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The ability of medical students to form positive relationships with patients is influenced by the students’ personality. The psychological characteristics necessary for effective physician-patient interactions (PPIs) have not been identified. Methods: In August of 2012, 2013, and 2014, second-year medical students at Gyeongsang National University completed the Korean version of the Defense Style Questionnaire (K-DSQ). Following completion of their 2-year clerkships, the students completed the K-DSQ again. Of the 216 second-year students, 187 (94 males and 93 females) aged 24-38 years (mean, 28.9±2.8 years) completed the K-DSQ at year 4. PPIs were rated by standardized patients during practical examinations following the clerkships. Results: Female sex (β=-0.157, p=0.035) and a more immature defense style in year 2 (β=0.197, p=0.027) were significant predictors of better PPIs in year 4. An increase in humor during the clinical clerkship (β=0.171, p=0.030) and female sex (β=-0.170, p=0.023) were significant predictors of the year-4 PPI ratings. Conclusion: Female sex and a more immature defense style in the second year, as well as an increase in humor during clerkships predicted positive PPIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies have reported poor graft regeneration after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) due to inappropriate portal venous flow (PVF). In this study, we investigated the perioperative factors affecting postoperative PVF after LDLT. Material/Methods: The perioperative data of 366 LDLT patients were retrospectively reviewed. The average PVF on postoperative days 1, 3, and 5 was measured and dichotomized at a cut-off value for patient survival of 1,477 mL/min. Perioperative variables, including coagulation profiles, were compared between high and low postoperative PVF groups. The factors potentially significant (p<0.1) for a low postoperative PVF were evaluated in a univariate analysis, followed by the development of a predictive model for a low postoperative PVF. Results: A low post-LDLT PVF was determined in 113 patients (30.9%). The univariate analysis identified systemic hypertension, LDLT duration, average mean blood pressure, and insulin administration as the significantly related factors. Other significant factors were a plasma fibrinogen, at the anhepatic phase and 1 h after graft reperfusion, as well as the platelet count at the anhepatic phase. After multivariate adjustment, plasma fibrinogen 1 h after graft reperfusion against a recipient background of systemic hypertension was independently associated with a low mean postoperative PVF. Conclusions: A low mean PVF during the early post-LDLT period was independently related to the plasma fibrinogen level 1 h after graft reperfusion, and to a history of systemic hypertension. Thus, the practice of aggressive supplementation of plasma fibrinogen during the immediate post-reperfusion period merits serious consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: MicroRNA (miRNA) expression is known to be deregulated in ovarian carcinomas. However, limited data is available about the miRNA expression pattern for the benign or borderline ovarian tumors as well as differential miRNA expression pattern associated with histological types, grades or clinical stages in ovarian carcinomas. We defined patterns of microRNA expression in tissues from normal, benign, borderline, and malignant ovarian tumors and explored the relationship between frequently deregulated miRNAs and clinicopathologic findings, response to therapy, survival, and association with Her-2/neu status in ovarian carcinomas. Methods: We measured the expression of nine miRNAs (miR-181d, miR-30a-3p, miR-30c, miR-30d, miR-30e-3p, miR-368, miR-370, miR-493-5p, miR-532-5p) in 171 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded ovarian tissue blocks as well as six normal human ovarian surface epithelial (HOSE) cell lines using Taqman-based real-time PCR assays. Her-2/neu overexpression was assessed in ovarian carcinomas (n = 109 cases) by immunohistochemistry analysis. Results: Expression of four miRNAs (miR-30c, miR-30d, miR-30e-3p, miR-370) was significantly different between carcinomas and benign ovarian tissues as well as between carcinoma and borderline tissues. An additional three miRNAs (miR-181d, miR-30a-3p, miR-532-5p) were significantly different between borderline and carcinoma tissues. Expression of miR-532-5p was significantly lower in borderline than in benign tissues. Among ovarian carcinomas, expression of four miRNAs (miR-30a-3p, miR-30c, miR-30d, miR-30e-3p) was lowest in mucinous and highest in clear cell samples. Expression of miR-30a-3p was higher in well-differentiated compared to poorly differentiated tumors (P = 0.02), and expression of miR-370 was higher in stage I/II compared to stage III/IV samples (P = 0.03). In multivariate analyses, higher expression of miR-181d, miR-30c, miR-30d, and miR-30e-3p was associated with significantly better disease-free or overall survival. Finally, lower expression of miR-30c, miR-30d, miR-30e-3p and miR-532-5p was significantly associated with overexpression of Her-2/neu. Conclusions: Aberrant expression of miRNAs is common in ovarian tumor suggesting involvement of miRNA in ovarian tumorigenesis. They are associated with histology, clinical stage, survival and oncogene expression in ovarian carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fusarium head blight (FHB), also known as scab, caused mainly