The role of forensic anthropology is to reconstruct the process of individual death by predicting the cause and manner of death as well as to find out biological profiles of unknown skeletal remains based on the data of physical anthropology. The purpose of this study is to suggest the data of decision-making process for cranial fractures and its related weapons of skeletal remains from the forensic fields. A hammer (31.7%) and baseball bat (16.7%) represented almost half of the blunt type of weapon used in the cranial fracture. The linear fracture was caused by most of weapons, the spider's web and depressed fracture by the hammer, and the comminuted fracture by the heavy tools such as maul, wrench, etc as well as the hammer. By the chi-square test, there were significant differences between fracture patterns and types of weapon that it was helpful to estimate the weapon of cranial fracture for forensic anthropological decisions. Conclusively, we could prepare the priority order of estimating cause and manner of death in the case of cranial fracture for the forensic context and suggest research design of physical anthropology about osteological biomechanics and taphonomy relating cranial fractures.
Anthropology, Physical ; Baseball ; Biomechanics ; Forensic Anthropology ; Fractures, Comminuted ; Research Design ; Skull ; Weapons

No abstract available.
Ectromelia*

Acellular pertussis vaccine has been used widely in Korea since 1984. However, because many of the former generations were not inoculated with pertussis vaccine, they may infect infants with pertussis. With this background, we investigated the prevalence of pertussis antibodies in all age groups. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to assess IgG antibodies to pertussis toxin (PT) and filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) and bacterial agglutination (BA) to assess antibodies to agglutinogen were compared on 842 serum samples which were donated from 11 hospitals in Seoul area. In comparison with age groups under 20 years, antibodies of adults against PT and FHA were maintained. But antibodies against agglutinogen showed no pattem in all age groups. Antibodies to PT were correlated with antibodies to FHA. There was no significant difference in antibody levels between male and female (p<0.05).
Adult ; Agglutination ; Antibodies ; Bordetella pertussis ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Hemagglutinins ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Infant ; Korea* ; Male ; Pertussis Toxin ; Pertussis Vaccine ; Prevalence ; Seoul ; Whooping Cough*

Background: Deltoid function critically influences the results of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA), and spontaneous deltoid attrition tears are frequently detected in cuff tear arthropathy (CTA) patients; however, the clinical impacts of these tears on RTSA outcomes are undetermined. Our aim was to determine the effect of spontaneous deltoid attrition tears on postoperative outcomes after RTSA without an additional deltoid procedure. Methods: Seventy-two patients who underwent RTSA for CTA with preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a minimum clinical follow-up of 1 year (mean, 32 months) were retrospectively reviewed in the study. Patients with a history of previous shoulder surgery or injury were excluded. The presence and location of deltoid attrition tears were determined in preoperative MRI. Propensity score matching (1:1) was performed to construct tear and no-tear groups. Finally, 21 patients, matched with respect to age, sex, hand dominance, symptom duration, medical comorbidity (obesity, diabetes mellitus, and coronary artery disease), Hamada grade, and implant type, were assigned to each group. Clinical outcomes (functional scores, isometric power, and range of motion) in the two groups were compared. Results: Deltoid attrition tears were detected in 21 of the 72 enrolled cases (29.1%). Anterolateral deltoid was the most frequent location and no tear was detected in the posterior deltoid. The tear rate increased with disease severity (Hamada G2, 4.8%; G3, 23.8%; > G4, 71.4%). No pre- or postoperative clinical variables differed significantly between the tear and no tear groups. Conclusions Deltoid attrition tears were detected in 29% of CTA patients who underwent RTSA. The most common site was the anterolateral region and tear prevalence tended to increase with CTA progression. However, RTSA was found to provide satisfactory outcomes regardless of the presence of a deltoid attrition tear.

Essential thrombocytosis (ET) is a clonal myeloproliferative disorder, characterized predominantly by a markedly elevated platelet count without known cause. We report a case of essential thrombocytosis, the only clinical manifestation of which consisted of neurologic symptoms, including headache, dysarthria, right hemiparesis with a relatively benign and slowly progressive clinical course. Neuroradiologic examination (Brain CT and MRI) disclosed a multiple infarction in the both basal ganglia and left parietal region. These findings are discussed in relation to the possible pathogenetic mechanisms of the vascular occlusion due to abnormal platelet function in ET.
Basal Ganglia ; Blood Platelets ; Cerebral Infarction* ; Dysarthria ; Headache ; Infarction ; Myeloproliferative Disorders ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Paresis ; Platelet Count ; Rabeprazole ; Thrombocytosis*

The authors report a rare case of right distal posterior inferior cerebellar artery(PICA) aneurysm arising from just distal to its vermian brance. A 36-year-old female patient presented with a sudden onset of headache, nausea, dizziness and ataxia without any other neurologic deficit. On brain computerized tomographic(CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging(MRI), a well-defined round mass was detected just behind the fourth ventricle. On transfemoral vertebral angiogram(TFVAG), it was confirmed as a saccular aneurysm arising from the vermian brance of the right PICA. The aneurysm was initially directly clipped through bilateral suboccipital approach. Postoperative follow up angiogram after two weeks revealed a more enlarged aneurysm and an incompletely clipped neck. After making sufficient exposure of the aneurysm, the neck was reclipped and the sac removed. Postoperative results were uneventful.
Adult ; Aneurysm* ; Arteries* ; Ataxia ; Brain ; Dizziness ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Fourth Ventricle ; Headache ; Humans ; Nausea ; Neck ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Pica

