No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Lead Poisoning*

BACKGROUND: Ozone (03) induces airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness which are characteristic features of asthma. There have been few studies observing O3-induced increase in responsiveness of rat airway muscle. Objectives: The aims of this study were to develop an O3-induced nonallergic asthma model using rat tracheal smooth muscle (TSM) and to evaluate the role of airway epithelium on the modulation of muscle responsiveness. METHOD: Five groups of 20 male Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats were exposed to filtered air including 0.12, 0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 ppm 03 for 1 hour. Thirty minutes after the exposure, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and isometric contractile responses of the isolated tracheal ring segments to KCI, acetylcholine (ACh), and electrical field stimulation (EFS) were measured. RESULTS: The percent age of neutrophils was significantly higher and that of alveolar macro-phages in BAL fluid was significantly lower in 2.0 ppm O3-exposed rats than in the control. There were no significant differences in the maximal contractile responses of TSM to KC1, ACh, EFS and in the sensitivity to ACh (ACh-EC50) and EFS (EFS-EC50) between the control group and the ozone exposed group. ACh-EC50 and EFS-EC50 were correlated positively with the percent age of neutrophils and inversely with that of macrophages. Removal of epithelium significantly increased the sensitivity to ACh in O3-exposed group, but not in the control group. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that O3 induces neutrophilic airway inflammation, but not an increased sensitivity of TSM to ACh or EFS in SD rats. However, O3-induced epithelial damage may be associated with increased muscle response.
Acetylcholine ; Animals ; Asthma ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage ; Epithelium ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Macrophages ; Male ; Muscle, Smooth* ; Neutrophils ; Ozone ; Rats* ; Trachea

