OBJECTIVES: This study was carried out in order to raise workers'recognition of the effects of respirator use by providing concrete and practical data. METHODS: Twenty-six workers who dealt with toluene based ink and diluents at a gravure printing office in Seoul were investigated. The toluene exposure level and urinary hippuric acid level were monitored under respirator non-wearing(RNW) and under respiratory wearing(RW) conditions. RESULTS: The mean concentrations of toluene exposed to each worker through the air of gravure printing office were 147.52+/-57.34 and 134.55+/-52.44 ppm on respirator non-wearing day and respirator wearing day, respectively. There was no significant difference in toluene exposure concentration for the two days. The mean concentration of urinary hippuric acid in RNW and RW groups were 1.51 (0.53) g/L and 0.49 (0.14) g/L, respectively, as measured at the end of the workday. There was a significant difference seen in urinary hippuric acid concentration between the two days. The urinary hippuric acid concentration began to increase at 4 hours after the start of the workday(13:00) in RNW. However, there was no significant increase until the end of the workday in the case of RW. The urinary hippuric acid concentration in RW reduced 89.3% as compared with the concentration seen in RNW. There was a significant correlation between the toluene concentration and the urinary hippuric acid concentration in RNW. The regression equation was Y (urinary hippuric acid concentration, g/L) = 0.007 X x(toluene concentration in the air, ppm) + 0.665. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that the respirator intercepted most toluene that may have been absorbed into the respiratory organs, and suggested that properly wearing a respiratory such as wearing the respirator during the entire workday and performing a proper fit test played an important role in the protection from toluene exposure
Ink ; Seoul ; Toluene ; Ventilators, Mechanical*

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to compare volume and revascularization of autogenous block bone grafts in simultaneously cortical perforation of recipient beds and grafts, and only cortical perforation of recipient beds. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two block bone in 8mm diameter was harvested in both skull using trephine bur on 20 New Zealand white rabbits. Harvested block bone was grafted on both inferior border of mandible. On the left side(experimental side), cortical bone of recipient beds and graftwere perforated, and on the right side(control side), the only recipient bed was perforated. The rabbits had been sacrificed and infused the India ink for the observation of revascularization at 20 day and 40 day after surgery. The specimens were processed for H-E staining and quantitative analysis(independent t-test, p<0.01) was made under an optical microscope. In additional, specimens were processed for the observation of revascularization. RESULTS: After 20 days, more bone volume was observed in experimental group, but no significant difference between two groups(p=0.106). There were significantly more bone volume in the experimental group at 40 days after surgery(p<0.01). After 20 days, more discrete vascular sprouts were observed in experimental side, but no difference at 40 days after surgery. CONCLUSION: We conclude that the cortical perforation of both the recipient beds and grafts improve revascularization at early stage and overall graft persistence.
Carbon ; India ; Ink ; Mandible ; Rabbits ; Skull ; Transplants

The Q-switched lasers which was introduced under the concept of selective photothermolysis. Q-switched Nd:YAG laser, which targets dark pigments in a longer wave length (1064 nm) that has less absorption by melanin, can effectively treat deep tattoos with less pigmentary alterations. We report our experience over the past 3 years in treating 565 patients with tattoos and cutaneous pigmented lesions using the Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. Patients were exposed with a pulse duration of 10 ns and fluences of 6, 7 J/cm2(1064 nm) or 12, 14 J/cm2(532 nm), in exposure spots of 2 mm or 3 mm, at intervals of 4 weeks. Q-switched Nd:YAG laser was effective in removing deep pigmented lesion with 1064 nm, and colored inks with 532 nm. Seventy-three percent of amateur black pigmented lesion were > 75% clear after four to ten treatment. Ninty-eight percent of professional black pigmented lesion were > 75% clear after two on eyebrow, six to eight on extremity and trunk. No significant side effects, including pigmentary changes or scarring, were noted.
Absorption ; Cicatrix ; Extremities ; Eyebrows ; Humans ; Ink ; Melanins