by Fusarium graminearum is a devastating disease of wheat in regions that are warm and humid during flowering. In addition to significant yield and quality losses, the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol produced by the pathogen in infected wheat kernels is a serious problem for food and feed safety. Twenty- three Korean cultivars and "Sumai 3", which is a FHB-resistant Chinese cultivar were tested for Type I, Type II resistances of FHB. Three cultivars were identified as resistant in Type I assessment, and two cultivars were resistant in Type II assessment. Genetic variation and relationship among the cultivars were evaluated on the basis of 11 Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) and 29 Sequence Tagged Site (STS) markers that were linked to FHB resistance Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) on chromosome 3BS. One SSR and 7 STS markers detected polymorphisms. Especially, using a STS marker (XSTS3B-57), 32.4% of the variation for Type II FHB resistance could be explained. Genetic relationship among Korean wheat cultivars was generally consistent with their released year. These markers on chromosome 3BS have the potential for accelerating the development of Korean wheat cultivars with improved Fusarium head blight resistance through the use of marker-assisted selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dough rheological properties and end-use quality were evaluated to determine the effects of Glu- 1 and Glu- 3 alleles on those characteristics in Korean wheat cultivars. SDS-sedimentation volume based on protein weight was positively correlated with mixograph parameters and maximum height of dough and also positively correlated with bread volume, crumb firmness and springiness of cooked noodles. Protein content was negatively correlated with optimum water absorption of noodle dough, lightness of noodle dough sheet and hardness and cohesiveness of cooked noodles. Within Glu- 1 loci, 1 or 2* subunit and 5 + 10 subunits showed longer mixing time, higher maximum dough height and larger bread volume than other alleles. Cultivars with 13 + 16 subunits at Glu- B1 locus showed higher protein content and optimum water absorption of mixograph than cultivars with 7 + 8 subunits. At Glu- 3 loci, Glu- A3d showed longer mixing time than Glu- A3e, and Glu- B3d and Glu- B3h had stronger mixing properties than Glu- B3i. Glu- B3h had higher bread volume and hardness of cooked noodles than Glu- B3d. Glu- D3a had lower protein content than Glu- D3c, and Glu- D3b showed stronger mixing properties than Glu- D3a. Glu- D3c showed lower hardness of cooked noodles than others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Puroindoline genotypes, grain characteristics, physico-chemical properties of flour and end-use qualities of Korean wheat cultivars were evaluated to determine the influence of puroindolines genotypes and to provide on those characteristics. Nine Korean wheat cultivars carried Pina-D1a/Pinb-D1a, fourteen had Pina-D1a/ Pinb-D1b, and three had Pina-D1b/Pinb-D1a. Pina-D1b/Pinb-D1a and Pina-D1a/Pinb-D1b genotypes showed significantly higher 1000-kernel weight and hardness index in grain characteristics, higher flour yield, average particle size, ash and protein content, SDS-sedimentation volume, water absorption and mixing time of mixograph, thickness of noodle dough sheet and lower values in lightness of flour and cookie diameter than Pina-D1a/Pinb-D1a genotype. The Pina-D1b/Pinb-D1a genotype showed significantly higher damaged starch content and water retention capacity than other genotypes. Hardness index of grain was positively correlated with flour yield and average particle size of flour. Those parameters were positively correlated with damaged starch, water retention capacity, SDS-sedimentation volume and water absorption of mixograph, and negatively correlated with lightness of wheat flour. In end-use qualities, thickness and lightness of noodle dough sheet and cookie diameter were correlated with hardness index, milling performances and physical properties. However, bread volume and texture of cooked noodles were not influenced by milling performances and physical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

End-use properties of 26 Korean wheat cultivars (KWC) were evaluated to assess consumer satisfaction with 6 imported wheat anf 5 commercial wheat flours. In end-use quality testing of cooked noodles, Absorption of noodle dough sheet of ASW (Australian standard white) was similar to Anbaek, Joekjoong, Nonong, Mamhae, and Sukang. Thickness of noodle dough sheet of KWC was showed thin difference. In imported wheat and commercial flour, Commercial flour for making for yellow alkaline noodle (Com2) and commercial flour for multi-purpose (Com4). Lightness value (L*) showed significantly negative correlations with particle size of flour, ash, damaged starch, and protein content. Hardness of cooked noodles positively correlated with protein content. In texture of cooked noodles Hardness of Com1 was similar to that of Alchan, Dahong, Jeokjoon, and Sukang. Also, hardness of Com2 was similar to that of Gobun, Jokyung, Jonong, Keumkang, and Nambae. In end-use quality of bread, bread loaf volume of commercial flour for making bread (Com3) was similar to Alchan, Jokyung, Kaumkang, and Nambae but firmness was low. Bread volume showed better relationship with higher SDS-sedimentation volume, longer mixing time of mixograph, higher height of dough during development. Firmness of crumb was negatively correlated with bread