BACKGROUND: Total knee arthroplasty is a reliable and durable procedure in the treatment of knee arthritis. Patient selection is one scientific aspect of total knee replacement and the surgeon must develop knowledge about those patients who will benefit from total knee replacement. Authors tried to find any differences in preoperative status for Koreans and Americans undergoing total knee replacement arthroplasty(TKRA) for primary osteoarthritis(OA). Another goal of this study was to determine whether Koreans undergoing elective TKIRA for primary OA had more advanced disease preoperatively than Americans undergoing the same procedure. METHODS: Preoperative clinical and radiographic severity of knee OA was determined between Koreans who underwent TKRA at the National Medical Center in Seoul, Korea and Americans who underwent the same procedure at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA. RESULTS: There were 62 women and five men included in the group I(Koreans) compared to 60 women and thirty men in the group II(Americans). The mean age for the patients in the group I was 64.0 years and for the group II 69.5 years. The average weight for the group I was 63.8 Kg(range, 46-85 kg) with an average height of 152.4 cm(range, 133-168 cm). The corresponding data in the group II was 86.6 kg(range, 54-170 kg) and 167.4 cm(range, 147-196 cm). The mean preoperative knee score(developed by The Knee Society) for the group I was 32.7 points and the mean preoperative function score was 42.0 points. The mean preoperative knee and function scores for the group II were 38.1 and 46.2 points, respectively. The mean preoperative flexion contracture and further flexion were 11.7degrees(range, 0-40degrees) and 124.8degrees(range, 70-140degrees), respectively. The corresponding data in the group II were 4.0degrees(range, 0-15degrees) and 107.7degrees(range, 80-130degrees), respectively. The group I knees had a mean preoperative tibiofemoral angle of 4.8degrees(+/-6.0degrees) varus. For the group H knees, the preoperative tibiofemoral angle was 0.83degrees(+/-7.80degrees) valgus. Lateral FT(femorotibial) osteoarthritis was not found in any Korean patients but seen in 18 cases(17.8%) of American patients. CONCLUSION: The observed differences in the status prior to TKRA indicate that Koreans are operated on at a more advanced stage in the course of their disease than Americans. A number of important issues remain to be addressed in future research, such as the role of patient preference and different access to TKRA and the differences of their clinical presentation.
Arthritis ; Arthroplasty* ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee* ; Contracture ; Female ; Humans ; Knee ; Korea ; Male ; Osteoarthritis* ; Patient Preference ; Patient Selection ; Pennsylvania ; Seoul

We studied the effects of organic and inorganic mercury (Hg) on the uptake of L-[3H] glutamate (L-GLU) in cultured mouse astrocytes. Following exposure to mercuric chloride (MC) [0.2 approximately 5.0 microM], selective and dose-dependent inhibition of L-GLU uptake to 50% of control levels was observed, whereas 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) uptake was not significantly affected. Methylmercuric chloride (MMC) also inhibited L-GLU uptake but 50% reduction was reached only at a concentration of 10 microM. Inhibition of L-GLU uptake by MMC appears to be closely linked to voltage-sensitive calcium channels as evidenced by the lack of L-GLU uptake inhibition by MMC in calcium-free medium or in the presence of the channel blocker verapamil. Exposure to a variety of divalent metallic ions, including CuCl2, FeCl2 and ZnCl2, did not affect L-GLU uptake in astrocytes in vitro. Exposure to PbCl2, however, resulted in a decline in L-GLU uptake, though to a much smaller degree than that observed with Hg compounds. Selective impairment of astroglial L-GLU transport may represent a critical early pathogenetic feature of Hg-induced neurotoxicity.
Animal ; Astrocytes/*drug effects/metabolism ; Cells, Cultured ; Glutamic Acid/*metabolism ; Mercury/*toxicity ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

