OBJECTIVES: A cross sectional study was carried out in the welders exposed to manganese and control group. The aim of this study was to assess the adverse effects of manganese on central nervous system of welders. METHODS: The study group consisted of 49 welders and the reference group, 49 workers matched with welders for age and educational level in automobile manufacturing company. Concentration of manganese in welding hume, in blood, and cumulative exposure index(CEI) were determined for each subject. For each group, computerized neurobehavioral test including Simple Reaction Time, Digit Symbol, Digit Span, and Finger Tapping Speed of Swedish Performance Evaluation System were applied. RESULTS: Exposure level of manganese in welders were very low(mean CEI 0.069). Welders exposed to manganese had slower response speed, slower motor steadiness, and shorter memory span than control group. But these differences were not statistically significant. The performance of Finger Tapping Speed tended to lower as environmental and biological exposure index got higher. Other neurobehavioral tests were found to have a little association with the exposure indices. CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant difference of neurobehavioral performance between welders and control group. This study indicates that Finger Tapping Speed measuring motor steadiness might be a one of useful tests for early detection of adverse effects of welding on central nervous system.
Automobiles ; Central Nervous System ; Fingers ; Manganese* ; Memory ; Reaction Time ; Welding

BACKGROUND: Korean mistletoe (Viscum album) extract has been found to posses immunostimulatory activity. In this study, Korean mistletoe extract, M11C (non-lectin components), was used to know whether this extract might activate mouse peritoneal macrophages to produce interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta). METHODS: Hemagglutination assay was carried out to examine whether M11C contained a lectin or not . To know the effect of M11C on the production of IL-1 beta, the macrophages were treated by the M11C, and then collected the supernatant (M11C stimulated macrophages-conditioned media; MMCM). MMCM was analyzed for the IL-1 beta quantification and mRNA expression by means of ELISA and RT-PCR, respectively. RESULTS: Maximum effective dose and time of M11C on IL-1 beta production from macrophages were 20 micro gram/ml and 8 hours, respectively . This ELISA data was reconfirmed by immunoblotting assay . indicating that M11C is a good candidate for an immunomodulator. The dose and time dependent effect s of M11C on the expression of IL-1 beta mRNA from macrophages was also shown in expression of mRNA detected by RT-PCR. Treatment dose and time for the maximum expression of IL-1 beta mRNA were 20 micro gram/ml and 4 hours, respectively . Maximum gene expression of IL-1 beta was much earlier than maximum production of it. CONCLUSION: As results, Korean mistletoe extract, M11C, may be used for an immunomodulator. This will be able to make up for and solve the problems caused by existent immunoagent with many adverse effects through many other studies in future including one molecule extraction.
Animals ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Gene Expression ; Hemagglutination ; Immunoblotting ; Interleukin-1beta ; Macrophages* ; Macrophages, Peritoneal ; Mice ; Mistletoe* ; RNA, Messenger

Axis, Cervical Vertebra* ; Celiac Artery ; Constriction, Pathologic* ; Ultrasonography*

PURPOSE: To determine which CT findings are useful for differentiating cholangiocarcinomas (CC) from hepatic abscesses and also to determine whether artificial neural networks (ANNs) improve radiologists' performance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CT findings of 51 patients with mass-forming type CC and 70 patients with hepatic abscesses were analyzed with morphologic, enhancing and other ancillary findings by three radiologists with differing levels of expertise independently. ANNs were constructed using statistically significant CT findings derived from the analyses. The performances of the ANNs and the radiologists were evaluated using receiver operating characteristic analysis. RESULTS: CT findings of rim-like enhancement, lymphadenopathy, capsular retraction, focal bile duct dilatation and a solid component were significant features of CC (p< 0.05). Findings of a clustered sign, multilayered enhancement, sharp margin, round shape, and air-biliary gram were significant features of hepatic abscesses. The ANNs showed better performance (AZ=0.9673, 98.0%, 97.1%, and 97.5%, respectively) than the resident (AZ=0.898, 78.4%, 81.4%, 80.2%) (p<0.05) in differentiating between the two diseases: (AZ, sensitivities, specificities, and overall accuracies). However, there were no significant differences in the diagnostic performance of the ANNs and the two board-certified radiologists. CONCLUSION: Several CT findings are useful in differentiating CC from hepatic abscesses and ANNs may improve the performance of a radiologist with little experience.
Bile Ducts ; Cholangiocarcinoma* ; Dilatation ; Humans ; Liver Abscess* ; Lymphatic Diseases ; ROC Curve

