The focus of this study was o aialyze the morphologic expression of p53, Pan-ras, c-erbB-2, and PCNA in preneoplastic and neoplastic liver lesions induced with NNM of rats. The development of hepatocellular tumors was investigated by histology and electron microscope in 65 Splague-Dawley rats administered with NNM in drinking water at low dose(5 mg/100 ml) and high dose(20 mg/100 ml). Three types of hepatocytic degeneration glycogenotic, eosinophilic and basophilic changes were followed by the appearance of hepatocellullar carcinoma. Hepatocellular carcinoma was increased in number and size according to NNM dosage and to duration of exposure. The histological classifications of hepatocelular carcinoma wer trabecular type, which was which was the most common, large eosinophilic, small cell, adenocarcinomatous and clear cell type. The expression of p53, Pan-ras, c-erbB-2 PCNA was examined by immunohistochemical stains. Eosinophilic degeneration revealed mild positivity at 18-26 weeks for expression of all oncogenic proteins studied and PCNA, whereas precancerous lesions showed variable expression from negative to moderate positivity on PCNA. Hepatocellular carcinoma lesions showed strong positivity for all stains and increased intensity during experimental period. These may indicate that chemical carcinogen produce hepatic eosinophilic degeneration and preCancerOus lesions by genetic mutation, resulting in hepatocellular carcinoma.
Rats ; Animals ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Carcinogens

No abstract available.
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay*

No abstract available.
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay*

No abstract available.
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay*

The purpose of this study is to estimate the minimum optimal scale(MOS) of the self-employed health insurance associations. Considering the high proportion of operating expenses, the author have selected 254 regional health insurance associations from the 1990 Finance Report of the self-employed health insurance programs. both a quadratic function and a hyperbolic function were chosen for the analysis. The dependent variables are the average maintenance cost per insured person and per household, and the independent variables are the number of insured members and of household. The minimum optimal scale was obtained from the differentiation of the quadratic function. Major findings are summarized as follows: 1. The M.O.S. was calculated as 166,174 members (27,442 households) for the rural self-employed health insurance associations and 258,462 members (75,446 households) for the urban. Providing that both the rural and urban health insurance associations would e integrated, the M.O.S. be found to become 231,687 members (68,101 households) 2. Compared with the optimal minimum scale, the magnitude of the current health insurance association found to be much smaller, less than half of the optimal scale. 3. In order to reduce the operating cost, it is necessary to enlarge the operational scale of self-employed health insurance associations.
Family Characteristics ; Humans ; Insurance ; Insurance, Health* ; Korea* ; Urban Health

The purpose of this study is to estimate cesarean section rate in Korea and analyze the socioeconomic variables and health resources which affect regional variation in the rate. Samples were drawn from the record of vaginal and cesarean section deliveries based upon insurance claim bills which have been submitted to the National Federation of Medical Insurance for the first three months, January through March, 1991. The results are obtained as follows: It was found that, cesarean section rate was increasing rapidly up to 23.1% in 1991. Cesarean section per 10 thousand insured people was 4.8 and the number of cesarean section per 10 thousand insured eligible(15-49 years old) female was 7.6. The fee for normal delivery was 109,489 won and that for cesarean section was 390,024 won. The average days of hospitalization in normal delivery was 2.3 days, and those in cesarean section was 7.6 days. On the average cesarean section has a longer of stay as much as by 4.3 days and cost 3.6 times more than normal deliveries. Cesarean section rates vary among medical facilities: 19.8% at clinics 37.6% in small-scale hospitals, and 29.1% in general hospitals. The regional variation of cesarean section rates was also fairly prominent. The South Cheju Gun has the highest rate of cesarean section, 56.2%. Meanwhile no cesarean section cases has been reported in Sunchang Gun during the period of this study. The variation is noted among provinces. The rate for Cheju province has been 3.4 times higher than that for Chunnam. The number of cesarean section per 10 thousand insured people vary greatly among regions, too. This study has found that there exists significant regional variations among various geographic units in terms of average length of stay, average cost, number of obsretricians and number of beds. Multiple regression analysis was done to identify factors explaining the regional variance of various cesarean section rates: In the urban areas, no significant explaining variables were noted except the number of beds for the dependent variable of cesarean section cases per 10 thousand insured eligible females. The smaller the number of bed, the more cases of cesarean section was noted for an urban area. The is mostly because the rate of cesarean section is higher in medium-size hospitals than in large general hospitals. In the rural areas, the factor of education has been found significant for all three dependent variables. The higher the educational level, the rate of cesarean section is most likely to rise. An income variable measured by the amount of monthly insurance contribution has been identified a powerful predictor in explaining the variance of cesarean section rates. The same has been noted for the number of obstetricians. Similar findings are observed for the country as a whole. The income level has been found as the most powerful explaining factor in the regional variance of cesarean section rates. In general the rate is higher in the urban areas, and lower in the area with more small hospitals. As this is the initial attempt to identify the factors relevant to the regional difference in the rates of cesarean section, more elaborated study is urgently required.
Cesarean Section* ; Education ; Fees and Charges ; Female ; Health Resources ; Hospitalization ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Insurance ; Jeju-do ; Korea* ; Length of Stay ; Pregnancy

