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We examine whether equity-linked private securities offerings are used as a mechanism for tunneling among firms that belong to a Korean chaebol. We find that chaebol issuers involved in intragroup deals set the offering prices to benefit their controlling shareholders. We also find that chaebol issuers (member acquirers) realize an 8.8% (5.8%) higher (lower) announcement return than do other types of issuers (acquirers) if they sell private securities at a premium to other member firms, and if the controlling shareholders receive positive net gains from equity ownership in issuers and acquirers. These results are consistent with tunneling within business groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Reducing craving is a key to success in the treatment of alcohol dependence. The emotion circuit may be involved in pathological craving for alcohol. In this study, we investigated neural correlates of emotional involvement in craving in alcohol dependence. Methods: The study included 17 detoxified alcoholic patients and 25 social drinkers. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine brain activation (blood oxygen level-dependent signals) while participants reported craving and emotion in response to visually presented, alcohol-related stimuli and emotional stimuli. Results: In the craving-rating paradigm, negative emotional stimuli as well as alcohol cues activated craving-related brain regions in alcoholic patients. Activations of the inferior parietal lobule and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex by negative emotional stimuli were negatively correlated with craving; meanwhile limbic activation was positively correlated with craving. For the emotion paradigm, greater limbic activation was evident by alcohol-related stimuli in the alcohol-dependent group. Conclusions: Our findings constitute neural evidence for emotional involvement in pathological craving for alcohol, underscoring the importance of emotion management in abstinent alcoholic patients for relapse prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aim of the study was to assess cardiovascular risk in men with high body fat percentage (BF%) and normal body mass index (BMI) and men with normal BF% and high BMI. This study was a cross-sectional study using data on 5534 Korean male adults. Body mass index, BF%, and waist circumference were measured as adiposity indices. Bioelectrical impedance analysis was used for measuring BF%. Blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were measured routinely. Information regarding alcohol consumption, smoking, exercise, and past/current medical history was obtained by structured questionnaires. Subjects were categorized into 4 groups by means of BMI and BF% (group 1, BMI <25 kg/m2 and BF% <25%; group 2, BMI <25 kg/m2 and BF% ≥25%; group 3, BMI ≥25 kg/m2 and BF% <25%; group 4, BMI ≥25 kg/m2 and BF% ≥25%). Cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) such as high blood pressure, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia were estimated in each group. As might be expected, the prevalences of high blood pressure, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia were lowest in group 1 and were highest in group 4. Multivariate analyses showed that subjects in group 2 or group 4 had a 1.8 times increased risk of clustering of 2 or more CVRFs compared with subjects in group 1 (P < .001). The adjusted odds ratio (1.15; 95% confidence interval, 0.94-1.40) of subjects in group 3 on clustering of 2 or CVRFs was not significantly increased (P = .180). High BF% was related to increase of cardiovascular risk regardless of the level of BMI in Korean men. However, cardiovascular risk of men with high BMI without high BF% was not significantly increased. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is often accompanied by multiple ocular symptoms. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of ocular symptoms and the impact of ocular symptoms on the quality of life in patients with AR., Methods: One thousand one hundred seventy-four patients with AR were enrolled from 24 centers in Korea. They were classified into four groups according to the Allergic Rhinitis and Its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) guideline and also classified into perennial AR (PAR) and seasonal AR groups. All patients were asked to complete the questionnaire regarding the presence of ocular symptoms, such as eye itching, watery eyes, and red eyes. The correlation between ocular symptoms and the rest of the quality-of-life areas in the Mini-Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (Mini-RQLQ) was also asked., Results: Seven hundred nineteen (61.2%) of 1174 patients had ocular symptoms. In detail, the numbers of patients with eye itching, watery eyes, red eyes, and other ocular symptoms were 605 (51.5%), 313 (26.7%), 207 (17.6%), and 66 (5.6%), respectively. Female patients (72.5%) complained of ocular symptoms more commonly than male patients (55.1%). The patients with moderate-severe persistent AR showed the highest prevalence of ocular symptoms. The correlation coefficients between ocular symptoms and the rest of the quality-of-life areas in the Mini-RQLQ were statistically significant (p < 0.05)., Conclusion: Sixty-one percent of Korean AR patients experienced ocular symptoms. The patients who were women and had PAR and more severe AR showed higher prevalence of ocular symptoms. The ocular symptoms might have a significant impact on the quality of life in patients with AR.

