This study evaluated the test-retest repeatability and measurement variability of ultrasonographic shear wave elastography (SWE) for liver stiffness in a rat liver fibrosis model. Methods: In 31 Sprague-Dawley rats divided into three groups (high-dose, low-dose, and control), liver fibrosis was induced by intraperitoneal administration of thioacetamide for 8 weeks. A dedicated radiographer performed SWE to measure liver stiffness in kilopascals in two sessions at a 3-day interval. We calculated correlations between liver stiffness and histopathologic results, measurement variability in each session using coefficients of variation (CoVs) and interquartile/median (IQR/M), and test-retest repeatability between both sessions using the repeatability coefficient. Results: Different levels of liver fibrosis in each group were successfully induced in the animal model. The mean liver stiffness values were 8.88±1.48 kPa in the control group, 11.62±1.70 kPa in the low-dose group, and 11.91±1.73 kPa in the high-dose group. The correlation between collagen areas and liver stiffness values was moderate (r=0.6). In all groups, the second session yielded lower CoVs (i.e., more reliable results) for liver stiffness than the first session, suggesting a training effect for the operator. The mean IQR/M values were also lower in the second session than in the first session, which had four outliers (0.21 vs. 0.12, P<0.001). The test-retest repeatability coefficient was 3.75 kPa and decreased to 2.82 kPa after removing the four outliers. Conclusion: The use of ultrasonographic SWE was confirmed to be feasible and repeatable for evaluating liver fibrosis in preclinical trials. Operator training might reduce variability in liver stiffness measurements.

Holstein calves weighing less than 20 kg at birth have been noted in Korea. Due to insufficient information, we raised small calves with age-matched normal birth weight Holstein calves and determined body weights before puberty. In addition, 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the growth hormone (GH) gene were analyzed. Up to 10 months of age, low birth weight calves were smaller than normal weight calves. In exon 5 of the GH gene, SNP genotype variation was detected in some small calves; however, this did not appear to be the only factor inducing low birth weight and slow growth.
Adolescent ; Birth Weight ; Body Weight ; Exons ; Genotype ; Growth Hormone ; Humans ; Infant, Low Birth Weight ; Infant, Newborn ; Korea ; Parturition ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Puberty

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The current South Korean government policy on food irradiation technology should be reformed based on an in-depth investigation of the communications aspect, because the issue is no longer of a technological nature, given the proven safety and efficacy of the processes. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The target population of the education program consisted of elementary, middle, and high school students attending 310 schools in South Korea (2013: 63 schools, 2014: 104 schools, 2015: 143 schools). Data subjected to analysis were 13,327 pre-education and 12,641 post-education questionnaires received from 7,582 elementary, 2,671 middle, and 3,249 high school students who participated in the education program from May 2012 to April 2015 (n = 12,831), after the exclusion of inadequately filled-in questionnaires. RESULTS: Analysis of the three-year educational effect trend was conducted by comparing levels of variables before and after food radiation education. The analysis yielded the finding that the post-education levels were significantly higher for all variables. That is, for interest in education, perception (necessity, safety, subjective knowledge, and information acquisition), objective knowledge, and attitude, with the sole exception of objective knowledge in 2013. CONCLUSIONS: Given that post-education levels of perception, knowledge, and attitude concerning irradiated foods increased considerably compared to pre-education levels, behavior change should be induced by providing continuous education to enhance, these primary variables.
Education* ; Food Irradiation* ; Health Services Needs and Demand ; Humans ; Korea*

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Educational interventions targeted food selection perception, knowledge, attitude, and behavior. Education regarding irradiated food was intended to change food selection behavior specific to it. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: There were 43 elementary students (35.0%), 45 middle school students (36.6%), and 35 high school students (28.5%). The first step was research design. Educational targets were selected and informed consent was obtained in step two. An initial survey was conducted as step three. Step four was a 45 minute-long theoretical educational intervention. Step five concluded with a survey and experiment on food selection behavior. RESULTS: As a result of conducting a 45 minute-long education on the principles, actual state of usage, and pros and cons of irradiated food for elementary, middle, and high-school students in Korea, perception, knowledge, attitude, and behavior regarding the irradiated food was significantly higher after the education than before the education (P < 0.000). CONCLUSIONS: The behavior of irradiated food selection shows high correlation with all variables of perception, knowledge, and attitude, and it is necessary to provide information of each level of change in perception, knowledge, and attitude in order to derive proper behavior change, which is the ultimate goal of the education.
Education* ; Food Irradiation* ; Food Preferences ; Humans ; Informed Consent ; Korea ; Research Design

