No abstract available.
Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome*

As gastroduodenoscopy performed more frequently, case reports of human echinostomiasis are increasing in Korea. A Korean woman presented at a local clinic with complaints of abdominal pain and discomfort that had persisted for 2 weeks. Under gastroduodenoscopy, two motile flukes were found attached on the duodenal bulb, and retrieved with endoscopic forceps. She had history of eating raw frog meat. The two flukes were identified as Echinostoma hortense by egg morphology, 27 collar spines with 4 end-group spines, and surface ultrastructural characters. This report may prove frogs to be a source of human echinostome infections.
Animals ; Duodenal Diseases/*parasitology ; Duodenum/*parasitology ; Echinostoma/*isolation & purification ; Echinostomiasis/*diagnosis ; Endoscopy ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Middle Aged

To analyze of determinants infuencing the utilization of the rural health sub-centers (HSCs), 116 of 144 HSCs in Kyoung Gi Do, were selected for this study. The self-administered questionnaire covering the environment and the characteristics of doctors working in the HSCs was sent to HSCs by mail. 105 questionnaires were returned of which 88 were completed and use in the study. The dependant variable was the total number of medical care visits to the HSCs from January 1, 1990 to March 31, 1990. Data was analyzed by multiple regression analysis. The results were as follows: First, the more time required to set from the HSCs to nearest hospital or clinic, the higher the utilization of the HSCs. Second, the more geographically accessible the HSCs was, the more utilization the HSCs. Third, the older of the HSCs doctors were, the more utilization of the HSCs. Fourth, the higher frequency of bus service from the HSCs to town, the more utilization of the HSCs. Fifth, the more time required from the HSCs to town, the more utilization of the HSCs. Therefore, the determinants influencing the utilization of the rural HSCs in Kyong-Gi Do, are mostly geographical accessibility of medical care.
Postal Service ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Rural Health*

No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae* ; Mycoplasma* ; Pneumonia* ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma*

The interaction of calcium and local anesthetics was investigated with the lipid extracted human RBC membrane fragments treated with carbodiimide in order to titrate carboxyl groups. A water soluble carbodiimide [1-cyclohexyl-3-(2-morpholinoethyl) carbodiimide methotoluene-p-sulfonate], referred to as a carbodiimide reagent, and glycine methylester were used for this purpose. About 76% of carboxyl groups of the fragments were modified at a concentration of 0.05M carbodiimide reagent. The interaction of calcium and local anesthetics such as procaine and lidocaine with these fragments still showed typical competition. However, when the calcium binding was decreased to 8% at a higher concentration of carbodiimide reagent (0.08M), the local anesthetics still inhibited the calcium binding, but were not competitive in nature. In other words, if concentrations of the carbodiimide reagent were raised, the degree of inhibition by the local anesthetics was gradually decreased and was not competitive in nature. Finally, no inhibition was demonstrated when the concentration of the reagent was 0.1 to 0.4M. The above findings, seem to suggest that local anesthetics such as procaine and lidocaine interact with carboxyl groups, in addition to phosphodiester groups of phospholipids as previously reported, and inhibited competitively calcium binding to carboxyl groups of the membrane fragments.
Anesthetics, Local/pharmacology* ; Calcium/metabolism* ; Carbodiimides/pharmacology* ; Cell Membrane/metabolism ; Erythrocytes/metabolism* ; Human ; In Vitro ; Protein Binding

The interaction of calcium and local anesthetics was investigated with the lipid extracted human RBC membrane fragments treated with carbodiimide in order to titrate carboxyl groups. A water soluble carbodiimide [1-cyclohexyl-3-(2-morpholinoethyl) carbodiimide methotoluene-p-sulfonate], referred to as a carbodiimide reagent, and glycine methylester were used for this purpose. About 76% of carboxyl groups of the fragments were modified at a concentration of 0.05M carbodiimide reagent. The interaction of calcium and local anesthetics such as procaine and lidocaine with these fragments still showed typical competition. However, when the calcium binding was decreased to 8% at a higher concentration of carbodiimide reagent (0.08M), the local anesthetics still inhibited the calcium binding, but were not competitive in nature. In other words, if concentrations of the carbodiimide reagent were raised, the degree of inhibition by the local anesthetics was gradually decreased and was not competitive in nature. Finally, no inhibition was demonstrated when the concentration of the reagent was 0.1 to 0.4M. The above findings, seem to suggest that local anesthetics such as procaine and lidocaine interact with carboxyl groups, in addition to phosphodiester groups of phospholipids as previously reported, and inhibited competitively calcium binding to carboxyl groups of the membrane fragments.
Anesthetics, Local/pharmacology* ; Calcium/metabolism* ; Carbodiimides/pharmacology* ; Cell Membrane/metabolism ; Erythrocytes/metabolism* ; Human ; In Vitro ; Protein Binding

