BACKGROUND: Telomerase activity in precancerous conditions of lung adenocarcinomas has not been well studied. This study is designed to investigate the role of telomerase in premalignant lesions of urethane-induced mouse lung adenocarcinoma. METHODS: We harvested A/J mouse lung tissues at 3, 6, 9, 12, 28, 41, and 48 weeks after intraperitoneal urethane treatment, and classified each lesion in terms of histologic findings. We examined telomerase activity using a modified version of the telomeric repeat amplification protocol assay using both gel-based and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay methods. An immunohistochemical analysis of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) was performed. RESULTS: In urethane-induced mouse lung tissues, it was sequentially developed from hyperplasia, adenoma, and eventually to adenocarcinoma. Telomerase activity began to show a positive level in tissues with no histologically visible nodule after urethane administration. It revealed a statistically significant increase in hyperplasia compared to the "control" lung tissue (p<0.05), which was proportionally elevated relative to adenoma and adenocarcinoma. There was a direct correlation between telomerase activity and the PCNA labeling index (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The elevation of telomerase activity in normal-appearing lung lesions is thought to be a possible marker of early detection of pulmonary adenocarcinoma.
Adenocarcinoma ; Adenoma ; Animals ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Hyperplasia ; Lung ; Mice ; Precancerous Conditions ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen ; Telomerase ; Urethane

PURPOSE: Learning the concepts of pathology can be facilitated by repeated learning situations with illustrative pathology images. Virtual microscopes are digital facsimiles of glass slides that can be viewed on a computer screen. This study was designed to evaluate the possibility of using virtual microscopes as a teaching modality in the pathology laboratory. METHODS: The virtual microscope was produced from high resolution images scanned by an exclusive slide scanner from newly made teaching glass slides. The final teaching material was put up on personal computers in the computer laboratory, classroom, and medical library. RESULTS: This material was easily accessed by exclusive viewers. The students readily adapted to the use of virtual microscopes. The quality of the images in this material was appropriate for viewing. The response from the students displayed highly significant differences between the traditional and virtual microscopes, with the virtual microscope being preferred. CONCLUSION: The virtual microscopes in this study were helpful for medical students studying pathology. The results of this implementation suggest that virtual microscope technology may be extended to other educational venues where traditional microscopes and photomicrographs are currently used.
Education, Medical ; Glass ; Humans ; Learning ; Libraries, Medical ; Microcomputers ; Pathology* ; Students, Medical ; Teaching Materials*

BACKGROUND: It is debatable whether psychiatric problems are overrepresented in the epileptic patient population. In addition, the significance of MMPI elevations in epileptic patients is still uncertain. This study attempted to find out MMPI profile characteristics of patients with medically refractory epilepsy (MRE). METHODS: MMPI was administered to 172 MRE patients and 139 normal controls. RESULTS: In terms of the mean value of MMPI scales, the MRE patients group had normal mean values comparable to the normal control group. However, the MRE patients could be classified into three subgroups by a multivariate cluster analysis, which include a subgroup with normal profile group (41% of patients), neurotic profile group (elevated Hs-D-Hy scales; 19% of patients), and psychiatric profile group (elevated Pa-Pt- Sc & Hs-D-Hy scales; 40% of patients). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that the majority of MRE patients have abnormal MMPI profiles and suggests that psychiatric disorders or problems might be common in MRE patients. (J Korean Neurol Assoc 19(3):226~231, 2001)
Epilepsy* ; Humans ; MMPI* ; Psychotic Disorders ; Weights and Measures

