No abstract available.

Coccidioidomycosis is a common infectious disease in southwestern North America, which is caused by the soil fungus, Coccidioides immitis. Due to the mobility of the modern population, increasing numbers of cases are being diagnosed outside the endemic areas. Moreover, diagnosis in non-endenmic areas may be delayed or confused due to its rarity. Here we report a case of pulmonary coccidioidomycisis in an immigrant. The patient presented with unexplained pulmonary symptoms. A history of recent travel to or immigration from an endemic area may suggest coccidioidomycosis. In addition an early tissue biopsy is helpful in establishing this diagnosis.
Bacterial Infections and Mycoses ; Biopsy ; Coccidioides ; Coccidioidomycosis* ; Communicable Diseases ; Diagnosis ; Emigrants and Immigrants* ; Emigration and Immigration ; Fungi ; Humans ; Mycoses ; North America ; Soil

No abstract available.
Colonoscopy* ; Humans ; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory* ; Peritonitis*

This study was undertaken to elucidate any quantitative abnormalities of Tlymphocyte subsets (helper/inducer T cell; T cell and suppressor/cytotoxic T cell: T cell) and IgE levels in the peripheraI blood in atopic dermatitis patients by using monoclonal antibodies and enzyme immunoassay, respectively. In addition we have tried to ascertain whether there are any correlations betveen such immuiiologic abnormalities and the severity of the disease. The results showed that there were significant decrease in the mean percentage of T Cells and increase in the mean value of T/T cell ratios in patients with atopic dermatitis. These changes seem to relate to the severity of the disease when evaluated as groups. A significant increase in the mean value of serum IgE was found in atopic dermatitis patients and the change was related to the severity of the disease. But increase of serum IgE level did not correlated closely with the T cell abnormalities in each patients.
Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Humans ; Immunoenzyme Techniques ; Immunoglobulin E* ; T-Lymphocyte Subsets* ; T-Lymphocytes

BACKGROUND: Doppler echocardiography is a non-invasive technique that has been used to evaluate LV diastolic dysfunction. Impaired left ventricular diastolic filling is known to occur in patients with coronary artery disease. Compared with those in normal subjects, Doppler-derived transmitral blood flow velocities have been reported to be reduced during early diastolic filling and to be compensatory elevated subsequent to atrial systole in patinets with coronary artery disease. But stiffness of myocardium normalize the E/A ratio, and normal E/A ratio may reveal increased ventricular filling pressure. We tried to investigate left ventricular filling parameters by Doppler echocardiography in patients with early myocardial infarction, and to compare left ventricular diastolic function regarding infarct location on EKG, one or multivessel disease on coronary angiography, and treatment modality. METHODS: From September 1993 to August 1995, Pulsed wave Doppler echocardiography was performed in patients with early acute myocardial infarction(N=95) and control group(N=20) within 5 days after admission, and parameters of diastolic function was evaluated. RESULTS: Echocardiographic data showed significant differences in mean ejection fraction, mean left ventricular mass, and mean left ventricular mass index between two groups. There was no significant difference in E/A ratio, deceleration time, and isovolumetric relaxation time between two groups. Neither, there was significant difference in each diastolic parameter for infarct related wall on EKG. And there was no significant difference in deceleration time for one or multi vessel disease on coronary angiography, treatment modality(conservative treatment, thrombolytic therapy, or primary PTCA). CONCLUSION: In patients with early acute myocardial infarction, left ventricular diastolic dysfunction was absent. And there was no significant correlation between the presence of diastolic dysfunction and the location of infarct related wall on EKG, or one or multi vessel disease, or treatment modality.
Blood Flow Velocity ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Deceleration ; Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Doppler ; Electrocardiography ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Myocardium ; Relaxation ; Systole ; Thrombolytic Therapy

No abstract available.
Candidiasis* ; Diabetes Mellitus*

No abstract available.
Colon*

No abstract available.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis* ; Mycobacterium* ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length*

Ovarian leiomyoma is a rare form of the ovarian mesenchymal neoplasm and about 50 cases have been reported in the literature. It is believed that many cases may go unnoticed because they are usually small in size and frequently mistaken for the more common fibroma or fibrothecoma. Its origin is still controversial and many possibilities are considered including the smooth muscle in the blood vessel wall of the hilum or the multipotential ovarian stromal cell. Herein we describe two cases of ovarian leiomyoma with its characteristic histologic finding.
Blood Vessels ; Female ; Fibroma ; Leiomyoma* ; Muscle, Smooth ; Ovary* ; Stromal Cells

