Quantitative analysis of abnormal spontaneous activities, motor unit action potentials and interference patterns were recorded in 55 subjects with traumatic peripheral nerve injury to understand the changes of electromyographic signals. We analyzed amplitudes of fibrillation potentials and positive sharp waves at rest, amplitude, duration, spike duration and polyphasicity of motor unit action potentials at minimal contraction, and the root mean square(RMS), and mean rectified voltage (MRV) at maximal contraction. The amplitudes of fibrillation potentials and positive sharp waves had negative correlations with the duration of peripheral nerve injury but the amplitudes of motor unit action potentials, RMS, and MRV had positive correlations. Therefore electromyographic evaluation could be used for the estimation of the duration of peripheral nerve injury.
Action Potentials ; Motor Activity ; Peripheral Nerve Injuries* ; Peripheral Nerves*

Moving on the femoral srticular surface, the patella is doing a significant role in the patellofemoral mechanism as one of the most important components of the knee. The knowledge of patellar movement would be very helpful to understand the functional mechanism of the knee We studied the distance of patellar movement during the knee motion on the lateral X-ray view of 100 normal adult knees. The results were as follows :1. The average distance of patellar movement from full extension to full flexion of the knee was 8.4cm. 2. Patella moves average 1.7cm(20.2%) form 0° to 30° flexion, 2.6cm(31.0%) from 30° to 60° flexion, 1.7cm(20.2%) from 60° to 90° flexion, 1.3cm(15.5%) from 90° to 120° flexion and l.lcm(13.1%) from 120° to full flexion.
Adult ; Humans ; Knee ; Patella

Forearm has a unique function of supination and pronation and for the performance of such movements, normal relationship between radius and ulna is indispensable. In ulnar shaft fracture, injuries are resulted mostly from .the external forces such as direct blows or indirect forces in some cases. There are many procedures for treatment of isolated ulnar fracture, but there are still controversies concerning the best management of these fractures. The authors treated fifteen cases surgically of ulnar shaft fracture from January 1982 to December 1986 in the Deparment of Orthopedic Surgery, National-Police Hospital. The results were as follows: 1. The most common age group was twenties with twelve cases(80.0%). 2. The most common cause of injuries were direct blow(80.0%). 3, Location of fracture were middle one third with nine cases(60.6%), while proximal one third accounts for four cases (26.7%) and distal ond third for two cases(13.3%). 4. Transverse fracture were the most common type (53.3%). 5. Displacement of fractures, out of fifteen cases, were witnessed in twelve cases (80.0%) and angulation were in eleven cases(73.3%). 6. In all cases we used operative method and had good functional results.
Forearm ; Humans ; Methods ; Orthopedics ; Pronation ; Radius ; Supination ; Ulna

Surface electromyogram in the lumbar paraspinal muscles was studied to evaluate back muscle impairment in twenty chronic low back pain patients and twenty control subjects. Turns-amplitude and power spectrum analysis of electromyographic signals were performed at different force levels during fatigue from sustained isometric contraction and recovery from fatigue in trunk extensor muscles. Results indicated that with increasing force level mean amplitude and Root Mean Square (RMS) values were increased, but mean and median frequencies increased initially until 20% Maximal Voluntary Contraction (MVC) and decreased tendency after then. Turns, mean amplitude, RMS, mean and median frequencies were all higher in control subject than those of low back pain patients. During sustained isometric contraction at 70% MVC, mean and median frequencies were linearly decreased, and the slopes were steeper in the patients group. Mean amplitude and RMS value showed decreased tendency during fatigue. During recovery from fatigue turns, mean and median frequencies increased especially in the first 3 minutes and nearly completely recovered in the 7~8 minutes in both patients and control groups. Therefore the mean amplitude and RMS value could be used as indicators of the level of muscle contraction and the mean and median frequencies reflect well the muscle fatigue in paralumbar muscle. These results validate the use of surface EMG spectral parameters as an objective measure of back muscle impairment in chronic low back pain patients.
Back Muscles* ; Back Pain ; Fatigue ; Humans ; Isometric Contraction ; Low Back Pain* ; Muscle Contraction ; Muscle Fatigue ; Muscles ; Paraspinal Muscles ; Spectrum Analysis

