Drowning is one of the most common causes accidental death worldwide, but its diagnosis remains a challenging task in forensic pathology. Several authors have suggested that diatom analysis be conducted via an enzymatic digestion method that uses proteinase K to provide objective evidence for drowning; we employed this method in our study because of its superior applicability as compared to the conventional disorganization methods. The purpose of this study was to examine the reclaiming ratio of diatoms from experimentally drowned animal organs, which could be influenced by diatom morphology. The authors injected 3 diatoms species (Cyclotella striata, Navicula incerta, and Pleurosigma angulatum) into a rat's airway and compared the detection rate to investigate the factors that influence the sensitivity of diatom analysis. The results are as follows: (1) Average reclaiming ratio in the lungs was 81.07 for Navicula incerta, 48.26 for Cyclotella striata, and 5.35 for Pleurosigma angulatum. (2) The detection rates from the closed organs in 15 experimental animals were highest in the kidney (73%, 11/15), followed by the heart (67%, 10/15), brain (60%, 9/15), and liver (53%, 8/15). (3) Two Cyclotella striata was detected in the kidney of postmortem control group which suggest the possibility of contamination during laboratory procedure. In conclusion, the authors propose that diatom size could be a significant influencing factor for diatom extraction from the organs of drowned bodies; therefore, the results of diatom analysis must be interpreted after considering the diatom population of the drowning medium at the scene and the possibility of contamination during the laboratory procedure.
Animal Structures ; Animals ; Brain ; Diatoms ; Digestion ; Drowning ; Endopeptidase K ; Forensic Pathology ; Heart ; Kidney ; Liver ; Lung

BACKGROUND: CO laser emiis energy in the mid portion of the infrared spectrum at a wavelengt,h of 10,600nm. The CO laser is the workhorse laser in the treatment of cuianeous disease. With water as the chromophore(light-absorbing compound), CO laser light is highy absorbed in biologic tissue. Human body tissue comprises between 75% to 90% of water. The CO laser is superficially absorbed by tissue water, with little scatter, limiting penetration into the skin to less than 0.1 mm. The beam can be delivered with a large spot size and low power density(defocus mode) or focused tightly with great power density(focused mode). AS A RESULT: the CO laser may be used both to vaporize and to cut tissue while coagulating blood vessels, providing a relatively bloodless su gical field. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the therapeutie effect of the CO laser on benign cutaneous tumors. MEHTODS: 114 cases of benign cutaneous tumors treated with the CO laser between October 1987 and September 1992 were subjected to detailed analysis, The CO later is Pizer Laser system(U.S.A., Ca) Model 20-C CO. The laser produces power output that ranges from 0 to 25 W of continuous wave. Spot size is variable, between 0.3mm and 2mm. RESULTS: 1. Angiofibromas and seborcheic keratoses showed very good response(95.3%, 92.8% ). 2. Syringomas showed a good esponse(82.8%). 3. Epidermal nevus and trichovpitheliomas showed a fair response(58.5%, 60%). 4. There were hypertrophic scars(10.5%) and transient hypopigmentation. CONCLUSION: The Co laser was a very effective modality for the treatment of benign cutaneous tumors such as angiofibromas, seborrheic keratosis and syringomas.
Angiofibroma ; Blood Vessels ; Carbon Dioxide* ; Carbon* ; Human Body ; Hypopigmentation ; Keratosis ; Keratosis, Seborrheic ; Lasers, Gas* ; Nevus ; Skin ; Syringoma ; Water

This study was undertaken to observe the effect of the preirradiation of UVA on the eryt,hematous reaction by UVB. Twenty-five healthy Korean adult male volunteers were taken as subjects. The results were as follows: 1)Preirradiation of 10J/cm and 20j/cm of UVA had no influence on the erythematous reaction induced by UVB. Preirradiation of 30 J/cm of UVA decreased the minimal erythemal dose(MED) of UVB significantly (p<0,05), and 4pJ/cm of UVA dicl very significantly(p<0. 001). 2) Preirradiation dose of UVA(x) and MED of UVB(y) had statistically significant relationship (y=33. 23 - 33 x, r= -0.39, p<0. 05). So preirradiation of UVA decreased MED of UVR in relation with the preirradiation dose. 3) For the objective criteria of skin erythematous reaction induced by the UV irradiation, MED was considered more accurate and efficient than minimal perceptible dose (MPI).
Adult ; Erythema* ; Humans ; Male ; Skin ; Volunteers

