BACKGROUND: A medulloblastoma is a primitive neuroepithelial tumor of the cerebellum that occurs in children and metastasizes through the cerebrospinal fluid. It is highly malignant and invasive, and the 5-year survival rate is only 60%. Surgical resection techniques, radiation, and chemotherapy have improved the overall survival but the patients suffer life-long cognitive dysfunctions or endocrine abnormalities as the side effects of treatment. Therefore it is essential to identify prognostic markers to determine the appropriate treatment strategy in order to minimize the side effects. METHODS: This study evaluated the immunohistochemical differentiation and survival rate with synaptophysin, glial fibrillary acidic protein, epithelial membrane antigen, vimentin and primitive neuroepithelial marker nestin of 55 paraffin-embedded medulloblastomas, using a tissue microarray. The expression of survivin, the apoptotic inhibitor, and the survival rate with regard to the proliferation index of Ki-67 were also investigated. RESULTS: The group testing positive to vimentin, a mesenchymal differentiation marker, had a worse prognosis and there was a strong correlation between vimentin expression and nestin expression. Patients with a survivin expression rate >35% had a significantly poorer clinical course and there was a correlation between the survivin expression rate and Ki-67 expression rate. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, vimentin and survivin are negative prognostic markers in medulloblastomas.
Cerebellum ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Child ; Drug Therapy ; Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein ; Humans ; Medulloblastoma* ; Mucin-1 ; Nestin ; Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive ; Prognosis ; Survival Rate ; Synaptophysin ; Vimentin*

PURPOSE: The study was conducted to investigate correlations between self-management and physiological measurements of patients on hemodialysis according to their age. METHODS: The subjects were 120 patients on hemodialysis at three hospitals in S and G cities. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and medical records. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics including t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation analysis with the SPSS 23.0 program. RESULTS: The levels of compliance with self-management were highest in the middle-aged group. There was no significant difference in physiological measurements between the different age groups. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that nurses should consider characteristics of different age groups to improve the levels of self-management and physiological measurements.
Compliance ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Renal Dialysis ; Self Care

The Acknowledgements was published incorrectly.

No abstract available.
Intervertebral Disc* ; Zygapophyseal Joint*

No abstract available.
Sperm-Ovum Interactions* ; Spermatozoa*

To check expert opinion about the investigation system of medicine-related death, model for "Death Investigation Center" was suggested and related questionnaire were requested. Between 15 December 2009 and 5 April 2010, we sent e-mails of the questionnaire which asked the opinion for the new postmortem investigation system. We sent the questionnaire to 3,289 lawyers and 4,523 doctors (total 7812), and received 100 replies out of the total. All the lawyers and doctors interviewed knew the importance of the postmortem investigation system. Most of them (87%) agreed to the introduction of the new postmortem investigation system. Some of them thought that protector's agreement was necessary for the postmortem investigation (21%), and more doctors were likely to participate with legal protocol (23%). If the postmortem investigation could not be performed due to the protector's disagreement, another specialized medical investigation should be needed to figure out the cause of death (85%). The new postmortem investigation system should be performed by the specific institution, and supported by the government (44%). In many expert's opinion, nonmedical experts such as lawyers and priests should be included for the institution of investigation for objectivity and neutrality (72%). This sample study finds that the postmortem investigation performed by specialized institution is necessary to determine the cause of death in the hospital. For the operation of the system, neutrality and the operating core would be the most important.
Cause of Death ; Electronic Mail ; Expert Testimony ; Humans ; Lawyers ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: To compare the changes in strabismus angle and deviation between two groups: a bilateral lateral rectus recession (Group 1) and a unilateral lateral rectus recession in exotropia (Group 2). METHODS: A retrospective survey was conducted on 198 patients who had received exotropia surgery in our ophthalmology clinic from September 2003 to April 2007. A total of 116 patients were in Group 1, and 82 patients were in Group 2. RESULTS: The average deviations of the first postoperative month and the first postoperative year were -1.96 D +/- 4.75, 2.5 D +/- 7.82 for Group 1 and 0.77 D +/- 2.87, 5.94 D +/- 3.38 for Group 2. Revealing statistical significance between the 2 Groups: Group 1 had 30 failure cases (25.9%) and their 1 postoperative year average deviation was 5.42 D +/- 13.97, while Group 2 showed 24 failure cases (29.3%) and their 1-postoperative-year average deviation was 13.0-79 +/- 3.04. Group 1 had less strabismus angle and a greater standard deviation than Group 2, as Group 1 had more overcorrection. Among the 30 failure cases of Group 1, 9 were overcorrected and 21 were undercorrected, but all 24 failure cases in Group 2 were undercorrected. CONCLUSIONS: The strabismus angle after lateral rectus recession showed a wider variation and a larger difference in bilateral lateral rectus recession than in the unilateral lateral rectus recession.
Exotropia ; Humans ; Ophthalmology ; Retrospective Studies ; Strabismus

Despite widespread use of antibiotics and surgical procedures for treating peritonsillar abscess (PTA), symptoms of severe inflammation such as pain and trismus during treatment result in patient dissatisfaction. The goal of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy of systemic steroids on the clinical course of PTA. Two reviewers independently searched the databases (MEDLINE, Scopus, and the Cochrane Database) from inception to December 2014. Studies comparing systemic administration of steroids (steroid group) with placebo (placebo group), where the outcomes of interest were pain, body temperature, hospitalization, and oral intake during the posttreatment period, were included. Baseline study characteristics, study quality data, numbers of patients in the steroid and control groups, and outcomes were extracted. Sufficient data for meta-analysis were retrieved for 3 trials with a total of 153 patients. Pain-related parameters (patient-reported scores and trismus), body temperature, and dysphagia during the first 24 hours after treatment were significantly improved in the steroid group compared with placebo group. The discharge rate during the first 5 days of the posttreatment period was significantly higher in the steroid group than the control group. However, although more patients in the steroid group returned to normal activities and dietary intake at 24 hours after treatment, the differences between the groups were not significant and disappeared after 48 hours. In the treatment of PTA, systemic administration of steroids with antibiotics could reduce pain-related symptoms, as well as provide a benefit with respect to the clinical course. However, further trials with well-designed research methodologies should be conducted to confirm our results.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones* ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Body Temperature ; Deglutition Disorders ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Peritonsillar Abscess* ; Steroids ; Trismus

Masclura tricuspidata, also called as Cudrania tricuspidata, is one of the most common Moraceae family plants in East Asia. Its trivial name follows mulberry due to the similar morphology. Investigation of the bioactive constituents of M. tricuspidata leaves yielded a new xanthone derivative along with twenty known compounds through various chromatographic techniques. A new compound was defined as mascluraxanthone (3), a prenylated xanthone glucoside on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR and MS data. Twenty known compounds were identified as four xanthone derivatives (1-2 and 4-5), two flavans (6-7), six flavanol derivatives (8-13), a flavonone (14) and seven flavonol derivatives (15-21). Among the isolated compounds, flavanol and flavonoid derivatives with 3′,4′-OH groups showed antioxidant and anti-tyrosinase activities. Conclusively, the leaves of M.tricuspidata are rich in aromatic compounds including xanthones and flavonoids. In addition, these constituents showed antioxidant and anti-tyrosinase potentials, which might be useful for oxidative stress related diseases.

No abstract available.
Chickens* ; Yolk Sac*