We reviewed surgical specimens from 11 patients with diffuse neurofibroma to define the specific clinicopathologic characteristics. Ten cases were cutaneous neurofibromas and one case was an uncommon gastrointestinal neurofibroma involving the rectum. The most frequent sites of involvement were the head and neck, especially the eyelids and the periorbital areas. They usually presented as a plaque-like elevation of the skin. They primarily occured in children and young adults and positive family histories of von Recklinghausen's neurofibromatosis were obtained in 45.4%. Pathologically, the involved skin & rectum were diffusely thickened by an infiltrative growing mass, showing proliferation of short fusiform cells in the uniform matrix of fine fibrillary collagen. The characteristic prominence of Wagner-Meissner bodies (45.4%) suggests they could be associated with pathogenesis of diffuse neurofibroma. On the basis of these findings, we could confirm diffuse neurofibroma to be a distinct form of neurofibroma.
Child ; Adult ; Male ; Female ; Humans

Radilogy plays an important role in evaluating patients with suspected adrenal gland pathology. Morphologicdelineation of adrenal gland is especially valuable in patients with clinical and/or biochemical evidence of adisturbance in adrenal function. Many diagnostic radiologic methods are avilable for demonstrating adrenallesions. CT overcomes many of the disadvantages of these other radiologic techniques. The high degree of spatialand density resolution allows precise demonstration of the normal adrenal glands as well as detection of bothsmall and large tumors in almost all patients. So CT of adrenal gland is an excellet nonivasive screening methodand definitive imaging technique. The authers have investigated the capability of CT to image the nomral size,location and shape of both glands. Knowledge of the range of normal is useful for optimal interpretation of CTscans in patients with suspected aderenal pathology. We reviewed CT scan of 150 cases without evidence of adrenaldisease. The following results were obtained: 1. There were 90 male and 60 female patients. 2. Their ages rangedfrom 20 to 60 years. 3. On CT, both gland were shown in 135 (90.0%), the right in 143(95.3%), the left in142(94.6%). 4. In the shape of adrenal glands, most of right adrenal gland was linear or comet shaped; 68(47.6%),most of left adrenal gland was inverted-Y shaped: 103(72.6%). 5. In the length of adrenal glands, theright was2.5+-0.77cm, the left was 2.9+-0.75cm. 6. In the width of adrenal glands, the right was 3.2+-0.74cm, the left was2.7+-0.57cm. 7. In the thickness of adrenal glands, the right was 0.5+-0.14cm, the left was 0.6+-0.16cm.
Adrenal Glands ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Pathology ; Pheniramine ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

No abstract available.
Thymus Hyperplasia*

The types of K+ channel which determine the pattern of spontaneous action potential (SAP) were investigated using whole-cell variation of patch clamp techniques under current- and voltage-clamp recording conditions in rat clonal pituitary GH3 cells. Heterogeneous pattern of SAP activities was changed into more regular mode with elongation of activity duration and afterhyperpolarization by treatment of TEA (10 mM). Under this condition, exposure of the class III antiarrhythmic agent E-4031 (5 micrometer) to GH3 cells hardly affected SAP activities. On the other hand, the main GH3 stimulator thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) still produced its dual effects (transient hyperpolarization and later increase in SAP frequency) in the presence of TEA. However, addition of BaCl2 (2 mM) in the presence of TEA completely blocked SAP repolarization process and produced membrane depolarization in all tested cells. This effect was observed even in TEA-untreated cells and was not mimicked by higher concentration of TEA (30 mM). Also this barium-induced membrane depolarization effect was still observed after L-type Ca2+ channel was blocked by nicardipine (10 micrometer). These results suggest that barium-sensitive current is important in SAP repolarization process and barium itself may have some depolarizing effect in GH3 cells.
Action Potentials* ; Animals ; Barium ; Cell Line* ; Hand ; Membranes ; Nicardipine ; Patch-Clamp Techniques ; Rats* ; Tea ; Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone

This study highlights a new case of an infant death caused by mechanical asphyxia, who was found dead after being wrapped and pressed by a daycare center teacher with the body and beddings. Moreover, we present a comparative review of four similar previously reported cases and the implications for forensic pathologists in the management of such cases from the perspectives of judicial verdicts of the cases. The previous report commented that the four cases could be considered as overlaying as a type of accidental asphyxia. However, a contextual comprehensive review including the whole scenarios of the cases and negative postmortem findings concluded that all the cases were explicitly different from overlaying cases. Furthermore, we followed up the judicial processes and verdicts in all five cases, including the present case and the four previously reported cases. In the four cases, the defendants were incarcerated for violation of ‘Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes.’ The ruling trend revealed that the prison sentence durations had been prolonged from 4 to 19 years. Therefore, for a pediatric death suspecting mechanical asphyxia involving a daycare center, contextual comprehensive approach is essential to determine the cause of death and to provide appropriate medicolegal interpretation.

Purpose: This study aims to explore and deeply understand the essence of the nursing experiences of ward nurses who have cared for foreign inpatients. Methods: In this study, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 nurses at a tertiary hospital in Seoul from May 1 to June 30, 2023. The collected data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. Results: The nursing experiences of ward nurses caring for foreign inpatients yielded five theme clusters-"A welcome yet challenging encounter," "A journey to navigate language barriers," "New competencies needed to face unfamiliar cultures," "Exerting every possible effort," and "Discovering and embracing the value of coexistence"-along with 11 themes. Ward nurses found caring for foreign inpatients challenging due to cultural differences and language barriers, which often felt burdensome.Nonetheless, they accepted it as a necessary duty, handling additional tasks beyond basic care to support patient recovery. Despite communication challenges, they strived to provide the best care, demonstrating self-efficacy in respecting cultural differences, which fostered a sense of accomplishment and pride in their roles. Conclusion This study identified the complex emotions and challenges experienced by ward nurses caring for foreign inpatients and the process of overcoming these obstacles and building a sense of pride. These findings can serve as an important reference for understanding how ward nurses adapt to their roles in caring for foreign patients and provide foundational data for improving nursing environments to enhance the quality of care for foreign inpatients.

