No abstract available.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid* ; Humans ; Neuroma*

Animal models for human chronic pain syndromes were developed and widely used for pain research. One of thsese neuropathic pain model by Kim and Chung[1992] has many advantages for operation and pain elicitation. We have examined the c-fos protein, substance P, CGRP immunoreactivity in dorsal root ganglia and dorsal horn in this neuropathic model. About 50 Sprague-Dawley rats were used for this study. L5 and L6 spinal nerve were ligated tightly to produce neuropathic pain model. After 2, 4, 8, 16, 24 hours and 1 week of surgery, rats were anesthesized and sacrificed by perfusion through the left ventricle with saline followed by 0.1M phosphate buffer[pH 7.4] containing 3% paraformaldehyde, 3% glutaraldehyde, and 0.1% picric acid. After confirmation of the roots transected by the surgery, the L5 and L6 dorsal root ganglion and spinal cord were removed and processed for immunohistochemistry. All tissue sections were immunohistochemically stained for substance P, CGRP and c-fos by using the peroxidase-antiperoxidase[PAP] method. Count the number of immunostained substance P and CGRP dorsal root ganglion cells and c-fos immunoreactive dorsal horn cells and analyzed statistically with Mann-Whitney U test. The results are as follows. 1. The number of c-fos protein immunoreactive neurons in the superficial layer of dorsal horn were increased markedly at 2 hours after operation, gradually decreased to normal level 1 week after operation. 2. The number of c-fos protein immunoreactive neurons in the deep layer of dorsal horn were gradually increased to the peak 24 hours after operation, decreased to normal level 1 week after operation. 3. The number of substance P and CGRP immunoreactive L5 and L6 dorsal root ganglion neurons were decreased markedly at 1 week after pain model operation. In conclusion, after neuropathic pain model operation, c-fos protein were immediately expressed in the superficial layer of spinal dorsal horn, thereafter c-fos protein in the deep layer of spinal dorsal horn were expressed. CGRP and substance P immunoreactive neurons were decreased markedly 1 week after neuropathic pain model operation.
Animals ; Chronic Pain ; Ganglia, Spinal* ; Glutaral ; Heart Ventricles ; Horns* ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Models, Animal ; Neuralgia ; Neurons* ; Perfusion ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases* ; Posterior Horn Cells ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Nerve Roots* ; Spinal Nerves ; Substance P

Gout is the most common inflammatory arthritis in men over 40 years old and the prevalence is increasing. Asymptomatic hyperuricemia is predisposing condition of gout but the frequency of progression to acute gout is not high enough to need prophylactic treatment. In acute gout flare, first line therapy is non-steroid anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs) or corticosteroids, depending on comorbidities. Colchicine is now second line therapy. Urate lowering therapy for gout needs to be initiated when the second attack occurs in a year. Allopurinol, a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, has been the most widely used agent for the treatment of chronic gout. Now, febuxostat has emerged as a new xanthine oxidase inhibitor that is expected to be useful in patients with mildly decreased renal function. Uricosuric agents are alternative therapies for patients with preserved renal function and no history of nephrolithiasis. During urate lowering therapy, the dose should be titrated upward until the serum uric acid level is kept less than 6mg/dL. When initiating urate lowering therapy, concurrent prophylactic therapy with NSAIDs or low dose colchicine for more than six months is recommended for reducing flare-ups. In chronic gout treatment, dietary modification seems to have minimal effect, but alcohol drinking and weight control can be recommended.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Alcohol Drinking ; Allopurinol ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; Arthritis ; Arthritis, Gouty ; Colchicine ; Comorbidity ; Complementary Therapies ; Food Habits ; Gout ; Humans ; Hyperuricemia ; Male ; Nephrolithiasis ; Prevalence ; Thiazoles ; Uric Acid ; Uricosuric Agents ; Xanthine Oxidase ; Febuxostat

