BACKGROUND: As one of harm reduction strategies, tobacco manufacturers have begun to introduce lower-yield cigarettes. Lower-yield cigarettes, so called light cigarettes, have been perceived as less hazardous by some smokers. However, there have been very few studies concerning smoking lower yield products the lead to lower nicotine absorption. We evaluated the association between brand nicotine yield of cigarettes and actual nicotine intake by measuring urinary cotinine. METHODS: Four hundred sixty four male smokers aged 18 or over who participated in health check-ups in a hospital from May to October 2007 filled out a self-administered smoking questionnaire. Urinary cotinine concentration was measured at the time of participation. The subjects were divided into three groups (ultralight [nicotine: 0.05 mg], light [0.1 mg], and regular [> 0.1 mg] group) according to the level of brand nicotine yield of cigarettes which they smoked. RESULTS: The median urinary cotinine concentrations of ultralight (N = 62), light (N = 216), and regular (N = 186) groups were 735.5 ng/mL (interquartile range, 320 to 1,300 ng/mL), 956.0 ng/mL (429 to 1,491 ng/mL), and 1,067.5 ng/mL (615 to 1,613 ng/mL), respectively. There was a signifi cant difference in urinary cotinine between the regular and the other groups (P = 0.015). However, multiple logistic regression analysis to evaluate the risk of being in the highest quartile of urinary cotinine concentration (> or = 1,532 ng/mL) after adjusting for possible confounding variables showed that the odds ratios were 0.84 (95% CI, 0.52 to 1.37) in the light nicotine group and 0.82 (95% CI, 0.38 to1.72) in the ultralight nicotine group compared to the regular nicotine group. CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference in the risk of elevated urinary cotinine concentrations in male adult smokers according to brand nicotine yield of cigarettes groups.
Absorption ; Adult ; Aged ; Androsterone ; Confounding Factors (Epidemiology) ; Cotinine ; Harm Reduction ; Humans ; Light ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Nicotine ; Odds Ratio ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Tobacco ; Tobacco Products

No abstract available.
Adult* ; Humans ; Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic* ; Splenectomy*

The masticatory function of tooth is maintained by the periodontal health, and periodontal health is also maintained by the masticatory function. Bite forces are withstanded by the PDL, and this thought to be through the viscoelastic theory. Mobility test and Bite force test are used to evaluate the viscoelastic theory of the PDL. In this study, the bite force test was used. In the same conditions of quantity of the supporting tissue, the maximum bite force according to the quality of the supporting tissue was evaluated. The study was conducted on 40 patients with moderate adult periodontitis, who were indications to the modified widman flap treatment. The maximum bite force in the premolar and molar regions were tested before treatment, 3weeks and 4 weeks after treatment. and the results were as follows. 1. In the premolar region, 3 weeks and 4 weeks after treatment showed higher maximum bite force than before treatment. And in the molar region the maximum bite force decreased 3 weeks after treatment, but increased after 4 weeks, compared to before treatment. 2. In the 1st premolar, there were only significant difference between before and 3 weeks after treatment, and between and 4 weeks after treatment. 3. In the 2nd premolar, there were only significant difference between before and 3 weeks after treatment, and between and 4 weeks after treatment. 4. In the 1st molar, there were no significant difference between before, 3 weeks after treatment, 4 weeks after treatment. 5. In the 2nd molar, there were no significant difference between before, 3 weeks after treatment, 4 weeks after treatment. From the results above, it shows that there were improvements in the maximum bite force through specific periodontal treatments, and thus it can be considered in clinical situations, that selection of the prosthodontic material, decisions of extraction, evaluation of the prognosis after periodontal treatment is a helpful method.
Bicuspid ; Bite Force* ; Chronic Periodontitis ; Humans ; Molar ; Prognosis ; Prosthodontics ; Tooth

The ESHAP regimen, a combination of the chemotherapeutic drugs etoposide, methylprednisolone (solumedrol), high-dose cytarabine (ara-C), and cisplatin, has been shown to be active against refractory or relapsed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in therapeutic trials. We undertook this study to determine whether this regimen would be effective and tolerable in Korean patients. A total of 40 patients with refractory or relapsed NHL (8 indolent and 32 aggressive) were enrolled in this study. The overall response rate was 70% (95% confidence interval; 59.8-89.7%); 22.5% of patients achieved a complete response and 47.5% a partial response. The median survival duration was 12 months (95% confidence interval; 5.9-18.1 months) and the median duration of progression-free survival was 9 months (95% confidence interval; 1.1-16.9 months). The median survival duration of patients with relapsed NHL was longer than that of patients with refractory lymphoma (15 months vs 4 months, p=0.02). Myelosuppression was the most frequent complication and treatment-related mortality was noted in two patients. These results suggest that the ESHAP regimen is effective in patients with relapsed NHL who have a sensitive disease. The role of ESHAP chemotherapy in discriminating patients who are more likely to benefit from a subsequent transplant should be evaluated in the future.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/*administration & dosage/adverse effects ; Bone Marrow/drug effects ; Cisplatin/*administration & dosage/adverse effects ; Cytarabine/*administration & dosage/adverse effects ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Tolerance ; Etoposide/*administration & dosage/adverse effects ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin/*drug therapy ; Male ; Methylprednisolone/*administration & dosage/adverse effects ; Middle Aged ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Salvage Therapy

