No abstract available.

One hundred seven isolates of Staphylococcus aureus from bovine mastitis were investigated for colony morphology in serum-soft agar (SSA), autoagglutination in salt, and capsular serotype. Capsular polysaccharide (CP) was purified and quantified from the extracts of clinical isolates. Overall, 89 isolates (83.2%) were diffuse in the SSA, without any difference in the proportion of diffuse colony between type 5 and type 8 strains. Some strains exhibited compact colonies in the SSA and expressed CP as determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, indicating that compact morphology does not exclude encapsulation. The majority of the strains (11/12) showed autoagglutination in the salt aggregation test. The serotype 336 accounted for 46.7% of the isolates followed by serotype 5 (12.1%) and serotype 8 (12.1%). Particularly, twenty-six (24.3%) isolates reacted with two serotypes; 7 for type 8/336 and 19 for type 5/336. Five isolates (4.7%) were nontypeable with monoclonal antibodies specific for CP serotype 5, 8, or 336. The CP concentration in culture supernatants varied with the serotypes, and the total amount of CP produced by cells grown in a liquid medium was much less than that produced by cells grown on a solid medium. The Western blotting indicated that the CP bands of S. aureus serotype 5 and 8 were ranged in the molecular mass of 58-84 kilodalton (kDa), with additional bands in the region of approximately >or= 48 or Agglutination Tests ; Animals ; Bacterial Vaccines/administration & dosage ; Cattle ; Cattle Diseases/immunology/microbiology ; Female ; Mastitis, Bovine/*microbiology ; Polysaccharides, Bacterial/*classification/isolation & purification ; Serotyping/methods/veterinary ; Staphylococcal Infections/immunology/*veterinary ; Staphylococcus aureus/*classification/*immunology/isolation & purification

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to demonstrate that the combined systemic administration of apomorphine (APO) and sildenafil have a synergistic effect on the erection in conscious rabbits. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The erections of the male New Zealand White rabbits (2-3kg, n=12) were assessed by measuring the length of the uncovered penile mucosa (LUPM) and duration of the erection, both before and after the intravenous administration of agents. After the injection of APO (0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.4mg/kg), sildenafil was administered intravenously in a dose-response manner (0.5, 1, 5mg/kg), followed by measurements for 0-120 minutes. In additional experiments, the effect of increasing the dosages of sildenafil, combined with APO, on blood pressure were evaluated. RESULTS: The intravenous administration of sildenafil caused a concentration dependent increase in the LUPM. There was a statistically significant increase in the LUPM with the administration of APO compared with no administration. The dosages of sildenafil and APO showing the greatest efficacy of sildenafil potentiation were 1mg/kg and 0.1 mg/kg, respectively. The intravenous administration of APO at a dose of 0.1mg/kg was more effective than those of 0.05 and 0.4mg/kg, with dosages of sildenafil of 0.5 and 1mg/kg. There was no additional increase in the duration of erection on the administration of APO. The intravenous administration of sildenafil caused a concentration dependent decrease in blood pressure, but there was no additional decrease on administration of the APO. CONCLUSIONS: We have shown that apomorphine elicits a stronger response on the erection induced by sildenafil in conscious rabbits, with no additional decrease in blood pressure.
Administration, Intravenous ; Apomorphine* ; Blood Pressure ; Humans ; Male ; Mucous Membrane ; Penile Erection* ; Rabbits* ; Sildenafil Citrate

To evaluate the effects of reflected glare on eyes, authors assessed the periodic health examination(1991-1996) and self-administered questionnaire data of a semiconductor producing company. The 13 lead frame(LF) department workers have been exposed to high reflected glare in the process for examining the silver plating products. We compared the data of connector(14) and clerical(12) workers as the non-exposed ones. Among LF department workers, 100% felt their visual acuity worsened(connector:81.8%, clerical:85.7%), and 70% had worn the glasses or contact lenses(connector :14.3 %, clerical :40%) since working at the company. Major ophthalmic symptoms of the LF workers are asthenopia, tearing, decreased visual acuity, congestion and glare. Decrease of visual acuity by Hahn's line change of the LF workers is significantly high during a 5-year follow-up(p<0.05 by simple regression) compared with connector, clerical workers.
Asthenopia ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) ; Eyeglasses ; Female* ; Glare ; Glass ; Humans ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Semiconductors ; Silver* ; Tears ; Visual Acuity*

