PURPOSE: The purposes of this article are to identify CT findings distinguishing nasal polyps, that are the most common cause of the nasal polypiod lesions, from other nasal cavity masses and to identify differential points between benign and malignant masses of nasal cavity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We classified 567 cases of pathologically proved nasal cavity masses into 4 different groups on CT according to the sites of origin and surrounding bone changes. RESULT: The nasal polyps were the most common cause of nasal cavity masses(515/567). Group I had a high diagnostic specificity for the nasal polyps (513/515, 99.6%) although inverted papilloma (8/522) and malignant melanoma(1/522) showed similar CT appearances. The representitive nasal mass of Group Ila was the inverted papilloma (15/24, 66.5% of the inverted papilloma). Group III pattern was seen in 3 cases of benign minor salivary gland tumor and 2 cases of pyogenic granuloma. Group IV suggested malignancy and thus was mostly observed in malignant tumors except I case of inverted papilloma and 1 case of granulomatous necrosis. CONCLUSION: The differential diagnosis between nasal polyps and the other nasal cavity masses is possible by characteristic bone changes and their sites of origin revealed on CT. In addition, it is possible to differentiate malignant masses from benign in most cases.
Diagnosis, Differential* ; Granuloma, Pyogenic ; Nasal Cavity* ; Nasal Polyps* ; Necrosis ; Papilloma, Inverted ; Salivary Glands, Minor ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Some of the proteins of mycobacteria are preferentially associated with the cell wall and are powerful immunogens, and humoral antibody responses to these mycobacterial antigens may occur in patients with tuberculosis. In this study, Triton X-100 solubilized protein (TSP) antigen was isolated from Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv by overnight shaking with 1% Triton X- 100/PMSF and 10-90% ammonium sulfate precipitation. IgG and IgM antibody levels against TSP, crude protein from the unheated cultrue filtrate (CF#) and 30 kDa antigens were determined in the sera of 80 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and 99 healthy controls with PPD (+) and (-). High IgG reactivity to TSP and CF antigen was observed in tuberculosis patients. Mean IgG antibody titers against all of three mycobacterial antigens were differed significantly (P<0.01) between patients and controls but IgM showed no difference. By the cut-off value adding 2 standard deviation to the mean absorbance of controls, the sensitivity and specificity of the IgG antibody to TSP antigen were 93.9% and 77.5%. The specificity to TSP antigen was a litttle higher than those obtained by CF and 30 kDa antigen. From the above results, the TSP antigen may be useful for the serodiagnosis of tuberculosis.
Ammonium Sulfate ; Antibody Formation ; Cell Wall ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis* ; Mycobacterium* ; Neptune* ; Octoxynol* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Serologic Tests ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary*

No abstract available.
Ambulatory Care Facilities* ; Humans ; Outpatients*

Culture of human peripheral T lymphocytes with irnmobilized anti-CD3 rnAb plus IL-2 resulted in a marked proliferation and the enhancing IL-2Ra mRNA expression. The process of the T cell activation involves a series of biochemical events which ultimately lead to the proliferation and IL-2Ra mRNA expression. Although the above results have been observed, the celluar signal mechanisms between the proliferative response and the IL-2Ra mRNA expression through T cell receptor and IL-2 receptor remains unresolved. In the present study, We have used genistein (the selective PTK inhibitor) or chronic PMA treatment (depletion of intracelluar PKC activity), to investigate the role of PTK or PKC both in a synergistic proliferation and in the enhancing IL-2Ra mRNA expression by IL-2/anti-CD3. Genistein (30 ug/ml) completely blocked IL-2 induced T cell proliferation, and inhibited anti-CD3 induced T cell proliferation (93.4%). But genistein downregulated the IL-2Ra mRNA expression by IL-2, anti-CD3 and IL-2/anti-CD3. The chronic PMA treatment failed to inhibit the proliferation and the IL-2R#u mRNA expression by IL-2 alone. But PKC depleted T cells stimulated with anti-CD3 mAb showed the decrease of the proliferation (68.6%) and IL-2Ra mRNA expression. In activated with IL-2/anti- CD3, the proliferative response showed a half of reduction, but the IL-2Ra mRNA expression were not regulated. These results demonstrate that proliferative response to IL-2 appears to be dependent on PTKs activity and independent of PKC involvement, but the IL-2Ra mRNA expression may be required another signals. PTKs and PKC activity may be important in TCR/CD3 signaling. But IL-2/anti-CD3 are coupled up different signal transduction pathways responsible for the synergistic T cell proliferation and the enhancing IL-2Ru mRNA expression.
Cell Proliferation ; Genistein ; Humans ; Interleukin-2* ; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell ; Receptors, Interleukin-2 ; RNA, Messenger* ; Signal Transduction ; T-Lymphocytes

