Dental pulp is composed of nerves, blood vessels, and various types of cells and surrounded by a thick and hard enamel-dentin matrix. Due to its importance in the maintenance of tooth vitality, there have been intensive efforts to analyze the complex cellular-level organization of the dental pulp in teeth. Although conventional histologic analysis has provided microscopic images of the dental pulp, 3-dimensional (3D) cellular-level visualization of the whole dental pulp in an intact tooth has remained a technically challenging task. This is mainly due to the inevitable disruption and loss of microscopic structural features during the process of mechanical sectioning required for the preparation of the tooth sample for histological observation. To accomplish 3D microscopic observation of thick intact tissue, various optical clearing techniques have been developed mostly for soft tissue, and their application for hard tissues such as bone and teeth has only recently started to be investigated. In this work, we established a simple and rapid optical clearing technique for intact mouse teeth without the time-consuming process of decalcification. We achieved 3D cellular-level visualization of the microvasculature and various immune cell distributions in the whole dental pulp of mouse teeth under normal and pathologic conditions. This technique could be used to enable diverse research methods on tooth development and regeneration by providing 3D visualization of various pulpal cells in intact mouse teeth.

The aim of this study was to prepare inclusion nanocomplexes of hyaluronic acid-β-cyclodextrin and simvastatin (HA-β-CD/SIM) and evaluate in vitro anti-inflammation effects on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated synoviocytes and chondrogenic differentiation effects on rat adipose-derived stem cells (rADSCs). The β-CD moieties in HA-β-CD could incorporate SIM to form HA-β-CD/SIM nanocomplexes with diameters of 297–350 nm. HA-β-CD/SIM resulted in long-term release of SIM from the nanocomplexes for up to 63 days in a sustained manner. In vitro studies revealed that HA-β-CD/SIM nanocomplexes were able to effectively and dose-dependently suppress the mRNA expression levels of proinflammatory markers such as matrix metallopeptidase-3 (MMP-3), MMP-13, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs-5 (ADAMTS-5), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) in LPS-stimulated synoviocytes. HA-β-CD/SIM-treated rADSCs significantly and dose-dependently enhanced mRNA expressions of aggrecan, collagen type II (COL2A1), and collagen type X (COL10A1), implying that HA-β-CD/SIM greatly induced the chondrogenic differentiation of rADSCs. Conclusively, HA-β-CD/SIM nanocomplexes will be a promising therapeutic material to alleviate inflammation as well as promote chondrogenesis.
Aggrecans ; Animals ; Chondrogenesis ; Collagen Type II ; Collagen Type X ; Cyclooxygenase 2 ; In Vitro Techniques* ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-6 ; Rats ; RNA, Messenger ; Simvastatin* ; Stem Cells ; Thrombospondins ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer was the second highest absolute cancer incidence globally and the first cause of cancer mortality in 2014. Indoor radon is the second leading risk factor of lung cancer after cigarette smoking among ever smokers and the first among non-smokers. Environmental burden of disease (EBD) attributable to residential radon among non-smokers is critical for identifying threats to population health and planning health policy. METHODS: To identify and retrieve literatures describing environmental burden of lung cancer attributable to residential radon, we searched databases including Ovid-MEDLINE, -EMBASE from 1980 to 2016. Search terms included patient keywords using ‘lung’, ‘neoplasm’, exposure keywords using ‘residential’, ‘radon’, and outcomes keywords using ‘years of life lost’, ‘years of life lost due to disability’, ‘burden’. Searching through literatures identified 261 documents; further 9 documents were identified using manual searching. Two researchers independently assessed 271 abstracts eligible for inclusion at the abstract level. Full text reviews were conducted for selected publications after the first assessment. Ten studies were included in the final evaluation. REVIEW: Global disability‐adjusted life years (DALYs)(95 % uncertainty interval) for lung cancer were increased by 35.9 % from 23,850,000(18,835,000-29,845,000) in 1900 to 32,405,000(24,400,000-38,334,000) in 2000. DALYs attributable to residential radon were 2,114,000(273,000-4,660,000) DALYs in 2010. Lung cancer caused 34,732,900(33,042,600 ~ 36,328,100) DALYs in 2013. DALYs attributable to residential radon were 1,979,000(1,331,000-2,768,000) DALYs for in 2013. The number of attributable lung cancer cases was 70-900 and EBD for radon was 1,000-14,000 DALYs in Netherland. The years of life lost were 0.066 years among never-smokers and 0.198 years among ever-smoker population in Canada. CONCLUSION: In summary, estimated global EBD attributable to residential radon was 1,979,000 DALYs for both sexes in 2013. In Netherlands, EBD for radon was 1,000–14,000 DALYs. Smoking population lost three times more years than never-smokers in Canada. There was no study estimating EBD of residential radon among never smokers in Korea and Asian country. In addition, there were a few studies reflecting the age of building, though residential radon exposure level depends on the age of building. Further EBD study reflecting Korean disability weight and the age of building is required to estimate EBD precisely. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40557-016-0092-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Canada ; Health Policy ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Lung Neoplasms ; Mortality ; Netherlands ; Radon* ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Uncertainty

