It is the most important to select optimal culture conditions to promote safe embryo growth in the technique of human in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. It has been shown that the addition of biologic fluids, such as blood serum, of various origins, improved fertilization and early cleavage rates in numerous species. The purpose- of this study is to attempt to measure developmental potential of mouse eggs fertilized and cleaved in Ham's F10 culture medium containing a chelating agent, EDTA and fetal cord serum. hi this study, we selected 40 female mice and 20 male mice, and investigated optimal serum concentration' for mouse embryo growth. Two cell stage mouse embryos were cultured in Ham's F-10 medium, Ham's F-10 medium with various concentrations of EDTA, or Ham's F-10 medium with EDTA and 10% human cord serum. Developmental ratios to morula in Ham's F-10 medium containing various concentrations of EDTA and/or 10% fetal cord serum were significantly higher than in unsupplemented Ham's F-10 medium (p<0.05). Developmental ratios to blastocyst in Ham's F-10 containing 10% fetal cord serum and 5011M or 100pM EDTA were significanldy higher than in unsupplemented Ham's F-10 medium (p<0.05). Developmental ratios to morula in Ham's F-10 containing 10% fetal cord serum and 100,uM EDTA were significanitly higher than in Ham's F-10 with 10% fetal cord serum used commonly in many human IVF centers(p<0.05). Developmental ratio to blastocyst in Ham's F-10 containing 10% fetal cord serum and 100pM EDTA was significanity higher than in Ham's F-10 with 200pM EDTA(p<0.05).
Animals ; Blastocyst ; Edetic Acid* ; Eggs ; Embryo Transfer ; Embryonic Structures* ; Female ; Fertilization ; Fertilization in Vitro ; Humans ; Male ; Mice* ; Morula ; Ovum ; Serum

Intraoral lipomas are a rare clinical entity, comprising only 0.1% to 5% of all benign tumors in the intraoral cavity. A 56-year-old woman suffering from diabetes presented with this relatively rare intraoral lipoma and was treated by surgical excision under general anesthesia. Because the mass was located adjacent to the mental foramen, a precise dissection was necessary to ensure minimal nerve damage. No abnormalities or recurrence was noted at 1-year follow-up and the patient did not complain of numbness. We studied the occurrence of oral lipoma in this diabetic patient and reviewed the relationship between oral lipoma and diabetes in the literature.
Anesthesia, General ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hypesthesia ; Lipoma* ; Middle Aged ; Mouth* ; Recurrence

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the overall rate and risk factors for the development of an incisional hernia and a parastomal hernia after colorectal surgery. METHODS: The study cohort consisted of 795 consecutive patients who underwent open colorectal surgery between 2005 and 2007 by a single surgeon. A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data was performed. RESULTS: The overall incidence of incisional hernias was 2% (14/690). This study revealed that the cumulative incidences of incisional hernia were 1% at 12 months and 3% after 36 months. Eighty-six percent of all incisional hernias developed within 3 years after a colectomy. The overall rate of parastomal hernias in patients with a stoma was 6.7% (7/105). The incidence of parastomal hernias was significantly higher in the colostomy group than in the ileostomy group (11.9% vs. 0%; P = 0.007). Obesity, abdominal aortic aneurysm, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, serum albumin level, emergency surgery and postoperative ileus did not influence the incidence of incisional or parastomal hernias. However, the multivariate analysis revealed that female gender and wound infection were significant risk factors for the development of incisional hernias female: P = 0.009, wound infection: P = 0.041). There were no significant factors related to the development of parastomal hernias. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that most incisional hernias develop within 3 years after a colectomy. Female gender and wound infection were risk factors for the development of an incisional hernia after colorectal surgery. In contrast, no significant factors were found to be associated with the development of a parastomal hernia.
Aortic Aneurysm ; Cohort Studies ; Colectomy ; Colorectal Surgery ; Colostomy ; Emergencies ; Female ; Hernia ; Hernia, Ventral ; Humans ; Ileostomy ; Ileus ; Incidence ; Multivariate Analysis ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Prospective Studies ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Serum Albumin ; Surgical Stomas ; Wound Infection

