No abstract available.
Birds* ; Orientia tsutsugamushi* ; Rickettsia*

No abstract available.
Bacteria* ; Bivalvia*

Intertrochanteric fractures frequently occur in elderly patients. Early mobilization after rigid internal fixation of unstable intertrochanteric fractures has recently reduced the mortality and morbidity. Between March, 1976 and February, 1980, eighteen patients over 60 years old with unstable intertrochanteric fractures were treated by Jewett nailing after Dimon & Hughstons reduction at the department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Chung Nam University. Among the eighteen patients, twelve patients could be followed, ranging from 6 months to 2.1 years, with an average follow-up of 11 months. The results were obtained as follows: 1. The main causes of fractures were falling down and slip down. 2. In treatment of unstable intertrochanteric fractures by medial displacement and valgus nailing with Jewett nail, early ambulation and early weight bearing were possible with satisfactory results. 3. The average time for fracture union in twelve cases who were followed up were 17.1 weeks, but two cases with severe comminution of posterior and medial fragment of the trochanter revealed delayed union. 4. The medial displacement of distal fragment and valgus nailing in unstable intertrochanteric fracture shortened the operation time and reduced complications by early ambulation, but had disadvantages such as some limitation of motion of affected hip joints, shortening of affected extremities and delayed union.
Accidental Falls ; Aged ; Early Ambulation ; Extremities ; Femur ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hip Fractures ; Hip Joint ; Humans ; Mortality ; Weight-Bearing

Extradural hematomas are usually acute and rapidly progressing and the lucid intervals generally varies from a few moments to several hours. However, not uncommonly, an epidural hematoma may have a lucid interval lasting weeks, months or even years, which may present as a chronic epidural hematoma. Two cases have recently come under our care, demonstrating a paucity of objective neurologic abnormalities, but with extensive compressive extradural hemorrhage, which were found incidentally during the screening examination with the CT scanning.
Hematoma* ; Hemorrhage ; Mass Screening ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

PURPOSE: The growth and PSA secretion of prostate carcinoma is predominantly regulated by androgens. However, locally produced growth factors(GFs) also have been shown to play a crucial role in the proliferation of androgen-dependent prostatic tumor cells. Androgen has been proposed to stimulate the cell proliferation and PSA secretion by modulating the activity of some of these growth factors. The objectives of this study are to determine the effects of various GFs (epidermal growth factor; EGF, basic fibroblast growth factor; bFGF, keratinocyte growth factor; KGF, hepatocyte growth factor; HGF) on the growth and PSA secretion of androgen-dependent LNCaP prostate cancer cell line. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To determine the effects of EGF, bFGF, KGF and HGF on the growth and PSA secretion of LNCaP, LNCaP cells at a concentration of 3 x 103 cells/well, suspended in T-medium containing 2% TCM, were seeded in 96 well plates. Cells were exposed to six different concentrations (0.5, 1, 5, 10, 20 and 40 ng/ml) of GFs. Cell numbers were evaluated by crystal violet assay on day 3, 5 and 7, and PSA concentrations in conditioned medium were determined on day 5. RESULTS: EGF and HGF had minimal, not significant, stimulatory effects on the growth of LNCaP. However, bFGF and KGF had significant growth stimulatory effects (P<0.05). EGF, bFGF, KGF and HGF did not have any stimulatory effects on the PSA secretion of androgen-dependent LNCaP cell line. CONCLUSIONS: bFGF and KGF, not EGF and HGF, directly stimulate the growth of LNCaP cells. However, bFGF and KGF as well as EGF and HGF do not affect the PSA secretion of LNCaP. There seems to be another signal transduction pathway, which is not associated with GFs mentioned above, for PSA secretion of androgen-dependent LNCaP cell line.
Androgens ; Cell Count ; Cell Line* ; Cell Proliferation ; Culture Media, Conditioned ; Epidermal Growth Factor ; Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 ; Fibroblast Growth Factor 7 ; Gentian Violet ; Hepatocyte Growth Factor ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins* ; Prostate* ; Prostatic Neoplasms* ; Signal Transduction

