Dendritic cell (DC)s are protessional antigen presenting cells and they have been used for antitumor immunotherapy or cell vaccines. However therapy using DC is restricted because the number of DC available from tissue is very low. Flt3 ligand (FL) has been known as a hematopoietic growth factor that increases proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells and progenitor cells, and recently it showed inducibility of dendritic cell (DC)s and signiticant antitumor effects in vivo. Thus FL will be frequently used for DC induction and antitumor immunotherapy in future. Here we constructed FL plasmid and studied its in vivo effect. FL plasmids were made by cloning of partial FL cDNA into pcDNA3 plasmid, and gene expression and protein producibility of FL plasmid were confirmed in Renca cells transfected with FL plasmid. Mice were injected with FL plasmid (100ug/mouse) three times and 20 days later mouse spleens were harvested for staining and RT-PCR. There were lots of blastogenic cells in the spleen of mice treated with FL plasmid. FL plasmid also induced DEC205, IL-12 and GM-CSF gene expression in mouse splenocyte. All these data suggest FL plasmid may be used for induction of DC and antitumor therapy as DNA adjuvant.
Mice ; Animals

No abstract available in English.
Fracture Fixation, Intramedullary

The primary goal in the treatment of the nail bed avulsion injury is complete regrowing of the nail plate without any deformity. There are many procedures for treatment of the nail bed avulsion injury as a split-thickness skin graft, full-thickness nail bed graft, reverse dermal graft or split-thickness nail bed graft. From February, 1984 to June, 1985 at In-Chon Gill Hospital, 13 cases of nail bed avulsion injury were treated with split-thickness nail bed grafts. The intact residual part of the injured nail bed or the toe nail bed was served as a donor site. The results were as followings; 1. The incidence of nail bed avulsion injury of all hand injuries was 9.7%. 2. The main cause of injury was the industrial accident and more prevalent in the left hand. 3. The good result was obtained in the split-thickness nail bed graft for the nail bed avulsion injury, but in nail root portion, the poor result was noticed. 4. The average time for normal nail appearance is six months.
Accidents, Occupational ; Animals ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Gills ; Hand ; Hand Injuries ; Humans ; Incheon ; Incidence ; Skin ; Tissue Donors ; Toes ; Transplants

No abstract available.
Animals ; Cats* ; Reflex*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to assess the clinical utility of multiplanar reformation images of helical CT in the evaluation of pancreatic diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Helical CT scans of the pancreas were obtained in 30 patients with pancreatic diseases. Helical CT was performed with 5mm collimation at 5mm/sec table speed during rapid injection of intravenous contrast agent using power injector. After scanning, helical volume data were reconstructed at 2mm interval and then multiplanar reformation of the pancreas and adjacent structures was done. In both prospective reconstructed axial images and multiplanar reformation images, detection of pancreatic lesion, extent of lesion, and vascular and bile ductal changes were analyzed with a grading system of 1,2, 3. RESULTS: The mean grade of detection of pancreatic lesions was 2.37 in the prospective axial image and 2.83 in multiplanar reformation image, extent of diseases was 2.40 in prospective axial image and 2.97 in multiplanar reformation image, and vascular and bile ductal changes was 2.00 in the prospective axial image and 2.97 in multiplanar reformation image. All the differences were statistically significant (P<0.0001). CONCLUSION: Multiplanar reformation images of helical CT are useful in the evaluation of pancreatic diseases and especially in the demonstratibn of complex anatomic relationships between the pancreas and surrounding structures.
Bile Ducts ; Humans ; Pancreas ; Pancreatic Diseases* ; Prospective Studies ; Tomography, Spiral Computed*

