PURPOSE: To compare chest radiographic findings of pulmonary tuberculosis in non-AIDS immunocom- promised adult patients with those in immunocompetent patients. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Eighty six patients who had pulmonary tuberculosis were included in the study. Of these, 41 were non-AIDS immunocompromised adult patients and 45 were immunocompetent adult patients. Chest radiographs obtained from 86 patients were retrospectively evaluated with regard to the followings ;the anatomic distribution and extent of tuberculous lesions, typical or atypical patterns of radiographic findings. We then compared the results in non-AIDS immunocompromised adult patients with those in immunocompetent adult patients. RESULTS: The characteristic manifestation of pulmonary tuberculosis was a tendency of pulmonary lesions to localize in the apico-posterior segments of the upper lobe and the superior segment of the lower lobe in both groups but more wide distribution such as the anterior segment and the lingular segment of the upper lobe and the basal segments of the lower lobe was frequently identified in non-AIDS immunocompromised adult patients, and also bilateral, multisegmental and multilobular extents were common findings. in immunocompetent adult patients, more common findings were in local exudative and productive lesions and several cavities in preferential sites. Atypical plain radiographic findings were more common in non-AIDS immunocompromised adult patients, and which were multiple cavitary lesions, wide extent of bronchogenic spread and tuberculous pneumonia, and .miliary disseminations and mass like lesions. CONCLUSIONS: Pulmonary tuberculosis in non-AIDS immunocompromised adult patients is characterized by frequent bilateral distribution, wide pulmonary extent, and atypical radiographic findings.
Adult* ; Humans ; Pneumonia ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Retrospective Studies ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary*

BACKGROUND: Numerous environmental, physiological, and pathological factors, and some medications are known to influence the speed of nail growth. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to know the effect of topical antifungal drug, amorolfine, on the growth rate of nails. METHODS: First study was performed to patients with distal subungual onychomycosis affecting at least one side of great toe nail (64 cases). The growth rate of affected toe nails was memasured according to the treatment groups, oral itraconazole alone (21 cases), combination of oral itraconazole and amorolfine (23 cases), and amorolfine alone (20 cases). Also, the growth rate of toe nails in the controls who have tinea pedis without onychomycosis (22 cases) was measured. Another study was performed to healthy volunteers without onychomycosis, tinea pedis and any other dermatologic and systemic disease (21 cases). The growth rate of normal toe nails before and during application of amorolfine was measured. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference in the growth rate of affected toe nails between monotherapy group with oral itraconazole alone and combination therapy group with oral itraconazole and amorolfine in patients with onychomycosis (p>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference when comparing the growth rate of affected toe nails of patients with onychomycosis treated with amorolfine alone with that of normal toe nails of the controls (p>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the growth rate of normal toe nails between before and during application of amorolfine in healthy volunteers (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Topical antifungal medication might not influence the growth rate of nails.
Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Itraconazole ; Nails* ; Onychomycosis ; Tinea Pedis ; Toes

In this paper, authors investigated the academic activities of the Korean Physiological Society for the first 50 years from its foundation in 1945 to the year 1995. Authors divided the first 50 years of the Korean Physiological Society into the 4 developmental stages such as 1) Stage of Foundation (1945-1956), 2) Stage of Reconstruction (1957-1966), 3) Stage of Adjustment (1967-1981) and 4) Stage of Promotion (1982-1995), relating to its academic activities. Each stage had its own affairs and characteristics as follows. 1) The Stage of Foundation : Foundation of the Society; Participation of the members in the joint annual academic meeting held by the Korean Medical Association 2) The Stage of Reconstruction : Having the independent annual academic meeting; Rapid increase of papers read in the meeting; Affiliation of the Society with the International Union of Physiological Sciences(IUPS) 3) The Stage of Adjustment : Foundation of the Korean Journal of Physiology 4) The Stage of Promotion : Having the spring academic meeting; Further increase of papers(oral and poster) presented in the meeting; Increase of papers in the Journal; Transformation of the Journal into the English edition; Active participation of the members in the international academic activities; Establishment of the subspecial society such as the Korean Society for Smooth Muscle Research and the Ion-channel Group

