The antifungal effect of pine needle extract prepared by a distinguishable extraction method and the dry distillation method, was examined. The effect of this extract itself was insignificant. The chemical components of pine needle extract were then investigated by gas chromatographic analysis, and four chemical components, acetol, furfural, 5-methyl furfural, and terpine-4-ol, were identified. The antifungal effects of those four chemical components against Alternaria mali (A. mali), an agent of Alternaria blotch of apple, were then examined. It was observed that the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were 6.25, 0.78, 0.78, and 12.5 (mg/ml) of acetol, furfural, 5-methyl furfural, and terpine-4-ol, respectively. MICs of furfural and 5-methyl furfural had the same order of magnitude as that of an antifungal agrochemical, chlorothalonil. Although furfural itself can not be completely substituted for an antifungal agrochemical, a partial mixture of furfural and antifungal agrochemical may be used as a substitute. The use of agrochemicals for the prevention of plant disease caused by pathogenic fungus such as A. mali could be partially reduced by the application of this mixture.
Agrochemicals ; Alternaria* ; Distillation ; Fungi* ; Furaldehyde* ; Mali* ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Needles* ; Plant Diseases ; Plants*

Intraneural hemangioma of the median nerve is extremely rare. Only a few cases have been reported in literature. The researchers present ultrasound (US) and MRI findings of a case of 38-year-old-man with intraneural capillary hemangioma of the median nerve. The patient had a small, palpable mass in the volar aspect of the wrist and symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. US showed an infiltrative intraneural mass, without significant blood flow despite a compression test. The researchers initially misdiagnosed this mass as an in-continuity neuroma. The mass showed heterogeneous, but predominantly high signal intensity on T2-weighted image, as well as heterogeneous enhancement. The MRI findings were helpful for correct diagnosis on the retrospective review.

Thyroid storm (thyrotoxicosis) is rarely encountered during pregnancy or the puerperium, even in untreated women and characterized by hypertension, hyperthermia, and multiple systems involvement. Much more common is heart failure, apparently caused by the long-term myocardial effects of thyroid hormone and intensified by other pregnancy complications that include severe preeclampsia, infection, anemia, or combinations of these. Prompt diagnosis and treatment of thyroid storm are essential in reducing morbidity and mortality of a patient from this disorder. We experienced a case of triiodothyroxine induced thyroid storm (T3 thyrotoxicosis) developed after Cesarean section. This case highlights both physicians should be aware of the symptoms and risk factors and reversing of heart failure successfully by reducing cardiac workload is important through immediate medical treatment - adequate hydration, thermoregulation, and control of hypertension, infection and anemia et al.
Anemia ; Body Temperature Regulation ; Cesarean Section* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Fever ; Graves Disease ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Mortality ; Postpartum Period ; Pre-Eclampsia ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications ; Risk Factors ; Thyroid Crisis ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyrotoxicosis*