Thirty-nine patients with pityrosporum folliculitis were investigated clinically and histopathologically. On clinical observation there were numerous, chronic, moderately itchy (64.1%), dome-shaped papules (89.7%) and pustules (66.7%). The most frequent sites of the lesions were the upper portion of the chest (76.9%) and back (56.4%). In biopsy specimens, abundant round and budding yeast cells were seen in a dilated hair follicle. The reptured follicle was observed in 19 specimen (48.7%). The accumulation on inflammatory cells were observed in or around the upper part of the follicle in all specimens. The effect of antimycotic treatment was excellent. After 4 weeks of treatment, 36 patients (92%) were cured and 3 (8%) had improved significantly. KOH/Parker Ink direct smear was done in 20 patients. Blue-colored round and budding yeast cells were observed under a light mcroscope in all patients. We suggest that pityrosporum folliculitis is a common disease of young and middle-aged Koreans.
Biopsy ; Folliculitis* ; Hair Follicle ; Humans ; Ink ; Malassezia* ; Saccharomycetales ; Thorax ; Yeasts

Laparoscopic distal gastrectomy has become widespread as a treatment for early gastric cancer in eastern Asia, but a standard method for setting the stomach transection line has not been established. Here we report a novel method of setting this line based on anatomical landmarks. At the start of the operation, two anatomical landmarks along the greater curvature of the stomach were marked with ink: the proximal landmark at the avascular area between the last branch of the short gastric artery and the first branch of the left gastroepiploic artery, and the distal landmark at the point of communication between the right and left gastroepiploic arteries. Just before specimen retrieval, the stomach was transected from the center of these two landmarks toward the lesser curvature. Then, about two-third of the stomach was reproducibly resected, and gastroduodenostomy was successfully performed in 26 consecutive cases. This novel method could be used as a standard technique for setting the transection line in laparoscopic distal gastrectomy.
Arteries ; Far East ; Gastrectomy* ; Gastroepiploic Artery ; Ink ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Stomach*

We report the case of a 33-year-old male who presented with a malignant melanoma on his anterior chest wall. The lesion was only found in the red ink pigment of the tattoo, as were several in-transit dermal metastases. Possible explanations include a pre-existing lesion which was seeded with red ink or the possibility of the red ink causing an inflammatory reaction leading to malignant transformation. This is the first reported case of a melanoma developing in the red ink pigment of a multi-colored tattoo.
Adult ; Humans ; Ink* ; Male ; Melanoma* ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Skin ; Thoracic Wall

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic yield of five systematic randomized protocols using 12–20 biopsy cores with variably-sized phantoms. METHODS: A total of 100 prostate phantom models were produced by casting liquid devil's tongue jelly using silicone molds. Sets of 20 phantoms were created with the following volumes: 20 mL, 40 mL, 60 mL, 80 mL, and 100 mL. Three focal lesions were created by injecting 0.5 mL of warm agar solution stained with red, blue, and green ink into each phantom model. The focal lesions were verified by ultrasonography. The systematic randomized biopsy protocols consisted of 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20 biopsy cores. The diagnostic yield of the multiple systematic biopsy protocols was compared. RESULTS: The overall detection rates of each model set were 93.3% for 20 mL, 88.3% for 40 mL, 71.7% for 60 mL, 43.3% for 80 mL, and 30.0% for 100 mL. Statistically significant differences in the detection rate were found between 40 mL and 60 mL and between 60 mL and 80 mL. No statistically significant increase in the detection rate was observed within a given volume set even when the number of core biopsies increased from 12 to 20. CONCLUSION: The diagnostic yield of systematic randomized biopsies is inversely proportional to the phantom volume.
Agar ; Amorphophallus ; Biopsy* ; Fungi ; Ink ; Prostate* ; Silicon ; Silicones ; Tongue* ; Ultrasonography

Secondary cutaneous cryptococcosis may occur earlier than other manifestations of disseminated cryptococcosis. A 68-year-old woman presented with multiple ulcerative lesions on the right calf of 2 weeks duration. She had been treated with antibiotics, but the lesions spread rapidly. The initial clinical impression was necrotizing fasciitis, but routine KOH mounting from the ulcerative lesions showed numerous budding yeast cells with peripheral clear zones and further investigations including a skin biopsy, tissue cultures and India ink preparations allowed a rapid and definitive diagnosis of cutaneous cryptococcosis. Studies for other evidence of infection elsewhere revealed an asymptomatic pulmonary lesion. We report a case of secondary cutaneous cryptococcosis clinically mimicking necrotizing fasciitis that occured before other manifestations of disseminated cryptococcosis.
Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Biopsy ; Cryptococcosis* ; Diagnosis ; Fasciitis, Necrotizing* ; Female ; Humans ; India ; Ink ; Saccharomycetales ; Skin ; Ulcer

The detection of the tubercle bacilli is absolutely necessary to make definite diagnosis of patients with genitourinary tuberculosis. Recently it has been reported that the detection rate of tubercle bacilli from the patient's urine is decreasing because of abuse of the anti-tuberculous drugs and the resistance developed in the experimental animals such as mouse and guinea pig (Marks, 1972). Therefore the necessity of the development of better diagnostic methods has been mandatory. Recently it was reported that the Korean chipmunks(Tamias sibiricus asiaticus. Gmelin) are highly susceptible to tubercle bacilli (Chang et al., 1971). The specific objection of this study is to pursue the possibility of using the chipmunks for the early diagnosis of genitourinary tuberculosis. Twenty-four hour urines of 34 patients with suspected genitourinary tuberculosis were tested for tubercle bacilli with smear, culture, and inoculation ink chipmunks and mice intraperitoneally. The results are briefly summarized as follows: 1. 18 cases out of 34 patients with suspected genitourinary tuberculosis were confirmed to be positive by any means of stained smear, culture and animal inoculation. Of 18 proved genitourinary tuberculosis. 12 cases were confirmed by smear, culture and mouse inoculation, and on the other hand. 14 cases by chipmunks inoculation. 2. In the group of chipmunks inoculation, 8 cases were found to be positive on the 10th day and 14 cages on the 20th day. 3. These findings suggest that the period required for the detection of tubercle bacilli was shorter and the positive rate was higher than that of other animals and other methods. For the clinical applications of the Korean chipmunks as a diagnostic tools, further effort is considered to be necessary.
Animals ; Diagnosis ; Early Diagnosis ; Guinea Pigs ; Hand ; Humans ; Ink ; Mice ; Sciuridae* ; Tuberculosis*

BACKGROUND: Steroid acne have similar clinical manifestations with Malassezia folliculitis, so it is not easy to distinguish between these disease entities clinically. And there have been few reports about them and the therapeutic efficacy of antifungal agent for steroid acne. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to find out different points clinically between steroid-using acneiform eruption group and the group without use, and describe the results of direct-microscopic examinations and establish the relationships between therapeutic responses to oral antifungal agent and some variables like use of corticosteroids, grade of direct-microscopically positive score. METHODS: With 91 patients according to the protocol prepared, we described characteristics of the lesions, sites, and distributions, use of corticosteroids, then examined Malassezia spores with 10% KOH/Parker blue black ink mount from patient's skin lesions. And finally we compared the reponses to antifungal agent. For objective evaluation we used direct microscopic grading method to count spores introduced by Jacinto-Jamora et al. RESULTS: In both groups with and without use of corticosteroids, most had characteristics of papules and pustules, symmetric distributions except the patients using topical corticosteroids. In all positive groups, there was no significant difference in therapeutic responses regardless of the previous use of corticosteroids. Interestingly therapeutic response rate of (1+) group to itraconazole are similar with that of higher scoring groups. CONCLUSION: We suggest that not in a tropical area like Korea, direct-microscopically low score ((1+) or (2+)) and even negatives with typical manifestations of Malassezia folliculitis has a clinical significance and both steroid acne and Malassezia folliculitis may be one spectrum of the same disease.
Acne Vulgaris* ; Acneiform Eruptions ; Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Folliculitis* ; Humans ; Ink ; Itraconazole ; Korea ; Malassezia* ; Skin ; Spores