While angina pectoris is not uncommonly seen in hyperthyroidism, only rare case reports have proved that the myocardial ischemia was induced by coronary artery spasm. A 62 year-old man with a prior diagnosis of hyperthyroidism presented with repeated episodes of syncope and chest pain. The coronary angiogram showed normal coronary arteries. Severe diffuse spasm of both coronary was spontaneously induced and normalized after intracoronary nitroglycerin injection during the procedure of coronary angiography. For one year, he was on simultaneous antianginal and antithyroidal medicines with accomplishment of euthyroid state. He did not experience and anginal symptom for the last six months. The followup coronary angiogram performed 1 year later revealed a newly developed atherosclerotic lesion (about 50% stenosis in diameter) at the proximal left anterior descending artery. However provocative challenge test with intracoronary acetylcholine infusion failed to induce coronary spasm at the lesion. We report a case of coronary artery spasm associated with hyperthyroidism with a review of literatures.
Acetylcholine ; Angina Pectoris ; Arteries ; Chest Pain ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Vessels ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hyperthyroidism* ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Nitroglycerin ; Spasm ; Syncope

From March, 1984 to August, 1991, 16 patient were diagnosed as Cushing's disease and 14 of them were treated by transsphenoidal microsurgical procedure. Preoperrative endocrinological evaluation included plasma level of ACTH, serum cortisol concentration, urinary free cortisol and 17-hydroxycorticosteroid, dexamethasone suppression test and bilateral sampling of the inferior petrosal sinuses(IPS). The sensitivity of the last method was 88% for Cushing's disease but the expected laterality with the test was not always consistent with the surgical results. High resolution computed tomography(CT) and high field magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) were done as imaging devices. We cannot tell MRI is superior to CT is diagnosing microadenomas. All operations were performed through transsphenoidal approach. A selective microadenomectomy was done in 8 patients and all of them showed remission. A partial adenomectomy was done in 4 cases. Hypophysectomy was done in 2 cases, one of which was a failed case after the first trial and the other was one with no apparent tumor tissue in 7 successive frozen biopsies during operation. Overall surgical remission rate was 86.
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone ; Biopsy ; Dexamethasone ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone ; Hypophysectomy ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Plasma

The eleven isolates were isolated from the roots of Cymbidium goeriingii inhabited in the island of Cheju and from Cypripeium calceolus inhabited in the mountains around ChungPuk. The isolates were inoculated to the plantlets of commercial orchids and evaluated to be symbiotic with the orchids. Also, their genomic DNA was extracted from the cultures on the agars and reacted with the primers selected, understanding their biological relations with the pathogenic fungi. Out of eleven isolates, three were observed to stimulate the growth of the orchid plantlets and to be biologically related to the orchid symbiotic fungi, as based on the analyses of PCR-RAPD. Otherwise, the others were observed to decline the growth of orchid plantlet, compared with those of control, and to be grouped with the pathogenic. As based on the results of this work, the roots of C. goeriingii were found to be frequently infected with the pathogenic fungus rather than with symbiotic fungus in natural systems. Further, the infection of the commercial orchid with the pathogens was believed to be abundant without any inoculation of symbiotic fungus under the conditions of greenhouse.
Agar ; DNA ; Fungi* ; Jeju-do* ; Mycorrhizae ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Rhizoctonia ; Symbiosis

