Summary Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) frequently shows an allelic imbalance (AI) on chromosome 16q. In order to define the commonly affected regions on chromosome 16q, we assessed AI studies in 41 HCCs using a panel of 37 microsatellite markers. Thirty-five cases (85%) showed AI at one or more loci. Among the 35 cases with AI, 21 cases showed multiple AI, suggesting the wide scope of deletion on the long arm of chromosome 16, and the remaining 14 cases showed partial AI. Detailed deletion mapping identified two independent commonly deleted regions on this chromosome arm. These included the D16S3106 locus and D16S498 locus. In conclusion, we have demonstrated frequent AI on 16q in HCCs and identified two loci with frequent AI, which may harbour new tumour suppressor genes.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to develop an evaluation tool for clients’ experience of visiting nursing service provided by visiting nurses of public health center in Korea.Methods: This study is built upon Clark’s theory (2008) of community nurse role model and the 8-stage tool development methodology suggested by DeVellis (2012).Results: Major findings are as follows. First, a tentative list of questionnaires with forty two measurable items were derived through several rounds of focus group interviews with nursing professors, health policy experts and visiting nursing staff, and later twenty five items were determined as a preliminary test set after a series of revision and removal from the aforementioned tentative set. Second, the 25-item preliminary survey tool comprised five dimensions of service quality, which include 4 items for Tangibles, 9 items for Reliability, 3 items for Responsiveness, 7 items for Assurance, and 2 items for Empathy. Third, after factor analysis and reliability analysis, only 14 items survived, being categorized into five dimensions of the SERVPERF model: The final version of evaluation tool to measure service experience for visiting nurse of public health center is comprised of 18 items.Conclusions: This study tried to develop a valid and reliable tool for evaluating the clients’ experience of visiting nursing service provided by visiting nurses of public health center in Korea for the first time.

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