Body surface potential map, an electric potential distribution on the body torso surface, enables us to infer the electrical activities of the heart. Therefore, observing electric potential projected to the torso surface can be highly useful for diagnosing heart diseases such as coronary occlusion. The BSPM for the heart of a patient show a higher level of sensitivity than 12-lead ECG. Relevant research has been mostly based on clinical statistics obtained from patients, and, therefore, a simulation for a variety of pathological phenomena of the heart is required. In this study, by using computer simulation, a body surface potential map was implemented according to various occlusion locations (distal, mid, proximal occlusion) in the left anterior descending coronary artery. Electrophysiological characteristics of the body surface during the ST segment period were observed and analyzed based on an ST isointegral map. We developed an integrated system that takes into account the cellular to organ levels, and performed simulation regarding the electrophysiological phenomena of the heart that occur during the first 5 minutes (stage 1) and 10 minutes (stage 2) after commencement of coronary occlusion. Subsequently, we calculated the bipolar angle and amplitude of the ST isointegral map, and observed the correlation between the relevant characteristics and the location of coronary occlusion. In the result, in the ventricle model during the stage 1, a wider area of ischemia led to counterclockwise rotation of the bipolar angle; and, during the stage 2, the amplitude increased when the ischemia area exceeded a certain size.
Cardiac Electrophysiology* ; Computer Simulation* ; Coronary Occlusion ; Coronary Vessels* ; Electrocardiography ; Electrophysiological Phenomena ; Electrophysiology ; Heart ; Heart Diseases ; Humans ; Ischemia ; Torso

To evaluate the role of capsular polysaccharide (CPS) as a virulence factor, the interaction of V. vulnificus with mouse peritoneal macrophages and serum, which are involved in the clearance of bacteria from blood and other tissues, were examined. In this study, MO6-24/0 (wild strain; hemolysin- and capsule-positive), MO6-24/I' (acapsular spontaneous mutant), CVD 752 (acapsular transposon mutant), and CVD 707 (hemolysin-negative and capsule-positive mutant) were used. The strain with CPS (MO6-24/0 and CVD 707) were more resistant to phagocytosis by mouse peritoneal macrophages compared with acapsular strains (MO6-24/T and CVD 752), and the resistance to phagocytosis was not changed by serum opsonin in the capsular strains. Acapsular strains were more susceptible to serum bactericidal activity than the capsular strains through the classical complement pathway. MO6-24/0 strain were detected in blood, spleen, liver and lung at 4 hours after intraperitoneally infection, whereas CVD 752 were not detected. All tested strains could induced the transcription of inflammatory cytokine gene such as IL-1, IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-u, and their inductions were not decreased by cytochalasin B treatment. This results demonstrate that CPS of V. vulnificus plays an important role in V. vulnificus infection through interfering nonspecific host defense system such as blood clearance and phagocytosis.
Animals ; Bacteria ; Complement Pathway, Classical ; Cytochalasin B ; Interleukin-1 ; Interleukin-10 ; Interleukin-6 ; Liver ; Lung ; Macrophages, Peritoneal ; Mice ; Phagocytosis ; Spleen ; Vibrio vulnificus* ; Vibrio* ; Virulence*

BACKGROUND: Pertechnetate ( Tc) has been widely employed for thyroid imaging. While pertechnetate and radioiodide have usually similar results in identifying thyroid nodules, occasionally differences have been noted. We intended to observe that the thyroid nodules which appeared to be hot on pertechnetate and to compare them with the images by radioiodide. METHODS: 'I scan was performed to thirty-eight cases (mean age: 48.9 +/- 13.2) presenting as hot nodule on Tc scan. Thyroid function test and pathologic diagnosis were obtained in all patients. RESULTS: Of the 38 patients, 24 had euthyroidism, 13 had hyperthyroidism, and 1 had hypothyroidism. Thirty patients had adenomatous goiter, 4 papillary carcinoma, 3 Hashimotos thyroiditis, and 1 had HQrthle cell tumor. 28 of 38 patients showed similar images, but the remaining 10 patients(26.3%) revealed discordant images on Tc and 131I scan. Among the concordant cases, 23 had adenomatous goiter, 3 had papillary carcinoma, and 2 had Hashimotos thyroiditis. Among the discordant cases, 7 had adenomatous goiter, 1 had papillary carcinoma, 1 had Hashimotos thyroiditis, and 1 had HQrthle cell tumor. The incidence of malignancy was 10.7% of concordant cases, and 20% of discordant cases and was revealed statistically insignificant (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: We observed higher incidence of malignancy in patients presenting hot nodules on 99mTc scan than ever reported. Fine needle aspiration should be performed to all patients with hot nodules and the 'I scan would not be recommended for further diagnostic study.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; Diagnosis ; Goiter ; Humans ; Hyperthyroidism ; Hypothyroidism ; Incidence ; Sodium Pertechnetate Tc 99m ; Thyroid Function Tests ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Nodule ; Thyroiditis

