No abstract available.
Autoantibodies* ; Incidence* ; Interferon-gamma*

BACKGROUND: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) is an increasingly common cause of nosocomial infections worldwide. Epidemiologic investigation of MRSA outbreaks and identification of pathways of nosocomial MRSA spread require the ability to distinguish individual MRSA strains. We applied molecular tap ing of the methicillin-resistant determinant (mec) and coagulase typing in the investigation of a nosocomial MRSA infections. METHODS: We randomly selected 79 strains of mecA positive MRSA isolated from patients who visited Dong-A university Hospital from Dec. 1995 to Oct. 1996. Molecular typing of MRSA was performed by comparing the size of the mac-associated hypervariable region amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Coagulase typing with type I-VIII antisera was also used for classification of MRSA based on its phenotype. Each isolates were classified by the combination of molecular analyses and coagulase type. RESULTS: The 79 MRSA isolates were grouped Into sin hypervariable legion (HVR) genotypes on the basis of the size of the PGR products. In coagulase typing, the most predominant type was II(46.8%) and type V was not found. Nine strains were not typable. The combination of HVR genotypes and coagulase types showed 23 different types in 79 MRSA Isolates. The strains which were repeatedly isolated from the same patients showed the same HYR genotypes and coagulate types. CONCLUSION: The combination of HVR genotypes and coagulase types is thought to be useful in epidemiolgical Investigation of nosocomial infections caused by MRSA ,because of its simplicity and reproducibility.
Classification ; Coagulase* ; Cross Infection* ; Disease Outbreaks ; Genotype ; Humans ; Immune Sera ; Methicillin Resistance* ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus* ; Molecular Typing* ; Phenotype ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Staphylococcus

A 34-year-old man visited our hospital with alopecia areata on the occipital scalp, which began to develop two months prior to his visit. He was sensitized with 0.2% diphenylcyclopropenone(DPCP) in acetone that was applied to the inner side of his right arm. Two weeks after sensitization, we applied DPCP on his bald lesion once weekly for skin challenge. Following the third application of DPCP, polycyclic erythematous target-like lesions developed around the sensitized area. A clinical diagnosis of erythema multiforme was made. Histologically, the target-like lesion showed few eosinophilic dyskeratosis, exocytosis, and hydropic de-generation of basal layer in the epidermis, and mononuclear infiltration around superficial blood vessels in the dermis. We report herein a rare case of erythema multiforme following topical application of DPCP in the treatment of alopecia areata. This complication must be noted because of the wide-spread and frequent use of DPCP in dermatotherapeutic fields.
Acetone ; Adult ; Alopecia Areata ; Arm ; Blood Vessels ; Dermis ; Diagnosis ; Eosinophils ; Epidermis ; Erythema Multiforme* ; Erythema* ; Exocytosis ; Humans ; Scalp ; Skin

No abstract available.

BACKGROUND: Serratia marcescens proliferates well in a humid environment or soil and is recently considered as an important pathogen for the severe nosocomial infections. this organism is spreads easily by hand-to-hand transmission, and contaminates medical equipment used for invasive procedures, working environment, medications, and soap. METHODS: We investigated the source of an outbreak of bloodstream infections by S. marcescens isolated that occurred during the period from July to December, 2004, at a university hospital in Gyeonggi Province and attempted to intervene in the outbreak and control it. RESULTS: From July to December, 2004, S. marcescens grew from 296 blood culture from 283 patients. The medical charts of the patients were reviewed, and surveillance cultures were taken to identify the outbreak of nosocomial infections and risk factors. Only four cases of infection were identified and all remaining positive blood cultures were due to contamination. Nine isolates randomly selected from the 296 S. marcescens showed an identical pulsed-field gel electrophoresis pattern. To identify the source of infection, environmental culture and hand cultures of the related medical workers were carried out, but S. marcescens was not isolated. CONCLUSION: As the result of aggressive infection control activities, such as re-education on environmental management methods, hand washing techniques, and blood culture sampling techniques, no more S. marcescens had been grown in blood culture since January, 2005.
Cross Infection ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field ; Gyeonggi-do ; Hand ; Hand Disinfection ; Humans ; Infection Control ; Risk Factors ; Serratia marcescens ; Serratia* ; Soaps ; Soil

