We have investigated the effect of cholestasis on the hepatic thiosulfate sulfurtransferase (rhodanese) and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UDP-GT) activities in rats. Rhodanese activities in the liver cytosol, mitochondria and microsomal fractions as well as in the rat serum, and UDP-GT activity in the microsome have been investigated for a period of 42 days after common bile duct (CBD) ligation. The cytosolic rhodanese activity showed a significant decrease between the first through the 42nd day, and the mitochondrial activity showed a significant decrease between the 7th through the 42nd day after CBD ligation compared to the activities from the sham operated control, respectively. In the case of microsomal preparation, both rhodanese and UDP-GT also showed significant decrease in their activities after the ligation for the former enzyme between the 14th and the 42nd days, and for the latter enzyme between the third and 42nd days, respectively. On the other hand, the serum rhodanese activity increased markedly soon after the ligation, exhibiting the peak activity after 1 day of CBD ligation with about 4.6-fold increment. The activity subsequently decreased gradually reaching to the control level at the 42nd day post-ligation. Enzyme kinetic parameters of hepatic rhodanese and UDP-GT were analyzed using sodium thiosulfate and p-nitrophenol as substrates, respectively, with the preparations from the 28th day post-ligation. The results indicated that although the K-m values of these enzymes were about the same as the sham-operated control, the V-max values of the both enzymes decreased significantly. These results, therefore, suggest that the biosynthesis of rhodanese and UDP-GT have been reduced in response to cholestasis, and that the elevation of rhodanese activity in the serum is most likely due to leakage from the liver subsequent to CBD ligation.
Animals ; Cholestasis ; Common Bile Duct* ; Cytosol ; Hand ; Ligation* ; Liver* ; Microsomes ; Mitochondria ; Rats* ; Sodium ; Thiosulfate Sulfurtransferase*

Differentiation between benign and malignant hepatic lesions was attempted according to the shape of the lesion, internal architecture and characteristics of signal intensity on MR images. MR images. We retrospectively analyzed 20 cases of hemangiomas, 12 cases of hepatomas and 5 cases of cysts which were diagnosed by clinical, radiological and surgical methods (33 patients). On T1-weighted, proton weighted, and T2-weighted images, most hemangiomas (70%) and cysts (100%) had smooth margin and were round or oval in shape, while hepatocellular carcinomas had irregular (67%) or lobulated (33%) borders. Ninety percent of hemangiomas and 100% of cysts had homogeneous signal intensity, but 67% of hepatocellular carcinomas were inhomogeneous. Signal intensities of hepatocellular carcinomas were more variable. However, hemangionmas were isointense or hyperintense on proton weighted images, and markedly hyperintense on T2-weighted images . In conclusion, inhomogenous, irregular border, and variable signal intensity lesions had high likelihood of malignancy, while homogenous and markedly hyperintense lesions were more likely benign.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Diagnosis* ; Hemangioma ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Protons ; Retrospective Studies

Differentiation between benign and malignant hepatic lesions was attempted according to the shape of the lesion, internal architecture and characteristics of signal intensity on MR images. MR images. We retrospectively analyzed 20 cases of hemangiomas, 12 cases of hepatomas and 5 cases of cysts which were diagnosed by clinical, radiological and surgical methods (33 patients). On T1-weighted, proton weighted, and T2-weighted images, most hemangiomas (70%) and cysts (100%) had smooth margin and were round or oval in shape, while hepatocellular carcinomas had irregular (67%) or lobulated (33%) borders. Ninety percent of hemangiomas and 100% of cysts had homogeneous signal intensity, but 67% of hepatocellular carcinomas were inhomogeneous. Signal intensities of hepatocellular carcinomas were more variable. However, hemangionmas were isointense or hyperintense on proton weighted images, and markedly hyperintense on T2-weighted images . In conclusion, inhomogenous, irregular border, and variable signal intensity lesions had high likelihood of malignancy, while homogenous and markedly hyperintense lesions were more likely benign.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Diagnosis* ; Hemangioma ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Protons ; Retrospective Studies

