This study was carried out in order to find out the valuable measure to kill the parasite eggs in night soil. The fresh eggs of Ascaris put into human stool were irradiated with Cobalt 60 of 200,000 to 1,000,000 rad and cultured in test tubes at 25-30 C, washing with 2 percent formalin solution every 24 hours. The continuous development of those eggs were observed under microscope and the proprotions of developed eggs were compared with those of control groups. The major result can be summarized as follows: In general, The eggs in stool developed poorly than the eggs in saline. If the eggs were irradiated with the larger dose of Cobalt 60, the proportion of developed eggs were reduced subsequently. The eggs irradiated with the dose of 1,000,000 rad in saline developed in the proportion of 15.5 percent, whereas irradiated with 200,000 rad 94 percent developed in 4 weeks. The 44.5 percent of eggs in stool irradiated with 200,000 rad developed after 4 weeks, 30.5 percent with 300,000 rad, 25 percent with 500,000 rad and 3.5 percent with 1,000,000 rad respectively. The effective minimum dose of Cobalt 60 irradiation to kill the Ascaris eggs in stool was estimated 1,000,000 rad. Further examination will be required to observe the infectivity of irradiated Ascaris eggs to animals and to evaluate the effect from the standpoint of sanitary engineerings.
parasitology-nematode-Ascaris lumbricoides ; Cobalt 60 ; radiology ; prevention ; egg ; infectivity

Beta-lapachone (beta-Lap; 3,4-dihydro-2, 2-dimethyl-2H-naphthol[1, 2-b]pyran-5,6-dione) is a novel anti-cancer drug under phase I/II clinical trials. beta-Lap has been demonstrated to cause apoptotic and necrotic death in a variety of human cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. The mechanisms underlying the beta-Lap toxicity against cancer cells has been controversial. The most recent view is that beta-Lap, which is a quinone compound, undergoes two-electron reduction to hydroquinone form utilizing NAD(P)H or NADH as electron source. This two-electron reduction of beta-Lap is mediated by NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1), which is known to mediate the reduction of many quinone compounds. The hydroquinone forms of beta-Lap then spontaneously oxidizes back to the original oxidized beta-Lap, creating futile cycling between the oxidized and reduced forms of beta-Lap. It is proposed that the futile recycling between oxidized and reduced forms of beta-Lap leads to two distinct cell death pathways. First one is that the two-electron reduced beta-Lap is converted first to one-electron reduced beta-Lap, i.e., semiquinone beta-Lap (SQ).- causing production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which then causes apoptotic cell death. The second mechanism is that severe depletion of NAD(P)H and NADH as a result of futile cycling between the quinone and hydroquinone forms of beta-Lap causes severe disturbance in cellular metabolism leading to apoptosis and necrosis. The relative importance of the aforementioned two mechanisms, i.e., generation of ROS or depletion of NAD(P)H/NADH, may vary depending on cell type and environment. Importantly, the NQO1 level in cancer cells has been found to be higher than that in normal cells indicating that beta-Lap may be preferentially toxic to cancer cells relative to non-cancer cells. The cellular level of NQO1 has been found to be significantly increased by divergent physical and chemical stresses including ionizing radiation. Recent reports clearly demonstrated that beta-Lap and ionizing radiation kill cancer cells in a synergistic manner. Indications are that irradiation of cancer cells causes long-lasting elevation of NQO1, thereby sensitizing the cells to beta-Lap. In addition, beta-Lap has been shown to inhibit the repair of sublethal radiation damage. Treating experimental tumors growing in the legs of mice with irradiation and intraperitoneal injection of beta-Lap suppressed the growth of the tumors in a manner more than additive. Collectively, beta-Lap is a potentially useful anti-cancer drug, particularly in combination with radiotherapy.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Benzoquinones ; Cell Death ; Electrons ; Humans ; Hydroquinones ; Injections, Intraperitoneal ; Leg ; Mice ; NAD ; Naphthoquinones ; Necrosis ; Radiation Tolerance ; Radiation, Ionizing ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Recycling ; Substrate Cycling

