Objectives: This study aimed to examine the surface-based parameters, specifically cortical thickness and surface area, in female patients with schizophrenia admitted to a university hospital. By comparing these parameters with agematched healthy controls, we sought to explore their involvement in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and potential as biological markers. Methods: We analyzed brain imaging data from 49 female patients with schizophrenia and 31 healthy controls who scanned brain MRI at Chungbuk National University Hospital between January 2016 and June 2023. Cortical thickness and surface area were determined using FreeSurfer 7.3.0 based on 3T MRI scans. Results: Cortical thickness showed a slight age-related decline but did not differ significantly between groups. In contrast, surface area exhibited significant group differences, particularly in the frontal and occipital lobes. These differences varied by age group, with younger healthy controls showing significantly larger surface areas than their schizophrenia counterparts, whereas this distinction was not observed in older participants. Conclusions Given the limitations of a small and heterogeneous schizophrenia sample, cortical thickness as a state marker, could not clearly reflect disease-specific effects. However, surface area, which is influenced by genetic and neurodevelopmental risk factors early in life, demonstrated significant group differences. In older controls, small surface area was similar to that observed in schizophrenia patients, suggesting that environmental factors related to neurodevelopmental issues may contribute to these differences.

BACKGROUND: Anti-hepatitis C virus antibody (anti-HCV) assays are recommended for screening HCV-infected persons. The VIDAS Anti-HCV Assay (bioMérieux, France), based on the enzyme-linked fluorescence test principle, was recently introduced in Korea. We evaluated the clinical performance of the VIDAS assay. METHODS: One hundred HCV-positive and 1,002 HCV-negative blood samples confirmed by Architect anti-HCV (Abbott Laboratories, USA) and COBAS TaqMan HCV real-time PCR (Roche Diagnostics, USA) or the Procleix Ultrio Plus Assay (Gen-Probe Incorporated, USA) were obtained from the Human Serum Bank (HSB) and tested by VIDAS. In case of discrepant results, we conducted a recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA). RESULTS: The agreement rates for known HCV-positive and HCV-negative samples between the VIDAS assay and the HSB testing were 100% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 96.4-100%) and 99.5% (95% CI: 98.8-99.8%), respectively. One of the five discrepant samples was positive for Core 2+ and NS3-2 2+ reactivity, two samples were negative, and the other two were indeterminate regarding NS4 2+ reactivity in RIBA. We observed a significant but weak positive correlation between the titers of VIDAS and Architect assays (r=0.315, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The VIDAS anti-HCV assay, developed on the VIDAS automated immunoassay platform based on the ready-to-use, single-sample test concept may be useful in small-to-medium-sized laboratories. It showed good agreement with Architect anti-HCV and COBAS PCR assays and is therefore useful for detection of HCV infection. Weakly test-positive (ambiguous) samples require additional testing by another anti-HCV, RIBA, or HCV RNA assay.
Automation ; Hepatitis C/*diagnosis ; Hepatitis C Antibodies/*blood ; Humans ; *Immunoassay ; Immunoblotting ; Reagent Kits, Diagnostic ; Sensitivity and Specificity

BACKGROUND: Hypotension is a common complication of spinal anesthesia for cesarean delivery. The incidence and severity of hypotension is reported higher compared with other surgeries due to aortocaval compression. We evaluated whether body weight, body height, body mass index (BMI) and abdominal circumference effected on the incidence of hypotension and ephedrine requirement. METHODS: A total of 55 parturients undergoing elective cesarean delivery were enrolled in this prospective observational study. Preeclampsia or eclampsia was excluded. Abdominal circumference, body weight, body height were assessed before anesthesia. Spinal anesthesia was conducted in the right lateral position using 8 mg of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine and 15 microg of fentanyl. Blood pressure was measured before anesthesia and at 1 min interval after intrathecal injection. Nausea was assessed during spinal anesthesia. Hypotension was defined that blood pressure decreased below 80% of baseline value and ephedrine was given if blood pressure dropped below 70% (severe hypotension). RESULTS: The total incidence of hypotension was 65% (36/55) and ephedrine was administered in 38% (21/55) of parturients. Except height, abdominal circumference, body weight and body mass index were associated with the incidence of hypotension (P < 0.05). However, severe hypotension requiring ephedrine (P = 0.001, OR = 1.16, [95% CI 1.04-1.30]), ephedrine requirement (P = 0.001, R = 0.43) and nausea (P = 0.026, R = 0.31) were significantly related only with abdominal circumference. CONCLUSIONS: Abdominal circumference of parturients may be a good parameter to predict both of the incidence and the severity of hypotension during spinal anesthesia for cesarean delivery.
Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, Spinal ; Blood Pressure ; Body Height ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Bupivacaine ; Cesarean Section ; Eclampsia ; Ephedrine ; Female ; Fentanyl ; Hypotension ; Incidence ; Injections, Spinal ; Nausea ; Pre-Eclampsia ; Pregnancy ; Prospective Studies

