INTRODUCION: Cardiovascular disease has the potential to lead to sudden in-flight incapacitation and permanent grounding. The aims of this study are to examine the relationships between lifestyle, job stress and blood lipid levels of male aircrew personnel of a Korean airline and to identify which factors influence their hyperlipidemia. METHODS: Two hundred sixteen male aircrew personnel completed a questionnaire by self-report and consented to participate in the study. The questionnaire collected data related to job stress, life style, serum cholesterol levels and general characteristics of the aircrew. The cholesterol levels of the subjects were collected from their most recent health check-up records. Subjects were divided into two groups (the desirable group and the risk group) based on their serum cholesterol level, 200 mg/dl. RESULTS: Mean age and marital status were significantly different between the two groups. More subjects in the risk group had habits of eating high lipid foods, while more subjects in the desirable group exercised more frequently than the risk group. In logistic regression analysis, after controlling age and marital status, types of working situation (domestic duty or international duty, odds ratio=.390, p=.018), diet (odds ratio=.429, p=.037), and exercise (odds ratio=.320, p=.055) were influencing factors on aircrew's serum cholesterol levels. CONCLUSIONS: The cholesterol level of aircrew personnel is closely related to their lifestyle, such as lipid diet and exercise. The type of work situations, e.g. staying in an airplane for long periods of time or staying abroad, may influence these diet patterns and exercise habits.
Stress, Psychological/*physiopathology ; Risk Factors ; Occupational Diseases/*physiopathology ; Middle Aged ; Male ; Logistic Models ; *Life Style ; Korea/epidemiology ; Hyperlipidemias/epidemiology/etiology/*prevention & control ; Humans ; Cholesterol/blood ; Aerospace Medicine ; Adult

Classic distal renal tubular acidosis(type 1 RTA) is a hypokalemic, hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis due to selective defect in distal acidification. Type 1 RTA may be associated with genetic(usually autosomal dominant) or autoimmune disease, drugs and toxin and various tubulointerstitial diseases. This case report describes a 27 year-old female patient with distal RTA, Sjogren' s syndrome and Graves' disease the first case. She had been suffered from muscle weakness and peripheral numbness and was found to have low serum potassium(1.6mEq/L). She was revealed to have 1) distal RTA by NaHCO3 loading test 2) Sjogren' s syndrome by Schirmer' s test and palate biopsy and 3) Graves' disease by exophthalmometry and autoantibody test, thyroid function test. This is the first case as far as I search that report the association of distal RTA, Sjogren' s syndrome, and Graves' disease caused by autoimmune mechanism.
Acidosis ; Acidosis, Renal Tubular* ; Adult ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Biopsy ; Female ; Graves Disease* ; Humans ; Hypesthesia ; Muscle Weakness ; Palate ; Thyroid Function Tests

Anti-glomerular basement membrane antibody mediated rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis is a rare autoimmune disease. It is characterized by acuterenal failure and crescentic glomeruli with linear immune deposits along glomerular basement membrane mediated by anti-GBM antibodies. We report a case of a sixty-years-old man with generalized edema and hematuria. On admission, BUN/Creatinine was 118/19.6 mg/dL, Hb was 10.2 g/dL. On urinalysis, protein was 3+, and many RBCs were found. Renal biopsy specimen which contained 8 glomeruli showed active cellular crescent formation in all glomeruli. On immunofluorescent staining specimen, there were 4 glomeruli which showed strong IgG linear staining along the glomerular basement membrane and mild C3 & C1q deposit along the capillary walls. The titer of anti-GBM antibody was 123 EU by ELISA (normal: <10 EU). We treated with high dose of corticosteroid and plasmapheresis, but renal function was not recovered even after 3 months of hemodialysis.
Antibodies ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Basement Membrane* ; Biopsy ; Capillaries ; Edema ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Glomerular Basement Membrane ; Glomerulonephritis ; Hematuria ; Hemorrhage* ; Immunoglobulin G ; Plasmapheresis ; Renal Dialysis ; Urinalysis