No abstract available.
Female ; Hysterectomy, Vaginal*

No abstract available.
Female ; Hysterectomy, Vaginal*

No abstract available.
Animals ; Rats ; Sciatic Nerve ; Transplants

The effects of r-aminobutyric acid(GABA) agonsits and antagonists were explored by the intracellular recording method to discern the preferential suppression of the ON component by GABA on the ON-OFF transient cell in the catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) retina. Experiments were performed in the superfused eyecup preparation. The animals were decapitated and pited before the eye, and the surrounding tissue was removed from the skull. The retina was exposed by excising the cornea, iris, and vitreous. This preparation rested on a wad of Ringer`s soaked cotton in contact with an Ag/Agcl reference electrode. Solutions were delivered through a manifold system that was connected to a pipette located near the absorbent wick. Electro-physiological recordings were made using standard intracellular electrodes filled with 2 M potassium acetate. The electrical signal was recorded with an amplifierand a penwriter, viewed on an oscilloscope, and stored on a data recorder. The light sources were red light-emitting-diode (LED) and the stimuli were full field illumination covering the cntire retina. GABA preferentially reduced ON light responses in ON-OFF transient cell. and GABA hyperpolarized bipolar cells, but the effects on ON bipolar cells were more sensitive than OFF bipolar cells. CACA and TACA, GABAc receptor agonist, did not act on bipolar cells. CACA and TACA, GABAc receptor agonists, hyperpolarized bipolar cells but the sensitivity deferences between ON and OFF bipolar cell were not observed. These results suggest that the preferential suppression of the ON component of the ON-OFF transient cell by GABA was resulted from the presynaptic mechanism that reduced bipolar cell input.
Animals ; Catfishes* ; Cornea ; Electrodes ; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid ; Iris ; Lighting ; Potassium Acetate ; Retina* ; Skull

The present study was performed to compare maternal and perinatal outcomes in triplet and twin pregnancies with the result of ART(Assisted Reproductive Technology). Each pregnancy of 18 triplet pregnancies with 18 weeks or more was matched for maternal age, EDC(estimated date of confinement), parity, history of preterm delivery, indication of ART with two sets of twin pregnancies. Triplet pregnancies had a significantly shorter gestational age at delivery than twin pregnancies(30.4 versus 34.6 weeks), and a significantly lower mean birth weight(1,514 versus 2,286g). The mean hospital stay was significantly longer in triplets(22.3 versus 10.1 days). The incidences of 5 min Apgar score less than 7, neonatal deaths were significantly more often in triplets than twins; 18(33.3%) vs 6(8.3%), 15(27.8%) vs 7(9.72%), respectively. There were significant differences in the incidence of neonatal complications such as respiratory distress syndrome; 14(25.9%) vs 7(9.72%), ventilatory support; 18(33.3%) vs 5(6.9%), neonatal seizure; 9(16.7%) vs 0, btween the two groups. However, there were no significant differences between the groups in maternal complications or neonatal morbidity such as congenital malformations or hyperbilirubinemia, intraventricular hemorrhage, or bronchopulmonary dysplasia. We suggest that counseling patient regarding the anticipated perinatal outcomes of triplet pregnancies with the result of ART should be conducted with our data.
Apgar Score ; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia ; Counseling ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hyperbilirubinemia ; Incidence ; Infant, Newborn ; Length of Stay ; Maternal Age ; Parity ; Parturition ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Triplet ; Pregnancy, Twin* ; Reproductive Techniques, Assisted* ; Seizures ; Triplets*

Since the introduction of Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy(PEG) into clinical practice by Ponsky in 1980, the endoscopic procedure for the placement of a gastrostomy feeding tube has been markedly developed in the world. In l986, PEG was first described in Korea, thereafter it is widely used in many Korean institutions. But until recently the clinical studies of the long term efficacy of PEG has almost not been reported. (continue...)
Gastrostomy* ; Korea

No abstract available.
Pancreatitis*

A recent study showed that comparative sequence analysis of rpoB DNAs could reveal natural relationships in genus Mycobacterium [J Clin Microbiol. 37 (6). 1999]. rpoB DNAs showed interspecies variation and intraspecies conservation, Based on these data, we developed polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) protocols which enable species differentiation in genus Mycabacterium. When this assay was applied to 24 clinical isolates identified as M. avium complex (MAC) by biochemical test, these were successfully differentiated into M. avium and M. intracellulare. These results were concordant with those obtained by 16s rDNA analysis. It is the first report that PCR-SSCP analysis of rpoB DNA could be used for species differentiation of MAC strains.
DNA* ; DNA, Ribosomal ; Mycobacterium avium Complex* ; Mycobacterium avium* ; Mycobacterium* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational* ; Sequence Analysis