Ventilation during general anesthesia for bronchoscopy has recently been greatly improved by application of the Venturi principle. Ever since 1967 when Sanders published a paper describing the Venturi principle for ventilatory bronchoscopy, this technique has become increasingly popular. Many papers have been published promoting the use of the Venturi principle which in most cases entails a 16-gauge needle aimed distally down the proximal end of a bronchoscope through which a jet of oxygen is intermittently injected to produced positive pressure ventilation in the lungs. In our study, ten patients undergoing bronchoscopy were ventilated with the Venturi stsytem and the patients were bronchoscoped with a Karl Stors bronchoscope lined with a Venturi oxygen injecttimer, Freiberg 8585T, to which oxygen was supplied from an adjustable pressure reducing valve connected to pipeline oxygen at 55 psi. The following results were obtained: 1) Ten patients verying in age from 2 to 53 years were bronchoscoped becaeuse of subglotticedema, granuloma, emphysems, and tracheal stenosis. 2) The internal diameter of the bronchoscopes varied from 3.0mm to 6.5mm and the inflation pressure varies also from 0.4bar to 1.0bar. The inspiration to expiration time ratio was 1:2 and 1:3. 3) The average PaO2 was well maintained during bronchoscopy and in the postanesthetic stage, but the PaCO2 was slightly increased over the preoperative values. The explanation for this result is that the bronchoscope fitted too tightly to the trachea, so that exhalation was incomplete, and the process of exchange inhibited the elimination of CO2 from the lungs. The results obtained from this study suggest that this technic and device, when used properly, should provide adequate ventilation and an improved visual isation of the operative field.
Anesthesia, General ; Bronchoscopes ; Bronchoscopy* ; Exhalation ; Granuloma ; Humans ; Inflation, Economic ; Lung ; Needles ; Oxygen* ; Positive-Pressure Respiration ; Pulmonary Ventilation* ; Trachea ; Tracheal Stenosis ; Ventilation

A case-control study was conducted to investigate the association between the risk of cancer and selenium concentration in blood and toenails. Seventy three patients and two hundreds eighty three controls were selected at the Yeungnam University Hospital between May and September in 1991. The selected cases were patients who had been hospitalized for stomach or colon cancer at the Department of General Surgery. The controls were people who visited to check physical examination at the Automated Mediscreening Center. The selenium concentration in whole blood and toenails were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometer equipped with graphite furnace atomizer. The following information was ascertained for all cancer patients and controls: sex, age, body mass index, blood pressure, total serum cholesterol, and history of smoking and drinking. The mean selenium concentration in blood and toenail for all cancer patients were 143.6±10.8 µg/l and 1.04±0.62 µg/g and for the controls. 167.0±14.5 µg/l and 1.15±0.55 µg/g, respectively. The difference in blood and toenail selenium concentrations of the two cancer sites was not statistically significant. Metastasis did not influence the concentration of selenium in blood and toenails. In the multiple logistic regression analysis, the blood selenium concentration (aOR: 0.888, 95% CI: 0.860-0.918), age, BMI and total serum cholesterol were significant variables for risk of cancer, but the selenium concentration in toenail was not shown to be a significant variable in this regression analysis. The coefficient for blood selenium concentration adjusted for age, sex, diastolic blood pressure, total serum cholesterol, body mass index and smoking was -0.1184 (p<0.01). These findings suggest that low selenium concentration is associated with gastrointestinal cancers. Further epidemiologic studies including important variables such as other antioxidant micronutrients will be necessary.
Absorption ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Case-Control Studies ; Cholesterol ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Drinking ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms ; Graphite ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Micronutrients ; Nails* ; Nebulizers and Vaporizers ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Physical Examination ; Selenium* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Stomach

No abstract available.
Drug Therapy, Combination* ; Head and Neck Neoplasms* ; Head* ; Humans

BACKGROUND: Thiopental sodium and midazolam are frequently used to induce anesthesia. It has been known that barbiturates enhance the binding of benzodiazepines to the benzodiazepine receptors and also enhance the anesthetic effect of benzodiazepines. As a results, the combined effect of a barbiturate and a benzodiazepine should be more than the sum of the separate effects of the two drugs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate hypnotic interaction between the two drugs during induction period. METHODS: The effect of midazolam on the induction dose-response curve for thiopental sodium was studied in unpremedicated 240 ASA physical status I and II female patients. As an endpoint of hypnosis, ability to open eyes on command was used. Dose-response curves for thiopental sodium, midazolam, and their combination were determined with a probit procedure and compared with a isobolographic analysis. RESULTS: For hypnosis, significant(P<0.05) synergistic interaction was found between the two drugs. The dose of thiopental sodium required to produce hypnosis was reduced by 64% in the presence of equi-effective dose of midazolam. CONCLUSIONS: The interaction between thiopental sodium and midazolam for hypnosis is synergistic.
Anesthesia* ; Anesthetics ; Barbiturates ; Benzodiazepines ; Female ; Humans ; Hypnosis ; Hypnotics and Sedatives ; Midazolam* ; Receptors, GABA-A ; Thiopental*

No abstract available.
Catheters* ; Dilatation* ; Esophageal Stenosis*