OBJECTIVES: Urocanase domain containing 1 (UROC1) has never been studied in prior studies on autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). UROC1 causes urocanic aciduria, one of the symptoms of which is mental retardation. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the UROC1 gene and ASDs in a Korean population. METHODS: A total of 258 control and 214 patients with ASD were used as subjects of this study. SNPs selected from UROC1 were genotyped using Illumina Golden-Gate Genotyping assay with VeraCode(R) technology. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS and Plink software. RESULTS: We found no association of the 12 SNPs in the UROC1 gene with ASDs in a Korean population. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that the 12 SNPs (11 SNPs and 1 SNP in the intron and 3'UTR region, respectively) in the UROC1 were not associated with ASDs in a Korean population. Further study on the exon region of UROC1 is needed.
3' Untranslated Regions ; Autistic Disorder ; Child ; Autism Spectrum Disorder ; Exons ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability ; Introns ; Phenothiazines ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Urocanate Hydratase

BACKGROUND: Two of the most sensitive methods for detecting donor-specific HLA antibodies (DSAs) are solid phase panel reactive antibody (PRA) assay using Luminex platform (Luminex-PRA), and a cell-based flow cytometric crossmatch (FCXM) test. We evaluated FCXM results in relation to DSAs detected by the Luminex-PRA method in solid organ transplantation candidates or post-transplant follow-up patients. METHODS: A total of 171 donor-recipient pairs were evaluated by Luminex-PRA (LIFECODES Class I and Class II ID kits; Gen-Probe, USA) and FCXM (T- and B-cells) tests. DSA levels were analyzed using a sum of median fluorescence intensity (MFI) values, and FCXM results were analyzed using MFI ratios. RESULTS: Class I and II DSAs were detected in 11.7% (20/171) and 11.1% (19/171) of tested sera, respectively. T-FCXM was negative in 97.4% (147/151) of Class I DSA negative sera, and B-FCXM was negative in 99.3% (137/138) of Class I and II DSA negative sera. T-FCXM was positive in 91.7% (11/12) of sera with moderate to strong Class I DSAs and B-FCXM was positive in 88.9% (16/18) of sera with moderate to strong Class II and/or Class I DSAs in the evaluation of sensitivities of FCXM in relation to DSA. There were significant correlations between FCXM ratios and DSA levels for both T-FCXM (P=0.008) and B-FCXM (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The FCXM results correlated well with the DSAs detected by the Luminex-PRA method. The specificities of T- and B-FCXM in relation to DSAs were high (>97%) and the sensitivities of T- and B-FCXM were satisfactory (>88%) in detecting moderate to strong DSAs.
Antibodies ; Flow Cytometry ; Fluorescence ; Follow-Up Studies ; Histocompatibility Testing ; HLA Antigens ; Humans ; Organ Transplantation ; Transplants