No abstract available.
Diagnosis* ; Polycystic Kidney Diseases*

PURPOSE: This study was done to identify the state of internet addiction and to investigate the relationships among internet addiction, depression and suicidal ideation in adolescents. METHOD: Participants were 1,670 high school students in an urban city. The Internet Addiction Scale was used to measure internet addiction, the DISC-MDD-SQ was used to measure depression, and the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire-JR was used to measure suicidal ideation. RESULT: 38.1% of participants were perceived to be in the early stages of internet addiction and 1.5% reported heavy addiction. Overall the internet addiction scale score was 37.57(+/-12.52). The differences of internet addiction in sample characteristics were found to be significant in rank in class. The differences in DISC-MDD-SQ and IAS scores among the states of internet addiction were statistically significant. The level of internet addiction correlated positively to the level of depression and suicidal ideation. CONCLUSION: Based upon these findings, there were significant positive correlations among Internet addiction, depression, and suicidal ideation in adolescents. As schools are often the first line for the identification of potential life-threatening behaviors, nurses, especially school-based health professionals, need to be cognizant of measures and procedures for the assessment of Internet addiction, depression, and suicidal ideation.
Adolescent ; *Adolescent Psychology ; Behavior, Addictive/diagnosis/*psychology ; Depression/diagnosis/*psychology ; Female ; Humans ; *Internet ; Male ; Suicide/*psychology

PURPOSE: Suicide is a major concern for increasing mortality in bipolar patients, but risk factors for suicide in bipolar disorder remain complex, including Korean patients. Medical records of bipolar patients were retrospectively reviewed to detect significant clinical characteristics associated with suicide attempts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 579 medical records were retrospectively reviewed. Bipolar patients were divided into two groups with the presence of a history of suicide attempts. We compared demographic characteristics and clinical features between the two groups using an analysis of covariance and chi-square tests. Finally, logistic regression was performed to evaluate significant risk factors associated with suicide attempts in bipolar disorder. RESULTS: The prevalence of suicide attempt was 13.1% in our patient group. The presence of a depressive first episode was significantly different between attempters and nonattempters. Logistic regression analysis revealed that depressive first episodes and bipolar II disorder were significantly associated with suicide attempts in those patients. CONCLUSION: Clinicians should consider the polarity of the first mood episode when evaluating suicide risk in bipolar patients. This study has some limitations as a retrospective study and further studies with a prospective design are needed to replicate and evaluate risk factors for suicide in patients with bipolar disorder.
Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Bipolar Disorder/*complications/*psychology ; Depressive Disorder/complications/*psychology ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Suicide, Attempted/*psychology/statistics & numerical data ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes of causes, clinical features, and functional outcomes in childhood strokes. METHOD: This study included 152 patients, aged from 1 to 18 years, who were diagnosed with stroke and admitted to a tertiary hospital between January 2000 and April 2004. All medical records and neurologic images of the patients were reviewed. A parental questionnaire was used to investigate patients' functional outcomes. These results were compared with those of the previous study performed in the same hospital in 2001. RESULTS: The number of hemorrhagic stroke was 78 (51.3%) and that of ischemic stroke was 74 (48.7%). When compared to the previous study, the incidence of hemorrhagic stroke especially above the age of 10 years decreased and that of ischemic stroke below the age of 10 years increased. The causes of stroke were arteriovenous malformation (AVM, 42.8%), Moyamoya disease (37.5%), vasculitis (5.3%), cardiac disease (3.9%), hematologic disease (2.0%), and undetermined (8.5%). Common clinical features were headache (53.8%), vomiting (43.6%) and loss of consciousness (28.2%) in the hemorrhagic stroke, and hemiparesis (94.6%), headache (35.1%) and speech disorder (31.1%) in the ischemic stroke. 86.0% of the hemorrhagic and 64.8% of the ischemic stroke patients were categorized in the 'good' outcome group. CONCLUSION: The incidence of ischemic stroke increased to the similar level of hemorrhagic stroke. The most common causes were AVM in the hemorrhagic and Moyamoya disease in the ischemic stroke. Most of these patients showed good functional outcome, regardless of the causes of stroke.
Aged ; Arteriovenous Malformations ; Child ; Headache ; Heart Diseases ; Hematologic Diseases ; Humans ; Incidence ; Medical Records ; Moyamoya Disease ; Parents ; Paresis ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Stroke ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Unconsciousness ; Vasculitis ; Vomiting