In this paper, authors investigated the academic activities of the Korean Physiological Society for the first 50 years from its foundation in 1945 to the year 1995. Authors divided the first 50 years of the Korean Physiological Society into the 4 developmental stages such as 1) Stage of Foundation (1945-1956), 2) Stage of Reconstruction (1957-1966), 3) Stage of Adjustment (1967-1981) and 4) Stage of Promotion (1982-1995), relating to its academic activities. Each stage had its own affairs and characteristics as follows. 1) The Stage of Foundation : Foundation of the Society; Participation of the members in the joint annual academic meeting held by the Korean Medical Association 2) The Stage of Reconstruction : Having the independent annual academic meeting; Rapid increase of papers read in the meeting; Affiliation of the Society with the International Union of Physiological Sciences(IUPS) 3) The Stage of Adjustment : Foundation of the Korean Journal of Physiology 4) The Stage of Promotion : Having the spring academic meeting; Further increase of papers(oral and poster) presented in the meeting; Increase of papers in the Journal; Transformation of the Journal into the English edition; Active participation of the members in the international academic activities; Establishment of the subspecial society such as the Korean Society for Smooth Muscle Research and the Ion-channel Group

We report herein an unusual case of tick bite. A 56 year old woman complained of erythematous nodular skin lesion on the left upper chest. An excision biopsy specimen of the lesion showed darkish-red nodule, in which there was a tick. It was identified as an adult female of Ixodes nipponensis by the scanning electron microscopic examination.
Adult ; Biopsy ; Female ; Humans ; Ixodes* ; Middle Aged ; Skin ; Thoracic Wall* ; Thorax* ; Tick Bites ; Tick Infestations* ; Ticks*

During the last two decades, there has been an increasing interest in the impact of oral health on atherosclerosis and subsequent cardiovascular disease (CVD). To date, some periodontal pathogens including Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) have been reported to be relevant to CVD. Porphyromonas endodontalis (P. endodontalis), which shares approximately 87% sequence homology with P. gingivalis, is mostly found within infected root canals. However, recent studies reveal that this pathogen also resides in the dental plaque or periodontal pocket in patients with periodontitis. It has been shown that P. endodontalis invades human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAEC) and coronary artery smooth muscle cells (CASMC). To evaluate whether P. endodontalis can participate in the progression of atherosclerosis and CVD, we examined the changes in transcriptional gene expression profiles of HCAEC responding to invasion by P. endodontalis in this study. The following results were obtained. 1. Porphyromonas endodontalis was invasive of HCAEC. 2. According to the microarray analysis, there were 625 genes upregulated more than two-folds, while there were 154 genes downregulated by half. 3. Upregulated genes were relevant to inflammatory cytokines, apoptosis, coagulation and immune response. Enhanced expression of MMP-1 was also noticeable. 4. The transcription profiles of the 10 selected genes examined by real-time PCR agreed well with those observed in the microarray analysis. Thus, these results show that P. endodontalis presents the potential to trigger and augment atherosclerosis leading to CVD.
Apoptosis ; Atherosclerosis ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Coronary Vessels ; Cytokines ; Dental Plaque ; Dental Pulp Cavity ; Endothelial Cells ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Microarray Analysis ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; Oral Health ; Periodontal Pocket ; Periodontitis ; Porphyromonas ; Porphyromonas endodontalis ; Porphyromonas gingivalis ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sequence Homology ; Transcriptome

Han-sik is a term in Korean that may indicate any Korean dish or food. At present, there is no general consensus on the definition of Han-sik among scholars or professionals in related fields. The aim of this study was to investigate perceptions of Han-sik by professionals in the fields of food, nutrition, and culinary arts using 512 dishes and foods commonly consumed by Koreans using the 4th Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey. A total of 117 professionals out of 185 initially contacted professionals participated in this online survey. We calculated the rate of respondents with a positive answer, that is "It is Han-sik', on each dish and food from the 512 items in 28 dish groups. Items were categorized into five groups according to their Han-sik perception rate: over 90%, 75-89%, 50-74%, 25-49%, and below 25%. Most items in the three dish groups 'Seasoned vegetables, cooked (Namul.Suk-chae)', 'Kimchis', and 'Salt-fermented foods (Jeotgal)' showed high perception rates of Han-sik, with a higher than 90% positive response. Items in 'Soups', 'Stews', and 'Steamed foods' dish groups also showed high perception rates of Han-sik. However, no item showed a greater than 90% Han-sik perception rate in 'Fried foods (Twigim)', 'Meat, poultry and fishes', 'Legumes, nuts, and seeds', 'Milk and milk products', 'Sugars and confectioneries', and 'Soup'. Most items in the 'Milk and milk products', 'Sugars and confectioneries', and 'Soup' groups belonged to the lowest perception rate of below 25%. There was a significant difference in the proportion of items perceived as Han-sik by the length of living abroad to (p < 0.05). In summary, the perception rate of Han-sik seemed to be affected by the cooking method, ingredients, and length of time living abroad by the professionals. Further studies targeting subjects with different characteristics and socioeconomic status are warranted to define the concept of Han-sik.
Consensus ; Cooking ; Milk ; Nutrition Surveys ; Nuts ; Poultry ; Social Class ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Vegetables

