E-cadherin (ECD) is a Ca++ -dependent adhesion molecule which plays a major role in the maintenance of intercellular adhesion in epithelial tissues. The expression pattern of ECD in 77 surgically resected gastric adenocarcinomas was examined by immunohistochemistry, using a rat monoclonal antibody raised against murine E-cadherin (DECAM-1). ECD was strongly expressed uniformly at cell to cell borders in normal gastric epithelium without exception. But, various staining patterns were observed in the cancer tissues. The frequency of tumors with preserved ECD expression (Pre-type) and reduced ECD expression (Rd-type) was 44% and 56%, respectively. Using Lauren's classification, the high frequency of the Pre-type expression in adenocarcinoma of the intestinal type was significantly higher than that in adenocarcinoma of the diffuse type (p<0.05). But, no significant correlation between the ECD expression and the gross type, invasion depth, growth pattern or metastasis was observed. These results suggest that ECD might play a key role in the morphogenesis of gastric adenocarcinoma.
Adenocarcinoma* ; Animals ; Cadherins* ; Classification ; Epithelium ; Immunohistochemistry ; Morphogenesis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Rats

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality. It is well known that androgen and sex hormone-binding globulin(SHBG) in women were associated with risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as obesity, central fat accumulation and atherogenic lipid profile. High resolution B-mode ultrasonography can visualize directly both luminal and vessel wall characteristics, and ultrasonic measurement of carotid intima-medial thickness(IMT) can be used to investigate the atherosclerosis of coronary, cerebral and peripheral arteries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate(DHEA-S) and SHBG, and body fat distribution pattern, cardiovascular risk factor and carotid atherosclerosis in women. METHODS: Blood pressure, fasting serum glucose, insulin, lipid profile, SHBG and DHEA-S were measured. Body fat distribution pattern was assessed by waist to hip ratio, waist to thigh ratio and subscapular to triceps skin fold thickness ratio, faf mass measured by bioelectric impedance analyzer, subcutaneous fat area, visceral fat area, and visceral to subcutaneous fat area ratio(VSR) at the level of umbilicus using the computed tomography. The IMT of the carotid artery was measured by high resolution B mode ultrasound as a marker of atherosclerosis. RESULTS: 1) There was no significant difference of age-adjusted values of carotid IMT among subjects with NGT(0.426+/-0.09mm), IGT(0.46+/-10.09mm) and NIDDM(0.453+/-0.11mm). 2) In postrnenopausal women, carotid IMT was greater(0.484+/-0.11mm, p=0.05) than premenopausal women(0.426+/-0.08mm), but it was not significant after age adjustment. Serum SHBG and DHEA-S levels in postmenopausal women were significantly lower(p<0.05) than premenopausal women, but they were not significant after age adjustment. 3) Carotid IMT was significantly correlated with age(r=0.37, p<0.01), fasting serum glucose (r=0.32, p<0.01), total cholesterol(r= 0.25, p<0.05), LDL-cholesterol(r=0.26, p<0.05), visceral fat area(r=0.35, p<0.01) and VSR(r=0.31, p<0.05). 4) By the stepwise multiple regression analysis, carotid IMT was positively and significantly associated with age(p<0.01) and serum DHEA-S concentration(p<0.05) in dent of age, body mass index, waist to hip ratio, fasting serum glucose. CONCLUSION: Carotid IMT was associated with age and serum DHEA-S concentration in women without cardiovascular disease. Therefore, serum DHEA-S may be one of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in women. However, we could not conclude its cause-result relationship because of cross sectional nature of our study, and prospective study will be needed.
Arteries ; Atherosclerosis ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Body Fat Distribution ; Body Mass Index ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Carotid Arteries ; Carotid Artery Diseases* ; Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate* ; Dehydroepiandrosterone* ; Electric Impedance ; Fasting ; Female ; Humans ; Insulin ; Intra-Abdominal Fat ; Mortality ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Phenobarbital ; Risk Factors ; Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin* ; Skin ; Subcutaneous Fat ; Thigh ; Ultrasonics ; Ultrasonography ; Umbilicus ; Waist-Hip Ratio

Stereotactic vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (VAB) has been used to evaluate microcalcifications or non-palpable breast lesions on mammography. Although stereotactic VAB is usually performed in a prone or upright position, an expensive prone table is necessary and vasovagal reactions often occur during the procedure. For these reasons, the lateral decubitus position can be applied for stereotactic VAB, and true lateral mammography can be used to detect the lesion. We report on 15 cases of lateral decubitus positioning for stereotactic VAB with true lateral mammography for non-palpable breast lesions or microcalcifications. The mean procedure time was approximately 30.1 minutes, and no complications occurred during the procedures. Fourteen cases had benign breast lesions and one case had a ductal carcinoma in situ. The lateral decubitus stereotactic VAB with true lateral mammography can be applied for microcalcifications or non-palpable breast lesions and helps to minimize anxiety and vasovagal reactions in patients.
Anxiety ; Biopsy ; Breast ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating ; Humans ; Mammography ; Stereotaxic Techniques