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Temporary soft relining materials are used in a diverse clinical situations such as tissue conditioner, relining material, functional impression by varying its viscoelasticity. However, reproduction of consistent viscoelasticity has been not possible. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Considering setting mechanism of this material, this study has measured the effect of varying amount of void in dynamic viscoelasticity of soft relining material, with three different mixing methods. In each methods 10 specimens were made and subjected to dynamic viscoelastic test which were measured at specific times over period of 72 hours. RESULTS: The analysis of the result shown that there was no statistically significant differences between different mixing methods. CONCLUSION: Different mixing methods had no effect over control of viscoelasticity of soft lining material. Further research is recommended for under similar oral environmental condition.
Reproduction

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to define the role of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors (COX-2i) in reducing hepatic fibrosis in pediatric patients with chronic liver disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From September 2009 to September 2010, patients over 2 years old who visited our outpatient clinic for follow-up to manage their chronic liver disease after Kasai portoenterostomy for biliary atresia, were included in this study. Volunteers were assigned to the study or control groups, according to their preference. A COX-2i was given to only the study group after obtaining consent. The degree of hepatic fibrosis (liver stiffness score, LSS) was prospectively measured using FibroScan, and liver function was examined using serum analysis before and after treatment. After 1 year, changes in LSSs and liver function were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Twenty-five patients (18 females and 7 males) were enrolled in the study group. The control group included 44 patients (26 females and 18 males). After 1 year, the least square mean values for the LSSs were significantly decreased by 3.91±0.98 kPa (p=0.004) only in the study group. Serum total bilirubin did not decrease significantly in either group. CONCLUSION: COX-2i treatment improved the LSS in patients with chronic liver disease after Kasai portoenterostomy for biliary atresia.
Biliary Atresia/complications/enzymology/*surgery ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Chronic Disease ; Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors/*therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis/etiology/pathology/*prevention & control ; Male ; *Portoenterostomy, Hepatic ; Thiazines/*therapeutic use ; Thiazoles/*therapeutic use

The July issue of Clinical Endoscopy deals with selected articles covering the state-of-the-art lectures delivered during the 50th seminar of the Korean Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (KSGE) on March 30, 2014, highlighting educational contents pertaining to either diagnostic or therapeutic gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy, which contain fundamental and essential points in GI endoscopy. KSGE is very proud of its seminar, which has been presented twice a year for the last 25 years, and hosted more than 3,500 participants at the current meeting. KSGE seminar is positioned as one of premier state-of-the-art seminars for endoscopy, covering topics for novice endoscopists and advanced experts, as well as diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy. The 50th KSGE seminar consists of more than 20 sessions, including a single special lecture, concurrent sessions for GI endoscopy nurses, and sessions exploring new technologies. Nine articles were selected from these prestigious lectures, and invited for publication in this special issue. This introductory review, prepared by the editors of Clinical Endoscopy, highlights core contents divided into four sessions: upper GI tract, lower GI tract, pancreatobiliary system, and other specialized topic sessions, including live demonstrations and hands-on courses.
Endoscopy ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal* ; Lectures ; Lower Gastrointestinal Tract ; Publications ; Upper Gastrointestinal Tract