Treatment of oral cancers with chemotherapeutic agents are evaluated as an effective method for remission to reduce cancer proliferation nowadays. But, minimization of side-effects such as bone marrow suppression, gastrointestinal toxicity and renal damage is another problem to be solved. Thus, a possible approach to develop a clinically applicable chemotherapeutic agents is to screen anticancer activity among traditional medicinal plants which have been used for thousands of years with very low side-effects in orient. In this study we focused on anti-oral cancer activities of momordin, which was medicinal plant extracts that was revealed anticancer activities, on KB cell(oral cancer cell). The results were as follow : 1. Momordin showed the excellent anti-oral cancer activity against KB cells. Obtained IC50 value of Momordin was 10.4 microgram/ml. 2. When KB cells were treated with Momordin, dose and time dependent DNA fragmentation of KB cells were observed. DNA fragmentation was initiated on three days at the concentration of 20 microgram/ml Momordin. 3. Flow cytometry showed dose-dependent apoptotic cell increase of KB cells on Momordin. 18.55% apoptotic cell were observed up to 72 hours at the concentration of 20 microgram/ml of Momordin 4. Momordin induced nonspecific apoptosis without specific cell cycle arrest. 5. Through MTT assay, DNA fragmentation assay and flow cytometric analysis. anticancer effect of Momordin against KB cell was induce of apoptotic cell death.
Apoptosis ; Bone Marrow ; Cell Cycle Checkpoints ; Cell Death ; DNA Fragmentation ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; KB Cells ; Mouth Neoplasms ; Plants, Medicinal

The measurement of gastric emptying time is useful in differentiation of the hypochondriacal neurosis from the functional gastrointestinal disturbance, and also useful in searching the hidden gastro-intestinal disease in patients who are believed as the functional gastrointestinal disturbance. We confirmed in this study that the more delayed gastric emptying time was measured in functional gastrointestinal disturbance compared to normal group, and more shortened gastric emptying time was found after treatment with dopamine antagonist (cleboril) in this group.
Dopamine ; Gastric Emptying* ; Gastrointestinal Diseases* ; Humans ; Hypochondriasis

BACKGROUND: The influenza is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. The primary target groups recommended for annual vaccination are healthcare workers and households which have frequent contact with persons at high risk and can transmit influenza to those persons at high risk. Members of these groups should be vaccinated against the flu so that they can avoid getting infected with continuously mutating influenza viruses. We assessed healthcare workers' knowledge and attitudes regarding influenza vaccination in order to help promote the vaccination rate. METHODS: This survey was carried out in two hospitals affiliated with the Catholic University School of Medicine, from December 2004 to January 2005. Of the 3,023 questionnaires distributed, 2,023 could be evaluated. RESULTS: The most frequently cited reason for receiving influenza vaccine was self-protection against influenza (55.4%). The most common reasons for not receiving influenza vaccine are personal health problems such as concurrent flu, pregnancy or breast-feeding (29.2%). There is no significant difference in the frequency of side effect between two groups receiving and not receiving vaccine. The most frequent side effect of influenza vaccination is flu-like syndrome; People receiving vaccine have more significant knowledge than those people not receiving vaccine about efficacy of flu vaccination, risk of influenza infection of healthcare workers and their need of flu vaccination. CONCLUSION: In order to promote the vaccination rate, education targeting people at high risk need to keep continuous and facilitate access to vaccination.
Delivery of Health Care* ; Education ; Family Characteristics ; Humans ; Influenza Vaccines ; Influenza, Human* ; Orthomyxoviridae ; Pregnancy ; Vaccination* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

No abstract available.
Carcinoma, Verrucous ; Lip

OBJECTIVES: The dysfunctional neural networks underlying self-evaluation in schizophrenia are overlapped with the neural structures involved in emotion regulation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of anhedonia on the self-evaluation attitude of patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: Twenty healthy controls and twenty patients with schizophrenia performed a self-evaluation task, presenting a pair of the face (self, familiar other, and unfamiliar other) and word (negative, neutral, and positive noun) at the same time. Participants were asked to evaluate relevance between the pairs by pressing a corresponding button. Relevance rating scores were compared between the groups and were correlated with the severity of physical and social anhedonia. RESULTS: Patients evaluated the condition of a self face with a negative word and a familiar face with a negative word to be more relevant than healthy controls. In the patient group, the scores of relevance rating in the condition of an unfamiliar other face with a negative word were positively correlated with the anhedonia scale scores (physical : r=0.486, p=0.030 ; social : r=0.499, p=0.025). There was no correlation between the self-evaluation attitude and the severity of anhedonia. CONCLUSION: Patients with schizophrenia evaluate themselves badly in only negative circumstances, and anhedonia is not related to self-evaluation, but rather other-evaluation.
Anhedonia* ; Diagnostic Self Evaluation ; Humans ; Schizophrenia*