The prevalence of dermographism in the general population of Korea was studied using a dermographic tester on 1, 074 persons(M: 489, F: 585, M/F= 1/l. 2). The result was summarized as follows: 1. The prevalence of dermographism from the pressure of 4, 800 Gm/sq. cm (pressure 2) was 6. 7%. 2. There were no significant difference in the prevalence between male(6.3%) and female(7%) (p>0. 1). 3, The peak age group of dermographism was third(9.4%), fourth and second decades in decreasing order.
Humans ; Korea ; Prevalence*

A 24-year-old female who have had pseudoxanthoma elasticum for 14 years, showed brownish, umbilicated papules forming serpiginous pattern on the anterior neck, A skin biopsy specimen from the neck lesion revealed epidermal hyperplasia and perforating canal containing basophilic, necrotic materials and degenerated elastic fibers, also showed short, swollen and irregularly clumped elastic fibers in the lower dermis.
Basophils ; Biopsy ; Dermis ; Elastic Tissue ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Neck ; Pseudoxanthoma Elasticum* ; Skin ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine if Pilates gymball exercise can change the electroencephalogram and cognitive function of mentally disabled people. METHODS: Twenty-one mentally disabled people were enrolled in this study. They were assigned randomly to one of two groups: Pilates gymball exercise group (PGEG, n=11), and control group (CG, n=10). The subjects in the PGEG group performed the exercises for 50 minutes a day, three days per week for 6 weeks. The PGEG program consisted of warm up (10 minutes), main workout (30 minutes), and cool down (10 minutes). The main workout consisted of 10 exercise programs. The electroencephalogram (EEG) of Fp1, Fp2, F3, F4, C3, C4, O1, and O2 were measured using an PolyG-I system. The cognitive function was evaluated using a mini-mental state examination (MMSE). The measurements were performed before exercise, and 6 weeks after exercise. Covariance analysis (ANCOVA) was performed to determine the difference between the two groups. RESULTS: A significant difference in Fp1, Fp2, and F3 on the relative alpha power was observed between the PGEG and CG groups (p < 0.05). A significant difference in Fp1 on the relative beta power was observed between the PGEG and CG groups (p < 0.05). No significant difference in the MMSE score was observed between the PGEG and CG groups. CONCLUSION: Pilates gymball exercise did positively change the EEG in the frontal lobe. On the other hand, the effect related to cognitive was limited. Pilates gymball exercise appears to be more effective in facilitating brain stimulation related to cognition.
Brain ; Cognition* ; Electroencephalography* ; Exercise* ; Frontal Lobe ; Hand ; Humans ; Mentally Disabled Persons*

No abstract available.
Jaw* ; Osteoradionecrosis*

No abstract available.
Jaw* ; Osteoradionecrosis*

No abstract available.
Lichens* ; Mucinosis, Follicular*

BACKGROUND: Serratia marcescens proliferates well in a humid environment or soil and is recently considered as an important pathogen for the severe nosocomial infections. this organism is spreads easily by hand-to-hand transmission, and contaminates medical equipment used for invasive procedures, working environment, medications, and soap. METHODS: We investigated the source of an outbreak of bloodstream infections by S. marcescens isolated that occurred during the period from July to December, 2004, at a university hospital in Gyeonggi Province and attempted to intervene in the outbreak and control it. RESULTS: From July to December, 2004, S. marcescens grew from 296 blood culture from 283 patients. The medical charts of the patients were reviewed, and surveillance cultures were taken to identify the outbreak of nosocomial infections and risk factors. Only four cases of infection were identified and all remaining positive blood cultures were due to contamination. Nine isolates randomly selected from the 296 S. marcescens showed an identical pulsed-field gel electrophoresis pattern. To identify the source of infection, environmental culture and hand cultures of the related medical workers were carried out, but S. marcescens was not isolated. CONCLUSION: As the result of aggressive infection control activities, such as re-education on environmental management methods, hand washing techniques, and blood culture sampling techniques, no more S. marcescens had been grown in blood culture since January, 2005.
Cross Infection ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field ; Gyeonggi-do ; Hand ; Hand Disinfection ; Humans ; Infection Control ; Risk Factors ; Serratia marcescens ; Serratia* ; Soaps ; Soil