The trachea is a cartilagenous and membranous tubular midline structure with parallel walls. Tracheal deviation may be caused either by traction toward the diseased hemithorax or by compression toward the normal side. Unless an obvious mass is observed radiographically, occasionally it can be difficult to decide whether the trachea has been pushed or pulled from its normal position in the mediastinum. We studied the differences between tracheal deviation patterns in 23 patients with fibroatelectatic pulmonary tuberculosis and 35 patients with elongated and dilated aortas. In cases of retraction of the trachea by fibroatelectatic pulmonary tuberculosis, the diameter of the deviated segment was greater than that of the normal segment and deviation of the wall adjacent to the fibroatelectasis from its normal position was greater than that of the opposite wall. In cases of compression of the trachea by the elongated and dilated aorta, the diameter of the diviated segment was smaller than that of the normal segment and deviation of the wall adjacent to the aortic arch from its normal position was greater than that of the opposite wall. We conclude that these differences between tracheal deviation patterns are useful signs for discriminating retraction from compression. Thus when the trachea is retracted, the deviation of the juxtalesional wall is greater than that of the lesion-free wall, and vice versa.
Aorta ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Diagnosis, Differential* ; Humans ; Mediastinum ; Trachea* ; Traction* ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary

No abstract available.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Myelography*

Magnetic resonance images frequently demonstrate asymmetrical mucosal volume in the nasal area of asymptomatic patients. To further evaluate this phenomenon, sequential MR examinations of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses were performed three to four times during a 3 to 8 hours period in ten normal volunteers. The study demonstrated that the mucosal volume changes alternated from side to side during this period in eight volunteers. Changes were also observed within the ethmoid sinuses, nasal septum and nasolacrimal ducts. Awareness of MR findings of nasal cycle may reduce the likehood of inflammatory disease being confused with normal physiologic changes, and also may provide another method in the study of this physiologic phenomenon.
Ethmoid Sinus ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Methods ; Nasal Cavity ; Nasal Septum ; Nasolacrimal Duct ; Paranasal Sinuses ; Volunteers

The authors devdeloped a computer program for automatic coding of ACR (American College of Radiology) code. The automatic coding of the ACR code is essential for computerization of the data in the department of radiology. This program was written in FoxBASE language and has been used for automatic coding of diagnosis in the Deparment of Radiology, Wallace Memorial Baptist Hospital since May 1992. The ACR dictionary files consisted of 11 files, one for the organ code and the others for the pathology code. The organ code was obtained by typing organ name or code number itself among the upper and lower level codes of the selected one that were simultaneously displayed on the screen. According to the first number of the selected organ code. the corresponding pathology code file was chosen augomatically. By the similar fashion of organ code selection, the proper pathologic dode was obtained. An example of obtained ACR code is "131.3661". This procedure was reproducible regardless of the number of fields of data. Bacause this program was written in "User's Defined Function" from, decoding of the stored ACR code was achieved by this same program and incoporation of this program into another data processing program was possible. This program had merits of simple operation, accurate and detail coding, and easy adjustment for another program. Therefore, this program can be used for automation of routine work in the department of radiology.
Automation ; Clinical Coding* ; Diagnosis ; Methods* ; Pathology ; Protestantism

The present status of the traffic accident rate in Korea shows that it is the highest in the world with a continuously increasing trend. Human factors account for 90% of the causes of traffic accidents. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine some human factors related to traffic accidents by studying the relationship between health status and traffic accidents. To accomplish this purpose, all taxi companies located in the Seoul area were divided in three groups according to the number of taxi possessed, then some companies in each group were randomly selected for study, and a total of 222 drivers in those selected companies were questioned and examined from April 15 to April 22, 1989. Seventy drivers among 222 had experienced a traffic accident. A chi-square test was performed on the data, then, factor analysis and discriminant analysis were executed with the following results: 1. The drivers complaining of gastroenteric symptoms numbered 110(49.5%), which was the major symptom among all drivers complaining of poor health. 2. In the primary analysis, variables related to traffic accidents were divided into general, occupational, and health characteristics. Drivers having no traffic accident experience and drivers having that experience were subjected to question about age, educational level, residential status, monthly average income, working hours and days, degree of satisfaction with their profession and homelife, degree of worry about health. degree of fatigue, medication, drunken driving, and illness, but there were no statistical significances. 3. In the factor analysis, the 8 health variables which causes traffic accidents were classified into 3 common factors which were perceived health factor, sleeping and drunken driving, and visual acuity and smoking factor. Perceived health was the factor which contributed most to explaining accidents. 4. In the discriminant analysis, a correct prediction rate of 68.0% was obtained in the factors of all the characteristics. 5. Degree of satisfaction with their homelife and educational and economic factor in the general characteristics, degree of satisfaction with their profession in the occupational characteristics, and sleeping and drunken driving in the health characteristics were selected as statistically significant factors to discriminant the traffic accident. 6. Among the factors of the general, occupational, and health characteristics, degree of satisfaction with their homelife, driving experience, family factor, perceived factor were selected as the statistically significant factors.
Accidents, Traffic* ; Chi-Square Distribution ; Fatigue ; Humans* ; Korea ; Seoul* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Visual Acuity