No abstract available.
Fallopian Tubes* ; Female ; Pregnancy*

The rapid involution of the rat ventral prostate after castration is an active process initiated by removal of the inhibitory effects of androgen on prostatic cell death. The degradation of genomic DNA into nucleosomal-sized fragments if an early event in this process and is catalyzed by Ca2+Mg2+-dependent endonuclease activity which is dependent upon calcium ions. The morphologic correlation of the involution process involves a series of structural changes which are collectively referred to as apoptosis. Since the castration-induced endonuclease is dependent upon calcium ions for maximal activity, a potential involvement of a intracellular calcium in the castration-induced prostatic cell death was investigated. Acute disturbance in intracellular calcium homeostasis within the ventral prostate by means of a potent calcium channel blocker, nifedipine, simultaneous with castration resulted in a significant decrease in prostatic apoptosis. This result points to a potential role intracellular calcium levels in the mechanism of activation of castration-induced death of the androgen-dependent epithelial cells in the ventral prostate.
Animals ; Apoptosis* ; Calcium Channels* ; Calcium* ; Castration ; Cell Death ; Deoxyribonuclease I ; DNA ; Epithelial Cells ; Homeostasis ; Ions ; Nifedipine* ; Prostate* ; Rats*

PURPOSE: To investigate prognostic factors influencing on local recurrence, distant metastasis and event-free survival of liposarcomas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-two patients managed for liposarcomas since 1993 were analyzed respectively in the view of prognostic influence of patient age, tumor size, location, histologic type, histologic grade, resection type, surgical margin, chemotherapy and radiation therapy on local recurrence, distant metastasis and event-free survival. The mean follow up period was 39 months. The univariate and multivariate regression analysis were performed for statistical evaluation. RESULTS: The local recurrences occurred in 11 patients (21.2%) and distant metastasis in 4 patients (8%), Event-free survival rate at 4 year follow up was 67%. In univariate analysis, histologic grade, surgical margin, chemotherapy and radiation therapy were significant prognostic factors on local recurrence (p<0.05). However, histologic grade lost its significance in muitivariate analysis. Trunk location revealed higher rate of distant metastasis than extremity location. In univariate analysis on event-free survival. histologic grade and chemotherapy were significant factors (p<0.05). No factor remained significant in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: Considering selection bias, positive surgical margin was negative prognostic factor on local recurrence. Liposarcomas arisen in trunk revealed higher rate of distant metastasis. There was no independent prognostic factor on event-free survival of patients with liposarcomas.
Disease-Free Survival ; Extremities ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Liposarcoma ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Selection Bias

Acute tubular necrosis induced by aminoglycoside-antibiotics is followed by a regenerative Process which leads to the restoration of damaged tubules. It is well known that tubular regeneration is mediated by polypeptide growth factors such as epidermal growth factor (EGF) In the absence of nephrotoxic alterations, EGF is immunolocalized in distal tubules, whereas epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR) immunostaining is localized in proximal tubules. After acute tubular necrosis, the sign of regeneration is accompanied by redistribution of EGF immunoreactivity from distal to proximal tubules and a reduction of total immunoreactive EGF due to a decrease of tissue-bound proEGF. However, it is controversial whether EGFR is down- or up-regulated during this regenerative process. We evaluated the time course of the regenerative response subsequent to tubular damage induced by aminoglycoside, with a particular attention paid to EGFR in order to examine whether it is down- or up-regulated. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were treated during 4 and 8 consecutive days with a daily dose of 80 mg/kg gentamicin i.p. Groups of experimental animals (n=10) were terminated at increasing time intervals (5, 9, 12, 16 days) after cessation of treatment. One hour before sacrifice, each individual received i.p. 200mg/kg Blood for the immunohistochemical demonstration of cell proliferation (S-phase cell). Blood was collected at the time of sacrifice to measure serum creatinine and BUN levels. EGFR immunoreactivity was revealed on paraffin-embedded tissue section by immunohistochemical staining using polyclonal anti-EGFR antibody. Upon immunostaining sections in control kidneys, immunoreactive EGFRs exhibited a quite specific and restricted distribution since they were confined to proximal tubules. But proximal tubules undergoing regenerative repair were characterized by a disappearance of EGFR, which expressed BrdU in immunohistochemical sections for BrdU. Beyond the episode of tubular regeneration, proximal tubules recovered immunoreactive EGFR. The results suggest that the apparent loss of EGFR could be due to a process of receptor down-regulation in proximal tubules displaying evidence of regenerative response.
Animals ; Bromodeoxyuridine ; Cell Proliferation ; Creatinine ; Down-Regulation ; Epidermal Growth Factor* ; Female ; Gentamicins ; Humans ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; Kidney ; Necrosis* ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor* ; Regeneration ; Withholding Treatment

No abstract available.
Spine*