Colonic sarcomatoid carcinomas are known to be extremely rare tumors, with only 22 cases reported either as sarcomatoid carcinomas or carcinosarcomas in the literature. The known characteristics are rapid growth, a high recurrence rate, and an extremely poor prognosis. Herein we report a case of a patient who had a sarcomatoid carcinoma of the sigmoid colon and died only 22 days after surgery due to rapid tumor growth.
Carcinosarcoma ; Colon ; Colon, Sigmoid ; Humans ; Prognosis ; Recurrence

Succinylcholine(SCC) is well known to elevate the serum potassium level and to threaten life in some cases. In order to minimize the elevation of serum potassium following SCC, several attempts have been made such as SCC tamming and pretreatment with pancuronium or lidocaine or diazepam. Our study was undertaken to evaluate the change of serum potassium following induction in 60 patients divided into 7 different groups; group l. SCC 1mg/kg; group ll. SCC 2 mg/kg, grouplll, SCC 1mg/kg after SCC 10mg; group IV, SCC 1mg/kg after pancuronium 0.015mg/kg, group V. Pnacuronium 0.1mg/kg; group VI, SCC 1mg/kg after Lidocaine 1mg/kg; grou VII, SCC 1mg/kg after Diazepam 0.2mg/kg. The results were as follows: 1) Serum potassium were increased 0.14mEq/L in group l and 0.17 mEq/L in group ll. 2) Serum potassium were decreased in group lll, VI and VII than their control values but they were not statistically significant. 3) The decrease in serum potassium was most significant in group IV and V.
Calcium ; Diazepam ; Humans ; Lidocaine ; Pancuronium ; Potassium ; Succinylcholine

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to investigate whether fertilization could induce the resumption of meiosis in mouse oocytes arrested at metaphase I (MI) after in vitro maturation (IVM), and to investigate the effect of Ca²⁺ chelator treatment at the time of fertilization on the transition from MI to metaphase II (MII). METHODS: MII-stage and arrested MI-stage mouse oocytes after IVM were fertilized, and then embryonic development was monitored. Blastocysts from each group were transferred into 2.5 days post-coitum pseudo-pregnant ICR mice. MI oocytes after IVM were treated with a Ca²⁺ chelator to investigate the effect of Ca²⁺ oscillations on their maturation. RESULTS: As insemination time increased, the number of oocytes in the MI group that reached the MII stage also increased. The blastocyst rates and total cell numbers in the MII group were significantly higher than in the MI group. No pregnancy occurred in the MI group, but 10 pregnancies were achieved (10 of 12) in the MII group. The proportion of MI oocytes that matured to MII oocytes after fertilization was significantly higher in the non-treated group than in the Ca²⁺ chelator-treated group. CONCLUSION: The findings that a higher proportion of MI-arrested oocytes progressed to MII after fertilization and that the MI-to-MII transition was blocked by Ca2+ chelator treatments before fertilization indicate that the maturation of MI oocytes to MII oocytes is associated with intracellular Ca²⁺ oscillations driven by fertilization.
Animals ; Blastocyst ; Calcium Signaling ; Cell Count ; Embryonic Development ; Female ; Fertilization ; In Vitro Oocyte Maturation Techniques ; In Vitro Techniques* ; Insemination* ; Meiosis ; Metaphase* ; Mice* ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Oocytes* ; Pregnancy ; Spermatozoa*

No abstract available.
Glycoproteins* ; Goblet Cells*

Osteoblastoma is a rare tumor which forms osteoid and bone with highly vascular stroma, account for less than 1 percent of all bone tumors. The lesion had been though to be controlled with curettage and local excision. In recent years, osteoblastomas have been described as aggressive osteoblastoma or malignant osteoblastoma, separated from the innocuous behavior of usual osteoblastoma. It represents the histologic characteristics of the presence of epithelioid osteoblasts, trabecular rather than lace-like osteoid, low mitotic rate with no atypical form with prominent giant cells of osteoclastic type. The differential diagnosis between aggressibe osteoblastoma and osteogenic sarcoma is extremely difficult, but its peculiar histologic pattern and its different clinical and radiologic features and better prognosis are helpful. We report here a case of aggressive osteoblastoma of 17 years old female patient with 3 years and 4 months follow-up period and review the literature.
Curettage ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Giant Cells ; Humans ; Osteoblastoma ; Osteoblasts ; Osteoclasts ; Osteosarcoma ; Prognosis

