No Abstract Available.
Clone Cells* ; Cloning, Organism* ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis* ; Mycobacterium*

No abstract available.
Cardiotocography* ; Meconium* ; Pregnancy*

A 35 year old woman, gravid 5, multiparous, was admitted to our department at 6 weeks and 5 days of gestation after being diagnosed with cervical pregnancy. Before the evacuation, the uterine arteries were embolized using angiographic techniques. As a result, dilatation and curettage were performed with minimal hemorrhage. We report one case of cervical pregnancy managed, successfully with preoperative uterine artery embolization and evacuation.
Adult ; Dilatation and Curettage ; Female ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Pregnancy* ; Uterine Artery Embolization* ; Uterine Artery*

No abstract available.
Teratoma*

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Job Competency Scale (JCS) for insurance review nurses working in hospitals. Methods: The initial items were generated through a literature review and interviews with 10 experts. The content validity of the items was evaluated through content validity and face validity tests. Data from 301 insurance review nurses working in hospitals were analyzed using item analysis, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and convergent validity; reliability was tested using Cronbach’s ⍺. Results: The final JCS consisted of 25 items and five factors (knowledge integration, professional ethics, communication and interpersonal relationship, information literacy and problem solving, self-development) that explained 72.4% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the theoretical model comprising 25 items satisfied all goodness-of-fit parameters. Convergent validity was confirmed by the Task Performance Scale for insurance review nurses (r=.53, p<.001). The total Cronbach’s ⍺ score for scale was .94. Conclusion The JCS was found to be a reliable and valid instrument that can be used to measure the job competency of insurance review nurses working in hospitals.

PURPOSE: It is known that single umbilical artery is frequently associated with gastrointestinal or urogenital anomaly, however, routine renal sonography has been debated in healthy neonate with isolated single umbilical artery. This study is designed to determine the usefulness of routine renal sonography in apparently healthy infants with an isolated single umbilical artery. METHODS: Thirty healthy neonates with a single umbilical artery without a major anomaly from January 1995 to July 2002 were enrolled. The authors investigated the clinical background of babies and their mothers after renal sonography after 72 hours of age. When the abnormalities were found at the first renal sonography, the severity of hydronephrosis and degree of obstruction and renal function were analyzed by follow up renal sonography, voiding cystourethrography(VCUG) and technetium-99m-dimercaptosuccinic acid(DMSA) scan or technetium-99m-mercaptoacetyl-triglycerine (MAG3) scan. RESULTS: Among the 30 healthy patients with isolated single umbilical artery, five patients(16.7%) showed abnormalities on first renal sonography with one major(3.3%) and four(13.4%) minor renal anomaly(minimal or mild hydroneohrosis). One major renal anomaly(severe hydronephrosis) showed severe decreased renal function on MAG3 scan without reflux, and the other four minor regressed spontaneously on follow up study. CONCLUSION: The value of routine early renal sonograpy for detecting renal anomaly in healthy infants with an isolated single umbilical artery remained unclear because most of the anomalies would regress spontaneously in the follow up study.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hydronephrosis ; Infant* ; Infant, Newborn ; Mass Screening* ; Mothers ; Single Umbilical Artery*

No Abstract Available.
Humans ; Interleukin-12* ; Interleukin-18* ; Tuberculosis, Pleural*

BACKGROUND: Telomerase activity in precancerous conditions of lung adenocarcinomas has not been well studied. This study is designed to investigate the role of telomerase in premalignant lesions of urethane-induced mouse lung adenocarcinoma. METHODS: We harvested A/J mouse lung tissues at 3, 6, 9, 12, 28, 41, and 48 weeks after intraperitoneal urethane treatment, and classified each lesion in terms of histologic findings. We examined telomerase activity using a modified version of the telomeric repeat amplification protocol assay using both gel-based and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay methods. An immunohistochemical analysis of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) was performed. RESULTS: In urethane-induced mouse lung tissues, it was sequentially developed from hyperplasia, adenoma, and eventually to adenocarcinoma. Telomerase activity began to show a positive level in tissues with no histologically visible nodule after urethane administration. It revealed a statistically significant increase in hyperplasia compared to the "control" lung tissue (p<0.05), which was proportionally elevated relative to adenoma and adenocarcinoma. There was a direct correlation between telomerase activity and the PCNA labeling index (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The elevation of telomerase activity in normal-appearing lung lesions is thought to be a possible marker of early detection of pulmonary adenocarcinoma.
Adenocarcinoma ; Adenoma ; Animals ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Hyperplasia ; Lung ; Mice ; Precancerous Conditions ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen ; Telomerase ; Urethane

OBJECTIVES: To understand the importance of the serum level of Ca-125 among pelvic mass, we performed a study. METHOD: From January to December 1998, we performed the study. Before hysterectomy, we performed a blood sampling to know the serum level of Ca-125, After hysterectomy, we weighed the uterus and measured the thickness of endometrium and other histologic characteristics. RESULTS: We performed my research to 80 peoples. The relation between uterine weight and the serum level of Ca-125 is little, if ever(R2=0.0007), and the relation between the thickness of endometrium and the serum level of Ca-125 is also little, if ever(R2=0.0353). The relation between leiomyoma, the cycle of endometrium and the serum level of Ca-125 were also little, but there was a close relationship between adenomyosis and the serum level of Ca-125. CONCLUSION: There was little relationship between uterine weight and the serum level of Ca-125.
Adenomyosis ; Endometrium ; Female ; Humans ; Hysterectomy* ; Leiomyoma ; Uterus

Mycobacterium tuberculosis infected macrophages can become ineffective at activating CD4+ T cells through presentation of peptide antigens by MHC class II, possibly contributing to the ability of M tuberculosis to persist despite the presence of an intact immune system. Presentation of lipid antigens may help to overcome this problem. CD1 represents the key component of an MHC independent pathway for presentation nonpeptide lipid antigens to T cells. The 38 kDa glycolipoprotein antigen of M. tuberculosis is actively secreted. The antigen induces strong antibody and T-cell responses and provided partial protection against M. tuberculosis infection in mice when it is administered either entrapped in biodegradable microparticles or in the form of a DNA vaccine. But an selective anergy to stimulation with peptide of the 38 kDa was observed in the majority of tuberculosis patients. An 38 kDa antigen has been isolated by affinity chromatography using a monoclonal antibody. This antigen contains some immunosuppressive cell wall associated antigens such as lipoarabinomannan. Therefore, we purified the 38 kDa glycolipoprotein from the culture filtrate of M tuberculosis H37Rv by ammonium sulfate precipitation (55~80%), hydroxylapatite and DEAE-Sephacel column. The purified antigen showed three major bands on isoelectric focusing gel, and two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) analysis of this antigen revealed five distinct spots of the 38 kDa molecular mass. One of five spots had a N-terminal sequence identical to that of the 38 kDa glycolipoprotein (pstS-1). Other protein spots could not determine sequences. An antiserum against the recombinant 38 kDa antigen of M tuberculosis reacted strongly with the purified the 38 kDa antigen.
Ammonium Sulfate ; Animals ; Cell Wall ; Chromatography, Affinity ; DNA ; Durapatite ; Electrophoresis ; Humans ; Immune System ; Isoelectric Focusing ; Macrophages ; Mice ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis* ; Mycobacterium* ; T-Lymphocytes ; Tuberculosis