We experienced a case of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma presented only as right side pleural effusion, that is primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), in a 75 year-old male patient in Korea where is the endemic area of tuberculosis. He visited our hospital complaining of exertional dyspnea. He did not have B symptoms. The breathing sound was decreased on the right side chest, but we could not find external lymphadenopathy or hepatosplenomegaly on physical examination. Simple chest radiograph showed right side pleural effusion. The cells of pleural fluid were lymphocyte-predominant and the pH, protein, lactate dehydrogenase, adenosine deaminase of the fluid was 7.31, 38 g/L, 381 U/L, 31 U/L, respectively. The biopsy specimen of the parietal pleura was diagnosed as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of small lymphocytic type. Computed tomograph of the chest, abdomen and pelvis, and the biopsy of bone marrow were negative for disease. We tried up to 3 cycles of chemotherapy with adriamycin, vincristine, cyclophosphamide and prednisolone and there was a marked decrease in the amount of the pleural effusion.
Abdomen ; Adenosine Deaminase ; Aged ; Biopsy ; Bone Marrow ; Cyclophosphamide ; Doxorubicin ; Drug Therapy ; Dyspnea ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Korea ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; Lymphatic Diseases ; Lymphoma ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin* ; Lymphoma, Primary Effusion ; Male ; Pelvis ; Physical Examination ; Pleura ; Pleural Effusion* ; Prednisolone ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Respiratory Sounds ; Thorax ; Tuberculosis ; Vincristine

PURPOSE: Nitric oxide (NO) and phosphodiesterases (PDEs) play key roles in mediating relaxation of corpus cavernosal smooth muscle by increasing intracellular cGMP level. Here, we investigated effects of NO-donor (sodium nitroprusside, SNP) and penile specific type-V PDE inhibitor (zaprinast) in human and rabbit corpus cavernosal cells and tissues in vitro. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cultured smooth muscle cells and tissues of human and rabbit corpus cavernosum were treated with increasing concentrations of SNP or zaprinast for 5 and 20 minutes, respectively, and intracellular cGMP levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. Organ bath study was performed to measure the relaxation effects of drugs on precontracted corpus cavernosal muscle strips. RESULTS: Although both NO-donor and type-V PDE inhibitor effectively stimulated the accumulation of cGMP in a dose-dependent manner, magnitude of cGMP increase and specificity of drug were found to be species-dependent. In human corpus cavernosal tissues, cGMP was increased upto 10- and 5-folds by SNP and zaprinast, respectively. However, magnitude of increase was much less in cultured smooth muscle cells. In rabbit, SNP effect was most prominent in cultured cells and effects of SNP and zaprinast were modest in tissues. Both agents also resulted in effective relaxation of human and rabbit cavernosal tissue strips. Similar patterns of dose-response curves were shown between results from the organ bath studies and cGMP radioimmunoassay with cavernosal smooth muscle cells. CONCLUSIONS: Present results show that effects of SNP and zaprinast are not coincident in different species, suggesting possible species-specificities of these two agents. Measurement of cGMP changes in cultured cavernosal smooth muscles cells could be reflected to the relaxation effects of drugs on corpus cavernosal muscle strips.
Baths ; Cells, Cultured ; Cyclic GMP ; Erectile Dysfunction ; Humans* ; Male ; Muscle, Smooth* ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; Negotiating ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitroprusside ; Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases ; Radioimmunoassay ; Relaxation* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Signal Transduction*

PURPOSE: Regarding for erectile dysfunction(ED), Sildenafil has produced satisfactory clinical results. However, Some patient discontinue sildenafil treatment for a variety of reasons after successful restoration of erectile function. We investigated the reasons for such discontinuations of sildenafil after restoration of erectile function by sildenafil medication. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After sildenafil medication, one hundred fifty six patients whose score of erectile function domain of the 15-item International Index of Erectile Function(IIEF) increased to 26 or more, were included in this study. Six-months after the first sildenafil prescription, compliance to medication and the reason for discontinuity were reviewed by chart or surveyed by telephone. RESULTS: In 156 successfully treated patients, 54(34.6%) discontinued sildenafil medication. The 2 most common reasons for discontinuation were trouble in the partners' or patients' emotional readiness for restoration of sexual activity after long-term abstinence and fear of possible side effects. CONCLUSIONS: After restoration of erectile function, many patients discontinued the use of sildenafil medication. The reasons for discontinuing the medication were primarily emotional or relationship-oriented issues. The counseling of both partners and education about the effects and side effects of the drugs are recommended to promote the successful recovery of sexual activity.
Compliance* ; Counseling ; Education ; Erectile Dysfunction ; Humans ; Male ; Prescriptions ; Sexual Behavior ; Telephone ; Sildenafil Citrate

