Arotinolol was administered orally to 31 patients to evaluate is antihypertensive action. After one week of antihypertensive medication, they were given Arotinolol 30mg daily for 4 week. Routine serum chemistries, electrolytes, urinalysis and electrocardiography were studied before and after Arotinolol. Blood pressure measured in sitting, supine and standing position was 175.3+/-5.4/115.7+/-4.0, 168.0+/-5.2/150.0+/-3.8, 154.4+/-8.5/103.4+/-3.2mmHg in control and 143.8+/-2.8/93.3+/-2.8, 144.6+/-5.4/88.1+/-4.3, 139.7+/-4.6/86.8+/-3.4mmHg in Arotinolol treatment group. The differences between both blood pressure were statistically significant(P<0.01). No laboratory test showed significant difference between both period. There were no significant side effects except 2 cases of transient headache and dizziness respectively, and one case of diarrhea. In summary, Arotinolol apears to reduce blood pressure effectively with minimal side effects.
Blood Pressure ; Diarrhea ; Dizziness ; Electrocardiography ; Electrolytes ; Headache ; Humans ; Hypertension* ; Urinalysis

OBJECTIVE: According to development of web service technology and mobile device supply, mobile web service becomes an essential element of ubiquitous healthcare. But there are many constraints for offering mobile web services on mobile devices. Hence, this paper propose optimal system supplying web services about medical information in wired /wireless network according to resources of device. METHODS: Proposed system consists of web server, database, desktop subscriber, mobile device and mobile context server. When a mobile device requires the web service, a mobile context server rewrites and offers the equivalent contents provided from web server to suit the requiring device's resource. Our proposed system services the same medical information after its recomposition as the network and devices of user. RESULTS: The medical staff may require patient information in wired/wireless environment, web server and mobile context server supports their correct judgment and expeditious response by servicing optimized data of the patient according to the requiring device. CONCLUSION: Proposed system designed the wired/wireless integrated medical information system using web service and mobile web service as the bases of ubiquitous healthcare system. Not only for web service in wired network, to provide the optimal web service in wireless network, we should know the limited resource of mobile devices and appropriately divide the web contents of wired network to fit the mobile device's screen. The future research needs dynamic division of screen according to extension of medical information data.
Delivery of Health Care ; Humans ; Information Management* ; Information Systems ; Judgment ; Medical Staff

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the trajectory of change of diverse attention and working memory in Koreans from 4 to 40 years of age. METHODS: The data of 912 subjects from 4 to 15 years of age obtained from a previous standardization study of the computerized comprehensive attention test were merged with the newly obtained data of 150 subjects aged 16 to 40 years from this study. We evaluated the various kinds of attention, in which each subtest had five indicators. Working memory, with parameters such as number of correct responses and span, was also measured. RESULTS: Our findings indicated that attention developed as age increased, and it decreased or was maintained after a certain age. Selective and sustained attention developed rapidly in children and adolescents, until mid-teens or 20 s when it ceased development. Divided attention, however, developed up to approximately age 20. In addition, working memory developed until mid-teens or 20 s. CONCLUSION: We presented the standardized data on diverse kinds of attention and working memory in children, adolescents, and adults in Korea. We could recognize any patterns of change in attention and working memory with increasing age.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Humans ; Korea ; Memory, Short-Term ; Neuropsychological Tests

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to develop the computerized Comprehensive Learning Test-Reading (CLT-R) to evaluate the cognitive processes and achievements related to their basic reading ability and identify dyslexia in children and adolescents in South Korea. We also obtained the normative data and evaluated the reliability and validity of the test. METHODS: We developed the CLT-R, including the word attack/nonword decoding, paragraph reading, sound blending, nonword repetition, rapid automatized naming, letter-sound matching, visual attention, orthography awareness, and digit span tests, for the purpose of diagnosing dyslexia. We investigated the reliability and validity of the tests and gathered the normative data from 399 subjects (male 48.9%), aged 5-14 years, from the last grade in kindergarten to middle school, dwelling in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. RESULTS: No statistical differences were observed between the means of the tests and retests of the CAT. The mean of the correlation coefficient of the test-retest scores was 0.85. According to the construct validity test calculated by principal constant analysis using the oblique rotation method, 4 factors explained 70.0% of the cumulative variances. In addition, the normative data were obtained for all of the CLT-R subtests. CONCLUSION: The computerized CLT-R can be used as a reliable and valid tool to evaluate the reading achievement and reading related cognitive process in Korean children and adolescents in schools, clinics, and research institutes.
Academies and Institutes ; Adolescent* ; Animals ; Cats ; Child* ; Diagnosis* ; Dyslexia* ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Korea ; Learning* ; Methods ; Reading ; Reproducibility of Results ; Seoul

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted in order to develop a computerized test to measure the level of mathematic achievement and related cognitive functions in children and adolescents in South Korea. METHODS: The computerized Comprehensive Learning Test-Mathematic (CLT-M) consists of the whole number computation test, enumeration of dot group test, number line estimation test, numeral comparing test (magnitude/distance), rapid automatized naming test, digit span test, and working memory test. To obtain the necessary data and to investigate the reliability and validity of this test, 399 children and adolescents from kindergarten to middle school were recruited. RESULTS: The internal consistency reliability of the CLT-M was high (Cronbach's alpha=0.76). Four factors explained 66.4% of the cumulative variances. In addition, the data for all of the CLT-M subtests were obtained. CONCLUSION: The computerized CLT-M can be used as a reliable and valid tool to evaluate the level of mathematical achievement and associated cognitive functions in Korean children and adolescents. This test can also be helpful to detect mathematical learning disabilities, including specific learning disorder with impairment in mathematics, in Korea.
Adolescent* ; Child* ; Cognition ; Dyscalculia ; Humans ; Korea ; Learning ; Learning Disorders ; Mathematics* ; Memory, Short-Term ; Reproducibility of Results ; Specific Learning Disorder

PURPOSE: Cell-cell interactions determine normal prostate development and subsequent neoplastic transfor mation. The progression of prostate cancer from androgen-dependent to androgen-independent states involves multiple steps of genetic changes mediated by tumor-microenvironment interactions. To understand the epigenetic factors that lead to progression, we studied if 1) androgen-dependent and non-metastatic LNCaP may interact with prostate or bone fibroblasts under microgravity-simulated conditions in vitro. 2) LNCaP may interact with prostate fibroblasts in vivo, and acquire androgen-independence and metastatic potential. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The LNCaP sublines were generated as follows. 1) LNCaP cells were grown in vitro either alone or with prostate or bone fibroblasts under microgravity-simulated conditions. 2) LNCaP cells were grown in vivo as chimeric tumors with prostate fibroblasts. The LNCaP sublines were characterized by studies of chromosomal analysis, comparative genomic hybridization and, in vivo tumorigenicity and metastatic potential. RESULTS: In comparison to the parental LNCaP cells, the LNCaP sublines underwent permanent genotypic and phenotypic changes manifested in androgen-independence and metastatic potential. CONCLUSION: These results emphasize the importance of cell-cell interaction as a critical determinant that could "induce" or "select" progenies favoring enhanced prostate cancer growth and progression. This concept favors the development of toxic gene therapy targeting both prostate cancer epithelium and supporting bone stroma for an effective eradication and prevention of prostate cancer bone metastasis.
Cell Line* ; Comparative Genomic Hybridization ; Epigenomics ; Epithelium ; Fibroblasts* ; Genetic Therapy ; Humans ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Parents ; Prostate* ; Prostatic Neoplasms*

Genetic factors are important host factors that play a role in the development of all diseases through their interaction with environmental factors. Most genetic disorders are the direct result of a mutation in a single gene. However, one of the most difficult challenges currently faced by researchers is the identification of ways in which genes contribute to diseases with complex inheritance patterns, such as cancer, diabetes, asthma, and mental illness. In all of these cases, no single gene determines whether a person will develop a disease. Several genes may contribute to an individual's susceptibility to a disease; genes may also affect how an individual reacts to environmental factors. In this study, we attempted to classify high-risk groups using up-to-date genetic knowledge. We also briefly discuss the role of scientific evidence in the identification (through genetic screening) and management of high-risk subgroups in the population.
Asthma ; Humans ; Inheritance Patterns

Poultry red mites (PRMs), Dermanyssus gallinae, are one of the most harmful ectoparasites of laying hens. Because of their public health impact, safe, effective methods to eradicate PRMs are greatly needed. Carbon dioxide (CO2 ) was shown to eradicate phytophagous mites;however, there is no evidence that PRMs can be eradicated by CO2. Thus, the efficacy of CO2, applied by direct-spraying and dry ice-generated exposure, for eradicating PRMs was investigated. Both treatments eradicated > 85% of PRMs within 24 h and 100% of PRMs by 120 h of post-treatment. Therefore, these novel approaches may be useful for eradicating PRMs in clinical settings.

PURPOSE: Sharing genetic information with family members is important for cancer awareness and prevention. The purpose of this study is to examine disclosure patterns of positive BRCA genetic test results to patients' relatives. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 106 probands who had positive BRCA genetic test results from the Korean Hereditary Breast Cancer Study participated in our study. Subjects were asked whether they had disclosed their genetic test results to first-, second-, and third-degree relatives. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify factors associated with positive result sharing with close and distant relatives. RESULTS: In total, 99 respondents (93.4%) informed at least one at-risk relative of the test result, and they all reported that they had disclosed their genetic test result to a first-degree relative. Communication of test results to other relatives occurred significantly less often, with only 31 of 99 subjects (31.3%) sharing their results with second- or third-degree relatives. In the results of univariate analyses, disclosure of genetic test results to more distant relatives was associated with marital status and months since post-test counseling. The reasons for communication were to provide information about the BRCA-related cancer risk and to recommend the genetic test. CONCLUSION: Most individuals with the BRCA mutation share their test results with first-degree family members; however, these results reach more distant relatives significantly less often. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage patients' communication with extended family members through systematic genetic counseling.
Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Counseling ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Disclosure ; Genetic Counseling ; Humans ; Marital Status ; Multivariate Analysis

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted in order to develop and obtain the normative data of the computerized Comprehensive Attention Test (CAT) in Korean children and adolescents. It also aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the CAT. METHODS: We developed the computerized CAT which includes the selective attention task, the sustained attention to response task, the flanker task, the divided attention task, and the spatial working memory task. We investigated the testretest reliability and the construction validity of this computerized version by using the data from 21 children, and gathered the normative data of 912 subjects, aged 4 to 15 years, dwelling in the Metropolitan Seoul area in 2008. RESULTS: No statistical differences between means of the tests and retests of the CAT were observed. The mean of the correlation coefficient of the test-retest scores was 0.715. The results from the factor analyses explained 51.7% of the cumulative variance. In addition, the normative data for all of the CAT subtests were obtained. CONCLUSION: The computerized CAT can be used as a reliable and valid tool in both clinical and research settings for Korean children and adolescents with or without neuropsychiatric conditions such as attention deficit.
Adolescent ; Aged ; Animals ; Cats ; Child ; Humans ; Memory, Short-Term ; Reproducibility of Results