OBJECTIVES: We aimed to develope the Suicide Probability Scale for Adolescent (SPS-A) to evaluate the possibility of suicide behavior in adolescents. METHODS: SPS-A was adminstered to 792 middle and high school students for examining the reliability and validity. RESULTS: SPS-A was found to have significantly high internal consistency and total -subscale score correlations. Factor analysis yielded four factors of negative self-evaluation, hopelessness, suicide idea and hostility, which explained 53.28% of total variables. In the assessment of correlations with other suicide-related scales for the concurrent validity of SPS-A, Rosenberg self-esteem scale and Buss-Durkee hostility scale have significant correlations with SPS-A. However, Children's depression inventory and Hopelessness scale for adolescent did not have significant correlations with SPS-A. CONCLUSION: We concluded that SPS-A had high reliability and validity, which is usefull for evaluating suicide idea in adolescents. This study suggests that hopelessness and depressive symptoms are not for evaluating suicide risk in adolescents, unlike adult group.
Adolescent* ; Adult ; Depression ; Diagnostic Self Evaluation ; Hostility ; Humans ; Reproducibility of Results ; Suicide* ; Weights and Measures

Mesenteric panniculitis is an extremely rare inflammatory condition of the adipose tissue of unknown etiology. It is characterized by extensive, progressive fibrosis of the mesenteric fat tissue, leading to tumor formation. Clinical manifestations vary according to the process involving the structures. Abdominal pain accompanied by nausea, malaise, pyrexia, and weight loss and a poorly defined mass are common presentations. Major pathologic changes include (1) degeneration of mesenteric fat, (2) an inflammatory reaction, and (3) fibrosis of the adipose tissue. We present four patients with an aggressive form of mesenteric pannicultis with characteristic histopathologic features. We discuss the relationship between the histopathologic features and the surgical intervention in these cases.
Abdominal Pain ; Adipose Tissue ; Fever ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Nausea ; Panniculitis, Peritoneal* ; Weight Loss

BACKGROUND: The valve area derived from the Gorlin formula has been used clinically for decades as an index of severity on the assessiment of valve stenosis, in spite of some limitations on Gorlin formula studied in aortic stenosis and mitral bioprostheses. It had been shown that Gorlin valve area varied if the hemodynamic conditions during measurement are changed. Valve resistance has been proposed as an alternative hemodynamic indicator, but initially this index was not used because it was unlikely to remain constant at different flow rates. Recently valve resistance provided a better indices of hemodynamic obstruction than mitral valve area, and these stenotic indices usually estimated by angiographic method and we studied the valve resistance by Doppler echocardiographic measurement. METHOD AND RESULT: To compare the clinical implication about these stenotic indices measured by echcoardiography and cardiac catheterization, we studied 41 patients of mitral stenosis with normal sinus rhythm. The results were as follows ; 1) In catheterization, increased heart rate, mean pressure gradient and decreased diastolic time was observed, but mitral area, resistance, cardiac output and mitral flow was not different. 2) Linear regression analysis showed negative correlation of mitral valve resistance and Gorlin mitral area(echocardiography r=-0.84, catheterization r=-0.84)(p<0.001). 3) Correlation coefficeint of mitral valve area and mitral valve resistance between echocardiography(r=0.87) and catheterization(r=0.82) showed positive correlation(p<0.001). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that mitral valve resistance by echocardiography is a useful method in the evaluation of the severity of mitral stenosis.
Aortic Valve Stenosis ; Bioprosthesis ; Cardiac Catheterization* ; Cardiac Catheters* ; Cardiac Output ; Catheterization ; Catheters ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Doppler* ; Heart Rate ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Mitral Valve Stenosis* ; Mitral Valve*

OBJECTIVES: This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of acute sleep deprivation of 36 hours on cognitive functions, and investigate which region of brain would dysfunction by sleep deprivation. METHODS: We carried out sleep deprivation in the 18 healthy and right handed males in their 20's. We also administered to them Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery and Calculation and Digit Span task of K-WAIS in order to examine cognitive functions before and after sleep deprivations. RESULTS: There were no differences in freedom from distractability, tactile function, visual function, reading, writing, calculation, and intellectual process function. However, motor function, rhythm, receptive speech, expressive speech, memory, and complex verbal arithmetic function decreased after sleep deprivation. In motor function, delayed speed and high fail rate in complex forms of praxis and selectivity of motor acts were observed. In area of receptive speech and expressive speech, understanding of logical and grammatical structure, spontaneous speech, sequencing and filling in items which are grammatically accurate decreased. All these functions related with dysfunction in right hemisphere anterior region. Also in localization scales, the fail rates of right frontal dysfunction scale and right temporal dysfunction scale increased after sleep deprivation. CONCLUSIONS: From these results, we suggest that sleep deprivation has negative effect on the cognitive functions. Especially, sleep deprivation might be associated with dysfunction of anterior region in right hemisphere or subcortical dysfunction.
Adult* ; Brain ; Freedom ; Hand ; Humans ; Logic ; Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery ; Male* ; Memory ; Sleep Deprivation* ; Weights and Measures ; Writing

OBJECTIVES: We investigated the socio-demographic, psychological and behavioral characteristics of the pathological gamblers in horse racing. METHODS: Among 61 horse-racing gamblers, 20 pathological gamblers were diagnosed by DSM-IV criteria, and compared with 18 healthy horse racing spectators. RESULTS: 1) The education level of the pathological gamblers was lower and the duraton of gambling history longer than the healthy horse racing spectators. 2) The number and the amount of the bet of pathological gamblers in one day were higher than those of the healthy horse racing spectator. Especially, the highest amount of money gained of the pathological gambler were significantly larger than that of the healthy horse racing spectators. 3) The pathological gamblers bet with the purpose of restoring loss sum, gaining money, and avoiding dysphoric and negative mood. To be opposed, the healthy horse racing spectator play for rest, pleasure and excitement seeking. 4) The healthy horse racing spectators enjoy pleasure and euphoric mood through horse racing more than the pathological gamblers. However, the pathological gamblers experience repentance after game, and irritable and unstable mood while they were betting. 5) The pathological gamblers could control impulse less than the healthy horse racing spectator because of being habituated to the game. CONCLUSIONS: Horse racing is one of the most popular and legitimate leisure and gambling activities in Korea. In such a legitimate gambling activity, serious pathological gamblers are found frequently and their psychological and societal problems are increasing. Therefore, the prevention and the therapeutic intervention for the pathological gambling would be urgent.
Continental Population Groups* ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Education ; Gambling ; Horses* ; Humans ; Korea ; Leisure Activities ; Pleasure

PURPOSE: To investigate the diameter, the infusion and aspiration rate of 20-, 23- and 25-gauge vitreous cutters, and compare the theoretical and practical intraocular pressure (IOP) change according to the height of the bottle. METHODS: A vitreous cutter was disassembled to measure the actual external and internal diameter. The infusion rate was measured at the height of 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 cm and the suction rate was measured at a pressure of 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 mm Hg for each gauge. IOP during the operation was calculated according to the bottle height and the actual IOP was measured using a mercury sphygmomanometer. RESULTS: The external diameter of the 20-, 23- and 25-gauge was 900, 596, and 500 mm, respectively, and the internal diameter was 670, 450, and 380 mm, respectively. The infusion rate increased in direct proportion to the bottle height. The aspiration rate increased as the pressure increased. However, the increment of the infusion and aspiration rate in the 20-gauge vitreous cutter was the highest and decreased in the 23- and 25-gauge, in that order. IOP was calculated as 29, 44, 59 and 74 mm Hg when the bottle height was at 40, 60, 80 and 100 cm, respectively, and was measured 34, 50, 62 and 74 mm Hg, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The infusion and aspiration rates per outer diameter in the 23- and 25-gauge vitreous cutters and infusions using cannula were lower than in the 20-gauge vitreous cutter. The difference of the infusion and aspiration rates per diameter between the 23- and 25-gauge vitreous cutters and infusions was not significant.
Catheters ; Intraocular Pressure ; Suction ; Surgical Instruments

PURPOSE: Peritoneal metastasis is a crucial factor for the prognosis in gastric cancer, but its diagnosis is difficult before laparotomy. This study analyzed the usefulness of diagnostic imaging and various tumor markers in the detection of peritoneal metastasis in gastric cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sera from 768 patients with gastric cancer were measured for CEA, CA19-9 and CA125 levels using a commercial immunoradiometric assay. All the patients underwent diagnostic imaging with computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound (US) before laparotomy. RESULTS: Preoperative levels of CEA, CA19-9 and CA125 were above the cut-off levels in 15.4%, 8.7% and 5.7% of all cases, respectively. Eighty-eight patients were diagnosed with peritoneal metastasis by laparotomy. CT and US revealed peritoneal dissemination in 15 of 88 patients (17%). Among the three tumor markers, CA19-9 and CA125 showed similar detection rates of peritoneal metastasis (37.5% and 38.6%, respectively). In particular, the serum CA125 levels showed the best sensitivity (38.6%), specificity (98.4%), and diagnostic accuracy (91.5%), and the highest odd ratio (24.46, 95% CI: 11.17~53.57) for predicting peritoneal metastasis among the markers tested. CEA did not add significant predictive information (p=0.471). CONCLUSION: Preoperative serum CA19-9 and CA125 levels may provide a predictable value in determining peritoneal metastasis in patients with gastric cancer.
Diagnosis ; Diagnostic Imaging ; Humans ; Immunoradiometric Assay ; Laparotomy ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Prognosis ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Biomarkers, Tumora ; Ultrasonography