A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for detection of the pathogenic Yersinia pestis from other Yersinia spp. was developed. Five Y. pestis strains, ninety-two other Yersinia species and twenty-four Enterobacteriaceae strains were collected in Korea and from other countries. Oligonucleotide primers were designed from pathogenic gene of antiphagocytic protein capsule gene (fra 1) and plasminogen activator gene (pla). The 428 bp DNA fragment was amplified from five Y. pestis which contained the fra I gene. No product was amplified from other Yersinia species and other strains of the Enterobacteriaceae. The 439 bp DNA fragment was amplified from three K pestis which contained the pla gene. No product was amplified from two Y. pestis, other Yersinia species and other strains of the Enterobacteriaceae. These showed that the designed primers were specific for detection of Y. pestis among other Yersinia species and Enterobacteriaceae strains. Amplification was successful whether the template was derived from purified DNA or from aliquots of boiled bacterial suspension. The detection limits were 100 pg of DNA and 100 colony forming units (CFU) for fra I and 100 pg DNA and 10 CFU for pla, respectively. Our results prove that the PCR method using specific primers for Y. pestis is a rapid and convenient procedure for routine clinical detection and identification of Y. pestis.
DNA ; DNA Primers ; Enterobacteriaceae ; Korea ; Limit of Detection ; Plasminogen Activators ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Stem Cells ; Yersinia pestis* ; Yersinia*

No abstract available.
Female ; HELLP Syndrome* ; Pregnancy

The purpose of this study is to characterize a meta-signature of differentially expressed mRNA in chronic kidney disease (CKD) to predict putative microRNA (miRNA) in CKD-mineral bone disorder (CKD-MBD) and confirm the changes in these genes and miRNA expression under uremic conditions by using a cell culture system.PubMed searches using MeSH terms and keywords related to CKD,uremia,and mRNA arrays were conducted.Through a computational analysis,a meta-signature that characterizes the significant intersection of differentially expressed mRNA and expected miRNAs associated with CKD-MBD was determined.Additionally,changes in gene and miRNA expressions under uremic conditions were confirmed with human Saos-2 osteoblast-like cells.A statistically significant mRNA meta-signature of upregulated and downregulated mRNA levels was identified.Furthermore,miRNA expression profiles were inferred,and computational analyses were performed with the imputed microRNA regulation based on weighted ranked expression and putative microRNA targets (IMRE) method to identify miRNAs associated with CKD occurrence.TLR4 and miR-146b levels were significantly associated with CKD-MBD.TLR4 levels were significantly downregulated,whereas pri-miR-146b and miR-146b were upregulated in the presence of uremic toxins in human Saos-2 osteoblast-like cells.Differentially expressed miRNAs associated with CKD-MBD were identified through a computational analysis,and changes in gene and miRNA expressions were confirmed with an in vitro cell culture system.

Porokeratosis may be due to an abnormal clone of cells, predisposing affected individusls to development of malignant neoplssm over involved area. A 58-year old female is prsented with basal cell epithelioma associated with PPPD, exhibiting the classical histopathologic criteria of the disease. Total excision for basal cell epithelioma and oral administration of etretinate for the treatment of porokeratosis plantaris, palmaris et disseminata and for the prevention of cancer developrnent resulted in good response.
Acitretin ; Administration, Oral ; Carcinoma, Basal Cell* ; Clone Cells ; Etretinate ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Porokeratosis*