The principal aims of this study were to identify the composition of salivary pellicles formed on various orthodontic brackets and to obtain a detailed information about the protein adsorption profiles from whole whole saliva and two major glandular salivas. Four different types of orthodontic brackets were used. All were upper bicuspid brackets with a 022 x 028 slot Roth prescription; stainless steel metal, monocrystalline sapphire, polycrystalline alumina, and plastic brackets. Bracket pellicles were formed by the incubation of orthodontic brackets with whole saliva, submandibular-sublingual saliva, and parotid saliva for 2 hours. The bracket pellicles were extracted and confirmed by employing sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, Western transfer methods, and immunodetection. The results showed that low-molecular weight salivary mucin, alpha-amylase, secretory IgA (sIgA), acidic proline-rich proteins, and cystatins were attached to all of these brackets regardless of the bracket types. High-molecular weight mucin, which promotes the adhesion of Streptococcus mutans, did not adhere to any orthodontic brackets. Though the same components were detected in all bracket pellicles, however, the gel profiles showed qualitatively and quantitatively different pellicles, according to the origins of saliva and the bracket types. In particular, the binding of sIgA was more prominent in the pellicles from parotid saliva and the binding of cystatins was prominent in the pellicles from the form plastic brackets. This study indicates that numerous salivary proteins adhere to the orthodontic brackets and these salivary proteins adhere selectively according to bracket types and the types of the saliva.
Adsorption ; alpha-Amylases ; Aluminum Oxide ; Bicuspid ; Cystatins ; Electrophoresis ; Immunoglobulin A, Secretory ; Mucins ; Orthodontic Brackets* ; Plastics ; Prescriptions ; Saliva ; Salivary Proteins and Peptides* ; Sodium ; Stainless Steel ; Streptococcus mutans

PURPOSE: Cytogenetic and genetic alterations of tumors are closely related with progressian and promotion of cancers. Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) has known to be a novel tool for the detection of genetic alteration in solid cancers. We performed CGH for the detection of new genetic alterations of bladder tumors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Biotin-labeled tumor DNA and digoxigenin-labeled normal DNA were hybridized to normal metaphase cells. The fluorescence signals were captured by fluorescence microscope after detection by avidin FITC and antidigoxigenin rhodamin. Then, the ratio of fluorescence was calculated by an image analyzer. RESULTS: CGH results showed amplifications on chromosomes 1q, 3q, 4q, 5p, 6pq, 7p, 8q, 11q, 12q, 13q, 17q, 18q and 20pq (more than 20% of cases). Deletions were on chromosome 2q21-qter, 4q13-q23, 5q, 8p12-p22, 9pq, 11p13-p15 (more than 20% of cases). High level amplifications were noted on chromosomes 1q31-qter, 3p21, 3q24, 4q26, Sq21-qter, llq14-qter, 12q15-q21, 12q21-q24, 13q21-q31, 17q22, 18q22. CONCLUSION: We considered that the amplification on chromosome 4q26, 11q14-qter, 12q21-q24, 18q12 and deletion on 4qll-4q13 as a novel genetic alterations of bladder cancer. Our results revealed different pattem of amplifications that affect other regions from previous study on chromosome 7, llq, 12q, 13q, and 18q. CGH was very useful for the screening of genetic alterations of solid tumors.
Avidin ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 7 ; Comparative Genomic Hybridization* ; Cytogenetics ; DNA ; Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate ; Fluorescence ; Mass Screening ; Metaphase ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms* ; Urinary Bladder*