PURPOSE: Rearrangement of the proto-oncogene rearranged during transfection (RET) has been newly identified potential driver mutation in lung adenocarcinoma. Clinically available tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) target RET kinase activity, which suggests that patients with RET fusion genes may be treatable with a kinase inhibitor. Nevertheless, the mechanisms of resistance to these agents remain largely unknown. Thus, the present study aimed to determine whether epidermal growth factor (EGF) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) trigger RET inhibitor resistance in LC-2/ad cells with CCDC6-RET fusion genes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The effects of EGF and HGF on the susceptibility of a CCDC6-RET lung cancer cell line to RET inhibitors (sunitinib, E7080, vandetanib, and sorafenib) were examined. RESULTS: CCDC6-RET lung cancer cells were highly sensitive to RET inhibitors. EGF activated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and triggered resistance to sunitinib, E7080, vandetanib, and sorafenib by transducing bypass survival signaling through ERK and AKT. Reversible EGFR-TKI (gefitinib) resensitized cancer cells to RET inhibitors, even in the presence of EGF. Endothelial cells, which are known to produce EGF, decreased the sensitivity of CCDC6-RET lung cancer cells to RET inhibitors, an effect that was inhibited by EGFR small interfering RNA (siRNA), anti-EGFR antibody (cetuximab), and EGFR-TKI (Iressa). HGF had relatively little effect on the sensitivity to RET inhibitors. CONCLUSION: EGF could trigger resistance to RET inhibition in CCDC6-RET lung cancer cells, and endothelial cells may confer resistance to RET inhibitors by EGF. E7080 and other RET inhibitors may provide therapeutic benefits in the treatment of RET-positive lung cancer patients.
Adenocarcinoma/drug therapy/*genetics ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cetuximab/pharmacology ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm/drug effects/*genetics ; Epidermal Growth Factor/metabolism/*pharmacology ; *Gene Rearrangement ; Hepatocyte Growth Factor/*pharmacology ; Humans ; Indoles/pharmacology ; Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy/*genetics ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; *Mutation ; Niacinamide/analogs & derivatives/pharmacology ; Phenylurea Compounds/pharmacology ; Piperidines/pharmacology ; Protein Kinase Inhibitors/therapeutic use ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret/*antagonists & inhibitors/genetics ; Pyrroles/pharmacology ; Quinazolines/pharmacology ; RNA, Small Interfering/pharmacology ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor/genetics/metabolism ; Signal Transduction/drug effects ; fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 3/metabolism

Traumatic dissection of the aorta is a fatal injury that requires rapid diagnosis and treatment. In assessing acute thoracic aortic injury, transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) has recently compared favorably with standard diagnostic modalities such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and aortography. These latter include time-consuming, contrast injection and the transportation of the patient to another area, requiring the interruption of resuscitative efforts. But, TEE includes less invasive nature, shorter procedure time, no contrast injection, portability at bedside, ability to be done concurrently other procedures such as resuscitation or hemodynamic monitoring and has high sensitivity and specificity for the evaluation of trauma patients with suspected injuries of the thoracic aorta. TEE may be suggested as primary diagnostic modality in suspected traumatic aortic injury in emergency department. We report two cases of traumatic aortic dissection diagnosed early by transesophageal echocardiography in the emergency department.
Aorta ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Aortography ; Diagnosis ; Echocardiography, Transesophageal* ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Resuscitation ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Transportation

Plasmodium falciparum liver stage antigen-1 (PfLSA-1) is one of the few antigens expressed exclusively in liver stage parasites. In this study, we evaluated the antibody responses against recombinant PfLSA-1 in naturally infected individuals in Myanmar. High levels of antibody responses (70.7%) were detected in 82 serum samples from 116 infected individuals, and IgG responses to PfLSA-1 principally composed of responses of IgG1 and IgG3 subclasses. These results show that PfLSA-1 elicits effective antibody responses in individuals infected with P. falciparum, and thus it could be not only an attractive candidate protein for vaccine development, but also a useful antigen for serodiagnosis of the infection.
Animals ; Antibodies, Protozoan/*blood/immunology ; Antigens, Protozoan/*immunology ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G/blood ; Malaria, Falciparum/blood/epidemiology/*immunology ; Myanmar/epidemiology

Parosteal lipoma is a rare kind of lipoma that occurring adipous tissue around the periosteum. It has been reported most commonly in the femur, the radius, the tibia and the fibular. Treatment consists of resecting the lipomatous tumor with further exeresis of the bone and periosteal excrescence in cases with hyperostosis. The authors report a rare case of parosteal lipoma occurring at the medial portion of the femur shaft with a review of the relevant literatures.
Femur ; Hyperostosis ; Lipoma ; Periosteum ; Radius ; Tibia