Typhoid fever often manifests hepatic involvement but pleural involvement has rarely been reported to occur as a complication of typhoid fever. One case of typhoid pleurisy, in which Salmonella was isolated from the blood, is presented with the brief review of the literature. A 44 year old female was admitted to the hospital because of high fever, abdominal pain. Typhoid fever was diagnosed by blood culture, Widal test, and liver function test. Chest X-ray and pleural effusion examination demonstrated pleurisy. With the administration of ceftriaxone and pleural aspiration, she became afebrile with subsidence of pleural effusion.
Abdominal Pain ; Adult ; Ceftriaxone ; Female ; Fever ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Liver Function Tests ; Pleural Effusion ; Pleurisy* ; Salmonella ; Thorax ; Typhoid Fever*

Typhoid fever often manifests hepatic involvement but pleural involvement has rarely been reported to occur as a complication of typhoid fever. One case of typhoid pleurisy, in which Salmonella was isolated from the blood, is presented with the brief review of the literature. A 44 year old female was admitted to the hospital because of high fever, abdominal pain. Typhoid fever was diagnosed by blood culture, Widal test, and liver function test. Chest X-ray and pleural effusion examination demonstrated pleurisy. With the administration of ceftriaxone and pleural aspiration, she became afebrile with subsidence of pleural effusion.
Abdominal Pain ; Adult ; Ceftriaxone ; Female ; Fever ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Liver Function Tests ; Pleural Effusion ; Pleurisy* ; Salmonella ; Thorax ; Typhoid Fever*

The double pylorus is a fistulous communication between gastric antrum and duodenal bulb. It appears to be an acquired lesion in the majority of cases. Upon routine endoscopic procedures, it is frequently seem to occur in males who are either alcoholics, diabetics, those with chronic renal failure, chronic lung disease. If it is no developing complications such as septal rupture, double pylorus is well response to medical treatment. A 51-year-old man who had been taking medication over a long period for the chronic bronchitis was admitted to this hospital because of epigastric soreness and indigestion for 1 month. Endosopic findings showed two large openings of the pyloric channel and gastric ulcer in the channel. We thought that this case was an acquired lesion reasult of repeated gastric ulcer. We report a case of double pylrous with the brief review of literatures.
Alcoholics ; Bronchitis, Chronic* ; Dyspepsia ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Lung Diseases ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pyloric Antrum ; Pylorus* ; Rupture ; Stomach Ulcer*

The throat swabs obtained from 1,098 adults and 432 children patients with respiratory diseases were examined for Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection detected by culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Antimicrobial susceptibilities of the resulting 60 M. pneumoniae isolates were evaluated by testing minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of erythromycin, minocycline, tetracycline, josamycin, sparfloxacin, ofloxacin, and ciprofloxacin by a broth micro-dilution method. In a preliminary screening, the detection rate of M. pneumoniae by PCR was 29.2% (277/948) for the adults and 28.3% (90/318) for the children. In the second survey, the isolation rate of M. pneumoniae by culture was 29.3% (44/150) for the adults, and 14.0% (16/114) for the children. The PCR detection rate was 36.7% (55/150) for the adults and 23.7% (27/114) for the children. The MIC90s of the M. pneumoniae isolates were 0.015 mg/ml for erythromycin, lower than 0.03 mg/ml for josamycin, 0.06 mg/ml for sparfloxacin and minocycline, 0.12 mg/ml for tetracycline, 0.5 mg/ml for ofloxacin and CFC-222, and 1.0 mg/ml for ciprofloxacin. The isolates were susceptible to erythromycin, josamycin, sparfloxacin, minocycline, tetracycline, and ofloxacin, but the 63.3% of them was resistant to ciprofloxacin. These results indicate that the PCR method has a significant potential as a rapid and sensitive method for early detection of M. pneumoniae infection in clinical specimens as compared with the culture method, but the PCR method could not provide any information concerning the biological chracteristics of M. pneumoniae strains. Erythromycin, josamycin, sparfloxacin, minocycline, and tetracycline could be recommended as the antimicrobial agents of choice in Korea.
Adult ; Anti-Infective Agents ; Child ; Ciprofloxacin ; Erythromycin ; Humans ; Josamycin ; Korea ; Mass Screening ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Minocycline ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae* ; Mycoplasma* ; Ofloxacin ; Pharynx ; Pneumonia* ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Tetracycline