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to translate the obesity-related problems (OP) scale for Koreans and to validate it for use in Korean populations. METHODS: Translation and back-translation of the OP scale was performed and a pilot test was conducted. Following this, patients who had received treatment at the Obesity Center of Inha University Hospital were selected for participation in the field test. Cronbach's alpha (alpha) was used for assessment of the internal consistency of the OP scale. Spearman's correlation coefficients were used to assess the concurrent validity between the OP scale, the EuroQoL-5D (EQ-5D), and the Beck depression inventory (BDI) scale. One-way analysis of variance and t-test were used to assess the factors associated with the OP scale. RESULTS: A total of 67 individuals participated in the field study. The standardized Cronbach's alpha of the OP was 0.913. A significant negative correlation was observed between the OP scale and the EQ-5D and a positive correlation was observed between the OP scale and the BDI (the correlation coefficient with EQ-5D = -0.316, and the BDI = 0.305, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The results of this study prove that the Korean version of the OP has been translated and adapted correctly in order to meet the standard of its use.
Depression ; Humans ; Obesity ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The number of organs transplanted worldwide is increasing annually. As a result, there is a shortage of available donor organs. This scarcity has led to the progressive broadening of donor organ criteria. The expanded criteria include infections such as bacterial meningitis. A 55-year old male visited our emergency room with cardiac arrest and recovered after cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The cause of the cardiac arrest was bacterial meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. While proper antibiotics were applied, the patient met the clinical criteria for brain death. Prophylactic antibiotics were administered to the recipients, and liver and kidney transplantations were done successfully.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Brain Death ; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ; Donor Selection ; Emergencies ; Heart Arrest ; Humans ; Kidney Transplantation ; Liver ; Male ; Meningitis ; Meningitis, Bacterial ; Organ Transplantation ; Streptococcus ; Streptococcus pneumoniae ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants

PURPOSE: Widely used fiberglass splints are made from straight-form material. These prove difficult to mold at joints and form wrinkles, causing complications such as pain, pressure sores, and peripheral nerve palsy. We compared the usefulness of wave-form splints with straight-form splints and the level of satisfaction of these designs from care providers and wearers. METHODS: Eighty-nine (n=89) emergency physicians and orthopedic surgeons participated in this study. The subjects (acting as care providers and mock patients) used wave-form and straight-form material to construct and wear short leg splints, long arm splints, and sugar tong splints. The clinicians were surveyed on their satisfaction as providers and wearers. All questions were measured on scores from 0 and 10(10=maximum score). After splints were removed, subjects were surveyed on the extent of splint wrinkling with scores from 1 to 3(3=maximum wrinkling). RESULTS: Provider satisfaction scores for wave-form splints versus straight-form splints in short leg splint applications were 7.76+/-1.30 vs 6.74+/-1.25 (p=0.000). Provider satisfaction scores for wave-form splints versus straight-form splints in long arm splint applications were 7.73+/-1.33 and 6.73+/-1.59 (p=0.004), respectively. The subjects felt more comfortable wearing wave-form splints, compared to straight-form splints (7.79+/-1.49 vs. 6.79+/-1.58, respectively; p=0.004) and more satisfied (8.03+/-1.35 vs. 7.18+/-1.33, respectively; p=0.003). The frequencies of wrinkle occurrence in wave-form and straight-form splints were 29.7% and 42.2%, respectively (p=0.02). CONCLUSION: Wave-form splints may be more practical for molding and wearing than traditional straight-form splints.
Arm ; Casts, Surgical ; Emergencies ; Fungi ; Glass ; Immobilization ; Joints ; Leg ; Orthopedics ; Paralysis ; Peripheral Nerves ; Pressure Ulcer ; Splints

