BACKGROUND: Scuba diving has become increasingly popular in Korea. Medical problems are common with dives, especially decompression sickness(DCS). This study was performed to obtain an useful information of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in DCS in Korea. METHOD: We reviewed the 62 cases of Korean divers, who were diagnosed as DCS and received recompression therapy according to U.S. Navy Standard Recompression Treatment Table at Ocean and Underwater Medical Research and Training Center of ROK Navy, for 6 years from Jan. 1993 to Nov. 1998. RESULT: 1) the mean no-decompression limit excess time between type I DCS group(72.7 min.) and type II DCS group(92.8min.) showed significant difference. 2) The rate of symptoms appeared on surfacing and within 10min. after surfacing of type I and type II DCS were 41.4%and 72.7% respectively. 3) The cure late of type I and type II were 75.9%and 42.4% respectively. In type II DCS group, the cure rate of the group within 12 hour-delayed recompression treatment and the group above 12 hour-delayed treatment were 64.3%and time 26.3% respectively, and in type I DCS group, 100% and 66.7% respectively. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the education of safety, the strict observance of the standard decompression table, and the avoidance of excessive repeated diving are important for reducing the risk of diving related disease. And to offer proper management of DCS, there should be more multiplace hyperbaric oxygen chambers, the suitable transport system, and the specialist of diving medicine or hyperbaric medicine in Korea.
Decompression Sickness* ; Decompression* ; Diving ; Education ; Hyperbaric Oxygenation* ; Korea ; Oxygen ; Specialization

No Abstract Available.
Hepacivirus* ; Hepatitis C* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction*

No Abstract Available.
Hepacivirus* ; Hepatitis C* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction*

No Abstract Available.
Histidine*

No Abstract Available.
Histidine*

OBJECTIVES: Children with post-injury attention deficit disorder (ADD) exhibit deficiencies in academic functioning, social skills, and self-control, that are comparable to developmental attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The similarities and differences of the two conditions have to be studied because some children with traumatic brain injury have shown premorbid ADD and seem to be less responsive to psychostimulants. METHODS: Characteristics of cognition and attention of post-injury ADD (n=12) and developmental ADHD (n=12) boys were investigated by administering KEDI-WISC and Visual and Auditory TOVA. RESULTS: No differences in KEDI-WISC subtests were found between two diagnostic groups. Post-injury ADD boys show lower commission error (lower impulsivity) in visual and auditory TOVA, and lower variability of reaction time (higher information-processing consistency) in auditory TOVA than developmental ADHD boys (p<0.05, p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Post-injury ADD and developmental ADHD are different in their attention components suggestively, which warrants further study for differential diagnosis and proper treatment.
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity ; Brain Injuries ; Child* ; Cognition ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Reaction Time

PURPOSE: The effects of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and fibrin on fibrovascular growth into porous polyethylene orbital implants (Medpor(R) sheet) were investigated using stem cells. METHODS: EPCs were separated from human adipose fat tissue for culture. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) was used to identify the phenotype and to analyze the purity of EPCs cultivated from human adipose tissue. Processed Medpor(R) sheets were inserted in each quadrant of the subcutaneous fat layer under the dorsal surface of 20 anesthetized athymic nude mice, using sterile methods. Medpor(R) sheets processed with endothelial progenitor cells and fibrin were inserted into the two top quadrants, a Medpor(R) sheet processed with fibrin was inserted in the lower right quadrant, and an unprocessed Medpor(R) sheet was inserted in the lower left quadrant of each mouse. The mice were sacrificed on the seventh day. The adhesiveness and blood vessel formation were quantified by weight and the number of blood cells within the Medpor(R) sheets. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and toluidine blue stains were used to analyze fibrovascular and cell growth within the Medpor(R) sheets. RESULTS: The sheets processed with EPCs and fibrin were heavier and contained more white and red blood cells (p<0.001) than the other sheets. The sheets processed with fibrin alone were heavier (p<0.01) and contained more blood cells (p<0.001) than the unprocessed sheets. The degree of vessel formation and tissue adhesiveness was greatest in the group of Medpor(R) sheets processed with EPCs and fibrin. The sheets processed with fibrin only had greater tissue adhesiveness and fibrovascular proliferation than the unprocessed Medpor(R) sheets. CONCLUSIONS: Endothelial progenitor cells and fibrin applied to Medpor(R) sheets improve fibrovascular proliferation and tissue adhesiveness. When both are applied together, a synergistic effect is seen.
Adhesiveness ; Adipose Tissue ; Animals ; Blood Cells ; Blood Vessels ; Coloring Agents ; Eosine Yellowish-(YS) ; Erythrocytes ; European Continental Ancestry Group ; Fibrin ; Flow Cytometry ; Glycosaminoglycans ; Hematoxylin ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Orbit ; Orbital Implants ; Phenotype ; Polyethylene ; Stem Cells ; Subcutaneous Fat ; Tolonium Chloride