Airway hyperresponsiveness is a consistent feature of asthma. Since the airway smooth muscle is hyperresponsive to a number of different stimuli operating through many different mechanisms, it is attractive to speculate that the abnormality may reside in the airway smooth muscle itself. Animal model of asthma is needed to unravel possible mechanisms underlying airway hyperresponsiveness and also to develop new therapeutic approaches. However, there are few reports showing that airway smooth muscle from animal asthma model is indeed hyperresponsive. In addition, sensitizing and provoking doses of allergen were different each other ambng the studies on animal asthma model. The aim of this study was to determine an appropriate sensitizing and provoking dose of allergen to induce a maximum airway hyperresponsiveness. Eighty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were actively sensitized with a subcutaneous injection of 0, 10, or 1000/gg ovalbumin(OA) and 14 days later they were provoked with 0, 1, or 5 % OA aerosols. One day after the provocation, serum levels of OA-specific IgE, cell numbers in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and in vitro isometric contractile responses of the isolated tracheal smooth muscle(TSM) to 120 mM KC1, acetylcholine(ACh, 0.1~ 1000/micro meter), electrical field stimulation (EFS, 0.5~100Hz), serotonin(5-HT, 0.014 100/micro meter), and OA(10, 50, or 250 micro gram/ml) were measured. The results were as follows; 1) When 38 OA-sensitized rats were exposed to OA aerosols in vivo early asthmatic responses(EAR) were observed in 20(52.6%) rats. In vitro isometric contractile forces of TSM from rats with EAR were stronger than those from rats without EAR. 2) The maximal contractile responses to KC1 and EFS were significantly higher in rats only sensitized with OA compared with those in controls. The maximal response to ACh was significantly related to OA-specific serum IgE level(r=0.40, p%0.05), and the latter was in turn significantly related to the BALF eosinophil count(r=0.67, p<0.01). 3) When 10 microgram OA-sensitized rats were analyzed, the maximal response to KC1, ACh, EFS, and 250 micro gram/ml OA were lower in OA-provoked rats compared to those in saline-provoked control rats, in which 5% OA-provoked rats had a lower response than 1% OA-provoked rats. 4) The sensitivity of TSM to ACh was significantly higher in 10/micro gram OA-sensitized & OA-provoked rats, and the sensitivity to EFS was also significantly higher in 10/~g OA-sensitized & 5% OA-provoked rats compared to that in controls(p<0.05). 5) There was a significant correlation between the sensitivity of TSM to EFS and the counts of eosinophil or of lymphocytes in BALF(for eosinophil, r=-0.30; p<0.05, for lymphocyte, r=-0.35; p<0.05), or OA-specific serum IgE level(r=-0.46, p<0.01) in OA-sensitized & OA-provoked rats. This relationship was maintained in the data obtained only from 10 micro gram OA-sensitized & 5% OA-provoked rats. 6) The ratio of EFS-sensitivity to ACh-sensitivity was significantly lower in OA-sensitized & OA-provoked rats compared to that in controls or rats only sensitized with OA(p%0.05). 7) The Schultz-Dale phenomenon occurred in an in vitro dose-dependent manner. However, the inhaled provocation with OA in vivo resulted in a decrease in the contractile response to OA in vitro. There was a significant correlation between OA-specific serum IgE level and isometric response to 250 micro gram/ml OA(r=0.36, p<0.01). These results suggest that sensitization and provocation in vivo with OA in rats induces hypersensitivity of airway smooth muscle to cholinergic stimuli through an allergic inflammatory mechanism. The sensitivity was highest when sensitized to 10 micro gram OA and exposed to 5% OA aerosols.
Aerosols ; Animals ; Asthma* ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ; Cell Count ; Ear ; Eosinophils ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Immunoglobulin E ; Injections, Subcutaneous ; Lymphocytes ; Male ; Models, Animal ; Muscle, Smooth* ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to analyze college sudents' attitudes toward people with disabilities, and factors affecting the attitudes, and further to examine possible ways to improve the attitudes. and to furnish guideline of curriculum and practice in rehabilitation nursing on the basis of this analysis. METHOD: A descriptive. relational study design was used. The subjects of this study were 448 college students. A convenient sampling is used. Data were collected through 4 types of previous questionnaires used to examine attitude from May 1 to May 30, 2003. RESULT: 1. The attitude toward people with disabilities whose mean is 3.762 was responded somewhat negatively. Especially, a contact tension whose mean was 4.00 is high. 2. As a result of analyzing the attitudes of college students toward people with disabilities. some factors were statistically significant. They were experience of contact with the disabled. concern toward the disabled, voluntary work related to the disabled, and disability experience education. 3. The more negative experience of people with disabilities and the lower stereotype of disability and the higher effects of parents, teachers, and mass media, then the more positive response of peoples attitude with disabilities. 4. The main factors of determining the attitude of people with disabilities were the stereotype of disability. contact experience concern about disability, voluntary work experience. CONCLUSION: These results suggested that an appropriate educational intervention and strategy is needed in order to change the attitudes of college students toward people with disabilities. Also experimental researches are needed to do it.
Curriculum ; Disabled Persons ; Education ; Humans ; Mass Media ; Parents ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Rehabilitation Nursing

The genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) is a new term that describes various menopausal symptoms and signs including not only genital symptoms (dryness, burning, and irritation), and sexual symptoms (lack of lubrication, discomfort or pain, and impaired function, but also urinary symptoms (urgency, dysuria, and recurrent urinary tract infections). The terms vulvovaginal atrophy and atrophic vaginitis, which were generally used until recently, had a limitation because they did not cover the full spectrum of symptoms and did not imply that the symptoms are related to a decreased estrogen level in menopause. Since the GSM may have a profound negative impact on the quality of life of postmenopausal women, women should be made aware of these problems and treated with an appropriate effective therapy. Thus, in this review we introduce new terminology and discuss the importance of comprehension of GSM and the necessity of active treatment of this syndrome in postmenopausal women.
Atrophic Vaginitis ; Atrophy ; Burns ; Comprehension ; Dysuria ; Estrogens ; Female ; Humans ; Lubrication ; Menopause* ; Quality of Life ; Urinary Tract

