The frequent occurrence of hematuria in children necessitates diagnostic evaluation. Hematuria may occur with either renal or lower urinary tract disease. Clarification of the etiology of hematuria, whether microscopic or gross, is facilited by localizing the site of bleeding to the kidney (glomerular) or the lower urinary tract (non-glomerular). The mean cellular volume (MCV) of urinary red blood cells (RBCs) of pediatric patients with glomerular (group I; n=77) and non-glomerular (group II; n=34) hematuria was determined using Coulter Counter Model S plus IV. We found that re blood cells of glomerular origin had a smaller volume than non-glomerular cells(73.79 9.75 m3 vs 83.55 3.77 m3, p<0.001). If an urinary MCV equal to 80.56 m3 was taken as the cut-off value between glomerular and non-glomerular hematuria, a correct assessment of the site of bleeding was made in 89 (80%) of the 111 patients studied (sensitivity 76%, specificity 88%). The ratio of the urinary erythrocyte MCV to that in blood(Umcv/Bmcv) was compared with the diagnosis. If an Umcv/Bmcv ratio equal to 0.95 was taken as the cut-off value between glomerular and non-glomerular hematuria, a correct assessment of the site of bleeding was made in 93 (83%) of the 111 patients studied (sensitivity 79.6%, specificity 94%). Coulter counter analysis of urine provides a simple noninvasive and objective aid to the diagnosis of hematurai. This test, when used early in the management of pediatric patients with hematuria, may help to avoid invasive investigations.
Blood Cells ; Child ; Diagnosis ; Erythrocytes* ; Hematuria* ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Kidney ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Urinary Tract ; Urologic Diseases

PURPOSE: This study was designed to evaluate the clinical and radiographical results of anatomical reconstruction by Chen method for chronic lateral ankle instability. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifteen patients with chronic lateral ankle instability who had undergone anatomical reconstruction of anterior talofibular and calcaneofibular ligaments by Chen method were evaluated retrospectively. Average age of the patients was 31.3 years, and average follow-up period was 15.5 months. Preoperative and postoperative radiographs including varus stress view and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were analyzed. The clinical evaluation was performed according to the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) scale. RESULTS: Radiographically average talar tilt angle was 15.3degrees preoperatively, and the difference with contralateral normal side was 10.1degrees. At last follow up, talar tile angle and the difference with contralateral side improved to 5.9degrees and 1.3degrees respectively. AOFAS scale was 66.6 preoperatively and 87.3 postoperatively. In MRI findings, four patients had associated intra-articular lesion such as articular cartilage defect, synovitis and osteoarthritis. The talar tilt angle improvement and AOFAS scale of patients without intra-articular lesion was better than those of four patients with intra-articular lesions. Surgical wound pain occurred in six patients and sural neuropathy in three patients. CONCLUSION: The anatomical reconstruction by Chen method was an easy and effective procedure for symptomatic chronic lateral ankle instability. Careful operative technique may prevent the surgical wound pain and sural neuropathy.
Animals ; Ankle ; Cartilage, Articular ; Follow-Up Studies ; Foot ; Humans ; Ligaments ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Organic Chemicals ; Osteoarthritis ; Retrospective Studies ; Synovitis

Calcifying fibrous pseudotumor is an uncommon benign soft tissue lesion that is newly recognized in the literature. It predominately occurs in young adults and it is mainly located in the extremities, trunk and neck. The pathologic features of calcifying fibrous pseudotumor are characterized by a hyalinized fibrous stroma, psammomatous or dystrophic calcifications and chronic inflammatory cells. The pathogenesis of calcifying fibrous pseudotumor is uncertain. Total excision of the lesion is curative and recurrence is rare. We report here on a case of calcifying fibrous pseudotumor of the spermatic cord that was discovered as a palpable inguinal mass in a 24-year-old man.
Extremities ; Granuloma, Plasma Cell ; Humans ; Hyalin ; Neck ; Recurrence ; Spermatic Cord* ; Young Adult

Abattoirs ; Agriculture ; Animals ; Drug Resistance, Multiple ; Farmers ; Korea ; Livestock ; Methicillin Resistance ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; Multilocus Sequence Typing ; Phenotype ; Prevalence ; Red Meat ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Swine ; Tetracycline ; Zinc

