In parentage testing DNA profiles are used to link the alleged father with paternity by matching their patterns. The probative value of a match is often calculated by multiplying together the estimated frequencies with which each particular VNTR or STR pattern occurs in a reference population. When this calculating method applies to the motherless case of paternity disputes, a calculation must usually be based on types determined for the child and the alleged father. In such case, the first consideration is to exclude a man from paternity of a child when the man did not have the child's paternal allele at some loci, or if the paternal allele cannot be determined, when the man had neither of the child s alleles. The second is to evaluate the DNA evidence when a man is not excluded by the paternal allele. This work is to provide theories of paternity analysis with three approach methods for the motherless case, and to evaluate their efficiency compared to the trio case when the man tested is not excluded. Consequently, the motherless case offers lower probability exclusion and questionable cumulative paternity index than those of the trio case as being typed with 14 STR loci(CSF1PO, TH01, TPDX, vWA, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820, D16S539, FGA, D21S11, FES/FPS, F13A1, D18S80, D17S5). Since the motherless case in paternity disputes is less efficient for paternity exclusion of the child, the use of genetic maker systems with the higher value of mean exclusion chance(MEC) and exact levels of the relative probability of paternity must be of importance considered in the analysis of such deficiency cases.
Alleles ; Child ; Dissent and Disputes ; DNA ; Fathers ; Humans ; Paternity*

When we intend to do the personal identification using DNA profiles, it will obviously be better to use as much information as possible. The power of identification is increased by using the genetic marker system such as VNTRs or STRs. Although STRs do not have many alleles per locus as VNTRs, these can be compensated by a large number of loci that are potentially usable. However, it will be more efficient to use a morphic loci. Therefore, prior to choose the genetic marker system of STRs for identification, it is essential to consider the statistical parameters of each STR locus, such as obs-H(observed heterozygosity), exp-H(expected heterozygosity), pM(probability of match), DI(discrimination index), PD(power of discrimination), MEC(mean exclusion chance), MEP(mean exclusion paternity), PIC(polymorphic information content) et al. In this article, we described the exact meaning of statistical parameters for the purpose of identification.
Alleles ; DNA ; Genetic Markers ; Humans

DNA analysis has become one of the most powerful tools in forensic inference for human identification and is now used worldwide. It is used to be statistical technique for the individual identification of a civil and criminal action. The purpose of this article is computerization of the statistical technique for the population study and DNA evidence analysis. The system using SAS/AF and SAS/SCL is the graphic user interface and the correspondence of the changed experimental circumstances.
Criminals ; DNA* ; Forensic Anthropology ; Humans

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Arterial stiffness and wave reflections increase with advancing age, and the systolic and pulse pressures are elevated. These changes in aortic stiffness and pulse wave velocity with aging may change the cardiac function. The diastolic function of the left ventricle declines with aging even in normal healthy subjects too. This investigation was designed to assess the correlations between the left ventricular diastolic function and arterial stiffness with using echocardiography including doppler tissue imaging (DTI) and an applanation tonometer. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The subjects were 100 healthy volunteers who had normal left ventricular systolic function and no major cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, obesity and smoking. The left ventricular diastolic function was assessed with the mitral inflow indexes and DTI, and the pulmonary venous return was measured by echocardiography. The central aorta blood pressure, the augmentation index (AIx) and the pulse wave velocity (PWV) were evaluated by using an applanation tonometer (SphygmoCoR system). RESULTS: With advancing age, the left mitral E/A ratio decreased (r=-.738, p<0.05) and the DTI early/late diastolic velocity (E'/A') ratio decreased (r=-.759, p<0.05), which showed a significant change of the left ventricular diastolic function. The Aix (r=.406, p<0.05) and PWV (r=.614, p<0.05) increased with aging. The PWV correlated significantly with the E/A ratio (r=-.593, p<0.05) and the E'/A' ratio (r=-.559, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: This study showed that increases of the large conduit vessel stiffness with aging are associated with a decline of the left ventricular diastolic function in healthy subjects.
Aging ; Aorta ; Atherosclerosis ; Blood Flow Velocity ; Blood Pressure ; Diastole ; Echocardiography ; Healthy Volunteers ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Hypertension ; Obesity ; Pulse Wave Analysis ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Vascular Stiffness*

Nimesulide, highly selective cyclooxygenase inhibitor-2, is a newly developed, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) with low toxicity in gastrointestinal tract. But recently, seven cases of nimesulide-induced hepatitis of which types were hepatocellular, hepatocanalicular, and mixed damage were reported. Our case of nimesulide-induced hepatic damage was mixed cholestatic and hepatotoxic hypersensititvity reaction, and her story was as follows. A 70-year female patient's first hepatic event happened in Jaunuary, 1998 after taking nimesulide 200mg daily for 50 days from November 1997, but it was cleared. She was admitted to our unit because of jaundice, edema and ascites in May, 1998 after retrial of nimesulide 150 mg daily for 50 days. Biochemical determinations showed increase of AST (181 IU/L), ALT (110 IU/L), bilirubin (20.3 mg/dL) and albumin (2.3 g/dL). Prothrombin time was also prolonged upto 2.51 INR. But neither viral markers such as anti-HCV, HBsAg, anti-HBc IgM, anti-HAV IgM, anti-CMV, anti-EBV IgG and IgM nor other immunologic markers such as ANA, SMA, and AMA were positive. Ultrasonography showed diffuse hyperechogenicity in liver and mild splenomegaly but no dilatation in biliary tract. Liver biopsy showed portal to portal bridging necrosis with severe hepatocytic cholestasis. Her liver function returned to normal after discontinuation of nimesulide. At 8 months after beginning treatment, she complained of recurrent epistaxis and abdominal distension. At this time, her liver biopsy showed cirrhosis. In conclusion, we considered that this case was nimesulide-induced Liver cirrhosis.
Abdominal Abscess ; Ascites ; Biliary Tract ; Bilirubin ; Biomarkers ; Biopsy ; Catheterization ; Cholestasis ; Dilatation ; Drainage ; Edema ; Epistaxis ; Female ; Fibrosis ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Hepatitis A Antibodies ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M ; International Normalized Ratio ; Jaundice ; Liver ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Necrosis ; Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases ; Prothrombin Time ; Splenomegaly ; Ultrasonography

