No abstract available.
Pregnancy*

No abstract available.
Twins, Conjoined*

Blow-out fracture is frequently encountered in facial bone trauma. And the frequency of medial orbital wall fracture in Asia is high. Various approaches have been reported for medial orbital wall fractures. The field of medial orbital surgery is difficult due to lack of visualization of fracture site, blind dissection of orbital wall, susceptibility of injury of orbital structures. Recently, endoscopic reduction of orbital wall was provided good fuctional and cosmetic results. In order to address this shortcoming we have explored the use of endoscopic external short scar approach in medial orbital wall dissection to allow direct visualization of orbital content and nearly whole fracture components. In this study a direct local approach through a 2cm, modified Z-shaped incision on superior medial orbital area was used as a consistent method to reconstruct medial blow-out fractures. The incision line consist 3 limbs. The angle of the limbs is to 110 degrees. First, 1cm sized line exsists frontonasal line. Second, 5mm sized 2 limbs of the incision line were placed parallel or oblique to the relaxed skin tension line. During the follow-up period of 6 to 12 months, excellent functional and cosmetic results were observed with an inconspicuous scar. Therefore, a direct external short scar incision approach with endoscope on the superior medial orbit may be a consistent method to gain the surgical goal in treatment of blow-out fractures of the medial orbital wall.
Asia ; Cicatrix* ; Endoscopes ; Extremities ; Facial Bones ; Follow-Up Studies ; Orbit* ; Orbital Fractures* ; Skin

Osteomas in the head and neck regions are benign bone neplasms usually found in the frontoethmoid area. Osteomas are usually produce symptoms secondary to pressure on adjacent structures. Although commonly discovered in the external auditory canal of the temporal bone, few cases have been reported in the mastoid or squamous portion of the temporal bone. When located in the mastoid and squamous parts of the temporal bone osteomas can cause cosmetic deformity such as external mass or an auricular protrusion. Other neoplasms of the mastoid region such as osteosarcoma and osteoblastic metastasis should be considered for the differential diagnosis. The authors experienced a case of osteoma that originated from mastoid of temporal bone. We report this rare case and its successful management with a review of the literatures.
Congenital Abnormalities ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Ear Canal ; Head ; Mastoid* ; Neck ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Osteoblasts ; Osteoma* ; Osteosarcoma ; Temporal Bone

PURPOSE: Computed tomography theoretically should improve detection of foreign bodies and provide more information of adjacent soft tissues. And the CT scanner and PACS program proved to be an excellent instrument for detection and localization of most facial foreign bodies above certain minimum levels of detectability. The severity of injury in penetrating trauma to the face, it is often underestimated by physical examination. Diagnosis of a retained foreign object is always critical. METHODS: From March, 2005 to February 2008 a study was done with 200 patients who had facial trauma. Axial and coronal CT images were obtained with a General Electric(Milwaukee, Wis) 9800 CT scanner at 130kV, 90mA, with a 2-mm section thickness and a 512x512 matrix. RESULTS: Axial and coronal CT images at various window widths should be used as the first imaging modality to detect facial foreign bodies. The attenuation coefficients for the metallic and nonmetallic foreign bodies ranged from -437 to +3071 HU. As a general rule, metallic foreign bodies produced more Hounsfield artifacts than nonmetallic foreign bodies, thus providing a clue to their composition. All of the metallic foreign bodies were represented by a single peak and had a maximum attenuation coefficient of +3071 HU. Of the nonmetallic foreign bodies, glass had an attenuation coefficient that ranged from +105 to +2039, while plastic had a much lower coefficient that ranged from -62 to -35. wood had the lowest range of attenuation coefficients: -491 to -437. CONCLUSION: The PACS program allows one to distinguish metallic from nonmetallic foreign bodies and to individually identify the specific composition of many nonmetallic foreign bodies. This program does not, however, allow identification of the specific composition of a metallic foreign body. We recommend this type of software program for CT scanning of any patient with an injury to the face in which a foreign body is suspected.
Artifacts ; Foreign Bodies ; Glass ; Humans ; Physical Examination ; Plastics ; Wood

