OBJECTIVE: Several water channels (aquapoins; AQP) that belong to the MIP (major intrinsic protein) family have identified. In the selected tissues including red blood cells or renal tubules, water movements are abundant and/or physiologically important. Unexpectedly, a high water permeability of human and ram sperm has been reported. Recent studies showed that AQP7 and AQP8 are present in testes so that the high water permeability of human sperm suggested to be mediated by AQPs. METHOD: To identify the identity of aquaporins expressed in testes, RT-PCR was performed using degenerative primers, which were designed to correspond to highly conserved sequences surrounding the Asn-Pro-Ala (NPA) motifs in the aquaporins. New expressed AQP series were reconfirmed by immunohistochemical study using rabbit polyclonal antibodies. RESULTS: DNA sequencing of PCR products revealed that AQP2 and AQP3 mRNA as well as AQP7 and AQP8 are expressed in human and rat testes, AQP2 are expressed in spermatozoa, interstitial cells and myofibroblasts and AQP3 are expressed in myofibroblasts of semineferous tubules on immunocytochemical stain. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that multiple aquaporins are expressed in testes, and that they may have important roles in the spermatogenesis and the germ cell function of testis.
Animals ; Antibodies ; Aquaporins* ; Conserved Sequence ; Erythrocytes ; Germ Cells ; Humans* ; Myofibroblasts ; Permeability ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Rats* ; RNA, Messenger ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Spermatogenesis ; Spermatozoa ; Testis* ; Water Movements

No abstract available.
Brain* ; Child* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Cystadenocarcinoma*

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship between job stress and the variables associated with the organizational effectiveness of dental technicians. METHODS: The job stresses were divided into the following six components; somatization, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, and hostility. The organi-zational effectiveness variables in this study included job satisfaction, occupational commitment, organizational commitment and intent to leave. The sample used in this study consisted of 248 dental technicians working in hospitals and dental laboratories. The data were collected with self-administered questionnaires between March 16 and April 29 in 2002, and the results analyzed with ANOVA and multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: Firstly, job stress of dental technicians was found to be significantly different in relation to the number of workers at the workplace and the working hours. The level of job stress was the highest when the number of workers were more than 10, or when the daily working hours were over 12. Secondly, of the six variables of job stress, five variables of somatization, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, and hostility were found to have significant negative correlations with job satisfaction. Thirdly, all six job stress variables were found to have significant negative correlations with the occupational and organizational commitments of the dental technicians. Finally, depression was the only job stress variable found to have a significant effect on the dental technicians' intent to leave. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that personal and organizational efforts are very important to improve the organizational effectiveness in reducing work related stress. Organizational support, especially for managing the depression of dental technicians is recommended.
Anxiety ; Dental Technicians* ; Depression ; Hostility ; Humans ; Job Satisfaction ; Laboratories, Dental ; Questionnaires

No abstract available.
Delusions* ; Hallucinations* ; Humans

PURPOSE: The present study purposed to investigate Korean adults health status, smoking perception. and self-efficacy of smoking cessation according to whether smoking or not. METHODS: This study conducted a questionnaire survey of 694 adults at D County in Korea during the period from the 10th of June to the 10th of July 2004. The instruments used for this study were scales on health status, smoking perception and self-efficacy: of smoking cessation. Data was analyzed by frequency and percentage, mean and SD, chi2-test, t-test, ANOVA using SPSS 11.0 program. RESULTS: The subjects of this study were 503 men and 191 women, and 60.8% of the male subjects and 6.8% of the female subjects were smokers. With respect to health status (t=-2.58, p=0.010), smoking perception (t=10.59. p<0.000) and the self-efficacy of smoking cessation (t=-23.04, p<0.000), there were significant differences according to whether smoking or not. CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to make repeated study to find other variables that affect adults smoking and to develop smoking cessation programs that enhance the self-efficacy of smoking cessation.
Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Smoke* ; Smoking Cessation* ; Smoking* ; Weights and Measures ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Cholesteatoma in the kidney and ureter are accumulations of waxy, gray flakes of keratin materials, secondary to squamous metaplasia of the transitional epithelium. Herein, we describe a case of cholesteatoma in the renal pelvis of a 69-year-old woman, and give a brief review of the literature. In the upper pole of the left kidney was a 6 cm cystic lesion filled with a thick, flaky, grayish, comified material. Microscopically, the cystic area showed calyceal and pelvic structures being replaced by keratinizing stratified squamous epithelium. The surrounding renal parenchyma was atrophic with features of chronic pyelonephritis.
Female ; Humans

We experienced one case of renal arteriovenous fistula that was treated with superselective transcatheter arterial embolization of the renal artery. The patient presented with colicky pain, gross hematuria, and acute urinary retention. At that time, we suspected renal stone because of a radio-opaque density on the right renal area of excretory urography. However, an acoustic shadow could not identified by renal ultrasonogram. When gross hematuria reappeared one week later, selective renal angiography was performed, and arteriovenous fistula was found on the right kidney. We used superselective tanscatheter arterial embolization with a Gelfoam fragment on right arterial branch as the treatment modality.
Acoustics ; Angiography ; Arteriovenous Fistula* ; Abdominal Pain ; Gelatin Sponge, Absorbable ; Hematuria ; Humans ; Kidney ; Renal Artery ; Ultrasonography ; Urinary Retention ; Urography

No abstract available.
Humans ; Male*

PURPOSE: Chronic prostatitis is a common diagnosis, and the morbidity of this disease results from a constellation of genitourinary symptoms. We surveyed a population of 19 year old Korean men using National I nstitutes of Health Chronic Protatitis symptom Index, evaluated symptomatology associated with chronic prostatitis and gathered epidemiologic data about this disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: During May 2000, a total of 4339 male residents in the area of Chung-nam including Taejeon city visited the Military Manpower Administered questionnaire. and the impact of symptoms on quality of life. the results were analyzed statistically by PC-SPSS version 7.5. RESULTS: There were statistically significant correlations among every item and domain, respectively by Pearson's correlation analysis (p=0.00). Pain domain significantly contributed to predicting quality of life domain and explained 42% of the variance on quality of life domain (r=0.65,p=0.00). The change in the amount of explained variance was significant when entering urinary symptoms domain (r(2)change=0.19,p=0.00). Overall pain and urinary symptoms domain predicted 61% of the variance in quality of life domain (r=0.78,p=0.00). If a score of 6 in quality of life domain was determined to the cut-off score of the chronic prostatitis, the prevalence of the chronic prostatitis was 3.8%. CONCLUSIONS: the National Institutes of Health chronic prostatitis and pain and urinary symptoms significantly contribute towards explaining variances in quality of life. although there data show much less common prevalence than most nonpopulation studies suggest, we suggest that chronic prostatitis is a common disease in Korean men if one consider that our data were surveyed in only 19 year old men.
Daejeon* ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Male ; Military Personnel ; National Institutes of Health (U.S.) ; Prevalence ; Prostatitis* ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Young Adult