and to evaluate the effect of 10% sodium ascorbate application for 10 min on bond strength after the treatment of 5.25% NaOCl solution. In this experiment, there were no statistical differences(p>0.05) in bond strengths between upper chamber dentin and lower chamber dentin. NaOCl-treated group for 20 min did not show any significant decrease(p>0.05) in bond strength than non-treated control group. In contrast to that, bond strengths of NaOCl-treated groups for 40 & 80 min were significantly lower(p<0.05) than that of non-treated control group. 10% sodium ascorbate retreated group for 10 min after 5.25% NaOCl application for 40 min to chamber dentin showed the recovery of bond strength significantly. However, the bond strength of sodium ascorbate retreated group after 5.25% NaOCl application for 80 min was still significantly lower(p<0.05) compared to the non-treated control group, which means the reductions in resin-dentin bond strength were not fully reversed. On the contrary, sodium ascorbate retreated group after 5.25% NaOCl application for 5 min showed significantly higher(p<0.05) bond strength compared to the control group, which demonstrates its superior recovery effect. In SEM exminations of specimens retreated with 10% sodium ascorbate after NaOCl application for 40 & 80 min showed that resin tags were formed clearly and densely, but weakly in density and homogeneity of individual resin tag compared to the control specimen.
Ascorbic Acid ; Dental Pulp Cavity ; Dentin ; Sodium

PURPOSE: Delayed graft function (DGF) is defined as the need for dialysis during the first week after renal transplantation, regardless of urine output. The aim of this study is to determine the incidence and possible etiologic factors of delayed graft function and its impact on outcome in living donor kidney transplantation. METHODS: We selected 93 cases, which could be followed up, of living donor kidney transplantation from January 1, 1993 to June 30, 1995 at Transplantation center in Hanyang University Hospital. We analyzed multiple independent variables for DGF and graft survival such as donor and recipient age, donor and recipient sex, recipient/donor body weight ratio, the duration of dialysis before transplantation, HLA mismatch and cold ischemic time. RESULTS: The incidence of DGF was 18.3% in overall. The overall 5 year graft survival rate was 92.3%, 73.3% in DGF group and 96.8% in immediate function group. We suggested that recipient/donor body weight ratio (> or = 1.2 vs. <1.2) had statistical significance as etiologic factor (P<0.05). The creatinine level of 30th postoperative day was 3.44 mg/dL in DGF group, and 1.59 mg/dL in immediate graft function group (P=0.016). DGF combined with acute rejection (AR) had more heavy negative impact on outcome of transplants than DGF alone. CONCLUSION: The incidence of DGF was higher in recipient/donor body weight ratio > or =1.2 group than in <1.2 group. It may be due to relatively smaller nephron mass. The graft function was poor when DGF combined to AR, we suggested that recipient/donor body weight ratio might be considered in donor selection in living donor kidney transplantation, to lower the incidence of DGF.
Body Weight ; Cold Ischemia ; Creatinine ; Delayed Graft Function* ; Dialysis ; Donor Selection ; Graft Survival ; Humans ; Incidence ; Kidney Transplantation* ; Living Donors* ; Nephrons ; Risk Factors* ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants

OBJECTIVES: Intensified competitiveness in the healthcare industry has increased the number of healthcare centers and propelled the introduction of customer relationship management (CRM) systems to meet diverse customer demands. This study aimed to develop the information system success model of the CRM system by investigating previously proposed indicators within the model. METHODS: The evaluation areas of the CRM system includes three areas: the system characteristics area (system quality, information quality, and service quality), the user area (perceived usefulness and user satisfaction), and the performance area (personal performance and organizational performance). Detailed evaluation criteria of the three areas were developed, and its validity was verified by a survey administered to CRM system users in 13 nationwide health promotion centers. The survey data were analyzed by the structural equation modeling method, and the results confirmed that the model is feasible. RESULTS: Information quality and service quality showed a statistically significant relationship with perceived usefulness and user satisfaction. Consequently, the perceived usefulness and user satisfaction had significant influence on individual performance as well as an indirect influence on organizational performance. CONCLUSIONS: This study extends the research area on information success from general information systems to CRM systems in health promotion centers applying a previous information success model. This lays a foundation for evaluating health promotion center systems and provides a useful guide for successful implementation of hospital CRM systems.
Delivery of Health Care ; Health Care Sector ; Health Information Management ; Health Promotion ; Information Systems ; Medical Informatics

