BACKGROUND: DNA content analysis of human solid tumor is now widely performed by flow cytometric study. One of the most interesting and potentially observation in this field is that proliferative activity(S-Phase fraction of cell cycle) may profoundly affect the prognosis. METHOD: S-Phase fraction(SPF) have been measured by flow cytometric method using tumor cells isolated from paraffin embedded tissue. To evaluate the prognostic significance, SPF of small lung cancer cell was assessed in 42 patients who died after receiving anticancer chemotherapy. RESULTS: 1) Mean survival time of patients with small cell lung cancer was 190(± 156) days, Survival time were shortened, when TNM stage and PS scale were advanced. 2) Mean value of SPF of patients with small cell lung cancer was 27.4(±8.5)%. SPF had nothing to do with advance of TNM stage and PS scale. 3) In each identical TNM stage, there were not statistic significance between SPF and survival times. 4) There was a tendency like that higher SPF, better chemotherapeutic CONCLUSION: We could not find statistic significance between SPF and survival times, but SPF was a good predictive factor for chemotherapeutic response.
DNA ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Paraffin ; Prognosis ; Small Cell Lung Carcinoma ; Survival Rate

79 patients with suspected H.N.P. of lumbar vertebrae were studied from June 1983 to June 1986 who had had both metrizamide myelography and computed tomography. Comparative study of the findings from clinical examination, CT and myelography of them are as follows. l. In physical examination, S.L.R.T. was most common sign, 58 patient(73.4% of study group) showed positive in S.L.R.T.(30~70 range). Of these positive patients in S.L.R.T. 41.4% was the patients who were younger than 30 years of age and also had pressure sign of nerve root on CT and myelography. These group showed highest positive rate in S.L.R.T. 2. In CT and myelographic study, the most frequent occurence of H.N.P. were seen in L4–5, L5–S1, L3–4 in order and myelography showed higher positive rate in L4–5 intervertebral space while CT showed higher positive rate in LS–S1. 3. On CT, facet joint arthritis or stenosis were seen in 49.4% of the study group and 53.7% of computed tomographic positive patients of H.N.P. 4. Corresponding rate of positive sign of H.N.P. between CT and myelographic findings were seen 71 intervertebral spaces, which means 84.5% of 84 positive spaces on CT and 88.8% of 80 positive spaces on myelography. 5. In 49 intervertebral spaces clinical sign, CT and myelographic findings were all positive. In another words 58.3% of 84 positive intervertebral spaces on CT and 61.3% of 80 positive spaces on myelography showed all positive sign on clinical examentation, CT and myelography. 6. L5–Sl intervertebral spaces showed most controversial results in comparative study of CT and myelography. 7. 25 of 26 positive spaces on CT(96.2%) and 23 of 26 positive spaces of myelography(88.5%) were confirmed by operation and all 3 false-negative on myelography were found in L5–Sl intervertebral space. 8. Most diagnostic differences were seen in L5–S1, which has wider epidural space. CT showed higher sensitivity than myelography in this study. For its higher sensitivity and non-invasiveness CT is thought to be first recommendable method for diagnosis of H.N.P. and myelography is recommended as second best choice where diagnostic differences are seen.
Arthritis ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Diagnosis ; Epidural Space ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; Methods ; Metrizamide ; Myelography ; Physical Examination ; Zygapophyseal Joint

