The orchid symbiotic fungi were isolated from the roots of Korean native orchid (Cymbidium goeringii) collected and Chinese orchid (C. sinense) obtained from greenhouses. They were identified as a species of Rhizoctonia, based on the sequences of 18r rDNA, the microscopic observations of mycelia, and the symbiotic relationships with commercial orchids. The isolate collected from Chinese orchids was revealed to be a species of Ceratobasidium endophytica, and to be different from the other isolates at the thickness of the mycelia stained in the root cells of Korean native orchids. The other isolates collected from the Korean native orchids were considered to be a species of Tulsanella repens (anamorphic: Epulorhiza repens) or its related one. The physiologic or microscopic variations were oftenly observed among them, but the tendency of grouping these in the 18s rDNA sequences were observed to be consistent with those of the localities collected. The further taxonomical segregating for Korean symbiotic fungi was not made because the information concerned were limited in this moment, but was recognized as based on the sequences of 18s DNA.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; DNA ; DNA, Ribosomal ; Fungi* ; Humans ; Mycorrhizae ; Rhizoctonia ; Symbiosis

PURPOSE: A clinical review was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the partial neurectomy of the dorsal nerve of the penis on the treatment of premature ejaculation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study was made on 143 patients with premature ejaculation (mean age 38 years; range 22~53 years) who underwent the partial neurectomy of the dorsal nerve of the penis from January 1997 to September 1999. All patients were evaluated by change on pre- and post-operative ejaculatory latency and biothesiometry, postoperative satisfaction, management on unsatisfactory patients and postoperative complication. RESULTS: Pre- and post-operative vibration perception threshold of glans penis on biothesiometry was significantly decreased from mean 2~3 mA (range 1~6 mA) to 8~10 mA (range 3~15 mA) (p<0.01). Change on pre- and post-operative ejaculatory latency was prolonged from mean 1~3 minutes (55.2%) to 5~10 minutes (47.6%)(p<0.01). The postoperative results were satisfactory in 117 cases (81.8%). At follow-up 2 to 34 months postoperatively, 17 cases (11.8%) were complicated by glans pain, discomfort(7 cases), penile edema (6 cases), wound dehiscence(3 cases), and delayed ejaculation (1 case). CONCLUSION: The partial neurectomy of the dorsal nerve of the penis is an effective treatment in the comprehensive management of the premature ejaculation with glans hypersensitivity, for good results, a simple operative technique and a few postoperative complication. However, it must be followed up for long-term effectiveness and its complication.
Edema ; Ejaculation ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Male ; Penis* ; Postoperative Complications ; Premature Ejaculation* ; Vibration ; Wounds and Injuries

PURPOSE: A clinical review was performed to evaluate the importance and effectiveness of early nephrectomy & the result of short-term chemotherapy on unilateral, nonfunctioning tuberculous kidneys. METHODS: Retrospective study was made on 34 patients with nonfunctioning tuberculous kidneys who underwent nephrectomy from February 1986 to December 1998. All patients were evaluated by annual frequency, age, sex and site distribution, presenting symptoms, tuberculous lesion on organs other than kidney, cystoscopic finding, urinalysis and urine AFB smear & culture, urine Tb-PCR, CBC & ESR finding, perioperative morbidity and mortality, treatment distribution(Group 1 and 2) and drug toxicity. RESULTS: In pathologic findings of the 39 cases in which nonfunctioning tuberculous kidneys were suspected, 5 cases had no evidence of tuberculosis. Those were xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis(2 cases), chronic pyelonephritis with hydronephrosis(2 cases) and complicated multilocular cyst(1 case). Coexisting renal cell carcinoma was found in 1 case. 4 cases(11.7%) were hypertensive at the time of presentation and 3 cases of them had a decrease in blood pressure after nephrectomy. 7 cases(20.5%) had febrile symptom, 5 cases of them had renal & perirenal abscess(4 cases) and cutaneous fistula(1 case). No perioperative mortality occurred and perioperative complications(sinus arrhythmia, wound infection, wound dehiscence, ileus) were in 5 cases(14.7 %). There was no evidence of recurrence during follow-up periods(Follow-up mean periods : 18.5 months). CONCLUSION: Early nephrectomy is an effective treatment in the comprehensive management of the unilateral, nonfunctioning tuberculous kidneys, for accurate diagnosis, removal of infection focus, early control of presenting symptoms and prevention of tuberculosis recurrence. And this should be followed by postoperative, acceptable short-term antitubercul ous chemotherapy.
Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Blood Pressure ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy* ; Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Kidney* ; Mortality ; Nephrectomy* ; Pyelonephritis ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Tuberculosis ; Urinalysis ; Wound Infection ; Wounds and Injuries