OBJECTIVE: We studied the correlation of duration and frequency of febrile convulsion with peripheral leukocytosis and hyponatremia and identified whether peripheral leukocytosis and hyponatremia to be prognostic factors. METHODS: Two hundred sixty three children who admitted to Pediatric Department of Dongsan Medical Center for febrile convulsion from April, 1999 to March, 2001 were studied. We grouped patients according to the duration of convulsion, daily frequency and total frequency. Body temperature on admission, leukocytes count, platelet count, serum Na level and CSF findings were analysed among the groups. RESULTS: Febrile convulsions occurred more ofthe in males(61%) than females(31%) and most frequently occured in winter(37.2%). There were no meaningful differences in serum sodium concentration and peripheral WBC count among groups according to seizure duration. There were no meaningful differences between groups according to seizure frequency. The protein concentrations of CSF were high in children who developed seizures before 9 months of age(P<0.003). There were no meaningful differences among groups according to seizure types. CONCLUSION: When we compared each group, we could not find any significant statistical correlation. We concluded that peripheral leukocytosis and serum Na level are not predicting factors but they are helpful to find etiology of fever.
Body Temperature ; Child ; Fever ; Humans ; Hyponatremia ; Leukocytes ; Leukocytosis ; Platelet Count ; Seizures ; Seizures, Febrile* ; Sodium

The objectives of this study were to: (a) examine the overall operating conditions of both government-dominant and non-governmental food bank programs, (b) understand the operational management attributes on the target based on IPA (importance performance analysis)(c) analyze the present status of donating management, and (d) suggest a direction based on the analysis of advantages and disadvantages of food banks in each part. The random samples of 120 food bank operators were selected by a proportionate stratified random sampling method. A total of 60 government-dominant food banks and 25 non-governmental food banks were analyzed. The main results of this study were as follows: According to the Importance-Performance Analysis of operational management, "assistance for operating funds" and "deployment of experience staff" were placed at "Focus Here". There was a great shortage of experienced staff with food bank-specific knowledge. The average number of the government-dominant and non-governmental food bank program employees was 0.29 and 0.30 respectively, while the ratios of employees with other jobs were 0.96 and 0.83 respectively. Shortages of refrigeration facilities were an area that needs to be addressed. While 51.6% of donated food required cold storage, only 45% of government-dominant and 60% of non-governmental food bank programs had refrigeration facilities. Most of food bank operators (96.3%) were required to visit the donators' locations to pick up the donated foods. And the foods were distributed to the people in need, especially to the livelihood protectee.
Refrigeration

The purpose of this study was to examine the donators' characteristics and donative foods of both government-dominant and non-governmental food bank program, to understand the problems and benefits of food bank program, and to find the solutions to activate food bank program. The questionnaires were distributed to 120 food bank operators and 3 donators were selected from each food bank for the survey from April 2002 to May 2002. 118 sheets (32.8%) from government-dominant food bank and 53 sheets (20.1%) from non-governmental food bank were collected. The main results of this study were as follows: The largest donators to either government-dominant or non-governmental food bank programs were bakery and confectionery companies 31.4% and 45.3% respectively. The majority of donated foods were "goods in stock" (55.6%) and frequency of donation were largely on a daily basis (27.1% for government-dominant and 22.6% for non-governmental). Some of the donators who had more donative food did not donate, and the reasons were closeness to expiration date of food (67.3%), lack of legal protection in the event of food poisoning (54.5%), and poor public image of food related accidents (52.3%).
Foodborne Diseases

