No abstract available.
Parenteral Nutrition, Total

PURPOSE: This study was designed to investigate the feasibility of a hydroxyapatite/chitosan (HAp/chitosan) composite, seeded with autologous muscle-derived stem cells, as a partial bladder substitute in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Muscle-derived stem cells were isolated from the gastrocnemius muscle of 6 female Sprague-Dawley rats, using the preplate technique, and cultured on HAp/chitosan composite sheets. Sheets with 10mm diameters were implanted into the urinary bladder of rats following a hemicystectomy in an autologous fashion. Three rats were sacrificed 4 and 8 weeks postoperatively, and the morphological changes subsequently assessed by H&E and immunofluorescence staining using DAPI, myogenin and alpha-smooth muscle actin (SMA). RESULTS: All rats survived the scheduled duration. Adequate epithelialization was observed to be completed after postoperative week 4. Abundant muscle bundles, showing positive alpha-SMA staining, were observed after the 4th week. The bladder shape was well preserved after the 8th week. Ingrowing smooth muscles were observed on the periphery of the composite and muscular bundles, with positive myogenin immunostaining in the middle of the composite. CONCLUSIONS: A HAp/chitosan composite sheet, seeded with autologous muscle-derived stem cells, showed a degree of skeletal muscle differentiation 8 weeks after augmentation cystoplasty, in an autologous fashion. This new material seeded with muscle-derived stem cells may, in the future, prove to be a viable option as a partial bladder substitute.
Actins ; Animals ; Atrophy ; Female ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Humans ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Muscle, Smooth ; Myogenin ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Regeneration ; Stem Cells* ; Urinary Bladder

Adult intussusception is a rare condition, unlike in children. Ihere is an identifiable bowel lesion as a leading point in most of cases. Retrospectively we reviewed 22 patients with adult intussusception, and analyzed CT scans of 13 patients during the last 5 years. Twenty of the 22 patients had various causes of intussusception and 7 patients were associated with primary malignancy, 5 patients with benign tumor, and 4 patients with adhesive band. CT scans of 13 cases all showed characteristic target appearance or sausage-like soft tissue mass within the bowel, suggesting intussusception. In eleven of the 13 patients(84.6%) an intussuscepting mass was identified on CT scan as the lead point. Specific diagnosis for the cause of intussusception could be made by CT in four of 13 cases (three lipomas and one mucocele). In conclusion, CT is useful not only for the diagnosis but also for the evaluation of the leading causes of intussusception. Especially, CT could determined the exact cause of intussusception in cases of lipoma and mucocele.
Adhesives ; Adult* ; Child ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Intussusception* ; Lipoma ; Mucocele ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) is a potent mutagen in a mouse model by inducing point mutation in a random manner and, in particular, causing heritable base substitutions in spermatogonia. In this study, systematic development of phenotype-driven mutant mice with large scale was carried out by using ENU. Nine-week-old male mice of C57BL/6J received intraperitoneal injection at three times with 100 mg/kg of ENU at weekly intervals for three weeks. After injections with ENU, the changes of body weight, fatality, recovery of fertile period, and breeding record were measured in these mice. Body weight lost as a result of ENU treatments was reversed after the last ENU injection. Live fertile male mice recovered from infertility from 104 to 165 days after ENU treatments were mated with C57BL/6J female mice for generation of G1 offspring. An average birth rate was 5.9 mice from 1 pair of paternal and maternal mice. All of 231 G1 offspring mice were analyzed by modified-SHIRPA with standard procedure at nine weeks of age. Among G1 mice, 166 mice were identified as mutagenic phenotypes in 20 test items. The changes in mutagenic phenotypes after ENU treatments, for instance, pattern in the region with a different color, touch escape, changes in head morphology, pupil, and teeth, and negative geotaxis etc., were found in these mice. Taken together, these results indicate that ENU may be a trans-generational mutagen in C57BL/6J mice.
Animals ; Birth Rate ; Body Weight ; Breeding* ; Ethylnitrosourea* ; Female ; Fertile Period* ; Head ; Humans ; Infertility ; Injections, Intraperitoneal ; Male ; Mice* ; Phenotype ; Point Mutation ; Pupil ; Spermatogonia ; Tooth ; United Nations