Atrophoderma of Pasini and Pierini is a form of dermal atrophy that manifests as either single or multiple, sharply demarcated, hyperpigmented, non-indurated patches. These patches are marked by a slight depression of the skin, with an abrupt edge (i.e., the "cliff-drop" borders), usually located on the backs of adolescents or young adults. The pathophysiology of the disease is unknown, but some authors have suggested a role of Borrelia burgdorferi infection. A 35-year-old woman visited our department because of asymptomatic, hypopigmented, depressed patches on her chest and back lasting for three months. Laboratory evaluations were normal, except for positive serum antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi. Histologic examination revealed a significantly decreased thickness of the dermis. The patient underwent treatment with oral doxycycline 200 mg/day for six weeks, after which the depth of depression was improved. Herein, we report a case of atrophoderma of Pasini and Pierini, associated with Borrelia burgdorferi infection, successfully treated with oral doxycycline.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Antibodies ; Atrophy ; Borrelia ; Borrelia burgdorferi ; Depression ; Dermis ; Doxycycline ; Female ; Humans ; Skin ; Thorax ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: The prognosis of paraquat intoxication patients is poor and this makes the prediction of mortality important in administering aggressive treatment and admission. This article investigates the usefulness of simplified acute physiology score II (SAPS II), as a predictor of the mortality in paraquat intoxication. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 65 patients who were admitted in one hospital between January in 2005 and December in 2010. We calculated their SAPS II, serum paraquat level, and severity index of paraquat poisoning (SIPP) at the time of intensive care unit (ICU) admission. We investigated the relationship between each systems and the mortality. RESULTS: Overall mortality was 73.8%: 48 out of 65 patients died. Non-survived group (n = 48) had a higher SAPS II score (30.44 +/- 15.99) than survived group (n = 17 [15.7 +/- 6.26], p < 0.001). Serum paraquat level and SIPP were significantly higher in non-survived group than in survived group (p < 0.05, in all comparisons). By using the area under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC), the SAPS II system yielded equal discriminative power (AUC = 0.82) with serum paraquat level (AUC = 0.896) and SIPP (AUC = 0.865). Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test C indicated SAPS II score validated well in paraquat intoxication group (p = 0.33). CONCLUSIONS: Serum paraquat level is the best way for prediction of mortality in patients with acute paraquat intoxication. If checking serum paraquat level is impossible or delayed, SAPS II score can be an alternative tool for evaluating the prognosis in paraquat intoxication.
Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Paraquat ; Prognosis ; Research Design ; Retrospective Studies ; ROC Curve

BACKGROUND: Lyme disease, an infection caused by Borrelia(B.) burgdorferi, has been reported in many countries. But in Korea, only 5 cases of serologically diagnosed lyme disease have been reported. Because several strains of B. burgdorferi were isolated from Ixodes ticks which were captured in Kangwon and Chungbuk province, there might be more cases of serologically undiagnosed lyme diseases presenting with erythema migrans. OBJECTIVE: To understand the clinical patterns and laboratory findings of erythema migrans in Korea. METHODS: A clinical survey was retrospectively performed on 9 patients with erythema migrans which occurred after tick bites. RESULTS: Among 9 patients with erythema migrans, 3 patients were male and 6 patients were female. The onset age of erythema migrans ranged from 26 to 71 years old (mean, 51.3 years old). The mean duration of erythema migrans after tick bite was 26.4 days and the diameter of the lesion ranged from 6 to 34 cm (mean, 18.3 cm). All cases developed from May to September and systemic symptoms such as fatigue, fever and/or chills, myalgia, palpitation, headache, arthralgia and dyspnea were present at the time of hospital visits of 3 patients. Clinically, 3 patterns of erythema migrans were seen; typical target pattern, homogenous and erythematous plaque pattern, and linear solitary plaque pattern with central postinflammatory pigmentation. Only 2 of the 7 patients (28.6%) were seropositive for IgM and IgG antibody titers by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in consecutive serologic tests. PCR for Borrelia DNA in paraffin-embedded tissue showed full negativity in 6 patients with erythema migrans. CONCLUSION: Although lyme disease is not endemic in Korea, some patients with erythema migrans might be undiagnosed as lyme disease serologically with erythema migrans. To take into consideration false negative serelogic results in early erythema migrans, early oral tetracycline therapy should be included through clinical and historical diagnosis.
Age of Onset ; Arthralgia ; Bites and Stings ; Borrelia ; Chills ; DNA ; Dyspnea ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Erythema ; Fatigue ; Female ; Fever ; Glossitis, Benign Migratory ; Headache ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M ; Ixodes ; Korea ; Lyme Disease ; Male ; Pigmentation ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Retrospective Studies ; Serologic Tests ; Tetracycline ; Ticks