Purpose: Setting standards is critical in health professions. However, appropriate standard setting methods do not always apply to the set cut score in performance assessment. The aim of this study was to compare the cut score when the standard setting is changed from the norm-referenced method to the borderline group method (BGM) and borderline regression method (BRM) in an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) in medical school. Methods: This was an explorative study to model the implementation of the BGM and BRM. A total of 107 fourth-year medical students attended the OSCE at 7 stations for encountering standardized patients (SPs) and at 1 station for performing skills on a manikin on July 15th, 2021. Thirty-two physician examiners evaluated the performance by completing a checklist and global rating scales. Results: The cut score of the norm-referenced method was lower than that of the BGM (P<0.01) and BRM (P<0.02). There was no significant difference in the cut score between the BGM and BRM (P=0.40). The station with the highest standard deviation and the highest proportion of the borderline group showed the largest cut score difference in standard setting methods. Conclusion Prefixed cut scores by the norm-referenced method without considering station contents or examinee performance can vary due to station difficulty and content, affecting the appropriateness of standard setting decisions. If there is an adequate consensus on the criteria for the borderline group, standard setting with the BRM could be applied as a practical and defensible method to determine the cut score for OSCE.

Purpose: Setting standards is critical in health professions. However, appropriate standard setting methods do not always apply to the set cut score in performance assessment. The aim of this study was to compare the cut score when the standard setting is changed from the norm-referenced method to the borderline group method (BGM) and borderline regression method (BRM) in an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) in medical school. Methods: This was an explorative study to model the implementation of the BGM and BRM. A total of 107 fourth-year medical students attended the OSCE at 7 stations for encountering standardized patients (SPs) and at 1 station for performing skills on a manikin on July 15th, 2021. Thirty-two physician examiners evaluated the performance by completing a checklist and global rating scales. Results: The cut score of the norm-referenced method was lower than that of the BGM (P<0.01) and BRM (P<0.02). There was no significant difference in the cut score between the BGM and BRM (P=0.40). The station with the highest standard deviation and the highest proportion of the borderline group showed the largest cut score difference in standard setting methods. Conclusion Prefixed cut scores by the norm-referenced method without considering station contents or examinee performance can vary due to station difficulty and content, affecting the appropriateness of standard setting decisions. If there is an adequate consensus on the criteria for the borderline group, standard setting with the BRM could be applied as a practical and defensible method to determine the cut score for OSCE.

Traditional adipose tissue transplantation has unpredictable viability and poor absorption rates. Recent studies have reported that treatment with platelet-rich plasma (PRP), adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs), and stromal vascular fraction (SVF) are related to increased survival of grafted adipose tissue. This study was the first simultaneous comparison of graft survival in combination with PRP, ASCs, and SVF. Adipose tissues were mixed with each other, injected subcutaneously into the back of nude mice, and evaluated at 4, 8, and 12 weeks. Human adipocytes were grossly maintained in the ASCs and SVF mixtures. Survival of the adipose tissues with PRP was observed at 4 weeks and with SVF at 8 and 12 weeks. At 12 weeks, volume reduction in the ASCs and SVF mixtures were 36.9% and 32.1%, respectively, which were significantly different from that of the control group without adjuvant treatment, 51.0%. Neovascular structures were rarely observed in any of the groups. Our results suggest that the technique of adding ASCs or SVF to transplanted adipose tissue might be more effective than the conventional grafting method. An autologous adipose tissue graft in combination with ASCs or SVF may potentially contribute to stabilization of engraftment.
Adipocytes/*transplantation ; Adipose Tissue/cytology/*transplantation ; Adult ; Animals ; Female ; *Graft Survival ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; *Platelet-Rich Plasma ; Stem Cells ; Stromal Cells/*transplantation ; Transplantation, Heterologous

The Prototheca species is achlorophyllic algae and rarely causes human infection. Human protothecosis presents clinically as a cutaneous infection, olecranon bursitis, and disseminated systemic disease. We report a case of human cutaneous protothecosis involving the left wrist. A 68-year-old man presented with an ill-defined erythematous lesion with crust at the dorsal aspect of his left wrist. A punch biopsy was performed to reveal the histologic features of granulomatous inflammation with necrosis at the upper dermis, containing Prototheca organisms, of which, the characteristic features were highlighted by special staining. Through a molecular study, the Prototheca zopfii species was identified.
Aged ; Biopsy ; Bursitis ; Dermis ; Humans* ; Inflammation ; Necrosis ; Olecranon Process ; Prototheca ; Wrist

