Phenolate type siderophore was produced in Pseudomonas sp. PY002 (P. sp. PY002) which cultured in M9 minimal medium supplemented with 0 to 500 uM of dipyridyl. Pyochelin, a kind of siderophore, was detected as a single broad absorption band (280 nm) at pH 12.0, which is a characteristic of phenolate type siderophore. The 280 nm absorption spectrum of pyochelin was changed to 310 nm at pH 1.5. The pyochelin produced was a structurally unique phenolate siderophore, designated 2-[2-(o-hydroxyphenyl)-2-thiazolin-4-yl]-3-methyl-4-thiazolidine car- boxylic acid on the analysis of infrared radiation and 'H and ""C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Additionally, purified pyochelin increased the cell growth rate, like as growth fac- tor. All these results suggest that phenolate type siderophore play an important role in cell growth of P. sp. PY002.
Absorption ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Phenol* ; Pseudomonas* ; Spectrum Analysis

Six cases of nasal septum perforation were found among welders during periodic physical checkup in 1997. Considering the size, shape and margin, the perforations were assumed to have been occurred several years before of which the diameter were 8~15 mm. To investigate the cause of perforation, we reviewed the past history of preemployment, the results of annual working environment survey and the material safety data sheets of welding rods and steels with which they have dealt, and analyzed the concentration of several metals of welding fume and the concentration of blood and urinary chromium. In the result, we presupposed that the nasal septum perforations of welders were due to chronic exposure to low level hexavalent chromium and/or nickel, and report these cases with literatures review.
Chromium ; Material Safety Data Sheets ; Metals ; Nasal Septal Perforation* ; Nasal Septum* ; Nickel ; Steel ; Welding

Narcolepsy is characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations. Only a few studies have focused on non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and REM parasomnias in narcolepsy. We report a narcolepsy without cataplexy patient presenting parasomnia as an initial symptom. A 18-year-old boy was admitted to hospital for abnormal behavior of sitting up during sleep over 2 years. He had a symptom of lethargy without cataplexy and subjective excessive daytime sleepiness, but his family found him often asleep during daytime. He underwent 3 times of polysomnography (PSG) including 1 multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) after the last PSG. The last PSG showed 1 episode of abrupt sitting. Three sleep REM onset period was observed in MSLT which was not detect in PSG. Parasomnia as an initial symptom of narcolepsy is a rare clinical entity. The MSLT may be useful in the evaluation of patients with parasomnia and unexplained hypersomnia.
Adolescent ; Cataplexy ; Disorders of Excessive Somnolence ; Eye Movements ; Hallucinations ; Humans ; Lethargy ; Male ; Narcolepsy ; Parasomnias ; Polysomnography ; Sleep Arousal Disorders ; Sleep Paralysis

Malignant salivary gland tumors only represent 0.08% of all childhood tumors and mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is the most common histologic type. Although there are many reports describing second malignant neoplasm (SMN) in patients treated for childhood cancer, salivary gland tumors rarely appears. In Korea, there has been no report about MEC that developed in children as a SMN. We report a MEC in a 4 years and 8 months old female child that developed after completing treatment for yolk sac tumor of lower abdomen. The primary tumor presented with metastasis at the time of diagnosis, and therefore, the child underwent high-dose chemotherapy with autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation along with surgery and radiotherapy. Three years and five months after completing treatment, MEC developed in her submandibular gland. She was treated with surgery and radiotherapy and is in disease free state for 5 months at the time of this writing.
Abdomen ; Carcinoma, Mucoepidermoid ; Child ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Endodermal Sinus Tumor ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation ; Radiotherapy ; Salivary Gland Neoplasms ; Salivary Glands ; Submandibular Gland ; Writing

No abstract available.
Adenocarcinoma/*secondary/surgery ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Colectomy ; Glomerulonephritis, Membranoproliferative/diagnosis/*etiology/therapy ; Hepatectomy ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/*secondary/surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Paraneoplastic Syndromes/diagnosis/*etiology/therapy ; Renal Dialysis ; Renal Insufficiency/etiology ; Sigmoid Neoplasms/*pathology/surgery ; Treatment Outcome

We experienced a case of Krukenberg tumor arising from transverse colon in a teenager who complained acute abdominal pain, which was confirmed by postoperative pathologic study and initially misdiagnosed as ovarian cancer with a huge pelvic mass, and report with a brief review of literatures.
Abdominal Pain ; Adolescent ; Colon, Transverse ; Humans ; Krukenberg Tumor ; Ovarian Neoplasms