Clear cell sarcoma is a rare malignant rumor of the kidney which occurs in children and is differentiated from Wilms' tumor by its different clinicopathologic features and natural history. Previous studies indicate that this tumor may be of mesenchymal cell origin; however, this has not been proven conclusively. Further accumulation and study need to be conducted in order to clarify the histogenesis of this tumor. We report two cases of clear cell sarcoma of the kidney which occurred in a 2 and a half-year old and a 2-year old boy. This report places special emphasis on the clinicopathologic characteristics of these two cases including electron microscopic and immunohistochemical findings. Attempts were also made to differentiate the clinicopathologic aspects of clear cell sarcoma from Wilms' tumor and speculate on the histogenesis of this rumor.
Child ; Male ; Female ; Humans

No abstract available.
Blood Group Incompatibility* ; Bromelains*

Thrombomodulin (TM) is thrombin receptor present on the luminal surface of endothelial cells. Because the thrombin-TM complex acts as an anticoagulant, the functional variants or deficiency of TM may lead to increment of thrombotic tendency. In this study, we screened the genetic variants of the TM gene in patients with myocardial infarction (MI) and analyzed the genotype to elucidate the effects of genetic variations of TM gene on the development of the MI. We screened a promoter region and coding sequence of the TM gene using single strand conformation polymorphism-heteroduplex analysis and identified three common genetic variants: those were TM G-33A, TM Ala455Val, and TM C1922T. The genotype frequencies were investigated in the patients with MI (n=234) and control subjects (n=291) by the method of allele-specific oligomer hybridization. The frequencies of mutant genotypes (TM -33A, TM 455Val, and TM 1922T) were higher in patient group compared to the control subjects in males while there were no significant differences in females. In the multiple logistic regression analysis, TM 455Val and TM 1922T alleles were independent risk factors for MI (OR[95% CI: 1.799[1.125-2.878] p=0.014 and 5.624[1.019-31.025], p=0.048, respectively) in males. However, the genetic variations were not independent risk factors for MI in females. There were significant linkage disequilibriums among three genetic variants. These linkage disequilibriums explain the similar effects of three genetic variants on the development of MI. To investigate the effect of the TM G-33A mutation on TM promoter activity, the two TM promoter constructs (pTM-355 and pTM-125, bearing TM -33G or TM -33A) containing of firefly luciferase gene were transfected into HepG2, BAE, and CHO cells. The promoter activities were higher in the promoter constructs with TM -33G compared to the constructs with TM -33A in pTM-355. These results suggest the possibility of the positive predisposing effect of TM -33A allele on MI in males. The functional study for TM Ala455Val and TM C1922T should be followed to elucidate the genotype effects of these mutations on the development of MI. In this study, we identified three genetic variants of TM gene and showed the significant associations between genetic variants and MI in males. These results proposed that TM gene is an attractive candidate for genetic risk factor for MI in Koreans.
Alleles ; Animals ; CHO Cells ; Clinical Coding ; Cricetinae ; Endothelial Cells ; Female ; Fireflies ; Genetic Variation ; Genotype ; Humans ; Linkage Disequilibrium ; Logistic Models ; Luciferases ; Male ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Phenobarbital ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Receptors, Thrombin ; Risk Factors* ; Thrombomodulin

The purpose of this study was to estimate the daily intake of vitamin A in Korean female university students. Vitamin A intake was estimated using an inconsecutive 3-day dietary intake survey from 481 young women. Vitamin A intake values were calculated based on the data in USDA database. Average age, height, and weight of the subjects were 20.05 years, 162.13 cm and 54.38 kg, respectively. The subject's average intake of energy was 1645.67 kcal. The mean vitamin A, retinol and beta carotene intakes were 908.35 +/- 863.18 ug retinol equivalent/day, 199.19 +/- 166.00 ug/day and 3872.59 +/- 4972.17 ug/day, respectively. The 21.83% of the subjects consumed less than the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) for vitamin A. And subjects consumed 141.69% of the Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI) for vitamin A. Food groups consumed with high vitamin A content in our subjects included vegetables (423.96 ug RE/day), potato and starches (213.64 ug RE/day), cereals (62.60 ug RE/day), eggs (55.17 ug RE/day) and milks (53.45 ug RE/day). The major food sources of vitamin A were sweet potato, carrot, spinach, egg, and cereal, and the top 30 foods provided 89.57% of total vitamin A. Also animal-derived food provided 9.65% of the vitamin A intake from the top 30 foods. In conclusion, judging from RNI, the vitamin A intake of the Korean female university students in this study was generally adequate. The result of our study may be used as a basis for follow-up studies of vitamin A intake like assessment of vitamin A nutritional status or evaluation of carotenoid food sources in Korean young women.
beta Carotene ; Carotenoids ; Edible Grain ; Daucus carota ; Eggs ; Female ; Humans ; Ipomoea batatas ; Milk ; Nutritional Status ; Ovum ; Solanum tuberosum ; Spinacia oleracea ; Starch ; United States Department of Agriculture ; Vegetables ; Vitamin A ; Vitamins

