No abstract available.
Incontinentia Pigmenti*

BACKGROUND: Epidermis is directly exposed to various external stimuli and protects internal structures. Most studies about skin tension focused on the dermis, and epidermal tension has not been able to attract interest because dermis much thicker than epidermis and dermal collagen fibers play a predominant role in the skin tension. However, circumstances which involve only the epidermis are often shown, and thus it is necessary to study the mechanical property of the epidermis. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to quantify the role of the epidermis as a mechanical barrier. METHODS: Human epidermal sheets were obtained from suction blisters in 14 patients with vitiligo during epidermal grafting. Maximal tension, that is the power required to break the epidermal sheets, was measured by tensiometer. RESULTS: The maximal tension of the epidermis ranged from 40.0 g/cm² to 84.5g/cm² with a mean values of 56.1g/cm² and did not differ significantly according to the age or anatomical sites. CONCLUSION: The barrier function of epidermis is important and the results are expected to be used as the basic information for other studies about the mechanical property of the epidermis. In addition, this will be important data in developing an artificial skin whose mechanical property is similar to that of the human skin.
Blister* ; Collagen ; Dermis ; Epidermis* ; Humans* ; Skin ; Skin, Artificial ; Suction* ; Transplants ; Vitiligo

No abstract available.
Connective Tissue* ; Nevus*

No abstract available.

OBJECTIVES: Insomnia is significantly influenced by the pre-sleep arousal, self efficacy, sleep hygiene, depression and anxiety. The authors tried to explore how these factors are related with the clinical features of sleep. METHODS: Fifty three patients diagnosed as insomnia by DSM-IV criteria were studied. They filled up the pre-sleep arousal scale(PSAS), sleep efficacy scale(SES), sleep hygiene awareness and practice scale, BDI, and state and trait anxiety scales. RESULTS: 1) The mean values of sleep-related variables were as follows : Sleep latency,136.89 minutes ; frequences of awakening during a night, 2.28 ; minutes to get back to sleep, 42.70 ; total sleep time, 180.19 minutes ; duration of illness, 72.00 months. 2) The mean scores of scales were as follows : PSAS(cognitive), 22.40 ; PSAS (somatic), 17.32 ; SES, 20.16 ; sleep hygiene knowledge, 25.96 ; caffeine knowledge, 59.78 ; sleep hygiene practice, 42.12 ; BDI 18.2 ; state anxiety, 41.24 ; trait anxiety ; 44.50. 3) In the subjects with superimposed depression, the mean frequency of awakening during a night and the mean pre-sleep arousal scale score were higher than in those without depression. 4) Frequency of awakening were correlated positively with a PSAS(a tight tense feeling in your muscle) and sleep hygiene awareness. PSAS(cognitive) were correlated positively with a PSAS(somatic). BDI correlated positively with a PSAS item(a jittery, nervous feeling in your body)and a SES item(not allow a poor night's sleep to interfere with daily activities). Anxiety scales were correlated positively with sleep hygiene practice scale sleep and PSAS were correlated negatively with SES. CONCLUSIONS: The mean scores of PSAS, SES, sleep hygiene awareness and practice scale, BDI, state and trait anxiety scales of insomniacs were correlated either positively or negatively in insomnia patients. These factors seem to contribute to the development and maintenance of insomnia.
Anxiety* ; Arousal* ; Caffeine ; Depression* ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Humans ; Hygiene* ; Self Efficacy* ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders* ; Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation ; Weights and Measures

Radioactive (14)C-glucose(U) was given to Clonorchis sinensis in Tris buffer medium, in corder to trace the metabolic fate of the labelled carbon. The labelled carbon from glucose enters into intermediary metabolites and end products of anaeroblic glycolysis, Embden-Meyerhof pathway, and of aerobic Krebs cycle. These product were identified by one or two-dimensional paper chromatography in combination with autoradoigraphy. The labelled metabolites detected in this experiment corresponded to pyruvic acid, latic acid, malic acid, succinic acid and fumaric acid. Amino acids, such as alanine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, valine, theronine, and serine, derived by the degradation of (14)C- glycose were also found. Labelled compounds behaving like alanine, aspartic acid and glutamic acid were observed in the chroma to gram of incubation medium. The preciptation which suggests a positive reaction for protein occured when absolute ethanol was added to the incubation medium.
parasitology-helminth-trematoda ; Clonorchis sinensis ; two-dimensional paper chromatography ; autoradiography ; metabolism ; glucose