The emergence of livestock-associated (LA)-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in livestock animal has become a significant zoonotic concern. In the present study, we investigated nationwide prevalence of LA-MRSA across pork production chain including pig farms, slaughterhouses, and retail markets. A total of 40 MRSA strains were isolated during the investigation and the overall prevalence of MRSA was 3.4% (n = 37), 0.6% (n = 2), and 0.4% (n = 1) in pig farms, slaughterhouses, and retail markets, respectively. Multilocus sequence typing analyses revealed that the 2 most significant clonal lineages in pork production chain in Korea were ST398 (n = 25) and ST541 (n = 6). All of the 40 MRSA isolates were further characterized to investigate key genotypic and phenotypic correlates associated with the emergence and spread of clonal complex 398 (CC398; ST398, and ST541) LA-MRSA. Although the prevalence of swine-associated MRSA was still relatively low and mostly restricted to pig farms, multidrug-resistant CC398 LA-MRSA isolates with new spa types (t18102 and t18103) were identified as a major clonal lineage. The CC398 LA-MRSA strains tended to exhibit increased levels of multiple drug resistance (MDR) phenotype compared with non-CC398 MRSA strains. Of note, in comparison with non-CC398 MRSA isolates, CC398 LA-MRSA isolates exhibited significantly enhanced tetracycline (TET) and zinc resistance. These findings suggested that co-selection pressure associated with MDR phenotype, especially TET resistance, and zinc resistance may have played a significant role in the emergence and persistence of CC398 LA-MRSA in pig farms in Korea.

The emergence and prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) in livestock animals have become a worldwide public health concern. While the prevalence and genetic profiles of MRSA strains in pigs and pork meat have been actively studied, livestock-associated MSSA strains have only been characterized in a few small-scale studies. In this investigation, we assessed the nationwide prevalence of MSSA in the Korean pig production chain, including pig farms, slaughterhouses, and retail markets. Among the 41 MSSA strains, the predominant clonal lineages were sequence type (ST) 398 (n = 15, 37%) and ST5 (n = 13, 32%). Although the overall prevalence of MSSA (2.58%) was low and mostly restricted to pig farms, ST398 MSSA strains showed higher level of multidrug resistance phenotype versus non-ST398 MSSA strains. In addition to the MDR phenotype, all of the ST398 MSSA strains exhibited resistance to tetracycline as they harbored the tet(K), tet(L), and/or tet(M) genes. However, ST398 MSSA strains did not exhibit increased resistance to zinc compared with the non-ST398 strains. This study is the first to provide evidence of ST398 MSSA emergence in livestock animals in Korea. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the potential of ST398 MSSA strains for human transmission. Our findings suggest that the MDR phenotype and high levels of tetracycline resistance may have played an important role in the emergence and prevalence of ST398 MSSA in pig farms in Korea.
Abattoirs ; Agriculture ; Animals ; Drug Resistance, Multiple ; Humans ; Korea ; Livestock ; Meat ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; Phenotype ; Prevalence ; Public Health ; Red Meat ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Staphylococcus ; Swine ; Tetracycline ; Tetracycline Resistance ; Zinc

The emergence of livestock-associated (LA)-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in livestock animal has become a significant zoonotic concern. In the present study, we investigated nationwide prevalence of LA-MRSA across pork production chain including pig farms, slaughterhouses, and retail markets. A total of 40 MRSA strains were isolated during the investigation and the overall prevalence of MRSA was 3.4% (n = 37), 0.6% (n = 2), and 0.4% (n = 1) in pig farms, slaughterhouses, and retail markets, respectively. Multilocus sequence typing analyses revealed that the 2 most significant clonal lineages in pork production chain in Korea were ST398 (n = 25) and ST541 (n = 6). All of the 40 MRSA isolates were further characterized to investigate key genotypic and phenotypic correlates associated with the emergence and spread of clonal complex 398 (CC398; ST398, and ST541) LA-MRSA. Although the prevalence of swine-associated MRSA was still relatively low and mostly restricted to pig farms, multidrug-resistant CC398 LA-MRSA isolates with new spa types (t18102 and t18103) were identified as a major clonal lineage. The CC398 LA-MRSA strains tended to exhibit increased levels of multiple drug resistance (MDR) phenotype compared with non-CC398 MRSA strains. Of note, in comparison with non-CC398 MRSA isolates, CC398 LA-MRSA isolates exhibited significantly enhanced tetracycline (TET) and zinc resistance. These findings suggested that co-selection pressure associated with MDR phenotype, especially TET resistance, and zinc resistance may have played a significant role in the emergence and persistence of CC398 LA-MRSA in pig farms in Korea.