Plants of the genus Taraxacum, commonly known as dandelions, are used to treat breast cancer in traditional folk medicine. However, their use has mainly been based on empirical findings without sufficient scientific evidence. Therefore, we hypothesized that dandelions would behave as a Selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) and be effective as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in the postmenopausal women. In the present study, in vitro assay systems, including cell proliferation assay, reporter gene assay, and RT-PCR to evaluate the mRNA expression of estrogen-related genes (pS2 and progesterone receptor, PR), were performed in human breast cancer cells. Dandelion ethanol extract (DEE) significantly increased cell proliferation and estrogen response element (ERE)-driven luciferase activity. DEE significantly induced the expression of estrogen related genes such as pS2 and PR, which was inhibited by tamoxifen at 1 μmol·L(-1). These results indicated that DEE could induce estrogenic activities mediated by a classical estrogen receptor pathway. In addition, immature rat uterotrophic assay was carried out to identify estrogenic activity of DEE in vivo. The lowest concentration of DEE slightly increased the uterine wet weight, but there was no significant effect with the highest concentration of DEE. The results demonstrate the potential estrogenic activities of DEE, providing scientific evidence supporting their use in traditional medicine.
Animals ; Breast Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Estrogen Replacement Therapy ; methods ; Female ; Gene Expression ; drug effects ; Humans ; MCF-7 Cells ; Phytoestrogens ; metabolism ; Phytotherapy ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Plant Leaves ; Rats ; Receptors, Estrogen ; metabolism ; Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators ; pharmacology ; Taraxacum ; Uterus ; drug effects

PURPOSE: To evaluate the incidence and clinical features of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in Korea. METHODS: Web-based (www.armd-nova.or.kr) registration was conducted for AMD patients aged 50 or more who were newly diagnosed by retinal specialists in Korea from August 20, 2005 to August 20, 2006. Patient data including ophthalmologic examination, fundus photography, fluorescein angiogram and/or indocyanin green angiogram (ICG), past medical history, behavioral habit, combined systemic diseases were up-loaded. RESULTS: Among finally enrolled 1,141 newly diagnosed AMD patients, 690 patients (60.5%) were male and 451 patients (39.5%) were female. The average age of AMD patients was 69.7+/-8.0. Early AMD was observed in 190 patients and 951 patients had late AMD. Classic choroidal neovascular membrane (CNVM) was observed in 18.6% of exudative AMD patients and 63.4 % had occult CNVM. Subfoveal CNVM was observed in 80.4% of the patients with CNVM. Among the 580 exudative AMD eyes that performed indocyanin green angiography (ICG), 184 eyes (31.7%) had polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) and 36 eyes (6.2%) showed retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP). Age, male gender, smoking, diabetes and hypertension significantly increased the risk of the AMD among Koreans. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the low rate of participation by retinal specialists, definite incidence of AMD was not obtainable. However, the estimated 1-year AMD incidence in the Pusan area of Korea is at least 0.4%. In contrast to Western people, 31.7% of exudative AMD cases were revealed to be PCV and 6.2% were revealed to be RAP. This discrepancy between ethnic groups should be considered in the diagnosis and treatment modality selection of Korean AMD patients.
Aged ; Angiography ; Choroid ; Ethnic Groups ; Eye ; Female ; Fluorescein ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Incidence ; Korea ; Macular Degeneration ; Male ; Membranes ; Photography ; Retinaldehyde ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Specialization

