Pelvic actinomycosis is a rare disease, and has variable clinical manifestations and courses, which make it difficult to diagnose the disease initially. We experienced a pelvic actinomycosis in a woman who complained vaginal discharge and lower abdominal pain, and had not been carring a intrauterine contraceptive device. This infection results in tissue destruction, fibrosis, and the formation of draining sinuses. We describe the case with brief review of clinical diagnosis and management.
Abdominal Pain ; Actinomycosis* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Intrauterine Devices ; Rare Diseases ; Vaginal Discharge

No abstract available.
HIV-1* ; Humans* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha*

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess new three-dimensional (3D) cephalometric variables, and to evaluate the relationships among skeletal and dentoalveolar variables through 3D cephalometric analysis. METHODS: Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans were acquired from 38 young adults (18 men and 20 women; 22.6 +/- 3.2 years) with normal occlusion. Thirty-five landmarks were digitized on the 3D-rendered views. Several measurements were obtained for selected landmarks. Correlations among different variables were calculated by means of Pearson's correlation coefficient values. RESULTS: The body of the mandible had a longer curve length in men (102.3 +/- 4.4 mm) than in women (94.5 +/- 4.7 mm) (p < 0.001), but there was no significant difference in the maxillary basal curve length. Men had significantly larger facial dimensions, whereas women had a larger gonial angle (117.0 +/- 4.0 vs. 113.8 +/- 3.3; p < 0.001). Strong-to-moderate correlation values were found among the vertical and transverse variables (r = 0.71 to 0.51). CONCLUSIONS: The normative values of new 3D cephalometric parameters, including the maxillary and mandibular curve length, were obtained. Strong-to-moderate correlation values were found among several vertical and transverse variables through 3D cephalometric analysis. This method of cephalometric analyses can be useful in diagnosis and treatment planning for patients with dentofacial deformities.
Adult ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography ; Dentofacial Deformities ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mandible ; Young Adult

No abstract available.
Amputation* ; Amputees* ; Humans ; Knee* ; Rehabilitation*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of shear wave ultrasound elastography for differentiating superficial benign soft tissue masses through a comparison of their shear moduli. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 48 masses from 46 patients from February 2014 to May 2016. Surgical excision, fine-needle aspiration, and clinical findings were used for the differential diagnosis. The ultrasonographic examinations were conducted by a single musculoskeletal radiologist, and the ultrasonographic findings were reviewed by two other radiologists who were blinded to the final diagnosis. Conventional ultrasonographic features and the median shear modulus were evaluated. We compared the median shear moduli of epidermoid cysts, ganglion cysts, and lipomatous tumors using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Additionally, the Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare two distinct groups. RESULTS: Significant differences were found in the median shear moduli of epidermoid cysts, ganglion cysts, and lipomatous tumors (23.7, 5.8, and 9.2 kPa, respectively; P=0.019). Epidermoid cysts showed a greater median shear modulus than ganglion cysts (P=0.014) and lipomatous tumors (P=0.049). CONCLUSION: Shear wave elastography may contribute to the differential diagnosis of superficial benign soft tissue masses through a direct quantitative analysis.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Elastic Modulus ; Elasticity Imaging Techniques* ; Epidermal Cyst ; Ganglion Cysts ; Humans ; Lipoma ; Retrospective Studies ; Shear Strength ; Ultrasonography

The purpose of this study was to investigate the variations of the skeletal and dentoalveolar dimensions in relation to vertical facial patterns. Lateral cephalogram of 200 cases (100 cases of male and 100 cases of female, average age of which was 23.2 years) were traced and some measurements of skeletal and dentoalveolar dimensions were measured. The ratio of UAFH/LAFH was employed to classify the samples into groups of excess and short lower anterior facial height. And the comparison between two groups were taken statistacally. The following results were obtained. 1. The dentoalveolar height, lower anterior facial height, lower gonial angle, and FMA in the excess-lower-anterior-facial-height group were significantly larger than those in short-lower-anterior-facial-height group. 2. The dentoalveolar height, ramus height, and Jarabak ratio in the male subjects were significantly larger than those in the female subjects. 3. The UAFH/LAFH ratio showed a significant correlation to upper, lower facial height, AUDH, PUDH, ALDH, PLDH, Lower gonial angle, FMA, and Bjok`s Sum.
Female ; Humans ; Male

PURPOSE: The sunken chest deformity without breast asymmetry is not a rare condition encountered in augmentation mammaplasty. Therefore, failure to recognize the deformity and improper surgical plan will lead to a suboptimal result. The authors review the experience of breast augmentation in simple sunken chest patient based on retrospectively collected data. METHODS: From January, 2008 to January, 2009, patients with simple sunken chest underwent endoscopic submuscular augmentation mammaplasty through axilla, using silicone implants. Patient demographics were queried and outcomes were assessed. RESULTS: Eleven patients (22 breasts) were followed up for 8.2 months after surgery. Sunken chests were augmented with implant size of approximately 248.9 cc (range: 213~286 cc) and contralateral chest with 211.4 cc (range: 180~235 cc). Simultaneous camouflaging the chest wall depression with breast augmentation resulted in good aesthetic outcome. All of the patients were satisfied with the surgery. There were no complications among all patients. CONCLUSION: We have demonstrated proper surgical planning with precise implant selection to optimize results in patients with small breast and simple sunken chest. Even though asymmetry still remains after the operation, it is still considered as acceptable.
Axilla ; Breast ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Demography ; Depression ; Female ; Humans ; Mammaplasty ; Retrospective Studies ; Silicones ; Thoracic Wall ; Thorax

