Clinical study was done on 119 patients with atrial fibrillation in the aspect of underlying diseases, particulary. The results were as follow : 1) In the underlying diseases of atrial finbrillation, rheumatic heart disease, hepertension and ischemic heart disease were common, which occupied 27.8%, 22.7% and and 15.1%, respectly. No apparent underlying disease was found in 21.0%, but in the transient atrial fibrillation, no apparent underlying disease in 42.9%. 2) There were no significant correlations between the ventricular rate, amplitude of f wave and underlying diseases of atrial fibrillation. 3) Complications were found in 29.4% of all cases, such as congestive heart failure(22.7%), embolism(6.7%). Otherwise, atrial fibrillation without underying cardiovascular diseases, congestive heart failure was found only(7.7%).
Atrial Fibrillation* ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) ; Heart ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Rheumatic Heart Disease

Exposure of the root surface due t o gingival recession after periodontal surgery, elicit pain response when exposed to mechanical, heat, chemical o r osmotic irritation. Especially patients treated with periodontal surgery, show high frequency. There have been reports that the 1 out of 7 patients complains of dentinal hypersensitivity. There have been many studies on the clinical effects of various materials on the treatment of dentinal hypersensitivity. The purposes of this study were to evaluate die effect of sodium chloride and potassium oxalate and to observe the relationship between the dentinal hypersensitivity and surface characteristics such as dentinal tubule size and number. This study included 20 teeth which were scheduled for extraction and had no pulpal disease. These teeth were divided into Root planing group, EDTA group, NaCl group and Oxalate group. Dentinal hypersensitivity is measured by tactile, pressured air and cold water using NRS (Numerical Rating Scales). Teeth were extracted under local anesthesia and each specimen was sectioned to a size about 3 X 5 mm and was examined under the scanning electron microscope (X2,000) The results were as follows, 1. The EDTA group exhibited significantly increased dentinal hypersensitivity comparing with the other groups. 2. The NaCl and Oxalate groups showed significantly reduced dentinal hypersensitivity comparing with the EDTA group. 3. As a method for dentinal hypersensitivity measurement, it was presumed that tactile sensitivity test was not sensitive method but air blast test and cold water test were adequate method. 4. In a SEM study, the root planing group exhibited amorphous smear layer and showed no dentinal tubule orifice, but the EDTA group showed the large number of dentinal tubules. On the other hand, the NaCl and Oxalate groups did not show exposed dentinal tubules. The NaCl group showed more rough root surface than the EDTA group, anti the Oxalate group showed many participates to be presumed as calcium oxalate particle. As the results from this study, root planing couldn't expose the dentinal tubule and NaCl and potassium oxalate occluded exposed dentinal tubule effectively. Dentinal hypersensitivity has close relationship with the exposure of dentinal tubules, especially with it's size and number.
Anesthesia, Local ; Calcium Oxalate ; Dentin* ; Edetic Acid ; Gingival Recession ; Hand ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity* ; Oxalic Acid ; Root Planing ; Smear Layer ; Sodium Chloride ; Tooth ; Water

Objectives: . Because climatic and air-pollution factors are known to influence the occurrence of respiratory diseases, we used these factors to develop machine learning models for predicting the occurrence of respiratory diseases. Methods: . We obtained the daily number of respiratory disease patients in Seoul. We used climatic and air-pollution factors to predict the daily number of patients treated for respiratory diseases per 10,000 inhabitants. We applied the relief-based feature selection algorithm to evaluate the importance of feature selection. We used the gradient boosting and Gaussian process regression (GPR) methods, respectively, to develop two different prediction models. We also employed the holdout cross-validation method, in which 75% of the data was used to train the model, and the remaining 25% was used to test the trained model. We determined the estimated number of respiratory disease patients by applying the developed prediction models to the test set. To evaluate the performance of each model, we calculated the coefficient of determination (R2) and the root mean square error (RMSE) between the original and estimated numbers of respiratory disease patients. We used the Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) approach to interpret the estimated output of each machine learning model. Results: . Features with negative weights in the relief-based algorithm were excluded. When applying gradient boosting to unseen test data, R2 and RMSE were 0.68 and 13.8, respectively. For GPR, the R2 and RMSE were 0.67 and 13.9, respectively. SHAP analysis showed that reductions in average temperature, daylight duration, average humidity, sulfur dioxide (SO2), total solar insolation amount, and temperature difference increased the number of respiratory disease patients, whereas increases in atmospheric pressure, carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter ≤2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) increased the number of respiratory disease patients. Conclusion . We successfully developed models for predicting the occurrence of respiratory diseases using climatic and air-pollution factors. These models could evolve into public warning systems.