Isolated situs in versus of the stomach with otherwise normal position of the thoracic and abdominal vescera isan extremely rare anomaly occurring in two distinct forms. Majority of cases are associated with eventration of the diaphragm and are reported as being confused with spontaneous pneumothorax of pyopneumothorax at base of the right lung. The right sided stomach may produce interesting and confusing changes in liver scan. We have experienced 2 cases of the isolated dextrogastria.
Diaphragm ; Liver ; Lung ; Pneumothorax ; Stomach

A marked accumulation of eosinophils occurs in several disorders, such as allergic diseases, parasitic infections, and cancers. Recently we experienced a case of clonorchiasis with a presentation of peripheral eosinophilia and eosinophilic infiltration in the liver. A 46-year-old man was admitted to the hospital because of epigastric pain. The white boold cell count was 33,900/mm3 with 70% eosinophils. Two stool examinations were negative for parasite eggs. Skin test gave a positive test for Clonorchis sinensis. CT showed inhomogeneous enhancement with multiple subcapsular low attenuation in the liver. The pathological features of the liver, which were characterized by marked infiltration of eosinophils in the periportal and intralobular areas and no evidence of parasitic ova, granuloma, or tumor, suggested that the lesions were caused by the hypereosinophilic syndrome. He was treated with corticosteroids. During management, however, antibody against C. sinensis in serum using micro-ELISA was positive and a stool specimen gave a positive test for C. sinensis ova. We diagnosed clornorchiasis and administered praziquantel to him. Peripheral eosinophilia has improved.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Angioplasty ; Arteries ; Cell Count ; Clonorchiasis* ; Clonorchis sinensis ; Eggs ; Eosinophilia* ; Eosinophils* ; Granuloma ; Humans ; Hypereosinophilic Syndrome ; Liver* ; Middle Aged ; Ovum ; Parasites ; Parasitic Diseases ; Praziquantel ; Skin Tests ; Stents

It has been reported that ischernia causes changes in the concentration and tumover of monoamine neurotransmitters in brain. For the mechanism of cellular death in brain ischernia it is suggested that accumulation of intracellular calcium during ischemia is one of the main causes. Present study was undertaken to investigate the influence of ischemia on the contents and tumover of the biogenic anines in rat brain and further to investigate the effects of nimodipine, a calcium channel blocker, and cromakalim, a potassium channel opener, on them. Brain ischemia was induced by partial ligation of bilateral common carotid artery. Nimodipine (36 ,ug/kg, I.p.) or cromakalim (0.5mg/kg, I.p.) was administered 20 minutes before ligation. Nimodipine was administered every 4 hours in 24-hour ischemic group. Rats were sacrificed by decapitation 3 or 24 hours after induction of ischemia and whole brains were excised. The brain was divided into follow ing regions; cerebral cortex, corpus striatum, hippocampus, thalamus, hypothalamus, substantia nigra and cerebellum. The concentrations of biogenic amines and their metabolites were measured by high performance liquid chromatography-electrochemical detector (HPLC-ECD).
Animals ; Biogenic Amines* ; Brain Ischemia ; Brain* ; Calcium ; Calcium Channels ; Carotid Artery, Common ; Cerebellum ; Cerebral Cortex ; Corpus Striatum ; Cromakalim ; Decapitation ; Hippocampus ; Hypothalamus ; Ischemia ; Ligation ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; Nimodipine* ; Potassium Channels ; Rats* ; Substantia Nigra ; Thalamus

BACKGROUND: Our goal was to investigate the effects of low intensity resistance training on body fat, muscle mass and strength, cardiovascular fitness, and insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetes. METHODS: Twenty-eight overweight women with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to a resistance training group (RG, n = 13) or a control group (CG, n = 15). RG performed resistance training using elastic bands, of which strength was equal to 40 to 50% of one repetition maximum (1RM), for three days per week. Each exercise consisted of three sets for 60 minutes. We assessed abdominal fat using computed tomography, muscle mass using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and muscle strength using Keiser's chest and leg press. Insulin sensitivity was measured using the insulin tolerance test, and aerobic capacity was expressed as oxygen uptake at the anaerobic threshold (AT-VO2) before and after the 12-week exercise program. RESULTS: The age of participants was 56.4 +/- 7.1 years, duration of diabetes was 5.9 +/- 5.5 years, and BMI was 27.4 +/- 2.5 kg/m2, without significant differences between two groups. During intervention, a greater increase in muscle mass and greater decreases in both total fat mass and abdominal fat were observed in RG compared to those of CG (P = 0.015, P = 0.011, P = 0.010, respectively). Increase in 1RM of upper and lower extremities was observed in the RG (P = 0.004, P = 0.040, respectively), without changes in AT-VO2 and insulin resistance in either group. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the low intensity resistance training was effective in increasing muscle mass and strength and reducing total fat mass without change of insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetic patients.
Abdominal Fat ; Absorptiometry, Photon ; Adipose Tissue ; Anaerobic Threshold ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Female ; Humans ; Insulin ; Insulin Resistance ; Leg ; Lower Extremity ; Muscle Strength ; Muscles ; Overweight ; Oxygen ; Resistance Training ; Thorax