In 1910 Purtscher first presented his original report of "angiopathia retinae traumatica" before the German Congress of Ophthalmology in Heidelberg. Since then many varying fundus pictures have been described as "Purtscher's Disease" and many theories have been advanced as to the cause. In 1962 Marr and Marr provided an extensive review of the literature on traumatie retniopathy and pointed out that the cause of Purtscher's retinopathy was an abrupt rise of intravascular pressure in the vessel entering and leaving the orbit, and in most cases the mechanism of the injury was a sudden and violent compression of the chest. Recently we have experienced a case of bilateral Purtscher's traumatic retinal angiopathy leading to optic nerve atrophy and macular degeneraion. Our patient is a 36-year-old previously healthy Korean male. who had his left chest compressed by a truck when he was working in the country farm. Just after the accident he fall into an unconscious state for a short time. Two days after admission he was referred to our ophthalmologic department because of visual impairment. Funduscopic examination revealed Purtscher's retinopathy in both eyes. His chest X-ray examination showed several fractured ribs anterolaterally. Within several days after the accident the whitish retinal exudates and hemorrhages gradually disappeared in the left ocular fundus, but in the right fundus the retinal edema, situated at posterior pole, persisted for about 7 months duration. During this period optic nerve atrophy developed ill the right fundus. As soon as the retinal edema subsided, retinal degeneration of the macular area appeared in the right fundus. Five months after the accident temporal optic nerve atrophy appeared and the patient complained of marked visual impairment in the left eye. We could not find any similar cases in the literature, that is, after the retinopathy and impaired vision recovered, later, the vision was markedly impaired again due to secondary optic nerve atrophy and development of macular Degeneration. In a survey of literature we want to say that the pathogenesis of Purtscher's traumatic retinal angiopathy is due mainly to the result of a sudden and severe increased intravascular pressure. particularly in the upper portion of body. Following points influenced our thought. 1. The ocular fundus changes similar with Purtscher's retinopathy could be seen in hydrostatic pressure syndrome and compression cyanosis syndrome. 2. Purtscher's retinopathy could developed in minor chest compression which is not strong enough to fracture ribs or other banes. 3. Usually Purtscher's retinopathy is developed in both eyes. If unilateral development occurs, it is almost on the right eye. If bilaterally the right eye is more severe than the left. This is postulated due to the shorter venous path to the rijsht eye. In addition, the prognosis of Purtscher's retinopathy seems to be good but poor result such as in our case and other previously reported cases are also possible.
Adult ; Atrophy ; Cyanosis ; Exudates and Transudates ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hydrostatic Pressure ; Macular Degeneration ; Male ; Motor Vehicles ; Ophthalmology ; Optic Nerve ; Orbit ; Papilledema ; Prognosis ; Retina ; Retinal Degeneration ; Retinaldehyde* ; Ribs ; Thorax ; Unconsciousness ; Vision Disorders

Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Joints ; Lidocaine ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mouth ; Occlusal Splints ; Temporomandibular Joint

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Cigarette smoking induces an inflammatory response in the airways, which may play a key role in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is one of the cytokines that plays an important role in inducing bronchial inflammation. The aim of this study was to determine if the level of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, Interleukin-6 , is increased when the bronchial epithelial cells are exposed to a cigarette smoke extract (CSE) and an extract from stop smoking-aiding cigarettes, and examined the safety of these commercially available stop smoking-aiding cigarettes. METHOD: Bronchial epithelial cells were exposed to CSE from cigarette and stop smoking-aiding cigarettes for 24 hours. ELISA was used to measure the IL-6 levels in the supernatant from each condition. The IL-6 mRNA levels were measured by Taqman Real time RT-PCR. N-acetyl-L-cysteine(NAC) was added to each condition to determine if NAC can inhibit the release of IL-6 from the bronchial epithelial cells when they are exposed to CSE from cigarette and stop smoking-aiding cigarettes. RESULT: When bronchial epithelial cells were exposed to a CSE from cigarettes and stop smoking- aiding cigarettes, each type of CSE stimulated IL-6 production from the bronchial epithelial cells. The IL-6 mRNA level in the Bronchial epithelial cells was also elevated and NAC was found to inhibit the release of IL-6 from bronchial epithelial cells when they were exposed to the CSE from cigarettes and stop smoking-aiding cigarettes. CONCLUSION: Commercially available stop smoking-aiding cigarette can induce bronchial inflammation and can be harmful to smokers. Therefore, the safety of these cigarettes for smoking cessation should be evaluated.
Cytokines ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Epithelial Cells* ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-6* ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; RNA, Messenger ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Smoking Cessation ; Tobacco Products*

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disease of unknown etiology. A range of factors including tuberculous infection, beryllium exposure, and cold climate have been implicated in the pathogenesis of the condition. A 45-year-old woman presented with a 4-month history of an asymptomatic eyelid swelling and multiple erythematous papules on the neck. Histological examination of the neck, orbital soft tissue, and lacrimal gland was consistent with sarcoidosis. Ziehl−Neelsen stains and polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) for tuberculosis on the skin biopsy specimens were negative. However, the orbital soft tissue specimen was positive for non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) PCR. The patient was finally diagnosed with sarcoidosis associated with NTM. Treatment with systemic steroid and hydroxychloroquine was started, resulting in an improvement of skin lesions. We herein report a case of sarcoidosis associated with NTM infection with review of the literature, as only little is known regarding the role of mycobacteria in sarcoidosis.

