BACKGROUND: Hairdressers are individuals at high risk of occupational skin disease, especially occupational allergic contact dermatitis (OACD), because of continuous exposure to water, detergents, hair dyes and bleaches, permanent wave solutions and metal equipment. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the frequency of OACD among hairdressers and the sources of sensitization through patch test and questionnaires. METHODS: We analyzed the occupational characteristics (age, gender, duration of work), site of dermatitis, suspicious sensitizers, and use of preventive measures in a group of 96 hairdressers who answered a questionnaire. Among them, 61 hairdressers who were suspected of having occupational allergic contact dermatitis were patch-tested with the Korean standard series and hairdressing series. RESULTS: Among 96 hairdressers, 74 hairdressers (78%) responded with their experiences of work-related skin problems. The results of patch test revealed an occupationally-relevant sensitization in 82% of the 61 hairdressers. Mean frequencies of sensitization ranked as follows: nickel sulfate (37.7%), cobalt chloride (34.4%), paraphenylenediamine base (21.3%), thimerosal (11.5%), potassium dichromate (9.8%), mercury ammonium chloride (8.2%), Balsam Peru (6.6%), glyceryl monothioglycolate (4.9%), and fragrance mix (4.9%). We also classified these allergens as hairdressing agents, and hair dye showed the highest frequency of positive reactions (30%). CONCLUSION: From this study, we were able to unravel the important sensitizers related to the hairdressing profession. To improve the safety of their job and to the prevent occupational allergic contact dermatitis, hairdressers should be aware of these common sensitizers, and try to improve protective measures and their applications.
Allergens ; Ammonium Chloride ; Cobalt ; Dermatitis ; Dermatitis, Allergic Contact ; Detergents ; Hair ; Hair Dyes ; Nickel ; Patch Tests* ; Peru ; Potassium Dichromate ; Skin Diseases* ; Skin* ; Thimerosal

Pancreatic adenosquamous carcinoma is a rare variant of ductal adenocarcinoma and accounts for only 1~4% of exocrine pancreatic malignancies. Although pancreatic carcinoma shows an aggressive biologic behavior, cutaneous metastasis from pancreas carcinoma is rare. We report a case of a pancreatic adenosquamous carcinoma which clinically manifested as two firm nodules on the right upper extremity. It was this first clinical manifestation that made it possible to diagnose pancreatic adenosquamous carcinoma.
Adenocarcinoma ; Carcinoma, Adenosquamous* ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Pancreas* ; Upper Extremity

Thymic carcinoma is a rare malignant neoplasm of the thymic epithelium, distinguished from invasive thymoma by the presence of malignant cytology and a greater incidence of local invasion and embolic metastases. The symptoms are anterior chest pain, dyspnea, coughing, and superior vena cava syndrome usually caused by compression of mediastinal organs. Histologic grade is the most important prognostic factor. Although it is common to observe intrathoracic invasion or metastasis, extrathoracic invasion is extremely rare, and only a few cases have been reported to date. Herein, we report a case of a patient with a thymic carcinoma which showed extrathoracic invasion, presenting as a solitary, pinkish nodule on the chest wall.
Chest Pain ; Cough ; Dyspnea ; Epithelium ; Humans ; Incidence ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Skin* ; Superior Vena Cava Syndrome ; Thoracic Wall ; Thymoma*