volume. Diameter of cookie showed significantly negative correlations with particle size of flour, damaged starch, and protein content. Also, Top gain score became higher as the increase diameter of cookie. In end-use quality testing of cooked cookie, Cookie diameter of Com5 was similar to that of Dahong, Geuru, Olgeuru, Tapdong, and Uri but top grain was low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flour characteristics of 26 Korean wheat cultivars (KEC) were evaluated to assess consumer satisfaction with 6 imported wheat and 5 commercial wheat flours. In physical characteristics of flours, Particle size of SW (soft white) was similar to Dahong, Geuru, Milsung, Olgeuru, Seodun, Tapdong, and Uri. DNS (dark norther spring) was similar to Jeokjoong, Joeun, Sukang, and Younback. Ash and damaged starch content of KWC was similar to that of imported wheat and commercial flour (Com), but lightness value (L*) were lower than those of Com. Particle size of flour positively correlated with ash, damaged starch, and lightness value (L*) of flour. L (*) value of lour negatively correlated with ash, damaged starch, and particle size of flour. In protein characteristics, Protein content of SW and commercial flour for baking cookie (Com5) was similar to Baekjoong,Jinpoom, Milsung, Olgeuru, Saeol, and Uri. HRW (hard red winter) and commercial flour for baking bread (Com#) was similar to Hanback, Joeun, Joppon, Keumkang, and Sukang. SDS sedimentation colume based on a contant flour weigth (SDSS) of KWC was lower than those of DNS and Com3. Mixograph water absortikom of of KEC similar to imported wheat and Com. Mixing time and the maximum dough height 9Hm) of KWC were higher than those of imported wheat and Com. Protein content positively correlated with SDS sedimentation volume and water absorption of mixograph. SDS-sedimentation volume positively correlated with water absorption of mixograph, mixing time of mixograph, and height of dough development. In starch characteristics of flour, ASW (Australian stamdard white) flours showed higher amylase content and lower peak viscosity than those of AH (Australian hard), ASW, commercial flour for making white salted noodles (Com1) commercial flour for making yellow alkaline noodles (Com2). And Com3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The feasibility of optical wireless communication links using high-brightness illumination light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is experimentally verified. We measure the modulation bandwidths of red-, green-, and blue-colored LEDs and the eye patterns for optical wireless links incorporating single- and multi-LED transmitters. The eye patterns of single-color red, green, and blue LEDs are compared. An optical communication link consists of an optical transmitter module with seven LEDs, and a packaged silicon photodiode as a receiver. The bit error rate (BER) curves are measured by varying the link distance and the horizontal offset to check their dependencies on the BER. The optical wireless communication link incorporating the transmitter with seven high-brightness illumination LEDs can support 10-Mb/s data transmission without any optimized optical filter to enhance optical gain. Based on the experimental results, it is demonstrated that a communication link with illumination LEDs could be used for short-reach optical wireless communication systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are limited data from randomized trials to guide a specific follow-up surveillance approach after myocardial revascularization. Whether a follow-up strategy that includes routine functional testing improves clinical outcomes among high-risk patients who have undergone percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is uncertain.Methods: We randomly assigned 1706 patients with high-risk anatomical or clinical characteristics who had undergone PCI to a follow-up strategy of routine functional testing (nuclear stress testing, exercise electrocardiography, or stress echocardiography) at 1 year after PCI or to standard care alone. The primary outcome was a composite of death from any cause, myocardial infarction, or hospitalization for unstable angina at 2 years. Key secondary outcomes included invasive coronary angiography and repeat revascularization.Results: The mean age of the patients was 64.7 years, 21.0% had left main disease, 43.5% had bifurcation disease, 69.8% had multivessel disease, 70.1% had diffuse long lesions, 38.7% had diabetes, and 96.4% had been treated with drug-eluting stents. At 2 years, a primary-outcome event had occurred in 46 of 849 patients (Kaplan-Meier estimate, 5.5%) in the functional-testing group and in 51 of 857 (Kaplan-Meier estimate, 6.0%) in the standard-care group (hazard ratio, 0.90; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.61 to 1.35; P = 0.62). There were no between-group differences with respect to the components of the primary outcome. At 2 years, 12.3% of the patients in the functional-testing group and 9.3% in the standard-care group had undergone invasive coronary angiography (difference, 2.99 percentage points; 95% CI, -0.01 to 5.99), and 8.1% and 5.8% of patients, respectively, had undergone repeat revascularization (difference, 2.23 percentage points; 95% CI, -0.22 to 4.68).Conclusions: Among high-risk patients who had undergone PCI, a follow-up strategy of routine functional testing, as compared with standard care alone, did not improve clinical outcomes at 2 years. (Funded by the CardioVascular Research Foundation and Daewoong Pharmaceutical; POST-PCI ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03217877.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liver transplantation (LT) is the curative therapy for decompensated cirrhosis. However, anesthesiologists can find it challenging to manage patients undergoing LT due to the underlying pathologic conditions of patients with end-stage liver disease and the high invasiveness of the procedure, which is frequently accompanied by massive blood loss. Echocardiography is a non-invasive or semi-invasive imaging tool that provides real-time information about the structural and functional status of the heart and is considered to be able to improve outcomes by enabling accurate and detailed assessments. This article reviews the pathophysiologic changes of the heart accompanied by cirrhosis that mainly affect hemodynamics. We also present a comparative review of the diagnostic criteria for cirrhotic cardiomyopathy published by the World Congress of Gastroenterology in 2005 and the Cirrhotic Cardiomyopathy Consortium in 2019. This article discusses the conditions that could affect hemodynamic stability and postoperative outcomes, such as coronary artery disease, left ventricular outflow tract obstruction, portopulmonary hypertension, hepatopulmonary syndrome, pericardial effusion, cardiac tamponade, patent foramen ovale, and ascites. Finally, we cover a number of intraoperative factors that should be considered, including intraoperative blood loss, rapid reaccumulation of ascites, manipulation of the inferior vena cava, post-reperfusion syndrome, and adverse effects of excessive fluid infusion and transfusion. This article aimed to summarize the cardiovascular manifestations of cirrhosis that can affect hemodynamics and can be evaluated using perioperative echocardiography. We hope that this article will provide information about the hemodynamic characteristics of LT recipients and stimulate more active use of perioperative echocardiography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate long-term clinical outcomes of overlapping heterogeneous drug-eluting stents (DES) compared with homogeneous DES. Design and setting The catholic medical centre coronary intervention database is a multicentre database of percutaneous coronary intervention with DES. This database contains data on consecutive patients from eight coronary intervention centres in Korea. Patients: Overlapping homogeneous DES were used in 940 patients and overlapping heterogeneous DES in 140 patients between January 2005 and June 2010. Intervention: The study enrolled patients with one-vessel disease treated with two overlapping DES in one lesion. Main outcome measures The study end point was the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), defined as cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI) or target lesion revascularisation (TRL). Results: The two patient groups had similar baseline clinical and angiographic characteristics. MACE, cardiac death, MI and TRL rates, were not significantly different between the homogeneous and heterogeneous DES groups (9.9% vs 11.4%, p¼0.574; 2.7% vs 3.6%, p¼0.578; 1.5% vs 1.4%, p¼1.000; 5.7% vs 6.4%, p¼0.747, respectively). In addition, it was found that overlap with second generation DES may be safe and effective, and the sirolimus-eluting stent (SES)+SES group had higher rate of MACE-free survival than the paclitaxel-eluting stent (PES)+PES group (p¼0.014). Conclusions: Overlapping heterogeneous DES and overlapping homogeneous DES had similar long-term safety and efficacy outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that is affected by genetic and environmental factors. As the disease has a high heritability rate, genetic studies identifying candidate genes for schizophrenia have been conducted in various populations. The gene for human Ran-binding protein 9 (RANBP9) is a newly discovered candidate gene for schizophrenia. As RANBP9 is a small guanosine-5'-triphosphate-binding protein that interacts with the disrupted in schizophrenia 1 protein, it is considered to be an important molecule in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. However, to date, no study has examined the possible association between the genetic variations of RANBP9 and the risk of schizophrenia. In the present study, it was hypothesized that RANBP9 variations may influence the risk of schizophrenia. In order to investigate the association between RANBP9 polymorphisms and the risk of schizophrenia and smooth pursuit eye movement (SPEM) abnormalities, a case-control association analysis was performed. Using a TaqMan assay, five single-nucleotide polymorphisms and an insertion/deletion variation within the start codon region of RANBP9 were genotyped. Five major haplotypes were identified in 449 patients with schizophrenia and 393 unrelated healthy individuals as controls (total, n=842). However, the association analyses revealed no associations between all genetic variants and schizophrenia and SPEM abnormality. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate an association between RANBP9 polymorphisms and schizophrenia and SPEM abnormality. The findings of allele frequencies and association results in this study may aid in further genetic etiological studies in schizophrenia in various populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background MicroRNA (miRNA) expression is known to be deregulated in cervical carcinomas. However, no data is available about the miRNA expression pattern for the minimal deviation adenocarcinoma (MDA) of uterine cervix. We sought to detect deregulated miRNAs in MDA in an attempt to find the most dependable miRNA or their combinations to understand their tumorigenesis pathway and to identify diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers. We also investigated the association between those miRNAs and their target genes, especially Notch1 and Notch2. Methods We evaluated miRNA expression profiles via miRNA microarray and validated them using.real-time PCR assays with 24 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue blocks of MDA and 11 normal proliferative endocervical tissues as control. Expression for Notch1 and 2 was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Results MiRNA-135a-3p, 192-5p, 194-5p, and 494 were up-regulated, whereas miR-34b-5p, 204-5p, 299-5p, 424-5p, and 136-3p were down-regulated in MDA compared with normal proliferative endocervical tissues (all P <0.05). Considering the second-order Akaike Information Criterion consisting of likelihood ratio and number of parameters, miR-34b-5p showed the best discrimination power among the nine candidate miRNAs. A combined panel of miR-34b-5p and 194-5p was the best fit model to discriminate between MDA and control, revealing 100% sensitivity and specificity. Notch1 and Notch2, respective target genes of miR-34b-5p and miR-204-5p, were more frequently expressed in MDA than in control (63% vs. 18%; 52% vs. 18%, respectively, P <0.05). MiR-34b-5p expression level was higher in Notch1-negative samples compared with Notch1-positive ones (P <0.05). Down-regulated miR-494 was associated with poor patient survival (P =0.036). Conclusions MDA showed distinctive expression profiles of miRNAs, Notch1, and Notch2 from normal proliferative endocervical tissues. In particular, miR-34b-5p and 194-5p might be used as diagnostic biomarkers and miR-494 as a prognostic predictor for MDA. The miR-34b- 5p/Notch1 pathway as well as Notch2 might be important oncogenic contributors to MDA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prolonged mechanical ventilation after liver transplantation has been associated with deleterious clinical outcomes, so early tracheal extubation posttransplant is now increasing. However, there is no universal clinical criterion for predicting early extubation in living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT). We investigated specific predictors of early extubation after LDLT. Methods: Perioperative data of adult patients undergoing LDLT were reviewed. "Early" extubation was defined as tra-cheal extubation in the operating room or intensive care unit (ICU) within 1 h posttransplant, and we divided patients into early extubation (EX) and non-EX groups. Potentially significant (P < 0.10) perioperative variables from univariate analyses were entered into multivariate logistic regression analyses. Individual cut-offs of the predictors were calculated by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) analysis. Results: Of 107 patients, 66 (61.7%) were extubated early after LDLT. Patients in the EX group showed shorter stays in the hospital and ICU and lower incidences of reoperation, infection, and vascular thrombosis. Preoperatively, model for end-stage liver disease score, lung disease, hepatic encephalopathy, ascites, and intraoperatively, surgical time, transfu-sion of packed red blood cell (PRBC), urine output, vasopressors, and last measured serum lactate were associated with early extubation (P < 0.05). After multivariate analysis, only PRBC transfusion of ≤ 7.0 units and last serum lactate of ≤ 8.2 mmol/L were selected as predictors of early extubation after LDLT (AUC 0.865). Conclusions: Intraoperative serum lactate and blood transfusion were predictors of posttransplant early extubation. Aggressive efforts to ameliorate intraoperative circulatory issues would facilitate successful early extubation after LDLT [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: β-blockers are the standard treatment for myocardial infarction (MI) based on evidence from the pre-thrombolytic era. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of β-blocker treatment in patients with acute MI and preserved systolic function in the era of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: We analysed a multicentre registry and identified 3019 patients who presented with acute MI between 2004 and 2009. Patients were treated with PCI, had left ventricular EFs ≥50% according to echocardiograms that were performed during the index PCI, and were alive at the time of discharge. The association between β-blocker use after discharge and mortality (all-cause death and cardiac death) within 3 years was examined. Results: Patients who were not treated with β-blockers (n=595) showed higher rates of all-cause death and cardiac death compared to patients treated with β-blockers (10.8% vs 5.7%, p<0.001, 7.6% vs 2.6%, p<0001). The multivariate Cox proportional hazards model showed that β-blocker treatment was associated with a significant reduction in all-cause death (adjusted HR 0.633, 95% CI 0.464 to 0.863; p=0.004) and cardiac death (adjusted HR 0.47, 95% CI 0.32 to 0.70; p<0.001). Comparable results were obtained after propensity score matching. Conclusions: β-blocker treatment was associated with reduced long term mortality in patients with acute MI and preserved systolic function who received PCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the inhibitory effect of corn silk on melanin production was evaluated. This study was performed to investigate the inhibitory effect