Purification and refolding of the recombinant subunit B protein of the Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans cytolethal distending toxin / 대한치주과학회지

PURPOSE: Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is associated with localized aggressive periodontitis. It produces cytolethal distending toxin (CDT), which induces cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. The CDT holotoxin is composed of CdtA, CdtB, and CdtC. CdtB has structural homology to human DNase I and is an active component of the CDT complex acting as a DNase. In particular, the pattern homology seen in the CdtB subunit has been associated with specific DNase I residues involved in enzyme catalysis, DNA binding, and metal ion binding. So, to study the functions and regulation of recombinant CdtB, we made up a quantity of functional recombinant CdtB and tested it in relation to the metal ion effect. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We constructed the pET28a-cdtB plasmid from A. actinomycetemcomitans Y4 by genomic DNA PCR and expressed it in the BL21 (DE3) Escherichia coli system. We obtained the functional recombinant CdtB by the refolding system using the dialysis method and then analyzed the DNase activity and investigated the metal ion effect from plasmid digestion. RESULTS: The recombinant CdtB subunit was expressed as the inclusion bodies. We were able to obtain functional recombinant CdtB subunit using refolding system. We confirmed that our refolded recombinant CdtB had DNase activity and was influenced by the metal ions Mg2+ and Ca2+. CONCLUSION: We suggest that the factors influencing recombinant CdtB may contribute to CDT associated diseases, such as periodontitis, endocarditic, meningitis, and osteomyelitis.

A Study of Hospital Foodservice Satisfaction after Covering Hospital Foodservice in the National Health Insurance / 대한지역사회영양학회지

This study aimed to evaluate the amount of patients' satisfaction with hospital foodservices among those who were benefited from national health insurance during theirhospitalization. A total of 3,094 inpatients from 191 medical institutions were enrolled in this survey. The survey was carried out from July 23 to September 14, 2007 through the face-to-face interview method. All analyses were made using the SPSS software (version 13.0). The mean age of the participants was 53.3 years, 57.0% were women; 34.7% were high-school graduates. Among the respondents, 30.9% stayed in the hospital for 7~14 days long, and 52.0% were hospitalized in multi-patient rooms for six persons. The 87.7% of total population had a general diet, and 9.6% selected the food menu that was notcovered by health insurance. In addition, 38.3% of patients regarded the fee of foodservice as inexpensive. Overall, the satisfaction score with hospital foodservice was 3.63 on a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (extremely dissatisfied) to 5 (extremely satisfied). However, the limitations were indicated including the lack of providing nutritional information and quality of taste. In conclusion, the quality of hospital foodservice might not deteriorate even after enforcement of national payment of medical insurance. Further efforts are required for the diversification of menus and legislative work for improving quality of food service for a successful hospital foodservice policy.

A Study of Hospital Foodservice Management after Covering Hospital Foodservice in The National Health Insurance / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The purpose of this study is to investigate the overall operations of National Hospital Food service after it was benefited by National Health Insurance (NHI). The survey was conducted between July and August, 2007. Among questionnaires mailed to 2,558 medical care institutions, 2,090 returned (81%) questionnaires were analyzed by descriptive statistics, chi-square -test and ANOVA using the SPSS 13.0. The general foodservice characteristic of medical care institutions were as follows. The type of foodservice operations were 'self-operated' (86.9%), 'contracted' (10.5%) and 'Both' (2.6%). Only 6.4% of medical care institutions provided 'hospital food menu not benefited by NHI'. The number of dietitians and cook for medical care institutions were 1.1 and 1.0, respectively. The cost of a general diet meal was 4,205 won and therapeutic diet meal was 4,434 won. The overall operations of hospital foodservice were different depending on the types of medical care institution. After hospital foodservice was benefited by NHI, the overall quality of hospital foodservice including manpower, facilities, and environment was improved. The future direction of hospital foodservice should 1) differentiate the cost of hospital foodservice by the types of medical care institution, 2) increase in co-payment, and 3) provide same service with equal expenses in each party as medical aid or NHS beneficiary.

