OBJECTIVE: Melatonin, which is secreted by pineal gland play an important role in the regulation of ovarian function via seasonal rhythm and sleep in most mammals. It also has a role in the protection of cells by removing toxic oxygen free radicals brought about by metabolism. In the present study, effects of melatonin on the mouse oocyte maturation were examined using two different culture conditions provided with 5% or 21% oxygen concentration. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Immature mouse oocytes were obtained from the ovarian follicles of 3~4 weeks old ICR strain mice intraperitoneally injected with 5 I.U. PMSG 44 hour before. Under stereomicroscope, morphologically healthy oocytes with distinct germinal vesicle (GV) were liberated from the graafian follicles and collected using mouth-controlled micropipette. They were then cultured for 17 hour at 37degrees C, 5% CO2 and 21% O2 (95% air) or 5% CO2, 5% O2 and 90% N2. New modified Hank's balanced salt solution (New MHBS) was used as a culture medium throughout the experiments. Effects of melatonin were examined at a concentration of 0.0001 micrometer, 0.01 micrometer or 1.0 micrometer. For the prevention of spontaneous maturation of immature oocytes during culture, dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dbcAMP) and/or hypoxanthine were included in the medium. RESULTS: Under 21% oxygen condition, oocytes cultured in the presence of 0.01 micrometer melatonin showed a significantly higher maturation rates, in terms of germinal vesicle breakdown (95.0% vs 89.0%) and polar body formation (88.1% vs 75.4%), compared to those cultured with 0.0001 micrometer or 1.0 micrometer melatonin. However, no difference was observed in oocytes cultured under 5% oxygen whether they were treated with melatonin or not. In the presence of 0.01 micrometer melatonin, oocytes either cultured under 21% or 5% oxygen exhibited no difference in the polar body formation (85.6% vs 86.7%). However, in the absence of melatonin, oocytes cultured under 21% oxygen exhibited lower polar body formation (74.7%). When oocytes were cultured in the presence of dbcAMP alone or with varying concentrations of melatonin, those treated with both compounds always showed better maturation, i.e., germinal vesicle breakdown and polar body formation, compared to those cultured with dbcAMP alone. At the same concentration of melatonin, however, oocytes exposed to 21% oxygen showed poor maturation than those to 5% oxygen. Similar results were obtained from the experiments using hypoxanthine instead of dbcAMP. CONCLUSION: Based upon these results, it is suggested that melatonin could enhance the meiotic maturation of mouse oocytes under 21% oxygen concentration, and release oocytes from the meiotic arrest by dbcAMP or hypoxanthine regardless of the concentration of oxygen, probably via the removal of oxygen free radicals.
Animals ; Bucladesine ; Female ; Free Radicals ; Hypoxanthine ; Mammals ; Melatonin* ; Metabolism ; Mice* ; Oocytes* ; Ovarian Follicle ; Oxygen ; Pineal Gland ; Polar Bodies ; Seasons

At Orthopedic Department of Kyung Hee University Hospital, we performed 20 total knee replacements in 12 patients who had rheumatoid arthritis and 18 total knee replacements in 13 patients who had osteoarthritis during the period from August 1982 to May 1986. All patients were female. Comparative analysis was done between the two groups with a follow-up period ranging from 1 year to 4 years 8 months, average being 2 years and 3 months. The average age of rheumatoid arthritis patients was 10 years younger than osteoarthritis patients. The improvement of range of knee motion after total knee replacement was greater in rheumatoid arthritis comparing to osteoarthritis. Preoperative flexion contracture was more severe in rheumatoid arthritis than osteoarthritis, but after total knee replacement the average degree of flexion conrcacture was no significant difference between two groups. The average of preoperative Hospital Surgery Knee Rating Scale was low in rheumatoid arthritis group than in osteoarthritis group, but postoperative Knee Rating Scale was similar in both groups. It seems that the problem of wound was more frequent in rheumatoid arthritis than in osteoarthritis.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee ; Contracture ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Knee ; Orthopedics ; Osteoarthritis ; Wounds and Injuries

No abstract available.
Gels* ; Lipopolysaccharides* ; Silver* ; Sodium*

BACKGROUND: As modern epidemiologic studies began to identify obesity as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer, measuring the degree of excess body fat is important on epidemiologic surveys. The evaluation of obesity level in epidemiologic surveys has been mostly done indirectly by measuring patient's height and weight. But, the anthropometry could not be done to respondents of recalling past anthropometric values or to proxy respondents. This study was attempted to elucidate usefulness of a somatotype drawing as a measuring instrument of obesity level in epidemiologic surveys in Korea. METHOD: The inclusion criteria of subjects were (1) members of the Seoul Cohort Study, who were recruited by self-administered structured questionnaire survey through mailing to the healthy men between the ages of 40 and 59 years through the program of a biennial health checkup offered by the Korean Medical Insurance Corporation (KMIC), and (2) volunteers for cancer screening program offered by KMIC. For assessing usefulness of the instrument, measurement of status/weight and self-administered questionnaire survey were done separately through the program of a biennial health checkup and of cancer screening. RESULTS: The data were collected from 138 subjects, whose Body Mass Index (kg/M2) was 23.58+/-1.46 (mean+/-SD). When the validity was measured through correlation with BMI, Spearman's correlation coefficient (rs) was 0.72 (p<0.05), that remained statistically significant after adjusting age, education level, and monthly income and occupation. And, the grades of somatotypo drawing were grouped as 1-3, 4-6, 7-8 by ANOVA and Tukey test. CONCLUSIONS: Instrument using somatotype drawing is applicable to screen degree of body fat in self-administered questionnaire surveys in Korea.
Adipose Tissue ; Anthropometry ; Body Mass Index ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cohort Studies ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Early Detection of Cancer ; Education ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Insurance ; Korea* ; Male ; Obesity* ; Occupations ; Postal Service ; Proxy ; Risk Factors ; Seoul ; Somatotypes* ; Volunteers

