No abstract available.
Dilatation, Pathologic*

No abstract available.
Mediastinitis*

No abstract available.
Colon*

The effectiveness of three kinds of enzymes (chitinase, beta-glucuronidase, and lysing enzyme complex), employed as elicitors to enhance the beta-glucan content in the sawdust-based cultivation of cauliflower mushroom (Sparassis latifolia), was examined. The elicitors were applied to the cauliflower mushroom after primordium formation, by spraying the enzyme solutions at three different levels on the sawdust-based medium. Mycelial growth was fully accomplished by the treatments, but the metabolic process during the growth of fruiting bodies was affected. The application of a lysing enzyme resulted in an increase in the beta-glucan concentration by up to 31% compared to that of the control. However, the treatment resulted in a decrease in mushroom yield, which necessitated the need to evaluate its economic efficiency. Although we still need to develop a more efficient way for using elicitors to enhance functional metabolites in mushroom cultivation, the results indicate that the elicitation technique can be applied in the cultivation of medicinal/edible mushrooms.
Agaricales* ; Brassica* ; Fruit ; Glucuronidase ; Metabolism

OBJECTIVES: We conducted this study to obtain basic data of urinary levels of arsenic, cadmium, and zinc in children of Ulsan industrial area and to evaluate the difference in urinary levels of these metals between industrial area and suburban area. METHODS: The study subjects were composed of 348(male 182, female 166) school children residing in industrial area and 100(male 50, female 50) school children of suburban area. We analyzed urinary levels of arsenic, cadmium, and zinc using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. RESULTS: The geometric means of urinary levels of arsenic, cadmium, and zinc of study participants were 3.69, 0.99, 282.49 microgram/L respectively. The adjusted geometric means of urinary levels of arsenic, cadmium, and zinc of study participants were 3.92, 1.05, 299.92 microgram/g creatinine respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The children residing in industrial area had the higher urinary levels of arsenic and cadmium than suburban children with statistical significance(p<0.01).
Absorption ; Arsenic* ; Cadmium* ; Child* ; Creatinine ; Female ; Humans ; Metals ; Ulsan* ; Zinc*

A Brain-Machine interface (BMI) allows for direct communication between the brain and machines. Neural probes for recording neural signals are among the essential components of a BMI system. In this report, we review research regarding implantable neural probes and their applications to BMIs. We first discuss conventional neural probes such as the tetrode, Utah array, Michigan probe, and electroencephalography (ECoG), following which we cover advancements in next-generation neural probes. These next-generation probes are associated with improvements in electrical properties, mechanical durability, biocompatibility, and offer a high degree of freedom in practical settings. Specifically, we focus on three key topics: (1) novel implantable neural probes that decrease the level of invasiveness without sacrificing performance, (2) multi-modal neural probes that measure both electrical and optical signals, (3) and neural probes developed using advanced materials. Because safety and precision are critical for practical applications of BMI systems, future studies should aim to enhance these properties when developing next-generation neural probes.
Brain ; Brain-Computer Interfaces* ; Electroencephalography ; Freedom ; Michigan ; Utah

PURPOSE: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are mesenchymal neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract. GISTs are positive for the expression of c-Kit protein at immunohistochemistry, and their clinical presentations vary. This retrospective study was performed to evaluate the clincopathologic characteristics of GISTs and to define the prognostic factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 40 patients who underwent a complete resection of a GIST during the period 1996~2003 at the Department of Surgery, Korea University College of Medicine, were studied. We divided them into low- and high-risk groups by using tumor size and mitotic count: 23 cases were low risk, and 17 were high risk. Clinicopathologic features, immunohistochemical findings, and prognoses were compared between the low- and the high-risk groups. RESULTS: The mean age of the 40 patients was 61.3+/-11.1 years, and the male-to-female ratio was 1:1.1. There was no significant difference in age and sex between the groups. A comparative analysis revealed tumor size, mitotic count, clinical symptoms, preoperative pathologic diagnosis, ulceration, and necrosis to be variables that had statistically significant differences between the high- and the low-risk groups. In the univariate analysis, tumor size, mitotic count, ulceration, necrosis, and abnormal endoscopic ultrasound findings were associated with disease-free survival, but in the multivariate analysis, mitotic activity was the only independent factor associated with disease-free survival. 8 patients had recurrences during the follow-up period, and four of them were treated with STI-571 (imatinib mesylate, Gleevec(R)). The treated patients have survived until now; however, two of non-treated patients died from disease progression. CONCLUSION: Based on this study, tumor size, ulceration, and necrosis are significant factors affecting survival, and mitotic activity may be a useful prognostic marker. STI-571 may be used in an adjuvant setting because the drug has shown anticancer activity in patients with recurrence or metastasis.
Diagnosis ; Disease Progression ; Disease-Free Survival ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors* ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Korea ; Mesylates ; Multivariate Analysis ; Necrosis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach* ; Ulcer ; Ultrasonography ; Imatinib Mesylate

PURPOSE: p63 is a recently described as p53 homologue. Despite their structural homologies, they have different activities. p63 is a specific myoepithelial cell marker in normal breast tissue and it is expressed in a minority of breast cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of the p63 expression in breast cancer. METHODS: The expression of p63 in breast cancer was determined by performing immunohistochemistry on 350 patients who underwent mastectomy at the Department of Surgery at Korea University Medical Center between January 1992 and September 2004. A retrospective analysis was conducted using the medical records. A tissue microarray was constructed, and immunohistochemical analysis for p63 was performed according to the usual methods. RESULTS: Among 350 patients, 40 (11.4%) showed a p63 expression. There was a significant correlation between p63 and the histologic grade. There were significant correlations of p63 with p53 and HER2/neu, respectively. In the basal type of breast cancer, the p63 expression was significantly higher than in the luminal type of breast cancer. The 5 year disease free survival rates were 69% in the patients with a p63 expression and 76% in the patients without a p63 expression, but there was no statistical difference. CONCLUSION: The present results indicate that a p63 expression is associated with a high grade tumor, a p53 expression and a HER2/neu expression in breast cancer, which are the known poor prognostic factors of breast cancer. Immunohistochemical subtyping shows that the p63 expression is a useful predictor for the basal type of breast cancer. In addition, this study suggests that the p63 expression in the basal type of breast cancer is associated with a poor prognosis.
Academic Medical Centers ; Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Korea ; Mastectomy ; Medical Records ; Phenobarbital ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: Quantitative fluorescent polymerase chain reaction (QF-PCR) allows for the rapid prenatal diagnosis of common aneuploidies. The main advantages of this assay are its low cost, speed, and automation, allowing for large-scale application. However, despite these advantages, it is not a routine method for prenatal aneuploidy screening in Korea. Our objective in the present study was to validate the performance of QF-PCR using short tandem repeat (STR) markers in a Korean population as a means for rapid prenatal diagnosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A QF-PCR assay using an Elucigene kit (Gen-Probe, Abingdon, UK), containing 20 STR markers located on chromosomes 13, 18, 21, X and Y, was performed on 847 amniotic fluid (AF) samples for prenatal aneuploidy screening referred for prenatal aneuploidy screening from 2007 to 2009. The results were then compared to those obtained using conventional cytogenetic analysis. To evaluate the informativity of STR markers, the heterozygosity index of each marker was determined in all the samples. RESULTS: Three autosomes (13, 18, and 21) and X and Y chromosome aneuploidies were detected in 19 cases (2.2%, 19/847) after QF-PCR analysis of the 847 AF samples. Their results are identical to those of conventional cytogenetic analysis, with 100% positive predictive value. However, after cytogenetic analysis, 7 cases (0.8%, 7/847) were found to have 5 balanced and 2 unbalanced chromosomal abnormalities that were not detected by QF-PCR. The STR markers had a slightly low heterozygosity index (average: 0.76) compared to those reported in Caucasians (average: 0.80). Submicroscopic duplication of D13S634 marker, which might be a unique finding in Koreans, was detected in 1.4% (12/847) of the samples in the present study. CONCLUSION: A QF-PCR assay for prenatal aneuploidy screening was validated in our institution and proved to be efficient and reliable. However, we suggest that each laboratory must perform an independent validation test for each STR marker in order to develop interpretation guidelines of the results and must integrate QF-PCR into the routine cytogenetic laboratory workflow.
Amniotic Fluid ; Aneuploidy ; Automation ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Cytogenetic Analysis ; Cytogenetics ; Female ; Korea ; Mass Screening ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prenatal Diagnosis ; Y Chromosome

BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis of tuberculosis is critical, especially in Korea, an area where tuberculosis is endemic. Because antibody responses to some membrane proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis are not comparable, and the policy of BCG vaccination and the prevalence of tuberculosis are different from country to country, the usefulness of the serological diagnostic tests is questionable in Korea, even though they have been confirmed to be useful in other countries. In the specific context of Korea, we tried to evaluate the validity of the ICT Tuberculosis Test (ICT), a membrane-based antibody kit that purports to detect the 5 M. tuberculosis complex-specific antigens including 38-kDa protein. METHOD: 68 patients with tuberculosis were tested: 37 had no history of previous tuberculosis, and 31 were reactivated cases. The control group comprised 77 subjects: 25 healthy adults, 35 hospital workers with frequent contact with tuberculosis patients, and 17 in-patients with non-tuberculous respiratory diseases. RESULTS: The diagnostic sensitivities of the ICT were 87% and 73% in patients with versus without previous history of tuberculosis, respectively. The sensitivities of smear-positive and smear-negative patient groups were 81% and 73%, respectively. Both of the two patients with extrapulmonary tuberculosis tested positive through the ICT. The specificities of the ICT were 88%, 94%, and 94% in healthy adults, hospital workers, and non-tuberculous patients, respectively, with an overall specificity of 92%. Conclusion: It is suggested that when combined with traditional techniques, the ICT is an useful tool for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis. The procedure is simple, easy to perform, rapid, and needs no equipment. It shows 73% sensitivity and 92% specificity for the diagnosis of tuberculosis.
Adult ; Antibody Formation ; Diagnosis* ; Diagnostic Tests, Routine ; Early Diagnosis ; Humans ; Korea ; Membrane Proteins ; Mycobacterium bovis ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Prevalence ; Tuberculosis* ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary ; Vaccination