PURPOSE: We evaluated the changes of the erectile function and histology of the corpus cavernosum in a rat model of metabolic syndrome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used male spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHRs) as an experimental group (n=6) and Wistar-Kyoto rats as a control group (n=6). The SHRs were fed with a high fat diet, but the Wistar-Kyoto rats were fed with a normal fat diet for 12 weeks. All the groups were then checked for body weight and various biochemiclal parameters. To investigate penile erection, the intracavernosal pressure (ICP), mean arterial pressure (MAP) and cGMP level of the corpus cavernosum were recorded for all the groups. Serial sections of the penis were used to perform Masson's trichrome staining and immunohistochemistry for determining the TGF-beta 1 expression. RESULTS: We confirmed that metabolic syndrome was induced in the experimental group by the significant difference of the various biochemical parameters. (ED note: For the results of erectile function? This wasn't clear.)As a result of erectile function, the ICP/MAP ratios were checked as 51.0+/-7.5% and 31.0+/-5.5%, respectively, for the control and experimental groups. So the ICP/MAP ratio of the latter was markedly decreased compared with the former and the cGMP level of the corpus cavernosum was the same for both groups. On Masson's trichrome staining, the number of smooth muscle cell was decreased and the collagen fibers with an irregular, distorted arrangement were increased in the experimental group. The immunoreactivity for TGF-beta 1 tended to increase in the experimental group. These histological findings revealed that fibrosis of the corpus cavernosum occurred in the experimental group. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that metabolic syndrome is harmful to erectile function and it leads to histological changes of the corpus cavernosum according to a rat model of metabolic syndrome.
Animals ; Arterial Pressure ; Body Weight ; Collagen ; Diet ; Diet, High-Fat ; Erectile Dysfunction ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; Penile Erection ; Penis ; Rats ; Transforming Growth Factor beta

PURPOSE: To investigate the correlation of the strain elasticity of breast cancer with histologic features, immunohistochemical markers and molecular subtypes that are known to be factors related to prognosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: B-mode ultrasound and strain elastography were performed in 123 patients (mean age, 53.4; range, 28–82) with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) (mean size, 1.54 cm; range, 0.4–7.0 cm). Histologic grade, lymph node (LN) status, lymphovascular invasion, immunohistochemical biomarkers [estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), CK5/6, epidermal growth factor receptor, and Ki-67] and molecular subtypes were determined from surgical pathology reports. The relationships between these factors and elasticity scores were evaluated. RESULTS: LN involvement was associated with a higher elasticity score which was statistically significant (p = 0.042). The tumor size, lymphovascular invasion, histologic grades, immunohistochemical markers and molecular subtypes had no significant correlation with the elasticity score (p > 0.05 for all). However, the IDCs with larger size and a positive lymphovascular invasion tended to have higher elasticity scores. Furthermore, higher histologic grade cancers and the HER2 overexpression-type tended to have lower elasticity scores. CONCLUSION The elasticity score of IDC had a significant correlation with LN involvement but no statistically significant correlation with the histologic features, immunohistochemical markers or molecular subtypes.

Visual evoked potentials(VEPs) are the cerebral electrical activities recorded from the occipital scalp following a flash or pattern stimulation and can detect the lesions of sensory visual pathways. Although the VEPs change with the maturation of CNS in children, a few studies have documented the maturational changes in premature infants. Using the light- emitting diode goggles, VEPs were studied in 131 neurologically intact infants of 28~41 weeks gestational age or 34~59 weeks postmenstrual age. The VEPs were analysed by three waveforms; normal, abnormal, and flat, and four patterns; N300, P200-N300, P100-N155-P200-N300, and P100 pattern. Normal waveforms were 63 of 131 VEPs(48.1%). Of the normal waveforms, N300 patterns were 38.1%, P200-N300 36.5%, P100-N155-P200-N300 19.0%, and P100 6.4%. Each pattern correlated with the postmenstrual age. These findings support the hypothesis of VEP pattern changes according to the maturation of the visual system with age.
Child ; Evoked Potentials, Visual* ; Eye Protective Devices ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature* ; Scalp ; Visual Pathways