BACKGROUND: Ischemic preconditioning enhances the tolerance of myocardium against ischemia/reperfusion injury, with the enhancement of the recovery of post-ischemic myocardial function. This study was disigned to assess whether the protective effect of ischemic preconditioning could provide one additional hour of myocardial preservation in four hour myocardial ischemia in a rate heart. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Fourty four Spargue-Dawley rats, weighing 300-450gm, were divided into four groups. Group 1(n=7) and group 3 (n=12) were subjected to 30 minutes of aerobic Langendorff perfusion without ischemic preconditioning and then preserved in saline solution at 2-4 degree C for 4 hours and 5 respectively. Group 2 (n=7) and group 4 (n=18) were perfused in the same way for 20 minutes, followed by 3 minutes of global mormothermic ischemia and 10 minutes of perfusion and then preserved in the same cold saline solution for 4 hours and 5 hours respectively. Heart rate, left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP), and coronary flow were measured at 15 minutes during perfusion as baseline. Spontaneous defibrillation time was measured after reperfusion. Heart rate, LVDP, and coronary flow were also recorded at 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and 45 minutes during reperfusion. Samples of the apical left ventricular wall were studied using a transmission electron microscope. Time of spontaneous defibrillation (TSD) was significantly longer in group 4 than in group 1 (p<0.001), and TSD in group 1 was significantly longer in comparision to that of group 2 (p<0.05). Heart rate at 45 minutes was significantly higher in group 1 than in group 4 (p<0.05). Heart rate at 15 min was significantly higher in group 2 than in group 1(p<0.001) and in group 4 than in group 3 (p<0.05). Left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP) at 30 minutes and 45 minutes was higher in group 1 than in group 4 (p<0.01), LVDP at 45 minutes was higher in group 4 than in group 3 (p<0.05). Rate-pressure product (RPP) at 30 minutes and 45 minutes was higher in group 1 than in group 4 (p<0.05). RPP at 15 minutes was higher in group 2 than in group 1 (p<0.01). RPP at 30 minutes and 45 minutes was higher in group 4 than in group 3 (p<0.05). Group 2 showed relatively less sarcoplasmic edema and less nuclear chromatin clearance than group 1. Group 4 showed less myocardial cell damage than group 3, group 4 showed less myocardial cell damage than group 3, group 4 showed more myocardial cell edema than group 1. CONCLUSION: Ischemic preconditioning enhanced the recovery of postischemic myocardial function after 4 hours and 5 hours preservation. However, it was not demonstrated that ischemic preconditioning could definitely provide one additional hour of myocardial preservation in four hour myocardial ischemia in a rat heart.
Animals ; Chromatin ; Edema ; Heart Rate ; Heart* ; Ischemia ; Ischemic Preconditioning* ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Myocardium ; Perfusion ; Rats* ; Reperfusion ; Sodium Chloride

No abstract available.
Chickenpox*

We examined the expressions of CD44 splice variants (v4/5, v6), alpha-smooth muscle actin, nm23 to evaluate their roles as prognostic factors in 70 cases of uterine cervical carcinoma (stage IB to IIB) who were surgically treated from January 1989 to June 1990 with a clinical follow-up of a minimum of 5 years. The expression was examined by an immunohistochemical method using archival formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue. In the 70 cases, 61 cases were squamous cell carcinoma and 9 cases were adenocarcinoma. CD44v4/5, CD44v6, alpha-smooth muscle actin, and nm23 were detected in 41.4%, 70%, 100%, and 74.3% of tumor samples, respectively. CD44 splice variants and nm23 showed membrane and cytoplasmic staining of tumor cells, respectively. The expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin showed cytoplasmic staining confined to stromal cells and was classified into three grades by the extent in stromal cells: with less than 10% of stromal cells; 32.9%, 10-50% of stromal cells; 40.0%, more than 50%; 27.1%. These expressions were not correlated with histologic types, lymph node involvement, recurrence, and grades of tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL). But CD44v4/5 had significantly inverse correlation with TIL (p=0.049). The expression of CD44v4/5 was significantly correlated with that of CD44v6 (p=0.05), and that of alpha-smooth muscle actin was inversely correlated with that of nm23 (p=0.049). In conclusion, in FIGO IB-IIB uterine cervical carcinoma CD44 variants, nm23, and SMA show high prevalence, however, with little prognostic significance assessed by recurrence and lymph node metastasis.
Actins* ; Adenocarcinoma ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Cytoplasm ; Follow-Up Studies ; Formaldehyde ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphocytes ; Membranes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Paraffin ; Prevalence ; Recurrence ; Stromal Cells ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms*

We aimed to evaluate the long term trantment of enalapril on the vascular response in the isolated aorta, and in anesthetized or pithed spontaneously hypertensive rats(SHR). In the isolated aorta, the increase in tension provoked by addition of KC1 16.7mM was attenuated by enalapril treatment(3mg/kg/day for 6 weeks), whereas the increment by addition of NE 0.1uM tension was not influenced. The frequency-dependent vasoconstricution induced by electrical field stimulation of aorta was also attenuated by enalapril treatment. In pithed SHR, the frequency-related hypertension provoked by electrical stimulation(10sec, 1ms with 40V) of sympathetic pregnglionic nerve was also attenuated by enalapril treatment. Neither dose-related vasorelaxation by acetylcholine addition in the aorta nor decrease of DBP by intravenously(i.v.)-injected aetylcholine was altered by enalapril treatment. However, beta2-agonist, salbutamol-induced vasorelaxation in enalapril-treated group, was more remarkable than that in control group. The hypotension by i.v.-but not by intracerebroventricularly-injected salbutamol strengthened by enalapril treatment. These results suggest that the suppression of development of hypertension by enalapril treatment may result from the reduction of adrenergic neurotransmission and activity to voltage dependent calcium channel by acting on vascular smooth muscle itself.
Acetylcholine ; Albuterol ; Aorta ; Blood Pressure* ; Calcium Channels ; Enalapril* ; Hypertension ; Hypotension ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; Rats, Inbred SHR* ; Synaptic Transmission ; Vasodilation