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess the microbiological quality of unchlorinated drinking water in Korea, 2010. One hundred and eighty unchlorinated drinking water samples were collected from various sites in Seoul and Gyeonggi province. METHODS: To investigate bacterial presence, the pour plate method was used with cultures grown on selective media for total bacteria, total coliforms, and Staphylococcus spp., respectively. RESULTS: In the 180 total bacteria investigation, 72 samples from Seoul and 33 samples from Gyeonggi province were of an unacceptable quality (>10(2) CFU/mL). Of all the samples tested, total coliforms were detected in 28 samples (15.6%) and Staphylococcus spp. in 12 samples (6.7%). Most of the coliform isolates exhibited high-level resistance to cefazolin (88.2%), cefonicid (64.7%) and ceftazidime (20.6%). In addition, Staphylococcus spp. isolates exhibited high-level resistance to mupirocin (42%). Species of Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Cupriavidus, Hafnia, Rahnella, Serratia, and Yersinia were isolated from the water samples. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that consumption of unchlorinated drinking water could represent a notable risk to the health of consumers. As such, there is need for continuous monitoring of these water sources and to establish standards.
Acinetobacter ; Bacteria ; Cefazolin ; Cefonicid ; Ceftazidime ; Cupriavidus ; Drinking ; Drinking Water ; Hafnia ; Korea ; Mupirocin ; Pseudomonas ; Rahnella ; Serratia ; Staphylococcus ; Water ; Yersinia

Homer protein was identified based on its rapid induction in rat hippocampal granule cell neurons following excitatory synaptic activity. Although the presence of the Homer gene in the peripheral tissues has been observed in previous reports, the physiological function of the Homer protein in these tissues has not been noted. In this experiment, a Homer-2a cDNA fragment was successfully amplified by RTPCR in the involuting phase of human hemangioma but not in the human vascular malformation and normal vessel. After isolation of full Homer cDNA in a mouse liver cDNA library, E1-deleted recombinant adenovirus expressing the Homer protein (Adv.CMV.mHomer-2a) was constructed to determine its physiological function in peripheral tissues. Adv.CMV.mHomer2a, but not Adv.CMV.LacZ (recombinant adenovirus expressing beta-galactosidase), strongly inhibited the growth rate of HUVECs (human umbilical vein endothelial cells) probably via inducing apoptosis determined by acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) staining methods. This study suggests that the Homer gene is present in human specimens in the involuting phase of hemangioma, and it might be involved in the growth control.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Animals ; Apoptosis ; Base Sequence ; Blood Vessels/*abnormalities ; Carrier Proteins/genetics/*physiology ; Cells, Cultured ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; DNA, Complementary/genetics ; Endothelium, Vascular/cytology ; Female ; Hemangioma/blood supply/*genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Mice ; Middle Aged ; Neuropeptides/genetics/*physiology ; Rats ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Skin/blood supply ; Skin Neoplasms/blood supply/*genetics

Plasma cholesterol is increased in normal aging in both rodents and humans. This is associated with reduced elimination of cholesterol and decreased receptor-mediated clearance of plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. The aims of this study were: (1) to determine age-related changes in plasma lipid profiles, and (2) to determine the effect of fenofibrate, an activator of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (PPAR alpha), on plasma lipid profiles in normal rats on a standard diet. Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (n=15) were fed standard chow and water from 10 to 25 weeks of age. During that period, we measured daily food intake, body weight, fasting and random blood glucose levels, plasma total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and free fatty acid (FFA) levels. At 20 weeks of age, all rats were randomly divided into two groups: a fenofibrate group (in which rats were gavaged with 300 mg/kg/day of fenofibrate) and a control group (gavaged with water). Fenofibrate treatment lasted 5 weeks. There were no significant changes in daily food intake, blood glucose, and plasma TG level with age. Body weight, plasma TC, and FFA levels were significantly increased with age. Fenofibrate significantly decreased plasma concentrations of TC and FFA, which had been increased with age. However, fenofibrate did not influence the plasma concentration of TG, which had not increased with age. These results suggest that fenofibrate might have a novel role in preventing age-related hypercholesterolemia in SD rats on a normal diet.
Aging ; Animals ; Blood Glucose ; Body Weight ; Cholesterol ; Diet ; Eating ; Fasting ; Fenofibrate ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Lipoproteins ; Male ; Plasma ; PPAR alpha ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rodentia ; Triglycerides ; Water

