Recent studies clearly demonstrated that the novel expression of LH gene in the rat testis, and suggested the local action of the LH-like molecule. The present study was performed to analyze the expression of the LH genes in the rat accessory reproductive organs. Expression of LH subunit genes in the rat uterus and epididymis was demonstrated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and specific LH radioimmunoassay (RIA). The LHbeta transcripts in these organs contained the published cDNA structure, the pituitary type exons 1-3, which encoded the entire LHbeta/ polypeptide. Presence of the transcripts for the alpha-subunit in the rat reproductive tissues were also confirmed by RT-PCR. In the LH RIA, significant levels of LH were detected in crude extracts from the rat ovary, uterus and epididymis. The competition cuties with increasing amount of tissue extracts were parallel with those of standard peptide, indicating that the immunoreactive LH-like materials in these tissues are similar to authentic pituitary LH molecule. In rat epididymis, the highest amount of immunoreactive LH was detected in corpus area. Our findings demonstrated that the genes for LH subunits are expressed in the rat accessory reproductive organs, and suggested that these extrapituitary LH may act as a local regulator with auto and/or paracrine manner.
Animals ; Complex Mixtures ; DNA, Complementary ; Epididymis* ; Exons ; Female ; Lutein* ; Luteinizing Hormone* ; Male ; Ovary ; Radioimmunoassay ; Rats* ; Testis ; Tissue Extracts ; Uterus*

No abstract available.
Dentures* ; Mucous Membrane*

It is still not well documented what the basic roles for the regulation of renin secretion from the kidney take place. Since the early study on the renal ischemia for the production of hypertension was introduced, the renin-angiotensin system has been regarded as the possible pathogenetic mechanism for the renovascular hypertension. The renin-angiotensin system, however, could be activated by various stimuli, such as, the changes of intrarenal perfusion pressure, the load or concentriation of sodium at the sites of macular densa, the changes of the sympathetic nervous activity and the changes of potassium balance. To investigate the renin-angiotensin system and the influence of sympathetic nervous system on the regulation of renin secretion, the renovascular hypertension was induced in the dogs by constriction of unilateral renal artery, and the plasma renin activity was measured. The sodium load at the sites of macula densa was attained by furosemide, and then the activity of sympathetic nervous system was depressed by reserpine. The plasma renin activity was assayed by the method of Helmer and Cohn. By this bio-assay method, the plasma renin activity equivalent to 1 nanogram angiotensin-II can be measurable and the prepared plasma was found to have still vasopressor activity. The results observed in this experimental work are summarized as follows. 1. The blood pressure reached maximum on the 3rd postoperative day, and declined gradually to the level of preoperative day on the day of from the 6th to 12th day following constriction of renal artery. 3. The plasma renin activity was found to be well correlated with the increase of blood pressure, and then declined to its preoperative level with the reduction of blood pressure. It appears, therefore, that the renin-angiotensin system plays an important role in the pathogenesis of renovascular hypertension. 4. The urine flow rate in normal and reserpinized dogs was the same before administration of furosemide, but its rate was significantly increased in both groups after furosemide. The urine flow rate of reserpinized dogs, however, was significantly lower than that of the normal dogs during the first 5 minutes. 5. The urinary sodium excretion in normal and reserpinized dogs was significantly increased in both groups after administration of furosemide and there were no difference between the two groups. 6. The plasma renin activity of renal venous blood was significantly higher than that of femoral arterial blood in both groups before and after administration of furosemide. 7. The plasma renin activity of reserpinized dogs was significantly lower than that of normal dogs before administration of furosemide. After furosemide, however, the plasma renin activity was significantly increased in 30 minutes in both groups. This increase of plasma renin activity was less prominent in resepinized dogs than in normal. This results would suggest that the intrarenal mechanism regulating renin secretion also requires an intact sympathetic nervous system.
Animals ; Blood Pressure ; Constriction ; Dogs ; Furosemide ; Hypertension ; Hypertension, Renovascular ; Ischemia ; Kidney ; Perfusion ; Plasma ; Potassium ; Renal Artery ; Renin* ; Renin-Angiotensin System ; Reserpine ; Sodium ; Sympathetic Nervous System

PURPOSE: This study is used to investigate the correlation among a stroke patient family's health, burden and quality of life. METHOD: Data was collected from one hundred twenty family care-givers registered at K and H Hospital in Seoul. Questionnaire data was drawn up by personal interviews aided by the staff nurses. The analyses of collected data are based on the rate of 100 percentage to the average, t-test, ANOVA, DMR, Pearson Correlation. Result: (1) The influential factors on physical health proved to be age, sex, academic career, matrimonial status, present occupation, economic situation, the relationship with the patient, the patient-caring term, and the family-formation. The psychological health issues were age, final academic career, matrimonial status, the relation with patient and the family-formation. Burdens were shown to be age, matrimonial status, the relation with patient, and the patient-caring term. The quality of life was determined by age, final academic career, matrimonial status, and the relationship with the patient, the patient- caring term, and the family-formation. (2) The rate of the physical condition was 2.87, the psychological condition 2.43, the sense of burden 3.08, and the quality of life was 2.42. (3) The rate of correlation between the burden and the quality of life was (r= -.547), the psychological health and the burden was (r= -.531), the physical health and the burden was (r= -.263), physical health and quality of life was (r= .301), psychological health, and quality of life was (r= .413). CONCLUSION: It follows from this study that there is a very close correlation among the stroke patient family's health, the burden, and quality of life. Therefore it is necessary that we should find various nursing intervention ways in order to mitigate the burden of family when caring for the stroke patients.
Humans ; Nursing ; Occupations ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Seoul ; Stroke*