The purpose of this study was to investigate elementary school students' perception of food waste as well as to identify factors affecting the plate waste rate of school foodservice in the Gyeongnam area. Questionnaires were distributed to 280 students from June 20 to July 5, 2011 and a total of 279 were analyzed. The results of this study were as follows. First, the main reason of plate waste was 'big portion size', which suggests that portion size should be adjusted. Second, the attitude for food waste reduction was 3.67 based on a 5-point Likert scale (1: strongly disagree, 5: strongly agree). Third, the average plate waste rate of school foodservice was 18.65%. Fourth, there were four factors affecting plate waste rate; balanced/unbalanced diet, satisfaction of school foodservice, need for nutrition education related to food waste, and attitude towards food waste reduction. The plate waste rates of the students who ate a balanced diet were significantly lower than those of the students who ate an unbalanced diet (P<0.001). The plate waste rates of the students who were satisfied with school foodservice were significantly lower than those of the students who were unsatisfied (P<0.001). The plate waste rates of the students who recognized the need for nutrition education were significantly lower that those of the students who did not recognize this (P<0.01). Finally, the students' attitudes towards food waste reduction were significantly negatively correlated with plate waste rate (P<0.01). In conclusion, in order to successfully reduce plate waste in school foodservice, nutrition education should be provided on proper portion size, balanced diet, and food waste. Further, introduction of partial self-service by school foodservice should be reviewed, and strategies for the improvement of school foodservice satisfaction should be applied.
Diet ; Humans ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of JNK signaling pathway involved in tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)-induced death of chondrocytes. Primary chondrocyte cultures were obtained from human knee osteoarthritis cartilages. First passage chondrocytes were treated with TNF-alpha and various potentiators, and cell death was measured with MTT assay. C-Jun N terminal kinase (JNK) activation was investigated with the solid phase kinase assay. Expression of apoptosis-related molecule was assayed with Western blot. Chondrocytes were resistant to TNF-alpha-induced cell death. In contrast, pretreatment with actinomycin D, the phosphatase inhibitor vanadate or MAP kinase phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) inhibitor Ro318220 invariably led to chondrocyte death. While TNF-alpha alone stimulated a single, brief JNK activity, a second JNK peak was observed when the cells were pretreated with actinomycin D. When the cells were pretreated with vanadate or Ro318220, TNF-alpha-induced JNK activation was greatly prolonged, which was associated with the induction of cell death. The expression of Bcl-2 and Mcl-1 decreased significantly in conditions of cell death. In conclusions, our data suggest that chondrocyte death induced by TNF-alpha is associated with sustained JNK activation. This effect may be due to downregulation of TNF-alpha induced phosphatase that inactivates JNK and of Bcl-2 family proteins.
Cell Death/*physiology ; Cells, Cultured ; Chondrocytes/cytology/*drug effects/metabolism ; Enzyme Activation ; Enzyme Inhibitors/metabolism ; Humans ; JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/*metabolism ; NF-kappa B/metabolism ; Neoplasm Proteins/metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2/metabolism ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Signal Transduction/physiology ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/*pharmacology

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to analyze initial displacement and stress distribution of the maxillofacial complex during dentoskeletal maxillary protraction with various appliance designs placed on the palatal region by using three-dimensional finite element analysis. METHODS: Six models of maxillary protraction were developed: conventional facemask (Type A), facemask with dentoskeletal hybrid anchorage (Type B), facemask with a palatal plate (Type C), intraoral traction using a Class III palatal plate (Type D), facemask with a palatal plate combined with rapid maxillary expansion (RME; Type E), and Class III palatal plate intraoral traction with RME (Type F). In Types A, B, C, and D, maxillary protraction alone was performed, whereas in Types E and F, transverse expansion was performed simultaneously with maxillary protraction. RESULTS: Type C displayed the greatest amount of anterior dentoskeletal displacement in the sagittal plane. Types A and B resulted in similar amounts of anterior displacement of all the maxillofacial landmarks. Type D showed little movement, but Type E with expansion and the palatal plate displayed a larger range of movement of the maxillofacial landmarks in all directions. CONCLUSIONS: The palatal plate served as an effective skeletal anchor for use with the facemask in maxillary protraction. In contrast, the intraoral use of Class III palatal plates showed minimal skeletal and dental effects in maxillary protraction. In addition, palatal expansion with the protraction force showed minimal effect on the forward movement of the maxillary complex.
Finite Element Analysis* ; Palatal Expansion Technique ; Traction