BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to prove that human infection of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis might be occurred by drinking of mountain spring water contaminated with wild mice excreta through epidemiological tool. METHOD: Y. pseudotuberculosis strains which were isolated from patient stools, mountain spring water and mice excreta were analysed by serotyping of O antigen and plasmid DNA profile (Restriction Endonuclease Analysis of Plasmic DNA analysis REAP) assay Also reservoir rate of Y. pseudotuberculosis was calculated from wild mice which were captured throughout Korean mountains. RESULTS: Reservoir rate of Y. pseudotuberculosis from wild mice in Korea was 0.85% and was not higher than that in other country. The analysis of 66 strains of Y. pseudotuberculosis showed that 36 strains of serotype 15, REAP B type, 24 strains of serotype 4b, REAP D type, and 1 strain of serotype 4b, REAP new unclassifiable type, but 5 strains didn't have plasmic (serotype 15:3, 11 :2) .Especially same 4b, D type of Y. pseudotuberculosis was isolated from patient stools, mountain spring water and wild mouse (Apodemus agrarius) excretion and this fact was considered that Y. pseudotuberculosis strains from 3 groups were closely correlated epidemiologically. Also serotype 15, REAP B strains were isolated from patient stools and mountain spring water, but were not isolated from wild mice yet and 15, B type was isolated from Korea only and considered as native Korean strain which had not isolated in other countries yet. CONCLUSIONS: Human Y. pseudotuberculosis infection in Korea was occurred by drinking of contaminated mountain spring water and A. agrarius was one of main reservoir which contaminates mountain spring waters in Korea, Also above antigenic distribution of Y. pseudotuberculosis would be useful for development of ELISA kit of Korean type.
Animals ; DNA ; Drinking ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Korea ; Mice ; O Antigens ; Plasmids ; Serotyping ; Yersinia pseudotuberculosis* ; Yersinia*

No abstract available.
Nasal Polyps*

No abstract available.
Aspergillosis*

PURPOSE: Span of Control defines the scope of the managers' responsibilities to manage nursing staff. This study was done to measure span of control of front-line nurse managers (FLNMs) in Korea hospitals resulting in improvement in their work efficiency. METHODS: A sample of 203 FLNMs from five tertiary hospitals was recruited and completed the questionnaires. Data were analyzed using χ²-test, Fisher's exact test, independent t-test, ANOVA, Scheffé, and Pearson correlation coefficient. RESULTS: FLNMs had ‘narrow’ (n=8, 4.3%), ‘appropriate’ (n=161, 87.0%), and ‘wide’ (n=16, 8.6%) span of control. Span of control had significant correlations with the number of nurses (r=.63, p<.001), the number of non-nurses (r=.53, p<.001), units (r=.52, p<.001), staff (r=.83, p<.001), and programs (r=.67, p<.001). CONCLUSION: The research findings indicate that attention should be given to unit complexity, program diversity, total staff, and skills. Moreover, administrators of hospital and nursing departments need to provide systematic support in accordance with FLNMs’ wide span of control.
Administrative Personnel ; Humans ; Korea ; Nurse Administrators* ; Nursing ; Nursing Staff ; Personnel Management ; Tertiary Care Centers

Background: Esmolol as a drug for induced hypotension can, not only avoid many drawbacks of nitroprusside, but reduce the amount of intraoperative bleeding and make better operative field. This study was performed to evalute cardiovascular changes during esmolol-induced controlled hypotension. Methods: Induced hypotension using esmolol was applied to 18 adult patients receiving spinal surgery under the diagnosis of spinal stenosis or scoliosis. After prehydraion of 2,000 ml of crystalloid solution, 0.5 mg/kg esmolol was used as loading dose once, twice or three times until mean blood pressure (MBP) fell below 70 mmHg, followed by continuous infusion (50~300 microg/kg/min) of esmolol. MBP and heart rate (HR) were measured before, 5, 10, 15, 30, 60 and 90 min after esmolol administration, and 5, 10 and 15 minutes after discontinuation of esmolol. In 8 patients, cardiac output (CO) and mixed venous oxygen tension and saturation were measured before, during and after esmolol use. Results: MBP was decreased from 91+/-12 mmHg to 67+/-7 mmHg after 15 min (P<0.05). HR(BPM) was decreased from 76+/-17 to about 60 after 15 min (P<0.05). CO was decreased about 30% during induced hypotension but recoverd to initial level 15 min after esmolol discontinuation. While oxygen transport was reduced significantly during induced hypotension (P<0.05), oxygen consumption was maintained all the time. Conclusion: With the use of esmolol, stable hypotension could be achieved. Although oxygen transport decreased possibly due to reduction of CO, but oxygen consumption was maintained.
Adult ; Blood Pressure ; Cardiac Output ; Diagnosis ; Heart Rate ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypotension* ; Hypotension, Controlled ; Nitroprusside ; Oxygen ; Oxygen Consumption ; Scoliosis ; Spinal Stenosis