OBJECTIVE: Since IVF program was first established, various types of media and culture systems have been developed either in-house or commercially. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of in-house Maria Research Center (MRC) media to that of commercially available Sydney IVF media in human day 3 embryo transfer cycles. METHODS: Three hundred sixty nine couples were included in this prospective, randomized, and comparative study. All couples undergoing IVF treatment at the Maria Fertility Hospital were randomly assigned to either Sydney IVF (n=178) or MRC (n=191) media. RESULTS: No difference was observed between the MRC media and Sydney IVF media groups with respect to fertilization rate (74.4% vs. 75.5%). The clinical pregnancy and implantation rates of MRC media (47.1% and 20.0%, respectively) were also similar to those of Sydney IVF media (44.4% and 19.4%, respectively). However, the proportion of embryos with good quality on day 3 was significantly higher in the MRC media group than the Sydney IVF media group (50.2% vs. 43.2%) (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: MRC media were as effective as Sydney IVF media for sustaining embryo development and pregnancy rates. The present study implies that MRC media can be a suitable alternative to commercially available media for human IVF-ET program.
Embryo Transfer ; Embryonic Development ; Embryonic Structures ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Fertility ; Fertilization ; Humans ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Rate ; Prospective Studies

Associations between body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage (BF%), and health risks differ between Asian and European populations. BMI is commonly used to diagnose obesity; however, its accuracy in detecting adiposity in Koreans is unknown. The present cross-sectional study aimed at assessing the accuracy of BMI in determining BF%-defined obesity in 6,017 subjects (age 20-69 yr, 43.6% men) from the 2009 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We assessed the diagnostic performance of BMI using the Western Pacific Regional Office of World Health Organization reference standard for BF%-defined obesity by sex and age and identified the optimal BMI cut-off for BF%-defined obesity using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. BMI-defined obesity (> or =25 kg/m2) was observed in 38.7% of men and 28.1% of women, with a high specificity (89%, men; 84%, women) but poor sensitivity (56%, men; 72% women) for BF%-defined obesity (25.2%, men; 31.1%, women). The optimal BMI cut-off (24.2 kg/m2) had 78% sensitivity and 71% specificity. BMI demonstrated limited diagnostic accuracy for adiposity in Korea. There was a -1.3 kg/m2 difference in optimal BMI cut-offs between Korea and America, smaller than the 5-unit difference between the Western Pacific Regional Office and global World Health Organization obesity criteria.
Adipose Tissue/*physiology ; Adiposity/*physiology ; Adult ; Aged ; *Body Mass Index ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nutrition Surveys ; Obesity/*diagnosis ; ROC Curve ; Reference Standards ; Republic of Korea ; Young Adult