BACKGROUND: Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma is one of the most aggressive human cancers with a median survival of only 6 months. Local surgical tumor debulking combined with radio-chemotherapy is generally used to treat this malady, but the low success rate has prompted the search for new therapeutic targets. We used 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-beta-D-ribofuranoside (AICAR) as an AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activator to induce growth suppression and apoptosis in the anaplastic thyroid carcinoma cells. METHODS: We investigated the effect of AICAR on the proliferation of thyroid cancer cell lines (ARO, WRO and FRO) by performing methyl-thiazoletetrazolium bromide assay. We wanted to see the effect of AICAR on the apoptosis and cell cycle of the thyroid cancer cells, and we wanted to determine the mechanism of these changes. RESULTS: The proliferation of all thyroid cancer cell lines was significantly inhibited by administration of AICAR. FRO was the most susceptible cell line to AICAR treatment and so further studies were then performed with this cell line. The suppressive effect of AICAR on cell proliferation was related with phosphorylation of AMPK and the increased apoptosis. Also, cell cycle analysis revealed that progression to the G2-M phase was arrested (S-phase arrest) by AICAR treatment. S-phase arrest was associated with the increased protein expression of p21. CONCLUSION: In the anaplastic thyroid cancer cell lines, AICAR inhibited proliferation due to the arrest in the S-phase; this was accompanied with the increased expression of p21. Overall, AMPK activation by AICAR or any other pharmacological agent could be a tempting potential target for thyroid cancer therapy.
Aminoimidazole Carboxamide ; AMP-Activated Protein Kinases ; Apoptosis ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; Humans ; Phosphorylation ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms*

PURPOSE: Young infants with suspected sepsis routinely undergo laboratory evaluation. In particular, when an infant is a newborn baby, evaluation of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has been frequently included, because the prognosis is poor, irrespectively of the etiology of meningitis. We aimed to examine the clinical predictors of CSF pleocytosis among the newborns. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of all infants, aged 30 days or younger, requiring lumbar puncture. Electronic data sources provided the demographic data of the newborns, the clinical manifestations, and all laboratory values. After a univariate analysis, logistic regression analysis was performed to predict newborns at increased risk for CSF pleocytosis. RESULTS: One hundred thirteen newborns were studied; 20 of whom (17.7%) had CSF pleocytosis. Fever was significantly associated with CSF pleocytosis (P=0.008, OR=5.08, 95% CI, 1.39-18.54). The infants with lethargic appearance also had an increased risk for CSF pleocytosis. Blood urea nitrogen level was higher in patients with pleocytosis. Logistic regression analysis revealed that other clinical features and laboratory data were not significant, except for fever and lethargy. A total of 45% of the infants with CSF pleocytosis were diagnosed with serious bacterial infection, as opposed to 19.4% of those without CSF pleocytosis. CONCLUSION: In case of neonates, it would be better to perform lumbar puncture, when the infant has fever or lethargic appearance, although, the results of routine laboratory tests were nonspecific.
Aged ; Bacterial Infections ; Blood Urea Nitrogen ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; Electronics ; Electrons ; Fever ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Lethargy ; Leukocytosis ; Logistic Models ; Meningitis ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Sepsis ; Spinal Puncture

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Although zirconium oxide ceramics are more and more commonly used in restorative dentistry, for many clinical applications only limited data can be found in the literature. However, it is quite clear that hydrofluoric acid etching is impossible with zirconia ceramics. Therefore, other bonding techniques are required in order to lute these materials adhesively. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of surface treatments on shear bond strengths between two resin cements and a zirconia ceramic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Experimental industrially manufactured yttrium-oxide-partially-stabilized zirconia ceramic discs (Adens, Korea) were used for this study. The ceramic specimens divided into five experimental groups and a control group (as received). Five surface treatments were studied. 1) sandblasting with 110 micrometer Al2O3 at 3 bars pressure 13 seconds at a distance of 10mm, 2) flame-treated with the Silano-Pen for 5 s/cm2, 3) grinding with a diamond bur, 4) sandblasting + Silano-Pen treatment, 5) diamond bur preparation+ Silano-Pen treatment. Acrylic plastic tube (5 mm in height and 3 mm in diameter) were filled with composite to fabricate composite cylinders. The composite cylinders were bonded to the ceramic specimens with either Superbond C & B or Panavia F resin luting agents. All cemented specimens were tested under shear loading until fracture on universal testing machine at a crosshead speed 1mm/min, the maximum load at fracture was recorded. Shear bond strength data were analyzed with oneway analysis of variance and Tukey HSD tests (p<.05). Treated ceramic surfaces and fracture surfaces after shear testing were examined morphologically using scanning electron microscope. Results: Ceramic surface treatment with Silano-Pen after sandblasting improved the bond strength of Superbond C & B resin cement. Superbond CandB resin cement at Silano-Pen after sandblasting(27.4 +/- 3.8 MPa) showed statistically higher shear bond strength than the others. CONCLUSION: Within the limitation of this study, Superbond C & B resin cement are suitable for cementation of zirconia ceramics and flame-treated with the Silano-Pen after sandblasting is required to enhance the bond strength.
Cementation ; Ceramics* ; Dental Cements ; Dental Instruments ; Dentistry ; Hydrofluoric Acid ; Plastics ; Resin Cements* ; Zirconium

