PURPOSE: This study was done to examine the effects of information searches from media as communication cues for health behavior, specifically smoking, drinking liquor, cancer examinations, and regular exercise. METHODS: Data were collected through a web survey with a sample size of 600 and analyzed using SPSS 18.0. RESULTS: The results show that the newspaper as a communication cue has an effect on health behavior such as regular exercise and smoking, whereas television only affects regular exercise. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that there are differences between media as communication cues to improve health behavior and that messages related to health information should be exposed with cautious consideration to media choice so as to increase the effects of message. Managerial implications of the study results are suggested.
Cues ; Drinking ; Health Behavior ; Periodicals ; Sample Size ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Television

No abstract available.
Bicuspid*

No abstract available.
Echocardiography, Three-Dimensional* ; Heart Septal Defects, Atrial*

No abstract available.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Heart Atria*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Thrombin and its interaction with platelets play a pivotal role in arterial thrombus formation. Hirudin, an anticoagulant agent derived from medicinal leeches(Hirudo medicinalis), is a unique and specific thrombin inhibitor with no effect on other serine protease. We investigated the inhibitory effect of hirudin on platelet deposition in a rabbit carotid artery eversion model of acute arterial thrombosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The everted arterial segments were perfused with 111 Indium-labeled human platelets only(control, n=8), and a mixed solution of 111 Indium-labeled human platelets and hirudin(30, 45, 60, 90 microgram/ml, n=3, respectively). Platelet deposition was calculated by a gamma-counter and confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. RESULTS: 1) Indium-111 labeling efficiency of platelets was 87.0+/-6.6%, and the aggregation of platelets was not changed after labeling. The number of platelets perfused through each arterial segment was 4.3 +/-0.2x10(8) platelets/ml. 2) The control group showed a platelet deposition rate of 23.9+/-7.0 % and a number of platelet deposition of 9.8+/-2.5x10(8) platelets/cm2 . 3) Platelet deposition of arteries perfused with hirudin(60 microgram/ml) was significantly decreased compared with that of the control group(2.9+/-0.6 vs 9.8+/-2.5x10(8)/cm2 , p<0.05). 4) The number of deposited platelets in hirudin-perfused arteries was dose-dependently decreased(30 microgram/ml:6.7+/-1.4x10(8) /cm2 , 45 microgram/ml: 4.8+/-1.7x10(8) /cm2 , 60 microgram/ml: 2.9+/-1.8x10(8)/cm2, 90 microgram/ml:2.9+/-1.4x10(8)/cm2: p<0.05 vs. control, respectively). 5) Scanning electron microscopic examination revealed significantly reduced platelet deposition in hirudin-perfused groups compared with control group. CONCLUSION: Hirudin inhibits effectively platelet deposition and arterial thrombus formation in a rabbit carotid artery eversion model. The antiplatelet effect of hirudin in this model suggests that hirudin may be an useful antithrombotic agent therapeutically useful in the prevention of acute arterial thrombus formation.
Arteries ; Blood Platelets ; Carotid Arteries* ; Hirudins* ; Humans ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Serine Proteases ; Thrombin ; Thrombosis

Objective: To provide updates on maternal, infant, and perinatal mortality using the national population data of South Korea between 2009 and 2017 and describe the mortality rate by target groups, timing, or causes of events to provide a basis for detecting vulnerable populations and ensuring timely medical and political interventions. Methods: Pregnancy-related mortality in women, as well as deaths of infants, in South Korea was identified using population data from Statistics Korea. Records from death certificates, cremation reports on infant and fetal deaths, and the complementary cause-of-death investigation system were reviewed for the 2009–2017 period. Results: A total of 461 maternal deaths, 11,717 infant deaths, and 12,249 perinatal deaths, including fetal deaths over 28 gestational weeks, were identified from 3,945,159 live births between 2009 and 2017. The maternal mortality ratio was 13.5 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2009 and decreased to 7.8 in 2017. Only the rate of deaths related to hypertensive disorders showed an increasing tendency. Both the infant and perinatal mortality rates improved (from 3.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2009 to 2.8 in 2017 and from 3.5 to 2.7, respectively). Among the external causes of infant mortality, assaults including homicides accounted for 25% (n=150), and this proportion was constant throughout the study period. Conclusion Overall improvements were observed in all maternal, infant, and perinatal mortality measures. In-depth analysis and interventions with respect to certain causes, such as hypertensive disorders in mothers or assaults in infants, should be considered priority issues.

Objective: To provide updates on maternal, infant, and perinatal mortality using the national population data of South Korea between 2009 and 2017 and describe the mortality rate by target groups, timing, or causes of events to provide a basis for detecting vulnerable populations and ensuring timely medical and political interventions. Methods: Pregnancy-related mortality in women, as well as deaths of infants, in South Korea was identified using population data from Statistics Korea. Records from death certificates, cremation reports on infant and fetal deaths, and the complementary cause-of-death investigation system were reviewed for the 2009–2017 period. Results: A total of 461 maternal deaths, 11,717 infant deaths, and 12,249 perinatal deaths, including fetal deaths over 28 gestational weeks, were identified from 3,945,159 live births between 2009 and 2017. The maternal mortality ratio was 13.5 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2009 and decreased to 7.8 in 2017. Only the rate of deaths related to hypertensive disorders showed an increasing tendency. Both the infant and perinatal mortality rates improved (from 3.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2009 to 2.8 in 2017 and from 3.5 to 2.7, respectively). Among the external causes of infant mortality, assaults including homicides accounted for 25% (n=150), and this proportion was constant throughout the study period. Conclusion Overall improvements were observed in all maternal, infant, and perinatal mortality measures. In-depth analysis and interventions with respect to certain causes, such as hypertensive disorders in mothers or assaults in infants, should be considered priority issues.

The external elastic lamina (EEL) serves as a barrier for cells and macromolecules between the media and adventitia in the vascular wall. We evaluated the morphological changes and quantitative assessments of the EEL architecture in the coronary circulation of pigs fed with a high cholesterol diet. Confocal microscopy analysis of the EEL from hypercholesterolemic coronary arteries revealed an altered pattern characterized by fragmentation and disorganization of the EEL associated with an increase in the thickness. Computerized digital analysis of the images obtained by confocal scanning microscopy demonstrated that compared to normal coronary arteries, the EEL of hypercholesterolemic coronary arteries decreased in the percentage of their elastin content (30.80 +/- 1.64% vs. 47.85 +/- 1.82%, p = 0.001). The percentage of elastin content was negatively correlated with the vessel wall area (r = -0.82, p = 0.001). The immunoreactivity for matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) increased in cholesterol-fed coronary arteries, predominantly in the neointima and adventitia. This study demonstrates that experimental hypercholesterolemia induced ultrastructural changes of the EEL in coronary circulation. The EEL may also be an atherosclerosis-prone area compared with the intima. The EEL may play an important role in the development of structural changes which characterizes the early phase of coronary atherosclerosis and vascular remodeling.
Animal ; Arteries/ultrastructure ; Arteries/enzymology ; Coronary Vessels/ultrastructure* ; Coronary Vessels/enzymology ; Elastic Tissue/ultrastructure* ; Elastic Tissue/enzymology ; Female ; Hypercholesterolemia/pathology* ; Hypercholesterolemia/enzymology ; Stromelysin 1/metabolism ; Swine

No abstract available.
Lipoma*