Secondary esophageal carcinoma usually originates from a primary site in either the lung or breast. Only one case of metastatic esophageal cancer with a radiologic evidence that it was originated from the rectal cancer had been reported. We report an unusual case of a 80-year-old man with secondary esophageal carcinoma originated from the rectal cancer. It was diagnosed by histopathologic confirmation using immunohistochemical staining including CK20 and CK7 by comparing the histopathologic findings of surgical specimen of rectal cancer and endoscopic biopsy tissue from the esophagus. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of secondary esophageal cancer arising from rectum in Korea.
Aged, 80 and over ; Biopsy ; Breast ; Esophageal Neoplasms* ; Esophagus ; Humans ; Korea ; Lung ; Rectal Neoplasms* ; Rectum

We investigated population densities of mosquitoes infected with sporozoites in three highly epidemic areas of Josan-ri and Jangpa-ri (Paju City) and Dongjung-ri (Yeoncheon County) in Korea. Anopheline mosquitoes were collected from both indoors and outdoors by human baiting collection method during the period of the first week of June to the second week of September 1999. Total 13,296 female mosquitoes were collected and 8,650 (65.1%) were Anophelines. Thirty seven percent (3,199) of the Anopheline mosquitoes were captured outdoors and 63.9% (5,531) indoors. Employing a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), we analyzed a total of 7,820 Anopheline mosquitoes and found that 7 Anopheline mosquitoes were infected with sporozoites. The positive rate in Josan-ri was 0.14% (5/3,500) and 0.15% (2/1,370) in Jangpa-ri. The total positive rate in all three surveyed areas was 0.09% (7/7,820). The mosquitoes infected with the sporozoites were detected on June 28th (n=2), July 5th (n=1), July 19th (n=1), August 9th (n=1), September 6th (n=1), and the last one on September 13th (n=1). They were all classified as Anopheles sinensis, which showed positive reaction in ELISA test. Therefore it might be concluded that A. sinensis plays an important role in re-emerging malaria transmission in Korea.
Animals ; Culicidae/*parasitology ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Human ; Korea/epidemiology ; Malaria, Vivax/epidemiology/parasitology/transmission ; Plasmodium vivax/*isolation & purification ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

BACKGROUND: Tracheal reconstruction after extended tracheal resection still remains as a major surgical challenge because good clinical outcomes are usually correlated with limited tracheal resection. Recent investigations with a using cryopreserved trachea for the reconstruction of a trachea have been carried out to overcome this problem. In this study, we analyzed viability of tracheas, which is an important determining factor for the success of transplanting a cryopreserved trachea and the development of post-transplantation tracheal stenosis, according to three different experimental factors: 1) the warm-ischemic time, 2) the cryopreservation solution and 3) the preserving temperature, to determine a better cryopreservation protocol and a better composition of the cryopreservation solution. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Rats tracheas were harvested for different warm-ischemic times (0 hr, 12 hrs, 24 hrs). The tracheas were treated with recombinant insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and they were stored at three different temperatures (4 degreesC, -80 degreesC, -196 degreesC) for two weeks. After two weeks, we thawed the stored trachea and isolated the cells of the tracheas with using type II collagenase. We cultured the cells for seven days and then we compared the cellular viability by the MTT reduction assay. RESULT: Though cryopreservation is required to preserve a trachea for a longer time period, the viability of the tracheas stored at -80 degreesC and -196 degreesC was significantly reduced compared to that of the tracheas stored at 4 degreesC. The viability of the tracheas with warm-ischemic times of 12 hrs and 24 hrs was also reduced in comparison to the tracheas with a warm-ischemic time of 0 hrs.Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine Our data showed that the warm ischemic time and the parameters of cryopreservation negatively affect on trachea viability. However, a cryopresrvation solution containing IGF-1 improved the cellular viability better than the existing cryopreservation solution. For the warm ischemic time group of 0 hr, the addition of IGF-1 improved the viability of trachea at all the preserving temperatures. CONCLUSION: These experiments demonstrate that the viability of a cryopreserved trachea can be improved by modifying the components of the cryopreservation solution with the addition of IGF-1 and reducing the warm-ischemic time.
Animals ; Collagenases ; Cryopreservation ; Insulin ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I ; Korea ; Rats ; Trachea ; Tracheal Stenosis ; Transplants ; Warm Ischemia