Regardless of the any cause leg ulcers are painful and inconvenient to patients and present clinical and economic problems due to their chronicity. Conventional skin grafts, cultured allogenic epidermis, and cultured autologous epidermis have been used for the treatment of leg ulcers. In a twenty-year-old woman with leg ulcers, autologous pure epidermal sheets were obtained from the lower chest by means of suction blisters and grafted to the leg ulcers. All lesions were healed completely in 20 days after grafting. The donor sites showed slight postinflammatory hyperpigmentations without scars. The autologous epidermal graft using suction blisters appears to be a useful method for the treatment of leg ulcers, with no immunologic rejection, no need for cultivation and anesthesia, no desiccation, and no scars on the donor sites.
Anesthesia ; Blister* ; Cicatrix ; Desiccation ; Epidermis ; Female ; Humans ; Leg Ulcer* ; Leg* ; Methods ; Skin ; Suction* ; Thorax ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants*

BACKGROUND: Ultraviolet light induces sunburn, aging of the skin, disorders of pigment and even promotes skin cancers. Melanin is known to have a protecting role in the skin by blocking ultraviolet light. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate UVA blocking effect of epidermal melanin and to compare UVA blocking effect among different anatomical sites. METHODS: From 20 vitiligo patients who had undergone an epidermal graft, we obtained epidermis of normal and vitiliginous skin and measured transmitted UVA energy density. RESULTS: The vitiliginous epidermis, devoid of melanin, blocked lower amount of UVA energy than the normal epidermis. 11.6% of irradiated UVA energy was blocked by epidermal melanin. No significant differences were observed in UVA blocking effect among different anatomical sites in normal and vitiliginous epidermis. CONCLUSION: Epidermal melanin has some UVA blocking effect. No significant differences were found in UVA blocking effect among different anatomical sites despite the differences in the density of melanin pigment among different sites of the body.
Aging ; Epidermis ; Humans ; Melanins* ; Skin ; Skin Neoplasms ; Sunburn ; Transplants ; Ultraviolet Rays ; Vitiligo*

Using atomic absorption spectrometry Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn and Fe were measured in sweat and Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn, in blood. The subjects were 22 healthy males, aged between 23-44. Sweating was induced with an environmental room (1 hour at 46C dry bulb and 36C wet bulb). Sweat samples were obtained from the left arm by the armbag technique. The sweat volume was 23.3+7.3ml(n= 22). The concentrations, in ug/ml, of trace elements in sweat were : lead, 0.18+0.17(n=22); cadmium, 0.006+0.006(n=22); copper, 0.37+0.66(n=10); zinc, 0.63+0.5(n=10); and iron, 0.22+0.12(n=10). The concentrations, in ug/ml, of trace elements in blood were : lead, 0.28+0.15(n=20); cadmium, 0.005+0.007 (n=20); copper,0.69+0.22(n=20); and zinc,5.61+0.86(n=20). These results clearly showed the significance of sweating as a route of excretion of trace element.
Absorption ; Arm ; Cadmium ; Copper ; Humans ; Iron ; Male ; Spectrum Analysis ; Sweat* ; Sweating ; Trace Elements ; Zinc

Since the pattern of the frequency distribution of a parasite within a host showed an overdispersed pattern, various statistical models such as Poisson, negative binomial and lognormal distributions have been applied on the population dynamics in host-parasite relations. The observed data on the number of metacercariae of Clonorchis sinensis in a suitable intermediate host, Pseudorasbora parva which were collected from an endemic area, Juk-Rim River, Kim-Hae Goon, South Kyong-Sang Do were applied on the statistical models. The results obtained are as follows: By the calculation of the raw data, 258(94.9 percent) out of 272 fish showed positive to the metacercarial infection of C. sinensis. The mean number of metacercaria in a fish was 335.1. The standard deviation was 250.6 and the mode was observed between 250 and 299. The frequency distribution pattern of metacercariae of C. sinensis within the fish host in surveyed area was fitted to the lognormal distribution (0.05 parasitology-helminth-trematoda ; Clonorchis sinensis ; metacercaria ; Pseudorasbora parva ; frequency distribution ; host