of corn silk on melanin production in Melan-A cells by measuring melanin production and protein expression. The corn silk extract applied on Melan-A cells at a concentration of 100 ppm decreased melanin production by 37.2% without cytotoxicity. This was a better result than arbutin, a positive whitening agent, which exhibited a 26.8% melanin production inhibitory effect at the same concentration. The corn silk extract did not suppress tyrosinase activity but greatly reduced the expression of tyrosinase in Melan-A cells. In addition, corn silk extract was applied to the human face with hyperpigmentation, and skin color was measured to examine the degree of skin pigment reduction. The application of corn silk extract on faces with hyperpigmentation significantly reduced skin pigmentation without abnormal reactions. Based on the results above, corn silk has good prospects for use as a material for suppressing skin pigmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stent length has been considered an important predictor of adverse events after percutaneous coronary intervention, even with the first-generation drug-eluting stents (DESs). The introduction of newer-generation DES has further reduced the rates of adverse clinical events such as restenosis, myocardial infarction, and stent thrombosis. The aim of this study was to compare the impact of stent length on the long-term clinical outcomes between first and newer-generation DESs. The effects of stent length (‡32 vs <32 mm) on the clinical outcomes were evaluated in 8,445 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention using either a first-generation DES (sirolimus- and paclitaxel-eluting stents, n [6,334) or a newer-generation DES (everolimus- and zotarolimus-eluting stents, n [2,111) from January 2004 to December 2009. The 3-year adverse outcomes (composite of all-cause death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, target vessel revascularization, and stent thrombosis) were compared using the inverse probability of treatment-weighted method according to the stent length. After adjustment for differences in the baseline risk factors, a stent length of ‡32 mm was significantly associated with higher cumulative rates of target vessel revascularization and stent thrombosis in the patients treated with a first-generation DES (adjusted hazard ratio 1.875, 95% confidence interval 1.531 to 2.297, p <0.001; adjusted hazard ratio 2.964, 95% confidence interval 1.270 to 6.917, p [ 0.012), but it was not associated with the clinical outcomes in patients treated with a newer-generation DES. In conclusion, stent length might not be associated with long-term clinical outcomes in newergeneration DES era, whereas stent length might be associated with long-term clinical outcomes in the first-generation DESs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute liver failure (ALF) is a rapidly progressing and fatal disease for which liver transplantation (LT) is the only treatment. Posttransplant mechanical ventilation tends to be more prolonged in patients with ALF than in other LT patients. The present study examined the clinical effects of prolonged posttransplant mechanical ventilation (PMV), and identified risk factors for PMV following LT for ALF. Methods: We reviewed data of patients undergoing LT for ALF between January 2005 and June 2011. After grouping patients according to administration of PMV (= 24 h), donor and recipient perioperative variables were compared between the groups with and without PMV. Potentially significant factors (P < 0.1) from the univariate intergroup comparison were entered into a multivariate logistic regression to establish a predictive model for PMV. Results: Twenty-four (25.3%) of 95 patients with ALF who received PMV had a higher mortality rate (29.2% vs 11.3%, P = 0.038) and longer intensive care unit stay (12.9 ± 10.4 vs 7.1 ± 2.7 days, P = 0.012) than patients without PMV. The intergroup comparisons revealed worse preoperative hepatic conditions, more supportive therapy, and more intraoperative fluctuations in vital signs and less urine output in the with- compared with the without-PMV group. The multivariate analysis revealed that preoperative hepatic encephalopathy (= grade III), intraoperative blood pressure fluctuation, and oliguria (< 0.5 ml/kg/h) were independent risk factors for PMV. Conclusions: PMV was associated with deleterious outcomes. Besides care for known risk factors including hepatic encephalopathy, meticulous attention to managing intraoperative hemodynamic circulatory status is required to avoid PMV and improve the posttransplant prognosis in ALF patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arabinoxylans (AX) are hydrophilic nonstarch polysaccharides found in wheat grain that affects end-use qualities, including bread-making quality. The objectives of this study were to (1) investigate the effects of wheat cultivar, growing conditions and locations on AX content; (2) evaluate AX content on the comparison of the ten Korean and CIMMYT wheat cultivars; and (3) determine the correlations between AX content and bread-baking quality to improve nutrition of baking quality. Water-extractable arabinoxylan (WE-AX) contents, total arabinoxylan (TO-AX) contents, and the percentage of WE-AX contents over TO-AX contents (WE-AX/TO-AX) were analyzed. Twenty-six Korean winter wheat cultivars were cultivated in two locations for three consecutive years. The results indicated that WE-AX, TO-AX, and WE-AX/TO-AX were significantly influenced by genotypes, year and the interactions between year and genotype. Keumkang showed lower WE-AX content (3.25 mg/g) than other Korean wheat cultivars. Eunpa, Jinpoom, Seodun, and Shinmichal 1 exhibited the higher TO-AX content (>18.65 mg/g) than other cultivars and Jokyoung and Keumkang (<12.71 mg/g) showed the lower TO-AX content. WE-AX/TO-AX of wheat flour ranged from 25.48% (Keumkang) to 51.20% (Anbaek). Wheat cultivars grown in upland field showed lower WE-AX and TO-AX contents than those of paddy field. Wheat cultivars grown in Iksan had the lower WE-AX and TO-AX content, and WE-AX/TO-AX than Jinju. Korean wheat cultivars had similar levels of WE-AX contents in comparison with CIMMYT wheat lines whereas higher levels of TO-AX content. WE-AX, TO-AX and WE-AX/TO-AX of wheat flour were a positively correlated with those of wholemeal of 41 Korean wheat cultivars and advanced lines. AX content, protein content, rheological properties of wheat flour, and bread-baking qualities of Korean wheat cultivars were analyzed. AX content was negatively correlated with protein content, bread volume, and dough maximum height. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) reduces the quality and economic value of grain. Therefore improving PHS tolerance is one of the most important traits of wheat breeding program. The objectives of this study were to evaluate PHS resistance of 28 Korean wheat cultivars and to identify molecular markers associated with PHS resistance to improve the breeding process. PHS was evaluated using both mist spray in the humid chamber and artificial rain fall in the greenhouse and germination index (GI) also was determined for two years. Both evaluation of PHS and GI were significantly influenced by genotype and the interaction between year and genotype, but GI was appeared to be more stable across the year than evaluation of PHS. GI was positively correlated with both percentage of PHS induced by mist spray (r = 0.612, P < 0.001) and artificial rain (r = 0.659, P < 0.001). Sukang and Uri could be used for artificial crossing to improve PHS resistance in Korean wheat breeding program because these cultivars showed lower values in both PHS evaluations and GI compared to other varieties. One STS (sequence tagged sites) and two SSR (simple sequence repeat) markers were also applied to evaluate the suitability for PHS resistance selection. The frequencies of Viviparous-1B (Vp-1B) alleles which were detected by STS marker associated with PHS resistance, were Vp-1Ba (57.1%) > Vp-1Bc (25.0%) > Vp-1Bd (10.7%). However, variation of Vp-1B alleles did not related to PHS resistance in Korean wheat cultivars. Two SSR markers, ZXQ118 and Xhbe03 which located on chromosome 4AL, showed less variation than Vp-1B alleles. These SSR makers did not correlate with PHS resistance and GI, although white grain with 504 bp at ZXQ118 and 146bp at Xhbe03 showed higher percentage of PHS and GI value than red grain. Therefore, it will need to develop an efficient and reliable co-dominant marker in the evaluation of Korean wheat cultivars for PHS tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allelic variations in glutenin and puroindolines of 26 Korean wheat cultivars were evaluated to determine their effects on the physicochemical properties of flour and quality of white salted noodles. Cultivars carrying Pina-D1b and Pinb-D1b exhibited a coarser particle size of wheat flour and a higher ash and damaged starch content than those with Pina-D1a and Pinb-D1a. Glu-B1b, Glu-D1f, Glu-B3d and Pina-D1a alleles exhibited lower protein content than other alleles. Glu-A1c, Glu-B1b, Glu-D1f Glu-B3d, Glu-B3i and Pinb-D1b alleles appeared to be related to a lower SDS-sedimentation volume than other alleles. In dough rheological properties, Glu-A1a and Glu-D1d alleles showed a longer mixing time on the mixograph and maximum dough height but Glu-A3e and Glu-B3i alleles had a lower mixing time on the mixograph and a lower maximum dough height than other alleles at Glu-1 and Glu-3 loci. Regarding the quality of white salt noodles, about 10% of the variations in the hardness of cooked noodles were explained by Glu-A1 and Glu-B3 loci. Hardness rankings of cooked noodles were Glu-A1a > Glu-A1c > Glu-A1c at the Glu-A1 locus. Glu-B3h showed higher cooked noodle hardness (5.10 N) than other alleles at the Glu-B3 locus (< 4.66 N). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 41-year-old woman who was diagnosed with myocarditis presented eosinophilia. Since the antibody against Toxocara canis (T. cams) was positive, we diagnosed that she had visceral larva migrans due to T. canis associated with myocarditis. She was treated with oral albendazole and prednisolone for two weeks, eosinophil count and hepatic enzymes were normalized after completion of treatment. This is the first report of myocarditis caused by T. canis infection in Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PCR-based assays with co-dominant or dominant allele-specific STS (sequence tagged sites) markers and sodiumdodecyl- sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) have been used to discriminate Glu-1 and Glu-3 alleles in Korean wheat cultivars. Three alleles were identified at each high molecular weight glutenin (Glu-1) homoeologous locus and 10 alleles were identified at low molecular weight glutenin (Glu-3) homoeologous locus in Korean wheat cultivars. At Glu-1 loci, wheat cultivars contained Glu-A1a, b and c alleles amplified three fragments of 1093, 1063 and 920bp, and Glu-B1b, c and f alleles discriminated with 707bp (Glu-B1b and f) and 662bp (Glu-B1c) fragments and Glu-D1a, d and f alleles amplified two fragments576bp (Glu-D1d) and 612bp (Glu-D1a and f), respectively. At Glu-3 loci, wheat cultivars contained Glu-A3c, d and e alleles amplified a 573bp, 967bp and 158bp fragments, respectively, Glu-B3d, g, h and i alleles gave a 662bp, 853bp, 1022bp and 621bp, respectively and c) bands and Glu-D3a, b and c alleles amplified a 884bp (Glu-D3a and b) and 338bp (Glu-D3c) fragments. A multiplex-PCR assay was also established which permitted the discrimination of the major Glu-1 and Glu-3 to determine glutenin compositions in a single PCR reaction and agarose gel assay because these systems could be useful to select DNA-based identification of wheat lines carrying good bread making performance in Korean wheat breeding programs. Three multiplex-PCRs for Glu-1 and Glu-3, Glu-A1c/ Glu-B1acf/Glu-D1d, Glu-A3ac/Glu-A3d/Glu-A3e and Glu-B3d/Glu-B3fg /Glu-B3h were established in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A low level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is strongly associated with cardiovascular events. However, the significance of HDLC after statin therapy on the outcome of patients who have undergone percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug eluting stents (DES) is unclear. Objectives: To investigate the significance of HDL-C after statin therapy on cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery disease after DES implantation. Methods: Patients who underwent PCI with DES from January 2004 to December 2009 were prospectively enrolled. The follow-up lipid panel of 2693 patients (median lab follow-up duration 225 days) who had continued using statins after PCI and who attained lowdensity lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) <100 mg/dl was analysed. Major adverse cardiac events (MACE), including all-cause death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and target vessel revascularisation according to follow-up HDL-C level (40 mg/dl for men or 50 mg/dl for women) were compared with the use of propensity scores matching. Results: Median follow-up duration was 832 days. 1585 (58.9%) patients had low follow-up HDL-C and 1108 had high follow-up HDL-C. The low follow-up HDL-C group had significantly higher rates of MACE. Low follow-up HDL-C was a significant independent predictor of MACE (adjusted HR 1.404, 95% CI 1.111 to 1.774, p=0.004). In further analysis with propensity scores matching, overall findings were consistent. Conclusions: Raising HDL-C levels may be a subsequent goal after achieving target LDL-C levels in patients with DES implantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was carried out to find major factors affecting the color of wheat flour and noodles and develop simple analysis method for the breeding of wheat cultivars suitable for producing flour and noodles with bright color which are preferred by consumers. Customers who buy white noodle or flour prefer bright-colored food to dark-colored products. We evaluated grains of 25 Korean wheat cultivars for chemical composition, grain characteristics, and color change of noodle dough sheets during storage. Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) has been connected to discoloration of white salted noodles and other wheat end products. The grain PPO activity was reduced as the 1,000 grain weight, grain ash content, and protein content decreased. The grain PPO activity was positively correlated with the total polyphenol content (r=0.609"") and iron content (r=0.655""). Lightness, protein, polyphenol and Fe content of flour were positively correlated with PPO activity of grain. Cultivars with higher grain PPO activity showed darker noodles and were more easily discolored during the storage (from 2 hr to 48 hr). Thus, PPO activity can be used as a selection index in a breeding program for wheat cultivars of bright-colored flour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schizophrenia is a multifactorial disorder characterized by the contribution of multiple susceptibility genes that may act in conjunction with epigenetic processes and environmental factors. The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene, which is located in the 22q11 microdeletion, has been considered as a candidate gene for schizophrenia because of its ability to degrade catecholamines, including dopamine. In a genetic analysis, neurophysiological endophenotype in schizophrenia, such as smooth pursuit eye movement (SPEM) disturbance, is considered to be a good trait marker, because it may be under more direct genetic control. This study was performed to examine the genetic association of COMT polymorphisms with the risk of schizophrenia and SPEM abnormality in a Korean population. Six single-nucleotide polymorphisms of COMT were genotyped by TaqMan assay. Their genetic effects on the risk of schizophrenia were analyzed in 354 patients and 396 controls using χ2 analyses. Among the schizophrenic patients, 166 subjects were selected for association analyses of COMT polymorphisms with SPEM abnormality. From the six COMT polymorphisms, rs6267 showed an association with the reduced risk of schizophrenia after correction (Pcorr = 0.02). In analysis of SPEM abnormality, no significant associations were detected with COMT polymorphisms. The results of the present study provide the evidence that in a Korean population, COMT on the 22q11 locus is likely involved in the development of schizophrenia, but not in the SPEM function abnormality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]