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The myogenic response was originally described as a contraction of a blood vessel that occurred following an increase in intravascular distending pressure. Conversely, a reduction in intravascular pressure produces myogenic vascular relaxation. Recent attention has focused on the potential role of this myogenic mechanism in the control of tone in the resistance vasculature, and in particular on how this mechanism may contribute to the increased vascular resistance seen in hypertension. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the role of myogenic tone in the generation and/or maintenance of hypertension. MATERICAL AND METHODS: Myogenic tone was developed by stretching of the basilar arteries of WKY (istar Kyoto rat) and SHR (spontaneously hypertensive rats). Contractile responses, PKC (protein kinase C) immunoblots and translocation of PKC and RhoA were measured. In the presence of extracellular Ca2+ the stretching of the resting vessel evoked a myogenic contraction in the basilar arteries of SHR and WKY. Myogenic tone was significantly greater in SHR than in WKY. However, in the absence of extracellular Ca2+, stretching evoked a myogenic contraction in SHR, but not in WKY. The stretch-induced myogenic tone was inhibited by nifedipine. The effect of nifedipine was similar in both SHR and WKY rats. H-7, calphostin C and Y-27632, also inhibited stretch-induced myogenic tone in both SHR and WKY. The inhibitory effects of these drugs were greater in SHR than in WKY. Immunoblotting showed rho A and PKC alpha were translocated from the cytosol to the cell membrane with stretching in both SHR and WKY. PKC beta, however, was translocated to the cell membrane with stretching in SHR, but not in WKY. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that stretch-induced myogenic tone is significantly greater in SHR than in WKY. Furthermore, the increase in amount and/or activity of PKC beta and ROK (rhoA-associated kinase) may be a key mechanism accounting for the enhanced myogenic tone in SHR.
1-(5-Isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-Methylpiperazine ; Basilar Artery ; Blood Vessels ; Cell Membrane ; Cytosol ; Hypertension ; Immunoblotting ; Nifedipine ; Phosphotransferases ; Protein Kinase C* ; Protein Kinases* ; Rats, Inbred SHR* ; Rats, Inbred WKY ; Relaxation ; rhoA GTP-Binding Protein ; Vascular Resistance

PURPOSE: Recent studies show that chorioamnionitis has an important role in the pathogenesis of bronchopulmonary dysplasia(BPD) and it induces thymic involution. The purpose of this study is to test the usefulness of thymic size at birth as a predictor of BPD. METHODS: This study was conducted on 91 very low birth weight infants of <1, 500 g with mean gestational age of 29.3 weeks and mean birth weight of 1, 161 g who were admitted at NICU of Dong Kang General Hospital for past 4 years of whom 21 infants had BPD. Thymic size was measured on routine chest radiographs taken in the first 3 hours after birth and measured as the ratio between the width of the cardiothymic shadow at the level of the carina and that of the thorax at the costophrenic angles (CT/ T). RESULTS: Correlation of thymic size with gestational age was statistically significant (P=0.003). CT/T of BPD group was smaller than that of non-BPD group (0.27+/-0.06, 0.33+/-0.07, respectively, P<0.01). A significant positive correlation between small thymus at birth and BPD was detected (P=0.003, odds ratio, 21.7), but not in other disease groups. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that a small thymus at birth on the chest radiograph could be used as an early predictive parameter of the BPD.
Birth Weight ; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia* ; Chorioamnionitis ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight ; Odds Ratio ; Parturition* ; Pregnancy ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Thorax ; Thymus Gland

OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study were to assess the smoking status, knowledge and attitude related to smoking and smoking cessation activity of the physicians in a community, and to identify their predictors of smoking cessation activity. METHOD: All physicians employed by various health facilities in a community were surveyed using a structured questionnaire. Of the physicians surveyed, 523 (69.6%) returned completed questionnaires. RESULTS: The smoking rate of physicians was 29.3% (34.2% in males, 3.6% in females) and the knowledge and attitude scores to smoking were 22.5+/-2.4 and 65.4+/-6.9, respectively. The self-efficacy score was 3.4+/-1.0 and the smoking cessation activity score was 65.4+/-6.9. The smoking cessation activity was statistically significant with working place, specialty, knowledge and attitude to smoking and self-efficacy. In stepwise multiple regression, smoking cessation activity was predicted by doctors' working place, specialty, attitudes related to smoking issues, and self-efficacy of counseling knowledge and skills. CONCLUSION: Physicians need to participate routinely and actively in smoking cessation activity. For doctors to effectively counsel and intervene in patients regarding smoking cessation, it is essential to integrate education on smoking cessation intervention into curricula in formal education and to offer continuing education including smoking cessation intervention.
Counseling ; Curriculum ; Education ; Education, Continuing ; Health Facilities ; Humans ; Male ; Methods ; Smoke* ; Smoking Cessation* ; Smoking*

This study was performed to evaluate the relation of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) with several cardiovascular risk factors such as age, blood pressure, smoking habit and serum lipids, body mass index, blood glucose, regular exercise, alcohol drinking, white blood cell counts in a cross-sectional survey. Plasma hsCRP was measured by immunoturbidimetry in 202 subjects, aged over 50 yr, who participated in health-check survey in a rural area of Jeollanamdo, Korea. Plasma hsCRP level was 1.9 +/- 3.0 mg/dL. There were significant associations between hsCRP levels and age, white blood cell counts, blood glucose, diastolic blood pressure, HDL-cholesterol, body mass index and smoking status. In stepwise multivariate regression analysis, white blood cell counts, age, blood glucose, smoking status and body mass index were independent correlates of hsCRP levels. In conclusion, plasma hsCRP levels were associated with several cardiovascular risk factors, and these data are compatible with the hypothesis that CRP levels may be a marker for preclinical cardiovascular disease. Further what we need now are prospective studies to evaluate the association of C-reactive protein concentrations with subsequent cardiac events.
Alcohol Drinking ; Blood Glucose/metabolism ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; C-Reactive Protein/*metabolism ; Cardiovascular Diseases/*blood/physiopathology ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Educational Status ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Marital Status ; Multivariate Analysis ; Regression Analysis ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Risk Factors ; Smoking ; Socioeconomic Factors