This study aimed to evaluate the differences in the baseline characteristics and patterns of antibiotic usage among hospitals based on their participation in the Korea National Antimicrobial Use Analysis System (KONAS). We obtained claims data from the National Health Insurance for inpatients admitted to all secondary- and tertiary-care hospitals between January 2020 and December 2021 in Korea. 15.9% (58/395) of hospitals were KONAS participants, among which the proportion of hospitals with > 900 beds (31.0% vs.2.6%, P < 0.001) and tertiary care (50.0% vs. 5.2%, P < 0.001) was higher than that among non-participants. The consumption of antibiotics targeting antimicrobial-resistant gram positive bacteria (33.7 vs. 27.1 days of therapy [DOT]/1,000 patient-days, P = 0.019) and antibiotics predominantly used for resistant gram-negative bacteria (4.8 vs. 3.7 DOT/1,000 patient-days, P = 0.034) was higher in KONAS-participating versus -non-participating hospitals. The current KONAS data do not fully represent all secondary- and tertiary-care hospitals in Korea; thus, the KONAS results should be interpreted with caution.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to determine whether severity and severity change of coexisting psychiatric symptoms might affect change of complicated grief (CG) regarding the Sewol ferry disaster. METHODS: Data from a cross-sectional survey were obtained 18 months (Time 1) and 30 months (Time 2) after the disaster. We ascertained sociodemographic variables and variables obtained from self-reporting questionnaires (i.e., CG, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD], insomnia, embitterment, and suicidal risk) among 56 bereaved family members. RESULTS: Severity of other psychiatric symptoms at Time 1 had no effect on change of CG at Time 2. However, changes in severity of PTSD over a year affected change of CG. CONCLUSION: It is important to evaluate changes in severity of PTSD and its treatment during management of CG, especially when it involves bereaved families experiencing a traumatic accident.
Anxiety ; Bereavement ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Depression ; Disasters ; Follow-Up Studies ; Grief ; Humans ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

Desmoplastic fibroblastoma is a rare fibrous tumor that usually presents as a painless, slow-growing mass in the subcutaneous tissues and skeletal muscles. It has a wide anatomic distribution, with the most common involvement being the arm and shoulder. Here, we report a case of a tiny painful desmoplastic fibroblastoma arising on the scalp. According to a microscopic examination, this tumor was composed of spindle-shaped fibroblasts in the dense collagenous stroma. On immunohistochemical staining, tumor cells were positive for vimentin and negative for smooth muscle actin, CD34, and S100. Our case is unique in that desmoplastic fibroblastoma developed on the scalp and there was presence of pain despite its small size.
Actins ; Arm ; Collagen ; Fibroblasts ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Muscle, Smooth ; Scalp* ; Shoulder ; Subcutaneous Tissue ; Vimentin

BACKGROUND: Kaempferol (3,4′,5,7-tetrahydroxyflavone) is a flavonoid known to have a wide range of pharmacological activities. The 3-OH group in flavonoids has been reported to determine antioxidant activities. OBJECTIVE: We tested whether kaempferol can affect the expression of integrins and the stem cell fate of interfollicular epidermal stem cells. METHODS: Skin equivalent (SE) models were constructed, and the expression levels of stem cell markers and basement membrane-related antigens were tested. The immunohistochemical staining patterns of integrins, p63, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) were compared between kaempferol- and apigenin-treated SE models. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to evaluate the mRNA expression of integrins. RESULTS: Kaempferol increased the thickness of the epidermis when added to prepare SEs. In addition, the basal cells of kaempferol- treated SEs appeared more columnar. In the immunohistological study, the expression of integrins α6 and β1 and the numbers of p63- and PCNA-positive cells were markedly higher in the kaempferol-treated model. However, apigenin showed no effects on the formation of three-dimensional skin models. RT-PCR analysis also confirmed that kaempferol increased the expression of integrin α6 and integrin β1. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicated that kaempferol can increase the proliferative potential of basal epidermal cells by modulating the basement membrane. In other words, kaempferol can affect the fate of interfollicular epidermal stem cells by increasing the expression of both integrins α6 and β1. These effects, in particular, might be ascribed to the 3-OH group of kaempferol.
Apigenin ; Basement Membrane ; Epidermis ; Extracellular Matrix ; Flavonoids ; Integrins ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen ; RNA, Messenger ; Skin ; Stem Cells*

Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation is a relevant environment factor to induce cellular senescence and photoaging. Both autophagy- and silent information regulator T1 (SIRT1)-dependent pathways are critical cellular processes of not only maintaining normal cellular functions, but also protecting cellular senescence in skin exposed to UV irradiation. In the present studies, we investigated whether modulation of autophagy induction using a novel synthetic SIRT1 activator, heptasodium hexacarboxymethyl dipeptide-12 (named as Aquatide), suppresses the UVB irradiation-induced skin aging. Treatment with Aquatide directly activates SIRT1 and stimulates autophagy induction in cultured human dermal fibroblasts. Next, we found that Aquatide-mediated activation of SIRT1 increases autophagy induction via deacetylation of forkhead box class O (FOXO) 1. Finally, UVB irradiation-induced cellular senescence measured by SA-β-gal staining was significantly decreased in cells treated with Aquatide in parallel to occurring SIRT1 activation-dependent autophagy. Together, Aquatide modulates autophagy through SIRT1 activation, contributing to suppression of skin aging caused by UV irradiation.
Autophagy ; Cell Aging* ; Fibroblasts ; Humans ; Skin ; Skin Aging

No abstract available.
Bowen's Disease*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this report is to describe the proton therapy system at Samsung Medical Center (SMC-PTS) including the proton beam generator, irradiation system, patient positioning system, patient position verification system, respiratory gating system, and operating and safety control system, and review the current status of the SMC-PTS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The SMC-PTS has a cyclotron (230 MeV) and two treatment rooms: one treatment room is equipped with a multi-purpose nozzle and the other treatment room is equipped with a dedicated pencil beam scanning nozzle. The proton beam generator including the cyclotron and the energy selection system can lower the energy of protons down to 70 MeV from the maximum 230 MeV. RESULTS: The multi-purpose nozzle can deliver both wobbling proton beam and active scanning proton beam, and a multi-leaf collimator has been installed in the downstream of the nozzle. The dedicated scanning nozzle can deliver active scanning proton beam with a helium gas filled pipe minimizing unnecessary interactions with the air in the beam path. The equipment was provided by Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd., RayStation from RaySearch Laboratories AB is the selected treatment planning system, and data management will be handled by the MOSAIQ system from Elekta AB. CONCLUSION: The SMC-PTS located in Seoul, Korea, is scheduled to begin treating cancer patients in 2015.
Cyclotrons ; Helium ; Humans ; Korea* ; Metallurgy ; Particle Accelerators ; Patient Positioning ; Proton Therapy* ; Protons* ; Radiation Oncology ; Respiratory System ; Seoul

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Infliximab was approved for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) in 2006 and has recently been used as rescue therapy in steroid-refractory UC. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences of medication use and prognosis in UC patients according to the periods of diagnosis. METHODS: From 1987 to 2012, a total of 1,422 patients with UC were retrospectively reviewed in 12 hospitals. The study population was divided into two groups according to the periods of diagnosis as follows; group A: 1987-2005, group B: 2006-2012. Analyzed variables were compared by using chi-square test and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Mean age of the subjects was 42.2 years, and the mean follow-up period was 4.7 years. In univariate analysis, the use of infliximab in group B was significantly higher than group A (4.5% vs. 7.6%, p=0.016), and UC-related hospitalization (45.8% vs. 40.1%, p=0.031) and UC-related surgery (6.4% vs. 3.5%, p=0.010) in group B was significantly lower than that of group A. The use of oral steroid in surgery group was significantly higher than non-surgery group in multivariate analysis (OR 1.85, 95% CI 1.03-3.30, p=0.039). CONCLUSIONS: Infliximab might play an important role for the treatment of steroid-refractory UC. Well-designed prospective trials based on the efficacy and safety of infliximab are required in the future.
Adult ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/therapeutic use ; Colitis, Ulcerative/*diagnosis/drug therapy/pathology ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Infliximab/therapeutic use ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Mesalamine/therapeutic use ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Time Factors

No abstract available.
Aged ; Anemia/diagnosis ; Bone Marrow Cells/pathology ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 11 ; Electrophoresis ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA/complications/*diagnosis ; Hematuria/pathology ; Hemoglobin A/analysis ; Heterozygote ; Humans ; Male ; Renal Insufficiency/diagnosis ; beta-Globins/genetics ; beta-Thalassemia/*diagnosis/etiology