Few studies have focused on the quantification of glycemic lability and hypoglycemic events in Asian patients with type 1 diabetes; therefore, we conducted a study to assess glycemic lability and the severity of hypoglycemia in type 1 diabetic patients in Korea. A total of 124 type 1 diabetic patients were enrolled. Several glycemic lability indexes and hypoglycemic indexes were calculated using four-week self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) data. Due to the dependence of the lability index (LI) on the frequency of glucose measurements, we generated a modified LI by dividing by the number of SMBG measurements per day for a given patient. The numbers of patients in our study with a composite hypoglycemic score ≥ 1,047 or LI ≥ 433 mmol/L(2)/h•week(-1), which was found in a previous study to indicate high risk of severe hypoglycemia or lability, were 0 (0%) and 44 (35%), respectively. Compared to previously reported hypoglycemia indexes, the low blood glucose index was lower in our study. However, the glycemic lability indexes were similar to those in previous studies, with the exception of the LI. The modified LI and the average daily risk range (ADRR) showed higher concordance with other glycemic lability indexes than did the LI or mean amplitude of glycemic excursions (MAGE). The results showed that the hypoglycemic indexes in this study population were lower than the results from Ryan et al. Furthermore, the ADRR or modified LI were better measures for high risk of severe lability than were the LI and MAGE.

A total of 128 strains was isolated from more than 23 legume hosts in Korea. Phylogenetic relationships between these Korean isolates and reference strains of the genera Bradyrhizobium, Mesorhizobium, Rhizobium and Sinorhizobium were analysed using their 16S rRNA gene and internally transcribed spacer (ITS) region sequences. Among the Bradyrhizobium strains, dendrograms based on both the 16S rRNA gene and ITS region sequences produced two main groups. The ITS tree yielded at least two new clusters that were discernable from the seven previously delineated genospecies. Large discrepancies were revealed between phylogenetic dendrograms based on 16S rRNA gene and ITS region sequences for members of the genus Rhizobium, reflecting their taxonomic heterogeneity. The amalgamation of Rhizobium and former members of Agrobacterium was confirmed using the 16S rRNA tree. Phylogenetic analysis of ITS region sequences showed that the Rhizobium giardinii clade (group II) and the Rhizobium radiobacter/Rhizobium rubi clade (group III) could be tentatively recognized as groups that are separable from the core group (group I), which includes Rhizobium leguminosarum. Dendrograms based on the 16S rRNA gene and ITS region sequences of Mesorhizobium strains were highly conflicting due to the poor taxonomic resolution of the 16S rRNA gene sequences and the low confidence in the ITS dendrogram. Several Korean isolates within the genus Mesorhizobium are thought to represent novel taxa when considering their relatively low ITS region sequence similarities (<80 %) to the reference strains.

The 16S rRNA gene sequences for 34 strains, including 11 isolates, were determined to classify scab-causing Streptomyces spp. and relatives isolated from potato scab lesions collected in Jeju, Korea. The 16S-23S rDNA internally transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences were determined to investigate whether the 16S-23S ITS region is useful for analysing intra- and interspecific relationships in these bacteria. On the basis of phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences, most of the isolates were classified as Streptomyces scabiei and Streptomyces acidiscabies. Isolate KJO61 was placed in an ambiguous taxonomic position between Streptomyces reticuliscabiei and Streptomyces turgidiscabies. 16S-23S ITS region sequence analysis showed that tRNA genes were not found in this region of Streptomyces spp. The 16S-23S ITS regions of Streptomyces spp. exhibited various lengths and highly variable sequence similarities (35-100%) within strains as well as intra- and interspecies. It was revealed that Streptomyces europaeiscabiei could be clearly differentiated from Streptomyces scabiei. However, it was clarified that ITS regions are not useful in phylogenetic analysis of Streptomyces spp.