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been emerging out of the efforts to research human diseases and ethnic disparities. A semantic network is needed for in-depth understanding of the impacts of SNPs, because phenotypes are modulated by complex networks, including biochemical and physiological pathways. We identified ethnicity-specific SNPs by eliminating overlapped SNPs from HapMap samples, and the ethnicity-specific SNPs were mapped to the UCSC RefGene lists. Ethnicity-specific genes were identified as follows: 22 genes in the USA (CEU) individuals, 25 genes in the Japanese (JPT) individuals, and 332 genes in the African (YRI) individuals. To analyze the biologically functional implications for ethnicity-specific SNPs, we focused on constructing a semantic network model. Entities for the network represented by "Gene," "Pathway," "Disease," "Chemical," "Drug," "ClinicalTrials," "SNP," and relationships between entity-entity were obtained through curation. Our semantic modeling for ethnicity-specific SNPs showed interesting results in the three categories, including three diseases ("AIDS-associated nephropathy," "Hypertension," and "Pelvic infection"), one drug ("Methylphenidate"), and five pathways ("Hemostasis," "Systemic lupus erythematosus," "Prostate cancer," "Hepatitis C virus," and "Rheumatoid arthritis"). We found ethnicity-specific genes using the semantic modeling, and the majority of our findings was consistent with the previous studies - that an understanding of genetic variability explained ethnicity-specific disparities.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Ethnic Groups ; HapMap Project* ; Humans ; Phenotype ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide* ; Semantics*

Cranial mononeuropathies, manifesting particulary as opthalmoplegia or facial palsy, are common entities in the dia-betic population. However, sequential multiple cranial neuropathies due to diabetes are much less common. It is often associated with other conditions such as a brain tumor or head trauma. A 61-year-old diabetic man presented with ptosis, opthalmoplegia, and facial palsy which were manifestations of multiple cranial neuropathies involving the left 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 7th cranial nerves throughout five weeks. The pupils were not involved. The neurologic evaluation included a CSF study and a brain MRI with MRA. None of them produced any significant results. Blink reflexes revealed evidence of a left facial nerve lesion. The blood glucose was strictly controlled and steroid therapy was administered. The ptosis of the patientanjx left eyelid improved during treatment and he was discharged after 13 days. In a follow-up examination 3 months after onset, focal neurological deficits including opthalmoplegia and facial palsy on the left side were greatly improved and barely noticeable.
Blinking ; Blood Glucose ; Brain ; Brain Neoplasms ; Cranial Nerve Diseases* ; Cranial Nerves ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Diabetes Mellitus* ; Eyelids ; Facial Nerve ; Facial Paralysis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Mononeuropathies ; Pupil

PURPOSE: The use of mammographic screening has led to the early detection of breast cancers as well as the increasing incidence of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and DCIS with microinvasion (MI). The biologic behaviors and management of DCIS and DCIS with MI remain uncertain and controversial. We designed this study to investigate the differences in clinical behavior and association with pathological parameter of both DCIS and DCIS with MI. METHODS: DCIS with MI was defined as DCIS with and invasive area of 1 mm or less in greatest dimension. We analyzed and compared the clinico-pathological features and treatment outcomes of 155 DCIS patients and 73 DCIS with MI patients. Chi-square test, student t-test and Kaplan-Meier method using SPSS 9.0 for MS-windows were used to verify the statistical significance. RESULTS: Both DCIS with MI and DCIS were most prevalent in women in the fifth decade, and the mean ages of the two groups were 45.0 and 46.8 years old, respectively. The primary tumors of DCIS with MI were more palpable (72.6% vs. 56.8%, P=0.032) upon physical examination and larger (3.1+/-0.21 cm vs. 2.6+/-0.12 cm, P=0.037) than those of the DCIS group. The rate of axillary lymph node metastasis was higher in the DCIS with MI group (8.3% vs. 0.7%, P=0.003). The DCIS with MI group was more commonly associated with high nuclear grade (50% vs. 28%, P=0.028). The DCIS with MI group was also linked with comedo type, although not to a statistically significant degree (67.6% vs. 52.6%, P=0.095). In terms of hormone receptor, there was no significant difference between the groups. There were three systemic metastases in DCIS patients and two DCIS with MI patients (P>0.05). There were no local-regional recurrences in either groups. The 8-year disease-free survival rates of the DCIS and DCIS with MI groups were 98.1% and 95.8% respectively (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: DCIS with MI has several clinical-pathological characterisitcs: more palpable on physical examination, larger in size, higher incidence of lesions with comedo necrosis and high nuclear grade. Examination of the axillary lymph node with less invasive techniques may be necessary in cases with suspicious invasion. Since DCIS with MI is thought to be a transitional disease entity between DCIS and invasive ductal carcinoma and has a metastatic potential, a careful histologic evaluation is necessary for the diagnosis of DCIS.
Breast Neoplasms ; Breast* ; Carcinoma, Ductal* ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating* ; Diagnosis ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lymph Nodes ; Mass Screening ; Necrosis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Physical Examination ; Recurrence