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to identify postoperative renal function and preoperative factors that can predict renal impairment after living donor nephrectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 172 patients undergoing living donor nephrectomy for kidney transplantation (115 males, 57 females). We analyzed the renal function measured by serum creatinine and the 99mTc- diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid (DTPA) renal scan. Using a univariate and multivariate analysis, we also analyzed multiple independent variables for the remaining renal function following living donor nephrectomy, such as serum creatinine, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), age, sex, duration of follow-up, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), serum calcium, serum phosphate, serum uric acid. RESULTS: The mean age of the donors was 34 years, and the mean duration of the follow-ups was 11 months. The mean serum creatinine at 11 months after kidney donation was increased compared to preoperative creatinine (1.26mg/dl vs. 0.93mg/dl), and significantly greater in the males than in the females (1.36mg/dl vs. 1.09mg/dl). Mean GFR measured by the 99mTc- DTPA renal scan at 11 months after kidney donation was 69.2 ml/min/ 1.73m2 and similar for men and women (72.3ml/min/1.73m2 vs. 68.3ml/ min/1.73m2). The univariate analysis showed that preoperative creatinine was significantly associated with postoperative creatinine only (p<0.001), and age and sex were associated with the change in creatinine (p=0.046, p<0.001). The univariate analysis also showed that preoperative GFR and age were significantly associated with postoperative GFR (p<0.001, p<0.001), and age was associated with compensatory change in GFR (p= 0.008). The multivariate analysis showed that preoperative GFR was the primary predictive factor of postoperative GFR (r=0.73, p<0.001), and age was an independent secondary predictive factor (r= 0.67, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that postoperative renal function has been preserved in kidney donors, and preoperative creatinine, preoperative GFR, and age at donation were the important predictive factors of renal function after living donor nephrectomy.
Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Calcium ; Creatinine ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Humans ; Kidney ; Kidney Transplantation ; Living Donors* ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Nephrectomy* ; Pentetic Acid ; Tissue Donors ; Uric Acid

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine whether the stone mineral content (SMC) and stone mineral density (SMD), as measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, can predict the stone fragility in extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). Materials and Methods: In the experimental study, the stone size, weight, SMC and SMD of 111 urinary calculi, obtained by open surgery, were measured. The SMC and SMD were measured using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, which is the gold standard for measuring the bone mineral content and density. The number of shock waves necessary for full fragmentation was accepted as a measure of the stone fragility in ESWL (EDAP-sonolith Praktis). In the clinical study, the stone size, SMC and SMD were measured in a total of 48 patients with a solitary renal stone of less than 3cm. Prior to ESWL all patients underwent dual energy X-ray absorptiometry to calculate the SMC and SMD. The correlations between the number of total shock waves and the stone size, SMC and SMD were analyzed. Results: In the experimental study, the stone size, stone weight, SMC and SMD values correlated with total shock waves, with a correlation coefficients (R) of 0.79, 0.95, 0.99 and 0.86, respectively (n=111). In the clinical study, the mean stone size, mean MC and MD values differed significantly between the clinically successful and failed ESWL (n=36 and n=12), respectively (p=0.0002, p=0.004, p=0.004). On a simple regression analysis, the SMC (R2=0.74), SMD (R2=0.56) and stone size (R2=0.51) were significant factors in predicting the number of shock waves. Using the receiver operating characteristic curves for comparing the stone size, SMC and SMD in relation to the number of shock waves, the areas under the respective curves were 0.79, 0.84 and 0.81 with cut-off values of 1.8, 1.4 and 1.8. Conclusions: The stone size, SMC and SMD measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry may provide a prediction of the outcome of patients prior to ESWL treatment. Patients with high SMC (greater than 1.4gm) could be recommended for percutaneous nephrolithotripsy or another treatment modality, thus, avoiding the unnecessary cost of prior ESWL.
Absorptiometry, Photon* ; Bone Density ; Humans ; Lithotripsy* ; ROC Curve ; Shock* ; Urinary Calculi

PURPOSE: To investigate the efficacy of age, International Prostate Symptom Score(I-PSS), quality of life(QOL) score, various parameters obtained by transrectal ultrasonography(TRUS) as predictors of the onset of acute urinary retention in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 1996 to December 1997, 101 men(mean age 70years, range 52-92) with symptoms of BPH were enrolled in this study. Among them, 36 patients had suffered from acute urinary retention. TRUS was used to calculate the total prostate(TP) volume, the transitional zone(TZ) volume, the transitional zone index(TZ index=TZ volume/TP volume). To compare the usefulness of various indices, the area under the receiver-operator characteristic(ROC) curve was calculated for each index. RESULTS: There were significant differences in age, TP volume, TZ volume, TZ index between patients with and without acute urinary retention, but no significant differences in I-PSS and QOL score. In patients with acute urinary retention, the area under the ROC curve was 0.911 for the TZ index, 0.892 for the TZ volume, 0.769 for the TP volume and 0.660 for the age. CONCLUSIONS: The TZ index is a useful predictor of acute urinary retention in patients with BPH and may be a useful parameter for decision of surgical intervention.
Humans ; Prostate ; Prostatic Hyperplasia* ; ROC Curve ; Urinary Retention*