Severe cough may contribute to serous coplications such as pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, rib fracture, subconjunctival hemorrhage, subdural hemorrhage and cough syncope. However abdominal wall hematoma is a rare complication. Because it usually presents with abdmoianal pain, abdominal wall hematoma needs to be differentiated from the acute surgical abdomen. A 78-year-old woman was admitted with right lower quadrant abdominal pain and a palpable mass for several days. She experienced abdominal pain after violent coughing associated with an upper respiratory tract in fection. Abdominal computed tomography revealed an approximately 7×4 cm sized, ill-defined, soft tissue density lesion in the right lower posterolateral abdominal wall. An abdominal wall hematoma was diagnosed. After admission, she had persistent right lower abdominal pain and an increasing mass. The mass was surgically removed and she was discharged without complications. In summary, when a patient complains of abdmonial pain after severe coughing, an abdominal wall hematomas as a differential diagnosis must be considered.
Abdomen ; Abdomen, Acute ; Abdominal Pain ; Abdominal Wall* ; Aged ; Cough ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Hematoma* ; Hematoma, Subdural ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Mediastinal Emphysema ; Pneumothorax ; Respiratory System ; Rib Fractures ; Syncope

P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is encoded by the ABCB1 gene and acts as an efflux pump for xenobiotics. In the Border Collie, a nonsense mutation caused by a 4-base pair deletion in the ABCB1 gene is associated with a premature stop to P-gp synthesis. In this study, we examined the full-length coding sequence of the ABCB1 gene in an ivermectin-sensitive Border Collie that lacked the aforementioned deletion mutation. The sequence was compared to the corresponding sequences of a wild-type Beagle and seven ivermectin-tolerant family members of the Border Collie. When compared to the wild-type Beagle sequence, that of the ivermectin-sensitive Border Collie was found to have one insertion mutation and eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the coding sequence of the ABCB1 gene. While the eight SNPs were also found in the family members' sequences, the insertion mutation was found only in the ivermectin-sensitive dog. These results suggest the possibility that the SNPs are species-specific features of the ABCB1 gene in Border Collies, and that the insertion mutation may be related to ivermectin intolerance.
ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters/*genetics ; Animals ; Depression/chemically induced ; Dogs/*genetics ; Female ; Ivermectin/*adverse effects ; Male ; Mutagenesis, Insertional/*genetics ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide/genetics ; Sialorrhea/chemically induced

PURPOSE: Despite gsstric cancer is one of the most common ma1ignancies, its prognosis has not been improved significantly. Therefore, it is important to know what clinical and pathological factors relate to survival in gastric carcinoma in order to improve survival rate. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate treatment results and to analyze the factors that affect the survival of patients with gastric carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 1,580 patients with primary gastric adenocarcinoma who had been treated surgically during the period 1983-1996 at the Department of Surgery, Korea University College of Medicine was studied to evaluate the treatment outcome. Prognostic factors were investigated by univariate and multivariate analyses in 1,407 resected patients. RESULTS: The 5-year survival rate was 57.1% in all case, 62.4% in resected cases, and there was no survivor at 2.5 year in unresectable cases. In univariate analysis, gross type, maximum tumor diameter, depth of invasion, lymph node involvement, distant metastasis, histologic type and type of operation were found to correlate significantly with survival. Multivariate analysis indicated that lymph node involvement, depth of invasion and type of cancer were independently conelated with survival. The stage-related survival rates (UICC, 1987) were 95.8% (stage Ia), 87.6% (stage Ib), 76.7% (stage II), 51.3% (stage 1IIa), 25.5% (stage IIlb), 9.4% (stage IV) and the stage-related survival rates (UICC, 1997) 95.8% (stage Ia), 87.6% (stage Ib), 76.4% (stage II), 55.2% (stage IIla), 24.0% (stage IIIb), 13.4% (stage IV). There was no difference between two staging systems. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that lymph node involvement, depth of invasion, and gross type were the most important prognostic factors, indicating that they may be helpful as predictors of long-term survival and in planning the treatment.
Adenocarcinoma* ; Humans ; Korea ; Lymph Nodes ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Survivors ; Treatment Outcome