No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Education* ; Forensic Medicine* ; Korea*

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
DNA Fingerprinting* ; DNA* ; Family Relations* ; Humans ; Minisatellite Repeats*

No abstract available.
Paternity*

No abstract available.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging*

No abstract available.
Adsorption* ; Agglutination* ; Animals ; Caragana* ; Erythrocytes* ; Humans* ; Mice*

PURPOSE: To evaluate the relationship between MR changes of the nucleus pulposus and the time interval after traumatic disc herniation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: T2-weighted MR images of 132 patients with back pain and/or sciatica were reviewed. The changes of signal intensity, central cleft and height of the nucleus pulposus were used as criteria of disc degeneration and they were graded as normal, mild, moderate and severe degrees of degeneration. Putting these criteria together we provided integrated grade of degeneration of the nucleus pulposus(grade 0-3). To get the preliminary data for normal and age-related disc degeneration, we measured the disc height by age groups and disc levels and analyzed the realtionship between the age of the patients and the signal intensity, cleft and height in normal disc levels of the 132 patients. In 68 patients of 88 levels disc herniation, we analyzed the relationship between symptom duration and the degree of degeneration. Among these 68 patients we selected 14 patients(16 levels) who were under 30 years of age and had history of recent trauma to minimize data distortion from age related degeneration and ambiguity of initiation point of degeneration. In this group we analyzed the relationship between the time period after traumatic disc herniation and the degree of degeneration. RESULTS: The age of the patient had close relationship with the grade of signal intensity, central cleft, and disc height and grade of degeneration of the nucleus pulposus in normal discs. in 88 levels of herniated discs, the duration of symptom and degree of degeneration showed moderate correlation. In 14 patients of disc herniation who were under 30 years old and had trauma history in recent 2 years, grade 1 disc degeneration occured in average 3.7 months after trauma. CONCLUSION: Although it was difficult to proceed statistical analysis in the last group because of small patients number, the degree of degeneration of nucleus pulposus had close relationship with the duration after traumas or duration of symtoms.
Adult ; Back Pain ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc Degeneration ; Intervertebral Disc Displacement ; Sciatica

OBJECTIVE: In the previous study, we compiled the differentially expressed genes during early folliculogenesis.1 Objective of the present study was to identify downstream target genes of transcription factors (TFs) using bioinformatics for selecting the target TFs among the gene lists for further functional analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: By using bioinformatics tools, constituent domains were identified from database searches using Gene Ontology, MGI, and Entrez Gene. Downstream target proteins/genes of each TF were identified from database searches using TF database (TRANSFAC(R) 6.0) and eukaryotic promoter database (EPD). RESULTS: DNA binding and trans-activation domains of all TFs listed previously were identified, and the list of downstream target proteins/genes was obtained from searche of TF database and promoter database. Based on the known function of identified downstream genes and the domains, 3 (HNF4, PPARg, and TBX2) out of 26 TFs were selected for further functional analysis. The genes of wee1-like protein kinase and p21WAF1 (cdk inhibitor) were identified as potential downstream target genes of HNF4 and TBX2, respectively. PPARg, through protein-protein interaction with other protein partners, acts as a transcription regulator of genes of EGFR, p21WAF1, cycD1, p53, and VEGF. Among the selected 3 TFs, further study is in progress for HNF4 and TBX2, since wee1-like protein kinase and cdk inhibitor may involved in regulating maturation promoting factor (MPF) activity during early folliculogenesis. CONCLUSIONS: Approach used in the present study, in silico analysis of downstream target genes, was useful for analyzing list of TFs obtained from high-throughput cDNA microarray study. To verify its binding and functions of the selected TFs in early folliculogenesis, EMSA and further relevant characterizations are under investigation.
Computational Biology ; Computer Simulation* ; DNA ; Gene Ontology ; Maturation-Promoting Factor ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Protein Kinases ; Transcription Factors* ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A

No abstract available.