No abstract available.
Hemangioma, Cavernous*

Bony defect is one of the most common problems in craniomaxillofacial surgery. Although aurogenous bone graft is the best choice for the treatment of bone defect, it provides many problems such as donor site morbidity, irregular absorption, and limited amount of harvest. To overcome the shortcomings of autogenous bone graft many bone substitutes have been introduced. The ideal bone substitution is to have characteristics such as cheap, easy to obtain, rapid fusion to recipient bone, hard structure, long maintenance of shape and volume, low infection rate, and low exposure rate. Among those bone substitutes which have been widely used we chose lyophilized cartilage allograft because of low antigenecity, low resorption rate, easiness of carving and ling term preservation. From August 1993 to August 1997, 66 patients had been performed craniomaxillofacial reconstruction with lyophilized cartilage allograft. Orbital wall reconstruction and correction of enophthalmos were 24, correction of cleft lip and nose deformity were 19, temporal augmentations were 7, and others 16. Complications such as infection, exposure were not common. And partially removed cartilage was proved some calcification. Radiologic follow-up presented well positioned lyophilized cartilage allograft. Two radiologic works revealed haziness of bone density at the site of cartilage allograft. This suggests the ossification of lyophilized cartilage allograft. Together with liw infection rate, low exposure rate, and good framework for osteoconduction, lyophilized cartilage allograft are regarded as one of the good bone substitutes.
Absorption ; Allografts* ; Bone Density ; Bone Regeneration ; Bone Substitutes ; Cartilage* ; Cleft Lip ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Enophthalmos ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Nose ; Orbit ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants

PURPOSE: To determine whether prostate-specific antigen density(PSAD) and transition zone prostate-specific antigen density(TZ-PSAD) can predict the clinical response of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH) to alpha-adrenergic blocker(terazosin). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 2000 to June 2002, 202 patients with BPH who were treated with alpha-adrenergic blocker(terazosin) were enrolled in this study. The peak flow rate(Qmax) and the International Prostate Symptom Score(IPSS) were compared prior to and 3 months following medication. We analyzed total prostate volume(TPV), transition zone volume(TZV), transition zone index(transition zone volume/total prostate volume, TZI), PSAD(PSA/total prostate volume), and TZ-PSAD (PSA/transition zone volume) as predictors of the response to alpha-adrenergic blocker (terazosin). RESULTS: At 3 months following medication with terazosin, a statistically significant improvement was shown in the IPSS and Qmax. There was no significant correlation between pretreatment TPV, TZV, TZI and the percent change in the IPSS and Qmax. However, there was a significant negative correlation between pretreatment PSAD (r=-0.632, p<0.001), TZ-PSAD (r=-0.599, p<0.001) and the percentage change in Qmax, while there was a positive correlation between pretreatment PSAD (r=0.620, p<0.001), TZ-PSAD(r=0.604, p<0.001) and the percentage change in the IPSS. Using the receiver operating characteristic curves to compare PSAD and TZ-PSAD for IPSS, the areas under the respective curves were 0.867 and 0.874(cut-off values were 0.04 and 0.1), and for the Qmax, the areas under the respective curves were 0.876 and 0.873(cut-off values were 0.04 and 0.1). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with a lower pretreatment PSAD and TZ-PSAD responded better to alpha-adrenergic blocker than those with a higher pretreatment PSAD and TZ-PSAD. PSAD and TZ-PSAD were predictors of the response to alpha-adrenergic blocker (terazosin) in patients with BPH.
Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists ; Humans ; Prostate ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; Prostatic Hyperplasia* ; ROC Curve