Fibular hemimelia is the most common congenital absence or hypoplasia of long bone. In addition to fibular absence or hypoplasia, this entity also includes various combined abnormalities of the lower limbs. We present here three cases of fibular hemimelia who underwent diagnosis and treatment in our hospital. Wee especially focus on the imaging findings of the plain radiographs, and we compare them with the findings found at another presentation.
Diagnosis ; Ectromelia* ; Extremities ; Fibula ; Lower Extremity

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the appropriateness of diagnosis of the failure to progress (FTP) and accompanying emergency Cesarean section in university hospital and possibility of reducing emergency Cesarean section among these patients. METHODS: Chart review of 680 patients who had underwent emergency Cesarean section with diagnosis of FTP between January 1996 and December 2002 at Hanyang University Medical Center was carried out for this study. Among patients who underwent normal vaginal delivery during the same period, 300 patients were randomly chosen for control group. Comparison between these two groups on maternal physical properties, management during delivery, birth weight and sex of babies were made. Also, differences of labor management among obstetrical staff were compared RESULTS: Compared to the vaginal delivery group, FTP group patients showed older age (29.1 vs 27.7 yr) (p=0.000), shorter stature (158.4 vs 159.8 cm) (p=0.001), and heavier body weight (68.2 vs 65.7 kg) (p=0.000) suggesting unfavorable outcome Also, birth weight of the newborn infant was heavier compared to the normal delivery group (3350 vs 3181 g) (p=0.001). In addition, the frequency of PG E2 use was higher (45% vs 35%) (p=0.001) and hours of oxytocin use was longer (6.3 vs 4.2 hr) (p=0.000) in FTP group. The distribution of delivery time in FTP group was around four or more hours in comparison to the normal delivery group in which the judgement was made that there was as inclination for sufficient effort for the purpose of a normal delivery. On one side, cervical dilatation was less than 3 cm, there were 44 people in a group with less than 70% effacement of cervix in which 40 of these people (excluding 4) were capable for a normal delivery with additional effort. Moreover, in the case of the failure to progress group, active labor management can decrease the rate of cesarean section to about 5.8% (40/680). CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggests the possibility that frequency of cesarean section could be reduced through the efforts of active labor management. However, there are a variety of factors leading to cesarean section that must be analyzed along with social and national support.
Academic Medical Centers ; Birth Weight ; Body Weight ; Cervix Uteri ; Cesarean Section* ; Diagnosis ; Emergencies ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Labor Stage, First ; Oxytocin ; Pregnancy

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical significance of pregnant women who had abnormal 50 g oral glucose tolerance test (GTT) but normal 100 g oral GTT with those who had normal 50 g oral GTT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between March 1999 and Feb 2001, 812 pregnant women underwent 50 g oral GTT in the department of Ob/Gyn, Hanyang Univ. Hospital and these women were entered for this study. Among these women, those who showed abnormal 50 g oral GTT but normal 100 g oral GTT were entered for study group and those who showed normal 50 g oral GTT were entered for control group. For the perinatal outcome, average birth weight, frequency of macrosomia, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), premature birth, preeclampsia, cesarean section rate were compared for both groups. RESULTS: Of 812 patients, 93 patients were entered for study group and 703 patients were entered for control group. The average birth weight of the fetus in the study group at 3359.3 grams was higher than the control group at 3243.6 grams (p<0.05). The frequency of macrosomia was 11.8% in the study group and 3.3% in the control group (p=0.0001). Premature birth occurred more frequently in the study group at 10.8% as compared to the control group at 4.8% (p<0.05). Other factors did not show any significant differences. But, although a higher rate of a macrosomia was seen in the study group than in the control group, the abnormal 50 g oral GTT was not risk factor after controlling for confounding risk factors by logistic regression modeling (OR 1.53). On the other hand, the maternal BMI and the increase in body weight during pregnancy were the risk factors of macrosomnia after controlling for confounding risk factors by logistic regression modeling (OR 6.27 and 5.58). CONCLUSION: Abnormal 50 g oral GTT but normal 100 g oral GTT was not found to be a risk factor for macrosomia or pre-eclampsia. There needs to be personalized assessment of other risk factors in correlation with macrosomia, especially in obese women with a BMI greater than 26 before pregnancy, and in those with increase in body weight greater than 16 kg during pregnancy.
Birth Weight ; Body Weight ; Cesarean Section ; Female ; Fetus ; Glucose Tolerance Test* ; Hand ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Mass Screening* ; Pre-Eclampsia ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Premature Birth ; Risk Factors