The leptin receptor-deficient db/db mouse is a rodent model of type 2 diabetes and obesity. Diabetes in db/db mice shows an age-dependent progression, with early insulin resistance followed by an insulin secretory defect resulting in profound hyperglycemia. However, there is insufficient data on agedependent changes of energy metabolism in db/db mice. We demonstrated an age-dependent decrease in the respiratory exchange ratio (RER), calculated by a ratio of VO2/VCO2, in db/db mice. The RER determined by indirect calorimetry, was 1.03 in db/db mice under 6 weeks of age, which were similar to those in heterozygote (db/+) and wild-type (+/+) mice. However, RER decreased from approximately 0.9 to 0.8 by 10 weeks of age and subsequently returned to approximately 0.9 at 22 weeks of age. The changes in RER were concurrent with the alterations in body weight and blood glucose level. However, other metabolic indicators such as glucose tolerance, changes in body fat mass, and urinary glucose levels, did not change with age. The results suggested that the energy source utilized in db/db mice changed with the age-related progression of diabetes.
Adipose Tissue ; Animals ; Blood Glucose ; Body Weight ; Calorimetry, Indirect ; Energy Metabolism ; Glucose ; Heterozygote ; Hyperglycemia ; Insulin ; Insulin Resistance ; Leptin ; Mice* ; Obesity ; Rodentia

Particle therapy is a promising and evolving modality of radiotherapy that can be used to treat tumors that are radioresistant to conventional photon beam radiotherapy. It has unique biological and physical advantages compared with conventional radiotherapy. The characteristic feature of particle therapy is the “Bragg peak,” a steep and localized peak of dose, that enables precise delivery of the radiation dose to the tumor while effectively sparing normal organs. Especially, the charged particles (e.g., proton, helium, carbon) cause a high rate of energy loss along the track, thereby leading to high biological effectiveness, which makes particle therapy attractive. Using this property, the particle beam induces more severe DNA double-strand breaks than the photon beam, which is less influenced by the oxygen level. This review describes the general biological and physical aspects of particle therapy for oncologists, including non-radiation oncologists and beginners in the field.

Particle therapy is a promising and evolving modality of radiotherapy that can be used to treat tumors that are radioresistant to conventional photon beam radiotherapy. It has unique biological and physical advantages compared with conventional radiotherapy. The characteristic feature of particle therapy is the “Bragg peak,” a steep and localized peak of dose, that enables precise delivery of the radiation dose to the tumor while effectively sparing normal organs. Especially, the charged particles (e.g., proton, helium, carbon) cause a high rate of energy loss along the track, thereby leading to high biological effectiveness, which makes particle therapy attractive. Using this property, the particle beam induces more severe DNA double-strand breaks than the photon beam, which is less influenced by the oxygen level. This review describes the general biological and physical aspects of particle therapy for oncologists, including non-radiation oncologists and beginners in the field.

The etiology and pathophysiology of Meniere's disease (MD) remain controversial and incompletely understood. Diagnosis of MD is decided according to the diagnostic criteria proposed by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO) (1995), which is based on clinical symptoms. It would be of great value to have an objective clinical test for the diagnosis of endolymphatic hydrops. Various tests like electrocochleography, vestibular evoke myogenic potential and cochlear hydrops analysis masking procedures have been applied for detecting endolymphatic hydrops. Any of single objective tests is not perfect for the diagnosis of MD. However, considering AAO guideline is not enough for the diagnosis, additive objective tests for MD become essential. We evaluated the objective tests for MD and also surveyed preferred tests among Korean otologic society members.
Audiometry, Evoked Response ; Edema ; Endolymphatic Hydrops ; Masks ; Meniere Disease ; Neck

Rhomboid family member 2 gene (Rhbdf2) is an inactive homologue lacking essential catalytic residues of rhomboid intramembrane serine proteases. The protein is necessary for maturation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) converting enzyme, which is the molecule responsible for the release of TNF-α. In this study, Rhbdf2 knockout (KO) mice were produced by CRISPR/CAS9. To see the effects of the failure of TNF-α release induced by Rhbdf2 gene KO, collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), which is the representative TNF-α related disease, was induced in the Rhbdf2 mutant mouse using chicken collagen type II. The severity of the CIA was measured by traditional clinical scores and histopathological analysis of hind limb joints. A rota-rod test and grip strength test were employed to evaluate the severity of CIA based on losses of physical functions. The results indicated that Rhbdf2 mutant mice showed clear alleviation of the clinical severity of CIA as demonstrated by the significantly lower severity indexes. Moreover, a grip strength test was shown to be useful for the evaluation of physical functional losses by CIA. Overall, the results showed that the Rhbdf2 gene has a significant effect on the induction of CIA, which is related to TNF-α.
Animals ; Arthritis, Experimental* ; Chickens ; Collagen Type II ; Extremities ; Hand Strength ; Humans ; Joints ; Mice ; Mice, Knockout* ; Serine Proteases ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha