No abstract available.
Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive*

No abstract available.
Trichomonas*

No abstract available.
Trichomonas*

No abstract available.
Hemorrhage*

Primary splenic tumors are rare and mainly found incidentally on radiologic studies. Among them, sclerosing angiomatoid nodular transformation (SANT) of the spleen is a new entity defined as a benign pathologic lesion. Most SANTs have no clinical symptoms and are occasionally accompanied by other splenic diseases such as malignancies. So, the exact diagnosis of the nature of the splenic tumor is mandatory for further treatment. But, preoperative diagnosis is not easy since it is difficult to obtain the tissue from the spleen for pathological study. Recently, laparoscopic splenectomy has become the more standard procedure for the spleen for diagnosis and treatment. Here, we report a rare case of SANT diagnosed following laparoscopic splenectomy.
Spleen ; Splenectomy ; Splenic Diseases

Tryptophan metabolites regulate a variety of physiological processes, and their downstream metabolites enter the kynurenine pathway. Age-related changes of metabolites and activities of associated enzymes in this pathway are suggestable and would be potential intervention targets. Blood levels of serum tryptophan metabolites in C57BL/6 mice of different ages, ranging from 6 weeks to 10 months, were assessed using high-performance liquid chromatography, and the enzyme activities for each metabolic step were estimated using the ratio of appropriate metabolite levels. Mice were subjected to voluntary chronic aerobic exercise or high-fat diet to assess their ability to rescue age-related alterations in the kynurenine pathway. The ratio of serum kynurenic acid (KYNA) to 3-hydroxylkynurenine (3-HK) decreased with advancing age. Voluntary chronic aerobic exercise and high-fat diet rescued the decreased KYNA/3-HK ratio in the 6-month-old and 8-month-old mice groups. Tryptophan metabolites and their associated enzyme activities were significantly altered during aging, and the KYNA/3-HK ratio was a meaningful indicator of aging. Exercise and high-fat diet could potentially recover the reduction of the KYNA/3-HK ratio in the elderly.
Aged ; Aging ; Animals ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Diet, High-Fat* ; Exercise* ; Humans ; Infant ; Kynurenic Acid ; Kynurenine* ; Mice ; Physiological Processes ; Tryptophan*

Transduodenal ampullectomy may be an alternative procedure, and at times a more appropriate procedure, for the management of benign neoplasms of the ampulla. We describe here our technique for performing the lesser invasive transduodenal ampullectomy. First, the duodenum is mobilized with the left hand, which is inserted via a hand port, and a right Harmonic scarpel(R) (Ethicon. Endo-surgery, Cincinnati, OH, USA) is used for duodenal incision and mass removal via a right subcostal incision. After checking the continuity and that there is no leakage of the pancreatic duct and common bile duct, the operation is finished. For transduodenal mass excision, the hand assisted laparoscopic transduodenal procedure is as good for the duct continuity and anastomosis leakage as that for the open procedure. Furthermore, this procedure is less invasive than the open procedure.
Common Bile Duct ; Duodenum ; Hand ; Pancreatic Ducts

PURPOSE: Single-port laparoscopic surgery is a rapidly advancing technique in laparoscopic surgery. However, there is currently limited evidence on the learning curve for this procedure. The aim of this study was to estimate the number of single port laparoscopic cholecystectomies required until improvement in the performance of the technique ceases. METHODS: This is a descriptive, single-center study using routinely collected clinical data from 70 patients who underwent single port laparoscopic cholecystectomy between May 2009 and June 2010 at Dong-A University Medical Center in Busan, Korea. The review includes the mean operating time, conversion cases, intra-operative GB perforation, post-operative wound infection and mean hospital stay. RESULTS: The mean operating time of the first 30 cases (the learning period) was 91.83 minutes. After 30 operations (the experience period), it plateaued to an average of 75.25 minutes, which remained steady in the next 40 operations - a reduction of more than 16%. Reduction in the operating time was significant (P<0.001) between the learning period and the experience period. Other factors including additional ports, intraoperative gall bladder perforation, mean hospital stay, post-operative wound infection were not significantly different between the two periods. CONCLUSION: We suggest that the learning curve for single port laparoscopic cholecystectomy should be around thirty cases for a surgeon with prior conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy experience and for self-taught single port technique.
Academic Medical Centers ; Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic ; Cholecystitis ; Humans ; Korea ; Laparoscopy ; Learning ; Learning Curve ; Length of Stay ; Urinary Bladder ; Wound Infection

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Red L. platyphylla (RLP) on calcium and glucose levels during insulin secretion. To achieve this, alteration of insulin and calcium concentrations was measured in rat insulinoma-1 (INS-1) cells and animal models in response to RLP treatment. In INS-1 cells, maximum secretion of insulin was detected upon treatment with 200 microg/mL of RLP for 20 min. Nifedipine, an L-type calcium channel blocker, effectively inhibited insulin secretion from INS-1 cells. Regarding calcium levels, the maximum concentration of intracellular calcium in INS-1 cells was obtained by treatment with 100 microg/mL of RLP, whereas this level was reduced under conditions of 200 microg/mL of RLP. Further, RLP-treated INS-1 cells showed a higher level of intracellular calcium than that of L. platyphylla (LP), Korea White Ginseng (KWG), or Korea Red Ginseng (KRG)-treated cells. This RLP-induced increase in intracellular calcium was abrogated but not completely abolished upon treatment with 40 microM nifedipine in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the insulin level was dramatically elevated upon co-treatment with high concentrations of glucose and RLP, whereas it was maintained at a low level in response to glucose and RLP co-treatment at low concentrations. In an animal experiment, the serum concentration of calcium increased or decreased upon RLP treatment according to glucose level compared to vehicle treatment. Therefore, these results suggest that insulin secretion induced by RLP treatment may be tightly correlated with calcium regulation, which suggests RLP is an excellent candidate for diabetes treatment.
Animal Experimentation ; Animals ; Calcium ; Calcium Channels, L-Type ; European Continental Ancestry Group ; Glucose ; Humans ; Insulin ; Insulinoma ; Korea ; Models, Animal ; Nifedipine ; Panax ; Rats

PURPOSE: In most areas of the world, transfers between emergency centers are performed through direct communication between physicians of transferring and receiving hospitals. The emergency medical information center "1339" (or 1339, for short), which had mediated inter-hospital transfers for about 10 years, was recently discontinued. This study aimed to survey the stance of physicians at transferring and receiving hospitals on the importance of 1339 functions. METHODS: In May 2012, before the discontinuation of 1339 as a mediator, a questionnaire was distributed to emergency-related physicians at several hospitals on the level of emergency care in Busan. RESULTS: There were 202 answers. Physicians of high level emergency centers had a higher tendency to transfer patients without pre-contact for transfer (p=0.019). The physicians at each level of care thought that direct communication between physicians was more accurate (69.9%), but mediation through 1339 was more convenient (53.6%). Mediation through 1339 was the most frequent resource used for pre-contact of inter-hospital transfers (58.1%). CONCLUSION: Physicians at each level of care tended to find pre-contact between physicians more accurate for inter-hospital transfers; however, they also thought mediation through 1339 was more convenient and it was the most frequently used resource for pre-contact of inter-hospital transfers.
Community Networks ; Emergencies ; Emergency Medical Services ; Hospital Information Systems ; Humans ; Information Centers ; Negotiating ; Surveys and Questionnaires