Eight neonates with transient tricuspid insufficiency are presented which was confirmed clinical and two dimensional echocardiographic assessment. We found that two dimensional Doppler echocardiography was very useful in the detection of transient tricuspid insufficiency during neonatal age as noninvasive method. Transient tricuspid insufficiency is a clinical disorder in the newborn period caused by myocardial dysfunction, secondary to asphyxia with or without hypoglycemia and associated with right ventricular overloading caused by pulmonary hypertention. The clinical diagnosis was based on a history of perinatal distress, distinctive murmur, ECG changes, biochemical abnormalities and myocardial imaging. 1) The sex ratio of TTI was 1:1. 2) The average gestational age was 34 weeks and mean body weight was 2.06 Kg, respectably. 3) Major symptoms were dyspnea, cyanosis, and tachypnea. 4) Tricuspid regurgitation was detected from the lst day to the 4th day of the life and was improved from the 7th day to the 30th day of the life. 5) The peak velocity through tricuspid valve ranged from the 2.7 m/sec to 4.0 m/sec and the estimated right ventricular pressure ranged from 39 mmHg to 74 mmHg. 6) Associated diseases were neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (100%), prematurity (87.5%), atrial right to left shunt (87.5%), patent ductus arteriosus (75%), hyaline membrane disease (25%), and transient tachypnea of newborn (12.5%).
Asphyxia ; Body Weight ; Cyanosis ; Diagnosis ; Ductus Arteriosus, Patent ; Dyspnea ; Echocardiography* ; Echocardiography, Doppler ; Electrocardiography ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Hyaline Membrane Disease ; Hyperbilirubinemia, Neonatal ; Hypoglycemia ; Infant, Newborn ; Sex Ratio ; Tachypnea ; Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn ; Tricuspid Valve ; Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency ; Ventricular Pressure

PURPOSE: The education of the patients is an effective component of comprehensive care, especially in patients with epilepsy. We developed an epilepsy educational program designed to improve the knowledge and understanding of the natural clinical course, the treatment, and prognosis of epilepsy. We evaluated the efficacy of this educational program to epilepsy patient's knowledge of their disorder and quality of life. METHODS: We studied 224 patients with epilepsy from Dongsan Epilepsy Center. All patients completed the Knowledge and Quality of Life in Epilepsy-31 (QOLIE-31) questionnaire before a one-day educational program was completed. Six months after the educational program was given, patients completed the same questionnaire. The results of the two surveys were compared. RESULTS: In the initial questionnaire, about 60% of the patients thought that epilepsy is not related with head trauma. About 40% of the patients thought that epilepsy is a genetic disorder. Over 80% of the patients thought that behavior changes are not related to epilepsy. Over 90% of the patients had correct responses about taking antiepileptic drugs. However, only 60% of the patients had their ideas regarding proper social activity correct. After completing the educational course, the results of the follow-up questionnaires were markedly improved concerning the patients' knowledge of epilepsy. In contrast, the quality of life measures changed a little. CONCLUSION: An epilepsy educational program for patients improves their knowledge of epilepsy. This study was performed with only one education workshop, which is not sufficient to improve the quality of life measures. A well-regulated, systematic educational program is needed to efficiently improve the lives of epileptic patients.
Anticonvulsants ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Education* ; Epilepsy* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Prognosis ; Quality of Life* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Squamous cell carcinoma commonly originates from recalcitrant wound sites, including burn scars, pressure sores, stasis ulcers, osteomyelitis, and sites of frostbite. A 62-year-old male was referred to the dermatology department for skin necrosis of his right great toe and walking difficulty. He had a history of smoking, drinking alcohol, and frostbite of his right great toe 9 years prior, which deteriorated into osteomyelitis due to poor care. Although a skin biopsy was recommended before amputation, the two procedures were performed simultaneously due to a lack of toe function due to severe osteolysis. Biopsy of the amputated toe tip showed many lobules consisting of atypical keratinocytes with hyperchromatic nuclei, and severe dermal pleomorphism. After evaluation for distant metastasis, including a (99m) Tc-MDP bone scan, 18F-FDG positron emission tomography scan, computed tomography, and ultrasound, no metastasis was detected.
Amputation ; Biopsy ; Burns ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Cicatrix ; Dermatology ; Drinking ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 ; Frostbite ; Humans ; Keratinocytes ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Necrosis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Osteolysis ; Osteomyelitis* ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Pressure Ulcer ; Skin ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Toes ; Ultrasonography ; Varicose Ulcer ; Walking ; Wounds and Injuries