PURPOSE: Papillary thyroid cancer is the most common histological type of malignancy that originates from the thyroid. The disease has an excellent prognosis, despite characteristically being associated with lymph node metastases. According to the World Health Organization, a papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) is defined as papillary carcinoma measuring ≤1 cm in the greatest dimension. We present the clinico-pathological features and investigate predictive factors related with lymph node metastases in patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinomas less than 5 mm in size. METHODS: Between January 2003 and June 2005, 75 patients underwent surgical treatment for thyroid papillary cancer less than 5 mm in size at the Department of Endocrine Surgery at our hospital. We analyzed the age of patients, gender, presence of symptoms, multifocality, combined thyroid disease, tumor size, capsular invasion, presence of a lymph node metastasis, tumor location, operative method and postoperative complications by use of Pearson's chi-squared test. RESULTS: Lymph node metastases most frequently occurred in patients with a lateral neck mass at presentation (p=0.004). Patients with capsular invasion of the thyroid showed a high rate of lymph node metastases (p=0.027). In patients with combined thyroid disease such as thyroiditis, more lymph node metastases were observed (p=0.018). CONCLUSION: Preoperative symptoms at presentation (especially a lateral neck mass) and tumors with capsular invasion had a high potential to cause lymph node metastases. Factors such as a lateral neck mass, capsular invasion, and combined thyroiditis may be predictive of a lymph node metastasis and are helpful in the determination of proper treatment.

Castleman's disease (CD) is an unusual benign lymphoproliferative disorder of unknown etiology and pathogenesis. It most commonly occurs in the mediastinum, but rarely in the axilla or neck. CD has been rarely reported at pediatric age in Korea. Here we report a 17-month-old male patient with histopathologically proven cervical & axillary CD of the hyline vascular type who presented with a painless axillary palpable mass and was treated with a complete excision of the neck & axilla mass without complication.
Axilla ; Giant Lymph Node Hyperplasia ; Humans ; Infant ; Korea ; Lymphoproliferative Disorders ; Male ; Mediastinum ; Neck

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) is a central transcriptional factor involved in the cellular responses related to various aspects of cancer biology, including proliferation, survival, and angiogenesis, and the metabolism of the extracellular matrix in hypoxia. This study evaluated whether adenovirus-mediated small hairpin RNA (shRNA) against HIF-1alpha (shHIF-1alpha) inhibits cell proliferation and angiogenesis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines. METHODS: Knockdown of HIF-1alpha expression was constructed by adenovirus-mediated RNA interference tools, and HCC cell lines infected with shHIF-1alpha coding virus were cultured under a hypoxia condition (1% O2) for 24 hours. Following infection, the expression levels of HIF-1alpha, angiogenesis factors, and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) were examined using Western blotting. Cell proliferation and angiogenesis were measured by a cell proliferation assay (MTT assay) and an angiogenesis-related assay (invasion and tube-formation assay), respectively. RESULTS: Adenovirus mediated inhibition of HIF-1alpha induced suppression of tumor growth in HCC cell lines. It also down-regulated the expression of angiogenesis factor and MMP proteins. Angiogenesis as well as mobility of vascular cells to tumor was suppressed by adenovirus-mediated shHIF-1alpha-infected groups in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that adenovirus-mediated inhibition of HIF-1alpha inhibits the invasion, tube formation, and cell growth in HUVECs and HCC cells.
Adenoviridae/genetics ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/*blood supply/metabolism/therapy ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Endothelial Cells/metabolism ; Gene Knockdown Techniques ; Genetic Vectors ; Humans ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit/*antagonists & ; Liver Neoplasms/*blood supply/metabolism/therapy ; Matrix Metalloproteinases/metabolism ; Neovascularization, Pathologic/genetics/metabolism/*therapy ; RNA Interference ; RNA, Small Interfering/metabolism

Epidural anesthesia is a technique of regional anesthesia in which the spinal nerves are blocked as they pass through the epidural space. The current study was conducted to determine the extent of contamination of epidural catheters and to attempt to idntify the factors contributing to contamination. The catheters removed from fifty patients were studied, two cultures were taken from each catheter and the following results were obtained. 1) Catheter tips(20%) in ten cultures and portions of the catheter located in the subcutaneous tissue in nine cultures(18%) were found to be contaminated. 2) Staphylococcus epidermidis was found in eight patients, and staphylococcus aureus and xanthomonas maltophilia were found in two patients each other. 3) In the contaminated populations, no significant difference between the growth rate of organisms and the factors in relation to the duration of catheter implantation, age of the patients and the site of catheter inserition was found.
Analgesia, Epidural* ; Anesthesia, Conduction ; Anesthesia, Epidural ; Catheters* ; Epidural Space ; Humans ; Spinal Nerves ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Staphylococcus epidermidis ; Stenotrophomonas maltophilia ; Subcutaneous Tissue