Atrophic dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans is a rare variant of DFSP, which presents as a depressed violaceous scar like lesion with atrophic plaque. Although atrophic DFSP is identical to classical DFSP in location, treatment, prognosis and histology, clinical diagnosis is sometimes difficult for the atrophic lesion. We report a 36-year-old male presented with asymptomatic firm violaceous depressed atrophic lesion and a skin colored almond shaped, subcutaneous nodule on the left subclavicular area. Histopathologically the tumor shows the spindle-shaped cell arranged in cart wheel pattern. The tumor cells were stained positively for CD 34 on immunohistochemical stain.
Adult ; Cicatrix ; Dermatofibrosarcoma* ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Male ; Prognosis ; Prunus dulcis ; Skin

PURPOSE: This study was to examine the effects of aroma hand massage on pruritus, fatigue and stress of the patients undergoing hemodialysis. METHODS: This study was a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. Study sample was conveniently recruited from two hospitals(28 for experimental and 30 for control group). The experimental group went through aroma hand massage on hand without AVF for 5 min for 12 times mixed with Lavender, Chamomile and Geranium oils in the ratio of 4 : 4 : 2, which was diluted 3% with sweet almond crrier oil 100 ml. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS/WIN 12.0. RESULTS: The 1st hypothesis, 'Experimental group who has received aroma hand massage will have lower rate of pruritus than the control group' was accepted(t = -5.084, p = .001). The 2nd hypothesis, 'Experimental group who has received aroma hand massage will have lower rate of fatigue than the control group' was accepted(t = -2.557, p = .015). The 3rd hypothesis, 'Experimental group who has received aroma hand massage will have lower rate of stress than the control group' was accepted(t = -5.537, p = .001). CONCLUSION: The aroma hand massage has shown to be an effective nursing intervention to reduce the pruritus, fatigue and stress among patients undergoing hemodialysis. Therefore, the massage is needed to continuously be applied to hemodialysis patients to improve their quality of life.
Aromatherapy ; Chamomile ; Fatigue ; Geranium ; Hand ; Humans ; Lavandula ; Massage ; Oils ; Prunus dulcis ; Pruritus ; Renal Dialysis

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Timing of almond intake during a day may result differently in the perspectives of body composition and changes of lipid profile. The current study was conducted to compare the effects of daily almond intake as a preload versus as a snack on body composition, blood lipid profile, and oxidative and inflammation indicators among young Korean adults aged 20–39 years old. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a pre-meal almond group (PM), a snack almond group (SN) in which participants were instructed to consume 56 g of almonds either as a preload before meals or as a snack between meals, respectively, and a control group (CL) in which participants were provided high-carbohydrate iso-caloric control food. Measurements were performed at baseline, weeks 8 and 16. RESULTS: A total of 169 (M 77/F 92) out of the 227 participants completed the study between June 2014 and June 2015 (n = 58 for PM; 55 for SN; and 56 for CL). A significant decrease in body fat mass was observed in the PM group at both weeks 8 and 16 compared with the CL. There were significant intervention effects on changes of body fat mass (P = 0.025), body fat percentages (P = 0.019), and visceral fat levels (P < 0.001). Consuming almonds as a daily snack reduced the levels of total cholesterol (P = 0.043) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (P = 0.011) without changing high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol compared with the CL. CONCLUSION: Almond consumption as a preload modified body fat percentages, whereas snacking on almonds between meals improved blood lipid profiles. This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT03014531.
Adipose Tissue ; Adult* ; Body Composition* ; Cholesterol ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Intra-Abdominal Fat ; Lipoproteins ; Meals ; Prunus dulcis* ; Snacks

To elucidate the effects of food texture such as hardness, cohesiveness, adhesiveness on mastication procedure, the electromyographic activity (EMG) of the masticatory muscles and the chewing movements were analyzed in eighteen young subjects during ordinary chewing. Seven different foods were selected by sensory texture profiling and mechanical test with texturometer; egg white, sausage, pizza cheese, yang-geng, biscuit, peanut and almond. The indexes of jaw movements used were the chewing number, chewing time, maximum opening, average opening, closing velocity and opening velocity. The EMG indexes analyzed were maximum and average integrated amplitude of the anterior temporal and masseter muscles. The results obtained were as follows. 1. The chewing time and chewing number, mandibular displacement and mandibular movement velocity were not changed by the hardness, cohesiveness and adhesiveness of the food (p>0.05). 2. The harder food materials showed a higher amplitude of the anterior temporal muscle integrated EMGs than the softer ones (p<0.05). 3. The maximum and average integrated EMGs of the masseter muscle increased with the increase of hardness of the food (p<0.05). 4. The integrated EMGs of preferred side and non-preferred side masticatory muscles increased with the increase of hardness of the food (p<0.05). 5. The adhesiveness and cohesiveness of the food were not the determining factor to the integrated EMGs of masticatory muscles (p<0.05).
Adhesiveness ; Cheese ; Egg White ; Hardness ; Jaw ; Masseter Muscle ; Mastication* ; Masticatory Muscles* ; Prunus dulcis ; Temporal Muscle

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate eating habits and the frequency of trigger-food consumption in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and to examine the associations of these variables with IBS symptom severity. METHODS: We included 145 ROME III-positive IBS patients (mean age 31.2 years, 73.8% of female). Subjects completed an eating-habits and food- consumption questionnaire, IBS-Symptom Severity Scale (IBS-SSS) and Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18) for psychological distress. RESULTS: Subjects with unhealthy eating-habits such as irregular meal times, frequently eating out and overeating tended to show higher IBS symptom severity. The severity of IBS symptoms related to the frequency of the consumption of trigger foods. Subjects who ate trigger-foods (i.e., tofu, beans, almonds, and peanuts) less frequently showed higher IBS symptom severity (p=.045, .042, .016, and .019, respectively). However, subjects who ate spicy foods, instant foods, and noodles more frequently experienced more severe IBS symptoms (p=.018, .011, and .023 respectively). CONCLUSION: This study showed that IBS symptom severity was related to meal intake patterns and frequency of trigger food consumption. These findings could provide a basis for developing an intervention program for IBS patients.
Eating* ; Fabaceae ; Humans ; Hyperphagia ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome* ; Meals ; Prunus dulcis ; Soy Foods

Aggressive angiomyxoma (AA) is a rare soft tissue tumor of undetermined etiology that occurs mainly in the female vulva and perineum. It has been demonstrated to increase in size under the estrogenic stimulation and shown to respond to treatment with a GnRH agonist. A 47-year-old woman was presented with a large vulvar mass. The mass had grown slowly before she took pomegranate seeds oil on a regular basis for a year, which is known to contain natural estrogen for a year. The almond-sized mass enlarged into a fetal head-sized one in a year. Our case is implying that external administration of estrogenic substance may be a contributory factor to the sudden accelerated growth of AA. Although the past medical history in this case relies on an unverified observation by the patient alone, the unique clinical course and impressive gross appearance of AA may help clinicians with diagnosis in practice.
Diagnosis ; Estrogens ; Female ; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Myxoma* ; Perineum ; Punicaceae* ; Vulva ; Prunus dulcis

PURPOSE: Injection sclerotherapy for hemorrhoids has been performed for many years. Currently, 5% phenol in almond oil (PAO) and aluminum potassium sulfate and tannic acid (ALTA) are used as the agents. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of the two agents. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted involving 135 patients who underwent injection therapy for grade 3 hemorrhoids for the first time between 2013 and 2014 (PAO, 55 patients; ALTA, 80 patients). The efficacy was established as the proportion (%) of patients without symptoms such as hemorrhage and prolapse one year after treatment. We investigated four factors-sex, age, number of hemorrhoids, and agent-that might have an influence on the efficacy. RESULTS: The efficacies of ALTA and PAO one year after treatment were 75% and 20%, respectively. Only the agent was a significant independent factor (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that ALTA is markedly more useful than PAO for injection sclerotherapy for grade 3 hemorrhoids.
Aluminum* ; Hemorrhage ; Hemorrhoids* ; Humans ; Phenol* ; Potassium* ; Prolapse ; Prunus dulcis* ; Retrospective Studies ; Sclerotherapy* ; Tannins*

