The distribution of fibronectin and laminin in early chick embryos has been studied by immunohistochemical method. Fibronectin was detected not only at the basement membranes of neural tube, dorsal aortae and somites but also at the entire mesenchyme area. But laminin only appeared at the basement membranes. During the development of chick embryo, the distribution pattern of these glycoproteins was not changed but showed strong intensity of staining. The dorsal aorta of a 2-day-old chick embryo had several layer of fibronectin-producing cells, but was devoid of laminin. Laminin expression commenced faintly after Day 3. In the brain capillary wall, fibronectin was distributed but laminin was not at Day 10. In the cardiac jelly, fibronectin was detected as thin dotted strands but laminin was not expressed at Day 2. Along the endocardium, fibronectin was detected but laminin was not found. After Day 3, fibronectin was found as increased in endocardium, myocardium and cardiac jelly, whereas laminin expression commenced. Cushion mesenchymal cell migration and development of myocardial trabeculae were inhibited by antifibronectin injected in the cardiac jelly but not anti-laminin. Conclusively, this study suggests that fibronectin and laminin are glycoproteins in the extracellular matrix but there is a difference between their distributions. Cushion mesenchymal cell migration from endocardium and development of trabeculae in chick embryonic heart are inhibited by anti-fibronectin. This result suggests that fibronectin is a `stepping stone` for the embryonic migrating cells and triggers cell migration. But laminin may not serve as a matrix for cell migration.
Animals ; Aorta ; Basement Membrane ; Brain ; Capillaries ; Cell Movement ; Chick Embryo* ; Endocardium ; Extracellular Matrix ; Fibronectins* ; Glycoproteins ; Heart ; Laminin* ; Mesoderm ; Myocardium ; Neural Tube ; Somites

The purpose of this study is to estimate the minimum optimal scale(MOS) of the self-employed health insurance associations. Considering the high proportion of operating expenses, the author have selected 254 regional health insurance associations from the 1990 Finance Report of the self-employed health insurance programs. both a quadratic function and a hyperbolic function were chosen for the analysis. The dependent variables are the average maintenance cost per insured person and per household, and the independent variables are the number of insured members and of household. The minimum optimal scale was obtained from the differentiation of the quadratic function. Major findings are summarized as follows: 1. The M.O.S. was calculated as 166,174 members (27,442 households) for the rural self-employed health insurance associations and 258,462 members (75,446 households) for the urban. Providing that both the rural and urban health insurance associations would e integrated, the M.O.S. be found to become 231,687 members (68,101 households) 2. Compared with the optimal minimum scale, the magnitude of the current health insurance association found to be much smaller, less than half of the optimal scale. 3. In order to reduce the operating cost, it is necessary to enlarge the operational scale of self-employed health insurance associations.
Family Characteristics ; Humans ; Insurance ; Insurance, Health* ; Korea* ; Urban Health

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The recent introduction of computerized surveillance systems has promoted the monitoring of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), a feature that facilitates voluntary reports and enables prompt feedback. To investigate the causative agents and severity of ADRs that occurred in a single hospital, we analyzed the features of 980 ADRs that occurred over 14 months after developing a computerized ADR reporting system in Hallym Sacred Heart Hospital. METHODS: ADR data collected prospectively from September 2007 to October 2008 by a computerized reporting system were analyzed. The World Health Organization-Uppsala Monitoring Center (WHO-UMC) criteria were used to determinate causality for each ADR. RESULTS: The number of ADR cases reported voluntarily increased rapidly since the introduction of the computerized ADR reporting system. Of the 980 cases, antibiotics (34.5%) were the most common causative drugs, followed by analgesics such as tramadol and its compound (15.2%), radiocontrast media (7.0%), narcotics (5.9%), and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (5.5%). Fifty-nine (6.0%) and 206 (21.0%) cases were classified as severe and moderate reactions, respectively. The mean age was older in patients with severe ADRs than in patients with non-severe ADRs. The most common clinical features were skin manifestations, such as pruritus, skin eruptions, and urticaria. Gastrointestinal symptoms including nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea were the second most frequently reported ADRs. Among antibiotics, first-generation cephalosporins were the most frequently reported causative drugs, followed by second-generation cephalosporins, penicillin/beta-lactamase inhibitors, and third-generation cephalosporins. While 11.6% of ADRs related to penicillin/beta-lactamase inhibitors were classified as severe, there was only one severe ADR (1.1%) for first-generation cephalosporins. Most ADRs were reported equally in men and women, although female cases constituted about two thirds of ADRs associated with tramadol and NSAIDs. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that a computerized reporting and replying system promoted the monitoring of ADRs. Antibiotics were reported most frequently as the causative agent of ADRs. Elderly patients seemed to be more susceptible to severe ADRs. With the voluntary reporting system, skin manifestations and gastrointestinal symptoms were detected successfully, while laboratory abnormalities without prominent symptoms seemed to be overlooked. Further efforts to screen for automated ADR signals are required.
Aged ; Analgesics ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; Cephalosporins ; Contrast Media ; Diarrhea ; Drug Toxicity ; Electronics ; Electrons ; Female ; Heart ; Humans ; Male ; Narcotics ; Nausea ; Prospective Studies ; Pruritus ; Skin ; Skin Manifestations ; Tramadol ; Urticaria ; Vomiting ; World Health ; World Health Organization