BACKGROUND: The relationship between viral hepatitis and lichen planus (LP) remains as a matter of controversy. Geographical variations are suggested to be a major factor influencing such association. Reliable figures from Korean patients are still lacking. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in Korean patients with lichen planus (LP) and to compare it with patients without LP. METHODS: The retrospective study was performed on 45 LP patients and 45 controls with matching age and gender. We examined for serological evidences of hepatic disease, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and anti-HCV seropositivity. Statistical analysis was calculated by using an unpaired t-test and Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: No significant differences between the serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were observed between the two groups. The prevalence of HBsAg in LP patients (4.4%) was not significantly higher (p>0.05) than those of the control subjects (2.2%). None of the patients with LP nor the control subjects had Anti-HCV. CONCLUSION: Korean patients with LP did not have any significant associations with liver diseases or HBV, and HCV infections. Although a large-scale multicenter study is needed to support our results, it is not advisable for Korean patients with LP to be tested for liver functions or HBV, and HCV infections as part of a routine screening test.
Alanine Transaminase ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Hepacivirus ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis B virus ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Lichen Planus* ; Lichens* ; Liver Diseases ; Liver Function Tests* ; Liver* ; Mass Screening* ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies

Paraplegia following spinal epidural anesthesia is extremely rare. Various lesions for neurologic complications have been documented in the literature. We report a 66-year-old female who developed paraplegia after left knee surgery for osteoarthritis under spinal epidural anesthesia. In the recovery room, paraplegia and numbness below T4 vertebra was checked. A magnetic resonance image (MRI) scan showed a spinal thoracic intradural extramedullary (IDEM) tumor. After extirpation of the tumor, the motor weakness improved to the grade of 3/5. If a neurologic deficit following spinal epidural anesthesia does not resolve, a MRI should be performed without delay to accurately diagnose the cause of the deficit and optimal treatment should be rendered for the causative lesion.
Aged ; Anesthesia, Epidural ; Female ; Humans ; Hypesthesia ; Knee ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Osteoarthritis ; Paraplegia ; Recovery Room ; Spine

Within the corpus luteum, macrophages exert luteotropic and luteolytic actions through secretion of TNF-alpha. However, the mechanisms of luteotropic actions on the development and maintenance of pregnant and nonpregnant corpora lutea are thoroughly unknown.In this experiment, TUNEL, macrophage, and TNF-alpha immunohistochemistry on the corpora lutea of pregnant and nonpregnant rats (Sprague-Dawley strain) were carried out to reveal the role of macrophages in the developing corpora lutea. The results were as follows; 1) In the nonpregnant corpora lutea, the number of macrophages was increased significantly, and the degree of ED1-immunoreactivity of macrophages was increased moderately. But lutein cells showed low-degree TNF-alpha-immunoreactivity. 2) In the pregnant corpora lutea, the number of macrophages was decreased significantly, and the degree of ED1- immunoreactivity of macrophages was low. But lutein cells showed moderate-degree TNF-alpha-immunoreactivity. Based on the above results, it was considered that macrophages in the nonpregnant corpora lutea exert phagocytic action mainly, and the macrophages in the pregnant corpora lutea exert TNF-alpha-secreting action to maintain the structure and function of lutein cells.
Animals ; Corpus Luteum* ; Female ; Immunohistochemistry ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Luteal Cells ; Macrophages* ; Rats* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

PURPOSE: The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effect of surface grinding and polishing procedures using high speed zirconia diamond burs with different grit sizes on the phase transformation and flexural strength of zirconia.
Dental Instruments ; Diamond ; In Vitro Techniques ; Occlusal Adjustment

