No abstract available.
Gastrointestinal Neoplasms* ; Thymidine Kinase* ; Thymidine*

The purpose of this study was to compare the screw loosening characteristics of three available cementation type abutments: one-piece cementation type abutment; two-piece cementation type abutment using titanium abutment screw; two-piece cementation type abutment using gold abutment screw. Two implant supported three-unit superstructures were fabricated using a pair of 3 kinds of abutments for each experimental model. Cyclic loading was applied on the specimen, and made to stop when the superstructure showed movement over threshold range. The loaded cycle was counted until the machine stopped. Frequency analysis was done to measure the change of natural frequency before and after the application of cyclic load and to find the effect of screw loosening on the change of natural frequency. The specimen assembly was modeled to perform the finite element analysis to see the distribution of the stress induced by the application of preload over the screw joint and to compare the pattern of the distribution of stress induced by the external force with the change of the preload condition. The following results were obtained: 1. The failure loading cycle of two-piece cementation type abutment using gold screw was significantly greater than those of the other groups. 2. One-piece cementation type abutment applied to multi-unit restoration case did not show greater resistance to screw loosening compared to two-piece cementation type abutments. 3. Frequency analysis showed decrease in natural frequency when screw loosening occured.
Cementation* ; Finite Element Analysis ; Joints ; Models, Theoretical ; Titanium

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: The effect of gold electroforming on gold alloy was not studied. PURPOSE: This in vitro study investigate the effect of gold electroforming on gold-silver-palladium alloy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Three pieces of gold strips had undergone the electroforming procedures on one side and then half of the side again electroformed. The set mode for this study was program 1 (200 micrometer). And the processing time was 15min (1/20 time to form 200 micrometer coping). The confocal laser scanning microscope (PASCAL 5, Carl Zeiss, Bernried, Germany) was used to measure the thickness of the pure gold layer electroformed on the gold strips. Half of the gold strip was coated two times with electroformed gold, and the other half one time. The data from the cone focal laser system was processed to get the vertical profile of the strips and the difference of the vertical height between the double coated and single coated layer was regarded as the thickness of the gold coating. The layer thickness value to built 3D image of the cone-focal laser was set 0.5 micrometer. Next to the measurement of the thickness of the coating, the Vicker's hardness test was done. It was performed on the double coated surface, single coated surface and non-coated surface (back side) three times each. RESULTS: The mean thickness value gained from gold electroforming technique was measured to be 22 micrometer for sample 1, 23 micrometer for sample 2, 21 micrometer for sample 3. In the same condition of time, power and the amount of electrolyte, the data showed no difference between samples. According to the results of variance analysis, the differences among the variations in number of coating were statistically insignificant (p>0.05), meaning that the two times of gold electroforming coating did not change the hardness of gold-silver-palladium alloy. CONCLUSION: The test of thickness of gold coating proved the coherency of the gold electroforming procedure, in other words, when the power, the exposed surface area, processing time and the amount of electrolytes were set same, the same thickness of gold would be coated on. The hardness test showed that the electroformed gold coating did not change the hardness of the gold-silver-palladium alloy when it is coated not more than 45 micrometer.
Alloys* ; Electrolytes ; Hardness ; Hardness Tests

No abstract available.
Estrogens* ; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone* ; Leiomyoma* ; Progesterone* ; Receptors, Progesterone*

No abstract available.
Estrogen Replacement Therapy* ; Estrogens* ; Female ; Humans ; Lipid Metabolism*

OBJECTIVES: Several lines of evidence suggest the serotonergic dysfunction involved in the biological susceptibility of suicide. Tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH), the rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of serotonin, plays a vital role in serotonin metabolism. In a case-control study, we investigated whether the TPH gene was a susceptible factor for suicidal behavior in depressive patients. METHODS: The subjects were 218 depressed patients who attempted suicide and visited emergency rooms in multi-medical centers. One hundred thirty hospitalized non-suicidal depressed patients and the 161 normal controls were matched with the suicidal group. Individuals in all 3 groups were evaluated independently by a Structured Clinical Interview for the purpose of establishing a DSM-IV criteria diagnosis (SCID). The severity of depressive symptoms was evaluated using Hamilton depression rating scale (HDRS). RESULTS: There was no significant difference in genotype distributions and allele frequencies of TPH intron 7 A218C polymorphisms among 3 groups. Furthermore, no significant difference in genotype counts and allele frequencies of the polymorphisms was found among lethal suicidal depressed patients, non-suicidal depressed patients and the normal controls. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the A218C polymorphism of the TPH gene is unlikely to have a major effect on the susceptibility of suicidal behaviors in depressive patients.
Case-Control Studies ; Depression ; Depressive Disorder ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Emergencies ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Humans ; Introns ; Serotonin ; Suicide ; Suicide, Attempted ; Tryptophan ; Tryptophan Hydroxylase