The toxic action of benzene on erythropoiesis and myelopciesis, has been recognized since the early years of the present century. With the advance in high civilization and modern covenience, benzene as a kind of aromatic compound has been used for industrial solvent and its longstanding use has committed a public nuisance to be overcome by medical approach. Chromosomal breakage and rearrangement may be produced by radiation, radiomimetics, virus infection and various chemicals, especially, antibiotics and antitumor agent, causing chroimosomal rearrangement in vitro, whose teratogenic action in rats was previously demonstrated. Several works hsve been published on the chromosome damage as a consequence of benzene intoxication. Recently, it was shown by certain workers that individuals who had been exposed to atmospheric benzene, even without haematological disorders, might have an elevated percentage of structural chromosome aberrations in the lymphocytes cultured from their peripheral blood. Moreover, structural and numerical chromosome aberrations were demons trated in patients with blood disorders which were believed to be due to exposure to beuzene vapors. Accordingly, much interest has been paid to its cytologic effect on the hematopoietic tissues in man and experimental animals. A high incidence of chromosomal aberrations has also been found in rabbits exposed to benzene during a period of peripheral pancytopenia and after hematologic recovery. The significance of these findings was discussed in relation to leukemic transition and to their diagnostic value in human benzene intoxication. Chromosomal anomalies can also be induced by benzene given subcutaneously to rata. A pronounced individual variation of the degree of chromosome damage was shown. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether benzene could a direct effect on the chromosome complement of mammalian bone marrow cells in vivo and whether characteristic banding patterns might be demonstrated in rat chomosomes by a modified trypsin-Giemsa method. Four-week old Sprague-Dawley strain rats of both sexes(each weighing about 50gm) were used for this experimental study. Three groups of animals were treated-with subcutaneous infections of pure benzene. Group I received benzene, 2.0ml per kg body weight, 24 hours before sacrifice; Group II, 48 and 24 hours and Group III, 72, 48 and 24 hours. A control group was given no treatment. The animais were sacrificed in ether anesthesia. Femur and iliac bone marrow cells were suspended in medium 199 within 30 minutes and transferred to warm Hanks-distilled water(1:3) for hypotonic treatment(10 minutes). A freshly prepared solution of methanol glacial acetic acid (3:1) was used as fixative. Finally, a few drops of the cell suspension were placed on moistened, pre-cleaned slides being dried by rapid-drying technique. The slides were stained with either simple Giemsa or trypsin Giemsa banding technique. From the data obtained, this report was summarized as follows: 1. For the benzene-treated groups, chromosomal aberration rate was 13.4% in group II and 38.6% in group III, while in the controls the rate was 6.4 percent. 2. Numerical aberrations included aneuploidy, polyploidy and monoploidy. The most frequent type was hypodiploidy (5.8–9.4%) in all the treated groups. 3. Structural aberrations could be divided in gaps, ring chromosomes, breaks, deletions, exchanges and dicentrics. Among those, the majority of abnormal metaphases was gaps; 2.4%, 2.2% and 10.8% in group I, II and III respectively, and 1. 6% in control group. 4. The translocations and dicentrics were not demonstated in group I and II. 5. The normal chromosome set of the Sprague-Dawley rat was comprised of 42 chromosomes: 20 pairs of autosomes, and one pair of sex chromosomes, xx or XY chromosomes. The total number of major bands in s chromosome complement was about 40 and minor bands, 13, 6. Sucessful demonstration of banding patterns was available by proper adjustment of the concentration, temperature and duration of trypsin solution.
Acetic Acid ; Anesthesia ; Aneuploidy ; Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Benzene ; Body Weight ; Bone Marrow Cells ; Bone Marrow ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Chromosome Breakage ; Civilization ; Complement System Proteins ; Erythropoiesis ; Ether ; Femur ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Incidence ; Lymphocytes ; Methanol ; Methods ; Pancytopenia ; Polyploidy ; Rabbits ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Ring Chromosomes ; Sex Chromosomes ; Trypsin