The aim of this study was to assess the degree of association between individual stress and the amount of smoking among male senior students of a medical college. The questionnaire survey was conducted twice for collecting the data on stress level in terms of BEPSl score, smoking amounts, alcohol intake, and residence type in 1992 and 1993. Among the 223 responders, 39.9% were smokers. In the smokers, the association between stress level and smoking amount was significant after controlling for alcohol intake and residence type (P < 0.l). Especially in the group of living without family, the association was more significant (p=0.06). Therefore, it is recommendable that the stress management program is called upon for the student smokers to reduce smoking amount.
Humans ; Male ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Smoke* ; Smoking*

No abstract available.
Bilirubin* ; Brain Stem* ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn* ; Kernicterus*

No abstract available.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Drug Therapy ; Neoadjuvant Therapy

The morphologic abnormalities of the endocrine pancreas that underlie persistent neonatal hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia and are included under the heading "nesidioblastosis" appears to be heterogeneous. This characteristic morphologic finding is ductuloinsular complexes showing endocrine cells budding off the ductoepithelium and merging with adjacent endocrine cell clusters. A case of nesidioblastosis associated with hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia occurred in a 6/365 year-old male neonate. Microscopic finding of near totally resected pancreas revealed irregular sized islets and ductuloinsular complexes, both of which contained hypertrophied B cells with a few mitosis. Because of persistent hypoglycemia after first operation, he received second operation 8 days after. This histologic finding was more severe comparative to that of first operation. According to these findings, the pathogenesis of nesidioblastosis may be congenital or developmental defect of a kind of compensatory mechanism by unknown stimuli to acquire persistent hypoglycemia.
Male ; Infant, Newborn ; Humans

We had previously reported the purification of bovine lung natural surfactant-phospholoipd (PNSL)and the assessment of it's surface physical properties in vitro. To observe the clinical effectiveness of PNS-L in vivo, the degree of improvement of thoracic pressure-volume, compliance and histological changes following PNS-L instilation in premature rabbits with respiratory distress syndrome(RDS)were investigated. Rabbits, delivered prematurely by cesarean section at 27 days, treated with PNS-L via tracheostomy, were enrolled the study group. Two control groups were premature RDS rabbits (no treatment with PNS-L)and mature rabbits. We compared the results of thoracic pressure-volume changes during deflation phase and lung compliance changes among PNS-L treated study group and two control groups, and compared the results of aefated lung area ratio (%) on histologic samples among PNS-L treated study group and two control groups by the methods of IBSA-2000. There were significant improvements of thoracic pressure-volume during duflation phase(p<0.001), lung compliance (p<0.01, p<0.005, p<0.001) and increased acrated area histologically (p<0.005)in PNS-L treated study group compared with premature control group. It was suspected that PNS-L had contained the effective survace physical properties as a function of pulmonary surfactant. And improvement of pulmonary ventilatory functions and histological characteristics, were observed in PNS-L treated RDS model in vivo study.
Cesarean Section ; Compliance ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn* ; Lung ; Lung Compliance ; Pregnancy ; Pulmonary Surfactants ; Rabbits ; Tracheostomy

This study was performed to compare the amount of blood flow from left and right side heart using Doppler echocardiography and Fick method. The pulmonary blood flow (Qp), aortic blood flow (Qs) and Qp/Qs ratio were noninvasively evaluated by two dimensional Doppler echocardiography in 10 patients with ventricular septal defect in children, aged 2 years to 15 years (mean+/-SD=7.1+/-4.9 years). Cardiac catheterization was performed within 2 days after examination of Doppler echocardiography in all patients. Systemic and pulmonary blood flow was calculated by using Fick principle, based on measured oxygen consumption and measured blood oxygen saturation. The Doppler frequency shift was analyzed by computer system combined with Meridian Echocardiography System. Comparison of Qp, Qs and Qp/Qs ratio obtained by invasive methods and by two-dimensional pulsed wave Doppler echocardiography showed a correlation of 0.679 in Qp, 0.710 in Qs and 0.639 in Qp/Qs ratio (p<0.05).
Cardiac Catheterization* ; Cardiac Catheters* ; Child* ; Computer Systems ; Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Doppler* ; Heart ; Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular* ; Humans ; Oxygen ; Oxygen Consumption