The purpose of this study was to determine the attributes and factors of brand personality for contract foodservice management companies. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to five students at universities operating under the top five companies in contract foodservice management. The following statistical analyses were conducted for the data assessment: descriptive analysis, t-test, ANOVA, reliability analysis, and factor analysis, using the SPSS Win(12.0) package program. From these analyses we divided a company's brand personality into the following five functional and emotional elements: sensibility, sincerity, confidence, competence, and excitement. Based on these five elements a total of 26 scales were developed to measure brand attributes of the companies. The variance was explained by 19.29% of sensibility, 17.65% of sincerity, 15.71% of confidence, 14.06% of competence, and 13.62% of excitement. The calculated Cronbach's alpha was more than .90 for all the scales measuring the five attributes, indicating good internal consistency. There were significant differences in sensibility(p<.01), sincerity(p<.001), creditability(p<.01), competence (p<.001), and excitement(p<.001) among the companies. In regards to overall brand personality, company a had a higher mean score for sincerity, while the other companies had higher mean scores for competence. Among the brand personalities, 'confidence' had the highest mean score with 3.36, followed by 'cooperation' (3.17), 'successful'(3.12), 'leadership'(3.11), and 'down-to-earth'(3.02).
Analysis of Variance ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Humans ; Mental Competency ; Questionnaires ; Weights and Measures

Alcohol has been used as sedatives historically. The effect of alcohol on sleep is different according to its dose, timing of ingestion, and drinking frequency. Sleep problems may play a role in the development and course of alcohol-related disorders. Insomnia in alcohol-dependent patients is common and early treatment of insomnia may reduce the rate of relapse. Sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, periodic limbs movement disorder, and altered circadian rhythm may be more frequent in this patients. Management of sleep and alcohol problems is important in treating alcohol-related disorder and sleep disorders, respectively.
Alcohol-Related Disorders ; Circadian Rhythm ; Drinking ; Eating ; Extremities ; Humans ; Hypnotics and Sedatives ; Movement Disorders ; Recurrence ; Restless Legs Syndrome ; Sleep Apnea Syndromes ; Sleep Wake Disorders ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders

Angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy (AILD) is a systemic disease clinically characterized by fever, generalized lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, polyclonal gamma-globulinemia and Cooms' positive hemolytic anemia. The lymph node in AILD reveals a polymorphic feature consisting of a proliferation of small vessels, immunoblasts and plasma cells and acidophilic interstitial material. Progression into immunoblastic sarcoma is reported as high 35% of the patient with AILD. Nathwani et al have observed not only malignant transformation of AILD in sequential tissue examination, but also the coexistence of AILD and immunoblastic lymphoma in the same lymph node or at different sites in the same patient. Multiple clusters or islands of compactly arranged large lymphoid cells constitute the initial histologic evidence of immunoblastic sarcoma. Immunoblastic sarcoma is a large cell lymphoma conceptually related to transformed T-and B-lymphocytes of the extrafollicular compartment of the immune system, which proignosis is poor. We have recently experienced a case of immuno blastic sarcoma arising in angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy in a 24-year-old woman. She had history of multiple enlarged lymph nodes in the inguinal, axilla and supraclavicular areas. Previous lymph node biopsies revealed reactive change. Six month later, right axillary lymph node biopsy reveled AILD with focal clusters of immunoblasts. Subsequent lymph node biopsy at the same site revealed diffuse immunoblasic sarcoma, B-cell type. A case presentation with histologic findings and a brief review of literature were done.
Female ; Humans ; Biopsy

BACKGROUND: The criteria established by Light et al in 1972 have been used widely for the differential diagnosis of the pleural effusions in transudates and exsudates. However, in recent years, several reports have agreed that these criteria misclassified an important number of effusions. For this reason, different parameters have been proposed for differentiation the transudates from exudates. Nevertheless, all these alternative parameters have not been better than the past criteria of Light et al. In response the usefulness of two parameters for differentiation pleural transudate from exudates were evaluated : pleural fluid cholinesterase level and pleural fluid to serum cholinesterase ratio. METHODS: A total of forty-three patient with know causes of the pleura effusion by diagnostic thoracentesis were studied. The following criteria for differentiating the pleural effusions in transudates and exsudates were analyzed : Light's criteria, the pleural fluid cholesterol level, the pleural fluid to serum cholesterol ratio. the pleural fluid cholinesterase level, and the pleural fluid to serum cholinesterase ratio. RESULTS: The conditions of forty-three patients were diagnosed. Ten were classified as having transudates and thirty-three as exudates. The percentage of effusions misclassified by each parameter was as follows : Light's criteria, 9.3% ; pleural fluid cholesterol, 2.3% ; pleural fluid to serum cholesterol ratio, 2.3% ; pleural fluid cholinesterase, 4.7% ; and pleural fluid to serum cholinesterase ratio, 2.3%. CONCLUSIONS: The pleural fluid to serum cholinesterase ratio is one of the accurate criteria for differentiating pleural transudates from exudates. If further studies confirm these results, the cholinesterase ratio could be used as the first step in the evaluation of pleural effusion and if evaluated together with the other criteria, the differentiation of pleural transudate from exsudates will become more accurate.
Cholesterol ; Cholinesterases* ; Diagnosis, Differential* ; Exudates and Transudates* ; Humans ; Pleura ; Pleural Effusion