No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Colon* ; Colonic Polyps* ; Female* ; Humans ; Urethra*

In order to assess the efficiency of Percoll gradient centrifugation(PGC) as a method of sperm selection, we have examined morphological characteristics of spermatozoa from 40 teratozoospermic patients attending the Infertility Clinic of Inchon Gil Gerneral Hospital. Patients were divided into three groups according to percentage normal morphology in the fresh sample : group A(n=5), < 5% normal morphology : group B(n=21), 5~14% normal morphology : and group C(n=14), > 14% normal morphology. Morphology slides were perpared using Diff-Quik staining techniques and evaulated by Kruger strict criteria, under oil immersion at a magnification of X 1000, specific defects, head, neck and tail were assesed individualy. The results were as follows. 1. Following PGC, sperm samples with enhanced morphology were recovered for all groups. 2. For group A, PGC did not select a sample with significantly improved morphological characteristics. 3. Usually, sperm defects affected by PGC was head and neck. No significant difference was found for tail abnormality. In conclusion, Percoll gradient centrifugation is an efficient sperm preparation technique when the semen sample exhibits teratozoospermia, especially head or neck abnormality. However, in sample with < 5% normal form or tail abnormality, There is not significant improvement following PGC.
Centrifugation* ; Equidae ; Head ; Humans* ; Immersion ; Incheon ; Infertility ; Neck ; Semen ; Spermatozoa*

This clinical study was conducted to survey 300 cases of total laparoscopic hysterctomy (TLH) by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Boram Hospital in Ulsan, Korea from January, 2000 to June, 2001. TLH has been described in much of the recent literature. We analyzed 300 cases of TLH to evaluate the clinical data such as distribution of age, parity, clinical indication, previous operation history, type of surgery, operation time, weight of uterus, Hb change of post-operation first day and the complications of using this technique. The mean age of patients was 41.3. The mean parity of patients was 2.6. The clinical indications for TLH were myoma (72.3%), adenomyosis (11.3%), PID (5.3%), CIS (4%) and others (5.7%). The most previous operation was bilateral tubal ligation. Others were cesarean section, appendectomy. The most concomitant procedure with TLH was posterior colpoperineorrhaphy. Salpingo-oophorectomy and appendectomy were also carried out concomitantly. The mean operation time was 124 minutes. The mean weight of the uterus was 230 gm. The mean Hb change post-operation on the 1st day was 1.3g/dL. The complications of TLH were bleeding to need blood transfusion, ureteral injury and bladder injury. Thus this technique can be safely performed by skilled laparoscopists for properly selected patients but there is a need for prospective studies for comparision with various laparoscopic hysterctomies.
Adenomyosis ; Appendectomy ; Blood Transfusion ; Cesarean Section ; Female ; Gynecology ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hysterectomy* ; Korea ; Myoma ; Obstetrics ; Parity ; Pregnancy ; Sterilization, Tubal ; Ulsan ; Ureter ; Urinary Bladder ; Uterus

This retrospective case series of prospective data aims to describe the transaxillary approach for the treatment of upper thoracic spine pathology. Various surgical techniques and approaches have been reported across the literature to address upper thoracic spine pathology, including the cervicothoracic approach, anterior transsternal approach, posterolateral approach, supraclavicular approach, and lateral parascapular approaches. These techniques are invasive. A minimally invasive, less morbid, and direct access approach to the pathology of the upper thoracic spine has not been reported in the literature. Patients with pathology affecting the first thoracic vertebra up to the sixth thoracic vertebra were classified into the upper thoracic spine group. Patients with pathology below the sixth thoracic vertebra were excluded. Patients not having a minimum follow-up of 12 months were also excluded. The study analyzed 18 patients. The mean preoperative modified Japanese Orthopedic Association score was 7.2±1.44, which improved to 10.16±1.2 (p<0.05). The majority (14/18) of the patients had an excellent outcome. Three patients had good outcomes, and one patient had a fair outcome. Five cases of intraoperative dural leak were recorded, and one patient had postoperative neurological deficit. The transaxillary approach is a safe, viable, muscle-sparing, and minimally invasive approach for ventral pathologies of the upper thoracic spine.

Fowl typhoid (FT) reported since 1992 in Korea is a septicemic disease of domestic birds caused by Salmonella gallinarum (S. gallinarum). The purpose of this study was to investigate the biochemical characteristics and antimicrobials susceptibility of field isolates of S. gallinarum isolated by year in Korea. A total of 258 isolates of S. gallinarum from 1995 to 2001 showed the same pattern in the majority of biochemical test such as IMViC (indole, methyl red, Voges-Proskauer and citrate utilization), carbohydrate fermentation and amino acid decarboxylation, and these results were almost in accordance with the traditional biochemical characteristics of S. gallinarum strain. When the antimicrobial susceptibility test against 258 isolates of S. gallinarum was performed by the disk diffusion method using 12 antimicrobial agents, all isolates from 1995 appeared to be susceptible to all of the antimicrobial agents tested except for tetracycline and oxytetracycline, whereas the vast majority of isolates from 2001 showed the reduced susceptibility to ampicillin (13.0%), gentamicin (43.4%), kanamycin (69.6%), enrofloxacin (6.5%), ciprofloxacin (10.9%), norfloxacin (52.5%) and ofloxacin (82. 6%). The prevalence of the prevalence of completely resisyany isolates resistant isolates to one or more drugs rapidly increased from 0% in 1995 to 93.5% in 2001. The minimal concentrations range of the majority of antimicrobial agents to inhibit 50% (MIC50s) against S. gallinarum isolates increased from 0.06 -- 8 microgram/ml in 1997 to 2 -- 256 microgram/ml in 2001. Especially, MIC50s for gentamicin and fluoroquinolones of isolates from 2001 increased over 10-fold than those of isolates from 1997. Therefore, our results indicate that sorbitol fermentation and arginine decarboxylation showed the diversity by isolates and the vast majority of isolates from 2001 showed the reduced susceptibility to antimicrobials tested.
Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/*pharmacology ; Chickens ; Korea ; *Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Poultry Diseases/microbiology ; Salmonella/*drug effects/isolation & purification ; Salmonella Infections, Animal/microbiology

