Humans ; Rectal Neoplasms/surgery* ; Anastomosis, Surgical ; Anal Canal/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome

Dust ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Occupational Exposure ; prevention & control ; United States ; Workplace

Patients with severe congestive heart failure due to rheumatic heart disease generally have both reduced cardiac output and increased pulmonary and systemic venous pressures. A study was therefore made of the use of vasodilator therapy with orally administered hydralazine, which acts on arteriolar resistance vessels and thus reduces afterload. 55 children aged from 4 years old to 15 year old were divided into two groups. Group I received oral hydralazine(4mg/kg/kay in 4 divided doses) in addition to digoxin therapy for mean duration of 10.5 months. Group II received oral digoxin only. The hemodynamic results using M-mode echocardiography, chest X-ray, and EKG between two groups were analyzed. 1) 4(78%) of 55 patients had only mitral valve involvement and another 12 patients had double valve involvement and all the patients belonged to functional class III or IV fo New York heart Association. 2) Left venticular end-diastolic dimensions and the height of R in V6 on EKG were not changed significantly in both groups. 3) Shortening fraction, LPEP/LVET, and RPEP/RVET were markedly improved in both groups, but the degree of improvement in group I was more significant than in group II. 4) 21(80%) of 26 patients in group I showed significant improvement in functional class(t=1.92, 0.05 Adolescent ; Cardiac Output ; Child* ; Child, Preschool ; Digoxin ; Echocardiography ; Electrocardiography ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP)* ; Heart ; Heart Failure* ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Hydralazine ; Mitral Valve ; Rheumatic Heart Disease ; Thorax ; Venous Pressure

The rupture of ventricular septum complicating acute myocardial infarction requires prompt recognition for the correct management of the patient. The diagnosis of this condition had required right heart catheterization. We performed two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography in patients with systolic murmur after acute myocardioal infarction. Ventricular septal defect was found at lower interventricular septum by mapping technique of pulsed wave Doppler system and obtained high velocity Doppler tracting by continuous wave Doppler echocardiography. Doppler echocardiography could be useful noninvasive method for detection of ventricular septal rupture after acute myocardial infarction.
Cardiac Catheterization ; Cardiac Catheters ; Diagnosis ; Echocardiography, Doppler ; Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular* ; Humans ; Infarction ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Rupture ; Systolic Murmurs ; Ventricular Septal Rupture ; Ventricular Septum

Adult ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; complications ; pathology ; Castleman Disease ; complications ; pathology ; Humans ; Kidney Neoplasms ; complications ; pathology ; Male ; Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy

In order to develop monoclonal antibodies (McAbs) against the gp90 protein of reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV), the His-tagged gp90 protein of REV was used to immunize BALB/c mice. Hybridomas were generated by fusing mouse myeloma cells SP2/0 with the splenocytes from the immunized mice. After screening and 3 rounds of cloning process, 3 hybridomas (3G5-B8, 3G5-A10 and 1G12) that stably secreted McAbs against the REV-gp90 were obtained. The isotypes of the McAbs were determined to be IgG1, IgG1 and IgG2b. The McAbs specifically bound to gp90 in REV-infected DF-1 cells, as demonstrated by Western blotting and indirect immunofluorescence assay. The recognition regions on gp90 that were recognized by 3G5-B8/3G5-A10 and 1G12 were located between amino acids 200 to 245 and 230 to 235, respectively, as demonstrated by Western blotting analysis. These McAbs will be useful in the diagnosis and pathogenesis study of REV.
Animals ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; biosynthesis ; Antibody Specificity ; Blotting, Western ; Epitope Mapping ; Hybridomas ; Immunoglobulin G ; biosynthesis ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Reticuloendotheliosis virus ; immunology ; Viral Envelope Proteins ; immunology

Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) VP4 plays an important role in immunosuppression of host. In order to develop monoclonal antibodies (McAbs) against VP4, we vaccinated BALB/c mice with His-VP4, screened and subcloned positive clones. We established 4 hybridoma cell lines that stably secreted McAbs against VP4 and named these cell lines 3B3, 3H11, 4C8 and 4G6, respectively. We tested the dissociation constant (Kd) of these McAbs, and found that their K(d)s were 4.61 x 10(-11), 1.71 x 10(-10), 4.26 x 10(-11), 5.02 x 10(-11), respectively. The isotypes of these McAbs were determined to be IgG1, IgG1, IgG2b and IgG1. These McAbs specifically bound to VP4 in IBDV infected DF-1 cells as demonstrated by Western blotting analysis and fluorescence antibody assay. These McAbs would help to detect IBDV infection and to analyze the biological activities of IBDV VP4.
Animals ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; biosynthesis ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Line ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Hybridomas ; Infectious bursal disease virus ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Viral Structural Proteins ; immunology

We have investigated the potential usefulness of stereoscopic viewing of optic disc photographs in marking the disc margin in computerized analysis with the Rodenstock Analyzer in 48 eyes of 26 patients with ocular hypertension or primary open-angle glaucoma. Marking of the disc margin without Method 1) and with the aid of stereoscopic viewing of disc photographs (Method 2) three consecutive times by one observer at the same sitting, and three subsequent topographic analyses of each method were done on each 48 eyes. The mean intraphotographic variabilities of such optic disc parameters as rim area, and cup volume with Method 2 were significantly less than those with Method 1 overall and in 16 eyes (33%) with poor video images having an ill-defined disc margin (p less than 0.05 for each), but not in 32 eyes (67%) with clear video images having a well-defined disc margin. Furthermore, the mean paired differences of rim area, disc area and cup volume between the two methods (Method 1 minus Method 2) were also statistically significant overall and in eyes with poor video images (p less than 0.05 for each).
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Glaucoma, Open-Angle/pathology ; Human ; *Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted ; Male ; Middle Age ; Ocular Hypertension/diagnosis ; Optic Disk/*anatomy & histology/pathology ; Photography

Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; Ethnic Groups ; genetics ; Female ; Genetics, Population ; Humans ; Male ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; ethnology

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) belong to TGF-β superfamily and are a group of important cytokines involved in cell differentiation, proliferation and embryonic development. Multiple BMPs play important roles in several functions of vertebrates. Signaling pathway of BMPs is known to be mediated by Smad proteins, which include 8 members while Smad1, Smad5 and Smad8 are involved in BMPs signal transduction while Smad2 and Smad3 are mediated TGF-β signal transduction. Although several BMPs such as BMP4 and BMP9 have been documented in the liver, BMP13 has not been examined in the liver. BMP13 also known as growth differentiation factor (GDF)-6 or cartilage-derived morphogenetic protein (CDMP)-2 is one of the BMPs family members. Function of BMP13 has been investigated in bone and tendon repair. It can stimulate tendon-like cell proliferation. However, our recent findings revealed that there was expression of BMP13 in the liver and its expression was modulated during metabolic disorders. The current article is to understand biological function of BMP13 especially in the liver.
Bone Morphogenetic Proteins ; metabolism ; physiology ; Growth Differentiation Factor 6 ; metabolism ; physiology ; Humans ; Liver ; metabolism ; Liver Diseases ; metabolism ; Smad Proteins ; metabolism