Associations between body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage (BF%), and health risks differ between Asian and European populations. BMI is commonly used to diagnose obesity; however, its accuracy in detecting adiposity in Koreans is unknown. The present cross-sectional study aimed at assessing the accuracy of BMI in determining BF%-defined obesity in 6,017 subjects (age 20-69 yr, 43.6% men) from the 2009 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We assessed the diagnostic performance of BMI using the Western Pacific Regional Office of World Health Organization reference standard for BF%-defined obesity by sex and age and identified the optimal BMI cut-off for BF%-defined obesity using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. BMI-defined obesity (> or =25 kg/m2) was observed in 38.7% of men and 28.1% of women, with a high specificity (89%, men; 84%, women) but poor sensitivity (56%, men; 72% women) for BF%-defined obesity (25.2%, men; 31.1%, women). The optimal BMI cut-off (24.2 kg/m2) had 78% sensitivity and 71% specificity. BMI demonstrated limited diagnostic accuracy for adiposity in Korea. There was a -1.3 kg/m2 difference in optimal BMI cut-offs between Korea and America, smaller than the 5-unit difference between the Western Pacific Regional Office and global World Health Organization obesity criteria.
Adipose Tissue/*physiology ; Adiposity/*physiology ; Adult ; Aged ; *Body Mass Index ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nutrition Surveys ; Obesity/*diagnosis ; ROC Curve ; Reference Standards ; Republic of Korea ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: As of 2011, among 250 administrative districts in Korea, 54 districts did not have obstetrics and gynecology clinics or hospitals providing prenatal care and delivery services. The Korean government designated 38 regions among 54 districts as “Obstetric Care Underserved Areas (OCUA).” However, little is known there are any differences in pregnancy, prenatal care, and outcomes of women dwelling in OCUA compared to women in other areas. The purposes of this study were to compare the pregnancy related indicators (PRIs) and adequacy of prenatal care between OCUA region and non-OCUA region. METHODS: Using National Health Insurance database in Korea from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2014, we constructed the whole dataset of women who terminated pregnancy including delivery and abortion. We assessed incidence rate of 17 PRIs and adequacy of prenatal care. All indicators were compared between OCUA group and non-OCUA group. RESULTS: The women dwelling in OCUA regions were more likely to get abortion (4.6% in OCUA vs. 3.6% in non-OCUA) and receive inadequate prenatal care (7.2% vs. 4.4%). Regarding abortion rate, there were significant regional differences in abortion rate. The highest abortion rate was 10.3% and the lowest region was 1.2%. Among 38 OCUA regions, 29 regions' abortion rates were higher than the national average of abortion rate (3.56%) and there were 10 regions in which abortion rates were higher than 7.0%. In addition, some PRIs such as acute pyelonephritis and transfusion in obstetric hemorrhage were more worse in OCUA regions compared to non-OCUA regions. CONCLUSION: PRIs are different according to the regions where women are living. The Korean government should make an effort reducing these gaps of obstetric cares between OCUA and non-OCUA.
Abortion, Induced ; Dataset ; Female ; Gynecology ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Medically Underserved Area ; National Health Programs ; Obstetrics ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women* ; Prenatal Care* ; Pyelonephritis

The pleckstrin homology (PH) domain is a protein module of approximately 100 amino acids, that has been found in signaling molecules, including serinelthreonine kinase, GTPase-activating protein, phospholipase, and some cytoskeletal proteins. Although the specific function of PH domain has not been defined yet, it is believed that this domain is involved in the regulation of signal transduction pathway. The expression plasmids of human PLCg PH domains were constructed to see the roles of them in IL-6 signal transduction. When these expression plasmids are transfected into B9 cells, only N-terminal of PH domain inhibited IL-6-induced B9 cell proliferation. These results suggest that N-terminal of PH domain is critical for IL-6 signal transduction in B9 cells. To search the binding proteins associated PH domains of PLCy1 in B9 cells, Glutathione S-trnaferase (GST) fusion proteins containg PH domains were expressed in E. coli. Then, IL-6-dependent B9 cells were treated with 10 unit/ml IL-6 and the cell lysates were immunoprecipited with GST-PH doman fusion proteins. In vitro kinase assay of immune complex demonstrated that p38 (38 KDa) protein was coprecipitated with NC fusion protein, but IL-6 had no additional effect on it. When S-methaionine labelled cell lysates were used for immunoprecipitation, the same result was observed, conforming the association of p38 with NC motive of PH domain.
Amino Acids ; Antigen-Antibody Complex ; Carrier Proteins ; Cell Proliferation ; Cytoskeletal Proteins ; Glutathione ; GTPase-Activating Proteins ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Immunoprecipitation ; Interleukin-6 ; Phospholipases ; Phosphotransferases ; Plasmids ; Signal Transduction