No abstract available.
Asthma* ; Humans ; Pneumocytes* ; Superoxides*

The mechanism of cytolysis by complement attack of nucleated cells(NC) is of special interest in comparison to that of red blood cells. It is known that NC death by membrane attack comples, C5b-9, is caused by many factors, i.e., efficiency of complex assembly, activation of intrinsic metabolic pathway by signal transduction, cytotoxic effect of the channel itself and natural repair ability. These factors suggest that colloid osmotic lysis, known in red blood cells, does not fully explain the complement-mediated cell death of NC. In this study, the authors investigated correlation between biochemical and morphological changes to prove "Ca2+-mediated metabolic death"8~13) representing a mechanism of NC death caused by C5b-9 attack. The L1210 cells, mouse leukemic cell line carrying small complement channel(TAC5b-91) were used in the experiments. The amounts of intracellular adenine nucleotides to extracellular Ca2+, ouabain, KC1 and dextran were analyzed by bioluminescence method using luminometer. Cell viability was checked by 0.4% trypan blue dye and LDH release. Morphological observation of TAC5b-91 was done by immunocytochemical staining and electron microscope. The results were as follows: 1) The release of ATP, ADP and AMP followed by cell death was rapid and progressive along the incubation time at 37 degrees C and it was accelerated in 1.5 mM of [Ca2+]0. 2) There was no evidence of ATP repairment in the TAC5b-91. 3) Extracellular KC1(150 mM), dextran(0.66 mM) and ATP supplement(0.2 microM) could not effectively inhibit ATP depletion and cell death. Ouabain(27 and 100 microM) enhanced cell death and could not completely prevent ATP loss. 4) Most of the mitochondria showed swelling, loss of cristae and Ca2+ deposit in matrix in the electron microscopic observation. Rapid, sustained and irreversible depletion of adenine nucleotides was due to Ca2+ deposit with destruction of mitochondria and also the leakage through transmembrane channels. Moreover this energy depletion was accelerated by high extracellular Ca2+ concentration. These results indicate that Ca2+-mediated, energy exhaustion is one of the mechanisms of the metabolic cell death by C5b-9 attack of NC.
Mice ; Animals

A hospital-based, matched case-control study was carried out to evaluate the relation ship of various suspected risk factors including snoring and serum level of cholesterol to cerebrovascular disease in Korea. A total of 127 incident cases of cerebrovascular disease(74 cases of cerebral infarction and 53 cases of intracerebral hemorrhage) admitted to the department of neurology in a university hospital from December, 1993 to March, 1995 were compared with 127 matched controls admitted to same hospital in same period. A multivariate analysis suggested that ECG abnormality(left ventricular hypertophy and atrial fibrillation), family history of cerebrovascular disease, fundoscopic abnormality, previous history of transient ischemic attack and hypercholesterolemia were risk factors of cerebrovascular disease. ECG abnormality, fundoscopic abnormality, smoking and hypercholesterolemia were also suggested as risk factors of cerebral infarction.
Case-Control Studies* ; Cerebral Infarction ; Cholesterol ; Electrocardiography ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Ischemic Attack, Transient ; Korea ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neurology ; Risk Factors* ; Ships ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Snoring

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to exam differences in awareness and ethical attitudes associated with Do-Not- Resuscitate (DNR) among emergency department's team. METHOD: The participants in this study were 402 emergency department's team working in the 41 hospitals. The data was collected by using "awareness measuring tool" by Kang (2003) and "ethical attitudes measuring tool" by Ko (2004) from May 1 to September 15, 2009. Collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient using SPSS WIN 14.0 program. RESULTS: 74.4% of subjects was responded that they had never been educated about DNR, but 73.9% of subjects was responded that they had experienced DNR in the emergency room. The majority of subjects responded that the patients and their families should make a decision about the DNR. There was a difference in an appropriate time for explanation of DNR among emergency department's team. There was a difference in ethical attitudes associated with Do-Not- Resuscitate among emergency department's team. CONCLUSION: For a professional and systematic approach to the problem, DNR guideline sufficient to elicit a social consensus is needed.
Consensus ; Emergencies ; Humans

Ultrasound studies of sixty five patients with thyroid mass histologically proven at KyungPook NationalUniversity Hospital from June 1983 to May were retrospectively analized. No specific sonographic characteristicsof thyroid mass lesions was found on the basis of histological diagnosis. Authors consider that ultrasound studymight be mere useful for detection and localization of a lesion, and guide to needle aspiration, monitoring thesize of a mass following therapy as well.
Diagnosis ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Humans ; Needles ; Retrospective Studies ; Thyroid Gland ; Ultrasonography

OBJECTIVE: The authors reviewed experience with patients harboring intracerebral hematoma (ICH) treated by stereotactic computed tomography (CT) guided thrombolysis and aspiration and evaluated feasibility, safety and prognostic factors of this procedure. METHODS: One hundred and ten patients with supratentorial ICH >25 ml without underlying structural etiology or coagulopathy were recruited. The patients with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) <5 were excluded. A catheter was directed stereotactically into the ICH under CT guidance. Hematoma aspiration was followed by instillation of urokinase. This was repeated every 6 hours until less than half of its initial volume remained. For analysis of prognostic factors, we classified them into two groups;good (Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) > or =4) and bad (GOS<4) prognosis group, and performed comparative analysis between two groups. RESULTS: Mean age was 59.8 years. The baseline hematoma size ranged from 15 to 72 mL. ICH volume reduced by an average of 74.2%. At 6 months after the procedure, 56 patients had achieved a good recovery, 29 patients were dependent, and 10 remained vegetative. Fifteen patients died in hospital. The main good prognostic factors were young age, small ICH volume, high GCS, absence of rebleeding, underlying disease and complications. CONCLUSION: CT-guided thrombolysis and aspiration appears safe and effective in the reduction of ICH volume. Patients of ICH presenting with bad prognostic factors should require frequent radiological investigation and more meticulous procedure. Further studies are needed to assess optimal thrombolytic dosage and must include controlled comparisons of mortality, and disability outcome.
Catheters ; Glasgow Coma Scale ; Hematoma* ; Humans ; Mortality ; Prognosis ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator

COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide and imparts a substantial economic burden on individuals and society. Some of the risk factors for COPD are well-known and include smoking, occupational exposures, air pollution, airway hyperresponsiveness, asthma, and certain genetic variations. Precise definitions of COPD vary and are frequently dependent on an accurate diagnosis of the problem by a physician. These differences in the definition of COPD can have large effects on the estimates of COPD in the population. In most of the world, COPD prevalence and mortality are still increasing and likely will continue to rise in response to increases in smoking, particularly by women and adolescents. Resources aimed at smoking cessation and prevention, COPD education and early detection, and better treatment will be of the most benefit in our continuing efforts against this important cause of morbidity and mortality.
Adolescent ; Air Pollution ; Asthma ; Diagnosis ; Education ; Epidemiology* ; Female ; Genetic Variation ; Humans ; Mortality ; Occupational Exposure ; Prevalence ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Smoking Cessation

No abstract available.
Cough* ; Diagnosis*

The authors studied depression in 5,869 college students (male: 3,893, female: 1,976) using Zung's Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS). The results are as follows: 1) Female college students showed significantly higher total depression scores than male college students (p<0.001). 2) The items of confusion, indecisiveness, and psychomotor retardation were scored higher in both groups and the items of suicidal rumination, psychomotor agitation, constipation and tachycardia were scored lower in both groups. 3) 18.2% of male college students showed rather serious depression level of score 50 or higher, while 33.1% of female college students showed the same scores. 4) The psychosocial factors relating to pessimistic views to past, present & future self-images showed significantly high depression scores. 5) The depression items of fatigue, anxiousness, tachycardia, apprehension, fear, and body aches & pain were correlated significantly over 0.40 of correlation coefficient.
Constipation ; Depression* ; Fatigue ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Psychology ; Psychomotor Agitation ; Tachycardia

The authors studied anxiety, using Zung's SelfRating Anxiety Scale (SAS), in the subjects of 3,893 male and 1,976 female college students of Yeungnam University. The authors collected the reports of SAS during the periods from October to November, 1984, and applied ANOVA and ttest on the anxiety scores in order to compare them between various psychosocial factors, and sexes. The results could be summarized as follows: There was significant difference in the mean averages of total anxiety scores between male and female students; male students scored 36.92±7.07, female students scored 39.63±7.51, p<0.001. The anxiety scores relating to the items of sweating, apprehension, restlessness, insomnia, dyspnea were relatively higher in both groups. The anxiety scores in the items of paresthesias, mental disintegration, tremors, faintness, dizziness were lower in both groups. Two hundred and one male students (5.2%) showed seriously high anxiety scores of 50 or higher, while 201 female students (10.2%) showed the same scores. So the authors inferred that the features of anxiety symptoms were much the same in our country, but females showed more various symptoms and higher level of anxiety than males. In a comparison between male students in different school grades, freshmen showed the highest level of anxiety scores and as the grades of the students became higher, the levels of anxiety scores were lower. The female students who resided in dormitory or other residences, and whose educational fees were paid by brothers or sisters, showed higher level of anxiety scores. There was s strong tendency toward higher anxiety scores in the students who were dissatisfied with their colleges or departments, and who had pessimistic views of self-image in the past, present, or future, in both groups.
Anxiety* ; Dizziness ; Dyspnea ; Fees and Charges ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Paresthesia ; Psychology ; Psychomotor Agitation ; Siblings ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; Sweat ; Sweating ; Tremor