BACKGROUND: Hypoalbuminemia is the most important risk factor for death in dialysis patients. But, it is not well known the factors determining the changes of serum albumin with time. The present study attempts to address the changes of serum albumin with time and the factors determining the changes of serum albumin in stable patients on peritoneal dialysis. METHODS: Fifty-four peritoneal dialysis patients in stable condition were included. Serum albumin, peritoneal equilibration test, weekly urea clearance (Kt/V), weekly creatinine clearance(CCr) and normalized protein catabolic rate(nPCR) were determined two times(mean 5.8+/-2.3 months and 31.3+/-6.5 months after initiation of peritoneal dialysis). RESULTS: Initially lower serum albumin group patients(below 3.7 g/dL) showed significantly increased serum albumin level with time(3.2+/-0.43 g/dL vs 3.57+/-0.52 g/dL, p=0.006) and initially higher serum albumin group patients(above 3.7 g/dL) showed decreased serum albumin level with time(4.07+/-0.32 g/dL vs 3.97+/-0.3 g/dL, p=0.15). Serum albumin changes(delta) were significantly higher in initially lower serum albumin group than higher serum albumin group(0.37+/-0.6 g/dL vs -0.11+/-0.3 g/dL, p < 0.01). There were negative correlations between delta serum albumin and delta D/PCr with time in initially lower and initially higher serum albumin groups(0.37+/-0.56 g/dL vs -0.02+/-0.11, -0.11+/-0.33 g/dL vs 0.05+/-0.12, respectively, r=-0.308, p=0.008). The group which increased serum albumin level with time showed significantly lower initial serum albumin(3.32+/-0.51 g/dL vs 3.98+/-0.46 g/dL, p < 0.001) and significantly decreased D/P(Cr) changes(-0.03+/-0.09 vs 0.06+/-0.10, p= 0.02) than the group which decreased serum albumin level with time. With multiple regression analysis, initial serum albumin level and the change of D/P(Cr) were significant predictors of the change of serum albumin with time. CONCLUSION: Initial serum albumin and the change of D/PCr were identified as the predictors of the change of serum albumin in stable peritoneal dialysis patients.
Creatinine ; Dialysis ; Humans ; Hypoalbuminemia ; Peritoneal Dialysis* ; Risk Factors ; Serum Albumin* ; Urea

BACKGROUND: Cyclosporine dosing is traditionally based on trough levels(C0 level) rather than area under the concentration-time curve(AUC), although AUC correlates better with post transplantation acute rejection and acute toxicity. It is reported that C2 levels(2-hour postdose blood levels) are single sampling point that best reflects AUC0-4. But there has been no recommended C2 levels for patients after 12 months post kidney transplantation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between C0 levels and C2 levels and define recommended target C2 levels in patients after 12 months post kidney transplantation. METHODS: Seventy three patients after 12 months post transplantation were studied. 83 data were obtained from 73 renal transplant patients. Blood C0 levels, blood C2 levels, body weight and serum creatinine level were measured. Blood cyclsporine levels were measured by monoclonal fluorescence polarization immunoassay(mFPIA)(TDX, Abbot). The data of C0 levels were divided into three groups : low group (mean+SD, 197.1 ng/mL). RESULTS: There was a positive correlation between C0 levels and C2 levels, but no correlation between C0 levels and C2 levels when C0 levels were divided into three groups. There was a positive correlation between cyclosporine/body weight and C2 levels in normal C0 group. Recommended C2 levels in normal C0 group is 724.7+/-210.1 ng/mL. CONCLUSION: It is assumed that cyclosporine doses can be individualized by using C2 levels rather than C0 levels in renal transplant patients. However, prospective study may be needed to confirm the improvement of longterm renal allograft survival by individualizing cyclosporine doses based on C2 levels.
Allografts ; Area Under Curve ; Body Weight ; Creatinine ; Cyclosporine* ; Fluorescence Polarization ; Humans ; Kidney Transplantation* ; Kidney*