PURPOSE: The study was a survey study to identify the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and nursing needs of the elderly in the nursing home and derive the fundamental data for offering the better quality of nursing service to them. METHODS: The subjects were the 111 elderly aged over sixty five living in the nursing home located in Seoul. Measures were the nursing needs scale and ADL scale. The data were analyzed by SAS 11.0. RESULTS: First, with regard to the nursing needs, the general need was scored average 3.0, and the emotional d social need was 3.7, and the physical need was 3.1, and the informational need was 2.7. Second, the ADL was scored at the average of 2.7, bathing 1.9, eating 3.1. Third, In correlation between the nursing needs by area, the informational nursing needs showed the sheer correlation with the physical nursing needs, emotional.social nursing needs. The physical nursing needs showed the sheer correlation with the informational.social nursing needs, and the inverse correlation with the ADL. CONCLUSION: It is necessary that it should improve the service to meet the emotional and social nursing needs and develop the extensive nursing programs satisfying their desires based on the general traits of the elderly.
Activities of Daily Living* ; Aged* ; Baths ; Eating ; Humans ; Nursing Homes* ; Nursing Services ; Nursing* ; Seoul

OBJECTIVES: This article reviews an evaluation vector model driven from a participatory action research leveraging a collective inquiry system named SMILE (Stanford Mobile Inquiry-based Learning Environment). METHODS: SMILE has been implemented in a diverse set of collective inquiry generation and analysis scenarios including community health care-specific professional development sessions and community-based participatory action research projects. In each scenario, participants are given opportunities to construct inquiries around physical and emotional health-related phenomena in their own community. RESULTS: Participants formulated inquiries as well as potential clinical treatments and hypothetical scenarios to address health concerns or clarify misunderstandings or misdiagnoses often found in their community practices. From medical universities to rural village health promotion organizations, all participatory inquiries and potential solutions can be collected and analyzed. The inquiry and solution sets represent an evaluation vector which helps educators better understand community health issues at a much deeper level. CONCLUSIONS: SMILE helps collect problems that are most important and central to their community health concerns. The evaluation vector, consisting participatory and collective inquiries and potential solutions, helps the researchers assess the participants' level of understanding on issues around health concerns and practices while helping the community adequately formulate follow-up action plans. The method used in SMILE requires much further enhancement with machine learning and advanced data visualization.
Community-Based Participatory Research ; Diagnostic Errors ; Follow-Up Studies ; Health Promotion ; Health Services Research* ; Learning* ; Machine Learning ; Methods ; Public Health ; Public Health Informatics ; Social Learning ; Telemedicine

Integrated genomics refers to the use of large-scale, systematically collected data from various sources to address biological and biomedical problems. A critical ingredient to a successful research program in integrated genomics is the establishment of an effective computational infrastructure. In this review, we suggest that the computational infrastructure challenges include developing tools for heterogeneous data organization and access, innovating techniques for combining the results of different analyses, and establishing a theoretical framework for integrating biological and quantitative models. For each of the three areas - data integration, analyses integration, and model integration - we review some of the current progress and suggest new topics of research. We argue that the primary computational challenges lie in developing sound theoretical foundations for understanding the genome rather than simply the development of algorithms and programs.
Computational Biology ; Foundations ; Genome ; Genomics*

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to compare the relationships of psychopathology, stress event frequency and stress perception between globus hystericus patients and normal subjects, and to assess coping strategy and susceptibility for assisting the understanding of psychological mechanism and future treatment modalities. METHODS: Thirty-two globus hystericus patients who were consulted from the department of otolaryngology and fifty-three healthy subjects participated in this study. The authors used SCL-90-R(Korean Symptom Check List-90-Revision) for the measurement of psychiatric symptoms, GARS(Global Assessment of Recent Stress Scale) for stress perception, Social Readjustment Rating Scale for stress frequency and the Weisman Coping Strategy Scale for coping ability and susceptibility. The SPSS version 10.0 for Windows was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: 1) Comparison of demographic characteristics showed no significant difference except level of education, which was significantly lower in the patient group. 2) The score of depression and anxiety items in SCL-90-R were significantly higher in the patient group. 3) The score of all subclasses in the GARS scale was significantly higher in the patient group. 4) The scores of neutral life event frequency, negative life event frequency, and negative life events more than 1 year past in social Readijustment Rating Scale, were significantly higher in the patient group, but there was no significant difference in positive life event frequency. 5) Weisman Coping Strategy Scale showed suppression, compliance, redefinition, intellectualism and displacement to be higher in frequency in descending order. Projection and fatalism were lower in frequency. 6)The patient group was susceptible to frustration, anxiety & fear, depression in descending order. CONCLUSION: Globus hystericus patients showed higher stress frequency, stress perception, and used positive coping strategies. Globus hystericus has an intimate association with stress factors, so an appropriate management is required in view of treatment.
Anxiety ; Compliance ; Conversion Disorder* ; Depression ; Education ; Frustration ; Humans ; Otolaryngology ; Psychopathology ; Social Perception