No abstract available.
Carbon Dioxide* ; Carbon* ; Lasers, Gas*

Stenosis of the nostril is a rare deformity. The most common etiology is trauma. Iatrogenic trauma is a significant contributor; examples being prolonged nasal packing under tension, chemical cauterization, or other nasal procedures. Other causative factors include congenital malformations and infections. This deformity is considered a challenging problem because of frequent relapses and unsatisfactory corrections. The standard technique by which this deformity is reconstructed is by excision of the cicatrical stenosis and insertion of a split-thickness skin autograft over a mold. This technique will enlarge the nostril but will not correct the narrowing of the vestibular stenosis and nasal valve area. So, nasal obstruction symptoms remain. This paper describes a case of nostril and vestibular stenosis in a 58-year-old woman that was corrected successfully in a single stage. In this paper, not only nostril but also vestibular stenosis and nasal valve area narrowing were properly reconstructed by using an auricular conchal cartilage graft, LASER excision, and a nostril stent. The following is a report on this research.
Autografts ; Cartilage* ; Cautery ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Constriction, Pathologic* ; Female ; Fungi ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Nasal Obstruction ; Recurrence ; Rhinoplasty ; Skin ; Stents ; Transplants*

BACKGROUND: Coal workers' pneumoconiosis is a fibrotic lung disease resulting from chronic inhalation of coal dust. The precise mechanism of lung fibrosis in coal workers' pneumoconiosis is uncertain. However, a relationship between the stimulation of fibroblast proliferation and collagen production by mediators released from inflammatory and resident lung cells is thought to be a major factor. The transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β), a multifunctional cytokine and growth factor, plays a key role in the scarring and fibrotic processes due to its ability to induce extracellular matrix proteins and modulate the growth and immune function of many cell types. To determine the involvement of TGF-βin the development of lung fibrosis in coal workers' pneumoconiosis, the TGF-β1 level in plasma was measured in patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis. METHODS: Plasma was collected from 40 patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis (20 with simple coal workers' pneumoconiosis and 20 with complicated coal workers' pneumoconiosis) and from 10 normal controls. The ELISA method was used to measure the plasma TGF-β1 concentration. RESULTS: Compared to the control group (0.63±0.18 ng/mL), there was no significant difference in the plasma TGF-β1 level in patients with simple coal workers' pneumoconiosis (0.64±0.17 ng/mL) (p>.05). However, in patients with complicated coal workers' pneumoconiosis the plasma TGF-β1 level (0.79±0.18 ng/mL) was significantly higher than in patients with simple coal workers' pneumoconiosis and control group (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The data suggests that TGF-β1 has some influence in the development of lung fibrosis in coal workers' pneumoconiosis.
Cicatrix ; Coal* ; Collagen ; Dust ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Extracellular Matrix Proteins ; Fibroblasts ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Inhalation ; Lung ; Lung Diseases ; Plasma* ; Pneumoconiosis* ; Pulmonary Fibrosis

BACKGROUND: In order to investigate transmission route of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis infection in Korea, we tried epidemiological study among human strains, mountain spring water strain and wild mouse strain which were isolated in north eastern area of Seoul on spring in 1996. METHODS: Plasmid profile (Restriction Endonuclease Analysis of Virulence Plasmid DNA analysis: REAP) assay in addition to serotyping were performed among human strains, mountain spring water strain and wild mouse strains. RESULTS: All isolates were the same O serotype of 4b and the same REAP pattern of type D. CONCLUSION: These results suggested that wild mice (especially Apodemus agrarius) were one of main reservoir of Y. pseudotuberculosis in Korea and their fecal material might contaminate mountain spring water. Most of human infections of Y. pseudotuberculosis were originated from drinking of contaminated mountain spring waters in Korea.
Animals ; DNA* ; Drinking ; Epidemiologic Studies* ; Epidemiology ; Humans ; Korea ; Mice ; Murinae ; Plasmids* ; Seoul ; Serotyping ; Virulence ; Yersinia pseudotuberculosis* ; Yersinia*

Lymphocytes can produce various kinds of cytokines which are responsible for the development of the infectious and allergic inflammation. We focused on the role of the lymphocyte in the pathogenesis of the nasal polyp. This study was designed to evaluate the functional differences of the lymphocytes between allergic and non-allergic polyp. Lymphocytes were obtained from peripheral blood and tissues of polyp in 12 patients with non-allergic polyp, 7 patients with allergic polyp and 5 normal subjects as control. Cytokines were measured with ELISA from each group of lymphocytes after stimulation with Concanavalin A (Con A). We compared the production of interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interferon (IFN)-gamma between the non-allergic and allergic groups. The levels of IL-4 and IL-6 from polyp tissue lymphocytes were higher in allergic group, while those of IL-2 and IFN-gamma were higher in non-allergic group. The levels of IL-4, IL-6 and TNF-alpha from peripheral blood lymphocytes were higher in allergic group, and IFN-gamma was higher in non-allergic group. These results suggest that cytokine productivity of the polyp tissue lymphocytes appear to be parallel to that of the peripheral blood lymphocytes in each group and shows distinct pattern of ytokine production between two groups.
Concanavalin A ; Cytokines ; Efficiency ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Inflammation ; Interferons ; Interleukin-2 ; Interleukin-4 ; Interleukin-6 ; Interleukins ; Lymphocytes* ; Nasal Polyps* ; Polyps ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha