No abstract available.
Keratoacanthoma*

PURPOSE: This study was a descriptive survey research to identify the factors that influence sick role behavior compliance in patients on hemodialysis. METHODS: Structured surveys were used to collect data from 170 patients who are on hemodialysis three times a week through outpatient care at a university hospital located in G City using tools measuring resilience, family support, and sick role behavior compliance. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and Stepwise multiple linear regression. RESULTS: The results showed that factors that influenced sick role behavior compliance in the subjects were in the order of family support (β=.27, p < .001), age (β=.27, p < .001), and resilience (β=.23, p=.003). Resilience, family support, and sick role behavior compliance were positively correlated. Factors influencing hemodialysis patients' sick role behavior compliance included family support, age, and resilience. These variables explained 30.2% of the variance in sick role behavior compliance. CONCLUSION: Based on these results, care intervention and the development of a training program that involves family in the treatment plan and process to support and encourage patients are needed to increase the sick role behavior compliance in patients on hemodialysis.
Ambulatory Care ; Compliance ; Education ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Patient Compliance ; Renal Dialysis ; Sick Role

Blueberry was enzymatically hydrolyzed using selected commercial food grade carbohydrases (AMG, Celluclast, Termamyl, Ultraflo and Viscozyme) and proteases (Alcalase, Flavourzyme, Kojizyme, Neutrase and Protamex) to obtain water soluble compounds, and their protective effect was investigated against H2O2-induced damage in Chinese hamster lung fibroblast cell line (V79-4) via various published methods. Both AMG and Alcalase hydrolysates showed higher total phenolic content as well as higher cell viability and ROS scavenging activities, and hence, selected for further antioxidant assays. Both AMG and Alcalase hydrolysates also showed higher protective effects against lipid peroxidation, DNA damage and apoptotic body formation in a dose-dependent fashion. Thus, the results indicated that water soluble compounds obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis of blueberry possess good antioxidant activity against H2O2-induced cell damage in vitro.
Animals ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Blueberry Plant ; Cell Line ; Cell Survival ; Cricetinae ; Cricetulus ; DNA Damage ; Endopeptidases ; Fibroblasts ; Humans ; Hydrogen ; Hydrolysis ; Lipid Peroxidation ; Lung ; Metalloendopeptidases ; Peptide Hydrolases ; Phenol ; Subtilisins

Delayed type cerebral vasoconstriction (DCV) following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage is an important cause of permanent neurological injury and death. The mechanism of DCV remains unknown. Recently many investigators have used a new treatment for DCV involving the use of intraventricular sodium nitroprusside. We report upon a clinical case where a relatively large amount of sodium nitroprusside was intrathecally delivered by intraventricular catheter for the treatment for DCV.
Catheters ; Humans ; Nitroprusside* ; Research Personnel ; Sodium* ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage ; Vasoconstriction ; Vasospasm, Intracranial*

Broncholithiasis is uncommon in patients with silicosis. Bronchoesophageal fistula complicated by broncholithiasis is especially rare and only one case has been reported in Korea. Surgical treatment of broncholithiasis should be as conservative as possible to preserve the adequate pulmonary function. Meticulous dissection and division of the fistula with the interposition of viable tissues will prevent recurrence. We report a rare case of bronchoesophageal fistula complicated by broncholithiasis in a patient with silicosis.

BACKGROUND: Research on RBC production from hematopoietic stem cells has been conducted competitively in many countries. However those were in vitro successes and many hurdles still remain for large scale transfusable RBC production from stem cells. A need for large volume of culture media is a crucial factor for culture condition which researchers must overcome. In this study, we evaluated the efficiency of two commercial serum-free media, StemPro(R)-34 SFM and Stemline II hematopoietic stem cell expansion medium, in RBC differentiation from cord derived stem cells. METHODS: We cultured cord derived CD34+ cells in vitro and evaluated over the periods of 7 days, 14 days, 17 days and 21 days in culture for expanded cell count, cell morphology and differential count using the Wright Giemsa stain. RESULTS: Cell expansion and RBC differentiation developed rapidly in Stemline media compared to StemPro media. Enucleated RBCs were observed at 10~14 culture days and orthochromatic erythroblasts were shown up to 50% among culture cells at 17 days in Stemline media. The enucleated RBCs were observed at 17 days in StemPro Media. Although the erythroblasts in StemPro media are slow at differentiation, they maintain continuous expansion up to 21 days. CONCLUSION: In Stemline media, the expansion and differentiation to mature RBCs are processed much faster, but the cell condition slows down after 17 days. In the RBC production aspects, Stemline media is better than StemPro media as a rapid differentiation because it reduces the cost due to in vitro short culture duration.
Azure Stains ; Cell Count ; Culture Media ; Culture Media, Serum-Free* ; Erythroblasts ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells* ; Humans ; Stem Cells

This study aims to evaluate the changes of flavonoid contents and antioxidants activity of Jeju native citrus fruits juice according to the harvest date. Flavonoids such as quercatagetin, narirutin, hesperidin and neohesperidin were contained most plentifully in the juice of Jigak (Citrus aur- antium) by 573.73 mg/100 mL, Sadoogam (C. pseudogulgul) by 393.99 mg /100 mL, Soyooja by 29.63 mg/100 mL and Jigak (C. aurantium) by 201.23 mg/100 mL in the late August, respectively. The highest contents of nob-iletin, sinensetin and tangeretin among polymethoxyflavones were found in the juice of Hongkyool (C. tachibana) by 7.39 mg/100 mL, 2.24 mg/100 mL, 0.63 mg/100 mL in the late August, respectively. 3,5,6,7,8,3',4'- Heptamet- hoxyflavone recorded the highest amount in Punkyool (C. tangerina) by 0.27 mg/100 mL in the late August, but the other polymethoxyflavones including 3',4',7,8-tetramethoxyflavone, 3',4'-dimethoxyflavone, 4'-methoxyflavone, 5,6,7,3',4',5'-hexamethoxyflavone, scutellarein tetramethylether were observed only trace amount in all the citrus fruits. Flavonoid contents in the citrus fruit juices were the highest during early maturation and decreased rapidly while ripening. Total polyphenol contents were the highest in the late August and decreased with ripening. However from the late December, the contents were increased again. Antioxidant activities of the fruits were evaluated as electron donating ability and were the lowest in the late September and increased with the fruit ripening. These results suggest that quercetagetin among all the flavonoids was most plentiful in Jigak and Dangyooja (C. grandis), so that the fruits could be used for industrial material of flavonoids and antioxidant agents.
Antioxidants ; Apigenin ; Chromones ; Citrus ; Disaccharides ; Electrons ; Flavanones ; Flavones ; Flavonoids ; Fruit ; Hesperidin

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of daily vacuuming of mattresses on the concentration of house dust mite (HDM) allergens and on allergic rhinitis (AR) symptoms in children sensitized to HDM. METHODS: Forty children between the ages of 6 and 12 years with mild persistent AR and sensitized only to HDM were enrolled and randomly allocated to 2 groups. Caregivers of children in the experimental group cleaned the children's rooms and vacuumed their mattresses daily for 2 weeks. Caregivers of children in the control group cleaned the children's rooms without vacuuming mattresses. Symptoms of AR were checked weekly and dust samples were collected from the mattresses before and after the study. RESULTS: Demographics at the beginning of the study were not significantly different between the 2 groups. In the experimental group, symptoms of AR and dust weight were significantly decreased after 2 weeks (total symptoms of AR, P <0.001; sneezing, P < 0.001; rhinorrhea, P <0.001; nasal obstruction, P < 0.001; itching, P <0.001; and dust weight, P = 0.006). The concentrations of HDM allergens were not changed significantly (Der p1, P = 0.333; Der f1, P = 0.841). In the control group, there were no significant changes in symptoms of AR, dust weight, or the concentration of HDM allergens. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings showed that daily vacuuming of mattresses reduced dust weight and symptoms of AR. However, the concentration of HDM allergens did not significantly decrease.
Allergens ; Beds ; Caregivers ; Child ; Demography ; Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus ; Dust ; Humans ; Nasal Obstruction ; Pruritus ; Pyroglyphidae ; Rhinitis, Allergic ; Sneezing ; Vacuum

Purpose: Given the morphological characteristics of schistocytes, thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) score can be beneficial as it can be automatically and accurately measured. This study aimed to investigate whether serial TMA scores until 48 h post admission are associated with clinical outcomes in patients undergoing targeted temperature management (TTM) after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Materials and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated a cohort of 185 patients using a prospective registry. We analyzed TMA scores at admission and after 12, 24, and 48 hours. The primary outcome measures were poor neurological outcome at discharge and 30-day mortality. Results: Increased TMA scores at all measured time points were independent predictors of poor neurological outcomes and 30-day mortality, with TMA score at time-12 showing the strongest correlation [odds ratio (OR), 3.008; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.707–5.300; p<0.001 and hazard ratio (HR), 1.517; 95% CI, 1.196–1.925; p<0.001]. Specifically, a TMA score ≥2 at time-12 was closely associated with an increased predictability of poor neurological outcomes (OR, 6.302; 95% CI, 2.841–13.976; p<0.001) and 30-day mortality (HR, 2.656; 95% CI, 1.675–4.211; p<0.001). Conclusion Increased TMA scores predicted neurological outcomes and 30-day mortality in patients undergoing TTM after OHCA. In addition to the benefit of being serially measured using an automated hematology analyzer, TMA score may be a helpful tool for rapid risk stratification and identification of the need for intensive care in patients with return of spontaneous circulation after OHCA.

We report a recent case in which ciprofloxacin-resistant Shigella flexneri was isolated from a 23-yr-old female patient with a history of travel to India. Prior to her admission to our internal medicine department, she experienced symptoms of high fever and generalized weakness from continuous watery diarrhea that developed midway during the trip. S. flexneri was isolated from the stool culture. Despite initial treatment with ciprofloxacin, the stool cultures continued to show S. flexneri growth. In the susceptibility test for antibiotics of the quinolone family, the isolate showed resistance to ciprofloxacin (minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC], 8 microg/mL), norfloxacin (MIC, 32 microg/mL), ofloxacin (MIC, 8 microg/mL), nalidixic acid (MIC, 256 microg/mL), and intermediate resistance to levofloxacin (MIC, 4 microg/mL). In molecular studies for quinolone resistance related genes, plasmid borne-quinolone resistance genes such as qnrA, qnrB, qnrS, aac(6')-Ib-cr, qepA, and oqxAB were not detected. Two mutations were observed in gyrA (248C-->T, 259G-->A) and 1 mutation in parC (239G-->T). The molecular characteristics of the isolated S. flexneri showed that the isolate was more similar to the strains isolated from the dysentery outbreak in India than those isolated from Korea.
Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology ; Bacterial Proteins/genetics/metabolism ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial/drug effects ; Dysentery, Bacillary/microbiology ; Feces/microbiology ; Female ; Humans ; India ; Mutation ; Quinolones/*pharmacology ; Shigella flexneri/drug effects/*isolation & purification/metabolism ; Travel ; Young Adult