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare the short-term operative outcomes of laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy (LATG) with those of open total gastrectomy (OTG) for patients suffering with advanced upper gastric cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Of the 47 patients who underwent LATG with D1+beta or D2 lymphadenectomy from July 2004 to March 2008, 29 patients with pathologically proven advanced gastric cancer were compared with 35 patients who underwent conventional OTG during the same time period. The comparison was based on the clinicopathological characteristics, the surgical outcome, the follow-up survival and tumor recurrence. RESULTS: The patients' age, gender and body mass index were similar between the two groups. However, there were statistically differences in tumor size (9.2+/-3.9 vs 6.1+/-3.6 cm, P=0.002) and the proximal resected margin (2.1+/-2.0 vs 3.6+/-2.1 cm P=0.004). There was no significant difference in most of the peri- and post-operative courses such as the time to first flatus, the time to starting a solid diet and the length of the hospital stay, except for a longer operating time (289.0 vs. 361.3 minutes, P<0.001) in the LATG group. The complication rate was higher in the LATG group (13.8%) than that in the OTG group (5.7%). The mean overall survival and disease free survival times were 32 and 31 months, and 24 and 28 months, respectively, with an average 18.8 months follow-up duration. The main recurrent sites were peritoneum and lymph node in both groups. CONCLUSION: The early results of the current study suggest that LATG for AGC is technically feasible and it does not show any inferiorities of the postoperative outcomes as compared to those of conventional open total gastrectomy.
Body Mass Index ; Diet ; Disease-Free Survival ; Flatulence ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; Peritoneum ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Stress, Psychological

OBJECTIVES: The present study takes part of the agricultural district cohort study of a certain county located in Gyeonggido and aims to investigate the difference of the heart rate variability(HRV) according to the social support level. METHODS: We used data from 1727 participants of a health promotion program who are older than 40 years old. A physical examination, as well as a one-to-one interview to obtain sociodemographic characteristics, was performed with each participant. In addition, the participants completed the Medical Outcomes Study-Social Support Survey(MOS-SSS) for their the social support level to be assessed, and their HRV were measured to evaluate their autonomic function. The entire group was divided in two groups according to its MOS-SSS points to facilitate the research. Those who were evaluated as the high 25%(432 persons) were denominated as high social support (HSS) group and those who were evaluated as the low 25%(425 persons) were denominated as poor social support(PSS) group. RESULTS: The two groups showed significant differences on the sociodemographic factor such as mean age and gender composition(p<0.05). Comparing the indices related to the HRV, the HSS group had the following values higher than the PSS group : SDNN(F=4.938, p=0.027), TP(F=8.088, p=0.005), VLF(F=6.220, p=0.013) LF (F=3.873, p=0.049). CONCLUSION: According to the research, the PSS group showed dysfunction on their autonomic nervous system comparing to the HSS group. The social support helps an individual overcome difficulties, helps the adaptation during the changes of circumstances and in stressful situations it serves like a buffer. Based on that, it's possible to define that a low social support level gave an impact on the autonomic function. Also, using the fact that the HRV can evaluate the autonomic function in an objective view, it was possible to visualize that it has a potential to be used as an assistant factor to evaluate the social support.
Autonomic Nervous System ; Cohort Studies ; Health Promotion ; Heart ; Heart Rate ; Physical Examination

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess anger of middle school adolescents in an urban community using State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI)-Korean and Korean Child Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL), and to determine whether specific anger expression of adolescents is associated with certain psychopathology including depression. METHODS: Data were collected from 395 middle school students and their parents in Incheon city. The students completed the STAXI, Children's Depression Inventory, Korean version of Mood disorder Questionnaire, and Conners-Wells' Adolescent Self-Report Scale (Short Form), and their parents completed the K-CBCL. RESULTS: No significant correlation was observed between aggression subscale K-CBCL and each scale of the STAXI, except anger out (r=0.704). The scores for STAXI total and respective scales were significantly higher for female students than male students. A stepwise logistic regression model was used to explore the possible predictors for depression in adolescents and lower anger control and higher anger suppression were found to be predictors for depression in adolescence. CONCLUSION: There is a possibility of a large discrepancy between anger that the adolescents actually feel and parents' judgment of their children's anger. It must be considered in assessment of adolescent anger and use of further structured interviews is necessary. In addition, it may be useful to consider the anger expression style in adolescents who report depressive symptoms.
Adolescent ; Aggression ; Anger* ; Checklist ; Child ; Child Behavior ; Depression* ; Female ; Humans ; Incheon ; Judgment ; Korea* ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Mood Disorders ; Parents ; Psychopathology ; Weights and Measures

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in MR findings of adenocarcinoma (AC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the uterine cervix and to compare MR findings with pathologic findings. MR images of 17 patients with pathologically proven AC, using a fast spin-echo (FSE) T2-weighted image (T2WI) with pelvic phased-array coil on a 1.5-T unit, were retrospectively evaluated. After measurement of the signal intensity (SI) ratios of the region of interest between tumors and gluteus maximus muscle, we compared the ratios of AC with those of 16 patients with SCC. AC showed relatively high SI on FSE T2WI with multiseptated lesions in four cases and hydrometrocolpos in three cases. The mean SI ratio was 3.82 +/- 1.68 in AC and 2.35 +/- 0.42 in SCC (p < 0.0001, t-test). Multiple tumorous glands with cytoplasmic and intraglandular mucin or serous fluid were pathologically found in AC, but SCC revealed the compact cellularity of stratified squamous tumor cells. The cervical AC showed higher SI than SCC on FSE T2WI with occasional multiseptated lesions and hydrometrocolpos. If the SI ratio of the tumor was more than 3.0, AC could be diagnosed with a sensitivity of 68.8% and a specificity of 100%.
Adenocarcinoma/pathology ; Adenocarcinoma/diagnosis* ; Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/pathology ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/diagnosis* ; Cervix Neoplasms/pathology ; Cervix Neoplasms/diagnosis* ; omparative Study ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Human ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Middle Age