Purpose: This study aims to explore and deeply understand the essence of the nursing experiences of ward nurses who have cared for foreign inpatients. Methods: In this study, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 nurses at a tertiary hospital in Seoul from May 1 to June 30, 2023. The collected data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. Results: The nursing experiences of ward nurses caring for foreign inpatients yielded five theme clusters-"A welcome yet challenging encounter," "A journey to navigate language barriers," "New competencies needed to face unfamiliar cultures," "Exerting every possible effort," and "Discovering and embracing the value of coexistence"-along with 11 themes. Ward nurses found caring for foreign inpatients challenging due to cultural differences and language barriers, which often felt burdensome.Nonetheless, they accepted it as a necessary duty, handling additional tasks beyond basic care to support patient recovery. Despite communication challenges, they strived to provide the best care, demonstrating self-efficacy in respecting cultural differences, which fostered a sense of accomplishment and pride in their roles. Conclusion This study identified the complex emotions and challenges experienced by ward nurses caring for foreign inpatients and the process of overcoming these obstacles and building a sense of pride. These findings can serve as an important reference for understanding how ward nurses adapt to their roles in caring for foreign patients and provide foundational data for improving nursing environments to enhance the quality of care for foreign inpatients.

Purpose: This study aims to explore and deeply understand the essence of the nursing experiences of ward nurses who have cared for foreign inpatients. Methods: In this study, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 nurses at a tertiary hospital in Seoul from May 1 to June 30, 2023. The collected data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. Results: The nursing experiences of ward nurses caring for foreign inpatients yielded five theme clusters-"A welcome yet challenging encounter," "A journey to navigate language barriers," "New competencies needed to face unfamiliar cultures," "Exerting every possible effort," and "Discovering and embracing the value of coexistence"-along with 11 themes. Ward nurses found caring for foreign inpatients challenging due to cultural differences and language barriers, which often felt burdensome.Nonetheless, they accepted it as a necessary duty, handling additional tasks beyond basic care to support patient recovery. Despite communication challenges, they strived to provide the best care, demonstrating self-efficacy in respecting cultural differences, which fostered a sense of accomplishment and pride in their roles. Conclusion This study identified the complex emotions and challenges experienced by ward nurses caring for foreign inpatients and the process of overcoming these obstacles and building a sense of pride. These findings can serve as an important reference for understanding how ward nurses adapt to their roles in caring for foreign patients and provide foundational data for improving nursing environments to enhance the quality of care for foreign inpatients.

Purpose: This study aims to explore and deeply understand the essence of the nursing experiences of ward nurses who have cared for foreign inpatients. Methods: In this study, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 nurses at a tertiary hospital in Seoul from May 1 to June 30, 2023. The collected data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. Results: The nursing experiences of ward nurses caring for foreign inpatients yielded five theme clusters-"A welcome yet challenging encounter," "A journey to navigate language barriers," "New competencies needed to face unfamiliar cultures," "Exerting every possible effort," and "Discovering and embracing the value of coexistence"-along with 11 themes. Ward nurses found caring for foreign inpatients challenging due to cultural differences and language barriers, which often felt burdensome.Nonetheless, they accepted it as a necessary duty, handling additional tasks beyond basic care to support patient recovery. Despite communication challenges, they strived to provide the best care, demonstrating self-efficacy in respecting cultural differences, which fostered a sense of accomplishment and pride in their roles. Conclusion This study identified the complex emotions and challenges experienced by ward nurses caring for foreign inpatients and the process of overcoming these obstacles and building a sense of pride. These findings can serve as an important reference for understanding how ward nurses adapt to their roles in caring for foreign patients and provide foundational data for improving nursing environments to enhance the quality of care for foreign inpatients.

PURPOSE: Leptin is encoded by the ob gene and is involved in the control of food intake and energy expenditure. Recent studies have implicated leptin expression to be an indicator of tumor features and prognosis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of tissue expression of leptin with the clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcomes in colorectal cancer patients. METHODS: Patients who had undergone a curative surgical resection for a colorectal adenocarcinoma from 2000 to 2004 were included in the study. Immunohistochemical analyses of leptin expression were performed, and clinicopathological parameters were evaluated. RESULTS: Clinical data and tumor tissues of 146 patients were evaluated. The mean age was 68.6 +/- 11.3 years, and 61.0% were men. Immunohistochemically, the rates of negative, weak, moderate, and strong leptin expression were 2.7% (4 of 146), 5.5% (8 of 146), 43.2% (63 of 146), and 48.6% (71 of 146), respectively. We compared the negative, weak, and moderate expression group (group A) with the strong expression group (group B). Leptin expression was inversely associated with nodal stage (P = 0.007) between the two groups. Leptin expression was not significantly associated with differentiation (P = 0.37), T stage (P = 0.16), and American Joint Committee on Cancer stage (P = 0.49), and no significant differences in the disease-free and the overall survivals (P = 0.78 and P = 0.61) were observed. CONCLUSION: Results demonstrated an inverse association of nodal stage with high leptin expression. Higher leptin expression level might predict better oncologic outcome. However, further studies are warranted to identify the exact role of leptin expression in colorectal cancer.
Adenocarcinoma ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Eating ; Energy Metabolism ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Joints ; Leptin* ; Male ; Prognosis ; Survival Rate ; Tissue Array Analysis