Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) are well known as photoreactive nanoparticles (NPs). Various phototoxicities of ZnO NPs and TiO₂ NPs were reported on several organisms. It was still necessary to evaluate the toxicity of photoreactive ZnO NPs and TiO₂ NPs due to species-specific effects under various irradiation conditions. We compared the acute toxicity of Moina macrocopa under visible, ultraviolet (UV) A, and B irradiations, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development guidelines for the testing of chemicals (Test No. 202). The sensitivity of ZnO NPs for M. macrocopa was UVB>UVA>visible light irradiation. There were no significant lethal and immobile effects of TiO₂ NPs on juveniles under all irradiations and in the tested concentrations of TiO₂ NPs. Photoreactive NPs have a potential and accelerated toxicity on organisms in the ambient environments.
Dermatitis, Phototoxic ; Nanoparticles* ; Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development ; Titanium ; Zinc Oxide

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) are well known as photoreactive nanoparticles (NPs). Various phototoxicities of ZnO NPs and TiO₂ NPs were reported on several organisms. It was still necessary to evaluate the toxicity of photoreactive ZnO NPs and TiO₂ NPs due to species-specific effects under various irradiation conditions. We compared the acute toxicity of Moina macrocopa under visible, ultraviolet (UV) A, and B irradiations, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development guidelines for the testing of chemicals (Test No. 202). The sensitivity of ZnO NPs for M. macrocopa was UVB>UVA>visible light irradiation. There were no significant lethal and immobile effects of TiO₂ NPs on juveniles under all irradiations and in the tested concentrations of TiO₂ NPs. Photoreactive NPs have a potential and accelerated toxicity on organisms in the ambient environments.
Dermatitis, Phototoxic ; Nanoparticles ; Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development ; Titanium ; Zinc Oxide

No abstract available.
Lung Diseases, Interstitial*

Background and Objective: Patients often complain of transient hoarseness and dysphagia after undergoing procedures requiring endotracheal intubation. Transient voice changes associated with endotracheal intubation are generally assumed to be a result of vocal fold trauma. This study was designed to characterise vocal changes aftershort-term endotracheal anesthesia using acoustic analysis for monitoring the presence of and recovery from intubation trauma. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Vocal functions of 25 patients undergoing chronic ear surgeries using general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation were analyzed preoperatively and postoperatively. Fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, noise to harmonic ratio were measured to assess vocal function. RESULTS: In male, fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, noise toharmonic ratio did not differ significantly across recording sessions, although certain predictable trends were apparent. In female, statistically significant decrement in fundamental frequency and increment in jitter and shimmer were found postoperatively (p<0.05). One day after extubation, these change were return to preoperative values. CONCLUSION: Even short-term endotracheal intubation affects acoustic-characteristics of voice and acoustic analysis are sensitive to identify and monitor minor laryngeal trauma due to endotracheal intubation.
Acoustics ; Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, General ; Deglutition Disorders ; Ear ; Female ; Hoarseness ; Humans ; Intubation ; Intubation, Intratracheal* ; Male ; Noise ; Vocal Cords ; Voice

BACKGROUND: Skeletal muscles play many important roles in the human body and any malfunction or disorder of the skeletal muscles can lead to a reduced quality of life. Some skeletal dysfunctions are acquired, such as sarcopenia but others are congenital. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is one of the most common forms of hereditary muscular dystrophy and is caused by a deficiency of the protein, Dystrophin. Currently, there is no clear treatment for DMD, there are only methods that can alleviate the symptoms of the disease. Mesenchymal stem cells, including tonsil-derived mesenchymal stem cells (TMSCs) have been shown to differentiate into skeletal muscle cells (TMSC-myocyte) and can be one of the resources for the treatment of DMD. Skeletal muscle cell characteristics of TMSC-myocytes have been confirmed through changes in morphology and expression of skeletal muscle markers such as Myogenin, Myf6, and MYH families after differentiation.MEOTHDS: Based on these characteristics, TMSC-myocytes have been transplanted into mdx mice, a mouse model of DMD, to investigate whether they can help improve the symptoms of DMD. The red fluorescent protein gene was transduced into TMSC (TMSC-R) for tracking transplanted cells. RESULTS: Prior to transplantation (TP), it was confirmed whether TMSC-R-myocytes had the same differentiation potential as TMSC-myocytes. Increased expression of dystrophin and autophagy markers in the TP group compared with the sham group was confirmed in the gastrocnemius muscle 12 weeks after TP. CONCLUSION These results demonstrate muscle regeneration and functional recovery of mdx via autophagy activation following TMSC-myocyte TP.

BACKGROUND: Membranous nephropathy (MN) is the most common cause of adult nephrotic syndrome worldwide. Although MN is commonly idiopathic, there are some secondary causes. In this article we describe the clinical courses of the patients with MN presumedly due to secondary causes. METHODS: Fifty-one patients with MN were retrospectively evaluated for possible etiologic factors as well as evaluated for their clinical courses after renal biopsy between March 1990 and December 2003 in the Dong-a University College of Medicine. RESULTS: There were 19 men and 32 women (M:F=1:1.6). The majority of the causes of secondary MN were SLE (31 cases, 60.8%) and hepatitis B (12 cases, 23.5%). The others included malignancy, hepatitis C, syphilis and MCTD. Twenty-nine of 31 cases with SLE which were treated with prednisolone and cyclophosphamide and 25 cases (86.4%) showed complete remission (CR) or partial remission (PR). Three of 12 cases associated with hepatitis B (HB) were treated with prednisolone over 6 months and showed CR or PR. Three of other 12 cases associated with HB which showed positivity to HBsAg and HBeAg were treated with interferon-alpha and represented complete seroconversion of HBeAg, but rapidly progressed to chronic renal failure. CONCLUSION: In our study, the most common causes of secondary MN are SLE, HB. HBeAg may be the important predictor in the prognosis of HBV-associated MN. The effect of interferon-alpha therapy in treating secondary MN is as yet inconclusive. HBV-associated MN progresses rapidly to CRF, therefore more extended study is required in Korea, an endemic area of HB.
Adult ; Biopsy ; Cyclophosphamide ; Female ; Glomerulonephritis, Membranous* ; Hepatitis B ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis C ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Korea ; Lupus Nephritis ; Male ; Mixed Connective Tissue Disease ; Nephrotic Syndrome ; Prednisolone ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Syphilis