Tumor-draining lymph node (TDLN) lymphocytes contain immunologically sensitized to tumor but functionally deficient T cells. The 30 kDa protein antigen, a major secreted protein antigen of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, exhibits strong T cell stimulatory effect. In this study, it examined that the feasibility of using M tuberculosis 30 kDa antigen to stimulate tumor-draining lymph node cells for the generation of specific immune effector cells. Freshly isolated TDLN lymphocytes could directly respond to the 30 kDa antigen alone and their proliferative responses were markedly augmented by stimulation with rIL-2. TDLN cells were stimulated with the 30 kDa antigen for various time intervals and examined for the induction of IFN-r and IL-4 mRNA using RT-PCR. The expression of IFN-r mRNA was greatly augmented after 1 wk, whereas IL-4 mRNA is markedly decreased after 1 wk. Cytotoxic T cell activities induced by the 30 kDa antigen was also evaluated. TDLN cells stimulated with the 30 kDa antigen alone were able to generate remarkable cytotoxic response to K562 or Daudi cell lines after 6 days of culture. And their cytotoxic effects were highly augmented by stirnulation with rIL-2. These results suggest that the 30 kDa antigen of M. tuberculosis may selectively activate Thl cells of TDLN lymhocytes and induce the cytotoxic T cell activities. In conclusion, the 30 kDa antigen can be used as a biologic response modifier in tumor immunology.
Allergy and Immunology ; Cell Line ; Interleukin-4 ; Lymph Nodes* ; Lymphocytes* ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis* ; Mycobacterium* ; RNA, Messenger ; T-Lymphocytes ; Th1 Cells* ; Tuberculosis

From January 1995 to December 1997, a total of 219 cases pelviscopic surgery was performed at Il Sin Christian Hospital. To evaluate the safty and efficacy of pelviscopic surgery, we reviewed indication of operation, mean age, parity, history of abdominal operation, type of operation, duration of hospitalization and complication retrospectively. The number of pelviscopic surgery have risen from 33 cases in 1995 to 53 cases in 1996 and 133 cases in 1997. The most common indications were 118 cases for ectopic pregnancy (53.9%) and 42 cases for ovarian cyst (19.2%), 20 cases for infertility (9.1%) in order. Among the ovarian cyst, endometrioma was the most common. The mean age of patients was 31+/-6.7 years old and mean parity was 0.77. In most cases, mean blood loss was lesser than 100 cc except 500 cc in LAVH, 150 cc in CISH, 106.7 cc in ectopic mass removal. The postoperative hospital stay was varied from 0 day to 10 days, but usually 2 days. The 26 cases had complicated and the most common complication was fever above 38degrees C. In conclusion, it is evident that pelviscopic surgery is lesser invasive technique, has lower complication rate and shorter the length of hospitalization. So, we expect the number and indication of pelviscopic surgery will be increased in future.
Endometriosis ; Female ; Fever ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Infertility ; Length of Stay ; Ovarian Cysts ; Parity ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Ectopic ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: To investigate the status of health education courses in elementary schools. METHOD: From September to December in 2003, 607 school nurses were surveyed by questionnaires. RESULTS: 1) Of the schools, 32.1% had health education programs as part of the school health service. A higher proportion was found in schools in suburban and rural areas. Mass media in health education was used by 75% of school nurses. Regular classes were more frequently utilized in schools in rural areas, while the classes in health-related subjects were utilized in urban areas. For 20.6% of school nurses, there was a substitute person to provide health care while the nurse was in health education classed, but 94.2% of school nurses found they had to give up health education due to pressure from other health services. 2) Of the nurses, 97.0% felt the need to provide health education courses, but 60.6% insisted that their work load needed to be modified and supplemental personnel were necessary if health education courses were to be provided. 3) More than 30% school nurses responded that educational materials and media, and concern by teachers and administrators were insufficient. 4) School nurses suggested that the content for health education courses should include healthy life and dental health care for students in lower grades, dental health care, sex education and safety for students in middle grades, and sex education and drug abuse prevention for students in higher grades. CONCLUSION: There is an urgent need to provide health education courses in elementary schools but conditions in the schools are not satisfactory. For successful school health services, personnel supplement, modified work loads and sufficient educational materials and media should be in place before health education courses are provided.
Administrative Personnel ; Delivery of Health Care ; Health Education* ; Health Services ; Humans ; Mass Media ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; School Health Services ; Sex Education ; Substance-Related Disorders