No abstract available.
Animals ; Macrophages* ; Mice*

Daylight Saving Time (DST) is used worldwide and affects millions of people annually. In the most countries, DST begins turning clocks forward by an hour in the spring and backward by an hour in the fall. transition out of DST in the fall increases the available daylight in the morning by one hour. Springtime transition into DST leads to an increase of the available daylight in the evening. During World War I, in an effort to reduce fuel consumption, Germany and England began to practice DST in 1916. Currently, 77 countries and most of OECD adopted DST except Korea, Japan, Iceland. The rationale for Daylight Saving Time (DST) is bolstered by the fact that it increases daylight hours within which the activity a population reaches its peak. Therefore, the effects of transitions into DST to the public health should be further explored, as DST affects millions of people annually and its impacts are still largely unknown. A general perception is that Turning clock forwards (on spring) or backwards (on fall) by one hour would affect our health. In This study, the association between Daylight Saving Time (DST) and health in population was investigated through theoretical and systemic review studies. Since the study was conducted solely on theoretical grounds, further research is needed to assess additional health-related impacts of Daylight Saving Time (DST) and to carry out more specific analysis on population health in Korea. In conclusion, population health is more strongly affected during spring transition into DST than during fall transition out of DST.
England ; Germany ; Iceland ; Japan ; Korea ; Public Health ; World War I

Apert's syndrome(acrocephalosyndactyly) is a rare congenital anomaly that is characterized by the combination of premature fusion of multiple cranial sutures primarily involving the coronal suture and severe symmetrical syndactyly of fingers and toes. Some patients of this syndrome have various abnormalities of the central nervous system. We experienced a case of Apert's syndrome with craniofacial malformations, symmetric syndactyly, occipital encephalocele and hypogenesis of corpus callosum. She had a oxycephalic head with small sized anterior fontanelle, elongated forehead, hypertelorism, down-slanting palpebral fissures, flattened nose, cleft palate, low set ears and short neck. A 5x3 cm sized scalp-covered soft mass protruded in the occipital area through defect of the occipital bone. MRI showed hypogenesis of corpus callosum, occipital encephalocele, dilatation of the lateral and the third ventricles. She also had hands and feet with symmetric syndactyly involved skin and soft tissue but not bones.
Central Nervous System ; Cleft Palate ; Corpus Callosum* ; Cranial Fontanelles ; Cranial Sutures ; Dilatation ; Ear ; Encephalocele* ; Fingers ; Foot ; Forehead ; Hand ; Head ; Humans ; Hypertelorism ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neck ; Nose ; Occipital Bone ; Skin ; Sutures ; Syndactyly ; Third Ventricle ; Toes

Splenosis is defined as the autotransplantation of splenic tissue after a traumatic splenic injury or a splenectomy. It has often been mistaken as an endometriosis, an intraperitoneal carcinoma, a hemangioma and an accessory spleen. It is clinically significant in that it requires no treatment if it is asymptomatic. Here we report a case of 34 year-old woman who had a pelvic splenosis with cyclic abdominal pain for several years, which was initially misdiagnosed as ovarian dermoid cyst. At the time of exploration, a splenosis was observed in the pelvic cavity. After surgery, a multiple splenosis in the abdominal cavity was found through a Tc-99m heat denatured red blood cell scan. The removal of the splenosis in the pelvic cavity resulted in an improvement in her symptoms.
Abdominal Cavity ; Abdominal Pain* ; Adult ; Autografts ; Dermoid Cyst* ; Endometriosis ; Erythrocytes ; Female ; Hemangioma ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Spleen ; Splenectomy ; Splenosis*