OBJECTIVES: There is increasing evidence that the cerebellum plays an important role in cognition and psychiatric symptoms as well as motor coordination. The concept of cognitive dysmetria has been making cerebellar function in schizophrenia the focus of current studies. In other words, disruption in the cortico-cerebellum-thalamic -cortical circuit could lead to disordered cognition and clinical symptoms of schizophrenia. The purposes of this study were to determine cerebellar dysfunction in male schizophrenic patients semiquantitatively with ICARS and to investigate the clinical and cognitive correlates of ICARS in patients. METHODS: We compared the scores of cerebellar neurologic sign using ICARS in 47 male patients with a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of schizophrenia with 30 gender and age-matched healthy control subjects. The semiquantitative 100-point ICARS consists of 19 items divided into 4 unequally weighted subscores: posture and gait disturbances, kinetic functions, speech disorders and oculomotor disorders. All subjects were also assessed with cognitive function test. Cognitive functions were evaluated by Korean-Mini Mental Status Examination(K-MMSE), Verbal fluency test, and Clock drawing test. The patients were administered Korea version of Positive and Negative Symptom Scale(K-PANSS) to assess the symptom severity. RESULTS: Schizophrenic patients had significantly higher scores on the ICARS than control subjects with posture and gait disturbances, kinetic functions, and oculomotor disorders. They also showed more significant impairments in cognitive function tests than control subjects. There was a significant correlation between ICARS and negative symptoms of patients. In cognitive function test, Clock drawing test was significantly associated with negative symptoms. In addition, Clock drawing test was negatively correlated with the total score of ICARS. CONCLUSION: In this study, we confirmed that schizophrenic patients have significant impairments in cognitive and cerebellar function, and that those were related with negative symptoms of schizophrenic patients. These results support a role of the cerebellum in schizophrenia. It is meaningful that we used a structured, and reliable procedure for rating neurological soft signs, ICARS. We hope that future prospective studies using a similar design help that rate of neurological sign should have been visible with the progression of illness.
Cerebellar Ataxia ; Cerebellar Diseases ; Cerebellum ; Cognition ; Diagnosis ; Gait ; Hope ; Humans ; Iron-Dextran Complex ; Korea ; Male ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Posture ; Schizophrenia ; Speech Disorders

Prune-belly syndrome is characterized by absent abdominal wall musculature with wrinkled overlying skin, urinary tract dilatation and cryptorchidism. Prune-belly syndrome is also associated with diseases of the respiratory, cardiovascular, skeletal, gastrointestinal and central nervous system. Because the congenital disease is uncommon, it is difficult to collect the information of anesthetic management of prune-belly syndrome. We report a case of 4 year-old-boy with prune-belly syndrome who underwent abdominoplasty and Mitrofanoff operation under general anesthesia.
Abdominal Wall ; Abdominoplasty ; Anesthesia, General ; Central Nervous System ; Cryptorchidism ; Dilatation ; Humans ; Male ; Prune Belly Syndrome ; Skin ; Urinary Tract

No abstract available.
Lutein* ; Lymphangioma, Cystic*

BACKGROUND: Many patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing hemodialysis (HD) experience depression. Depression influences patient quality of life (QOL), dialysis compliance, and medical comorbidity. We developed and applied a group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program including mindfulness meditation for ESRD patients undergoing HD, and measured changes in QOL, mood, anxiety, perceived stress, and biochemical markers. METHODS: We conducted group CBT over a 12-week period with seven ESRD patients undergoing HD and suffering from depression. QOL, mood, anxiety, and perceived stress were measured at baseline and at weeks 8 and 12 using the World Health Organization Quality of Life scale, abbreviated version (WHOQOL-BREF), the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II), the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Biochemical markers were measured at baseline and after 12 weeks. The Temperament and Character Inventory was performed to assess patient characteristics before starting group CBT. RESULTS: The seven patients showed significant improvement in QOL, mood, anxiety, and perceived stress after 12 weeks of group CBT. WHOQOL-BREF and the self-rating scales, BDI-II and BAI, showed continuous improvement across the 12-week period. HAM-D scores showed significant improvement by week 8; PSS showed significant improvement after week 8. Serum creatinine levels also improved significantly following the 12 week period. CONCLUSION: In this pilot study, a CBT program which included mindfulness meditation enhanced overall mental health and biochemical marker levels in ESRD patients undergoing HD.
Anxiety ; Biomarkers ; Cognitive Therapy* ; Comorbidity ; Compliance ; Creatinine ; Depression ; Dialysis ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic* ; Meditation ; Mental Health ; Mindfulness* ; Pilot Projects ; Quality of Life ; Renal Dialysis* ; Temperament ; Weights and Measures ; World Health Organization