BACKGROUND: Rapid and accurate identification of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus (MRSA) is very important for patients because they are one of the most common etiologic agents of hospital infection. Conventional identification methods for MRSA are influenced by various factors such as pH, concentration of salt, conditions of media. METHODS: 53 methicillin resistant staphylococcus strains identified by ATB plus system (Biomerieux, France) were preformed the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Southern blot hybridization fort the detection of mec A gene, and subcultured in Meuller-Hinton media containing 4 microgram/mL oxacillin for the comparison. RESULTS: The correlation of detection rate of mec A gene PCR and ATB plus systems was 81.6%. The correlation of mec A gene PCR and MRSA on Mueller-Hinton media containing 4 microgram/mL oxacillin was 80%. We confirmed by Southern blot hybridization the amplified mer A gene originated from chromosome of MRSA. As the results of oxacillin sensitivity test, minimal inhibitory concentrations of MRSA were distributed between 40 microgram/mL and 320 microgram/mL. When compared with executing time, ATB plus system took 24 hours, but PCR took 5 hours for identification. CONCLUSION: We concluded that mec A gone PCR techniques were simple and rapid for detection of MRSA comparative to conventional methods.
Blotting, Southern ; Cross Infection ; Genes, vif ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Methicillin Resistance* ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus* ; Oxacillin ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Staphylococcus

Allergic contact dermatitis to topical agents mostly results from vehicles and preservatives and rarely from the active ingredients. Ribavirin, an active ingredient of Viramid® cream, is a synthetic nucleoside derivative with broad spectrum activity against a wide variety of DNA and RNA viruses. We report an 18-year-old woman, who had a perioral edematous patch with exudative crusts after topical application of Viramid® cream (nsung pharmaceutical Co., Korea) for the treatment of herpes labiahs. A patch test showed that the sensitizer was ribavirin, the active ingredient of the antiviral agent, Viramid® cream.
Adolescent ; Dermatitis, Allergic Contact* ; DNA ; Female ; Humans ; Patch Tests ; Ribavirin* ; RNA Viruses

Allergic contact dermatitis to topical agents mostly results from vehicles and preservatives and rarely from the active ingredients. Ribavirin, an active ingredient of Viramid® cream, is a synthetic nucleoside derivative with broad spectrum activity against a wide variety of DNA and RNA viruses. We report an 18-year-old woman, who had a perioral edematous patch with exudative crusts after topical application of Viramid® cream (nsung pharmaceutical Co., Korea) for the treatment of herpes labiahs. A patch test showed that the sensitizer was ribavirin, the active ingredient of the antiviral agent, Viramid® cream.
Adolescent ; Dermatitis, Allergic Contact* ; DNA ; Female ; Humans ; Patch Tests ; Ribavirin* ; RNA Viruses

Tinea pedis is frequently found in people with poor personal hygiene and in hot, humid environments. The authors investigated the clinical, epidemiological, and mycological characteristics of tinea pedis in 170 garbage workers(166 males and 4 females) employed in a garbage plant in Seoul, Korea. 40 were clerical workers and 130 were field workers. Tinea pedis was found in 134 with a prevalence rate of 78.8%. Of those 134, 61(45.5%) also had onychomycosis. The prevalence of tinea pedis increased with age and the period working in garbage plant. However, there was no difference in the prevalence of tinea pedis between clerical workers and field workers, mitigating against the conclusion that their tinea pedis may be of occupational origin. Clinically tinea pedis was classified into 4 types ; interdigital (41.8%), vesicular(23.1%), dry squamous(22.4%), and mixed(12.7%). KOH smear positivity and culture positivity was related to clinical types of the lesion the lowest in the interdigital type. In the interdigital type, the etiology of nonmycotic lesions could not be identified. Negative fungal cultures could have been due to secondary bacterial infections. 63 strains of dermatophytes were isolated; 54 strains of Trichophyton rubrem(85.7%), 8 strains of Trichophyton mentagrophytes(12.7%) and 1 mixed infection of T. rubrum and T. mentagrophytes. T. mentagrophytes was isolated only from the vesicular lesions. 8 strains of yeast forms, positive in KOH smears and yielding pure colonies, were also isolated, and repeated mycologic examination yielded the same results. Among them, at least 4 cases of Trichosporon beigelii, and 1 case of Candida parapsilosis were considered to be of pathogenic significance.
Arthrodermataceae ; Bacterial Infections ; Candida ; Coinfection ; Garbage* ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Hygiene ; Korea ; Male ; Onychomycosis ; Plants ; Prevalence ; Seoul ; Tinea Pedis* ; Tinea* ; Trichophyton ; Trichosporon ; Yeasts

No abstract available.
Mesenteric Artery, Superior*

Death by drowning is a major cause of unnatural death worldwide. It is therefore important to conduct forensic examination of immersed bodies following drowning, in order to determine the diagnosis of drowning, because no specific methods have been established thus far. Therefore, we performed a series of rat experiments to compare autopsy findings between seawater and fresh water drowning cases, which included the presence of pleural effusion and histologic findings of the lung. The results showed that the volume of pleural effusion increased in the seawater drowning group compared to the fresh water drowning group, and the total weight of lung was affected by the type of drowning medium and postmortem interval. However, histologic findings of the lung showed no significant difference between the 2 types of drowning mediums.
Animals ; Autopsy ; Drowning ; Fresh Water ; Lung ; Pleural Effusion ; Rats ; Seawater

No abstract available.
Facial Paralysis* ; Fascia Lata* ; Fascia*