No abstract available.
Hypothermia* ; Vena Cava, Inferior*

Phosphodiesterase (PDE) 4 inhibitors have been shown to induce the cAMP-mediated signaling pathway by inhibiting cAMP hydrolysis. This study investigated the effect of a PDE4 inhibitor on the expression of the inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER), which is an endogenous inhibitor of CRE- mediated transcription, in osteoblastic cells. RT-PCR analysis revealed that rolipram, a PDE4 inhibitor, stimulates the ICER mRNA in a dose dependent manner. The induction of ICER mRNA expression by rolipram was suppressed by the inhibitors of protein kinase A (PKA) and p38 MAPK, suggesting the involvement of PKA and p38 MAPK activation in ICER expression by rolipram. It was previously shown that rolipram induced the expression of TNF-related activation-induced cytokine (TRANCE, also known as RANKL, ODF, or OPGL) in osteoblasts. This paper provides evidences that a transcriptional repressor like ICER might modulate TRANCE mRNA expression by rolipram in osteoblasts.
3', 5'-Cyclic-Nucleotide Phosphodiesterase/*antagonists & inhibitors ; Animals ; Animals, Outbred Strains ; Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases/metabolism ; DNA-Binding Proteins/genetics/*metabolism ; Gene Expression/drug effects ; Mice ; Osteoblasts/*drug effects/metabolism ; Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors/*pharmacology ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Rolipram/*pharmacology ; Transcription Factors/genetics/*metabolism ; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/metabolism

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Among the physical properties of adhesion luting cement, the aspect that requires the most important factor is the degree of solubility and water sorption. Dissolution or an inadequate due to excessive water sorption inside the oral cavity compromises the while concurrently increasing the susceptibility to secondary dental caries. Susceptibility to dissolution and difficulty of removing remnant cement from the gingival sulcus have hindered the use of dental resin cement in the clinical practice, but the improved characteristics of newer generation resin cements have interest in and enabled resin cements to be widely used in adhesion of fixed prosthesis, such as laminate veneers and all-ceramic crowns. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to compare and analyze the degrees of solubility and water sorption of a variety of resin cements widely used for clinical purposes with different curing methods. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Self-curing resin cements, Avanto(R), CandB(TM) CEMENT and Superbond CandB cements comprised group 1, 2 and 3. The dual-curing resin cements Panavia(TM) F, Calibra(R) and Variolink(R) II were divided into groups 4, 5, and 6, respectively. The investigation was carried out using disc-shaped specimens as specified by ANSI/ADA Specification No. 27. The degree of water sorption, water solubility and lactic acid solubility of each test group was analyzed statistically leading to the following conclusion. RESULTS: The degree of water sorption was shown to increase in the following order : group 6, 5, 4, 2, 1 and 3. There were significant differences between the water sorption of each group. Results of the degree of water solubility were shown to increase in the following order : group 6, 5, 4, 2, 1 and 3. Statistically significant differences were found between each group, with the exception of groups 1 and 3. Finally, the degree of lactic acid solubility was found to increase in the following order : group 6, 5, 4, 2, 3 and 1. Significant differences were found between each group. In general dual-curing resin cements displayed substantially lower values than self-curing resin cements with regard to water sorption, water solubility, and lactic acid solubility. CONCLUSIONS: From the results of this study, dual-curing resin cements show a significantly lower degree of water sorption and solubility than their self-curing counterparts. Clinically, when selecting resin cements, the product with a lower degree of water sorption and solubility are preferred. The results of this study indicate that the use-of dual-curing resin cements is preferable to self-curing cements.
Crowns ; Dental Caries ; Fibrinogen ; Lactic Acid ; Mouth ; Prostheses and Implants ; Resin Cements* ; Resins, Synthetic ; Solubility* ; Water*