This study was to compare the tensile bond strength and flexibility of four different soft liners(Coe Soft, Soft Relining, Soft Liner, Dura Base Soft) before & after thermocycling. Each soft liner was bonded to denture base resin block, and measured the tensile bond strength and modulus of elasticity using Universal testing machine. The mean value of tensile bond strength and modulus of elasticity for each experimental groups were statistically processed by SPSS(Statistical Package of Social Sience). The obtained results were as follows : 1. Dura Base Soft had the highest tensile bond strength and Coe Soft had the lowest tensile bond strength. 2. Coe Soft had the lowest modulus of elasticity, and Dura Base Soft had the highest modulus of elasticity of all the soft liners. 3. Thermocycling \ no effects on the tensile bond strength and modulus of elasticity of all the soft liners. 4. The failure modes of Coe Soft, Soft Relining, Soft Liner were mainly cohesive failure and that of Dura Base Soft were mainly adhesive failure.
Adhesives ; Denture Bases ; Dentures* ; Elastic Modulus* ; Pliability

STUDY DESIGN: A new classification system for throacolumbar spine injury, Thoracolumbar Injury Classification and Severity Score (TLICS) was evaluated retrospectively. PURPOSE: To evaluate intrarater and interrater reliability of newly proposed TLICS schemes and to estimate validity of TLICS's final treatment recommendation. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Despite numerous literature about thoracolumbar spine injury classifications, there is no consensus regarding the optimal system. METHODS: Using plain radiographs, computed tomography scanning, magnetic resonance imaging, and medical records, 3 clssifiers, consisting of 2 spine surgeons and 1 senior orthopaedic surgery resident, reviewed 114 clinical thoracolumbar spine injury cases retrospectively to classify and calculate injury severity score according to TLICS. This process were repeated on 4 weeks intervals and the scores were then compared with type of treatment that patient ultimately received. RESULTS: The intrarater reliability of TLICS was substantial agreement on total score and injury morphology, almost perfect agreement on integrity of the posterior ligament complex (PLC) and neurologic status. The interrater reliability was substantial agreement on injury morphology and integrity of the PLC, moderate agreement on total score, almost perfect agreement on neurologic status. The TLICS schems exhibited satisfactory overall validity in terms of clinical decision making. CONCLUSIONS: The TLICS was demonstrated acceptable intrarater and interrater reliability and satisfactory validity in terms of treatment recommendation.
Consensus ; Decision Making ; Humans ; Injury Severity Score ; Ligaments ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Medical Records ; Reproducibility of Results ; Retrospective Studies ; Spine

We studied to investigate the predictive values of gated SPECT for the improvement of wall motion after bypass surgery. As we compared postoperative SPECT with preoperative ones, we defined viability as wall motion improvement. We performed rest T1-20l/stress Tc-99m-MIBI gated SPECT in 25 patients before and 3 months after bypass surgery. Myocardial wall motion was graded as normal, hypokinesia, a kinesia, and dyskinesia by pair-wise visual analysis of gated pre and postoperative SPECT's on the same monitor wall motion abnormalities before operation, 69 (75%) improved and 23 did not. Before operation, we could find segments with good systolic thickenining 64 segments among total 92. Thickening of the remaining 28 was poor. Wall motion improved postoperatively in 45 segments (70%) among 64 with good thickening, Twenty four(86%) among 28 segments with poor thickening had also improved. We grouped segments into mild(hypokinetic) and severe(akinetic/dyskinetic) ones. Among 33 segments with severe motion abnormalities, 14 had good thickening and 19 did not. Nine(60%) improved out of 14 segments having severe abnormality with good thickening. However, 16(84%) segments out of 19 having severe abnormality with poor thickening also improved. Neither degree of perfusion decrease nor severity of wall motion abnormalities could explain the high rate of false negatives. In conclusion, as we defined viability as wall motion improvement by comparing pre and postoperative SPECT, systolic thickening observed by gated Tc-99m-MIBI SPECT in myocardial segments with wall motion abnormalities predicted wall motion improvement after bypass surgery. However, poor thickening could not be referred as evidence of nonviable myocardium both in mild and severe contractile dysfunction, so that we might need stimulation study such as dobutamine echocardiography or dobutamine gated SPECT.
Coronary Artery Disease* ; Coronary Vessels* ; Dobutamine ; Dyskinesias ; Echocardiography ; Humans ; Hypokinesia ; Myocardium ; Perfusion* ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon*

