Strategic Distributional Cost-Effectiveness Analysis for Improving National Cancer Screening Uptake in Cervical Cancer: A Focus on Regional Inequality in South Korea.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to conduct a cost effectiveness analysis of strategies designed to improve national cervical cancer screening rates, along with a distributional cost effectiveness analysis that considers regional disparities.

Materials And Methods: Cost effectiveness analysis was conducted using a Markov cohort simulation model, with quality adjusted life years as the unit of effectiveness. The strategies considered were current (biennial Papanicolaou smear cytology of females aged 20 or above), strong screening recommendation by mail to target regions (effect, 12% increase in screening uptake; cost, 1,000 Korean won per person), regular universal screening recommendation by mail (effect, 6% increase in screening uptake; cost, 500 Korean won per person), and strong universal screening recommendation by mail (effect, 12% increase in screening uptake; cost, 1,000 Korean won per person).

Autophagy Primes Neutrophils for Neutrophil Extracellular Trap Formation during Sepsis.

Rationale: Neutrophils are key effectors in the host's immune response to sepsis. Excessive stimulation or dysregulated neutrophil functions are believed to be responsible for sepsis pathogenesis. However, the mechanisms regulating functional plasticity of neutrophils during sepsis have not been fully determined.

Cancer Risk in the Early Stages of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Korean Patients: A Nationwide Population-based Study.

Background And Aims: The association between inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] and cancer remains poorly defined in Asian populations. Therefore, we conducted a nationwide population-based study to determine the cancer risk in Korean patients with IBD.

Methods: Using the National Health Insurance claims data, we collected data on patients diagnosed with IBD (5595 Crohn's disease [CD] and 10 049 ulcerative colitis [UC]) from 2011 to 2014.

Positive association between the changes in chemerin and adiponectin levels after weight reduction.

Purpose: Adiponectin and chemerin have been reported their associations with insulin resistance and chronic inflammation. However, the relationship between adiponectin and chemerin themselves has not been fully elucidated. Therefore, we investigated the effects of changes in adiponectin and chemerin levels after a weight intervention.

Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation affects distractor interference in auditory working memory.

Computational and theoretical accounts hypothesize the basal ganglia play a supramodal "gating" role in the maintenance of working memory representations, especially in preservation from distractor interference. There are currently two major limitations to this account. The first is that supporting experiments have focused exclusively on the visuospatial domain, leaving questions as to whether such "gating" is domain-specific.

Estimating the Cost-Effectiveness of One-Time Screening and Treatment for Hepatitis C in Korea.

Background And Aims: This study aims to investigate the cost-effectiveness of a one-time hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening and treatment program in South Korea where hepatitis B virus (HBV) prevails, in people aged 40-70, compared to current practice (no screening).

Methods: A published Markov model was used in conjunction with a screening and treatment decision tree to model patient cohorts, aged 40-49, 50-59 and 60-69 years, distributed across chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and compensated cirrhosis (CC) health states (82.5% and 17.

Incidence and clinical outcomes of intestinal Behçet's disease in Korea, 2011-2014: a nationwide population-based study.

Background: Intestinal Behçet's disease (BD) is very rare, and epidemiologic data regarding BD are scarce. Moreover, there have been no population-based studies focusing on intestinal BD. We conducted a nationwide population-based study to examine the incidence and clinical course of Korean patients with intestinal BD.

Epidemiology and Clinical Features of Kawasaki Disease in South Korea, 2012-2014.

Background: To reveal the recent epidemiologic features of Kawasaki disease (KD) in South Korea based on data from a nationwide survey.

Methods: We collected data between 2012 and 2014 regarding the incidence, symptoms and signs, treatment trends and coronary complications associated with acute KD by sending questionnaires to 97 hospitals with pediatric residency programs as well as 19 community hospitals without residency training.

Results: We received full and partial data from 97 and 13 hospitals, respectively (response rate: 94.

Association between screening and the thyroid cancer "epidemic" in South Korea: evidence from a nationwide study.

Objective:  To investigate whether screening for thyroid cancer led to the current "epidemic" in South Korea.

Design:  Review of the medical records of nationally representative samples of patients with a diagnosis of thyroid cancer in 1999, 2005, and 2008.

Setting:  Sample cases were randomly selected from South Korea's nationwide cancer registry, using a systematic sampling method after stratification by region.

Different effects of dietary factors on reflux esophagitis and non-erosive reflux disease in 11,690 Korean subjects.

Background: Although dietary factors seem to be associated with gastroesophageal reflux symptoms, their effects on reflux esophagitis and non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) are unclear. We evaluate dietary effects on NERD and reflux esophagitis.

Methods: A total of 11,690 health check-up persons completed questionnaires for reflux symptoms and 3-day recordings for dietary intake and underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy from 2004 to 2008.

Subtle cues missed: Impaired perception of emotion from gait in relation to schizotypy and autism spectrum traits.