We present a case of intradural extramedullary capillary hemangioma of the thoracic spine with a long segment of transient cord edema. Spinal capillary hemangiomas are extremely rare vascular tumors and only a few cases have been reported. On the MR images, the mass showed hypointensity on the T1-weighted images, hyperintensity on the T2-weighted images relative to the spinal cord, and strong homogeneous enhancement on the contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images. The T2-weighted images showed a long segment of ill-defined hyperintense area in the spinal cord which was completely resolved after surgery.
Capillaries* ; Edema* ; Hemangioma ; Hemangioma, Capillary* ; Spinal Cord ; Spine

This study investigated the therapeutic effects of Galla rhois (GR) ethanol extract (GRE), sodium chlorate (SC), and a combination of GRE and SC on mice infected with Brucella abortus (B. abortus). Mice were infected intraperitoneally with B. abortus and then treated with GRE, SC, and a combination GRE and SC in drinking water for 14 days. Then, serum antibodies were used in a tube agglutination test (TAT), after which the weight and CFUs from each spleen were measured. In addition, histopathological changes in each liver were examined at 14 days post-infection. At 14 days post-infection, negative reactions of serum antibodies in PC (positive control), SCT (SC 1.6 g/L drinking water), GRT (GRE 200 mg/L drinking water), and GST (GRE 200 mg + SC 1.6 g/L drinking water) were 0, 40, 60, and 80%, respectively. The average spleen weight was not significantly different between the groups. At 14 days post-infection, bacterial numbers in all treated groups were significantly lower compared to to that of the PC (GRT and SCT, P<0.05; GST, P<0.001). In terms of histopathological changes in the livers, there were numerous multifocal microgranulomas in the PC, whereas this number successively decreased in the SCT, GRT, and GST groups. Conclusively, a combination of GRE and SC exhibits therapeutic effects on mice infected with B. abortus. These results suggest the potential efficacy of a mixture of GRE and SC in the treatment of brucellosis.
Agglutination Tests ; Animals ; Antibodies ; Brucella abortus* ; Brucellosis ; Drinking ; Drinking Water ; Ethanol ; Liver ; Mice* ; Sodium* ; Spleen

CHARGE syndrome (coloboma, heart defects, atresia choanae, retarded growth and development, genital hypoplasia, and ear abnormalities) is characterized by multiple malformations and is diagnosed using distinct consensus criteria. Mutations in the gene encoding chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein 7 (CHD7) are the major cause of CHARGE syndrome. Clinical features of CHARGE syndrome considerably overlap those of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Of these features, immunodeficiency and hypocalcemia are frequently reported in patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome but are rarely reported in patients with CHARGE syndrome. In this report, we have described the case of a patient with typical phenotypes of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome but without the proven chromosome microdeletion. Mutation analysis of CHD7 identified a pathogenic mutation (c.2238+1G>A) in this patient. To our knowledge, this is the first case of CHARGE syndrome with immunodeficiency and hypocalcemia in Korea. Our observations suggest that mutation analysis of CHD7 should be performed for patients showing the typical phenotypes of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome but lacking the proven chromosome microdeletion.
CHARGE Syndrome* ; Consensus ; DiGeorge Syndrome ; Ear ; Growth and Development ; Heart ; Humans ; Hypocalcemia* ; Korea ; Nasopharynx ; Phenotype

OBJECTIVE: To prospectively investigate the long-term effects of botulinum toxin treatment on the upper limb function and performance of school age children with spastic bilateral cerebral palsy, who have limitations in performing activities of daily living and school activities, due to spasticity of the upper extremities. METHODS: Botulinum type A toxin (BoNT-A) was injected into 24 spastic upper limbs of 15 children. We used a Modified Ashworth Scale and a Modified Tardieu Scale for the evaluation of upper limb spasticity, and Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test (QUEST), Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), and Test of Visual-Motor Skills-Revised (TVMS-R) for the evaluation of upper limb function and performance. RESULTS: Upper limb spasticity continuously decreased until the end of the one-year follow-up. Upper limb function on QUEST and COPM showed the best performance at 3 months and deteriorated slightly, but still showed a significantly better performance at 9 and 12 months than at pre-injection. In more functional nine subjects who could perform TVMS-R, the performance enhancement effects remained constant after 12 months, suggesting that the reduced spasticity led to the learning effect acquired by the repeated use of the affected upper limb. CONCLUSION: For school age children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy whose upper limb functions are important, BoNT-A injections seem to be of help in the performance of school activities and activities of daily living.
Activities of Daily Living ; Botulinum Toxins ; Botulinum Toxins, Type A ; Cerebral Palsy ; Child ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Learning ; Muscle Spasticity ; Prospective Studies ; Upper Extremity