PURPOSE: We evaluated the efficacy of core decompression (CD) for treating early avascular necrosis of the femoral head (ANFH), as well as the effect of an autogeneous bone graft and an DBM graft on the results of CD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included 37 patients (40 cases) who were initially diagnosed as suffering with early ANFH, and they were treated with CD and followed up for a minimum of two years. The average patient age was 47.8 years and the average follow up period was 62.4 months., The Ficat & Arlet (F&A) stage and the ARCO stage were used for the radiological staging. RESULTS: The failure rate was 65% (26 case), and 32.5% (13 cases) underwent THA due to clinical and radiological failure. According to the F&A stage, there were 10 stage I hips, 22 stage IIA hips and 8 stage IIB hips, and the success rate (SR) of core decompression was 60%, 36.4% and 0%, respectively. The differences were statistically significant. The cases of ARCO stage II were divided into subgroups: A 2 hips, B 13 hips and C 12 hips and the SR of each were 50%, 46%, and 33.3%, respectively. The differences were statistically significant. CONCLUSION: CD should be carefully considered for treating the advanced stages above F&A stage IIA and ARCO stage IIB.
Artemisinins ; Decompression ; Follow-Up Studies ; Head ; Hip ; Humans ; Naphthoquinones ; Necrosis ; Stress, Psychological ; Tacrine ; Transplants

Xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis is an uncommon form of chronic pyelonephritis occurring usually in middle-aged women. This disease is characterized by destruction of the renal parenchyma which is then replaced by granulomatous tissue containing lipid-laden macrophages (foam cells). But this disease is hard to diagnose preoperatively since it resembles renal abscess, renal cell carcinoma, renal tuberculosis and so forth. Xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis in children is rare. We report a case in a 30 month-old boy.
Abscess ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; Child* ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Macrophages ; Male ; Pyelonephritis ; Pyelonephritis, Xanthogranulomatous* ; Tuberculosis, Renal

Tuberculous peritonitis is one of the most common extrapulmonary tuberculosis. The presenting signs and symptoms, together with the carbohydrate antigen (CA) 125 status and imaging findings may resemble the primary peritoneal carcinoma or ovarian carcinoma. We herein report a case on a 71-year-old woman who is presented with abdominal distension, abdominal pain, nausea, anorexia. Abdomino-pelvic computed tomography scans reveal large amounts of ascites and mottled omentum with diffuse nodular masses, and the serum CA 125 level is elevated. The initial clinical diagnosis is the primary peritoneal carcinoma, but the final histological diagnosis confirms the tuberculous peritonitis. Thus, we discuss the differential diagnosis of tuberculous peritonitis from primary peritoneal carcinoma and also the problems especially found in old aged patients. In conclusion, although the elderly patients are suspected with malignancy, we should keep in mind the possibility of curable diseases and perform laparoscopic biopsy during the early stage aggressively.
Abdominal Pain ; Aged ; Anorexia ; Ascites ; Biopsy ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Nausea ; Omentum ; Peritonitis, Tuberculous* ; Tuberculosis

The purpose of this study was to compare physical and biodegradable properties of 3D printed resorbable membranes that are used for guided tissue regenerations in periodontal tissues. Three types of 3D printed membranes (two types of non β-TCP and one type of β-TCP) were considered. The form and element compositions of 3D printed membranes were analyzed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Porosity and pore size were measured using Micro-CT. Also, tensile strength, biodegradability tests were performed. Statistical analyses were carried in tensile strength and cell viability test (p<0.05). The result of SEM images with EDS analyses showed linear layers of lattice structure with presence of C and O in all groups. There was a slight difference in Ca and P among some groups. Tensile strength was significantly different among all groups (p<0.05), and biodegradability showed that the group containing β-TCP resulted in the fastest degradation rate. Therefore, the results of this study concluded that the 3D printed resorbable membrane has variable physical and biodegradable properties for clinical use, where such information would be useful to be considered for the future development of related products and clinical application of the products.