Bacteriophages were induced from staphylococcus intermedius isolates from dogs and used for a phage typing. Mitomycin C induction was performed on 60 strains of S. intermedius and all phages were reacted with the strains. Twenty-eight strains (46.7%) were found to be lysogenic. Based on host ranges, eight phages were selected. By using the eight phages, 129 strains isolated from canine clinical specimens were subjected to the phage typing at the routine test dilution (RTD) and 100xRTD. Typability of the phage set was 78.3%, yielding 40 phage patterns. The phage set was considered useful for differentiating S. intermedius strains isolated from dogs. None of 50 strains of S. aureus, 2 (3.6%) of 56 S. simulance strains, 13 (24.5%) of 53 S. chromogenes strains and 46 (28.1%) of 164 S. hyicus strains were typable by the phages at 100xRTD.
Animals ; Bacteriophage Typing* ; Bacteriophages* ; Dogs ; Host Specificity ; Mitomycin ; Staphylococcus intermedius* ; Staphylococcus*

BACKGROUND: This study was performed to evaluate the effects of pretreatment with intralipos on the cardiovascular toxicity caused by continuous intravenous infusion with bupivacaine. METHODS: Fourteen healthy white rabbits were selected for this study and divided into the control group (n = 7) (normal saline administered for 30 minutes) and the intralipos pretreated group (n = 7) (intralipos administered for 30 minutes). The cardiovascular toxic effect during the continuous intravenous infusion of bupivacaine was observed between the control and the intralipos group by meaning the changes in mean arterial pressure, heart rate and electrocardiogram. RESULTS: In intralipos group, mean arterial pressure significantly increased after intralipos infusion for 30 minutes as compared with the control values (P < 0.05). The time intervals for 25, 50, 75 and 100% decrease in mean arterial pressure and heart rate and the onset time of the first QRS modification and dysrhythmia during continuous intravenous infusion of bupivacaine were significantly prolonged in the intralipos group compared with the control group (P < 0.05). The time intervals for 100% decrease in heart rate after the stop of bupivacaine administration was significantly prolonged in the intralipos group compared with the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that prophylactic intravenous infusion with intralipos prevents the cardiovascular toxicity caused by bupivacaine in rabbits.
Arterial Pressure ; Bupivacaine* ; Electrocardiography ; Heart Rate ; Infusions, Intravenous ; Rabbits*

The isolation rate of Escherichia (E.) coli in poultry litter was investigated at 44 broiler farms, 20 that used fresh litter and 24 that used recycled litter. The patterns of resistance to antibiotics of the E. coli isolates were compared. In litter sampled before the rearing period, the isolation rate of E. coli was higher at farms that used fresh litter; E. coli was present in the litter in 94.5% (35 out of 37 flocks tested) of the farms that used fresh litter vs. 51.2% (21 out of 41 flocks) of the farms that used recycled litter. The susceptibility of the 93 isolates of E. coli to 13 antibiotics was studied. Before the rearing period, E. coli isolates from the farms that recycled litter showed higher resistance rates than isolates from farms that replaced litter with fresh litter. Comparing the antibiotic resistance patterns of isolates from litter sampled before and at the end of the rearing period, the antibiotic resistance rates at the end of the rearing period increased dramatically compared with rates before the rearing period.
Agriculture ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Drug Resistance, Microbial* ; Escherichia coli* ; Escherichia* ; Poultry*

BACKGROUND: Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune neuromuscular disorder that shows increased sensitivity to nondepolarizing muscle relaxants. Mivacurium chloride is a short acting nondepolarizing neuromuscular blocker and a benzylisoquinolin diester that is hydrolized rapidly to inactive metabolites by plasma pseudocholinesterase. The onset and duration of mivacurium in patients undergoing a thymectomy with myasthenia gravis was studied. METHODS: Fifteen patients undergoing a thymectomy for myasthenia gravis and fifteen patients of ASA class I, II without liver, kidney or neuromuscular disease undergoing orthopedic surgical procedures were included in this study. Anesthesia was induced with thiopental 4 5 mg/kg and maintained with inhalation of N2O:O2 (1:1) and enflurane 1.0 2.0 vol%. Mivacurium 0.2 mg/kg was given as a muscle relaxant and then intubation performed after the twitch response was depressed more than 90%. Neuromuscular relaxation was assessed by TOF (T1) at the adductor pollicis with supramaximal stimulation of the ulnar nerve at 2 Hz every 12 seconds. The onset and duration of 5%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 95% recovery time of T1 and recovery index were recorded. RESULTS: Onset of block was shortened but recovery time of 5%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 95% and recovery index were prolonged in patients with myasthenia gravis. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with myasthenia gravis, mivacurium induced rapid onset time and prolonged recovery time of 5%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 95% and recovery index.
Anesthesia ; Enflurane ; Humans ; Inhalation ; Intubation ; Kidney ; Liver ; Myasthenia Gravis* ; Neuromuscular Blockade ; Neuromuscular Diseases ; Orthopedic Procedures ; Plasma ; Pseudocholinesterase ; Relaxation ; Thiopental ; Thymectomy ; Ulnar Nerve