We developed a primary eye care training programme for community-based leprosy control workers. The 20-hour training emphasized the detection and management of lagophthalmos(and its complications) and chronic iridocyclitis. Following training leprosy patients in four resettlement villages were examined independently by the health workers and ophthalmologist. The findings reveal good agreement between most signs(lagophthalmos, acute iridocyclitis, and chronic iridocyclitis). Based on these result, we recommend excluding the detection of abnormal blink pattern from future training programmes and including the detection of posterior synechia.
Humans ; Iridocyclitis ; Leprosy*

No abstract available.
Base Sequence* ; Bone Marrow Transplantation* ; Bone Marrow* ; Chimerism* ; DNA* ; Genome, Human* ; Graft vs Host Disease* ; Humans ; Humans* ; Leukemia* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Recurrence* ; Tandem Repeat Sequences* ; Transplants*

This is a case report of the prophylactically placed titanium Greenfield vena cava filter to prevent development of pulmonary thromboembolism for the surgical removal of huge leiomyoma uteri associated with deep vein thrombosis. The patient is a 39 year old female who suffered from swelling and pain in both lower extremities for 5 days. She has realized a huge mass in her pelvic cavity and abdomen since 3 years ago and has felt it growing since 1 year ago. CT discloses a heterogeneously enhanced huge mass containing cystic changes and secondary thrombosis in L iliac and L femoral veins due to compression by the mass. Deep vein thrombosis is detected in ascending venogram of the L leg. A titanium Greenfield vena cava filter was placed with transjugular approach in infrarenal portion of the inferior vena cava. After that the mass was surgically removed. No pulmonary symptom concerning pulmonary thromboembolism has developed following the surgery, but swelling and pain have developed in R leg. Follow-up CT shows new diffuse thrombosis in lower inferior vena cava and R iliac veins below the filter inferiorly, extending to R leg. Antithrombotic treatment was started with heparin and Coumadin.
Abdomen ; Adult ; Female ; Femoral Vein ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heparin ; Humans ; Iliac Vein ; Leg ; Leiomyoma ; Lower Extremity ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Thrombosis ; Titanium ; Uterus ; Vena Cava Filters ; Vena Cava, Inferior ; Venae Cavae ; Venous Thrombosis ; Warfarin

We evaluated the effect of a basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and saporin conjugate (bFGF-SAP) on proliferation, migration and tubule formation in bovine choriocapillary endothelial cells (BCECs). Cell proliferation and MTS assays were done with 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, and 100 nM bFGF-SAP, and an equimolar concentration of bFGF and saporin. TUNEL assay was performed to confirm apoptosis. Cells were treated with 1, 10, and 100 nM bFGF-SAP and migration assay and tubule formation assay were done. Results were evaluated with image analysis. All experiments were performed in triplicate and repeated three times. Viable cells (ID50 = 0.62) and cell proliferation by MTS assay (ID50 = 0.75 nM) were inhibited. Saporin caused cytotoxicity and inhibition of proliferation at high concentration. DNA fragmentation was identified by TUNEL assay. Migration and tubule formation were also inhibited. All mechanisms responsible for neovascularization were inhibited, and this could be applied in the management of subretinal choroidal neovascularization (SRN).
Animals ; Apoptosis/drug effects ; Cattle ; Cell Count ; Cell Movement/drug effects ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Comparative Study ; Cytotoxins/*pharmacology ; Endothelium, Vascular/*drug effects ; Fibroblast Growth Factor 2/*pharmacology ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Neovascularization, Physiologic/drug effects ; Plant Proteins/*pharmacology ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins/*pharmacology