Relationship of occlusion and gingival recession / 대한치주과학회지

Many factors have been implicated in the etiology of gingival recession, including faulty toothbrushing, the position of the tooth in the arch(malalignment), the presence of inflammation, frenal attachment, impingement of restoration margins, orthodontic treatment and trauma from occlusion. Among the many factors, this study was to evaluate the relationship of occlusion and gingival recession. 640 teeth without other etiologic factors of gingival recession were evaluated in 40 subjects aged 21-59 years. Only 1st, 2nd premolar and molar were included in this study. We recorded nonworking contacts, working contacts, cervical abrasion, sex, gingival recession and evaluated that relation of occlusion and gingival recession. The results of this study were as follows; 1. Teeth with nonworking contacts were significantly more gingival recession than teeth without nonworking contacts.(p0.01)

Maxillary sinus septum: panoramic radiographic and dental computed tomographic analyses in the planning of implant surgery / 대한치주과학회지

Surgical intervention in the posterior maxillary region requires detailed knowledge of maxillary sinus anatomy and the possible anatomical variations. This study evaluated the incidence, location of maxillary sinus septa by using radiographic (panoramic radiography and computed tomography) findings and comparison of panoramic radography with CT in antral anatomical variation. This study was based on data from 70 sinuses in partial dentate maxilla. The sample consisted of 61 patients(25 women and 36 men, with ages ranging between 19 and 77 years and a mean age of 49.4+/-11.3 years) who were being treatment-planned to receive implant-supported restorations. First, the panoramic images were examined for the presence of antral septa by radiologist and examiner who don't know about CT findings. And incidence of antral septa was evaluated using an axial plane of CT image. The incidence of septa was compared between panoramic radiography and CT. The accuracy of the incidence was compared between radiologists and dentists. A total of 20 septa were found in 70 sinuses on CT image and the prevalence of one or more septa per sinus was found to be 28.6%. The assumed incidence of septa on panoramic radiography was 27.6%+/-2.2% in radiologist and 31.9%+/-5.8% in dentists. Erroneous diagnosis rate was 11.42% in radiologist and 15.96% in dentists. 40% of antral septa were located in the anterior(premolar) region, 30% of septa were located in the middle(first molar) and posterior(second molar) region separately. Prior to implant placement, it seems appropriate to consider panoramic radiography as a standard radiographic examination and periapical radiographs may be used to complete the findings in regions not sharply depicted in the panoramic radiograph. And cross-sectional imaging should be used in sites with severe bone loss and close proximity of the maxillary sinus.

Comparison of pain perception using computer-controlled anesthetic device and aspirating syringe / 대한치주과학회지

Dental phobia is the most prevalent fear in all age groups, across gender, and in all countries. One of the primary identified sources is the fear of dental injections in the dental phobia or the high dental fear and anxiety groups. The purpose of this study was to clinically evaluate the computer controlled anesthetic device and to compare it with traditional methods of dental anesthetic delivery. Fifty(mean age : 25.6 yrs) systemically and periodontally healthy volunteers participated in this study. The subjects were given contralateral buccal and palatal injections. One side was injected with the computer-controlled anesthetic device with a microprocessor and an electric motor to precisely regulate flow rate during administration : The experimental group. The control side was injected with a standard manual syringe, in which flow rate and pressure are operator-dependent and can't be controlled accurately:The control group. The subjects described their perceived pain experiences with two subjective scales. The results of this study were as follows: 1. The computer-controlled anesthetic device was significantly less painful than conventional syringe injection. 2. The female subjects reported more pain than the male subjects. But, there were no statistical differences. 3. The anesthetic effect of both methods did not show any difference. In this study, it may be concluded that pain levels decreased significantly when the computer-controlled anesthetic device was used.