BACKGROUND: We hypothesized that induction of general anesthesia using sevoflurane improves the accuracy of non-invasive hemoglobin (SpHb) measurement of Masimo Radical-7(R) Pulse CO-Oximetry by inducing peripheral vasodilation and increasing the perfusion index (PI). The aim of this study is to investigate the change in the SpHb and the PI measured by Rad7 during induction of general anesthesia using sevoflurane. METHODS: The laboratory hemoglobin (Hb(lab)) was measured before surgery by venous blood sampling. The SpHb and the PI was measured twice; before and after the induction of general anesthesia using sevoflurane. The changes of SpHb, Hb(bias) (Hb(bias) = SpHb - Hb(lab)), and PI before and after the induction of general anesthesia were analyzed using a paired t-test. Also, a Pearson correlation coefficient analysis was used to analyze the correlation between the Hb(bias) and the PI. RESULTS: The SpHb and the PI were increased after the induction of general anesthesia using sevoflurane. There was a statistically significant change in the Hb(bias) from -2.8 to -0.7 after the induction of general anesthesia. However, the limit of agreement (2 SD) of the Hb(bias) did not change after the induction of general anesthesia. The Pearson correlation coefficient between the Hb(bias) and the PI was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: During induction of general anesthesia using sevoflurane, the accuracy of SpHb measurement was improved and precision was not changed. The correlation between Hb(bias) and PI was not significant.
Anesthesia, General* ; Perfusion* ; Vasodilation

PURPOSE: E2F3 is important for cell cycle regulation and DNA replication. Recent studies have reported that members of the E2F family can play specific and diverse roles in the tumorigenesis of human malignancies, and the E2F3 expression appears to provide a growth advantage to tumor cells by activating cell proliferation in bladder tumors. We studied the prognostic significance of E2F3 expression in bladder cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined the expression of E2F3 with using immunohistochemical staining in the tumor samples from 109 patients suffering with bladder cancer, and we analyzed the prognostic significance of E2F3 according to the grade, stage, recurrence and progression of bladder cancer. RESULTS: We found positive staining for E2F3 in 23 cases (21.1%). The E2F3 expression was correlated with the tumor stage (superficial vs. invasive, p<0.001) and the tumor grade (p=0.001). The E2F3 expression was not correlated with the recurrence and progression of superficial bladder cancer. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, our results showed that the E2F3 expression was observed in a portion of the bladder cancer specimens. These results suggest that E2F3 may contribute to the development of bladder cancer, but it may not play a role as a prognostic factor of bladder cancer.
Carcinogenesis ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Proliferation ; DNA Replication ; E2F3 Transcription Factor ; Humans ; Recurrence ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms* ; Urinary Bladder*

An abrupt increase of intracellular Ca2+ is observed in cells under hypoxic or oxidatively stressed conditions. The dysregulated increase of cytosolic Ca2+ triggers apoptotic cell death through mitochondrial swelling and activation of Ca2+-dependent enzymes. Transglutaminase 2 (TG2) is a Ca2+-dependent enzyme that catalyzes transamidation reaction producing cross-linked and polyaminated proteins. TG2 activity is known to be involved in the apoptotic process. However, the pro-apoptotic role of TG2 is still controversial. In this study, we investigate the role of TG2 in apoptosis induced by Ca2+-overload. Overexpression of TG2 inhibited the A23187-induced apoptosis through suppression of caspase-3 and -9 activities, cytochrome c release into cytosol, and mitochondria membrane depolarization. Conversely, down-regulation of TG2 caused the increases of cell death, caspase-3 activity and cytochrome c in cytosol in response to Ca2+-overload. Western blot analysis of Bcl-2 family proteins showed that TG2 reduced the expression level of Bax protein. Moreover, overexpression of Bax abrogated the anti-apoptotic effect of TG2, indicating that TG2-mediated suppression of Bax is responsible for inhibiting cell death under Ca2+-overloaded conditions. Our findings revealed a novel anti-apoptotic pathway involving TG2, and suggested the induction of TG2 as a novel strategy for promoting cell survival in diseases such as ischemia and neurodegeneration.
*Apoptosis ; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins/metabolism ; Calcimycin/pharmacology ; Calcium/*metabolism ; Caspases/metabolism ; Cell Death ; Cell Survival ; Cytochromes c/metabolism ; Down-Regulation ; GTP-Binding Proteins/*metabolism ; HEK293 Cells ; Hela Cells ; Humans ; Ionophores/pharmacology ; Mitochondria/metabolism ; Transglutaminases/*metabolism ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein/genetics/*metabolism