Meckel's diverticulum is the most common congenital anomaly of the small intestine. The incidence is estimated to 2.0% of the normal population. Although most of them are asymptomatic or discovered incidentally, Meckel's diverticulum can be an uncommon cause of intestinal obstruction associated with a mesodiverticular band. We present a case of a 3-year-old boy who died after 2 days of abdominal pain and vomiting. Autopsy revealed a segment of infarcted small bowel associated with Meckel's diverticulum and a mesodiverticular band.
Abdominal Pain ; Autopsy ; Child, Preschool ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infarction* ; Intestinal Obstruction ; Intestine, Small ; Male ; Meckel Diverticulum* ; Vomiting

OBJECTIVE: To evaulate the factors affecting pubertal development after bone marrow transplantation (BMT) in girls. METHODS: We collected data from girls older than 14 on 2003, who had received bone marrow transplantation with or without total body irradiation. We checked their menstrual pattern, onset of menarche, growth rate before and after the transplantation using chart review. RESULTS: 41.6% of girls who took menarche before BMT mensurate regularly and 100% of girls who didn't take menarche before BMT suffered by amenorrhea. Time period from BMT to menarche is 0.6 years in the regular-menstruating group, and 2.14 years in the secndary amenorrhea group. 37.5% of girls who didn't take total body irradiation menstrate regularly, but only 15.3% of girls who took total body irradiation menstrate regularly. 100% of girls who showed decreasing growth rate after BMT diagnosed primary or secondary amenorrhea and 75% of girls showed increasing growth rate after BMT menstrated regularly. CONCLUSION: Ovary is more vulnerable before menarche. Time of menarche, time period between menarche and BMT, and radiation are the most important factors affecting ovarian function after bone marrow transplantation.
Amenorrhea ; Bone Marrow Transplantation* ; Bone Marrow* ; Female* ; Humans ; Menarche ; Ovary ; Whole-Body Irradiation

OBJECTIVE: To evaulate the factors affecting pubertal development after bone marrow transplantation (BMT) in girls. METHODS: We collected data from girls older than 14 on 2003, who had received bone marrow transplantation with or without total body irradiation. We checked their menstrual pattern, onset of menarche, growth rate before and after the transplantation using chart review. RESULTS: 41.6% of girls who took menarche before BMT mensurate regularly and 100% of girls who didn't take menarche before BMT suffered by amenorrhea. Time period from BMT to menarche is 0.6 years in the regular-menstruating group, and 2.14 years in the secndary amenorrhea group. 37.5% of girls who didn't take total body irradiation menstrate regularly, but only 15.3% of girls who took total body irradiation menstrate regularly. 100% of girls who showed decreasing growth rate after BMT diagnosed primary or secondary amenorrhea and 75% of girls showed increasing growth rate after BMT menstrated regularly. CONCLUSION: Ovary is more vulnerable before menarche. Time of menarche, time period between menarche and BMT, and radiation are the most important factors affecting ovarian function after bone marrow transplantation.
Amenorrhea ; Bone Marrow Transplantation* ; Bone Marrow* ; Female* ; Humans ; Menarche ; Ovary ; Whole-Body Irradiation

PURPOSE: To determine the impact of the Patient Safety Program on the safety culture of nursing department. METHODS: Patient Safety Program focused on medication safety was launched by QI team and patient safety committee. Patient Safety Program was composed of the establishment of improved reporting system as s way to learn from error, 'Patient Safety Guard' movement, and continuous education for medication safety. With one group pretest-posttest design, nurses' perception of the safety culture were measured with self-administered questionnaire. Subjects were all nurses and managers in nursing department of a tertiary teaching hospital in Seoul. Collected data from survey was statistically analyzed using t-test. RESULTS: Patient Safety Program had been continued for 20 months in participation of all nurses and managers. Safety culture was improved (pretest=2.84, posttest=2.90, p<.001; 4 point scale). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that there has been a statistically significant increase in the nurses' perception of safety culture. These findings suggest that Patient Safety Program had made great contribution toward system wide safety culture in the hospital. To improve safety culture, leadership supports and flexibility to apply tailored interventions to the hospital were required necessarily.
Hospitals, Teaching ; Humans ; Leadership ; Patient Safety ; Pliability ; Qi ; Surveys and Questionnaires