Adult ; Connective Tissue ; Extremities ; Head ; Histiocytoma, Malignant Fibrous ; Humans ; Maxilla ; Neck ; Radiotherapy ; Sarcoma

Treatment options for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are currently limited; therefore, there has been significant interest in applying mesenchymal stem/stromal cell (MSC)-based therapy to treat CKD. However, MSCs harvested from CKD patients tend to show diminished viability and proliferation due to sustained exposure to uremic toxins in the CKD environment, which limits their utility for cell therapy. The application of melatonin has been demonstrated to improve the therapeutic efficacy of MSCs derived from and engrafted to tissues in patients suffering from CKD, although the underlying biological mechanism has not been elucidated. In this study, we observed overexpression of hexokinase-2 (HK2) in serum samples of CKD patients and MSCs harvested from an adenine-fed CKD mouse model (CKD-mMSCs). HK2 upregulation led to increased production levels of methylglyoxal (MG), a toxic metabolic intermediate of abnormal glycolytic processes. The overabundance of HK2 and MG was associated with impaired mitochondrial function and low cell proliferation in CKD-mMSCs. Melatonin treatment inhibited the increases in HK2 and MG levels, and further improved mitochondrial function, glycolytic metabolism, and cell proliferation. Our findings suggest that identifying and characterizing metabolic regulators such as HK2 in CKD may improve the efficacy of MSCs for treating CKD and other kidney disorders.

Glutaric aciduria type 1(GA1) is an autosomal recessive disorder of the lysine, hydroxylysine and tryptophan metabolism caused by the deficiency of mitochondrial glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase. This disease is characterized by macrocephaly at birth or shortly after birth and various neurologic symptoms. Between the first weeks and the 4-5th year of life, intercurrent illness such as viral infections, gastroenteritis, or even routine immunizations can trigger acute encephalopathy, causing injury to caudate nucleus and putamen. But intellectual functions are well preserved until late in the disease course. We report a one-month-old male infant with macrocephaly and hypotonia. In brain MRI, there was frontotemporal atrophy(widening of sylvian cistern). In metabolic investigation, there were high glutarylcarnitine level in tandem mass spectrometry and high glutarate in urine organic acid analysis, GA1 was confirmed by absent glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase activity in fibroblast culture. He was managed with lysine free milk and carnitine and riboflavin. He developed well without a metabolic crisis. If there is macrocephaly in an infant with neuroradiologic sign of frontotemporal atrophy, GA1 should have a high priority in the differential diagnosis. Because current therapy can prevent brain degeneration in more than 90% of affected infants who are treated prospectively, recognition of this disorder before the brain has been injured is essential for treatment.
Atrophy ; Brain ; Carnitine ; Caudate Nucleus ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Fibroblasts ; Gastroenteritis ; Glutaryl-CoA Dehydrogenase ; Humans ; Hydroxylysine ; Immunization ; Infant ; Lysine ; Macrocephaly* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Metabolism ; Milk ; Muscle Hypotonia ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Parturition ; Putamen ; Riboflavin ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; Tryptophan