Duodenal choriocarcinoma, either primary or metastatic, is very rare. Early diagnosis and prompt initiation of chemotherapy improve the prognosis of this neoplasm. We herein present, together with the referred literatures, a case of a 47-year-old female patient who visited to our hospital with upper intestinal bleeding. She was diagnosed as duodenal choriocarcinoma by operation. Brain metastasis was found soon after the operation and combination chemotherapy was done.
Brain Neoplasms/*secondary ; Choriocarcinoma/*diagnosis/secondary ; Duodenal Neoplasms/*diagnosis/pathology ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/*diagnosis ; Humans ; Middle Aged

Synchronous anal squamous cell carcinoma with colorectal adenocarcinoma is a very rare and interesting disease entity because these neoplasms are essentially different from each other in terms of their anatomical locations, clinical behaviors, histopathological characteristics and treatment. To date, there have been very few case reports regarding the concurrent occurrence of these two distinct neoplasms. Nonetheless, it is recommended that patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the anus and who are older than 50 years should undergo colonoscopy in order to rule out a synchronous colorectal neoplasm. We recently encountered a 72-year-old woman who presented with synchronous squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal and adenocarcinoma of the rectosigmoid junction. The patient underwent curative surgical resection for the colorectal adenocarcinoma and chemoradiotherapy for the concurrent anal squamous cell carcinoma. We describe here our clinical experience with this unusual case and we also conduct a short review of relevant literature.
Adenocarcinoma ; Aged ; Anal Canal ; Anus Neoplasms ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Chemoradiotherapy ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Colonoscopy ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Female ; Humans

A 44 year old man was admitted complaining of exertional dyspnea. The patient denied denied any occupational history of hard metal exposure. Chest radiography showed an increased interstitial marking at the peripheral po rtion of both lower lung fields. The spirometric values were within the normal ranges. However, the diffusion capacity of the lungs was lower. In the bronchial lavage fluid, the characteristic multinucleated giant cells were noticed, and the macrophage compartment was 96% and the neutrophils were 4%. Highresolution CT scan revealed ground glass opacities with emphysematous lung changes at the peripheral portion of the whole lung. An open lung biopsy confirmed the presence of numerous multinucleated giant cells (Define GIF) with an associated interstitial fibrosis throughout the lung. The radiographic abnormalities and symptoms subsequently improved following treatment with oral corticosteroids.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Adult ; Biopsy ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ; Diffusion ; Dyspnea ; Fibrosis ; Giant Cells* ; Glass ; Humans ; Lung ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial* ; Macrophages ; Neutrophils ; Radiography ; Reference Values ; Thorax ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

A 44 year old man was admitted complaining of exertional dyspnea. The patient denied denied any occupational history of hard metal exposure. Chest radiography showed an increased interstitial marking at the peripheral po rtion of both lower lung fields. The spirometric values were within the normal ranges. However, the diffusion capacity of the lungs was lower. In the bronchial lavage fluid, the characteristic multinucleated giant cells were noticed, and the macrophage compartment was 96% and the neutrophils were 4%. Highresolution CT scan revealed ground glass opacities with emphysematous lung changes at the peripheral portion of the whole lung. An open lung biopsy confirmed the presence of numerous multinucleated giant cells (Define GIF) with an associated interstitial fibrosis throughout the lung. The radiographic abnormalities and symptoms subsequently improved following treatment with oral corticosteroids.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Adult ; Biopsy ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ; Diffusion ; Dyspnea ; Fibrosis ; Giant Cells* ; Glass ; Humans ; Lung ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial* ; Macrophages ; Neutrophils ; Radiography ; Reference Values ; Thorax ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed