OBJECTIVE: This study investigated changes of Biochemical Markers of Bone turnover in Pre-, Peri-and Postmenopausal Women METHOD: The levels of Urinary deoxypyridinoline(Dpd), serum total alkaline phosphatase(TALP), osteocalcin(OC), serum calcium(Ca++) and phosphorus(P) were determined. Bone mineral density(BMD) were also measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) RESULTS: There were negative correlation between Biochemical markers of bone turnover and BMD, Biochemical markers of bone turnover in osteoporosis group were significantly higher than normal groups. Biochemical marker of bone turnover except serum calcium increased after menopause and remains elevated in late postmenopausal and elderly women. An increased bone turnover rate to sustained serum calcium in constant level is related to a high rate of bone loss in postmenopausal women and to a decreased bone mass in elderly women. CONCLUSION: Bone turnover increased not only at the time of menopause but also in the elderly women. This subsequent abnormalities of bone resorption and formation in the elderly women suggest their potential role in osteoporosis.
Absorptiometry, Photon ; Aged ; Biomarkers* ; Bone Resorption ; Calcium ; Female ; Humans ; Menopause ; Osteoporosis

No abstract available.
Anemia, Aplastic*

The effect of NDMA after oral administration (17 mg/ml) on the glycoconjugates of lingual von Ebner's gland and mucous gland were investigated with lectin histochemical methods. For lectin histochemical studies, the biotinylated lectins (DBA, PNA, SBA, BSL -1, sWGA, RCA -1, LCA, UEA -1, and ConA) were applied. Lectin binding patterns of glycoconjugates of lingual von Ebner's gland showed the decreased affinity for DBA, PNA, BSL -1 and sWGA in NDMA -treated group compared with control group. The remarkable decrease of binding affinity of NDMA -treated group was observed in PNA for 12 and 24 hours, DBA for 96 hours, BSL -1 for 72 hours, and sWGA for 3 hours, while the striking decrease of BSL -1 and sWGA binding was observed in NDMA -treated group for 12 hours. But these decreases of binding were tended to recover in PNA and sWGA after 72 hours of NDMA treatment, and in DBA after 120 hours. The binding affinity of SBA and RCA -1 was decreased in NDMA -treated group for 3 hours, while the other NDMA -treated group showed an increased affinity. Especially, the increase of SBA binding was remarkable. There was a little change in binding affinity of UEA -1, LCA and Con A in NDMA -treated group. Lectin binding patterns of glycoconjugates of lingual mucous gland showed decreased affinities for SBA, sWGA and UEA -1 in NDMA -treated group. The striking decreases of binding affinity for NDMA -treated group was observed in SBA and sWGA for 3 hours, and UEA -1 for 3 and 24 hours. And the remarkable decreases of binding affinity for NDMA -treated group was found in SBA for 24 and 48 hours, sWGA for 48, 72 and 96 hours, and UEA -1 for 48 hours. These decreases of binding affinity of NDMA -treated group were tended to recover in SBA and UEA -1 after 96 hours and in sWGA after 120 hours. The binding affinity for PNA and ConA showed a little but not remarkable increase in NDMA - treated group, and LCA binding showed a little decrease following a little increase in NDMA - treated group. The affinity of DBA binding was decreased in NDMA -treated group for 12 hours and 24 hours, while the other NDMA -treated group showed an increased affinity. Especially, there was a remarkable increase in NDMA -treated group for 96 hours. From these results, it is suggested that the toxicity of NDMA may be related with the carcinogen of the rat tongue, and glycoconjugates are concerned with the repaire of the destruction of the lingual mucous acini.
Administration, Oral ; Animals ; Dimethylnitrosamine* ; Glycoconjugates* ; Lectins ; Rats* ; Salivary Glands* ; Strikes, Employee ; Tongue ; von Ebner Glands

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of community visiting health service units using DEA and to compare the results with those of traditional evaluation methods. METHODS: Data were collected using 2008 annual reports of 10 districts in one city. Input variables were number of staff and operational budget per year and output variables were number of managed household per nurse, rate of controlled hypertension, and diabetes mellitus. EMS Window version 3.1 was used to measure efficiency score and bootstrapping Chi-square test was applied to identify differences between efficient and non-efficient unit by organizational factors. RESULTS: The average efficiency score of 10 community visiting health services was about 66%. Only two of the units operated program efficiently. The career of the staff was one among other factors associated with efficiency. The evaluation results from the traditional method and DEA were totally different. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that, evaluation methods have very important and significant effects on the evaluation results of community visiting health service units. The DEA method is recommend as an alterative method for evaluating community visiting health service.
Budgets ; Community Health Nursing ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Family Characteristics ; Health Services ; Hypertension

PURPOSE: Cost-benefit analysis is one of the most commonly used economic evaluation methods, which helps to inform the economic value of a program to decision makers. However, the selection of a correct benefit estimation method remains critical for accurate cost-benefit analysis. This paper compared benefit estimations among three different benefit estimation models. METHODS: Data from community-based chronic hypertension management programs in a city in South Korea were used. Three different benefit estimation methods were compared. The first was a standard deterministic estimation model; second, a repeated-measures deterministic estimation model; and third, a transitional probability estimation model. RESULTS: The estimated net benefit of the three different methods were $1,273.01, $-3,749.42, and $-5,122.55 respectively. CONCLUSION: The transitional probability estimation model showed the most correct and realistic benefit estimation, as it traced possible paths of changing status between time points and it accounted for both positive and negative benefits.
Adult ; Aged ; Blood Pressure ; Chronic Disease ; Cost-Benefit Analysis/*methods ; Databases, Factual ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension/economics/*therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Models, Statistical ; Program Evaluation