This paper reports a case of low-grade adenosquamous carcinoma (LGASC) arising in a 69-year-old woman, who presented with a 1-cm palpable mass on her right breast. Core needle biopsy diagnosed the mass as a fibroadenoma. After six months, the mass increased in size, and the patient received subsequent mammotome excision. On microscopic examination, bland-looking small glands were infiltrating into the fibrotic stroma with lymphocytic infiltrates at the periphery. Hematoxylin and eosin staining revealed relatively easily detectable myoepithelial cells along the outside in each of the glandular structures with variable degrees of squamous metaplasia. Based on histologic features, the patient was diagnosed with LGASC. LGASC is a rare variant of metaplastic carcinoma, which is characterized by a favorable prognosis. Due to the bland cytology and presence of myoepithelial cells, LGASC can be misdiagnosed as benign lesion. Additionally, inconsistent expression of myoepithelial markers could aid the diagnosis of LGASC.
Aged ; Biopsy, Large-Core Needle ; Breast* ; Carcinoma, Adenosquamous* ; Diagnosis ; Eosine Yellowish-(YS) ; Female ; Fibroadenoma ; Hematoxylin ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry* ; Metaplasia ; Prognosis

Stones in the common duct occur in 10% to 15% of patients with cholelithiasis. In our case, coexistent cholelithiasis and choledocholithiasis were diagnosed by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. The stone basket was easily introduced into the gallbladder and common bile duct, then fortunately removed stones. However, endoscopic retrograde cholelithiasis removal is known to be difficult because of the anatomical approach. We herein present a rare case of cholelithiasis successfully treated by retrograde endoscopic removal.
Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde* ; Choledocholithiasis ; Cholelithiasis* ; Common Bile Duct ; Gallbladder ; Humans

Acute limb ischemia (ALI) is a serious condition requiring prompt intervention due to a sudden decrease in limb perfusion threatening limb viability. Treatment of ALI depends on the clinical status of the affected limb and patient comorbidities. Surgical therapy has been the historical standard of care for restoring limb perfusion; however, percutaneous endovascular intervention has been shown to be a promising treatment option in selected patients of ALI at high surgical risk. We report on a case of a 75-year-old man with ALI caused by thrombotic occlusion of the suprainguinal artery, successfully treated with endovascular therapy including stent insertion and thrombus aspiration and catheter-directed urokinase infusion in view of the clinical findings and imaging studies.
Aged ; Arteries* ; Comorbidity ; Endovascular Procedures ; Extremities* ; Humans ; Ischemia* ; Lower Extremity ; Perfusion ; Standard of Care ; Stents ; Thrombolytic Therapy ; Thrombosis ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator

Cushing's syndrome is characterized by excessive cortisol and immuno-suppression.We experienced a case of Cushing's syndrome caused by adrenocortical carcinoma that was complicated by multiple opportunistic infections. A 37-year-old woman with adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) presented with decreased mental ability and high fever one week after undergoing chemotherapy. Her initial blood culture revealed methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia accompanied by septic pneumonia. We admitted her to the intensive care unit and treated her for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA), Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP), candidemia, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia pneumonia with broad-spectrum antibiotics and antifungal agents. Nevertheless, her clinical course worsened and she died. Herein, we report a case of Cushing's syndrome associated with cortisol-secreting ACC that presented with multiple opportunistic infections, including MRSA bacteremia, septic pneumonia, candidemia, PJP, and IPA, illuminating a relationship between hypercortisolemia and opportunistic infections.