The aim of this study was to verify subacute oral dose toxicity of positively charged 100 nm zinc oxide (ZnO(AE100[+])) nanoparticles (NPs) in Sprague-Dawley rats. ZnO(AE100[+]) NPs were administered to rats of each sex by gavage at 0, 500, 1,000, and 2,000 mg/kg/day for 14 days. During the study period, clinical signs, mortality, body weight, food consumption, hematology, serum biochemistry, gross pathology, organ weight, and histopathology were examined. Increased mortality and clinical signs, decreased body weight, feed consumption, hemoglobin (HB), hematocrit (HCT), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), platelet (PT), and lymphocyte (LYM) and increased white blood cells (WBCs), neutrophils (NEUs), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and histopathological alterations in the spleen, stomach, and pancreas were observed at 2,000 mg/kg/day. Increased clinical signs, decreased body weight, feed consumption, HB, HCT, MCV, MCH, MCHC, and LYM and increased WBCs, NEUs, ALP, and histopathological alterations in the spleen, stomach, and pancreas were seen at 1,000 mg/kg/day. Increased clinical signs, decreased MCV and MCH and increased histopathological alterations in the stomach and pancreas were found at 500 mg/kg/day. These results suggest that the target organs were the spleen, stomach, and pancreas in rats. The no-observed-adverse-effect level was <500 mg/kg for both sexes.
Alkaline Phosphatase ; Animals ; Biochemistry ; Blood Platelets ; Body Weight ; Erythrocyte Indices ; Hematocrit ; Hematology ; Leukocytes ; Lymphocytes ; Mortality ; Nanoparticles* ; Neutrophils ; No-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level ; Organ Size ; Pancreas ; Pathology ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spleen ; Stomach ; Zinc Oxide* ; Zinc*

OBJECTIVE: Arsenic trioxide (As2O3) can be used as a possible pharmaceutical alternative that augments radiofrequency (RF) ablation by reducing tumor blood flow. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of intraarterial and intravenous administration of As2O3 on RF-induced ablation in an experimentally induced liver tumor. MATERIALS AND METHODS: VX2 carcinoma was grown in the livers of 30 rabbits. As2O3 (1 mg/kg) was administered through the hepatic artery (n = 10, group A) or ear vein (n = 10, group B), 30 minutes before RF ablation (125 mA +/- 35; 90 +/- 5degrees C). As a control group, 10 rabbits were treated with RF ablation alone (group C). RF was intentionally applied to the peripheral margin of the tumor so that ablation can cover the tumor and adjacent hepatic parenchyma. Ablation areas of the tumor and adjacent parenchymal changes among three groups were compared by the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: The overall ablation areas were 156 +/- 28.9 mm2 (group A), 119 +/- 31.7 (group B), and 92 +/- 17.4 (group C, p < 0.04). The ablation area of the tumor was significantly larger in group A (73 +/- 19.7 mm2) than both group B (50 +/- 19.4, p = 0.02) and group C (28 +/- 2.2, p < 0.01). The ratios of the tumoral ablation area to the overall ablation area were larger in group A (47 +/- 10.5%) than that of the other groups (42 +/- 7.3% in group B and 32 +/- 5.6% in group C) (p < 0.03). CONCLUSION: Radiofrequency-induced ablation area can be increased with intraarterial or intravenous administration of As2O3. The intraarterial administration of As2O3 seems to be helpful for the selective ablation of the tumor.
Animals ; Arsenicals/*pharmacology ; Catheter Ablation/*methods ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Contrast Media/diagnostic use ; Disease Models, Animal ; Liver/radiography ; Liver Neoplasms, Experimental/*drug therapy/radiography/*surgery ; Oxides/*pharmacology ; Rabbits ; Statistics, Nonparametric ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

A bartholin gland cysts and abscesses are common problems in women of reproductive age. Although the cysts are usually asymptomatic, they may become enlarged or infected and cause significant pain. Bartholin gland abscesses usually develop over two to four days and can become larger than 8 cm by literature but huge bartholin abscess is very rare. A number of vulvar and vaginal lesions can mimic bartholin gland cysts or abscesses and should be included in the differential diagnosis. So we report a case of hemorrhagic huge bartholin abscess with a brief review of the literatures.
Abscess* ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans

OBJECTIVE: To identify the risk factors that may predict high grade lesions in glandular cell abnormalities on cervical cytology. METHODS: This study was performed from January 2002 to December 2005 and included 87 cases of glandular cell abnormalities on Pap smear. Among them, 65 (74.7%) cases were atypical glandular cells (AGC) and 22 (25.3%) cases were AGC, favor neoplastic. The histologic diagnoses were classified as low grade lesions [normal, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) I, and simple hyperplasia without atypia] and high grade lesions [CIN II/III, adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS), and invasive cancer]. RESULTS: Fifty-three (60.9%) cases had negative biopsies or cervicitis. Twenty-five cases had cervical lesions including one CIN I, ten CIN II/III, two AIS, twelve invasive cancers. There were 7 endometrial lesions: 5 adenocarcinomas and 2 malignant mixed mullerian tumors. Two patients had one tubal cancer and one CIN II with simple hyperplasia without atypia. High-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) positive and AGC, favor neoplastic cases were significantly associated with high grade lesions (OR 15.4, CI 2.2-109.7; OR 7.0, CI 1.1-42.8). In the cervix, only high-risk HPV positive were significantly associated with high grade lesions (OR 64.6, CI 4.5-930.8). In the endometrium, age, menopausal status, and cytologic classification were significantly associated with low grade lesions or high grade lesions (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: High-risk HPV DNA detection was strongly associated with high grade lesions in women with glandular cell abnormalites on their Pap smear. These results suggest that HPV testing may be useful as a triage of the management in women with glandular cell abnormalities.
Adenocarcinoma ; Biopsy ; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia ; Cervix Uteri ; Classification ; Diagnosis ; DNA ; Endometrium ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Risk Factors* ; Triage ; Uterine Cervicitis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and clinical efficacy of transcatheter uterine artery embolization (UAE) for post-myomectomy hemorrhage. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We identified eight female patients (age ranged from 29 to 51 years and with a median age of 37) in two regional hospitals who suffered from post-myomectomy hemorrhage requiring UAE during the time period from 2004 to 2012. A retrospective review of the patients' clinical data, uterine artery angiographic findings, embolization details, and clinical outcomes was conducted. RESULTS: The pelvic angiography findings were as follows: hypervascular staining without bleeding focus (n = 5); active contrast extravasation from the uterine artery (n = 2); and pseudoaneurysm in the uterus (n = 1). Gelatin sponge particle was used in bilateral uterine arteries of all eight patients, acting as an empirical or therapeutic embolization agent for the various angiographic findings. N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate was administered to the target bleeding uterine arteries in the two patients with active contrast extravasation. Technical and clinical success were achieved in all patients (100%) with bleeding cessation and no further related surgical intervention or embolization procedure was required for hemorrhage control. Uterine artery dissection occurred in one patient as a minor complication. Normal menstrual cycles were restored in all patients. CONCLUSION: Uterine artery embolization is a safe, minimally invasive, and effective management option for controlling post-myomectomy hemorrhage without the need for hysterectomy.
Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Leiomyoma/blood supply/*surgery ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Hemorrhage/*therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Uterine Artery Embolization/adverse effects/*methods ; Uterine Neoplasms/blood supply/*surgery ; Uterus/blood supply/surgery

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathologic findings, treatment, and prognostic factors of adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix. METHODS: This study retrospectively reviewed 80 patients with histologically proven stage I, II, and III cervical adenocarcinoma, at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Korea University Anam, Guro, and Ansan Hospitals, between January 1990 and December 2005, for clinical profiles and survival. Survival was analyzed according to the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate analysis of prognostic factors was performed with the test of log rank. Cox regression model was used in multivariate analysis of prognostic factors. RESULTS: The mean age at the time of diagnosis was 48.5 years (range: 28-81 years) and the most common presenting symptom was uterine bleeding (51.3%). Fifty-eight patients (72.5%) presented with stage I, nineteen (23.7%) with stage II, and three (3.8%) with stage III. Surgery was the main treatment for stage I and IIa and radiation therapy for stage IIb or more. The 5-year survival rates for stages I, II, and III were 85.0%, 63.8%, and 0.0%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that stage, lymph node metastasis, and lymph-vascular space invasion were significant prognostic factors (p<0.05). Using multivariate analysis, stage III and age (> or =50) were significant independent predictors for poor survival (OR 37.352, CI 3.167-440.579; OR 9.823, CI 1.808-53.354, respectively). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that FIGO stage and age are significant independent prognostic factors for patients with adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix.
Adenocarcinoma* ; Cervix Uteri* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Gyeonggi-do ; Gynecology ; Humans ; Korea ; Lymph Nodes ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Obstetrics ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Uterine Hemorrhage