Recently, many natural medicines, which have advantage of less side effects and possibility of long-term use have been studied for their capacity of anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and regenerative potential of periodontal tissues. Olibanum has the effects to hemostasis, analgesic and anti-inflammatory, and it also has been traditionally used as a drug for the treatment of bone disease in oriental medicine. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of Olibanum extracts on the activity and differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells, alkaline phosphatase(ALP) synthesis, formation of bone nodules and expression of type I collagen of MC3T3-E1 cells. To examine the cellular activity, MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured with alpha-MEM(control) and each concentration of Olibanum for 2 days and 4 days. To compare the ALP synthesis, MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured with alpha-MEM(negative control), dexamethasone(positive control), and each concentration of Olibanum for 2 days and 4 days. To compare the bone nodule formation, MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured for 21 days, and to compare the type I collagen expression, MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured for 4 days. The cellular activity of MC3T3-E1 cells treated with 1 microgram/ml of Olibanum extracts was significantly increased at 4-day(p<0.05) to control. The activity of ALP in MC3T3-E1 cells treated with 1 microgram/ml Olibanum extracts was significantly increased at 4-day(p<0.05). All the experimental groups showed much more bone nodule formation than control groups. The group treated with 1 microgram/ml of Olibanum extracts was the highest bone nodule formation, and showed much more type I collagen expression than negative control. These results indicate that Olibanum extracts may be considered effective in the activity and differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells.
Bone Diseases ; Boswellia* ; Collagen Type I ; Hemostasis ; Medicine, East Asian Traditional

A 25-year-old woman had a 2-month history of a 1.7 x 1.4cm sized lirm nodule, which was deeply located in 5.0 x 4.0cm sized soft fatty tissue on the right axilla. There was no history of axillary swelling with the symptoms or signs related to her menstrual periods. She underwent an excisional biopsy of the firm nodule and a simple biopsy of the soft tissue. The histopathologic findinga associated with both lesions revealed the usual feat Ures of fibroadenoma with accessory breast tissue. There was no occurrence or relapse of any other lasions during the careful one-year follow-up after excision of the firm nodule. This is an unusual case in a review of Korea literatures.
Adipose Tissue ; Adult ; Axilla ; Biopsy ; Breast* ; Dapsone ; Female ; Fibroadenoma* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Recurrence

Ginseng Radix(GR) had been used widely from oriental medicine and the effects of it have been investigated by many researchers. The purpose of present study was to investigate the effects of GR on the cell cycle progression and its molecular mechanism in human fetal osteoblast. The results were as follows. Increased cell proliferation was observed in cells exposed to 100 ng/ml, 10 ng/ml of GR-1 at 12 hours and 24 hours, 1 microgram/ml of GR-1 at 48 hours, and 100 microgram/ml, 10 microgram/ml of GR-2 at 12 hours, all treatment groups of GR-2 at 24 hours(p<0.05). S phase and G1 phase was increased in the group of treated with 100 ng/ml of GR-1, with 10 microgram/ml and 1 microgram/ml of GR-2, with 100 microgram/ml and 10 microgram/ml of GR-3 in the cell cycle analysis. The cell cycle regulation protein levels of Cyclin D1, Cyclin E, CDK 2, CDK 4 and CDK 6 were increased in the group of treated with 1 microgram/ml and 100 ng/ml of GR-1, with 10 microgram/ml and 1 microgram/ml of GR-2, with 100 microgram/ml and 10 microgram/ml of GR-3. On the other hand, p21 was decreased in the treatment group with 1 microgram/ml and 100 ng/ml of GR-1, with 10 microgram/ml and 1 microgram/ml of GR-2, 10 microgram/ml of GR-3, and p53 and p16 was decreased in the treatment group with 100 ng/ml of GR-1, 100 microgram/ml GR-3 and pRb was decreased in the all treatment groups except 1 microgram/ml of GR-1. These results suggested that GR increases the cell proliferation and the cell cycle progression in human fetal osteoblast, which is linked to increased cell cycle regulation protein levels of Cyclin D1, Cyclin E, CDK 2, CDK 4, CDK 6 and decreased cell cycle regulation protein levels of p21, pRb.
Humans

