No abstract available.
Korea*

OBJECTIVES: It is necessary to examine groups carrying out sexually risky behavior because the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) is high among them. In this study, the prevalence of STDs among homosexuals and sex-buying men in South Korea was investigated, along with their sexual risk factors. METHODS: Men who have sex with men (MSMs, n=108) were recruited in Seoul and Busan by applying the time location sampling method, while sex-buying men (n=118) were recruited from a john school in Gyeonggi province, the suburbs of Seoul. Dependent variables included past or present infection with syphilis, Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and human immunodeficiency virus. Independent variables included health behavior, social support, sexual behavior, and safe sex. RESULTS: It was found that when the MSMs were non-drunk while having sexual intercourse (odds ratio [OR], 0.132), they showed a higher STD infection rate when they had a higher number of anal sex partners (OR, 5.872), rarely used condoms (OR, 1.980), had lower self-efficacy (OR, 0.229), and were more anxious about becoming infected with an STD (OR, 3.723). However, the men who paid for sex showed high STD infections when they had more sex partners (OR, 2.286) and lower education levels (OR, 3.028). CONCLUSIONS: STD infections among the two groups were high when they were engaged with many sex partners and not having protected sex. In other words, there was a gap in risky sex behavior within such groups, which was significantly related to the possibility of developing an STD. Therefore, the preventive intervention against STDs for these groups needs to be expanded to include management of sex behaviors.
Adult ; Female ; *Homosexuality, Male ; Humans ; Male ; *Prostitution ; Qualitative Research ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Factors ; Sexually Transmitted Diseases/diagnosis/*epidemiology/*etiology ; *Unsafe Sex ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVES: This study was to determine how the perception and the satisfaction of outpatients who utilized clinics and hospitals are structurally related with their willingness to utilize the same institution in the future. METHODS: Three hundred and ten responses (via convenient sampling) were collected from 5 hospitals and 20 clinics located in Seoul listed in the "Korea National Hospital Directory 2005". Service quality was utilized as the satisfaction measurement tool. For analysis, we used a structural equation modeling method. RESULTS: The determining factors for general satisfaction with medical services are as follows: medical staff, reasonability of payment, comfort and accessibility. Such results may involve increased competition in the medical market and increased demands for quality medical services, which drive the patients to visit hospitals on their own on the basis of changed determining factors for satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: The structural equation model showed that the satisfaction of outpatients with the quality of medical services is influenced by a few sub-dimensional satisfaction factors. Among these sub-dimensional satisfaction factors, the satisfaction with medical staff and payment were determined to exert a significant effect on overall satisfaction with the quality of medical services. The structural relationship in which overall satisfaction perceived by patients significantly influences their willingness to use the same institution in the future was also verified.
Adult ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Models, Statistical ; *Outpatient Clinics, Hospital ; *Patient Satisfaction ; *Quality of Health Care ; Young Adult

DNA chips are becoming increasingly popular as a convenient way to perform vast amounts of experiments related to genes on a single chip. And the importance of analyzing the data that is provided by such DNA chips is becoming significant. A very important analysis on DNA chip data would be clustering genes to identify gene groups which have similar properties such as cancer. Clustering data for DNA chips usually deal with a large search space and has a very fuzzy characteristic. The Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm which was recently proposed is a very good candidate to solve such problems. In this paper, we propose a clustering mechanism that is based on the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm. Our experiments show that the PSO-based clustering algorithm developed is efficient in terms of execution time for clustering DNA chip data, and thus be used to extract valuable information such as cancer related genes from DNA chip data with high cluster accuracy and in a timely manner.
Cluster Analysis ; DNA ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis

DNA chips are used for experiments on genes and provide useful information that could be further analyzed. Using the data extracted from the DNA chips to find useful patterns or information has become a very important issue. In this paper, we explain the application developed for classifying DNA chip data using a classification method based on the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. Considering that DNA chip data is extremely large and has a fuzzy characteristic, an algorithm that imitates the ecosystem such as the PSO algorithm is suitable to be used for analyzing such data. The application enables researchers to customize the PSO algorithm parameters and see detail results of the classification rules.
DNA ; Ecosystem ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis

No abstract available.
Nail Diseases ; Nails, Malformed ; Melanoma ; Skin Neoplasms

In spite of frequent usage of primary human foreskin keratinocytes (HFKs) in the study of skin biology, senescence-induced blockage of in vitro proliferation has been a big hurdle for their effective utilization. In order to overcome this passage limitation, we first isolated ten HFK lines from circumcision patients and successfully immortalized four of them via a retroviral transduction of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) E6 and E7 oncogenes. We confirmed expression of a keratinocyte marker protein, keratin 14 and two viral oncoproteins in these immortalized HFKs. We also observed their robust responsiveness to various exogenous stimuli, which was evidenced by increased mRNA expression of epithelial differentiation markers and pro-inflammatory genes in response to three reactive chemicals. In addition, their applicability to cytotoxicity assessment turned out to be comparable to that of HaCaT cells. Finally, we confirmed their differentiation capacity by construction of well-stratified three dimensional skin cultures. These newly established immortalized HFKs will be valuable tools not only for generation of in vitro skin disease models but also for prediction of potential toxicities of various cosmetic chemicals.
Antigens, Differentiation ; Biology ; Foreskin* ; Humans* ; In Vitro Techniques ; Keratin-14 ; Keratinocytes* ; Oncogene Proteins ; Oncogenes ; RNA, Messenger ; Skin Diseases ; Skin* ; Zidovudine