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus(HCV), a family of Flaviviridae, has a host cell-derived envelope containing a positive-stranded RNA genome, and has been known as the maj or etiological agent for chronic hepatitis, hepatic cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. There remains a need to dissect a molecular mechanism of pathogenesis for the development of therapeutic and effective preventive measure for HCV. Identification of cellular receptor is of central importance not only to understand the viral pathogenesis, but also to exploit strategies for prevention of HCV. This study was aimed at identifying peptide mimotopes inhibiting the binding of E2 protein of HCV to MOLT-4 cell . METHODS: In this study, phage peptide library displaying a random peptides consisting of 7 or 12 random peptides was employed in order to pan against E2 protein. Free HCV particles were separated from the immune complex forms by immunoprecipitation using anti-human IgG antibody, and used for HCV-capture ELISA. To identify the peptides inhibiting E2-binding to MOLT-4 cells, E2 protein was subj ect to bind to MOLT-4 cells under the competition with phage peptides. RESULTS: Several phage peptides were selected for their specific binding to E2 protein, which showed the conserved sequence of SHFWRAP from 3 different peptide sequences. They were also able to recognize the HCV particles in the sera of HCV patient s captured by monoclonal antibody against E2 protein. Two of them, showing peptide sequence of HLGPWMSHWFQR and WAPPLERSSLFY respectively, were revealed to inhibit the binding of E2 protein to MOLT-4 cell efficiently in dose dependent mode. However, few membrane-associated receptor candidates were seen using Fasta3 programe for homology search with these peptides. CONCLUSION: Phage peptides containing HLGPWMSHWFQR and WAPPLERSSLFY respectively, showed the inhibition of E2-binding to MOLT-4 cells. However, they did not reveal any homologues to cellular receptors from GenBank database. In further study, cellular receptor could be identified through the screening of cDNA library from MOLT-4 or hepatocytes using antibodies against these peptide mimotopes.
Antibodies ; Antigen-Antibody Complex ; Bacteriophages ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Conserved Sequence ; Databases, Nucleic Acid ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Flaviviridae ; Gene Library ; Genome ; Hepacivirus* ; Hepatitis C* ; Hepatitis* ; Hepatitis, Chronic ; Hepatocytes ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoprecipitation ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Mass Screening ; Peptide Library* ; Peptides ; RNA

To understand the seroepidemiological patterns of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in Korea, a nation-wide survey collaborated with fourteen clinics was carried out from 1994 to 1996. Sera of 4,547 patients with acute febrile episodes were tested by indirect immunofluorescent antibody test and the seroepidemiological analysis including sex, age, seasonal and regional distributions were performed. According to the results obtained in this study, the epidemiological characteristics of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in Korea were summarized as follows: 1. Seropositive rate of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome among the patients with acute febrile episodes was 6.4% by the cut-off point of 1:40. 2. Among the seropositives, male outnumbered female and the ratio of males to females was 2.0:1.0. 3. Seventy six % of the seropositive patients were 21-60 years old. 4. The number of seropositive cases increased from October and reached maximum in December and began to decrease gradually from January. 5. The geographical distribution of the seropositives cover most areas including Cheju province in Korea.
Female ; Fever ; Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome* ; Humans ; Jeju-do ; Korea* ; Male ; Seasons

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Normal angiogenesis occurs as a part of the body's repair processes like the healing of wounds and fractures. By contrast, uncontrolled angiogenesis can often be pathological. Vascular remodelling could therefore play an important role in the growth process of solid tumors. The aim of this study was to detect the expression of platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor (PD-ECGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and investigate the correlation between these factors. Also, we studied the relationships between the expressions of these factors and the clinical stage, nodal involvement, and histologic grade in the squamous cell carcinoma of larynx. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The authors examined the expression of three angiogenic factors in specimens of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (n=17). The mRNA expressions of angiogenic factors were detected by the semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Statistics were analysed using the Fisher's exact test, the Wilcoxon signed rank test, and the Spearman correlation coefficiency. RESULTS: PD-ECGF and bFGF were significantly higher in the stages III and IV cancers than in the stages I and II cancers, and thus shows that bFGF was related to severity of the nodal involvement. The expression of more than one factor was significantly related with stages III and IV cancer. PD-ECGF and VEGF were related with each other. CONCLUSION: The authors suggest that angiogenic factors, especially, PD-ECGF and bFGF, may be used as prognostic factors for the squamous cell carcinoma of larynx.
Angiogenesis Inducing Agents ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Endothelial Cells* ; Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 ; Fibroblasts* ; Larynx* ; RNA, Messenger ; Thymidine Phosphorylase ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; Wounds and Injuries