The purpose of this study was to compare physical and biodegradable properties of 3D printed resorbable membranes that are used for guided tissue regenerations in periodontal tissues. Three types of 3D printed membranes (two types of non β-TCP and one type of β-TCP) were considered. The form and element compositions of 3D printed membranes were analyzed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Porosity and pore size were measured using Micro-CT. Also, tensile strength, biodegradability tests were performed. Statistical analyses were carried in tensile strength and cell viability test (p<0.05). The result of SEM images with EDS analyses showed linear layers of lattice structure with presence of C and O in all groups. There was a slight difference in Ca and P among some groups. Tensile strength was significantly different among all groups (p<0.05), and biodegradability showed that the group containing β-TCP resulted in the fastest degradation rate. Therefore, the results of this study concluded that the 3D printed resorbable membrane has variable physical and biodegradable properties for clinical use, where such information would be useful to be considered for the future development of related products and clinical application of the products.

Purpose: Staphylococcus aureus can attach to extracellular matrix components and plasma proteins deposited on biomaterial surfaces, ultimately forming biofilms. Therefore, managing S. aureus is recommended for preventing and treating peri-implant diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the biofilm-forming ability of S. aureus on zirconia surfaces and to assess the efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT) in reducing these biofilms. Materials and Methods: Biofilm growth analysis showed optimal formation at 48 hours. Therefore, S. aureus ATCC 25923 was inoculated onto a sterilized zirconia disk and cultivated for 48 hours to form the biofilm. Thereafter, the biofilms were treated with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS; control), chlorhexidine (CHX), tetracycline (TC),toluidine blue O (TBO), cold diode laser (laser), or PDT (TBO + laser), with each group consisting of seven disks. The bacterial loadwas quantified using colony-forming unit (CFU) counts, and biofilm viability was evaluated using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Results: Significant reductions in bacterial counts were observed in the CHX (95.3%), TC (95.0%), and PDT (93.8%) groups compared to the control (P < 0.001). CLSM revealed a greater number of dead bacteria in the CHX, TC and PDT groups compared to that in other groups. Conclusion Within its limitations, this study demonstrated that S. aureus can form biofilms on zirconia surfaces. PDT showed similar efficacy to conventional antimicrobial treatments such as CHX and TC for reducing S. aureus biofilms.zirconia

Purpose: Staphylococcus aureus can attach to extracellular matrix components and plasma proteins deposited on biomaterial surfaces, ultimately forming biofilms. Therefore, managing S. aureus is recommended for preventing and treating peri-implant diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the biofilm-forming ability of S. aureus on zirconia surfaces and to assess the efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT) in reducing these biofilms. Materials and Methods: Biofilm growth analysis showed optimal formation at 48 hours. Therefore, S. aureus ATCC 25923 was inoculated onto a sterilized zirconia disk and cultivated for 48 hours to form the biofilm. Thereafter, the biofilms were treated with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS; control), chlorhexidine (CHX), tetracycline (TC),toluidine blue O (TBO), cold diode laser (laser), or PDT (TBO + laser), with each group consisting of seven disks. The bacterial loadwas quantified using colony-forming unit (CFU) counts, and biofilm viability was evaluated using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Results: Significant reductions in bacterial counts were observed in the CHX (95.3%), TC (95.0%), and PDT (93.8%) groups compared to the control (P < 0.001). CLSM revealed a greater number of dead bacteria in the CHX, TC and PDT groups compared to that in other groups. Conclusion Within its limitations, this study demonstrated that S. aureus can form biofilms on zirconia surfaces. PDT showed similar efficacy to conventional antimicrobial treatments such as CHX and TC for reducing S. aureus biofilms.zirconia