With development of immunochemical methods for anlysis of serum proteins, quantitative determination of serum immunoglobulin levels and purification of them have been made possible in recent years. There are numerous reports about immunoglobulin levels in various diseases. A search of the literature reveals very few reports of quantitative immunoglobulin determinations in allergic dermatoses. The present study was conducted to find quantitative changes of serum immunoglobulins in a few allergic dermatoses. To quantify the IgG, IgA and IgM, one hundred and two sera were analysed form 30 normal control group, 30 contact dermatitis patients, 12 stopic dermatitis patients and 30 urticaria patients by modified Oudin's capillary tube method. The results are as follows. 1.In contact dermatitis the IgG was significantly increased to compare with control group(p<0.01) 2.In atopic dermatitis the IgA was significantly increased to compare with control group(p<0.01) 3.In urticaria the IgG was increased (p<0.05) 4.The IgM has no differences between allergic dermatoses and control group.
Blood Proteins ; Capillaries ; Dermatitis ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin A ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M ; Immunoglobulins ; Skin Diseases* ; Urticaria

No abstract available.
Female ; Mucins* ; Ovary*

PURPOSE: To elucidate the mechanism of neoangiogenesis of human retinal pigment epithelium (HRPE) under hypoxia. METHODS: HRPE cells were cultured for 2 and 24 hours in a hypoxic chamber. Expression and production of the angiogenic factor, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the anti-angiogenic factor, pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) were analyzed by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. Neoangiogenesis was induced by adding culture supernatant harvested from cells exposed to hypoxic conditions. Neoangeogenesis was measured with a tube formation assay that uses ECV 304 cells and with a migration assay that uses human dermal microvascular endothelial cells. RESULTS: Competitive RT-PCR showed that the expression of the PEDF gene in HRPE cells under hypoxic state decreased compared to normoxic state (p<0.01) but the expression of the VEGF gene increased (p<0.01) when exposed to hypoxic conditions. These results corresponded to those of the Western blot analysis which revealed a significant increase of VEGF production (p<0.01) and a decrease of PEDF production (p<0.01). Moreover, the tube formation and migration assays demonstrated that angiogenesis was increased by exposure to hypoxic stress. Taken together, HRPE cells under hypoxic stress produce more VEGF and less PEDF, which lead to neoangiogenesis. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the subretinal neovascularization that occurs under hypoxic stress might be caused by an imbalance of angiogenesis-related factors in HRPE cells.
Angiogenesis Inducing Agents ; Anoxia* ; Blotting, Western ; Endothelial Cells ; Epithelial Cells* ; Humans ; Retinal Pigment Epithelium ; Retinaldehyde* ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A

PURPOSE: The purposes of this methodologic paper are to (1) describe theoretical background in conducting research across different cultures; (2) address measurement issues related to instrument administration; and (3) provide strategies to deal with measurement issues. METHODS: A thorough review of the literature was conducted. A theoretical background is provided, and examples of administering instrument in studies are described. RESULTS: When applying an instrument to different cultures, both equivalence and bias need to be established. Three levels of equivalence, i.e., construct equivalence, measurement unit equivalence, and full score comparability, need to be explained to maintain the same concept being measured. In this paper, sources of bias in construct, method, and item are discussed. Issues related to instrument administration in a cross-cultural study are described. CONCLUSION: Researchers need to acknowledge various group differences in concept and/or language that include a specific set of symbols and norms. There is a need to question the philosophical and conceptual appropriateness of an assessment measure that has been conceptualized and operationalized in a different culture. Additionally, testing different response formats such as narrowing response range can be considered to reduce bias.
Attitude of Health Personnel/ethnology ; Attitude to Health/ethnology ; Bias (Epidemiology) ; Communication Barriers ; *Cross-Cultural Comparison ; Data Collection/*methods/standards ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic/methods/standards ; Nursing Assessment ; Nursing Research/*methods/standards ; Philosophy, Nursing ; Psychometrics ; Reproducibility of Results ; Research Design/standards ; Researcher-Subject Relations/psychology ; Transcultural Nursing/*methods/standards ; Translating

BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis is developed by progressive decrease of bone rnass from decreased collagen content of bone. Accurate measurement of bone collagen is necessary for the diagnosis of osteoporosis and it is possible by bone biopsy, however bone biopsy is not easy in clinical practice. Skin collagen is consist with type I collagen which is same type of bone collagen and progressive decrease of bone collagen is reflected by decrease of skin collagen. Since skin thickness reflect skin collagen amount, skin thickness measurement may be a useful method for the evaluation of osteoporosis. So ultrasonic skin thickness measurement was developed for the evaluation of osteoporosis. METHODS: A randomly selected 200 women aged fram 30 to 71 years old were asked to have their skin thickness measured as well as lumbar vertebral DXA(Norland, USA) bone densitometry. Except for the two women who failed to complete the study, 45(22.7%) of these women were diagnosed as normal, 74(37.4%) were osteopenic and 79(39.9%) were diagnosed as osteoporosis patients using the WHO criteria. Skin thickness was measured using 20MHz Osteoson DCIII (Minhorst, Germany) at the medial side of the upper arm. A minimal of Two scans were measured and the mean value was cakulated automatically. RESULTS: The correlation coefficient of skin thickness and age was -0.121(ns), DXA BMD(bone mineral density) and age was -0.420(P<0.01), skin thickness and DXA BMD L2-L4 was 0.181(P<0.05). Skin thickness was significantly correlated with body weight(correlation coefficient 0.254, P<0.01) and BMI(correlation coefficient 0.195, P<0.01). Furthermore, the mean and standard deviation of skin thickness in normal BMD group was 0.94+-0.021mm, osteopenic group was 0.92+-0.006mm, and osteoporotic group was 0.89+-0.018mm. There was statistically significant difference in the mean values of skin thickness between the three groups even adjusted with age and BMI(P<0.05). The mean and standard deviation of skin tbickness of healthy 20-40 year old women was 1.11+-0,023mm and their mean and standard deviation of L2-L4 mean BMD was 1.17+-0.145mg/cm2. The diagnostic predictability of skin thickness less than 1mm as the risk of osteoporosis(BMD T score less than -1.0) was evaluated. The sensitivity and the specificity of skin thickness less than 1mm being osteoporotic were 78,2% and 57.8% respectively. The positive and negative predictive value of the skin thickness less than 1mm being osteoporotic were 82.2% and 36.5% respectively. CONCLUSION: This study indicate that the skin thickaess measured with the ultrasound method show good correlatian with the bone density measured with conventional DXA at the lumbar vertebra and the skin thickness less than 1mm on the medial side of the opper arm is relatively sensitive in diagnosing osteoporosis risk in Korean women. The authors suggested that a large randomized control study to define the relationship between the skin thickness and the other determinants of bone turnover in the near future.
Aged ; Arm ; Biopsy ; Bone Density ; Collagen ; Collagen Type I ; Densitometry ; Diagnosis* ; Female ; Humans ; Osteoporosis ; Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Skin* ; Spine ; Ultrasonics ; Ultrasonography

In order to assess the efficiency of Percoll gradient centrifugation(PGC) as a method of sperm selection, we have examined morphological characteristics of spermatozoa from 40 teratozoospermic patients attending the Infertility Clinic of Inchon Gil Gerneral Hospital. Patients were divided into three groups according to percentage normal morphology in the fresh sample : group A(n=5), < 5% normal morphology : group B(n=21), 5~14% normal morphology : and group C(n=14), > 14% normal morphology. Morphology slides were perpared using Diff-Quik staining techniques and evaulated by Kruger strict criteria, under oil immersion at a magnification of X 1000, specific defects, head, neck and tail were assesed individualy. The results were as follows. 1. Following PGC, sperm samples with enhanced morphology were recovered for all groups. 2. For group A, PGC did not select a sample with significantly improved morphological characteristics. 3. Usually, sperm defects affected by PGC was head and neck. No significant difference was found for tail abnormality. In conclusion, Percoll gradient centrifugation is an efficient sperm preparation technique when the semen sample exhibits teratozoospermia, especially head or neck abnormality. However, in sample with < 5% normal form or tail abnormality, There is not significant improvement following PGC.
Centrifugation* ; Equidae ; Head ; Humans* ; Immersion ; Incheon ; Infertility ; Neck ; Semen ; Spermatozoa*

No abstract available.
Aspergillosis*

A case of isolated hypoaldosteronism 5 month old male infant was presented. He was admitted to the pediatric ward with the chief complants of frequent vomiting, dehydration, lethargy and failure to thrive. The diagnosis was established by salt-losing manifestation, laboratory fiding and good response after salt-retaining steroid therapy. A brief review of related literatures were also presented.
Dehydration ; Diagnosis ; Failure to Thrive ; Humans ; Hypoaldosteronism ; Infant ; Lethargy ; Male ; Vomiting

We report a case of primary fibroepithelial polyp of the right midureter. The patient was a 41-year-old-woman, complaining of right flank pain. An excretory urogram revealed right hydronephrosis and a filling defect of the the right midureter. The filling defect was produced by a large fibroepithelial polyp that was diagnosed and removed by ureteroscopy without open surgery. Large fibroepithelial ureteral polyps are relatively rare and ureteroscopy is the gold standard of diagnosis for ureteral filling defect.
Adult ; Case Report ; *Endoscopy ; Female ; Human ; Polyps/pathology/*surgery ; Ureter/pathology/*surgery ; Ureteral Neoplasms/pathology/*surgery ; Ureteroscopy

No abstract available.
Hyponatremia* ; Hypopituitarism*