Antropometric and Health Status of the Elderly Women Attending a Health Promotion Program in an Urban Community / 대한지역사회영양학회지

This study was conducted to evaluate the health status of elderly women who attended in a Health Promotion Program of the Seo-gu Health Center in Daegu. The study subjects were 158 elderly women (over 65 years) in an urban community. The subjects were investigated by means of individual interviews using a questionnaire, Blood tests for analyzing their biochemical status were carried out. The average age of the study subjects was 70.9 +/- 2.3 years. Of the subject group 79.1% ranged in age from 65 to 74 year and 20.9% were over 75 years. With respect to health related factors, 23.4% of subjects drank alcoholic beverages and 15.2% of sujects currently smoker. The prevalence with chronic diseases was 51.9%, and 26.6% of the subjects were healthy. The diseases most frequently reported as having been or being treated were arthritis (38.1%), hypertension (21.4%), and diabetes (17.9%). The average height of subjects was below the standard established in the Korean Recommended Dietary Allowances, while the average weight was close to the standard. The means of systolic and diastolic blood pressure were 130.2 mmHg and 71.9 mmHg, respectively. The mean serum albumin level was 4.5 mg/dl, and the value of hemoglobin and hematocrit was 12.5 mg/dl and 0.7%, respectively. The mean serum cholesterol level was 207.1 mg/dl and the mean triglyceride level was 187.7 mg/dl. The serum lipid levels were higher then in those reported in research. The serum cholesterol levels of 71.5%of subjects were within the normal range. The GOT and GTP levels were within the moderate range. In conclusion, the health status of the elderly who attended the Health Promotion Program in the Seo-gu Health Center were very average. However, it was necessary to prepare a health management program to deal with the serum lipids so as to establish and maintain good health. When we carry out the health promotion program in a community, individual program of adequate to health status should be developed more.

Dietary Behavior and Nutritional Status of the Elderly Women Attending at the Health Promotion Program in an Urban Community / 대한지역사회영양학회지

This study was conducted to evaluate the nutritional status of the elderly women, who attended the Health Promotion Program of the Seogu Health Center in Daegu. The study subjects were 158 elderly women in an urban community. The general characteristics, dietary behavior (nutritional knowledge, nutritional attitudes and dietary habits), food and nutrient intake were surveyed by an individual interview. The average age of the study subjects was 70.9 +/- 2.3 years of the subject group 79.1% ranged in age from 65 to 74 years and 20.9% were over 75 years. Their average score for nutritional knowledge, nutritional attitudes and dietary habits was 7.3 (total mark of 10), 7.2 (total mark of 10) and 9.1 (total mark of 22) respectively. Specifically, the level of the dietary habits of the study subjects was very low. In relation to food group intake of the study subjects according to age, their food intake was low. The total, plant, and animal food intake were 1078.9 g, 954.4 g (88.5%), and 244.4 g (11.5%), respectively. The mean daily energy intake and nutrient intake according to percentage of the Korean RDA were higher in the from 65 to 74 year group than in those people over 75 years. The average calories and the mean percentage of nutrient intake, except for vitamin C and phosphorus, were below 75% of the Korean RDA. It seems that the nutrient intake was very low. The mean nutrient adequacy ratio (MAR) was 0.59. Nutritional status of age over 75 years old was significantly lower than that of 65 - 74 years old group (Mar = 0.60 VS 0.54, p < 0.05). The correlation coefficients between their dietary behavior (nutritional knowledge, nutritional attitudes, dietary habit) and their mean nutrient adequacy ratio (MAR) showed significant linear relations. In conclusion, if nutritional education is to affect the dietary behavior of elderly women, it should be included in a program to promote their nutrition and health status.

A Study on the Relationship Between Oral Malodor and Periodontal Disease / 대한치주과학회지

Putrefactive activity within the oral cavity is the principal cause of halitosis. The most common intraoral sites of oral malodor production are tongue, interdental and subgingival areas. The other foci may include faulty restorations, sites of food impaction and abscesses. Periodontal disease frequently involves pathological oral malodor, which is caused mainly by volatile sulfur compounds(VSC), such as hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, and dimethyl sulfide. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association between oral malodor and periodontal status. Volatile sulfur compounds in mouth air were estimated by portable sulfide monitor(Halimeter(TM)). The results were as follows : 1.The levels of volatile sulfur compounds were significantly greater in a periodontitis group than in a control group(P0.05). 3.In the periodontitis group, VSC concentrations of pre-treatment significantly decreased after scaling and root planing(P<0.01). 4.No statistically significant correlation was found between VSC concentrations and sex / age in the periodontitis group. The above results indicate that periodontal disease may play a role as an important factor of oral malodor and deep periodontal pockets are a source of volatile sulfur compounds.