BACKGROUND: Defects caused by excision of benign lid margin tumors are conventionally repaired by reconstructive surgery. However, second intention healing is another option for managing wounds on the lid margin. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of second intention healing after a shave excision of benign tumors on the lid margin. METHODS: Lid defects following a shave excision of the lid margin tumor were allowed to heal by second intention in 25 patients (26 lesions). The epithelialzation period was calculated, and cosmetic and functional results and complications were evaluated by photographs and ophthalmological examination. RESULTS: The locations of the defects were as follows: upper lid (n=13), lower lid (n=11), and both upper and lower lids (n=1). The mean tumor size was 3.8x3.6 mm, and the mean epithelialization period by second intention was 6.1+/-1.2 weeks. Pathological examinations revealed intradermal nevus (12 cases), compound nevus (five cases), squamous papilloma (five cases), and epidermal cyst (three cases). No patients had a corneal erosion, trichiasis, or hypertrophic scar, except loss of cilia in two cases. The functional and cosmetic results were satisfactory in all patients. CONCLUSION: Healing by second intention is a safe and effective alternative to surgical reconstruction after a shave excision of benign lid margin tumors.
Cicatrix, Hypertrophic ; Cilia ; Cosmetics ; Epidermal Cyst ; Humans ; Intention ; Nevus ; Nevus, Intradermal ; Papilloma ; Trichiasis

PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the perioperative changes in bladder wall thickness and detrusor wall thickness after transurethral prostatectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-one men who were treated for benign prostatic hyperplasia/lower urinary tract symptoms with transurethral prostatectomy were prospectively analyzed from May 2012 to July 2013. Prostate size, detrusor wall thickness, and bladder wall thickness were assessed by transrectal and transabdominal ultrasonography perioperatively. All postoperative evaluations were performed 1 month after the surgery. RESULTS: The patients' mean age was 69.0 years, the mean prostate-specific antigen concentration was 8.1 ng/mL, and the mean prostate volume was 63.2 mL. The mean bladder wall thickness was 5.1 mm (standard deviation [SD], +/-1.6), 5.1 mm (SD, +/-1.6), and 5.0 mm (SD, +/-1.4) preoperatively and 4.5 mm (SD, +/-1.5), 4.5 mm (SD, +/-1.3), and 4.6 mm (SD, +/-1.2) postoperatively in the anterior wall, dome, and trigone, respectively (p=0.178, p=0.086, and p=0.339, respectively). The mean detrusor wall thickness was 0.9 mm (SD, +/-0.4) preoperatively and 0.7 mm (SD, +/-0.3) postoperatively (p=0.001). A subgroup analysis stratifying patients into a large prostate group (weight, > or =45 g) and a high Abrams-Griffiths number group (>30) showed a significant decrease in detrusor wall thickness (p=0.002, p=0.018). CONCLUSIONS: There was a decrease in detrusor wall thickness after transurethral prostatectomy. The large prostate group and the high Abrams-Griffiths number group showed a significant decrease in detrusor wall thickness after surgery.
Humans ; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms* ; Male ; Prospective Studies ; Prostate ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; Transurethral Resection of Prostate ; Ultrasonography ; Urinary Bladder* ; Urinary Tract

Coronary stenting for long complex lesion is effective but associated with complication. We compared the results of stenting between with multiple conventional stenting group (group A) and with single long stenting group (group B). Fifty patients were prospectively and randomly enrolled: 25 patients for each group. Each group showed no significant differences of clinical characteristics. One patient died of heart failure in each group, not associated with the procedure itself. One patients had cerebrovascular accident in each group. Five patients had major bleeding (2, group A; 3, group B). Angiographic success rate was 100% in each group and procedural success rate was 96% and 100% in group A and B, respectively. Angiographic and clinical restenosis rate at 6 months follow-up were 60%, 36% in group A and 65%, 44% in group B, respectively (p=S). Multivariate analysis showed that several factors affected the angiographic restenosis rate as follows; a) male gender (M:F=76.9%:25.0%, P<0.001), b) AMI (AMI:stable angina pectoris=72.7%:66.7%, P<0.001), c) lesion length d) residual stenosis. In conclusion, there were no statistical differences of restenosis and complication rate between the two groups. Our data support single long stenting is acceptable and economically more favorable for long diffuse lesion, compared to multiple conventional stenting.
Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Stenosis* ; Coronary Vessels* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart Failure ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prospective Studies ; Stents* ; Stroke