No abstract available.
Infertility* ; Laparoscopy*

Between 1977 and 1987, 20 patients with mesothelioma were treated at Severance Hospital. Data was gathered from medical charts at the time of hospitalization of mesothelioma patients and from a follow-up questionnaire by mail or telephone. The results acquired were as follows: 1. Among the 20 patients, 11 men and 9 women with mesothelioma were identified. The mean age at hospitalization was 47 years and 11 mesothelioma patients were known or presumed to be dead during the different observation periods. 2. Only one mesothelioma patient had a definite history of occupational asbestos exposure. 3. The sites of orgin of mesothelioma were the pleura(13), peritoneum(2), pericardium(2), mediastinum(2), and pelvis(1). Common symptoms included dyspnea, chest pain, abdominal distension, etc. 4. Pathologically, mesotheliomas were divided into 14 malignant types and 6 benign types ; and histologically, 8 fibrous mesotheliomas and 3 epithelial mesotheliomas were shown. 5. There was a statistically significant difference in survival rate according to pathologic type and smoking status. In the groups with malignant mesothelioma, 50% survival time from first symptoms was 18 months and that from diagnosis was 11 months. Also, 75% survival time from diagnosis was 6 months in the smoking groups and 19 months in the non-smoking groups.
Asbestos ; Chest Pain ; Diagnosis ; Dyspnea ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Male ; Mesothelioma* ; Postal Service ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Solitary Fibrous Tumor, Pleural ; Survival Analysis* ; Survival Rate ; Telephone

The effects of the alcohol extract of Panax ginseng on the myocardial contractility particularly with respect to Bowditch and Woodworth phenomena and the norepinephrine induced contraction of the vascular smooth muscle were studied in vitro. 1) In the isolated muscle preparation of guinea pig left auricle, the administration of ginseng-alcohol extract at concentrations of 10~50mg% resulted in a significant reduction of both Bowditch and Woodworth effects. 2) In the isolated Ca++ depleted heart of rabbit ginseng-alcohol extract inhibited the Ca++ uptake and the restoration of contractile force during perfusion with a Ca++ containing solution. 3) In the isolated muscle strip of the rabbit aorta noradrenaline (5 X 10-8 g/ml) induced contraction was inhibited by the ginseng-alcohol extract at concentrations of 10~50mg%. From these results it is speculated that the hypotensive effect of ginseng is accounted for by 1) the direct inhibition of myocardial contractility which is resulted from the reduction of Ca++ influx into cardiac cell, and 2) the inhibition of the catecholamine induced contractility of vascular smooth muscles.
Animal ; Aorta/drug effects ; Cardiovascular System/drug effects* ; Ethanol/pharmacology ; Female ; Guinea Pigs ; In Vitro ; Male ; Muscle Contraction/drug effects ; Muscle, Smooth/drug effects ; Myocardial Contraction/drug effects* ; Panax* ; Plant Extracts/pharmacology* ; Plants, Medicinal* ; Rabbits

Immunoadjuvant activities of the extract (KM-110) from Korean mistletoe ( Viscum album coloratum) on the induction of humoral and cellular responses against Keyhole limpet hemocyanim (KLH) as an antigen and allogenic tumor cells were examined. When mice were immunized subcataneously (s.c.) with KLH admixed with KM-110, more than 1000-times higher antibody titers to KLH than those immunized with KLH alone was observed. KM-110 induced high level of KLH- specific IgG1, IgG2a and IgG2b antibodies. In an in vitro analysis of lymphocytes proliferation to KLH on week 4, the splenocytes of mice treated with KLH and KM- 110 exhibited significantly higher proliferating activity than those treated with KLH alone. In addition, the culture supernatnats obtained from the splenocytes of mice treated with both KLH and KM-110 showed high level of IL-2 and IL-4. In the test of cellular immune responses, KM-110 enhanced the DTH reaction to KLH in mice. Furthemore, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) activity using an allogenic CTL induction model where C57BL/6 (H-2b) mice were injected with allogenic P815 (H-2d) mastocytoma cells admixed with or without KM-110, mice treated with P815 cells and KM-110 showed higher cytatoxic activity against allogenic tumor cells than those treated without KM-110. This results suggest that KM-110 may possess adjuvant activities to potentially enhance humoral as well as cellular immune responses against antigens.
Animals ; Antibodies ; B-Lymphocytes ; Immunity, Cellular* ; Immunoglobulin G ; Interleukin-2 ; Interleukin-4 ; Lymphocytes ; Mastocytoma ; Mice ; Mistletoe* ; T-Lymphocytes ; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic ; Viscum album* ; Viscum*