The purpose of this study was to determine the urinary Ca, P, Mg, Zn, Cu, and Mn levels and bone mineral density (BMD) in sixty-two postmenopausal women. The study was conducted through anthropometric checkup, 24-hour recall, 24-hour urine and bone mineral density using DEXA. Average age, height, weight and body fat of the subjects were respectively 65.39 years, 150.19 cm, 58.03 kg and 37.22%. The average spine and femoral neck BMD of subjects were -2.19, -3.13. The mean intakes of Ca, P and Mg were 524.7 mg, 993.10 mg, and 254.6 mg and those of Zn, Cu and Mn were 8.6 mg, 1.5 mg, and 3.5 mg. The average 24-hour urinary excretion of Ca (UCa), P (UP) and Mg (UMg) were 161.07 mg, 673.68 mg, and 99.87 mg. The average 24-hour urinary excretion of Zn (UZn), Cu (UCu) and Mn (UMn) were 366.50 microg, 22.57 microg, and 1.55 microg. Ca intake showed significantly positive correlations with urinary UCa (p < 0.05), UMg (p < 0.01) and spine BMD (p < 0.05). P intake showed significantly positive correlations with UCa (p < 0.05), UMg (p < 0.05) and UZn (p < 0.05). Mg intake showed significantly positive correlations with UZn (p < 0.05) and Mn intake showed significantly positive correlations with UCa (p < 0.05). Multiple regression analysis indicates that Ca intake and UMg is the most important factor to increase spine BMD. On the other hand, UCa is the most important factor to decrease spine BMD. Higher femoral neck BMD was related to UP, while lower femoral neck BMD was related to UCa. In conclusion, Dietary intake of Ca showed positive effect of spine BMD, while excessive P intake showed negative effect on BMD due to increases in UCa, UMg and UZn. Further studies are required to investigate the relationship between bone metabolism and mineral excretion.
Adipose Tissue ; Bone Density ; Brachyura ; Female ; Femur Neck ; Hand ; Humans ; Magnesium ; Spine

The purpose of this study was to develop and test the validity of standardized Korean nomenclature of the Home Health Care Classification(HHCC), developed by Saba at the University of Georgetown. The four phases of the study were : (1) Two professors and 15 graduate students, who were taking a nursing intervention course, translated the HHCC into Korean. (2)12 nurses with various clinical backgrounds reviewed each nomenclature taking into consideration of the definition and activities, and the Delphi method was used to determine the best appropriate nomenclature for each term; (3)20 academic and clinical experts in nursing were given a questionnaire to rate the validity of each Korean nomenclature using a 5 point Likert scale ranging from very inappropriate to very appropriate; (4) Five members of the Korean Nurses Association Research Committee reviewed the survey results and determined the most appropriate Korean nomenclature for each term of the HHCC. Most of the nomenclatures had a score of more than 4.0, but several terms had a score lower than 4.0. They are Ambulation therapy(3.1.1), Anticipatory grieving(3.11), Sexual patterns alteration(3.17), Nursing care coordination(3. 22), Physical therapist service(3.22), Regular diet(3.33), and Instrumental activities of daily living(3.44). These research results will be included in the nursing vocabulary dictionary to be published by the Korean Nurses Association.
Classification* ; Delivery of Health Care* ; Humans ; Nursing ; Nursing Care ; Physical Therapists ; Vocabulary ; Walking ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the perception of sugar reduction, nutrition education, and frequency of snacking in children according to the self-perceived dietary preferences for sweet taste by mothers in Busan. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A total of 277 mothers were surveyed, and their perceptions of sugar reduction and the frequency of snacking in children were assessed using a questionnaire. The subjects were classified into either a sweet (n = 91) or an unsweet (n = 186) group according to their self-perceived preferences for a sweet taste. RESULTS: In the sweet group, the results for sweet products were sweetened ice (86.8%), confectionery (74.7%), processed milk (73.6%), carbonated beverages (71.4%), and fermented milk (53.9%). In the unsweet group, the results were sweetened ice (88.7%), carbonated beverages (78.5%), processed milk (75.8%), confectionery (69.4%), and fermented milk (50.5%). The necessity of sugar intake reduction was high in both groups (sweet = 89.0%, unsweet = 82.8%). Beverage purchases after identifying the nutrition labeling was significantly lower in the sweet group than in the unsweet group (P < 0.05). The reasons for the beverage purchases instead of water were "habitually" (50.5%) and "like sweet taste" (25.3%) in the sweet group (P < 0.01). Snacking in children was significantly higher in the sweet group based on the increased frequencies of carbonated drinks (P < 0.01), fast food (P < 0.001), candy and chocolate (P < 0.05), crackers (P < 0.01), ramen (P < 0.01), and fish paste/hotdogs (P < 0.01). The frequency of purchase education after identifying the nutrition labeling was significantly lower in the sweet group than in the unsweet group (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that a perception of sugar reduction and practical nutrition education aimed at reducing the sugar intake are necessary to improve dietary habits.
Beverages ; Busan* ; Cacao ; Candy ; Carbonated Beverages ; Child* ; Education* ; Fast Foods ; Food Habits* ; Food Labeling ; Humans ; Ice ; Milk ; Mothers* ; Snacks* ; Water