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to assess attenuation correction algorithms with the 137Cs point source for the brain positron emission tomography (PET) imaging process. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four different types of phantoms were used in this study for testing various types of the attenuation correction techniques. Transmission data of a 137Cs point source were acquired after infusing the emission source into phantoms and then the emission data were subsequently acquired in 3D acquisition mode. Scatter corrections were performed with a background tail-fitting algorithm. Emission data were then reconstructed using iterative reconstruction method with a measured (MAC), elliptical (ELAC), segmented (SAC) and remapping (RAC) attenuation correction, respectively. Reconstructed images were then both qualitatively and quantitatively assessed. In addition, reconstructed images of a normal subject were assessed by nuclear medicine physicians. Subtracted images were also compared. RESULTS: ELAC, SAC, and RAC provided a uniform phantom image with less noise for a cylindrical phantom. In contrast, a decrease in intensity at the central portion of the attenuation map was noticed at the result of the MAC. Reconstructed images of Jaszack and Hoffan phantoms presented better quality with RAC and SAC. The attenuation of a skull on images of the normal subject was clearly noticed and the attenuation correction without considering the attenuation of the skull resulted in artificial defects on images of the brain. CONCLUSION: the complicated and improved attenuation correction methods were needed to obtain the better accuracy of the quantitative brain PET images.
Brain ; Noise ; Nuclear Medicine ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Skull

Depigmented halos surrounding cutaneous lesions have been the common description of many diseases, including benign melanocytic nevus, acquired blue nevi, malignant melanoma and neurofibromatosis. To the best of our knowledge, a halo around seborrheic keratosis has not been reported in the Korean dermatologic literature, and only two cases have been described abroad. Though vitiligo is known to be frequently associated with this halo phenomenon, the exact etiopathogenesis of vitiligo and the halo phenomenon is still unknown. Herein, we report on a case of halo seborrheic keratosis in a patient with vitiligo.
Humans ; Keratosis, Seborrheic ; Melanoma ; Neurofibromatoses ; Nevus, Blue ; Nevus, Pigmented ; Vitiligo

Symptomatic hepatic cysts are infrequently seen. A 82-year-old woman was admitted because of growing abdominal mass and pain. On admission, the mass was palpated on right upper quadrant of the abdomen. Ultrasonography and computed tomography disclosed a huge cystic lesion of the liver. It measured 22.5 x 19.0 x 18.0 cm and had a thick wall that was irregular. Because of the patient's symptoms and the radiologic findings, the decision was made to aspirate the cyst percutaneously under fluoroscopic guidance. Percutaneous drainage yielded approximately 3300 cc of yellow brownish fluid. A cytologic evaluation of the fluid was negative for malignant cells, and a fluid analysis was described as predominantly inflammatory in nature. Cultures revealed a growth of Klebsiella oxytoca. After drainage of the cystic fluid, we instilled contrast medium. No communication between the cyst and bile ducts was seen. Seven days later, the patient was discharged. Four months after treatment, no reaccumulated fluid was observed by ultrasonography. Ten months after treatment, the patient is healthy without abdominal discomfort. We report a case of the infected huge hepatic cyst successfully treated with fluoroscopic-uided percutaneous drainage.
Abdomen ; Aged, 80 and over ; Bile Ducts ; Drainage* ; Female ; Humans ; Klebsiella oxytoca ; Liver ; Ultrasonography