Background: Deficits in emotion perception are central features of schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders. These conditions are also associated with disrupted embodiment and impaired processing of biological motion. However, medication and the impact of illness over time complicate the study of socioemotional processing in such neuropsychiatric populations.

The differences in healthcare utilization for dental caries based on the implementation of water fluoridation in South Korea.

Background: There were some debates about the water fluoridation program in South Korea, even if the program had generally substantial effectiveness. Because the out-of-pocket expenditures for dental care were higher in South Korea than in other countries, an efficient solution was needed. Therefore, we examined the relationship between the implementation of water fluoridation and the utilization of dental care.

The impact of living arrangements on quality of life among Korean elderly: findings from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (2006-2012).

Purpose: To investigate the impact of different living arrangements on quality of life (QoL) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the elderly.

Methods: We used data from the first to fourth wave of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging. Using the first wave as a baseline, the data included 5050 individuals aged 60 years and older with at least one living child.

The associations between multisensory temporal processing and symptoms of schizophrenia.

Recent neurobiological accounts of schizophrenia have included an emphasis on changes in sensory processing. These sensory and perceptual deficits can have a cascading effect onto higher-level cognitive processes and clinical symptoms. One form of sensory dysfunction that has been consistently observed in schizophrenia is altered temporal processing.

Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation Alters Prefrontal Correlates of Emotion Induction.

Objectives: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) improves motor symptoms in advanced Parkinson's disease. STN DBS may also affect emotion, possibly by impacting a parallel limbic cortico-striatal circuit. The objective of this study was to investigate changes in prefrontal cortical activity related to DBS during an emotion induction task.

Success of tumorsphere isolation from WHO grade IV gliomas does not correlate with the weight of fresh tumor specimens: an immunohistochemical characterization of tumorsphere differentiation.

Background: A trend of stage-by-stage increase in tumorsphere (TS) formation from glioma samples has been reported. Despite this trend, not all surgical specimens give rise to TSs, even World Health Organization (WHO) grade IV gliomas. Furthermore, it has been reported that differences in overall survival of primary glioblastoma patients depends on the propensity of their tumors to form TSs.

The spatial self in schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder.

Schizophrenia (SZ) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been both described as disorders of the self. However, the manner in which the sense of self is impacted in these disorders is strikingly different. In the current review, we propose that SZ and ASD lay at opposite extremes of a particular component of the representation of self; namely, self-location and the construct of peripersonal space.

Impact of payment system change from per-case to per-diem on high severity patient's length of stay.

A new payment system, the diagnosis-related group (DRG) system, and Korean diagnosis procedure combination (KDPC, per-diem) payment system were officially introduced in 2002 and in 2012, respectively. We evaluated the impact of payment system change from per-case to per-diem on high severity patient's length of stay (LOS).Claim data was used.

Association between Type A blaZ Gene Polymorphism and Cefazolin Inoculum Effect in Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus.

Some proportion of type A blaZ gene-positive methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus strains exhibit the cefazolin inoculum effect (CIE). The type A blaZ gene was divided into two groups by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at Ser226Pro and Cys229Tyr. The median cefazolin MICs at a high inoculum concentration were 5.

Do causes of stress differ in their association with problem drinking by sex in Korean adolescents?

Background: Previous studies have focused mainly on whether stress causes present drinking or excessive drinking. However, few studies have been conducted on the relationship between stress and problem drinking in adolescents. The objective of this study was to examine the stress level and the cause of stress related to problem drinking behavior according to sex among Korean youth.

Effect of Changes in Sleep Quantity and Quality on Depressive Symptoms Among Korean Children.

This study aims to determine whether changes in sleep quantity and quality in childhood are associated with incidence of depressive symptoms. We used the three waves of the Korean Children & Youth Panel Survey (2011-2013). Statistical analysis using a generalized estimating equation model was performed.

Upslope treadmill exercise enhances motor axon regeneration but not functional recovery following peripheral nerve injury.

Following peripheral nerve injury, moderate daily exercise conducted on a level treadmill results in enhanced axon regeneration and modest improvements in functional recovery. If the exercise is conducted on an upwardly inclined treadmill, even more motor axons regenerate successfully and reinnervate muscle targets. Whether this increased motor axon regeneration also results in greater improvement in functional recovery from sciatic nerve injury was studied.

Anomalous bodily experiences and perceived social isolation in schizophrenia: An extension of the Social Deafferentation Hypothesis.

Background: Disturbances of the bodily self are fundamental to the phenomenological experience of individuals with schizophrenia, a population at risk for social isolation. Both proprioception and exteroception contribute to a sense of consistent body boundary that contains the self across time and space, and this process is influenced by self-other (social) interactions. However, the relationship between social isolation, exteroception, and in-the-moment changes in body representation has not been elucidated.

Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus alters frontal activity during spatial working memory maintenance of patients with Parkinson's disease.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) improves the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). The STN may represent an important relay station not only in the motor but also the associative cortico-striato-thalamocortical pathway. Therefore, STN stimulation may alter cognitive functions, such as working memory (WM).