Replantation after crush amputation has a relatively low success rate. Thrombus formation due to vessel and tissue trauma is considered as the principal cause of failure. In the laboratory and clinically, we have been tried to improve the post-anastomosis patency rate in crushed microvasculature. To accomplish this, we have usually used several anticoagulant drugs. Extracts from the leaves of Ginkgo biloba (EGb) have been used therapeutically for centuries. EGb exerts a number of pharmacologic actions. Eighty rats were control group and another 80 rats were treated with EGb 761. The femoral arteries underwent crush injury with an energy of 0.4J, and the vessles in each group were divided and anastomosed by a standard microsurgical technique. Each group was comprised as follows: (1) control group(A1,A2): group A1(n=40); intraluminal saline irrigation, group A2(n=40); intraluminal saline irrigation+heparin 40 u/ml(IV). (2) EGb 761 treated group(B1, B2): groupB1(n=40); intraluminal saline irrigation, group B2(n=40); intraluminal saline irrigation + heparin 40 u/ml(IV). At postoperative 14 days, the patency rates were; group A1 20%, group A2 77.5%, group B1 47.5%, group B2 92.5%. These results were interpreted as follows: the patency rate was significantly increased in the EGb 761-only treated group(p>0.01), the heparin-only treated group(p>0.01), and the EGb 761 and heparin-combined at crushed microvessel surgery. However the patency rate of the EGb-only treated group was significantly lower than that of the heparin-only treated group(p>0.01). And in the EGb 761 and heparin-combined treated group compared to the heparin-only treated group, there was some patency rate increase in the combined treated group, but there was no significant difference between them(p=0.060).
Amputation ; Animals ; Anticoagulants ; Femoral Artery ; Ginkgo biloba* ; Heparin ; Microvessels* ; Pharmacologic Actions ; Rats* ; Replantation ; Thrombosis

Late results of microvascular patency after crush or crush avulsion injury have been relatively poor. A key factor in the poor results may relate to the presence of damaged tissue, but the mechanism of this thrombus formation is still imcompletely understood. One current theory about the origin of thrombus after vessel trauma involves increased exposure of the subendothelial tissue to platelets that adhere and aggregate at the injury site, initiating thrombus formation. Most surgeons have usually used several anticoagulant drugs to prevent thrombosis for 2-3 weeks after trauma or microvascular repair. We thought that Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb 761), which has a number of pharmacologic actions, could promote microvasculature healing and prevent thrombosis. The femoral arteries of rats were dissected. Each group was as follows:-1. group A (n=10): intact group (not crushed vessel),2. group B (n=10); crushing injury (not EGb 761-treated group),3. group C (n=10); crushing injury (EGb 761-treated group). Group B and C underwent crush injury with the energy of 0.07J. We compared patency rate and histological examination. All arteries were patent at postoperative 14 days, and in histologic finding, group C (group with EGb 761 treatment among the crushed injury group) showed significant improvement of vascular endothelial and medial regeneration.
Animals ; Anticoagulants ; Arteries ; Femoral Artery ; Ginkgo biloba* ; Microvessels ; Pharmacologic Actions ; Rats ; Regeneration ; Thrombosis

Diabetic kidney disease is a microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus and the leading cause of end-stage renal disease resulting in renal replacement therapy. Approximately 30% to 40% of diabetic patients have diabetic kidney disease, which contributes to a significant increase in morbidity and mortality. Microalbuminuria is considered the gold standard for diabetic kidney disease diagnosis; however, its predictive value is restricted. Although blood glucose control, blood pressure control, and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors have been the primary treatment strategies, there are no definitive treatment modalities capable of inhibiting the progression of kidney dysfunction in these patients. This study was undertaken to answer seven questions regarding the various aspects of diabetic kidney disease. Why does it develop? what kind of factors affect its development? How is it diagnosed? What are its possible biomarkers? When is a kidney biopsy necessary? What are the preventive and therapeutic options? And what are the novel treatments?
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors ; Biomarkers ; Biopsy ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Kidney ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Mortality ; Renal Replacement Therapy

Diabetic kidney disease is a microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus and the leading cause of end-stage renal disease resulting in renal replacement therapy. Approximately 30% to 40% of diabetic patients have diabetic kidney disease, which contributes to a significant increase in morbidity and mortality. Microalbuminuria is considered the gold standard for diabetic kidney disease diagnosis; however, its predictive value is restricted. Although blood glucose control, blood pressure control, and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors have been the primary treatment strategies, there are no definitive treatment modalities capable of inhibiting the progression of kidney dysfunction in these patients. This study was undertaken to answer seven questions regarding the various aspects of diabetic kidney disease. Why does it develop? what kind of factors affect its development? How is it diagnosed? What are its possible biomarkers? When is a kidney biopsy necessary? What are the preventive and therapeutic options? And what are the novel treatments?

Diabetic kidney disease is a microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus and the leading cause of end-stage renal disease resulting in renal replacement therapy. Approximately 30% to 40% of diabetic patients have diabetic kidney disease, which contributes to a significant increase in morbidity and mortality. Microalbuminuria is considered the gold standard for diabetic kidney disease diagnosis; however, its predictive value is restricted. Although blood glucose control, blood pressure control, and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors have been the primary treatment strategies, there are no definitive treatment modalities capable of inhibiting the progression of kidney dysfunction in these patients. This study was undertaken to answer seven questions regarding the various aspects of diabetic kidney disease. Why does it develop? what kind of factors affect its development? How is it diagnosed? What are its possible biomarkers? When is a kidney biopsy necessary? What are the preventive and therapeutic options? And what are the novel treatments?

