No abstract available.
Bone Cysts* ; Fractures, Spontaneous*

No abstract available.
Fibronectins* ; Staphylococcus aureus* ; Staphylococcus*

No abstract available.
Plasmids* ; Shigella* ; Virulence Factors* ; Virulence*

About 10% ~ 40% of patient with Marie-Strumpell ankylosing spondylitis have anterior uveitis. Recently, relationship between ankylosing spondylitis and anterior uveitis was discoverd by several studies of HLA-B27 antigen. Ankylosing spondylitis was found to be the commonest single etiological factor in analysis of 653 cases of uveitis seen in the Uveitis Clinic in United Kingdom. Ankylosing spondylitis is mostly found in male and most of their natures of uveitis are acute unilateral nongranulomatous anterior uveal involvement. Roentgenological findings of ankylosing spondylitis are characteristic demineralization and subchondral sclerosis of sacro-iliac joint and "Bamboo spine". Elevation of erythrocyte sedimentation rate in ankylosing spondylitis indicates active status of the disease. Authors have experienced 2 cases of anterior uveitis with Marie-Strumpell ankylosing spondylitis in our clinic. These cases have shown typical findings of "Bamboo spine", sacro iliac joint blurring and acute nongranulomatous unilateral uveal involvement.
Blood Sedimentation ; Great Britain ; HLA-B27 Antigen ; Humans ; Joints ; Male ; Sclerosis ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing* ; Uveitis ; Uveitis, Anterior*

PURPOSE: The degree of radiation-induced lung fibrosis (RILF) can be measured quantitatively by fibrosis volume (VF) on chest computed tomography (CT) scan. The purpose of this study was to investigate the interobserver and intraobserver variability in CT-based measurement of VF. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We selected 10 non-small cell lung cancer patients developed with RILF after postoperative radiation therapy (PORT) and delineated VF on the follow-up chest CT scanned at more than 6 months after radiotherapy. Three radiation oncologists independently delineated VF to investigate the interobserver variability. Three times of delineation of VF was performed by two radiation oncologists for the analysis of intraobserver variability. We analysed the concordance index (CI) and inter/intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: The median CI was 0.61 (range, 0.44 to 0.68) for interobserver variability and the median CIs for intraobserver variability were 0.69 (range, 0.65 to 0.79) and 0.61(range, 0.55 to 0.65) by two observers. The ICC for interobserver variability was 0.974 (p < 0.001) and ICCs for intraobserver variability were 0.996 (p < 0.001) and 0.991 (p < 0.001), respectively. CONCLUSION: CT-based measurement of VF with patients who received PORT was a highly consistent and reproducible quantitative method between and within observers.
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; Evaluation Studies as Topic* ; Fibrosis* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lung* ; Observer Variation* ; Radiotherapy ; Thorax ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

No abstract available.
Cell Line* ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms* ; Urinary Bladder*

No abstract available.
Escherichia coli* ; Escherichia* ; HeLa Cells* ; Humans ; Virulence Factors* ; Virulence*

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical results of the auto-focusing low vision device (EYE FINE) in low vision patients. METHODS: We assessed the clinical effect after prescription of the device in 21 patients who visited the low vision clinic from July 2004 to January 2005. We examined visual acuity and contrast sensitivity before and after prescription. RESULTS: Mean distant visual acuity increased from 1.00+/-0.30 LogMAR to 0.69+/-0.34 LogMAR and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.01). Mean near visual acuity increased from 0.89+/-0.25 LogMAR to 0.71+/-0.30 LogMAR (P<0.01). And mean contrast sensitivities at spatial frequencies of 1.5, 3, 6, 12 and 18 cycles per degree (cpd) increased from 7.9+/-4.5, 10.8+/-7.4, 10.5+/-9.6, 3.9+/-3.8 and 2.0+/-2.7 to 10.5+/-8.0, 15.1+/-10.6, 16.3+/-13.6, 6.5+/-7.3 and 2.5+/-3.0, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: EYE FINE offers the advantage of auto-focusing according to working distance.
Contrast Sensitivity ; Humans ; Prescriptions ; Vision, Low* ; Visual Acuity

With the arm in hyperabduction, we have carried out 525 procedures of supraclavicularbrachial plexus block from Aug. 1976 to June 1980, whereas block with the arm in adduction has been customarily performed by other authors. The anesthetic procedure is as follows: 1) The patient lies in the dorsal recumbent position without a pillow under his head or shoulder. His arm is hyperabducted more than a 90 degree angle from his side, and his head is turned to the side opposite from that to be blocked. 2) An "X" is marked at a point 1 cm above the mid clavicle, immediately lateral to the edge of the anterior scalene muscle, and on the palpable portion of the subclavian artery. The area is aseptically prepared and draped. 3) A 22 gauge 3. 5cm needle attached to a syringe filled with 2% lidocaine (7~8mg/kg of body weight) and epineprine(1: 200,000) is inserted caudally toward the second portion of the artery where it crosses the first rib and parallel with the lateral border of the muscle until a paresthesia is obtained. 4) Paresthesia is usually elicited while inserting the needle tip about 1~2 cm in depth. If so, the local anesthetic solution is injected after careful aspiration. 5) If no paresthesia is elicited, the needle is withdrawn and redirected in an attempt to elicit paresthesia. 6) If, after several attempts, no paresthesia is obtained, the local anesthetic solution is injected into the perivascular sheath after confirming that the artery is not punctured. 7) Immediately after starting surgery, Valium is injected for sedation by the intravenous route in almost all cases. The age distribution of the cases was from 11 to 80 years. Sex distribution was 476 males and 49 females(Table 1). Operative procedures consisted of 103 open reductions, 114 skin grafts combined with spinal anesthesia in 14, 87 debridements, 75 repairs, i.e. tendon(41), nerve(32), and artery(2), 58 corrections of abnormalities, 27 amputations above the elbow(5), below the elbow(3) and fingers(17), 20 primary closures, 18 incisions and curettages, 2 replantations of cut fingers respectively(Table 2). Paresthesia was obtained in all cases. Onset of analgesia occurred within 5 minutes, starting in the deltoid region in almost all cases. Complete anesthesia of the entire arm appeared within 10 minutes but was delayed 15 to 20 minutes in 5 cases and failed in one case. Thus, our success rate was nearly 100%. The duration of anesthesia after a single injection ranged from 3(1/2), to 4(1/2) hours in 94% of the cases. The operative time ranged from 0.5 to 4 hours in 92.4% of the cases(Table 3). Repeat blocks were carried out in 33 cases when operative times which were more than 4 hours in 22 cases and the others were completed within 4 hours(Table 4). Two patients of the 33 cases, who received microvasular surgery were injected twice with 2% lidocaine 20ml, for a total of 13(1/2) hours. The 157 patients who received surgery on the forearms or hands had pneumatic tourniguets (250 torrs) applied without tourniquet pain. There was no pneumothorax, hematoma or phrenic nerve paralysis in any of the unilateraI and 27 bilateral blocks, but there was hoarseness in two, Horner's syndrome in 11 and shivering in 7 cases. No general seizures or other side effects were observed. By 20ml of 60% urografin study, we confirm ed the position of the needle tip to be in a safer position when the arm is in hyperabduction than when it is in adduction. And also that the humoral head caused some obstraction of the distal flow of the dye, indicating that less local anesthetic solution would be needed for satisfactory anesthesia. (Fig. 3,4)
Age Distribution ; Amputation ; Analgesia ; Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, Spinal ; Arm ; Arteries ; Brachial Plexus Block* ; Brachial Plexus* ; Clavicle ; Curettage ; Debridement ; Diatrizoate Meglumine ; Diazepam ; Fingers ; Forearm ; Hand ; Head ; Hematoma ; Hoarseness ; Horner Syndrome ; Humans ; Lidocaine ; Male ; Needles ; Operative Time ; Paralysis ; Paresthesia ; Phrenic Nerve ; Pneumothorax ; Replantation ; Ribs ; Seizures ; Sex Distribution ; Shivering ; Shoulder ; Skin ; Subclavian Artery ; Surgical Procedures, Operative ; Syringes ; Tourniquets ; Transplants

BACKGROUND: TNF-alpha is related to the generation of lung fibrosis in patients with UIP. The precise mechanism leading to lung fibrosis by TNF-alpha is unknown. However, the activation of a transcription factor like AP-1(down stream of c-jun N-terminal kinase, JNK) by TNF-alpha may be related to the induction of fibrogenic cytokines like PDGF or IGF-I. Furthermore, JNK was reported to be activated in the radiation-in-duced lung fibrosis model. This study examined JNK activity in patients with UIP. METHODS: The expression of phosphorous JNK(p-JNK), macrophage/moncoyte specific markers, CD68, and cytokeratin was evaluated by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of lung tissues from patients with UIP and lung cancer. An in vitro kinase assay was performed with alveolar macrophages obtained by a bronchollung cancer. An in vitro kinase assay was performed with alvolar macrophages obrtained by a bronchol avleolar lavage from patients with UIP and healthy persons as the control. RESULTS: The IHC stain showed that p-JNK is expressed in the almost all of the alveolar macrophages and smooth muscle cells in patients with UIP. In case of the normal areas of the lung from patients with lung cancer, the alveolar macrophages showed little p-JNK expression. Interestingly, increased JNK activity was not found in the in vitro kinase assay of the alveolar macrophages obtained from both patients with UIP and healthy persons as the control. Furthermore, 10 ng/ml of TNF-alpha failed to increase the JNK activity of the alveolar macrophages in both patients with UIP and healthy people. CONCLUSION: The JNK was activated constitutionally in patients with UIP. However, the role of JNK in the pathogenesis of lung fibrosis needs to be clarified.
Constitution and Bylaws ; Cytokines ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I ; JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases* ; Keratins ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Macrophages ; Macrophages, Alveolar ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; Phosphotransferases ; Rivers ; Therapeutic Irrigation ; Transcription Factors ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha