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This paper addresses the growing phenomenon of cosmetic surgery tourism through a focus on the development of this industry in South Korea. Unlike many discussions of this topic, the paper decentres dominant narratives based on west-goes-east or north-goes-south journeys. Instead, we look at regional flows by exploring the experiences of Chinese patients travelling to South Korea in search of facial cosmetic surgery – procedures often referred to as the ‘Korean Look’ and associated with exported Korean popular culture. We focus on the contested understandings of the motives for and outcomes of this surgery between Korean surgeons and Chinese patients, documenting one example of the cultural investments and (mis)understandings that can impact on the experiences of medical tourists as they travel across national borders in search of treatment. We situate the development of cosmetic surgery tourism in Korea in the context of a discourse we call ‘medical nationalism’, showing how surgeons in particular reproduce this discourse in terms of pride in their contribution to the economic and reputational success of South Korea on a world stage. However, we demonstrate finally that, as a privatised, feminised and trivialised form of medicine, cosmetic surgery will always fail to deliver in this respect.

Objectives To determine the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in the normal rectal flora of patients undergoing transrectal ultrasonography-guided prostate biopsy in Korea. Methods Between May 2010 and October 2010, rectal swabs were cultured from patients before transrectal ultrasonography-guided prostate biopsy in three tertiary referral centers of Jeonbuk Province, Korea. Rectal swabs were collected using cotton-tipped culture swabs in a standard collection system immediately before prostate biopsy. The swabs were cultured on eosin methylene blue and McConkey agar at 37°C. Antimicrobial sensitivity tests were carried out according to National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards guidelines. Results Of the 160 patients who had a rectal swab taken before prostate biopsy, microorganisms were isolated in 125 patients. Escherichia coli was isolated from the rectal swabs of 95 patients. The mean age was 68.1 years, the median serum prostate specific antigen was 5.6 ng/mL and the mean prostate volume measured by transrectal ultrasonography was 43.8 mL. Of the E. coli, 33.7%, 29.1%, 26.7%, 23.3%, 12.8%, 9.3%, 5.8%, 1.2% and 0% were resistant to ampicillin, piperacillin, levofloxacin, trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole, gentamicin, cephalothin, cefotaxim, amikacin and meropenem, respectively. Conclusions There is a high level of resistance to ciprofloxacin and ampicillin, and a very low level of resistance to amikacin in the E. coli in the bowel flora. The prevalence of resistance to ciprofloxacin in Korea is significantly higher than that reported in Western countries.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is widely known to develop more frequently in cirrhotic patients with a high expression of Hepatitis B virus X protein (HBx), which is controlled by the enhancer 1 (Enh1)/X-promoter. To examine the effect of the mutations in the Enh1/X-promoter region in hepatitis B virus (HBV) genomes on the development of HCC, we investigated the differences in HBV isolated from cirrhotic patients with or without HCC along with the promoter activities of certain specific mutations within the Enh1/X-promoter. We examined 160 hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive cirrhotic patients (80 HCC patients, 80 non-HCC patients) by evaluating the biochemical, virological, and molecular characteristics. We evaluated the functional differences in certain specific mutations within the Enh1/X-promoter. The isolated sequences included all of the subgenotypes C2. The sites that showed higher mutation rates in the HCC group were G1053A and G1229A, which were found to be independent risk factors through multiple logistic analysis (P < 0.05). Their promoter activities were elevated 2.38- and 4.68-fold, respectively, over that of the wild type in the HepG2 cells. Similarly, both the mRNA and protein levels of HBx in these two mutants were much higher than that in wild type-transfected HepG2 cells. Mutated nucleotides of the Enh1/X-promoter, especially G1053A and G1229A mutations in the HBV subgenotype C2 of patients with cirrhosis, can be risk factors for hepatocarcinogenesis, and this might be due to an increase in the HBx levels through the transactivation of the Enh1/X-promoter.

Specific mutations in the hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome have been reported to be associated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The goal of this study was to determine whether mutations in the HBV X gene are associated with the development of HCC in hepatitis B patients with cirrhosis. Forty-two patients infected with HBV genotype C2 with cirrhosis and HCC were compared with 46 patients with cirrhosis but without HCC. X gene mutations were determined by direct sequencing in all patients. The HCC and non-HCC groups were similar with respect to clinical characteristics, and the presence of T1762/A1764, T1653, and V1753 mutations was not significantly different between the two groups (P = 0.068, P = 0.097, P = 0.442, respectively). Only the B1499 mutation was associated significantly with HCC (P = 0.015) (odds ratio: 3.42, 95% CI: 1.24–9.48). In hepatitis Be antigen (HBeAg)-positive patients, advanced age was associated significantly with HCC (P = 0.038), whereas in HBeAg-negative patients, the B1499 mutation was associated more significantly with HCC (P = 0.01). Patients in the B1499 mutation group exhibited significantly higher AST and ALT levels compared with patients infected the wild-type virus. In conclusion, B1499 is a novel mutation associated with HCC in Korean patients with cirrhosis infected with HBV genotype C2. J. Med. Virol. 81:1721–1725, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The electrical properties of InGaN that is either undoped, or Mg doped, are compared to learn about the nature of p-type conductivity. For In alloy fraction beyond 5% Hall measurements do not indicate p-type polarity, even when Mg doping is employed. In contrast, hot probe measurements show that p-polarity can be measured for the entire range of Mg-doped In mole fractions. The conflicting polarity indications are primarily the result of surface electron accumulation. Parasitic surface electron conductivity can further be seen in p–n homojunctions at In fractions including 20% and 30%. This has an impact on structures such as solar cells. Temperature variable conductivity and PL from different layer structures provides further understanding of the nature of InGaN:Mg. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)