OBJECTIVES: The dysfunctional neural networks underlying self-evaluation in schizophrenia are overlapped with the neural structures involved in emotion regulation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of anhedonia on the self-evaluation attitude of patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: Twenty healthy controls and twenty patients with schizophrenia performed a self-evaluation task, presenting a pair of the face (self, familiar other, and unfamiliar other) and word (negative, neutral, and positive noun) at the same time. Participants were asked to evaluate relevance between the pairs by pressing a corresponding button. Relevance rating scores were compared between the groups and were correlated with the severity of physical and social anhedonia. RESULTS: Patients evaluated the condition of a self face with a negative word and a familiar face with a negative word to be more relevant than healthy controls. In the patient group, the scores of relevance rating in the condition of an unfamiliar other face with a negative word were positively correlated with the anhedonia scale scores (physical : r=0.486, p=0.030 ; social : r=0.499, p=0.025). There was no correlation between the self-evaluation attitude and the severity of anhedonia. CONCLUSION: Patients with schizophrenia evaluate themselves badly in only negative circumstances, and anhedonia is not related to self-evaluation, but rather other-evaluation.
Anhedonia* ; Diagnostic Self Evaluation ; Humans ; Schizophrenia*

It has been suggested that depressed thyroid function in infants with RDS is secondary to their respiratory problem. This study was conducted to assess the patterns of change in thyroid hormones in premature infants with and without RDS, and to clarify the role of prematurity versus the effect of illness on these changes. METHOD: Serum TSH, T4, FT4 and T3 concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay in 18 healthy premature infants and 13 premature infants with RDS. Blood samples were collected at birth and at 12-24hrs, 5days and 15days after delivery. RESULTS: 1) Both mean gestational age and birth weight values for premature infants with RDS were not significantly different from those for healthy premature infants. 2) At birth, there were no significant differences in serum TSH, T4, FT4 and T3 concentrations between healthy premature infants and premature infants with RDS(p>0.05). 3) At 12-24hrs of age, premature infants with RDS had significantly premature infants. 4) At 5 and 15days of age, there were no significant differences in serum levles of TSH, T4, FT4, and T3 between healthy premature infants and premature infants with RDS(p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of decreasing thyroid function in premature infants with RDS resembles the pattern of change in ill adult patients, which suggests that these variations are due to illness.
Adult ; Birth Weight ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Parturition ; Radioimmunoassay ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Hormones

We aimed to compare the immune response induced by natural infection with 2009 pandemic influenza A/H1N1 (pH1N1) virus and by monovalent pH1N1 vaccination in children and adolescents. This cross-sectional clinical study was conducted at 3 hospitals in Korea from February to May 2010. A total of 266 healthy subjects aged from 6 months to 18 yr were tested for the presence of the antibody against pH1N1 using hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test. Information about pH1N1 vaccination and laboratory-confirmed pH1N1 infection history was obtained. The overall rate of HI titers of > or = 1:40 against pH1N1 was 38.7%, and the geometric mean titer (GMT) was 20.5. Immunogenicity of pH1N1 vaccination only was reflected by a 41.1% of seroprotection rate and a GMT of 22.5. Immunogenicity of natural infection only was reflected by a 61.0% of seroprotection rate and a GMT of 40.0. GMT was significantly higher in the subjects of natural infection group than in the subjects of pH1N1 vaccination group (P < 0.001). The immune responses induced by natural pH1N1 infection exceed those induced by pH1N1 vaccinations.
Adolescent ; Antibodies, Neutralizing/blood ; Antibody Formation ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests ; Humans ; Infant ; Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype/*immunology/metabolism ; Influenza, Human/epidemiology/*immunology/prevention & control ; Pandemics ; Vaccination