An increased risk for arterial thrombosis is associated with high plasma levels of coagulation and fibrinolytic factors such as PAI-1 and FVII. In this study, the 4G/5G polymorphism in the promoter of PAI-1 gene and Arg353-->Gln polymorphism in the FVII gene were analysed in 139 normal adults and 158 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), and their association with plasma lipid traits was investigated. There were no significant differences in the allele frequencies of PAI-1 and FVII polymorphisms between control and patient groups. The allelic distributions of both polymorphisms in Koreans were similar to those in Japanese but significantly different from those in Caucasians. In the CAD group, the 4G homozygotes of PAI-1 polymorphism showed significantly higher levels of total (p=0.0250) and LDL cholesterol (p=0.0335) with individuals having other genotypes. However, FVII polymorphism showed no association with lipid levels. In conclusion, the 4G/5G PAI-1 promoter polymorphism and Arg353-->Gln FVII polymorphism are not major genetic risk factors for CAD in Koreans. However, 4G allele of PAI-1 polymorphism revealed to be associated with the levels of cholesterol, especially LDL cholesterol levels in CAD patients.
Aged ; Alleles ; Apolipoproteins A/blood ; Apolipoproteins B/blood ; Coronary Disease/genetics* ; Coronary Disease/blood ; Factor VII/genetics* ; Female ; Genotype ; Human ; Korea ; Lipoproteins, HDL Cholesterol/blood ; Lipoproteins, LDL Cholesterol/blood ; Male ; Middle Age ; Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1/genetics* ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide* ; Promoter Regions (Genetics)/genetics* ; Triglycerides/blood

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate hidden allergens of acute idiopathic urticaria (AIU) in childhood by using the component-resolved diagnostics (CRD). METHODS: We applied CRD using pathogenesis-related protein family number 10 (PR-10) and nonspecific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTP). RESULTS: Twenty-two of the 74 AIU children (29.7%) were found to be positive on CRD. Ten children were positive to nMal d 1 for apple (value range, 1.10–40.59), 6 to rConr a 1 for hazelnut (1.53–11.97), 4 to rPru p 1 for peach (1.32–11.83). 6 to rAra h 8 for peanut (1.20–8.12), 6 to nAct d 8 for kiwi (0.85–3.32), 4 to rBet v 1 for birch (2.49–54.28), and 3 to rAln g 1 for alder (2.32–5.74). Six children were positive to nPru p 3 for peach (1.45–18.77), 4 to rCor a 8 for hazelnut (2.56–9.19), 2 to nArt v 3 for mugwort (3.40–7.42), and 3 to rBet v2 to profilin of birch (2.56–17.46). Ten children with AIU were positive to multiple component proteins. For hazelnut, 5 children were positive to PR-10 (rConr a 1) and nsLTP (rConr a 1). For peach, 3 children were positive to PR-10 (rPru p 1) and nsLTP (nPru p 3). CONCLUSION: IgE sensitization to PR-10 or nsLTP may be allergen components for AIU in childhood.
Allergens ; Alnus ; Arachis ; Artemisia ; Betula ; Child* ; Corylus ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Profilins ; Prunus persica ; Urticaria*

PURPOSE: Unpredictable shrinkage of zirconia during sintering process causes discrepancy. Therefore, there have been attempts to reduce discrepancy by milling zirconia after sintering. However, due to the hardness of sintered zirconia, milling takes longer time, causes damage to the machine and causes chip formation. With customized zirconia block using the mean dimension of prepared natural dentition, it is expected to overcome these shortcomings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The mean dimension of prepared natural dentition was analyzed as STL file after scanning of prepared teeth treated at SNUDH. The transverse, frontal and sagittal planes were set using Mimics and Photoshop. 3D volume was projected on each plane, and the outer line was measured through external tangent line, and the inner line was measured through inflection point of tangent line. RESULTS: The mean height of prepared incisal (N = 57) is 6.60 ± 1.05 mm, mesiodistal length is 2.98 ± 0.73 mm, buccolingual length is 2.04 ± 0.73 mm. The mean height of prepared premolar (N = 15) is 5.37 ± 1.49 mm, mesiodistal length is 4.10 ± 1.78 mm, buccolingual length is 5.86 ± 1.55 mm. And the mean height of prepared molar (N = 13) is 5.11 ± 1.29 mm, mesiodistal length is 6.80 ± 1.18 mm, buccolingual length is 7.34 ± 1.40 mm. CONCLUSION: Using the mean dimension of prepared natural dentition, it is expected to be able to fabricate customized zirconia block.
Bicuspid ; Dentition ; Hardness ; Molar ; Tooth*