Objective: Motion-corrected averaging with a single-shot technique was introduced for faster acquisition of late-gadoliniumenhancement (LGE) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging while free-breathing. We aimed to evaluate the image quality (IQ) of free-breathing motion-corrected single-shot LGE (moco-ss-LGE) in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Materials and Methods: Between April and December 2019, 30 patients (23 men; median age, 48.5; interquartile range [IQR], 36.5–61.3) with HCM were prospectively enrolled. Breath-held single-shot LGE (bh-ss-LGE) and free-breathing mocoss-LGE images were acquired in random order on a 3T MR system. Semi-quantitative IQ scores, contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs), and quantitative size of myocardial scar were assessed on pairs of bh-ss-LGE and moco-ss-LGE. The mean ± standard deviation of the parameters was obtained. The results were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: The moco-ss-LGE images had better IQ scores than the bh-ss-LGE images (4.55 ± 0.55 vs. 3.68 ± 0.45, p < 0.001). The CNR of the scar to the remote myocardium (34.46 ± 11.85 vs. 26.13 ± 10.04, p < 0.001), scar to left ventricle (LV) cavity (13.09 ± 7.95 vs. 9.84 ± 6.65, p = 0.030), and LV cavity to remote myocardium (33.12 ± 15.53 vs. 22.69 ± 11.27, p < 0.001) were consistently greater for moco-ss-LGE images than for bh-ss-LGE images. Measurements of scar size did not differ significantly between LGE pairs using the following three different quantification methods: 1) full width at half-maximum method; 23.84 ± 12.88% vs. 24.05 ± 12.81% (p = 0.820), 2) 6-standard deviation method, 15.14 ± 10.78% vs. 15.99 ± 10.99% (p = 0.186), and 3) 3-standard deviation method; 36.51 ± 17.60% vs. 37.50 ± 17.90% (p = 0.785). Conclusion Motion-corrected averaging may allow for superior IQ and CNRs with free-breathing in single-shot LGE imaging, with a herald of free-breathing moco-ss-LGE as the scar imaging technique of choice for clinical practice.

Objective: Motion-corrected averaging with a single-shot technique was introduced for faster acquisition of late-gadoliniumenhancement (LGE) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging while free-breathing. We aimed to evaluate the image quality (IQ) of free-breathing motion-corrected single-shot LGE (moco-ss-LGE) in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Materials and Methods: Between April and December 2019, 30 patients (23 men; median age, 48.5; interquartile range [IQR], 36.5–61.3) with HCM were prospectively enrolled. Breath-held single-shot LGE (bh-ss-LGE) and free-breathing mocoss-LGE images were acquired in random order on a 3T MR system. Semi-quantitative IQ scores, contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs), and quantitative size of myocardial scar were assessed on pairs of bh-ss-LGE and moco-ss-LGE. The mean ± standard deviation of the parameters was obtained. The results were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: The moco-ss-LGE images had better IQ scores than the bh-ss-LGE images (4.55 ± 0.55 vs. 3.68 ± 0.45, p < 0.001). The CNR of the scar to the remote myocardium (34.46 ± 11.85 vs. 26.13 ± 10.04, p < 0.001), scar to left ventricle (LV) cavity (13.09 ± 7.95 vs. 9.84 ± 6.65, p = 0.030), and LV cavity to remote myocardium (33.12 ± 15.53 vs. 22.69 ± 11.27, p < 0.001) were consistently greater for moco-ss-LGE images than for bh-ss-LGE images. Measurements of scar size did not differ significantly between LGE pairs using the following three different quantification methods: 1) full width at half-maximum method; 23.84 ± 12.88% vs. 24.05 ± 12.81% (p = 0.820), 2) 6-standard deviation method, 15.14 ± 10.78% vs. 15.99 ± 10.99% (p = 0.186), and 3) 3-standard deviation method; 36.51 ± 17.60% vs. 37.50 ± 17.90% (p = 0.785). Conclusion Motion-corrected averaging may allow for superior IQ and CNRs with free-breathing in single-shot LGE imaging, with a herald of free-breathing moco-ss-LGE as the scar imaging technique of choice for clinical practice.

BACKGROUND: Anemia is the most common hematologic problem encountered in the elderly. We conducted this prospective study to define the prevalence and characteristics of anemia in the elderly. METHODS: From August 1999 to October 1999, volunteers with age of 60 or more living in southwest area of Seoul, Korea were selected. Hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, red cell distribution width and iron profile were evaluated. WHO criteria cut off value of hemoglobin for the diagnosis of anemia was used, 13 g/dL in men and 12 g/dL in women. RESULTS: A total 1716 community residents aged 60 years or older were studied. Male to female ratio was 344:1372, and median age was 70 years (range:60-92). The prevalence of anemia was 10.2% in men (35/344) and 14.1% in women (194/1372). Normocytic anemia was most common, followed by macrocytic and microcytic anemia in order. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of anemia over the age of 60 was 10.2% in men and 14.1% in women and normocytic anemia was the most common type in our series. Considering that macrocytic anemia was more common than microcytic anemia, we suggest that screening profile for the detection of anemia in older persons should include the level of folate and vitamin B12.
Aged* ; Anemia* ; Anemia, Macrocytic ; Diagnosis ; Erythrocyte Indices ; Female ; Folic Acid ; Humans ; Iron ; Korea ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Prevalence* ; Prospective Studies ; Seoul ; Vitamin B 12 ; Volunteers