PURPOSE: Eosinophilia is common in premature infants, and its incidence increases with a shorter gestation period. We investigated the clinical significance of eosinophilia in premature infants born at <34 weeks gestation. METHODS: We analyzed the medical records of premature infants born at <34 weeks gestation who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital between January 2003 and September 2010. Eosinophilia was defined as an eosinophil percentage of >3% of the total leukocytes. Perinatal parameters and clinical parameters were also analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 261 infants born at <34 weeks gestation, 22.4% demonstrated eosinophilia at birth. The eosinophil percentage peaked in the fourth postnatal week at 7.5%. The incidence of severe eosinophilia increased after birth up to the fourth postnatal week when 8.8% of all patients had severe eosinophilia. Severity of eosinophilia was positively correlated with a lower gestational age, birth weight, and Apgar score. Respiratory distress syndrome, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, nephrocalcinosis, intraventricular hemorrhage, and sepsis were associated with a higher eosinophil percentage. The eosinophil percentage was significantly higher in infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia from the first postnatal week and the percentage was the highest in the fourth postnatal week, with the maximal difference being 4.1% (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Eosinophilia is common in premature infants and reaches peak incidence and severity in the fourth postnatal week. The eosinophil percentage was significantly higher in bronchopulmonary dysplasia patients from the first postnatal week. Severe eosinophilia was significantly associated with the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia even after adjusting for other variables.
Apgar Score ; Birth Weight ; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia* ; Eosinophilia* ; Eosinophils ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature* ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Leukocytes ; Medical Records ; Nephrocalcinosis ; Parturition ; Pregnancy* ; Sepsis

The purpose of this study was to explore nutrition teachers/dietitians' perception towards production management practices as well as the importance & performance of nutrient preservation during production by school foodservices. A total of 120 school nutrition teachers/dietitians in the Daegu area participated in this study. The data were analyzed by descriptive analysis, t-test, and ANOVA using SPSS/Windows (ver 17.0). A questionnaire consisted of three dimensions with 66 items concerning the general characteristics of schools and respondents, production management practices, and perceived importance and performance of nutrient preservation. Exactly 79.2& of dietitians responded that scheduling of production management is necessary, and 52.5% of respondents perceived that their knowledge for nutrient preservation is of normal/average level. Thirty-eight percent of respondents did not establish scheduling of production management; according to them, cooking stage has priority over other stages of nutrient preservation. Perceived importance score was higher than perceived performance score in all stages of production management. The difference between perceived importance and performance in the production scheduling stage was found to be statistically significant. The results indicate that nutrition control point should be established and managed to prevent nutrient loss in all production stages. Further, dietitians who do not take measures to reduce nutrient loss should be carefully educated on the importance of nutrient control and be motivated to follow guidelines on nutrient preservation.
Cooking ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Food Services ; Humans ; Meals

No abstract available.
Necrosis* ; Typhoid Fever*

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the role of survivin, caspase 3, p53 and Ki-67 expression in the carcinogenesis of cervical carcinoma and aggressiveness of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). METHODS: The pathology specimens of 94 patients with a diagnosis of Low grade CIN (31 cases), High grade CINL (32 cases) and squamous cell carcinoma (31 cases) were evaluated immunohistochemically for the expression of survivin, caspase 3, p53 and Ki-67 in paraffin sections. RESULTS: Survivin, p53 and Ki-67 expressions were progressively increased in accordance with the increasing degree of malignancy, but caspase 3 immunoreactivity was higher in high grade CIN than in low grade CIN and invasive cervical cancers. There was no significant difference between Ki-67 index and survivin, caspase 3 and p53 expression with the increasing degree of malignancy. The Ki-67 index was closely related to p53 overexpression in invasive cervical carcinoma group. CONCLUSION: A sequential increase of survivin, p53, and Ki-67 was observed in paralleling the progression of grade of CIN and cervical cancer. In addition, caspase 3 expression increased proportionally to the low-grade CIN to high grade CIN.
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Caspase 3 ; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia ; Humans ; Paraffin ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

BACKGROUND: Hyperuricemia is common in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, and many previous studies have reported the associations between hyperuricemia and adverse cardiovascular outcomes, which are the major cause of death in such patients. We investigated the relationship between serum uric acid level and the severity of coronary stenosis in ESRD patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). METHODS: Among 721 patients who started MHD treatment, 102 underwent coronary angiographic tests complaining of chest discomfort that was new at initiation of MHD. We collected data on uric acid level and coronary artery luminal diameter, defining luminal diameter narrowing of more than 50% in any major coronary artery as critical-stenosis. RESULTS: We detected critical coronary artery stenosis in 52 (57.8%) patients. The mean uric acid level was 6.6 ± 2.2 mg/dL, and that was significantly higher in the critical-stenosis group (4.9 ± 1.4 mg/dL vs. 7.8 ± 2.0 mg/dL, P < 0.001). The only independent predictor of critical-stenosis in multivariate analysis was serum uric acid level (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: High serum uric acid was associated with severe coronary artery stenosis in Korean ESRD patients. Hyperuricemia is a readily modifiable factor, and appropriately preventing it could provide significant benefits in ESRD patients.
Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cause of Death ; Coronary Stenosis* ; Coronary Vessels* ; Humans ; Hyperuricemia ; Kidney Failure, Chronic* ; Multivariate Analysis ; Phenobarbital ; Renal Dialysis ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic ; Thorax ; Uric Acid*