No abstract available.
Microsurgery* ; Radiosurgery* ; Trigeminal Neuralgia*

BACKGROUND: Propofol inhibits postoperative bronchospasm. Ketamine prevents bronchospasm in asthmatic patients. The present study was designed to evaluate the effects and mechanisms of propofol and ketamine on tracheal smooth muscles. METHODS: After isolating guinea-pig tracheal preparations, the maximal tracheal tones were induced by smooth muscle constrictors(2 10 7 M carbachol, 10 5 M histamine, 30 mM K+ Krebs solution, 124 mM K+ Krebs solution). When tracheal tones stabilized, propofol or ketamine was added cumulatively to obtain the concentration-relaxation curves, and calculated the ED50 and ED95. RESULTS: Propofol and ketamine decreased maximal tracheal tones in the concentration-dependent manners. The ED50 and ED95 of propofol were lowest in the histamine group, highest in the 30 mM K+ Krebs solution group. The ED50 and ED95 of ketamine were lowest in the 124 mM K+ Krebs solution group, highest in the histamine group. CONCLUSIONS: The relaxant effects of propofol and ketamine involve with all receptors in nonspecific way. However, propofol may inhibit more strongly the histamine mediated mechanism of tracheal contraction and ketamine may involve more strongly with Ca++ channel.
Bronchial Spasm ; Carbachol ; Histamine ; Humans ; Ketamine* ; Muscle, Smooth* ; Propofol*

No abstract available.
Diagnosis* ; Hernia, Obturator*

No abstract available.
Smoking* ; Tobacco Products*

A young male patient diagnosed with Klinefelter syndrome was admitted to our hospital via the emergency room with chief complaints of acute chest pain and dyspnea. Pulmonary thromboembolism was diagnosed from his chest CT images. His symptoms improved after he underwent thrombolysis and anticoagulation treatment. Klinefelter syndrome has a tendency towards hypercoagulability due to hormonal imbalance and one or more inherited thromophilic factors. Thus, Klinefelter syndrome patients with a past medical history of venous thromboembolism require continuous oral anticoagulation therapy for a period of at least six months.
Chest Pain ; Dyspnea ; Emergencies ; Humans ; Klinefelter Syndrome ; Male ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Thorax ; Thrombophilia ; Venous Thromboembolism ; Venous Thrombosis

OBJECTIVES: It is suggested that frequency of low turnover bone disease is much higher in diabetic renal osteodystrophy. We tried to find out whether bone scan images show less 99mTc-MDP uptake in diabetic renal ostwdystrophy. METHODS: We compared bone scan images of renal failure patients with and without diabetes. The number of patients studied was 134 (43 patients had diabetes and 91 patients did not). Two experienced nuclear physicians read Tc-99m-MDP bone scan twice separately and gave the score either 1 or 0 on 6 areas; axial skeleton, long bone, skull and mandible, periarticular areas, costochondral junction and sternum. The means of summed scores were compared using Students t-test. To exclude the effects of sex, age and serum creatinine concentration, we analysed these factors together with the effect of diabetes using analysis of covariance. We also interpreted on bone scan images, as classical renal osteodystrophy, renal failure and normal. RESULTS: The intra- and interobserver variations were very low. Patients of diabetes group showed significantly lower mean of summed score(2.0+/-0.95) compared to patients of non-DM group(3.3+/-1.2). Analysis of covariance revealed that lower score of diabetes group was independent of sex, age and serum creatinine level. of diabetes group, 2 nuclear physicians interpreted bone scans as classical renal osteodystrophy in 60% and 56%, However, they interpreted bone scans of non-DM group in 80%, 88%(between-observer k: 0.74). Chi-square test showed that this difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Bone scan image of diabetic renal osteodystrophy showed less 99mTc-MDP uptake, which meant low osteoblastic activity. This influence of diabetes upon bone uptake was significant after considering other confounding factors.
Bone Diseases ; Creatinine ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic* ; Mandible ; Observer Variation ; Osteoblasts ; Renal Insufficiency ; Renal Osteodystrophy* ; Skeleton ; Skull ; Sternum ; Technetium Tc 99m Medronate

Presentation of antigen in a suitable form to lymphocytes is prerequsite for the initiation of primary immune response. Dendritic cells (DC) provide an effective pathway for presenting antigens to lymphocytes in situ. The aim of this study was to establish a dendritic cell-line from human tonsils and to investigate the changes in surface phenotype during culture. Immunohistochemical studies using various surface markers indicated that cultured DC were follicular dendritic cells (FDC) from human tonsils. Cultured DC showed typical dendritic morphology at early stage of culture. Their shape changed into fibroblast-like cells over culture time. Surface phenotype study suggested that cultured DC were distinct from human fibroblast. Antigenic pattern of FDC was changed during culture; I-ILA-DR antigens decreased and HJ2 antigens increased with aging of culture. Functional characteristics of human tosillar FDC will be investigated in the future.
Aging ; Dendritic Cells ; Dendritic Cells, Follicular* ; Fibroblasts ; Humans ; Lymphocytes ; Palatine Tonsil ; Phenotype