Several growth factors and polypeptides were studied for the regeneration of periodontal supporting tissues which had been lost due to periodontal disease. But these are not commonly used for regenerators of bone tissue or alveolar bone, because of the insufficiency of studies on their side effects, genetic engineering for mass production and stability for clinical application. Recently, many natural products, which have advantage of less side effects and possibility of long-term use, have been studied for their capacity and effects of anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and regenerative potential of periodontal tissues. Cnidii Rhizoma, Rhinocerotis Cornu and Drynariae Rhizoma have been traditionally used as a drug for treatment of bone disease in oriental medicine. The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of alkaline phosphatase synthesis of MC3T3-E1 cells when above medicines were supplimented. MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured with alpha-MEM(negative control), dexamethasone(positive control), and each natural products for 3 and 5 days. And then ALP synthesis was measured by spectrophotometer for enzyme activity and by naphthol AS-BI staining for morphometry. Except Cnidii Rhizoma, all of the natural products of this study induced higher activity of ALP synthesis than controls. Among them Drynariae Rhizoma induced the highest activity. In the aspects of culturing time, all medicines did not showed the difference between 3 and 5 days, but 10-7g/ml group of Rhinocerotis Cornu showed significant increase at 3 days than at 5 days. These results indicate that several natural products have a inducing ability of ALP synthesis on osteoblasts.
Alkaline Phosphatase* ; Biological Products* ; Bone and Bones ; Bone Diseases ; Genetic Engineering ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; Medicine, East Asian Traditional ; Osteoblasts ; Peptides ; Periodontal Diseases ; Polypodiaceae ; Regeneration

Nicotine is one of the major components of cigarette smoking which causes various systemic and local diseases to human body. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of nicotine on bone mineralization in human fetal osteoblasts cell line(hFOB1). To compare the alkaline ph-osphatase(ALP) synthesis, hFOB1 were cultured with DMEM/F-12 1:1 Mixture and 100 pg/ml, 1 ng/ml, 10 ng/ml, 100 ng/ml, 1 microgram/ml, 10 microgram/ml, 100 microgram/ml of nicotine. And to compare the calcium accumulation, hFOB1 cultured for 23 days were quantified and photographed. ALP activity of hFOB1 exposed to nicotine was not significantly changed at a lower concentrations of nicotine, but was significantly decreased at a higher concentrations (10 microgram/ml, 100 microgram/ml) of nicotine (p<0.05). A quantified calcium acculation in hFOB1 was significantly decreased at 1, 10, and 100microgram/ml of nicotine (p<0.05). Significantly decreased calcium deposition was observed at 1, 10, and 100microgram/ml of nicotine. These results indicate that a higher concentration of nicotine show a negative effects on mineralization of hFOB1.
Calcification, Physiologic ; Calcium ; Human Body ; Humans* ; Nicotine* ; Osteoblasts* ; Smoking

The differential diagnosis of benign tumors from other intra-ureteric lesions was difficult. But. recently. it is easy due to developed diagnostic procedures. such as ureteroscopy. We herein report a case of fibroepithelial polyp of the left ureteropelvic junction which was diagnosed with ureteroscopic finding and biopsy with brief review or literatures.
Biopsy* ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Polyps* ; Ureter* ; Ureteroscopy

A clinical observation was made on 23 patients with tuberculous non-functioning kidneys who underwent nephrectomy during the period from February 1986 to June 1992. We reviewed these cases according to primary nephrectomy on tuberculous non-functioning kidneys. The following results were obtained. In pathologic findings of the 27 cases in which tuberculous non-functioning kidneys were suspected, 4 cases were no evidence of tuberculosis. Those were xanthoeranulomatous pyelonephritis (2 cases) and chronic pyelonephritis with hydronephrosis (2 cases). Coexisting renal cell carcinoma was found in 1 case. 4 cases (17.1%) were hypertensive at the time of presentation and 3 cases or them had a decrease in blood pressure after nephrectomy. No perioperative mortality occurred and perioperative complications (sinus arrhydrmia, wound infection, wound dehisdence, ileus) were in 4 cases (17.4 %). There was no evidence of recurrence during follow-u periods. (Follow-up mean periods: 18.5 months) Thus, it is concluded that primary nephrectomy is an important adjunct in the comprehensive management of the unilateral, tuberculous non-functioning kidneys, for accurate diagnosis, removal of infection source, early control and prevention of presenting symptoms.
Blood Pressure ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Hydronephrosis ; Kidney* ; Mortality ; Nephrectomy* ; Pyelonephritis ; Recurrence ; Tuberculosis ; Wound Infection ; Wounds and Injuries