OBJECTIVE: To determine the characteristic pattern of information processing in the children with specific language impairment (SLI) using the Kaufman-Assessment Battery (K-ABC) for children. METHOD: Thirty patients were responded to K-ABC. Twenty-three of them were diagnosed as SLI without any abnormalities in other developmental areas, visual or auditory system. Seven patients showed language delay with other developmental abnormalities. Mean chronological age of SLI patients was 61.0 months. Patterns of information processing was measured using K-ABC. Sequential processing, simultaneous processing, mental processing, and achievement scales were obtained and compared between two groups. RESULTS: In SLI patients, sequential processing, simultaneous processing, mental processing, and achievement scales were 32.9+/-34.2, 54.3+/-26.9, 42.5+/-31.1, and 33.8+/-28.7, respectively. The SLI patients showed significantly poor scales in sequential than in simultaneous processing (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: The patients with SLI exhibited significant deficits in sequential processing, whereas simultaneous processing was better than that of the other group in this study. This characteristics of SLI patients will be useful for understanding and establishing proper therapeutic strategies for these patients.
Automatic Data Processing* ; Child* ; Humans ; Language Development Disorders ; Weights and Measures

PURPOSE: Nocodazole, a microtubule disrupting reagent, is known to arrest cells in the M phase, To gain insight on the regulatory mechanism of H2B histone gene expression by nocodazole in HL-60 cell, the binding pattern of nuclear proteins to cis element in the human H2B histone gene promoter has been investigated with DNase I footprinting and DNA mobility shift assay. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Northern blot hybridization was performed by the method of Virca et al. A Hinc II-Sac I fragment of pSPH28 was used as probe for Northern blot analysis of H2B histone mRNA. DNase I footprinting and DNA mobility shift assay were performed by the method of Lim et al. End labeled DNA oligomer (upper strand, 5'-CTTCACCTTATTTGCATAA GCGATTC-3') for octamer binding activity was mixed with nuclear extracts in a 20 ul reaction volume containing 60 mM KC1, 12 mM HEPES, pH 7.9, 5 mM MgCl2, 0.2 mM EDTA, 0.2 mM DTT, 12% glycerol, and 2 ug of poly [dI-dC]. RESULTS: The level of H2B histone mRNA rapidly was reduced at 24 hours in nocodazole-treated HL-60 cells and the mRNA was repressed in proportion to the concentration of nocodazole. Nocodazole-dependent repression of H2B histone gene was restored by replacement with nocodazole-free media. In DNase I footprinting analysis, one nuclear factor bound at 42 bp site (octamer motif) in the absence of nocodazole. In the presence of nocodazole, the binding of nuclear factor on octamer motif partially vanished. In DNA mobility shift assay, one DNA-protein complex (Octl) was formed when octamer motif was incubated with nuclear extract of HL-60 cell. After nocodazole treatment, Octl binding activity was reduced by time dependent manner. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that nocodazole-dependent repression of H2B histone gene is correlated with reduction of Octl binding activity in HL-60 cell.
Blotting, Northern ; Cell Division ; Deoxyribonuclease I ; DNA ; Edetic Acid ; Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay ; Gene Expression* ; Glycerol ; HEPES ; Histones* ; HL-60 Cells* ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Magnesium Chloride ; Microtubules ; Nocodazole* ; Nuclear Proteins ; Repression, Psychology ; RNA, Messenger

The authors retrospectively analysed the ultrasonographic findings of 43 cases of surgically confirmed hypertrophic pyloric stenosis and their postoperative findings of sonograms taken at 1 month(n=40) or 3 months( n=5) after pyloromyotomy. In preoperative study, the thickened pyloric muscle was isoechoic or slight hypoechoic relative to liver on the midline longitudinal view and appeared as a "nonuniform acoustic ring" on the transverse view. The results of measurement in the all cases with hypertrophic pyloric stenosis were the pyloric thickness ≥3.8mm, the pyloric diameter ≥14mm, the pyloric channel length ≥16mm, the pyloric muscle volume ≥2.21Cm
Acoustics ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Liver ; Methods ; Pyloric Stenosis, Hypertrophic ; Reference Values ; Retrospective Studies ; Ultrasonography*

Ovarian serous tumors of low malignant potential (borderline serous tumors) are intermediate in their clinical behavior between benign serous cystadenoma and malignant neoplasm, and are associated with 10 year survival rates in excess of 90%. Borderline ovarian serous tumors are characterized by absence of stromal invasion but presence of some characteristics of malignancy. Borderline ovarian tumors occur predominantly in premenopausal women, and associated with a very good prognosis. The principal treatment of borderline malignancy is surgical resection of the primary tumor. But approximatley 20% of patients with ovarian tumors of low malignant potential present with Stage III or IV disease at the time of diagnosis. The benefit of postsurgical therapy in this group of patients has not been well established. We report two cases of advanced ovarian serous borderline tumor, one of which was treated with 3 cycles of cisplatin-taxol chemotherpy.
Cystadenoma, Serous ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Prognosis ; Survival Rate