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the clinical relevance of pretransplant donor-specific HLA antibodies (DSA) in renal transplantation patients who had negative T-cell cytotoxicity crossmatches. METHODS: From 328 consecutive renal transplant recipients, we selected 28 patients who had positive pretransplant (historical or at the time of transplantation) flow cytometry crossmatches, but negative T-cell cytotoxicity crossmatches at the time of transplantation. The presence of DSA and its level at the time of transplantation were retrospectively tested using Luminex single antigen assays. RESULTS: DSA was present in 16 (57.1%) of 28 patients. Biopsy-proven acute rejection (9 patients) occurred more frequently in patients with DSA than in those without DSA (56.3% vs. 0.0%; P=0.003). The positivity rate of class II DSA was significantly higher in patients with antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) than in those without AMR (100% vs. 21.7%; P=0.003). However, the positivity rate of class I DSA was not different between the two groups (40% vs. 40.9%). Among patients with class II DSA, those with AMR tended to have higher antibody levels (median fluorescence intensity, MFI) than those without AMR (16,359 vs. 5,910; P=0.056). A cut-off MFI value of 4,487 for class II DSA predicted the occurrence of AMR with good sensitivity and specificity (100% and 87.0%). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with negative T-cell cytotoxicity crossmatches, the presence of class II DSA and its level at the time of transplantation were associated with the occurrence of AMR. Pretransplant DSA measurement with Luminex single antigen assay would be useful in renal transplantation.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Antibodies/*immunology ; Female ; Graft Rejection/immunology ; HLA-DQ Antigens/*immunology ; HLA-DR Antigens/*immunology ; Histocompatibility Testing ; Humans ; Kidney Transplantation/immunology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic/*immunology ; Tissue Donors ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND:Rocuronium is a commonly used muscle relaxant, however, it has severe injection pain.We supposed that injection pain of rocuronium was due to acidity of solution.We studied whether pH elevation of rocuronium with bicarbonate relieves injection pain. METHODS:We included 140 adult patients with 18 G intravenous catheter in arm for general anesthesia and they were randomly allocated to two groups.All patients received 0.6 mg/kg of rocuronium, one group (Group C) received rocuronium only (pH = 4.04) and the other group (Group B) received bicarbonate mixed rocuronium (rocuronium:bicarbonate = 5 ml :1 ml, pH of mixture = 7.14).The severity (none, mild, severe) of injection pain was assessed.Just after assessment, 5 mg/kg of thiopental was injected for loss of conciousness. Twitch of supramaximal stimuli was monitored and intubation time was considered the interval from injection to 75% depression and onset time the interval from injection to maximal depression. RESULTS:The incidence of injection pain of group C was 96.9% and 18.8% in group B (P< 0.01). Intubation time and onset time were 79.5 +/- 24.4 sec and 114.3 +/- 43.6 sec in group C and 80.6 +/- 27.0 sec and 115.2 +/- 46.2 sec in group B.There was no significant difference between groups. CONCLUSIONS:Our result shows that adding bicarbonate to rocuronium is effective to relieve injection pain of rocuronium without change of onset of rocuronium.
Adult ; Androstanols ; Anesthesia, General ; Arm ; Catheters ; Depression ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Incidence ; Intubation ; Muscles ; Sodium Bicarbonate ; Thiopental

BACKGROUND:Rocuronium is a commonly used muscle relaxant, however, it has severe injection pain.We supposed that injection pain of rocuronium was due to acidity of solution.We studied whether pH elevation of rocuronium with bicarbonate relieves injection pain. METHODS:We included 140 adult patients with 18 G intravenous catheter in arm for general anesthesia and they were randomly allocated to two groups.All patients received 0.6 mg/kg of rocuronium, one group (Group C) received rocuronium only (pH = 4.04) and the other group (Group B) received bicarbonate mixed rocuronium (rocuronium:bicarbonate = 5 ml :1 ml, pH of mixture = 7.14).The severity (none, mild, severe) of injection pain was assessed.Just after assessment, 5 mg/kg of thiopental was injected for loss of conciousness. Twitch of supramaximal stimuli was monitored and intubation time was considered the interval from injection to 75% depression and onset time the interval from injection to maximal depression. RESULTS:The incidence of injection pain of group C was 96.9% and 18.8% in group B (P< 0.01). Intubation time and onset time were 79.5 +/- 24.4 sec and 114.3 +/- 43.6 sec in group C and 80.6 +/- 27.0 sec and 115.2 +/- 46.2 sec in group B.There was no significant difference between groups. CONCLUSIONS:Our result shows that adding bicarbonate to rocuronium is effective to relieve injection pain of rocuronium without change of onset of rocuronium.
Adult ; Androstanols ; Anesthesia, General ; Arm ; Catheters ; Depression ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Incidence ; Intubation ; Muscles ; Sodium Bicarbonate ; Thiopental

When the bones of a human being are excavated, the teeth in particular can be a great help in distinguishing the sex of the person because they remain unchanged in terms of physical and chemical characteristics. We measured mesiodistal diameters of the crown of teeth and faciolingual diameters of the crown of teeth of 215 adult dental casts (male 109; female 106) and teeth of the 166 cadavers (male 127; female 39). Among these samples, we made use of only measurement values with statistical significance to obtain discriminant functions by discriminant analysis and to verify this study. Fifty one discriminant functions are obtained through several combinations of independent variables so that they can be applied to the bones of human being found in archaeological excavations. Among them, only 34 functions have the statistical significance, showing the correct classification from 64.5 to 89.8%. The other 17 functions are excluded from the discriminant analysis on the basis of Box's M value and Wilks' Lambda value. Among these 34 functions, only 8 functions with high classification accuracy are tested. They show the correct classification from 62.8 to 84.6%. The highest classification accuracy can be achieved when all of the lower teeth (I1 to PM2) are used. The functions from the canine tooth of the lower jaw have high potential usefulness because they can be applied to a variety of materials.
Adult ; Cadaver ; Classification ; Crowns ; Cuspid ; Female ; Humans ; Jaw ; Tooth