Lipoarabinomannans (LAM) is believed as a potential virulence factor of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. LAM exhibits marked differences in biological activities depending on the types, arabinofuranosyl-terminated LAM (AraLAM) derived from a rapidly growing Mycobacterium sp. and heavily mannosylated LAM (ManLAM) derived from the Erdman strain. Collaboration between macrophages and T cells, especially macrophage activation by gamma interferon (IFN-r) and chemoattraction of T cells at the very inflammatory foci would be essential in defence against M. tubercu/osis. Chemokines Mig and IP-10 are inducible by IFN-r from macrophages and have been shown to act in vitro as T cell chemoattractants. However, little is known of LAMs capacity to induce chemokines Mig and IP-10 in macrophages. In this experiment, Mig and IP10 mRNA was expressed in the delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) against BCG in BCG-immune mice. In some experiments, both Mig and IP-10 mRNA was evidently induced with different time courses in THP-1 cells stimulated with whole live M. tubercu/osis H37Rv (Erdman). To investigate whether Mig and IP-10 genes are differentially induced depending on the type of LAM, PCR amplification was used to detect mRNA of Mig and IP-10 from the THP-1 human monocytic cells stimulated with LAM. AraLAM, but not ManLAM, induced weakly Mig and IP-10 mRNA in the THP-1 cells. The induction of Mig and IP-10 was dependent upon the dose of AraLAM and exhibited different time courses. The mRNA for Mig and IP-10 was induced within 2 hr and 4 hr from the initiation of treatrnent and has disappeared by 8 hr and 24 hr under the experimental conditions used in this study, respectively. IFN-y at 100 U/ml, but not at 10 U/ml, was itself a good stimulus of both Mig and IP- 10 expression, and synergized with either AraLAM or ManLAM for induction of both Mig and IP-10. The expression patterns of MCP-3 were somewhat similar to those of Mig and IP10 in all of the experiments. These data indicate that IFN-r may contribute to effective macrophage function if macrophages are not fully affected by ManLAM, and chemokines Mig and IP-10 may a role in recruitment of T cells at inflammatory foci of tuberculosis.
Animals ; Chemokines* ; Chemotactic Factors ; Cooperative Behavior ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Interferons ; Macrophage Activation ; Macrophages ; Mice ; Mycobacterium ; Mycobacterium bovis ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Messenger* ; T-Lymphocytes ; Tuberculosis ; Virulence

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Diagnosis* ; Hepatitis C* ; Hepatitis*

No abstract available.
Female ; Mammaplasty*

SUMMARY: The present study was performed to analyze the expression of LH genes in the rat ovary. Expression of LH subunit genes in the rat ovary was demonstrated by amplification of ovarian RNA by RT-PCR. The ovarian LHbeta transcripts contained at least two parts of the published cDNA structure, the pituitary exons 1, 2 and 3 and the part of testicular exon 1 in the major trancripts form in rat testis. Using RIA, significant amount of LH-like molecules were detected in crude ovarian extracts, and the competition curves with increasing amount of tissue extracts were parallel with those of standard peptide, indicating that the ovarian immunoreactive LH-like material is similar to authentic pituitary LH molecule. The administration of PMSG to immature rats resulted in a sharp decrease of the ovarian LH contents after 24 h post-injection. In conclusion, these findings demonstrate that genes for LH subunits are expressed in the rat ovary, and suggest that LH can play a central role in regulation of female reproduction with both endocrine (by pituitary LH) and auto- and/or para-crime (by ovarian LH) manner.
Animals ; DNA, Complementary ; Exons ; Female ; Humans ; Lutein* ; Luteinizing Hormone* ; Ovary* ; Rats* ; Reproduction ; RNA ; Testis ; Tissue Extracts

Child protective services, or the child protection system (CPS), forms the most front line safety net for abused and neglected children. The prerequisite for its activities lies in the awareness of promoting child's rights, which are well described in the United Nation's Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), and of the significant impact of child abuse and neglect as the origins to other social problems. Child protective services in Korea are carried on by 17 Centers for the Prevention of Child Abuse which have been opened since Octorber 2000 based on the amended Child Welfare Law which came into effect as of July 2000. The 24-hour telephone hotlines, numbered "1391", have been installed within the Centers. The counselors quickly respond to the reports, investigate the alleged cases of children and families with necessary services. This paper aims at the improvement of the understanding of child's rights and how the safety net, as the advocator for abused and neglected children, is functioning in Korea.
Child ; Child Abuse* ; Child Protective Services ; Child Welfare ; Child* ; Counseling ; Hotlines ; Humans ; Jurisprudence ; Korea* ; Social Problems