Many Oriental women have prominent mandibular angle and short chin, in other words, 'squared' mandibular face or 'boxy' face. That kind of face is considered to be unattractive and causes big cosmetic problems for those who want to have an ovoid or almond shaped face. A squared mandibular face often needs to be corrected by operative procedure. A reduction mandibular angleplasty by bony angle resection is one of the operative procedures, but it is not always an adequate method. The successful correction of squared mandibular face can be accomplished by horizontal facial reduction and/or vertical facial lengthening procedure. From March 1996 to March 2000, We had operated 117 patients. The patients were divided into 3 groups. Group I had prominent mandibular angle and/or massetric hypertrophy. Patients in this group were operated by reduction angleplasty with/without resection of masseter muscle. Group II had prominent mandibular angle, cheek and mandibular body. In this case, we applied reduction angleplasty, contouring of body, resection of buccal fat pad and/or masseter muscle. Group III had prominent mandibular angle with short face. We used methods used for group II and Le Fort I lengthening and genioplasty. Ancillary procedures were forehead lengthening and reduction maloplasty. Successful correction of squared mandibular face could be performed by accurate analysis of facial profile and reduction mandibular angleplasty with proper ancillary procedures for each group. The results were as follows: 1) We obtained successful correction of squared mandibular face with multiple horizontal facial reduction procedures, which reduced anterior and posterior facial plane. 2) In case of short face, we made better mid-low facial balance with vertical facial lengthening and horizontal facial reduction.
Adipose Tissue ; Cheek ; Chin ; Female ; Forehead ; Genioplasty ; Humans ; Hypertrophy ; Masseter Muscle ; Prunus dulcis ; Surgical Procedures, Operative

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to verify the effect of aromatherapy on the stress response in menstrual period. METHODS: A randomized, single-blind, pretest- posttest design was used. The study subjects were 60 college women with dysmenorrhea and they were randomized into 3 groups, experimental, 1st control(placebo) and 2nd control group. The researchers massaged treatment oil(3% dilution essential oil of Lavender, Clary sage and Rose) into the abdomen of experimental group. The placebo group used almond oil(carrier oil) instead, and the 2nd control group did not give any treatment. Baseline data including pre- treatment stress response score were obtained on the first day of usual period. Aromatherapy provided for about 7 days until the next cycle began. Post-treatment stress responses were measured by 94 item SOS(symptom of stress) scale on the first day of the cycle. RESULTS: As a results, the stress response score of experimental group was significantly lower than two control groups. And there was no significant difference in stress responses of two control groups. CONCLUSION: The results show aromatherapy using selected essential oils to be an effective intervention for stress response during menstruation.
Abdomen ; Aromatherapy* ; Dysmenorrhea* ; Female ; Humans ; Lavandula ; Menstruation* ; Oils, Volatile ; Prunus dulcis

PURPOSE: This study was done to investigate differences between lavender abdominal massage and inhalation on dysmenorrhea, menstrual pain, anxiety, and depression. METHODS: This study used a non equivalent quasiexperimental design. Lavender essential oil and almond oil were used in massage and a lavender necklace and artificial perfume necklace in inhalation for female college students. Frequencies, percentages, Chi-square, Fisher' s exact test and t-test with the SPSS/WIN 12.0 program were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Dysmenorrhea was significantly higher inhalation for placebo treatment compared to lavender inhalation (p< .001). There was not significant difference between lavender abdominal massage and inhalation. CONCLUSION: Lavender abdominal massage and inhalation could be effective methods to reduce dysmenorrhea. However, before lavender abdominal massage and inhalation can be considered as intervention, it is more needed to study of menstrual pain, anxiety and depression.
Anxiety ; Aromatherapy ; Depression ; Dysmenorrhea ; Female ; Humans ; Inhalation ; Lavandula ; Massage ; Menstruation ; Perfume ; Plant Oils ; Prunus dulcis