Bronchogenic cyst is an uncommon congenital anomaly that arises from maldevelopment of the primitive foregut, and is usually found in the lung and mediastinum. Cutaneous or subcutaneous bronchogenic cysts are rare, and occur especially in the shoulder region. We report here on a 40-year-old woman with a soft, nontender, cystic mass on the upper posterior aspect of the right acromioclavicular joint; this had been recognized about 20 years before. She underwent incision and drainage of the lesion at a local clinic about 1 year ago, but the wound was not healed. MRI showed an irregular-shaped dark signal intensity lesion that measured 2 x 1.5 cm in the subcutaneous fat layer. Microscopically, the cyst was lined by pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium that displayed squamous metaplasia. The cyst wall revealed frequent smooth muscle bundles, occasional seromucous glands and multifocal lymphocytic infiltration. This is the first reported case of subcutaneous bronchogenic cyst of the shoulder in a Korean adult.
Acromioclavicular Joint ; Adipose Tissue ; Adult ; Bronchogenic Cyst* ; Drainage ; Epithelium ; Female ; Humans ; Lung ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mediastinum ; Metaplasia ; Muscle, Smooth ; Shoulder* ; Subcutaneous Fat ; Wounds and Injuries

BACKGROUND: The anaphase promoting complex (APC) promotes the degradation of mitotic cyclins as well as other substrates involved in sister chromatid adhesion. This study was carried out to examine the relationship between the APC expression and the clinicopathological variables, in an attempt to determine the role of the APC in the proliferation of lung cancer and to evaluate the possibility of an aberrant APC function in surgically resected squamous cell carcinomas and adenocarcinomas of the lung. METHODS: Immunohistochemical staining was performed for APC, Ki-67, cyclin B1, Cdc2, MMP-2 and VEGF in 55 cases of squamous cell carcinoma and 34 cases of adenocarcinoma of the lung, using the avidin-biotin-peroxidase method. RESULTS: The immunohistochemical stains for APC revealed a positive reaction in 49 cases (55.1%). The APC expression level was higher in the cyclin B1-positive group (p= 0.01), the Cdc2-positive group (p=0.001), the MMP-2-positive group (p=0.03), the group with lymph node metastasis (61.4% vs 48.9%), and the group with stage II/III cancer (60.7%) compared with those with stage I (42.9%). CONCLUSIONS: The APC may have an aberrant function, such as a change in its role in controlling the cell cycle, and might be associated with the invasiveness and proliferation of tumor cells.
Adenocarcinoma* ; Anaphase* ; Anaphase-Promoting Complex-Cyclosome* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Cell Cycle ; Chromatids ; Coloring Agents ; Cyclin B1 ; Cyclins ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; Lung* ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Siblings ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A

A 22-year-old man underwent an operation for posterolateral fusion of the lumbar spine at L3-5. He was ventilated via a tracheostomy site in a prone position for 210 minutes. Ventilator function and eyeballs were checked periodically. After changing his position to supine for the wake-up test, it was noticed that his tongue was self-inflicted and looked to be cut unless immediate decompression was applied. After several manual attempts to open the mouth failed, anesthesia depth was deepened with thiopental sodium and neuromuscular blocker to decompress and reposition the tongue into the intraoral cavity. Minimal teeth marks and scarring remained after seven months without any complications.
Anesthesia ; Bites and Stings ; Bites, Human ; Cicatrix ; Decompression ; Humans ; Mouth ; Neuromuscular Blockade ; Prone Position ; Spine ; Thiopental ; Tongue ; Tooth ; Tracheostomy ; Ventilators, Mechanical ; Young Adult