OBJECTIVE: Given the considerable disagreement between the Peer Assessment Rating (PAR) index and the American Board of Orthodontics Cast-Radiograph Evaluation, we aimed to develop a novel assessment system-the Improvement and Completion of Outcome (ICO) index-to evaluate the outcome of orthodontic treatment. METHODS: Sixteen criteria from 4 major categories were established to represent the pretreatment malocclusion status, as well as the degree of improvement and level of completion of outcome during/after treatment: dental relationship (arch length discrepancy, irregularity, U1-SN, and IMPA); anteroposterior relationship (overjet, right and left molar position, ANB); vertical relationship (anterior overbite, anterior open-bite, lateral open-bite, SN-MP); and transverse relationship (dental midline discrepancy, chin point deviation, posterior cross-bite, occlusal plane cant). The score for each criterion was defined from 0 or −1 (worst) to 5 (ideal value or normal occlusion) in gradations of 1. The sum of the scores in each category indicates the area and extent of the problems. Improvement and completion percentages were estimated based on the pre- and post-treatment total scores and the maximum total score. If the completion percentage exceeded 80%, treatment outcome was considered successful. RESULTS: Two cases, Class I malocclusion and skeletal Class III malocclusion, are presented to represent the assessment procedure using the ICO index. The difference in the level of improvement and completion of treatment outcome can be clearly explained by using 2 percentage values. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, the ICO index enables the evaluation of the quality of orthodontic treatment objectively and consecutively throughout the entire treatment process.
Chin ; Dental Occlusion ; Malocclusion ; Molar ; Orthodontics ; Overbite ; Treatment Outcome

Prosthetic valve thrombosis (PVT) can be a life-threatening complication that requires immediate treatment. We present a case of 57-year-old woman with tricuspid PVT who was definitely diagnosed by multi-detector-row computed tomography limited with echocardiography. The patient was treated successfully with an alternative approach using low molecular weight heparin bridging therapy followed by intensifying anticoagulation alone.
Echocardiography ; Female ; Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Thrombosis* ; Tricuspid Valve*

OBJECTIVE: Candida species are becoming one of the most common pathogens associated with nosocomial infection in the neonatal intensive care units (NICU). This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of fluconazole prophylaxis (FP) to control candida infection in high-risk preterm infants. METHODS: A prospective, randomized clinical trial was conducted over a 17-month period (Aug. 2008-Dec. 2009) in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants who were admitted to NICU of Dongsan Medical Center, Keimyung University. The 55 VLBW infants with mechanical ventilation, central vascular access and parenteral nutrition at early time of life were enrolled for this study. The infants were randomly assigned to FP and control group in the first three days of life. Fluconazole was administered by intravenous route for 4- to 6-week after birth at dose of 3 mg per kilogram of body weight. All enrolled infants underwent weekly surveillance culture for candida colonization. RESULTS: The 28 infants with FP and the 27 control infants were similar in comparison of the perinatal parameters such as gestational age, birth weight and antenatal steroid therapy. And also, there were no differences between the two groups in terms of presence of common risk factors for invasive candida infection. During prophylactic period, candida colonization was identified in 5 infants of the fluconazole group and 15 infants of the control group (17.9% vs. 55.6%; P<0.005). And also candida sepsis was more frequently developed in the control group, but the result was not significant. No differences in liver function tests after prophylactic period were noted. Between two groups, prognostic factors such as duration of stay in hospital, combined diseases and mortality were not different. CONCLUSIONS: FP may help to control candida infection in high-risk preterm infants, but large scaled multicenter studies including development of resistant strains are necessary before initiation of routine prophylaxis.
Birth Weight ; Body Weight ; Candida ; Colon ; Cross Infection ; Fluconazole ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight ; Infection Control ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Liver Function Tests ; Parenteral Nutrition ; Parturition ; Prospective Studies ; Respiration, Artificial ; Risk Factors ; Sepsis

The objectives of this study were to (a) examine the users' characteristics of both government-dominant and non-governmental food bank programs, (b) understand the supporting quality of the food bank program, and (c) analyse the effectiveness of the programs from the users' perspectives. The random samples of 120 food bank operators were selected by proportionate stratified random sampling method and from each food bank, 3 users were selected for the survey. A total of 205 users were participated in this survey. The main results of this study were as follows; Average profile of food bank users were 58 year old, female, livelihood protectee (56.6%). Food assistance frequency were mostly once a week (34.1%), and everyday (22.4%). The survey also showed that non-governmental food banks delivered the food directly to the 42.7% of users, otherwise the users of government-dominant ones went to the food bank to receive the foods. Most of the donated foods were cooked food (50.0%), and the users also wanted to receive that kinds of food. Saving food expenses (55.6%) and overcoming hunger (16.6%) were found as the effectiveness to the users.
Female ; Food Assistance ; Humans ; Hunger ; Middle Aged