Heterotopic pregnancy is a rare event, occurring less than 1 : 30,000 pregnancies in natural conception cycles. With assisted reproduction techniques, however, this incidence increase to between 1 : 100 and 1 : 500. It is known to present with a variety of symptoms and signs after leading to a delay in establishing the correct diagnosis. Delay in diagnosing and surgery can jeopardize both maternal well-being and survival of the intrauterine fetus. Prompt diagnosis and appropriate surgery contribute to the favorable outcome for the mother and surviving infant. We experienced a case of heterotopic pregnancy after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer, which carried the intrauterine pregnancy to term delivery following rupture of the tubal pregnancy, with hypovolemic shock. So we report this case with review of literatures.
Diagnosis ; Embryo Transfer* ; Embryonic Structures* ; Female ; Fertilization ; Fertilization in Vitro* ; Fetus ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Mothers ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Heterotopic* ; Pregnancy, Tubal ; Reproductive Techniques ; Rupture ; Shock

OBJECTIVES: Maternal anemia is common hematologic disorders during pregnancy. Although mild maternal anemia is not associated with fetal anemia, neonatal morbidity including fetal anemia are common with severe maternal anemia during pregnancies. We aim to analyze each variable of FHR using linear and nonlinear methods to detect maternal anemia during pregnancies. METHODS: Seventy antepartal anemic pregnant women(Hb<10.0g/dL) and the contrast group, 70 normal pregnant women were selected among the women who underwent nonstress test(NST) during 3rd trimester in Hanyang University Hospital. The calculated FHR parameters(NST time=20 min) from collected FHR data(40-50min) were made by HYFM II data file. To assess the difference between the anemic and normal pregnancy group, the parameters such as baseline FHR, variability (AMP, MMR), acceleration and deceleration(15bpm-15seconds), gestational age at the time of NST, loss of record, the number of fetal movement, FHR were evaluated. We compared the canonical correlation between each groups using variables of NST. The overall complexity of each FHR time series was quantified by its approximate entropy(ApEn), measure of regularity derived from nonlinear dynamics, "chaos theory". Finally we extract the value of ApEn and were compared between two groups, normal and anemic pregnant women. RESULTS: There were significant decrease of FHR variability(amplitude and mean minute interval) in anemic group. Canonical correlation ensemble was significantly high in 36th-37th and 38th-39th gestational weeks in anemic group(p-value=0.03048 and 0.03421). The value of ApEn was significantly low(0.68+0.26) in anemic group comparing with normal pregnant group(0.95+0.08), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that FHR of maternal anemia is different from that of normal pregnant women, and that subtle behavioral differences could be demonstrated in uterus using computerized FHR analysis. The anemic women during pregnancy have more linear and less complicated FHR than the normal pregnancy group. ApEn, which is bound to be used as an index of fetal well-being would be used as an evaluating tool of intrauterine fetal function in the near future.
Acceleration ; Anemia* ; Anemia, Neonatal ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; Entropy* ; Female ; Fetal Movement ; Gestational Age* ; Heart Rate, Fetal ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Nonlinear Dynamics ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnant Women ; Uterus