No abstract available.
Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular*

PURPOSE: The dimensionality of examinations provides empirical evidence of the internal test structure underlying the responses to a set of items. In turn, the internal structure is an important piece of evidence of the validity of an examination. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the performance of the DETECT program and to use it to examine the internal structure of the Korean nursing licensing examination. METHODS: Non-parametric methods of dimensional testing, such as the DETECT program, have been proposed as ways of overcoming the limitations of traditional parametric methods. A non-parametric method (the DETECT program) was investigated using simulation data under several conditions and applied to the Korean nursing licensing examination. RESULTS: The DETECT program performed well in terms of determining the number of underlying dimensions under several different conditions in the simulated data. Further, the DETECT program correctly revealed the internal structure of the Korean nursing licensing examination, meaning that it detected the proper number of dimensions and appropriately clustered the items within each dimension. CONCLUSION: The DETECT program performed well in detecting the number of dimensions and in assigning items for each dimension. This result implies that the DETECT method can be useful for examining the internal structure of assessments, such as licensing examinations, that possess relatively many domains and content areas.
Korea ; Licensure* ; Methods ; Nursing*

Cesarean hysterectomy remains a necessary procedure for life saving during intractable obstetric hemorrhage. The procedure itself is usually associated with considerable perioperative morbidity, especially when performed under emergency conditions. In this study, the outcomes of 15 cases of cesarean hysterectomy performed at Catholic university of Taegu-Hyosung hospital for 5 years from January, 1993 to December, 1997 were reviewed. There were 22,251 deliveries during this period, cesarean hysterectomy was performed in 13 of 5,753 cesarean section(0.22%) and in 2 of 16,698 vaginal deliveries(0.12%), so more frequently after cesarean section than vaginal deliveries. The age of patients varied from 23 to 39 years old. The higher the age of patients, the higher incidence of cesarean hysterectomy was noted. The most common indication of emergency cesarean hysterectomy was in uterine atony(53.3%), followed by placental disorders(33.3%), uterine rupture(6.7%), and uterine myoma with pregnancy (6.7%). All patients who had cesarean hysterectomy received transfusion from 3 pints to 13 pints. In aspect of fetal outcomes, live birth were 12 cases(80%), one case was fetal death in utero(6.6%), 2 infants were dead during the early neonatal period(13.3%) due to prematurity and RDS (respiratory distress syndrome), so the perinatal mortality rate was 20.0%. The postoperative complications were wound disruption, hematoma, febrile morbidity and disseminated intravascular coagulopathy.
Adult ; Cesarean Section ; Emergencies ; Female ; Fetal Death ; Hematoma ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hysterectomy* ; Incidence ; Infant ; Leiomyoma ; Live Birth ; Perinatal Mortality ; Postoperative Complications ; Pregnancy ; Wounds and Injuries

Infant Incubator is the most important equipment in a infant ICU. This maintain adequate temperature and humidity for survival of infants. The final object of this research is Web-based monitoring of several infant incubators in ICU. To realize these objects, we developed a temperature/humidity sensing module which is interfaced to Web server board via RS485 port. We used a small micro controller in each sensing module. So the size of this module is small enough to be attached to incubator. We can access each sensing module with RS485 port on Web server board via network. As a first trial, we networked 4 infant incubators. The operator can send alarms to each incubator and these alarms are indicated with sounds and lights on measurement module. Our system can increase the convenience by a intensive central monitoring, so instant handling to some kinds of accident is possible.
Humans ; Humidity ; Incubators ; Incubators, Infant* ; Infant*

PURPOSE: To compare the anatomical and visual outcomes in idiopathic macular hole surgery with or without indocyanine green (ICG)-stained internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling. METHODS: Thirty-six eyes of 36 patients who underwent idiopathic macular hole surgery were included. Follow-up period was longer than 6 months. In the initial 16 eyes, no ILM peeling was performed (non-ILM peeling group). The subsequent 20 eyes underwent surgery with ICG-stained ILM peeling (ILM peeling group). RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the age, sex, hole size, symptom duration and preoperative best-corrected visual acuity between the two groups. The anatomical closure rates were 95% (19/20eyes) and 75% (12/16eyes) in the ILM peeling and non-ILM peeling groups, respectively (Fisher's exact test, p=0.15). Visual improvement of two or more lines occurred in 35% (7/20eyes) in the ILM peeling group and 43.8% (7/16eyes) in the non-ILM peeling group (Chi-square test, p=0.59). CONCLUSIONS: ICG stained ILM peeling was not statistically significant for anatomic and functional success in idiopathic macular hole surgery. Further studies of the toxicity of ICG and the result of ILM peeling should be performed.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Indocyanine Green ; Membranes* ; Retinal Perforations* ; Visual Acuity

No abstract available.
Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic* ; Aortic Coarctation*