From 1996 to 2014, 14 foals from nine farms in Jeju were diagnosed with a Rhodococcus equi infection. Clinically, most foals showed characteristic respiratory signs, including hyperthermia and dyspnea. The seasonal occurrence of R. equi infection in foals was higher in summer, such as June (eight foals; 57.1%) and July (four foals; 28.6%), than in the other seasons. The major cases of R. equi infections were observed among two-month-old (eight foals; 57.1%) and three-month-old (three foals; 21.4%) foals. Histopathologically, bronchopneumonia, abscess, and granulomatous pneumonia were the most prevalent lesions in the lungs of foals. Colonic ulcers and submucosal abscesses were found in a foal. Some foals showed granulomatous lymphadenitis and abscesses in the mesenteric and other lymph nodes. According to the polymerase chain reaction using 10 tissue samples of foals and nine R. equi isolates, the vapA gene was detected in 11/11 (100%) foals. Immunohistochemical staining using the anti-VapA monoclonal antibody was applied to detect the R. equi VapA antigen in the organs of foals. R. equi VapA antigens were demonstrated in most lungs and some mesenteric and hilar lymph nodes of 13 foals. Isolated virulent R. equi VapA bacteria showed high sensitivity to gentamicin, quinolones, rifampin, and vancomycin.
Abscess ; Agriculture ; Bacteria ; Bronchopneumonia ; Colon ; Dyspnea ; Fever ; Gentamicins ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lung ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphadenitis ; Pneumonia ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Quinolones ; Rhodococcus equi ; Rhodococcus ; Rifampin ; Seasons ; Ulcer ; Vancomycin

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is an RNA virus belonging to Pestivirus in the family Flaviviridae. BVDV has economic significance for the livestock industry because of its association with acute disease, fetal loss, and birth of persistently infected (PI) animals. This study aimed to investigate the BVDV infection rates in Korean native cattle farms in Jeju for further planning of a BVDV control program in the Jeju Province. BVDV antibodies and antigens were tested in 15,842 sera collected from 302 Korean native cattle herds between January 2014 and June 2017 using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Viral antigen was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction from 60 sera that were antigen ELISA-positive. BVDV antibodies were found in 90.7% (274/302) herds and 61.1% (9,678/15,842) cows. BVDV antigens were found in 13.2% (40/302) herds and 0.4% (61/15,842) cows. The oldest animal group (> 8 years) exhibited the highest sero-positive rates (91%), while the youngest animal group (< 1 years) had the highest antigen positivity rates (0.52%). Of the 60 antigen-positive sera, BVDV types 1 and 2 were found in 36 and 12 sera, respectively. Additionally, six animals were considered to be PI as BVDV was continually detected in annual examination.

BACKGROUND: Therapeutic approaches using monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against complement regulatory proteins (CRPs:i.e.,CD46,CD55 and CD59) have been reported for adjuvant cancer therapy. In this study, we generated a recombinant 1E8 single-chain anti-CD59 antibody (scFv-Fc) and tested anti-cancer effect.by using complement dependent cytotoxicity (CDC). METHODS: We isolated mRNA from 1E8 hybridoma cells and amplified the variable regions of the heavy chain (VH) and light chain (VL) genes using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Using a linker, the amplified sequences for the heavy and light chains were each connected to the sequence for a single polypeptide chain that was designed to be expressed. The VL and VH fragments were cloned into the pOptiVEC-TOPO vector that contained the human CH2-CH3 fragment. Then, 293T cells were transfected with the 1E8 single-chain Fv-Fc (scFv-Fc) constructs. CD59 expression was evaluated in the prostate cancer cell lines using flow cytometry. The enhancement of CDC effect by mouse 1E8 and 1E8 scFv-Fc were evaluated using a cytotoxicity assay. RESULTS: The scFv-Fc constructs were expressed by the transfected 293T cells and secreted into the culture medium. The immunoreactivity of the secreted scFv-Fc construct was similar to that of the mouse 1E8 for CCRF-CEM cells. The molecular masses of 1E8 scFv-Fc were about 120 kDa and 55 kDa under reducing and non-reducing conditions, respectively. The DNA sequence of 1E8 scFv-Fc was obtained and presented. CD59 was highly expressed by the prostate cancer cell line. The recombinant 1E8 scFv-Fc mAb revealed significantly enhanced CDC effect similar with mouse 1E8 for prostate cancer cells. CONCLUSION: A 1E8 scFv-Fc construct for adjuvant cancer therapy was developed.
Animals ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Base Sequence ; Cell Line ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Clone Cells ; Complement System Proteins ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Hybridomas ; Light ; Mice ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Proteins ; RNA, Messenger